Greenland, Venezuela, Gas Prices Drop By 1/3, Ukraine Front Lines, Jokes Explained & What Will 2026 Bring?

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The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: 
The Icelandic Annual End-Of-Year Skit Show
The last joint cultural event all of Iceland collectively enjoy, to various degrees, takes place on New Years’s Eve. We try to explain what it is. 
Greenland and Venezuela 
Last night Iceland’s PM Kristrún Frostadóttir wrote on her Facebook “Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nothing about Greenland without Greenland. Iceland stands in full solidarity behind our friends.” 
This morning, Iceland’s Foreign Minister, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, wrote an Op-Ed on visir.is saying, opening with “It is clear that the international system we have lived with since the end of the Second World War is shaking at its foundations. At work are what can rightly be called the threatening forces of history, generating uncertainty far beyond what we have been accustomed to and creating dangers that would have seemed implausible only a few years ago.” 
Both of these statements are responses the USA’s seizure of Venezuela’s president, and Trump’s subsequent comments about taking over Greenland.
Gas Prices Drop By A Third
The price of gas dropped by a third on the first day of the year, subsequent to changes in how the Icelandic state collects tax from automobiles. 
An Icelander Dies On The Front Lines In Ukraine
A 51 year old Icelander, Kjartan Sævar Óttarsson, died on the front lines in Ukraine  in and around the 20th of December, according to the man’s brother. Kjartan had travelled to Ukraine on December 7th from Gothenburg Sweden, and neither what he was tasked with on the front lines, nor what lead to his death, has been reported on as of yet.
What’s Coming Up In 2026?
The show’s host ponder what this new year will bring us.
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The Reykjavík Grapevine is an alternative monthly magazine published in Iceland since 2003. We bringing you the news and views on Icelandic culture and society, sprinkled with music coverage, travel content, restaurant reviews and more. More on https://www.grapevine.is
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