RSS feed from Icelandreview.com
Icelandreview.com on your mobile (Nokia)
Minister of the Interior Ögmundur Jónasson will present a new bill to the government this week, stating that foreign citizens are not eligible to own properties in Iceland unless they have a legal domicile in the country.
Currently, EEA citizens can acquire pieces of land in Iceland without applying for a legal exemption. However, if the bill is passed, they must demonstrate that they intend to settle in Iceland, live on the land, practice farming or other operations there.
The bill also includes real estate, although Ögmundur reasons it is not his intention to prevent foreign citizens owning summer houses in Iceland.
The minister does not want to speculate whether other ministers support his bill but is certain that the majority of voters will back his proposals. The parliamentary election in April will indicate whether that is the case, he stated.
Vice-chair of the Social Democrats Dagur B. Eggertsson commented that Ögmundur’s bill is at odds with the policy of increasing foreign investment in Iceland.
The bill would make it more difficult for investors like Chinese businessman Huang Nubo, who was interested in acquiring the piece of land Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum in Northeast Iceland, to invest in the country.
Ögmundur confirms that, adding that Huang’s request to purchase the land has been rejected.
Click here to read more about that story.
ESA
Four Icelandic contestants will participate in this year’s World Skills International, the world cup for industrial- and vocational subjects. The competition is held every other year.
more
This year’s free English-language travel guide Around Iceland has been released, the 38th year in a row. The guide is also published in Icelandic and German and is distributed in 100,000 copies to the country’s most frequented tourist destinations.
more
An international group of divers recently traveled to Þingvellir National Park in Southwest Iceland to explore this unique diving destination. A Polish guide, Michail Zinieuricz, who works for the DIVE.is, led the team of North Americans and a French couple.
more
Iceland’s northernmost island is no longer one island. In a recent surveillance excursion to the Kolbeinsey, the Icelandic Coast Guard discovered that the island is now divided in two.
more
The 2013 June-July issue of Iceland Review is out. Themed ‘We Are Young’ the magazine celebrates the arrival of summer by interviewing young energetic Icelanders who excel in art, sports, business and politics—and Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the youngest PM in the republic’s history and the world’s youngest ruling state leader. Click here to take a look at a selection of the current issue and here to subscribe to the magazine.
more
REVIEWS
amiina
The road to Höfn, a 1,690-person harbor town by the fjord Hornafjörður, is lined with reindeer. Whole herds of the wild horned animals rest peacefully on withered pastures, grace next to sheep and horses and bounce along the road. Soon, Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier and the region’s biggest attraction, comes into view. Looming over Höfn, its outlet glaciers flow down from the mountains on which the bright white icecap rests.
more
Sin Fang will celebrate the release of his third album with a release concert in Iðnó on June 12. Flowers was released in February by Morr Music and has been well received by music enthusiasts and critics alike. The concert will be supported by Vök, this year’s winners of the Icelandic Music Experiments.
more
){kind=link}