News in Brief
A roundup of the main news stories from the past weeks
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What The News: Not Everyone On The Bus
And other news making headlines in recent weeks Public transit provider Strætó announced in late June that it is raising its fares again on July 1. A single fare will now set riders back 570 ISK, a 3.6% or 20 ISK increase,…
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What the news?! There’s No Negotiations With These Humpbacks
Free whale watching in Hafnarfjörður Three humpback whales have been frequenting the harbour of Hafnarfjörður since mid-February. The Icelandic Marine & Freshwater Research Institute identified two of the whales as having previously been spotted back in 2021 — one in Ísafjörður and…
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What The News?! Don’t Tase Me, Bro, Let’s Negotiate
Negotiations are stalling Diving right in, ongoing wage negotiations between labour union Efling and the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise (SA) can best be characterised as feisty, with the former threatening at every twist and turn to have its members — which form…
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What The News!? Young Icelanders Keep Living At Home
Breaking news: fewer young adults than ever are living at home with their parents … but also more young adults than ever are living at home? How can that be? It turns out both are true, depending on which age ranges you…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? Municipal Elections, Akureyri, And The Cat Ban
Municipal elections are coming up on May 14th, and for those of us in Reykjavík, recent polling has shown that the current majority—the Social Democrats, Pirates, Reform Party and Left-Greens—will likely continue to lead city council. If you want to go to…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About: The Machine Must Be Fed
You’ve heard of COVID fatigue; now get ready for volcano fatigue. A series of earthquakes near Fagradalsfjall that began on December 21st caught more attention with international readers than it did with the locals. The quakes have since calmed, prompting a number…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About: The Latest News We Love To Hate
As one of her last acts as Minister of Health, Svandís Svavarsdóttir (seen above) announced new border guidelines in the wake of the so-called Omicron variant of the coronavirus. According to the new rules, anyone who has spent 24 hours or more…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? – All The Headlines That Nobody Reads Further Than
Boy do we have a surprise for you: the big story this past month has been the coronavirus pandemic. A big shock, we know. It’s been quite the rollercoaster since October 19th, when Minister of Health Svandís Svavarsdóttir announced that all mask…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? Rumble In The Jungle
Drugs! Do you like to do drugs? Well then you may be interested to know that Parliament is debating whether or not to decriminalise cannabis for personal consumption. On the one side are the classic arguments in favour: addiction should be treated…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? – Shake, Rattle And Roll
The biggest controversy shaking Iceland right now is the new quarantine hotel. That is, anyone coming to the country—whether tourists or Icelandic citizens—had to spend five days in an upscale hotel, with the room and food mostly covered by the state. This…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? The Continuing Saga Continues
One of the most talked about stories in the Icelandic press right now is the shooting of Reykjavík Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson’s car. Police have apprehended a suspect—who is a former cop himself. The suspect has an even more checkered past, having…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? – The Buzz In The Beehive
Good news and bad news: the good news is, for a few days we had a respite from the endless stream of coronavirus-related news. The bad news is, it was because of the white supremacist insurrection at the US Capitol that dominated…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? National Parks, Swimming Pools, Vaccines
You can always tell when a particular issue in Iceland is really getting people talking when their Facebook profile photo frames start changing. One of the biggest topics being argued about right now is the proposed Highlands National Park. On the one…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? The News That’s Raising Blood Pressure
As with many, if not most, countries in the world, the coronavirus pandemic is at the forefront of Icelanders’ minds these days. With plans for the vaccine now shaping up, as well as now being able to boast the lowest infection rate…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? The Top Stories On Everyone’s Minds
There’s a lot going on in the news these days; a great deal of it regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Our third wave now has levels of infection rates on par with the first, so it looks like the current domestic and border…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About? The Topics Getting People Banned From The Comments
This probably won’t come as a surprise to our readers, but the hottest topic right now is the increased domestic restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The restrictions, which went into effect at midnight on October 5th, limit social gathering to…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About?: Top Stories In The Land Of Ice
On June 3rd, some 4,000 people turned out for a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Reykjavík. Held at Austurvöllur square, the event was streamed live by the Reykjavík Grapevine and featured four speakers, all of them Black people living in Iceland. The…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About?: Coronavirus, Efling Strike, And More
One of the more concerning news stories of late has been the arrival of the coronavirus to Iceland. An Icelandic man in his forties was diagnosed on February 28th and was quarantined at the Landspítali Infectious Disease Department in Fossvogur. In the…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About?
One of the weirdest attempts at igniting a social media shitstorm in 2019 came in late December, when news broke that Reykjavík would be doing away with downtown’s green UFO-looking public toilets in 2020. The coin-operated capsules, seven in all, have cost…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About?
The single most important story of the past month has been the Fishrot Files, or as they call it in Iceland, the Samherji case. 30,000 documents provided by Wikileaks—and subsequently reported on by RÚV, Stundin, The Namibian and Al Jazeera—showed that Iceland’s…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About?
The ongoing RÚV television series, Svona fólk (People like this), which focuses on Iceland’s queer history, reminded people of just how adamantly the National Church fought against legalising same-sex marriage in this country. As such, Bishop Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir was asked in…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About: Pizza, Whistleblowers And Cheap Coke
In an effort to shore up losses, UK-based master franchise Domino’s Pizza Group will be pulling out of four markets, including Iceland. This should not, however, affect the presence of Domino’s pizza in Iceland. Back in 2016, Domino’s Pizza Group bought a…
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What Are Icelanders Talking About?
Iceland’s First Lady Eliza Reid made international headlines with a New York Times op-ed, “I’m a First Lady, and It’s an Incredibly Weird Job”, which offered her frank perspectives on what it is to hold the office. While she has been actively…