World
Hundreds Died During This Year’s Hajj Pilgrimage In Saudi Arabia Amid Intense Heat, Officials Say
Mecca, Saudi Arabia – Hundreds of people perished during this year’s Hajj trip in Saudi Arabia due to extreme heat at Islamic holy sites in the desert nation, officials said Wednesday, as people attempted to claim their loved ones’ bodies.
Saudi Arabia has not commented on the death toll during the trip, which is compulsory for every able Muslim once in their lives, or provided any explanations for those who died. However, hundreds of people had gathered at the Emergency Complex in Mecca’s Al-Muaisem neighborhood, hoping to find out what had happened to their lost loved ones.
One internet list claimed that at least 550 individuals died during the five-day Hajj. A physician who talked to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss information not made public by the authorities said the identities mentioned appeared authentic. That physician and another officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they estimated there were at least 600 bodies at the facility.
Hajj Pilgrimage | AP News iMage
Hundreds Died During This Year’s Hajj Pilgrimage In Saudi Arabia Amid Intense Heat, Officials Say
Deaths are not unusual during the Hajj, which has at times brought more than 2 million people to Saudi Arabia. There have been stampedes and epidemics during the pilgrimage’s history.
Each year, the Hajj attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from low-income countries, “many of whom have had little, if any, pre-Hajj health care,” according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of Infection and Public Health. Communicable illnesses can spread among the crowd, many of whom have saved their entire lives for their journeys and maybe elderly with prior health concerns, according to the article.
However, this year’s high mortality toll shows that something triggered the increase. Several nations, like Jordan and Tunisia, have already reported that some of their pilgrims died as a result of the heat that swept across Mecca’s sacred sites.
On Tuesday, the Saudi National Centre for Meteorology said that temperatures in Mecca and its hallowed sites hit 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit). Onlookers witnessed some people fainting while attempting to perform the symbolic stoning of the demon.
According to authorities, temperatures at Mecca’s Grand Mosque reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday despite the fact that pilgrims had already gone to Mina.
Hajj Pilgrimage | AP News Image
Hundreds Died During This Year’s Hajj Pilgrimage In Saudi Arabia Amid Intense Heat, Officials Say
Others, especially many Egyptians, became separated from their loved ones because of the heat and overcrowding. According to Saudi Hajj authorities, more than 1.83 million Muslims will undertake the Hajj in 2024, including over 1.6 million pilgrims from 22 countries and over 222,000 Saudi nationals and residents.
On Wednesday, at the Mecca medical complex, an Egyptian man slumped to the ground when he heard his mother’s name among the dead. He grieved for a while before grabbing his phone and calling a travel agent, shouting, “He left her to die!” The audience attempted to appease the man.
Security appeared tight at the compound, with an official reading out the names of the deceased and their nationalities, which included Algerians, Egyptians, and Indians. Those who claimed to be deceased relatives were permitted inside to identify them.
The kingdom’s ruling Al Saud family wields significant power in the Muslim world due to its oil wealth and control over Islam’s holy sites. King Salman, like previous Saudi rulers, has assumed the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, alluding to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, which houses the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray to five times a day, and the Prophet’s Mosque in the adjacent city of Medina.
Hajj Pilgrimage | AP News Image
Hundreds Died During This Year’s Hajj Pilgrimage In Saudi Arabia Amid Intense Heat, Officials Say
Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety precautions for those making the annual five-day pilgrimage, but the sheer number of people makes assuring their safety difficult.
Climate change could amplify the risk. According to a 2019 study conducted by specialists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, even if the world succeeds in reducing the worst consequences of climate change, the Hajj will be hosted in temperatures above an “extreme danger threshold” from 2047 to 2052 and 2079 to 2086.
Because Islam follows the lunar calendar, the Hajj occurs 11 days earlier each year. It will take place in April 2030, and in the following years, it will be held in the winter when temperatures are milder.
According to an Associated Press count, a 2015 stampede in Mina during the Hajj killed almost 2,400 pilgrims, making it the deadliest event to ever hit the pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia has never acknowledged the full scale of the catastrophe. A separate crane fall at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, which occurred before the Mina disaster, killed 111 people.
The second-deadliest occurrence at the Hajj was a 1990 stampede that killed 1,426 people.
SOURCE – (AP)
World
Hurricane Beryl Roars Toward Jamaica After Killing At Least 6 People In The Southeast Caribbean
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Hurricane Beryl roared toward Jamaica on Wednesday, leaving islanders rushing to prepare after the devastating Category 4 storm killed at least six people and inflicted substantial damage in the southeast Caribbean.
