No applications from Icelandic organisations or individuals were received by the Nordic Council to meet with its council members before their own meeting which begins in Oslo today.

The public in all the Nordic countries were invited to meet council members to press them on important subjects or get them on board with their causes or points-of-view.

A total of just four meeting requests were received; mostly from Norway. The meetings held were mostly about transportation between Norway and Sweden and citizenship rights in the Nordic countries.

This was the first time the public were invited to interact directly with the Nordic Council in this manner and among the stated goals is to stimulate open debate within the Council and to open the Council up to the people.

Tina Bostrup, an employee of the Nordic Council, told Vísir.is that she hopes Icelanders show the meeting initiative more interest when the Nordic Council meets again in Iceland at the end of March.

Casual research indicates that today’s first attempt failed primarily because most people did not know about it. That is unlikely to be the case next time.

From Nuuk to Helsinki and from Reykjavík to Copenhagen – and not forgetting Tórshavn, Stockholm, Oslo and Marienhamn – New Year’s is a time for fireworks and fun, when people gather with family and friends to eat, drink, explode things, and reflect on the year gone by. Whether it was a good year or a bad year, there is always plenty to talk about — and there are always resolutions to be made and the hope that next year (which is now called ‘this year’) will be the best, most successful and happiest yet. Here’s hoping.

People in Iceland, and indeed around the world, claim that the New Year’s fireworks in Reykjavík are the best in the world. IceNews is far too impartial and upstanding to assert that as fact; instead we ask you to judge for yourself. The live webcam feed website will feature a recorded and edited highlights video for at least the next few days — and possibly all year long.

Wherever you are in the world and however you chose to celebrate the arrival of 2012 (if at all), we at IceNews wish you all the best.

(Photo: New Year’s celebrations in Nuuk, Greenland. Taken a few years ago.)

The Faroese capital, Tórshavn’s old main street, called Bringsnagøta, is closed to all motor-driven vehicles during the Advent period and has instead become Christmas Street.

Walking down the street it can be hard to tell which century one is in — not only because of Tórshavn’s old houses, but also because a deliberate effort has been made to tidy away as many signs of modernity as possible.

The Christmas Street project is designed to create an atmosphere and to transport visitors back in time, organisers say. Shops along the street are willing participants in the scheme and stepping into them is like stepping into last century and into an ‘adventureland’ to boot; as RÚV describes it.

The best-known Faroese author, William Heinesen, was born in the pictured building. His father, Zacharias, was a merchant. His assistant, Katarina Christiansen took over the shop when Zacharias opened a location elsewhere in Tórshavn.

Today the shop, and the others on Bringsnagøta are a real cultural and peaceful oasis; set in a very old part of town, the street is a refuge from the hustle and bustle of modern Christmas preparations.

(Photo taken from RÚV.is)

The collection kicked off with a fundraising concert at Reykjavík’s Harpa conference and concert centre yesterday afternoon, called “We Support the Faroese!”.

The concert was organised by Faroese musician Jógvan Hansen and his Icelandic musician friend Friðrik Ómar — but people who missed the concert are still able to contribute by phone or by bank transfer.

President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is the fund’s patron and yesterday’s concert featured Jógvan, Friðrik Ómar, Ragnheiður Gröndal, Helgi Björnsson, KK and Ellen Kristjánsdóttir, along with the Reykjavík Girls’ Choir.

The musical event was broadcast live on national television and radio in both Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

Donations can be made from Icelandic bank accounts to 0101-26-102000 with kennitala 480208-0480.

Iceland and the Faroe Islands are closely linked, culturally; and the Faroe Islands were among the first to offer help to Iceland at several key moments; including by offering a loan when the Icelandic banks crashed and by collecting for the victims of the Westfjords avalanches in 1995. The Icelandic people and government were therefore enthusiastic to help when news broke of the massive storm just over two weeks ago.

The dead man was 49 years-old and was found dead outside the Tinghúsið national parliament building with a knife in his chest.

The police believe that the man had just exited the building when he was found. It is not yet known whether he was murdered or took his own life; but suicide is considered more likely.

A medical examiner and two detectives are expected in Tórshavn from Denmark today.

The news comes while Faroese police are still investigating the disappearance of another man 20 days ago. A foreign national around the age of 30 was remand in police custody in that case last week after a blood-stained pillow was found at his house. It is thought the missing man is probably dead, but no body has yet been found.

The last time the Faroe Islands police were involved in a murder investigation was 23 years ago in 1988, when a young man shot his fiancée in a fit of jealousy on Suðuroy island, RÚV reported.

(Photos: Alëx Elliott // IceNews)

Winds in the storm went up to 51 metres per second (184 km/h or 114 mph). To put that in context, the lower wind speed limit for a hurricane is 32 metres per second (115 km/h and 71.6 mph) — meaning that for a time the storm was equivalent to a category two hurricane.

The Faroese news website Portal.fo reports that boats came loose from their moorings and stranded themselves on the shore. Roofs were blown off many houses and some garages disappeared altogether. Heavy fish crates litter the islands like driftwood.

