Philippines

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War or Operation Iraqi Freedom in which a combined force of troops from... the United States, alongside the United Kingdom, and smaller contingents from Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations. This phase consisted of a conventionally fought war which concluded with the fall of Baghdad that marked the beginning of the second phase, the Iraq War which would last until August 19, 2010, and followed or was a continuation of the Gulf War of 1991, prior to which Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait, and after defeat by Coalition Forces had agreed to surrender and/or destroy several types of weapons, including SCUD missiles and weapons of mass destruction . Since the Persian Gulf War 1991 the US and Britain had been keeping a tight rein on Saddam Hussein, waging an undeclared conflict against Iraq for twelve years. U.S.
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The Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955 , to April 30, 1975 when Saigon... fell. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other capitalist nations. The Viet Cong, a lightly-armed South Vietnamese communist-controlled common front, largely fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region. The North Vietnamese Army engaged in a more conventional war, at times committing large units into battle. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery and airstrikes. The United States government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and part of their wider strategy of containment. The North Vietnamese government viewed the war as a colonial war, fought initially against France, backed by the United States, and later against South Vietnam, which it regarded as a US puppet state.
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The First Quarter Storm was a period of leftist unrest in the Philippines, composed of a series of heavy demonstrations, protests, and marches... against the government from January to March 1970, or the first quarter of 1970. It was one of the factors leading to the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. The movement was led by the student leaders of the University of the Philippines, echoing recent student demonstrations all around the world before 1970. But then, the Moderate demonstration turned into a Radical one, led by the Kabataang Makabayan founder Jose Maria Sison as well as the leader of the New People's Army Bernabe "Dante" Buscayno. Laborers also took part, protesting against graft and corruption in government, and the decline in the economy caused by high oil prices. Some sources stated that the unrest is the plan to overthrow the government through communist as well as socialist support to the masses, as well as students and workers who facilitated the storm. Most of the activists carried Molotov cocktails and pillbox bombs to counter the policemen's attacks at Malacanang Palace. The storm ended violently when the police used tear gas and arms to quell the demonstrators.
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Battle of Đức Cơ was a major engagement between the North Vietnamese 5th Battalion of the 33rd Regiment and the South Korean 3rd... Battalion of the 1st Cavalry Regiment on August 9, 1966. The battle resulted from North Vietnamese attempts to infiltrate Đức Cơ from Cambodia. On the night of August 9, the reinforced North Vietnamese 5th Battalion attacked a Korean tactical base in Đức Cơ, when the airborne were alerted to prevent the Defeated North Vietnamese regiments, trying to retreat back into Cambodia. During several hours of fighting the outnumbered South Koreans defeated their enemies who left more than one hundred bodies on the field.
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN , is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 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 the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, the protection of the peace and stability of the region, and to provide opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully. ASEAN spans over an area of 4.46 million km with a population of approximately 580 million people, 8.7% of the world population. In 2009, its combined nominal GDP had grown to more than USD $1.5 trillion. If ASEAN was a single country, it would rank as the 9th largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP.
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The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established in 1966 to promote economic and social development in Asian and Pacific... countries through loans and technical assistance. It is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 67 members , 48 from the region and 19 from other parts of the globe. ADB's vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens. The work of the Asian Development Bank is aimed at improving the welfare of the people in Asia and the Pacific, particularly the 1.9 billion who live on less than $2 a day. Despite many success stories, Asia and the Pacific remains home to two thirds of the world's poor. The bank was conceived with the vision of creating a financial institution that would be "Asian in character" to foster growth and cooperation in a region that back then was one of the world's poorest. ADB raises funds through bond issues on the world's capital markets, while also utilizing its members' contributions and earnings from lending.
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The United Nations Stabilization Mission In Haiti , also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French translation, is a United Nations peacekeeping... mission in Haiti that has been in operation since 2004. The mission's military component is led by the Brazilian Army and the force commander is Brazilian. The current UN mission is authorized until October 15, 2010. The force is composed of 8,940 military personnel and 3,711 police, supported by an international civilian personnel, a local civilian staff and United Nations Volunteers. Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the United Nations reported that the headquarters of the mission, located since 2004 at The Christopher Hotel at 11 Rue Theoowle Bourdon in Port-au-Prince, had collapsed and that the Mission's Chief, Hédi Annabi of Tunisia and his deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa of Brazil, and the acting police commissioner, Doug Coates of Canada, were confirmed dead.
