Iraq Announces Islamic New Year Public Holiday

Sources: Aswat al Iraq (Baghdad) and Iraq public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Iraqi Cabinet has announced that Monday, December 29, 2008, would be an official non-working public holiday for all government departments and across Iraq, on the occasion of Islamic New Year 1430 AH.

Iraq Declares December 25 Public Holiday

Sources: Iraqi Cabinet Press Release (Baghdad) and Iraq public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Government of Iraq announced that Thursday, December 25, 2008, would be a public holiday to coincide with Christmas Day. Whether this is a one-off holiday, or will be recurring in the future was not clear from the press release.

Guinea State Funeral On December 26

Sources: AFP (Conakry) and Guinea public holidays (qppstudio.net). Guinea will hold a State Funeral on Friday, December 26, 2008, for its former President, Lansana Conte, who died earlier this week, after 24 years in power.

Zimbabwe Announces Official List Of 2009 Public Holidays

Sources: The Herald (Harare) and Zimbabwe public holidays (qppstudio.net). President Mugabe has gazetted the official list of 2009 public holidays in Zimbabwe.

Philippines Extends Year-End Public Holidays To January 2nd

Sources: GMANews (Manila) and Philippines public holidays (qppstudio.net). Late last night, Philippines' President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, finally announced, through Proclamation 1695, that she had declared Friday, January 2, 2009, as a one-off bridge public holiday for both the private and public sectors.

Lesotho Election Days Could Become Public Holidays

Sources: Lesotho News Agency (Maseru) and Lesotho public holidays (qppstudio.net). Lesotho's Deputy Director of Elections, Mphasa Mokhochane, responsible for the current review of the National Assembly Electoral Law 2006 is quoted as saying that among the sections to be included in the amendment is a provision that election days be declared national public holidays.

Paraguay Declares 2 Additional Bank Holidays

Sources: La Nación (Asunción) and Paraguay public holidays (qppstudio.net). Paraguay's banking association, the Asociación de Bancos del Paraguay (ABP), has announced that, in addition to the usual December 31 bank holiday closing, this year banks in Paraguay would close at noon on both Wednesday December 24, and Tuesday December 30, 2008.

Romania Announces Official List Of 2009 Public Holidays

Sources: Mediafax (Bucharest) and Romania public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Government of Romania has announced the official list of public holidays in Romania for 2009.

Pakistan Announces December 26 Optional Public Holiday

Sources: Associated Press Of Pakistan (Islamabad) and Pakistan public holidays (qppstudio.net). Pakistan's Minister for Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, has announced an optional public holiday on Friday, December 26, 2008, for Christian government servants.

Bhutan Releases Official Public Holidays List For 2009

Sources: Government of Bhutan (Thimpu) and Bhutan public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Government of Bhutan has released its official list of public holidays for the year 2009.

Oman Declares 3-Day Islamic New Year Public Holidays

Sources: Gulf News (Muscat) and Oman public holidays (qppstudio.net). Sayyid Ali Bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Oman's Minister of the Diwan of the Royal Court, announced that the public sector would get 3 days of public holidays, Monday to Wednesday, December 29-31, 2008, on the occasion of the upcoming Hijri new year 1430.

UAE Moves Date Of Upcoming Islamic New Year Public Holiday

Sources: WAM Emirates News Agency (Abu Dhabi) and UAE public holidays (qppstudio.net). In a surprise move, earlier this morning, the UAE has moved the date of the Muharram 1st, 1430 H (Islamic New Year) public holiday from Monday, December 29, to Sunday, December 28, 2008, presumably to create a long weekend, as weekends for civil servants are Fridays and Saturdays.

Philippines Still Not Sure About January 2 Public Holiday

Sources: GMA News (Manila) and Philippines public holidays (qppstudio.net). Earlier today, Philippines' President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (aka. PGMA) has announced that she is still undecided as to whether or not to declare Friday, January 2, 2009 as a special non-working public holiday.

