- Colman to kick off Sundance as film world reels from LA fires
- Chief US diplomat vows 'unwavering support' for Israel
- Fire-hit Hollywood awaits Oscar nominees, with 'Emilia Perez' in front
- Nearly 200 Bangkok schools close over air pollution
- Daring attack pays off for Spain's Romo in Tour Down Under win
- Napoli host arch-rivals Juventus riding wave of Scudetto enthusiasm
- Alpine skiing: Five things about the Kitzbuehel downhill
- J-pop star Nakai to retire after sex misconduct allegations: media
- New rider in town: Somalia's first woman equestrian turns heads
- Melbourne doubles feud as Kichenok accuses Mladenovic of 'direct threat'
- Trump to take virtual centre stage in Davos
- Friedrich Merz: millionaire conservative on verge of German chancellery
- Pochettino happy after 'amazing' USA beat Costa Rica
- Most Asian markets extend AI-fuelled rally
- Bangladesh student revolutionaries' dreams dented by joblessness
- S. Korea investigators recommend Yoon be charged with insurrection, abuse of power
- Solar power surpasses coal in EU for first time
- Musk, Wikipedia founder in row over how to describe 'Nazi salute'
- Axel Rudakubana: troubled teen whose knife rampage shocked Britain
- Sasaki vows to 'give best' to fire-torn LA at Dodgers unveiling
- UK teen faces sentencing over murders that sparked riots
- Larry Ellison, tech's original maverick, makes Trump era return
- Trump push to 'drill, baby, drill' may hit industry roadblock
- Instagram courts TikTok stars during turbulent times
- Political crisis hits South Korea growth: central bank
- Elephants are not people, US judges say
- Sinner aiming to be 'better, stronger' in Australian Open semi
- Mass evacuations after explosive new fire erupts near Los Angeles
- The Now Corporation (OTC:NWPN) In Conjunction With Subsidiary Green Rain Solar Inc., Launch a Visionary Video Showcasing Solar Energy Solutions
- Guardiola concedes Man City 'could not cope' with PSG as European hopes flicker
- PSG push Man City to brink with stunning Champions League comeback
- Arteta wants sunshine break as Arsenal move towards last 16
- PSG comeback floors Man City as Arsenal near Champions League last 16
- As Trump declares 'Gulf of America,' US enters name wars
- Celtic make Champions League progress thanks to Young Boys own goal
- Trump's tariff threats are 'leverage,' says informal economic advisor
- Trump halts refugee arrivals in crackdown
- Gangs could overrun Haiti capital if aid falls short: UN chief
- PSG sink Man City with stunning Champions League comeback
- Leao sinks Girona and pushes Milan into Champions League top eight
- Feyenoord stun toothless Bayern in Champions League
- Arsenal on course for last 16 after beating Dinamo
- Real Madrid thrash Salzburg to get back on Champions League track
- Les Paul owned by guitar god Jeff Beck auctioned for over £1 mn
- Colombia moves to arrest guerrilla leaders behind wave of violence
- New explosive wildfire erupts near Los Angeles
- Valladolid say Man City tapped up young star
- Fear abounds as M23 fighters close in on DR Congo's Goma
- Sabalenka, Swiatek eye final showdown at Australian Open
- Hundreds to wed as Thai same-sex marriage law comes into force
Holy dips at India's giant Hindu festival come with challenge
For pilgrims at the largest gathering of humanity, ritual bathing in India's holy rivers includes a key challenge -- finding your family and clothes after the chilly dip.
Millions of people are expected to attend the Kumbh Mela festival in northern India, a six-week-long Hindu celebration of prayer and bathing that began before dawn on Monday.
Each morning, densely-packed crowds of men, women and children undress side-by-side in the foggy pre-dawn gloom along the wide floodplains around the confluences of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.
Sushila, a housewife in her sixties, who had travelled more than 500 kilometres (300 miles) from Bihar state, roamed the crowds in despair in wet clothes, looking for her daughter.
"I know she is somewhere close by," she said, peering through the tight-packed crowds, where a constant stream of pilgrims came to bathe. "I just can't see her".
The line of bathers stretches for several kilometres (miles), with the crowds surging forward to dunk their heads beneath the cold grey waters.
Devotees believe the dip brings them salvation.
But with many people without a phone -- or leaving it while they bathe with a friend they then lost -- finding your companions afterwards is a tough task.
The sheer size of the crowds is so great that even a single distracted moment can cause you to lose track of your fellow travellers.
Organisers boast that they are expecting a mind-boggling 400 million people to take part before its conclusion on February 26.
Loudspeakers mounted on poles boom repeatedly with desperate pleas of people searching for those with whom they had left their dry clothes.
An old man broke down on the microphone lamenting that he had nothing to wear -- urging his son to immediately meet him at the lost and found centre.
- 'Scared' -
Organising authorities issued a phone app boasting "multilingual AI voice assistance", but that is of no use to those without phones at all.
A network of "Lost and Found" centres are set up for pilgrims to reunite with their families, offering blankets to the pilgrims who arrive wet, shivering and nearly naked.
Temperatures before dawn hover around 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit).
Shyama, aged 60, who uses only one name, said her companion from her same farming village disappeared in the crowd. She has not been traced for over a day.
"I think she has left me and gone," said a distressed Shyama, her eyes welling up with tears, as she waited at a shelter for lost people.
"I have no money, know no one here, how will I ever go back home?"
Maiku Lal tracked down his wife Makhana after hours of searching, finally hearing her location broadcast over the loudspeakers.
"She scared us so much," said Lal, sporting a wide smile and holding his wife's hand.
Sandhya Sarkar, 45, said being lost in a strange place where she did not speak the local language made her regret her decision to come from her village in West Bengal, around 700 kilometres away.
"I would have never come had I known the fair was this crowded," she said. "My family must be going mad looking for me. It is a nightmare."
But many said that the effort to bathe in the holy waters was worth it.
"I felt tremendous peace -- despite the crowds," said Gopal Devi Shanti Gujjar, who had come from the western state of Rajasthan.
J.Oliveira--PC