CPH Post 13 -16 March 2020

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DANISH NEWS IN ENGLISH VOL 23 ISSUE 04

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Saturday marks the centenary of the second plebiscite, which confirmed the decision of Northern Schleswig to become part of Denmark again 16

A blizzard couldn’t stop Denmark celebrating St Patrick’s Day, and neither will the coronavirus – even if the mirth is more muted than normal!

INSIDE MARTIN O'ROURKE

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CPHPOST.DK 13 - 26 March 2020

LOCAL PET failings let 2015 terror shootings happen, concur experts 2 INTERNATIONAL

Unread for centuries Recovering the letters written to loved ones lost at sea

LONG WAY FROM TIPPERARY

3

One in every football team After a slow start, Denmark now has one of the highest per capita rates for the coronavirus in the world

SCIENCE Are biomass woodchips being sourced from the Amazon?

7 SPORT

Surely he dived, ref?

Celtic policeman accused of histrionics after FCK fracus

9 PRINT VERSION ISSN: ONLINE VERSION ISSN:

2446-0184 2446-0192

BEN HAMILTON

A

T THE TIME of going to press on February 26, our coronavirus story was looking bare.

Hold the press THE MILITARY had just announced it could free up barracks to contain the ill, but nobody was taking it seriously.

Denmark had no cases to speak of – not even one.

But all that changed hours later when a TV2 employee was declared infected, and over the next ten days, the total slowly climbed to 35.

Trebled twice?

THINGS then went crazy.

Monday saw 65 new cases, Tuesday a further 172, and as of Wednesday another 78, to give Denmark 340 cases!

That’s 58.7 cases per million, giving Denmark the sixth equal highest capita rate in the world – two spots above China!

The health authorities estimate that over 500,000 people will contract the virus in Denmark – one in every eleven – and between 1,680 and 5,600 will die.

Are fingers being pointed?

There have been the school trips to Italy, for example, which set off despite the warnings.

While Sunday saw thousands returning from skiing holidays in the same country.

Causation or coincidenza?

4-5

Warmest ever winter

Ugliest building

THIS WINTER was the warmest in history, or at least since records began in 1874. The average 5.0 temperature eclipsed the mark of 4.7 set in 2006-07. However, scientists forecast an average of 5.2 for the period 2071-2100, so the record will inevitably be beaten soon. In related news, anemone flowers are blooming two months earlier than normal.

ØSTERPORT II, the structure housing the recently renovated Østerport Station, has been named the ugliest new building in Denmark of the last five years. Some 4,000 members of the Scandinavian architect association Arkitekturoprøret voted, naming Blox in Copenhagen and Papirtårnet in Silkeborg the next two ugliest.

New happiness museum A HAPPINESS Museum is opening this May on Admiralgade in Copenhagen. In recent years, Denmark has been named the world’s happiest country three times. Overseen by Meik Wiking, the head honcho at the Happiness Research Institute and all-round expert on hygge, the municipality is confident it will attract 20,000 visitors a year.

Shamrock love!

THE ST Patrick’s 3-Legged Charity Race on March 17 may have been cancelled due to the coronavirus, but it can’t kill the ‘Shamrock Love’, according to Siobhán Kelleher-Petersen, who had been looking forward to her 20th race as organiser. The efforts to raise funds for the race’s chosen charities will continue (MobilePay 71440), of which all three help children in need.

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LOCAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 March 2020

Terror shooting failings across the board

ONLINE THIS WEEK

KIM BACH

PET had all the warning signs to take action, concur experts

More plastic surgery THE NUMBER of Greater Copenhagen men getting plastic surgery has shot up, according to a P4 analysis of Sundhedsdatastyrelsen data. In 2018, 567 went under the knife – triple the 178 who got surgery in 2008. The most popular procedures are botox injections, liposuction, mammary tissue surgery and eyelid work.

Women still account for 90 percent of all procedures, though.

Best for burgers GASOLINE Grill has been included on a Bloomberg list of the world's 44 best burger joints.

“It’s worth going off piste with the vegetarian Green Burger,” advised Bloomberg. Denmark was one of only five European countries to feature on the list.

Above average kids

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Better prepared now PET HAS always denied culpability, but told DR that it was better prepared for future attacks than it was in 2015.

“These initiatives have been implemented on the basis of, among other things, the learning points in the evaluation and the result of the police investigation of the incidents in 2015,” it conceded.

SUNDHOLM’S local committee in Amager is in favour of establishing a fixerum – a room for drug addicts to safely shoot up like the one in Vesterbro – in the interest of making the area safer. City councillor Mia Nyegaard, the former deputy mayor for integration, has promised to help with budgeting.

Municipality introduces artwork gender quota

YOUNG girls aged 10-14, who might feel they don’t fit in, are being encouraged to attend workshops aimed at strengthening their self-esteem and self-confidence, which are being held at various culture houses in the capital.

Unchecked warnings SEVEN months earlier, the Kriminalforsorgen prison services informed PET that El-Hussein was likely radicalised.

A confiscated phone revealed he had been reading the Al-Qaeda magazine 'Inspire' and listening

to IS songs about killing non-believers.

And then his actions after his release from prison on 30 January 2015 – which included trying to rent an apartment close to where the shootings began at Krudttønden theatre, buying knives and downloading an article on firearm storage – went unchecked.

Fifty percent of all future purchases will be from female artists VALMIRA GJONI

Workshops for girls

Far from finished

H

POLICE arrested two Russian nationals in Amager on February 27 after finding them in possession of stolen bicycles and half a million kroner in cash. The man and woman, aged 62 and 55, are accused of stealing over a thousand bikes, changing their appearance and reselling them.

ALF OF all future art purchases by Copenhagen Municipality will be works created by women.

Its visual arts council unanimously voted in favour of introducing the gender quota at a meeting last month.

Council member Mette Sandhoff Mansa explained to TV2 that it was not a bid to improve the municipality’s art collection, but just to make it reflect reality.

“The reality is that the world is made up of men and women,” she said. “If we do not have art

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Bicycle thieves nabbed

Fixerum for Sundholm?

Too late. The horse had sadly bolted

PXHERE

COPENHAGEN public school children are performing above the national average for the first time in history. With an average graduation score of 7.4, compared to a national average of 7.2, 15 and 16-year-olds in the capital have been improving every year since 2015. Monolingual Danish girls perform the best with 8.5, and bilingual boys the worst with 5.5.

Rare wines recovered THE POLICE in Germany have recovered about one third of the 50-60 rare bottles of wine stolen in February from the Danish Michelin star restaurent, Formel B. The thieves got to the wine by breaking through a wall. Some of the bottles cost around 100,000 kroner each.

BEN HAMILTON

NEW DR documentary, ‘Angrebet – Omars vej til Krudttønden’, claims that the PET security service should have prevented the Copenhagen terror shootings in February 2015.

Experts concur that the activities of the perpetrator Omar el-Hussein should have been monitored.

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Too many breast-obsessed works by men?

made by women, then we present a picture that artists are men.”

Already on course OVER THE last six years the council has been striving for equality, but without a quota.

During that time it has purchased 109 works by male artists and 81 works by female artists.

Its efforts buck the trend seen at the capital’s museums and galleries,

where 22 percent of the new works acquired since 2014 have been created by female artists.

Furthermore, female artists have only accounted for 29 percent of the solo exhibitions during that time period.

The municipality, which has a total of 4,500 artworks decorating its various institutions, has always been a keen supporter of the art scene in the capital.

CLASSIC Pizza Restaurant, a Finnish chain that has an outlet near Kongens Nytorv, has been named the best in town by Discover Denmark. Established in the capital in 2018, the chain reportedly has plans to expand soon.

Valby Station revamp TEN TREES were cut down last week outside Valby Station as work begins on renovating its exterior.

The new forecourt to the station will include parking for 400 bicycles and 13 new trees. The work should be completed by December 2020.

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13 - 26 March 2020

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Keyhole into forgotten age

SULTAN Çoban, a Danish journalist of Turkish heritage who has been sent to prison in Turkey for 15 months, rejects the court’s finding that her post on Facebook was “propagandising for a terrorist organisation”.

She maintains she was exercising her freedom of speech to share information whilst working for a Danish media organisation.

