Tag: Morgunblaðið

  • A bill on euthanasia was presented in parliament

    A bill on euthanasia was presented in parliament

    As Morgunblaðið reports, five MPs from the Reform Party have presented the first euthanasia bill in the country's history to Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament. Katrín Sigríður J. Steingrímsdóttir, a reserve MP from the Reform Party, introduced the bill on behalf of her colleagues. “I think most of us have experienced contact with a loved one…

  • Magma may be accumulating beneath the lava field near the capital

    Magma may be accumulating beneath the lava field near the capital

    A series of earthquakes that started southeast of Heiðmörk on Friday and intensified over the weekend may indicate that magma is accumulating at significant depths. Þorvaldur Þórðarson, professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, said this in an interview with Morgunblaðið yesterday. The tremors were recorded near Húsfellsbruni, the closest lava field to Reykjavik.…

  • Costs of closing the Blue Lagoon

    Costs of closing the Blue Lagoon

    According to Morgunblaðið, the estimated loss of revenue due to the closure of the Blue Lagoon in recent weeks is between ISK 4 and 4.5 billion. Operations there were closed on November 8 after a strong earthquake in the area. In addition to the lagoon itself, two hotels, restaurants, a spa and a research laboratory…

  • Wine, gas and swimming pool tickets will become more expensive

    Wine, gas and swimming pool tickets will become more expensive

    With the new year, changes to public pricing structures come into effect across Iceland. Municipalities have increased fees for some of the services offered, while the 2024 budget, recently approved by Alþingi, announces new taxes and adjustments to existing ones. As Morgunblaðið reports, alcohol and tobacco tax rates have increased by 3.5%. Like the license…

  • They want a 25% pay rise

    They want a 25% pay rise

    Air traffic controllers are demanding a 25% pay increase during salary negotiations with Isavia. This is what Morgunblaðið sources say. The total salary of air traffic controllers last year, according to Statistics Iceland, was on average 1,584,000. ISK per month, of which the basic salary was PLN 915,000, while the total remuneration was PLN 1,584,000.…

  • The lava could reach the Blue Lagoon in three minutes

    The lava could reach the Blue Lagoon in three minutes

    “If this is a possibility, it should be taken seriously,” says Þorvaldur Þórðarson, professor of volcanology and rock sciences at the University of Iceland, of a possible volcanic eruption northwest of Mount Þorbjörn. In today’s interview with the daily Morgunblaðið, Þorvalður refused to answer the question of how the preparations for the eruption were carried…

  • A real threat to the infrastructure on the Reykjanes Peninsula

    A real threat to the infrastructure on the Reykjanes Peninsula

    According to Sigurður Inga Jóhannsson, Minister of Infrastructure, it is difficult to respond in a situation where the infrastructure is threatened by volcanic activity. As reported by Morgunblaðið, there is no alternative heating source for the peninsula, as is the case with other power plants in the country. Therefore, the rising of the ground in…

  • A real threat to the infrastructure on the Reykjanes Peninsula

    A real threat to the infrastructure on the Reykjanes Peninsula

    According to Sigurður Inga Jóhannsson, Minister of Infrastructure, it is difficult to respond in a situation where the infrastructure is threatened by volcanic activity. As reported by Morgunblaðið, there is no alternative heating source for the peninsula, as is the case with other power plants in the country. Therefore, the rising of the ground in…

  • Ministerial changes

    Ministerial changes

    The president of the Independence Party, Bjarni Benediktsson, proposed the new ministerial composition of the party at the parliamentary meeting in Valhöll at 9:30 this morning. According to information provided by Morgunblaðið sources, Benediktsson will be Minister of Foreign Affairs, while Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir will be the new Minister of Finance and Economy. This…

  • Russian trawler suspected of espionage

    Russian trawler suspected of espionage

    As reported by Morgunblaðið, at least one of the 50 Russian ships suspected of spying in the legal waters of the Nordic countries is also believed to have operated in Iceland. A team of journalists from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark recently produced a document that proves the involvement of Russian fishing vessels in acts…

  • Icelandic caviar will hit the markets in two months

    Icelandic caviar will hit the markets in two months

    Produced by the Northern Sturgeon Company based in Ólafsfjörður, this caviar will be the first of its kind to be produced in Iceland. Sturgeon caviar is of course well known as a luxury food. The eggs and milt for breeding were obtained late last month from sturgeons kept in Ólafsfjörður. Eyþór Eyjólfsson, chairman of the…

