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Embassy of the United States Dublin, Ireland - Home Embassy NewsU.S. Citizen ServicesVisas to the U.S.U.S. Policy & IssuesTrade & CommerceAbout the U.S.A.Education & Media Latest News Earth Day and the Rise of Environmental Consciousness Earth Day, April 22, is the annual celebration of the environment and a time to assess the work still needed to protect the natural gifts of our planet. Earth Day has no central organizing force behind it though several nongovernmental organizations work to keep track of the thousands of local events in schools and parks that mark the day. Earth Day is observed around the world, although nowhere is it a national holiday. In the United States, it affirms that environmental awareness is part of the country s consciousness and that the idea of protecting the environment - once the province of a few conservationists - has moved from the extreme to the mainstream of American thought. more > America.gov Current Topics Iraq Needs More Support from Neighbors, Rice Says Iraqi leaders and other Middle Eastern neighbors are to meet for a third conference in Kuwait April 22. (© AP Images) What Iraq needs most now is greater support from its neighbors, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "Iraq s fellow Arab states must fulfill their promises to increase their engagement -- diplomatic, economic, social and cultural -- with Iraq s government and people. That includes establishing embassies in Baghdad and exchanging ambassadors," Rice says. Such engagement with Iraq does not have to match the efforts of the United States, but, increasingly, the conditions in Iraq provide an opportunity for its neighbors to have diplomatic representation there, she says. And, Iran must end its interference in Iraq s affairs and all other activity that is undermining Iraq s government, Rice said at an April 17 briefing. Rice leaves April 18 for Bahrain and Kuwait, where she will participate in the third Iraq neighbors ...