CPH Post 26 April - 17 May 2018

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DANISH NEWS IN ENGLISH CPHPOST.DK VOL 21 ISSUE 05 26 April - 17 May 2018 FLICKR/JOI ITO)

NEWS Whole world awaits verdict in the trial of the century

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NEWS

Room for one more?

Denmark has every right to call itself a space nation

3 DOMECKOPOL

NEWS The border is back: keeping out refugees, undesirables and wild boar

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BUSINESS

Economically booming Employment, personal income and GDP at record levels

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IF THE HAT FITS Industrial action to start in second week of May No more postponements for negotiations possible; hopes rest on a settlement now

it causes too much damage – as is its right in such circumstances.

D

A few all-nighters ahead NANNA Wesley Hansen, a labour market researcher at the University of Copenhagen, told DR that the final postponement announced on April 18 was “positive” as it suggests there is still a “chance of a settlement”.

Some 19 hours of negotiations failed to provide a solution to the dispute over public worker wage increases – prompting Anders Bondo Christensen, the chair of the teachers’ union, to tell DR they were returning with their “sleeping bags and toothbrushes” two days’ later.

But nothing has happened yet, and the clock is ticking.

ENMARK waits with trepidation. Will there be a strike by around 10,000 municipal workers starting on May 8? And will it be followed by a lockout of around 400,000 state employees on May 12 – a Saturday, so nobody will probably notice until Monday.

Talks have been ongoing over the past month between the government, municipalities and unions, and the moderator, Mette Christensen, has used up her two vetoes to postpone the start date of the industrial action.

Heading into May, they are in the last-chance saloon, even though experts concur the government will probably step in to end the industrial action before

WORLDWIDE VISA SERVICES Assistance with visa to: Russia, Brazil, China, Cuba, India, Australia, Ghana, Sudan, Saudi Arabia USA, Vietnam and many more.

Serious threat to air travel THE INDUSTRIAL action

would cause an almost total paralysis of the public sector with no schools or daycare institutions, hospital operations postponed, and large swathes of the public transport network out of action.

This could include Naviair, the company that employs the nation’s air traffic controllers, and weather forecaster DMI, which is the only organisation allowed to produce the TAF special weather forecasts needed by civil airports in Denmark.

If an airport is unable to get a TAF, then the airline has to have two alternative airports in reserve that do have one where the plane can land.

Kasper Hyllested, the press officer of Copenhagen Airport, advises concerned air passengers to contact their airline or travel company if they have questions about how they will be affected.

4-5 Russian propoganda TWO FORMER ministers, Nick Hækkerup and Mogens Lykketoft, have accused Russian broadcaster NTV of misquoting them in a piece about a new radio mast erected on Bornholm – which they have called “propaganda”. Along with 13 other EU countries, Denmark recently expelled two Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK following a chemical attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in England. It has also said it might not send an official delegation to the World Cup.

Copenhagen division THE EDUCATION and research minister, Søren Pind, wants to divide Copenhagen into seven or eight smaller municipalities. Pind argues the move would bring citizens and politicians closer together.

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ONLINE THIS WEEK TWO DEMOS involving internationals took part within 24 hours of one another last month.

On March 23, many congregated at City Hall Square to protest against Poland’s crackdown on abortion. And then a day later, hundreds gathered outside the US Embassy in Østerbro to participate in March For Our Lives to protest against US gun violence.

Child’s crimewave DENMARK’S most wanted is a kid. Not only did the 17-year-old and a friend set fire to the historic windmill in Holdbæk in northeastern Zealand on May 21 last year, but he was filmed having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Convicted of arson and child pornography, he has been detained for 14 months.

The mill was not destroyed, but the repair bill is 4.6 million kroner.

Christiania cases to continue THE WITHDRAWAL of several judges has cleared the way for the commencement of the already long-running Christiania drug trials, which have been dogged by collusion between the police and the prosecutors, at the eastern high court. Some 11 people appealed their city court sentences. In related news, police discovered a loaded gun on Pusher Street on March 28.

Pickpockets distracted PICKPOCKET incidents in the capital fell by 10 percent in 2017, according to Copenhagen Police, which credited the campaign ‘Pickpockets Love Distractions’ for the decrease. Nevertheless, there were still 27,442 incidents – over 60 percent of the country’s total. Tourists and youngsters are the most likely victims.

Editorial offices: International House, Gyldenløvesgade 11, 1600 Copenhagen Denmark

World awaits verdict in infamous case The premeditated case against submariner Peter Madsen is strong, but could some technicalities work in his favour?

O

N WEDNESDAY at 13:00 we will know whether Peter Madsen has been found guilty of the premediated murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall aboard his submarine on August 10.

Eleven days in court have seen the prosecution put together a strong case that Madsen had been planning to kill a woman aboard his sub for some time, and that he chose Wall as his victim on the fateful day in question.

However, the prosecution has not proven how Wall died. While they have mostly rubbished Madsen’s claims that exhaust fumes killed her, the uncertain autopsy might leave Madsen with a chink of light.

Day by day highlights DAY 1: Madsen claims he has changed his story multiple times because he wanted to conceal the truth out of respect to Wall’s relatives – the same family members who were asked to help identify her body parts after he dismembered them.

DAY 2: The court watch two animated videos of women having their heads cut off and being impaled on spikes, which Madsen watched on the day Wall died.

DAY 3: A pathologist claims that Wall probably died from a single slash to her throat.

DAY 4: An intern confirms the submarine’s inventory on the morning of August 10 was missing the saw used to cut up Wall’s body, a 50 cm screwdriver, a hose, and the steel pipes used to weigh down the body parts.

DAY 5: A mixture of witnesses confirm that Madsen was sexually experimental and resigned to possibly being a psychopath.

DAY 6: Defence’s first witnesses contribute virtually nothing. Two are people who merely waved at Madsen and Wall, and another changes his testimony to be more damning than supportive. Finally, a claim that Madsen had the saw on board to build a plywood shelf is shredded by the prosecutor.

DAY 7: Madsen takes the stand to explain he intended to take on plywood “the next time” he made the journey from his workshop to the sub as it takes “several minutes” to complete.

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DAY 8: A defence witness backs up Madsen’s claims that exhaust fumes killed Wall, but it would have made the sub very hot, and a forensic officer testified earlier in the trial that there were no signs of heat impact on Wall’s body parts.

DAY 9: The first day of documentation as Madsen’s sexually violent nature is laid bare.

DAY 10: A second day of documentation DAY 11: In summing up, the defence says a six-month sentence would be an appropriate punishment for disposing of Wall’s body, given that the prosecution has failed to prove its client is guilty of the main charge of premeditated murder.

DAY 12: The verdict the whole world has been waiting for. (BH)

Women in their 30s most stressed Copenhageners far more likely to be affected

R

ESIDENTS of north Zealand and the Capital Region are far more likely to seek treatment for stress-related illnesses than those living in the provinces, according to a Kantar Gallup survey conducted on behalf of health insurance provider Mølholm Forsikring.

Some 25-28 percent of north Zealanders have done so, compared to 8 percent of residents in south Jutland. The group

that seeks treatment the most is women in their 30s – 34 percent nationwide said they had done so, compared to 21 percent of men in the same age group.

Overall, 26 percent of women said they had, compared to just 9 percent of men.

Relief options COPENHAGENERS have other options to relieve their stress.

First off, they could visit the Natha yoga centre in Nørrebro on April 28 to take part in a 24hour session that is bidding to

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set a new Danish record.

Or they could visit the Kalvebod Fælled nature area in Amager in the near future to feast their eyes on a big deer species, the red deer, which the Naturstyrelsen nature authority has proposed releasing there.

And if they wait until 2020 or 2021, they will be able to watch F1 on the capital’s streets, as a slim majority at City Hall backs plans that won’t incur any extra expenses for the municipality or its residents, according to the city mayor, Frank Jensen. (CPH POST)

Capital could be older EXCAVATION work ongoing at City Hall Square has discovered the foundations of a building that might be a 1,000-year-old church. If confirmed, it would suggest that Copenhagen is much older than the 851-year age it is currently credited with.

Robbery at airport THE POLICE are investigating the robbery of a handling company at Copenhagen Airport on the morning of April 4. The police found a burned-out black Mercedes near Kastrup Metro Station, which is believed to have been the getaway car.

More gun crime A VISITATION zone was introduced in Albertslund following a number of shootings in the suburb before and after Easter. In related news, a passer-by was shot in the leg on Roskildevej on April 3.

Drug smugglers sentenced FIVE YOUNG men from the western suburbs have been handed prison sentences of six or seven years for their role in the smuggling of cocaine into Denmark from the West Indies.

New arrival kills tiger A MALE tiger, a new arrival from Moscow in March, has killed one of the long-time resident females at Copenhagen Zoo. During the fight that led to the death, the male sustained a few scratches to its paws.

Charged with arson FOUR MEN have been arrested in connection with the firebomb attack on the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen on March 19 and charged with attempted arson.

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Fredensborg is located in northeast Zealand

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CORRECTION Ejvind Sandal

ONLINE THIS WEEK FLICKR/JOI ITO)

Internationals in demos

26 April - 17 May 2018

On page 9 of the Language School guide distributed with the previous issue of this newspaper, in the article ‘Brush up – on the basics’, there is a mention of a course entitled ‘Labour market-oriented Danish’. It has been drawn to our attention that this type of course no longer exists. CPH Post apologises for any inconvenience caused.

NEWS

26 April - 17 May 2018

New nation in the space race

A

T FIRST the space race was a two country affair: the USA and the USSR. And then China joined the party in 2003. During that time, 33 different countries could claim to having their first astronaut. And then Denmark finally caught up in 2015 – in equal 39th place.

The Soyuz TMA-18M, the capsule in which Denmark’s first astronaut Andreas Mogensen travelled into space, has been acquired by the Danish Museum of Science & Technology and will be unveiled on May 8.

The culture minister, Mette Boch, hailed the “huge scoop … as clear evidence that Denmark is a space nation”. On the back of recent news, it sounds like a reasonable conclusion.

A wide scope ON APRIL 2, the DTU Spaceled ASIM project was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Mounted on the ISS, the

ONLINE THIS WEEK DANISH MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Denmark making giant leaps in the field of support technology

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See the capsule if you dare

monitor will take advanced x-ray images of lightning and storms in space.

DTU Space will also play an important role in ensuring China has a new powerful telescope, which is capable of detecting x-rays from black holes and neutron stars, by 2025. It will make one of the telescope’s four components: the Wide Field Monitor instrument.

And finally, when the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the biggest in history, is built on a Chilean mountain, it has been confirmed it will have a Danish design server system built by Force Technology. (CPHPOST)

Parking profits snipped

Second safest roads

Fehmarn link hailed

A NEW GOVERNMENT bill is tackling municipalities that benefit from the high number of parking tickets and fines issued in their confines – such as Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Aarhus and Aalborg. From 2019, they will only be able to retain 30 percent of the funds generated from tickets and fines, and they will be allocated a lower state grant, leading to a better financial equilibrium.

DENMARK ranks second equal on the EU road safety list with 32 deaths per million inhabitants, trailing Sweden (25) and equal with the UK and the Netherlands. Road safety campaigners attribute the success to less drink driving, more drivers belting up, rear lights being more visible, and more roundabouts and motorway stretches. Bottom of the list were Romania and Bulgaria, with over 80.

NORWEGIAN newspaper Dagbladet has hailed the proposed 55 billion kroner, 18 km Fehmarn Belt Tunnel linking Lolland to Germany by road and rail as “the gigantic project that wants to change Europe”. The plans, though, are still subject to permission from the German authorities.

While there were 42 objections in Denmark, Germany had 12,600. The link is expected to open in 2028.

Kattegat bridge proposed

Driverless buses next year

A TRANSPORT Ministry report envisages a 58 billion kroner road bridge (so without rail) across the Kattegat in two parts: from Røsnæs on Zealand to Samsø, and then from Samsø to Hov in Jutland. A toll of 240 kroner would pay off the bridge in 32 years. In related news, Danish consultants Force Technology have been chosen to monitor the performance of a 12-metre printed bridge in Amsterdam.

SOME CITIZENS in Copenhagen Municipality could be travelling on driverless buses as early as the beginning of 2019. The new buses will be tested at the Lyngby campus of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and then in Albertslund. The idea is that passengers ought to be able to alight directly from the light railway and walk onto a driverless bus to take them home or to work.

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Denmark wins trucker case AN EU COURT has ruled that Denmark did nothing wrong when it passed its cabotage law in 2013, which made it more difficult for truckers from other EU member states to work for pay set according to their country’s labour conditions. The EU court ruled that the EU legislation on cabotage driving is unclear and, as a result, Denmark can choose to interpret the laws at it sees fit.

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THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

26 April - 17 May 2018

Hats off to Hornskov – keeping the flame alive in Christianshavn

STEPHEN GADD

E

XAMINE any photograph of a crowd scene from say the Victorian era until the 1960s. One of the things that strikes the viewer most forcibly is the preponderance of male headgear.

The hat was a classless accessory that no man worth his salt would go out without, from the cloth cap of the workman to the opera gibus worn by the toffabout-town.

All this seemed to change pretty much overnight in the more egalitarian and practical ’60s. For one thing, the ceilings in cars got lower so hats were a bit of an inconvenience.

However, a few stalwarts like myself still hold the hat in great affection, so it was with some considerable interest I recently discovered that there was a hatter working in Christianshavn.

Young man blues PETER Robert Hornskov is 28 years old and looks as if he would blend in extremely well in one of the town’s hippest craft beer bars. What, I wondered, prompted a young man like him to enter what might be thought to be a pretty fuddy-duddy and precarious profession?

Hornskov confessed that he was smitten with the romance – and sheer coolness – of hats by seeing films in which the heroes wore them: Humphrey Bogart, Alain Delon and Harrison Ford – the iconic hat in the Indiana Jones films was a particular favourite.

