Happy Birthday to Panama!

Crowd cheers Hungarian troops in Budapest. *Photo from Wikipedia October 23 is Memorial day of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Also the day of the proclamation of the Third Hungarian Republic (1989). The day is celebrated with speeches and exhibitions. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 or the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 was a nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People’s Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from October 23 until November 10, 1956. Though leaderless when it first began, it was the first major threat to Soviet control since the USSR’s forces drove Nazi Germany from its territory

Port-Louis, the Capital of Mauritius. *Photo from Wikipedia March 12 is National Day, celebrates the independence of Mauritius from the UK in 1968. The island of Mauritius was visited during the Middle Ages by the Arabs and then by the Portuguese. The island was uninhabited until the Dutch Republic established a colony in 1638, with the Dutch naming the island after Prince Maurice van Nassau. The Dutch colony was abandoned in 1710, and, five years later, the island became a French colony and was named Isle de France. Due to its strategic position, Mauritius was known as the “star and

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