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Provided by Iceland Review and IcenewsIcelandic politicians on track for Icesave agreement
Members of the Icelandic government and the opposition met this morning to further discuss the Icesave issue. The country’s Minister of Finance, Steingrimur J. Sigfusson, told RUV he believes a united position is about to be reached between all parties – a key requirement of the British and Dutch authorities before any renegotiation can take [...] More
Armed Robbery in Family-Run Reykjavík Store
A young man armed with a knife threatened the clerk of Sunnubúd, a small family-run store in the Hlídar neighborhood in Reykjavík, on Sunday, demanding money from the cash register. The thief got away with the money and police are looking for him.
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Icelandic Municipality Loses Financial Independence
Minister of Transport Kristján L. Möller decided yesterday to follow the advice of the committee supervising the finances of municipalities and appoint a three-person board to reorganize the finances of Álftanes, a neighboring community of Reykjavík, which has gone into insolvency.
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Reykjavik
SE4 5°C
| Akureyri |  |
SE1 | -3°C |
| Kirkjub.kl. |  |
SW1 | 3°C |
| Bol.vik |  |
SW1 | 3°C |
| Egilsst. |  |
SE2 | -8°C |
| Stykkish. | |
E3 | 4°C |
| Storhofdi | |
SE9 | 6°C |
Exchange rates
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US dollar | USD | 128,45 kr. |
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Euro | EUR | 176,3 kr. |
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Pound sterling | GBP | 200,22 kr. |
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Canadian dollar | CAD | 120,18 kr. |
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Danish krona | DKK | 23,681 kr. |
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Norweigan krona | NOK | 21,617 kr. |
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Swedish krona | SEK | 17,411 kr. |
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Swiss franc | CHF | 120,2 kr. |
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Japanese yen | JPY | 1,4319 kr. |
Hells Angels to Sue Iceland for Unfounded Arrest
Norwegian lawyer Morten Furuholmen is preparing a lawsuit against Icelandic authorities for what he calls an unfounded arrest of Leif Ivar Kristiansen, the leader of the Hells Angels motorcycle club in Norway, at Keflavík International Airport yesterday.
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Iceland’s Government and Opposition Agree on Icesave
The government of Iceland and the opposition in Iceland’s parliament reached an agreement yesterday on a discussion point to use in renegotiations with British and Dutch authorities on the Icesave obligations.
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Icelandair Wants to Open Casino in Iceland
Icelandair has submitted a request to the Ministries of Justice and Industry that operating casinos be legalized in Iceland. The company is interested in opening a casino at the Hilton Hotel Nordica on Sudurlandsbraut in Reykjavík.
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Danish prisoners to record bedtime stories
Prisoners in Denmark may soon be able to interact with their children from behind bars under a new initiative which would see them read bedtime stories onto CDs. The proposal is from the Danish Prison and Probation Service (DPPS), which seeks greater family interaction through allowing prisoners to provide their own children with stories. The DPPS [...] More
Finland issues new guidelines for monitoring young adults
Finland will combat the issue of under 25 year-olds becoming socially alienated through new guidelines for supervision issued to local authorities. The new legislation aims to provide young adults with more effective monitoring to prevent those youths becoming outcasts in society and offer them career guidance. YLE reports that the change in laws is essentially targeting [...] More
President of Iceland on Liberian Stamp
Icelandic stamp collector Magni R. Magnússon recently found a rare stamp sheet from Liberia portraying President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson in a collector’s store in Belgium. Liberian post authorities issued stamps with almost 200 world leaders in 2000.
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Denmark to maintain 28-year immigration rule
Despite a recent threat by Supreme Court judges to undermine the immigration legislation governing citizenship, Denmark will continue with its 28-year rule for naturalising citizens. Politiken reports that the rule, in place since 2002, stipulates that ‘naturalised citizens’ must reside in Denmark for a minimum of 28 years before being allowed to move their spouse [...] More
Iceland’s Shanghai World Expo Pavilion Presented
The Icelandic pavilion which was designed for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai was presented to the representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the committee preparing Iceland’s participation at the Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús on Friday.
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Leak at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History
A water leak at the storage facilities of the Icelandic Institute of Natural History (NÍ) on Saturday night didn’t cause significant damage, thanks to an employee’s decision to come to work early on Sunday morning.
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Icelandic State Wants to Acquire Savings Bank
The Ministry of Finance proposed in December that the Icelandic state acquire Byr savings bank and that claimants be compensated by 40 percent, paid out with bonds issued by the state.
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Is a New Political Crisis Impending in Iceland?
There are speculations that some members of the Social Democrats are interested in forging a new coalition government with the Progressive Party in addition to the Left-Greens. The current Social Democrat-Left-Green coalition is described as fatigued.
