Million-plus pilgrims begin Haj under blazing sun

More than a million pilgrims joined Islam’s most important rite under a beating sun on Wednesday, as the Haj kicked off with the Saudi hosts scrambling to avoid last year’s 1,000-plus deaths in sweltering heat.

With the temperature expected to top 40 degrees Celsius, robed pilgrims slowly circled the Kaaba at the heart of Makkah’s Grand Mosque.

State media reported that others had begun arriving in the sprawling tent city of Mina on Makkah’s outskirts where they will stay overnight before the Haj’s high-point on Thursday ...