MONACO - THE SECRETS OF A TRUE LUXURY STAY - LUXE.TV

2022/12/13

Independence day of the Republic of Kenya

Kenya, country in East Africa famed for its scenic landscapes and vast wildlife preserves. Its Indian Ocean coast provided historically important ports by which goods from Arabian and Asian traders have entered the continent for many centuries. Along that coast, which holds some of the finest beaches in Africa, are predominantly Muslim Swahili cities such as Mombasa, a historic centre that has contributed much to the musical and culinary heritage of the country. Inland are populous highlands famed for both their tea plantations, an economic staple during the British colonial era, and their variety of animal species, including lions, elephants, cheetahs, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses. Kenya’s western provinces, marked by lakes and rivers, are forested, while a small portion of the north is desert and semidesert. The country’s diverse wildlife and panoramic geography draw large numbers of European and North American visitors, and tourism is an important contributor to Kenya’s economy. The capital of Kenya is Nairobi, a sprawling city that, like many other African metropolises, is a study in contrasts, with modern skyscrapers looking out over vast shantytowns in the distance, many harbouring refugees fleeing civil wars in neighbouring countries. Older neighbourhoods, some of them prosperous, tend to be ethnically mixed and well served by utilities and other amenities, while the tents and hastily assembled shacks that ring the city tend to be organized tribally and even locally, inasmuch as in some instances whole rural villages have removed themselves to the more promising city. With a long history of musical and artistic expression, Kenya enjoys a rich tradition of oral and written literature, including many fables that speak to the virtues of determination and perseverance, important and widely shared values, given the country’s experience during the struggle for independence. Kikuyu writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o, one of the country’s best-known authors internationally, addresses these concerns in his remarks on one folkloric figure: Hare being small, weak, but full of innovative wit, was our hero. We identified with him as he struggled against the brutes of prey like lion, leopard, and hyena. His victories were our victories and we learnt that the apparently weak can outwit the strong. Kenya’s many peoples are well known to outsiders, largely because of the British colonial administration’s openness to study. Anthropologists and other social scientists have documented for generations the lives of the Maasai, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin, and Kikuyu peoples, to name only some of the groups. Adding to the country’s ethnic diversity are European and Asian immigrants from many nations. Kenyans proudly embrace their individual cultures and traditions, yet they are also cognizant of the importance of national solidarity; a motto of “Harambee” (Swahili: “Pulling together”) has been stressed by Kenya’s government since independence. Land Bisected horizontally by the Equator and vertically by longitude 38° E, Kenya is bordered to the north by South Sudan and Ethiopia, to the east by Somalia and the Indian Ocean, to the south by Tanzania, and to the west by Lake Victoria and Uganda. Relief The 38th meridian divides Kenya into two halves of striking contrast. While the eastern half slopes gently to the coral-backed seashore, the western portion rises more abruptly through a series of hills and plateaus to the Eastern Rift Valley, known in Kenya as the Central Rift. West of the Rift is a