Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson said part of the country's prescription to growing its economy in the wake of its terrible financial crisis was refusing to bail out the banks and rejecting austerity measures that put the burden on poor and working people.

Icelandic authorities gave CIA permission to bring extraordinary rendition through Iceland from 2001-2007. Iceland was one of 54 countries that authorized those flights through their airspace, according to a new report from the human rights organization OSJI (Open Society Justice Initiative).

Two respected Norwegian politicians have joined the Norwegians that want to, publicly, say sorry to Iceland because of the Icesave dispute.

The Icelandic government has announced that it is lowering its mackerel fishing quota for 2013 by 15%. This is a part of the country's commitment to the long-term sustainability of stocks.

Mr. Kristinn Hrafnsson, Wikileaks spokesperson, said last week that representatives from the FBI came to Iceland in August 2011. The Icelandic Minister of the Interior confirmed this the same day and said that when he became aware of the FBI in Iceland he cancelled all cooperation with the FBI and told the representatives to leave.

Chairman of the Independence party, Bjarni Benediktsson, says that the future of European Union membership negotiations will be voted on in a referendum if his party will be a part of the next government. General elections will be held in Iceland in a month.

Population in the Faroe Islands is decreasing steadily. Many think that's the biggest social problem of the islands. Over the last 4 years, 300 fewer people have moved to the Islands than from them. And the Faroe Islands only have a population of less than 48,000 people. If nothing is done, it is predicted that they will be only 42,000 in 30 years and 37,000 in 40 years. But Mayor of Reykjavík, Jon Gnarr, has a solution.

Iceland formally applied for joining the European Union on July 23rd, 2009. Negotiations are still underway. Many chapters have been negotiated but some difficult chapter are still to be completed. Negotiations on 27 chapters out of 33 have begun, and 11 chapters have been finished. 

Dutch politicians want to look into laying a marine cable from Iceland to Europe, carrying Icelandic electricity, to pay for Icesave. The Dutch Labour Party, PvdA, has promoted the idea but the party forms the Dutch Government with VVD (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy).

Bjork congratulates the Icelandic nation on winning the Icesave case. Here is what she had to say about it: