More than a billion Muslims will begin fasting during daylight hours when Ramadan begins next week.
The holy month starts about two weeks earlier each year and, for half the world, it will this year move away from the longer, hotter days of summer towards the shorter, cooler winter.
Ramadan will begin on or about March 11, with fasting hours varying across different countries. The range for this year is expected to be between 12 hours and more than 17 hours.
So, which countries, especially in the Arab and Muslim world, will have the most daylight hours and which nations will have the shortest fast?
Shortest Ramadan fast in 2024
This year, Muslims in Chile will face the shortest fasting hours during Ramadan with an average of 12 hours and 44 minutes.
Being in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa are also looking at a shorter fasting period, between 12 and 13 hours a day during the month.
Longest Ramadan fast in 2024
Muslims in Finland, Greenland and Iceland will have the longest fasting hours this year.
They are expected to endure an average of 17 hours a day of fasting during the holy month.
How can you fast for Ramadan when it never gets dark?
While there is no place expecting a midnight sun this Ramadan, Muslims in countries with exceptionally long daytimes during the holy month cannot actually adhere to a fast of more than 20 hours.
Fasting in countries further from the equator tends to be longer, as the duration of daylight varies depending on the season.
So, what do they do?
In countries where the sunset and sunrise are less than three hours apart, fatwas have been declared to allow residents to follow the schedule of other cities. Many, for example, will follow the fasting times of Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
This year, Saudi Arabia and much of the Middle East will be fasting for about 13.5 hours to 14 hours a day.
Tunisians will experience the longest fast day of Ramadan at 14 hours and 29 minutes.
Shortest to longest fasting times for Ramadan in the Arab world
Tunisia: Shortest day – 13 hours and 17 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 29 minutes
Algeria: Shortest day – 13 hours and 14 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 27 minutes
Libya: Shortest day – 13 hours and 18 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 20 minutes
Morocco: Shortest day – 13 hours and 12 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 12 minutes
Egypt: Shortest day – 13 hours and 17 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 34 minutes
Iraq: Shortest day – 13 hours and 13 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 18 minutes
Bahrain: Shortest day – 13 hours and 13 minutes, longest day – 14 hours
UAE: Shortest day – 13 hours and 12 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 57 minutes
Saudi Arabia: Shortest day – 13 hours and 13 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 56 minutes
Oman: Shortest day – 13 hours and 13 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 54 minutes
Kuwait: Shortest day – 13 hours and 14 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 8 minutes
Lebanon: Shortest day – 13 hours and 12 minutes, longest day - 14 hours and 17 minutes
Jordan: Shortest day – 13 hours and 12 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 15 minutes
Palestine: Shortest day – 13 hours and 10 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 11 minutes
Syria: Shortest day – 13 hours and 13 minutes, longest day – 14 hours and 19 minutes
Qatar: Shortest day – 13 hours and 13 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 59 minutes
Mauritania: Shortest day – 13 hours and 10 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 42 minutes
Sudan: Shortest day – 13 hours and 16 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 43 minutes
Yemen: Shortest day – 13 hours and 13 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 39 minutes
Somalia: Shortest day – 13 hours and 15 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 18 minutes
Djibouti: Shortest day – 13 hours and 11 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 31 minutes
Comoros: Shortest day – 13 hours and 18 minutes, longest day – 13 hours and 23 minutes
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
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Age: 23
Occupation: Founder of the Studio, formerly an analyst at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Education: Bachelor of science in industrial engineering
Favourite hobby: playing the piano
Favourite quote: "There is a key to every door and a dawn to every dark night"
Family: Married and with a daughter
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Wed, Aug 29:
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Thu, Aug 30:
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Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
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Thu, Sep 6: Final
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The UAE's journey to space
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
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Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches