Author: Haukur Már Helgason
University of Iceland: A New Linguistic Area
40% Of Teachers Find Their Own English InadequateA new linguistic area has developed at the University of Iceland, where Icelandic…
Proposed Law Defines Minister’s Emergency Decree Powers
On Wednesday, amendments to the Law on civil protection were proposed on Alþingi, defining a Minister’s powers to rule by…
Police Still Getting Guns
The highly disputed machine guns, recently acquired from Norway, only to be returned, will be replaced with weaponry from elsewhere,…
Doctors’ Strike Will Hit Harder In 2015
Unless negotiations succeed in the meantime, says Chair of MDs’ UnionRepresentatives of the Medical Doctors’s Union (LÍ) met with the…
European Writers’ Council Concerned Over Book Tax
The European Writers’ Council (EWC) has expressed “deep concern” about the Icelandic government’s plans to raise the VAT on books…
Post-Leak Hangover
Monday is back with a vengeance — Debates on Monday #11 Infamously, on November 20th, 2013, Fréttablaðið and mbl.is published…
Pressan Acquires Newspaper DV
Vefpressan, the publishing company behind such websites as Pressan.is, Eyjan.is and Bleikt.is, has acquired 70% of newspaper DV’s stocks. This…
Reporters Without Borders Regret Decline Of Press Freedom In Iceland
Minister’s assistant’s case against journalists could set “disastrous precedent”On Wednesday, the organization Reporters Without Borders (RWB) issued a statement expressing…
Alþingi Approves Law On Bouncers
Today, Alþingi voted for a law on the requirements made of bouncers, in bars, clubs and restaurants. The law is…
Teenagers Using Steroids
Smugglers receive mild sentencesBoys as young as fourteen year old use steroids to achieve a certain physical appearance, says Skúli…
Former Landsbanki Manager Receives 12 Month Sentence
This Wednesday morning, Sigurjón Þ. Árnason, former bank manager of Landsbanki, was sentenced to twelve months in prison, by the…
Day Of Memo Leak, Minister’s Assistant Called Police Chief Twice
Three telephone calls took place between Gísli Freyr Valdórsson, the Minister of the Interior’s assistant at the time, and Sigríður…
Poet Þórarinn Eldjárn Eulogizes King Of Sweden
Author Þórarinn Eldjárn has now concluded his series of “drápas”, written and performed for each of Scandinavia’s three sovereigns: two…
Faster Processing For Foreign Specialists
Bright Future proposes changes to attract foreign specialistsMembers of Alþingi on behalf of the Best Party offspring, Bright Future, have…
Must Travel For Passport, Needs Passport To Travel
Icelandic Citizen in Peru struggles to renew his passport since 2009One Trausti Hraunfjörð, an Icelandic citizen residing in Peru, says…
All Highly Unlikely
Debates on Monday #10The freedom fighter Last things first: Styrmir Gunnarsson, former editor of Morgunblaðið, has published his memoirs from…
Solidarity Protest In Copenhagen On Monday
Describing the situation in Iceland as “dire”, a group of people has announced a protest event by Iceland’s embassy in…
When Bubbi Dug Up Eleven Grams For Dylan
Singer and songwriter Bubbi Morthens recently related the story of how he went looking for cannabis for Bob Dylan, when…
Interior Ministry Blocks Media Access To Staff
The Ministry of the Interior has ordained that its staff cannot converse with reporters and journalists without the Ministry’s public…
Prime Minister And Mayor Employed Morgunblaðið’s Journalist To Spy On Socialists In 1960s
From 1961 to 1968, Styrmir Gunnarsson, later chief editor of Morgunblaðið, spied, in his capacity as the paper’s journalist, on…
Minister Hurried Police Interrogation On Her Own Initiative
Intends to remain in power, has Independence Party’s and Prime Minister’s supportInterviewed by RÚV’s Kastljós on Wednesday, Interior Minister Hanna…
Interior Minister’s Assistant Guilty: Eight Months On Probation
Gísli Freyr confessed only after new evidence made “defense pointless”, says ProsecutorToday, Wednesday, saw Gísli Freyr Valdórsson, the Interior Minister’s…
Music Teacher Says Reykjavík Holds Negotiations Hostage
Pianist Hólmfríður Sigurðardóttir writes an article in Morgunblaðið, claiming that negotiations between music teachers and the Association of municipalities have…
“Make People Work For Longer”
Postponing Retirement Will Counteract Debt ReliefIn the 2012 Finance Ministry’s report about the effects of a housing mortgage debt relief…
Mass-Death Of Mice On South-East Coast
Possibly related to volcanic gasesFarmers around Höfn, on the South-East coast of Iceland, have reported numerous incidents of dead mice,…