Yemen official: Drone, missile attack kills 30, injures dozens at base
SANAA, Yemen — A missile and drone attack on a key military base in Yemen’s south Sunday killed at least 30 troops, a Yemeni military spokesman said. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s civil war in recent years.
Mohammed al-naqib, spokesman for Yemen’s southern forces, said the attack on Al-anad Air Base in the province of Lahj also injured at least 65.
Yemeni officials said at least three explosions took place at the air base, which is held by the internationally recognized government. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels swept across much of the north and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the government.
A ballistic missile landed in the base’s training area, where dozens of troops were doing morning exercises, the officials said.
Sunday’s attack on the base came as the Houthi rebels face stiff resistance and suffered heavy losses in their monthslong attempt to take the crucial city of Marib from the internationally recognized government. Thousands of fighters, mostly from the Houthis, were killed in recent months in Marib.
The Houthi offensive on Marib, combined with an increase of missile and explosives-laden drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, has come amid mounting international efforts to halt the fighting and relaunch talks between the warring parties to end the war in the Arab world’s poorest country.
The stalemated conflict in Yemen has killed more than 130,000 people and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Gaza protests: Hundreds of Palestinians gathered Sunday night along the separation fence with Israel, setting tires on fire and throwing explosives as Gaza’s Hamas rulers pressed ahead with a campaign aimed at pressuring Israel to ease a stifling blockade of the territory. One protester was wounded by Israeli gunfire.
It was the second consecutive nighttime border protest and took place hours after Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on alleged Hamas targets in response to the unrest. Hamas officials have promised to hold nightly protests all week.
The Israeli military said protesters set tires on fire and lobbed explosives toward Israeli troops, and that its forces took unspecified measures to disperse the crowd. The Palestinian Health Ministry said one protester was shot and suffered moderate wounds. No further details were immediately available.
Milan fire: Italian firefighters Sunday battled a highrise blaze in Milan that spread rapidly through a 20-story residential building and poured black smoke into the air. Residents were evacuated.
Mayor Giuseppe Sala said there were no reports of injuries or deaths.
The nearly 200-foot tall building, part of a recent development project, was designed to look like the keel of a ship and included an aluminum sail on its roof, which burned and fell to the
Nora in Mexico: Hurricane Nora caused floods and landslides along Mexico’s Pacific coast Sunday, while making landfall again and passing just inland of the Mazatlan resort area, then veered into the Gulf of California and weakened into a tropical storm.
At least two people were injured and six fishermen were reported missing at sea. Rescue teams were searching for the fishermen, who had left port in Guerrero state Wednesday, said Adm. Julio César Pescina of the Mexican navy. Communities in the coastal states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco experienced heavy rain and rough surf as the storm moved northward hugging the shoreline.
The state government in Jalisco said flooding damaged 500 homes and two people were injured in a landslide.
Anti-mask death: A man who led efforts in his Central Texas community against mask wearing and other preventative measures during the coronavirus pandemic has died of COVID-19, one month after being admitted to the emergency room.
Caleb Wallace died Saturday, his wife, Jessica Wallace, said on a Gofundme page where she had been posting updates on his condition, the San Angelo Standard-times reported. He was 30 years old and a father of three children. His wife is pregnant with their fourth child.
On July 4, 2020, Caleb Wallace helped organize “The Freedom Rally” in San Angelo. People at the event carried signs that criticized the wearing of masks, business closures, the science behind COVID-19 and liberal media. He also organized the group “The San Angelo Freedom Defenders.”
Jessica Wallace told the newspaper her husband began experiencing COVID19 symptoms July 26 but refused to get tested or go to the hospital. He instead took high doses of Vitamin C, zinc aspirin and ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medicine that officials have urged people not to take for COVID-19.
Navajo Nation: The Navajo Nation on Sunday reported 24 new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths. The latest numbers pushed the tribe’s total to 32,528 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known death total remained at 1,403.
Tribal health officials reported 35 new cases and three deaths Saturday.
The Navajo Nation reservation is the country’s largest at 27,000 square miles and covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Tribal President Jonathan Nez has said all Navajo Nation executive branch employees will need to be fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID19 by the end of September or be required to submit to regular testing.
The new rules apply to full, part-time and temporary employees, including those working for tribal enterprises like utilities, shopping centers and casinos. Any worker who does not show proof of vaccination by Sept. 29 must be tested every two weeks or face discipline.
US gas prices: The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline dropped 2 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.23 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that it’s the first decline in gas prices in nine months.
Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas is in the San Francisco Bay Area, at $4.49 per gallon. The lowest average is in Baton Rouge, La., at $2.70 per gallon. According to the survey taken Friday, the average price of diesel was $3.33 a gallon.