westward-sloping plateau, the lowest part of which is occupied by Lake Victoria. Within this basic framework, Kenya is divided into the following geographic regions: the Lake Victoria basin, the Rift Valley and associated highlands, the eastern plateau forelands, the semiarid and arid areas of the north and south, and the coast. The Lake Victoria basin is part of a plateau rising eastward from the lakeshore to the Rift highlands. The lower part, forming the lake basin proper, is itself a plateau area lying between 3,000 and 4,000 feet (900 and 1,200 metres) above sea level. The rolling grassland of this plateau is cut almost in half by the Kano Plain, into which an arm of the lake known as Winam Gulf (Kavirondo Gulf) extends eastward for 50 miles (80 km). The floor of the Kano Plain merges north and south into highlands characterized by a number of extinct volcanoes. These include Mount Elgon, rising to 14,178 feet (4,321 metres) at the Ugandan border on the extreme north of the basin. The Rift Valley splits the highland region into two sections: the Mau Escarpment to the west and the Aberdare Range to the east. The valley itself is 30 to 80 miles (50 to 130 km) wide, and its floor rises from about 1,500 feet (450 metres) in the north around Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolf) to over 7,000 feet (2,100 metres) at Lake Naivasha but then drops to 2,000 feet (600 metres) at the Tanzanian border in the south. The floor of the Rift is occupied by a chain of shallow lakes separated by extinct volcanoes. Lake Naivasha is the largest of these; the others include Lakes Magadi, Nakuru, Bogoria, and Baringo. West of the valley the diverse highland area runs from the thick lava block of the Mau Escarpment–Mount Tinderet complex northward to the Uasin Gishu Plateau. East of the Rift the Aberdare Range rises to nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 metres). The eastern highlands extend from the Ngong Hills and the uplands bordering Tanzania northward to the Laikipia Escarpment. Farther east they are linked by the Nyeri saddle to Mount Kenya, the country’s highest peak, at 17,058 feet (5,199 metres). The relief of both highlands is complex and includes plains, deep valleys, and mountains. Important in the historic and economic development of Kenya, the region was the focus of European settlement. The eastern plateau forelands, located just east of the Rift highlands, constitute a vast plateau of ancient rocks gently sloping to the coastal plain. They are a region of scattered hills and striking elevated formations, the most prominent being the hills of Taita, Kasigau, Machakos, and Kitui. These hills, containing the area of more favourable climate, are surrounded by regions historically prone to famine. The semiarid and arid areas in the north and northeast are part of a vast region extending from the Ugandan border through Lake Rudolf to the plateau area between the Ethiopian and Kenyan highlands. (The area from Lake Magadi southward, though not as arid, has the same characteristics.) Although tree and grass cover is scanty there, the areas of true desert are limited to the Chalbi Desert east of Lake Rudolf. The movement of people and livestock is strictly limited by the availability of water. The coastal plain proper, which runs for about 250 miles (400 km) along the Indian Ocean, is a narrow strip only about 10 miles (16 km) wide in the south, but in the Tana River lowlands to the north it broadens to about 100 miles (160 km). Farther northeast it merges into the lowlands of Somalia. The excellent natural harbours include that of Mombasa, which is one of the best in East Africa. More … Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Kenya

