July 4 is celebrated as an Independence Day in United States. On July 4, 1776, US got independent from Britain and Democracy started. Apart from celebrating independence, 4of July is more about a chance for family and friends throughout the country to gather for barbecues and fireworks displays. This is the most important summer celebration when entire country has lots of fun. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

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The Statue of Liberty is situated at the entrance of New York Harbor and stands as one of the most important symbols of American liberty. It's been over a hundred years since when Statue of Liberty is an important part of American culture. You will be surprised to know that Lady Liberty was actually a gift from the French as a sign of recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution.

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Ganges is one of the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent, flowing east through the Gangetic Plain of northern India into Bangladesh. The 2,510 km (1,560 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Uttarakhand state of India, and drains into the Sunderbans delta in the Bay of Bengal. Ganges is considered as a holy river by Indians and worshipped as the goddess Ganga. It is believed that bathing in the river Ganga causes the remission of sins and facilitates the attainment of salvation or nirvana.

 

This deep-rooted truth is proved by the fact that people travel from distant places to immerse the ashes of their kin in the waters of the Ganga at Varanasi or other places located on the banks of this holy river. Some of these sacred places, located on the Ganga, are Varanasi, Haridwar and Prayag (Allahabad). As soon as the day begins, devout Hindus begin to give their offerings of flowers or food, throwing hand full of grain or garlands of marigolds or pink lotuses into the Ganges.

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The moment your toes touch sand and your gaze meets the water, you know you're in The Islands of The Bahamas. The Bahamas is an independent, sovereign, consisting of two thousand cays and seven hundred islands. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the United States. The islands are actually the birthplace of the Gulf Stream, a phenomenon that also accounts for their astonishing variety and abundance of marine life. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism offers a People-to-People programme; an opportunity for visitors to experience a genuine and informal taste of Bahamian hospitality and culture.

Climate: The Bahamas enjoy around 320 sunny days a year; and daytime temperatures during winter (December to April) average 70ºF (21ºC) and a perfect 80ºF (26ºC) in summer. In general, the islands are balmy year-round, with cooling, near-constant trade winds blowing by day from the east. The so-called rainy season extends from late May to November. The high season typically runs from mid-December to mid-April, when hotel prices are highest.

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Cathay Pacific is the world's best airline as awarded at in the annual Skytrax awards. Then came Singapore Airlines in position 2 followed by Qantas. As mentioned by the age.com.au, "the annual Skytrax awards are among the most highly regarded in the industry, with the results based on surveys of more than 16 million air passengers conducted over eight months."

"A factor behind the Cathay Pacific win is clearly the consistency of product and service that they provide to their customers," he said. "Not only are Cathay Pacific satisfying their passengers onboard flights, but the ratings they achieved for their airport operations in Hong Kong also played a considerable part in this success".  Malaysia Airlines was awarded for the world's best cabin staff, the sixth time the airline has won the award in the past ten years, now that's a great achievement too. Singapore Airlines won for best first class, Etihad for best business class and Qatar for best economy class. Also Qantas's first class lounge at Sydney Airport is the world's second best, after Thai Airways lounge in Bangkok. So here is the list!

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Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative. But unfortunately today wildlife faces threats from habitat destruction, pollution and other human actions, such as global warming.

Threats to wildlife:

• Habitat Loss: Due to growing population, cities are expanding into the countryside, and as a result fewer natural wildlife habitat areas are left each year. Some wildlife species, such as deer, rabbits and chipmunks, are adaptable to many conditions, but other creatures have very specific plant, moisture and temperature requirements. These are the endangered species which we risk losing if we don't preserve adequate amounts of habitat for their survival.

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The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world, roughly parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia, for almost 2,000km. This is the only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit! The Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the natural world - it is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem. It was declared a World Heritage area in 1981 and added to the National Heritage List in 2007. The reef is scattered with beautiful islands and idyllic coral cays and covers more than 300,000 square kilometers. The major attraction is Coral. Corals found in the Great Barrier Reef contain algae and the relationship between the algae produce oxygen and help the coral to remove wastes. When this relationship breaks down, the coral suffers and becomes bleached.

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Solar power is energy which comes from the sun. This energy is very powerful and hits the earth regardless of whether or not we take advantage of it. In fact, the sunlight that shines on the Earth in just one hour could meet world energy demand for an entire year! And just incase you get that question when you are playing Trivial Pursuit "Solar" is the Latin word for "sun." We can use solar power in two different ways: as a heat source, and as an energy source.

Uses of Solar power.

• Solar Cells: In a sunny climate, you can get enough power to run a 100W light bulb from just one square meter of solar panel. Also known as photoelectric or photovoltaic cells, these are the most common devices that turn sunlight into electricity. Solar cells are combined into modules of which solar panels are comprised.
• Solar water heating: Heat from the Sun is used to heat water in glass panels on your roof. Solar water heating is easily worthwhile in places like California and Australia, where you get lots of sunshine. Mind you, as technology improves it's becoming worthwhile in the UK, where the sun does not come out as much. 

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Father Christmas also known as Santa Claus is the heart and soul of Christmas celebration. An old jolly man with white hair, a beard and a moustache, dressed in a red suit, bearing gifts. Prior to 1880 Santa was not dressed in red he evolved into  the image we know today after being introduction by Coca Cola during the 1930s. He has become the human face of Christmas all around the world.

The Story of Father Christmas: Father Christmas was originally part of an old English midwinter festival, normally dressed in green, a sign of the returning spring. He was known as 'Sir Christmas', 'Old Father Christmas' or Old Winter'. In this earliest form, Father Christmas was not the bringer of gifts for small children, nor did he come down the chimney. He simply wandered around from home to home, knocking on doors and feasting with families before moving on to the next house.

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Singapore's strategic location at the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula has ensured its importance, which is greater than its size might seem to justify. Singapore consists of the island of Singapore and some 63 islets within its territorial waters. Many of the city's attractions are clustered closely together. Singapore was separated from the rest of Malaysia on 9 August 1965, and became a sovereign, democratic and independent nation. Singapore is generally hot and humid. It's warm and humid year round, with the temperature almost never dropping below 20°C (68°F), even at night, and usually climbing to 30°C (86°F) during the day. For those who enjoy the sun and the beach, Singapore is an ideal place for everyone. Once you go there, you will keep coming back, we do! 

History: Singapore, an island-state in Southeast Asia, was founded as a British trading colony in 1819 which joined Malaysia in 1963, but withdrew two years later and became independent. Now it is one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe. Singapore's strategic location combined with a largely corruption-free government, skilled work force, pro-foreign investment and export-oriented led to a successful free-market economy which attracts international investment funds on a large scale despite its relatively high-cost operating environment.

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