What really made him take the plunge was a combination of discontent with his then-occupation as a hairdresser and seeing a YouTube video on which someone made a hat.

“When I saw the video it spoke to something in me. I thought if he can do it, so can I! So then I just started,” said Hornskov.

Trial and error IT WAS not easy, though. For one thing, there was only one hatter left in Copenhagen who had been formally trained and

MARTIN DAN OLSEN

Hornskov’s mission is to bring back elegance and cool

ALL PHOTOS UNLESS STATED: PETER HORNSKOV

Seen in the merciless light of modern business logic, the old saying ‘mad as a hatter’ might be thought applicable to anyone entering the trade, but a revival could be just around the corner on the men’s hat front

Hat, lining, band and sweatband ready for assembly

he didn’t seem to want an apprentice. So Hornskov went round second-hand shops buying up hats in bulk for a few kroner and taking them apart to see how they were constructed.

As well as dismembering second-hand hats he also had to make a lot of his own tools, as well as the wooden blocks on which the hats are formed.

After ordering some materials, he made his first couple of hats and put pictures of them on Instagram. They were an instant success.

To begin with, there was an awful lot of trial and error. “I can show you the first hat I made and you can see there is a great difference … but I can still remember how proud I was that I’d made it,” added Hornskov. “From this to where we are today – there has certainly been a great deal of progress.”

One of the major challenges was finding out how to acquire the right materials. Nowadays, Hornskov is in the fortunate position of being able to buy his felt from the premier manufacturer in the world in Portugal. To start with, though, the business didn’t have enough capital to do this, so it had to make do with buying from a middleman in Germany.

Only tear drops MY REASON for visiting was not just interest, though. After having seen their website, I had decided to order a hat for

myself – a so-called ‘tear drop’, so I asked Hornskov how the process starts.

“You start with what is called a hat body or hat blank,” said Hornskov. This is a felt blank that looks like a hat but is floppy and unfinished. They come in different colours and sizes depending on the size of the finished hat and how tall the crown will be.

After Hornskov had taken very exact measurements of my head, we discussed the model that I wanted, the ribbon colour and whether I’d like anything written on the leather sweatband. Cathrine Hornskov then registered all the details on her computer, I paid, and we were in business!

Robert’s wife Cathrine is his partner in all senses of the word. She handles the business side, marketing and registration customer orders. A lot of their business is mail order.

Over 70 percent of their hats are exported, primarily to America, followed by Germany, France, Switzerland and Belgium. Denmark comes rather lower down on the list.

Getting all steamed up TO BEGIN with, a suitably sized and coloured hat blank is steamed to make the felt warm and damp and then pulled over a wooden block of the correct size. There are some special tools needed to manipulate the felt

and make sure that it fits really tightly over the block.

Then it is left to dry for around 48 hours. This is what gives the hat its strength.

Next, Hornskov irons the brim. “Then I use my rounding jack to cut the brim and it is ready to be taken off the block,” he explained.

Bands, buckles, bows THE NEXT step is to sew in the sweatband. These are made for him by an Italian company and Hornskov has a special contraption to sew the band into the hat, which is a copy of an old sewing machine.

I suggested that it must have been rather expensive. “Yes! It was very expensive. It’s made of cast iron and comes from America. There are a lot more hatters over there and there is a much bigger hat culture,” added Hornskov.

“Now we have to sew the hat band on, and that depends on what the customer wants.

Sometimes they want something vintage so it could be a case of going to a flea market and finding something suitable.”

I’ve often wondered how you make the bow, I confessed.

“That took me a long time to work out, but it is actually quite simple,” he said. “It’s a question of tying it correctly. You can make a number of different styles, but as a rule, it is part of the hat band. That’s the way I

COVER

26 April - 17 May 2018

5

years, so it has taken a while for people to find out about it.

He also averred that their product was much better than when the firm started because he has got better at it and they also have much more control over the felt quality they use. It also takes less time to produce a hat than it did to begin with.

Hornskov is very proud of his hats. “I would claim that our hats are some of the best in the world quality-wise,” he enthused.

There is also more interest in the trade. He said that they get around one application per month from someone who would like to learn to become a hatter, but unfortunately many of the applicants would like a job and the business can’t sustain that as yet.

The blank has to be pulled over the block

like to do it. However, a lot of hats have it in two parts. The band is one piece and the bow is sewn or even glued on after.”

Crowning glory AFTER that, the hat is more or less finished, but one important detail remains: forming the crown. Hornskov does this using steam and completely manually, although there are machines that can do the job.

“I think – as do many of my customers – that there is a cer-

tain charm in having a hat that is unique because it is handmade,” he said.

“Even though I’ve had a lot of practice by now, I can’t make them exactly alike every time. I like the idea that it looks as if it has been made by human hands.”

Taking pride in his work THE ALL-IMPORTANT question was how is the bottom line?

Hornskov said that they were doing better than ever. The company has only existed for three

Heads – and hats – up I PUT IT to him that the main problem is that there are still not many people who wear hats.

“I think that will change,” he countered. “There’s always people like you and me who wear them and I don’t think interest is falling off.”

Having taken delivery of my steel grey ‘tear drop’ with maroon silk ribbon and lining and goldblocked sweatband, I can only say that I wish them all the very best.

It is definitely one of the smartest and well-made hats I own and I’m happy to be a part of preserving and extending the life of a noble tradition – as well as looking pretty sharp.

Here’s looking at you, kid!

Inside Hornskov’s workshop

DANISH HEADGEAR THROUGH THE AGES Worn for pillaging Unfortunately, the evidence does not support the popular view of the horned-helmeted Viking warrior. Viking helmets were simple, practical and often included brow ridges to protect the wearer’s face. On the other hand, horned-helmeted figures are depicted on a tapestry in a Norwegian burial, so they may have been used ritually.

Worn for celebrating This hardy summer perennial first appeared on the heads of Danish students in 1856 and was originally black with a white silk band. In the 1880s male students started using the current white model with a bordeaux band. Women followed in the early 1930s.

Worn for supporting Today the favoured headgear of the Danish football-supporting ‘roligans’, the klappehat was originally designed by Peter Wendelboe, but during the 1984 European Championships it was produced in a red and white version, which was patented by Rene Sørensen and Per Striegler.

Worn in movies The loveable bunglers comprising the Olsen gang – protagonists in 14 incredibly popular Danish film comedies – all had their signature hats. Brainy boss Egon was a grey bowler man, henpecked Kjeld wore a tweed cap and the spiv Benny favoured a grey fedora that always seemed slightly too small.

Worn at Christmas Believe it or not, but Santa and his helpers all wear a variation of the ancient Greek Phrygian cap. Santa’s is red with a white band topped off with a white pom pom, whilst his elves wear red ones and the pom pom comes in many colours. The young ladies delivering Tuborg’s Christmas beer, or ‘snow beer’, on J-day wear a blue hat with snow on it and a white band.

Soon to be never

Ironing the brim prior to using the rounding jack

A one-piece item of headgear soon to become illegal in Denmark, the niqab covers both the head and face, leaving only a slit for the eyes. Like its relative the burqa, also on the hit-list, it is worn by Muslims and acts like a red rag to a bull to Danish nationalists and feminists.

6

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK Declaration approved

The best kind of tourist DENMARK is doing its best to attract foreign business tourists because at 2,150 kroner a day they spend far more than foreign leisure tourists (1,800), Danish business travellers (1,750) and Danish tourists (1,300). However, foreign business tourists only spend 27 billion kroner a year – a quarter of the total – and neighbours Sweden get far more.

PM backs Syrian air strike PM LARS Løkke Rasmussen has backed the US, UK and France’s air strikes on Syria following an alleged chemical attack on Douma by the Assad Regime on April 7. The action had “consequences”, said Rasmussen. Meanwhile, the PM sent his condolences to French President Emmanuel Macron following the terror attack in Trebes on March 23.

Threatened over Trump A DANISH teenager holidaying in New York City was threatened with a knife for wearing a Donald Trump cap bearing the slogan “Make America Great Again”.

Two white men outside Union Square subway station questioned him about the significance of the cap, which he had bought as a tongue-in-cheek joke for his father back in Denmark.

Torture proposal approved THE UN Human Rights Council has approved a Danish proposal that focuses on how corruption in the justice system and police can increase the risk of torture.

Smugglers in court SEVEN people are on trial in Greenland accused of smuggling at least 63 kilos of cannabis into the country via regular parcel post.

Return of the border town Governmental control of our movement has returned, and not just of humans BEN HAMILTON

I

T SEEMS a long time since the EU won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 “for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe”.

The Schengen Agreement of 1985 played a major role and then four years later ‘The Wall’ came down, as borders across the continent were erased to the point that crossing them became as routine as changing lanes on the motorway.

But the border is back – and not just for humans as calls for controls on wild boar and wolves crossing into Denmark are evergoing!

In a blink of the eye, the continent is operating at a security level not seen since the Cold War.

four men found guilty of planning a terror attack against Jyllands-Posten in 2009 could soon be out of prison.

Jailed in Sweden for 12 years in 2012 after being tried in Denmark, the three Swedes and a Tunisian will reportedly be able to apply for parole in December as they will have served two-thirds of their sentence – six years plus the two before their trial.

Denmark won’t want to see them again, and the same is true of the 84 people from Denmark who since 2012 have travelled to Syria or Iraq to join militant jihadist groups whilst continuing to receive social benefits – mostly kontanthjælp (44 percent) or the SU education grant (43).

Of the 150 Danish foreign fighters, over a third have already returned, a fifth are still in conflict zones, a quarter are believed to have been killed, and the rest are in other countries.

ONLINE THIS WEEK Snaking through China DENNIS MATHESON

JUSTICE ministers from more than 20 European countries have approved the Copenhagen Declaration, a bill to bring human rights issues back under the judiciaries of the individual countries. It will stop “minor matters” being referred to the International Court of Human Rights, according to the justice minister, Søren Pape Poulsen.

26 April - 17 May 2018

A wolf at many doors?

special interest groups in moving over to Denmark in 2012 and took place a day after a man was arrested for shooting a wolf dead near Ulfborg in Jutland.

The undesirables ONE OF Denmark’s most serious terror threats in recent times originated in Sweden, and the

Unwelcome animals AND IT’S not just humans.

Fear of African swine fever has prompted the government to team up with Dansk Folkeparti to build a 70 km-long, 1.5 metrehigh fence at the German border to keep out roaming wild boar.

Infected wild boar have been found in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic. An African swine fever outbreak would endanger exports worth 30 billion kroner annually – 19 to the EU and 11 outside.

Meanwhile Ulvefrit Danmark, a new organisation dedicated to eradicating wolves, held its inaugural meeting last week in Ørnhøj in northwestern Jutland.

It followed claims by DF politician Søren Espersen that the wolves received help from

Busy at the border IN A BUSY month for border activity, a court in Hillerød has ruled that a 50-year-old Danish citizen should be extradited to Rwanda where he is accused of participating in the 1994 genocide.

Danish MP Lars Aslan Rasmussen was kicked out of Bahrain after being detained at its main airport after revealing he intended to visit the jailed Danish citizen and political activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.

Two months after he visited Denmark to take part in a debate event at the University of Copenhagen, the Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont was arrested at the Danish-German border by the German authorities. He was on his way to Belgium after visiting Finland.

And finally, ambassadors from Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Romania have urged their countrymen to return home to seek jobs and opportunities. Since 2011, the number of eastern European workers in Denmark has more than doubled from 32,000 to 76,000.

Deaths in Africa

Denmark an aid leader

Faroese GP measure

A DANE living in Nigeria is accused of murdering his wife and daughter and trying to make it look like an accident.

The Nigerian police claim the forensic evidence against Peter Nielsen, 53, is strong. Meanwhile, a Dane was shot in the thigh by two robbers near the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Easter Sunday. The man was hospitalised and the robbers shot dead by the authorities.

DENMARK ranks fourth among the OECD countries in terms of the proportion of its GNI it gives to aid – 0.72 percent. The only other nations that adhere to the UN goal of 0.7 percent are Sweden (1.01), Luxembourg (1.0), Norway (0.99), and the UK (0.7). Meanwhile, Denmark has earmarked 70 and 10 million kroner in aid to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crises in Yemen and Congo.

IN A BID to ensure more qualified doctors remain in the Faroes, the Health Ministry wants to permit candidates from the islands to apply 11 months earlier for the 10 available places on the KBU course – the basic clinical training during which time the prospective doctors decide what they wish to specialise in. When Faroese students travel abroad, they tend not to return.

Sweden’s closed house SWEDEN has confirmed it intends to extend its controls on the Danish border by another six months. Currently in place until May 11, the controls on trains and ferries coming into Sweden from Denmark, and on ferries arriving from Germany, intercept between 150 and 200 people every week.

The Danes have already said they intend to extend their own controls from May 12. In total, six Schengen countries have controls they want to keep in light of a cited terror threat.

DISSING+WEITLING, the architecture firm behind the Cykelslangen cycling bridge, has been commissioned to design ‘Xiamen Footpaths’, a project in the large south China port city that includes seven bridges and 20 km of pedestrian footpaths.

The deal follows its completion of the Xiamen Bicycle Skyway – the longest elevated cycleway in the world.

Rapists escape death penalty FIVE MEN have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Indian Supreme Court in New Delhi after their conviction for raping a 51-year-old Danish woman in the Indian capital in January 2014 was upheld. The initial judgement in 2016 had sentenced them to death.

Jehovah postponement THE COURT case of a Dane awaiting trial in the city of Oryol in central Russia for being a Jehovah’s Witness keeps on getting postponed. Dennis Christensen, 45, was arrested last May in a raid during a worship ceremony in Oryol. It followed a Supreme Court ruling a month earlier that formally bans the religious organisation and identifies its members as religious extremists.

Paddling to Norway A 24-YEAR-OLD Dane has become the first person to paddle from Denmark to Norway.