2022/12/12

National Day of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso, landlocked country in western Africa. The country occupies an extensive plateau, and its geography is characterized by a savanna that is grassy in the north and gradually gives way to sparse forests in the south. A former French colony, it gained independence as Upper Volta in 1960. The name Burkina Faso, which means “Land of Incorruptible People,” was adopted in 1984. The capital, Ouagadougou, is in the centre of the country and lies about 500 miles (800 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. Land Burkina Faso is bounded by Mali to the north and west, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, and Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo to the south. Relief, drainage, and soils Burkina Faso is situated on an extensive plateau, which is slightly inclined toward the south. The lateritic (red, leached, iron-bearing) layer of rock that covers the underlying crystalline rocks is deeply incised by the country’s three principal rivers—the Black Volta (Mouhoun), the Red Volta (Nazinon), and the White Volta (Nakambé)—all of which converge in Ghana to the south to form the Volta River. The Oti, another tributary of the Volta, rises in southeastern Burkina Faso. Great seasonal variation occurs in the flow of the rivers, and some rivers become dry beds during the dry season. In the southwest there are sandstone plateaus bordered by the Banfora Escarpment, which is about 500 feet (150 metres) high and faces southeast. Much of the soil in the country is infertile. Climate The climate of Burkina Faso is generally sunny, hot, and dry. Two principal climate zones can be distinguished. The Sahelian zone in the north is semiarid steppe, characterized by three to five months of rainfall, which is often erratic. To the south, in the Sudanic zone, the climate becomes increasingly of the tropical wet-dry type, with a greater variability of temperature and rainfall and greater total rainfall than the north. Four seasons may be distinguished in Burkina Faso: a dry and cool season from mid-November to mid-February, with temperatures dropping to about 60 °F (16 °C) at night; a hot season from mid-February to June, when maximum temperatures rise into the low 100s F (about 40 °C) in the shade and the harmattan—a hot, dry, dust-laden wind blowing off the Sahara desert—is prevalent; a rainy season, which lasts from June to September; and an intermediate season, which lasts from September until mid-November. Annual rainfall varies from about 40 inches (1,000 mm) in the south to less than 10 inches (250 mm) in the north. Plant and animal life The northern part of the country consists of savanna, with prickly shrubs and stunted trees that flourish during the rainy season. In the south, the prickly shrubs give way to scattered forests, which become more dense along the banks of the perennial rivers. The karite (shea tree) and the baobab (hibiscus tree) are endemic in this region. Animal life includes buffalo, antelope, lions, hippopotamuses, elephants, crocodiles, and monkeys. Bird and insect life is rich and varied, and there are many species of fish in the rivers. Burkina Faso’s national parks include Po in the south-centre of the country, Arly in the southeast, and “W” in the east, straddling the border with Benin and Niger. People - Ethnic groups and languages The major ethnolinguistic group of Burkina Faso is the Mossi. They speak a Niger-Congo language of the Gur branch and have been connected for centuries to the region they inhabit. They have absorbed a number of peoples including the Gurma and the Yarse. The last-mentioned group has Mande origins but is assimilated into the Mossi and shares their language (called Moore). Other Gur-speaking peoples are the Gurunsi, the Senufo, the Bwa, and the Lobi. Mande languages, which also form a branch of the Niger-Congo family, are spoken by groups such as the Samo, the Marka, the Busansi, and the Dyula. Other groups of Burkina Faso include the Hausa and the Tuareg, whose languages are classified as Afro-Asiatic, and the Fulani, whose language (Fula) is a Niger-Congo language of the Atlantic branch. Citizens of Burkina Faso, regardless of their ethnic origin, are collectively known as Burkinabé. French is the official language, although it is not widely spoken. Moore, the language of the Mossi, is spoken by a great majority of the population, and Dyula is widely used in commerce. Religion More than half the population is Muslim. About one-fifth of the Burkinabé are Roman Catholic, and one-sixth follow traditional religions. Most of the remainder are Protestant or nonreligious. The seat of the Roman Catholic archbishopric is in Ouagadougou, and there are several bishoprics throughout the country. Settlement patterns The population as a whole is unevenly distributed among the different regions. The eastern and central regions are densely settled and contain about half the total population. In the remaining regions the population is scattered. More than two-thirds of the people are rural and live in villages, which tend to be grouped toward the centre of the country at higher elevations away from the Volta river valleys. For several miles on either side of the Volta rivers, the land is mostly uninhabited because of the prevalence of the deadly tsetse fly, which carries sleeping sickness, and the Simulium fly, which carries onchocerciasis, or river blindness. Ouagadougou, the administrative capital and the seat of government, is a modern city where several companies have their headquarters. It is also the residence of the morho naba (“great lord”) of the Mossi and an important regional centre for international aid programs. Apart from Ouagadougou, the principal towns are Bobo Dioulasso, Koudougou, Banfora, Ouahigouya, Pouytenga, and Kaya. Bobo Dioulasso, in the west, was the economic and business capital of the country when it formed the terminus of the railroad running to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on the coast. Since 1955, however, when the railroad was extended to Ouagadougou, Bobo Dioulasso has lost some of its former importance, although it remains a commercial centre. More … Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Burkina-Faso

2022/12/11

ACCREDITATION TO POLAND

On 23 November 2022, H.E. Ambassador Martin Andjaba presented his Letters of Credence to H.E. Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland, accrediting him as Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Namibia to the Republic of Poland, with residence in Berlin.

2022/12/07

Обявление за откриване на процедура за подбор на кандидатури по Програмата за подпомагане на българските организации и медии извън страната за 2022 – 2023 г. на територията на Република Полша

Министерство на външните работи чрез Посолство на Република България във Варшава, обявява откриването на процедура за подбор на кандидатури по Програмата за подпомагане на българските организации и медии извън страната за 2022 – 2023 г. на територията на Република Полша. 

