Public Holidays News December 2006

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This monthly recap of December 2006 worldwide public holidays news and updates, covers all the countries of the world, and is based on our daily review of hundreds of online newspapers, government sites, and institutional sources, and over a decade of experience following worldwide public holidays, to place current events in context, and anticipate on possible future changes. Available as free weekly or monthly email newsletters.
Date	Country
31-Dec-2006	Spain	(Source: El Comercio) In 2007, the Principado de Asturias autonomous region will celebrate the D�a de Asturias on September 8. This will be the only public holiday, observed in the Asturias, that will be distinct from the 9 public holidays common to the rest of Spain. In 2007, there will be 9 common public holidays, nationwide. As published last month in the Bolet�n Oficial del Estado (BOE), these are the usual: Jan-1, Good Friday, May-1, Asunci�n de la Virgen, Fiesta nacional de Espa�a, D�a de Todos los Santos, D�a de la Constituci�n, D�a de la Inmaculada Concepci�n, and Navidad. Links: other Spain news and updates.
31-Dec-2006	Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan Announces Date Of Kurban Bairam Public Holiday (Source: Interfax) Turkmenistan is marking the beginning of the Eid-ul-Adha holiday, also known as Kurban Bairam. Links: other Turkmenistan news and updates.
31-Dec-2006	Iraq	Iraq Declares Different Eid Public Holidays (Source: Reuters) Wednesday, January 3, 2007, is the last day of the Eid al Adha religious holiday for Shi'ites in Iraq, but the government has declared a public holiday lasting until Saturday (NB: weekends are Thursdays and Fridays in Iraq). Links: other Iraq news and updates.
30-Dec-2006	Suriname	(Source: Stabroek News) Suriname's Muslim community will observe Eid al Adha on December 31 (it is not one of the Suriname public holidays, although Eid al Fitr is). Links: other Suriname news and updates.
30-Dec-2006	Libya	(Source: The Associated Press) Libya declared three days of national mourning after the execution, today, of Iraqi ex-president Saddam Hussein. Flags were lowered to half-staff on public buildings and all festivities for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins this weekend, have been cancelled, the local news agency added. Links: other Libya news and updates.
30-Dec-2006	Guyana	Guyana Announces Date Of Eid-ul-Adha Public Holiday (Source: Stabroek News) January 1 has been declared a public holiday to observe Eid-ul-Adha, although within the local Muslim community, the festival day will be observed on different dates. Links: full story and other Guyana news and updates.
30-Dec-2006	Ghana	Ghana Declares January 2 Public Holiday (Source: GNA-Ghana News Agency) Government declares January 2 a public holiday. In view of the fact that Eid-Ul-Adha, a statutory public holiday, falls on Saturday December 30, President John Agyekum Kufuor has declared Tuesday, January 2, 2007 a public holiday. Links: other Ghana news and updates.
30-Dec-2006	USA	(Source: The Wall Street Journal) NYSE to Close in Ford's Honor. On Friday, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) joined the Nasdaq Stock Market in announcing it would close on Tuesday January 2nd, 2007, in observance of a national day of mourning for former President Gerald Ford. Links: other USA (United States) news and updates.
30-Dec-2006	Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago Announces Date Of Eid al Adha (Source: Stabroek News) Trinidad and Tobago's Muslim community will observe Eid al Adha on December 31 (it is not one of the Trinidad and Tobago public holidays, although Eid al Fitr is). Links: other Trinidad and Tobago news and updates.
29-Dec-2006	Somalia	Eid al-Adha Cease-Fire: As a sign of goodwill, President Abdullahi Yusuf and the Ethiopian government declared a 24-hour cease-fire in Somalia, and particularly Mogadishu, to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha on Saturday, December 30. Links: other Somalia news and updates.
29-Dec-2006	The Gambia	Sunday is the Tobaski Muslim Feast: A press release from the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) has relayed that Eid Al Adha, locally known as Tobaski, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 31st December. Links: other The Gambia news and updates.
29-Dec-2006	Pakistan	Pakistan Declares January 2 Public Holiday (Source: The State Bank of Pakistan) The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), Central Depository Company of Paksitan Limited (DCD) and National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCC) have announced that in addition to January 1, 2007, January 2, 2007 will also be a holiday in Pakistan. Links: full story and other Pakistan news and updates.
