11:59 GMTSigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir has requested to step down as National Police Commissioner. She will take up a specialist position at the Ministry of Justice, continuing to work in her area of expertise.
yesterdayFew would likely dispute that AldaSigmundsdóttir— journalist, publisher, and author — has gone to great lengths to educate foreign visitors about Iceland and its people through witty and informative writing, steering well clear of the well-worn tourist clichés of Gullfoss, Geysir, the Blue Lagoon, and Hallgrímskirkja.
8 Nov“I find it curious that this debate is being led by people who seem neither to read books nor to know how to make Excel sheets. When their spreadsheets become the foundation of the argument, I think the discussion has gone completely off track.”
7 NovGuðmundurMogensen, a 41-year-old Icelander, has just been sentenced to life in prison by the District Court of Solna in Stockholm, Sweden, for the murder of 63-year-old Kristina Bah at her home in Akalla, northwest Stockholm, in October last year.
7 NovA major investment in power infrastructure is planned for Northeast Iceland in the coming years, aimed at boosting regional development following the shutdown of PCC’s silicon plant at Bakki, as well as facilitating new energy production, including wind power. Electricity supply capacity will also be greatly increased at Þórshöfn, improving both capacity and reliability.
6 Nov“This is a small community where everyone knows everyone, and the origin of this case was that the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority ruled that a dog owned by this man had to be removed from his home. The agency requested that one of its staff be accompanied by police — and there were good reasons for that.”
6 NovTwo musical worlds collide as Björk and Rosalía join forces on Berghain, a new single that has already captured global attention. At the same time, Björk celebrates the release of Cornucopia Live, a concert piece that fuses sound and vision into one.
6 NovThere’s a good chance of colorful aurora borealis lighting up the sky over western Iceland tonight and tomorrow night between 9 p.m. and midnight, according to meteorologist Einar Sveinbjörnsson.
5 NovThe small fishing boat Hvítá HF found itself in an unexpected role this summer — as a floating billboard. A 150-kilogram LED screen was mounted on its deck to promote Milt liquid detergent, catching the eye (and amusement) of passersby around Hafnarfjörður harbor.
5 NovThe Icelandic cybersecurity company Defend Iceland has announced the launch of its bug bounty platform in Denmark, where it will operate under the name Defend Denmark.
4 NovAmaroq Minerals has, for the first time, discovered high-grade rare earth elements (REEs) at the Ilua pegmatite zone in the Nunarsuit licence area, part of the Gardar region in southern Greenland — an area believed to contain up to 20% of the world’s rare earth resources, according to the EU’s Joint Research Centre.
4 NovAccess to Keflavík International Airport has become a major bottleneck for travelers across Iceland — one that, according to sociologist Þóroddur Bjarnason of the University of Iceland, primarily benefits the state-owned airport operator Isavia rather than the public. He argues that the high cost of transport and parking at the airport sometimes rivals the price of flight tickets themselves, contradicting the government’s ownership policy, which mandates that Iceland’s airport system should form part of safe and affordable transport within the country and connect effectively to other public transport on land.
3 NovMagnús Rannver Rafnsson, building inspector in Höfn and vice-chairman of the Association of Building Inspectors, is warning strongly against proposals by the Housing and Construction Authority (HMS) to transfer building inspections to private inspection firms and effectively abolish or neutralize the role of local building inspectors.
