AFP Asia Business

More than a million Muslim pilgrims poured into the holy city of Mecca ahead of the annual hajj, with authorities vowing to hold a safer pilgrimage amid searing desert heat and a massive crackdown on illegal visitors.Temperatures were forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) this week as one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings officially commences on Wednesday. The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means.As of Friday, more than 1.3 million pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the multi-day pilgrimage, according to officials. This year, authorities have mobilised more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, doubling their efforts to mitigate heat-related risks following a lethal heatwave in 2024 that left hundreds dead.Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square metres (12 acres), thousands more medics will be on standby, and more than 400 cooling units will be deployed for the duration of the hajj, Saudi Arabia’s hajj minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah told AFP last week. The latest artificial intelligence software will also help monitor the flood of information and footage, including video from a new fleet of drones, from across Mecca to better manage the mammoth crowds.Despite the punishing heat, pilgrims were overjoyed as they arrived in Mecca. – ‘A blessing’ -“This is really a blessing from Allah,” Abdul Majid Ati, a Filipino lawyer and Sharia counsellor, told AFP near the Grand Mosque.”We feel so peaceful and safe in this place.”Abdulhamid from Nigeria, said he was “very happy” to be performing his second pilgrimage in a row at just 27 years old.But the young man said he never walks out without his sunglasses, describing the temperatures in Mecca as “very, very, very hot”.The rites in the holy city and its surroundings fall again this year during the hot month of June.Last year, 1,301 pilgrims, most of them unregistered and lacking access to air-conditioned tents and buses, died as temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius.”They were caught by surprise because the intensity of the heat was so high that their adaptation measures failed,” said Fahad Saeed of Climate Analytics, a think tank based in Germany.In the run-up to this year’s hajj, Saudi authorities launched a widespread crackdown on unregistered worshippers — relying on frequent raids, drone surveillance and a barrage of text alerts focused on rooting out unauthorised visitors hoping to sneak into Mecca.Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota system and distributed to individuals by lottery.- Arrest and deportation -But even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs prompt many to attempt the hajj without a permit — though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.Along with hefty fines, those found illegally entering Mecca during the hajj face a potential 10-year ban from the kingdom. Large crowds at the hajj have proved hazardous in the past, most recently in 2015 when a stampede during the “stoning the devil” ritual in Mina, near Mecca, killed up to 2,300 people in the deadliest hajj disaster.Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam’s holiest sanctuaries in Mecca and Medina, earns billions of dollars each year from the hajj and from pilgrimages known as Umrah, undertaken at other times of the year.They also enhance the prestige of the Saudi monarch, who is known as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina.For Mariama, a 52-year-old pilgrim from Senegal, the journey to Mecca for the hajj has fulfilled a life-long dream.”I was dreaming about it, thinking about it every time to come here to do the hajj,” she said.

