The World Health Organisation (WHO) expressed concern Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen in the Middle East and North Africa during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.Detected cases of COVID infection in the region rose 22 percent last week, while deaths rose 17 percent, said Ahmed al-Mandhari, the Cairo-based chief of the WHO for the eastern Mediterranean.Mandhari said the situation in the vast region reflects a "worrying trend"."We are especially worried that

Europe passed the grim milestone of one million coronavirus deaths on Monday, as the World Health Organization warned that infections are rising exponentially despite widespread efforts aimed at stopping them. The death toll across Europe's 52 countries, from official sources, totalled at least 1,000,288 by 1830 GMT."We are in a critical point of the pandemic right now," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19."The trajectory of this pan

Fasting practices in the United Kingdom (UK) during Ramadan last year did not lead to higher COVID-19 mortality rates among Muslims, according to a new report.The study, published on Thursday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Global Health, said there was no evidence to suggest that British Muslims who observed the holy month were more likely to die from a coronavirus infection.During Ramadan, which lasts about four weeks, Muslims across the world abstain from eating food and do not drink anyth

Indonesians are turning to smugglers and bogus travel documents to get around bans on an annual end-of-Ramadan exodus that could send coronavirus cases skyrocketing in the world's biggest Muslim majority nation.Thousands are using any trick in the book to reach their hometowns in time for celebrations at the end of Islam's holy fasting month, a festival known as Eid ul-Fitr."It is a critical moment," said Doni Monardo, head of Indonesia's COVID-19 mitigation task forc

The holy month of Ramadan for Muslims around the world will end this weekend. After about 30 days of fasting from dawn to sunset, an estimated 1.8 billion Muslims across the globe will celebrate Eid-ul-fitr which signifies the end of Ramadan. Eid-ul-fitr is typically celebrated with morning prayers in congregations at mosques, a big feast, mass gatherings of family and friends and also new traditional clothes.

Want to offer Friday prayers at a mosque in Brunei? Make a reservation on the health app on Monday! Bruneians are adapting to a 'new normal' during the holy month of Ramadan in these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like other countries around the region, Brunei has closed its mosques.

Spanish children were allowed outside on Sunday for the first time in six weeks as countries eased lockdown measures in a bid to slowly reopen economies gutted by the coronavirus pandemic that has infected nearly three million people worldwide.Governments from France to Italy and the United States are starting to peel back severe restrictions that have kept more than half of humanity indoors for weeks on end.

Millions of Muslims around the globe started fasting yesterday as the month of Ramadan began on Friday (24 April). Nevertheless, with the COVID-19 virus looming worldwide, the celebration this year is significantly different than in prior years.

Muslims across the world began marking the holy month of Ramadan under unprecedented coronavirus lockdowns on Friday as the United States (US) added another half a trillion dollars to its already-massive support package to help its pandemic-ravaged economy.The virus has upended life around the planet as nations try to stop the spread of the disease that has so far claimed nearly 190,000 lives, infected close to 2.7 million people and hammered the global economy.Ramadan spirits have been dampe

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, which first emerged in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province, has unleashed chaos on the world. Many countries have imposed strict and drastic measures to contain the deadly virus, these include citywide lockdowns and extensive travel curbs. These measures have caused major disruptions to businesses and have severely impacted local industries and the global economy.