Muslims start pilgrimage

– More than two million Muslims from around the globe started the hajj pilgrimage yesterday in Saudi Arabia.

The ultra-conservative kingdom has mobilised vast resources for the sixday journey, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Tens of thousands of security personnel have been deployed for the pilgrimage, which was struck by its worst disaster yet three years ago, when 2 300 worshippers were crushed to death in a stampede. –