The wine marketed under the Motörhead name and logo will therefore not be for sale in ÁTVR’s Vínbúðin stores across Iceland. In defence of the move the company cited the fact that the branding is not relevant because the band does not make the wine itself; but that the branding does inevitably promote an unhealthy lifestyle.

The information comes from an article written for Fréttablaðið by Hjörleifur Árnason, the wine’s Icelandic importer. In his article he says he has now appealed the case to the parliamentary ombudsman. Although ÁTVR has a monopoly on alcohol retail in Iceland, importers and distributors are able to deal directly with bars, restaurants and cafés; meaning the Motörhead brand could still be sold in the country and can now expect a higher profile following this controversy.

The rock band, which has been going for 37 years, loaned its name to Motörhead Shiraz, as well as to several other products including vodka and rosé wine.

Last March Hjörleifur decided to import a case of the wine through the company Rokk slf. and apply for a licence to sell it in Vínbúðin outlets. The application was rejected by ÁTVR on the grounds that the band Motörhead had nothing directly to do with the wine and that the message accompanying the product was not a positive one.

The English word ‘Motorhead’ is a slang term for an amphetamine addict and furthermore the band sings about war, abuse of power, irresponsible sex and substance abuse, ÁTVR said.

On the grounds the the band did not make the wine themselves, the importer says he fears that means all celebrity wines will be banned, such as wines by the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Elvis Presley and others.

All events in the Winter Lights Festival are free to attend and the full schedule can be read in English here.

Reykjavík mayor Jón Gnarr will formally begin the festival at 19.30 with a short speech by Hallgrímskirkja before handing over to Marcos Zotes who will paint the cathedral in moving light themes inspired by the elements of water, fire, air and earth.

Dance, film, exhibitions, theatre, music and more will all compete for attention at a festival which truly has something for everyone – despite how cliché that phrase has become.

The festival also includes free access to many of Reykjavík’s swimming pools this Saturday evening and pool guests will be artistically stimulated all the while.

www.vetrarhatid.is

Police have taken a helicopter to the hamlet of Nutaarmiut, about 90km from Upernavik in west central Greenland.

“We have been informed by a citizen that three people have been shot and killed in Nutaarmiut and two people are said to be injured,” Claus Risbjerg of the Greenland Central Police Authority said in a Politken report.

Nutaarmiut is home to around 55 people and is one of many small hunting communities in the country that does not have a permanent police presence.

“We have no information on who did this. We have a helicopter due to land up there soon with police, a doctor and nurses. When we have our people on the scene, we will have further information,” Risbjerg said.

Franek Rozwadowski, the permanent representative of the International Monetary Fund in Iceland, has completely denied claims the the IMF asked Iceland to close cultural centres following the banking crash and the country’s subsequent international bailout.

The claims were made by Minister of Education and Culture, Katrín Jakobsdóttir to the Alþingi parliament last Friday. Roswadowski this week responded with a press statement saying that the IMF was only ever interested in the overall size of Iceland’s budget deficit and not the individual components making it up.

“The cornerstone of the recovery plan was the main rule that the government was completely independent in how it intended to reach its goals to close the deficit; how taxation should be organised and where the cutbacks needed to be made,” Roswadowski said — adding that it is simply not true that the IMF recommended cutbacks to the government at any specific cultural institutions or even any individual sector of the national budget.

The interest rate of 4.75 percent will not change this period, despite continuing inflational pressure calling for rate rises. The last rate decision was in December, when the Central Bank also decided to keep the rate the same. The Bank warned it will likely have to raise the rate slightly soon if economic conditions remain the same.

The Central Bank of Iceland predicts 2.5 percent economic growth in the country this year and for the next two years. The global economic situation continues to worsen and as a result the terms of trade will be worse this year than had previously been thought.

The Icelandic exports market remains lively, though; and continues to beat expectations. The Bank’s economic forecast is similar to the one it gave out in November.

If the forecast proves correct, inflation in Iceland will reach a peak of around six percent in the first quarter of this year before falling back again. The Bank’s inflation target is 2.5 percent and the forecast predicts the country will reach that rate again early in 2014. It predicts and average annual inflation rate of 4.6 percent this year — which is half-a-percent higher than in the November forecast.

A man was shot dead in his car at around 21.00 on Tuesday 31st January, while a nearby police station was badly damaged in a fire bombing in the early hours of the next morning.