Sri Lanka December 26 Financial Public Holiday

Sources: Colombo Stock Exchange (Colombo) and Sri Lanka public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Colombo Stock Exchange has announced that Friday, December 26, 2008, had been declared as a special one-off stock exchange holiday in Sri Lanka. As such, there will be no trading, clearing and settlement activity, throughout Sri Lanka on that date.

Jordan Announces Year-End Public Sector Holidays

Sources: Petra News Agency (Amman) and Jordan public holidays (qppstudio.net). Two recent communiqués issued by Prime Minister Nader Dahabi have confirmed the dates and occurrence of the 3 public holidays that will occur at the end of December 2008 and the beginning of January 2009.

Uganda Declares Public Holiday For Ateker Ejalu Funeral

Sources: Sunday Monitor (Kampala) and Uganda public holidays (qppstudio.net). Following the death of former minister John Ateker Ejalu, local leaders from Teso have directed local councils across the region to declare Tuesday, December 23, 2008, when he will be buried, a public holiday because of his contribution towards the liberation of the poor in Uganda and Teso in particular.

Ukraine Announces January Bank And Public Holidays

Sources: National Bank of Ukraine (Kiev) and Ukraine public holidays (qppstudio.net). Ukraine's central bank, the National Bank of the Ukraine (NBU), has announced a bank holiday from January 1-3, 2009. During that period, all commercial banks in the Ukraine will be closed. In compensation, on Sunday, January 4, 2009, all banks in the Ukraine will be open as per weekday schedules.

Ecuador Denies Bank Holidays Rumours

Sources: Sources: Confirmado.net (Quito) and Ecuador public holidays (qppstudio.net). Ecuador's President, Rafael Correa, called a press conference last night to deny the recent rumours of upcoming extended bank holidays (feriado bancario) and de-pegging of the local currency from the US dollar.

Malta Declares Year End Bank Holidays

Sources: The Independent (Valletta) and Malta public holidays (qppstudio.net). Friday, December 26, 2008, and Friday, January 2, 2009, have been declared one-off bank holidays in Malta.

Bulgaria Year-End Financial Holidays

Sources: Bulgaria Morning Update (Sofia) and Bulgaria public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Bulgaria Stock Exchange (BSE) has announced that it will be on holidays from Wednesday, December 24, 2008, until Sunday, January 4, 2009, inclusively.

Bangladesh Election Day Public Holiday Is Confirmed

Sources: Bangladesh public holidays (qppstudio.net). We have received reports that the date of the upcoming national elections in Bangladesh, December 29, has been confirmed as a public holiday.

Israel General Elections On February 10

Sources: Haaretz (Jerusalem) and Israel public holidays (qppstudio.net). The date of the upcoming general elections in Israel have been set for Tuesday, February 10, 2009. As per the current legislation, all general elections are public holidays in Israel.

Kyrgyzstan Declares January 1-7 Public Holidays

Sources: AKI Press (Bishkek) and Kyrgyzstan public holidays (qppstudio.net). Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister, Igor Chudinov, has signed an executive order declaring the period from January 1 to January 7, 2009, as non-working nationwide public holidays in Kyrgyzstan.

Gibraltar Declares January 5 Public Holiday For EU Tax Case Victory

Sources: gibfocus (Gibraltar) and Gibraltar public holidays (qppstudio.net). Earlier today, Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Peter Caruana, announced that he was declaring Monday, January 5, 2009, to be a one-off public holiday.

Update (December 20) Gibraltar's Chief Minister Peter Caruana, announced that the one-off public holiday would be celebrated on Monday, January 12, 2009, rather than January 5th as previously announced.

Argentina Passes Public Holidays Law Reform

Sources: Telam (Buenos Aires) and Argentina public holidays (qppstudio.net). Late last night, in a marathon last session, Argentina's Senate approved a law project that makes changes to the observance and name of many public holidays.

Pakistan's Sindh Declares New Annual Public Holiday

Sources: Daily Times (Karachi) and Pakistan public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Cabinet of Pakistan's Province of Sindh has decided to declare December 27 an annual public holiday in the province to mark the anniversary of the death of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto.

