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Provided by Iceland Review, Icenews and Reykjavík GrapevineMeet Your New Government
The new ministerial line-up was announced at the president's residence of Bessastaðir just before noon today, and there were a few surprises. More
Warmest Summer Ever in Iceland’s Capital
The average temperature of the three summer months, June, July and August, in Reykjavík this year was 12.2°C (54°F), which makes this the warmest summer in the capital since temperatures were first recorded in 1871, according to meteorologist Trausti Jónsson.
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Iceland’s ‘favourite comedy show’ saved at the last minute
Spaugstofan, Iceland’s most famous weekly comedy sketch show, will not be consigned to history as had previously been reported. Despite being dropped from RUV for monetary reasons, the show’s creators this week signed a deal to move over to rival station, Stod 2. The winter series of Spaugstofan will start on Saturday the 9th October at [...] More
Reykjavik
SE9 16°C
| Akureyri |  |
SE5 | 20°C |
| Kirkjub.kl. |  |
E7 | 13°C |
| Bol.vik | |
NE1 | 16°C |
| Egilsst. | |
SW6 | 19°C |
| Stykkish. | |
E4 | 16°C |
| Storhofdi |  |
SE18 | 12°C |
Exchange rates
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US dollar | USD | 119,72 kr. |
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Euro | EUR | 153,5 kr. |
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Pound sterling | GBP | 184,34 kr. |
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Canadian dollar | CAD | 113,88 kr. |
 |
Danish krona | DKK | 20,619 kr. |
 |
Norweigan krona | NOK | 19,433 kr. |
 |
Swedish krona | SEK | 16,471 kr. |
 |
Swiss franc | CHF | 118,25 kr. |
 |
Japanese yen | JPY | 1,4224 kr. |
Details of alleged Norwegian bomb plot revealed
Norwegian police discovered the makings of a bomb lab in an Oslo apartment when arresting a suspected al-Qaida cell last month, according to reports. An investigation by the Associated Press (AP) has revealed that authorities had been tracking the group for a long time after intercepting emails between them and an al-Qaida operative in Pakistan. [...] More
Government Support Increases
Both parties in the ruling coalition increase in support, but the conservatives remain the largest party in the country, according to a new poll from Gallup.
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"Nearly Impossible" for Non-EEA Citizens to Get Icelandic Work Permit
It is nearly impossible for citizens outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to get a work permit in Iceland, the director of the Directorate of Labor told reporters, given the current state of unemployment in the country.
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Icesave Talks Begin Today
Icesave negotiations between Iceland, Holland and the UK will begin again today, the first formal talks since a referendum killed the old agreement last March. More
Long-Standing Comedy Show Moves to Private Channel
The comedy sketch show Spaugstofan, which has been shown more or less continuously for 21 years on the Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV, has now been relocated to the private television channel Stöd 2.
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Boeing Dreamliner in Iceland for testing
The new Dreamliner, also known as the Boeing 787, is currently stationed at Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport for testing in side winds. This is only the second time the brand new aircraft has left the USA. The News Tribune reports that the Dreamliner aeroplane will be in Iceland for tests for a whole week after arriving [...] More
Whalers Assist Troubled Sailboat off Iceland
The crew of the sailboat Santa Maria from Hamburg, Germany, called for assistance when they ran out of fuel 140 nautical miles west of Reykjavík last week. The guard post of the Icelandic Maritime Administration contacted ships that were nearby and as it turned out the whaling ship Hvalur 9 was located closest to Santa Maria.
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Theater Festival Kicks Off in Reykjavík
The theater festival Lókal begins in Reykjavík today and will run until September 5. The program includes the show “The Great Group of Eight” held by the Kviss búmm bang trio where spectators have the opportunity to be national leaders for three to four hours.
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Icelandic Footballer Signed by Stoke City
Icelandic professional football player Eidur Smári Gudjohnsen has been signed by English football club Stoke City until the end of this season, as announced yesterday. Stoke’s manager Tony Pulis intends for Gudjohnsen to play a big part on his team.
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Hafnarfjördur Homicide: Supreme Court Confirms Custody
The Supreme Court of Iceland has confirmed Reykjanes District Court’s ruling that a suspect in the Hafnarfjördur murder case is to be held in custody for four weeks. Reykjanes District Court’s custody ruling from Friday last week was appealed to the Supreme Court.
