May 6, Monday, will be the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, the Islamic ministry has announced.

The announcement was made at a special ceremony held for the moon sighting at the Islamic Centre, on Saturday evening.

The special committee for moon sighting declared that the new moon was not sighted in the Maldives region by dusk on Saturday, and, hence, that the first of Ramadan this year is May 6.

According to astronomical calculations, the crescent moon for the month of Ramadan will not be visible to any Muslim country after sunset today.