It has been a quiet day so far for the staff of Árekstur.is, but in an early-morning note from a meteorologist at the Icelandic Met Office, it was mentioned that freezing rain was possible—something that could cause extremely slippery conditions.

The weather has been relatively calm in recent days, but changes are expected this week. A deep low-pressure system is forecast to cross the country on Thursday, and conditions may become severe—especially in Southeast and East Iceland.

Yesterday afternoon, rescue teams in West Iceland were called out to assist hikers who encountered difficulties on two mountains at almost the same time.

Four individuals were denied entry at Iceland’s borders this summer because they belonged to a foreign criminal group specializing in violence-for-hire—offering their services to carry out serious violent offenses for payment.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of Alþingi is scheduled to meet next week with experts from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and with Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir. The meetings will address the EU’s safeguard measures on ferrosilicon, from which Iceland did not receive an exemption as had been hoped.

The Children’s Parliament began today with a visit by its young delegates to Alþingi on International Children’s Day.

Glaze ice is present on many roads around the country, and motorists are urged to check conditions before setting out and to drive carefully.

The world premiere of a new expansion for the video game EVE Online will be streamed tonight from deep inside Raufarhólshellir, a lava tube in the Brennisteinsfjöll mountains.

Norlandair will begin scheduled flights between Reykjavík and Vestmannaeyjar on December 1, at the turn of the month. The company has reached an agreement with the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration to operate the route for three months, through the end of February 2026.

Foreign minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir will emphasize dialogue over the European Commission’s decision to deny Iceland and Norway an exemption from safeguard tariffs on ferrosilicon at a meeting of the Joint EEA Committee in Brussels tomorrow.

The leaders of the government parties have had no discussions with the opposition regarding the situation created by the European Union’s decision to impose safeguard tariffs on EEA/EFTA states for ferrosilicon.

Loan terms for households have deteriorated rapidly, and the Central Bank’s interest rate cut this morning was primarily a response to last month’s Supreme Court ruling on interest rates—rather than a reaction to the shocks that have recently hit the economy, including the equipment failure at Norðurál, the shutdown of PCC at Bakki, and the collapse of Play. However, such shocks may influence the duration of the interest-rate-cutting cycle.

The CEO of Elkem in Iceland says the European Commission’s decision not to grant Iceland and Norway an exemption from safeguard tariffs on ferrosilicon is a terrible disappointment. A new reality has now taken hold, and the company must wait to see how events unfold.

Iceland and Norway will not be exempt from the European Commission’s safeguard measures on ferrosilicon.

A large number of websites are currently down due to a system failure at Cloudflare.

George R.R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones books, received a private tour this weekend of Edda – the House of Icelandic Language, where he familiarized himself with the nation’s cultural heritage: the Icelandic manuscripts.

The Icelandic Confederation of Labour (ASÍ) anticipates an interest rate cut on Wednesday, when the Central Bank of Iceland’s Monetary Policy Committee announces its decision.

Karl Steinar Valsson, Chief Superintendent and head of the National Police Commissioner’s Analysis Department, says there is reason to reconsider whether Iceland should continue shielding the buyers of prostitution.

Gísli Már Gíslason, entomologist and professor emeritus in aquatic biology, says he has recently received many reports from people who believe they have seen a mosquito, following two confirmed cases in Iceland—one in the South and one in Kjós.

The Reykjavík Yule Cat was illuminated this afternoon at Lækjartorg, marking the start of the city’s festive season.

Filming has recently wrapped on a major advertising campaign for Italian fashion house Prada, promoting its Prada Sport line. The campaign stars Jake Gyllenhaal, with parts of the production shot on a glacier and inside an ice cave in Iceland. The Icelandic production company Norður handled the local production.

Daði MárKristófersson, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, has formally protested the European Union’s proposed safeguard measures on silicon metals, both on behalf of Icelandic stakeholders and the EEA cooperation as a whole.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Hanna KatrínFriðriksson says it is disappointing that Iceland and Norway have not been granted an exemption from the European Union’s safeguard measures concerning silicon metal imports.

Bogi Nils Bogason, CEO of Icelandair, says that the carbon tax the airline must pay puts the company at a disadvantage compared to competitors outside Europe — and stresses that the Icelandic government must respond.

Police reports of violence against elderly people aged 67 and older have been steadily increasing in recent years. So far this year, 31 cases have been reported — already exceeding the total for all of last year, when there were 18.

Land inflation and magma accumulation beneath Svartsengi continue, though at a slower pace, according to Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson, head of deformation measurements at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

A close call at Reynisfjara Black Beach was captured on video by Magnae Malachi, a tourist who recently visited Iceland and posted the footage on TikTok.

The Icelandic gyrfalcon population has been hit hard by the ongoing wave of avian influenza in recent years. Once numbering around 2,000 birds, the population has now collapsed to roughly 500 individuals, according to Ólafur Karl Nielsen, ornithologist and Iceland’s leading expert on the species.

“I was actually installing a kitchen at home yesterday when I got a call from the Minister of Justice,” says GrímurHergeirsson with a laugh, speaking to mbl.is.

Today marks two years since the residents of Grindavík were forced to leave their homes when the town was evacuated following a series of earthquakes on November 10, 2023.

Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir has requested to step down as National Police Commissioner. She will take up a specialist position at the Ministry of Justice, continuing to work in her area of expertise.

Few would likely dispute that AldaSigmundsdóttir— journalist, publisher, and author — has gone to great lengths to educate foreign visitors about Iceland and its people through witty and informative writing, steering well clear of the well-worn tourist clichés of Gullfoss, Geysir, the Blue Lagoon, and Hallgrímskirkja.

“I find it curious that this debate is being led by people who seem neither to read books nor to know how to make Excel sheets. When their spreadsheets become the foundation of the argument, I think the discussion has gone completely off track.”

GuðmundurMogensen, a 41-year-old Icelander, has just been sentenced to life in prison by the District Court of Solna in Stockholm, Sweden, for the murder of 63-year-old Kristina Bah at her home in Akalla, northwest Stockholm, in October last year.

A major investment in power infrastructure is planned for Northeast Iceland in the coming years, aimed at boosting regional development following the shutdown of PCC’s silicon plant at Bakki, as well as facilitating new energy production, including wind power. Electricity supply capacity will also be greatly increased at Þórshöfn, improving both capacity and reliability.