SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

MEMBERSHIP EXCLUSIVES

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
Alcohol-free beer is becoming a more common preference in Denmark, according to new supermarket figures. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Sales of alcohol free beer on the up 

Denmark has something of a reputation for being a heavy-drinking nation, but there are signs that some are changing their habits.

Sales of alcohol-free beer at supermarket company Coop doubled between 2013 and 2020, news wire Ritzau reports. Coop owns several major Danish supermarket chains including Irma, SuperBrugsen, Fakta and Kvickly.

“There’s a clear trend in the sales of alcohol-free beer nationally. We’ve seen it with increasing strength from 2013 onwards, and in 2020, which was an unusual year, alcohol-free beer was among the seven product groups which increased the most,” Coop head of information Jens Juul Nielsen told Ritzau.

Better products and choice, as well as increasing focus on health amongst customers, are factors in the trend, Nielsen said.

Potential change to travel guidelines in weekly update

The foreign ministry updates its travel guidelines every Friday, meaning rules affecting whether incoming or returning travellers to Denmark can change, should the country from which they are travelling be given a new colour.

Denmark’s Covid-19 travel guidelines designates countries and regions under four different colour categories: green, yellow orange and red.

Last week’s update saw parts of the UK change to red and a number of popular holiday regions in Greece and Spain switched from green to yellow.

READ ALSO:

We’ll report any significant changes once they come in.

Copenhagen Airport baggage handlers resume work after brief action

Baggage handlers from the SGH company resumed work late last night after striking on Thursday, resulting in delays to a number of departures, Ritzau reported.

SGH is one of a number of companies that handle luggage at Copenhagen Airport, meaning some services were affected.

According to union media Fagbladet 3F, the action was taken in protest at a lack of options for workers to plan their schedules and a heavy weighting of weekend and night work.

Mixed weekend weather predicted

If you’re planning a barbecue this weekend, it’s probably a good idea to have it on Saturday.

Today will see a cloudy start clear up with temperatures reaching up to 25 degrees Celsius, while Saturday is expected to bring sunshine and up to 27 degrees, according to national meteorologist DMI.

Wet weather is forecast throughout Sunday, however, with clouds and rain likely from the outset.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TODAY IN DENMARK

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

Danish parties agree to raise abortion term limit, Novo Nordic, Maersk and Vestas post results, colder weather to return, and other news from Denmark on Friday.

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

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks 

Denmark’s government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the maximum gestation period at which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first change to Danish abortion law in 50 years. 

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternativet party. 

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said announving the deal. 

Danish vocabulary: abortgrænsen – abortion limit 

Colder weather to return on weekend 

Friday will be the last day in the current spell of 20C temperatures, with colder, rainier weather returning on the weekend.  According to the Denmark’s state forecaster DMI, a cold front will arrive in Denmark on Friday evening, bringing rain, colder temperatures of 7C-12C overnight and local thunderstorms. 

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, temperatures will be between 13C and 18C, with rain in some places, with sunnier weather expected from Tuesday.  

Danish voabulary: en byge – a shower

Vestas, Maersk and Novo Nordisk report results

Novo Nordisk reported soaring profits, Maersk falling ones, and Vestas, the world’s number one wind turbine maker, posted a loss, as Denmark’s biggest companies posted results for the first three months of the year. 

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk reported more soaring profits Thursday on the back of its anti-diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Its net profit reached 25.4 billion kroner ($3.6 billion) in the first quarter, a 28 percent jump from the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

Vestas said on Thursday it had swung to a 75-million-euro ($80-million) loss in the first quarter and warned “geopolitical volatility” would continue to cause uncertainty. Revenue fell 5.2 percent to 2.68 billion euros in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period a year earlier. Its net loss followed a net profit of 16 million euros in the first quarter of 2023. The value of its order backlog reached a record high €61 billion.

Maersk profits plummeted as Yemeni attacks closed off its vital Red Sea route, with the company reporting a net profit of $177 million in the first three months of the year, a 13-fold drop from the same period last year. 

SHOW COMMENTS