People in Kingston boarded up their windows, fishermen withdrew their boats from the sea, and workers demolished roadside advertising boards to safeguard them from the fierce winds.
Pauline Lynch, a Kingston resident, said she had prepared for the storm by stockpiling food and water. With the wind already whipping up a light rain, Lynch stated, “I have no control over what is coming, so all I can do is pray that all Jamaicans are safe and that there are no deaths or losses.”
Beryl | AP News Image
Hurricane Beryl Roars Toward Jamaica After Killing At Least 6 People In The Southeast Caribbean
A hurricane warning was issued for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. Beryl was expected to decrease slightly over the next day or two but remain at or near major hurricane strength when it passes near or over Jamaica on Wednesday, near the Cayman Islands on Thursday, and into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that the disaster zone declaration will stay in effect for seven days. He also declared an island-wide curfew from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Security personnel “will be fully mobilized to maintain public order and aid in disaster relief.” As soon as the cyclone passed, the security forces devised strategic preparations to prevent any potential threat of looting or other opportunistic crimes,” Holness stated.
An evacuation order was also issued for Jamaica villages vulnerable to flooding and landslides. Holness warned Jamaicans to avoid low-lying regions.
A hurricane watch was issued for Haiti’s southern and Yucatan east coast. Belize issued a tropical storm watch extending south from its Mexico border to Belize City.
Late Monday, Beryl became the Atlantic’s first Category 5 hurricane, reaching 165 mph (270 kph) on Tuesday before falling to a still-destructive Category 4. On Wednesday, the storm was approximately 75 miles (125 kilometers) southeast of Kingston. It had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) and was traveling west-northwest at 18 mph (30 kph).
Michael Brennan, Director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, stated that Jamaica appears in Beryl’s direct path. He asked citizens to locate a secure shelter and stay there until Wednesday.
“We are most concerned about Jamaica, where we are expecting the core of a major hurricane to pass near or over the island,” according to a briefing he gave online.
Jamaica is expected to see a storm surge of 6-9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 meters) over normal tidal levels and severe rains.
On Wednesday, Mexico’s Caribbean coast prepared for Beryl. The government has issued a hurricane warning for the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun.
The head of Mexico’s civil defense agency stated that Beryl is expected to launch a rare twin blow on the country. According to Laura Velázquez, the hurricane is forecast to land between late Thursday and early Friday on a rather unpopulated stretch of the Caribbean coast between Tulum and the inland town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Because the coast is primarily made up of lagoons and mangroves, there are few resorts or hotels south of Tulum.
As it traverses the Yucatan peninsula, the hurricane is anticipated to diminish to a tropical storm before reemerging as a storm in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. According to Velázquez, Beryl is likely to impact Mexican territory again, this time on the Gulf Coast states of Veracruz or Tamaulipas, close to the Texas border.
As Beryl plowed into the Caribbean Sea, rescue personnel in the southeastern islands spread out to assess the extent of the hurricane’s destruction to Carriacou, Grenada.
Officials confirmed three deaths in Grenada and Carriacou, as well as one in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Two further deaths were confirmed in northern Venezuela, while five people are missing, officials said. Beryl’s torrential downpour also affected approximately 25,000 people in the area.
Beryl | AP News Image
Hurricane Beryl Roars Toward Jamaica After Killing At Least 6 People In The Southeast Caribbean
The environment minister, Kerryne James, told The Associated Press that a tree fell on a house in Grenada, killing one. She claimed that Carriacou and Petit Martinique suffered the worst damage, with Carriacou losing hundreds of homes and businesses.
Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell stated on Tuesday that there is no power, roads are impassable, and the possibility of an increase in the death toll “remains a grim reality.”
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has pledged to reconstruct the archipelago. He stated that 90% of homes on Union Island had been demolished and that “similar levels of devastation” were expected on the islands of Myreau and Canouan.
The most recent powerful hurricane to reach the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan, which killed scores of people in Grenada 20 years ago.
Grenada nicknamed the “spice isle,” is a major supplier of nutmeg. Mitchell stated that most of the spices are planted in the northern portion of the island, which Beryl most damaged.
SOURCE – (AP)
NBC is bringing a version of legendary sportscaster Al Michaels back to the Olympics this summer, but with an unexpected twist: his voice will be powered by artificial intelligence.
On Wednesday, NBC said that it will utilize AI software to reproduce Michaels’ voice to offer daily Summer Games summaries to users of its Peacock streaming platform. This marks a significant milestone in the application of AI by a major media firm.
