Icelandic designer Unnur Fridriksdóttir, who designs handbags, belts and accessories for men and women for her own label UNNUR made from fish leather, among other materials, was recently asked to design belts for American talk show queen Oprah Winfrey.

“I didn’t have to think twice about it. Oprah’s measurements were sent over and I quickly designed the requested number of belts—it isn’t every day that you get a request like that,” Fridriksdóttir told Fréttabladid.

Fridriksdóttir runs her own design company, UNNURWEAR, in Los Angeles and posted pictures of her new collection of belts on Facebook late last year.

The chief fashion editor of Oprah’s O-Magazine, Jasmine H. Chang, saw the pictures and asked Fridriksdóttir to design belts both for the magazine and Oprah herself. “It was such a pleasant surprise, a great honor and such a pleasing beginning of a new year,” the designer added. 

The Icelandic airline Atlanta has been carrying military equipment for the US Army to Afghanistan. According to the Stöd 2 newsroom the Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration granted Atlanta special permission for the transport at the beginning of this month.

The permission was granted in consultation with the Ministry for Internal Affairs, Fréttabladid reports.

Military equipment is defined as spare parts, office supplies, medicine, etc. but Stöd 2 also has unconfirmed sources stating that weaponry was among the cargo Atlanta has transported. The transport is on behalf of the American company National Air Cargo.

Icelandic involvement in the transport of arms to conflict zones has raised controversy on earlier occasions.

Úlfar Logason, an 18-year-old student, has filed an administrative complaint to the Ministry of Welfare because of what he calls illegal regulations on blood donations. When he wanted to donate blood in February, he was sent away because of his sexual orientation.

The Blood Bank states that a man cannot donate blood if he has had sexual relations with another man. Logason demands that the ban be lifted and that an argumentation on which the regulation is based is submitted, Morgunbladid reports.

In an interview two weeks ago, Logason said: “Originally I just wanted the story reported on in the media but then I hired a lawyer who specializes in human rights.”

Logason’s lawyer, Páll Rúnar Mikael Kristjánsson, said that to his knowledge, the Blood Bank has not been sued because of these regulations before, although the Blood Bank regularly receives enquiries because of them.

The Blood Bank’s head physician, Sveinn Gudmundsson, said studies that have been conducted abroad indicate that the risk of contracting various diseases multiplies among men who have had sex with other men.

However, Kristjánsson said no such studies have been conducted in Iceland and he is of the view that they have to be conducted before such regulations are made. “It isn’t enough to state that there is a certain risk in large cities abroad and have it apply to Iceland too.” He calls for an argumentation for the regulations.