Netherlands

The Oude Kerk is Amsterdam’s oldest parish church, consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. It... stands in De Wallen, now Amsterdam's main red-light district. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein. The bust of famous organist and composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck celebrates the lifetime he spent playing here. His early career began at the age of fifteen when he succeeded his deceased father Pieter Swybertszoon as the Oude Kerk’s organist. He went on to compose music for all 150 psalms and secure an international reputation as a leading Dutch composer. His music would also be played over the city from the church’s bell tower. He is buried in the church. The church has seen a number of renovations performed by 15 generations of Amsterdam citizens. The church stood for only half a century before the first alterations were made, the aisles lengthened and wrapped around the choir in a half circle to support the structure. Not long after the turn of the 15th century, north and south transepts were added to the church creating a cross formation.
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Operation Mountain Thrust was a Canadian and Afghan-led operation in the war in Afghanistan, with more than 2,300 U.S., 3,300 British troops, 2,200... Canadian troops, about 3,500 Afghan soldiers and large air support. Its primary objective was to quell the ongoing Taliban insurgency in the south of the country. There was heavy fighting during June and July 2006, with Afghanistan seeing the bloodiest period since the fall of the Taliban regime. The Taliban showed great coordination in their attacks, even capturing two districts of Helmand province at the end of July, which were retaken a few days later. The Taliban suffered during the fighting more than 1,100 killed and close to 400 captured. Heavy aerial bombing was the main factor. But even so the coalition forces had close to 150 soldiers killed and 40 Afghan policemen captured by the Taliban. Tom Koenigs, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, told the German news weekly Der Spiegel that the Taliban numbers of casualties do not reflect success. "The Taliban fighters reservoir is practically limitless," Koenigs told the magazine in an interview. "The movement will not be overcome by high casualty figures.
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The Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf... War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones. The policy was enforced by U.S., UK and French aircraft patrols until France withdrew in 1998. While the enforcing powers had cited United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 as authorizing the operations, the resolution contains no explicit authorization. The Secretary-General of the UN at the time the resolution was passed, Boutros Boutros-Ghali called the no-fly zones "illegal" in a later interview with John Pilger. The NFZ in the north of Iraq was established shortly after the Gulf War. In August 1992 the NFZ in the south to the 32nd parallel was established, but in 1996 it was expanded to the 33rd parallel. From 1992 to the United States-led coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003, there were two NFZs in Iraq. The northern NFZ extended from the 36th parallel northwards, while the southern extended from the 33rd parallel southwards.
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The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted... from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999. The NATO bombing marked the second major combat operation in its history, following the 1995 NATO bombing campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bombings led to the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo, establishment of UNMIK, a UN mission in Kosovo and put an end to the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. The bombing campaign was criticized, especially for the number of civilian casualties that resulted from the bombing. NATO's objectives in the Kosovo conflict were stated at the North Atlantic Council meeting held at NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 12, 1999: Michel Chossudovsky has argued that the real objective was economic colonialization of Serbia. Operation Allied Force predominantly used a large-scale air campaign to destroy Yugoslav military infrastructure from high altitudes.
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Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations by the United States and some of its Gulf War allies, starting in April... 1991, to defend Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War and deliver humanitarian aid to them. The 1991 uprising in northern Iraq resulted in an Iraqi military response towards the rebels in both northern and southern Iraq. Fearing a massacre like what had happened during the 1988 Anfal campaign, millions of Kurds fled towards the Turkish border. On 3 March, General Norman Schwarzkopf warned the Iraqis that Coalition aircraft would shoot down Iraqi military aircraft flying over the country. On 20 March, an American F-15C Eagle fighter shot down an Iraqi Air Force Su-22 Fitter fighter-bomber over northern Iraq. On 22 March, another F-15 destroyed a second Su-22 and the pilot of an Iraqi PC-9 trainer bailed out after being approached by American fighters. On 5 April, the UN passed United Nations Resolution 688, calling on Iraq to end repression of its population. On 6 April, Operation Provide Comfort began to bring humanitarian relief to the Kurds. A No-Fly Zone was established by the U.S.
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The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the... original 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU was established by seven Western European nations during the Cold War. Since the end of the Cold War, WEU tasks and institutions have been transferred to the Common Security and Defence Policy which is being framed for the geographically larger and more comprehensive European Union. This process was completed in 2009, when a solidarity clause between the member states of the European Union which was similar to the WEU's mutual defense clause, entered into force with the Treaty of Lisbon. The states party to the Modified Treaty of Brussels consequently decided to terminate that treaty on 31 March 2010, with all the remaining WEU's activities to be ceased within 15 months. On 30 June 2011 the WEU was officially declared defunct. The WEU was headquartered in Brussels, with a staff of 65 and an annual budget of €13.4 million.
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The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in... Africa. The Group comprises the African Development Bank , the African Development Fund , and the Nigeria Trust Fund . AfDB provides loans and grants to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries in Africa. It is owned and funded by member governments, and has a public-interest mandate to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. Following the end of colonial period in Africa, growing desire for more unity within the continent led to the establishment of two draft charters, one for the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity , and for a regional development bank. A draft accord was submitted to top African officials, then to African Ministers, before being cosigned by twenty-three African governments on August 4, 1963, in the form of an agreement establishing the African Development Bank.
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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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The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of some of the world's biggest economies, which provides financial services such... as war funding, debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors. Debtors are often recommended by the International Monetary Fund after alternative solutions have failed. It meets every six weeks at the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance, and Industry in Paris. It is chaired by a senior official of the French Treasury, currently the Director General of the Treasury [Ramon Fernandez]. The club grew out of crisis talks held in Paris in 1956 between the nation of Argentina and its various creditors. Its principles and procedures were codified at the end of the 1970s in the context of the North-South Dialogue. In the 1990s, the club began to treat the HIPC and non-HIPCs differently. The club began to grant increasingly larger debt reductions for the HIPCs.
