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Thursday, 26 May 2011 |
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Termed emirates because they are ruled by emirs, they are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the country's centre of political, industrial and cultural activities. Before 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the United Kingdom and several Arab Sheikhs. The name Pirate Coast was also used in reference to the area's emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century. The UAE's political system, based on its 1971 constitution, is composed of several intricately connected governing bodies. Islam is the official religion, and Arabic is the official language. Its oil reserves are ranked as the world's sixth-largest and the UAE possesses one of the most-developed economies in West Asia. It is the 35th largest economy at market exchange rates, and has a high per capita gross domestic product (GDP), with a nominal per capita GDP of US$47,407 as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is 15th in purchasing power per capita and has a relatively high Human Development Index for the Asian continent, ranking 32 globally. The UAE is classified as a high-income developing economy by the IMF. Although the UAE has a constitution and a President, it is neither a constitutional monarchy nor a republic. It is a federation of seven monarchies, whose rulers retain absolute power within their emirates. The emirs chose one of their number to be the President of the federation, but this does not alter the monarchical character of the government of the emirates. The constitution is concerned solely with the relations between the emirates as members of the federation, and does not prescribe a constitutional system of government. The UAE is a founding member of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and a member state of the Arab League. It is also a member of the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the OPEC, and the World Trade Organization. Courtesy: Wikipedia Salute our heroesThis is going to be another eventful week as Sri Lanka celebrates Victory Day tomorrow. It has been two years since our country is free from terrorism and violence.
We should salute our war heroes for helping bring peace to our motherland. Our war heroes have created a better tomorrow and brighter future for our children. Children, there are days dedicated to various subjects in the world. Do you know that May 23 has been designated as World Turtle Day? World Turtle Day was started to increase respect and knowledge for the world's oldest creatures. These gentle animals have been around for about 200 million years, yet they are rapidly disappearing as a result of the exotic food industry, habitat destruction and the cruel pet trade. The purpose of World Turtle Day, May 23, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive. Turtle Day is celebrated worldwide in a variety of ways, from dressing up as turtles to saving turtles caught on highways, to research activities. Founded in 1990, American Tortoise Rescue is the founding sponsor of World Turtle Day. Since 1990, ATR has placed about 3,000 tortoises and turtles in caring homes. ATR assists law enforcement when undersize or endangered turtles are confiscated and provides helpful information and referrals to persons with sick, neglected or abandoned turtles. Have a nice week and stay healthy. Bye for now. - Aunt Anji A Tale of Two CitiesRead a book with me Hi all, How have you been last week? Have you been reading anything interesting? This week let's read a very famous novel by a famous English writer, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens (1812-1870). Charles Dickens is popular as the author of novels such as Oliver
Twist, David Copperfield, Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations, Bleak
House and A Christmas Carol. His novels like Oliver Twist and Great
Expectations are very popular among children. The book we're going to
read this week is the Macmillan simplified edition of A Tale of Two
Cities. It's retold by Patricia Atkinson. A Tale of Two Cities was
originally published in 1859.
The story is based on the French Revolution. Do you know about this revolution? I think if you have some background knowledge about the French Revolution, it will help you in reading and enjoying this novel. You might also be able to learn something about it by reading the book. You can learn about different societies, histories and cultures through literature. Don't you think that's interesting? You can also try reading other books on the French Revolution and ask people who know about it to tell you what they know. Try to see whether what they say, and what you read in other books is similar to what you find in A Tale of Two Cities. If you find different stories, try to think why different people have different stories about the same thing. Although we're going to read a simplified version today, if you like you can also attempt to read the original book whenever you feel like. When I was reading for my Advanced Level Examination, A Tale of Two Cities was a prescribed text for us, and to tell you the truth I never liked it and never read it, because I found all the descriptions at the beginning of the book so dull and boring. If you want to avoid that, first read a simplified edition and you will learn how fascinating this story could be. Then you might feel like reading the original book too, if not now, later in your life. Dickens is actually famous for his long descriptions about people, places and things in his novels. Although I find it boring, you might be interested in reading those. I have friends who actually enjoy reading Dickens. It's up to you to read and find out whether you like it or not. I'll be back next week with another book. Bye for now Gayathri
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