In the sauna Sækot by Ægisíða in the Vesturbær district of Reykjavík, a distinctive sauna culture has taken shape in recent years around what is known as Gusa. There, heat, cold, music, scent, and social connection come together in an experience many describe as both a form of health practice and a journey away from the stresses of everyday life and into calm and well-being.

An earthquake swarm began on the Reykjanes Ridge shortly before 6 a.m. last night. The largest quake measured magnitude 3.4.

Icelanders need to deepen cooperation with our allied nations.

Since 2012, Jónas Breki Magnússon (who is always called Breki) has worked as an independent gold and silversmith in Copenhagen. Asked how things are going, he gives a candid answer: “I own nothing, but I don’t owe anything either. I just have a workshop, not a shop. I sell only online, at breki.dk. Running a store would never work—I’d just be chatting with customers all day and wouldn’t get any work done,” he says with a laugh.

Lake Askja is now frozen after remaining ice-free beyond the turn of the year. Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, associate professor of geography at the Faculty of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, says the lake froze on January 4 during relatively calm weather, after temperatures dropped sharply following the warm spell over Christmas. The image is a satellite image from Sentinel-2 (Copernicus EU), with the satellite’s orbit at an altitude of 786 km above Earth.

A helicopter from the Icelandic Coast Guard is currently transporting 14 shipping crates of fish skin from the company Kerecis to the United Kingdom. The fish skin is intended for use in treating patients who were injured in the fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on New Year’s Eve.

Inga Sæland, leader of the People’s Party, states that the education system has failed the nation’s children, particularly in terms of reading comprehension. She intends to look to Finland for solutions to the problem.

The Reykjanes District Court has sentenced a foreign man to seven months in prison for a serious drug offense after he smuggled nearly one kilogram of cocaine into the country.

Guðmundur Ingi Kristinsson, Minister of Education and Children’s Affairs, has decided to step down from his post for health reasons.

In recent months, there has been an increase in foreign nationals coming to Iceland, posing as tourists but then being caught selling drugs.

Icelandic authorities were informed in advance that there was a possibility the Russian oil tanker Marinera would be stopped within Icelandic jurisdiction.

The City of Reykjavík is seeking to hire a specialist to reduce sickness absence among its employees.

It appears that U.S. personnel have boarded the oil tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella-1, and taken control of the vessel. A U.S. official confirmed this to CBS News in the United States, according to the BBC.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office has issued a yellow weather warning for South Iceland and Southeast Iceland due to northeasterly blizzard conditions.

The Icelandic Coast Guard is monitoring the movements of an oil tanker that entered Iceland’s southeastern exclusive economic zone shortly after 4 a.m. last night.

Environmental and safety concerns are the main reasons why New Year’s and Twelfth Night bonfires have been reduced in number and are now being phased out in many places. Rising costs for firewood and waste disposal have also played a role.

The circumstances surrounding the traffic accident that occurred on Suðurlandsvegur yesterday morning are under investigation by the capital area police.

Police in the capital area called in the National Police Commissioner’s Special Forces to assist with a police operation at a residential property in the Rimahverfi neighborhood last night. The Special Forces’ involvement has now concluded, but police are still working at the scene.

There was broad consensus among members who attended a meeting of Alþingi’s Foreign Affairs Committee this morning regarding the situation that has arisen in international affairs following the events of the weekend.

“In 2018 I took part in a competition for affordable housing. There was a small group of us competing and we won. That gave us the opportunity to choose one of seven or eight plots in Reykjavík, and we chose Skerjafjörður because planning there was the most advanced and the process was expected to move relatively quickly.”

Suðurlandsvegur has now been fully reopened and emergency responders have concluded their work at the scene. A traffic accident occurred on the road earlier this morning, and it was closed for a period as a result.

Margrét Halla Hansdóttir Löf has appealed the 16-year prison sentence she received at the Reykjanes District Court on December 16.

The Icelandic health-tech company Kerecis will increase production to assist victims who suffered severe burns in a major fire in Switzerland in recent days.

The Independence Party is polling at 35.5% support in Reykjavík in a Gallup survey, equivalent to nine seats on the city council. The party gains 2.2 percentage points compared with the previous poll and has not measured this high in the capital since the 2008 financial crisis.

It has been confirmed that an Icelandic man recently died in Ukraine after having joined the Ukrainian armed forces. The case was first reported by DV.

The fact that the United States has carried out attacks on Venezuela and overthrown President Nicolás Maduro by military force is no guarantee of better governance in the country.

A newly installed water slide at the swimming pool in Þorlákshöfn has been temporarily closed following several accidents.

A colorful group made its way to Nauthólsvík yesterday as the annual New Year’s swim took place in the sea there.

The introduction of the new kilometre-based road charge at the turn of the year was accompanied by the abolition of the fuel tax. As a result, fuel companies have significantly lowered their prices.

In her New Year’s address to the nation, President HallaTómasdóttir reflected on the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and the well-being of children and young people, recalled the hardships Icelanders have faced in recent years, and emphasized the importance of looking to the future with hope.

President of Iceland Halla Tómasdóttir conferred the Order of the Falcon on 14 Icelanders at a formal ceremony held at Bessastaðir today, in keeping with the tradition on New Year’s Day.

The first baby of 2026 was born just 24 minutes after the New Year began, according to information from the maternity ward at Landspítali.

Iceland Monitor wishes everyone a happy and prosperous New Year and extends its sincere thanks to readers for their support and companionship throughout the year now past.

The Prime Minister says it is the government’s responsibility not to bend or retreat from its decisions, even when they provoke strong reactions and opposition.

Halla Tómasdóttir, President of Iceland, will confer the Order of the Falcon on fourteen Icelanders on New Year’s Day.