29-Dec-2006	Ecuador	Ecuador Bank Holiday On December 29 The Asociaci�n de Bancos Privados del Ecuador (ABPE) announced that, with the authorization of the Superintendencia de Bancos y Seguros (Ecuador's equivalent to the SEC) banks in Ecuador will work behind closed doors on December 29, to close the 2006 accounts. Links: full story and other Ecuador news and updates.
29-Dec-2006	USA	President George W. Bush decreed a day of national mourning on Tuesday January 2, in hommage to former President Gerald Ford; all executive departments, independent organizations and other agencies of the Federal government to be closed. However, the closures do not apply to Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, or other departments, independent establishments, and governmental agencies that have anything to do with National Security and essential functions. The NASDAQ, on whose Board of Directors former President Ford sat in 1999 and 2000, will be closed on Tuesday January 2. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has not made any announcements yet. Links: other USA (United States) news and updates.
29-Dec-2006	Chile	Chile - No Bank Holiday On December 29 Facing many questions from the public, the Superintendencia de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras (SBIF) officially confirmed that Friday December 29, 2006,was not a bank holiday in Chile, and that banks in Chile would open and operate normally. Links: other Chile news and updates.
29-Dec-2006	Slovenia	Slovenia will adopt the euro on the 1st of January 2007 at the rate of 239.640 tolars per euro, a rate fixed in July by ECOFIN ministers. From the 1st of January, Slovenians will be able to pay in euros or in tolars and receive the change in euros, until January 14. As from 15 January 2007 only euro cash will have the status of legal tender in Slovenia. However, afterwards, it will still be possible to exchange tolars free of charge at banks. Dual display of prices in euros and in tolars is compulsory since March 2006. Links: other Slovenia news and updates.
29-Dec-2006	Argentina	On Saturday December 30, 2006, banks will be open from 10:00 to 15:00, but only emergency government services will be running. Subways in Buenos Aires will run on December 31 and January 1, following Sundays and public holidays schedules (8:00 to 23:00, with the last train leaving around 22.30). For more information on the next few days' opening hours, for colectivos, taxis, garbage disposal, cinemas, shopping malls, and street parking, see the link at the beginning of this news item. Links: other Argentina news and updates.
28-Dec-2006	Pakistan	Pakistan Announces 2007 School Holidays Education Minister, Hameeda Khuhro, announced the school holidays and examination schedule for educational institutions, for 2007. Links: full story and other Pakistan news and updates.
28-Dec-2006	Taiwan	Taiwan Election Update The ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the the opposition Kuomintang Party are slowly moving towards an agreement on a two-in-one election (both Presidential and Legislative Elections), on the same date of January 19, 2008. Links: full story and other Taiwan news and updates.
28-Dec-2006	Nepal	Nepal CA Elections Scheduled For June 2007 The government has formally initiated the groundwork for conducting the election to a constituent assembly by mid-June 2007. Links: full story and other Nepal news and updates.
28-Dec-2006	Chile	Chile To Legislate Store Openings On Public Holidays' Eves The agreement restricting the opening hours of supermarkets and malls to 20:00, on December 24, seems to have been widely disregarded, with many keeping their employees on the job until past midnight. As a result, 3 deputies (one DC, one PPD, and one independent) and the Confederaci�n Nacional de Trabajadores del Comercio (Confecove) have introduced a bill that would legislate on opening hours before major holidays. Links: other Chile news and updates.
28-Dec-2006	Transdniestria	On 27 December, the President of Pridnestrovie (PMR), Igor Smirnov, signed the law passed by the Supreme Soviet on 20 December, making January 2nd, every year, a nonworking holiday. The law comes into effect as of January 1st, 2007. Links: other Transdniestria news and updates.
28-Dec-2006	Qatar	The Doha Securities Market (DSM) will remain closed from December 31, 2006 to January 2, 2007 on the occasion of Eid Al Adha. Links: other Qatar news and updates.
28-Dec-2006	Argentina	The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange and the Mercado de Valores de Buenos Aires will be closed today, December 29, 2006. However, all local banks and following entities in Buenos Aires will observe normal working hours on that day. Links: other Argentina news and updates.
27-Dec-2006	Indonesia	Indonesia Bank And Financial Holiday On December 29 The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) has announced that December 29, 2006 (Friday) will be a stock exchange holiday in Indonesia. Links: other Indonesia news and updates.
27-Dec-2006	Honduras	Honduras Clarifies End Of The Year Civil Service Public Holidays It was restated that, as per the decreto legislativo 50-2003, passed by the Congreso Nacional, the only 2 days of public holidays for civil servants, in Honduras, are December 25 and January 1. Government services will be functioning on all other dates. Links: full story and other Honduras news and updates.
27-Dec-2006	Spain	The official Catalonia winter rebates season (rebajas de invierno) will begin on January 8, 2007, and end on March 7, 2007. Businesses will not be allowed to open on January 7, 2007, the day before the beginning of the rebates season, however they will be permitted to open the following Sunday, January 14, 2007. The list of 8 Sundays and public holidays when shops are allowed to open, in Catalonia, in 2007 is as follows: Jan-14, Jul-1, Aug-15, Nov-1, Dec-6, Dec-8, Dec-16, and Dec 23. It is also possible to replace one or two of these 8 dates with one or two of the regional and municipal public holidays, as long as the request for this substitution is made to the Direcci�n General de Comercio, before February 15, 2007. Links: other Spain news and updates.
27-Dec-2006	Oman	Oman Announces Duration Of Eid al-Adha Public Holiday Eid Al Adha holidays: At the ministries, public authorities and other departments of the state administrative apparatus, the Eid Al Adha Al Mubarak holidays will be from Saturday, December 30 until the end of Wednesday, January 3, 2007, and, since weekends in Oman are still Thursdays and Fridays, work will resume on Saturday January 6, 2007 (statement issued by Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, minister of the Diwan of Royal Court and chairman of the Civil Service Council). Links: full story and other Oman news and updates.
27-Dec-2006	West Bank and Gaza	The Jordanian Public Security Department announced that the King Hussein Bridge (linking the West Bank to Jordan) will be closed for passengers and goods on the first day of Eid holiday which will be Saturday, Dec.30. The Bridge will remian closed to transportation of goods on the 2nd and third days of Eid, and will be reopened on January 2nd, 3rd and 4th all day long in order to receive pilgrims. Links: other West Bank and Gaza news and updates.
27-Dec-2006	USA	Indiana State Representatives have proposed a referendum to determine whether the state should be on Eastern or Central Time Zone. Another senator has filed a bill to require the governor to request the entire state be placed on Central Time. Links: other USA (United States) news and updates.
26-Dec-2006	Pakistan	Pakistan Confusion About Date Of Upcoming Eid-ul-Azha Public Holiday Despite the federal government�s earlier announcement that Eid should be celebrated on January 1 (see our news story of December 25), the Masjid Qasim Ali Khan committee announced that Eid ul Azha would be celebrated in the NWFP and tribal areas on December 31. Links: full story and other Pakistan news and updates.
26-Dec-2006	UAE	UAE Announces Same Eid Al Adha Public Holidays Dates For All Private sector gets the same holidays as public sector; according to a decision by Dr. Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour, private sector employees will get a four-day holiday from Friday, December 29 to Monday, January 1 to mark Eid Al Adha and the New Year. Links: full story and other UAE (United Arab Emirates) news and updates.
26-Dec-2006	India	India's Punjab State Announces Official List Of 2007 Public Holidays (Source: Punjab Newline) Last Friday, the Punjab state government announced the calendar of 24 gazetted Punjab public holidays for 2007. Links: full story and other India news and updates.
26-Dec-2006	Russia	Russia-Belarus Union Vote Date Still Not Set At a press conference, yesterday, Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) chairman Alexander Veshnyakov said that the time has yet to come to hold a referendum on the unification of Russia and Belarus. Links: other Russia news and updates.
26-Dec-2006	Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan Elections On February 11 (Source: Reuters) The People's Assembly, Turkmenistan's top legislative body, unanimously voted in favor of holding a presidential election on February 11, 2007, to choose a successor to the late President Saparmurat Niyazov. Links: full story and other Turkmenistan news and updates.
