Rohingya refugee camps are facing the possibility of a severe outbreak of diphtheria, medical staff at disaster relief organisation Samaritan’s Purse have warned. The life-threatening infection can cause difficulty with breathing and is most often airborne. Up to 10 per cent of people who are infected are likely to lose their life, and infection…
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The People’s Republic of Bangladesh has a population of 142 million – 98% Bengali, 83% Muslim and 16% Hindu. During the fifteenth and sexteenth centuries, Bengal was the wealthiest part of the Indian subcontinent. It was also the place where missionary William Carey laboured for many years, the first Bangla grammar book being authored…
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Area: 55.6 thousand square miles. Bounded by India, Myanmar (Burma) and the Bay of Bengal. Physical: Bangladesh occupies the delta and floodplains of the rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra. With three-quarters of the land less than ten feet above sea level, violent monsoons and high annual rainfall (100 inches) cause frequent, serious flooding. Increased salinity…
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 From 200 B.C. until A.D. 1200 this area was ruled variously by Buddhist or Hindu dynasties. Muslim domination came when the Delhi Sultanate was established in 1206. After that, Afghan and then Mogul rulers governed the territory for 600 years. During the time of the Moguls, different European traders began to visit Bengal. Eventually,…
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Some days ago, I returned from a three-week visit to Bangladesh; my first time back for five years. There have been some dramatic changes. The population in Dhaka has increased to 10 million and is due to rise further to mega-city levels early next century. Even village roads seemed crowded with people. Paradoxically, prosperity…
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