It took Casper Steinfath 18.5 hours to navigate the 138 km from Hirtshals in northern Jutland to Kristiansand in Norway on a 4.25 metre-long paddle board – fulfilling a dream the world champion first had aged 13. A previous attempt failed 12 km short of Norway.

Top for Nordic students DENMARK is the most popular choice with Nordic students who opt to travel abroad to study, but remain in the region, according to Nordisk Statistikbank. Fewer than 1,000 Danish students do so, with 619 opting for Sweden, while 2,407 Norwegians and 1,236 Swedes move to Denmark – possibly due to their countries’ stringent alcohol laws.

NEWS

26 April - 17 May 2018

ONLINE THIS WEEK HACKERS are targeting public libraries where they install devices that record users’ keystrokes and use the data to obtain access to their sensitive information, reports TV2.

At least 15 libraries have reported incidences, including one in which a man had 165,000 kroner stolen.

In related news, a Mærsk subsidiary has reported the theft of sensitive data relating to 500 employees.

Smileys for kennels KENNELS are getting a government-endorsed smiley system similar to the one allocated to food joints to ensure good welfare standards. In related news, bird flu is the main suspect following the discovery of 30 dead swans near Maribo in Lolland, and municipalities are warning off duck feeders because the breadcrumbs tend to attract rats.

Teenagers bucking trends THERE is probably no connection, but teenagers are drinking less and becoming mothers less often. The number of those aged 15-25 drinking every weekend fell from 27 percent in 2014 to 12 percent in 2017, while the 474 children born to teenage mothers in 2017 was the lowest number for a decade. When parents set firm ground rules, teenagers drink less, according to research.

More cars on the roads THERE are a record 3,002,889 cars on Denmark’s roads, according to car advocacy organisation FM. According to Eurostat, there are 420 private cars per 1,000 Danes – the lowest rate in western Europe. The most popular brand is Volkswagen with 365,000 cars.

Action over weddings?

THE GOVERNMENT is concerned that 13,000 weddings took place in Denmark in 2016 in which neither party lived in Denmark. Ærø, a popular wedding destination, is worried that any action could harm its tourism industry.

Peer paternity pattern WELL-EDUCATED fathers are likely to take more paternity leave than manual labourers, according to an analysis of Danmarks Statistik data by Avisen.dk.

PIXABAY

Hackers target libraries

April Fools – it’s harder than ever Fake news and bewildering truths make spotting one almost impossible

I

T’S A SIGN of the times that it’s becoming harder to spot an April Fools’ story. With that in mind, let’s see if you can spot the one bogus report among this line-up taken from the last month of news!

Spot the hoax HOW ABOUT children with hyper-behaviour diagnoses being placed in classes alongside severely autistic children?

Or the government spending millions of kroner on providing high-speed internet to uninhabited islands?

And don’t forget thousands of avocados and bananas getting washed up on the shores of Samsø following a collision between two boats on March 27.

How about PET ignoring a 15-year limit and illegally storing sensitive personal data in a secret database?

And then there was the survey that claimed Danish men do more daily chores than men in any other OECD country – 186.1 minutes every day, although this was still 53 minutes less a day than Danish women.

Not risible enough? What about the engineering firm that demolished a 53.2-metre silo in

ONLINE THIS WEEK Children the focus A NEW GOVERNMENT strategy makes children’s welfare the priority in future custody battles.

The new system is designed to make parents more equal in their provision of both personal and financial support and as recipients of the child support. Parents not adhering to the rules face fines and being detained, while the kids will have more counselling options.

Support to stop smoking

Can you spot the ‘Joker’ in our pack?

Vordingborg and watched it collapse onto the town’s waterfront culture and library centre? That has to be fake news!

And don’t get us started on the interpreter who incorrectly translated a dietary plan and ended up with a patient getting diarrhoea because he drank too much olive oil! It had to be April 1!

Finally, we had the CPH POST story about a survey that ranked the Danes as the fourth best English-speakers in the world, ahead of the Americans, Australians and Brits – mainly because they keep on using the word ‘literally’ incorrectly.

7

The country’s best YES, THAT was an April Fools’ story, and CPH POST was not alone.

The Energy Ministry banned grill coals to offset climate change.

Ingeniøren claimed the government would set up cameras at the Danish borders that would use facial recognition to permit wolves to cross over from Germany, but deny wild boars from doing the same.

Videnskab.dk revealed that noted researcher Eske Willerslev and twin brother Professor Rane Willerslev were in fact the same person.

Rail operator Banedanmark announced plans to set up ‘closeness zones’ on train platforms that would allow people waiting for the train to meet and chat to other like-minded travellers.

And Gaffa music magazine wrote that a forthcoming Slipknot concert in Copenhagen would be cancelled because the recent government burka ban would forbid the mask-wearing metal band from performing.

DNA a crime deterrent

Illegal camera use rife

Eroded freedoms

THE POLICE’S DNA registry is a deterrent against crime, according to a Rockwool Foundation report. The number of 18 to 23-year-olds convicted of a new crime within a year of the police taking their DNA has halved. A new law in 2015 means the police can take the DNA of half the people it charges with a crime.

Previously it was 10 percent.

THE POLICE are using footage taken by illegal video surveillance cameras to solve crimes, reports DR. Despite an appeal to the public, only 8,000 of the estimated 300,000-400,000 illegal cameras in Copenhagen have been registered on the police’s system, POLcam.

The cameras played a major role in catching Copenhagen shooter Omar El-Hussein in February 2015.

HUMAN rights body Institut for Menneskerettigheder has released a report that suggests personal freedom is under assault in Denmark – not least from Facebook, as 41,820 Danish profiles were among those acquired by British consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica. Meanwhile, DF has called for a ban on paedophiles enjoying freedom of speech.

Poorly fed and prepared

‘Perkerdansk’ ill-advised

Citizen bills: the beginning

THE ELDERLY are undernourished and clueless about first aid, according to various reports.

Around 50 percent of those in care or receiving help at home are undernourished – and the minister for the elderly, Thyra Frank, wants action. Meanwhile, only 61.6 percent of people over 70 have been on a first aid course, according to a Voxmeter survey, compared to 93.4 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds.

MIXING Arab and Danish into a kind of slang commonly known as ‘Perkerdansk’ will lead to you being perceived as a poor job candidate, according to a University of Copenhagen study. Meanwhile, 43 percent of the country’s 64,700 current university students have received classes in English. At some places, such as CBS, ITU and the DTU, English has superseded Danish

SINCE the beginning of the year, it has been possible for citizens to present bills to Parliament – providing they have 50,000 signatures – and already several have been submitted, including a rethink of ministerial pensions and removing restrictions on taking more than one higher educational course at the same level. A bill to ban the circumcision of healthy boys under 18 is also on the way.

THE SUNDHEDSSTYRELSEN health authority contends that parents need to make more effort to stop their children from smoking. Parents are invited to pick up tips at butwhysmoke. dk. In related news, 59 percent support raising the price of cigarettes 125 percent to the same level as in Norway where a pack of 20 costs 90 kroner, according to an Epinion poll for DR.

Freddy’s birthday plans CROWN Prince Frederik’s 50th birthday on May 26 will be marked by ten0 days of celebrations commencing on March 18, including a five-city Royal Run (May 21) and a live TV event (May 27). On the big day itself, the prince will appear on the balcony at Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg and then attend a gala dinner in the evening.

Non-ethnic refuge trend SOME 41 percent of women who seek refuge at a crisis centre are not ethnic Danes, according to a DR analysis of Danmarks Statistik data.

Some 14 percent are from Syria.

Non-ethnic Danes comprise around 10 percent of the population.

Help for handicapped?

THE JUSTICE minister, Søren Pape Poulsen, wants to enfranchise some of the 2,000 handicapped people prevented from voting in general elections because they are prohibited from managing their money. They are permitted to vote in local, regional and EU elections.

Stiffer penalties SINCE April 15, digital sex violations (such as sharing nude photos online) have carried sentences of up to three years in prison – about a third higher than previously.

8

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK AALBORG University is the fourth-best university for engineering in the world, according to a special MIT report that ranked … MIT as the second best! In related news, Danish companies see a potential market in electronic scrap. The University of Southern Denmark’s life-cycle centre identifies it as the fastest-growing sector within the rubbish stream.

Starfish waiting in Skive A STARFISH factory producing protein-rich animal feed in Skive in Jutland will be the world’s first.

In other fish-related news, Denmark is Europe’s seventh worst at overfishing the Atlantic Ocean, according to a New Economic Foundation report, and one of the country’s rarest fish, the North Sea Coregonus, could soon become extinct unless the government acts.

Care gadgets not used THE MUNICIPALITIES are wasting money on equipment to improve the quality of life of the sick and elderly, which ends up not being used, claims a University of Copenhagen study.

In related news, the maritime sector’s digital infrastructure was the main focus of a recent conference in Copenhagen, where attendees learned the results of the EfficienSea2 project.

Arctic research funds THE ENERGY and climate minister, Lars Christian Lilleholt, has confirmed 18.6 million kroner to fund research into climate change in the Arctic. In other overseas research news, the minister for education and research, Søren Pind, recently returned from visiting research and educational establishments in Japan.

Helping them breathe THE DEMAND for apparatus that help children to breathe is growing. Just a few years ago, Rigshospitalet reported having one to two patients a year with a need for the apparatus, but the number has now grown to one a month. Most of them are babies born prematurely with deficiencies of the oesophagus or swallowing difficulties.

Some hit the beach, others birch and moan PIXABAY

Fourth best in world

26 April - 17 May 2018

Farwell winter, hello sunshine, albeit with an unwelcome interloper

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PRIL IS the cruellest month – or at least for birch pollen allergy sufferers, which make up almost 20 percent of the population. For the majority, the warm weather has been most welcome, and the air really is as clean as it feels.

Record-low emissions CO2 EMISSIONS fell below 200 grams per consumed kilowatt-hour for the first time ever in 2017, as coal accounted for 17 percent of the country’s energy intake, compared to 38 percent in 2005.

Wind energy led the way with 40 percent, followed by coal, biofuel (14 percent), water (12), natural gas (7), waste (4), nuclear power (3), solar energy (2) and oil (1), according to national energy provider Energinet.dk.

Lost to the sea AROUND 700 of Denmark’s 32,000 legally-protected historical sites are in danger of being lost to the sea forever. In other discovery news, a rare Nazi u-boat has been found ten nautical miles north of Skagen; a Natural History Museum grave study concludes poultry were revered 1,600 years ago; and a 10th century silver Viking hoard has been found on the Baltic island of Rugen.

A sight for sore eyes

kroner to lower the tax by 20 øre, while reducing the electricity bill of a typical Danish family living in a detached house by 800 kroner per year.

A winter’s tail DANISH residents can expect much higher heating bills following a longer winter than normal, which concluded with the fifth coldest March since 1980, in which temperatures were 43 percent lower than in 2017.

The Danish Technological Institute has revealed that its energy needs over the six months ending in March were 4 percent higher than in the same period a year earlier.

degrees on 17 April 1964.

Last week also coincided with the start of the dreaded birch pollen season, with a reading of 138 particles per cubic metre in Copenhagen on April 18. The four-week season is expected to peak around the end of the month.

Summer loving HOWEVER, this month has been much warmer, and April 19 ended up being the earliest summer’s day in over half a century, when temperatures exceeded 25

Sun of a birch “IT’S HARD to predict how this birch season will be,” chief pollen counter Karen Rasmussen told Astma-Allergi Danmark. “If the hot spring weather continues, as is suggested, we may be in for a bad season.”

One common treatment is a nasal spray, but for many Danes they become an addiction. Some 3.3 million were sold in Denmark last year – an increase of 30 percent compared to just five years ago. Doctors recommend using them for no more than seven to ten days. (CPH POST)

Good empathy doctor!

Women doping more

Concussion = dementia

DANISH GPs have good empathy with their patients, according to a University of Southern Denmark study. On average, the doctors scored 118 out of 140 on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. In related news, the number of under-15s being diagnosed with a psychiatric condition (such as ADHD, autism or depression) has more than doubled this decade.

MORE WOMEN are doping as part of their fitness efforts, according to an Anti Doping Danmark report. The agency warns doping can lead to infertility, hair loss, skin issues and a deeper voice. In related news, Danish researchers are assessing whether psychedelic drugs have help treat depression; and MPs want more answers about how pesticide ingestion is leading to antibiotic resistance.

YOUNG people who sustain head injuries are much more likely to get dementia when they get older, according to Aarhus University Hospital. In other research news, a DTU Food Institute study has achieved a breakthrough in the treatment of endophthalmitis, an inner eye infection that can cause blindness; and a University of Copenhagen study concludes that too little cholesterol is also bad.

Not as much wasted

Fewest ever abortions

Coop tops rankings

HOUSEHOLD food waste was 14,000 tonnes higher in 2011 compared to last year, according to Miljøstyrelsen. Some 54 percent are cutting their waste due to environmental concerns, according to Aarhus University. A project involving Aalborg University sets out how supermarkets can reduce waste by 10 percent by using computerised ordering systems, which sometimes result in shortages.

A RECORD low 9 per 1,000 females aged 15-19 had an abortion in 2016 – down from 17 a decade ago. Experts hail sex education programs at schools.

Parental permission is required for under-18s. The limit is 12 weeks, or 22 weeks under certain criteria, for which there is a 94 percent approval rate. However, many are heading to Sweden and the UK to have abortions.

SUPERMARKET chain Coop is Denmark’s most sustainable company, according to the 2018 Sustainable Brand Index.

Urtekram, Friland, Thise and Rema 1000 completed the top five. In related news, while animal feed looks set to become 100 percent organic in line with a likely EU ban, sustainability remains an issue, with Denmark only producing half of its demand.