  • There are no plans to create an Icelandic army

    There are no plans to create an Icelandic army

    Foreign Minister Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir told mbl.is that the time has not yet come to create an armed force in Iceland and the topic is not discussed in the government. But the government talks a lot about defense, especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Saturday’s Morgunblaðið, former defense bureau chief Arnór Sigurjónsson…

  • Announcement of further strikes

    Announcement of further strikes

    The trade union Efling has announced further strikes. The announcement includes i.a. people employed in cleaning companies, security guards and all those working in hotels and boarding houses. Voting will start on Thursday, February 16 and will last until Monday, February 20. The information will be updated on a regular basis. Based on an article…

  • Blue Lagoon may be listed on the Icelandic stock exchange next year

    Blue Lagoon may be listed on the Icelandic stock exchange next year

    The management of Blue Lagoon has decided to start preparations for the registration of the company on the main stock exchange in Iceland. The listing is planned for next year, and Landsbanki and Fossar Investment Bank have been hired to oversee the listing. The board presented the company’s plans at a shareholders’ meeting. According to…

  • Plans to close the waste collection station in Kópavogur

    Plans to close the waste collection station in Kópavogur

    The Sorpa waste collection station on Dalvegur Street in Kópavogur will be closed in September 2024. The seat was provisionally allocated in 1991, and a cooperation agreement between the Independence and Progress Parties in Kópavogur stated that the station would be relocated in the future. Morgunblaðið informed yesterday about plans to close the waste collection…

  • The end is near for the traveling library

    The end is near for the traveling library

    The City Library plans to suspend the operation of the library bus, which is visiting various parts of the city. According to the representatives of the library, the bus is 22 years old, and its refurbishment would cost about one hundred million crowns. In the draft of the new budget of the City Library, it…

  • Almost half of doctors study abroad

    Almost half of doctors study abroad

    According to information from the Icelandic Medical Society, in the spring of 2020, 49 doctors graduated from the University of Iceland, and 34 graduated from foreign universities. This information appeared in today’s issue of the Morgunblaðið newspaper. In 2021, 50 doctors graduated from UI, and 35 graduated from foreign universities. In the spring of 2022,…

  • The entire crew of the trawler has been released

    The entire crew of the trawler has been released

    The entire crew of the Sólborg RE-27 trawler was dismissed. The managing director of Útgerðarfélag Reykjavíkur, which owns the trawler, told Morgunblaðið that the reason for the dismissal was the plan to buy a new vessel. He added that it is not yet known whether the crew that has been fired will be re-employed. However,…

  • This year, Iceland expects 1.1–1.2 million tourists

    This year, Iceland expects 1.1–1.2 million tourists

    According to Morgunblaðið, in the macroeconomic forecast for 2022–2024 published today, Íslandsbanki predicts that between 1.1 and 1.2 million foreign tourists will visit Iceland this year. These numbers are below the more optimistic forecast of 1.5 million in September. Jón Bjarki Bentsson, the bank’s chief economist, says the outlook is still there […] Article This…

  • Great demand for foreign labor

    Great demand for foreign labor

    As reported by Morgunblaðið, it can be expected that 15,000 new jobs will be created in Iceland between 2022 and 2025 based on economic forecasts. At the same time, the number of Icelandic workers is likely to only increase by 3,000. Therefore, around 12,000 foreign workers will be needed to fill these jobs. So follows…

  • Will there be alcohol available at the Akureyri ski resort?

    Will there be alcohol available at the Akureyri ski resort?

    Having a drink would increase the attractiveness of Akureyri’s Hlíðarfjall ski resort, restaurateur Sölvi Antonsson told Morgunblaðið. He runs two restaurants for Ghost Mountains ehf. in a popular ski resort in North Iceland and would like to be able to serve alcoholic drinks there. To this end, it has recently applied for a license, which…

  • Sheep eat the eggs and chicks of the Arctic Tern

    Sheep eat the eggs and chicks of the Arctic Tern

    As reported by Morgunblaðið, a newly published article in the nature journal Náttúrufræðingurinn revealed that in 2019 sheep were observed on Flatey Island in Breiðafjörður fjord pushing the Arctic Tern from its nest and eating its eggs. The Arctic Tern breeding grounds, where sheep were also grazed, were monitored for ten days. The article stated…

