Sauli Niinistö and his spouse Jenni Haukio will be welcomed by Iceland’s president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, before they make a courtesy call on the parliament and then later visit the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

Aside from attending the Arctic conference, their visit has also scheduled an inspection of the Svartseng geothermal power plant and Thingvellir National Park by the President, while Ms Haukio will visit the Barnahús child welfare facility and the Halldór Laxness Museum.

President Niinistö who assumed office last year, has expressed interest in Iceland’s renewable energy programs. This will be his first official visit abroad.

The President joined a discussion led by Richard Quest, an International Business Correspondent for CNN International, as part of the closing keynote Iceland´s Road to Recovery and Closing Remarks, which took place Monday 20^th May 2013.

During the President’s keynote, he states, “Like in many other times in European history, they [European Union leaders] are victims of an ideological prison.” He continues by mentioning, “What is lacking is the honest, intellectual, political, economic examination within the European institutions, of the fundamental failure, which the last four or five years has produced.”

President Grímsson explained that he can’t understand why banks are being considered the holy churches of the modern economy, and that Europe’s primary legacy to the world is not financial markets, but democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

When speaking about Iceland’s recovery, President Grímsson explained that Iceland focused on saving the welfare services of those who have the lowest income, rather that implement the austerity measures recommended for other European countries.

“We saw a situation where our [Iceland’s] entire demographic and social fabric was breaking down; it was one of the most dramatic examples in recent history that the failure of financial markets can fundamentally threaten European and Western democracy,” explained Grímsson.

During the keynote, Quest asked for his reasons why Grímsson chose to veto the Icesave bailouts, even though Parliament passed this legislation twice. Grímsson explained that the Icelandic parliament partly passed this legislation because the “Gordon Brown government”, supported by every European government, used the board of the IMF for the most elaborate high-level financial blackmail [he] had ever witnessed.  Stating:

“If we didn’t make the ordinary people of Iceland responsible for the failure of a private bank in Britain, the IMF programme for Iceland would have been stopped, and it was for over a year. That was why the government of the time thought that they had to make a deal, but the interesting fact now is that we know, because it has been tested, that this policy that was reported by every European government was so wrong; it turned out to be financial wrong, demographically wrong and also legally wrong.“

He followed by saying, “In order to help Europe to get out of this deep crisis, they should ask themselves why they were so wrong in this case; if it was even illegal within the European Financial System to ask the people of Iceland to be responsible for the failure of a private bank.”

The Global Leadership Summit is an annual discussion held by London Business School, whereby leading figures in international politics and media insight on the future of global leadership, and about the challenges of past and modern day leadership.

To watch the keynote in full, click here – viewers will have to register first.

About 200 people in this largely immigrant suburb were part of the unrest, which resulted in numerous arrests. The mood of discontent had apparently spread to the neighbourhood of Fittja.

The riot was in response to the fatal shooting a week earlier of a 69 year, unidentified, man who had holed up in his apartment.

“This is not OK. We will not give in to violence,” Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said. “We must all help out to regain calm. The residents of Husby need to get their neighbourhood back.”

A tense atmosphere prevailed in the capital, and it has stirred debate in this Scandinavian country typically noted for its strong welfare state and egalitarian society. But the country has seen a surge in inequality unseen in any other of the OECD countries over the past 25 years.

While the police will not reveal the ethnicity of the man shot, there has been some strong comments among local politicians about the inability of these immigrants to integrate into mainstream Swedish society and culture.

“This is a clear consequence of this multiculturalism politics that Sweden adopted around ‘80s and increased in the ‘90s… And this is not a unique one single occasion… we have had these ethnic-based riots against Swedish authorities. We have seen this in Western Europe, that is very sad, and I think we will see more of this, if we don’t change the politics,” the chairman of the Sweden’s National Democrats Party Marc Abramsson said.

Local residents, however, feel they are unfairly targeted and treated by the police, who have used unreasonable force on the protestors.

“The bank will attempt to increase its non-borrowed reserves,” Reykjavik-based Seðlabanki said today. “Increasing the non-borrowed reserves is a long-term goal, however, and the implementation of that aim depends on both the strength of the króna and movements in the exchange rate.”

In a recent meeting the bank decided to leave the benchmark rate untouched, leaving it at 6 per cent for a fourth straight time, saying that inflation was close to targets at 3.3 per cent, down from 6 per cent a year earlier. They have been battling to keep it down since August 2011.

