Ramadan

Muslims in Turkey have welcomed the holy month of Ramadan, while the fasting will start in most Arab and African nations on Sunday.

The first suhoor - a Ramadan meal before dawn - took place in Turkey's northeastern city of Ardahan at 2.39 a.m. on Saturday while the last one occurred in the southwestern city of Mugla at 4.02 a.m.

Istanbul’s Mövenpick Hotel will be offering a unique iftar buffet that will showcase the rich heritage of Turkish and Ottoman cuisine to the accompaniment of fasıl music during the month of Ramadan, from June 28 to July 27.

BELGRADE - Serbian Mufti Muhamed Jusufspahic has read a missive on Ramadan, which begins at sunset on Friday, and called on all the Muslims in Serbia to meet the start of this observance in peace with God and all the peoples around them.

The fifth edition of Jazz in Ramadan will once again host world-renowned local and foreign artists. The festival will be organized between July 5 and 19, at the Zorlu Center PSM and at the French Palace.

Dozens of Palestinian prisoners who had refused food for 62 days have suspended their hunger strike after reaching a deal with the Israel Prisons Service, their lawyer told AFP.
      

Malaysian authorities on Thursday were searching for 35 people missing at sea following two boat accidents at a time when many illegal migrant workers head home to Indonesia for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
      

A handful of Islamic preachers in Turkey will earn more than a million Turkish Liras with their special shows on Turkish TV screens throughout Ramadan this year, which will start on June 28.

Top of the list is Islamic scholar Nihat Hatipoğlu, who has clinched a contract worth 600,000 liras with ATV for 30 episodes of his trademark Ramadan program, according to daily Vatan.

With the aim of compensating for its losses from decline in European tourists, the Turkish tourism sector will try to allure local tourists.

 This summer’s season is expected to witness a boom with the Ramadan holiday, according to a report released by the top sector organization.

Iran has recorded its first two cases of the deadly MERS virus, both among patients who had been in hospital with a pilgrim returning from Saudi Arabia, reports said Wednesday.
      
The two infected women are sisters and one is in a critical condition, transmissible diseases unit chief Mohammad Mehdi Gooya told the Fars news agency.
      

“Ramadan go!”, “The municipality is ours!”, protestors shouted, demanding the resignation of Ramadan Muja, mayor of Prizren municipality in western Kosovo.

Police arrested four people as they marched ahead the headquarters of the municipality, led by the organizers of a group called “Active Citizens For Prizren”.