2022/12/07

Independence day of Finland

Finland has its own independence. Finnish Independence Day is a public holiday. People of Finland have their own traditions to observe their independence day. There is a great history behind Finland’s Independence Day. Finland became an independent country on Dec. 6, 1917. Finnish celebrate their independence with great enthusiasm. Most of the people from the country come out from their homes to celebrate their independence. Contents Finland’s Independence History Happy Independence Day in Finland Finland Independence Day Celebration Dates of Independence Day in Finland Finland Independence Day Wishes Happy Finland’s Independence Quotes Happy Finland Independence Day Messages Finland’s Independence History Finland Independence Day is celebrated on 6th December when people show their vast patriotism. Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917 on this day. Since 1809, Finland was the part of the Russian Empire.  After the Russian revolution and their defeat in the First World War, a considerable movement spread in Finland and finally, Finland got their independence. Some important facts and details of Finland Independence Day are mentioned in the table below so you can have a brief idea of their independence at a glance.Happy Independence Day in Finland Facts Details Finland Independence Day Observance 6th December Finland got its independence in 1917 Finland got its independence from Russian Empire Finland was the part of the Russian Empire since 1809 Purpose of Finland Independence Day Observance To show their vast  Finland Independence Day Celebracion Finland Independence Day is observed in great celebration every year. On the occasion of this day, people display their flag with great pride, decorate the windows of their stores with different things, and arrange different patriotic activities. People from different places arrange several events, seminars, and discussion programs to celebrate Finland Independence Day. The government and the higher authority take vast preparation to celebrate the day in a grand style.Dates of Independence Day in Finland Year Date Years of Independence 2018 Thursday, December 6 101 Years of Independence 2019 Friday, December 6 102 Years of Independence 2020 Sunday, December 6 103 Years of Independence 2021 Monday, December 6 104 Years of Independence 2022 Tuesday, December 6 105 Years of Independence Many of you are looking for Finland Independence Day Wishes on the occasion of this day to wish your friends, family members, loving ones, and others. Considering your needs, we have come up with some of the best Finland Independence Day Wishes. Below are the wishes you can share with your friends and others.-  It’s always better to die for the country and fight for freedom than be a prisoner in the whole life. We are proud that we have independence. Happy Finland Independence Day!!-  You cannot compare freedom and independence with anything else. Celebrate this Independence Day with great pride. Happy Finland Independence Day!!-  Don’t think about how the weather is today and what plans you have in your mind, let’s come outside and celebrate our Independence Day together. Happy Finland Independence Day!!-  It’s true that freedom is priceless. We are proud that we have the freedom and an independent country. Wishing you a very Happy Finland Independence Day!!-  One of the greatest things in life is freedom and the greatest people are patriotic people. Let us love the country no matter in which situation we live in. Happy Finland Independence Day!! Happy Finland’s Independence Quotes-  May the morning sun brings hope and fortunes to our country today as we are celebrating our national day of freedom. Happy December 6th to all you proud Fins-  The Love of My Nation Is Worthiness, The Adoration For My People Is Unending, All That I Need For My Nation Is Peace & Happiness, Let Me Be The First To, Wish You A Happy Independence Day!-  Let the spirit of freedom a chance to soar high up today. Wish you a fabulous celebration-  It is by the integrity of God that in our nation we have those three unspeakably valuable things: the right to speak freely, freedom on conscience, and the prudence never to rehearse either of them.-  If the freedom of speech is taken away from a nation, dumb and silent we might be driven, like a sheep to the butcher – Thanks To Our Freedom Fighters & Ancient Leaders For Gifting Us An ‘Independent’ Finland!-  I am no bird and no net captures me: I am an Independent Finnish with an Independent will.-  I’d like to wish all my Finnish friends a happy Finnish independence day! You have a beautiful, peaceful and very welcoming country.-  Happy Independence Day, Finland! We’re proud of our Finnish heritage – all the sisu and the innovative work that has taken us where we now stand. With the same courageous attitude, the next 100 years will be wondrous!