3

ONLINE THIS WEEK CHRISTIAN THORNAM

Facebook sentencing

INTERNATIONAL

Minister condemns Erdogan THE FOREIGN minister, Jeppe Kofod, has condemned Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s recent decision to open the border between Turkey and Greece, which enables refugees to freely enter Europe. He called on Erdogan to respect the deal he signed with the EU four years ago in which he promised to keep the border closed in return for 45 billion kroner.

Smart gadgetry kings

Key water role

SMART technology products such as voice-controlled bathroom scales can be found in 23 percent of Danish households – the highest rate in the EU, according to a Eurostat report that used Danmarks Statistik data.

The EU average is 10 percent.

DENMARK has helped to revise EU directives regarding safe and clean drinking water. In the future citizens will be better informed of the cost and quality, including chemical concentrations, while suppliers will be required to reduce wastage – principally by better educating their customers. As well as the government, DI and Grundfos also lent their expertise.

Freddie visits Jordan PRINCE Frederik last week visited the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan as part of his duties as the patron of Red Barnet. Accompanying Rasmus Prehn, the development minister, he observed how children are coping in the camp, which has the largest population of Syrian refugees in the country.

Major Frontex offer IN THE wake of recent developments regarding irregular migration at the border of Greece and Turkey, the government has offered EU border agency Frontex a Challenger surveillance aircraft for 30 days and are willing to further assist Greece if requested.

"Hip, hip, me hearties, let's take this Danish ship and collection of saucy letters"

Researchers excited that Prize Papers could help colour in 150 years of Danish history BEN HAMILTON

T

HERE ARE thousands of Scandinavian letters among the Prize Papers, an extraordinary collection of unopened missives written at sea that never reached their intended recipients between 1664 and 1815 because the vessel was captured – mostly by the British Navy and privateers.

Nineteen different languages have been detected among the

dAnCe WitH Me

160,000 letters at the National Archives in Kew, London – their final destination once the London Admiralty Court ruled whether the capture was lawful or not.

Of the 35,000 captured vessels, a quarter were Dutch and 3,000 were Scandinavian. One, for example, was the Danish gunship ‘Hercules’, which was captured by the British in 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars. Some 9.3 million euros has been made available to digitalise the collection.

Mostly mundane HOWEVER, Danish researchers are playing catch-up as they

have only recently been able to study the Prize Papers. Dutch peers, in contrast, have been looking through the letters since 2005.

Ahead of the exhaustive task of appraising the thousands of letters, researchers are confident they will learn a lot more about everyday life in the period, but are not expecting to make any significant discoveries.

Some of the documents written in other languages contained the results of anthropological studies and even some longsince-lost information pertaining to South African cultivation.

LOVE LOSS LONELINESS LAUGHTER – REFLECTIONS TROUGH A WOMAN’S MIND

Biggest scam risk SOME 50 percent of Danish internet users have been the subject of cyber fraud scams, according to Eurostat – the highest rate in the EU ahead of France (46) and Sweden (45). The EU average is 32 percent.

Palestine pledge DURING a visit to the West Bank, the development minister, Rasmus Prehn, announced that Denmark would increase its core contribution to the UN’s aid program for Palestinian refugees from 70 to 105 million kroner.

A DRAMA BY

PETER ASMUSSEN ON STAGE

SUE HANSEN-STYLES DIRECTED BY

SOLBJØRG HØJFELDT

28th FEB – 21st MAR Vesterbrogade 150 København V

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COVER

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 March 2020

How a Chinese New Year holiday turned into the ultimate staycation

MARTIN O'ROURKE

I

T’S 11AM AND I’ve just come in from taking the dog for a walk. It stretches, gives a little yawn and wags its tail happily. I’ve got a bit of the feelgood factor too. I’ve had a bit of sun on my face, the bracing cold has been invigorating and the clear blue skies are a welcome antidote to Copenhagen’s usual wet-and-grey January fare.

So far, so normal you might say, but it’s here that things start to take a different spin.

My first inclination is to head to the coffee machine and get my second cup of the day. Slowly but surely, however, like the most persistent of earworms, I glance at my hands, I start thinking of the ‘what ifs’ and, once the thought is there, it’s impossible to ignore.

