Police evacuate 140 after explosion 

An explosion near Zealand town Korsør resulted in the evacuation of 140 residents yesterday evening. Police say the explosion could be related to fireworks.

A 52-year-old resident was killed in an explosion before further explosives were discovered by police, who then initiated the evacuations of everyone within a 500-metre radius. Police a working with a theory that the man may have been using fireworks, newswire Ritzau reports.

The property where the explosion took place is in a summerhouse area around eight kilometres outside of Korsør.

Under Danish law, it is only permitted to purchase and set off fireworks during a short period in December and early January for the purpose of New Year celebrations.

Vocabulary: explosive stoffer – explosive substances

Government to lend Randers 375 million kroner for landslide cleanup

The city of Randers is to get a 375 million-krone loan from the government so that it can continue the environmental cleanup following a landslide at the now-defunct soil treatment company Nordic Wast late last year.

“With dispensation for the loan, the government is giving a helping hand to Randers Municipality and to the work that is still ongoing for preventing and repairing damage from the landslide in [local village] Ølst,” environment minister Mads Heunicke said in a statement.

Randers has appealed for money from the government while it awaits the outcome of legal proceedings to reclaim costs of the cleanup from the assets of Nordic Waste, which has declared bankruptcy.

READ ALSO: Danish village no longer under threat from Nordic Waste landslide

Vocabulary: en hjælpende hånd – a helping hand

Danes order last-minute holidays amid subpar summer weather

The cool start to July – the month when most people in Denmark are on annual leave – has resulted in higher interest in charter holidays to warmer regions, several travel agencies have stated.

“Last week we sold 10 percent more than we did last year. It’s been a couple of years since we saw such high sales in a week,” the head of communication for the Spies travel agency, Sofie Folden Lund, told Ritzau.

Lund said Denmark’s exit from the Euro 2024 football championships, along with the weather, were to blame (or thank) for the sudden interest in heading abroad on holiday.

Vocabulary: rejselysten – wanting to travel

Denmark scraps taxi laws on small islands

Four small Danish islands no longer have taxi laws as the rules governing the rest of the country were scrapped to allow ridesharing.

On four small Danish islands — Bågø, Endelave, Hjarnø and Orø – residents can now pick up paying passengers without being subject to any of the laws governing taxis on the mainland.

The rules have been introduced to make up for a lack of public transport coverage on the remote islands – and could soon be extended to more of the many small islands scattered around Denmark’s coasts.

Vocabulary: ø – island