Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on three sides and Myanmar to the southeast; the Bay of Bengal forms the southern coastline. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, it comprises the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The borders of Bangladesh were set by the Partition of India in 1947, when it became the eastern wing of Pakistan (East Pakistan), separated from the western wing by 1,600 km (1,000 miles). Despite their common religion, the ethnic and linguistic gulf between the two wings was compounded by an apathetic government based in West Pakistan. This resulted in the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 after a bloody war, supported by India. The years following independence have been marked by political turmoil, with thirteen different heads of government, and at least four military coups. The population of Bangladesh ranks eighth in the world, but its area of approximately 144,000 sq km is ranked ninety-third. It is also one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Geographically dominated by the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the country has annual monsoon floods, and cyclones are frequent.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1789: French Revolution: Parisians stormed the Bastille. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/storming_of_the_Bastille)

1798: The Sedition Act became United States law, making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the U.S. government. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts)

1933: Gleichschaltung: All political parties in Germany were outlawed, except the National Socialist German Workers Party. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltung)

1958: King Faisal II, the last king of Iraq, was overthrown by Abdul Karim Qassim. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Karim_Qassim)

1965: Mariner 4 flew past Mars, collecting the first close-up pictures of another planet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_4)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Regardless of whether I believe or not, whether I am a Christian or not, I would play my part in the collective building of the cathedral." -- Ingmar Bergman (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ingmar_Bergman)