News from Iceland
Iceland Faces Deep Freeze as Strong Winds and Snow Move In
One step from a pink floral world straight down to hell
Since 2012, Jónas Breki Magnússon (who is always called Breki) has worked as an independent gold and silversmith in Copenhagen. Asked how things are going, he gives a candid answer: “I own nothing, but I don’t owe anything either. I just have a workshop, not a shop. I sell only online, at breki.dk. Running a store would never work—I’d just be chatting with customers all day and wouldn’t get any work done,” he says with a laugh.
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Ice on Lake Askja is clearly visible from space
Lake Askja is now frozen after remaining ice-free beyond the turn of the year. Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, associate professor of geography at the Faculty of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, says the lake froze on January 4 during relatively calm weather, after temperatures dropped sharply following the warm spell over Christmas. The image is a satellite image from Sentinel-2 (Copernicus EU), with the satellite’s orbit at an altitude of 786 km above Earth.
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RÚV English Radio - KHAIRKHAN
Khairkhan is a Mongolian musician living in Iceland. He makes music based on traditional folk music from his hometown, one of the 28 clans of Mongolia today.
He told Darren about his music, his life here in Iceland, and about the similarities between his new and old homes.
Khairkhan is performing soon in Reykjavík, at more
Grindavík committee does not want children unsupervised in the town
It has been 156 days since the last eruption on the Sundhnúksgígaröð crater row ended, and a certain calm appears to have settled over Grindavík.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office regularly warns of magma accumulation beneath Svartsengi and says that the likelihood of a magma intrusion and volcanic eruption remains elevated, but seismic activity is low and it is no longer considered a matter of days as to when an eruption will occur. […] more
PM: 'Sensible' outcome to ministerial changes
“This is a decision taken by Guðmundur Ingi together with Flokkur fólksins (People’s Party) for health reasons. I consider that sensible in that light,” says Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir about the ministerial changes at Flokkur fólksins (People’s Party).
I think it had become clear that it could not work in the long term for Inga Sæland to hold three ministerial titles, so this is a sensible outcome on their […] more
Filmmakers' flame for Iceland burns bright
Foreign film producers are stepping up their activity when it comes to shooting scenes in Iceland, according to Leifur Dagfinnsson of production company True North.
I would say that there is more momentum now.
Despite warning signs in Icelandic tourism, the film industry is showing no signs of slowing down.
Iceland has been a popular filming location in recent years […] more
Unemployment rises to 4.4%
Unemployment stood at 4.4% last month according to Vinnumálastofnun (Icelandic Directorate of Labour), and has not been higher since April 2022.
Just over 9.000 people were unemployed on average last month, just over 5.400 men and 3.600 women. Towards the end of the month, the number registered as unemployed had risen to 9.600.
Unemployment was highest in Suðurnes at 8.9% and rose by 0.3 percentage points […] more