26-Dec-2006	Belarus	At a press conference, yesterday, Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) chairman Alexander Veshnyakov said that the time has yet to come to hold a referendum on the unification of Russia and Belarus. Links: other Belarus news and updates.
25-Dec-2006	Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia Moves Date Of Eid al Adha Public Holiday According to a surprise last minute statement, bringing forward by one day of the beginning of the month of Dhu Al Hijja, issued by the Supreme Judicial Council in Saudi Arabia late on Wednesday night, the Islamic month of Dhu Al Hijja began on Thursday, December 21, and therefore Arafat day will fall on Friday, December 29, and the first day of Eid Al Adha on December 30 (instead of the expected December 31). Links: full story and other Saudi Arabia news and updates.
25-Dec-2006	Pakistan	Pakistan Celebrates Quaid-i-Azam's 130th Anniversary Today is a public holiday in Pakistan, not only on account of Christmas Day, but most importantly because it marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, often called the Father of the Nation. Links: other Pakistan news and updates.
25-Dec-2006	Pakistan	Pakistan's Ruet-i- Hilal Announces Date Of Eid ul Azha Public Holiday The Chairman of the Central Ruet-i- Hilal Committee, Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman, announced that the Zilhaj moon has not been sighted anywhere in the country on Thursday and that the first of Zilhaj will fall on December 23, 2006. Links: full story and other Pakistan news and updates.
25-Dec-2006	UAE	UAE Announces End-Of-Year Public Holidays Four-day holiday for public sector: Abu Dhabi: Ministries and public sector institutions will be closed from Dhu Al Hijja 9 (December 29) to Dhu Al Hijja 13 (January 1) to observe Eid Al Adha. Links: other UAE (United Arab Emirates) news and updates.
25-Dec-2006	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia Declares 10 Days Of Public Holidays In January (Source: Onasa News Agency-MRT) The Serb part of Bosnia Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska, has announced 10 non-working public holidays in January 2007. Links: full story and other Bosnia and Herzegovina news and updates.
25-Dec-2006	China	China Will Retain Golden Weeks Public Holidays In 2007 (Source: State Council) A circular about holiday arrangements for 2007, issued by the State Council, has been posted on the website of the National Tourism Administration. According to the circular, the government will maintain week-long or Golden Week public holidays around the Spring Festival, the May Day and the National Day in 2007. Links: full story and other China news and updates.
25-Dec-2006	West Bank and Gaza	The Palestinian authorities have followed the controversial Saudi anticipated announcement of the Eid Al Adha Muslim holiday, which was called to begin on 30 December, 2006, in the West Bank and Gaza. For more details on the controversial Saudi anticipated announcement of the Eid Al Adha, see our December 25 news story at . Links: other West Bank and Gaza news and updates.
25-Dec-2006	Bahrain	Nine-day holiday for Bahrainis: Public sector employees and students will remain away from the office and schools for nine days. The nine-day holiday will start on Friday December 29, the day before Eid Al Adha, and will end on January 6, 2007, with all ministries and government establishments and organisations remaining closed. Government employees are usually given three days off for Eid, but a decision by the previous parliament added Arafat Day, the day when pilgrims stand on Mount Arafat in the suburbs of Makkah. With the Bahraini law stipulating compensation for the off days that fall on Friday or Saturday, the public sector will also have Tuesday and Wednesday off on account of Arafat Day (Friday) and the first Eid day (Saturday). The occurrence of New Year's Day on Monday, the third day of Eid, will result in a replacement on Thursday. The perspective of the long holidays, although not officially announced yet, was calculated upon the surprise, recent, announcement by Saudi Arabia that Eid would start on December 30, instead of December 31. Links: other Bahrain news and updates.
24-Dec-2006	Australia	Australia Pondering Extent Of APEC Public Holiday (Source: Sydney Morning Herald) NSW Premier Morris Iemma will make a decision in the next few weeks as to whether just Sydney or the whole of NSW will get a public holiday during September's APEC summit. Mr Iemma confirmed a public holiday would be necessary on Friday, September 7, so security forces could close down most of the city's streets for the meeting of 21 Asia-Pacific leaders. Links: full story and other Australia news and updates.
