" A hungry boy waits to break fast with devotees on the first day of Ramadan at a Singapore mosque yesterday. For a month [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/chad-kelly-jersey/]Chad Kelly Broncos Jersey[/url] , Muslim believers will fast from dawn to dusk. — Reuters

MUSLIMS in much of Asia began celebrating the holy month of Ramadan yesterday, but in Indonesia even threats by hardliners to raid “sinful” bars could not stop football fans heading to nightspots to watch the World Cup.

Across the Muslim world, the faithful fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious during the month, which ends with the Eid holiday.

Indonesia has the world’s biggest Muslim population at around 225 million people.

Hardliners have pledged to raid bars that continue to sell alcohol, which Muslims are banned from drinking under Islamic law, or stay open too late. Authorities order bars and other nightspots to close earlier during the holy month.

Radical group the Islamic Defenders’ Front would “monitor any sinful activities in entertainment places [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/brendan-langley-jersey/]Brendan Langley Broncos Jersey[/url] , cafes and bars during Ramadan,” said Salim Alatas, the group’s chief in the capital Jakarta.

“If law enforcement officials do nothing about immoral activities, we will do anything we can to stop them, using our own methods,” he said.

But the threats did little to deter people in the football-crazy nation from heading out to catch the latest World Cup action. Bars that remained open in Jakarta were packed with locals and expatriates over the weekend.

Endika Setiadi Putra [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/carlos-henderson-jersey/]Carlos Henderson Broncos Jersey[/url] , 27, said that with the World Cup now in the knockout stages, the excitement would keep drawing people to watch the matches in bars even during Ramadan.

The holy season also presents a dilemma for Muslim players in the World Cup, as choosing to fast will affect the strict diets they usually have to follow.

The problem is most pressing for the team from Muslim-majority Algeria, who are facing a tough match against Germany.

For many other Indonesians, the start of the holy month of Ramadan was a time to be with their families or take part in special prayers [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/demarcus-walker-jersey/]Demarcus Walker Broncos Jersey[/url] , with thousands heading to Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque, the biggest in Southeast Asia, on Saturday evening.

Sri Lanka’s Muslims, who account for about 10 percent of the country’s 20 million population of mainly Buddhists, are set to observe a low-key Ramadan after a spate of recent religious attacks.

The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, which groups nearly 50 Muslim organizations [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/daesean-hamilton-jersey/]DaeSean Hamilton Broncos Jersey[/url] , said authorities had promised tighter security but many were still afraid of Buddhist extremist attacks after four people were killed in religious riots this month.

In Malaysia, Muslims, who account for 60 percent of the country’s 28 million people, were spending the late afternoon buying food at markets or meeting at restaurants to break the first fast together in the evening.

Ramadan begins when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. The holy month was also starting across the Middle East, even as bloody conflicts rage in Iraq and Syria.

"

by Huang Haimin

MALE, Maldives [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/josey-jewell-jersey/]Josey Jewell Broncos Jersey[/url] , July 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Maldives are now in a position to expand their economic cooperation in wide-ranging areas, including investment, agriculture and infrastructure development, said Chinese Ambassador to Maldives Wang Fukang in an interview with Xinhua on Monday.

The ambassador said that the current Maldivian government is trying to diversify its single economic structure and is committed to attract more foreign investments, including those coming from China.

Wang noted that since Maldives is located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, it is an ideal hub for trade between East and the West and that every year a large number of cargo ships pass through the Maldivian territorial waters.

Since Maldives is also a member of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/isaac-yiadom-jersey/]Isaac Yiadom Broncos Jersey[/url] , it enjoys preferential tax in the region. With the help of these benefits, the Maldivian government aims to actively attract foreign investments, establish special economic zones and develop transshipment and manufacturing industries.

The Maldivian government organized the first "Maldives Investment Forum" in Singapore in April, promoting five mega- projects, including the special economic zones, expansion of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/justin-simmons-jersey/]Justin Simmons Broncos Jersey[/url] , Hulhumale' Phase II development, expansion of Male Harbor and oil exploration.

Currently, the Maldivian government is formulating a Special Economic Zone Bill which aims to provide more incentives to foreign investors in terms of tax breaks, relaxed financial requirements and preferential land use.

Ambassador Wang stressed that China and Maldives could focus on enhancing cooperation in three areas.

"The first is tourism cooperation. Since 2010, China has remained the largest source of tourist arrivals in the Maldives. In 2013 alone, more than 330 [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/jake-butt-jersey/]Jake Butt Broncos Jersey[/url] ,000 Chinese tourists visited Maldives. In the future, both sides could encourage more Chinese tourists to visit Maldives. Maldives could attract potential Chinese companies to invest in the tourism sector of the country," Wang said.

The second area for cooperation between the two countries is infrastructure development. The new Maldivian government could initiate large-scale infrastructure projects where Chinese enterprises could participate, he said.

The third area is maritime cooperation. Wang said that China is willing to train maritime personnel, discuss and sign memorandums of understanding in the area of maritime cooperation, strengthening cooperation in fisheries [url=http://www.cheapnflbroncosjerseys.com/garett-bolles-jersey/]Garett Bolles Broncos Jersey[/url] , marine research, protection of ecology and environment as well as climate change.

Ambassador Wang noted that although China is the largest tourism market for Maldives, no Chinese enterprises have so far invested in Maldivian resorts.

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