Nearly one thousand comments have been submitted on the draft of a new aquaculture bill proposed by Minister of Fisheries and Industry Hanna Katrín Friðriksson. Notably, however, the majority of the comments concern salmon farming in sea cages, while little mention is made of land-based aquaculture.

A criminal organization responsible for smuggling cocaine from South America to Europe has been dismantled following a coordinated investigation by authorities in Iceland, Lithuania, and Spain, with support from Europol and Eurojust.

Arion Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed an agreement involving a loan of ISK 15 billion to Arion Bank, which will be used to finance environmentally friendly and sustainable projects in the seafood industry in Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.

Planned energy production and drilling in the Eldvörp area do not affect seismic activity and neither increase the likelihood of volcanic eruptions nor magma movement.

“This is incredible to witness. The forces of nature have completely reshaped the beach, so the place is now entirely different from what it was,” says tour guide Snorri Steinn Sigurðsson.

The earthquake swarm near Eldey appears to have subsided, with nearly 600 earthquakes recorded since it began about a day and a half ago.

Iceland’s Treasury is on a stronger footing than before, as the country’s sovereign credit rating was upgraded last Friday from A to A+.

More than 300 earthquakes have been recorded in the seismic swarm that began near Eldey yesterday.

There is rarely a dull moment in the home of Ingibjörg Lára Þorskfjörð Sveinsdóttir in Mosfellsdalur. Daily life there is filled with laughter, togetherness, and unconditional love, and the home clearly reflects that a large family lives there. The family she shares with her husband, Bergþór Sigurðsson, is indeed quite large—at least by Icelandic standards.

Iceland does not plan to establish an embassy in Turkey in the coming years.

A 17-year-old boy, Patrekur Freyr Sveinsson, has died following a car accident on Miklabraut, which occurred late Thursday night opposite the Salvation Army building. He was a passenger in the vehicle.

There is snow cover on Hellisheiði, icy conditions on Sandskeið, and patches of ice in mountain passes.

Police in the Capital Region are seeking witnesses to a very serious traffic accident that occurred on Miklabraut in Reykjavík last night. A report of the accident was received at 23:18. One person was transported to hospital, but no further information about their condition is currently available.

The spectacular Winter Festival of the City of Reykjavík 2026 was officially opened last night with a great ceremony. Winter festivals were launched yesterday in all six municipalities of the capital region.

The Managing Director of the Icelandic Automobile Association (FÍB) believes that Icelandic oil companies have not fully passed on the abolition of the fuel tax to consumers in the form of lower fuel prices. He therefore questions whether it may be time for the state to intervene.

A heated public meeting was held this evening at Réttarholt School, where residents of Gerðar, Grensásvegur, and nearby neighborhoods gathered in a show of unity against plans to open a Samhjálp café in a residential building at Grensásvegur 46.

The Managing Director of the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce says the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged is reasonable. It is clear, he says, that the government must take responsibility and begin implementing the efficiency measures that were announced early in the coalition government’s term.

“I think the time has come for us, as a nation, to pause and ask: When are we going to stop this experiment of raising costs and wages far beyond what the national economy can sustain—far beyond what is happening in other countries—while at the same time expecting inflation to remain low and interest rates to be just like in other countries?”

According to modeling calculations, just under 21 million cubic meters of magma have now accumulated beneath Svartsengi since the most recent eruption on the Sundhnúkur crater row in July.

At least eight employees at the Emergency Department of Landspítali Hospital in Fossvogur have been infected with tuberculosis. Those infected include a doctor, nurses, and a receptionist.

No snow was recorded in Reykjavík in the month of January that has just ended, meaning the month was completely snow-free. This was reported by meteorologist Einar Sveinbjörnsson of Blika in a Facebook post.

Operators who offer so-called “gusa” (guided sauna steam sessions) will soon be required to pay for the music used in these services.

Musician Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir won a Grammy Award for the second year in a row at the Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles, United States, last night.

The public’s knowledge of editorial practices and the general legal framework governing the media is lower in Iceland than in the other Nordic countries. Icelanders are less aware of which media outlets have a legally defined public-service role, that media organisations must have a legally responsible editor (or “responsible person”), what that role involves, and that people have the right to reply when misinformation has been published.

Arna Lára Jónsdóttir, deputy chair of the Social Democratic Alliance’s parliamentary group, says there is no point in giving up the fight against the “inflation ghost” — we simply have to do better. She says not everyone is pulling in the same direction.

“The guest’s eye is sharp,” as the saying goes — and that is certainly true. For those of us born and raised here, it is always interesting to see how other nations view us. This week, a reporter visited Jewells Chambers from Brooklyn, who has lived in Iceland for a decade and is an Icelandic citizen.

The Directorate of Internal Revenue (Skatturinn) believed it had a solution ready for the end of the month, but this turned out not to be the case. Jón Þór Víglundsson, communications officer for ICE-SAR Landsbjörg, says Landsbjörg learned about the matter this week.

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former President of Iceland, has submitted two written opinions to the Prime Minister’s Office regarding a government bill introduced by Kristrún Frostadóttir, stating that it could “undermine the independence of the President of Iceland.”

Police in Northeast Iceland are warning of slippery road conditions in many parts of the district.

The board of the Westfjords Labour Union says it regrets the decision by management at Arnarlax and Arctic Fish to cut the wages of employees in aquaculture.

“I’m afraid that someone has just been hit in the face with a sledgehammer,” writes Ólafur Stephensen, Managing Director of the Federation of Icelandic Employers (FA), in a Facebook post in which he comments on the new inflation figures.

Inflation is now measured at 5.2%, increasing by 0.38 percentage points since December.

Sigurgeir Brynjar Kristgeirsson, CEO of Vinnslustöðin in the Westman Islands, says the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute’s conclusion that the maximum capelin catch for the 2025/2026 fishing year will be 197,474 tonnes is a lifeline for those who buy capelin and sell it on into the market ahead of the next season.

An earthquake swarm began near Lambafell, 2–3 km west of Þrengsli, at around 16:30 yesterday and is still ongoing.

The damage caused by this morning’s fire at Garðvík’s industrial building in Húsavík is estimated at close to one hundred million krónur.