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Working day and night in front of maps, screens and seemingly endless data, Saudi officials have harnessed artificial intelligence to help manage the million-strong sea of pilgrims during the hajj.The technology has proven pivotal to track the overwhelming amount of footage from more than 15,000 cameras in and around the holy city of Mecca.The systems are tuned to spot abnormal crowd movements or predict bottlenecks in foot traffic — a potential life-saver at a packed event with a history of deadly stampedes.Software is also used to help guide more than 20,000 buses deployed to transport pilgrims between holy sites during one of the world’s biggest annual religious gatherings.It is all part of the tech arsenal that Saudi Arabia is deploying as 1.4 million faithful from across the globe descend on Mecca and its surrounds.”In our traffic control room, we use specialised cameras that have AI layers to analyse movements, crowded areas” and predict behaviours, said Mohamed Nazier, chief executive officer for the General Transport Centre at the Royal Commission for Mecca.The centre has a main control room in Mecca filled with screens and maps, where staff use high-tech tools including AI for round-the-clock monitoring.About a dozen staff members sit in rows before desktop computers with a large display at the front, zooming in on crowd movements around the holy sites.On hillsides nearby, cameras that resemble little white robots film buildings, roads and pathways along the hajj route, which winds more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) between Mecca and Mount Arafat.Nazier said the constant monitoring is aimed at averting traffic collisions with pedestrians on crowded routes while also making sure there are buses available to minimise walking time in the desert heat.- ‘Our eye on the ground’ -It is a decade since the hajj suffered its worst disaster, a stampede that killed up to 2,300 people during the “stoning of the devil” ritual.Hundreds also died in stampedes in 2006, 1998 and 1994.In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were trampled to death or asphyxiated when a tunnel ventilation system failed.With its cutting-edge technology, “the control room is our eye on the ground,” said Mohammed al-Qarni, who oversees the hajj and the year-round umrah pilgrimage at the transport centre.Artificial intelligence helps to determine “the flow on the (roads to the holy sites), and detects emergency situations even before they occur”, he told AFP, adding that the technology can help assess the number of people in a single place.Cameras and AI can estimate if a site has reached maximum capacity, allowing authorities to divert the flow of pilgrims, Qarni said.During the holy month of Ramadan this year, the system spotted when the Grand Mosque had reached full capacity.”The flow to the Haram (Grand Mosque) was stopped and the process controlled,” he said.- Thermal imaging -The use of advanced technology extends beyond logistics, also tracking unregistered pilgrims, who accounted for most of the 1,301 deaths in sweltering conditions last year.As temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) last year, unauthorised worshippers who lack access to air-conditioned tents and buses bore the brunt. Temperatures are forecast to top 40C this week.The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be completed by all Muslims with the means at least once.Yet not everyone is able to secure or afford one of the official permits, which are allocated to countries by quota and awarded to individuals by lottery.To try to stop anyone sneaking in this year, a fleet of camera-equipped drones is monitoring entrances into Mecca.”We use artificial intelligence and other tools like drones and thermal imaging cameras,” the director general of public security, Lieutenant General Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, told reporters.Meanwhile, the Saudi Special Forces for Roads Security said it was using “smart thermal imaging” to monitor the perimeter of Mecca and the holy sites.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday a US proposal for a nuclear agreement was against the national interest, amid sharp differences over whether Tehran can continue to enrich uranium.The longtime foes have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new accord to replace the deal with major powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.On Saturday, Iran said it had received “elements” of the US proposal through Omani mediators, the details of which have not been publicly disclosed.”The proposal presented by the Americans is 100 percent against” notions of independence and self-reliance, Khamenei said in a televised speech, invoking ideals of the 1979 Islamic revolution.”Independence means not waiting for the green light from America and the likes of America.”Iran’s enrichment of uranium has emerged as a major point of contention.Trump said on Monday his administration would not allow “any” enrichment, despite Tehran’s insistence it is its right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.Khamenei said enrichment is “key” to Iran’s nuclear programme and that the United States “cannot have a say” on the issue.”If we have 100 nuclear power plants but don’t have enrichment, they will be of no use to us,” because “nuclear power plants need fuel” to operate, he said.”If we cannot produce this fuel domestically, we have to reach out to the United States, which may have dozens of conditions.”The New York Times reported Tuesday that the US proposal includes “an arrangement that would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium at low levels” as the US and other countries “work out a more detailed plan intended to block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon”. It said the proposal would see the United States facilitating “the building of nuclear power plants for Iran and negotiate the construction of enrichment facilities managed by a consortium of regional countries”.Iran has previously said it is open to temporary limits on its enrichment of uranium, and is willing to consider the establishment of a regional nuclear fuel consortium.But it has stressed that such a consortium is “in no way intended to replace Iran’s own uranium enrichment programme”.Iran’s chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said in a Wednesday post on X: No enrichment, no deal. No nuclear weapons, we have a deal.”