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Children
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg
Old Town. Courtesy: Google |
Capital (and largest city) Luxembourg
Official language(s) German, French,
Luxembourgish (de jure since 1984)
Demonym Luxembourgers
Area - Total 2,586.4 km2
Population - 2010 estimate 502,202
Currency - Euro
Luxembourg is a small, landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered
by Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg has a population of under
half a million people in an area of approximately 2,586 square
kilometres.
Luxembourg is a Parliamentary representative democracy with a
Constitutional monarch; it is ruled by a Grand Duke. It is the world’s
only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy. The country has a highly developed
economy, with the highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in the world
as per IMF and WB.
Its historic and strategic importance dates back to its founding as a
Roman era fortress site and Frankish count’s castle site in the Early
Middle Ages. It was an important bastion along the Spanish Road when
Spain was the principal European power influencing the whole Western
hemisphere and beyond in the 16th-17th Centuries.
Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union, NATO, OECD,
the United Nations, Benelux and the Western European Union, reflecting
the political consensus in favour of economic, political and military
integration. The city of Luxembourg, the capital and largest city, is
the seat of several institutions and agencies of the European Union.
Luxembourg lies on the cultural divide between Romance Europe and
Germanic Europe, borrowing customs from each of the distinct traditions.
Luxembourg is a trilingual country; German, French and Luxembourgish
are official languages. Although a secular state, Luxembourg is
predominantly Roman Catholic.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
Hot weather patterns
Dear Children,
How are you coping with the warm weather conditions these days? The
heat is unbearable and its really difficult to do our daily work. But
try to keep you cool and get about your normal business without hassle.
 According to the Meteorological Department the sun has a direct
impact on Sri Lanka resulting in this unbearable heat.
So try to keep your spirits up and don’t neglect your studies or
other work.
It would be nice to go for a swim and cool off your self.
Due to lack of rain the Water Board too has warned people to use
water sparingly. As responsible citizens we should not waste water.
Children should make sure taps are closed properly. If the situation
worsens we may have to experience occasional water cuts and even power
cuts.
Doctors have recommended the public to drink more cold water and tea,
wear cotton clothes and refrain from setting fire to garbage in order to
prevent discomfort. People in the Colombo city suffer from the heat more
than those living in the outstations.
Sri Lanka, India and some other countries in the region experience
hot weather these days which is normal at this time of the year.
World Kidney Day today
Drinking sufficient amounts of boiled water will help to fight this
deadly disease.
The 2010 campaign will focus on Diabetes, the leading cause of
Chronic Kidney Disease under the theme’ ‘Protect your Kidneys, Control
Diabetes’.
World Kidney Day is a global health awareness campaign focusing on
the importance of our kidneys and reducing the frequency and impact of
kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide.
Bye for now.
Aunt Anji
Ways to live life better...
Life... What is life? You might basically think life is the existence
of a living being for some particular period. Even though some people
desire to exist or live a longer life, Mother Nature would not allow
them to do so.
Life depends on destiny. No one is capable of changing destiny. Some
might think God will let us live longer, but if they think that God sent
them to this world, they cannot expect God to let them live longer as
they wish to. If some people have a point of view which they believe
that God has sent them to this world, then he has the right to take it
back from us.
Some might think life is long, while some think life is short. It
depends according to the different perspectives of people. My thoughts
might vary from another.
We spend our life doing worthless things which might affect our whole
future. Will there be a future? Majority would not have yet considered
whether if they will have a future or not. Life is unpredictable.
Something might just happen at the very moment. You might not live for
another tomorrow.
Natural disasters, accidents or a sudden health problem like an
unexpected heart attack may just occur at any second.
We must live an organized life. Never postpone your work to another
day while you can do it today itself. Never complain or grumble for
redundant things.
We must learn to be patient at all times, a quality which many among
us lack. If there’s patience, you can achieve most of the things we
require.
We must constantly control our feelings; otherwise it might lead our
lives into a lot of troubles. Our lives will be a knot which we won’t be
able to untie.
