Latest News from Iceland — Translated to English
Startup Iceland News brings together Iceland’s top stories — automatically translated into English. Get real-time updates on business, innovation, travel, and society from trusted Icelandic sources.
Top stories in Iceland
Logi presents action plan on media issues today
Logi Einarsson, Minister of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education, will hold a press conference on the government's action plan on media issues at 2 p.m.…
Four people want to become National Police Commissioner
A total of four applications were received for the position of National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police, which was advertised on December 3. The…
Heavy workload in the emergency room at SAk and people directed to healthcare
The emergency department at Akureyri Hospital has been under a lot of pressure recently due to flu, norovirus and other communicable diseases. The management…
Icelanders were involved in a serious car accident in South Africa
Icelanders were involved in a serious car accident in South Africa. The matter is being handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Civil Service. This is…
Cod stock not decreasing since 2020
The cod stock index is decreasing this year after little change in the previous three years. An announcement on the Marine Research Institute's website states…
Four people want to become National Police Commissioner
A total of four applications were received for the position of National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police, which was advertised on December 3. The application deadline expired on December 18. This is stated in an announcement by the Ministry of Justice. Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir, Minister of Justice, will appoint to the position when a committee tasked with assessing the qualifications of the applicants has completed its work. Appointments to the position are for five years at a time.
Stop green card lottery due to attack
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has suspended the country's annual green card lottery.
Freedom of fishing is a necessity within the hook-and-line catch limit system
The Association of Smaller Shipping Companies is appealing to the Ombudsman for what they consider to be a clear violation of the law in the delay in issuing a regulation on line concessions and onerous reductions.
Don’t plan to ban gasoline and diesel cars
The last government had no plans to ban new registrations of diesel and gasoline cars by 2028, but the previous government had a plan in place for this, targeting 2030.
The parliamentary elections cost the Independence Party 174 million
The Independent Party suffered a loss of 97 million kronor in its operations last year. The party estimates that the costs of the pre-election and elections will amount to 174 million kronor. This is stated in the party's newly published annual accounts. The election campaign was somewhat unexpected towards the end of the year and is putting its mark on the party's finances. The party has an income of 410 million króna, of which 201 million came from
Says Jewish children have been harassed in Iceland
Birgir Þórarinsson, a former member of parliament, says that Jews have been targeted in Iceland. He specifically mentions an example of a shop owner who was harassed by Palestinians, as well as children who have been targeted in schools for being Jewish.
Budget approved and Parliament adjourned
The last parliamentary session of the year has ended, the budget has been passed, and parliament has officially adjourned until January 14th.
The US government offers to pay compensation
The US government has admitted fault in a plane crash that occurred in January when a military helicopter and a passenger jet collided.
Kilometer fee bill approved
The majority of the Althingi has approved a bill on a vehicle mileage tax, which will take effect on January 1.
New Beginnings plans to run for municipal elections next spring
New Beginnings is coming from the north. New Beginnings does not spring from the office rooms of traditional parties, but from conversations between people.
Parliament: one-third reduction in fishing fee revenue
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs' letter dated yesterday to the Althingi Budget Committee states that the fishing fee for 2026 will be 13.4 billion ISK. compared to 20.9 billion ISK. according to the 2026 budget bill. This is a decrease of 7.5 billion ISK or 34%. The decrease is explained by lower fishing fee amounts than expected, lower fishing advice and a reassessment of […]
Death: Halldór Blöndal
Memorial message from the President of the Althingi about Halldór Blöndal, former President of the Althingi and Minister: Halldór Blöndal, former President of the Althingi and Minister, died in Reykjavík on the night of December 16, at the age of 87. Halldór Blöndal was born in Reykjavík on August 24, 1938, the son of Lárus H. Blöndal, magister, most recently librarian of the Althingi, and Kristjana Benediktsdóttir, housewife. Halldór graduated from Menntaskólinn […]
The Congress in the final stretch
The parliamentary session will begin at Althingi at 10:30. It will begin with a vote on four bills, after which the third debate on the vehicle mileage tax will continue. After that, discussions are scheduled on the fourth supplementary budget law of the year, rescue ship crews and share loans. The work plan of Althingi was canceled yesterday. According to it, the work of Althingi before Christmas was expected to end yesterday. That did not happen. The parliamentary session began at Althingi at half past eleven yesterday and lasted with breaks until half past one after midnight. The Speaker of Althingi canceled the work plan of Althingi yesterday in
Christmas baby Jasmina has had enough of people telling her she doesn’t adapt – “Sometimes I just want a simple Excel document with clear criteria”
Jasmina Vajzovic, a political scientist and former municipal councilor in Reykjanesbær, moved to Iceland from Bosnia three decades ago. Jasmina has often spoken out against those who say that foreigners who move here do not integrate into society. She says she often hears all kinds of generalizations about Muslims, and she herself says she is a proud Muslim in a post where she discusses Read more
Little-known family connection: Dúlla and the jazz musician
Forty-year-old historian Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir has made a name for herself with her non-fiction books. Kristín Svava has published non-fiction books and poetry books, and has also published poetry translations and written song lyrics. In 2023, Kristín Svava received the Fjöruverðlunin in the non-fiction category for Farsótt: Hundrað ár í Þingholtsstræti 25. A year later, her and Guðrún Elsa Bragadóttir's book, Duna, was awarded the prize. Read more
Don’t get involved in mackerel discussions.