Guam Declares December 26 Public Sector Holiday

Sources: Pacific Daily News (Chamorro) and Guam public holidays (qppstudio.net). Guam's Governor, Felix Camacho, has announced that Friday, December 26, 2008, the day after Christmas, will be a government of Guam holiday (aka. GovGuam Holiday).

Iraq Declares Public Sector Holiday In Shiite Province Of Diwaniyah

Sources: Diwaniyah News and Iraq public holidays (qppstudio.net). The provincial council of Iraq's Diwaniyah province has declared that Wednesday, December 17, 2008, would be a public holiday for all for all official and semi-official government departments, on the occasion of the Eid Ghadir.

Philippines Considering January 2 Public Holiday

Sources: The Sun Star (Manila) and Philippines public holiday (qppstudio.net). Earlier today, Executive Secretary, Eduardo Ermita, said that he would consult with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to determine if Friday, January 2, 2009, should be declared a public holiday in the Philippines.

Puerto Rico Announces Year-End Public Sector Holidays

Sources: Primera Hora (Guaynabo) and Puerto Rico public holidays (qppstudio.net). Puerto Rico's Governor, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, has declared 4 additional days of public sector holidays for the end of this year. These 4 additional public sector holidays are: December 24, 26 and 31, as well as January 2.

Australia Row Over 2009 ANZAC Day Public Holiday

Sources: The Brisbane Times (Brisbane) and Australia public holidays (qppstudio.net). After yesterday's final confirmation of 2009 public holidays' dates in Australia's State of Queensland, Workers' Unions are demanding that a day in lieu public holiday be declared on Monday, April 27, 2009, to compensate the fact that ANZAC day falls on a Saturday, in 2009.

Lithuania Considering Abolishing Day In Lieu Public Holidays

Sources: The Baltic Course (Vilnius) and Lithuania public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Lithuania has announced that as part of its plans to fend off the current economic crisis, it was planning to abolish the system of declaring an additional, day in lieu, public holiday on the Monday following any public holiday occurring on a weekend.

USA Federal Public Sector Holiday December 26

Sources: The White House (Washington DC) and USA public holidays (qppstudio.net). US President, George W. Bush, released an Executive Order, dated December 12, indicating that "All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Friday, December 26, 2008, the day after Christmas Day".

Guyana Postpones Elections

Sources: Starcom Network News (Bridgetown) and Guyana public holidays (qppstudio.net). Guyana's Local government minister, Kellawan Lall, has announced that the upcoming municipal elections, the first since 1994, had been postponed until the end of 2009.

Peru Announces 2009 Public Sector Holidays

Sources: Diario Oficial El Peruano (Lima) and Peru public holidays (qppstudio.net). Peru's Presidencia del Consejo de Ministros (PCM) has issued the decree DS Nº 082-2008-PCM fixing the list of 2009 adjoining and bridge public holidays to be taken by the Peruvian civil service.

Panama Declares December 26 and January 2 Public Sector Holidays

Sources: La Estrella (Panama City) and Panama public holidays (qppstudio.net). Panama's President, Martín Torrijos, declared 2 one-off, year-end bridge public holidays for the public sector, on Friday, December 26, 2008, and on Friday, January 2, 2009.

Zambia Day Of National Mourning On December 16

Sources: The Lusaka Times (Lusaka) and Zambia public holidays (qppstudio.net). Zambia's President, Rupiah Banda, has declared a state funeral for former Minister of Finance Emmanuel Kasonde, and that the day of the funeral, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, had been declared a day of national mourning.

Azerbaijan Announces 2009 Official Public Holidays

Sources: APA (Baku) and Azerbaijan public holidays (qppstudio.net). Late on Friday, Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers issued a decree on "Non-working days on the occasion of Novruz, Ramadan and Gurban holidays in Azerbaijan Republic in 2009", which sets forth the 2009 dates for the upcoming Novruz and 2 Muslim Eid public holidays.

Bangladesh's BNP Party Would Restore May 30 and November 7 Public Holidays

Sources: The Daily Star (Dhaka) and Bangladesh public holidays (qppstudio.net). Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson, Khaleda Zia, said that if the BNP wins the upcoming December 29 election, it would restore the May 30 and November 7 public holidays, to commemorate "the anniversary of the death of founding president Ziaur Rahman" and "'National Revolution and Solidarity Day", respectively.

