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Click on the picture to watch an audio slideshow of a hike to Hraunsvatn lake in Öxnadalur valley in north Iceland, which lies at a height of 490 meters, interlocked between two steep mountains and a small glacier with a view of the majestic Hraundrangar peaks.
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Fjallabyggd (“Mountain Settlement”) is a skier’s dream. Its slopes are perfect for slaloming and there are also tracks for telemark skiing. Winter sporting enthusiasts can also go ice skating or rent snowmobiles. In summer, Fjallabyggd turns into a paradise for hikers. Read this special promotion about one of Iceland’s best hidden gems.
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Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon says it is natural to grant MPs access to all documents relating to Landsbanki’s Icesave accounts, including drafts and memos. The comment came in response to yesterday’s news that British law firm Mischon de Reya’s report on the matter had not been accessible.
Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.
Sigfússon explained that the government is working on making all documents regarding Icesave accessible; however, the report that Mischon de Reya prepared for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs had only been in the form of memos and considered a half-finished document, Morgunbladid reports.
The report stated that no written confirmation existed that Iceland had formally agreed to take responsibly for the commitments of the Depositors’ Insurance Fund regarding the Icesave deposits, mbl.is reports.
“This legal uncertainty as pointed out by the law firm [Mischon de Reya] is what Iceland maintained the entire time and [Icelandic authorities] tried to have [the fact that Iceland never agreed to take responsibility for the commitments] acknowledged until the last moment but it never was,” Sigfússon told Morgunbladid.
“People must therefore have thought that it didn’t provide any new information,” the minister added by way explanation on why the report hadn’t been made public.
Sigfússon also stated that the state’s Icesave negotiation committee had decided not to obtain further services from Mischon de Reya. The committee was free to hire its own consultants and there were many to choose from, Sigfússon concluded.
The Mischon de Reya report has now been made public in full on island.is.
Click here to read more about Icesave.
Iceland’s cabinet met at the presidential residence Bessastadir at noon today where new ministers were announced: Gudbjartur Hannesson of the Social Democrats will lead a new Welfare Ministry and Ögmundur Jónasson of the Left-Greens a new Ministry for Internal Affairs.
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The average temperature of the three summer months, June, July and August, in Reykjavík this year was 12.2°C (54°F), which makes this the warmest summer in the capital since temperatures were first recorded in 1871, according to meteorologist Trausti Jónsson.
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The comedy sketch show Spaugstofan, which has been shown more or less continuously for 21 years on the Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV, has now been relocated to the private television channel Stöd 2.
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The crew of the sailboat Santa Maria from Hamburg, Germany, called for assistance when they ran out of fuel 140 nautical miles west of Reykjavík last week. The guard post of the Icelandic Maritime Administration contacted ships that were nearby and as it turned out the whaling ship Hvalur 9 was located closest to Santa Maria.
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The second issue of the print edition of Iceland Review 2010 has just been published. Entitled “Under the Volcano” the magazine dedicates 20 pages, words and pictures, to the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier which made headlines all over the word. New subscribers will receive the book 2010 Eruptions as a gift and all subscribers are part of a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
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REVIEWS
Dadi Gudbjörnsson's art with its smiley faces, Aladdin's lamps, gleaming hearts, blue mountains and psychedelic flora of unearthly origin reminds me of the cheesy R.E.M. song “Shiny Happy People”. The sugar-sweet naivety fails to amuse me but I must admit it infects my mood with delirious joy.
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Former President of Iceland Vigdís Finnbogadóttir turned 80 on 15 April this year and Mayor Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir—in making her an Honorary Citizen of Reykjavík to mark the occasion—observed that Finnbogadóttir’s life was interwoven with that of Reykjavík. In June 1980 Finnbogadóttir made history when she became the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
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Today, August 30, and tomorrow is your last chance to visit the exhibition “Eau De Parfum” by Andrea Maack at the Spark Design Space in Reykjavík. In the exhibition space, Maack introduces three perfumes that are the result of her collaboration with French perfumery apf aromes & parfums.
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