
The EFTA Court is planning to announce its verdict in its cases against Iceland because of the defunct Landsbanki’s Icesave deposits in the U.K. and Holland on January 28, as revealed on the court’s website yesterday.

The Icesave trial covers two cases filed by the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) against the Icelandic state, ruv.is reports.
On the one hand, Iceland is accused of violating the European Union directive for not having repaid the EUR 20,000 (ISK 3.4 million, USD 26,000 at today’s exchange rate) insurance for each deposit in Landsbanki’s foreign branches.
On the other, the Icelandic state is said to have discriminated against depositors by fully guaranteeing deposits in banks in Iceland but not in their foreign branches.
Click here to read more about Icesave.
ESA
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.
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Iceland is among the top five OECD-countries where immigrants help to boost the economy and increase nation-wide production by approximately 1 percent, according to a new report from the OECD.
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Neither Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson nor Minister of the Interior Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir have responded to Edward Snowden’s request for a political asylum in Iceland, as spokesperson for Wikileaks Kristinn Hrafnsson wrote in a letter published in Fréttablaðið today.
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The first fin whale to be hunted in Iceland this season was killed by the crew of whaling vessel Hvalur 8 yesterday evening. The vessel, which set out yesterday along with Hvalur 9, is expected to unload the catch today.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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