Category: Politics and Society

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at Harpa Concert Hall.

Blinken and Lavrov Ready to Cooperate

20 May US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met for nearly two hours at Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavík, last night.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Minister for Foreign Affairs Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson.

Blinken Meets With Icelandic Authorities

19 May Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavík, yesterday.

Alþingishúsið, the parliamentary building.

New Law Permits Making Stay at Quarantine Hotel Mandatory

23 Apr Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, approved an amendment to disease prevention laws yesterday morning.

Stricter Border Measures Ahead – Restrictions Likely Lifted by July

21 Apr Provided vaccination plans proceed as scheduled, Icelandic authorities plan to lift all COVID-19-related restrictions by July 1.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson.

Icelander Blacklisted by China: ‘Unacceptable,’ States Foreign Minister

16 Apr An Icelandic lawyer, Jónas Haraldsson, who has written articles critical of China in Morgunblaðið, was summoned to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Reykjavík yesterday, where he was told he had been blacklisted by Chinese authorities.

Court Rules Against Mandatory Stay at Quarantine Hotel

6 Apr Icelandic Health Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir will be meeting with the Welfare Committee of Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, today to discuss the possibility of presenting a bill that would ensure the enactment of a regulation to provide a legal basis for making a stay at a quarantine facility mandatory.

Minister of Health Svandís Svavarsdóttir and Minister of Justice Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir.

Vaccination Certificates from US and UK to Be Accepted

16 Mar Icelandic authorities have decided to enact regulations this week, allowing travelers from the US and UK who present certificates of vaccination for COVID-19 to enter the country.

Minister of Justice Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir.

Fighting Organized Crime in Iceland

26 Feb Police estimate that 15 organized crime groups operate in Iceland.

From left: MP Kolbeinn Óttarsson Proppé, Joanna Marcinkowska, project manager of New in Iceland, and Minister of Social Affairs Ásmundur Einar Daðason, at the formal opening of New in Iceland.

New Consulting Office for Immigrants in Iceland

22 Feb A new consulting office for immigrants, New in Iceland opened at Laugavegur 116 earlier this month.

Unemployment Rate in Iceland Keeps Rising

11 Feb New figures from the Directorate of Labor show an unemployment rate of 26 percent in Suðurnes (the Reykjanes peninsula), Southwest Iceland.

Shots Fired at Reykavík Mayor’s Car

29 Jan The Capital Area Police Department is investigating a case in which Reykjavík Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson’s car was vandalized.

Ashes Scattered at Gullfoss and Geysir

24 Jan Did you know that Gullfoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls, as well as the Geysir hotspring area and Reynisfjara beach, are popular not only among the living?

Foreign Minister Calls Assault on US Capitol ‘Frightening and Unacceptable’

7 Jan “This was frightening and unacceptable,” Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson tells mbl.is, speaking of the assault yesterday by US President Donald Trump’s supporters on the US Capitol.