Expansion of Aarhus Harbour put on hold 

A planned 43-hectare of Aarhus Harbour has been put on hold “for a number of years”, the city municipality confirmed in a statement yesterday.

Any future decision to continue the project will not be made before next year’s local elections, it said.

Construction at the harbour was stopped by an appeals court earlier this year because it was found not to meet environmental requirements.

Aarhus Mayor Jacob Bundsgaard said at a briefing that the decision had been made “with a heavy heart”.

Plans to extend the harbour were initiated in 2018 but have met with opposition from residents concerned about its impact in climate, local ecosystems and the view at Aarhus Bay.

Vocabulary: i en årrække – for a number of years

Protestors block entrance to Christiansborg 

The entrance to the Christiansborg parliament in Copenhagen was briefly blocked yesterday by protestors who are opposed to Denmark sending components for F35 fighter jets to Israel, broadcaster DR reports.

The blockade was quickly dispersed with police dragging away and arresting several of the demonstrators.

The protest was not well received by politicians. Several criticised the method of demonstration – blocking the entrance to parliament – in statements to press or on social media.

“Not everything is about Palestine, stop your sabotage”, the Minister for the Church, Morten Dahlin, wrote on X/Twitter in one example.

“This is not a demonstration in front of Christiansborg. This is a blockade to prevent elected politicians from entering and doing their work. It’s the wrong way to do it,” he later elaborated to DR.

A spokesperson for the demonstrators, Birk Skjalholt, told DR “We have tried lots of ways to have a dialogue with the government and tell them this is not right. So now we have to escalate”.

Previous demonstrations in Copenhagen against Israel’s actions in Gaza have seen tent camps set up at the University of Copenhagen and City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen).

Vocabulary: at escalere – to escalate

Copenhagen Police look for ‘wet man’ after car driven into lake

A rented car from Green Mobility was driven into Copenhagen’s lakes early this morning before the driver made off on foot, DR writes.

The driver made footprints after leaving the stricken car at the Sortedams Sø lake and making his way towards Østerbro, police said.

“If anyone has seen a wet man walking there, we want to hear about it,” a police spokesperson said.

Vocabulary: våd – wet

Forest kindergartens get delay on closure decision

A plan to close or downsize 33 municipal childcare institutions in Copenhagen including a number of famed ‘forest kindergartens’ has been put on hold.

That came after the Alternative Party, which has an elected councillor on the committee, used its right to push the decision from the closed committee meeting to the full City Council, where discussions between can be followed publicly.

Alternative’s wish is for a more “public, democratic and transparent” discussion on the cuts to childcare, Alternative’s councillor Emil Sloth Andersen said.

You can read our report on this story here.