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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: a roundup of the day’s news on Tuesday

Danish extremist barred from UK, Islamic State sisters lose case against Denmark, Denmark only second happiest country, and home sales in Denmark at lowest level since 2013.

Today in Denmark: a roundup of the day's news on Tuesday
The town of Derek in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria. The Al-Roj prison camp, where several Danish citizens and former Danish citizens are held, is nearby. Photo: Asger Ladefoged/Ritzau Scanpix

Rasmus Paludan barred from entering UK 

The Danish anti-Islamic extremist Rasmus Paludan had been barred from entering the UK after it emerged that he planned to burn copies of the Quran in the city of Wakefield. 

The UK’s security minister, Tom Tugendhat, told the UK parliament that Paludan has been added to the UK’s “warnings index” after he announced his plans to ban a Quran in the city to mark the start of Ramadan on Wednesday and “will not be allowed access” to the country.

“His travel to the United Kingdom would not be conducive with the public good and he will not be allowed access,” he said, according to The Guardian newspaper.  

Danish vocab: adgang – access 

Islamic State twin sisters lose case against Denmark 

A court in Copenhagen on Monday acquitted Denmark’s immigration ministry for stripping two twin sisters of their Danish citizenship in 2020. 

The sisters were born in Denmark to Somali refugees, and then grew up in the UK before going to Syria to join the Islamic state caliphate in 2014, aged 16. The two are now held in the al-Roj prison camp in Kurdish-held northern Syria. 

The sentence is conditional on the women not becoming stateless.

In 2020, ministry said that the sisters were also Somali citizens and therefore would not be left stateless, but their lawyer, Eddie Omar Rosenberg Khawaja, said that the law in Somalia prohibits dual citizenship, meaning the two had lost their Somali citizenship automatically on becoming Danish citizens at aged four. 

He plans to appeal the judgement. 

Danish vocab: tvillingesøstre – twin sisters

Home sales in Denmark sink to lowest level since 2013

The number of home sales in Denmark fell over the last three months to the lowest level since the start of 2013, when the country was still emerging from a protracted housing slump.

Only 9,931 homes were sold in the last three months of 2022, according to the latest figures from the trade body Finance Denmark, the lowest number for 39 three-month periods. At the same time prices have fallen back to the levels they were at at the end of 2020. 

Prices of apartments fell by 7.2 percent last three months of the year compared to the same period in 2021, while prices for detached houses fell by 6.3 percent.

Danish vocab: bolighandler – home sales

World’s second happiest country: Denmark loses out to Finland again

Denmark is listed at number two on this year’s World Happiness Report, coming second to Finland for the second year in a row.

The UN’s World Happiness Report, published on Monday, puts Denmark second on its national happiness ranking.

Finland takes the title of world’s happiest nation, once closely associated with Denmark, for the sixth year in a row.

The Danish second place is the same as its 2022 ranking and one spot better than in 2021. Denmark once took first place regularly, but this has not happened since 2016. Denmark was also second behind Finland in 2019.

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TODAY IN DENMARK

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

Teachers report worsening violence, Danish electric car firm faces bankruptcy, hotdog stall flat out after winning 'best frikadelle' award, and more news from Denmark on Thursday.

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

Teachers report worsening violence at Danish schools

Near half of the teachers who responded to a survey by the Danish Union of Teachers said that they witnessed violent behaviour between students on a daily or weekly basis, with slightly more than half saying that violent episodes were getting more common. 

The survey was carried out after a string of severe bullying cases at Danish primary schools have been reported in the media. 

Fully 359 of the 2,426 teachers who responded to the survey said they witnessed students hitting, kicking, pushing, throwing objects, biting or spitting at eachother on a daily basis, with 817 saying this happened weekly. 

Some 624 said there were significantly more episodes than five years ago and 619 that there were slightly more episodes. Around 540 said that the number of episodes was about the same. 

The survey, which was carried out along with the broadcaster TV2, followed reports of violence and abuse at Borup Skole in Køge Municipality.

Danish vocabulary: skub – pushing

Danish electric car firm faces bankruptcy

Fisker Inc, the electric car firm founded by the Danish automative designer Henrik Fisker, is sharply cut the prices of most of its models as it faces a bankruptcy, the Business Insider wesbite has reported. 

On Tuesday, the company announced that its Ocean SUV would become $6,700 cheaper, making it only slightly more that half of the price of Tesla’s Model X. 

The announcement came after a potential deal between Fisker and a “major car manufacturer” collapsed, sending shares plummeting. 

Danish vocabulary: konkurs – bankrupcty

More Danes seek help with confirmation costs

Charities in Denmark such as Dansk Folkehjælp, Børnesagens Fællesråd, and Foreningen til Støtte af Mødre og Børn, have reported that growing numbers of people in Denmark are requesting help for the cost of holding small parties for the confirmation of their children in the Church of Denmark. 

According to Dansk Folkehjælp, 850 people asked for help this year, an increase of 30 percent on 2023, while Børnesagen’s Fællesråd saw the number rise to 343 this year from 306 last year and Foreningen til Støtte af Mødre og Børn saw the number of requests rise to 436 from 423. 

Danes traditionally hold their confirmation ceremonies on Shrove Monday, which fell on Feb 12th this year, and typically hold a party for the young person who is formally admitted to the church. 

Maria Blankensteiner, from Foreningen til Støtte af Mødre og Børn, said that those seeking assistance were typically give a voucher for 2,500 kroner. 

“This means that you can buy some cheap confirmation clothes and hold a small party where you invite the closest family and perhaps the confirmand’s best friend,” she said. 

Danish vocabulary: stigende efterspørgsel – rising demand

Silkeborg hotdog stall wins “Denmark’s best frikadelle” 

Brian Flink Pedersen, the owner of Pølsemageriet in Silkeborg on Jutland has been working flat out since he was crowned last week as the producer of “Denmark’s best frikadelle”, with his version of Denmark’s much-loved meatball rated the best. 

“This week we have sold approximately 20 times as much as we usually do. It has been sold out every day,” Pedersen told TV2 of how last week’s award had affected business. 

In a normal week, he sells between 300-400 portions of frikadeller, last week he sold more than 5,000. 

His winning frikadelle was pan-fried with tart apple, bacon and a little thyme, and that was the variety in demand last week. 

Danish vocabulary: udsolgt – sold out 

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