Saudi Arabia has barred more than 269,000 people without permits for the annual Hajj pilgrimage from entering Mecca this week, authorities said, as the world's largest annual gathering of people has officially begun.

A Saudi government spokesperson says more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims are in the country for this year's Hajj.

The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia has begun. It’s required once in a lifetime by every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to make it. The Hajj, one