-  Finnish people say being born in Finland is equal to winning a jackpot in the lottery, and I can’t really deny that! I’m grateful for being part of this beautiful, well-educated country.-  May the morning sun brings hope and fortunes to our country today as we are celebrating our 102 years of Independence.-  Let the spirit of freedom a chance to soar high up today. I wish you a fabulous celebration on Finnish Independence Day 2020-  On this day of Finland’s Freedom, I bow before the holy spirit of those heroes who sacrificed their lives for Finland’s Independence from Russia. May their souls rest in peace! Independence Day is always great for people in every country. So Finland Independence Day is also a great day for Finnish. Wishing you all a very happy Finland Independence Day!! Source: https://nationaldayreview.com/finland-independence-day/   Finland, country located in northern Europe. Finland is one of the world’s most northern and geographically remote countries and is subject to a severe climate. Nearly two-thirds of Finland is blanketed by thick woodlands, making it the most densely forested country in Europe. Finland also forms a symbolic northern border between western and eastern Europe: dense wilderness and Russia to the east, the Gulf of Bothnia and Sweden to the west. A part of Sweden from the 12th century until 1809, Finland was then a Russian grand duchy until, following the Russian Revolution, the Finns declared independence on December 6, 1917. Finland’s area decreased by about one-tenth during the 1940s, when it ceded the Petsamo (Pechenga) area, which had been a corridor to the ice-free Arctic coast, and a large part of southeastern Karelia to the Soviet Union (ceded portions now in Russia). Throughout the Cold War era, Finland skillfully maintained a neutral political position, although a 1948 treaty with the Soviet Union (terminated 1991) required Finland to repel any attack on the Soviet Union carried out through Finnish territory by Germany or any of its allies. Since World War II, Finland has steadily increased its trading and cultural relations with other countries. Under a U.S.-Soviet agreement, Finland was admitted to the United Nations in 1955. Since then, Finland has sent representatives to the Nordic Council, which makes suggestions to member countries on the coordination of policies. Finland’s international activities became more widely known when the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which resulted in the creation of the Helsinki Accords, was held in that city in 1975. Finland has continued to have especially close ties with the other Scandinavian countries, sharing a free labour market and participating in various economic, cultural, and scientific projects. Finland became a full member of the European Union in 1995. The landscape of ubiquitous forest and water has been a primary source of inspiration for Finnish arts and letters. Starting with Finland’s national epic, the Kalevala, the country’s great artists and architects—including Alvar Aalto, Albert Edelfelt, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Juha Ilmari Leiviskä, and Eero Saarinen—as well as its musicians, writers, and poets—from Jean Sibelius to Väinö Linna, Juhani Aho, Zacharias Topelius and Eino Leino—have all drawn themes and imagery from their national landscape. One of the first Modernist poets, Edith Södergran, expressed her relationship to the Finnish environment this way in “Homcoming”: The tree of my youth stands rejoicing around me: O human! And the grass bids me welcome from foreign lands. My head I recline in the grass: now finally home. Now I turn my back on everything that lies behind me: My only companions will be the forest and the shore and the lake. The notion of nature as the true home of the Finn is expressed again and again in Finnish proverbs and folk wisdom. The harsh climate in the northern part of the country, however, has resulted in the concentration of the population in the southern third of Finland, with about one-fifth of the country’s population living in and around Helsinki, Finland’s largest city and continental Europe’s northernmost capital. Yet, despite the fact that most Finns live in towns and cities, nature—especially the forest—is never far from their minds and hearts. Land Finland is bordered to the north by Norway, to the east by Russia, to the south by the Gulf of Finland, to the southwest by the Gulf of Bothnia, and to the northwest by Sweden. Its area includes the autonomous territory of Åland, an archipelago at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia. About one-third of the territory of Finland—most of the maakunta (region) of Lappi—lies north of the Arctic Circle. Relief Finland is heavily forested and contains some 56,000 lakes, numerous rivers, and