Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland, gave a keynote speech on the future of the Arctic at a conference in Brussels yesterday. Read the full story

The Belgian explorer and cross-Iceland veteran, Louis Philippe Loncke has released a tongue-in-cheek parody video on the Inspired by Iceland campaign. Louis recorded the video while crossing Iceland alone on foot this summer. Read the full story

Fresh from crossing Iceland alone on foot earlier this summer, Belgian adventurer Louis Philippe Loncke now says he wants to try it again in January or February. Read the full story

Norway, along with fellow NATO members Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, have joined together to call on the Western-based defence alliance to increase support for achieving a world that is nuclear-weapon-free. Read the full story

Blue mussel farming off Hrisey Island off North Iceland is underway again after a three month gap over the summer due to algae poisoning. Read the full story

The Icelandic application to join the European Union is expected to be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers today in Brussels, Belgium. People in support as well as those against Iceland joining the European Union are all anxious to find out the results of the meeting. Read the full story

Around 16,000 Belgians that had deposits and balances in Luxembourg’s Kaupthing branch will be expected to receive reimbursements later this week. Their accounts and balances were frozen in November last year shortly after the collapse of the Icelandic banks. Read the full story

The regional government of Flanders in Belgium has confirmed that it will acquiesce to Volvo’s recent appeal for help.

Volvo Cars CEO Stephen Odell met Kris Peeters, Flemish First Minister, on Monday for talks on how the government could provide requested loan guarantees to the car maker which operates a factory in Gent, The Local reports. Read the full story

After bailout talks with the Swedish government broke down, Volvo Cars has turned to the Belgian government for its help in securing a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The best-known Swedish carmaker may be owned by the American company Ford, but it had hoped to win loan guarantees from Stockholm for the EUR 200 million the EIB is prepared to give it. Read the full story

On a recent VLM Airlines flight from London to Amsterdam, a Norwegian pilot in the cockpit of a plane with 50 passengers had apparently been drinking before departure. An anonymous tip led Dutch military police to meet the plane as it arrived in Amsterdam, arresting the pilot and taking him into custody. Read the full story