All residents of the old people’s home at Trongisvágur had to be evacuated after the roof blew away; but they were some of the only people out-and-about, as police in Tórshavn imposed a curfew on all residents because it was believed to be too dangerous to venture outside among all the blown debris. The police actions appear to have worked, because there are not yet any reports of death or serious injuries.

It is feared that oil leaked from the new Tróndur í Gøtu fishing vessel as it dashed itself uncontrolled against the shore.

The weather is a lot better in the Faroes today; but by last night it was already clear that a lot of time-consuming and expensive repairs await the Faroe Islanders today.

The storm is now headed for Norway and has been given the name Berit, Vísir.is reports.

(As commenter John Calley kindly points out below, a Facebook page, which is open to the public, contains dozens of photographs of the damage caused. Pictures can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/%C3%93dnin-Berit/293476274019374?sk=wall)

(Photos: Faroe Islands on a calm day, Alëx Elliott // IceNews)

Negotiators on the Greenlandic side have described the results of the meeting as “satisfactory”, Sermitsiaq reports.

The Greenland Department of Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture sent representatives to negotiate with Faroese colleagues in Copenhagen. The two self-ruling countries have existing bilateral fishing agreements which allow both to catch and process fish species that might otherwise be unavailable to them.

The agreement for 2012 involves a reduction in the amount of Faroese herring the Greenlanders will be allowed to fish. Access to blue whiting remains unchanged for 2012 with 2,000 tonnes available to Greenlandic boats in Faroese waters. Greenland will once again have 60 days’ available fishing for bottom fish in the Faroese zone, a statement from the government in Nuuk states.

Faroese fishing access to Greenlandic waters is maintained unchanged next year.

At the start of negotiations, it appeared that Greenland would be forced to accept a very large decrease in the quota for herring, but after lengthy negotiations the Department of Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture was able to secure a higher quota than expected.

The Greenland quota of Faroese herring goes from 3,000 tonnes to 2,350 tonnes. The decline in the assigned amount is down to lower Total Allowable Catch limits and market price trends for herring.

The Greenlandic and Faroese fishing industries were directly represented in the Copenhagen negotiations and the joint assessment of Greenlandic business representatives who participated in the negotiations, according to Sermitsiaq, is that the deal negotiated by the Department of Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture for next year is “satisfactory”.

There is a great deal of cross-border co-operation in North Atlantic fishing.

Almost directly between the Faroe Islands and Greenland lies Iceland. Iceland was not part of this week’s negotiations but both countries also have bilateral fishing access deals with Iceland and Faroese and Greenlandic vessels regularly use Icelandic ports.

The book is available to buy, but its key facts and figures can also be seen online for free at the Nordic Council website, Norden.org.

Among the areas covered in the Nordisk Statistisk Arbog are that the most popular names given to babies in 2010 were Aron and Emilia in Iceland, William and Isabella in Denmark, Jonas and Anna in the Faroe Islands, Malik and Ivaana in Greenland, Elias and Emma in Finland, Leo and Ella in the Aland Islands, Lucas and Emma in Norway and Oscar and Maja in Sweden.

The publication also shows that more women than men in the Nordic region choose to go to university and that the gender imbalance is biggest in Iceland, where 66 percent of university students are female. 63.4 percent of students are female in Sweden and the proportion is least in Denmark, with 58.7 women for every 41.3 men in university.

Around 4,000 ‘trackless’ children entered the Nordic countries in 2010. By far the largest group of them were 15-17 years-old and Sweden was their top destination. That figure is 2,000 lower than in 2009. ‘Trackless’ children are individuals younger than 18 who arrive in the Nordic region unaccompanied by a parent or guardian, or who are later abandoned after arrival.

The book contains comparative statistics for the five Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden; as well as for the independent territories of the Aland Islands, Faroe Islands and Greenland.

There are, apparently, examples of people ‘recommending’ (or ‘liking’) certain products or services and getting paid for doing so.

The Icelandic Consumer Agency is working alongside its counterpart agencies in the other Nordic countries in an investigation into online advertising practices — especially on Facebook. The investigation is said to be at an advanced stage, RUV reports.

The Agency’s director, Tryggvi Axelsson, explains that he and his colleagues have received complaints about online advertising and marketing (especially on Facebook) claiming that products and services are being deliberately mis-sold or advertised in ways that potentially contravene the law.

Many people are familiar with the concept of ‘liking’ or ‘recommending’ all sorts of things on Facebook. “It looks as though it is a simple recommendation by an individual sitting at home, but it might be that he/she is working to advertise the product in question and is being paid for doing so. And of course suspicions are raised in many cases that it is in fact professional (paid) advertising being put across in this manner,” Axelsson says.

He also says that the Consumer Agency has received complaints whereby people point to cases of prizes or other incentives being promised to Facebook users who ‘recommend’ or ‘like’ a given product or service and where the promised prizes are not distributed.

The investigation does not appear to be about Facebook itself; but rather the way other companies and individuals use the website.

The Icelandic Consumer Agency website (here) allows people to submit anonymous complaints and tip-offs in English and Icelandic.