RVK Newscast 200: Attacks on LGBTQ+, Bomb Scare and Swimming For Charity

IT’S OUR 200TH EPISODE! Sure, we almost forgot, but we’d like to take the opportunity to thank you all for watching all this time! Here’s to many more newscasts to come. Read on for more info and links!

An inclusive pride flag that was painted outside Gravarvogur church a week ago has been graffitied twice, both with clear homophobic intent. The first time someone spray painted the word ‘antichrist’, and after that was painted over the phrase ‘LEVITICUS 20:13’ was then sprayed. This is in reference to the bible verse that says that if a man lies with another man as a woman it’s an abomination. The church has issued a statement in response, saying, “We at Grafarvogur Church prefer to follow the message of Jesus Christ, who told us to love one another.” Read more here.

The Deputy Director of Public Prosecution, Helgi Magnús Gunnarsson, has been heavily criticised for comments made on his personal FB page about LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. Helgi shared an interview with a human rights lawyer who said his client was refused asylum by Icelandic government because they accused him of lying about his sexuality. Helgi then added, “Of course they are lying. Most people come here in search of more money and a better life. Who wouldn’t lie to save themselves? Apart from that, is there any shortage of gays in Iceland?” The post has now been deleted. Read more here.

Listen to our podcast, The Icelandic Roundup, for an in-depth discussion about Helgi Magnús and the impact of this bias in public life.

A bomb threat on board a flight flying from Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle, United States, halted air traffic at Keflavík Airport Monday afternoon. The Condor airline flight was flying above Greenland when a bomb threat was found written on the mirror in one of the plane’s lavatories. The plane immediately turned around and landed at Keflavík Airport. All 266 passengers were safely removed from the plane, and so far no evidence of any explosives have been found. The investigation continues. Read more here.

Self-trained open water swimmer, Sigurgeir Svanbergsson, swam 12-km [7.5 mi] from the Westman Islands to mainland Iceland on Friday to raise money for Save The Children. Sigurgeir left at 15:45 and expected the journey to take 5-6 hours, but arrived just before midnight due to complications with his support boat and strong currents. The money he raised will go towards helping children in Ukraine. Sigurgeir believes that helping children is a very important goal, as one in six children in the world, or 450 million in total, live in armed conflict zones, a 5% increase from last year.

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