Category: Politics and Society

Former city council member faces charges

Politics and Society

A former Reykjavík City council member for the Independence Party, Júlíus Vífill Ingvarsson, has been charged with money laundering.

Environment minister doubts whaling is sustainable

yesterday, 15:20 GMT Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, minister for the environment and natural resources, is not convinced of the sustainability of whaling in Icelandic waters.

The environmental minister recommends limiting the use of herbicides as much as possible.

Use of glyphosate ‘undesirable,’ says environment minister

yesterday “As a cautionary note, the use of glyphosate is undesirable, in my view.”

Fearing ‘unprecedented surveillance society’

15 Aug The SA Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise has publicly opposed a draft bill that is being prepared by the Ministry of Industries and Innovation.

Floating candles for a nuclear-weapon free world.

Crowds attend candle float for Hiroshima victims at Lake Tjörnin in Reykjavik

10 Aug The annual candle float in memory of the victims of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 took place at Lake Tjörnin in Reykjavik last night.

The directorate of health made the announcement earlier this week.

"A victory for HIV positive people in Iceland"

9 Aug The Icelandic Medicine Pricing and Reimbursement Committee has this summer approved to subsidize costs for Emtricitabine/Tenofovir disoproxil Krka for the prevention of the HIV virus.

Iceland PM to visit Icelandic settlements in Canada and US

3 Aug Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and her husband Gunnar Sigvaldason will be visiting Icelandic settlements in Canada and the US between August 2 and August 7.

Fossgerði fishing hut by Selá in Vopnafjörður fjord, Northeast Iceland.

Foreign Investment in Land Calls for Change in Law

23 Jul Foreign investors are increasingly purchasing land in Iceland, and one of the ways to prevent large pieces of land from being purchased by wealthy foreign investors is to reinstate a right, which would give municipalities and the government preemption, that is, the right to purchase before others.

Ísland takes a seat at the UN Human Rights Council, replacing the United States.

Iceland replaces US at UN Human Rights Council

13 Jul Iceland has just been elected to take a seat on the UN Human Rights Council at the UN headquarters in New York. Last month the United States annoounced its withdrawal from the council. Iceland received 172 votes. A minimum of 97 votes are required.

Katrín Sif Sigurgeirsdóttir heads the negotiaion committee for midwives.

Midwives' strike in the cards next Wednesday

13 Jul Midwives, who have been fighting to increase their wages for two years now will be going on a strike of all their extra working hours next Wednesday.

Support for midwives in their wage dispute.

Support meeting for midwives well attended

11 Jul A support meeting at 1.40 this afternoon just before the meeting between the association of midwives and the state negotiator was well attended.

A rainbow over Gullfoss, Iceland. “In our eyes queer families are just as normal as the traditional family and we think it would be a good part of broadening horizons for straight kids to live with them.”

AFS exchange student programme looking for lgbtqi+ families in Iceland

10 Jul “We want to increase the diversity of the families that are hosting the students,” says Kristín Björnsdóttir, project manager at AFS. “One of our aims is to campaign for a more peaceful and just world and decrease prejudices.”

Afstaða til borgarlínunnar er afar breytileg eftir stjórnmálaskoðun. Borgarlínan, a proposed bus rapid transit in Reykjavik.

45% of Icelanders in favour of a new public transport system in Reykjavik

9 Jul According to a new survey by marketing company Maskína, 45 percent of Icelanders are in favour of Borgarlínan, a proposed bus rapid transit and later, light rail in Reykjavik. 28 percent are against.

A two year old girl cries at the US border

Icelanders organise protest outside US embassy in Reykjavik tomorrow

20 Jun Over a thousand people are attending and thousands are interested in a protest organised on Facebook against the US policy of separating children from parents at the US border.