Iceland's Minister of Finance, Steingrimur J. Sigfusson, discusses the status and positive signs to be seen in Iceland's economy in a new article, Rising from the Ruins.

Johanna Sigurdardottir, Prime Minister of Iceland, is second on Time magazine's top ten list of female leaders in the world.

International conference on the effects of the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland on aviation. The conference is organized by Keilir Aviation Academy in cooperation with the President of Iceland, the Icelandic Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Administration, ISAVIA, the Icelandic Meteorological Office, Institute of Earth Sciences at University of Iceland, Icelandair, ICAO, IATA, ATA, AEA, the US Embassy in Iceland and the Russian Federations Embassy in Iceland.

A co-operation agreement on cross-border financial stability, crisis management and resolution between the finance ministries and other relevant ministries, central banks and financial supervisory authorities of the Nordic and Baltic countries has been signed. The agreement enhances preparedness to handle cross-border financial stability concerns in the financially integrated Nordic-Baltic region.

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The Snorri Sturluson Icelandic Fellowships are granted to writers, translators and scholars (not students) in the field of humanities from outside Iceland, to enable them to stay in Iceland for a period of at least three months, in order to improve their knowledge of the Icelandic language, culture and society.

On 29 June 2010 Pétur J. Eiríksson, chairman of Portus announced that the official opening of Harpa concert hall and opening concert by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra would take place on 4 May 2011. The opening concert will be conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Taking place on July 1 at 8pm GMT in Iceland and lasting approximately three hours, and be a mix of live music with some broadcast on a big screen, Iceland Inspires will be a free concert to any lover of the eclectic line-up and will be streamed live around the world on www.inspiredbyiceland.com.

The concert is organized with the support of the Embassies of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

Icelandic artists Jónsi (of famous Icelandic group Sigur Rós) and Jóhann Jóhannson in Montreal on May 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The volcanic eruption in the glacier Eyjafjallajokull in South Iceland is continuing but Icelandic civil protection authorities have the situation as regards public response fully under control.

Travelling restrictions remain in the area around where a volcanic eruption begun in Southern Iceland late Saturday night. Traffic on main roads has been reopened but travellers in the area are advised to exercise caution, follow instructions and not to enter restricted areas, which are marked.

Reykjavík University is opening a summer school for the first time. Ten courses will be offered at the graduate level, starting this June. The programme is geared towards international students and all classes will be taught in English.

SÍM - The Icelandic Association of Visual Artist runs 2 residency apartments situated in 2 different places in Reykjavík. The residencies are applicable for Icelandic and foreign artists and the length of the stay is 1 -3 month. The Apartment / studio is now open for applications for the period July through December 2010.

The Government of Iceland has decided to hold a national referendum on the so-called Icesave legislation, following broad consultations with both coalition and opposition parties as well as employers' associations and labor unions. The referendum is expected to take place late February.

The President of Iceland has declined to sign a law authorising a state guarantee for repayment of loans provided by the UK and the Netherlands to the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund, intended to cover payment of the minimum deposit guarantees to depositors in the UK and Netherlands branches of the failed Landsbanki Íslands hf. Despite the President's decision, the government of Iceland remains fully committed to implementing the bilateral loan agreements and thus the state guarantee provided for by the law.

HönnunarMars 2010 verður haldinn dagana 18.- 21. mars. Dagskrá HönnunarMarsins verður spennandi og glæsileg en fjöldi viðburða, áhugaverðra fyrirlestra og sýninga munu endurspegla fjölbreytileika íslenskrar hönnunar.

"The Nordic countries have every opportunity to be world leaders in innovative and climate-friendly energy. Investments in environmental technology and the sustainable use of energy resources will also create positive opportunities for growth," the Icelandic Prime Minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, told a press conference held by the Nordic prime ministers on Thursday.

The Nordic prime ministers fully support Iceland and are committed to helping the country out of its economic crisis, they told a press conference at the Blue Lagoon after their meeting on Thursday during the two-day Nordic Globalisation Forum.

The Canada - EFTA Free Trade Agreement starts its promotional tour across Canada this week.

Gylfi Magnússon, Iceland's Minister for Business Affairs, reiterates in an Interview with the German newspaper, die Welt, that the Icelandic Government will honour its legal obligations abroad; the assets of Kaupthing Edge in Germany will almost certainly be sufficient for paying off depositors.