Once a year, large numbers of Muslim pilgrims converging on Saudi Arabia unite in religious rituals and acts of worship as they perform the Hajj, one of the pillars of Islam. They fulfill a religious obligation, immersing themselves in what can be a spiritual experience of a lifetime for them and a chance to seek God's forgiveness and the erasure of past sins.

Here's a look at the pilgrimage and its significance to Muslims.

Saudi Arabia stopped more than 269,000 people without permits for the annual Hajj pilgrimage from entering Mecca, officials said Sunday, as authorities crack down on illegal journeys into the city.

The government blames overcrowding at the Hajj on unauthorized participants. It also says they made up large numbers of those who died in last year's searing summer heat.

The African Champions League soccer title stayed in Egypt with Pyramids winning the final Sunday just seven years after the club was renamed and moved to Cairo.

The president of African soccer's governing body Patrice Motsepe presented the trophy after watching the South African club he owns, Mamelodi Sundowns, lose the second leg in Cairo 2-1, giving Pyramids a 3-2 aggregate win.

Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange Monday after a six-month closure, as Syria's new leaders attempt to shore up the country's battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war.

The stock exchange had closed during the chaotic days leading up to the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Iranian, Egyptian and U.N. leaders met in Cairo on Monday to discuss Iran's nuclear program after a report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said that Iran is further increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said that the agency compiled the report, because Iranian's uranium enrichment was an ongoing concern for the IAEA's board of governors.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Monday for an independent investigation into the deaths of at least 31 Palestinians near a U.S.-backed aid distribution site in Gaza, after rescuers blamed the deaths on Israeli gunfire.

"I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," Guterres said in a statement. "I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable."

Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other 11 activists set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at "breaking Israel's siege" of the devastated territory, organizers said.

The sailing boat Madleen, operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine ended their latest peace talks Monday in Turkey after just over an hour, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian state media said.

Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelenskyy said both sides "exchanged documents through the Turkish side, and we are preparing a new release of prisoners of the war."

Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the occupied West Bank, a day after the government announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the Palestinian territory.

He said the move was a "clear message" to French President Emmanuel Macron, whom Israel's foreign ministry accused of carrying out a "crusade against the Jewish state."

European club soccer reaches its crowning moment with the Champions League final in Munich on Saturday. This season's showpiece pits French champion Paris Saint-Germain against Italian runner-up Inter Milan, with the former striving for its first ever European Cup title, while Inter is going for its fourth.

Success for PSG would make it the first French champion of Europe since bitter rival Marseille in 1993, and finally reward years of huge investment from its Qatari backers, who bought a majority stake in the club in 2011.