Bangladesh and India will observe the first day of Ramadan tomorrow (Thursday) following the sighting of the crescent moon, which marks the beginning of the holy month for the year 1447 AH.

The confirmation was made by the Bangladesh National Moon Sighting Committee, which met at the conference room of the Islamic Foundation at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, according to The Daily Star.

In India, the official announcement was made by its Markazi Royat-E-Hilal Committee regarding the sighting of the Ramadan moon via a circular, stating that the crescent was sighted in New Delhi, the Indian Express reported.

Several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, began observing Ramadan today after sighting the crescent moon a day earlier, officially marking the start of the holy month.

However, some countries that looked for the Ramadan crescent yesterday reported that it was not visible.

Moon sighting committees in Pakistan and Iran were convened today, as Tuesday marks the 28th of Shaban in the Islamic calendar.

Pakistan will also observe the first day of Ramadan 2026 tomorrow (Thursday) as the crescent moon for the holy month was sighted.

The Muslim world welcomes Ramadan with deep religious devotion, as over a billion believers fast to practise patience, self-discipline, and generosity.

Islamic months last 29 or 30 days, with their start and end determined by the sighting of the crescent moon. As a result, Ramadan does not fall on the same Gregorian date each year.

Being the ninth month of the 12-month Islamic calendar — which is about 10 days shorter than the Gregorian year due to its lunar basis — Ramadan shifts annually across the Gregorian calendar.

Molten glass drops through chutes before being blown into bottles at manufacturer Encirc’s northwest England plant, where intensive operations are under strain from exorbitant energy prices weighing on Britain’s heavy industry.

“We’re paying a lot more energy costs than our European competitors,” said Oliver Harry, head of corporate affairs at Encirc, which makes over a third of the UK’s glass bottles.

Britain has some of the highest energy prices in Europe, driven by its reliance on natural gas and the costs of transitioning to renewables, which are passed on to bills.

The country’s industrial electricity prices were also the steepest in Europe in 2024, according to the latest annual government data.

Standing in the intense heat of the factory’s two huge furnaces, Harry warned: “We’re already seeing an increase in imports into the UK as customers turn to cheap, more unsustainable glass producers”, notably from China and Turkey.

More action needed

Across energy-intensive industries — from steel and chemicals to glass and cement — companies are warning that government support does not go far enough to keep them competitive.

The government said it will increase discounts on electricity network charges to 90 percent from April, which will save around 500 of the UK’s biggest energy users a cumulative £420 million ($570 million) per year in electricity bills.

“Lowering bills is central to every decision we make,” a government spokesperson told AFP.

But the steel sector, already weakened by the closure of traditional coal-fired blast furnaces, argues that more action is needed.

“The industry still faces industrial power prices almost 40 percent higher than in France and Germany,” Gareth Stace, director general of the steel union, UK Steel, told AFP.

The union has called for stronger protections similar to those in France, Italy, Spain and the UAE to shield heavy industry from high wholesale power costs.

Decarbonisation

Electricity is so expensive in the UK largely because more than a quarter of its power still comes from gas, which surged in price after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

While wholesale prices have since fallen, they remain elevated.

Under the liberalised electricity market, the last power station switched on to meet demand sets the price for all generators, and in the UK, that station is usually gas-powered.

“In France, nuclear sets the price fairly often and nuclear is cheaper … so it’s not always the same expensive gas that sets the price,” Sam Frankhauser, professor of economics and climate change policy at Oxford University, told AFP.

In other countries “there’s moments in the day where somebody cheaper sets the price and in the UK, those moments don’t exist” as it is almost always a natural gas plant setting the price, he added.

At Encirc’s Elton factory, where bottles clatter along the conveyor belts to be filled and labelled, executives say energy prices are inseparable from the push to decarbonise.

By the end of the decade, “we’re going to be producing glass bottles that are 80 percent reduced carbon,” said Harry.

“The UK managed to decarbonise the grid phenomenally because of the exit of coal,” said Gregor Singer, professor at the London School of Economics.

“It’s really unfortunate that this gas price shock came now, exactly at that point where you sort of exited coal but you don’t quite have enough renewables yet.”

“In the medium to long run… it’s almost guaranteed that prices are coming down,” he said.

DUBAI: While many Pakistanis may remember the nostalgic drumbeats signalling sehri in cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, this beloved pre-dawn tradition has faded in most urban centres. 

In contrast, Dubai and other emirates in the UAE continue to preserve a centuries-old Ramadan ritual: announcing iftar with cannon fire.

Every evening during Ramadan, the thunderous blast of cannons from more than 17 locations across the city — such as Burj Khalifa Park, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Damac Hills, Expo City Dubai (Al Wasl Plaza), Dubai Festival City, and Creek Harbour — signals the time to break the fast. Residents and tourists alike pause to hear the distinctive roar, a daily reminder of faith, community, and cultural heritage.

“This cannon firing is more than just a signal for iftar,” said a Dubai cultural official. “It is a way of connecting generations, preserving traditions, and celebrating the holy month with a sense of unity and pride.”

The tradition also extends to Eid celebrations, with two cannon rounds fired after morning prayers to announce the festival and mark the end of Ramadan. Authorities emphasise that the ritual is both safe and symbolic, blending heritage with modern city life.

For Pakistanis, where the pre-dawn drumming tradition has largely disappeared in mega cities like Karachi, Dubai’s cannon blasts offer a striking reminder of how urban centres can maintain cultural customs even in rapidly modernising environments.