(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Katara has lined up over 25 activities for its annual Ramadan Festival.

This year Ramadan Festival will be under the theme 'Katara between Quran and Astronomy' and starts on July 3. It will run until the end of the holy month, to followed by Eid Al Fitr.

Activities at various locations at Katara include exhibitions, workshops, religious lectures and songs, and scientific lectures on astronomy.

Katara General Manager, Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, yesterday said the theme of the festival suits the spirituality of the month and the cultural aims of Katara. "We selected the theme because the Quran talks about astronomy in many verses and this needs to be reflected on. The topic will be explored through religious and scientific lectures and explained through various events," he said, adding Katara will host Garangao celebration for the third year. Among the features of the festival is an exhibition of Nasa spacesuits and photos of the outer space, an expo on Quran and astronomy and an interactive Katara Ramadan Wall.

Another exhibition will present astrolabes created by Muslim scholars in the past and how they have been used in the study of stars and their travel routes on land and sea. There will also be expos on the solar system, galaxy, books on space, cosmic maps and space elements.

Music will be an essential element of the festival with concerts featuring Ramadan supplications.

One of the main performers is Tunisian singer, composer and oud player Lotfi Boshnaq. Religious songs related to Quran and astronomy will also be presented along with Music of the Universe featuring Spanish musicians.

Visitors will be treated to a journey to the sea following the stars by experts in sailing and history and a travel aboard a spacecraft through a 3D film.

Shadow theatre, family workshops to teach children how the universe had been discovered and planets and a fine art contest will also be held. Katara will make available a telescope for stargazing. For the third year, it will organise a Quran memorisation course for children aged eight to 12 in addition to religious and scientific lectures by guests from Arab countries.

Every Thursday and Friday, Katara will hold a contest in which people will try to find 10 hidden items. There will be two winners to receive QR5,000 each. On a daily basis, Katara will give away five coupons of restaurants at Katara for winners of a Twitter contest. In the middle of Ramadan season, Garangao, which saw 20,000 participants last year, will be organised. The popular beach football championship will also be held in which the winning team will get QR50,000, second place QR40,000 and third place QR20,000 in addition to medals. The best player, best goalkeeper and top scorer will receive QR5,000 each.

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Qatar- Katara to hold Ramadan Festival from July 3

June 25, 2014, 4 a.m.

Five teams and five soloists progressing to national level and a junior on the rise earning the equal-highest score for the weekend School Aerobics state championships have rarely been as successful for Warrnambools EKB Fitness and Aerobics academy.

Five teams and five soloists progressing to national level and a junior on the rise earning the equal-highest score for the weekend School Aerobics state championships have rarely been as successful for Warrnambools EKB Fitness and Aerobics academy.

Coach Emma Bellman was yesterday upbeat as she detailed the success of her squad at the annual titles at Geelong on the weekend.

Last year we had two soloists and a few teams qualify, so its better than last year, she said.Everyone was really happy with the results, even the ones who didnt make it through still did really good routines.

It was a weekend where everyone was happy when they came off the stage with the routines they did.

The five soloists to qualify for national championships on the Gold Coast from August 8 to 10 included a trifecta in the Future Legends class.

Brianna Kilpatrick, Maddison Drake and Bella Wallace filled the placings, with Brianna scoring 92.9 the equal-highest for the two days.

Jordan Rooke was second in the secondary males solo class while Aylish Auchettl also placed second in the secondary female solo class.

The five teams which qualified finished first in their respective classes. They included Brianna, Maddison and Bella, who competed as Emmas Angels, in the Future Legends trios yellow stream.

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EKB squad shines at state titles

Andrei Kirilenko will return to the Nets for next season. (USATSI)

More Offseason Analysis: Coaching changes, news | Free Agency | Draft | Rumors

NBA.com reports that Nets forward Andrie Kirilenko has elected to excercise his option for 2014-2015 to remain with Brooklyn.

Andrei Kirilenko opts in with Brooklyn for next season at $3.3M, per source. Second year of two-year deal worth $6.5M.

Can confirm the report from @daldridgetnt that Andrei Kirilenko is opting in to the second year of his contract with the #Nets.

The move is a bit surprising from a play perspective. Kirilenko was scarcely used by coach Jason Kidd last year after returning from injury, even to the point of avoiding playing him when the Nets were desperate for bench help in the playoffs. Kirilenko was reportedly unhappy with the situation. But the $3.3 million for a player who will be 33 next year isn't bad, either.

Kirilenko averaged 5 points and 3.2 rebounds for the Nets last year in 19 minutes per game. The free agency crop outside of the top tier (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, etc.) is relatively weak, but for whatever reason, be it his allegiance to Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov or the hope that a healthy season will enable him to earn more playing time, Kirilenko will be back in black and white next year.

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Report: Kirilenko opts in with Nets for 2014-15

National football team: `We haven`t given up hope yet` . JUNE 25, 2014 04:36. . "Good, good. Concentrate."

Striker Kim Shin-wook shouted several times to change the mood. However, the atmosphere surrounding the Korean national football team was too heavy to life for even a huge guy who is 6.4 feet tall weighing 205 pounds. Few players were shouting responding Kim`s. Midfielder Son Heung-min said, "Frankly speaking, the mood can`t be changed overnight."

Following a shock defeat (2-4) by the Algerian team at the Brazil World Cup second Group H fixture, the Korean football team trained Tuesday at its Brazilian base camp of Foz do Iguacu in a depressed mood. During a 15 minute training led by physical coach Ikeda Seigo, the only thing that could be heard was cameramen pressing camera shutters. The coaching staff including Coach Hong Myung-bo tried to change the mood by shouting to the players as they did a pass game.

The heavy mood was also demonstrated at the mixed zone where the players passed after ending exercises. Midfielder Ki Sung-yueng who had willingly accepted request for interviews said, "Sorry. Not today." Midfielder Ha Dae-sung also remained silent. Still another midfielder Han Kook-young bit his lips to fight back tears as he said, "I couldn`t sleep due to responsibility and regret." His voice trembled during interview.

Nevertheless, the players didn`t give up a small ray of hope for making into the top 16. Han said, "I will challenge even if there is just 1 percent of possibility. It doesn`t matter if I get hurt. I`m braced for playing my best and crawling out of the ground after the game ends." Son who fought hard with game with the Algerian team said, "I haven`t given up hope for entry into the top 16. I will arm myself mentally."

When the training was over, players gathered in the middle of the stadium ground led by Kwak Tae-hwi, the oldest member of the team, created a circle to have a conversation for about five minutes. Then they stood shoulder to shoulder, bent their waist and shouted "Lets` go." While Coach Hong normally gets on the bus before the players, he and the coaching staff stood at the ground and looked at the players. It is the first time for the Korean national football team to make such a finish since it started field training in May 31 in Miami, the U.S. They will arrive in Sao Paulo on Thursday where the third group fixture with Belgium will be held.

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