Ramadan

Greek government to provide Athens stadiums for Eid al Fitr

The government said Tuesday that it will allow Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, at the Olympic Stadium complex in Maroussi and the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Neo Faliro.

The two sites have been given over in previous years for the religious ceremony.

Saudi supreme court upholds jail, lashes for blogger, wife says

Saudi Arabia's supreme court has upheld a sentence of 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes against blogger Raif Badawi on charges of insulting Islam, his wife said on June 7.

The judgment came despite worldwide outrage over his case and criticism from the United Nations, United States, the European Union, Canada and others.       

Turkish house sales dip in July, but analysts hopeful for future

House sales in Turkey plunged by 20.2 percent in July, though many analysts have put the dip down to the effect of Ramadan and expect upward momentum through the rest of the year.

According to figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), a total of 85,101 houses changed hands in July, marking a one-fifth decline from the same month last year.

Claims of allocation of camps to ISIL in Istanbul spark debate

The release of a video allegedly showing a group of jihadists gathered for prayer in the rural part of Istanbul has sparked concerns in Turkey.

The video has prompted deputy Sezin Tanrıkulu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to question whether the gathering took place upon consent from both the police department and the Gendarmerie Command.

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