Oman Announces End of Ramadan Public Holidays For Private And Public Sectors

Sources: Khaleej Times (Muscat) and Oman public holidays (qppstudio.net). Minister Diwan of Royal Court and Chairman of the Civil Service Council, Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud Al Busaidy, announced that all ministries and other state organisations would be given 4 days of holidays on the occasion of the upcoming Eid al Fitr public holidays.

In a separate announcement, Minister of Manpower, Shaikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri, told the private sector that they would benefit from 3 days of holidays, also on the occasion of the upcoming Eid al Fitr public holidays.

These public and private sector public holidays are understood to be in addition to the usual 2-day weekend of the public sector and the 1-day weekend of the private sector.

Pakistan Extends End of Ramadan Public Holiday For A Fourth Day In NWFP

Sources: The Frontier Post (Peshawar) and Pakistan public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Administration Department of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) officially announced that the province would observe a 4th day for the upcoming Eid ul-Fitr (End of Ramadan) public holiday, on Saturday, October 4, 2008).

Bahrain Confirms End of Ramadan Day in Lieu For Public Sector

Sources: Bahrain News Agency (Manama) and Bahrain public holidays (qppstudio.net). Bahrain's Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman al Khalifa, issued a circular confirming that the public sector would be on holidays on the date of the upcoming Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan) public holiday, as well as the 2 following days.

He further reiterated the policy that if any of these days coincide with an official holiday it would be compensated by extending the holiday for another day. As weekends are Fridays and Saturdays in Bahrain, this means that the public sector of Bahrain will be on holiday for one additional day, on Sunday, October 5, 2008.

Turkmenistan Returns To Gregorian Calendar Month Sequence

Sources: Trend and Turkmenistan public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Mejlis (Parliament) of Turkmenistan has adopted a new constitution which enshrines its resolution of last spring "On [the] national system of chronology in Turkmenistan" under which Turkmenistan would return to universally recognized (Gregorian) month names and sequence.

The days and months of the year had been renamed, in 2002, by former President-for-life, Saparmurat Niyazov, based on his own name, that of his mother, and chapter names from the book he wrote called the Rukhnama.

Uzbekistan Moves End of Ramadan Public Holiday Back One Day

Sources: Trend (Tashkent) and Uzbekistan public holidays (qppstudio.net). Uzbekistan's President, Islam Karimov, signed a decree yesterday "on the Celebration of Ramadan Holiday", moving the upcoming End of Ramadan public holiday from its previously announced date of October 2, to Wednesday, October 1, following the pronouncement by the Uzbek Muslims Organization that the first day of the End of Ramadan holiday would fall on October 1st, 2008.

Note that this means that both the End of Ramadan and the Teachers' Day public holidays will occur on the same date in 2008. What will happen is still uncertain; Uzbekistan is one of the only former Soviet Central Asian republics that does not move public holidays that fall on a week-end. However, this last-minute collision of 2 public holidays probably means that a day in lieu public holiday will be declared on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008, as had been announced for months.

Argentina Votes Wednesday On October 12 Public Holiday Move

Sources: Diario El Sol (Buenos Aires) and Argentina public holidays (qppstudio.net). Argentina's parliament (Cámara de Diputados) has been called to a special session on Wednesday, October 1st, to vote on the law that would move the upcoming October 12 public holiday to the following day, Monday, October 13, 2008 (see our post of August 25).

Indonesia Cancels September 29 and December 26 Bank Holidays

Sources: Bank Sentral Republik Indonesia (Jakarta) and Indonesia public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Central Bank of Indonesia has announced that the 2 public holidays previously announced for Monday, September 29, 2008, and Friday, December 26, 2008, will revert to being normal working days.

It is not clear, yet, if this is limited to banks and financial institutions, or if this is part of the ongoing governments efforts to reduce the number of joint leave public holidays introduced in 2002 (see our post of February 5).

India September 29 Public Holiday In Mizoram State

Sources: The Times of India and India public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Mizoram state government has announced a one-off state public holiday on Monday, September 29, 2008, so that the government employees and students could take part in the MKHC rally organized on that date.

The Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee (MKHC), is a conglomerate of 13 major churches in the state of Mizoram, which is organising a "Peace Rally" on September 29 to protest against the alleged persecution that Christians are facing in Orissa and Karnataka.