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Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen moves to Stoke City
Yesterday’s clinching of a deal to sign Icelandic international Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen is being hailed as something of a coup for Stoke City FC in England’s Premiership. But he doesn’t come cheap. DV reports that Eidur Smari’s monthly wage at Monaco is some ISK 30 million and Stoke had committed to pay the lion’s share of [...] More
Iceland’s PM Shuffles Her Cabinet
Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir called ministers of her cabinet in for meetings yesterday to prepare for major changes to the government. Independent ministers Gylfi Magnússon and Ragna Árnadóttir will leave the cabinet this week.
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Iceland´s Church Reaches a Turning Point
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland has been a part of the government since the constitution established it as such in 1874. More
Danish-caught pirates released on lack of evidence
International maritime laws have prevented authorities from prosecuting a group of Somali pirates captured by a Danish warship in the Aden Gulf this weekend. Denmark’s defence minister said a lack of witnesses forced a decision to free the rogue sailors. According to maritime command at NATO, the Danish vessel, Esbern Snarre, was summoned on Saturday [...] More
Cabinet reshuffle for Icelandic government
The Icelandic government is set for a shake-up in the next few days; probably today or when parliament returns for the first day of the autumn term tomorrow. There will be two fewer ministers than at present. Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir has spoken with all of her Social Democrat MPs yesterday and last night, Visir.is reports. Althingi’s [...] More
Big Changes in the Government Pending
According to sources close to Fréttablaðið, a number of ministers are on their way out - and some new faces are coming in - as a part of the reorganization plan designed to save money and increase efficiency.
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Southwest Iceland Municipality in Financial Trouble
The municipality Reykjanesbaer in southwest Iceland is in default with a foreign currency loan worth ISK 1.8 billion (USD 14.8 million, EUR 11.7 million) which fell on maturity date at the beginning of August.
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Alcohol Ad Laws Tightened
A bill submitted to parliament may close loopholes that alcohol importers and manufacturers have used in the current Icelandic law banning the advertising of alcoholic beverages. More
Cairn hits Greenland gas jackpot
Cairn Energy has confirmed that it has found gas off the western coast of Greenland. The Edinburgh-based oil and gas exploration company made the discovery in the Baffin Bay Basin, 175km from the island of Disko. In the first discovery of its kind in the Arctic region, Cairn also announced to the London Stock Exchange that [...] More
Icelanders Are Just Happy People
Market and Media Research has done another survey on the overall happiness of Icelanders, and the results show the country just as happy as always. More
World’s Largest Rigged Sailing Vessel Headed for Iceland
The world’s largest rigged sailing vessel, the three-masted Sedov, is on its way to Iceland, according to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti. The ship left the harbor in Amsterdam on Monday after a four-day stopover.
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Businessman Leaves Board of Commercial Enterprise
Jóhannes Jónsson, founder of the Bónus grocery stores, stepped down from the board of commercial enterprise Hagar yesterday. He made an agreement with Arion Bank, which is responsible for the affairs of Hagar, which stipulates that he buy out the Faroese company SMS along with the retail stores Top Shop, Zara and All Saints from Hagar.
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Stranded Tourist Rescued in Iceland’s Highlands
A Spanish tourist who had requested assistance after running out of gas was found in the southern highlands at 9:30 pm last night after a three to four hour search. The location which he stated according to a GPS monitor proved to be false.
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Great Displeasure with Media Bill
A government bill calling for sweeping reforms in the Icelandic media is meeting with strong resistance, in particular with regards to increasing competition and supervision, and finalizing a provision against hate speech.
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US Air Force Returning to Iceland
A unit of the US Air Force will be coming to Iceland this September in order to conduct NATO exercises - the third such visit from the US since the NATO base in Keflavík closed in 2006. More
ECA Program Still Waiting for Green Light
Dutch military contractors ECA Program are still waiting for finalized approval of the old NATO base in Keflavík for their operations.
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Priests Begged for Forgiveness
Clergy from the National Church of Iceland, meeting with victims of sexual abuse at the hands of former bishop Ólafur Skúlason, expressed regret and asked for forgiveness. More
Priests Meet with Alleged Victims of Sexual Harassment
Almost 50 priests met three women who accused former Bishop Ólafur Skúlason (who died in 2008) of sexual harassment in 1996 in the church Vídalínskirkja in Gardabaer yesterday and listened to their stories.
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Björk Accepts Polar Music Prize
Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk accepted the respected Polar Music Prize from King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm yesterday. In Sweden the award is known as the “Nobel Prize for Music”.
