Hala Thomasdottir Elected New President of Iceland

According to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service "RUV," businesswoman Hala Thomasdottir won the presidential election in the North Atlantic country on Sunday and will take over the honorary position from the current president, Gudni Johannesson. According to the report, Thomasdottir (55 years old) received 34 percent of the votes on Saturday, surpassing former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, who resigned from her position in April to run for the presidency but only garnered 25 percent of the votes. The president, who is elected for a four-year term, has limited political powers in the island nation with a population of about 400,000. Recently, Iceland, a NATO member, has experienced several volcanic eruptions south of the capital Reykjavik, leading to the indefinite evacuation of thousands of residents.