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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Tuesday

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

Parts of Denmark could see heavy snow during the first few days of December.
Parts of Denmark could see heavy snow during the first few days of December. File photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Health authorities trace nine suspected Omicron Covid-19 cases 

The infectious disease agency State Serum Institute (SSI) is currently investigating nine suspected cases of Covid-19 infection with the new Omicron variant, in addition to the two already confirmed in Denmark, the agency said yesterday evening in a statement.

“The Danish Patient Safety Authority undertakes intensified contact tracing for these cases and also investigates the circumstances of infection,” SSI said.

READ ALSO: Denmark does not rule out new travel restrictions after Omicron variant detected

Lego offers staff bonus after bumper year

Lego is to offer its 20,000 employees three extra days of holiday and a special bonus after a year of bumper revenues, news wire AFP writes.

Already popular globally, Lego has seen demand for its signature plastic bricks soar during the pandemic alongside its rapid expansion in China.

“The owner family wishes to… thank all colleagues with an extra three days off at the end of 2021,” the company said in a statement.

Denmark’s talking clock stops after 82 years

The Danish talking clock telephone service “Frøken Klokken” (Miss Clock) is to be switched off at the end of today by communications company TDC, bringing to an end 82 years of ticking, broadcaster DR writes.

In its first year of service back in 1939, the talking clock was called 11.6 million times, but that number has fallen off considerably in recent times, DR writes.

You can hear from Frøken Klokken one last time by calling 70 10 11 15 today.

Weather: Snowstorm could see December start with whiteout

The next few days could see a considerable amount of snowfall in Denmark, according to forecasts by met agency DMI.

North Jutland in particular could see a lot of snow, with potential snow storms in the region forecast over the next five days.

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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Tuesday

Right wing party defends use of Mette Frederiksen deepfake, parties want mink breeder compensation cut, Billie Eilish announces Royal Arena concerts and more news from Denmark on Tuesday.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Tuesday

Party criticised over deepfake satire video of prime minister 

The far-right Danish People’s Party (DF) has been criticised for sharing a video that uses ‘deepfake’ techniques to misrepresent Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

In the video, Frederiksen is made to appear as if she is saying the government plans to cancel Christmas, Easter and Pentecost holidays after already scrapping Great Prayer Day.

A small stamp is visible in the corner of the video signalling that it is not real footage of Frederiksen.

The centre-left Socialist People’s Party (SF) and the Liberal (Venstre) party, a partner in the coalition government, have both criticised the video.

“DF’s AI video of the prime minister is very funny in terms of content, but a political party using deepfakes is extremely concerning and I don’t think DF actually understands the potential for (ab)use of deepfakes,” SF’s digital spokesperson Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen tweeted.

DF leader Morten Messerschmidt has rejected the criticism, saying the video was clearly meant as satire.

Vocabulary: satirisk – satirical

Politicians call for lower compensation price for mink skins

SF and the Social Liberal (Radikale Venstre) want the state compensation mink fur farmers to be renegotiated. Both parties voted for the compensation plan in 2021.

The parties new positions come after a commission concluded that the most realistic unit price of a mink fur is lower than the price used to set compensation, media Zetland writes based on a leaked document.

The Social Liberal food spokesperson Christian Friis Bach called the issue a “scandal” in comments to Zetland.

Mink breeders receive compensation based on a price of 333 kroner per skin, while the commission has ruled that the most likely price is 247 kroner.

READ ALSO: Danish mink fur breeders received ‘too much compensation’

Vocabulary: afgørelse – ruling

Billie Eilish to play two concerts in Copenhagen in 2025

One of the world’s biggest names in pop music will play to fans in Copenhagen next year after Billie Eilish announced two dates at the capital’s Royal Arena almost a year to the day, on April 28th and 29th 2025.

The concerts, confirmed by Live Nation Denmark in a press release, are part of Eilish’s upcoming world tour “Hit Me Hard and Soft”, in which she will play across Europe as well as in Australia and the United States.

Ticket sales for the two concerts will begin on Friday, according to the press release, with prices starting at 440 kroner.

Vocabulary: verdensstjerne – international star/celebrity

Foreign workers in Denmark ‘create 300 billion kroner of value’

Almost one in eight people in paid employment in Denmark is a foreign national, meaning workers from abroad create a huge amount of value for the country, the Confederation of Danish Industry said in a new analysis.

Based on Statistics Denmark data DI found that, between 2013 and 2023, the number of foreign nationals working full-time in paid employment in Denmark increased from 147,000 to 309,000.

The 2023 level is equivalent to 13 percent of overall employment in Denmark being attributable to foreign labour, DI said.

“You cannot overestimate the importance of international labour in Denmark,” DI’s deputy director Steen Nielsen said in a statement.

“If they had not been here and made the contribution they do, we’d not have been able to produce goods, treat the sick or build the amount of houses we need,” he said.

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