Happy Birthday to Tanzania!

View of Angkor Wat, one of the largest religious monuments in the world. *Photo from Wikipedia November 9 is Independence Day, which celebrates the independence of Cambodia from France in 1953. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name “Kambuja”. This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the

Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. *Photo from Wikipedia February 17 is the day Kosovo declares independence as the Republic of Kosovo. In antiquity, Dardania covered the area, which formed part of the larger Roman province of Moesia in the 1st century AD. In the Middle Ages, the region became part of the Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Serbian medieval states. It was then conquered by the Ottoman Empire an exact 70 years after the Battle of Kosovo. In 1913 the Kosovo Vilayet was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbia, which in 1918 became part of Yugoslavia. Kosovo gained

Uruguay supporters at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. *Photo from Wikipedia August 25 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Uruguay from Brazil in 1825. Portuguese established “Colonia del Sacramento”, one of the oldest European settlements in the country, in 1680. Montevideo was founded as a military stronghold by the Spanish in the early 18th century, signifying the competing claims over the region. In 1816, a force of 10,000 Portuguese troops invaded the Banda Oriental (comprising the modern nation of Uruguay, the modern Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul and some parts of Santa Catarina) from Brazil;