Australia's Victoria Premier Rules Out Royal Melbourne Show Public Holiday Restoration

Sources: The Age (Melbourne) and Australia public holidays (qppstudio.net). Victoria State Premier, John Brumby, has ruled out bringing back a public holiday for the Royal Melbourne Show, as had been requested by the head of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, Mark O'Sullivan. who had suggested moving the Queen's Birthday public holiday from June to September so that both events could be held jointly, without increasing the number of State public holidays.

The Kennett government (1992-1999) abolished the Royal Melbourne Show Day public holiday in the 1990s shortly after winning office.

Macedonia Confirms Early Date For Upcoming End Of Ramadan Public Holiday

Sources: IDIVIDI (Skopje) and Macedonia public holidays (qppstudio.net). Basing itself on the 2007 Law on Holidays in Macedonia, Macedonia's Ministry of Labor and Social Policy confirmed the relatively early date of Tuesday, September 30, 2008, for the upcoming Ramadan Bayram (End of Ramadan) national public holiday.

Spain's 2009 Extremadura Regional Public Holidays Calendar Released

Sources: Colbenson and Spain public holidays (qppstudio.net). Extremadura's first vice-president and spokesperson, , Dolores Pallero, announced the release of the 2009 calendar of regional public holidays for the autonomous region of Extremadura.

There were no changes to the usually chosen regional public holidays in Extremadura, and as many other regions of Spain have done for 2009, the governing council declared Monday, November 2nd, and Monday, December 7th, 2009, as regional public holidays, due to November 1st and December 6th falling on a Sunday in 2009.

In addition to these regional and national public holidays, each municipality is entitled to declare 2 additional municipal public holidays, and these will be published in the Diario Oficial de Extremadura.

Spain's Murcia Announces Regional Public Holidays Calendar For 2009

Sources: Innova and Spain public holidays (qppstudio.net). Upon a suggestion by its advisor for employment and training (consejero de Empleo y Formación), Constantino Sotoca, the governing council of the autonomous region of Murcia, released it calendar of regional public holidays for 2009.

March 19, San José, was chosen as a regional public holiday, as is customary in the region of Murcia, as was the June 9th, Día de la Región de Murcia. In addition, Monday, December 7th was declared a regional public holiday, as was done in many other regions, due to Constitution Day (December 6) falling on a Sunday in 2009.

Spain Announces 2009 Public Holidays Calendar For Madrid Autonomous Region

Sources: Europa Press and Spain public holidays (qppstudio.net). The governing council of the Madrid autonomous region community (Consejo de Gobierno de la Comunidad de Madrid) approved yesterday the list of 2009 regional public holidays, applicable to all municipalities within the community.

Two of the region's traditional public holidays, Santiago Apóstol and May 2nd, will fall on a Saturday in 2009. The council has decided to omit the former from its 2009 list of public holidays and replace it by San José. The May 2nd public holiday will, however, remain as a public holiday in 2009.

Kyrgyzstan Changes Date of Upcoming Orozo Ait Public Holiday

Sources: AKI Press (Bishkek) and Kyrgyzstan public holidays (qppstudio.net). Kyrgyzstan's prime minister's press office has reported that the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic changed the date for the upcoming Orozo Ait (End of Ramadan) public holiday, from the previously scheduled date of October 2, to Wednesday, October 1st, 2008.

Kenya Confirms October 1st End of Ramadan Public Holiday

Source: The Standard and Kenya public holidays (qppstudio.net). Kenya's Government Spokesman, Alfred Mutua, has announced that the Government of Kenya had gazetted, Wednesday, October 1, 2008, as a public holiday to mark the Idd ul Fitr (End of Ramadan) Muslim festival.

Spain's Ceuta Announces 2009 Calendar Of Regional Public Holidays

Sources: Ceuta al Día and Spain public holidays (qppstudio.net). The autonomous community of Ceuta has announced its 2009 public holidays calendar, which remains unchanged from 2008, with its regional and municipal public holidays being San Antonio, Nuestra Señora de África and the Día de Ceuta.

The plenary assembly, although satisfied with the current unchanged calendar, did agree to review the possibility of including the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice (colloquially and locally called Feast of the Ram) into the following year's calendar of public holidays (see our post of August 10).

Trinidad and Tobago Announces Date Of End of Ramadan Public Holiday

Sources: Newsday (Port-of-Spain) and Trinidad and Tobago public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Government Information Service of Trinidad and Tobago announced that President George Maxwell Richards has announced October 1 as the date of the public holiday in celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Holidays and Festivals Act.

