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FILE - People protest as Pope Francis meets young people and elders at Nakasuk Elementary School Square in Iqaluit, Canada, July 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

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Maasai children sit in a circle as elders roast meat during the Enkipaata ceremony, a Maasai male rite of passage, specifically the initiation of boys, marking the transition from childhood to becoming a moran (warrior) in Olaimutiai, Narok County, Kenya Wednesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

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Mansfield Senior High School senior Talitha Cameron, 18, listens during her health class on sleep, in Mansfield, Ohio, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Several Southeast Asian countries are kicking off their annual water festival holiday, an occasion for merrymaking during what is usually the hottest time of the year. Millions in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar normally take part in a mix of raucous play with uninhibited splashing of water, and sober ceremonies to show respect to one’s elders. Temperatures can creep above 104 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year. Many who have moved to cities for work return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. Joy is lacking in Myanmar, however, as it tries to recover from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28 that killed more than 3,600 people.