News from Iceland


Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV),       23 April 2025 6:23 PM
Starbucks to open its first cafés in Reykjavík in May

The first café will be located on Laugavegur, while the second one will also be situated in the city centre. These will be the first Starbucks locations in Iceland. The company currently operates in about 80 countries and runs over 40,000 outlets worldwide.

The brand is well known to many Icelanders, who have long wondered whether Starbucks would enter the local market. However, Starbucks coffee has been available in Icelandic stores for […] more


Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV),       23 April 2025 5:20 PM
Too many reindeer in Suðursveit – environmental damage and weakened lambs

All indications suggest that the reindeer population in the Suðursveit region of Southeast Iceland is too large. The animals are destroying natural birch forests and grazing the mountain vegetation so intensively that farmers have noticed a decline in lamb weight. They blame this on the reindeer overgrazing.

Reindeer stay within a defined area in East Iceland, bordered by two glacial rivers – Jökulsá á Fjöllum in the north and […] more


Iceland Review,   23 April 2025 4:41 PM
RÚV Moves Main News Broadcast to 8 PM
RÚV will discontinue its 10 p.m. television news broadcast and move its main evening news to 8 p.m. starting July 24. The change reflects a shift in focus toward digital news consumption. End of an era Since 1999, RÚV’s main television news programme has aired at 7 p.m.—a schedule familiar to viewers for over two […] more


Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV),       23 April 2025 4:30 PM
RÚV English Radio - MUSICAL STYLES IN SALURINN

On Friday at Salurinn in Kópavogur, Sigga Eyrún and Bjarni Snæbjörnsson will once again lead you through "the high notes of amazing music" from famous musicals.

There are just two shows of their successful winter run left.

more


mbl.is,   23 April 2025 2:00 PM
Crowds gather in Reykjavík to mourn Pope Francis
From the mass at Landakot Church last night. A large crowd filled Landakotskirkja Catholic Church in Reykjavík on Monday night to honor the memory of Pope Francis, who passed away that morning at the age of 88. more


Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV),       23 April 2025 1:41 PM
Better to invest in housing than in stocks – “An unnatural situation”

The latest monthly report from HMS indicates that real estate is currently a better investment option than domestic securities, which the agency describes as reflecting an “unnatural situation” in the country’s housing market.

Over the past ten years, housing prices have increased significantly more than the value of domestic stocks, while also showing lower price volatility.

The housing price index has […] more


Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV),       23 April 2025 1:29 PM
Hlemmtorg to get a new look – work to finish next year

The new Hlemmtorg square is set to be ready next year. As emphasised by the chair of Reykjavík's Environment and Planning Council, it’s difficult to speed up the work because many old utility lines under the streets need to be replaced. The total cost of the project will exceed two billion ISK.

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"The case is still under appeal," says Jakob Birgisson, assistant to the Minister of Justice, in an interview with mbl.is. The Minister of Justice will not comment on the case of 17-year-old Oscar Anders Florez Bocanegra, a Colombian teenager facing deportation from Iceland. According to her aide, the case remains under appeal and falls outside the minister’s direct involvement. more