RABAT, July 16, 2008 (AFP) - Morocco is to send more than 170 preachers throughout Europe from September until Ramadan to protect its citizens from extremist speeches, the government said Wednesday.

The decision follows a request from King Mohammed VI.

DHAKA, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Bangladesh will on Sunday celebrate the major Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, an official said Friday.

'Eid will be held on Sunday because the moon was not sighted on Friday,' said Ataur Rahman, secretary of the religious affairs ministry, adding that a two-day public holiday had also been declared for Sunday and Monday.

The government announced the date of the festival as thousands of people thronged Bangladesh's ferry ports, rail and bus stations anxious to get home in time.

DHAKA, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Thousands of people thronged Bangladesh's ferry ports, rail and bus stations on Friday, anxious to get home on time for the major Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr.

Some crammed onto dangerously overcrowded ferries and buses, while others climbed onto train roofs to reach their family villages in time for the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

'People have been rushing to get to their villages. All the ferries are packed,' said government ferry inspector Babulal Baidya.

DHAKA, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Millions of Bangladeshis were homeward bound on Thursday as they set off for their family villages to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The traditional mass exodus from cities including the capital Dhaka caused chaotic scenes at ferry ports and bus and train stations with migrant workers and their families clamouring to secure limited places.

JAKARTA, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Millions of Indonesians have crammed airports, ferry terminals and bus stations as they head home to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, police said.

The mass exodus from the cities to the countryside ahead of the end of Ramadan -- which should fall either Friday or Saturday depending on the sighting of the new moon -- has caused traffic chaos, said police.

SRINAGAR, India, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - In the pitch-dark early hours, men beating drums walk the narrow lanes of Indian Kashmir to wake people from their beds for a hearty pre-dawn feast ahead of a day of Ramadan fasting.

The human alarm clocks are the only ones who dare venture out at night in the revolt-hit region, where nocturnal pedestrians run the risk of a tough grilling or even a bullet from nervous Indian security forces.

But the tradition goes back years, perhaps centuries, and the drum beaters say the Ramadan job is a vital source of income.

BAGHDAD, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Basking in a relative lull in the violence, central Baghdad's Karrada Avenue is showing signs of returning to its pre-war popularity, with its colourful boutiques, bright flower shops, throngs of shoppers -- and traffic jams.

Lined on either side with rows of buildings and stores, the commercial artery is a long and dusty strip stretching about three kilometres (two miles) down to the eastern bank of the Tigris River.

BAGHDAD, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - As Ramadan draws to a close in Iraq, a feared explosion of violence has so far failed to materialise but so has the clear turnaround desired by US commanders and the Iraqi government.

Fifty-one US soldiers have lost their lives since the Muslim holy month began on September 12, down from more than 70 in the four previous weeks and only half the number killed during last year's bloodiest Ramadan to date.

On paper at least, the US military and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki can be happy that violence levels are falling.

RIYADH, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Osama bin Laden is to team up with sexy Arab singers Hayfa Wehbe and Nancy Ajram in the form of fireworks to light up the skies of Saudi Arabia when it celebrates the end of Ramadan later this week.

The fireworks named after the two Lebanese singers and the Saudi-born chief of Al-Al Qaeda had to be smuggled into the conservative Muslim kingdom, where the devices are banned on safety grounds, according to local newspapers.

Tonnes of fireworks have been smuggled in hidden in sacks of barley.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - It's Ramadan in Malaysia and the days of the Muslim fasting month usually mean fairy lights, dinner tables groaning with dishes, and an upbeat mood.

But this year many householders such as 45-year-old Siti Nora are upset and frustrated as sharp increases in the price of staple foods have meant that 'breaking fast' is a much more meagre affair.