The two incidents are not thought to be connected, but officials believe the attack on the police station could be a response to the more robust crime fighting measures recently introduced in the troubled district. Despite a focus on searching for illegal weapons, last week’s murder marks the eighth in the area since May.

“The entire Swedish police force stands behind Malmö. We have received reinforcements and continue to work under previous guidelines,” Hans Nordin of the Skåne Police told news agency TT.

Börje Sjöholm of the Malmö police added that they are searching for clues on the two most recent incidents, but that they need help from the community. “It’s important that those who know anything dare to come forward. We protect our witnesses,” he said.

Two people have already been fatally shot in Malmö since the start of the year, leading to questions about whether the additional policing has only led to more violence. Nordin admitted that they are disappointed, but insisted that the initiative still has potential.

“No, it’s no failure. But it is very embarrassing that another murder has occurred, and very irritating that we couldn’t do anything to prevent it,” Nordin told TT.

Malmö Mayor Ilmar Reeplau also expressed his frustration over the matter. Speaking to the Sydsvenskan newspaper after the latest events, he said, “It’s bloody awful. We have had a massive police operation on Malmö’s streets, but the violence is only continuing. The Swedish law system is being ignored and is not respected any longer.”

Jón brought the case after the Data Protection Authority requested information from the Central Bank of Iceland about how personal information on currency purchases was being dealt with; including how the information was processed, who had access to the information, how securely it was held and how long it would be held for.

In a Fréttablaðið interview in October, Jón said: “The Data Protection Authority allowed the Central Bank of Iceland to look at international transfers by credit card made by everyone in Iceland. That was done with no sort of minimum or provisos. I believe that that is a breach of my rights to permit unreasonable prying into my personal affairs.”

He added that he did not want “Big Brother” sticking its nose into all his business and said he would start proceedings against the governor of the Central Bank and other people to draw attention to the matter.

It is now clear that that will not happen — but it is clear, on the other hand, that Jón has to pay ISK 100,000 (EUR 617) to the Data Protection Authority in legal fees.

Sunday’s election saw Niinistö claim 62.6 percent of the vote, leaving him streets ahead of his rival Pekka Haavisto, who secured 37.4 for the Green League.

Niinistö won a majority in all but one of the 15 electoral districts, with Haavisto only winning Åland with a 60-40 split in his favour. Niinistö’s largest lead was in Vaasa (72.3 percent), while the closest battle was in the capital where he scraped a majority of just 50.3 percent.

Haavisto conceded defeat after 80 percent of the votes had been counted, but said he was satisfied with his campaign. “From the summer’s five percent it is a good rise. Over a million people gave me their backing,” he said, according to YLE.

With a voter turnout of just 68.9 percent, it was the lowest for a presidential election in Finland since 1950. Although 36 percent of voters cast advanced ballots, the relatively poor turnout is thought to be due to the bitterly cold weather sweeping the country and Europe as a whole.

The buildings will be assembled in an area by the sea shore in the village and the project is the biggest project by the heritage preservation company Minjavernd outside of the capital region. The project involves rebuilding and/or renovating all the main buildings associated with serving the French fishermen whose presence still lingers strongly in local culture today. The centrepiece of the new heritage ‘village’ will be the French Hospital.

The ‘village’ within a village will become a tourist attraction, organisers hope — and they hope to help by opening a museum about Fáskrúðsfjörður’s French ties, as well as a hotel, RÚV reports.

The French Hospital was built in 1903 and later moved to Hafnarnes, outside of the village. The building has stood on that site for several decades and was in a considerable state of disrepair when it was taken apart and returned to the village for renovation.

The planned opening of the new project is spring 2014 and the planned cost is in the region of ISK 580 million (EUR 3.57 million).

The man, who was described as being in a strange state, took himself to the police station yesterday and told officers about an incident which had taken place at his home in Hafnarfjörður.

His explanation was extremely unclear so police decided to visit the house. Once there they discovered a woman in her thirties, already dead at the scene and with visible injuries.

The woman was in the man’s home as an invited guest and they had known one another for some time, Vísir.is reports. Police officers took a blade from the scene as evidence. The man in custody was previously known to the police.

The investigation into the apparent murder is at a very early stage and not a lot of information is yet available, according to the police press release.