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Russell Brand In Iceland, Teases Prime Minister
Comedian Russell Brand is now in Iceland, and is already endearing himself to the locals. RÚV reports that Iceland is Brand’s last stop on his Messiah Complex tour. As a part of his act at Harpa Concert Hall last evening, he told…
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Björk Joins Petition Against State Surveillance
Artist Björk Guðmundsdóttir is one of the signatories of a petition aimed at US President Barack Obama denouncing the “abuse of technological developments by states and corporations for mass surveillance purposes”. The Guardian reports that the petition includes over 500 of the…
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Lincoln’s Sparrow Invades Iceland
A new non-native species has been spotted in Iceland, and a photographer was ready. RÚV reports that the new arrival – a Lincoln’s sparrow – was spotted at the Þöll nursery in Hafnarfjörður, where birds will often seek out the vast quantities…
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Gold Deposits Larger Than Expected
New examination from deposits taken from a bore hole in Iceland show that suspected gold deposits in the area are greater than was initially estimated. While gold deposits already recovered from drilling done in the Þormóðsdal area of Mosfellsbær showed very promising…
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Mandela Square In Reykjavík Not To Be
Plans that began a year ago to build a square dedicated to Nelson Mandela in Reykjavík have not come to fruition. Vísir reports that Steinþór Helgi Arnsteinsson – who was once the managing director of Nelson Mandela Day in Iceland – has…
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Vodafone Customer Base Relatively Unscathed By Cyber Attacks
Despite the massive and extensive hacking of Vodafone’s database, few customers have since moved to another telecom. Viðskiptablaðið reports that less than 1% of Vodafone’s customers have left the telecom since last week’s hacking, that leaked tens of thousands of personal text…
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Temperatures Drop Below -30°C, Breaking Records
Some parts of Iceland have seen record-low temperatures, but that hasn’t stopped tourists from enjoying themselves. As reported, unusually low temperatures have swept across Iceland over the past two days. While temperatures in the capital got as low as -13°C, MBL reports…
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Cop Found Guilty Of Assault
Reykjavík District Court has found a police officer guilty of assault committed during an arrest that sparked controversy last summer. Vísir reports that the court believed the officer responded with disproportionate violence when he arrested a young woman on Laugavegur last July.…
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Minister: RÚV Alone Responsible For Firings
Minister of Culture and Education Illugi Gunnarsson contends that only the management of state broadcasting service RÚV is responsible for the mass firing that happened last week. Yesterday, Illugi answered questions from the general public as a part of DV’s Direct Line…
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Asylum Seekers To Iceland “Tiny”
A new report shows that the number of people seeking asylum in Iceland is very small, even when compared to other Nordic countries. RÚV reports that this data point, as well as others, were brought to light in a new report conducted…
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Guns For Cops Not The Answer, Says Criminologist
An Icelandic criminologist contends that giving police officers more weapons will do nothing to prevent shootings such as the one that happened in Reykjavík earlier this week. Vísir reports that Helgi Gunnlaugsson, who is also a professor of sociology at the University…
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Icelandic Government Could Settle Geir Haarde Suit
The Independence Party-led Ministry of the Interior could settle former Independence Party chairperson Geir H. Haarde’s suit against the Icelandic government. DV points out that, according to the regulations of the European Human Rights Court (ECHR), the Ministry of the Interior could…
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Iceland: Corruption Continues To Grow
Iceland is now in 12th place in terms of the least corrupt countries in the world – down from 7th place only five year previous – and is the most corrupt of the Nordic countries. According to a new survey from Transparency…
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Unusually Cold Weather Expected
The Icelandic Met Office is predicting temperatures in the capital area tomorrow dropping to -10°C, and as low as -20°C in the countryside. Icelandic winter temperatures usually hover around the freezing mark, with high winds and the potential for avalanches posing the…
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Blood Donations Decline, New Donors Needed
Blood donations have decreased by 9% since 2005, and the Blood Bank says it needs 1,500 new donors. Vísir reports that as the average life expectancy of Icelanders increases, the need for blood donors will also increase. By the Blood Bank’s estimates,…
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Shooting In Iceland Leads To One Dead
A 59-year-old man, who opened fire within his home and at police, died in a confrontation with law enforcement – a first in Icelandic history. The shooting began shortly before 3:00 Monday morning in an apartment building in the east Reykjavík neighbourhood…
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Prime Minister Introduces Debt Relief Package
Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson introduced his long-awaited household debt relief package last Friday. A major campaign point of the Progressive Party was to help Icelandic homeowners come out from under debts owed to the banks on their homes. Last Saturday, the…
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Education Minister Shuts Down “No-Return Fee” Idea
Minister of Education Illugi Gunnarsson categorically rejected a proposal from Progressive MP Vigdís Hauksdóttir to place an additional charge on the student loans of those who do not move back to Iceland after studying abroad. RÚV reports that the minister responded to…
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95 Years Ago Today, Iceland Became A Kingdom
On this day in 1918, Denmark and Iceland signed an historic agreement that would lead to the country’s independence less than 30 years later. While many people know that Iceland’s Independence Day is on the 17th of June – and achieved full…
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Fare Increase Put On Hold
Mass transport company Strætó bs. announced that they will postpone the bus fare increase that was scheduled for December 1. DV reports that the leadership of the company decided to wait on the fare increase while the parliamentary budget proposal is still…
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Proposal To Shut Down Name Committee
A bill has been submitted to parliament that proposes closing the Name Committee, and allowing the use of surnames. The bill, submitted by Bright Future, proposes a number of changes to Iceland’s existing laws on names. If passed into law, instead of…
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Government Support Continues To Decrease
A new poll from Market and Media Research (MMR) shows support for the ruling coalition of the Progressives and the Independence Party down to 43.1% According to the poll, government support was at 44.6% at the start of the month, down from…
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Train Between Keflavík And Reykjavík Being Explored
A consultant group is currently looking into the logistics of building a train between Keflavík and Reykjavík, with an estimated cost of 100 billion ISK. Vísir reports that the group, under the leadership of former Bífröst University rector Runólfur Ágústsson, is working…
