- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ |
Muslim pilgrims pray on Mount Arafat in hajj climax
More than 1.5 million Muslims will pray on Mount Arafat in soaring temperatures on Saturday, in the high-point and most gruelling day of the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Worshippers from all over the world will climb the rocky, 70-metre (230-feet) hill, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Mecca, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon.
The desert summer heat is expected to hit 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit), creating challenges especially among the elderly during a day of prayer and reciting the Koran.
The hajj, which takes at least five days to complete and is mostly outdoors, "is not easy because it is very hot", said Abraman Hawa, 26, from Ghana.
"We have sun... but it is not as hot. But I will pray to Allah at Arafat, because I need his support," she added.
Saudi authorities have urged pilgrims to drink plenty of water and protect themselves from the sun. Since men are prohibited from wearing hats, many carry umbrellas.
More than 10,000 heat-related illnesses were recorded last year, 10 percent of them heat stroke, a Saudi official told AFP this week.
The hajj, one of the world's biggest religious gatherings, is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study that said regional temperatures were rising 0.4C each decade.
But Mohammed Farouk, a 60-year-old Pakistani pilgrim, was not put off by the Gulf kingdom's scorching summer sun.
The hajj is "very important for me as a Muslim", he said.
- Financial windfall -
The enormous crowds of worshippers spent the night in a giant tented city in Mina, a valley several kilometres outside Mecca, Islam's holiest city.
Many of them were tightly packed in the air-conditioned tents, lying close together on narrow mattresses.
They were grouped by nationality and price, depending on how much they had paid for their hajj packages -- usually several thousand dollars.
After Arafat they will head to Muzdalifah, where they will collect pebbles to carry out the symbolic "stoning of the devil" ritual in Mina on Sunday.
The hajj is said to follow the path of the Prophet Mohammed's final pilgrimage, about 1,400 years ago.
It is an important source of legitimacy for the Al Saud dynasty, whose monarch has the title "guardian of the two holy mosques", in Mecca and Medina.
It is also a major financial windfall for the conservative country, which is trying to develop religious tourism as part of a drive to reduce its dependence on crude oil.
The kingdom received more than 1.8 million pilgrims last year for the hajj, around 90 percent of whom came from abroad.
It also welcomed 13.5 million Muslims who came to perform Umrah, the small pilgrimage that can be done all year round, and aims to reach 30 million by 2030.
This year's hajj takes place in the shadow of the Gaza war, after eight months of bloodshed that is an open wound for many in the Muslim world.
C.Garcia--AMWN