Indonesia

Istiqlal Mosque, or Masjid Istiqlal, in Jakarta, Indonesia is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia in terms of capacity to accommodate people and... building structure. This national mosque of Indonesia was built to commemorate Indonesian independence, as nation's gratitude for God's blessings; the independence of Indonesia. Therefore the national mosque of Indonesia was named "Istiqlal", an Arabic word for "Independence". After the Indonesian National Revolution 1945–1949, followed by the acknowledgement of the independence Indonesia from The Netherlands in 1949, there was a growing idea to build a national mosque for this new republic, befitting for a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. The idea of constructing a grand Indonesian national mosque was launched by KH. Wahid Hasyim, Indonesia's first minister for religions affairs, and Anwar Cokroaminoto, later appointed as the chairman of the Masjid Istiqlal Foundation. The committee for the construction of the Istiqlal Mosque, led by Anwar Cokroaminoto, was founded in 1953.
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Candi Prambanan or Candi Rara Jonggrang is a 9th century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression... of God as the Creator , the Sustainer and the Destroyer . The temple compound is located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta city on the boundary between Yogyakarta and Central Java province. The temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples. One of the most majestic temples in the Southeast Asia, Prambanan attracts many visitors worldwide. Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple of ancient Java, and the construction of this royal temple was probably started by Rakai Pikatan as the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty's answer to the Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty's Borobudur and Sewu temples nearby.
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed... on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma , Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully. ASEAN covers a land area of 4.46 million km², which is 3% of the total land area of Earth, and has a population of approximately 600 million people, which is 8.8% of the world's population. The sea area of ASEAN is about three times larger than its land counterpart. In 2010, its combined nominal GDP had grown to US$1.8 trillion. If ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the ninth largest economy in the world, behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
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The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia. The... bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and non-regional developed countries. From 31 members at its establishment, ADB now has 67 members - of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside. ADB was modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with member's capital subscriptions. At present, both the United States and Japan hold 552,210 shares, the largest proportion of shares at 12.756% each. China holds 228,000 shares , India holds 224,010 shares , the 2nd and 3rd largest proportion of shares respectively. The highest policy-making body of the bank is the Board of Governors composed of one representative from each member state. The Board of Governors, in turn, elect among themselves the 12 members of the Board of Directors and their deputy.
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OPEC  /ˈoʊpɛk/ OH-pek; is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September... 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five Founding Members were later joined by nine other Members: Qatar ; Indonesia – suspended its membership from January 2009; Libya ; United Arab Emirates ; Algeria ; Nigeria ; Ecuador – suspended its membership from December 1992-October 2007; Angola and Gabon . OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the first five years of its existence i.e. 1960 to 1965 . This was moved to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965. According to its statutes, one of the principal goals is the determination of the best means for safeguarding the organization's interests, individually and collectively.
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The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. The World Bank's official... goal is the reduction of poverty. According to the World Bank's Articles of Agreement all of its decisions must be guided by a commitment to promote foreign investment, international trade and facilitate capital investment. The World Bank differs from the World Bank Group, in that the World Bank comprises only two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association , whereas the former incorporates these two in addition to three more: International Finance Corporation , Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency , and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes . The World Bank is one of five institutions created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The International Monetary Fund, a related institution, is the second. Delegates from many countries attended the Bretton Woods Conference.
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Chrismansyah Rahadi , born Christian Rahadi but better known by his stage name of Chrisye , was an Indonesian progressive-pop singer and songwriter.... In his 40-year career he won many awards and accolades; in 2011 Rolling Stone Indonesia declared him the third-greatest Indonesian musician of all time. Born in Jakarta of mixed Chinese-Indonesian descent, Chrisye became interested in music at an early age. At high school he played bass guitar in a band he formed with his brother, Joris. In the late 1960s he joined Sabda Nada , a band led by his neighbours, the Nasutions. In 1973, after a short hiatus, he rejoined the band to play in New York for a year. He briefly returned to Indonesia and then went back to New York with another band, the Pro's. After once again returning to Indonesia, he collaborated with Gipsy and Guruh Sukarnoputra to record the 1976 indie album Guruh Gipsy. Following the success of Guruh Gipsy, in 1977 Chrisye recorded two of his most critically acclaimed works: "Lilin-Lilin Kecil" by James F. Sundah, which eventually became his signature song, and the soundtrack album Badai Pasti Berlalu.
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Iwan Fals is an Indonesian singer–songwriter. In 2002, Time magazine named him as a Great Asian Hero. Iwan was born Virgiawan Listanto in... Jakarta, on September 3, 1961 to Harsoyo, a soldier, and Lies Suudijah. He studied at SMP 5 Bandung and SMAK BPK Bandung. He continued his studies at Sekolah Tinggi Publisistik and then Jakarta Arts Institute. At the age of thirteen, he performed as a street performer at wedding ceremonies and other social events. During high school, he and his friend formed a group named Amburadul, and went to Jakarta to record an album which turned out to be unsuccessful. Later, he won at a country music festival. After recording four–five albums, Musica Studio recorded his first album, Sarjana Muda; however, he still busked. In 1982, he wrote "Galang Rambu Anarki" as gratitude for the birth of his first son. He continued busking until his second child was born in 1985. In the same year, he wrote "Isi Rimba", because he was disillusioned with government policy at that time. In early 1990s, he joined Kantata group. The band's first album was Kantata Takwa .
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Bernard Rudolf "Ben" Bot is a Dutch diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 3, 2003... until February 22, 2007 in the Cabinets Balkenende II and III. A career diplomat, he succeed then Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaap de Hoop Scheffer when he became Secretary General of NATO in 2003. Bot was born in Batavia, Dutch East Indies . He studied law at and obtained his PhD. from Leiden University in Leiden, attended the Hague Academy of International Law and went to Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States. He served in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1963 to 2002, including postings at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the European Community from 1964 to 1970, the Netherlands embassy in Buenos Aires to 1973, and at the embassy in former East-Berlin in the DDR. In the period 1976-1982 he worked in the Netherlands for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, after which he was Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in Brussels.
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Maylaffayza Permata Fitri Wiguna is an Indonesian pop violinist who is also a singer. She started to learn to play the violin at the age of 9. She... gained her singing skills from Bertha, a local Indonesian jazz singer. She had a great number of experience as musician, both on stage and in studio, along with other various local artists. She is said to be close mate of Alvin Lubis, Kikan Namara, and few other musicians that went to a same high school. Her first album was released in January 2008.
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