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Bonus founder removed from Icelandic supermarket board
The co-founder of Iceland’s Bonus supermarkets, Johannes Jonsson, has been removed from the board of Hagar following a decision by Arion Bank that both parties’ best interests are no longer served by working together. Jonsson and his son Jon Asgeir Johannesson founded Bonus, which would later merge with Hagkaup to become Hagar and then become [...] More
Facebook fibbers making Helsinki police blue
Police in Finland’s capital have issued advice about ‘Facebook crime’, as complaints about online pranksters are keeping cops busy. Hannu Kortelainen, of the Helsinki police, has revealed that gripes about the popular social networking site come flooding into the station on a daily basis. The most popular complaint is that users’ pictures and profile information are [...] More
World’s biggest sailing ship on way to Iceland
The world’s biggest sailing ship is currently on its way to Iceland, according to Russian news website, Ria Novosti. The ship is called Sedov and is a three-masted barque. Sedov left Amsterdam yesterday after a four day stopover as part of its summer-long tour of European ports. The ship has been causing a stir everywhere it goes [...] More
Icelandic IT Company Expanding
The IT company Mentor is in constant growth and has expanded quickly in the past months. Due to foreign developments, the company will increase its employees in Iceland by more than 40 percent.
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Yoko Ono Organizes Concert in Iceland
Musician, artist and pacifist Yoko Ono will perform in concert with the Plastic Ono Band in Iceland and organize various other events to encourage world peace in relation to what would have been late husband John Lennon’s 70th birthday on October 9.
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Summer’s First Puffin Chick Found in Westman Islands
The first puffin chick of the summer arrived at the Natural History and Fish Museum of the Westman Islands yesterday, which is considered very late. The chick only weighed 212 grams but was rather frisky.
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Björk Wins Polar Award
Björk Guðmundsdóttir received the Polar Music Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm. More
Eruption Causes White Spots in Highland River
White spots caused by carbon dioxide being carried into the water from the lava on the Fimmvörduháls mountain range have been seen in river Hvanná in the highland resort Thórsmörk. The spots are an unusual sight and can prove to be dangerous.
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Reykjavík Energy Raises Prices by 28.5 Percent
The board of Reykjavík Energy (OR) decided on Friday to raise the company’s tariffs by 28.5 percent for the average user. The energy bill of a family living in a 130-square-meter house will increase by ISK 2,400 (USD 20, EUR 16) per month or ISK 28,000 (USD 232, EUR 182) per year.
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Hafnarfjördur Homicide: Suspect in Custody
Reykjanes District Court sentenced a man in his twenties to four weeks in custody on Friday on suspicion of having murdered a man in his home in Hafnarfjördur on August 15 at the demand of the Capital Region Police. New evidence was the grounds for the custody.
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Changes to Sheep Roundup in Iceland Discussed
The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority has suggested that the sheep roundup take place in highland pastures due to animal welfare and risk of infection instead of herding the sheep to folds in the lowland as is currently practiced.
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Wants to Propose Withdrawal from EU Talks
Social Democrat MP Mörður Árnason told reporters that he believes a proposal on withdrawing from talks with the European Union should be voted on at once. More
Most Parties with No Church Platform
No political party in Iceland, with the exception of the Leftist-Greens, have any particular platform with regards to the relationship between church and state. More
Wants Investigation Investigated
Former Kaupthing chairman Sigurður Einarsson has been on the defensive, calling the charges against him "groundless" and saying that he wants an investigation conducted on the investigation of the special prosecutor. More
Young Leftist-Greens Call for Mosque in Reykjavík
The Young Leftist-Greens of Reykjavík passed a resolution last night calling upon city council to deal at last with the Muslim Association of Iceland's request for a plot of land on which to build a mosque. Reykjavík mayor Jón Gnarr told the Grapevine that the city's Muslims "hopefully won’t have to wait any longer" for a mosque. More
To EU Or Not To EU
Iceland’s EU accession talks commenced on July 27, and Bloomberg implied that they were fast tracked to July primarily due to increased pressure from Britain and the Netherlands to settle the Icesave issue. More
Proposal on Separation of Church and State to be Submitted This Fall
An MP for the Leftist-Greens will submit a proposal calling for the separation of church and state when parliament reconvenes this fall.
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How Close Are Magma and the Social Dems?
Fréttablaðið has uncovered documents that show numerous correspondences from Magma Energy to Minister of Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphéðinsson and Minister of Industry Katrín Júlíusdóttir. More