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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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British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling told the Politics Show on the BBC yesterday, after the results from the referendum in Iceland were clear, that the British government has tried to be fair towards Iceland during the Icesave dispute.
From London. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
According to visir.is, Darling explained it will take many years before the Icesave debt has been fully repaid.
“You don’t just go to a small country like Iceland with a population of a similar size as Wolverhampton and say: ‘Hey, you have to pay the whole amount right away.’ Therefore we have tried to be fair; the main issue is that we do get our money back,” he said.
Darling also said that the British government is prepared to be flexible when it comes to loan terms and conditions for a new agreement, even to cut the interest rate by half.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Finnish Finance Ministry, Ilkka Kajaste, said in an interview with YLE, the Finnish state television, yesterday that the Finnish government would not disburse any loans to Iceland until the Icesave dispute has been resolved, visir.is reports.
Finland is participating in the International Monetary Fund bailout package for Iceland, a EUR 1.8 billion (USD 2.5 billion) loan for restoring the economy in consistency with the IMF’s economic stabilization program for Iceland. Part of the loan has been disbursed but the second payment has been stalled.
Kajaste said it is impossible to know when the Icesave dispute will conclude and when the loan can be disbursed. The other Nordic countries are speaking along the same lines.
Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir will give an oral report on the changed situation of Icesave after Saturday’s referendum when parliament convenes today. It is uncertain when negotiations with the UK and the Netherlands can resume.
According to visir.is, Sigurdardóttir and Finance Minister Steingrímur J. Sigfússon are eager to continue with negotiations where they ended last week but the opposition is against it. The Icelandic negotiating committee returned to Iceland from London on Friday.
Reuters published an analysis today about three possible solutions to the Icesave dispute: a new agreement in the coming days or weeks, a new agreement after a few months’ delay or no agreement at all.
Click here to read more about Reuter’s analysis and here to read our last story about Icesave.
Iceland Review is known for its great photos. Many buy the magazine just for the photos but the articles certainly do not hurt. The daily photo column in Iceland Review was extremely popular during the summer of 2005 and photo features on the web also enjoy great popularity.
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Today, a conference will be held at the Icelandic Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo regarding energy solutions and ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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The new banks, or those profiting from purchasing the assets of the old banks’ money market funds, could be forced to reimburse to the state the amount they spent on the purchases.
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The turnout was massive at the meeting of citizens’ organization Bót, held last night at the Reykjavík City Hall. The organization was founded to fight poverty in Iceland.
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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 Puffins 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
Future of Hope is an aptly named documentary directed by Henry Bateman about what some people are doing to shape the future of Iceland, hoping that above all, the crisis will ultimately strengthen the country.
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There can’t be many novels that are heralded as being “a purification for body and soul” recommended to “those who enjoy experimental cookery” (review of November Rain in DV newspaper) and “as beautiful as a painting from the golden age” (review of The Offspring by Danish newspaper Politiken). However, Reykjavík based writer, Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir, has attracted such attention not to mention literary prizes.
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Have a laugh this week by visiting Hafnarborg, the Hafnarfjördur Centre of Culture and Fine Art, where the exhibition “Humor in Icelandic Art” is currently running. The exhibition consists of works by contemporary Icelandic artists from different generations which deal with humor and irony.
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