24-Dec-2006	Costa Rica	Costa Rica's Moving Public Holidays Credited With Improved Tourism (Source: Instituto Costarricense de Turismo) The ICT (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo) has just released a report showing a markedly improved tourism trade in 2006 (tourism accounts for 22% of Costa Rica's foreign trade, and 7.5% of its GDP). One of the points noted in the report, is that the recent practice of moving fixed date public holidays to the following Monday, has played a part in this improvement in tourism. Links: full story and other Costa Rica news and updates.
24-Dec-2006	Algeria	The minist�re des Affaires religieuses et des Wakfs announced yesterday, finally, that the date for the A�d El Adha would be Saturday December 30, 2006, which means that Arafat Day (not one of the official public holidays) would be held on Friday December 29, 2006. Links: other Algeria news and updates.
24-Dec-2006	Philippines	Philippines ASEAN Summit Public Holidays Dates Still Uncertain Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, regrouping Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei Darrusalam, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia) and six other dialog partners will be attending the re-scheduled Asean and East Asia summits next month, from Jan. 10 to 15, 2007, in Cebu, at the Shangri-La Mactan and the Cebu International Convention Center. Links: full story and other Philippines news and updates.
23-Dec-2006	French Polynesia	French Polynesia Local Election Dates Delayed The election of the President of French Polynesia was delayed until next Tuesday, December 26, due to a lack of quorum in the Assembly (who elects the President). The election on Tuesday will be a one-turn, relative majority vote. Links: other French Polynesia news and updates.
23-Dec-2006	Nigeria	The Federal Government has declared Tuesday and Wednesday January 2-3, 2007 as public holidays to mark the Eid-el-Kabir (Sallah) celebrations. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Amb. Olu Adeniji, who announced the holidays yesterday in Abuja, also said that January 1, 2007 would be observed as a public holiday to mark the New Year. He said that Monday December 25 and Tuesday December 26, had also been declared as public holidays to mark this year�s Christmas and Boxing Day celebrations. Links: other Nigeria news and updates.
23-Dec-2006	Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan National Mourning Until December 30 (Source: Al Jazeera) Following the death of Turkmenistan's autocratic president, Saparmurat Niyazov, who died of heart failure last Thursday, and whose funeral is scheduled for next Sunday, all restaurants, cafes and liquor shops were closed throughout the country, and weddings were ordered to be postponed until December 30, the end of the national mourning period. Links: other Turkmenistan news and updates.
23-Dec-2006	France	The RATP (Paris Metro) has announced that it would extend service hours by one hour, from 01:15am to 02:15am, on Friday nights, Saturday nights, on holidays and on the eve of holidays. Links: other France news and updates.
22-Dec-2006	Philippines	Philippines Renews End-Of-The-Year Public Holidays Truce For 2006 Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo approved on Thursday a suspension of military offensives against communist rebels during the holidays season. The truce with communist rebels would start on Dec. 24 and run up to midnight of Dec. 25. Links: full story and other Philippines news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Peru	Peru clarifies Status Of December 26 The Ministry of Labor felt obliged, today, to specify that Tuesday December 26 would not be a public holiday. Links: full story and other Peru news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	South Korea	(Source: Yangjisa Corporation) The next presidential election will occur on December 19, 2007. This will be a partial public holiday, in the sense that government offices will be closed, and most businesses will either close, or will give 2-3 hours to its employees to go and vote. Links: other South Korea news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Swaziland	(Source: The Swazi Observer) The first day of the little Incwala ceremony attracted over 1500 members of various regiments as it unravelled, today, within the national cattle byre at Ludzidzini yesterday afternoon. Her Majesty the Indlovukazi graced the occasion with several members of the Royal Family. The main Incwala ceremony will be danced during a public holiday soon to be announced. Links: other Swaziland news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Tonga	The Tongan Government will officially close down for its Christmas and New Year holiday on Friday December 22. The Government usually resumes on December 31 but because it falls on a Sunday followed by the January 1 public holiday, all Government operations will not resume until Tuesday January 2, 2007. Links: other Tonga news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Angola	Angola Hints At Date Of Next Elections (Source: Angop News Agency) The state Angop news agency said the Council of the Republic, a body chaired by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, had