Ghana Announces Early Date For End Of Ramadan Public Holiday

Sources: Ghana News Agency (Accra) and Ghana public holidays (qppstudio.net). Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Ghana's Minister of the Interior, has announced that Tuesday, September 30, 2008, was to be the date of the statutory public holiday to enable Muslims to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr (End of Ramadan).

The date of September 30 is quite early as most of the Middle East and Africa will be celebrating the End of Ramadan on October 1st, while most non-Arab Muslims in Asia will celebrate it on the 2nd of October. The only 2 other countries to hold the event at such an ealry date are Libya and Nigeria.

Nigeria Declares 3-Day Public Holiday Next Week

Sources: The Nigerian Tribune (Abuja) and Nigeria public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved President Yar’Adua's request to move the second day of the upcoming End of Ramadan public holiday from October 1st to Monday, September 29, 2008, as October 1st is already a public holiday for the National Day.

Nigeria will thus have 3 days of consecutive public holidays, from Monday, September 29, to Wednesday, October 1st, 2008.

Pakistan Shifts End of Ramadan Public Holidays

Sources: The Frontier Post (Islamabad) and Pakistan public holidays (qppstudio.net). According to a press release from Pakistan's Ministry of the Interior, the dates of the upcoming Eid-ul- Fitr public holiday have been shifted from the previously announced dates of October 2-4 to the period of Wednesday to Friday, October 1 to 3, 2008.

In addition, the Federal Government has announced that financial institutions including banks, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and the Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) will be also be closed from October 1 to October 3, 2008.

UAE Announces End Of Ramadan Holiday Dates

Sources: Gulf News , Emirates News Agency (WAM), and UAE public holidays (qppstudio.net). Humaid Mohammad Al Qatami, UAE's Minister of Health and Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, issued a circular declaring that all ministries and federal-government institutions would be closed from Monday, September 29, to Saturday, October 4, 2008, with work resuming on Sunday, October 5.

For its part, the Ministry of Labour announced that Eid holidays for the private sector will be for two days, on the first and second of Shawaal. This is in contrast to the usual 3-day long holiday enjoyed by the private sector, but as the 3rd of Shawwal falls during the UAE weekend, the announcement really means that no day in lieu will be given to the private sector for one of its day of holiday falling on the weekend.

Finally, Rashid Salem Al Nuaimi, Director General of the UAE's Ministry of Education, has announced that all public and private schools in the UAE will be closed from this Sunday, September 28, for seven days on the occasion of the End of Ramadan holidays.

Guinea's 50th National Day To Extend For 3 Days

Sources: The Observer (Banjul) and Guinea Conakry public holidays (qppstudio.net). Tibu Camara, minister of Information and Technology of Guinea Conakry, has been reported by the Gambian media as announcing that the upcoming 50th National Day public holiday would stretch for 3 consecutive days, from October 1-3, 2008 (one of these days being the upcoming Eid al Fitr, End of Ramadan, public holiday).

Saudi Arabia Clarifies Upcoming Eid Public Holidays For Private Sector

Sources: Arab News (Jeddah) and Saudi Arabia public holidays (qppstudio.net). Saudi Arabia's Labor Ministry announced that, in 2008, employees of the private sector are entitled to a minimum of four days for each of the Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha public holidays, to begin the day after the 29th of Ramadan, and on Arafat Day, respectively.

The Ministry statement also reminded employers that the Kingdom’s National Day, on September 23rd, is a public holiday for the private sector also.

China: Shanghai Stock Exchange Announces National Day Public Holiday Closure

Sources: Mondovisione and China public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has announced the schedule of market closure for the upcoming National Day public holiday Golden Week. The SSE will be closed from Saturday, September 27, to Sunday, October 5, inclusively.

The aforementioned dates are similar to the ones decreed for the general business and government sectors (our post of September 4) with the exception that the weekend of September 27-28 will be regular working days for the rest of China.

Poland To Vote On Restoration Of Epiphany Public Holiday

Sources: Polskie Radio and Poland public holidays (qppstudio.net). Following a petition (our post of June 27) which garnered over 600.000 signatures, Poland's parliament is set to vote in early October on the possible Restoration of the January 6 Epiphany public holiday. Some MPs for the ruling Civic Platform Party have indicated that they plan to introduce an amendment to cancel the May 1st public holiday, to keep the total number of public holidays unchanged.

