Comment on Millions Bathe in Holy Rivers as India Hosts the World’s Largest Religious Festival

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, announced Tuesday that her cancer is in remission, nearly a year after she publicly revealed her diagnosis. “It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focussed on recovery,” she said in a post on X on Jan. 14. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Middleton first shared her cancer diagnosis in March 2024, saying that she began treatment in late February and was undergoing what she called “preventative” chemotherapy.

PRAYAGRAJ, India — Tens of thousands of naked Hindu ascetics and millions of pilgrims took dips in freezing water at the confluence of sacred rivers in northern India on Tuesday, in the first of a series of major baths in the Maha Kumbh festival, the largest religious congregation on Earth. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Holding tridents, swords, spears and small two-headed drums, ash-smeared Hindu holy men marched and rode chariots at sunrise toward the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers in the northern city of Prayagraj.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 18 people overnight, including six women and four children, health officials said Tuesday, as Israel and Hamas appeared to be narrowing in on a ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war and release dozens of hostages. Officials have expressed mounting optimism that they can conclude an agreement in the coming days after more than a year of talks that have repeatedly stalled. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels meanwhile fired a missile at central Israel, setting off sirens and sending people fleeing to shelters without causing any casualties.

PRAYAGRAJ, India — Millions of Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women from all across India flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj on Monday to kickstart the Maha Kumbh festival, which is being touted as the world’s largest religious gathering. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Over about the next six weeks, Hindu pilgrims will gather at the confluence of three sacred rivers—the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati—where they will take part in elaborate rituals, hoping to begin a journey to achieve Hindu philosophy’s ultimate goal: the release from the cycle of rebirth. Here’s what to know about the festival: A religious gathering at the confluence of three sacred rivers Hindus venerate rivers, and none more so than the Ganges and the Yamuna.

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation to avoid a revolt from his Liberal lawmakers amid over a year of disastrous polling. Parliament is now suspended until March and Trudeau will stay on until the Liberals pick a new leader. But while the country is entering a brief period of limbo, one thing is all but certain.

Health authorities allay hMPV concerns Bangkok PostWhat We Know About HMPV, the Common Virus Spreading in China The New York TimesHuman metapneumovirus (hMPV) infection World Health OrganizationHMPV: What to know about China's human metapneumovirus cases BBC.comChina in contact with WHO on respiratory diseases, foreign ministry says Reuters.com