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Essentials for the Hajj: From sunhats to shoe bags, a guide to gear Muslims bring to the pilgrimage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Straw hats, cross-body bags, and collapsible chairs: These are just some of the essentials Muslims bring to the Hajj pilgrimage.Spiritually, the five-day Hajj is awe-inspiring for the faithful, an experience they say brings them closer to God and to the entire Muslim world.Physically, it’s grueling. Pilgrims walk outdoors for hours in broiling heat around holy sites in Mecca and the surrounding desert. They are caught in unimaginable and overwhelming crowds, all trying to get to the same place. Barriers directing the traffic mean that if you miss your turn, you might walk hours more to get where you want to be.So the more than 2 million pilgrims don’t just learn the complicated rules of how to properly perform the rituals, which begin on Monday. They also pick up helpful hints and tricks of the trade to get by, learned from other hajjis — as those who have completed the pilgrimage are known.Here’s a look at what they say is essential gear.WHAT TO WEARDress...

Early vote count for Guatemala’s presidential election gives no indication of leaders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Electoral workers slowly tallied ballots across Guatemala late Sunday, and early counts gave no indication of which two candidates from a huge field of presidential contenders would advance to a runoff.While some isolated incidents interrupted the vote in some localities, voting appeared to have been orderly and peaceful in much of the country. Voters also cast ballots in hundreds of congressional and local races,Many Guatemalans had expressed disappointment with their presidential choices after three opposition candidates were excluded by authorities. A large number of null ballots were expected, and experts said it could depress turnout.Early in the count, with about 7% tallied, null votes led all candidates in the presidential race.With none of the 22 presidential candidates polling near the required 50% threshold for winning outright, a second round of voting on Aug. 20 between the top two finishers was almost certain. At a polling place in central Guatemal...

Haruki Murakami pleads for keeping Tokyo park and baseball stadium that inspired his writing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Author Haruki Murakami says he’s strongly opposed to the redevelopment of a historic and beloved Tokyo park district that would remove his favorite jogging path and tear down the nearly century-old baseball stadium where he was inspired to become a novelist. The plan approved earlier this year by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike to put skyscrapers and new stadiums in the heart of the Jingu Gaien green district has become increasingly controversial. Followers of baseball and rugby history are opposed to it, as well as conservationists and civil groups who say the project has advanced without transparency, adequate environmental assessment or explanation to the residents. The ball park and a neighboring rugby stadium used for soccer during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics would be demolished under the plan, and hundreds of trees would be removed from what’s been a Tokyo park district for centuries. When finished, the new stadiums will be surrounded by nearly 200-meter (650-foot) tall...

Russia mercenary threat revives concern over nuclear arsenal security

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

The Wagner mercenary group's march on Moscow has revived an old fear in Washington: what happens to Russia's nuclear stockpile in the event of domestic upheaval?An agreement on Saturday (24 June) by Wagner's boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to order his fighters back to their camps quelled immediate worries of major conflict inside Russia. But the episode signaled that Russian President Vladimir Putin's grasp on power is weakening.Images of tanks on Russian streets brought to mind the failed 1991 coup by communist hardliners that raised concerns about the security of the Soviet nuclear arsenal and the possibility of a rogue commander stealing a warhead, said former U.S. intelligence officials."The IC (intelligence community) will be super-focused on the (Russian) nuclear stockpile," said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer who oversaw the agency's clandestine operations in Europe and Eurasia."You want to know who has control of the nuclear weapons because you’re worried that te...

Toddler sickened after swimming in ocean at Stinson Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

(KRON) -- A Bay Area mom warned others about her daughter getting sick. She believes it's from bacteria found in the water at Stinson Beach last weekend.One mom brought her kids to Stinson Beach to enjoy the water. Over a week later, her ten-month-old is still sick."We have been going to Stinson Beach since I was six years old. Forever. Always gone there. Never had an issue," said one Bay Area mom.Mandy Carter brought her son there when he was a baby. On Friday, June 16, she brought her 10-month-old baby Blyss there for her first beach experience."Let her play in the sand she took a scoop full of sand. None of us could stop her fast enough. Didn't think anything of it. Got it out because sand is gross," Carter said.Little did she know, the day before the Golden Gate National Recreation Area put out a notice on Twitter. VIDEO: Cashier held at gunpoint during robbery at Oakland donut shop The Marin County Environmental Health Services put out an advisory about water from the central...

