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First 50 Visitors To Dunkin’ Donuts Get Free Year Of Donuts
Dunkin’ Donuts is making a generous promotional offer for its opening day, perhaps in an attempt to win over locals divided over its presence. Nútíminn reports that Dunkin’ Donuts will open on Laugavegur this Wednesday at 9:00. In honour of the occasion,…
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Iceland Will Continue Trade Sanctions Against Russia
Iceland will not be changing its policy regarding trade sanctions against Russia, but not without reservations from some members of parliament. Birgir Ármannsson, the chairperson of Iceland’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told RÚV that “there is no reason” to stop the country’s participation…
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MP Wants To Review Iceland’s Porn Laws
An incoming MP for the Pirate Party believes Iceland’s pornography laws need to be changed, if not dropped altogether. Vísir reports that Ásta Guðrún Helgadóttir points out that Iceland’s pornography laws – which can be found in Article 210 of the General…
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Eden To Return
The legendary roadside attraction Eden, which burned down just four years ago, will return in a slightly newer form. Vísir reports that the town council of Hveragerði, where Eden was located, will be re-built. In its place, a multi-use facility – replete…
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Split Opinions Over Supposed Media Silence In Westman Islands
The Westman Islands’ police commissioner’s decision to refuse to disclose any information regarding reported acts of sexual assault during the ongoing Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum festival has proven very controversial. Police commissioner Páley Borgþórsdóttir told RÚV the media embargo is meant to shield victims of…
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Wants To Make Feminist, Queer-Friendly Porn In Iceland, But Cannot
A Spanish director with the hopes of shooting feminist, queer-friendly porn in Iceland is up against one snag: it would be illegal. Gay Iceland reports that director Lola Clavo – who has received accollades for producing innovative, non-exploitative porn – has been…
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Mývatn Turns Mysterious White Colour
Part of Mývatn have turned white, and there does not seem to be a natural cause behind the phenomenon. RÚV reports that a 150-metre-wide swath of Mývatn’s water near the shore bears the opaque milky colour. First spotted about two days ago,…
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Holuhraun Creates Hot Spring
Holuhraun has created a hot spring that people have discovered is actually perfect for bathing in. Vísir reports that the spring in question is located near the Svartá River, and is more akin to a river than a creek, on account of…
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Download This: “We Will Live For Ages” By Hjaltalín
We Will Live For Ages is Hjaltalín’s first official release—their first new song—since the band unexpectedly leapt from middling indie mediocrity right into the stratosphere back in late 2012, shattering our collective selves into an ecstatically melancholic heap of shards with their…
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Icelanders Overwhelmingly Reject Private Health Care
A new poll from the Social Sciences Department of the University of Iceland shows almost all Icelanders want more money going towards public health care. RÚV reports that the results of the survey show that 91% supported the idea of the government…
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Mayor Accepts Wheelchair Challenge
In response to a wheelchair-bound Icelander’s challenge, Reykjavík mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson will attempt to navigate downtown in a wheelchair by the end of the summer. RÚV reports that the challenge came from Jón Gunnar Benjamínsson who, frustrated with his mixed success…
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Police Chief Demands Media Silence On Sexual Assaults
The Westman Islands’ police chief has called upon all responders and festival staff to remain silent to the media on any reported sexual assaults at this weekend’s Merchants’ Holiday festival. The Journalists’ Union criticised the order as “an attempt to silence”. Vísir…
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President Undecided If He Will Run, People Undecided Who To Vote For
President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson says he is undecided if we will run again, while most Icelanders are still undecided on who they would even vote for. Kjarninn reports that, in an interview on television station Hringbraut, the president said he has received…
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Humpback Whale Rocks The Boat – VIDEO
Some prospective whale watchers were met with a close encounter that, while momentarily scary, left no one harmed. RÚV reports that Benedikt Sigurðsson and his daughter took his friends, author C.B. McKenzie and his wife, out to sea near Hnífsdalur in the…
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Moss Used As Camping Insulation
Rangers at Þingvellir National Park discovered yesterday, to their dismay, that campers had ripped up slow-growing moss to insulate their tents. In a Facebook post on the incident – which includes several photos of the camp site and the damage caused –…
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20% Of Reykjavík Police Are Women
About 20% of the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police’s force are women – almost twice the percentage of U.S. police, and a higher percentage than in many EU countries. MBL reports that of the 296 officers in the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police force, 243 were…
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Safety Of Tourists Must Be Improved
A leading figure in Iceland’s tourism industry believes it “very important” to increase the safety and security of tourists at locations around the country. “I believe that training [tourism] workers, and I am referring to first aid in this context, matters a…
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Foreign Minister Backpedals On Whaling Position
Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson appears to be of two minds when it comes to Iceland’s whaling practices. Gunnar Bragi has attempted to clarify remarks he made last week about whale hunting, which he says were misinterpreted in a manner that constituted…
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Modern Heathens And The ‘Poetic Edda’
Forty-four years ago, one of the most important sources for Norse mythology returned to its home in Iceland. The 13th century Icelandic manuscript, the Codex Regius (“King’s Book”), contains poems about gods, heroes, dragons, dwarves and giants from Iceland’s pagan past. Scholars…
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Actavis Bought By Foreign Pharmaceutical Company
Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. has agreed to buy Allergan Plc, the parent company of Actavis, for $40.5 billion USD. In a statement posted on Bloomberg, Teva will pay $33.75 billion in cash and offer $6.75 billion of its stock for Allergan. Kjarninn…
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Papers Will Continue After Acquisition
The newspapers recently acquired by Vefpressan will keep coming, but one editor was very blunt about his feelings on working for the company. All eleven papers published by Fótspor ehf, which was bought out by media conglomerate Vefpressan ehf., will continue to…
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Viking Festival: All The Great Things About The Dark Ages, Plus Access To Penicillin
Much to the disappointment of many holiday-goers, modern day Icelanders are pretty far removed from their Viking ancestors. Ceremonial sacrifices to the gods and gory battles are things of the past.Bifröst is a university town, not the bridge linking Ásgarður and Miðgarður.…
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Chief Icelandic Whaler Believes Australia Should Start Whaling, Too
Kristján Loftsson (pictured left), Iceland’s primary whaler, believes Australia should stop opposing whaling and start hunting humpback whales. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Kristján – who is the director of Iceland’s largest whaling company, Hvalur hf. – spoke frankly…