There are people who wish to live and who lives a luxurious life. The
ones who lives a luxurious life must know that one day, they will leave
this world, and cannot take everything you have got and earned. You come
into this world alone, and you leave this world alone.
We must be happy with what we have and appreciate it. We must not
think that we can achieve anything in this world. It’s because some try
to achieve what they wish to by doing anything to accomplish their
requirements.
The great scientists, astronomers, doctors, authors and many others
who lived in the past served the world with whatever invention or
discovery they would invent or discover with the intension to help the
future. They did not devote themselves just to earn fame; they did it
with a good concept to make our lives easy and they loved what they were
doing. Even though they are not living with us any more, their names are
still in our hearts.
We must always have a goal and work hard to achieve it. We must build
good qualities within us, and put them into practice. Try to live a
simple life. Listen to others if they speak a wrong of you. Do not be
egoistical to ignore it. Be friendly with everyone, including nature.
Always work for the goodwill of the world, so that you will never regret
about your deeds later. Life may be short or long but do not fail to
accomplish your dreams. Life is not only about living it; it’s about how
you live it!
Demagi Herath / Musaeus College/ London O/L
A plan is formed
- Part 13
 By Uncle Sachi and Aunt Ruwi
In ‘Kid’s Den’...
Four children, Pramodaka, Nalaka, Champika and Chinthaka, go on a
trip to the woods with their parents for their school holidays. In the
middle of the night the children are awakened by a strange noise. On
following their dog, Scooby, Chinthaka is snared by the spell of the
‘luring stones’. Pramodaka departs with Ruwi, a pixie, to recall a book
of spell to cast off the spell while the others remain behind with Sachi,
a gnome. A storm breaks and the kids are scattered.
Meanwhile Sulo, the goblin who is always trying to make trouble for
the mythical creatures, comes up with a nasty plan. She rushes off gang
up the rest of her pack and reveals an age old secret.
However the group discovers that it is not only Sulo’s secret that is
uncovered by the storm. Something dark and deadly had been hidden in the
depths of the earth waiting to release itself and re
turn for revenge...
(‘Return of the Kids’ is the sequel to ‘Kid’s Den’)
 Zira skipped up to Pramu and tugged at his paw. The rabbit stooped
down so the gnome could whisper in his ear.
Ruwi watched the proceedings out of the corner of her eyes. Eagle
Eye’s eyes kept shifting back and forth to the scene. Sudden;y there was
a crash on the room next door followed by a collective gasp. The gnome
disappeared suddenly into thin air after grabbing something nearby.
Puzzled Eagle Eye walked up to his table. His features turned into
anger when he noted that one of the designs he was working on had gone
missing.
Zira poked his head around from the room next door and grinned. He
waved what looked like a scroll of parchment and struck his tongue out
at Eagle Eye.
Eagle Eye gave a howl of rage and chased after him. JVK jumped to his
feet in alarm but after looking at the scene for a few minuted grunted
and went back to sleep.
IIEI, QNW and NLT stared after the incident, exchanged a few amused
looks and went back to work. It was not often that entertainment of this
sort presented itself before them. HE conducted some very strict rules
in the department. They were more like machines, working from morning to
night, listening to his complains.
“Goodness, there will be uproar when Chief Jay gets to know about
this... But if I can get the work done now maybe the shelling will be
well worth it,” Ruwi thought. She nudged the gnome on her right hand
side.
“Eagle Eye is gone. JVK is asleep and the others are occupied. Let’s
do it!”
IBB too a gulp of air and looked up. He can imagine HE’s wrath if the
plan comes to light but there will be no evidence tracing the incident
to him and he was sure that Ruwi would not have returned back to the
Mythicscope had it not been an emergency. Within a split second he made
a decision.
With a quick glance at JVK, IBB scanned the pages. Soon had had the
page on his oracle.
Ruwi spoke some magical terms but much to her horror the text did not
appear. She tried twice and then in desperation thrice but the words
never appeared on the screen. She cast a look around the room. IBB was
looking on in desperation afraid that Eagle Eye would make his
appearance any minute.
To be continued
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