Day: July 31, 2015

Forced marriages are more common in Iceland than most people would like to believe, according to a new report on human trafficking around the world by the US Department of State.

The first Monday of each August is Iceland’s ‘tradesmen’s holiday’ and the weekend around it, Verslunarmannahelgin (the Tradesmen’s Weekend) has become Icelanders’ biggest annual travel weekend.

Though summer in the Icelandic highlands has been cold, with snow still on the ground in some parts, the number of visitors has not gone down since last year. The huts at Landmannalaugar opened on June 15, a little later than last year due to snow, and have been full almost every night since.

Most poll respondents say they would like to see Jón Gnarr become President of Iceland. Comedian and writer Jón is currently domestic content editor for 365 Media, and used to be mayor of Reykjavík.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian president Vladimir Putin, says that trade sanctions against Iceland are a possibility in light of the Icelandic government’s continued support for Western sanctions against Russia following its support for the uprising in eastern Ukraine.

The increase in the number of international flights to and from Iceland has been massive in recent years and it is now forecast that 10 million passengers will use Keflavík International Airport in 2030. The turning point seems to have been after the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption in 2010.