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Russia Emphasizes Desire for Cooperation with Iceland
Russia appears to be eager to expand areas of cooperation with Iceland in numerous fields of mutual interest. Andrei Tsyganov, the Russian ambassador to Iceland, handed Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson a letter from President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev yesterday, detailing this…
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Wikileaks Discussed in Parliament
The release of hundreds of sensitive diplomatic cables between Icelandic and American authorities has prompted members of parliament to discuss the implications of Wikileaks. As has been reported, Wikileaks has released thousands of previously secret communications between diplomatic officials from around the…
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About 300 Wikileak Documents Connected to Iceland
Among the thousands of diplomatic cables Wikileaks has released, about 300 of them pertain directly to Iceland. As has been reported world wide, Wikileaks has dumped thousands of diplomatic cables – frank exchanges between diplomatic officials from around the world – and…
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Icelandic Televangelist Steps Down
An Icelandic televangelist has stepped down as head of his church in the wake of numerous allegations of sexual abuse. Gunnar Þorsteinsson, head of a Pentacostal church known as The Cross, has always been a controversial figure in a country not known…
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Texan Offers to Drill for Iceland’s Oil
It’s not every day we get business proposals e-mailed to us with the instructions to forward it to the entirety of Iceland, but we got one of them yesterday. Rather than explain the contents, we think it’s best that you read this…
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Doctor Vows to Remedy Blood Donation Problem
The head doctor at the Blood Bank has informed the Grapevine that they will be changing their guidelines with regards to non-Icelandic speakers who wish to donate blood. As the Grapevine reported, Thomas Dähling, a German national who has been living in…
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Aluminium Smelter Would Have Negative Environmental Impact, Says National Planning Agency
The Icelandic National Planning Agency released an evaluation report wherein they state that the building of an aluminium smelter near Húsavík in north Iceland would have “significant environmental impact” on the area. The news website Smugan reports that the report specifically deals…
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Vast Majority of Icelanders Against Legalizing Marijuana
According to a new poll from Market and Media Research, most Icelanders are against legalizing marijuana, although the break-down by demographic shows distinct differences of opinion. Talk of legalization is not new in Iceland, as it has been pointed out that the…
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“No Reason” Why Interpreters Can’t Be Allowed in Blood Banks
An immigrants rights expert told the Grapevine that privacy and confidentiality should not be an issue in letting interpreters accompany a foreigner who wants to donate blood, as “a great number” of interpreters already work in the health care field. As the…
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Those Who Want to Donate Blood Must Speak Icelandic
It has been brought to light that anyone wishing to donate blood to the Blood Bank must be able to speak and understand Icelandic, or they will be turned away. The matter was brought to the Grapevine’s attention by Thomas Dähling, a…
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Icelandic Pigs Undergo Cruel and Illegal Treatment
Fréttablaðið reports that domestic swine raised in some Icelandic farms are often castrated without anaesthetic, despite the law specifying that animals may only be neutered with anaesthetic and by a veterinarian. The reason why the pigs are castrated in the first place,…
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Thanksgiving in Reykjavík
Some very thoughtful Icelanders will be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner downtown today, with after-dinner entertainment included. Thanksgiving is not an Icelandic holiday, but that isn’t stopping this group from hosting one. Repeating an event they held last year, which was an apparent…
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President Says Euro Isn’t “Fail-Proof”
Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, in an interview with Reuters, has once again voiced his doubts about the advantages of Iceland joining the European Union, just months after government officials cautioned the president not to speak on behalf of Icelandic authorities, who…
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Former Finance Minister Speaks Candidly About Bank Crash
Former Minister of Finance Árni Mathiesen has spoken candidly about the collapse of Iceland’s banks, and his communications with British authorities, in a newly released book. Mathiesen, despite having no education in economics whatsoever (but does have an M.Sc. in veterinary sciences),…
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Artists Set Sights on Iceland for Ambitious Project
A global art project will also have an Icelandic portion, with the aims of painting a giant red polar bear on a glacier, and photographing it from a helicopter. The project, called EARTH, is, according a statement from artist Charlotte Ólöf Jónsdóttir…
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Iceland Begins Free Trade Agreement Talks with Russia
Minister of Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphéðinsson confirmed for reporters that Iceland has entered the beginning stages of a free trade agreement with Russia, expected to formally begin next year. Fréttablaðið reports that Össur expressed a great deal of optimism over the venture,…
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Who Will Hunt for Iceland’s Oil?
While many geologists speculate that the famed Drekkasvæði in the northeast corner of Iceland’s fishing waters may be abundant in oil and natural gas, the question remains: who is going to drill for it? As reported last month, Russian Minister of Energy…
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Iceland in EU Would Have Positive Impact on Nordic Countries
As Iceland continues accession talks with the European Union, the possibility has gained the attention of other Nordic countries, who believe Iceland joining the EU would have a positive effect on the region. Eyjan reports that Guðmundur Árni Stefánsson, Iceland’s ambassador to…
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Conservatives Oppose Assistance for Unemployed
Conservatives in city hall opposed further assistance for the capital’s unemployed, arguing in part that it would undermine their will to work. Yesterday, the Social Democrats and the Best Party passed a proposal on the Welfare Committee that would increase benefits to…
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Blood Needed
The Blood Bank is still in need of people to donate, and drives will be ongoing in the capital through this week. The Blood Bank told Fréttablaðið it was grateful for donations it received yesterday, counted this morning to be some 598…
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Icelanders Reach South Pole
After a harrowing journey that included rescuing a man from an ice fissure, a pair of Icelanders have finally reached the South Pole. Freyr Jónsson and Eyjólfur Teitsson, of the Icelandic company Arctic Trucks, have been assisting the Indian National Centre for…
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Government Divided Over NATO
Both the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister – who are Social Democrats – expressed satisfaction on their return from a meeting with NATO leaders. However, chairman of the foreign affairs committee Árni Þór Sigurðsson – a Leftist-Green – said…
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Independent Church Criticizes National Church In Mass and In Print
Rev. Hjörtur Magni Jóhannsson, Lutheran priest at the Reykjavík Free Church (Fríkirkjan), has criticized his state-supported counterparts, saying that some of them talk like “amoral outvasion Vikings” with regards to separation of church and state. The Free Church, like the national church,…
