An asylum seeker from Iran this morning took two cans of petrol into the Icelandic Red Cross headquarters in Reykjavik, covered himself in the fluid and threatened to set fire to himself. He later told police he did it out of desperation. Read the full story

A group of three asylum seekers is planning to take legal action against the Norwegian government and immigration authorities for what they say is wrongful deportation to Greece. Read the full story

Both a father and a diplomat have been cleared of all criminal charges relating to the smuggling of a boy from Russia to Finland in the boot of a car. Read the full story

A Swedish tourist claims he was beaten up and electrocuted in an Egyptian prison for four days before escaping when protesters set fire to the building. Read the full story

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland, has reiterated his previous appeals to the Chinese authorities and called upon the international community to unite in the struggle for better human rights so that freedom of speech can be enshrined in law and nobody will be jailed simply for their views. Read the full story

An Iranian lawyer, who was forced to flee his country after defending a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, has been reunited with his family in Norway. Mohammad Mostafaei’s wife, Fereshteh, and the couple’s seven-year-old daughter, Parmida, arrived in Norway on tourist visas on Thursday. Read the full story

An Iranian lawyer, who is defending a woman facing death by stoning for having an extra marital affair, has sought asylum in Norway. Mohammad Mostafaei came to the country after reaching Turkey last week in a journey by car, on horseback and on foot. Read the full story

Iceland, Sweden and Denmark were among the 41 countries which chose to abstain in a United Nations vote to enshrine access to fresh drinking water as a fundamental human right for all. Read the full story

A Finnish court has sentenced an African preacher to life in jail for his part in Rwanda’s genocide. Francois Bazaramba, 59, has been living in Finland since 2003, but charges were brought against him as the Nordic country allows prosecutions for crimes against humanity regardless of where they were committed. Read the full story

Althingi, the parliament of Iceland, this afternoon voted to change the country’s marriage laws. 49 of the country’s 63 MPs voted in favour of the bill and none voted against. The law changes the wording of the law so that marriage is the legal union of two individuals and not only of a man and a woman. Read the full story