Sunday is Earth Day, observed every year since 1970. Earth Day organizers have called on people worldwide to pledge “one billion acts of green.” Those pledges range from residents turning off lights in their homes, to using mass transit for travel to work, to eating locally grown food. Earth Day was first celebrated in the […]
Israel Remembers Victims of Nazi Holocaust
Posted April 19th, 2012 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
Sirens wailed across Israel Thursday, as the country paid tribute to the six million Jewish people who perished in the Nazi Holocaust some 70 years ago. For two minutes, pedestrians and traffic came to a standstill, and motorists stood next to their vehicles with heads bowed on one of the most solemn days on Israel’s […]
St. Patrick’s Day Celebrated at Parades, Pubs in Ireland and Abroad
Posted March 17th, 2012 at 2:30 pm (UTC-5)
From the Irish capital of Dublin to the U.S. city of Chicago, people around the world are donning green Saturday and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. The March 17 holiday commemorates the most recognizable of Ireland’s patron saints and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland centuries ago. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of […]
Women Honored for Fighting for World ‘As They Know it Should Be’
Posted March 8th, 2012 at 12:10 pm (UTC-5)
Ten of the world’s leading women activists are being honored for their efforts to improve the lives of women despite obstacles and threats to their safety. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama presented the 2012 International Women of Courage Awards during a ceremony in Washington Thursday. Secretary Clinton said […]
World Urged to Focus on Plight of Rural Women
Posted March 8th, 2012 at 10:40 am (UTC-5)
Countries around the world are marking International Women’s Day, celebrating the gains made by women in business, politics and education. But United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says those gains are not enough. In a statement Thursday, the U.N. chief warned the world still has “a long way to go” before women and girls universally enjoy […]
US Observes Presidents’ Day
Posted February 20th, 2012 at 1:05 am (UTC-5)
Millions of Americans are getting a day off from work Monday to observe the birthday of the first U.S. president, George Washington. While the federal holiday officially recognizes Washington, the day is often referred to as Presidents’ Day as a broader celebration of the nation’s leaders. Most U.S. government offices and buildings are closed, as […]
US Groundhog Predicts Six More Weeks of Winter
Posted February 2nd, 2012 at 8:25 am (UTC-5)
Winter is here to stay for at least for six more weeks, according to a furry little resident of a small town called Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania. A groundhog dubbed Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his cozy tree stump home early Thursday, as he does each year, and he saw his shadow. Tradition has it that if […]
India Celebrates 63rd Republic Day
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 8:30 am (UTC-5)
India celebrated its 63rd Republic Day Thursday with a parade showcasing its military and air power, and its rich and diverse cultural heritage. In New Delhi, India displayed missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, while fighter jets, long-range aircraft and helicopters flew overhead. India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and military officials laid wreaths at a […]
Obama Urges Volunteerism on MLK Day
Posted January 16th, 2012 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama and his family volunteered at a Washington, DC school Monday, to honor slain civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. Obama painted a bookcase at the event, on the annual Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday. Afterwards, the president told reporters that King wanted to inspire everyone to make a […]
US Honors Slain Civil Rights Hero MLK
Posted January 15th, 2012 at 9:00 pm (UTC-5)
Americans are honoring the memory of civil rights icon Martin Luther King, 44 years after he was assassinated. Martin Luther King Day, on Monday, is an annual federal holiday marking the birthday of King, who fought discrimination and racism in the 1950s and 1960s. King would have been 83 years old this year. New this […]