Electric avenue THE TAX minister, Karsten Lauritzen, meanwhile, is considering lowering the tax rate on electricity – at 91.4 øre per kW/h, it is the highest in Europe – to encourage people to favour heat pumps over oil heaters.

The tax currently generates 12.4 billion kroner for the exchequer and calculations show it would cost the state 1 billion

ONLINE THIS WEEK

At our fingertips NETS AND finger scanner producer Fingopay are working on a payment system that recognises the unique veins of the customer’s finger. The system is currently being tested in the canteen at Copenhagen Business School.

Meanwhile, a new NemID app will be available for download at the end of May, which is a supplement not a replacement for the current card system.

Bag some cash!

NETTO launched a pilot deposit scheme for plastic bags at its stores in Funen on April 16.

Customers pay 50 øre extra for a specially-designed plastic bag and then receive 1 kroner upon returning it. Should the bag not be returned, the surplus is donated to the World Wildlife Fund. Netto also intends to reduce plastic packaging at its stores.

Organic revolution ORGANIC farmland grew by 28,365 to more than 245,000 hectares in 2017, according to Landbrugsstyrelsen. It now accounts for 9 percent of the total land under cultivation. Organic livestock is also increasing, with 900,000 more chickens, 30,000 more pigs and 13,000 more cows.

The government recently announced a 39- poimt initiative, 1 billion kroner organics strategy.

Fair doobies FOLLOWING criticism it is too expensive, medicinal cannabis will be free of charge for terminally-ill patients and half-price for seriously ill patients from January 2019. Some 200 people have been prescribed the drug as part of a trial that began this year – despite initial reports that many GPs were refusing to prescribe it.

9

26 April - 17 May 2018

Wait, what!?

You didn’t choose Studieskolen?

Learn Danish at a school that is not laughable Studieskolen has been teaching Danish for 40 years – and we’re not going to stop now!

The price is the same as you will find in other language schools.

Go for the best. Go for Studieskolen. In the centre of Copenhagen Find our new courses on studieskolen.dk/dansk

Follow us /studieskolen

10 NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

One lump or two?

26 April - 17 May 2018

Call for fake ticket action

Rotting away

Europe’s Hollywood

Clubs under investigation FCK/FCN

DAVID NOEL BOURKE

PEXELS/JOANNA BU

ONLINETICKETSSHOP.COM

FILMSTUDIO.DK

Cementors James and Jacob

“Yes, my postcode is Narnia 666”

Something rotten alright

Who needs tinseltown?

Amon and Keita irregularities?

I WASN’T sure what to expect – even as I passed under the large letters standing on the window above the entrance: ‘FILMSTUDIO.dk’. As I enter I find myself in what can best be described as a scene pulled from a Dr Seuss picture book. Dark pipes jut out from slanting walls, snaking their way through a cavernous interior. The two men sitting across the table grin back at me, their faces dusty and clothes splashed with paint. I sip my tea, picking at what looks like a small lump of cement. (DS)

A NUMBER of organisations operating in the ticketing industry – including sites such as Billetlugen and Live Nation, festivals such as Roskilde and Smukfest, and consumer rights council Forbrugerrådet Tænk – have written a joint letter to three ministers calling for action to stop the sale of fake and vastly overpriced tickets on sites like Viagogo, Onlineticketshop. dk and StubHub. The ministers were Mette Bock (culture), Søren Pape Poulsen (justice) and Brian Mikkelsen (industry). (BH)

DANISH museums are fighting a losing battle against mould and decay when it comes to preserving artefacts from the past.

Climate change has resulted in an increase in damp conditions in storage areas – such as cellars, lofts or barns – which don’t have air conditioning systems installed to control the damp and temperature. Over the last three years, mould has been discovered in 118 storage facilities around Denmark. Roskilde Museum faces losing 70,000 items. (SG)

COULD Denmark become a mecca for European cinema production in the future? The government seems to hope so.

The business minister, Brian Mikkelsen, has established a growth team charged with increasing turnover and employment in the creative industry. “We need to become better at utilising our strengths and the question is why aren’t we the Hollywood of Europe?” he told Børsen. “The growth team needs to investigate whether there are barriers preventing that growth.” (CW)

ACCORDING to sources close to Jyllands-Posten, FIFA is investigating FC Copenhagen and FC Nordsjælland for possibly breaching regulations in connection with two youth players.

FCK is reported to be under the microscope for its dealings with Ivorian player Aboubakar Keita when he was under the age of 18, while FCN is similarly being scrutinised for its handling of US starlet Jonathan Amon, who arrived in Denmark as a 16-year-old. Both clubs deny breaking any rules. (CW)

READ THE REST OF THESE STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK Cyclists on podium TWO DANISH men have exceeded expectations in prestigious cycling races in the last month.

Astana rider Michael Valgren, 26, finished first in the Amstel Gold Race in the Netherlands on April 15. And Mads Pedersen, 22, racing for Trek, came second in the Tour of Flanders on April 1 – only the second ever Dane to make the podium. Valgren came fourth.

Brøndby inching to title BRØNDBY won 3-2 away at rivals FC Midtjylland on April 19 and then beat FC Nordsjælland 4-3 three days later to go five points clear at the top of the Superliga, with just five games remaining.

One week earlier, Brøndby had fought back to beat New Firm rivals FCK 2-1 at home with a last-minute winner. FCK are currently fourth in the table.

Mag-nificent at times F1 HAS CLEARED Kevin Magnussen’s team Haas of any wrong-doing after concerns were expressed that its car closely resembles Ferrari’s 2017 model.

Mags, meanwhile, has impressed in his first three races. In Australia, he started from fifth before suffering a pit lane disaster. And then he finished fifth in Bahrain and tenth in China, to give him 11 points overall.

Tragedy at Hockenheim

Bad precedent

New Roskilde additions

MOTORCYLIST Julie Brøndum Mortensen, 30, tragically lost her life during a training session at the Hockenheim track in Germany on April 1, where she was competing for all the female team, the 6Speed Girls. In related news, former boxer Jørgen ‘Gamle’ Hansen has passed away following a long illness. The former European champ was 74.

THE DAVID Collection is resisting calls from Turkey to return artefacts that originate in the southeastern European country. Overall, Turkey wants 150,000 items returned from western museums. Museum director Kjeld von Folsach told Politiken it was a “really bad idea” as it would set a bad precedent in which “French art can only be experienced in France etc”.

ROSKILDE has added Australian rocker Nick Cave, trip-hoppers Massive Attack and pop singer Dua Lipa to its 2018 line-up, but lost US rapper Cardi B because she is pregnant. Not to be outdone, the Smukfest Festival in August, Denmark’s secondbiggest festival, has added Tom Jones, Aqua, Ecca Vandal, Turboweekend and Baest.

“No X Factor without me”

Unimpressive at home

Mumble of the Bruce

THOMAS Blachman has signed with TV2 to continue as a judge on ‘X Factor’ when it moves to the channel next year. Of the eleven seasons on DR1, Blachman participated in ten, winning twice. “There is no program without me,” he told TV2 in what appeared to be some kind of cover letter.

Remee, who has won five from ten, looks set to follow.

A DOUR 1-0 win over Panama and battling 0-0 draw against Chile have helped Denmark to retain its 12th position on the latest FIFA World Rankings as the number one Nordic nation ahead of Sweden (22), Iceland (23) and Norway (49). Meanwhile, the CIES Football Observatory ranks Christian Eriksen as the best offensive midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues.

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson is bringing a unique spoken word performance to DR Koncerthuset on September 8. Also announcing concerts this past month were Jeff Beck (Copenhagen Jazz Festival, July 9), Levellers (Pumpehuset, Oct 9), Tory Lanez (Store Vega, Oct 9) and the podcast ‘My Dad Wrote A Porno’ (Bremen Teater, June 25).

Denmark’s first 147

Foundation recognition

State’s new terms

SNOOKER player Daniel Kandi Andersen has become the first Dane to make a maximum break in an official match. The trance music DJ was competing in the Danish Championships. In other sports news, Nadia Nadim’s sister Diana has inked a professional boxing deal, and badminton pairing Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen claimed their first All England title.

STATENS Kunstfond, the state art foundation, has bestowed life-long honorary benefits to four more recipients – among them the 39-yearold author and journalist Puk Damsgård. Some 275 Danish artists benefit, which can amount to as much as 160,000 kroner a year – depending on their other income. Anyone who makes more than 397,000 in a year gets nothing.

THE GOVERNMENT wants a new TV channel to broadcast culture and public information as part of its new five-year media proposal, which also detailed plans to cut Radio 24Syv by 33 percent and TV2 Regioner by 2 percent annually. The state intends to increase public service funding to 220 million kroner and give digital media the same VAT-exempt status as printed media.

ONLINE THIS WEEK Hosts looking weak WHEN DENMARK plays host to the IIHF World Championships in ice hockey next month, they could very well be without a good portion of their top NHL players. Only the veteran Frans Nielsen, 33, has so far confirmed his participation. Most of the other Danes play for sides still in contention to win the Stanley Cup. The championships kick off on May 4. Denmark are 75/1 outsiders.

Tennis starlets on fire DANISH tennis starlet Clara Tauson netted three junior titles in seven days in early April, winning the City of Florenze singles and doubles, following a triumph in Croatia a week earlier. Meanwhile, Holger Rune has become the country’s youngestever Davis Cup participant at the ripe old age of 14 years and 344 days as he won his rubber, but the Danes lost to Egypt.

Praise for Bodnia DANISH actor Kim Bodnia, the burly one in ‘Broen’ (‘The Bridge’), has been praised by various international media for his performance in ‘Killing Eve’, a new HBO series that has also received high ratings, earning a score of 83 on Metacritic.

Bodnia “skillfully underplays” his role as the handler of a hitwoman, according to Variety.

WORLD CUP

26 April - 17 May 2018

11

Are you ready for the game? We are!

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EAR FRIENDS, From June 14 - July 15 my country will be hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the most prestigious sports event of the year. In just a couple of months we will witness a truly magnificent event with 32 national teams participating, 1.7 million fans watching the games at the stadiums and billions following the tournament all over the world.

It is a well-known fact that the Russians are great hosts, but let me assure you that if you decide to visit Russia during FIFA World Cup 2018 this will be one experience that you will never forget. We are ready for the Game. Are you ready to join us on this amazing journey?

Mikhail Vanin Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Denmark

FAN ID once. With your FAN ID, you can attend any number of the games for which you have tickets.

Moreover, when arriving in Russia for the World Cup matches, the FAN ID gives foreign citizens the opportunity for multiple entry into the country without visas.

Sounds great! Wait, there is more good news: FAN ID entitles its holder to free train travel between the tournament’s host cities.

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HAT IS a FAN ID and do I need to get one for the FIFA World Cup in

Russia?

FAN ID is a personalised document providing you access to the games of the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Every spectator is required to have one: FAN ID is part of the football fan identification system. Once you have a match ticket and your FAN ID, quick and easy entry to the stadium is guaranteed.

Ambassador Vanin

Is it just another boring document and are there thousands of documents I need to fill in to obtain FAN ID? Actually, no. Spectators need only apply for and receive the

What should I do in order to get a FAN-ID? You should purchase a ticket, submit an application via the website fan-id.ru and get a FAN ID. Here you can find the all the information about the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, FAN ID, instructions on how to fill in an application form and the locations of the FAN ID distribution centres.

In order to purchase a ticket for a 2018 World Cup match, please proceed to fifa.com/tickets.

In order to reserve a free ticket on any of the special trains, please visit tickets.transport2018.com.

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ID YOU know that when the world’s top footballers take the field at this summer’s World Cup in Russia, they will be doing it on Danish grass?

Danish grass seed producer DLF has delivered sports turf grass to most of the 12 match stadiums and the majority of the training pitches and base camps participating in the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

It is clear that organisers, players and millions of football fans across the world demand nothing less than beautifully green and hard-wearing grass.

And it looks like they are going to get it at the World Cup in Russia.

Who knows, maybe it will secretly boost the chances of the Danish national football team?

12 WORLD CUP

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

26 April - 17 May 2018

Luzhniki Stadium (Moscow)

T

MATCHES

MATCHES

14 June 2018 – Russia vs Saudi Arabia – Group A

16 June 2018 – Argentina vs Iceland – Group D

17 June 2018 – Germany vs Mexico – Group F

19 June 2018 – Poland vs Senegal – Group H

20 June 2018 – Portugal vs Morocco – Group B

23 June 2018 – Belgium vs Tunisia – Group B

26 June 2018 – Denmark vs France – Group C

26 June 2018 – Serbia vs Brazil – Group C

1 July 2018 – Round of 16

3 July 2018 – Round of 16

11 July 2018 – Semi Final

Capacity 80,000 seats, built in 1956

HE CITY of Moscow was founded in 1147 on Borovitsky Hill at the confluence of two rivers – Moscow and Neglinka – at the crossroads of the roads to Novgorod and Kiev. Today it covers an area of 2,561.5 sq km and is the largest city in Russia with more than 12 million inhabitants.

Spartak Stadium (Moscow)

15 July 2018 – Final Today’s Moscow is a green city brimming with sights to visit – including the Gorky, Sokolniki, Vorobyovy Gory, Krylatskoye, Izmailovsky and Troparevsky parks, Losiny Ostrov (Elk Island) and scores of gardens, boulevards, embankments and estates to satisfy one’s taste and interest.

If it is the architecture that attracts your attention, one can admire the old Russian chambers and churches, constructivist buildings, empire-style manors or the mirror skyscrapers of the Moscow City business centre.

Each year visitors flood to the Moscow in search of inspiration, ideas, knowledge and expertise.

Numerous biennales, forums, gastronomic festivals, tours of outstanding theatres, book fairs, automobile races and football matches are held in Moscow.

Numerous football clubs call Moscow home, including CSKA, Spartak, Dynamo and Lokomotiv. Each of them have played an important role throughout the rich history of Russian football.

