After some confusion over the weekend, Icelandic authorities have now confirmed that only one man in the country has swine flu.

Five other members of the man’s family displayed flu-like symptoms, as reported over the weekend, but were found to not be suffering from H1N1. Read the full story

The Icelandic American Chamber of Commerce will hold a conference this Tuesday in New York entitled ‘The Icelandic Economy and Outlook’.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Gylfi Magnusson, Icelandic Minister for Business Affairs. He will be joined in the same session by Mark Flanagan, the head of the IMF mission to Iceland. Read the full story

Icelandic millionaires Jon Asgeir Johannesson and Ingibjorg Palmadottir have put their luxury Manhattan apartment on the market for USD 25 million (ISK 2.9 billion), according to the New York Times. Read the full story

The new aviation tender contracts from The Danish Agency for Governmental Management take SAS and partner airlines off 22 routes. This may be expected in harsh economic times – but the agreement also contains two large surprises concerning the routes from Copenhagen to New York and Copenhagen to Bangkok. Read the full story

A press release from the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed in speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations on Thursday, that all the other Nordic nations support Iceland’s candidature to the United Nations Security Council.

Stoltenberg asked the other members of the General Assembly to, “please take this into account”.

Iceland is a candidate for the Security Council for the first time since becoming a UN member in 1946.

Stoltenberg said that, “Iceland’s Read the full story

Icelandic Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde will speak on behalf of Iceland in front of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday. The Prime Minister will also meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, according to ruv.is.

Haarde and Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, the Icelandic Foreign Minister, will be in New York to take part in the 63rd annual Read the full story

As testament to the widespread and growing support for clean geothermal energy, the President of Iceland, as well as officials of the current Bush and former Clinton Administrations, are scheduled to speak at a workshop in New York City, 23rd July.

Alexander Karsner, Department of Energy Assistant Secretary, and former Assistant Secretary Dan Reicher (now Google.org Director for Climate Change and Energy Initiatives) are both on the agenda for the event. \

The keynote luncheon speaker will be the President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson.
Glitnir Capital Corp together with The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) and Ormat will host a geothermal energy finance and development workshop at the Ritz-Carlton, Battery Park in New York City on Wednesday, July 23rd to introduce geothermal energy to the NYC finance community. The event will feature an all-star cast of expert presenters from leading companies in the geothermal industry.

The workshop, entitled “Geothermal 101-The Hottest Clean Energy Source,” will include morning sessions in which leading professionals will cover the basics of geothermal energy. In the afternoon, presentations will include an overview of the world and U.S. geothermal markets, an interactive finance panel with top geothermal financiers and developers, and a showcase of companies developing new projects and technologies. Among companies participating are: Glitnir Capital Corp., Ormat, Google.org, MidAmerican Energy, EGS Inc., ThermaSource, U.S. Renewables Group, Merrill Lynch, GeothermEx, UTC Power, Terra-Gen Power, Western GeoPower, Raser Technologies, Iceland America Energy, Geysir Green Energy, Vulcan Power, and Enel North America.

Geothermal energy today provides power in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Utah, Idaho, and Alaska. According to GEA, more than 80 new geothermal power projects are being built in 12 states. When completed, these projects will represent an investment of over $11 billion and more than double U.S. geothermal power production. In 2006, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory issued separate reports estimating that geothermal energy could potentially provide over 100,000 MW of electric power.

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”.