RVK Newscast 165: Icelandic Gun Crime

Welcome back to RVK Newscast! Today, editor-in-chief, Valur Grettisson, and his Chief Morale Officer, Pollý, report from a very snowy Reykjavík on gun violence, corruption and winter weather!

There has been a surprising level of gun crime in Iceland in the last 12 months. Iceland has high gun ownership figures, but normally records very few incidents of gun violence. The increase has sparked a debate in Iceland about arming police officers with tasers, but there is a lack of public support for this option. Read more about the latest cases here.

You can now take walking tours of Reykjavík with Grapevine crewmembers Valur, Pollý and Bjartmar. Click here for more details.

Police will be questioning four journalists over their coverage of fishing company Samherji, after they revealed in the press Samherji’s involvement in bribery and tax evasion associated with their operations in Namibia. The investigation is in relation to how the journalists acquired copies of emails shared between internal staff members, and whether this constitutes a violation of the right to privacy. Read more here.

There were 40 centimetres of snow in the capital area yesterday (Monday 14th) and almost all roads out of Reykjavík were closed because of snow. Please check Road.is and the weather if you are planning to travel.

Want a beautiful wool sweater (lopapeysa) like Valur’s? They’re perfect for keeping you warm in this snowy weather. You can get one for yourself from our online shop!

If you love learning about Icelandic news and culture, consider supporting Reykjavík Grapevine by becoming a Youtube Member. Our Members help us create content such as this video, and also get access to great perks as a reward for their patronage. WINE+ members get access to all of our non-news videos ahead of general release, including receiving each new episode of Supernatural Iceland a month ahead of the rest! Find out more here.

The newscast is made possible with the help of our friends at Einstök Beer.