NBC | CTV Image
NBC To Use AI Version Of Announcer Al Michaels’ Voice For Olympics Recaps
The employment of an artificial intelligence voice for the Olympics comes at a time when technology has advanced dramatically, particularly in its ability to generate images, sounds, and text. This has sparked concerns in creative industries, such as journalism, regarding how artificial intelligence may—or should—be utilized.
A new tool, “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock,” will allow subscribers to create 10-minute highlights packages incorporating event updates, athlete back stories, and other related content based on their preferences.
The company stated that the highlights could be packaged in approximately 7 million distinct ways, based on 5,000 hours of live coverage in Paris, thereby making AI (artificial intelligence, not the guy) a far more efficient way to give individualized summaries.
“When I was approached about this, I was skeptical but obviously curious,” Michaels stated in a press statement. “Then I saw a demonstration of what they had in mind. I replied, ‘I’m in.'”
An NBC representative told CNN that Michaels is being rewarded for his participation.
A veteran broadcaster, Michaels is now the play-by-play sportscaster for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime. He is well noted for his work on earlier Olympic Games broadcasts for NBC and ABC and for announcing the Miracle on Ice Game at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
NBC | Fox Image
NBC To Use AI Version Of Announcer Al Michaels’ Voice For Olympics Recaps
NBC stated that the AI system was trained using previous NBC broadcast audio from Michaels.
The business stated that a team of NBC Sports editors will evaluate all of the content, including audio and footage, to ensure that it is factually correct and that names are pronounced correctly.
Beginning July 27, the highlights tool will be available on Peacock in web browsers and iOS and iPad apps.
SOURCE – CNN
Mount Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Japanese icon, has implemented new climbing limits in response to concerns about overpopulation.
Beginning July 1, climbers must pay 2,000 yen ($12.40) per person, and there is a daily limit of 4,000 climbers.
Mount Fuji | Japan Times
Japan’s Mount Fuji Implements Tourist Tax In Response To Overcrowding Concerns
“By strongly promoting comprehensive safety measures for climbing Mount Fuji, we will ensure that Mount Fuji, a world treasure, is passed down to future generations,” stated Koutaro Nagasaki, governor of Yamanashi Prefecture, when he announced the new laws earlier this year.
“To revitalize traditional mountain climbing from the foot of Mount Fuji, we shall get a thorough grasp of the Fuji-ko and Oshi cultures that fostered Mount Fuji worship. We hope to connect different civilizations through mountain climbing, which is steeped in religious cultural values.”
Fuji-ko is a religion unique to the mountains.
Human traffic bottlenecks, garbage-strewn hillsides, and poorly dressed hikers – some attempting the trip in sandals – are among the challenges afflicting the renowned Japanese destination.
In addition, new guides will oversee trail safety and notify climbers if they violate mountain etiquette, such as sleeping along the trail, making a fire, or wearing inappropriate attire.
According to prefectural data, five million people hiked Mount Fuji in 2019, up three million from 2012.
“Overtourism – and all the subsequent consequences like rubbish, rising CO2 emissions, and reckless hikers – is the biggest problem facing Mount Fuji,” Masatake Izumi, a Yamanashi prefectural government official, told CNN Travel last year.
In 2023, a volunteer named Tomoyo Takahashi told CNN that she planned to ask tourists to donate 1,000 yen ($6.20) to help maintain the mountain.
“Not everyone pays the 1,000 yen, which makes me sad. “There should be a much higher mandatory entrance fee so that only visitors who truly value Mount Fuji’s heritage come,” she stated.
Takahashi will finally achieve her wish.
Mount Fuji | CNN Image
Japan’s Mount Fuji Implements Tourist Tax In Response To Overcrowding Concerns
The new limitations, however, only apply to Yamanashi prefecture, which has the most popular hiking trails. Fuji is also located in Shizuoka prefecture, which has yet to have any tariffs or visiting restrictions. Governor Nagasaki told reporters that he and Shizuoka’s governor will meet at the end of the climbing season to swap notes.
Overtourism has become a major issue in Japan since the country reopened during the pandemic.
Locals in Kyoto’s historic Gion area have expressed concern over tourists flocking to photograph and sometimes harass the geisha who live and work there, giving them the term “geisha paparazzi.”
While the city has posted signs and boards urging visitors not to photograph geisha, several locals told CNN Travel that more is needed. The neighborhood council proposed issuing fines or penalties.
Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has also been hit. The little hamlet is notable for its orange “floating shrine” torii gate, part of a 1,400-year-old Shinto complex.
In October 2023, the town started charging 100 yen (62 cents) for visitors to the temple. The “tourist tax” funds the site’s maintenance and infrastructure.
SOURCE – (CNN)
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