extensive areas of marshland; viewed from the air, Finland looks like an intricate blue and green jigsaw puzzle. Except in the northwest, relief features do not vary greatly, and travelers on the ground or on the water can rarely see beyond the trees in their immediate vicinity. The landscape nevertheless possesses a striking—if sometimes bleak—beauty. Finland’s underlying structure is a huge worn-down shield composed of ancient rock, mainly granite, dating from Precambrian time (from about 4 billion to 540 million years ago). The land is low-lying in the southern part of the country and higher in the centre and the northeast, while the few mountainous regions are in the extreme northwest, adjacent to Finland’s borders with Sweden and Norway. In this area there are several high peaks, including Mount Halti, which is, at 4,357 feet (1,328 metres), Finland’s highest mountain. The coastline of Finland, some 2,760 miles (4,600 km) in length, is extremely indented and dotted with thousands of islands. The greatest number of these are to be found in the southwest, in the Turun (Turku; Åbo) archipelago, which merges with the Åland (Ahvenanmaa) Islands in the west. The southern islands in the Gulf of Finland are mainly of low elevation, while those lying along the southwest coastline may rise to heights of more than 400 feet (120 metres). The relief of Finland was greatly affected by Ice Age glaciation.The retreating continental glacier left the bedrock littered with morainic deposits in formations of eskers, remarkable winding ridges of stratified gravel and sand, running northwest to southeast. One of the biggest formations is the Salpausselkä ridges, three parallel ridges running across southern Finland in an arc pattern. The weight of the glaciers, sometimes miles thick, depressed the Earth’s crust by many hundreds of feet. As a consequence, areas that have been released from the weight of the ice sheets have risen and continue to rise, and Finland is still emerging from the sea. Indeed, land rise of some 0.4 inch (10 mm) annually in the narrow part of the Gulf of Bothnia is gradually turning the old sea bottom into dry land. Drainage and soils Finland’s inland waters occupy almost one-tenth of the country’s total area; there are 10 lakes of more than 100 square miles (250 square km) in area and tens of thousands of smaller ones. The largest lake, Saimaa, in the southeast, covers about 1,700 square miles (4,400 square km). There are many other large lakes near it, including Päijänne and Pielinen, while Oulu is near Kajaani in central Finland, and Inari is in the extreme north. Away from coastal regions, many of Finland’s rivers flow into the lakes, which are generally shallow—only three lakes are deeper than about 300 feet (90 metres). Saimaa itself drains into the much larger Lake Ladoga in Russian territory via the Vuoksi (Vuoksa) River. Drainage from Finland’s eastern uplands is through the lake system of Russian Karelia to the White Sea. In the extreme north the Paats River and its tributaries drain large areas into the Arctic. On Finland’s western coast a series of rivers flow into the Gulf of Bothnia. These include the Tornio, which forms part of Finland’s border with Sweden, and the Kemi, which, at 343 miles (550 km), is Finland’s longest river. In the southwest the Kokemäen, one of Finland’s largest rivers, flows out past the city of Pori (Björneborg). Other rivers flow southward into the Gulf of Finland. Soils include those of the gravelly type found in the eskers, as well as extensive marine and lake postglacial deposits in the form of clays and silts, which provide the country’s most fertile soils. Almost one-third of Finland was once covered by bogs, fens, peatlands, and other swamplands, but many of these have been drained and are now forested. The northern third of Finland still has thick layers of peat, the humus soil of which continues to be reclaimed. In the Åland Islands the soils are mainly clay and sand. More … Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Finland

2022/12/06

Wizyta ambasadora Peru

Uniwersytet Warszawski od wielu lat współpracuje z peruwiańskimi uczelniami. 10 listopada 2022 roku gościem UW był Hubert Wieland Conroy, ambasador Peru w Polsce. Oprócz spotkań z władzami uczelni, dyplomata wziął udział w seminarium naukowym na temat szans i wyzwań, jakie stoją przed współczesnym Peru.

2022/12/05

OMAN TOURISM NEW PROMO VIDEO

Oman is amazing! Such good memories. Love Sur!!!

2022/12/05

Tegoroczne obchody Pamięci odbyły się w Malborku, w Lidzbarku Warmińskim i w Krakowie.

This year's Remembrance ceremonies were held in Malbork, Lidzbark Warmiński and Kraków. Today a UK & Commonwealth Service of Remembrance was held at the RAF Liberator Memorial Stone at Skaryszewski Park in Warsaw. We thank all those who cherish the memory of British soldiers

2022/12/05