Epiphany is the only holy day of obligation which has not been restored as a public holiday, since Poland regained control of its affairs in the early 1990's.

A recent poll indicates that a majority of respondents prefer Epiphany as opposed to May Day, but only by a margin of 50%-35%. This low margin, despite the association of May 1st with half a century of communism, is due to the fact that May 3rd is also a public holiday in Poland, allowing poles to have an extra-long early-May holiday break most years.

Philippines Revises End Of Ramadan Public Holiday Date

Sources: The Inquirer (Manila) and Philippines public holidays (qppstudio.net). President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) issued a directive making Wednesday, October 1, 2008, a regular holiday throughout the country, on the occasion of the Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan) Muslim religious festival. The directive was issued under Proclamation number 1625, released by Malacañang earlier this morning.

Note that the aforementioned announced date is contrary to the date of Tuesday, September 30, 2008, that had been posted on the official websites of the government of the Philippines for months.

Sri Lanka September 25 Central Province Public Holiday

Sources: Daily Mirror and Sri Lanka public holidays (qppstudio.net). Sri Lanka's Central Provincial Council announced that Thursday, September 25, 2008, had been declared a one-off public holiday in Sri Lanka's Central Province in honour of the Late President D.B. Wijetunge who passed away Sunday morning.

Chile's President Wants To Exchange October 12 And 31 Public Holidays

Sources: El Mercurio (Santiago) and Chile public holidays (qppstudio.net). As we announced on September 16, the bill making October 31st a new annual public holiday (día de las Iglesias Evangélicas) in Chile was approved by the Senate's Government commission, yesterday.

President Bachelet, through the Presidency's Secretary General, José Antonio Viera-Gallo, has indicated that she would approve the creation of this new public holiday, but that as counterpart, she would insist that the October 12 (día de la Raza) public holiday be cancelled (as we had reported was a possibility, back on December 12, 2007).

However, this quid pro quo is being resisted in the Senate on the grounds that the October 12 public holiday is an important national holiday in its own right and that, in any case, it would be unfair to make the Evangelical church directly responsible for its cancellation.

Another point still unclear is whether the new holiday would move to the nearest Monday if it falls in the middle of the week, as does the October 12 public holiday, but an option that was not used for the July 16 public holiday created in 2006.

Suriname Confirms Chinese Arrival 155th Anniversary Public Holiday

Sources: Times of Suriname, Dagblad Suriname (Paramarimbo) and Suriname public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Suriname has confirmed that Monday, October 20th, 2008, will be a one-off public holiday to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Chinese immigration to Suriname.

Russia's Parliament To Consider Banning Valentines' Day And Halloween

Sources: USA Today, Pravda, and Russia public holidays. Taking its cue from the Russian President's wife, Svetlana Medvedeva (our post of June 20), the Duma (Russia's parliament) will soon consider a law banning from all Russian educational institutions any celebration of Saint Valentines' Day and Halloween.

These 2 celebrations have recently been under growing attacks as "leading to moral decay". In 2003, Halloween had been banned from the schools of the Russian capital by Moscow's education department, while Saudi Arabia's religious police bans the selling of red items (in particular flowers) on Valentine's Day.

Guam Election Commission Wants Election Day Public Holiday

Sources: Pacific Daily News and Guam public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Guam Election Commission (GEC) has asked Governor Felix Camacho and lawmakers to make the upcoming November 4 U.S. General Election a local government holiday (aka. GovGuam holiday). A similar request was rejected by Governor Camacho for the 2006 General Elections.

New Zealand Soon To Announce Hillary Commemoration

Sources: The Dominion Post and New Zealand public holidays (qppstudio.net). The spokesperson for New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, said that the Government had been talking to Sir Edmund Hillary's family about how best to mark his life and that an announcement of this was not too far away. When asked specifically if this would involve a new public holiday, the spokesperson refused to rule it out.

For their part, the New Zealand Green Party floated the possibility of a new national public holiday coinciding with the nearest Monday to Sir Edmund Hillary's birthday (July 20), a date ideally suited to break up the long midwinter period between the Queen's Birthday (in early June) and Labour Day (in late October) public holidays.