Six elderly people were injured Sunday when a man used a makeshift flamethrower to attack demonstrators in the US state of Colorado as they demanded the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.The FBI called the assault a “targeted terror attack,” identifying the suspected perpetrator, who has been taken into custody, as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, but providing no further details about him.The White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, posted on X that the man was a foreign national who “illegally overstayed (his) visa.”Police in the city of Boulder were cautious in presuming a possible motive for the attack, which multiple sources said was committed against Jews during a peaceful gathering.The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said on X that the attack occurred at Sunday’s “Boulder Run for Their Lives” event, a weekly gathering of the Jewish community in support of the hostages seized during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.”This attack happened at a regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event,” FBI agent Mark Michalek confirmed to reporters.”Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary into the crowd,” he said, adding that “the suspect was heard to yell: “Free Palestine!”- Molotov cocktails -In one video apparently of the attack, a shirtless man holding clear bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns.He can be heard screaming “End Zionists!” and “They are killers!” towards several people in red t-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground.Other images showed billowing black smoke.The six people injured were aged between 67 and 88, and had all be transported to local hospitals, Michalek said.Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told reporters that “at least one victim was very seriously injured, probably safe to say critical condition.”The suspected perpetrator had also been injured before being taken into custody, Redfearn said.He hailed the bravery of the responding officers, who “immediately ran into a chaotic situation where a man was throwing Molotov cocktails and using other devices to hurt people.”Asked if it was a terror attack against the protesters, Redfearn insisted it was “way too early to speculate motive” behind the violence, which took place shortly before 1:30 pm (1930 GMT).There had initially been reports of a possible second perpetrator, but Redfearn stressed that “at this point, we do not believe that there is an additional suspect at large.””We’re fairly confident we have the lone suspect in custody.”FBI chief Kash Patel immediately described Sunday’s incident as “a targeted terror attack,” while Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser labeled it “a hate crime.””People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences. Hate has no place in Colorado,” Weiser said. The White House said President Donald Trump has been briefed on the incident.- ‘Antisemitic attack’ -Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, voiced outrage at the incident.”Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border — it is already burning the streets of America,” he said in a statement.”Make no mistake — this is not a political protest, this is terrorism.”US Secretary of State Marco Rubio like Patel described the incident as a “targeted terror attack,” while lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle expressed revulsion at Sunday’s tragedy and said they were praying for the victims’ recovery.”Tonight, a peaceful demonstration was targeted in a vile, antisemitic act of terror,” top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “Once again, Jews are left reeling from repeated acts of violence and terror.Several organizations also decried the apparent hate-fueled violence.”Our community was targeted in a violent, antisemitic attack,” the Israeli-American Council said in a statement.”This is an attack on all of us — and we will not stay silent.”The Boulder violence comes almost two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect who shouted “Free Palestine” was taken into custody by police.

China said Monday it “firmly rejects” US claims that it had violated a sweeping tariffs deal, as tensions between the two economic superpowers showed signs of ratcheting back up.Beijing and Washington last month agreed to slash staggeringly high tariffs on each other for 90 days after talks between top officials in Geneva.But top Washington officials …

China ‘firmly rejects’ US claim that it violated tariff deal Read More »

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution site on Sunday, with both the group in charge of the site and the military denying any such incident took place.Israel has faced growing condemnation over the humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where the United Nations has warned the entire population faces the risk of famine after no aid was allowed to enter for more than two months.Israel recently eased its blockade and introduced a revamped aid mechanism in cooperation with a newly formed US-backed organisation, bypassing the longstanding UN-led system.The organisation, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), says it has distributed millions of meals since operations began last week, but the rollout has been marked by chaotic scenes at the limited number of distribution centres.Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that “31 people were killed and more than 176 injured… after Israeli gunfire targeted thousands of civilians near the American aid centre in Rafah”, in southern Gaza.AFP images showed Palestinians transporting bodies on donkey carts near the aid point as others carried away boxes and bags of supplies under the early-morning sun.Abdullah Barbakh, a 58-year-old Palestinian man, described “chaos” at the site.”The army opened fire from drones and tanks,” he said. “I don’t understand why they call people to the aid centres and then open fire on them.”Near another GHF aid centre in central Gaza, AFP images showed rescuers evacuating injured people. Bassal reported one dead and dozens wounded there, again blaming Israeli fire.The Israeli military said an initial inquiry found its troops “did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false”.”Hamas does everything in its power to undermine food distribution efforts in the Gaza Strip,” it added, urging the media to “be cautious with information published” by the group.A GHF spokesperson also denied any deaths or injuries took place, adding that “these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas”.