Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland’s Prime Minister and leader of the  Icelandic Social Democrats issued the following statement on the decision of the Parliament to start European Union accession negotiations for membership. Read the full story

Today the Icelandic Parliament has voted  “yes” to start official negotiations to apply for European Union membership. The votes were close, 33 were for, 28 were against, and 2 withdrew. Iceland will submit an application formally in Brussels on 27 July. It is expected to take around 2 years until the nation will vote whether to join the EU after membership negotiations have been discussed. Read the full story

About 20 Icelandic fishing ships are on their way back to Iceland after the Ministry of Agriculture, Sjávarútvegsráðuneyti, posted a ban on mackerel fishing yesterday. The boats have been fishing lately between the Faroe Islands and Iceland. The boats are returning home with a high catch. Read the full story

Icelandic newspaper DV is searching for its first Hero of the Year. Readers are invited to send the name or names of those they deem worthy of the title DV Hero of 2008 for something remarkable they have done in the year now coming to an end. Read the full story

During a meeting with the Icelandic Independence party this morning, PM Geir H. Haarde didn’t mince words about the British authorities. According to him, the British authorities had brought Iceland’s largest bank to its knees with their abuse of power this last week and that Iceland must look seriously into the possibility of litigation, MBL reported.

Haarde said that a government should naturally defend the rights of its subjects, but the statements of the British had been quite unwarranted.

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The Icelandic Central Bank’s forecasts of an upcoming “equilibrium” look a step closer, partly due to the weak Icelandic krona forcing down consumer spending and partly because of increased exports – largely of aluminium.

The country’s rampant consumer debt and high inflation are set to ease as the balance of trade shifts further in favour of exports as Icelanders reign in spending.

Bloomberg reports that exports leaped an annual 25 percent in the second quarter while imports fell 12 percent on lower investment and Read the full story

IcelandReview.com reports that the OMX-NASDAQ stock exchange in Iceland took an upswing yesterday in response to positive economic news from the USA.

Stock markets all over the world went into positive territory on the back of news that US authorities would take over the loan funds Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the country’s two biggest mortgage lenders and underwriters. Read the full story

Fewer people are searching for jobs now than at the same time last year and there remains a skills shortage in some industries in Iceland, according to Visir.is. The news website quotes the CEO of the Capacent research and public opinion bureau as saying it seems unlikely that unemployment figures will rise quickly over the coming months.

Despite regular news of businesses tightening their belts and making employees redundant, it seems many are still ready to hire new staff. The number of job advertisements in Monday’s Read the full story

Official employment figures from Iceland suggest that just 1.1 percent of the Icelandic workforce was unemployed in July, Visir.is reports.

The figure is the same as in June, but 0.2 percent higher than the same time last year. Unemplyment in the Reykjavik capital area has slightly increased since June; but not significantly enough to affect national figures.

Icelandic unemployment remains significantly below even the lowest European Union levels: 5.5 percent in the UK and 7.3 percent average across the eurozone.

Economic experts at Glitnir Bank predict that unemployment will continue to increase, but will peak at no more than around three percent in 2009.

According to reports in the New York Times, Icelandic opera singer Disella Larusdottir made a strong impression upon her audience as she made her recital debut in New York at the Merkin Concert Hall on Wednesday.

Beginning her singing career in pop, Larusdottir is well known for her performance at the Icelandic semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006. But lately, she has been moving in a more classical direction.

In 2006, Ms. Larusdottir also made her mark on Astral, the group presenting her New York debut. Astral Artistic services, a Philadelphia-based group works to promote the careers of promising performers and selected Ms. Larusdottir in 2006, as the winner of their national auditions.

In 2007, she was a finalist in auditions for the Metropolitan Orchestra National Council.

On Wednesday, Ms. Larusdottir performed in New York accompanied by Debra Scurto-Davis on the piano. She brought to the performance a classical voice and a pop performance.

The opera singer’s soaring voice was accompanied by dramatic effects including an expressive face, luminous eyes and meaningful gestures, all of which heightened the meaning of well-loved tunes.

Among her repertoire were six Icelandic songs as well as an almost cabaret performance of “The Pied Piper”.