Saint Petersburg Stadium

Capacity 67,000 seats, built in 2017

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AINT PETERSBURG is a mix of rich history, numerous myths and splendid architecture with northern nature and ceaseless city life.

Today St Petersburg, located on the Gulf of Finland coast and at the mouth of the Neva River, occupies an area of 1,403 sq km with more than 5 million inhabitants.

St Petersburg includes many objects of neo-classical architecture along with eclectic and modern retrospectivism.

The centre of the city is truly an open-air museum. From the Obvodny Canal and

Capacity 42,000 seats, built in 2014

The official 2018 World Cup mascot, Zabivaka

Kazan Arena

MATCHES

MATCHES

15 June 2018 – Morocco vs Iran – Group B

16 June 2018 – France vs Australia – Group C

19 June 2018 – Russia vs Egypt – Group A

20 June 2018 – Iran vs Spain – Group B

22 June 2018 – Brazil vs Costa Rica – Group E

24 June 2018 2 – Poland vs Colombia – Group H

26 June 2018 – Nigeria vs Argentina – Group D

27 June 2018 – Korea Republic vs Germany – Group F

3 July 2018 – Round of 16

30 June 2018 – Round of 16

10 July 2018 – Semi Final 14 July 2018 – Third Place Bolshaya Nevka River to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and the merchant port, the city retains the image that it acquired before 1917.

St Petersburg is called the ‘cultural capital’ of Russia and its historic centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Among its famous sights are the Hermitage, the Mariinsky Theater, the Kunstkamera, the Peter and Paul Fortress, and St Isaac’s Cathedral. More than 200 museums, 70 theatres, 50 cinemas and 1,100 libraries are also located in St Petersburg.

Capacity 45,000 seats, built in 2013

E

STABLISHED more than a thousand years ago, Kazan is one of the main cities of Russia. Today it is a large port on the Volga River, as well as being a religious, economic and cultural centre. Kazan covers an area of 420 sq km with more than 1 million people living within its city limits.

Kazan is one of the most multinational and multi-denominational cities in the country: Islam, Orthodoxy, Judaism and Catholicism perfectly complement and enrich one another. The Tatar cuisine unites the culinary traditions of the Khaz-

6 July 2018 – Quarter Final ars, Volga Bulgars and Mongolo-Tatars, along with the nations of Central Asia.

Here, like nowhere else, they really know how to cook beef and lamb. And last, but not least, try chak-chak, a traditional wedding dessert made of fried dough and honey – which has become a culinary postcard of Tatarstan.

Founded in 1958, Rubin Kazan has been a stalwart club in recent years, winning the Russian Premier League championship in 2008 and 2009, as well as the Russian Cup in 2012. The club has featured often in European competition in past seasons.

WORLD CUP

26 April - 17 May 2018

Fisht Stadium (Sochi)

Ekaterinburg Arena

13

MATCHES

MATCHES

15 June 2018 – Portugal vs Spain – Group B

15 June 2018 – Egypt vs Uruguay – Group A

18 June 2018 – Belgium vs Panama – Group G

21 June 2018 – France vs Peru – Group C

23 June 2018 – Germany vs Sweden – Group F

24 June 2018 2 – Japan vs Senegal – Group H

26 June 2018 – Australia vs Peru – Group C

27 June 2018 – Mexico vs Sweden – Group F

30 June 2018 – Round of 16 Capacity 48,000 seats, built in 2013

S

OCHI IS not just a city, but a whole region. Greater Sochi is a 145 km chain of coastal and mountain villages that stretches along the Black Sea from the village of Magri to the Psou River. Today, more than 400,000 people live in Sochi.

Over the past few years, Sochi has gone through a major renovation. Hundreds of km of roads, along with numerous transport hubs, airports, concert venues, museums and hotels have been built and renovated.

In 2014, Sochi hosted one of the best Winter Olympic Games, an event for

7 July 2018 – Quarter Final which the whole country was preparing for seven years. In the same year, Sochi hosted its first Formula 1 race. Over the past three years, the city has hosted 324 summer and winter sports events.

Thanks to excellent infrastructure, the transportation between various places of Greater Sochi is smooth and uncomplicated. And the abundance of cafes with a wide variety of cuisine, including the delights native to the Caucasus region, will present visitors with a host of gastronomic experiences.

Like any metropolis, Ekaterinburg has numerous museums, theatres, shopping centres and restaurants. The city’s business districts and residential neighbourhoods are interspersed with large and small parks. The FIFA World Cup stadium, Ekaterinburg Arena, is also located in the city centre.

Ekaterinburg’s football club, FC Ural, founded in 1930, is in Russia’s Premier League, the top national football division. FC Ural are two-time winners of the Football National League Cup, the second most influential division in Russian football.

MATCHES

MATCHES

17 June 2018 – Costa Rica vs Serbia – Group E

18 June 2018 – Sweden vs Korea Republic – Group F

21 June 2018 – Denmark vs Australia – Group C

21 June 2018 – Argentina vs Croatia – Group D

25 June 2018 – Uruguay vs Russia – Group A

24 June 2018 – England vs Panama – Group G

28 June 2018 – Senegal vs Colombia – Group H

27 June 2018 – Switzerland vs Costa Rica – Group E

2 July 2018 – Round of 16

1 July 2018 – Round of 16

7 July 2018 – Quarter Final Capacity 45,000 seats, built in 2018

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E

KATERINBURG was founded in 1723 as a mining industry hub, named after the Russian Empress Ekaterina I. The city on the Iset River became Russia’s gateway to Asia. Through Ekaterinburg, the great Siberian Tract, which would later become the Trans-Siberian Railway, ran across the limitless expanse of Siberia and all the way to China.

Ekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth largest city after Moscow, St Petersburg and Novosibirsk, is today the administrative, industrial, scientific and cultural heart of the Urals. The population of Ekaterinburg exceeds 1.5 million people.

Nizhny Novgorod Stadium

Samara Arena

AMARA is a major economic centre, transportation hub and cultural magnet for the entire Volga Region.

Samara was founded in 1586 as a fort built where the River Samara flows into the Volga River.

Samara, stretched along the left bank of the Volga River, occupies an area of more than 380 sq km. The city’s population is about 1.17 million people.

Both locals and visitors from across the region love Samara’s Volga embankment and enjoy spending time there. The riparian esplanade, which is about 5 km long, is hailed as one of Russia’s finest.

There are numerous museums in Samara, of which the more outstanding ones are the local history museum with its unique collections of archaeological finds and coins, the art museum which boasts a large collection of Russian icons

Capacity 45,000 seats, built in 2018

and Russian avant-garde art and the memorial homes of Russian writer Alexei Tolstoy and painter Ilya Repin (in the village of Shiryaevo, north of the city).

Samara is also home to one of Russia’s favourite beer makers, the Zhigulevskoe Brewery, which has a history dating back to 1880.

The Samara Football Museum was the first public football museum to open in Russia. Most of the exhibits are devoted to the local club, FC Krylya Sovetov. The display includes hundreds of unique items received as gifts from the club’s many fans, military veterans, coaches, active and retired footballers, and other football clubs.

Samara’s FC Krylya Sovetov, founded during the Great Patriotic War in 1942, celebrated its 75th jubilee in 2017.

6 July 2018 – Quarter Final Capacity 45,000 seats, built in 2018

N

IZHNY Novgorod was founded in 1221 as a frontier fort to protect the Principality of Vladimir. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the city emerged as a regional economic, industrial, scientific and educational nucleus. The Nizhny Novgorod Fair, providing a crucial trade interface between the east and the west of the Russian Empire, proved to be a key economic driver for the city during that period. The railway linking Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, built in the 1850s and 1860s, was one of the first railways built in Russia.

The population of Nizhny Novgorod exceeds 1.3 million people, making it the third biggest city in the European part of Russia after Moscow and St Petersburg.

One of the city’s key landmarks, located in Upper Town, is the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, built in the early

1500s. It includes the 16th century Michael the Archangel Cathedral – home to the grave of homeland defence hero Kuzma Minin – the Minin and Pozharsky Monument, the art museum and the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic.

The main pedestrian street of Nizhny Novgorod, Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Ulitsa, is in Upper Town, along with most of the city’s historical buildings, museums, theatres, churches, parks and the crossVolga cableway station.

The most notable part of Lower Town is the Spit (or Strelka), formed by the left side of the Oka mouth and the Volga riverbank. At the tip of the Strelka towers is the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, while the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium is located on the nearby Volga bank.

The resident football club, FC Olympiets, was founded as recently as 2015.

14 WORLD CUP

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

26 April - 17 May 2018

Rostov Arena

Volgograd Arena MATCHES

MATCHES

17 June 2018 – Brazil vs Switzerland – Group E

18 June 2018 – Tunisia vs England – Group G

20 June 2018 – Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia – Group A

22 June 2018 – Nigeria vs Iceland – Group D

23 June 2018 – Korea Republic vs Mexico – Group F

25 June 2018 – Saudi Arabia vs Egypt – Group A

26 June 2018 – Iceland vs Croatia – Group D

28 June 2018 – Japan vs Poland – Group H

2 July 2018 21 – Round of 16 Capacity 45,000 seats, built in 2018

R

OSTOV-ON-DON is the main transport, industry and cultural centre in southern Russia. Rostovon-Don is the unofficial ‘southern capital’ of Russia and a gateway to the Caucasus.

Rostov-on-Don was founded in 1749 as a shipping port and customs checkpoint on the River Don, close to where it flows into the Azov Sea. Trade routes from the Caucasus, the Mediterranean, the Aegean Sea, and the Black Sea entered the Russian Empire through Rostov-on-Don. Today, over 1.1 million people live in Rostov-on-Don, which is around 350 sq km in size.

Capacity 45,000 seats, built in 2018

The right bank of Rostov-on-Don is the city’s business and cultural heart, the home of numerous museums, parks, temples and theatres, as well as most of its residential neighbourhoods, the railway station and the airport. The 2018 World Cup stadium, Rostov Arena, is situated on the left bank of the Don and adjoins a long waterfront with countless restaurants, cafés, clubs, hotels and beaches.

The local football club, FC Rostov, was founded in 1930 and is a Russian Cup winner and former UEFA Champions League participant.

Mordovia Arena (Saransk)

S

Central District, and so are most of its parks, museums, theatres, the FIFA World Cup stadium Volgograd Arena, and Volgograd’s number one landmark: the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex with the 87-metre statue ‘Motherland Calls’. The memorial complex commemorates the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the definitive battles of the Second World War in Europe.

Volgograd was among the pioneering cities of the Russian football. Tsaritsyn’s first-ever sports team, a football team, was formed by steel and oil industry workers in 1909.

Kaliningrad Stadium

MATCHES

MATCHES

16 June 2018 – Peru vs Denmark – Group C

16 June 2018 – Croatia vs Nigeria – Group D

19 June 2018 – Colombia vs Japan – Group H

22 June 2018 – Serbia vs Switzerland – Group E

25 June 2018 – Iran vs Portugal – Group B

25 June 2018 – Spain vs Morocco – Group B

28 June 2018 – Panama vs Tunisia – Group G

28 June 2018 – England vs Belgium – Group G

Capacity 45,000 seats, built in 2018

ARANSK was founded in 1641 as a frontier fort in the south east of the Russian Principality. As Russia expanded, the city gradually lost its military role by the 18th century. Saransk became the administrative capital of Mordovia during the Soviet period, when a part of the mid-Volga Region was designated a Mordovian district in the late 1920s.

Saransk stands on the banks of the River Insar and is 81.5 sq km in size with more than 344,000 inhabitants.

The prime landmark of Saransk is Millennium Square, which was inaugurated in 2012 and has one of the tallest sound-and-light fountains in Russia, the Mordovia Star. Apart from Millennium Square, other local landmarks include the S D Erzi Mordovian Republic Art Museum, the Cathedral of the Holy Virtuous Warrior Theodor Ushakov, the

T

HE EARLIEST documented reference to the city currently known as Volgograd dates back to the end of 1589. The town’s original name was Tsaritsyn. It was renamed Stalingrad in the mid-1920s and received its present name in 1961. Volgograd, occupying an area of 860 sq km, stretches for 60 km along the Volga River. The population of Volgograd exceeds 1 million people.

Since the 18th century Volgograd has been a regional industrial hub. Industrial enterprises have played a definitive role in the city’s history. The city’s main embankment, or esplanade, is in the

Capacity 35,212 seats, built in 2018

‘Family’ sculptural composition, St John the Evangelist Church, the ‘Mordovian Village’ Ethnography Museum Complex, the ‘Forever With Russia’ monument, the Alexander Pushkin monument, Sovetskaya Ploshchad Square, and St Alexander Nevsky Chapel.

The 2018 World Cup stadium, Mordovia Arena, is located in the Oktyabrskiy District, across the River Insar from the city centre.

The local football club, FC Mordovia, was founded in 1961. The team won the 2009 Pro Football League Cup, as well as the National Football League championships in the 2011/2012 and 2013/2014 seasons.

K

ALININGRAD is the westernmost regional capital of Russia. Today, Kaliningrad is a major shipping hub where many international rail, land, sea and air transport routes intersect. Kaliningrad is also among Russia’s most advanced industrialised cities. The region boasts the biggest amber field in the world, containing over 90 percent of the world’s prospected stocks of amber.

The population of Kaliningrad exceeds 460,000 people.

One of the foremost landmarks in Kaliningrad is the 14th century Koenigsberg Cathedral, which harbours the grave of Immanuel Kant, the paterfamilias of German classical philosophy. The cathedral stands on the island named in honour of the great philosopher.

Kaliningrad’s look is defined by the extraordinary abundance of well-preserved

European architecture and old cobblestone-paved streets. Many mid-19th century fortifications have survived in Kaliningrad. Seven historical neo-gothic gates, two fortress towers, some historical barracks and a rampart surround the city centre.