advised splitting legislative and presidential elections, holding the former in 2008 (between May and August) and the latter in 2009 (also between May and August). Links: full story and other Angola news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Poland	(Source: Portalino) Poland to hold referendum on euro. Poland, through its Minister of Finance, Zyta Gilowska, has stated its intention to meet the euro criteria by 2009 and hold a referendum in 2010. Links: other Poland news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Denmark	The Danish People's Party, a key backer of the center-right government, blasted the Foreign Ministry on Thursday for using the phrase Season's Greetings instead of Merry Christmas on its official holiday cards (the official greeting cards have printed translations of Merry Christmas in Danish, German, French and Spanish, but use Season's Greetings in English), and accused the ministry of caving into a silly tendency of political correctness it said has gained foothold in Britain and the United States. Links: other Denmark news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan's President Dies (Source: IWPR) President Saparmurat Niazov, died this morning of a heart attack. As news of Niazov�s death broke, Turkmenistan announced a 7-day period of national mourning, and closed its borders. Links: full story and other Turkmenistan news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Philippines	Philippines Christmas Holidays Truce Uncertain The Philippine military has recommended suspending offensives against communist rebels during Christmas and New Year, the chief of staff said on Wednesday, two weeks after ruling out such a truce (see our story of December 7, 2006). Links: full story and other Philippines news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Uruguay	The council of Ministers is expected to announce, next Tuesday, the officialization, by President Tabar� V�zquez, of June 19, already a holiday marking the birthday of Jos� Artigas, as an additional public holiday, powerfully named Nunca M�s (never again) to comemorate the painful 3 past decades of political violence. Links: other Uruguay news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	North Korea	There are unconfirmed, and possibly strongly biased, reports that each house in Musan, Onsung, Hoeryong in North Hamkyong Province, would receive electricity from the December 19th to 24th, commemorating Kim Jong Il�s mother, Kim Jong Suk�s birthday (Dec. 24). Links: other North Korea news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Marshall Islands	Mashall Islands President Kessai H. Note has declared the period from December 20, 2006 through December 26, 2006 as a time of national mourning in observance of the death of the Honorable Justin deBrum, who was a long time member of the Nitijela representing Kwajalein Atoll. Links: other Marshall Islands news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Brazil	All the Brazilian banking and financial markets will be closed on Friday, December 29, 2006. Links: other Brazil news and updates.
21-Dec-2006	Austria	The Vienna Stock Exchange will be closed on Friday, December 29, 2006. Links: other Austria news and updates.
20-Dec-2006	Peru	Peru End-Of-Year Shopping Hours Following an agreement with the government, shopping malls (Centros Comerciales) will be allowed to open up to 2 additional hours per day, betweeen December 18 and 24, 2006. Links: full story and other Peru news and updates.
20-Dec-2006	French Polynesia	French Polynesia Local Election Dates Announced An election for the position of the President of French Polynesia will be held on 21 December, within the legally set limit of 2 weeks after a motion of no confidence in the Temaru Government succeded. Links: other French Polynesia news and updates.
20-Dec-2006	Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan Public Holidays From December 31 to January 7 (Source: Azeri Press Agency-APA) Social policy permanent commission chairman, Hadi Rejebli, has announced that as the upcoming 2 days for the Feast of Sacrifice public holiday will fall on the same date as the annual December 31 and January 1 public hoilidays, additional days in lieu public holidays had been declared for January 3-4-5. Links: full story and other Azerbaijan news and updates.
20-Dec-2006	Gibraltar	Gibraltar Declares January 29 Public Holiday The Government has declared a public holiday on Monday the 29th of January, 2007, to mark the approval of the New Constitution by the Privy Council, and its commencement on Tuesday 2nd January 2007. Links: other Gibraltar news and updates.
20-Dec-2006	Bangladesh	Bangladesh Electoral Public Holiday Update National election now on January 22: Earlier, the Electoral Comission shifted the polling date to January 23 next from its initial schedule on January 21, but it once again changed the voting date, this time to January 22, to taking in the religious festival, Swaraswati Puja, of the members of the Hindu community into consideration. Links: other Bangladesh news and updates.
20-Dec-2006	Cuba	The Minister of Labor and Social Secutrity has decreed that Tuesday January 2, 2006, would be an additional holiday. Links: other Cuba news and updates.
