Mobile phones are overheating and the pavement feels like a frying pan but for Abdul al-Assad, intense desert heat is all part of the hajj pilgrimage in summertime Saudi Arabia.. The hajj and year-round umrah rituals generate an estimated $12 billion annually for Saudi Arabia, which is investing in tourism as it tries to diversify its economy away from oil.
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's (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.
Serbia freed three Kosovo police officers taken into custody by its security forces earlier this month, Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Monday, after a court ordered the trio's release.. The prime minister said the "kidnapping" of its police was likely "revenge" for the arrest of an alleged Serb paramilitary leader in Kosovo this month, whom Kurti claimed was a major figure linked to the smuggling gangs.
Kenyan President William Ruto on Monday signed into law a bill that raises taxes on a wide range of items, the presidency said, defying criticism that it will pile more economic hardship on citizens.. "President Ruto has assented to the finance bill.
Moscow was striving Monday to portray a return to business as usual after a weekend mutiny by mercenary troops threatened Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's grip on power. . The Western allies -- who are backing Ukraine with modern weaponry, training and cash -- see Putin's grip on power weakened by both Wagner's revolt and the operation in Ukraine.
A mystery Russian diplomat ended his short-lived solo defiance of the Australian government Monday after a top court forced him to stop squatting on the site of a planned embassy.. The unlikely standoff was brought to an end on Monday when Australia's High Court backed the government's attempts to evict Russia from the site.
Tech giants could face billions of dollars in fines for failing to tackle disinformation under proposed Australian laws, which a watchdog on Monday said would bring "mandatory" standards to the little-regulated sector.. The rules would echo legislation expected to come into force in the European Union, where tech giants could face fines as high as six percent of annual turnover and outright bans on operating inside the bloc.
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.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis embarked Monday on his second term as Greece's prime minister with a vow to accelerate institutional and economic reforms, after voters handed him a huge election victory for the second time in five weeks.. - 'Visible' threat - Mitsotakis, who first became prime minister in 2019, has vowed to make economic stability a feature of his new term.
