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The flag of Mexico is a tricolor of green, white and red with the coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these three colors were adopted by Mexico following independence from Spain during the country's War of Independence. The current flag was adopted in 1968, but the overall design has been used since 1821. The current law of national symbols that governs the use of the national flag has been in place since 1984. Throughout history, the flag has changed eight times, as the design of the coat of arms and the length-width ratios of the flag have been modified. However, the coat of arms has had the same features throughout: an eagle, holding a serpent in its talon, is perched on top of a cactus; the cactus is situated on a rock that rises above a lake. The current national flag, the "Fourth National Flag", is also used as the Mexican naval ensign by ships registered in Mexico. (more...)

Recently featured: Panama Canal – History of merit badges – Raney nickel

Selected anniversaries

February 24: Independence Day in Estonia (1918)

• 303 - Roman Emperor Galerius began to persecute Christians.
• 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII (pictured) issued the papal bull Inter gravissimas to promulgate the Gregorian calendar, a modification of the Julian calendar in use since 45 BC.
• 1803 - Marbury v. Madison established judicial review in the United States.
• 1848 - Louis-Philippe, the Orléanist King of the French, abdicated and escaped to England.
• 1946 - Colonel Juan Perón was elected to his first term as President of Argentina.

Recent days: February 23 – February 22 – February 21

In the news

• A state of emergency is declared in the Philippines after a coup against President Gloria Arroyo (pictured) is foiled.
• A bomb attack in Samarra, Iraq badly damages the Al Askari Mosque, a holy site in Shi'a Islam. Violent reactions, suspected to be reprisals, result in over 100 deaths.
• Two are arrested after bank robbers in England make off with at least £50 million in the Securitas depot robbery, one of the largest ever in Europe.

2006 Winter Olympics

• Curling: The Canadian men's team skipped by Brad Gushue wins the gold medal match against Finland.

Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest articles:

• ...that The University of Texas Longhorn Band performed for inaugurations of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush?
• ...that John Rut sent the first known letter from North America and that it was from St. John's, Newfoundland on August 3, 1527?
• ...that Castorocauda lutrasimilis, a recently described mammal relative that looked like an otter with a beaver's tail, evolved a semi-aquatic lifestyle 110 million years earlier than any other mammal-like animal?
• ...that James Foster was a Scottish-born Canadian goalie who helped lead Great Britain to its first and only Olympic gold medal in ice hockey in 1936?