Swaziland Announces Incwala Public Holiday Date

Sources: Swazi Observer (Mbabane) and Swaziland public holidays (qppstudio.net). Swaziland's Principal Secretary of Home Affairs, Meshack Shongwe, announced last night that the upcoming Incwala (aka. First Fruits) public holiday would be observed on Monday, December 15, 2008.

Cyprus Declares December 15 Public Holiday

Sources: AFP (Nicosia) and Cyprus public holidays (qppstudio.net). Cyprus' President, Demetris Christofias, has declared a one-off public holiday, on Monday, December 15, 2008, to coincide with the funeral of the ex-President of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, who died earlier today.

Uruguay Year-End Public Holidays Update

Sources: El País (Montevideo) and Uruguay public holidays (qppstudio.net). Uruguay's Vice-President, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, has clarified the government's position on the upcoming December 26 and January 2 días sandwich.

Thailand Declares Extended Year-End Bank Holidays

Sources: MCOT (Bangkok) and Thailand public holidays (qppstudio.net). Earlier today, Thailand's Central Bank, the Bank of Thailand (BoT), announced a 5-day consecutive period of bank holidays, from Monday, December 29, 2008, through Friday, January 2, 2009, with the caretaker government's approval.

Iraq To Consider US-Iraq Security Agreement Anniversary Public Holiday

Sources: Alsumaria TV Network (Baghdad) and Iraq public holidays (qppstudio.net). Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, has called for making the anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Iraq security agreement an annual public holiday in Iraq.

Chile Humour Campaign For January 2 Public Holiday

Sources: Cuarta Cibernetica (Santiago) and Chile public holidays (qppstudio.net). A group of Chilean creative ad agencies has banded together and created a movement asking the government to declare Friday, January 2, 2009, a bridge public holiday between January 1st and the weekend.

The movement has gotten attention by calling itself, humorously, Tómate el sandwich. Michelle!, where Michelle, of course, is Chile's President, Michelle Bachelet, and días sandwich is how people refer to Mondays or Fridays caught between a Tuesday or Thursday public holiday and the adjoining weekend. The pun, being on tómate which means take or have (as in Take a break, have a Kit-Kat), but which means tomato when written tomate (without an accent).

An online petition on their website has so far garnered 3977 signatures in favor of the tomato sandwich.

Moldova Announces 11-Day Public Holidays In January

Sources: Info-Prim (Chisinau) and Moldova public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Government of Moldova has approved the declaration of 4 days, January 2, 5, 6 and 9, 2009, as one-off public holidays.

Uruguay Considering 2 Year-End Bridge Public Holidays

Sources: Montevideo COMM and Uruguay public holidays (qppstudio.net). Uruguay's Tourism Minister, Héctor Lescano, is quoted as saying that it is quite likely (muy probable) that the government will soon declare 2 end-of-the-year bridge public holidays (aka. días sandwich), on Friday, December 26, 2008, and Friday, January 2, 2009.

China Announces Official List Of 2009 Public Holidays

Sources: QQ.com (Shanghai) and China public holidays (qppstudio.net). The State Council of China has released the official list of 2009 public holidays, including the list of working Saturdays and Sundays that compensate for some of the bridge public holidays and spring and fall Golden Weeks.

Argentina Declares Year-End Public Sector Holidays

Sources: Puntal (Buenos Aires) and Argentina public holidays (qppstudio.net). Last night, Argentina's Minister of the Interior, Florencio Randazzo, announced that President Cristina Fernández had signed decree 2095 declaring Friday, December 26, 2008, and Friday, January 2, 2009, as one-off non-working bridge public holidays for the public sector (asueto administrativo para los empleados estatales).

South Korea's Parliament Considering Day In Lieu Public Holidays

Sources: The Korea Times (Seoul) and South Korea public holidays (qppstudio.net). Fifteen lawmakers from South Korea's governing Grand National Party (GNP) have signed up for a bill authored by Representative Yoon Sang-hyun, which would make the Monday following a Sunday public holiday also a public holiday.