As news broke that Greek Credit Default Swaps (the cost of insuring international debt against default) have risen sharply, the international press quickly found out that it had risen above Iceland’s CDS level and turned it into a global “wow” story. Read the full story

The ongoing Greek-Macedonian dispute has spilled over to affect Icelanders…in Washington DC and Norway. Read the full story

The Swedish Armed Forces have confirmed that a Swedish naval patrol in the Gulf of Aden arrested seven pirates caught operating the region. Crewmembers from the HMS Malmo apprehended the Somali pirates as they tried to board a Greek cargo ship outside of Yemen. Read the full story

Ten individuals in Iceland have been struck down with salmonella recently, MBL.is reports. It has now emerged that all ten people stayed in the same hotel on the Greek island of Rhodes at the end of July and beginning of August this summer. Among the affected are a number of college students, some of whom remain very unwell.

The news comes from one of the Surgeon General’s regular reports on infectious diseases in Iceland. It has also come to light that other hotel guests not from Iceland have also been affected by the outbreak.

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A meeting between the Icelandic and Greek prime ministers yesterday reaffirmed the good level of relations between the two countries.

Geir H. Haarde, the Prime Minister of Iceland, is on a working visit to Greece.

Costas Karamanlis, Haarde’s counterpart, told reporters that relations between the two countries were exceptional and their cooperation was excellent at both bilateral level and in international organizations. He added that many opportunities for furthering cooperation existed in the economy, in investments and in the tourism sector.

The two prime ministers discussed prospects for cooperation between the two countries in the exploitation of renewable energy resources, particularly in geothermal energy. As Karamanlis noted, Iceland has many energy reserves, while it is also a pioneer in the knowledge of and exploitation of natural resources.

The two leaders also discussed matters concerning NATO, and the developments in Georgia and in the western Balkans.

Haarde noted that relations between the two countries were problem-free, adding that there were opportunities that could be taken advantage of.

He stressed that an agreement on avoidance of double taxation would be significant for the enhancement of economic relations, and also sought Greece’s backing of Iceland’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Iceland’s women’s football players are on a roll, with two convincing wins in as many weeks, as they pursue a place in the European championship finals.

The team beat the Greek women’s football team convincingly with a 7-0 rout on Thursday in Reykjavik, and it comes after and equally emphatic 5-0 win over Slovenia the previous week.

The pre-round match for European championship qualification sets them up for an odds-on chance of securing a place. A draw with France in the autumn will be enough to secure them a place at the competition which will be hosted in Finland in 2009.

Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir, the team’s youngest player, scored the first goal. “It was a fantastic feeling to score that goal. Now there were much more people and a better atmosphere than on Saturday, so it was just amazing,” Gunnarsdottir said after the match.

“It is a very good feeling to have such a good opportunity to play in the finals, very exciting, and now we are only focusing on the game with France,” Gunnarsdottir concluded.

The competition has been dominated by the German team over the years with Scandinavian teams Norway and Sweden frequently runners up. Iceland has never made it beyond the quarter finals.