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Pilgrims gather for Hajj amid sweltering heat
Deutsche Welle
15 Jun 2024, 09:02
Photo: AFP
More than a million Muslims from around the world have amassed around the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage.
More than 1.5 million people from across the globe gathered amid intense heat in and around the Saudi city of Mecca on Friday for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The event takes place against the backdrop of war in Gaza, which has sparked fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East.
What's notable about this year's Hajj?
People living in the coastal Gaza Strip were unable to visit Mecca for the Hajj this year because of the closure of the Rafah crossing to Egypt in May.
That happened in May when Israel extended its ground offensive to Gaza's southernmost city.
Palestinian authorities said some 4,200 pilgrims from the occupied West Bank had arrived in Mecca for the event.
Meanwhile, Saudi authorities said 1,000 more family members of Palestinians killed or wounded in the war in Gaza also arrived to take part in the Hajj at the invitation of Saudi Arabia's King Salman. Those guests were understood to have been outside Gaza when the crossing was closed.
The gathering this year falls during the hot Saudi summer. Officials have forecast average highs of 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit). Last year, large numbers of heat-related illnesses were reported.
This year's Hajj also saw Syrian pilgrims arrive in Mecca with direct flights from Damascus for the first time in over a decade.
Flights resumed after a thaw in relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria, with Riyadh appointing its first ambassador to Syria since it severed ties in 2012 under the shadow of the Syrian Civil War.
More pilgrims already living in Saudi Arabia were also expected to arrive in Mecca.
What is the Hajj?
The Hajj is one of the world's largest religious gatherings, involving a series of rituals that take days to complete.
As one of the "five pillars of Islam," all Muslims with the means and health to participate are expected to do so at least once.
Initially, the pilgrims perform the "tawaf," circling seven times around the cube-shaped Kaaba of the Grand Mosque — Islam's holiest site.
The climax comes on Saturday with prayers on Mount Arafat, where Islam's Prophet Mohammed is said to have delivered his final sermon.
Nearly 2.5 million Muslims performed Hajj in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic stopped religious and other gatherings globally.
The Hajj last year was the first since 2020 to be held without COVID-19 restrictions.
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Elon Musk’s AI Chatbot ‘Grok’ Ignites Healthcare Innovation Debate
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, is sparking widespread discussion in healthcare as users on X (formerly Twitter) experiment with its ability to analyze medical images like X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. Musk has championed Grok’s potential in diagnosing diseases, emphasizing its promising early results and his plans to enhance its accuracy through user data. However, this approach has raised serious concerns about privacy, data security, and ethics.
Grok has been tested on conditions such as brain tumors and bone fractures, with mixed feedback. While some users praised its ability to identify tumors, others reported errors, like confusing a broken bone for a dislocation. Experts argue these inconsistencies highlight the challenges of adapting general AI systems for medical use.
Privacy concerns loom large. Unlike regulated healthcare providers, X isn’t subject to stringent laws like HIPAA. Although the platform claims not to sell user data, its policy of sharing data with related entities has raised alarms about how sensitive medical information might be handled.
While AI holds transformative potential for healthcare, experts stress the importance of thorough testing and user education. Sharing sensitive medical data with non-regulated platforms demands careful consideration to balance innovation with safety and privacy.
ASEF Executive Committee Meeting Held in Singapore
The Executive Committee Meeting of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) concluded in Singapore on 22 November 2024 with a renewed commitment to further collaboration between the countries from the two continents, Asia and Europe.
The Director-General, Regional Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Md. Rais Hasan Sarower, NDC, as the current chair of the ASEF Board of Governors, led the discussion.
In addition to discussions on a wide range of administrative and financial matters, the executive body also provided directives to enhance the visibility of the organization and recommended exploring new funding mechanisms and ensuring data privacy and strategic upgrades to make ASEF more meaningful for member states.
The meeting also approved a project proposal for women, peace, and security training proposed by the Government of Latvia.
To complement the ASEM process, in February 1997, the 1st ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting welcomed the establishment of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). Based in Singapore, ASEF provides opportunities for Asians and Europeans to exchange ideas and collaborate, and achieve innovative and substantive solutions for common global challenges.
Bangladesh has been the Chair of the ASEF Board of Governors for the first time since January 2024 and the term will end in December 2024.
Notable Deaths of 2024
From Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to British actress Maggie Smith and US music titan Quincy Jones, here are some of 2024's most notable deaths.
