A new record was set in the Hvalfjörður Tunnel last year, when 3.315 million vehicles passed through — the highest number ever recorded.

Nearly 74% of apartments in the capital area were sold in December at prices lower than the listed asking price, compared with about 67% in December 2024.

There was no shortage of Ash Wednesday cheer at Smáralind yesterday, as hundreds of children arrived smiling in their most dazzling costumes and sang for shop staff in exchange for candy.

Absence due to illness among public sector employees is twice as common as in the private sector, and the direct cost to the public sector from sick leave is significantly higher. This is among the findings of a new analysis by the Iceland Chamber of Commerce on sick-leave entitlements for public employees.

Members of the air rescue team in Varmahlíð assisted foreign tourists last night after their Dacia Duster became stuck in snow in Mælifellsdalur valley in Skagafjörður.

The amount of magma beneath Svartsengi continues to increase, with about 22 million cubic meters having accumulated since the last eruption.

Tómas J. Gestsson, CEO of Heimsferðir, says it is true that the owners of Kúbuferðir had warned him about the situation in Cuba. However, the warning concerned government interference, not shortages of fuel or essential goods.

Anahita Babaei and Elissa May Phillips were convicted of disobeying police orders and boarding whaling vessels as an act of protest in 2023.

Chefs around the country were busy yesterday preparing salted lamb and cooking split pea soup — the meal that will be served on tables far and wide today.

The Ísólfur search and rescue team from Seyðisfjörður came to the aid of a group of people whose car became stuck on Fjarðarheiði last night.

There was a time when children leapt out of bed at dawn on Bolludagur to rush in and spank their parents with a bolluvöndur while they were still in bed, earning a cream bun as a reward for each swat.

Today there will be a northerly wind, generally 3–10 m/s in the west but 13–18 m/s in the east.

On April 22, the new Miss Iceland will be crowned, and among this year’s contestants are twin sisters Sara Guðjónsdóttir, Miss Geysir, and Lilja Guðjónsdóttir, Miss Gullfoss. The idea to participate arose after they watched a close friend compete and saw how much she blossomed through the process.

Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir has been elected chair of the Progressive Party, taking over the role from Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson.

Bun Day, or Bolludagur, is celebrated tomorrow, February 16 and it has become one of Iceland’s foremost dessert days. It is no longer simply a day for traditional cream buns filled with jam and chocolate, but a platform for innovation and variety. In recent years, there has been a noticeable change in how Icelanders approach baking and enjoying buns. Instead of sticking to traditional recipes, more and more people are experimenting with unexpected ingredients and new techniques.

Olympian Jakobína Valdís Jakobsdóttir is heading to Italy, where she will attend the women’s slalom and giant slalom events at the Winter Olympics in Cortina. She herself competed there for Iceland in alpine skiing when the Winter Olympics were held in Cortina in 1956.

Emil Hrafn Steinsson, an officer in the Swedish Air Force, is half Icelandic and half Swedish. He is one of the 110 Swedish service members currently carrying out NATO air policing duties in Iceland.

The Director of Public Prosecutions is seeking convictions against Sindri Snær Birgisson and Ísidór Nathansson for attempted terrorism and is calling for severe punishment in the terrorism case.

Runólfur Pálsson, CEO of Landspítali National University Hospital, says new nursing and day-care spaces will not be sufficient to improve conditions in the emergency department to the extent required, and that additional solutions must be found for the hospital. However, the added capacity will certainly make a difference.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is aware of several Icelandic citizens currently in Cuba, and the ministry’s consular services are in contact with part of the group.

“We made the decision yesterday to try to protect the infrastructure, primarily the viewing platform,” says Íris Guðnadóttir of Þórisholt in Mýrdalur in an interview with mbl.is, referring to measures taken by landowners at Reynisfjara Black Beach to counter the effects of severe coastal erosion at the beach, which Morgunblaðið and mbl.is have covered since the weekend.

It has been 1,239 days since the Office of the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police announced that several men were suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Iceland. Now, nearly three and a half years later, the country’s highest court will hear the so-called terrorism case.

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.

“It was absolutely packed. I don’t think as many people have ever attended an ice hockey game in Iceland.”

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.