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Cruising or Crashing? Iceland’s Economy in 2019
This year marked the tenth anniversary of the country’s economic collapse, bringing unprecedented attention to Iceland. The tourist salvation is slowing down and there is a fear among many that this industry’s success will be as fleeting as the banks’ brief boom.…
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Iceland’s Prime Minister Joins Bernie Sanders’ Progressive International
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Iceland’s left-wing Prime Minister, announced on Facebook her support for a new international progressive movement, Stundin reports. In the first of a series in The Gaurdian, Yanis Veroufakis echoed Bernie Sanders call for the founding of a ‘Progressive International’. Bernie…
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Inflation In Iceland Highest In Five Years
Statistics Iceland released a new report that shows a 3.3% rate of inflation over the last twelve months, RÚV reports. This is twice as much as last year and the highest rate since 2013. The press release stated that there was a…
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WOW Air Employees WILL Be Paid On Friday
WOW Air’s chief financial officer, Stefán Sigurðsson, sent an email this morning dismissing rumours that employees would not be paid on Friday, RÚV reports. The entire email was published on Eyjan. Svanhvít Friðríksdóttir, WOW’s media officer, confirmed the authenticity of the email,…
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Christmas Cat Cost Causes Controversy
The City of Reykjavík spent a total of 4.4 million ISK on a large LED Christmas Cat (Jólakötturinn) on Lækjartorg Square, according to Vísir. The city told the website that the it will cost significantly less next year. The five metre high,…
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200 Attend Meeting On Iceland Silicon Plant Future
Around 200 Helgavík residents attended a meeting discussing plans to reopen the bankrupt United Silicon plant, RÚV reports. A representative from the plants new owner Stakksberg, a subsidiary of Arion Bank, stated that they have not considered permanently shuttering the plant. Þórður…
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Safe Injection Site Plans Move Forward In Iceland
Plans to open a safe injection site for drug users in Reykjavík are moving forward according to Vísir. Minister of Health Svandís Svavardóttir is drafting legislation to legalise such a center. The proposed centre was the recommendation of a commission tasked with…
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VIDEO: Young Social Democrats Stage Pro-Refugee Demonstration In Iceland
On Sunday, the youth wing of the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) distributed pro-refugee stickers to counter a similar protest from the racist group Nordfront. The stickers had slogans such as “Refugees Welcome” and “Iceland Is For Everyone” written on them. The youth…
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Icelanders Protesting Changes To Disability Pensions
The Facebook page “Jæja” is organising a protest outside Parliament tonight. The event page decries the proposed cuts in disability benefits while fees on fishing companies are reduced. The protest will begin at 16:30 at Austurvöllur Square in front of Parliament. Jæja…
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Foreign Residents Increase By 16%, Despite Slowing Economy
The number of foreign residents has increased to 43,726 in early November despite the slowing economy, according to new data from the National Registry. This marks a 15.6% increase from December last year. Poles remain the largest immigrant group, with over 19,000…
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Rent In Reykjavik 3,000 ISK Per Square Metre
Rental prices in registered Reykjavík housing increased by 6.1%, and increased by 12.9% in neighbouring municipalities, RUV reports. Prices rose the most outside of the greater capital area, at 14.5%. Prices remained the highest in the downtown postal code of 101, at…
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Women’s Day Off Sparks Controversy
On 24 October, thousands of women walked out of their jobs to protest sexual harassment, the persistent income gap, and other forms of gender-based discrimination. They gathered at Arnarhöll in central Reykjavík under the slogan of “Don’t Change Women, Change the World.”…
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25 Million ISK Spent On EEA Report
A report on Iceland’s membership in the European Economic Area (EEA) will cost taxpayers 25 million ISK, RÚV reports, from a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to an inquiry from the public broadcaster. The costs include the salaries of committee…
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Failed Icelandic Bank Linked to Manchester City Scandal
An investigation by German magazine Der Spiegel shows that a subsidiary of a failed Icelandic bank was deeply involved in Manchester City football club’s violation of UEFA finance rules. Kaupthing was one of the three banks that went bankrupt ten years ago,…
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Icelandic Bank Loses Millions in Airline Bankruptcy
Arion Bank announced in its third quarter report that it lost 2.5 billion ISK ($20.7 million USD) in the bankruptcy of Primera Air, according to RÚV. The company intends to take a tax deduction which will lessen the loss. The bank has…
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More Than a Fifth of Icelandic Renters Fear Losing Homes
Iceland’s Housing Finance Fund (HFF) commissioned a study on the housing market that revealed the stark reality many renters face. According to the study, the finer points of which were revealed in a release to the press, only 8% of those currently…
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Competition Authority Rules Against Keflavík Airport Operator
The Competition Authority’s appeals board ruled that Isavia, the state-owned company managing Keflavík International Airport, was charging bus companies too much to service the airport. They did reaffirm Isavia’s right to charge fees, but they must be set at a reasonable, RÚV…
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Ending Exclusion: Iceland’s Public Broadcaster Increasing English Service
RÚV is Iceland’s public broadcasting service. Its mission is to inform, educate and entertain everyone. It operates several radio stations and one television channel, all of which are also online. Broadcasting was seen as a public good, thus RÚV had a legal…
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Iceland’s Tourism Minister Calls for Tourist Limits
Minister of Tourism Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir has called for limiting the number of visitors to certain sites, RÚV. The infrastructure and environment at many popular sites have already reached their limits and in some cases has been degraded. The Minister presented…
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Night Bus Service In Reykjavik May End After New Year
The board of Strætó is considering whether late night bus service on weekends will continue after the new year, RÚV reports. Jóhannes Rúnarson, director of the company, told reporters that they had hoped the night buses would have more passengers. The service…
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EU Funds for Hydrogen Buses In Iceland
The capital region bus company, Strætó, has received 95 million ISK from the European Union to purchase hydrogen-fuelled buses by the end of next year, RÚV reports. Strætó currently uses fourteen electric buses. Their range is limited, however, and can only be…
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Revisiting and Revising History: 10 Years After the Financial Crisis
October marks the tenth anniversary of the complete collapse of the Icelandic banking system. Several weeks after Lehman Brothers’ September 2008 bankruptcy, all three of Iceland’s recently privatised banks fell over the course of a matter of days. It was one of…
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Reykjavik Area Bus Service Hopes to Increase Rush Hour Service By 2020
22 members of the 23-seat Reykjavík City Council approved a resolution to investigate increasing rush-hour service on Strætó’s busiest lines, RÚV reports. Routes 1, 3, and 6 have the highest passenger volume, and run between downtown Reykjavík and the suburbs. Currently, routes…
