Category: National
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Sigmundur Davíð leads Centre Party in Northeast
Former Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson will lead the ticket in Northeast for his newly formed Centre Party. The party is polling around 10% nationwide and is expected to win 5-7 seats in the parliament. Sigmundur, who resigned as Prime Minister last year, left the Progressive party last month to form the new party. Anna…
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Iceland to hold third Parliamentary election in last five years
Following the collapse of the government last week, it has now become clear that Icelanders will vote in a new parliament, the third one in five years. The national election will take place on October 28. President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson said Monday it was clear there was no chance of forming a new government from…
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Icelandair begins flights to Chicago
Icelandair began a new year-round service from Chicago O’Hare International Airport today, with four weekly round-trips to Iceland on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with connections to more than 20 destinations in Europe. The airline will operate a Boeing 767 on the route instead of a B757 as originally planned. This change will augment capacity…
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Learn how to avoid Hot Tub awkwardness in Iceland
Promote Iceland has launched a new project called Iceland Academy, a web-based introduction to increase awareness of and interest in Iceland as a destination with emphasis on responsible conduct by tourists, their safety and pleasure. The campaign teaches tourists about Icelandic culture, traditions and nature with mini-classes on the internet and social media. Our favorite…
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WOW air to enter into the hotel market
WOW air is expanding its presence in Icelandic tourism market with plans to build a new hotel in Kópavogur, just south of the capital Reykjavík. The airline, which was founded in 2011, describes itself as “the airline with the biggest smile and lowest prices”. Currently serving 23 destinations in Europe, the USA, and Canada, the…
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Ten startups selected to participate in Icelandic business accelerator
Ten startups from around Iceland have been selected to participate in the Icelandic business accelerator Startup Tourism. Startup Tourism is a mentorship-driven business accelerator for Icelandic companies in the tourism sector. The ten companies were selected from 74 applicants, to take part in a 10 week program in Reykjavík, starting on February 1st, where they…
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50 years ago today: A new island is born
50 years ago today, a new island was born, off the southern coast of Iceland. The new island was named Surtsey, after Surtr, a fire jötunn or giant from Norse mythology. It was intensively studied by volcanologists during its eruption, and afterwards by botanists and biologists as life forms gradually colonised the originally barren island.…
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Ljósmóðir and Bergmál voted the most beautiful words of the Icelandic language
For the past few weeks, Icelanders have been voting online for the most beautiful word of their language. The results were announced tonight. The Icelandic word for a midwife, Ljósmóðir, was voted the most beautiful. When translated to English, the word literally means “mother of light”. Other words that got a lot of votes were:…
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The Golden Plover on new 10000 krónur banknote
The Central Bank of Iceland introduced a new ten thousand krónur banknote today. The face of natural scientist and poet Jónas Hallgrímsson appears on the bill, as well as the Eurasian golden plover. Hallgrímsson was interested in the plover and mentioned her in some of his poems. The new banknote will go into circulation in…
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Icelandic trolls cause a volcanic eruption on Facebook
There are no breaking news at this time on volcanic activity in Mt. Hekla, one of Iceland’s largest volcanoes. Contrary to what many Icelandic Facebook users believe, the volcano has not erupted. This morning, the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police declared an uncertainty phase, the lowest level of warning, because of seismic activity in…