Suspect in UK Parliament crash

charged with attempted murder

LONDON (AP) — A driver whose car collided with several people before crashing outside Britain’s Parliament has been charged with attempted murder, police in London said Saturday

The Metropolitan Police force said 29-year-old Salih Khater faces two charges — trying to kill police officers, and trying to kill members of the public.

Three people were injured when Khater, a British citizen originally from Sudan, hit a group of cyclists before colliding with security outside Parliament on Tuesday. Police say that was an attempt to murder police officers.

One injured person was treated at the scene and two were taken to local hospitals, where they were treated and released.

The crash came less than 18 months after an attacker plowed a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people, then fatally stabbed a police officer before being shot dead in a courtyard outside Parliament.

Saudi Arabia prepares for the annual

Muslim hajj pilgrimage

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia is preparing to host the annual hajj pilgrimage beginning Sunday, as over 2 million Muslim faithful are ready to take part in the ultraconservative kingdom.

The pilgrimage represents one of the five pillars of Islam and is required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life. In recent weeks, the faithful have arrived in Mecca from across the world, all chanting “Labayk Allahuma Labayk,” or “Here I am, God, answering your call. Here I am.”

The hajj offers pilgrims an opportunity to feel closer to God amid the Muslim world’s many challenges, including the threat of extremists in the Mideast after the Islamic State group was beaten back in Iraq and Syria and the plight of Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority.

“My feeling is indescribable to perform the hajj,” said Imad Abdel-Raheem, an Egyptian pilgrim. “I also want to pray for all Muslim countries, for them to live free in all places, in Palestine and in Burma, in all places, in Afghanistan and in India.”