Another eruption near Grindavík

Another eruption started in Reykjanes last weekend and is still active. Smoke from the eruption now covers the south and the mountains cannot be seen from the towns on the coast.

This is the ninth time that a volcano has erupted in the area.

https://perlan.is/articles/reykjanes-peninsula-volcano-overview

A couple murdered in their home.

An elderly couple was murdered in their home in East Iceland. The killer stole their car and drove to Reykjavík, where the police caught him. The killer is now in custody. The reasons for the murder are not known, but the perpetrator is said to be mentally unstable.

Knife attack at a cultural festival

A knife attack has been carried out on two young people who were present at a cultural festival in the capital Reykjavík. 

 The victims of the attack were a teenage boy of foreign origin and a teenage girl who is critically injured. The attacker, who is a 16-year-old boy, was arrested shortly after and is in custody. The motive for the attack is not known.

A serious accident in an ice cave in the Icelandic National Park

A serious accident occurred in an ice cave in Vatnajökull National Park. 

 23 people were in the cave when a five fathom high ice wall collapsed on the people. One person died and another was seriously injured, but others managed to escape the slide. 

 At first it was believed that two others from the group had fallen under the ice wall and rescue teams worked for 24 hours to break the ice from the cave and three helicopters worked to bring rescuers and equipment to the place.

 No more people were found under the ice, as it turned out that the registration of the number of people on the expedition was not correct with the American tourism company Ice Pick Journey, because two people who had bought a trip did not attend the expedition.

- Ice cave exploration is especially dangerous during the summer when the glacier is soft and moving, 

In the national park there are many ice caves, most of them natural but difficult to access. Therefore, some ice caves are man-made tourist traps. Rules for ice-cave tours and safety requirements are extremely poor in Iceland. 

Photo: https://www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is

The newly elected president accused of corruption

The newly elected president of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir, who will take office on August 1, has been accused of corruption after she bought a brand new Volvo EX 30 electric car on special loyalty terms from the car agency. In addition, the future president posed for the company's advertising photo. It has also spread that the CEO of the company is on the president's guest list at the inauguration. 

 Many people feel that this case reeks of corruption, which in itself is not uncommon in the upper echelons of Icelandic society.

The media covering the case also make it clear that it is a case of corruption.

However, there are no rules of conduct for the presidency, and the president can therefore act according to his own discretion and conviction.

MORE CORRUPTION IN ICELANDIC POLITICS

New laws have entered into force in agriculture: 

1. Meat production plants will be allowed to merge without restrictions.

 

2. Product centers will be allowed to carry with them any kind of consultation regarding division of labor, pricing or other aspects of the operation. 

 

3. The provisions on the supervision of the Competition Authority and, depending on the circumstances, the prohibition of unauthorized agreements or decisions by manufacturers, which were in the original bill, are repealed in the law.

 - It didn't take long until a large company bought the competitor and thereby became the market leader. 

-Among the members of parliament who made the law is a part owner in one of these companies.

The blue-carbon scandal

Piles of wood shavings left on Grundartanga by the environmental princes of the Running Tide company be burned to power a metal alloy factory. The wood piles plus 300 tons of limestone powder in sacks and a number of equipment were advertised for sale after Running Tide suddenly stopped all operations in Iceland and the United States. The company washed 20,000 tonnes of wood pulp into the sea last year, claiming to sequester carbon. This was done with the government's permission and the company intended to profit significantly from carbon mess by selling intended carbon sequestration.

Journalists at Heimildin investigated this carbon fraud. https://heimildin.is/grein/22167/

Tourism is on the brink.

The number of tourists has decreased considerably since last year, and the largest airlines have resorted to a number of layoffs. The reason for the decrease in the number of tourists is considered to be the price level, where companies in the tourism industry have priced themselves out of the market, frequent volcanic eruptions in the vicinity of the international airport and road closures. Last but not least, poor transport, useless roads and a number of serious accidents involving tourists.

The police went berserk against the protesters

On Friday, May 31, the protest was called by the association Iceland - Palestine to protest inaction in the affairs of Palestine.  The protest was held at the meeting place of the government.  Among the demands of the protesters is that the Icelandic state imposes trade restrictions on Israel and ends political relations with the country.   

About 150 people participated in the protest, which was peaceful.  The police soon arrived at the scene and began to disperse the protesters with harsh tactics.  Some protesters were dragged away on their feet, while others were sprayed with caustic acid in their faces and eyes, and some had to go to the hospital.   

Justice Minister Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir defended the actions of the police and said in the parliament today that the protests were no longer considered peaceful.  

-It has long been known that the Icelandic police support methods that can be compared to fascism.  Not so long ago, some Icelandic police officers decided to wear fascist symbols inside their clothes.

Halla Tómasdóttir 7th president of Iceland

Halla Tómasdóttir won the presidential election on Saturday with over 32% support.  It was expected in advance that former PM Katrín Jakopsdóttir would win the election, as opinion polls indicated that.  She had the support of the right wing of the government.  Voters seem to have voted tactically when they got to the polling station, because other 10 candidates didn't get involved in the fight between these two women.  

Mrs. Tómasdóttir has worked as a business economist, teacher and lecturer internationally.   She founded the company Audur Capital in 2007 and hosted the Þjóðfundin in 2009, where a random sample of the Icelandic people gathered in Laugardalshöll to discuss the basic values ​​and the future vision that would concern the path of reconstruction following the banking collapse.  Organized organized the international equality conference Inspirally WE2015 (Women Empowerment).  Chosen as Europe's female entrepreneur by Cartier, McKinsey and INSEAD. 

Another humanitarian scandal

Four women who were victims of labor trafficking turned themselves in to the Icelandic authorities. The four women were immediately arrested and handcuffed and placed in solitary confinement. Their phones were taken from them and no one was allowed to have a conversation with them. 

 A few days later they were put on a plane and first flown to Germany and refueled and then they were flown to an unnamed African country where they were left at the airport. 

 This procedure received criticism in the Althing, but the Minister of Justice Gudrun Hafsteinsdóttir says that the case does not concern her.

The current three-party government is mainly right-wing and increasingly opposed to the presence of foreigners in the country.