Iceland 

The upcoming municipal elections mainly revolve around the 'state of emergency in the housing and rental market', said a spokesperson for the Icelandic Tenants' Association, given the rising rents and increasing uncertainty

After its disputed sale of 22,5% Bank of Iceland stakes, the government suggested to the parliament that Icelandic State Financial Investments be abolished and a new system be established as the state’s holding company in the financial market

Forests and shrubs now cover over 2% of Iceland: the area increased more than sixfold since 1990, from 7.000 hectares to 45.000; in 20 years' time the figure is expected to reach 2,6%

According to data from the National Energy Authority, a large percentage of the electricity sold to data centres will be used for Bitcoin mining, a very demanding and expensive activity which requires very powerful computers

The international survey Health Behaviour in School-aged Children, conducted in Iceland since 2006, has shown that the percentages of Icelandic teenagers drinking alcohol and having sex have decreased

Three sisters - Sigga, Beta and Elín - will represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, after the trio won the Söngvakeppni, or Song Contest, in Reykjavík

The Icelandic Police Academy at the University of Akureyri will accept 50% more students this autumn to address the shortage of staff; the country has the second lowest number of police officers per capita of all European states

Doctors will be forced to choose between obeying the law or the international code of ethics, if the government approves amendments to the Immigration Act, granting police the authority to force physical examinations of asylum seekers

Accommodation nights booked by tourists have increased by 55% from December 2020 to December 2021 according to new data from Statistics Iceland

Researchers have confirmed that the fish species ‘sprat’ is spawning in Icelandic waters, according to a new report from Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute; similar to herring, the species has been fished in increasing numbers since 2017

ICE-SAR (Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue) teams were called out 1.196 times in 2021 and the biggest cases were related to the Fagradalsfjall eruption, from March 19 to Sept 18; the average between 2005 and 2020 is 1.082 calls per year

Fireworks in the country are sold and can be fired today; next time they will be on the market this year would be December 28–31