It is believed that some 4,000 foreign tourists are currently in Reykjavík to celebrate the New Year – which is around 500 more than were in the Icelandic capital last year. Read the full story

Finnish officials say they have impounded a ship travelling from the Isle of Man to China with undeclared missiles on board. Read the full story

Arrests have been made in Denmark after a man and a woman died in an explosion at a warehouse packed with illegal fireworks. Read the full story

Two Danish journalists, who bought illegal fireworks as part of an undercover operation, have had their appeal to have the fines against them dropped rejected by the European Court of Human Rights. Read the full story

Fewer Danes are buying illegal fireworks from abroad, according to the latest police reports. The amount of people bringing rockets and bangers across borders is said to have fallen significantly over the past year. Read the full story

The IceNews team would like to send its readers and not least its blog posters around the world warm Viking greetings from Iceland as we are about to celebrate New Year’s Eve with our annual nation wide fireworks show. As is said in Icelandic “Gledilegt Nytt Ár” – Hope to see you next year!

The Republic of Iceland, with just 300,000 inhabitants, celebrated the arrival of 2008 with thousands of tons of fireworks to help see the new year in.

The culmination saw thousands of Icelanders launching fireworks simultaneously between 11pm and 12 midnight on 31st December, flooding the night sky in Reykjavik with unending explosions of colour. It is not uncommon for an Icelandic family to spend the equivalent of several thousand dollars on fireworks for New Year´s Eve.

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