February
4 February: HAGE GEINGOB, Namibia's President and its first post-independence prime minister, aged 82
9 February: ROBERT BADINTER, former French justice minister who ended capital punishment in 1981, 95
16 February: ALEXEI NAVALNY, the top opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is in prison aged 47, after over three years behind bars
29 February: ALI HASSAN MWINYI, former Tanzanian president, who introduced multi-party democracy, 98
March
1 March: IRIS APFEL, New York fashion celebrity known as the "geriatric starlet", 102
1 March: AKIRA TORIYAMA, creator of Japan's "Dragon Ball" comics and anime cartoons, 68
April
2 April: MARYSE CONDE, French writer, and chronicler of the lives of the descendants of Africans taken as slaves to the Caribbean, 90
8 April: PETER HIGGS, British physicist whose theory of a mass-giving particle -- the so-called Higgs boson -- jointly earned him the Nobel Physics Prize, 94
10 April: O.J. SIMPSON, ex-American football star acquitted in 1995 following the televised "Trial of the Century" of the murder of his ex-wife and her male friend. A 1997 civil trial found Simpson liable and he then served nearly nine years in prison for a bungled 2007 armed robbery, 76
30 April: PAUL AUSTER, American novelist who wrote "The New York Trilogy", 77
May
9 May: ROGER CORMAN, American B-movie filmmaker, 98
13 May: ALICE MUNRO, Nobel Prize-winning Canadian author known for her mastery of the short story, 92
June
5 June: AKIRA ENDO, Japanese biochemist who discovered cholesterol-lowering statins, 90
11 June: FRANCOISE HARDY, a French singer who shot to international stardom in the 1960s, 80
18 June: ANOUK AIMEE, French film star of Claude Lelouch's box-office smash "A Man and A Woman", 92
20 June: DONALD SUTHERLAND, Canadian actor of "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Hunger Games", 88
July
1 July: ISMAIL KADARE, Albanian novelist whose novels defied the communist
dictator Enver Hoxha, 88
13 July: SHANNEN DOHERTY, US actress of the high school drama series "Beverly Hills 90210", 53
19 July: NGUYEN PHU TRONG, general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, considered the country's top leader, 80
27 July: EDNA O'BRIEN, radical Irish writer whose first novel "The Country Girls" was burned and banned in her native country, 93
31 July: ISMAIL HANIYEH, Hamas political chief, killed in Tehran in an attack blamed on Israel, 62
August
14 August: GENA ROWLANDS, award-winning US actress and muse of her first husband, director John Cassavetes, 94
18 August: ALAIN DELON, French film legend known for his roles in classics "Purple Noon" (1960) and "Le Samurai" (1967), 88
September
11 September: ALBERTO FUJIMORI, Peru's former president, who spent 16 years in prison for crimes against humanity, 86
27 September: MAGGIE SMITH, Britain's double Oscar-winning actress, 89
27 September: HASSAN NASRALLAH, Hezbollah chief, killed in an Israeli strike, 64
28 September: KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, US country music legend, 88
October
9 October: RATAN TATA, Indian industrialist, head of the Tata Group, 86
10 October: ETHEL KENNEDY, human rights activist and widow of assassinated US politician Robert F. Kennedy, 96
16 October: LIAM PAYNE, a former member of the best-selling boys band One Direction, having fallen from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel, 31
16 October: YAHYA SINWAR, Hamas political chief, killed by Israeli troops, 61
20 October: FETHULLAH GULEN, a Muslim cleric and bitter enemy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in exile in the United States, 83
November
3 November: QUINCY JONES, US music industry titan, 91
24 November: BREYTEN BREYTENBACH, South Africa's award-winning writer and anti-apartheid activist, 85
Source: BSS
John Alfred Tinniswood, World’s Oldest Man, Dies at 112
John Alfred Tinniswood, celebrated as the world’s oldest man, passed away peacefully at the age of 112 on Monday in a Southport care home. A devoted Liverpool FC supporter, Mr. Tinniswood gained the title of the world’s oldest man in April 2024, following the death of Juan Vicente Pérez Mora.
Born on August 26, 1912—the year the Titanic sank—Mr. Tinniswood was acknowledged as the UK’s oldest man in 2020 and earned global recognition this year from the Guinness Book of Records.
A widower, he is survived by his daughter Susan, grandchildren Annouchka, Marisa, Toby, and Rupert, and great-grandchildren Tabitha, Callum, and Nieve. His family remembered him as wise, courageous, and eloquent, traits he displayed during his service in World War II with the Royal Army Pay Corps, where he oversaw logistics and accounts.
