Hajj Toll

A man affected by the scorching heat is helped by another Muslim pilgrim and police officer the site of the symbolic ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina on Sunday. The death toll from this year’s hajj has exceeded 1,000, an AFP tally said Thursday, more than half of them unregistered worshippers who performed the pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia. All told, around 10 countries have reported 1,081 deaths during the annual pilgrimage. AFP