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Icelanders Choose 2010 Eurovision Entry
The song “Je Ne Sais Quoi” by Örygur Smári and Hera Björk Thórhallsdóttir received the most votes in the Icelandic Eurovision song contest final on Saturday and will be Iceland’s entry in the main contest in Norway in May.
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Icelandic public sector weathering unemployment storm
At least nine out of every ten people to have lost their jobs in Iceland worked in the private sector. At the same time as the number of private sector jobs has decreased, the number of public sector jobs has actually gone up. The figures were released by the Iceland Chamber of Commerce and show a [...] More
Actavis expands manufacturing site in Iceland, creating 50 new jobs
(Press release): Actavis Group, the international generic pharmaceuticals company, today announced plans to expand its manufacturing site in Iceland, increasing capacity at the site by 50%. Fifty new jobs will be created as a result. The Hafnarfjordur, Iceland manufacturing site exports 95% of its products. After expansion the SOD-site’s capacity will be about 1.5 billion tablets [...] More
Paris Hilton Wears Icelandic Shoes
Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was photographed in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, where she was attending the Sundance film festival this week, wearing shoes from Icelandic fashion designer Gydja Collection.
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LSE professor wants Icesave mediator
The London School of Economics professor, Robert Wade believes it is important for Iceland to have an independent mediator in the Icesave issue. Wade was a guest on the Silfur Egils television show yesterday. His comments on the show were echoed by another guest: the lawyer and former assistant to Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, Kristrun Heimisdottir. Robert Wade [...] More
Conflict of interest debate in Finland over election funding
The Finnish Prime Minister is at odds with the Chancellor of Justice over an alleged conflict of interest surrounding election campaign funding. PM Matti Vanhanen has emphatically stated that he does not see that any election campaign contributions are considered automatic conflicts of interest for local councillors, parliamentarians or ministers who are all able to discuss [...] More
First Icelandic Gaming Industry Awards Underway
The association Icelandic Gaming Industry (IGI) is planning the first ever IGI Awards in the field of computer game design. The prize will be presented to the winner of a competition which everyone can enter for free. Registration ends late next month.
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New Exhibition Opens in Artótek Gallery
An exhibition by visual artist Gudrún Audunsdóttir opened in the Artótek gallery in the Reykjavík City Library on Friday. Audunsdóttir is a versatile artist: she paints, sketches, makes collages and takes photographs, which she processes by computer.
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Elíza Newman Celebrates New Album with Concert
Icelandic singer-songwriter Elíza Newman will celebrate the release of her latest studio album Pie in the Sky with a concert in Café Rósenberg in downtown Reykjavík this Tuesday, February 9.
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Dutch Icesave anger ‘understandable’
Gylfi Magnusson, Iceland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, says that Dutch anger is understandable because they want to find culprits, just like the Icelandic government does. Finance Minister Steingrimur J. Sigfusson told RUV he hopes internal Icesave investgations into Icesave in the Netherlands will not harm bilateral relations on the matter. The Dutch Central Bank chief’s testimony in [...] More
Fewer Icelanders looking for work overseas
Fewer unemployed Icelanders are now looking for work overseas, according to a poll conducted by Capacent for the Confederation of Icelandic Labour. More people are looking for work at home now than they were in the summer and a lower proportion now say they intend to go into education. RUV reports that an earlier survey conducted last [...] More
New Exhibitions Open at ASÍ Art Museum
Two new exhibitions open at the ASÍ Art Museum today by visual artist Gudrún Gunnarsdóttir, who usually works with textiles, and photographer Gudmundur Ingólfsson. Most of his pictures were taken inside oil tanks around Iceland.
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Iceland’s Largest Travel Fair Opens in Reykjavík
Representatives of around 350 foreign travel agencies have arrived in Reykjavík to attend the largest travel fair that has ever been held in Iceland. The fair opened in Laugardalshöll arena yesterday and will continue throughout the weekend.
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Icelandic Car Production at Innovation Center Expo
Few people are aware that hundreds of vehicles that were made in Iceland are currently cruising the country’s roads. Those interested in learning more about Icelandic car production can attend an exposition today at the Toppstödin innovation center.
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Bank Sells Icelandic Commercial Enterprise Hagar
The board of Arion Bank (formerly Kaupthing) announced its decision yesterday to request the listing of the commercial enterprise Hagar on the stock market and sell the bank’s share in the company. The current executives can buy 15 percent of the shares.
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Police Resume Sale of SPRON Stock Investigation
The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police’s economic crime department is investigating four cases related to board members and connected individuals selling shares in savings bank SPRON in the summer of 2007 on suspicion of insider trading.
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