SANA — Airstrikes carried out by a Saudi-led coalition against Yemen’s Shi’ite rebels and their allies have killed 29 people, including civilians, in the capital Sana, security and medical officials in the city said Saturday. The coalition’s airstrikes hit an apartment building in the center of the capital, an area that is a UNESCO world heritage site, killing a family of nine. Rescuers were searching for other possible victims buried under the rubble.
SAUDI ARABIA
Annual pilgrimage heightens security
MECCA — Saudi Arabia has deployed 100,000 security personnel to oversee the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage that begins Tuesday, the Interior Ministry spokesman said, underscoring both the arrangements needed to secure one of the largest pilgrimages in the world and the multitude of threats the hajj faces. About 3 million people from around the world are expected to converge at the Kaaba, in Mina, and other areas for the hajj, which lasts about five days.
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BELARUS
Putin will set up military air base
MINSK — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signaled his intention to establish a Russian military air base in neighboring Belarus — a move sure to unnerve Poland and the Baltic nations. Belarus has made clear it would not welcome a Russian base, but the former Soviet republic remains dependent on Moscow for credit and energy.
EGYPT
President swears in new government
CAIRO — President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has sworn in a new government, Egypt’s state news agency said Saturday, one week after the previous Cabinet resigned amid a corruption inquiry. The new government, headed by former Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail, came after state-friendly media slammed the performance of his predecessor Ibrahim Mehleb and prosecutors began investigating several officials for allegedly receiving over $1 million in bribes.
SOUTH SUDAN
Death toll hits 193 in fuel tanker blast
JUBA — The death toll rose to 193 in South Sudan’s fuel tanker explosion Saturday as the government declared three days of mourning. More patients have succumbed to their injuries, said Patrick Raphael Zamoi, the governor of Western Equatoria state where the blast occurred Wednesday.
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THAILAND
Protesters march in rally despite ban
BANGKOK — Prodemocracy protesters in Thailand’s capital defied a ban on protests and staged a rare rally Saturday against the country’s ruling military government. More than 200 people marched peacefully to Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, a symbolic site that has become a rallying point for protests in recent years. They carried antijunta banners as a ring of police kept watch over the event.
GERMANY
Oktoberfest starts as first keg tapped
MUNICH — The beer is flowing again at Munich’s Oktoberfest. Mayor Dieter Reiter inserted the tap into the first keg Saturday with two blows of his hammer. Some 6 million visitors are expected in Munich for the event, which runs through Oct. 4.