The US Embassy in Reykjavík has issued a security alert. The embassy plans to close its doors earlier than usual today. This decision follows planned protests scheduled to take place outside the facility at Engjateigur 7.
Search operations for the remains of Lúðvík Pétursson have ended. He fell into a sinkhole in Grindavík in January 2024. Suðurnes Police announced the decision to stop the search last night. This decision followed a review of the current risk assessment. No further search operations will be conducted.
Three Icelandic municipalities exceeded debt limits at the end of last year. These limits were established by the debt rule. Several other municipalities were also close to breaching the same threshold.
Icelandair and Air China have entered into a codeshare agreement. This partnership is intended to strengthen the connections between Iceland and China.
Shareholders of Reykjavik Fibre Network recently approved a proposal to begin steps toward changing the company's ownership. The company is currently fully owned by Orkuveitan. This decision still requires final approval from the owners of Orkuveitan.
A search operation for the remains of Lúðvík Pétursson is set to begin tomorrow. The man fell into a sinkhole while working in Grindavík in January 2024. The activity is scheduled to start around 9 a.m. at Vesturhóp 29.
A large hotel is currently being built next to the Forest Lagoon in Akureyri. The facility will cover 10,500 square metres. It is designed to include 120 rooms. The hotel is scheduled to open next year.
Speech therapist Signý Gunnarsdóttir and her 20-year-old son Gunnar Hrafn enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles together. The university student and his mother decided to test their skills this year. They traveled to Spain in September. They participated in the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship held in Valladolid.
Comedian Ari Eldjárn is preparing to perform at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. He spoke with mbl.is about his excitement for the event. The performance is scheduled to take place today.
A small aircraft suffered an engine failure in May of last year. This malfunction forced the pilot to make an emergency landing. The plane landed on Suðurlandsvegur, which is the primary highway in South Iceland.
A strike by aircraft mechanics in September cost Icelandair roughly $4 million. This amount is equivalent to about ISK 500 million. These figures were shared during the airline's earnings presentation. The data follows the release of third-quarter results.
A serious traffic accident took place last night on Hellisheiði near Hveradalabrekka. The collision left one person seriously injured. This individual required transport to Landspítali, the National University Hospital of Iceland. The victim is currently in stable condition.
Guðmundur Felix Grétarsson received a double arm transplant in 2021. He is currently showing signs that his body is rejecting the transplanted limbs. He suspects that cancer treatments he received in recent months caused this reaction.
Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir will travel to China following her visit to Vietnam. There, she will hold bilateral meetings, including with China's foreign minister and minister of commerce.
Unemployment among people aged 16–24 reached 17.3% in the second quarter of 2026.
An Icelandic woman living in Paris says the Icelanders she has met have been left speechless by the riots that swept through France last weekend.
Temperatures dropped below freezing in the capital area overnight, and many motorists will undoubtedly need to get out their ice scrapers before heading into the morning rush hour.
The Police Commissioner in the Suðurnes region has ordered rescue teams to enter a fissure in Grindavík. They are searching for the remains of Lúðvík Pétursson. The man fell to his death in January 2024 while working in the Hóp neighbourhood.
Alvotech shares increased by 7% during today's trading. This rise follows an announcement that the US Food and Drug Administration approved a new manufacturing process. The approval concerns the company's drug Simlandi.
The Ministry of Education and Children's Affairs has changed its previous stance regarding the PISA survey. The government now plans to share these results with specific entities. Municipalities and compulsory schools can request their individual data. This information comes from the PISA 2025 survey.
An Icelander residing in Paris reports that local residents view recent protests in France as exceptionally violent. She states that those around her agree these demonstrations are among the worst the city has experienced.
Jónas Björgvinsson released a new album titled Lífsins bók. He expressed happiness with the final result and credited the contributions of professional musicians. He described the process of releasing an album as a journey.
A survey found that around 60% of respondents think long-term living in Grindavík is realistic. Nearly 22% of those asked believe it is unrealistic given the current situation.
Jón Gnarr has decided to leave the parliamentary group of the Reform Party. This departure is considered a setback for the government and the party.
Icelandair expressed concern over the next budget bill. The airline notes that the bill lacks additional funding for police in the Suðurnes region. It is asking the Alþingi Budget Committee for nearly ISK 700 million. This money would be used to strengthen border controls at Keflavík International Airport.
The H5N5 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza was found in wild birds. Samples were collected from North, Southwest, and Southeast Iceland. The detections occurred between mid-September and October.
The Fearless Girl statue is on display today at Borgartún 19 from 9 a.m. to noon. The exhibit marks the success of the Women Invest initiative by Arion Bank.
Jón Gnarr has departed from the Reform Party parliamentary group. Despite this move, he continues to support the government.
A boat nearly broke loose from its moorings in the Skagaströnd harbour shortly before midnight. A rescue team was called to the scene for help. Members of the Strandir rescue team responded to the call. They helped secure the boat more firmly.
Ursula and Markus Jäger are a German couple who have gained attention in Iceland. They created knitted bags and clothing. The designs feature the Bónus pig.
A section of the South Iceland Road will close this Thursday. Colas plans to perform asphalt repairs between Selfoss and Hveragerði. The work is dependent on the weather.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office updated its weather warnings for today. South Iceland and Breiðafjörður have both been placed under orange weather warnings.
Meteorologist Þorsteinn V. Jónsson from the Icelandic Meteorological Office warns of an approaching storm. He describes the system as deep, intense, and serious. The storm is expected to sweep across Iceland tomorrow, and he advises people to be prepared.