The Dohnaturm Tower in the middle of town, on the bank of Lake Verkhneye, houses the Amber Museum, which has unique specimens of amber, amber artefacts, and cut and uncut amber jewellery on display.

Kaliningrad’s football club Baltika, founded in 1954, is one of the leading teams in the National Football League, Russia’s second-highest professional football division.

BUSINESS

26 April - 17 May 2018

ONLINE THIS WEEK AMAZON Web Services is setting up shop in Copenhagen at the Codan building located near Sankt Jørgens Lake. The subsidiary delivers on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies and governments.

Meanwhile, Radikale has argued that Facebook should help build wind turbines to alleviate the carbon footprint of its proposed data centre in Odense.

Rude welcome to bank IN BANKING news, shortly after its relocation to Helsinki, Nordea was fined 3 million kroner by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority; Danske Bank executives Lars Mørch and Tonny Thierry Andersen have resigned; and Danske Bank has ceased trading Exchange Traded Notes, which means its customers won’t be able to purchase securities linked to crypto currencies.

US-China trade war fears THE US-CHINA trade war is concerning the Danish shipping industry, as together the countries account for 40 billion kroner of maritime transport exports and 4,000 dockings in each of the two countries annually. The trade war, described as “destructive” by Dansk Industri, has also caused the shares of most leading Danish companies to slide.

AmCham hails improvement SITEIMPROVE has been named ‘2018 Transatlantic Company of the Year’ by the American Chamber of Commerce in Denmark. It was hailed for impressive growth in the US over the past three years, which has seen the company increase its revenue from 8.1 to 28 million US dollars and raise its number of employees by close to 300 percent.

12 years in the making IN R&D NEWS, 12 years after its foundation, Lyngby-based Aquaporin has released its first product: a machine that makes impure water safe to drink; Novo Nordisk has revealed its new diabetes super drug could be released as a pill as early as 2020; and a Danish woman has launched a Danish pastry company, Maggie’s Pastry and Lemonade, in Norwich.

ONLINE THIS WEEK PIXABAY

New Amazon office

The Danes have never had it so good Belle époque beckoning for the Danish people STEPHEN GADD

B

RITISH PM Harold Macmillan famously remarked that “most of our people have never had it so good” in 1957 – and the same today could be said of Denmark, where record employment figures, a 2.2 percent rise in GDP and a 9,200 kroner increase in average income have all been recently confirmed.

Record numbers employed WITH A record 2,728,800 people in employment at the end of January – an increase of 187,900 since September 2012 – the Danmarks Statistik figures exceed those recorded before the financial crisis, while GDP has hit its highest level since 2006.

In the private sector, 6,500 more people managed to get jobs during January – and in total, 127,100 more private sector jobs have been created since the government came to power in the summer of 2015.

To help avoid a labout shortage, the government has set aside 92 million kroner so that workers can upgrade their qualifications in fields where there is an especially high demand.

Keep that hat on ... you know what happened last time!

The companies are suffering due to difficulties created by the current visa regulations, which require non-EU workers to earn at least 35,000 kroner per month.

The business minister, Brian Mikkelsen, has said he would like to reduce the amount that a suitable candidate from outside the EU needs to earn in order to get a residence and work permit.

lation being wage-earners with 68.7 percent. Only Sweden and Germany scored higher, and the EU average was at 58.2 percent.

Foreign labour focus AND THE state also wants to make it easier for companies to obtain suitably-qualified foreign labour – which is good news for IT startups in Copenhagen.

Fewest self-employed THE PRIVATE sector is key, as Denmark has the lowest self-employment rate in the EU, with just 7.5 percent aged 18-64 during the fourth quarter of 2017, according to Danmarks Statistik. Greece topped the list with almost 30 percent.

With 92.2 percent, Denmark had the biggest share of regular employees, and it also had one of the highest employment frequency rates (74.6 percent), trailing only Sweden, Germany, Estonia and the Netherlands. The EU average was 68.1 percent.

The Danes were also well ahead of the EU curve when it came to the share of the popu-

Pressure to be 24/7 IN OTHER employment news, 35 percent of Danes who are capable of working away from the office feel that this creates extra pressure and a feeling they have to be available 24/7, according to a survey carried out by Blauw Research and Survey Sampling International.

An analysis carried out by Dansk Byggeri reveals that if Danes could save five minutes on their daily journey to and from work it would increase GDP by more than 6 billion kroner a year.

The biotech company Genmab is on the verge of confirming it needs to employ another 100 workers this year, reports Berlingske Business – primarily to work on the company’s pipeline.

And finally, the civil registration system, the CPR Register, has celebrated its 50th birthday. It was launched on 2 April 1968 – the same day Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ was released.

Savaging in Spain

Collective bargaining first

Holck demons exorcised

A DAMNING decision in a Spanish court earlier this month went against Danish mortgage lender Nykredit and the Swiss branch of a Danish bank, Sydbank, resulting in a mortgage loan granted by Nykredit to a middle-aged couple being rendered null and void and Sydbank having to pay them 462,000 euros in compensation.

It came just two days before the couple’s property was due to be auctioned as part of a foreclosure, after they were persuaded to remortgage early last year as part of a ruse to bypass Spanish inheritance tax laws, which Nykredit and Sydbank have been peddling for years. (BH)

HILFR.DK, a digital platform for cleaning services in private homes, has been unwavering in its commitment towards ensuring that the cleaners get competitive wages. And earlier this month it signed a groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement with one of Denmark’s biggest unions, 3F – the world’s first for a platform company. Hilfr.dk co-founder Niels Martin Andersen told CPH POST that the deal is “raising the bar for the gig economy and showing how we can all benefit from new technology without undermining labour rights and working conditions”. (CW)

DENMARK’S relationship with India has been on standby since 2010, when the two countries butted heads over Denmark’s refusal to extradite arms smuggler Niels Holck. But the frosty co-operation looks to be melting now. PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen met with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the NordicIndian summit in Stockholm in mid-April to bury the hatchet and devise new plans for a cooperative future. It has already been confirmed that a Danish culture institute will open in New Delhi this coming autumn – with support from the Carlsberg Foundation. (CW)

READ THE REST OF THESE STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

15

SAS trailing most rivals ONLY 72.94 percent of SAS’s flights arrived on time in March, according to Flightstats – ahead of Norwegian (70.04) but behind European leader Aegean Airlines (88.13). Meanwhile, Sweden has introduced a new tax on air travel, which requires passengers to pay an extra 43.50, 181 or 290 kroner a flight – depending on the distance.

OW Bunkers fallout THE FALLOUT of the bankruptcy of marine fuel company OW Bunkers with losses of 821 million kroner is continuing with the prosecution of Lars Møller, the head of Singapore-based subsidiary Dynamic Oil Trading, who is accused of benefiting personally from bonues and extending massive amounts of credit.

Rise of the micro-dairy MICRO-DAIRIES, following in the footsteps of microbreweries, have been steadily springing up over the last decade to revive ‘forgotten cheeses’ such as esrom, havarti and maribo. In related news, farmer-owned dairy conglomerate Arla has hinted that some of its 19,000 employees will lose their jobs over the next three years as part of deep cuts.

B&O improves again IN FINANCIAL news, Bang & Olufsen has posted a Q3 rise in revenue of around 10 percent to 865 million kroner; enzyme and ingredient producer Chr Hansen has posted a 3 percent rise in interim revenue to 3.86 billion kroner; and selling short on the stock market is increasing in popularity, now accounting for 1 percent of all transactions – up from 0.3 percent five years ago.

TDC takeover on course IN TAKEOVER news, TDC should have new owners on May 4 after 88 percent of its shareholders accepted a bid. Burger chain Cock’s and Cows has been acquired by Finnish restaurant giant Restamax. Ferry company Scandlines is eyeing expansion after getting a new owner. And the brothers Philip and Jacob Bier are eyeing up the vacuum left by the departure of Toys R Us.

16 BUSINESS FEATURE THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

26 April - 17 May 2018

Inside Israel: Denmark’s mission to harness the power of the startup nation DOUGLAS WHITBREAD

I

T’S LATE afternoon in Abu Tor district, central Jerusalem. At the plush headquarters of homegrown VC firm JVP (Jerusalem Venture Partners), author and one-time news editor Saul Singer stands in front of a crowd of travelweary European journalists.

“Israel is the startup nation,” he quietly proclaims, allowing this profound statement to hang in the room’s warm, humid air so that his audience can fully gauge its meaning.

These words are directly tapped from the title of a book he cowrote with the US columnist and political advisor Dan Senor.

Their work, published in 2009, documents reasons for why Israel produces more entrepreneurial ventures per year than countries such as Canada, UK and Japan – despite its low population and role amid numerous inter-state conflicts since unification in 1948.

The Danish connection THIS BURGEONING startup scene, supported by the state’s vast R&D expenditure, is compelling international governments to buy into the country’s booming economy.

And Denmark is one of the key countries to recently improve its local business development strategy, establishing a dedicated ‘innovation centre’ in Tel Aviv in 2016.

“We decided to have an innovation centre because we were doing a lot of the traditional trade tasks [at the Danish embassy] – assisting companies coming into the market in term of finding customers or partners,” explained Louise Vibjerg Thomsen, the

Danish commercial councillor and head innovation officer in Tel Aviv, to CPH POST. However, Thomsen contends that Denmark’s ability to facilitate this work in Israel was greatly increased with the creation of the innovation. “[At the innovation centre], we can offer Danish companies and institutions the whole process, from the point when they have an idea for a product or a company, all the way to them exporting. So, it gives us the opportunity to help companies even more,” continued Thomsen.

This assistance, she demonstrates, is not limited to private initiatives but was also designed to smooth out issues incurred within inter-state bureaucratic processes.

“Government to government there’s a lot of work,” Vibjerg Thomsen disclosed.

“For example, now that we’re so much into the fintech and the healthcare [industries], there’s a lot of regulation that needs to be in place to create the whole framework that actually allows companies to interact across borders. So, we’re also part of helping to facilitate putting these frameworks in place.”

East meets West THE TALK of Israel’s excelling startup environment is backed by players in major industries.

On April 26, Danish shipping giant Maersk will open a joint venture with a local innovation group, TheDOCK, in the port city of Haifa. With this move, the company hopes to find specialist entrepreneurs emerging within Israel’s marine-tech sector.

“We are looking for startups that see value in Maersk as a partner rather than a customer, partnering where we bring much more value than just capital,” Thomas Hougaard, a venture

DOUGLAS WHITBREAD

Liron Rosenbaum, the director of business development at Orcam

DOUGLAS WHITBREAD

Trade and investment taking place amid the ongoing struggle for rights and recognition

The dusty Wailing Wall in Jerusalem – in Israeli hands and yarmulkes since 1967

partner with the Maersk Group, stated in a press release.

“We are excited about working with TheDock to help identify the right companies that want to join us on this journey.”

Furthermore, Israeli entrepreneurial ventures are also making their way into the Danish market.

In early March, the startup Orcam launched its ‘MyEye’ technology in the country. The product helps those with partial or no vision to read text, pick out faces and identify products. As part of a deal struck with the government, the device will be free to those who need it through the national health service.

“If we’re looking at the statistics and include those with reading difficulties and dyslexia, we estimate the product will benefit between 10 and 15 percent of society,” revealed Liron Rosenbaum, the head of business development for Northern Europe, to CPH POST. A win-lose situation ISRAEL’S home-grown success story of its rise to global prosperity, backed by international government and industry leaders, heralds the nation as a global economic success. But, this triumphant narrative is one that selectively promotes one people’s national history in lieu of another.

At the Max Rayne Hand in Hand Jerusalem Bilingual School, which welcomes Palestinian and Israeli students, the stark contradictions between the world views observed in each nation are powerfully juxtaposed.

“Growing up in America, when it was [Israeli] Independ-

ence Day, that was a date we celebrated in school. For Jewish people around the world this was a moment of a miracle, as we have a place where Jewish people can be safe – a really meaningful thing to my identity,” Noa Yammer, the school’s director of communications, told CPH POST. “But, if I ask my friend Tama, who is Arabic and identifies as Palestinian, what happed in 1948, he says: ‘The Nakba’ [exodus],” she contended.

The Nakba was a catastrophe [for Tama’s family] as they lived in a village in the north [of the country]. Jewish soldiers came, the family ran away, and then when they tried to come back, the village was gone,” acknowledged Yammer. “All of their lands, everything they owned was gone and, of course, many people were also killed.”

The school’s staff are specially trained to provide their students with exercises in peaceful dialogue. But indiscriminate violence and human causalities are often the outcomes of fights for ownership of authenticate accounts of the past – most recently witnessed on the border between Gaza and Israel.

Is business just business?

DENMARK does operate one local office in Ramallah, Palestine. In 2016, the government expanded its economic development, from an initial small-scale project in 2011, at the request of Palestinian authorities – with a focus on agriculture.

“The two development engagements will provide support

to selected value chains, including high value fruits, vegetables, herbs, cereals, legumes and dairy, as well as sustainably improving income and labour productivity in small and medium-scale agribusinesses,” explained Miral Al Far, the Danish deputy head of co-operation in Ramallah, to CPH POST. “This will lead to employment creation, balanced economic development and improved competitiveness, as well as to entrepreneurship among women and youth,” she contended.

Despite this, the Danish trade and investvent mission in Israel remains the most significant of its kind in the region. Nevertheless, the government sees its work as contributory to a future peaceful solution, rather than as actions that confer legitimacy to just one nation.

“Denmark’s policy vis a vis Israel and the Palestinian Authorities remains firmly anchored in the belief that a two-state solution is a prerequisite for peace between Israel and Palestine,” Charlotte Slente, the Danish ambassador to Israel, told CPH POST. “The Danish government believes that engaging on a broad range of issues in no way impedes, and may even be a prerequisite for, a close dialogue on i.e the peace process,” she continued.

