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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia said Tuesday pilgrims can expect average high temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) during the Hajj, which last year saw thousands of cases of heat stress.

“The expected climate for Hajj this year will witness an increase in average temperatures of 1½  to 2 degrees above normal in Mecca and Medina,” national meteorology center chief Ayman Ghulam told a press conference.

The forecast indicates “relative humidity 25%, rain rates close to zero, average maximum temperature 44 degrees,” he said.

The Hajj, which begins on June 14, is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken at least once by all Muslims who have the means to do so.

It involves a series of rites completed over four days in Mecca and its surroundings in the west of oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Last year more than 1.8 million Muslims took part in the Hajj, official figures showed.

More than 2,000 people suffered heat stress, according to Saudi authorities, after temperatures soared to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit).

The real number of heat stress cases — which includes heatstroke, exhaustion, cramps and rashes — was probably far higher, as many sufferers were not admitted to hospitals or clinics.

At least 240 people — many from Indonesia — died during the pilgrimage, according to figures announced by various countries that did not specify causes of death.

Saudi Arabia did not provide statistics on fatalities.

Officials in the kingdom take steps to try to mitigate the effects of heat, including providing air-conditioned tents and misting systems.

Ghulam told Tuesday’s press conference there was “a need for sufficient quantities of water to cover daily consumption as temperatures rise.”

He also said food for pilgrims should be transported in refrigerators so it does not spoil.
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Los Angeles — How does it feel for Mick Jagger to be back on tour singing, dancing and strutting across stadium concert stages at 80 years old?

“Like being on stage at 78,” the Rolling Stones frontman, who has thrilled audiences for more than six decades, said a day after playing a packed show outside Boston.

“It took a couple of shows to get into the groove, but now we’re into it,” Jagger said. “I’m feeling good.”

He sang “What a drag it is getting old,” back in the 1960s. But Jagger, who turns 81 on July 26, is still having a blast and has no plans to stop rocking anytime soon.

Now swinging through the U.S. on the “Hackney Diamonds” tour, the group will look at opportunities to play in other countries next year, Jagger said in an interview.

“We’ll consider those offers, where we’re going to go and where it will be fun, you know?” he said. “It could be Europe, could be South America, could be anywhere.”

Jagger also said the Stones are likely to release more new music soon.  

The current tour is named for the critically praised album the Stones debuted last October, the first new material from the British rockers in 18 years.

At each stop, Jagger commands the stage for two hours with bandmates Keith Richards, 80, and Ronnie Wood, 77. Fans say Jagger still delivers a vigorous performance full of gyrating, stomping, sprinting and his world-famous swagger.

In a review titled “The Rolling Stones Really Might Never Stop,” the New York Times said Jagger, at a show at a football stadium in New Jersey, seemed to get more energetic as the night went on.

Where does he find such energy?

“I just enjoy it,” Jagger said. “Really, that’s the answer. I just love doing it.

“You get this back and forth with the audience. You can see they’re having a good time, you’re having a good time, and it gives you a lot more energy.”

Music legends may join Jagger

Jagger said he stays fit by doing two dance rehearsals and a few gym workouts each week. His father was a physical education teacher and Jagger has often credited his good health to genetics.

On the tour, the Stones play about four songs from “Hackney Diamonds” in between rock classics such as “Start Me Up,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Sympathy for the Devil.” The set list is tweaked for each stop.

Fans appear to have embraced the new music, Jagger said. He sees people in the crowd singing along to the words.

Coming up, Jagger said he hopes to be joined on stage by some of the music legends who made guest appearances on “Hackney Diamonds” – Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and Elton John – but said he does not yet have commitments. “It’s hard pinning them down,” he said.

The Stones recorded many songs that did not make it onto “Hackney Diamonds,” which may lead to another album, Jagger said.

“We’ve got a lot more, so I think we may be set up to make another album quite soon,” he said.

Outside of music, Jagger is producing a film about the love story between jazz musician Miles Davis and French actress and singer Juliette Greco, as well as a movie adaptation of “The Real Thing,” a play by British playwright Tom Stoppard.

Jagger has appeared on screen in about a dozen films and TV shows and said he would like to do more acting. “I don’t really get that many interesting offers, to be honest,” he said. “I enjoy doing it when I do it.”

Interest in U.S. elections

On the tour, the band asks ticket holders at each stop to vote on one song to be included in that night’s show. Boston fans chose 1980 track “Emotional Rescue” in the online poll, which had a turnout of roughly 80%.

Jagger used the moment to urge the audience to vote in the U.S. presidential election in November.

He did not say which candidate he preferred, but the band has threatened to sue likely Republican nominee Donald Trump if his campaign keeps playing the Stones hit “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at events.

Jagger has made brief political jabs on stage and occasionally receives flack as a Brit commenting on American politics.

“First of all, I think everyone has a right to have an opinion,” Jagger said. “It’s a free country.”

“I feel like it’s such an important election,” he added.

“I’ve got seven children who are U.S. citizens. I care about what happens to their future. And I pay a lot of American taxes. So why shouldn’t I be able to say what I feel?”
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ORAN, Algeria — Algeria wants to lure more visitors to the cultural and scenic treasures of Africa’s largest country, shedding its status as a tourism backwater and expanding a sector outshone by competitors in neighboring Morocco and Tunisia.  

The giant north African country offers Roman and Islamic sites, beaches and mountains just an hour’s flight from Europe, and haunting Saharan landscapes, where visitors can sleep on dunes under the stars and ride camels with Tuareg nomads.  

But while tourist-friendly Morocco welcomed 14.5 million visitors in 2023, bigger, richer Algeria hosted just 3.3 million foreign tourists, according the tourism ministry.  

About 1.2 million of those holiday-makers were Algerians from the diaspora visiting families.  

The lack of travelers is testimony to Algeria’s neglect of a sector that remains one of world tourism’s undiscovered gems.  

As Algeria’s oil and gas revenues grew in the 1960s and 70s, successive governments lost interest in developing mass tourism. A descent into political strife in the 1990s pushed the country further off the beaten track.  

But while security is now much improved, Algeria needs to tackle an inflexible visa system and poor transport links, as well as grant privileges to local and foreign private investors to enable tourism to flourish, analysts say.  

Saliha Nacerbay, General Director of the National Tourism Office, outlined plans to attract 12 million tourists by 2030 – an ambitious fourfold increase.  

“To achieve this, we, as the tourism and traditional industry sector, are seeking to encourage investments, provide facilities to investors, build tourist and hotel facilities,” she said, speaking at the International Tourism and Travel Fair, hosted in Algiers from May 30 to June 2.  

Algeria has plans to build hotels and restructure and modernize existing ones. The tourism ministry said that about 2,000 tourism projects have been approved so far, 800 of which are currently under construction.  

The country is also restoring its historical sites, with 249 locations earmarked for tourism expansion. Approximately 70 sites have been prepared, and restoration plans are underway for 50 additional sites, officials said.  

French tourist Patrick Lebeau emphasized the need to improve infrastructure to fully realize Algeria’s tourism prospects.  

“Obviously, there is a lot of tourism potential, but much work still needs to be done to attract us,” Lebeau said.  

Tourism and travel provided 543,500 jobs in Algeria in 2021, according to the Statista website. In contrast, tourism professionals in Morocco estimate the sector provides 700,000 direct jobs in the kingdom, and many more jobs indirectly.
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