20-Dec-2006	Argentina	The Supreme Court (Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Naci�n) has announced that December 22 and 29, 2006, will be judicial holidays, in accordance with presidential decree 1893/06 and the judicial accord 37/2006. National and provincial civil servants will also get 2 additional public holidays, on December 22 and 29, 2006. However, municipal employees in Buenos Aires will not. Links: other Argentina news and updates.
19-Dec-2006	China	China announces 2007 Public Holidays Schedule Chinese workers will have three consecutive days off in the upcoming 2007 New Year break from January 1 to 3, but will have to work on Saturday, December 30 and Sunday, December 31. The Chinese Lunar New Year vacation will stretch from February 18 to February 24, and employees will have to be on the job on February 17 and 25 as a swap for the holidays. For Labor Day on May 1 and National Day on October 1, local residents will have seven days off starting on the first day of May and October, but they must work the preceding weekends of April 28-29 and September 29-30. Links: other China news and updates.
19-Dec-2006	Iran	Every year, Iran holds celebrations from February 1-11, leading up to its National Day. This year the theme of the celebrations will be the successful establishment of Iran's nuclear industry, said government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham, as quoted by the official Iranian news agency IRNA. Links: other Iran news and updates.
19-Dec-2006	Colombia	The Colombian Stock Market (BVC: Bolsa De Valores de Colombia) will be closed on Friday December 29, 2006. Links: other Colombia news and updates.
18-Dec-2006	The Gambia	President Jammeh declared today, December 18, 2006, a public holiday to celebrate his victory in the September elections. Links: other The Gambia news and updates.
18-Dec-2006	Malaysia	Malaysia's Sarawak Clarifies 2007 Public Holidays Dates (Source: Bernama-Kuching) The State of Sarawak has announced that January 2, 2007, will be a public holiday in Sarawak if Hari Raya Aidiladha falls on December 31, this year. Links: full story and other Malaysia news and updates.
18-Dec-2006	Portugal	A metro strike is scheduled to take place in Lisbon, from 0630 to 1200, on December 19, 2006. Alternative bus service will be provided during the hours of the strike. Additional work stoppages are scheduled to take place on 9 and 11 January 2007. Links: other Portugal news and updates.
17-Dec-2006	Bhutan	Bhutan Transition Likely To Affect Public Holidays List Former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck in a hush-hush royal decree handed over the reins of Bhutan to his eldest son Jigme Khesar who assumed office Thursday as the fifth ruler in the Wangchuck dynasty that came to power in December 1907. Links: full story and other Bhutan news and updates.
17-Dec-2006	West Bank and Gaza	Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, will present a speech on Saturday and is expected to keep the Hamas-run government in power for a short period before calling a referendum in March 2007, the Maan News Agency reported. The agency said that Abbas is also expected to announce that presidential and legislative elections will be held two months after holding the referendum. Links: other West Bank and Gaza news and updates.
16-Dec-2006	Spain	First-ever direct passenger flights between Spain and Gibraltar begin, following an accord reached in September among Britain, Spain and Gibraltar. The deal opens the way for air links between Gibraltar and the outside world. Previously, Gibraltar had air links only with Britain. Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 but never relinquished its claim to it. Gen. Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator, shut the border in 1969 and it didn't fully reopen until 1985. Links: other Spain news and updates.
15-Dec-2006	UAE	UAE Upcoming Elections The voters in the electorates of Abu Dhabi and al-Fujaira will go to polls on Saturday December 15 to elect four and two members of the National Assembly respectively. Up to 6,679 eligible voters in the United Arab Emirate will start casting their votes in the seven UAE electorates on Saturday through December 20. Links: other UAE (United Arab Emirates) news and updates.
15-Dec-2006	Russia	Russia Sets Presidential Election Date Russia�s next presidential election will be held on March 2, 2008, despite recent media reports of a different date. Presidential campaigns will begin on December 1, 2007, Veshnyakov said on Thursday. Links: full story and other Russia news and updates.
15-Dec-2006	Italy	Employees of Alitalia launched a 24-hour strike on 15 December 2006, which forced Alitalia to cancel 472 flights on 15 and 16 December, including at least 209 international flights. Most concerned are Rome and Milan airports. Links: other Italy news and updates.