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Saudi says 1,301 deaths during hajj, mostly unregistered pilgrims
Saudi Arabia said Sunday that more than 1,300 faithful died during the hajj pilgrimage which took place during intense heat, and that most of the deceased did not have official permits.
“Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83 percent being unauthorised to perform hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
An AFP tally last week, based on official statements and reports from diplomats involved in their countries’ responses, put the toll at more than 1,100.
The dead came from more than 10 countries stretching from the United States to Indonesia, and some governments are continuing to update their totals.
Arab diplomats told AFP last week that Egyptians accounted for 658 deaths — 630 of them unregistered pilgrims.
The diplomats said the cause of death in most cases was heat-related.
Temperatures in Mecca this year climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Saudi Arabia’s national meteorological centre.
Riyadh had not publicly commented on the deaths or provided its own toll until Sunday.
On Friday, however, a senior Saudi official gave AFP a partial toll of 577 deaths for the two busiest days of hajj: June 15, when pilgrims gathered for hours of prayers in the blazing sun on Mount Arafat, and June 16, when they participated in the “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina.
The official also defended Riyadh’s response, saying: “The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks.”
– ‘Heat stress’ –
The Saudi health minister, Fahd Al-Jalajel, on Sunday described management of the hajj this year as “successful”, SPA reported.
He said the health system “provided more than 465,000 specialised treatment services, including 141,000 services to those who didn’t obtain official authorisation to perform hajj,” according to SPA, which summarised an interview he gave to the state-affiliated Al-Ekhbariya channel.
Jalajel did not specify how many deaths Saudi officials attributed to heat.
“The health system addressed numerous cases of heat stress this year, with some individuals still under care,” SPA reported.
“Among the deceased were several elderly and chronically ill individuals.”
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims with the means must complete at least once in their lives.
Saudi officials have said 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, a similar number to last year, and that 1.6 million came from abroad.
For the past several years the mainly outdoor rituals have fallen during the sweltering Saudi summer.
The timing of the hajj moves forward about 11 days each year in the Gregorian calendar, meaning that next year it will take place earlier in June, potentially in cooler conditions.
A 2019 study by the journal Geophysical Research Letters said because of climate change, heat stress for hajj pilgrims will exceed the “extreme danger threshold” from 2047 to 2052 and 2079 to 2086, “with increasing frequency and intensity as the century progresses”.
– Off-the-books hajj –
Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota system and distributed to individuals by lottery.
Even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs spur many to attempt the hajj without a permit, though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.
Saudi authorities said before the hajj that they had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca.
But the Saudi official who spoke to AFP on Friday said around 400,000 unregistered pilgrims took part, and that “almost all of them (were) from one nationality”, an apparent reference to Egypt.
On Saturday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered 16 tourism companies stripped of their licences and referred their managers to the public prosecutor over illegal pilgrimages to Mecca, Egypt’s cabinet said.
It said the rise in the number of deaths of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims stemmed from some companies which “organised the hajj programmes using a personal visit visa, which prevents its holders from entering Mecca” via official channels.
Unregistered pilgrims in many cases did not have access to amenities meant to make the pilgrimage more bearable, including air-conditioned tents.
Unregistered Egyptian pilgrims told AFP last week that in some cases they struggled to access hospitals or hail ambulances for loved ones, some of whom ended up dying.
In the wake of Biden’s trainwreck performance during last week’s election debate, US, and global newspaper editorial boards have started to seriously question the Democrats plan to keep him as their presidential candidate.
The first debate from the two presidential hopefuls occurred on Thursday, 27 June, and was not a good showing for Biden. Trump’s strategy became clear as the debate began, and that was to attack, attack, and then attack some more, even if, or perhaps especially because, he could ignore uncomfortable questions from the moderators while doing so.
Biden however was stuck on the old formula of debate from a more civilised time when questions of policy and the answers you had regarding them mattered.
However in this day and age of reality TV politics, the appearance of confidence and strength matters more than actual ability to govern. Biden’s slow and sometimes halting responses only played into current perceptions of his age and ability to continue leading the US.
Trump on the other hand, often ignored all questions outright while flinging attack after attack at the floundering president, barely any of which had a connection to truth or policies.
While Trump spoke falsehoods with confidence, Biden was contrasted negatively as he spoke haltingly and in a meandering manner, even with the facts on his side.
In the wake of the debate, editorials across the world have chimed in on their take on the matter.
The Washington Post
“If President Biden had weekend plans, he should cancel them in favour of some soul-searching. His calamitous debate performance on Thursday raises legitimate questions about whether he’s up for another four years in the world’s toughest job. It’s incumbent on this incumbent to determine, in conversation with family and aides, whether continuing to seek reelection is in the best interests of the country.”
“Always a better talker, Mr. Trump tried gamely to make the most of a bad record, while Mr. Biden struggled to speak with authority about a presidency for which he could claim more credit than he is getting.”
The Wall Street Journal
“Well, that was painful—for the United States. President Biden’s halting, stumbling debate performance Thursday night showed all too clearly that he isn’t up to serving four more years in office. For the good of the country, more even than their party, Democrats have some hard thinking to do about whether they need to replace him at the top of their ticket”
The New York Times
“As it stands, the president is engaged in a reckless gamble. There are Democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency. There is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Mr. Trump’s deficiencies and those of Mr. Biden. It’s too big a bet to simply hope Americans will overlook or discount Mr. Biden’s age and infirmity that they see with their own eyes”
“It should be remembered that Mr. Biden challenged Mr. Trump to this verbal duel. He set the rules, and he insisted on a date months earlier than any previous general election debate. He understood that he needed to address longstanding public concerns about his mental acuity and that he needed to do so as soon as possible.
The truth Mr. Biden needs to confront now, is that he failed his own test.”
“The clearest path for Democrats to defeat a candidate defined by his lies is to deal truthfully with the American public: acknowledge that Mr. Biden can’t continue his race, and create a process to select someone more capable to stand in his place to defeat Mr. Trump in November.”
In the aftermath
The conclusion that media across the world have come to, is that Biden needs to go.
Confidence in Joe Biden’s ability to prevent a second Trump term has dropped to an all time low, with many discussing who in fact could replace him as the democratic frontrunner. The only ones who remain confident are those in his campaign team.
Notwhere can be seen more clearly in the Guardians opinion piece, “It’s risky, but Joe Biden needs to give way to someone who can beat Donald Trump”, or in another even more bluntly titled piece, “The true losers of this presidential debate were the American people”
However, beyond things turning into a truly ugly scenario, it is unlikely that Biden will be forced to step down from his position as the democratic incumbent, nor has he given any indication he would do so willingly.
That has not stopped others from speculating on who could replace him, given a chance.
However it is important to know that should Biden step down, the democratic party could become a free for all as various democrats would compete for the nomination. However it is possible that if Biden were to step down, he could negotiate the right to have final say in who replaces him.
But who can replace him?
While editorial boards from media giants have raised doubts about Biden’s ability to handle a second term, media coverage has instead gone into how he could be replaced.
Under normal circumstances should a US president be unable to fulfil his duties it falls on his vice president to step in, however since this situation would require Biden to withdraw from the nomination, Kamala Harris would simply be another runner in the race.
Her position of VP would give her an advantage, but her low popularity would dull it. Currently polls show that her popularity is lower than both Biden and Trump.
Other potential challengers such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer or Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro were floated in discussions, says the BBC, however none of those candidates have declared a desire to supplant Biden.
The end result is that while everyone agrees Biden should be replaced, no one has been able to generate a consensus on who that replacement should be. Without that sort of unity within the party, it is unlikely there will be any change when the democratic candidate is locked in on 19 August.
Vietnam’s economy grew by more than six percent in the first half of 2024, government figures showed Saturday, as analysts said more reforms are needed to further boost the economy.
The global manufacturing hub saw an expansion of 6.4 percent in January-June, compared to 3.7 percent over the same period of 2023, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a statement.
The upswing was the result of “several measures” taken to improve supply chains, the foreign exchange market and public investment, the GSO said.
Industrial production was up 7.5 percent, while foreign investment increased by 8.2 percent compared to the same period last year, the new figures showed.
To maintain and promote growth, the government needs to focus on the key sectors of manufacturing and processing, logistics and hospitality, VPBank Securities analyst Duong Thien Chi said.
Policymakers should also take into account “unmeasurable variables” such as the US Federal Reserve’s moves on interest rate reduction, Duong told AFP.
The United States was Vietnam’s largest export market in the first six months of 2024.
The Southeast Asian nation earned $190 billion from exports over that period, up by 14.5 percent year on year.
Despite such improvement, an International Monetary Fund analyst said Vietnam “needs a new wave of reforms” following a visit to the country late June.
“Increasing productivity, further investing in human and physical capital, and incentivising private investment in renewable energy is key,” said the IMF’s Paulo Medas.
Vietnam is targeting growth of between six and 6.5 percent this year, up on the 5.05 percent seen in 2023.
War and funding shortfalls have hampered progress toward the United Nations’ flagship development goals which include action to combat climate change, the organization’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday.
In 2015, UN member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, 17 targets to transform the world by 2030 including by completely ending extreme poverty and eliminating hunger.
But Guterres said Friday that “the world is getting a failing grade.”
“Our failure to secure peace, to confront climate change, and to boost international finance is undermining development,” he told a briefing in New York, unveiling the latest progress check on the targets.
“We must accelerate action for the sustainable development goals, and we don’t have a moment to lose — only 17 percent of the targets (are) on track.”
Efforts to devote money and attention to the goals have been repeatedly set back, including by the Covid-19 pandemic, the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, worsening climate catastrophes and sharp increases in the cost of living.
While countries were lagging on progress in many areas, there were glimmers of hope in the reduction of new HIV infections, growing internet access, and the “booming” use of renewables, Guterres said.
But “the denial of basic needs for so many is outrageous and inexcusable,” he said.
Guterres said action to bring peace to the major conflicts raging globally coupled with efforts towards a green transition were needed.
“It means multiplying the lending capacity of multilateral development banks to provide more resources for climate action and sustainable development,” he added.