- ‘Death follows you’ -Sameh Hamuda, a displaced 33-year-old from northern Gaza, told AFP he had walked from Gaza City and spent the night with relatives near Rafah before heading to the aid centre around 5:00 am to wait among a crowd of people.”Suddenly quadcopter drones opened fire on the people, and tanks started shooting heavily. Several people were killed right in front of me,” he said.”I ran and survived. Death follows you as long as you’re in Gaza.”At Al-Awda hospital in central Gaza, Umm Muhammad Abu Khousa told AFP her son was among those wounded near the other aid centre in Bureij.”You feed me and then you kill me?” she said from her son’s bedside.Victoria Rose — a British surgeon visiting Nasser Hospital where many of the patients from Rafah were taken — described in a video message from the facility a scene of “absolute carnage”, saying “all the bays are full, and they’re all gunshot wounds”.Speaking about the reported deaths to US broadcaster ABC, World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain said “our people are reporting the same thing on the ground”.”It’s a tragedy. And what we need right now is an immediate ceasefire, complete, unfettered access… to feed people and stop this catastrophe from happening,” she added.Only limited amounts of aid have entered Gaza since Israel eased its total blockade that began in March.The UN and the WFP have recently reported looting of some supplies, including by gunmen.On Friday a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency called Gaza “the hungriest place on earth”.GHF, which uses contracted US security, said on Sunday that it had distributed more than 4.7 million meals’ worth of food so far.The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the organisation, saying it contravened basic humanitarian principles and appeared designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, said on Sunday that Gaza “aid distribution has become a death trap”.”Aid deliveries and distribution must be at scale and safe,” he added in a post on X. “In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA.”- Truce offer -Nearly 20 months into the war, negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal have failed to produce a breakthrough.Since the last brief truce collapsed in March, Israel has intensified its operations to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.Hamas said it had responded positively — albeit with requested amendments — to the latest US-backed truce proposal on Saturday, but US envoy Steve Witkoff criticised the reply as “totally unacceptable”, an assessment echoed by Israel.Witkoff urged the group to “accept the framework proposal we put forward”.Qatar and Egypt, which have served as mediators in ceasefire talks throughout the war, emphasised in a joint statement the “importance of intensifying efforts to overcome the obstacles facing the negotiations”.Hamas said it was ready to “immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention”.Defence Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said he had told the army “to continue forward in Gaza against all targets, regardless of any negotiations”.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,149 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,418, mostly civilians.Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

British foreign minister David Lammy said on Sunday that Morocco’s autonomy plan for the territory of Western Sahara was the “most credible” solution to the decades-long dispute, reversing London’s long-standing position.Western Sahara, a mineral-rich former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but has been claimed in its entirety for decades by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which is backed by Algeria.Morocco has been campaigning for broad support for its autonomy plan after obtaining US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory in 2020, in exchange for the normalisation of diplomatic relations with Israel.”The United Kingdom considers Morocco’s autonomy proposal submitted in 2007 as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the dispute,” Lammy told reporters in Rabat.Britain previously backed self-determination for the disputed territory, which Morocco claims as an integral part of its kingdom.Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita welcomed the shift, saying the new British position contributed “greatly to advancing this momentum and promoting the UN path towards a definitive and mutually acceptable solution based on the autonomy initiative.”- Growing European support -Rabat’s push for support for its autonomy plan has seen success.Spain and Germany now officially back the Moroccan autonomy plan, while France last summer recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory.Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front and cut diplomatic relations with Rabat in 2021, said it “regrets” Britain’s decision on Sunday to support Morocco’s autonomy plan.”In 18 years of existence, this plan has never been submitted to the Sahrawis as a basis for negotiation, nor has it ever been taken seriously by the successive UN envoys,” the Algerian foreign ministry said in a statement.The United Nations considers Western Sahara a “non-self-governing territory” and has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991, whose stated aim is to organise a referendum on the territory’s future.But Rabat has repeatedly ruled out any vote where independence is an option, instead proposing an autonomy plan.”This year is a vital window of opportunity to secure a resolution before we reach 50 years of the dispute in November,” Lammy said.The foreign minister also said it encouraged “relevant parties to engage urgently and positively with the United Nations-led political process”.The ceasefire collapsed in mid-November 2020 after Moroccan troops were deployed to the far south of the territory to remove separatists blocking the only route to Mauritania — a route they claimed was illegal, as it did not exist in 1991.The UN Security Council is calling for negotiations without preconditions, while Morocco insists they focus solely on its autonomy plan.”The only viable and durable solution will be one that is mutually acceptable to the relevant parties and is arrived at through compromise,” added Lammy.In a joint statement, the United Kingdom noted that its export credit agency, UK Export Finance, may consider supporting projects in the Sahara as part of its commitment to mobilise 5 billion British pounds (approximately 5.9 billion euros) for new economic initiatives in Morocco.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution site on Sunday, with both the group in charge of the site and the military denying any such incident took place.Israel has faced growing condemnation over the humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where the United Nations has warned the entire population faces the risk of famine after no aid was allowed to enter for more than two months.Israel recently eased its blockade and introduced a revamped aid mechanism in cooperation with a newly formed US-backed organisation, bypassing the longstanding UN-led system.The organisation, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), says it has distributed millions of meals since operations began last week, but the rollout has been marked by chaotic scenes at the limited number of distribution centres, as well as reports of casualties from Israeli fire nearby.Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that “31 people were killed and more than 176 injured… after Israeli gunfire targeted thousands of civilians near the American aid centre in Rafah”, in southern Gaza.AFP images showed Palestinians transporting bodies on donkey carts near the aid point as others carried away boxes and bags of supplies under the early-morning sun.Abdullah Barbakh, a 58-year-old Palestinian man, described “chaos” at the site.”The army opened fire from drones and tanks,” he said. “I don’t understand why they call people to the aid centres and then open fire on them.”Near another GHF aid centre in central Gaza, AFP images showed rescuers evacuating injured people. Bassal reported one dead and dozens wounded there, again blaming Israeli fire.The Israeli military said an initial inquiry found its troops “did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false”.”Hamas does everything in its power to undermine food distribution efforts in the Gaza Strip,” it added, urging the media to “be cautious with information published” by the group.A GHF spokesperson also denied any deaths or injuries took place, adding that “these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas”.- ‘Death follows you’ -Sameh Hamuda, a displaced 33-year-old from northern Gaza, told AFP he had walked from Gaza City and spent the night with relatives near Rafah before heading to the aid centre around 5:00 am to wait among a crowd of people.”Suddenly quadcopter drones opened fire on the people, and tanks started shooting heavily. Several people were killed right in front of me,” he said.”I ran and survived. Death follows you as long as you’re in Gaza.”At Al-Awda hospital in central Gaza, Umm Muhammad Abu Khousa told AFP her son was among those wounded near the other aid centre in Bureij.”You feed me and then you kill me?” she said from her son’s bedside.Victoria Rose — a British surgeon visiting Nasser Hospital where many of the patients from Rafah were taken — described a scene of “absolute carnage” at the facility, saying “all the bays are full, and they’re all gunshot wounds”.”The ambulances haven’t stopped coming through the doors,” she added in a video message from the hospital.Speaking about the reported deaths to US broadcaster ABC, World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain said “our people are reporting the same thing on the ground”.”It’s a tragedy. And what we need right now is an immediate ceasefire, complete, unfettered access… to feed people and stop this catastrophe from happening,” she added.Only limited amounts of aid have entered Gaza since Israel eased its total blockade that began in March.On Friday a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency called Gaza “the hungriest place on earth”.GHF, which uses contracted US security, said on Sunday that it had distributed more than 4.7 million meals’ worth of food so far.The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the organisation, saying it contravened basic humanitarian principles and appeared designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, said on Sunday that Gaza “aid distribution has become a death trap”.”Aid deliveries and distribution must be at scale and safe,” he added in a post on X. “In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA.”- Truce offer -Nearly 20 months into the war, negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal have failed to produce a breakthrough.Since the last brief truce collapsed in March, Israel has intensified its operations to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.Hamas said it had responded positively — albeit with requested amendments — to the latest US-backed truce proposal on Saturday, but US envoy Steve Witkoff criticised the reply as “totally unacceptable”, an assessment echoed by Israel.Witkoff urged the group to “accept the framework proposal we put forward”.On Sunday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had told the army “to continue forward in Gaza against all targets, regardless of any negotiations”.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,149 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,418, mostly civilians.Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.