Argentina Confirms Bicentennial Public Holidays

Sources: Ministerio del Interior (Buenos Aires) and Argentina bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Argentina's Interior Minister, Florencio Randazzo, has announced that the Executive had sent a bill to Congress to declare Monday, May 24, 2010, a one-off public holiday on the occasion of Argentina's bicentennial.

Philippines Declares March 31 Half-Day Public Sector Holiday

Sources: GMA News (Manila) and Philippines bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Deputy presidential spokesman, Ricardo Saludo, has announced that Philippines President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, had declared a half day public sector holiday on Wednesday, March 31, 2010, " to allow more time for goverment employees to prepare for the long legal holiday on April 1-2 and the special non-working holiday on April 3 ".

Bhutan SAARC Public Holidays Update

Sources: Kuensel (Thimphu) and Bhutan bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The police chief of Bhutan's capital, Thimphu, brigadier Kipchu Namgyal, has said that discussions were going on within the government to declare a school holiday during days of the upcoming SAARC summit.

Hong Kong Taoist Public Holiday Update

Sources: 中国日报网 (Hong Kong Edition) and Hong Kong bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Leung Tak-wah, the Vice-chairman of Hong Kong's Taoist Association has announced that, next week, he will petition the HKSAR government to declare Laozi's birthday a statutory public holiday in Hong Kong.

Bolivia Maintains Good Friday Public Holiday

Sources: Agencia Boliviana de Información (La Paz) and Bolivia bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Bolivia's Minister of Labour, Carmen Trujillo, has announced that Bolivia's Ministerio de Trabajo, and its cabinet, has decided to maintain Good Friday as an official public holiday in 2010.

Nigeria Declares April 2 and 5 Public Holidays

Sources: Nigerian Federal Ministry of Information and Communications (Abuja) and Nigeria bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Government of Nigeria has declared Friday, April 2nd, and Monday, April 5th, 2010, as nationwide official non-working public holidays in Nigeria.

Macedonia Declares March 30 Tree Planting Public Holiday

Sources: Македонска Информативна Агенцијa (MIA) and Macedonia bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Macedonia has declared next Tuesday, March 30, 2010, as the 5th Tree-Planting national non-working public holiday.

Philippines Declare April 3 Public Holiday

Sources: Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and Philippines bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Labor and Employment Secretary of the Philippines, Marianito Roque, has announced Proclamation No. 2029, which declares Saturday, April 3, 2010, as a special (non-working) nationwide public holiday.

El Salvador Declares Monsignor Romero National Day

Sources: La Nación (San Salvador) and El Salvador bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). El Salvador's Legislative Assembly has decided to declare March 24 as Monsignor Romero National Day.

Panama Declares Maundy Thursday Public Sector Holiday

Sources: La Estrella (Panamá City) and Panama bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Panama's President, Ricardo Martinelli, has signed the Decreto Ejecutivo No. 214, which declares the afternoon of Thursday, April 1st, 2010, as a one-off public sector holiday, beginning at noon.

Micronesia Declares March 31st Public Holiday

Sources: FSM Information Services (Pohnpei) and Federated States of Micronesia bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The President of the Federated States of Micronesia, Emanuel (aka. Manny) Mori , has signed into law legislation that creates a new, annual, March 31st public holiday called "Micronesian Culture and Traditions Day".

Taiwan Confirms Children's Day Public Holiday

Sources: The China Times (Taipei) and Taiwan bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior has officially confirmed that, beginning in 2011, Children’s Day will once again be a national public holiday, to be observed annually on April 4th.

Jersey May 9 Day In Lieu Public Holiday Update

Sources: The Jersey Evening Post (Saint Helier) and Jersey bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The States of Jersey (Jersey's Parliament) has voted against another recent bill that would have compensated those who had to work on the upcoming Liberation Day public holiday, on Sunday, May 9, 2010.