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World Bank is a term used to describe an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to developing countries for capital... programs. The World Bank has a stated goal of reducing poverty. 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 latter 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. The most powerful countries in attendance were the United States and United Kingdom which dominated negotiations. Although both are based in Washington, D.C., the World Bank is by custom headed by an American, while the IMF is led by a European.
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Sharon Cuneta - Pangilinan is a popular and multi-awarded Filipino singer, actress and TV host dubbed "Megastar of Philippine Entertainment", fondly... called Mega by fans and people from the entertainment industry. Her success in the movies , television and recording make her possibly the greatest Filipino entertainer of all time. Her popularity has translated well into the field of advertising, where she is the highest paid and most effective Filipino celebrity endorser. Cuneta's long list of endoresements run the gamut from fastfood chain to bank, from make-up line to electronics, from ice cream to tele-communication company. Among her recent honors at the beginning of 2010, "2009 MMFF Best Actress" for Mano Po 6: A Mother's Love and "Diamond Record Award" for "Isn't It Romantic?" On January 12, 2010, coinciding with her annual birthday show, her self-titled magazine Sharon at Home was launched and has since become one of the best-selling titles of ABS-CBN Publishing. Her mother, Elaine Gamboa-Cuneta, hails from Santa Ana, Pampanga while her father Pablo Cuneta , was a mayor of Pasay City for four decades.
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Carol Claire Aguilar Banawa , better known in the Philippines as Carol Banawa, is a Filipina singer and actress. She was born in Pasay City to Albino... and Cirila Banawa. She has two siblings, Alexander and Cherry. She was raised in Batangas. She was invited to join the new roster of ABS-CBN stars through the children oriented show Ang TV . She is a Star Magic Batch 4 alumni. Banawa started to sing when she was a little girl when her family lived in Saudi Arabia. Her family moved back to the Philippines. She performed in the Madison Square Garden in New York in the 2003 New York Music Festival. Soundtrack in the movie Anak starring Vilma Santos and Claudine Barretto. Featured in the Tanging Yaman - Inspirational Album and in the re-packaged version of Carol. Featured in the album Only Selfless Love. Featured in the Mysteria Lucis album . Carol took a break from the Philippine music scene in August 2003 to treat her father who was injured in the carbon monoxide incident.
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Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. , is a Filipino actor, politician and senator of the Republic of the Philippines. He was born Jose Marie Mortel Bautista to... Jose Acuña Bautista and Azucena Mortel Bautista. In 1979, he finished his elementary education at Jesus Good Shepherd School in Palico II, Imus, Cavite. Ramon "Bong" Bong Revilla starred in numerous action movies during the 1980s and the 1990s. He also starred in a few movies alongside his father, Ramon Revilla. He has been involved in a number of comedy related movies and TV shows in former actor in GMA-7. As a native of Cavite, he made several films focusing on his home province. Ramon "Bong" Bong Revilla also made several charity works for the province through the RRJ Foundation Inc. He was invited by former NBI director Epimaco Velasco to be his running mate as vice governor of Cavite. In the 1995 local elections, Velasco and Ramon "Bong" Bong Revilla won as governor and vice governor beating the Remullas who dominated the Cavite political arena since the 1980s.
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:This article is about the singer. For her album of the same name, please see Lea Salonga . Lea Salonga-Chien is a Filipino singer and actress. She... is best known for her musical role Kim in Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World Awards, the first to win various international awards for a single role. She was the first Asian to play Éponine as well as the first Asian to play Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and was the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II . Salonga made her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven in the musical The King and I by Repertory Philippines. She became the lead star of Annie and joined other productions such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose Tattoo, The Sound of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon and The Fantasticks. She began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, Small Voice, which received a gold certification.
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