Muslims in Asia began marking holy month of Ramadan

Islamic authorities in Indonesia say the first day of Ramadan will begin Thursday, as millions of faithful in the world’s most-populous Muslim-majority country began marking the holy month with fasting and prayers. The religious affairs minister on Wednesday evening declared that Islamic astronomy observers teams from several of the country’s regions had sighted the crescent moon, the official start of Ramadan. Shortly after, worshippers flooded mosques to offer evening prayers. Muslim authorities in Saudi Arabia and several other Middle Eastern countries said earlier that Ramadan in their region will begin Thursday based on the expected sighting of the crescent moon. Clerics said the moon was not visible Tuesday night, meaning it will almost certainly appear Wedneday.