Iceland Roundup: Coast Guard Drunk, Drugs On Boats, State And Church, Defence & Julian Assange

The Reykjavík Grapevine’s Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin editor Aðalsteinn Kjartansson and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to round up the stories making headlines in recent weeks.

On the docket this week:

The police arrested a man who had “taken up residence” on the Icelandic Coast Guard ship Þór over the weekend. No further details about the incident were released;

On Sunday, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Boris Pistorius, Germany’s Minister of Defence, signed a bilateral declaration of intent on defence matters during Boris’ visit to Iceland. According to the declaration, Iceland will develop infrastructure to accommodate military submarines and aircraft as part of its NATO membership.

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, visited Iceland over the weekend and was spotted at Vitabar, enjoying a burger and fries. Julian, who spent roughly 15 years under detention, was set free a year ago and now lives in Australia;

The only ferry that sails to Iceland, Norræna, which docks in Seyðisfjörður in East Iceland, has recently been in the news over drugs. At the start of September, 7 kilos of cocaine were seized in a car on the ferry and two men were arrested. Later in September, 15 kilos of ketamine and 5 kilos of MDMA were found in another car, resulting in the arrest of three people;

A recent poll shows that 52% of Icelanders believe church and state should be separated. 27% are neutral, and 21% oppose separation;

This Friday, 24 October, marks the 50th anniversary of the famous 1975 Women’s Strike. Tens of thousands are expected to celebrate with a strike and gather in downtown Reykjavík.