Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Daði Már Kristófersson says the Central Bank’s decision to raise interest rates did not come as a surprise, although it was not what the government had hoped to see.

The organization founded by environmental activist and sea captain Paul Watson plans to return to Iceland this summer to protest the whaling operations of Kristján Loftsson and his company, Hvalur hf.

Ari Edwald, leader of the Centre Party in Reykjavík, is scheduled to meet with Hildur Björnsdóttir, leader of the Independence Party, this afternoon as exploratory talks continue over the formation of a new governing coalition in the city.

Iceland has never been more expensive than it is today.

The likelihood of Icelanders voting in favor of opening accession talks with the European Union appears to have declined in recent weeks.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed the appointment of Billy Long as ambassador to Iceland.

Scam emails pretending to come from Iceland Revenue and Customs (Skatturinn) have been circulating recently. The messages falsely claim that recipients are owed money by the tax authorities and ask them to confirm the payment by providing identification details or credit card information.

Hildur Björnsdóttir, leader of the Independence Party on the Reykjavík City Council, plans to meet today with the leaders of three other parties represented on the council after yesterday's scheduled talks were postponed.

Western Iceland can expect glorious weather today, with temperatures potentially reaching as high as 17°C in sunny areas.

Guðmundur Árni Stefánsson, leader of the Social Democratic Alliance in Hafnarfjörður, will not take his seat on the town council when the new council convenes in June.

Hildur Björnsdóttir, leader of the Independence Party in Reykjavík, will spend the first part of the day considering her options before contacting the leaders of the parties she is exploring coalition talks with, Ari Edwald of the Centre Party, Björg Magnúsdóttir of Viðreisn, and Einar Þorsteinsson of the Progressive Party.

Police officers made a deliberate and informed decision to use a taser during an arrest in Reykjanesbær earlier today.

Hildur Björnsdóttir, leader of the Independence Party in Reykjavík, has today held individual meetings with the leaders of the Centre Party, Viðreisn, The Left, and the Progressive Party. Next on her schedule are separate meetings with the leaders of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Socialist Party.

Several coalition options are possible in Reykjavík City Council following Saturday’s municipal election, but in practice no majority appears possible without the Independence Party’s nine council seats.

A witness who observed a disturbing incident in the old cemetery in Reykjanesbær this morning, where a man reportedly set himself on fire during a mental health crisis, says police pressured him into deleting a video he recorded of the event.

An independent commission led by former Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir is calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare climate change a global public health emergency.

Final results are now in for the municipal election in Kópavogur, where the Independence Party has gained two additional seats compared with 2022 and secured an outright majority on the town council.

The Independence Party received 32.5% of the vote in Reykjavík’s municipal elections and secured nine seats on the City Council. The Social Democratic Alliance finished as the city’s second-largest party with 18% support and five seats. Vote counting in Reykjavík has now been completed, making these the final results.

Vote counting is underway following today’s municipal elections.

Kristín Þorleifsdóttir, who turned 101 in February and was recently featured in Morgunblaðið, cast her vote today at Lækjarskóli polling station in Hafnarfjörður.

Around 55,000 people had voted in Reykjavík’s municipal election by 8 p.m. tonight, representing about 51% of the 108,000 registered voters in the city.

The outcome of Reykjavík’s municipal elections remains highly uncertain, according to a political scientist, as recent polls show only narrow differences between several parties.

So far today, 1,327 people have voted at the District Commissioner’s office in the capital region. Since the polling station opened on April 17, a total of 20,803 people have voted there.

Icelandair pilots who respond to requests from the airline to work on their scheduled days off receive an additional payment equal to 15% of their salary for the assignment. According to the current collective agreement, the payment can amount to as much as ISK 400,000.

Voters in Reykjavík are almost evenly divided on whether they want a center-left or center-right majority after the upcoming elections.

The Independence Party continues to measure as the largest party in Reykjavík and has widened its lead over the Social Democratic Alliance. Support for the Centre Party has increased, while support for The Left, The Liberal Reform Party, and the Socialist Party has declined.

“One of the most significant things about Nordic Compass is that private enterprise is carrying most of the workload,” says Ásta Fjeldsted, CEO of Festi hf. and the only Icelander on the project’s board.

Engineering company COWI has submitted a risk assessment to Iceland’s Ministry of Justice regarding the search for the remains of Lúðvík Pétursson, who died in a fatal accident in Grindavík in January 2024.

Starting tomorrow, visitors to the manuscript exhibition World in Words (Heimur í orðum) will be able to view five Icelandic manuscripts from Sweden that have never before been displayed in Iceland.

Residents of Smyrilshlíð and Haukahlíð plan to file a formal compensation claim against the City of Reykjavík over changes to the zoning plan for the so-called I-lot in the Valshverfi neighborhood in Vatnsmýri. One resident says the city failed buyers who purchased apartments in the area based on promotional material that did not include development on the lot.

The Force was with churchgoers at Guðríðarkirkja yesterday, where a Star Wars-themed service was held.

A man in his thirties has been sentenced to four months in prison for helping a 15-year-old girl evade the custody and supervision of her parents after taking her aboard a fishing vessel without their knowledge.

An unusually large earthquake struck between Ok Glacier and Þórisjökull shortly after 2 p.m. today.

A Romanian man has been arrested in his home country after approximately ISK 160 million was fraudulently taken from Arion Bank in late April.

Around 250 people took part in a joint aviation disaster exercise held yesterday at Akureyri Airport by Icelandic Civil Protection and Isavia.