Venezuela Declares Weeklong Public Holiday

Sources: Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Comunicación e Información (Caracas) and Venezuela bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Venezuela's President, Hugo Chávez, has announced that the entire upcoming Holy Week, March 29 to April 2, had been declared as non-working public holidays in Venezuela, to lighten the load on Venezuela's power grid.

Georgia Could Add More Ethnic Public Holidays

Sources: The Georgian Times (Tbilisi) and Georgia bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The press secretary for Georgia's president, Manana Manjgaladze, has announced that it was quite possible that holidays of various ethnic groups could also be declared as official non-working national public holidays in Georgia.

Russian Government Proposes Orthodox Public Holiday

Sources: The Moscow Times (Moscow) and Russia bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Russian government has submitted a bill to the State Duma (parliament) that would declare a new non-working public holiday on July 28, the date of the Baptism of Rus, when Russian Orthodox believers commemorate Prince Vladimir, who was christened Rus in 988.

Turkey Nevruz Public Holiday Update

Sources: Hürriyet Daily News (Istanbul) and Turkey bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). At Sunday's open air celebration of Nevruz at Kazlıçeşme in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu district, Siirt BDP Deputy Osman Özçelik, repeated the call for March 21 be declared an annual official non-working public holiday in Turkey.

Nepal Sued Over Bisket Jatra Public Holiday

Sources: MyRepublica (Kathmandu) and Nepal bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Yesterday, a writ petition was filed in Nepal's Supreme Court demanding that a public holiday be declared on the last day of the Nepali month of Chaitra for Bisket Jatra.

Argentina Clarifies April 2 Double Public Holiday

Sources: Telam (Buenos Aires) and Argentina bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Argentina has confirmed that there would be no additional, day in lieu, public holiday to compensate the fact that this year's Good Friday falls on the same date as the annual April 2, Día del Veterano y de los Caídos en Malvinas, public holiday.

Mexico Bicentennial Public Holiday Update

Sources: NTR Zacatecas (México) and Mexico bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The President of Mexico's Senate Committee on Legislative Review, Alejandro Zapata Perogordo, has announced that he would introduce new legislation to exceptionally observe this year's Revolution Day public holiday on Monday, November 22, 2010.

Fiji Scraps 2 Annual Public Holidays

Sources: Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (Suva) and Fiji bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Fiji's Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, has announced that Fiji's Cabinet had decided to remove 2 annual public holidays from the list of official annual public holidays in Fiji.

Lebanon Announces Upcoming Easter Public Holidays

Sources: iLoubnan (Beirut) and Lebanon bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Cabinet of the government of Lebanon has issued an official memo declaring that all public institutions will remain closed on April, 2nd, 3rd and 5th, of 2010, on the occasion of the upcoming Easter holidays.

Georgia Declares Nowruz Public Holiday

Sources: Trend News (Tbilisi) and Georgia bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Georgia's President, Mikheil Saakashvili, has declared tomorrow, Sunday, March 21, 2010, an official non-working public holiday in Georgia, on account of that day's Nowruz, spring equinox, holiday.

Nepal Declares Tomorrow A Public Holiday

Sources: Reuters (Kathmandu) and Nepal bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Following the death, this morning, of Nepal's former prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, the government of Nepal has declared tomorrow, Sunday, March 21, 2010, a public holiday.

Pakistan Declares Regional Public Holiday Tomorrow

Sources: Government of Sindh (Karachi) and Pakistan bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Pakistan's Province of Sindh has announced that tomorrow, Saturday, March 20, 2010, would be a regional non-working public holiday in connection with the martyrdom day of Soriah Badishah Hazrat Pir Sibghatillah Shah Shaheed.

Turkmenistan Extends Upcoming Novruz Public Holidays

Sources: Turkmenistan Government Information Agency (Ashgabad) and Turkmenistan bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). During this week's meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, has announced that he had signed a decree extending the 2-day annual Novruz, Spring Holiday, public holiday for a 3rd day, Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

Philippines Declares May 10 Public Holiday

Sources: Philippine Daily Inquirer (Manila) and Philippines bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Philippines President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has signed Proclamation 2020, declaring May 10, 2010, the date of the upcoming national elections, a special public non-working holiday throughout the country.