“We therefore do not believe that engaging with Israel puts a hamper on the Danish voice and impact regarding the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. On the contrary, we believe that the ability to take a stand is strengthened by this approach.”

BUSINESS OPINION

26 April - 17 May 2018

TINY MAERSCHALK LIVING IN AN EXPAT WORLD Belgium’s Tiny Maerschalk, who has worked for the International Community networking platform since its foundation in 2008, knows how it feels to settle in a new country. Dedicated to improving conditions for new arrivals, here she shares her insights about the business issues that mean the most to internationals in Denmark.

Fees for Danish course WITH ITS new tax deal the government is abolishing free Danish education for international students, employees and

SØREN BREGENHOLT THE VALLEY OF LIFE As the chairman of the Medicon Valley Alliance – the goldlabelled Danish-Swedish life science cluster organisation – Søren will address current trends and challenges in the sector. Away from the alliance, he is responsible for Novo Nordisk’s global R&D-based PhD and post doc programs, as well as research, innovation and educational policy.

Important step I BID THE strategy welcome – wholeheartedly. Like the daffodil, it is an important step in the right direction.

It includes the 17 recommendations published by the national life science team last year. When implemented, it will strengthen excellence in research, boost talent attraction and talent development in Danish academia, and streamline and increase the volume of clinical

Language is key IT IS BASIC knowledge that knowing a country’s native language is key to thriving both professionally and socially.

Investing in language education is an important tool in order to retain the international employees and specialists the companies and institutions of higher education recruit and need.

But according to a survey composed by Aarhus University, only one in five internationals will attend Danish classes in the research in Denmark.

In addition, a new exportorientated life science forum will be established, which will enable public and private sector decision-makers to optimise the industry´s ability to create export-driven growth.

In the long-run this might prove to be the single most important political initiative this year.

Welcome approach THE STRATEGY is national but will likely be executed with a regional focus. Therefore, I also welcome the recognition of the cluster approach and the government’s explicit ambitions to strengthen and streamline the somewhat complex landscape of Danish life science cluster organisations and stakeholders.

This is where the Medicon Valley Alliance has an important role to play in Greater Copenhagen. By facilitating collaboration

future due to the user fee.

Invaluable experience PERSONALLY knowing Danish has made it possible for me to find a job, build lasting friendships with Danes and take part in daily life as a whole.

A price tag of 12,000 kroner would have been unaffordable for me upon my arrival in Denmark as a student. This would most certainly have resulted in me leaving the country after only one year, meaning that Denmark would not have harvested the fruits of its investment.

In the loser’s corner DENMARK as a whole is putting itself in a loser’s position.

When competing with other countries to attract and retain the best international talents, offering free Danish classes is and innovation, by actively bringing academia, hospitals and industry together, and by strategically promoting and developing selected strongholds of the region, the life science ecosystem can become the single most important growth factor in the region in the future.

When it comes to public-private partnerships and life science entrepreneurship, we should look to the blooming biotech environment in southern Sweden for inspiration – and I strongly recommend strengthening the bilateral collaboration even further.

This is complicated as all the initiatives involving collaboration and co-ordination with the Swedish part of Medicon Valley require a dialogue with national and regional Swedish decisionsmakers.

Too big to be ignored BUT THE potential is too big to

They’ll need more than spare change

an asset.

Marketing Denmark as a career destination will only become more difficult.

Will the 12,000 kroner price tag entice you to embark on a new career in Denmark? Will you really invest that amount in learning a minority language before you know you are in it for the long haul?

PIXABAY

T

HE SPRING has been a long time coming, with snow covering crocuses and daffodils even in late March, but better weather has broken through of late.

Similarly, the newly-released national Danish life science strategy is hopeful it can make the sector bloom in the decades to come, although cynics might say that it is “too little too late”.

their partners.

This means an extra expense of 2,000 kroner for each of the six modules, adding up to a whopping 12,000 kroner. This price tag certainly doesn’t express a welcoming attitude towards internationals!

PIXABAY

T

HIS YEAR started off well with the PM expressing the necessity for Denmark to be an open country for “those internationals who have committed to Denmark with determination, courage and hard work” in his new year’s address.

Finally a positive approach to internationals, I thought, following all the negativity on the subject of migration in the media. The rhetoric is harsh, and as an international you have to deal with this on a daily basis.

But sadly the PM’s “You are welcome!” sign-off does not match the government’s actions and policies.

17

Strategy has welcome ideas

be ignored. Respecting the integrity of the national strategies, we should aim to integrate the best of the countries’ strategies to optimise life science R&D, life science business development and – ultimately – life itself, as it is commonly defined by the patients, the end-users and beneficiaries of our combined efforts.

Those are my wishes for the spring of 2018!

18 OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

26 April - 17 May 2018

The Danish Model

F

D’Artagnan rides again THE NEGOTIATING unions are bound together by the ‘Three Musketeers’ oath’ – “one for all, all for one” – saying they want a satisfactory solution for all of them, or none. The state, regions and municipalities are also bound together in their intention to lock out several hundred thousand employees.

By law we have a moderator, a very experienced woman who has it in her power to postpone the implementation of scheduled strikes and lockouts for two 14-day periods in order that the parties might reach an agreement. At present, we are in the second of these periods.

In the private sector, conflicts tend to centre around who has the largest piggy bank to support those not getting paid and the employers seeing their production facilities rendered idle. Also

Fashion Jam

here, the state can intervene and has done so at times.

In the public sector, however, the workforce is doubly under pressure: they are locked out without pay and they do not get the public services they need.

This means no schools, no hospitals (apart from emergencies), no train transport and no state church services.

Beware of angry voters IT SHOULD, however, worry the lawmakers. Half the workforce is publicly employed and if they get angry nobody can tell how they will vote. Such situations create protest movements, which traditional politicians hate.

The private sector is also hurt, but they cannot do anything about it but appeal to the government, which is losing private sector revenue. Some party leaders are airing support for the employees, although they should keep their mouths shut if they support the ‘Danish Model’.

When the Danish Model is applied to civil servants it is clear that it has really outlived its use.

Historically, civil servants have been employed for life, could not strike and were remunerated according to the sovereign king – or later by the will of a parliamentary majority. That worked fine when the public sector was a small part of the workforce.

Unions against public employers is simply an uneven fight, even if the outcome is successful. The answer is to privatise more of the public sector. Then the Danish Model can thrive again. (ES)

As a Swede who spent eleven years in London and New York, coming to Denmark four years ago had its ups and downs. Having worked in fashion most of her professional life, Jenny (@ jennyfashjam) will be giving her opinion on our dress sense: the right choices and the bad ones.

JENNY EGSTEN-ERICSON

OR MORE than a century the parties comprising the labour market have pretty much managed to deal with the remunerations and obligations of the workforce without the heavy hand of legislators.

Not entirely though; from time to time the government together with a parliamentary majority has legislated an end to a conflict when it was judged that society was suffering too much from strikes and lockouts paralysing the country.

The last time this type of legislation was used was a few years back, when the teachers’ union was locked out over a dispute over working hours. They are at it again today, wanting a deal rather than a law to govern their affairs.

JENNY EGSTEN-ERICSON

Just off to meet Sonny Crockett

W

HEN IT’S still snowing outside your window in early April, it’s hard to get your mind into spring fashion mode. The only thing that says spring in such weather are all the different magazine covers trying to convince us that we do want to wear pastel colours with our pale skin.

Pastiche of 90s pastels I’VE GOT two words: ‘Fashion Prozac’. That’s right. After an epically depressing year for politics (and just about everything else), designers reacted in the only way they know how: with uplifting, colourful, joyous clothes that took us off into another decade.

Although pastels are not really a groundbreaking spring fashion trend, right? This season’s twist (because every season has a new twist) is taking us back to the 1990s. It will make you feel like a gelato, and you are very welcome to help yourself to more than one scoop – just pile those ice cream hues on top of one another. My personal favourite pastel this season is a light haze of lavender or lilac, which feels fresh and so right.

To say that the ‘90s was a

multi-faceted fashion decade is no exaggeration: from minimalism and logo mania to grunge; from the birth of avant-garde to the impact of star designers; and from conservative pantsuits and kitten heels to platform shoes, streetwear and very low-cut jeans.

In hindsight the ‘90s have been called both boring (minimalism) and immoral (think the heroin-chic look). But now it seems like it’s time for a second chance.

Calvin’s comeback THE DECADE is everywhere and those days’ most influential fashion houses – such as Helmut Lang and Calvin Klein – are enjoying a revival while Gucci, Kenzo and Prada have also found their way back to the same era.

The fixation with the fashion houses’ old logos has rocketed and the new thing everyone is talking about is ‘re-editions’, which basically means that the fashion houses recreate their bestselling and most influential styles and accessories. It’s like we are on an unstoppable carousel of nostalgia where it’s really hard to distinguish what was then and what’s now.

But it doesn’t end here. Last year eBay sold 57,000 items of the decade’s most popular bag: the bum bag … or belt bag should you want to sound more sophisticated. Decadesold streetwear brands such as Champion, Fila and Kappa are enjoying record sales on eBay at the same time as the brands are relaunching.

Gucci and Versace are following and have released retro versions of their logo sweatshirts and t-shirts, which were a musthave during the ‘90s. Most of them were of course fakes, which Gucci is very successfully playing with by spelling itself as GUCCY. Don’t worry, dress happy THE BIG floral trend continues of course, because what kind of summer would it be without a sea of florals and pretty dresses.

Another very convenient trend (especially living in Denmark) is stylish rainwear. At Chanel you could see transparent plastic macs and rain hats – which begs the question when did fashion become so sensible?

The message I guess is: the outlook might be a little gloomy right now, but at least we can dress happy.

OPINION

26 April - 17 May 2018

IAN BURNS

An Actor’s Life A resident here since 1990, Ian Burns is the artistic director at That Theatre Company and very possibly Copenhagen’s best known English language actor thanks to roles as diverse as Casanova, Shakespeare and Tony Hancock.

19

NEXT ISSUE

The Road Less Taken JESSICA ALEXANDER

Mishra’s Mishmash MRUTYUANJAI MISHRA IN 2 ISSUES

KREMLIN.RU

Crazier than Christmas VIVIENNE MCKEE

Early Rejser ADAM WELLS

Straight Up

IN 3 ISSUES

ZACH KHADUDU Putin hasn’t been accused of orchestrating the Windrush Generation exodus ... yet

T

HERE ARE two kinds of journalists: those who dig for the truth and those who try to bury it. I don’t know about you but I am hungry for some truth.

After all, we should always be trying to hold people in power to account – to ask awkward questions so that we can collectively try to challenge and comprehend the reasons they offer for their actions.

Boris the blackmailer?

FOR EXAMPLE, where are the facts about the chemical attacks in Salisbury and Syria? To have a retrospective discussion after the Douma bombing is like trying to put the contents of your toilet back into your bowels: a messy and pointless exercise.

The deed has been done. The contempt is there to see. The assumption that they were doing this for the ‘good of the world’ is a bitter pill to swallow. Trust is a fragile egg-shell and, quite frankly, my trust in the responsible governments is low.

In the case of Salisbury, Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary, didn’t help matters when he announced that Russia was definitely behind the attempted murders of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

His claim wasn’t supported by any evidence and it really is

incredible that he’s managed to hold onto his job for so long.

The question that never goes away is “Why?” I can’t think of a worse person to hold the office. He must have some dodgy photos of Theresa.

Mutha Theresa BRITAIN can no longer pretend to hold any high moral ground after recent actions. But if UK nationals criticise their government’s actions – which are sadly supported by Denmark’s prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen – then they’re branded unpatriotic.

Minority governments should beware how they behave as their actions are being carried out in the name of the majority – fail them, and your time will soon be up. If things in Syria are allowed to escalate any further, we could all be singing Tom Lehrer’s anthem ‘We’ll All Go Together When We Go’.

But at least British PM Theresa May will have acted for ‘humanitarian’ causes. Let them rejoice at that when they consider the dreadful state of the NHS, the fallout from the Grenfell Tower disaster, worsening conditions for the homeless, disabled and refugees, and the appalling treatment of the Win-

drush Generation as thousands of them are now being deported to the West Indies 50-70 years after moving here on their parents’ British passports. The list goes on and on.

This troll must roll TO TIE our actions to the whims of an American president who rules by Twitter is insane.

In the swamp we used to know as the White House, he’s simply rolling around in his own excrement, believing he is above the law.

If Trump is a role model for democracy, we’re living in very dangerous times. Building walls and blaming Johnny Foreigner for all our ills is too simple. Hate crimes are unsurprisingly on the increase.

Now that he, Macron and May have had the opportunity to play the part of commander-inchief – and given the command to “Launch!” – I hope they don’t warm to the taste of power and continue down this line.

When Trump was elected, we expected some madness, but this latest episode signals he’s past his sell-by-date. What did he say after the bombing with his oh so bigly bombs? “Mission accomplished”. It’s time to go Mr President.