  • Hope for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease

    Hope for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease

    According to Morgunblaðið, an application has been submitted to investigate a new drug that offers hope in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The Icelandic physician Hákon Hákonarson, director of the Center for Applied Genomics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the US and founder of Arctic Therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company, is…

  • Icelanders are looking for sun for Easter

    Icelanders are looking for sun for Easter

    While the coronary disease epidemic continues to rage, it does not seem to prevent Icelanders from traveling towards the sun. Þórunn Reynisdóttir, general manager of the travel agency Úrvals-Útsýn, says today in an interview with the daily Morgunblaðið that she is optimistic about the situation. “We have a lot of reservations during the Easter period.…

  • More nursing students will be able to continue their education

    More nursing students will be able to continue their education

    More first-year nursing students at the University of Iceland have passed the competition examinations at the department than initially foreseen. The decision was made by the school authorities after receiving a request from the Ministry of Health and the Landspítali. Akureyri University has yet to decide whether to respond to the authorities’ appeal. This is…

  • Hundreds of dead birds on the beaches of the East Fjords

    Hundreds of dead birds on the beaches of the East Fjords

    As reported by Morgunblaðið, many seabirds have recently been found dead on the beaches of the eastern fjords. Yesterday, staff from the East Iceland Life Research Center inspected the beaches from Berufjörður Fjord to Reyðarfjörður. They found 273 dead birds – mostly common auks, guillemots and ice traces. “Most of the birds were dry and…

  • Optical fiber under the Arctic Ocean

    Optical fiber under the Arctic Ocean

    As reported by Morgunblaðið, the Finnish company Cinia and the North American company Far North Digital have announced a joint project to build a fiber optic cable system that will connect Europe and Asia through the Arctic. As announced, the works are to be completed in 2025. It is assumed that Iceland will be connected…

  • The prosecutor’s office in the offices of the company Eimskip

    The prosecutor’s office in the offices of the company Eimskip

    The shipping company Eimskipafélag Íslands (Eimskip) issued a statement through Nasdaq Iceland in which it announced that the district attorney had obtained judicial authorization to inspect the company’s offices. The prosecutor requested documents regarding the sale of the ships Goðafoss and Laxfoss in 2019, which Iceland’s Environmental Protection Agency reported to the district prosecutor’s office…

  • N1 stops importing B7 diesel from Norway

    N1 stops importing B7 diesel from Norway

    As Morgunblaðið reports, N1, which has numerous gas stations in Iceland, has stopped importing B7 diesel fuel from Norway – a fuel with up to seven percent of biofuels. Many diesel vehicle owners got into trouble because of contaminants that blocked the oil filters on their cars and in some cases damaged the fuel injectors.…

  • Mermaid Spa on the Reykjanes Peninsula

    Mermaid Spa on the Reykjanes Peninsula

    According to Morgunblaðið, entrepreneur Bogi Jónsson has plans to build a geothermal spa by the ocean in Garður on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The company he is affiliated with recently received ISK 5 million in grants from the Suðurnes project fund for a project called “Mermaid – Geothermal Seaweed Spa”. Its total cost is estimated at…

  • Construction of a geothermal power plant in Krýsuvík

    Construction of a geothermal power plant in Krýsuvík

    Building a geothermal power plant in Krýsuvík is the most obvious choice in response to the capital’s future hot water shortage, says Orri Björnsson, head of the task force set up by the city of Hafnarfjörður to analyze the potential use of the Krýsuvík area. Krýsuvík is a geothermal area and the main tourist destination…

  • Menthol cigarettes may be banned in Iceland

    Menthol cigarettes may be banned in Iceland

    As reported by Morgunblaðið, a bill that will be submitted to Alþingi in March next year proposes a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes in Iceland. The European directive has already banned the sale of menthol cigarettes in the countries of the European Union. Viðar Jensson, project manager for tobacco control at the Health…

  • Up to 130 billion in value

    Up to 130 billion in value

    Within a few weeks, the Icelandic company producing medical devices Kerecis (including MariCell creams) will appear on the market in Sweden or the United States. This is confirmed by Guðmundur Fertram Sigurjónsson, its founder and CEO. Last Friday, Kerecis shareholders announced a confidential meeting at Hilton Reykjavik Nordica, which announced the company’s future plans. Morgunblaðið…