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The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well... as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated. It is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group. The University of Groningen has nine faculties, nine graduate schools, 27 research centres and institutes, and more than 175 degree programmes. The University of Groningen is organized in nine faculties that offer programmes and courses in the fields of Humanities, Social Sciences, Law, Economics and Business, Spatial Sciences, Life Sciences, and Natural Sciences and Technology. Each faculty is a formal grouping of academic degree programmes, schools and institutes, discipline areas, research centres, and/or any combination of these drawn together for educational purposes. Each faculty offers Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, and Exchange programmes, while some also offer short certificate courses.
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The University of Amsterdam or the UvA is a public research university located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Founded in 1632 as the Athenaeum... Illustre by the scholars Gerardus Vossius and Caspar Barlaeus, it is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands. The UvA is one of Europe's largest research universities with an endowment of €613.5 million, 32,739 students, 5,090 staff, and 7,900 scientific publications each year. It is the largest university in the Netherlands by enrollment and has the second-largest university endowment in the country. The campus of the UvA is located primarily in the City Centre of Amsterdam, with a few faculties located in adjacent bouroghs. The school lies within the largest megalopolis in the Netherlands, the Randstad, with a population of 7.2 million inhabitants. There are seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Economics and Business, Science, Law, Medicine, and Dentistry. The university offers 59 Bachelor's programs, 133 Master's programs, and 10 postgraduate programs.
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The Vrije Universiteit is a university in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch name is often abbreviated as VU and in English the university uses the... name "VU University". The university is located on a compact urban campus in the southern part of Amsterdam in the Buitenveldert district. Though a faith-based institution, the VU receives government funding on a parity basis with the public universities. The university should not be confused with the University of Amsterdam, which is a different university, located in the same city. That university was formerly owned and operated by the City of Amsterdam, but is now one of the public universities in the Netherlands. The VU has about 22,738 students, most of whom are full-time students. The number of faculty members and researchers is 2,764 . Teaching and research activities are supported by 1,905 administrative, clerical, technical, and other employees. The university's annual budget is around US$500 million, about two thirds of which comes from the Dutch government.
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Roel van Velzen , better known as VanVelzen, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Besides being known for his short stature, standing at a mere 4'11", he... and his band enjoy a huge live reputation; they have played at virtually every festival in the Netherlands, shared the stage with Queen's Brian May, and supported Kelly Clarkson, Bon Jovi and German magastars Reamonn. VanVelzen was born in Delft, The Netherlands. His father was a musician, and had a large influence on him as a child; on his sixth birthday, he was given a piano and a guitar from his father and a drum kit from his mother. He was actively involved in several bands at school and wrote music for the annual Christmas musical on several occasions. He went on to study Creative Communications at the Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam, and won the Heineken Student Music Award in 1999 with his band The Goldfish. He went on to play with Crazy Pianos and during a concert at the GelreDome, he met his current manager, Ruud H. Vinke. Between 2002 and 2005, he was part of the improvisational theatre group Op Sterk Water, with whom he performed twice at the Lowlands Festival.
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Sander Kleinenberg .ˌbɛrx] is a Dutch disc jockey, VDJ, and record producer. He founded and runs Little Mountain Recordings and THIS IS... Recordings. Kleinenberg is well known for his use of digital video in concerts, his "Everybody" and "THIS IS" brands of club nights and albums and his 2000 single "My Lexicon" as well as hits like "The Fruit" and "This Is Miami". Sander Kleinenberg began DJ-ing at a local bar in 1987 at the age of 15, playing a variety of music including rock and dance music. After sending demos to many European record labels, Kleinenberg released his first single "Bombay" in 1993 on Belgian record label Wonka Beats under the artist name Free Frogs, a collaboration with several friends. The next year, he released a single on German record label Superstition. In 1996, Kleinenberg released "YDW " under the moniker S 'N' S on the Dutch record label Deal Records and licensed by Strictly Rhythm. His early influences included Mantronix, Shep Pettibone, and Depeche Mode.
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Maud Mulder is a Dutch singer who rose to popularity after placing second in Idols Netherlands 2, the Dutch version of Pop Idol, shown by RTL 4. She... is also a professional field hockey player with hoofdklasse side NMHC Nijmegen. On 12 March 2006, Mulder participated in the national Dutch Song Contest finals. However, the jury considered the three songs she performed to be without any potential for the Eurovision, since they were like many of The Netherlands' previous entries. Apart from that, her vocal performances were weak due to an inflammation of the throat. Maud became third out of three, only just beat by rock band Behave. Female drum-group Treble won with a large share of the televotes the ticket to Athens.
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Frank Boeijen is a Dutch singer and guitarist. His best known songs are Kronenburg Park about a prostitute, Zwart Wit about the racial murder of... Kerwin Duinmeijer in Amsterdam and Twee gezichten about a split personality. Having been in the music business for 25 years, he received the Edison award for his career achievements in 2005. Boeijen released his first album in 1979, a joint effort with Wout Pennings produced by singer Rob de Nijs. From 1980 onwards he fronted the Frank Boeijen Groep; they released their self-titled debut album in 1981 to critical acclaim . The breakthrough came in 1983 with the album 1001 Hotel, featuring the Motown-inspired singles Het antwoord en Linda; the latter reached top 10. 1984 began with the release of Zwart Wit, originally intended to chronicle a white Romeo/black Juliet-relationship it became a statement against the racist murder of Kerwin Duinmeijer. 1985's Foto van een mooie dag had Kronenburg Park as its second single, assisted by the voices of R&B girl group Mai Tai.
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Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's... headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres , and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish , and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons , plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
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