- ‘Less than satisfactory’ -On Monday, Araghchi held talks in Cairo with Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.In its latest quarterly report last week, the IAEA said Iran had further stepped up its production of highly enriched uranium.In a separate report, it also criticised “less than satisfactory” cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal but still short of the 90 percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.The reports came ahead of a planned IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna later this month which will review Iran’s nuclear activities.Washington and other Western governments have continued to accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Iran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes only.The 2015 deal provided Iran with relief from international sanctions in return for UN-monitored restrictions on its nuclear activities.Trump reimposed US sanctions when he quit the agreement in 2018 and has since tightened them with secondary sanctions against third parties who violate them.Britain, France and Germany, the three European countries who were party to the 2015 deal, are currently weighing whether to trigger the sanctions “snapback” mechanism in the accord. The mechanism would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance — an option that expires in October.Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on “forged documents” provided by its arch foe Israel.

A 24-year-old Franco-Moroccan man suspected of masterminding a series of kidnappings targeting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in France has been arrested in Morocco, France said.Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou was wanted by the French authorities and was the subject of an Interpol red notice for “arrest, kidnapping, false imprisonment or arbitrary detention of a hostage.”The suspect was arrested in the northern Moroccan city of Tangier, according to a statement from the country’s General Directorate for National Security carried by Moroccan state news agency MAP.France has been shaken by a series of kidnappings and attempted abductions targeting cryptocurrency bosses and their families in recent months, prompting one prominent crypto entrepreneur to call on authorities to “stop the Mexicanisation” of the country.”I sincerely thank Morocco for this arrest, which demonstrates excellent judicial cooperation between our two countries, particularly in the fight against organised crime,” French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said on X.A native of Le Chesnay west of Paris, Bajjou is suspected of being one of the masterminds behind the high-profile kidnapping in January of French crypto boss David Balland and his partner, according to French daily Le Parisien.Balland co-founded the crypto firm Ledger, valued at the time at more than $1 billion. Balland’s finger was cut off by his kidnappers, who demanded a hefty ransom. Last week French authorities charged 25 people, including six minors, over the series of kidnappings and attempted abductions.The crimes have become a major embarrassment for the French government and have sparked concern about the security of wealthy crypto tycoons, who have notched up immense fortunes from the booming business.In May, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau held an emergency meeting with cryptocurrency leaders, with the ministry announcing plans to bolster their security.edy-abo-anr-as/sjw/fg

The murder of a Tunisian man by his French neighbour in southern France, which is being investigated as a terror crime, has horrified the local community and raised alarm over rising racism in the country.Tributes poured in from shocked neighbours and friends mourning the murder of Hichem Miraoui, with more than a dozen bouquets placed outside the barbershop where he worked in the quiet town of Puget-sur-Argens.”I don’t understand why he was killed. Why all this hatred?” said Sylvia Elvasorre, a 65-year-old pensioner who lives next to the hair salon, tears in her eyes.Marwouen Gharssalli, 43, echoed her disbelief, saying his friend was generous and willing to lend a helping hand.”He even cut hair for free when people couldn’t pay… he regularly used to cut my son’s hair,” said Gharssalli, a welder in the southern town.A card signed by fellow shopkeepers said the death of Miraoui — remembered as hard-working and warm — would “leave a void”.Christophe B., a French national, shot and killed Miraoui, 46, on Saturday evening before injuring another neighbour, a Turkish national. The suspect, born in 1971, was arrested after his partner alerted police.He posted racist videos on social media both before and after the attack, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier.A silent march is planned in Puget-sur-Argens on Sunday to affirm the city’s “absolute rejection of hatred and our commitment to respect, tolerance and fraternity,” said a town hall statement.