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Mecca crane collapse: Saudi inquiry into Grand Mosque disaster –
Saudi Arabia has begun an investigation after a crane collapsed in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, killing at least 107 people. The huge red crane crashed into a part of the Grand Mosque [also known as Masjid al-Haram] – which was filled with worshippers at the time. The inquiry is taking place as criticism grows over safety standards at the holy site. It is unclear how many of the victims were killed by the collapse or the stampede that followed it. At least 230 people were injured in the incident.The collapse happened at 17:23 local time. [BBC]
Masjid al-Haram in 2014

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• The People’s Liberation Army of China holds three days of live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait, while Taiwan holds exercises simulating Chinese submarines attacking Kinmen and being repelled by Taiwanese amphibious forces. (The Guardian) (AP via Yahoo)
• Boko Haram insurgency
  • An improvised explosive device in a Yola, Nigeria displacement camp kills 7 people. (AP)
• Turkey–PKK conflict
  • The Turkish Air Force strikes 64 PKK targets in northern Iraq reportedly killing up to 60 PKK militants. (Daily Sabah)
• 2015 Burundian unrest
  • Burundi‘s army chief General Prime Niyongabo survives an assassination attempt after armed men attacked his motorcade on a busy road in the capital, Bujumbura. Six people are killed in the attack. (BBC) , (New York Times)

Arts and culture

• Britney Spears announces a two-year extension in performing Britney: Piece of Me on the Las Vegas Strip. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

• 2015 Pacific typhoon season
  • At least three people die, 27 are injured, and 26 people are missing, the majority of them in and around Jōsō city in Ibaraki Prefecture, as a result of floods and landslides in Japan after heavy rainfall caused by Tropical Storm Etau. (Reuters) (The Independent-UK)
• Mecca crane collapse
  • Strong winds cause a construction crane collapse at the Masjid al-Haram mosque killing 107 people and injuring 283 others. Most of the people killed were on the annual Islamic hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca. (RT), (USA Today), (AFP via ABC News Australia), (Daily Mail)

International relations

• The UN General Assembly votes in favor of flying the flags of non-member observer states outside the headquarters in New York City. Palestine will raise their flag on September 30, while Vatican City has made no plans yet. (CNN)
• United States–Cuban Thaw
  • Cuba announces it will release more than 3,500 prisoners in a goodwill gesture ahead of next week’s visit by Pope Francis. (BBC)
• European migrant crisis
  • Foreign ministers from Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia meet with officials from the European Union and Germany to discuss differences over migrant quotas. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Defense lawyers say the United States continues to block the release of 116 pages of the lawyers’ notes detailing the torture that Guantanimo Bay prisoner Abu Zubaydah says he experienced in CIA custody. Zubaydah has yet to be charged with any crime despite being held since 2002. (Reuters via Al Jazeera English Online) (Newsweek)
• Mark Karpelès, the CEO of defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, is charged with embezzlement in Japan. (AFP via France 24)
• 2006 Mumbai train bombings
  • A Mumbai, India court convicts twelve men with one man acquitted for their roles in the bombing which killed 209 people and injured 714. (BBC) (Al Jazeera English Online)
• 2014 Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center fire
  • U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman sentences a Federal Aviation Administration contractor, Brian Howard, to 12 years in prison for willfully destroying a Chicago-area air navigation facility using a September 26, 2014, fire which caused $100 million in damage. (AP)
• The California State Legislature approves legislation allowing for assisted suicide. (New York Times)

Politics and elections

• Singaporean general election, 2015
  • Singapore’s elections conclude with more than 2.46 million voters casting ballots. The governing People’s Action Party (PAP), wins 83 out of 89 seats. Sydney Morning Herald) (AP via US News and World Report), (IANS via Daijiworld), (CNBC)
• Republican Party presidential debates, 2016
  • CNN announces the September 16, prime time presidential debate panel. Carly Fiorina, who had sufficient poll support following the first debate, will join the top 10 leaders, such as Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Ben Carson. The remaining four candidates, Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki and Lindsey Graham, will appear earlier that evening. Because he did not get sufficient poll numbers, Jim Gilmore is now excluded. (CNN), (Boston Herald)
  • Former Governor of Texas Rick Perry suspends his campaign for the presidential race. (ABC Go), (National Journal)

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