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Hundreds die of extreme heat on haj pilgrimage, reports say

Saudi state TV said temperatures rose on Monday as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) in the shade at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

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Hundreds of visitors have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca amid scorching heat, according to press reports and foreign ministries.

At least 550 people have died on haj, diplomats told French outlet Agence France Presse (AFP) on Tuesday. Three hundred and twenty-three of the dead were Egyptians, most of whom perished due to heat-related illness, AFP reported, citing two Arab diplomats.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify those numbers.

Stampedes, tent fires and other accidents have caused hundreds of deaths during haj to Saudi Arabia in the past 30 years. The pilgrimage began on Friday.

Saudi state TV said temperatures rose on Monday as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) in the shade at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

A 2024 study by the Journal of Travel and Medicine found that rising global temperatures may outpace strategies to deal with the heat. A 2019 study by Geophysical Research Letters said that as temperatures rise in arid Saudi Arabia due to climate change, pilgrims performing haj will face "extreme danger".

Thirty-five Tunisian citizens have died during the haj, Tunisian news agency Tunis Afrique Presse said on Tuesday.

Many of those deaths were due to extreme heat, family members said on social media, as other families continued to search for missing relatives in Saudi hospitals, Reuters reported.

The Jordanian foreign ministry said it had issued 41 burial permits for Jordanian pilgrims on Tuesday. Earlier, the ministry said at least six Jordanian citizens died of heat stroke during the haj.

Eleven Iranians have died and 24 were hospitalized during the pilgrimage, Iranian state news outlet IRINN said on Tuesday without giving the causes of death.

Three Senegalese citizens also died during haj, Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, said on Monday.

One hundred and forty-four Indonesian citizens died during the pilgrimage, Indonesian health ministry data showed on Tuesday. The data did not specify if any of the deaths were due to heat stroke.

PHYSICAL EXERTION

The haj is an annual pilgrimage that millions of Muslims make to Mecca to perform religious rites as taught by the Prophet Mohammad to his followers 14 centuries ago.

A Saudi health official, speaking to Reuters on Monday, before many of the reports of deaths were issued, said that authorities had not noticed any unusual fatalities among Muslim pilgrims amid the extremely high temperatures.

The ministry had so far treated more than 2,700 pilgrims who suffered from heat-related illness, he added.

"Haj is a difficult task, so you have to exert efforts and perform the rituals even in the conditions of heat and crowding," an Egyptian pilgrim told Reuters on Sunday.

Pilgrims used umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun, as Saudi authorities warned pilgrims to stay hydrated and avoid being outdoors during the hottest hours between 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) and 3 p.m.

Haj, one of the largest mass gatherings in the world, is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for able-bodied Muslims who can afford it. It will end on Wednesday, read the report.

More than 1.8 million pilgrims were expected to take part this year, according to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics.

 

 

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Iran foreign minister denies plot to kill Trump

Iranian analysts and insiders have not dismissed the possibility of a detente between Tehran and Washington under Trump, although without restoring diplomatic ties, read the report.

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Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denied U.S. charges that Tehran was linked to an alleged plot to kill Donald Trump and called on Saturday for confidence-building between the two hostile countries, Reuters reported.

"Now ... a new scenario is fabricated ... as a killer does not exist in reality, scriptwriters are brought in to manufacture a third-rate comedy," Araqchi said in a post on X.

He was referring to the alleged plot which Washington said was ordered by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards to assassinate Trump, who won Tuesday's presidential election and takes office in January.

"The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect," Araqchi said.

"Iran is NOT after nuclear weapons, period. This is a policy based on Islamic teachings and our security calculations. Confidence-building is needed from both sides. It is not a one-way street," he added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said earlier that the claim was a "repulsive" plot by Israel and the Iranian opposition outside the country to "complicate matters between America and Iran".

Iranian analysts and insiders have not dismissed the possibility of a detente between Tehran and Washington under Trump, although without restoring diplomatic ties, read the report.

"Iran will act based on its own interests. It is possible that secret talks between Tehran and Washington take place. If security threats against the Islamic Republic are removed, anything is possible," Tehran-based analyst Saeed Laylaz said this week.

While facing off against arch-foe Israel, Iran’s clerical leadership is also concerned about the possibility of an all-out war in the region, where Israel is engaged in conflicts with Tehran's allies in Gaza and Lebanon.

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At least 21 killed, over 50 injured in Pakistan railway station bomb blast

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At least 21 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, local media reported.

The blast occurred on the platform as passengers gathered for the departure of the Jaffar Express, scheduled to depart for Peshawar at 9am, Express News reported.

"The blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination," said the senior superintendent of police operations, Muhammad Baloch, Reuters reported.

Among the victims are women and children, according to the Medical Superintendent at Civil Hospital, who reported that 46 of the wounded were brought to the hospital for urgent treatment.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the attack, ordering an immediate investigation and labeling the incident as "a horrific act targeting innocent civilians."

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

 

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Pakistan bans entry to parks, zoos as air pollution worsens

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Pakistan's Punjab banned entry to many public spaces from Friday, including parks and zoos, as it sought to protect people from severe air pollution in parts of the eastern province.

The provincial capital Lahore has been engulfed in a thick, smoky haze this week and was consistently rated the world's most polluted city by Swiss group IQAir in its live rankings, prompting the closure of schools and work-from-home mandates, Reuters reported.

The Punjab government's Friday order placed a "complete ban on public entry in all parks ... zoos, play grounds, historical places, monuments, museums and joy/play lands" until Nov. 17 in areas including Lahore.

Many parts of South Asia suffer severe pollution as temperatures drop each winter and cold, heavy air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from stubble burning - the illegal practice of burning crop waste to quickly clear fields.

Punjab last week blamed toxic air wafting in from neighbouring India - where air quality has also reached hazardous levels - for the particularly high pollution this year.

IQAir rated the Indian capital New Delhi the world's second most polluted city on Friday, with government data indicating that farm fires in the neighbouring farming states of Punjab and Haryana were among the major contributors.

To discourage the practice which has been lower this year, India's federal government doubled fines imposed on violators on Wednesday.

Farmers with less than two acres of land will now have to pay 5,000 rupees ($60) for violations. Those owning between two and five acres will pay 10,000 rupees and farmers with more than five acres will pay 30,000 rupees, the environment ministry said.

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