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The economic growth in Iceland this year will be considerably higher than in the other Nordic countries, according to a new report on the economic outlook in Sweden and the world, written on behalf of the Swedish parliament.
Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
It is assumed that Iceland will enjoy economic growth of more than 2 percent in 2013, whereas it is expected to be 1.4 percent in Sweden and 1.7 percent in Norway, Denmark and Finland on average. The oil industry is excluded in the evaluation of Norway.
The report estimates that economic growth will only be 0.8 percent in Germany and the U.K. this year, visir.is reports.
In other news, international ratings agency Fitch has increased Iceland’s credit rating for long-term commitments in foreign currency from BBB- to BBB and confirmed BBB+ for long-term commitments in domestic currency.
This is the second time Fitch Ratings raises the credit rating for Iceland since the banking collapse in 2008, Fréttablaðið reports.
Fitch also confirmed the credit rating F3 for short-term commitments in foreign currency and raised the country ceiling for Iceland from BBB- to BBB. Outlook is stable for long-term commitments, the agency concluded.
ESA
Four Icelandic contestants will participate in this year’s World Skills International, the world cup for industrial- and vocational subjects. The competition is held every other year.
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This year’s free English-language travel guide Around Iceland has been released, the 38th year in a row. The guide is also published in Icelandic and German and is distributed in 100,000 copies to the country’s most frequented tourist destinations.
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An international group of divers recently traveled to Þingvellir National Park in Southwest Iceland to explore this unique diving destination. A Polish guide, Michail Zinieuricz, who works for the DIVE.is, led the team of North Americans and a French couple.
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Iceland’s northernmost island is no longer one island. In a recent surveillance excursion to the Kolbeinsey, the Icelandic Coast Guard discovered that the island is now divided in two.
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The 2013 June-July issue of Iceland Review is out. Themed ‘We Are Young’ the magazine celebrates the arrival of summer by interviewing young energetic Icelanders who excel in art, sports, business and politics—and Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the youngest PM in the republic’s history and the world’s youngest ruling state leader. Click here to take a look at a selection of the current issue and here to subscribe to the magazine.
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REVIEWS
amiina
The road to Höfn, a 1,690-person harbor town by the fjord Hornafjörður, is lined with reindeer. Whole herds of the wild horned animals rest peacefully on withered pastures, grace next to sheep and horses and bounce along the road. Soon, Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier and the region’s biggest attraction, comes into view. Looming over Höfn, its outlet glaciers flow down from the mountains on which the bright white icecap rests.
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Sin Fang will celebrate the release of his third album with a release concert in Iðnó on June 12. Flowers was released in February by Morr Music and has been well received by music enthusiasts and critics alike. The concert will be supported by Vök, this year’s winners of the Icelandic Music Experiments.
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