Reykjavik on thin financial ice after debt-plan veto

REYKJAVIK: Iceland's government and parliament are pushing to channel much-needed rescue liquidity from international lenders in the wake of the president's veto of a UK and Dutch repayment bill that had been passed by lawmakers last week.

Iceland's government pledged yesterday not to default the controversial junk-rating debt - amounting to nearly $20,000 for each of the 300,000 Icelanders - to UK and Netherlands amid mounting ecoenomic and political pressures from the two countries and the international community. The assembly will reconvene tomorrow, Birgitta Jonsdottir, an opposition lawmaker, told Bloomberg.

Iceland's Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson said: "I don't believe there's anything that points to Iceland defaulting."