Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims crowded Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Tuesday, the climax of a potentially record-breaking hajj pilgrimage held in fierce summer heat.. Tuesday provides the biggest physical challenge, as pilgrims will spend hours praying and reciting the Koran on Mount Arafat and in the surrounding area amid high temperatures.
With its white marble foyer and lavish chandeliers, the 12-storey tower could be mistaken for one of Hong Kong’s newest hotels, but it offers a longer stay: a final resting place for thousands in one of the world's most crowded cities.. Places like Shan Sum were created in response to Hong Kong's shortage of urn spaces a decade ago.
With nearly constant surveillance, gruelling isolation and limited family access, the treatment of the last 30 Guantanamo detainees is "cruel, inhuman and degrading," UN rights experts said Monday as they reported on their first visit to the US military prison. . "The totality of all of these practices and omissions ... amounts in my assessment to ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law," she said.
A 23-year-old who shot five people dead at an LGBTQ club in the US state of Colorado last year pleaded guilty on Monday and will face life in prison.. Aldrich was overpowered by patrons of Club Q in Colorado Springs after opening fire with an AR-15-style assault rifle, killing five people and injuring 18.
The UK's performance on key health metrics is a "serious concern" and lags comparable countries, according to a report released to mark the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service (NHS).. The report by the King's Fund charity compared the health systems of 19 similar countries, and cited Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data that showed the UK performed worst in fatality rates for strokes and second-worst for heart attacks.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims walked or rode buses Monday to a giant tented city near Mecca for the climax of the annual hajj that Saudi officials say could break attendance records.. Pilgrims in robes and sandals, many carrying umbrellas against the beating sun, undertook the journey on foot or crowded onto hundreds of air-conditioned buses provided by Saudi authorities.
Myanmar junta authorities said they torched almost half a billion dollars worth of illegal drugs on Monday, but warned they were failing to stop a surge in production and trafficking of narcotics.. Televised torchings also took place elsewhere in the country, with a total of $446 million of narcotics going up in smoke according to junta officials.
India's first population clock, made up of 10 white numbered cards on a large green metal board, attracts curious passersby who watch it record the story of the world's most populous nation.. "We feel good when we update the board, as passersby can also see the growing population numbers," 56-year-old security supervisor Salunkhe V.V. told AFP. The current projections estimate that India's population increases by just under 41,000 people a day -- one every two seconds -- or about 15 million a year.
Yuya Motomura, a mahjong parlour manager in Japan, had always wanted a way to prove himself to a society he felt looked down on him.. "I've always felt that I'm someone who is more socially conscious than other people realise," he told AFP as he prepared to leave Japan for the conflict.
Britain's Prince William will launch Monday a new UK-wide initiative aiming to show that it is possible to end homelessness and make it "rare, brief, and unrepeated", Kensington Palace announced.. "It's a big task, but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief, and unrepeated and I am very much looking forward to working with our six locations to make our ambition a reality."