Qatar Eid Public Holidays Starting September 28

Sources: The Peninsula (Doha) and Qatar public holidays (qppstudio.net). Qatar's minister of state for cabinet affairs, Sheikh Nasser bin Mohamed bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, announced that, for for ministries and government departments, the upcoming Eid al-Fitr public holidays would stretch from Sunday, September 28, to Monday, October 6, 2008, while other public institutions would start on the same date but finish on Sunday, October 5.

For their part, Qatar's banks, financial institutions and the Doha Securities Market will be on holidays three days, whose dates are to be announced by the Qatar Central Bank (QCB).

Maldives Announces October 8 Presidential Elections

Sources: Miadhu News (Male) and Maldives public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Commissioner of Elections of the Maldives has announced the date for the first ever multiparty contested presidential election in the Maldives, to be held on Wednesday, October 8, 2008. Based on the current President's past actions (see our post of August 6), we tentatively expect the day to be declared a one-off public holiday.

Chile's Senate To Vote On New October 31 Public Holiday Bill

Sources: La Tercera (Santiago), Chile public holidays (qppstudio.net) and our post of November 22, 2007. A year after being voted by the lower house, the bill that would make October 31st a new annual public holiday (día de las Iglesias Evangélicas) in Chile is finally reaching the Senate floor for a vote. According to Senator Jaime Orpis, all conditions seem to be there for an approbation and signing into law of the bill, before this year's October 31st date.

Bangladesh Declares September 29-30 Bridge Public Holidays

Sources: The Financial Express (Dhaka) and Bangladesh public holidays (qppstudio.net). At a meeting attended by Joint Secretary of Religious Affairs Ministry, AHM Afzal Hossain, and Director General of the Islamic Foundation, Md Fazlur Rahman, it was announced that Monday and Tuesday, September 29-30, 2008, will be one-off bridge public holidays between the September 28 Shab-e-Qadar (Night of Destiny) public holiday, and the beginning of the Eid-ul-Fiter holiday. As weekends in Bangladesh are Fridays and Saturdays, this means a continuous holiday period from Friday, September 26, to Saturday, October 4, 2008.

Honduras Moves Two Upcoming Public Holidays To Following Monday

Sources: El Heraldo (Tegucigalpa) and Honduras public holidays (qppstudio.net). Basing itself on the legislative decree 50-2003, Honduras' secretaría de Gobernación y Justicia has issued a directive moving the date of observance of 2 upcoming public holidays to the next Monday.

The October 3rd public holiday, marking the birthday of general Francisco Morazán, will be moved to Monday, October 6, 2008, while the October 21st Armed forces Day public holiday (día de las Fuerzas Armadas) will be moved to Monday, October 27, 2008.

This directive applies to both the public and private sectors.

Rwanda Election Day Public Holiday Today

Sources: APA (Kigali) and Rwanda public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Rwanda has declared today, Monday, September 15, 2008, a one-off public holiday for all civil servants on the occasion of the parliamentary elections.

India: September 15 Public Holiday In Tamil Nadu

Sources: The Hindu (Chennai) and India public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Tamil Nadu State government has declared Monday, September 15, 2008, a one-off public holiday on account of former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai’s birth centenary.

All government offices, educational institutions, government-run organisations and boards, offices of local bodies, banks, including cooperative banks and public undertakings in the State will remain closed. September 15 will also be a holiday for the Madras High Court, both in the Principal Seat here and the Madurai Bench, and all subordinate courts in Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Bolivia Declares September 15 Day In Lieu Regional Public Holiday

Sources: Agencia Boliviana de Información (Cochabamba) and Bolivia public holidays (qppstudio.net). The prefecture of the Bolivian Province of Cochabamba has declared Monday, September 15, 2008, a day in lieu public holiday to compensate for the fact the the September 14 regional public holiday falls on a Sunday.

Netherlands Antilles Confirms New Kingdom Day Public Holiday

Sources: The Daily Herald (Willemstad) and Netherlands Antilles public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Netherlands Antilles federal Labour Affairs Administration has confirmed that December 15 would become a new public holiday, beginning in 2008 (see our post of May 9). To compensate for this new public holiday, Antilles' Day (October 21) will cease to be a public holiday, effective immediately (ie. it will not be observed in 2008).

Kuwait Announces Upcoming End Of Ramadan Public Holidays Dates

Sources: The Arab Times (Kuwait City) and Kuwait public holidays (qppstudio.net). The President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) of Kuwait, Abdul Aziz Al-Zabin, announced the dates of the upcoming Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan) public holidays in Kuwait. Regardless of the duration of the current month of Ramadan, the de facto civil service public holidays will run from Tuesday, September 30, to Saturday, October 4, 2008, inclusively, and work will begin again on October 5th.

