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Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Find out what's going on in Denmark today with The Local's short roundup of the news in less than five minutes.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
A slight easing off of hot temperatures is forecast in Denmark this weekend. File photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

Eight percent of new Danish coronavirus infections were picked up on trips to Spain

A total of eight percent of positive coronavirus tests registered in Denmark in the last week have been linked to the infected person’s recent travel to Spain, according to new data from the Danish Patient Safety Authority and reported by broadcaster DR.

Spain is currently classed as a yellow country under Denmark’s travel guidelines, with some regions green, meaning Denmark does not restrict travel to those countries for tourists from Denmark (although people coming from yellow regions are required to take a test on returning from their trip).

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Denmark’s latest travel rules

Spain currently has an infection rate three times higher than Denmark, DR writes. The Danish authorities update the colour coded travel guidelines for international countries and regions on Fridays. We’ll report any significant changes as they come in today.

Young Syrian allowed to stay in Denmark after authorities approve appeal

The Danish Immigration Service (Flygtningenævnet) yesterday reversed a decision to deport a young Syrian refugee to Damascus on appeal.

Aya Abu-Daher, a 19-year-old upper secondary school student who lives in Nyborg had her residence permit extended after the authority reversed on appeal a decision to withdraw her asylum status, which would have likely meant she would have been forced to move into a Danish expulsion or departure centre and await deportation.

Abu-Daher, whose situation gained considerable media attention after she was initially told she would not be allowed to complete her school exams, told newspaper Politiken yesterday afternoon she felt “reborn”.

The future of many other Syrian refugees in Denmark remains uncertain after the country withdrew asylum status from dozens of people. The country maintains that conditions in and around Damascus are safe to return refugees in some cases, a position disputed by experts and not taken by other EU countries.

READ ALSO:

Busy traffic expected as many in Denmark take summer holiday

Thousands of people across the country are today expected to hit the roads this weekend as they travel towards summer houses and holiday homes. That is because the statutory holiday for people in many sectors falls during the coming weeks.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about vacation in Denmark

The Danish Road Directorate (Vejdirektoratet) has encouraged drivers to consider the best times to set out in order to keep traffic smooth. Saturday is expected to be particularly busy, news wire Ritzau reports, with motorists heading across Zealand and Funen and south through Jutland.

Break in heat forecast this weekend

This week has seen some truly scorching, dry weather in Denmark, in stark contrast to the catastrophic images of flooding in Germany and Belgium in recent days.

The heat is forecast to ease a little this weekend, with national meteorologist DMI predicting between 20-25 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 18-23 degrees, with some cloud and wind, on Sunday. Friday will be hot at up to 30 degrees Celsius, although a little more breeze could be felt than in preceding days this week.

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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Friday

Rules on family reunification for returning Danes to be eased, Copenhagen tourist tax plan moves forward, notorious murderer loses case against prison and more news from Denmark on Friday.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Friday

Government to ease rules on family reunification for Danes returning from abroad 

Immigration rules are to be eased so that Danish nationals moving back home after spells living abroad will face fewer obstacles if they have foreign spouses and children.

The decision, announced yesterday evening in a statement from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, also means that a language requirement will be eased for Danes who apply for family reunification for their partners.

That comes after a number of reports described absurd individual cases whereby a family reunification was refused because the Danish partner – born, raised and schooled in Denmark – failed to meet a Danish language requirement.

We’ll have full detail of this announcement in a separate article on our website this morning.

Vocabulary: familiesammenføring – family reunification

Copenhagen Municipality moves forward with tourist tax plan

The city council at Copenhagen Municipality yesterday evening voted to move forward on plans to introduce a tax on tourists, following a model seen in a number of other European cities.

The vote was tight, with conservative parties generally voting against, local media TV2 Kosmopol reports. The parties said such a tax could damage the already-expensive Copenhagen’s competitiveness as a tourist destination.

But council member Rasmus Steenberger of centre-left party SF called the tax a “win-win situation” for both residents and visitors to the capital, saying it would make tourism “sustainable”.

A proposed tax would have to be adopted by parliament and could therefore still fail after the municipality has put the model together.

Vocabulary: turismeafgift – tourism tax

Denmark to increase contribution to climate change-threatened countries

A contribution of 175 million kroner will be made by Denmark to countries at most risk from climate change, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai yesterday.

That brings Denmark’s total contribution in the area to 350 million kroner.

“We are among those who have emitted the most. The immediate consequences of climate change can be felt most in the countries where the population emits the least,” Frederiksen said according to news wire Ritzau.

Vocabulary: klimaskader – damage from climate change

Submarine murderer loses lawsuit over right to new relationships

One of Denmark’s most infamous prisoners, serving life for murdering a journalist aboard his homemade submarine, yesterday lost a lawsuit against the Danish state over legislation barring him from cultivating new relationships.

Peter Madsen, 52, had argued that a law introduced in 2022 violated his right to a private life under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The law restricts life prisoners to having visits, letter and telephone contact only with people already close to them before their conviction, during the first 10 years of their sentence.

“”The court found no basis for (Madsen’s claim), which is why Storstrøm Prison has been cleared of a number of allegations made by the inmate,” the Nykøbing Falster district court wrote in a statement reported by news wire AFP.

Vocabulary: grundlag – basis

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