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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 for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphédinsson said he is looking closely into matters concerning the Iceland Defense Agency, which began operations on June 1, 2008, and that it will possibly have to be shut down.
The Iceland Defense Agency and its director Ellisif Tinna Vídisdóttir. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
“I believe there are many possibilities to save money by merging different operations of the agency with that of other institutions,” Skarphédinsson told Fréttabladid. “I’m in the same position as other Icelanders who now have to think about every penny and do everything they can to save and rationalize.”
Skarphédinsson said the matter is complicated and will take a long time. “The matter an absolute priority with me and I have called for data both from my ministry and others.”
Former Minister of Justice Björn Bjarnason described the Iceland Defense Agency as “remnants of times past” and said it might even complicate defense relationships with other nations. The Coast Guard should be focused on instead.
Bjarnason spoke during a meeting organized by the Association on Western Cooperation last week where he discussed Norway’s former Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs Thorvald Stoltenberg’s report on Nordic Cooperation on Foreign and Security Policy, presented at a meeting between the Nordic foreign ministers on Oslo earlier this month.
“Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphédinsson and chairman of the foreign affairs committee Árni Thór Sigurdsson have the tendency to understate the military aspect of Stoltenberg’s report,” Bjarnason said.
“That is similar as using the words ‘defense-related projects’ and is a little silly considering that Stoltenberg’s report revolves to a considerable extent around such solutions and [Skarphédinsson and Sigurdsson] both support its execution,” Bjarnason added.
Sigurdsson, who is a member of the Left-Greens, said he agrees with Bjarnason that the Iceland Defense Agency is disposable and that unlike Bjarnason he voted against it when it was first proposed.
“The view of the Left-Greens is that if safety must be ensured and the traffic in our waters must be supervised then it should be in the hands of the Coast Guard, the Civil Aviation Administration and the emergency services,” Sigurdsson said. “We pointed out that the Defense Agency is extremely costly and now it is more important to consider that.”
According to the 2009 budget bill, ISK 1.2 billion (USD 11 million, EUR 8 million) will be allocated to the Iceland Defense Agency this year.
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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