- ‘Complete impunity’ -The shooting followed the murder of a Malian man in a mosque in April, also in southern France, while the burning of a Koran near Lyon at the weekend has further fuelled concerns over rising anti-Muslim attacks in the country.”People are stunned that a racist crime like this could happen. This kind of thing is not part of Puget’s culture,” said Paul Boudoube, the town’s mayor.Miraoui was in a video call with family planning for the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, when he was shot”He was joking with our sick mother when I heard him grunt and the call ended,” said Hanen Miraoui, the victim’s sister.According to French daily Le Parisien, the suspect in Miraoui’s murder said he “swore allegiance to the French flag” and called on the French to “shoot” people of foreign origin in one of his videos posted on social media.Anti-terrorism prosecutors have taken over the investigation into the case, the first such racist attack linked to the far right to be dealt with as “terrorism” since their office was set up in 2019.”It means that investigative resources will be devoted to analysing the political motives behind this act and how this person became radicalised,” said the legal head of the anti-discrimination group SOS Racisme, Zelie Heran, who praised the referral.Following the murder, political and religious leaders have sounded the alarm over growing anti-Muslim acts in France, which increased by 72 percent in the first quarter, with 79 recorded cases, according to interior ministry figures.Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is taking an increasingly hard line on immigration issues, has faced accusations of not being firm enough against such crimes and even fuelling a racist climate.But he said on Tuesday that the killing of Miraoui was “clearly a racist crime”, “probably also anti-Muslim” and “perhaps also a terrorist crime.” Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, called on French President Emmanuel Macron to speak out. “It is time to hold accountable the promoters of this hatred who, in political and media circles, act with complete impunity and incite extremely serious acts,” said Hafiz.”Remind people of the reality that we are citizens of this country,” said Hafiz.France is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.There has also been a rise in reported attacks against members of France’s Jewish community since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023 and the Israeli military responded with a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip.France’s Holocaust memorial and three Paris synagogues and a restaurant were vandalised with paint on Saturday.

Syrian authorities insisted Wednesday they would “never be a threat” to anyone in the region, after Israel bombed the country’s south in retaliation for overnight rocket fire on the Golan Heights.Israeli media said the projectiles were the first launched from Syria into Israeli territory since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, with two unknown groups claiming responsibility.The Israeli military said “two projectiles were identified crossing from Syria into Israeli territory, and fell in open areas”. It later said it struck “weapons” belonging to the Syrian government in retaliation.Defence Minister Israel Katz held Syria’s leader “directly responsible”.Syria condemned the Israeli shelling as a “blatant violation of Syrian sovereignty” that “aggravates tensions in the region”.”Syria has never been and will never be a threat to anyone in the region,” the foreign ministry said, in a statement carried by the official SANA news agency.The ministry denied responsibility and said it could not confirm whether rockets were launched towards Israel, blaming “numerous parties… trying to destabilise the region”.There were no reports of casualties or damage on the Israeli side from the projectiles, which the military said triggered air raid sirens in the southern Golan Heights, a territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981.Katz said in a statement that “we view the president of Syria as directly responsible for any threat or fire directed at the State of Israel”.Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa led the Islamist group that spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad.Following Assad’s overthrow, Israel moved its forces into the UN-patrolled demilitarised zone in the Golan, and has carried out hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria.Israel says the strikes aim to stop advanced weapons from reaching Syria’s new authorities, whom it considers jihadists.- Escalation -A group called the “Martyr Mohammed al-Deif Brigades”, named after the Hamas commander killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, released a video it said showed the moment the rockets landed in the occupied Golan Heights.A second group known as the “Islamic Resistance Front in Syria” claimed responsibility for launching the two rockets at Israel. The group was created a few months ago and called for action against Israel from south Syria.AFP was unable to verify the authenticity of their claims.SANA reported Israeli shelling “targeting the Yarmuk Basin, in the west of Daraa” province.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said bombardments had hit farmland in the province, without reporting casualties.”Violent explosions shook southern Syria, notably the town of Quneitra and the Daraa region, following Israeli aerial strikes” overnight, the Britain-based war monitor said.Since taking over, Sharaa has said Syria does not want conflict with its neighbours, urging international pressure on Israel to halt its attacks.Analyst Bassam al-Suleiman said those benefiting from the escalation were “Iran and its militias”, former Assad allies with a past presence in Syria.A strong government in Damascus “apparently contradicts the Israeli vision for Syria” as a weak neighbour, he said.Israel’s recurring bombings of Syrian army infrastructure “hinders the emergence of a force capable of controlling all of Syria”, Suleiman added.Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948.US President Donald Trump last month lifted sanctions on Syria and expressed hope for eventual normalisation with Israel — though analysts say that remains unlikely.During a visit to Damascus last week, US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack proposed a “non-aggression agreement” as a starting point between the two countries.