However, if the month of Ramadan lasts 29 days, the official public holidays will run from September 30 to October 3, with October 4 being a "recess day" rather than a public holiday. On the other hand, if the month of Ramadan lasts 30 days, the official public holidays will run from October 1-4, with September 30 being a recess day.

Spain's Castilla y León Announces 2009 Regional Public Holidays

Sources: El Mundo (Valladolid) and Spain public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Consejo de Gobierno of Spain's autonomous community of Castilla y León has announced the 2 regional public holidays that it, like all other autonomous regions of Spain, is entitled to declare annually.

The 2009 list will include Saint Joseph's Day (March 19) and the autonomy's traditional day on April 23. As many other autonomous regions have done for 2009, the autonomous community of Castilla y León has moved the observance of the November 1st public holiday from Sunday to the following Monday.

India September 12 Public Holiday In Puducherry

Sources: UNI and India public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Lieutenant Governor of India's Puducherry State, Govind Singh Gurjar, announced that Friday, September 12, 2008, would be a public holiday for the Union territory on account of "Onam", the harvest festival of Kerala, instead of the restricted holiday, previously announced. In compensation, Saturday, September 27, 2008, will be a regular working day.

Spain's Aragon Announces 2009 Regional Public Holidays List

Sources: Europapress and Spain public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Spain's autonomous region of Aragon has announced its list of regional public holidays for 2009. Most noteworthy is a recent trend that sees the moving of the November 1st and December 6th public holidays, falling on a Sunday in 2009, to the following Monday.

China Considering Further Changes To Public Holidays' List

Sources: Xinhua (Beijing) and China public holidays (qppstudio.net). Cai Jiming, a Tsinghua University professor and the principal of the holiday reform planning group (our post of November 17, 2007) has floated the idea that the October 1st National Day 3-day public holiday should be reduced to 1 day only to make room for 2 new, more traditional public holidays.

However, a recent online poll organized by the Chinese government (or, at least, allowed by its internet censorship) on the sina.com website, shows that almost 80% of respondents reject the idea.

Zambia October 30 Presidential Elections

Sources: BBC News and Zambia public holidays (qppstudio.net). Zambia's acting President, Rupiah Banda, has announced that Zambia would hold an election on 30 October to choose a successor to President Levy Mwanawasa, who died last month, and whose funeral, on September 3rd, was a public holiday in Zambia. Based on past decisions we expect the date of these upcoming presidential elections to also be declared a public holiday.

Pakistan's Sindh Province Cancels September 8 Public Holiday

Sources: The News (Islamabad) and Pakistan public holidays (qppstudio.net). Following yesterday's election of President Asif Ali Zardari, the Province of Sindh had declared a public holiday for Monday, September 8, 2008. But the provincial government has withdrawn the notification of holiday for Monday, following the newly elected president's stated disapproval of the announcement (the country needs education and hard work under prevailing circumstances and not holidays).

Nicaragua Extends Fiestas Patrias For A Third Day

Sources: Ministerio del Trabajo (MITRAB) and Nicaragua public holidays (qppstudio.net). Availing itself of articles 263, 264 and 265 of the Labour Code, the Ministry of Labour of Nicaragua (MITRAB) announced that, in addition to the annual, September 15 Independence Day public holiday, it had exceptionally declared Tuesday, September 16, 2008, as a one-off public holiday, given as compensation for the fact that, in 2008, the September 14, Batalla de San Jacinto public holiday falls on a Sunday.

The official declaration of a day in lieu public holiday is quite rare in Nicaragua. Article 68 of the Labour Code of Nicaragua does state that when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, a compensatory day must be given to the worker, but this day is almost never the following Monday, and its selection is usually done one a company-by-company basis, sometimes even on an individual basis (often being added to a worker's summer vacation time).

Russia's Far East Asking For VJ Day Public Holiday

Sources: ANN News (Vladivostok) and Russia public holidays (qppstudio.net). Officials at the annual celebration of the end of the second world war in the Pacific (VJ Day) in Vladivostok have called on the central government of Russia to recognize that event, in the same manner as it recognizes the end of the second world war in Europe (VE Day).

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation had rejected a request to make September 2, a national public holiday.