Latest news with #Iceland
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Jón Jónsson answers are in Iceland, not Ireland, his brother says
The brother of missing Icelandic man Jón Jónsson agrees with Garda detectives that the answers to his brother's disappearance six years ago lie in Iceland . The poker player had been in Ireland less than 24 hours when he disappeared after leaving the Bonnington Hotel in February 2019 during the Dublin Poker Festival. 'You would think the answers are in Iceland,' said Jón's brother, Davíð Karl Wiium. 'Probably something prior to his disappearance has something to do with his disappearance.' Five gardaí have come to Reykjavik for the first time this week to work on the case, a development that is welcomed by Wiium and his family. Gardaí are working closely with members of the Icelandic police. 'We are very happy that they're here. It's a huge milestone in the case. It's been six years,' Wiium said. READ MORE He hopes that in Iceland, gardaí will get answers that will point them in the right direction. 'I hope, by coming here, the Irish police can get a better understanding of what he was doing before he came to Ireland. Look into his closest surroundings, talk with people of interest, the family, friends,' Wiium said. 'You get to know the person. You get to know what he was doing, and where he was before, and what he was involved in.' [ 'I'm almost certain something happened': Family fear missing Jón Jónsson was killed by hitman in case of mistaken identity Opens in new window ] Wiium met gardaí in Reykjavik this week as they began to take statements in Iceland. He has felt momentum pick up in the case again with recent media appearances such as The Late Late Show, which the family appeared on in March. A podcast series on Jónsson's disappearance also came out in January. 'We really felt the snowball rolling,' Wiium said, adding that the podcast has given the family extra strength. 'It has probably been the most positive impact from the beginning. It was like an extra push that we needed after a long, long time.' Where is Jón?/Hvar er Jón? is a co-production between RTÉ and Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. It delves into Jón's background over seven episodes, through interviews with his family and friends. Jón's family welcomed the podcast's focus on Jón's case and hoped it would bring them answers. Wiium said it was important also that the podcast 'portrayed Jón as who he is. He was a really good man, a great person and father that coincidentally started playing poker a couple of years before he disappeared.' Wiium said his brother had been looking forward to the tournament and remembers him speaking about it for weeks beforehand. 'I know he really wanted to be a poker player. He was not a sports guy. He was into board games, poker, video games, that kind of stuff. And he wanted to be really good at poker.' He speaks of a man who was always there for everyone. 'A 'family comes first' kind of man. So it's very much out of character.' The toll it has taken on Jón's family has been immense. 'It's hard for everyone. It's a big family, and emotionally it's hard. When you have someone disappearing very close to you, it starts to tear you up inside. It always creeps back. It's always there.' 'We just really want to find him, and hopefully figure out what happened.'
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Svanthorsson to miss start of season after surgery
Grimsby Town winger Jason Svanthorsson could miss up to 10 games at the start of the League Two season after undergoing surgery on his Iceland international, 25, was a regular starter in the Mariners last campaign, making 43 appearances in the league last season, scoring four goals and making four the club confirmed he is facing a spell on the sidelines which could stretch until late September after "pre-planned" surgery during the close who has six caps for his national side, joined Grimsby Town from Icelandic side Breidablik last summer.
The Sun
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Full list of 43 shops and banks vanishing from British high street forever in July – is your local closing?
MAJOR retailers and banks will close several stores for good this month as the high street continues to face difficulties. The closures come as UK businesses continue to faced increased costs alongside a decline in footfall. Changes in this year's budget, including an increase in employer National Insurance contributions and energy and rent costs have piled on pressure for companies. As a result, some retailers have been forced to make drastic changes to remain competitive. This includes hiking prices, reviewing expansion plans and reducing the number of stores they have. Here is a full list of the shops and banks we know are shutting in July 2025. The Original Factory Shop The discount high street chain closed nine shops in June after previously warning it would have to shut some 'loss-making' locations. This comes after the discount chain began to struggle in recent years. And now the retailer is now set to close its location in Staveley, Cumbria on July 12. The private equity firm Modella bought The Original Factory Shop in February and has since launched a restructuring effort. This was carried out in an effort to renegotiate rents at 88 The Original Factory Shop stores across the country. Modella also recently bought Hobbycraft and WHSmith's high street shops. Co-op Faces Uncertain Future: 34 Stores at Risk Amid Financial Struggles Iceland The supermarket chain will close its store on Rose Street in Inverness on July 12. There will no longer be any Iceland stores in the Scottish city, with the closest located in Aberdeen. This move will come just weeks after Iceland shut down its Margate branch. The retailer has not yet confirmed the reason for the sudden closure but it has been completing a broader reshuffle of its operations in recent months. This is part of an effort to adapt to shifting consumer habits, cost pressures, and the growing demand for convenience and online shopping. Why are retailers closing stores? RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis. High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going. However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024. End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker. It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date. This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023. It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker. Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations. Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes. Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020." Poundland After a series of closures in the past few months, Poundland is set to shut down its location in Deepdale Retail Park in Preston on July 5 and another store in Newquay on July 30. Gordon Brothers, the ex-owner of Laura Ashley, purchased the business from Polish owner Pepco Group for £1 after a downturn in trading. The new owners are asking the court for permission to close 68 stores and negotiate lower rents on others. Up to 82 more stores are potentially at risk of shutting down in the future. However, before the sale was agreed, Poundland had already planned to close 18 stores, with the July shutdowns among the last to be confirmed. New Look The famous fashion retailer is set to close another location at the beginning of July. Hamilton, Scotland will see its New Look store permanently pull the shutters on July 1. The move comes after the shop announced it would be closing nearly 100 stores in the coming months. A New Look spokesperson said: 'Our store in Hamilton is set close on July 1. We would like to thank all of our colleagues and the local community for their support over the years. "We hope customers continue to shop with us online at where our full product ranges can be found.' Santander Santander is set to close 38 branches next month after announcing locations were struggling due to the increase in online banking. A statement on the Santander website reads: "We last did a major review of our branches in 2021. "Since then, many of our customers are choosing to use Mobile, Online and Telephone Banking more, and branches less." The Santander locations set to close in July are: Armagh July 1 Bognor Regis July 14 Borehamwood July 1 Caernarfon July 7 Camborne July 7 Colne July 14 Colwyn Bay July 24 Crowborough July 23 Cumbernauld July 7 Didsbury July 8 Exmouth July 15 Falmouth July 21 Farnham July 29 Felixstowe July 16 Hackney July 15 Hawick July 24 Herne Bay July 8 Hertford July 29 Holloway July 14 Honiton July 14 Kirkby July 22 Malvern July 2 Market Harborough July 1 New Milton July 28 Pudsey July 28 Rawtenstall July 15 Ross-On-Wye July 30 Ruislip July 7 Saltcoats July 21 Seaford July 14 Shaftesbury July 23 St Austell July 8 St Neots July 30 Stokesley July 31 Strabane July 23 Tenterden July 7 Tottenham July 8 Wishaw July 22
Independent Singapore
18 hours ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Singapore is 6th most peaceful country on the 2025 Global Peace Index
SINGAPORE: In the 19th edition of the Global Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace, Singapore was ranked the sixth most peaceful country in the world. The index, which covers 99.7% of the population around the world, evaluates the level of peacefulness of 163 independent states and territories, based on these criteria: level of societal safety and security, extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and degree of militarisation. Iceland, which has held the number one spot since 2008, topped the list yet again with a score of 1.095. Interestingly, Iceland is the only member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) alliance without a military. Ireland, which has played an important role in global peacemaking, took second place on the index with a score of 1.260, closely followed by New Zealand, which scored 1.282. New Zealand, the only Pacific nation in the top 10, not only climbed one spot to take third place, but its peacefulness score also rose by 3.1% over the last year. Rounding out the top five are Austria and Switzerland, with both receiving a score of 1.294. While Austria fell by one spot on the index, Switzerland conversely rose by one notch. Singapore, now sixth with this year's score of 1.357, dropped one place from fifth last year. Regionally, it follows New Zealand to take second place in the Pacific, and is the only Asian country in the top ten. Notably, the city-state 'is another popular destination for American expats, including those looking for entrepreneur economies like that of Silicon Valley', as Insider recently pointed out, adding that Singapore is in the top five when it comes to societal safety and security, as well as ongoing conflicts. Countries in Europe dominate the rest of the top ten with Portugal in seventh place (1.371), followed by Denmark (1.393), Slovenia (1.409), and Finland (1.420). This should come as no surprise, given that Western and Central Europe is the most peaceful region in the world. On the other hand, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is still the least peaceful. 'This year's results found that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.36%. This is the 13th deterioration in peacefulness in the last 17 years, with 74 countries improving and 87 deteriorating in peacefulness,' the index notes. For the first time, Russia has become the least peaceful country in the world on this year's Global Peace Index. Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Israel, and Mali, respectively, took the other nine spots among the bottom 10 least peaceful countries. /TISG Read also: Singapore clinches highest rank among all Asian nations in 2023 Global Peace Index
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Icelandic police investigating double murder ask gardaí to seach Dublin house
Icelandic police investigating the killings of a father and daughter in a Reykjavik hotel have sent a formal legal request to gardaí, asking them to search the victims' home in Dublin. The man, who was aged in his 50s, and his adult daughter were French citizens but had been living in Dublin for about a decade before travelling to Iceland earlier this month for a weeklong holiday. On the morning of June 14th, they were found with multiple stab wounds in a room on the fourth floor of the Edition Hotel where they had been staying. A woman, aged in her 60s, was arrested at the scene. She is the wife of the deceased man and mother of the dead woman. READ MORE Icelandic police have been liaising with both gardaí and French police since the start of the investigation to gather information about the suspect and victims. They have now sent a formal international legal request asking gardaí to search the family's home in Dublin to determine a potential motive for the killings. It is understood gardaí are happy to comply with the request. Icelandic police have yet to release the name of the victims or suspect, in line with standard procedure in the country. However, some details have emerged about the family. They moved to Ireland in 2017 where they maintained a low profile. The father is from New Caledonia, a tiny collection of islands in the south Pacific which are governed by France. The mother was born in metropolitan France to parents who came to the country from Asia. The family arrived in Reykjavik on June 7th. They stayed in two rooms at the luxury Edition Hotel where rooms costs at least €1,000 a night. During the day they went on daytrips before returning to the hotel in the evenings. The man had been suffering from advanced kidney disease and required regular treatment. They were due to return to Dublin on the morning their bodies were found by hotel staff. They had suffered extensive stab wounds and a knife was found at the scene. The mother was taken to Landspítali Hospital for treatment for serious but non-life threatening life injuries. Police are trying to determine if these injuries were self-inflicted. She remains in hospital under police guard. She has given two formal statements to police. Last week police were granted a further two weeks to hold her in custody. The Icelandic public broadcaster RÚV reports that she is likely to remain in custody until at least September when a decision will be made on whether to formally charge her with murder. Under Icelandic law, the public prosecutor has 12 weeks from arrest to determine if a suspect should face formal charges. Police are expected to object to the woman being released on bail before a decision is made. Forensic investigations of the suspected murder weapon are continuing while the room in the Edition Hotel remains sealed off as a crime scene, RÚV reports. The woman is next due before a judge on July 4th.
