<span style="color: #222222;">Myanmar is celebrating its independence day today. On this day, in 1948, the nation became an independent republic, under the terms of the Burma Independence Act 1947. The new country was named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first president and U Nu as its first Prime Minister.<br />”<br />”In 1886, Myanmar then called Burma came under British control, with Rangoon the capital now called Yangon being an important port situated between India and Singapore.<br />”<br />”During war, many Burmese fought initially on the side of the Japanese, and many others fought with the British. Following the end of the war and the defeat of Japan, the Panglong Agreement was reached on 12th &nbsp;February 1947 which led to the unification of Burma as an independent state. Burma was renamed Myanmar in 1989 by its military government.</span><br />