It is now planning to sell króna, having suspended forex auctions since February. All this is part of a coordinated effort to stabilise the economy and avert any sudden changes when an inevitable lifting of the controls occurs. It has been four years since the strict measure was applied, and pressure is mounting to do so ‘sooner rather than later’.

It follows on pledges, during the election, by the incoming coalition to write down debts to foreign creditors, partly to prevent them selling off all their króna when controls are lifted.

The guiding element will be the improved prospects of the households in Iceland, and promotion of opportunities in trade and employment, which will create added value for the benefit of the nation as a whole.

Nine ministers will take seat in the new government, four from the Progressive Party, and five from the Independence Party.  Two of the current ministries, Ministry of Industries and Innovation, and Ministry of Welfare, will have two ministers each.

Prime minister of the new government is Mr. Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party.
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs is Mr. Bjarni Benediktsson, chairman of the Independence Party.
Minister of Health is Mr. Kristján Þór Júlíusson (Ministry of Welfare).
Minister of Education, Science and Culture is Mr. Illugi Gunnarsson, Independence Party.
Minister of Industry and Trade is Mrs. Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Independence Party (Ministry of Industries and Innovation).
Minister of Social Affairs and Housing is Mrs. Eygló Harðardóttir (Ministry of Welfare).
Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, and Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources is Mr. Sigurður Ingi Jónsson. (Ministry of Industry and Innovation, Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources).
Minister for Foreign Affairs is Mr. Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Progressive Party.
Minister of the Interior is Mrs. Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir, Independence Party.

More than 60 rare coins, from as far away as England and Germany were collected from the dig, after Michael Stockbro Larsen came across the Viking stash.

Rare Norse coins, known as korsmønter’, were found, emblazoned with a “rare cross motif attributed to Norse King Harald Bluetooth who is believed to have brought Christianity to Norway and Denmark,” AP reports.

It’s not unusual to find coins from abroad given the domination of the Vikings during the late ninth century, in an area known as Danelaw which they controlled, according to the British Museum. Different coins were issued in different territories.

It’s the first such find in over 70 years, creating much excitement. The coins will be on display at Vendsyssel Historisk Museum then later at the National Museum in Copenhagen.

A reward for Michael, his brother, and a friend has yet to be determined.

Geir Gissurarson reached the top of the 8,848m high Himalayan peak on May 21^st, exactly 16 years after Björn Ólafsson, Einar Stefánsson and Hallgrímur Magnússon became the first Icelanders to summit the world’s highest mountain.

“I think it’s great that Leifur is trying that route,” famous explorer, Haraldur Örn Ólafsson said in an interview with Fréttablaðið.

However, at 51, Ingólfur is still a spring chicken. If 81-year-old Min Bahadur Sherchan of Nepal and his 80-year-old rival Yuichiro Miura of Japan, both currently in Everest Base Camp on the South Side of the mountain, reach the summit this season, a new record would have been set for the oldest person summiting. Presently it is held by Min Bahadur Sherchan, a Nepalese who reached the summit on 25 May 2008 at the age of 76 years 340 days.

2013 has already seen five records or firsts set on the mountain, including; first Saudi woman, first Pakistani women, first Moroccan and first twins (Indian sisters).

The next record that could be set is by Vilborg Arna Gissurardóttir, the first Icelandic woman to reach the South Pole, who is now planning to climb the world’s seven highest summits.

Emmelie de Forest’s unsurprising win with the folksy “Only Teardrops” gives Denmark the right to host Europe’s biggest TV event for the first time since 1991, and Copenhagen has already been suggested as hot favourite as a venue for Eurovision 2014.  But it’s not a done deal, Herning has also thrown its name into the hat.

The capital, which lies within 20 minutes drive by tunnel from Malmo, boasts good transport and infrastructure, sufficient hotels and the Perken Stadium where the previous tournament was hosted in Denmark. It also hosted the only other occasion, in 1964, when Denmark won the right to host.

The Forum Arena, which hosted the 50th anniversary Eurovision Song Contest Congratulations show, and the Ballerup Arena which hosted the 2011 Danish Eurovision national final are two other slated options.

But Herning also has a claim to Eurovision pedigree, having hosted the national competition where Emmelie was chosen to represent Denmark. Its Jysken Boxer Arena is equally suitable.

Typically a thorough bidding process is undertaken to choose a host city. That Copenhagen has already twice hosted the 40 nation singing competition might work against them.