“Naturally, afterwards you think: Jesus, what if we’d just been sitting around with the fire under us a little longer?” Margrét Ásta Ívarsdóttir tells mbl.is, but in a few minutes her family’s car caught fire.

Arnar Sigurðsson, founder of the start-up company East of Moon, says it is a myth that value is not created by the government and that the City of Reykjavík should not be wavering about starting a business.

Iceland is far below the OECD average when it comes to urban green areas. Only 3.5% of urban areas are organized as green areas in Iceland compared to the OECD average of 17%.

It’s been 22 years now since Kristinn Kristmundsson, nicknamed “Kiddi Vídeofly,” set up a coke vending machine on the road from Egilsstaðir to Borgarfjörður in East Iceland. Now there is a more recent soda and candy vending machine, which tourists and other visitors can use when visiting the area.

Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir, an accomplished cross country competitor, secured her place last night at the World Cross Country Games, which will take place in Madison, USA, in early August. The semifinals of the Western United States Championships ended tonight.

The Reykjavík Hiking Festival will be held for the third time on May 30-June 3. The public health festival boasts a wide variety of walks around and around the capital area, but this year the festival will be in a slightly different format than before.

When it comes to migration, Iceland claims a top spot in Europe. Why do people from all over the world come to live and work in this rough place in the north Atlantic? Here, five expats share their personal stories, biggest challenges and ideas on how to tackle them.

Waste glass and concrete mulch will be recycled in house construction, if the ideas of Sunna Ólafsdóttir Wallevik, the founder and CEO of Gerosion, are to be realized. This was one of the many studies she presented at meeting of Samál in Harpa last Thursday.

Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) usually lay two to four eggs. Thus it was a big surprise for the brothers Markús and Jason Ívarsson, when they found a oystercatcher nest on Markús’s farm in Flóahreppur, where oystercatchers have long been nesting at this time of year.

The short term strikes by pool workers based in the BSRB will likely result in pools having to be closed during the Pentecost weekend. This is stated in the BSRB announcement.

Architectural enthusiasts in Iceland should not have to travel far to see one of the world’s most beautiful churches, as according to Architectural Digest magazine, one of these is in Stykkishólmur.

EasyJet is planning to operate direct flights from Gatwick, London to Akureyri next winter on scheduled services. The airline has already opened for bookings, with the first flight on October 31. It will operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, through March 2024.

Opinions vary on the new residential area in Skerjafjörður. Residents are concerned that the project will cause great disturbance, high pollution, flight safety and affect the biosphere on the fjord’s shore. At the same time, they criticize the city authorities for not discussing the matter with the residents of the area.

Two roll overs occurred in Öræfi at around ten this morning. A car roll over near Kvísker was reported before ten o’clock, but responders ran into another overturned car on their way to the scene of the accident.

Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir will participate this weekend in the NOBULL CrossFit Games Semifinals for the CrossFit Games.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Iceland raises the Bank’s interest rates by 1.25 percentage points. The Bank’s key interest rate will therefore be 8.75%.

A car roll over occurred just before 10 am this morning near Kvísker in Öræfi. The area has been subject to harsh westerly winds today, with maximum wind speeds of 29 meters per second at 10 o’clock. At that time gusts of up to 49 meters per second were recorded.

All domestic flights as well as seven Icelandair flights to Europe and the US this afternoon were cancelled due to the weather. Tomorrow’s flights will depend on how the aircraft will be able to get to Iceland today and go again this evening, but in most cases today’s international flights have been moved until later this evening.

Bit Digital, a US bitcoin mining company, will expand its crypto mining operations here in Iceland. The decision comes amid concerns that the government of President Joe Biden plans to tax cryptocurrency.

Windy conditions will continue over the next few days with more of the rain that has been in recent days. There is also the possibility that yellow weather warnings that are in effect until Wednesday morning will be extended. The information officer of Landsbjörg asks people to exercise caution and secure loose items. Particular attention should be paid to the summer furniture.

Magda Reszka from Poland is now searching for an Icelandic boy who was rescued by her father, who was a soldier, after the boy fell into the sea in the harbor of Gdansk in 1976 or 1977. The story of the rescue has been a treasured memory in the home of Reszka’s family. Gifts sent by the Icelandic family to Poland have partly stood the test of time and are well preserved. However, she has no information on the Icelandic family.

“We wanted to create a marketing window for Icelandic innovation and give both entrepreneurs and start-ups, but also big companies, the opportunity to showcase what they are doing in a new and innovative way,” says Melkorka Sigríður Magnúsdóttir, managing director of Iceland Innovation Week, which begins tomorrow, Monday, May 22, and runs until Friday, May 26.

Niceair will file for bankruptcy. A press release from Niceair's board of directors stated that the company was severely affected by the failure of the HiFly operator, which caused Niceair to no longer have a plane available.

Tourist and ranger facilities at Dynjandi waterfall in Arnarfjörður improve further this summer when a footpath will be extended up to the waterfall and three new viewing platforms will be installed. Ríkiskaup, Central Public Procurement, has advertised for a developer to handle the work.

Karl Sigurðsson in Ísafjörður is the oldest living male in Iceland. He turned 105 on May 14. He was baptized on the day of the sovereignty of December 1, 1918.

A fatal accident occurred at Arnarstapi in Snæfellsnes yesterday. This is stated in a report from the West Iceland Police.

The Commissioner of Police in consultation with CERT-IS and the Communications Directorate-General has lifted the uncertainty level of the Civil Protection Agency over cyber-attacks linked to the European Council summit.

At the last meeting of the Environment and Planning Council in Reykjavík, proposals were presented aimed at turning green areas in several locations in the city into “natural areas.” In 2016, a proposal was presented to the Environment and Planning Council for a total of 31 hectares of grass areas requiring mowing, which could be converted into natural areas, . As a result, the 14 hectare area around the city had ceased to be mowed. The project was expected to result in significant savings for the city.

“Today’s performance is dedicated to the people of Ukraine. An Icelandic prayer for peace and justice in Europe.”

The Heads of State of the Council of Europe adopted the Declaration of Reykjavík at their meeting in Reykjavík today and established an international damage register for Ukraine. Support for Ukraine, a resolution in favour of Ukrainian children, and the commitment of the states to human rights, democracy and the rule of law were the main focus of the Declaration.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, handed the hammer to the Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics. The hammer was carved by the artist Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir especially as a parting gift. The hammer has a small secret compartment and Gylfadóttir said she had placed a secret message to Rinkevics in it.

The creation of the Register of Damages in the Council of Europe was concluded by signing in Harpa this morning. The register is set to be operational for three years, where data is documented and claims for damages, losses or harm caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Member States of the Council of Europe intend to establish a Register of damages to document the wartime damages caused by Russia through the invasion of Ukraine.

Amnesty International calls for action in a press release by the organisation yesterday on the occasion of the European Council summit in Reykjavík.