The crescent moon marking the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan has been sighted in Saudi Arabia, authorities confirmed on Tuesday evening.

According to the Saudi Supreme Court, Wednesday, February 18, will be observed as the first day of fasting across the Kingdom.

The moon sighting was confirmed after testimonies were received from various regions, following the traditional meeting of moon sighting committees.

With the announcement, Muslims across Saudi Arabia have begun preparations for the sacred month, which is observed with fasting from dawn to sunset, special nightly prayers (Taraweeh), charity, and spiritual reflection.

Several other countries in the Middle East are also expected to begin Ramadan on the same date, depending on their respective moon sighting announcements.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and holds great religious significance for Muslims worldwide.

Tarique Rahman sworn in as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister after BNP’s landslide victory, marking a major political shift following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster and a period of interim rule.Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Bangladesh’s prime minister on Tuesday, marking a significant political transition in the South Asian country following his party’s sweeping victory in the parliamentary elections.

Rahman, 60, is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and late President Ziaur Rahman. He assumes office at a critical time, facing major challenges including restoring political stability, rebuilding investor confidence, and reviving key industries such as the garment sector after prolonged unrest that followed the Gen Z-led uprising which toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024.

During the transitional period, the country was governed by an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus until fresh elections were held.

In a departure from tradition, the swearing-in ceremony took place under the open sky at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Bangladesh’s national parliament building, instead of the usual venue at the Bangabhaban, the president’s official residence.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to Rahman and his cabinet in the presence of senior political leaders, diplomats, civil and military officials, and representatives from several countries, including China, India, and Pakistan.

The BNP secured a commanding two-thirds majority in parliament, returning to power after nearly two decades. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, contesting its first election since a 2013 ban was lifted following Hasina’s ouster, won a record 68 seats.

Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from contesting after the Election Commission revoked its registration. Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies, including the National Citizen Party led by youth activists involved in the anti-Hasina movement, will now sit in opposition.

Rahman’s political rise concludes a long and turbulent journey. He returned to Bangladesh last year after 17 years of self-imposed exile in London, shortly before the death of his mother, Khaleda Zia.

Although critics have repeatedly raised corruption allegations against him — which he denies — his return revitalised BNP supporters and reshaped the party’s election campaign.

In his first address after the election, Rahman called for calm and national unity. “Peace, law and order must be maintained at any cost,” he said, urging supporters to avoid acts of retaliation. “We will not tolerate any kind of chaos.

• Trump indicates Iran may be willing to make a deal.
• US and Iran hold indirect nuclear talks in Geneva.
• US military prepares for potential operations against Iran.

GENEVA: The US and Iran hold indirect talks in Geneva on Tuesday aimed at resolving their long-running nuclear dispute, with little clear indication of compromise as Washington masses a battle force in the region.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will take part in the negotiations, which are being mediated by Oman, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

US President Donald Trump said that he would be involved “indirectly” in the Geneva talks and that he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal.

“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday. “We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s.”

Tehran knows that a previous attempt to revive talks was underway in June last year when Washington’s ally Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, and was then joined by US B-2 bombers that struck nuclear targets. Tehran has since said it has halted uranium enrichment activity.

The US military is preparing for the possibility of weeks of operations against Iran if Trump orders an attack, two US officials told Reuters.

Iran itself began a military drill on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international waterway and oil export route from Gulf Arab states, which have been appealing for diplomacy to end the dispute.

Iran-US nuclear talks under shadow of protests and war

Tehran and Washington renewed negotiations on February 6 on their decades-long dispute.

Washington and its close ally Israel believe Iran aspires to build a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel’s existence. Iran says its nuclear programme is purely peaceful, even though it has enriched uranium far beyond the purity needed for power generation, and close to what is required for a bomb.

Since the June strikes, Iran’s rulers have been weakened by street protests, put down at a cost of thousands of lives, against a cost-of-living crisis driven in part by international sanctions that have strangled Iran’s oil income.

Unlike last time, the US has now placed what Trump calls a massive naval armada in the region.

Washington has sought to expand the scope of talks to non-nuclear issues such as Iran’s missile stockpile. Tehran says it is willing only to discuss curbs on its nuclear programme – in exchange for sanctions relief – and that it will not give up uranium enrichment completely or discuss its missile programme.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a news conference in Budapest that it was hard to do a deal with Iran, but the US was willing to try.

Iran’s Araqchi on Monday met Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Geneva to discuss cooperation with the IAEA and technical aspects of the impending talks with the US

On Tuesday afternoon, Witkoff and Kushner will participate in three-way talks with Russia and Ukraine as Washington attempts to coax Ukraine and Russia into an agreement to end Moscow’s four-year-old invasion of Ukraine, the source said.