A jihadist jailed over the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016 went on trial in Stockholm on Wednesday for his role in the 2014 capture and subsequent killing of a Jordanian pilot burned alive in Syria.The case is considered unique as the other jihadists involved in the brutal killing, which sparked international outrage at the time, are presumed dead, Swedish prosecutor Henrik Olin told AFP.Osama Krayem, a 32-year-old Swede, is already serving long prison sentences for his role in the Paris and Brussels attacks.He now faces charges of “serious war crimes and terrorist crimes” for his alleged role in the killing of the Jordanian pilot.On December 24, 2014, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria.The pilot was captured the same day by fighters from the Islamic State (IS) group near the central city of Raqqa and burned alive in a cage sometime before February 3, 2015, when a video of the killing was published, according to the prosecution.The gruesome killing was captured in a slickly-produced propaganda video that was one of the first such videos released by IS.The killing shocked Jordan, which was participating in the US-led coalition’s strikes against IS positions in Syria.”Osama Krayem has, together and in agreement with other perpetrators belonging to IS, killed Maaz al-Kassasbeh,” prosecutor Reena Devgun told the court on Wednesday.”Osama Krayem, in uniform and armed, guarded and led the victim Maaz al-Kassasbeh to a metal cage, where the latter was then locked up. One of the co-perpetrators then set fire to Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who had no possibility to defend himself or call for help,” Devgun said.Krayem, wearing a dark blue shirt and with a thick beard and long, loose dark hair, had his back to the handful of journalists and spectators who followed the proceedings on Wednesday behind a glass wall in the high security courtroom in Stockholm’s district court.He appeared calm as the prosecution laid out the charges.The pilot’s execution was filmed and released as part of a 22-minute video accompanied by a specially-composed religious chant.In the video, the victim is seen walking past several masked IS fighters, including Krayem, according to prosecutors.The pilot is then seen being locked in the cage, praying, as he is set on fire.Prosecutors have been unable to determine the exact date of the murder but the investigation has identified the location where it took place.- Eyebrow scar -Bringing the case to trial was the result of extensive cooperation with officials in Belgium, France and the United States, prosecutor Olin said last week when the formal charges were pressed.It was thanks to a scar on the suspect’s eyebrow, visible in the video and spotted by Belgian police, that Krayem was identified and the investigation was opened, Devgun added last week. Other evidence in the case includes conversations on social media, including one where Krayem asks a person if he has seen a new video “where a man gets fried”, according to the investigation, a copy of which has been viewed by AFP.”I’m in the video,” Krayem said, pointing out the moment when the camera zooms in on his face.The other person replies: “Hahaha, yes, I saw the eyebrow.”The defendant’s lawyer, Petra Eklund, told AFP before the start of the trial that her client admitted to being present at the scene but disputed the prosecution’s version.”He denies the acts for which he is prosecuted,” she said.”He acknowledges having been present at that place during the event, but claims not to have acted in the manner described by the prosecutors in the account of the facts,” she added.Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, joined the IS group in Syria in 2014 before returning to Europe in September 2015.He was arrested in Belgium in April 2016.In June 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison in France for helping plan the November 2015 Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed.The following year, he was given a life sentence in Belgium for participating in the March 2016 bombings at Brussels’ main airport and on the metro system, which killed 32 people.Krayem has been temporarily handed over to Sweden to participate in the Stockholm trial, which is scheduled to last until June 26.