The "historic agreement" between Icelanders, Norwegians, Faroese and British on mackerel has various ramifications, both here and abroad.
Finnish Prime Minister apologizes to Asian countries
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has apologized to Asian countries for what the Finnish media is calling the "squinting scandal". Orpo issued a statement today on the media outlets of the Finnish embassies in Japan, China and South Korea apologizing for photos posted on the party's social media by members of parliament from the right-wing True Finns party in which they squint their eyes. "These posts do not reflect Finland's values of equality and inclusion," Orpo said in statements from the Finnish embassy. Beauty queen stripped of titleThe photos are said to have been in support of former U
Panda twins returning home a manifestation of deteriorating China-Japan relations
Japan's last remaining giant pandas, twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, will be sent to China in January. For the first time in half a century, there will be no pandas in Japan. Japanese people have flocked to the Ueno Zoo to see the pandas for the last time. The decision was made in the shadow of deteriorating relations between China and Japan after comments by the Japanese Prime Minister in November. She then said that if China were to attack Taiwan, it could justify Japan sending troops there. The comments have, to say the least, upset the Chinese government, which has repeatedly demanded that they be withdrawn, most recently at a press conference this morning. Kristí
An email from a member of parliament about mileage charges caused an uproar
The opposition in parliament demanded tonight that the mileage tax be sent back to the parliament's economic and trade committee after they received an email from Sigmundur Ernur Rúnarsson, the intended representative of car rental. The mileage tax bill has reached its third and final reading. Usually, no changes are made to bills at that point and votes are cast on the bill as it stands. However, there are precedents for this, for example the Agricultural Products Act in the last election period after it became clear that significant changes were made to the bill between the second and third readings. Representatives of car rental
North Parliament and Heidelberg sign a letter of intent
Norðurþing and Heidelberg have signed a letter of intent regarding the planned development of the industrial area at Bakki in Húsavík. RÚV reported. The project concerns the drying of tuff for cement production and the company has a permit for research into material acquisition, including in the Grísatungufjöll mountains and above Jökulsá á Fjöllum. Work on an environmental assessment is ahead in parallel with further research. The statement says: “The parties are […]
Uncertain how long the meeting will last
The parliament will reconvene tomorrow. It is uncertain how long MPs will meet until Christmas.
Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson writes: The plan is working – Lower interest rates and the lowest inflation since 2020
A year ago, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs published an updated outlook, predicting that the state would run a deficit for the next five years. Revenues would be lower than planned and interest payments would be higher. This was the situation when the previous government left – after years of fiscal mismanagement – and Kristrún Frostadóttir’s government took over. What has happened Read more
Heidelberg wants to go to Húsavík
Norðurþing and Heidelberg have signed a letter of intent in connection with the development of Bakki. This is a project where tuff is dried and processed as an additive in cement production, and Heidelberg is now exploring the possibility of locating such production at Bakki.
The government sent cold greetings on the eve of Christmas
Members of parliament from the ruling parties today rejected an amendment from the minority that provides for the continued refund of VAT to legal entities on the public benefit register.