Iceland

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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The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but... representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down operations in 1947. Its purpose was to "plan, co-ordinate, administer or arrange for the administration of measures for the relief of victims of war in any area under the control of any of the United Nations through the provision of food, fuel, clothing, shelter and other basic necessities, medical and other essential services". Its staff of civil servants included 12,000 people, with headquarters in New York. Funding came from many nations, and totaled $3.7 billion, of which the United States contributed $2.7 billion; Britain $625 million and Canada $139 million. UNRRA cooperated closely with dozens of volunteer charitable organizations, who sent hundreds of their own agencies to work alongside UNRRA.
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The Council of Europe is an international organization promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human... rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It was founded in 1949, has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens, and is an entirely separate body from the European Union , which has only 27 member states. Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws. The two do however share certain symbols such as the flag of Europe. The Council of Europe has nothing to do with either the Council of the European Union or the European Council, which are both EU bodies. The best known bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, and the European Pharmacopoeia Commission, which sets the quality standards for pharmaceutical products in Europe. The Council of Europe's work has resulted in standards, charters and conventions to facilitate cooperation between European countries.
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The United Nations , is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security,... economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions. There are 193 member states, including every internationally recognised sovereign state in the world but Vatican City. From its offices around the world, the UN and its specialized agencies decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout the year.
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Reykjavík University , also known as RU, is the largest private university in Reykjavík, Iceland. It is chartered by the Chamber of... Commerce, the Federation of Icelandic Industries, and the Confederation of Icelandic Employers. Reykjavík University is the largest private university in the country with more than 3,000 students and over 500 employees . The university is fully bilingual by the beginning of 2010, and it consists of four academic schools: School of Law, School of Business, School of Computer Science and the School of Science and Engineering. The university's Executive MBA program was awarded 5-year accreditation by the London-based international accreditation organisation Association of MBAs in October 2011. Reykjavík University has its roots in The Commercial College of Iceland, School of Computer Science , founded in January 1988 and run in The Commercial College of Iceland housing for ten years. Reykjavík University started its first semester on September 1, 1998 in a new building under the name Reykjavík School of Business.
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Stefán Karl Stefánsson is an Icelandic film and stage actor who is best known for playing the character Robbie Rotten on the television... show LazyTown. After studying at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, he was invited to join the National Theatre of Iceland. At the National Theater, Stefán played roles ranging from Cyrano de Bergerac, to song-and-dance-man Cosmo Brown in Singin’ In The Rain, and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At the National Theater, Stefán originated the role of Robbie Rotten in the live version of LazyTown, and continued in the role when the show was adapted to TV. Stefán has trained in a number of areas of performance, including baritone voice, Russian and English fencing, tap dancing, modern dance, stand-up comedy, commedia dell'arte, piano, accordion, and drums. Stefán is also the founder and director of the nonprofit organization, Rainbow Children, created to bring public awareness and strategic solutions to the endemic problem of school bullying. Stefán resides in Los Angeles with his wife Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, a well-known actress, TV show host and writer, their three daughters and a son.
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Arnar Jónsson is an Icelandic actor. He is married to Þórhildur Þorleifsdóttir. Arnar has played more leading roles in... theaters than any other Icelandic actor. He starred in the film Outlaw and also in other 17 main and about 200 other roles in theater. He likes golf and also brought up 5 children. His daughter Sólveig Arnarsdóttir is also an actress.
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Noomi Rapace is a Swedish actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish/Danish film adaptations of the Millennium... series: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. She recently played Madame Simza Heron in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and will star as Elizabeth Shaw in the upcoming Ridley Scott science fiction film Prometheus. As of March, 2012, she is shooting Brian De Palma's thriller Passion in Berlin. Rapace was born in Hudiksvall. Her mother, Nina Norén , is a Swedish actress, and her father, Rogelio Durán , was a Spanish cantador from Badajoz. She has said that her father may have been of part Roma descent, and though she is "not sure if it is true," she has "always been interested in the culture." Rapace's sister, Særún Norén, is a photographer. Rapace has said that she saw her father only occasionally before his death. At the age of five, she moved from Sweden to Flúðir, Iceland, with her mother and stepfather.
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