As a kid I thought airports were the most romantic places in the world. Now, while other airports destroy my jet-setting romanticism, Keflavík aptly revives it.
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A young man armed with a knife threatened the clerk of Sunnubúd, a small family-run store in the Hlídar neighborhood in Reykjavík, on Sunday, demanding money from the cash register. The thief got away with the money and police are looking for him.
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Click on the picture to observe how to prepare a traditional Icelandic meal of roe and liver (hrogn og lifur). At this time of year, egg pouches are harvested from female fish, mainly cod and haddock, and sold in fish stores around the country along with the liver. The egg pouches may not look appetizing; just remember that caviar is fish eggs too.
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Fjallabyggd (“Mountain Settlement”) is a skier’s dream. Its slopes are perfect for slaloming and there are also tracks for telemark skiing. Winter sporting enthusiasts can also go ice skating or rent snowmobiles. In summer, Fjallabyggd turns into a paradise for hikers. Read this special promotion about one of Iceland’s best hidden gems.
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Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon and Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir announced at a press conference on Friday that funding to the office of the special prosecutor, which is investigating the collapse of the banking system, will be increased.
Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.
“We will reinforce the office and probably also increase the number of prosecutors,” Sigfússon said. These measures are undertaken to improve the leverage of investigators and are a response to criticism expressed by the office’s special consultant, Eva Joly. It is unclear how much funding to the investigation will increase.
The government leaders also presented other measures during the press conference, such as a planned bill on a consulting referendum, which would enable the Althingi parliament to call for a referendum with a simple majority.
The referendum would be based on the current election system and there would not be any conditions on minimum participation. The bill also assumes that such a referendum is called for at least three months in advance.
Sigurdardóttir explained that the University of Iceland’s Institute of Economic Studies and the Social Science Research Institute have been provided with the task to undertake a status analysis from 1990 until today with the purpose of estimating the success of economic measures in that period. It is scheduled to be completed in September this year.
Furthermore, Sigfússon mentioned that propositions on owner and ownership policy of state-owned companies had been presented to the cabinet, involving that the state’s ownership of banks and financial institutions will be transferred to independent parties who will operate these companies according to the state’s policy. A bill to that end is expected this week.
Measures in relation to state finances are also expected to be presented this week. Sigfússon said it would probably be unnecessary to lay off employees in the public sector. However, it is possible that the number of state employees will decrease since vacant positions will not be filled.
A planned bill on a wage council, which will determine the wages of the highest-ranking executives of state-run companies on behalf of the government, was also dicussed during the press conference. No salaries in the public sector will be higher than that of the prime minister.
Click here to read more about the government’s policy on salaries and here to read more about the investigation of the banking collapse.
New subscribers to the quarterly Iceland Review magazine will receive the photography book Puffins, which contains a wealth of information about this colorful bird, as a gift. Additionally, all subscribers will enter a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to Iceland Review. The new issue will be out next week!
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When I first heard of the photographic book Legend by Fiann Paul, portraying people dressed in Viking-style in Icelandic landscapes, I imagined it would depict scenes from Norse mythology. However, the idea with the book is to tell a story of how “The Seeker” finds “The Legend” and it feels like a wishy-washy self-help book.
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Fresh back from Brazil, where she was one of 28 international judges at the ‘Cup of Excellence’ awards, Kaffitár founder and owner Adalheidur Hédinsdóttir sat down with Atlantica’s Mica Allan in Kaffitár’s Bankastraeti cafe to talk about her passion and delight: coffee.
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“Lucy” is a video and music installation by Dodda Maggý (1981), the 15th artist to exhibit in Reykjavík Art Museum’s D-gallery project in the Hafnarhús exhibition hall. In “Lucy” the artist explores the idea of the “acousmetre,” a film character portrayed only by voice, never in body, omniscient and ubiquitous.
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