
Watch an audio slideshow of how traditional Icelandic rhubarb stew is made. Rhubarb is one of the few vegetables that grows effortlessly in Iceland and for that reason it used to be a highly-valued addition to the traditional diet of fish and lamb.
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Gudmundur Hilmarsson, a pilot at Cargolux, who flew over the volcanic eruption site on the Fimmvörduháls mountain pass in south Iceland at noon today, didn’t see any signs of continued volcanic activity in the area and he couldn’t spot any lava flow either.
The eruption in late March. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Hilmarsson told visis.is that he had looked into the two craters but couldn’t see any magma and everything seemed solidified on the surface.
The pilot only saw a few jets of steam here and there and clouds of steam in the Hrunagil canyon where water seems to be flowing out from underneath the lava.
According to geophysicist Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson, the volcanic eruption is most likely over. However, a “death certificate” cannot be issued before “the patient has definitely passed away” and it is too soon to tell whether the eruption will resume, he said.
Two teams of scientists are currently walking towards the eruption area from the highland valley of Thórsmörk.
One of the teams is planning to hike up the Morinsheidi heath and look at the craters and lava from there and the other is headed for Hvannárgil to look at the lava in the canyon and study the outflow of gases.
Click here to read more about the eruption.
The exchange of power in Iceland took place yesterday when the government of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson formally took over from that of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and ministers exchange keys.
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Mountaineer Leifur Örn Svavarsson became the first Icelander to reach the peak of Everest, the world’s highest mountain, by the North Face from Tibet just before sunrise yesterday morning.
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Iceland’s new government formally took power today following a state council meeting at Bessastaðir, the presidential residence.
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One of the last tasks of Steingrímur J. Sigfússon while in office as minister of industries and innovation was to issue a regulation on Monday extending the reserve for whales in Faxaflói bay, off Reykjavík in Southwest Iceland. The regulation took affect at midnight.
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The 2013 April-May issue of Iceland Review & Atlantica has been released. Packed with informative and entertaining stories, highlights include an interview with outgoing Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and the people who know her best, a photo essay of ice caves in Europe’s largest glacier and a colorful feature on life in the West Fjords.
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The 11th Reykjavík Shorts & Docs. Catch it while it lasts!
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