A Dane Abroad KIRSTEN LOUISE PEDERSEN IN 4 ISSUES

Mackindergarten ADRIAN MACKINDER

Straight, No Chaser STEPHEN GADD

20 COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

26 April - 17 May 2018

ABOUT TOWN

PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

There’s obviously something about the last week of March that lends itself well to national days! Greece went first with a celebration at the residence of ambassador Efthalia Kakiopoulou in Hellerup on March 22 (left), where guests included (left-right) Iranian ambassador Morteza Moradian, UAE ambassador Fatima Kamis Al Mazrouei and CPH POST chief executive Hans Hermansen. One day later (centre left), it was the turn of Pakistan ambassador Zulfiqar Gardezi (right), who oversaw proceedings at Hellerup Park Hotel that included a fashion show. And then on March 26 (centre right), Bangladesh took over Nordatlantens Brygge with a display of music, dance and food – including a cake marveled over by ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhit (left) and the dean of the diplomatic corps, Ivory Coast ambassador Mina Balde Laurent (second right). Finally, on April 13, Cuban ambassador Yiliam Sardinas Gomez was the host at Kaffesalonen overlooking the Lakes, which provided a setting of palm trees and rum to guests that included (left-right) Moroccan ambassador Khadija Rouissi, Niger’s ambassador Amadou Tcheko, [Gomez and spouse] and Algerian ambassador Ali Benzerga

At the forefront of a busy month for culture, Why Not Theatre’s production of ‘The Art of Falling’ (left), which continues at Teater Sorte Hest until May 12, opened on April 20 to much acclaim, after which its stars Sue Hansen Styles (second right) and Sira Stampe (right) soaked in the praise in the foyer. Two days earlier it had been the turn of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ (centre left), the latest play by the CTC at Krudttønden, which continues until April 28. Afterwards, director Jens Blegaa, the main star Emma Nymann and production manager Andrew Whalley gathered to reflect on a job well done. Danish actress Ghita Nørby (Matador) was made an honorary member of the Holberg community at the residence of outgoing Italian ambassador Stefano Queirolo Palmas on April 12 (centre right). And finally, director Lars von Trier was the recipient of the Sonning Prize on April 19 at the University of Copenhagen

Citizenship Day at Parliament on April 22 once again raised smiles on the faces of the sternest of politicians – (left-right) Pia Kjærsgaard, Inger Støjberg and Kristian Jensen – as new Danes mixed with some of the country’s hardiest

April 9 saw two esteemed visitors touch down on Danish soil: British PM Theresa May, who met with Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and former Polish president Lech Walesa, the grandfather of Solidarity, who was in Kolding with Polish ambassador Henryka Moscicka-Dendys

Hungarian ambassador László Hellebrandt and Italian ambassador Stefano Queirolo Palmas and their respective spouses both met the queen on April 16 to officially say goodbye ahead of leaving these shores

The farm of Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN secretary general from 1953 until his death in a plane crash in 1961, in the Scania village of Backåkra hosted the UN Security Council Meeting from April 1922 where Swedish PM Stefan Löfven welcomed current head Antonio Guterres

21

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26 April - 17 May 2018

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This idyllic and renowned inn is surrounded by stunning nature that convenes with culture and local character. You can visit Brødremenighedens Bakery in Christiansfeld, where you can try its legendary honey hearts – fresh out of the oven daily since 1783 – but you can also enjoy the local specialities that are part of the inn’s very own award-winning kitchen. This offer includes a gourmet dinner that promises mesmerising eating experiences of an international standard and outstanding service. Moreover, upon departure you’ll be given an exclusive wine gift from Tyrstrup Kro.

The offer includes: • 1 x overnight stay in the Superior Room (ocean view can be purchased) • Kitchen chef’s selected 3-course menu in Salon Marienlyst • Entry to spa with indoor and outdoor facilities • Lease of robe, slippers and 1 extra towel • Large morning buffet in Salon Marienlyst • Free entry to Casino Marienlyst • Free Wi-Fi & Free parking

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22 HISTORY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

26 April - 17 May 2018

The sacred tree that offered more than a change of clothes CPH POST

D

ID YOU hear about the British woman who had to be rescued by the fire brigade after she got stuck upside-down hanging out of a toilet window trying to retrieve a piece of shit that ended up on the window sill.

It gets worse. The amateur gymnast was on a Tinder date that was going so well she had made it back to her date’s accommodation, but then the flush on the toilet let her down. Panicking, she scooped out her floater and threw it out of the window.

The rest is misery.

But fear not, as Denmark has a lass to rival this daft damsel in distress, and in her case she was stark naked when she got caught in a compromising position.

Local reports at the time of the incident in 1909 noted that she had “no apparent medical ailment” when she got herself wedged between twin trunks halfway up the sacred Rag Tree (Kludeegen) in Rønnede in southern Denmark.

With no local fire brigade on call, she had to wait the entire night until some passing farmhands freed her with the aid of some soap and elbow grease.

Dressed in rags THE TREE in question is one of Denmark’s most famous and strangest looking.

Located in Leestrup Wood a few hundred metres away from the main road from Faxe to Præstø, the 75-foot oak is covered head to toe in rags.

The Rag Oak’s strangely decorated appearance is the result of a custom originating in pagan times that involved the sick hanging an article of their clothing from one of its branches in the hope they might be cured.

Until modern times, illness was considered by many as a form of demonic possession, and many believed the powerful natural forces of well-being existing in the tree could absorb any ailment or demon through contact with the patient’s clothing, thus driving it out.

Medicine has of course moved on, but even today some adhere to this vivid custom.

Opening to new world SO WHY was the young woman naked, we hear you ask. Was it because she had taken off all her clothes to hang on the tree?

Close, but no, it was because she was taking part in a rebirth ceremony, for which most participants stripped down.

Up until the 20th century, the Rag Oak was a perforation tree, which means it had a secondary trunk growing from its main one, which rejoined it again to form an aperture: an oval hole some 60 cm wide.

Today the upper part of the trunk has withered away, leaving the perforation now open at the top, but for many years the aperture helped it perform its role as a sacred tree central to pagan healing and demon exorcising ceremonies.

The tree of life BOTH CHILDREN and grown-ups either crawled or were dragged through the hole, naked like babies through a symbolic birth-opening in the tree, to

emerge supposedly reborn and healthy, cured of whatever might have ailed them.

It was believed that in order to be successful, this ritual had to be performed on three successive Thursday nights, and on each occasion repeated either three or nine times, while appropriate magic spells were chanted and sung.

To complete the cure, an item of the sick person’s clothing was then hung on a branch, and a piece of the Rag Oak’s bark cut off, to be placed under the subject’s pillow three nights in a row.

Local community records show these rebirth rituals continued well into the 20th century, often with an element of fun and bucolic debauchery replacing the main ailment-curing theme.

Raided and celebrated THE RAG Oak has not always been treated with deference by all. On occasion it has been plundered by travelling rag dealers who later offered the rags for sale.

In 1992, a zealous group of born-again Christian activists, apparently enraged by the pagan significance of the venerable oak, raided it and stripped it of its clothing. But only a few days later the tree was abundantly draped once again.

And ultimately the tree has had the last laugh, as how many travelling rag dealers can you name who have been immortalised in fiction (besides Steptoe and Son).

In an anecdote described in his book ‘Thoughts Within a Chimney’, the writer and commentator Martin A Hansen told of a bicycle trip to the Rag Oak (see right).

It is a fitting testament to a tree that continues to mesmerise all who see it.

MULVANY

The historic Rag Oak’s days as a source of rebirth may be over, but it’s still in the laundry trade

Denmark’s most famous oak tree has seen better days

FACT BOX Extract from ‘Thoughts Within a Chimney’

by Martin A Hansen The wood was chilly, and I felt strangely cool beneath my shirt. Certainly a rear wheeI must be able to spin, but there are times when indeed it should not. How long had I sat there? My tobacco was no longer burning and the pipe was cold. And that damned wheel ... how could it still turn? No breeze moved the air, not a leaf stirred.

Some short distance before me, in a glade, in a choir’s room, the oak was there, old and dark, and huge. I stood entranced, dazzled by the moment, uncertain with what confusion nature embraced me. Could I trust my eyes? Was it only a thin sunbeam that for an instant danced on bark, or was that truly a bare woodland nymphet hiding behind the trunk? Her body sweet and young, her head wizened?

The tree itself is no pretty sight. Its roots grasp the oil like a crocodile’s limbs, and the trunk is deformed by dark, hoary knots. Centuries ago an offshoot from the earth had developed into a huge branch, joining another limb further up to form the hole through which sick creatures once crawled, pathetic and naked daring not to even to expel a sigh, for silence was the rule. Thursday before daybreak they crawled through, nine times against the sun.

Once I had noticed the rags, however, it was as if the tree changed in manner, became lighter and more friendly, and l could almost feel its power, as the poor sick would have felt it. ln awe I ventured to steal a rag fallen to the ground, offering in return a good and almost new handkerchief which has no doubt since been stolen once again.

And I must tell you: this all happened several years ago, and from that day hence I have suffered from neither cold in the head nor sore throat as I had always done before; believe me.

ON SCREENS

26 April - 17 May 2018

23

Infinity reasons why the Handmaid is spanking the Avengers’ tails BEN HAMILTON

A

NEW SUB-GENRE is emerging: the TV drama presented as a miniseries, which after a successful release becomes Season 1. The trend has been around for a long time in other mediums: from Star Wars becoming Episode IV – A New Hope when it was re-released in 1981, or even The Bible becoming The Old Testament. Still, more often than not with a limited series, it’s welcome news for its legions of fans.

Fans of foot fungi LAST YEAR’S The Night Of, the acclaimed Americanisation of the British miniseries Criminal Justice, complete with the weak subplot in which the defendant cops off with the juicy barrister, is one such example – namely because the ratings call the shots. If the viewers want John Turturro’s foot fungi to return, they’ll jolly well have it. But nothing’s definite yet on that front. Talk is also circulating of a season 2 of Troy: Fall of a City – with The Odyssey, The Aeneid and countless other ancient texts to adapt – despite the lukewarm reaction to its mix of inspired moments and plodding storytelling.

A second season of The Handmaid’s Tale (HBO Nordic; April 26) didn’t have that luxury.

Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, the only source, pretty much ended at the same spot as S1. So, for season two we are heading into Game of Thrones territory.

However, head honcho Bruce Miller, whose previous pedigree never suggested he might one day create and produce a multiple winner at the Emmys and Golden Globes, apparently had ten seasons in mind all along.

Ten seasons? Forgive me for taking that with a pinch of salt, as Miller made that admission in an interview with the New York Times following the S1 finale, by which time the series had been confirmed as a global phenomenon. A closer look at the show’s development reveals that Ilene Chaiken, the creator and main writer of The L Word, deserves most of the credit for getting it made.

Rewarding slow-burner ALSO RETURNING for a keenly-anticipated S2 following a breakout debut is Westworld (HBO Nordic; April 23). While its first outing only scored 72 on Metacritic, compared to The Handmaid’s Tale’s 92, it is a no less worthy bridesmaid that demands repeated viewings to fully appreciate its rich tapestry.

With 78, the critics claim the series has found its feet in S2 and is duly more accessible to viewers – in other words it has been dumbed down to appease those without the patience to appreciate the slow-burning opening season. Furthermore, Scottish actor Peter Mullan, who plays the founder of the resort’s owner, the Delos Corporation, is singled out as a welcome addition.

The payback for the perseverance is immense, and S2 promises more of the same – a high standard that led to the postponement of the original 2017 release date to the horror of executives … everywhere, as it has set a precedent to favour standards over schedules.

So if you haven’t watched S1, give it a go and find out why it got an emotional reaction rate on Twitter that was 545 percent higher than last year’s cancelled Vinyl.

Of all the ways to go ...hang on, where did he go?

Mumblecore royalty THEN AGAIN, that could be the equivalent of your affection for Marvel Comics being 545 percent greater than for DC Comics – so not particularly significant. Dutifully enough, the self-proclaimed ‘universe’ is back with yet another outing for the Avengers – their third or fourth escapade, we’ve lost count. Avengers: Infinity War (Not Released Worldwide; April 25) includes Josh Brolin as a seemingly invincible foe … we can see where this is going.

Blockbuster antithesis Lady Bird (94 on Metacritic; April 26), which made the Best Film Oscar shortlist, marks the directorial debut of Greta Gerwig, the title star of the 2012 mumblecore classic Francis Ha, which she co-wrote with the director, her long-time collaborator Noah Baumbach. Its coming-of-age tale has resonated with audiences the world over – not least because the clever script still manages to sound natural (unlike, say, all of Aaron Sorkin’s).

Also recommended is Tully (76; May 9), the latest from Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air), which also has an element of mumblecore. Charlize Theron plays a single mother-of-three who is gifted a nanny by her wealthy brother – an unusual premise that already has more promise than most tautly-plotted Hollywood heist thrillers.

Hoodlum humour hoodoo FOLLOWING the lamentable cartoon Gnomeo and Juliet featuring Smurf rip-offs, it was inevitable that another silly release with a rubbish pun would duly follow, and that film is Sherlock Gnomes (36; May 3). Holmes is already regretting asking “What’s on”.

Even worse is Just Getting Started (21; May 3), more evidence that Morgan Freeman is not only looking to torpedo his career, but also his likeability.

When will they ever learn that mobsters and comedy only ever worked once – and that was Some Like it Hot a zillion years

ago. Whether it’s Analyse This or That, Mickey Blue Eyes, Did You Hear About the Morgans? or Married to the Mob, none of them are ever going to be as funny as Goodfellas or The Sopranos.

Elsewhere, The Journey (52; May 3) uses every poetic licencing law in the book to depict a meeting between Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness during the Northern Ireland peace process negotiations in 2006. The all-toofamiliar titles do not bode well for horror film Truth or Dare (NRW; May 3) or comedy Overboard (NRW; May 10) jumping above the parapet. And the early word is positive on U-July 22 (75; May 3), a vivid recreation of the Utøja massacre – which despite being in Norwegian can still probably be appreciated.

With Brazilian series 3% (Netflix; April 27) also returning for a S2 and new Danish Netflix drama The Rain (May 4) making its bow, this month’s television is an adversary that even the Avengers can’t contain.

nahid FILM OF THE MONTH Until May 1st experience the Iranian drama ‘Nahid’ (Ida Panahandeh, 2015). With thriller-like intensity the film dissects the controversial custom of ‘temporary marriage’ in Iran.

We present some 50 films with English dialogue or subtitles every month.

See what’s on at cinemateket.dk or visit us in Gothersgade 55

“An engaging Danish teacher makes all the difference�

Joanna, economist from Kuala Lumpur.

Sign up for intensive Danish courses in Hellerup and Lyngby sprogcenterhellerup.dk

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23/10/17 09.44