Calendars

Education Minister Niki Kerameus Thursday left open the possibility of schools - which were closed on March 10 to curb the spread of the coronavirus - reopening in mid-May rather than immediately after the Easter holidays as many had hoped, though questions remained about how this would affect the timing of university entrance exams for senior high students. 

Students studying at undergraduate and graduate programs will be able to defer their registrations in the spring semester of 2019-2020 academic year, said Turkish Council of Higher Education on April 1. 

Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Turkish authorities decided to close all schools and universities to avert the spread of the virus as of March 16.

At 05:49 am, the astronomical spring began in Bulgaria.

The sun, in its apparent movement in the ecliptic, crosses the spring equatorial point, and from the southern hemisphere passes into the north. This is also one of the two days of the year where the day and night are approximately equal in duration.

International Women's Day is celebrated each year on March 8th. This is a day for international recognition of women's economic, political and social achievements.

The celebration began in 1857 in New York when one of the first protests of women working in textile factories was organized. They demanded equal rights with men, reduced working hours and improved working conditions.

Today - March 3, Bulgaria celebrates its national holiday - the day of Liberation. 141 years ago (18 February in old style), Russia and Turkey signed the San Stefano Peace Treaty in 1878, which provides for the rebuilding of the Principality of Bulgaria.

Athenians took to Filopappou Hill and other parts of the capital to fly kites, one of the most popular traditions of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. After a week of unseasonably good weather, temperatures are forecast to dip mid-week. [Stelios Stefanou/InTime News]

In an announcement for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Greek foreign ministry on Monday emphasized the need to "fight against the attempt to wilfully trivialize or even deny the blackest page in modern European history," and to honour the memory of millions of Jews, including Greeks, that "fell victim to the most heinous crime in modern history".

Romania, in and of itself, but also as a member state of the European Union, promotes tolerance between people, non-discrimination and peace, remaining active in the process of preserving and completing the Holocaust memory, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said in a message conveyed on Monday, on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Croatia's Anti-Fascist League, which includes some groups of ethnic minorities like Serbs, Jews and Roma, held a commemorative gathering on Sunday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day - one of a series of events held in the country in recent days to commemorate the Holocaust and the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945.

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the extermination of some 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime. This year's anniversary is doubly important from a historical standpoint as it coincides with the 75-year anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the site of the martyrdom and sacrifice of 1.1 million people, among whom were some 55,000 Greek Jews.