Confusion reigned in Norway and indeed across the globe as an eerie spiralling blue light behind a mountain in Tromso led to alien enthusiasts heralding a new arrival. Read the full story

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, will visit Iceland if Reykjavik is chosen as the location for the signing of a new nuclear weapons reduction treaty with Russia. Read the full story

A new Russian film which tells the story of a troupe of drag queens is swarming with stereotypes, according to Finnish actor Ville Haapasalo. Read the full story

The Finnish government last week approved the proposal for the construction of the 1,220 kilometre Nord Stream natural gas pipeline which will be routed across the country’s territorial waters. Read the full story

Jan Guillou, the famous Swedish author and journalist, is facing new claims of aiding the KGB in the 1960s. Guillou has claimed that he was pursuing journalistic investigations into the role of the secret service in Sweden. Read the full story

Norway has claimed that it has no concerns with Russian re-investment in its defence systems in the far north, with Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store claiming that the two countries will continue on a path of mutual co-operation which will improve Oslo’s political and military relations with Moscow. Read the full story

The potential USD 500 million loan from Russia to Iceland will not go ahead, Reuters reports. Read the full story

Poland’s promised loan to Iceland is not dependent on the resolution of the Icesave issue with the Netherlands and the UK; but it will not be paid out until the IMF completes its overdue review on its project in Iceland which has been delayed since February. The IMF review is, however, being held up by the ongoing Icesave issue – so despite assurances, the Polish loan is dependent on Icesave after all. Read the full story

The Icelandic Foreign Minister Steingrimur J. Sigfusson today had a meeting with Dmitry Pankin, the Russian assistant finance minister. At the meeting the possible loan to Iceland was discussed. Read the full story

A treasure trove of valuables belonging to Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia who abdicated following the 1917 Revolution, has been found in the Swedish government archives. Read the full story