Muslim pilgrims have gathered in the valley of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for a day of prayer that marks the pinnacle of the annual hajj.   Some 2 million pilgrims packed shoulder to shoulder early Monday for an emotional day of repentance and supplication.  It was on this day some 1,400 years ago that Islam’s Prophet Muhammad is said ...

In this April 23, 2018, file photo a car is filled with gasoline at a station in Windham, N.H. Washington, Aug 20 : Conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative for the U.S., the Trump administration declares in a major new policy statement that threatens to undermine decades of government campaigns for gas-thrifty cars and other conservation programs. The ...

In this May 23, 2017, file photo former CIA Director John Brennan testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the House Intelligence Committee Russia Investigation Task Force. Washington, Aug 20 :  Former CIA Director John Brennan said Sunday that he is considering taking legal action to try to prevent President Donald Trump from stripping other current and former officials’ security ...

A view of the partially collapsed Morandi highway bridge, in Genoa, Italy, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018. The unofficial death toll in Tuesday’s collapse rose to 43 Saturday. Rome, Aug 20 : The Italian engineer who designed the Genoa bridge that collapsed and killed dozens warned four decades ago that it would require constant maintenance to remove rust given the effects ...

In this June 16, 2018 file photo, Taliban fighters gather with residents to celebrate a three-day cease fire marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, in Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan. Kabul, Aug 20 : Afghan officials say the Taliban have taken more than 100 people, including women and children, hostage in an ambush in the country’s north. This ...

In this July 30, 2018, file photo, Indonesian soldiers and rescue team gather to prepare for evacuating tourists from Mount Rinjani, seen in the background, at Sembalun in East Lombok, Indonesia. Sembalun, Aug 20 : Multiple strong earthquakes killed at least a dozen people on the Indonesian islands of Lombok and Sumbawa as the region was trying to recover from ...

London, Aug 19 : The co-founder of the fashion brand Superdry said Sunday he has donated 1 million pounds ($1.28 million) to a group seeking a new referendum on Britain’s departure from the European Union, as the U.K. government prepares to publish its assessment of the impact of leaving the bloc without an agreement on future relations. Julian Dunkerton, whose ...

The death toll due to the devastating rains and floods in Kerala has mounted to 370, as two more deaths were reported on Sunday with rescue operations continuing in the worst affected districts of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur. Authorities also withdrew the red alert which was issued in these three districts and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted ...

Mesa, Aug  19 : A baby boom is brewing at a suburban Arizona hospital where 16 intensive care nurses recently discovered they are all pregnant. The nurses at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa outside Phoenix joked Friday they thought there was something in the water when it became clear they were all expecting babies between October and January. Nurse ...

Muslim pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, before leaving for the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, early Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018. Mecca, Aug 19 :  More than 2 million Muslims have begun the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. From first light Sunday, throngs of the faithful have circled the ...