Stonehenge vandalised, deadly heat at hajj, Ecuador's blackout crisis

It happened while you were sleeping. Here’s what the world agencies noted from Wednesday night to Thursday.

• Activists from the Just Stop Oil organization, which claims to fight climate change, sprayed orange paint on the megaliths forming one of the most famous landmarks in Great Britain — the Stonehenge stone circle. The video shows two individuals running up to the megaliths and using pressurised canisters to spray orange powder paint on them. Stonehenge is one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in the world, consisting of earthworks surrounding a large ensemble of standing stones. Located in southern England, the circle, estimated to have been built between 3000 and 2000 B.C., has been protected in Great Britain since 1882 and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1986.

• Over 900 participants of this year’s pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca in Saudi Arabia died during the ceremonies, mainly due to heat reaching 52°C; the majority of the victims are Egyptian citizens, reported AFP. Earlier reports mentioned 550 fatalities. According to AFP, citing data from the Al-Muaisem hospital morgue in Mecca, the majority of the 922 deceased succumbed to the heat. “All of them died due to the heat,” an Arab diplomat stated. So far, at least 60 Jordanians have also been reported dead. French media reported that among the 600 Egyptian victims, many pilgrims came to Mecca, avoiding official registration and thus not having access to air-conditioned spaces. An anonymous diplomat who contacted AFP said that 68 Indian citizens are among the dead.

• Ecuador plunged into darkness following a "cascading" power grid failure. It started in the country's capital, Quito, and by Wednesday evening, electricity began to "fail" in other cities until, even before nightfall, power disappeared from the entire country’s electric grid.

• The Russian missile cruiser Varyag and the frigate Admiral Shaposhnikov, escorted by two submarines, arrived at the port of Tobruk in eastern Libya, reported the Libyan naval forces staff, cooperating with the regime of General Khalifa Haftar, who opposes the Western-recognised government in Tripoli, on Tuesday on Facebook.