ASIAN MUSLIMS BEGIN RAMZAN

Muslim women attend an evening mass prayer session to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta. (Reuters)

Muslims in much of Asia began celebrating the holy month of Ramadan today.
Tens of millions across the Muslim world fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable during the month, which ends with the Eid holiday.
But Ramadan began in war-torn Afghanistan with a bomb blast, and there was tight security in parts of the southern Philippines after deadly clashes with Muslim rebels.
The start of Islam's holiest month brought no let-up in Afghanistan's long-running conflict, with three civilians killed and two others wounded in a Taliban roadside bombing in the southern province of Helmand, authorities said.
The interior ministry said that two dozen rebels had been killed in operations across the country over the past 24 hours.
In the Catholic-majority Philippines, there were was tight security at the start of Ramadan in southern Muslim-populated areas after weekend clashes between troops and Islamic rebels left eight dead.
Before Ramadan began, authorities ordered a halt in military operations against a rebel splinter group that is seeking to derail peace negotiations between the country's largest Muslim guerrilla force and Manila.
In Malaysia people were looking forward to breaking their fast at markets in a country whose multi-ethnic make-up – it is Muslim-majority but has sizeable Chinese and Indian communities – is reflected in a vast and varied selection of food.
Ramadan begins when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. It has yet to start in some Asian countries with large Muslim populations, including Pakistan and India.