The Environmental and Natural Resources Appeals Board has ruled in favor of coastal property owners in Seyðisfjörður. This board twice overturned a decision by the Housing and Construction Authority. The original decision had denied owners the right to take part in administrative proceedings. These proceedings concern building permit applications from Kaldvík hf. for offshore fish farming in the fjord.
A deep low-pressure system is expected to approach Iceland on Wednesday. The system should bring severe northerly winds and significant precipitation. Snowfall is predicted for northern Iceland during the afternoon and evening.
Ragnar Jónasson, who works as a lawyer and also writes books, has started a new role as a special adviser at the law firm LOGOS. The move places him at one of Iceland's best-known firms while he continues his writing on the side. He has spent years combining the two professions, and the balance between them has become part of his public image. His novels have found readers well beyond Iceland, keeping his name in circulation in two very different circles. Neither Jónasson nor LOGOS has detailed what his day-to-day duties will involve. The hire still stands out, because few people move between legal practice and publishing so visibly.
Icelandic innovation company Flow has signed a distribution agreement with the US firm USVetServe. The deal opens a route for Flow's meditation and wellbeing technology to reach American veterans. The company's offering centers on meditation tools designed to help users manage stress in everyday life. Partnering with an organisation that works with former service members gives Flow access to a group that often carries heavy stress loads. The agreement fits a wider pattern of Icelandic wellness technology finding buyers abroad. Neither side published numbers, so the scale and pace of the rollout remain unclear. Flow has yet to say whether USVetServe will carry the full range or start with a smaller selection.
The Imagine Peace Tower was lit up for the twentieth time during a peaceful ceremony. The event included a speech by Reykjavík Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir. Árný Margrét also provided a musical performance.
Canadian poet and author Anne Carson has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Literature. Ingrid Carlberg, Secretary of the Swedish Academy, announced the winner at the Academy's headquarters in Stockholm at 11 a.m. yesterday.
Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir welcomed an agreement between the government, municipalities, and labour market representatives. This deal ensures that collective agreements will not be terminated. She stated this is of great importance to the Icelandic economy.
Iceland would be cutting interest rates under normal circumstances, but the inflation picture is keeping that move off the table for now. The economy is clearly cooling, and job creation has slowed to some extent. Even so, export industries are holding their ground, with fisheries and aluminium production performing well. Tourism is also doing reasonably well all things considered. The Icelandic krona remains relatively strong, and a young data centre industry is emerging as an extra source of revenue. The complication is inflation, which still stands at 5.9 percent despite the broader slowdown. Uncertainty over the labour market adds a further layer of caution. All of this explains why a cut that would otherwise be an easy call is being held back.
An urgent discussion on the future of the Arctic will take place today at the Arctic Circle Assembly. The main stage speakers include Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Greenland's Foreign Minister Múte B. Egede. European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela will also speak. The session starts shortly after noon.
The chairman of the Icelandic Home and School Association accused the Icelandic Teachers’ Union of misleading the public. He claims the union is distorting the debate regarding the status of the education system in Iceland. This includes making false statements about how long the school year lasts.
Icelandair is shortening its flight season to Malaga, Spain. Flights to the city will now end on November 21. The airline had originally planned to operate the route through the end of the year.
The executive committee of the Fjarðabyggð municipal council is against a planned police merger. The proposal would combine police districts in South Iceland, East Iceland, and the Westman Islands. The committee wants the plans to be abandoned.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called Iceland a country whose strategic weight keeps growing. He made the remarks while in the country on an official visit, with his departure scheduled for today. The brief stop put a senior American official in a capital that Western planners watch closely for its North Atlantic position. Iceland sits on the routes between North America and Europe, a geography that has kept it on NATO's map for decades. Washington and Reykjavik have cooperated on defense since the middle of the last century. Arctic developments have lately pushed renewed attention onto the monitoring work done from the island. Neither side published a detailed account of what was discussed during the visit.
Police nationwide recorded 346 sexual offences between January and June this year. That is the highest first-half figure since 2021. The number covers complaints of every kind of sexual offence logged across the country during the six months. Reaching 346 means the country has returned to reporting levels not seen in roughly five years. A half-year total like that works out to an average of nearly 58 reports each month. Rising figures can signal either more offending or more victims feeling able to come forward, and often both. Because the tally counts police reports, it says nothing yet about outcomes in court. The picture will firm up when the full-year statistics are released.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to arrive in Iceland today. He is visiting after accepting an invitation from Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir.
General fees in Hafnarfjörður will not rise by more than 2.5 percent next year, after the town's executive committee set the limit at its meeting yesterday. The decision was taken during the committee's regular session. The 2.5 percent ceiling now forms the key benchmark for the municipality's budget preparations, which are already underway. General charges cover the basic services residents pay for through the local authority. A cap of this kind gives households and businesses some predictability ahead of the new budget year. Council members will revisit the figure as the spending plan takes shape. The committee's benchmark will steer how other lines in the 2027 budget are calculated. Icelandic municipalities have been under steady pressure to rein in costs without pushing charges up too fast.
Laugarás Lagoon may put its expansion plans on hold. Managing director Bryndís Björnsdóttir stated that a planned tax hike is the primary cause. The government intends to raise the VAT on geothermal lagoons from 11% to 24%. This increase significantly alters the financial outlook for the site. The company must now re-evaluate how much more it can invest. Management will decide if further development remains viable under these new costs. This decision depends on the final tax implementation.