In 1942, he married his wife Blodwen, with whom he shared 44 cherished years until her death in 1986. After the war, Mr. Tinniswood pursued a career with Royal Mail and later as an accountant for Shell and BP, retiring in 1972. He remained active in retirement, serving as a church elder and delivering sermons at Blundellsands United Reform Church. His family shared that he passed “surrounded by music and love.”
Special Weather Bulletin on Cyclone Fengal
A deep depression located in the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjacent areas is moving further north-northwestwards. If the deep depression develops into a cyclone, it will be named Fengal. It may cross the north Tamil Nadu coast by Saturday (November 30) morning.
This information was revealed in the special weather bulletin (serial number 08) on Friday (November 29).
The Meteorological Department said that a deep depression located in the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjacent areas is moving further north-northwestwards and is located in the same area (10.5° north latitude and 82.6° east longitude).
It was located 1,655 km southwest of Chattogram Seaport, 1,600 km southwest of Cox's Bazar Seaport, 1,540 km southwest of Mongla Seaport, and 1,535 km southwest of Payra Seaport at 6 am today. It is likely to move further northwestwards and cross the north Tamil Nadu coast by Sunday morning.
The maximum sustained wind speed within 48 km of the center of the deep depression is 50 kmph, increasing to 60 kmph in gusts or squalls. The sea is rough in the area near the deep depression.
The seaports of Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Mongla, and Payra have been asked to hoist distant warning signal number 1. All fishing boats and trawlers in the north Bay of Bengal and deep sea have been asked to proceed with caution near the coast until further notice.
SSC Form Fill-up Fee Increased
The form-filling fee for students appearing for the 2025 SSC and equivalent examinations has been increased. According to the new decision, the fee for each category (Science, Commerce, and Humanities) has increased by Tk100 compared to last year (2024).
The form-filling process will start from next Sunday (December 1). This process will continue until December 9 without a late fee.
This information was revealed from the complete form-filling notification recently published by the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board. The same fee has been fixed for other general education boards as well.
According to the notification of the education boards, students will be able to fill out the form online from December 1 to December 9 without a late fee.
The last date for submitting the online fee without a late fee is December 10. If the form cannot be filled within this period, the candidates will be able to fill the form by December 14 by paying a fine of Tk100. The last date for submitting the late fee is December 15.
In addition, the fee for all categories has been increased by Tk100 compared to last year. Like every year, separate fees have been fixed for the Science, Humanities, and Business Education departments.
The maximum fee for students in the science department will be Tk2,240 this year. Last year, the maximum fee set for students in this department was Tk2,140. Similarly, the fee for the humanities and business education departments has been set at Tk2,120. Last year, i.e., in the 2024 SSC examination, this fee was Tk2,020.
The boards have informed us that this fee for filling out the form also includes practical tests and center fees. Moreover, no matter when the examination is held, no more than 24 months of salary and session charges can be charged to students in combined classes of 9 and 10.
Dengue Claims 47 Lives in A Week
The dengue outbreak in the country is not decreasing in any way. Along with the deaths, the number of infected people is also increasing. The pressure of patients in hospitals increasing.
According to the dengue report of the Department of Health, 47 have died of dengue this week (November 23 to November 29) and 5,968 have been admitted to hospitals.
According to the statistics of the last seven days,
November 23: 10 died, 886 hospitalized
November 24: 11 died, 1,079 hospitalized
November 25: 2 died, 934 hospitalized
November 26: 10 died, 990 hospitalized
November 27: 4 died, 888 hospitalized
November 28: 7 died, 837 hospitalized
November 29: 3 died, 354 hospitalized.
So far this year, 90,793 people have been hospitalized due to dengue. Of these, 87,281 have been discharged. 485 died.
Atiqur Rahman, a specialized doctor at DMCH said that dengue is no longer seasonal, it occurs throughout the year. It increases when it starts raining. In addition to using mosquito repellents to prevent dengue, the city corporation must also conduct campaigns everywhere. At the same time, everyone must be aware of it.
Entomologist Dr Manjur Chowdhury says that not only public awareness will work to control mosquitoes. Appropriate measures must be taken by conducting proper surveys and using skilled manpower.
It is worth noting that in 2023, the highest number of dengue patients in the country's history was 3,21,179, and 1,705 people died.