Muere un trabajador de un aeropuerto tras ser “ingerido” por el motor de un avión en Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

(CNN) — Las autoridades están investigando la muerte de un trabajador de tierra en el Aeropuerto Internacional de San Antonio que fue “ingerido por” el motor de un avión este viernes.“El viernes 23 de junio, el vuelo 1111 de Delta había llegado al Aeropuerto Internacional de San Antonio procedente de Los Ángeles y estaba rodando hacia la puerta de embarque con un motor cuando un trabajador fue ingerido por ese motor alrededor de las 10:25 p.m. [hora local]”, dijo la Junta Nacional de Seguridad en el Transporte en un comunicado enviado a CNN este domingo por la noche.La junta de seguridad dijo que sigue recabando información sobre el suceso.Un portavoz del aeropuerto dijo que San Antonio International está trabajando con las autoridades en su investigación.El motor de avión de American Airlines se incendió tras un posible choque con aves“Un accidente ocurrió en tierra en el Aeropuerto Internacional de San Antonio (SAT) el viernes por la noche que r...

Sarah Ferguson, duquesa de York, se somete a una operación tras serle diagnosticado un cáncer de mama

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

(CNN) — Sarah Ferguson, duquesa de York, se sometió a una operación tras ser diagnosticada de cáncer de mama, según reveló en un episodio de su podcast “Tea Talks” publicado este lunes.Durante el podcast, que fue grabado la semana pasada antes de su operación, Ferguson dijo: “Mañana voy a someterme a una mastectomía”.“Quiero que todas y cada una de las personas que escuchen este podcast se hagan un chequeo, se sometan a un cribado y lo hagan”, dijo Ferguson.Al parecer, Ferguson abandonó este domingo el hospital King Edward VII de Marylebone, en el centro de Londres, y se dice que se está recuperando con su familia en Windsor, según la agencia británica Press Association (PA).Sarah Ferguson publica las primeras fotos de los corgis de la reina Isabel desde la muerte de la monarcaSegún PA, un portavoz de la duquesa dijo: “A Sarah, duquesa de York, se le diagnosticó recientemente una forma precoz de cáncer de mama detectada en una mamograf...

The next big advance in cancer treatment could be a vaccine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The next big advance in cancer treatment could be a vaccine.After decades of limited success, scientists say research has reached a turning point, with many predicting more vaccines will be out in five years.These aren’t traditional vaccines that prevent disease, but shots to shrink tumors and stop cancer from coming back. Targets for these experimental treatments include breast and lung cancer, with gains reported this year for deadly skin cancer melanoma and pancreatic cancer.“We’re getting something to work. Now we need to get it to work better,” said Dr. James Gulley, who helps lead a center at the National Cancer Institute that develops immune therapies, including cancer treatment vaccines.More than ever, scientists understand how cancer hides from the body’s immune system. Cancer vaccines, like other immunotherapies, boost the immune system to find and kill cancer cells. And some new ones use mRNA, which was developed for cancer but first used for COVID-19...

Ross Chastain holds off Martin Truex Jr. to win at Nashville, 3rd NASCAR Cup Series victory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Ross Chastain has been criticized as reckless and too aggressive, a driver seen as giving no respect and not deserving any from competitors.His hard-driving style paid off Sunday night as Chastain held off Martin Truex Jr. to win the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, his first win in over a year and the third NASCAR Cup Series victory of his career.Chastain said everyone has to deal with criticism. His approach? Just keep working. “I got to tell you, a lot of self-reflection through all this, but I had a group that believed in me and they didn’t let me get down,” Chastain said. “And they bring rocket ships, and I just try to point them to victory lane.”This was Chastain’s first win since Talladega in April 2022, and he drove his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to the team’s first victory this year at its home track. Chastain had started on the pole for the first time in his career.Trackhouse owner Justin Marks said he talked with Rick Hendrick and Ro...

Will the UK ditch the ECT?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

Presented by SSE By CHARLIE COOPER and ABBY WALLACE PRESENTED BY View in your browser or listen to audioSNEAK PEEK— European countries are racing to leave the Energy Charter Treaty. Is the U.K. next?— A big annual review of world energy consumption dropped overnight and we’ve got the main findings. — Your start-the-week round-up of net zero news from the weekend’s papers.It’s Monday morning. Welcome to the new week and to POLITICO Pro Morning Energy and Climate UK. As always, please send all your thoughts, musings, tips and critique to Team MECUK: [email protected]; [email protected] and [email protected]. Or talk to us on Twitter: @hargraver; @charliecooper8; @abby_wallace3DRIVING THE DAYTREATY TENSIONS: Pressure is growing on the U.K. government to follow Germany, France and many other European countries in ditching a controversial international treaty that MPs and campaigners say has a “chilling effect” on...