Top IceNews stories of the week

IceNews specialises in publishing online news from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. With headquarters in Iceland, IceNews posts daily news items on a range of subjects at www.icenews.is

A selection of the top news stories from the first week of 2008:

New law provokes rush for female directors in Norway

A change in the law in Norway means that 40% of board directors of public companies need to be female from 1^st January. Many companies have held last-minute meetings to choose female directors under the threat of being shut down.

Pompeii of the North project wins award

A project to excavate an Icelandic town partly buried by a volcanic explosion has been awarded with Icelandair’s 2007 Award for Innovation. The Westman Island Pompeii diggings will be open for the public later this year and will show how life was before the fateful day in 1973.

Icelandic president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson goes for fourth term

The President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, has announced his intention to stand for a fourth term in office. If he is re-elected, Mr Grimsson would be the third Icelandic president to stay in office for four terms, a total of sixteen years.

Finland to head the OSCE

The Finnish Foreign Minister, Ilkka Kanerva, this week became chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Finland will retain the chairmanship for one year and will tackle disputes such as the Kosovo and the Conventional Armed Forces treaty in Europe.

Explosive Iceland welcomes 2008 with record fireworks

For a population of only 300,000, Iceland each year lets off a record number of fireworks per capita on New Year’s Eve. This year the import of fireworks topped 1,275 tonnes – an increase of 50% in 3 years.

For more news from Scandinavia and Northern European visit www.icenews.is