International
Millions of People Arrive in Saudi Arabia for hajj amid heat

Massive crowds of worshippers have thronged Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on Friday for the biggest hajj pilgrimage in years, with more than two million expected to brave the scorching Saudi Arabian heat.
Pilgrims in white robes and sandals packed the ancient city, now dotted with luxury hotels and air-conditioned shopping malls, after flooding in on planes, buses, and trains for the annual rites.
This year’s hajj – one of the world’s biggest annual religious gatherings, with a tragic history of stampedes and other disasters – could break attendance records, officials said.
“As the hajj draws near, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prepares… for the largest Islamic gathering in history,” Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said in a video published by the ministry this week.
Rites include circling the Kaaba, the large black cube in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, praying on Mount Arafat and “stoning the devil” by throwing pebbles at three giant concrete walls representing Satan.
More than two million people from more than 160 countries will attend, Rabiah said – a dramatic increase on the 926,000 from last year, when numbers were capped at one million post-pandemic.
In 2019, about 2.5 million people took part. Only 10,000 were allowed in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, rising to nearly 59,000 a year later.
The hajj is among the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives.
– ‘Unbelievable feeling’ –
Travellers from around the world have been pouring into Jeddah’s modernised airport, some of them using streamlined visa services to disembark from planes straight onto buses to their accommodation.
Some 24,000 buses will be in service to ferry the pilgrims, as well as 17 trains capable of moving 72,000 people every hour, officials said.
“It is an unbelievable feeling that is very emotional,” Souad bin Oueis, a 60-year-old Moroccan pilgrim, told AFP after arriving on her first visit to Saudi Arabia along with her husband.
This hajj will be the biggest since the requirement for women to be accompanied by male guardians was dropped in 2021.
This year, the maximum age limit has also been scrapped, meaning thousands of elderly will be among those contending with Saudi summer temperatures that are expected to reach 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit).
International
What is the Strait of Hormuz and why is it so important for oil?
OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.

(BBC) – Iran’s top security body must make the final decision on whether to close the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian TV said on Sunday, after parliament reportedly backed the measure in response to U.S. strikes on several of Tehran’s nuclear sites.Iran has in the past threatened to close the strait but has never followed through on the move, which would restrict trade and impact global oil prices.
Below are details about the strait:
WHAT IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ?The strait lies between Oman and Iran and links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond.It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just 2 miles (3 km) wide in either direction.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
About a fifth of the world’s total oil consumption passes through the strait. Between the start of 2022 and last month, somewhere between 17.8 million and 20.8 million barrels of crude, condensate and fuels flowed through the strait daily, data from analytics firm Vortexa showed.
OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have sought to find other routes to bypass the strait.
About 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of unused capacity from existing UAE and Saudi pipelines could be available to bypass Hormuz, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in June last year.
Qatar, among the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas exporters, sends almost all of its LNG through the strait.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, is tasked with protecting commercial shipping in the area.
HISTORY OF TENSIONS
In 1973, Arab producers led by Saudi Arabia slapped an oil embargo on Western supporters of Israel in its war with Egypt.
While Western countries were the main buyers of crude produced by the Arab countries at the time, nowadays Asia is the main buyer of OPEC’s crude.
International
See the 9 countries with the most nuclear weapons

Donald Trump, the United States President yesterday announced the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, marking a dramatic military escalation that effectively signaled Washington’s entry into Israel’s war against Iran.
Trump said: “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
In a televised address, he described the strikes as a “spectacular military success.
”The U.S. intervention has heightened fears of a broader regional conflict, reviving memories of the devastation in Iraq following the 2003 invasion.
Israel’s initial strikes on June 13 targeted Iran’s key nuclear infrastructure and top military commanders, killing over 400 people.
Tehran’s retaliatory attacks have so far left at least 24 dead in Israel.
While Iran’s nuclear programme appears significantly degraded, global attention now shifts back to the nations that already possess nuclear weapons — countries whose arsenals shape the world’s balance of power.
As of this year 2025, nine countries officially or unofficially possess nuclear weapons, each with distinct strategic aims and geopolitical influence.
Here are Nine countries that own the most nuclear weapons globally:
1. Russia (~5,889)
2. United States (~5,244)
3. China (~500+)
4. France (~290)
5. United Kingdom (~225)
6. Pakistan (~170)
7. India (~164)
8. Israel (~90)
9. North Korea (~30–50)
International
US asks China to stop Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz
China in particular is the world’s largest buyer of Iranian oil and has a close relationship with Tehran.

Getty Image: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on China to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
His comments came after Iran’s state-run Press TV reported that their parliament had approved a plan to close the Strait but added that the final decision lies with the Supreme National Security Council.
Any disruption to the supply of oil would have profound consequences for the global economy.
China in particular is the world’s largest buyer of Iranian oil and has a close relationship with Tehran.
Oil prices have surged following the US’ attack, with the price of the benchmark Brent crude reaching its highest level in five months.
“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them (Iran) about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” Marco Rubio had said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
“If they [close the Straits]… it will be economic suicide for them.
And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours.
“Around 20% of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, with major oil and gas producers in the Middle East using the waterway to transport energy from the region.”
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