Nicaragua Announces Holy Week Public Sector Holidays

Sources: Ministerio del Trabajo de Nicaragua (MITRAB) and Nicaragua bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Nicaragua's Minister of Labour, Jeannette Chávez Gomez, has announced that the government public sector of Nicaragua would be on public holidays for the entire upcoming Holy Week, that is to say, from Saturday, March 27, until Sunday, April 4, 2010, inclusively.

Chile Bicentennial Public Holidays Update

Sources: La Segunda (Santiago) and Chile bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The recently nominated executive secretary of Chile's Bicentennial committee, Julio Dittborn, has announced that his proposal for 2 additional public holidays to mark this year's Chilean bicentennial has the approval of many in Congress as well as that of the new President of Chile.

Fiji Postpones March 22 Public Holiday

Sources: Radio Fiji (Suva) and Fiji bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Fiji's Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, has announced that, as a consequence of the recent passage of Hurricane Tomas, the National Youth Day public holiday, set for next Monday, March 22, 2010, has now been declared a normal workday and school day.

India Declares March 22 Bihar Divas Public Holiday

Sources: The Bihar Times (Patna) and India bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of India's State of Bihar has announced a new public holiday, Bihar Day (Bihar Divas), to be celebrated on March 22, annually.

Nepal Declares Ghodejatra Public Sector Holiday

Sources: eKantipur (Kathmandu) and Nepal bank and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Nepal's Home Ministry has announced that it had decided to declare Monday, March 15, 2010, a one-off public sector holiday in all the government offices, in the Kathmandu Valley, to mark the Ghodejatra festival.

Fiji Declares Cyclone Bank Holiday Tomorrow

Sources: Reserve Bank of Fiji (Suva) and Fiji bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Reserve Bank of Fiji (Fiji's Central Bank) has declared Monday, March 15, 2010, a one-off public holiday for all financial institutions in Fiji.

Thailand Rules-Out March 15 Public Holiday

Sources: The Bangkok Post (Bangkok) and Thailand bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). A spokesman for Thailand's acting government, Panithan Wattanayagorn, has announced that Thailand's cabinet had decided not to declare a one-off public holiday on Monday, March 15, 2010.

Kazakhstan Adds Day To Novruz Public Holidays

Sources: Kazakhstan Today (Astana) and Kazakhstan bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Kazakhstan has added one day, Wednesday, March 24, 2010, to this year's Novruz public holidays.

Thailand Could Declare March 12 Public Holiday

Sources: Bangkok Post (Bangkok) and Thailand bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). There are reports in Thailand's press that the Government of Thailand might declare a one-off public holiday on Friday, March 12, 2010, 2 days before the date when the opposition "red-shirts" rally is to be held in Bangkok.

Ghana Confirms March 6 and 8 Public Holidays

Sources: Ghana News Agency (Accra) and Ghana bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). Ghana's Minister of the Interior, Martin Amidu, has confirmed that that Saturday, March 6, 2010, would be a statutory public holiday.

Togo Declares March 4 Public Holiday

Sources: Etiame (Lome) and Togo bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The government of Togo has declared the date of the upcoming Presidential elections, Thursday, March 4, 2010, as a one-off electoral public holiday.

Iraq Declares Additional Electoral Public Holidays

Sources: Aswat al-Iraq (Baghdad) and Iraq bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The Council of Ministers of Iraq's Province of Kurdistan region has announced additional official regional public holiday from Thursday, March 4, until Monday, March 8, 2010, inclusively, in response to a request from the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).

Anguilla Confirms March 2 Public Holiday

Sources: Anguilla Express (The Valley) and Anguilla bank holidays and public holidays (qppstudio.net). The new Anguillan cabinet of Chief Minister Hubert Hughes has announced in Parliament that Tuesday, March 2, 2010, will be a public holiday to honor the father of the nation, James Ronald Webster.