George R.R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones books, received a private tour this weekend of Edda – the House of Icelandic Language, where he familiarized himself with the nation’s cultural heritage: the Icelandic manuscripts.

The Icelandic Confederation of Labour (ASÍ) anticipates an interest rate cut on Wednesday, when the Central Bank of Iceland’s Monetary Policy Committee announces its decision.

Karl Steinar Valsson, Chief Superintendent and head of the National Police Commissioner’s Analysis Department, says there is reason to reconsider whether Iceland should continue shielding the buyers of prostitution.

Gísli Már Gíslason, entomologist and professor emeritus in aquatic biology, says he has recently received many reports from people who believe they have seen a mosquito, following two confirmed cases in Iceland—one in the South and one in Kjós.

The Reykjavík Yule Cat was illuminated this afternoon at Lækjartorg, marking the start of the city’s festive season.

Filming has recently wrapped on a major advertising campaign for Italian fashion house Prada, promoting its Prada Sport line. The campaign stars Jake Gyllenhaal, with parts of the production shot on a glacier and inside an ice cave in Iceland. The Icelandic production company Norður handled the local production.

Daði MárKristófersson, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, has formally protested the European Union’s proposed safeguard measures on silicon metals, both on behalf of Icelandic stakeholders and the EEA cooperation as a whole.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Hanna KatrínFriðriksson says it is disappointing that Iceland and Norway have not been granted an exemption from the European Union’s safeguard measures concerning silicon metal imports.

Bogi Nils Bogason, CEO of Icelandair, says that the carbon tax the airline must pay puts the company at a disadvantage compared to competitors outside Europe — and stresses that the Icelandic government must respond.

Police reports of violence against elderly people aged 67 and older have been steadily increasing in recent years. So far this year, 31 cases have been reported — already exceeding the total for all of last year, when there were 18.

Land inflation and magma accumulation beneath Svartsengi continue, though at a slower pace, according to Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson, head of deformation measurements at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

A close call at Reynisfjara Black Beach was captured on video by Magnae Malachi, a tourist who recently visited Iceland and posted the footage on TikTok.

The Icelandic gyrfalcon population has been hit hard by the ongoing wave of avian influenza in recent years. Once numbering around 2,000 birds, the population has now collapsed to roughly 500 individuals, according to Ólafur Karl Nielsen, ornithologist and Iceland’s leading expert on the species.

“I was actually installing a kitchen at home yesterday when I got a call from the Minister of Justice,” says GrímurHergeirsson with a laugh, speaking to mbl.is.

Today marks two years since the residents of Grindavík were forced to leave their homes when the town was evacuated following a series of earthquakes on November 10, 2023.

Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir has requested to step down as National Police Commissioner. She will take up a specialist position at the Ministry of Justice, continuing to work in her area of expertise.

Few would likely dispute that AldaSigmundsdóttir— journalist, publisher, and author — has gone to great lengths to educate foreign visitors about Iceland and its people through witty and informative writing, steering well clear of the well-worn tourist clichés of Gullfoss, Geysir, the Blue Lagoon, and Hallgrímskirkja.

“I find it curious that this debate is being led by people who seem neither to read books nor to know how to make Excel sheets. When their spreadsheets become the foundation of the argument, I think the discussion has gone completely off track.”

GuðmundurMogensen, a 41-year-old Icelander, has just been sentenced to life in prison by the District Court of Solna in Stockholm, Sweden, for the murder of 63-year-old Kristina Bah at her home in Akalla, northwest Stockholm, in October last year.

A major investment in power infrastructure is planned for Northeast Iceland in the coming years, aimed at boosting regional development following the shutdown of PCC’s silicon plant at Bakki, as well as facilitating new energy production, including wind power. Electricity supply capacity will also be greatly increased at Þórshöfn, improving both capacity and reliability.

“This is a small community where everyone knows everyone, and the origin of this case was that the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority ruled that a dog owned by this man had to be removed from his home. The agency requested that one of its staff be accompanied by police — and there were good reasons for that.”

There’s a good chance of colorful aurora borealis lighting up the sky over western Iceland tonight and tomorrow night between 9 p.m. and midnight, according to meteorologist Einar Sveinbjörnsson.

Two musical worlds collide as Björk and Rosalía join forces on Berghain, a new single that has already captured global attention. At the same time, Björk celebrates the release of Cornucopia Live, a concert piece that fuses sound and vision into one.

Three men have been arrested in connection with pickpocketing, and two of them are suspected of involvement in another similar case in Kópavogur.

The small fishing boat Hvítá HF found itself in an unexpected role this summer — as a floating billboard. A 150-kilogram LED screen was mounted on its deck to promote Milt liquid detergent, catching the eye (and amusement) of passersby around Hafnarfjörður harbor.

The Icelandic cybersecurity company Defend Iceland has announced the launch of its bug bounty platform in Denmark, where it will operate under the name Defend Denmark.

Access to Keflavík International Airport has become a major bottleneck for travelers across Iceland — one that, according to sociologist Þóroddur Bjarnason of the University of Iceland, primarily benefits the state-owned airport operator Isavia rather than the public. He argues that the high cost of transport and parking at the airport sometimes rivals the price of flight tickets themselves, contradicting the government’s ownership policy, which mandates that Iceland’s airport system should form part of safe and affordable transport within the country and connect effectively to other public transport on land.

Amaroq Minerals has, for the first time, discovered high-grade rare earth elements (REEs) at the Ilua pegmatite zone in the Nunarsuit licence area, part of the Gardar region in southern Greenland — an area believed to contain up to 20% of the world’s rare earth resources, according to the EU’s Joint Research Centre.

Magnús Rannver Rafnsson, building inspector in Höfn and vice-chairman of the Association of Building Inspectors, is warning strongly against proposals by the Housing and Construction Authority (HMS) to transfer building inspections to private inspection firms and effectively abolish or neutralize the role of local building inspectors.

“Everything I’ve ever looked for in life, I found in Iceland. Somehow, I got to experience what it feels like to belong here.”

A humpback whale that was found trapped east of Hrísey on Friday has now vanished without a trace — though sonar readings suggest it may lie still in a watery grave beneath the surface.

The works of Halldór Laxness rank among the most important literary achievements in Icelandic history. Literature, as Iceland’s core cultural heritage, has long been what unites the nation—a nation without grand cathedrals or monumental architecture to boast of.

Rescue crews will attempt today to free a humpback whale that has been trapped east of Hrísey since yesterday morning, after poor weather conditions made rescue efforts impossible throughout the day.

Þórdís Lóa Þórhallsdóttir, leader of the Liberal Reform Party on Reykjavík City Council, says she cannot see how the planned number of parking spaces will fit into the new Úlfarsárdalur neighborhood, where 4,000 new apartments are set to be built.

Thick ice ridges formed on main roads in Reykjavík during this week’s snowstorm, while nearby municipalities were less affected. The problem arose because snowplows from the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (Vegagerðin) were unable to reach the roads in time to clear the snow when it was freshly fallen.