With a weary sigh, I head upstairs and, probably for the seventh time already that day, put my hands through the wringer with soap, warm water and sleeves rolled back as I make sure every part of me up to and including the wrists is immersed in the water for the time it takes to get through a mental rendition of the ‘Happy Birthday’ tune. It’s an exercise I’ll repeat 20 times that day.

You might be inclined to dismiss this as an exercise in paranoia and you’d probably be right, but it is also the grim reality of living in an environment where the threat of infection seems high.

At moments like these, Copenhagen has never seemed so far away. As for Tipperary, with its rolling hills and Guinness-soaked pubs where my mother’s side of the family hails from, it feels like another planet.

Paranoia rules and, when flock mentality takes over, it’s by some

MARTIN O'ROURKE

Copenhagen resident Martin O’Rourke was in Beijing with his family when the Covid-19 virus broke out. As Denmark potentially braces for its own anti-virus measures, the Irishman recalls what it was like to be in lockdown

way more infectious than the actual threat itself.

New year dismay WE ARRIVED in Beijing on January 15 with the intention of celebrating Chinese New Year with my wife’s family. Although we were already vaguely aware of the stories emerging out of Wuhan, the epicentre of China’s coronavirus outbreak, we were not overly concerned. It is after all more than 1,000 km away.

But, as we walk through quarantine at the airport, the young lad manning the desk looks at us nervously, tells us that our daughter’s temperature is a tad high, and says we have to see the on-duty doctor. The doctor duly arrives and ushers us into a pokey little office where, once she has established we’ve travelled from Copenhagen, and critically haven’t been anywhere near Hubei province, lets us on our way with a smile and a nod while making a careful note of our seat numbers.

“Just in case,” she says, somewhat pensively.

For the next week or so, we went about life in Beijing much as we would have expected to.

We went to restaurants, cafes, the gym and even found a play centre for Eloisa who was revelling in the attention of her extended family in the build-up to Chinese New Year, which was set to begin on January 25.

And then, D-Day arrived. Or more precisely, January 23, the day the government decided to shut down Wuhan in a drastic effort to lance the boil at source.

Overnight our regime changed entirely.

Like Groundhog Day MY WIFE Kewei’s family are extremely kind, courteous and, above all, hospitable people.

With me as the only adult laowai (foreigner) in the house, absolutely nothing was too much for them during my stay. But from January 23, it was made clear to me that under no circumstances was I to set foot outside of the

The first time that four generations of the same family have entered 'Big Brother'

compound where they live.

Sizeable though that compound was, stretching probably about 1.5 km end to end, that meant my horizons were likely to be extremely limited until February 17 when we were due to return to Denmark (more of that later …). I got to know that compound well! There was the house where the piano was constantly playing as some Chinese tiger mum no doubt drummed it into her prodigy that this was the opportunity to get ahead of the competition.

There was the dog that regularly squirmed under its gate to confront me as I went by. The sentry who nodded as I passed the gates. And the kids bouncing on the trampoline in the house around the corner oblivious to what was going on in the outer world. All became familiar sights and noises on my daily run.

And I took to wearing a mask just like virtually everyone else on the compound did, keeping a very respectful distance from those likewise dressed, and a considerably larger distance from those reckless few who didn’t.

The masks are not comfortable, especially when you’re running, but you do get used to them after a while, although the debate as to their worth continues to rage.

Our daughter even, not known for her patience, more often than not allowed us to put her mask on without too much complaint.

Like a ghost town BUT IT is an eerie feeling walking around semi-deserted streets in a city of 20 million people.

While we never felt in any real danger, there was a nagging undercurrent that nibbled away, ensuring the ‘what if’ questions loomed large.

Coping with the boredom was easy enough. We all read copiously, I learned how to play Ma Jong, and there was plenty of TV to catch up on. We all took turns at cooking, and the food, in general, was magnificent. So was the wine. It was Chinese New Year after all.

As far as shopping was concerned, Kewei’s uncle and aunt, at some risk, would venture to the shops most days and bring in the supplies. It was a quiet gesture, without pomp or ceremony, but given the trepidation and encroaching fear of an unknown enemy, a brave one.

Each day, we would also watch the local count on those who had succumbed to the virus. One day it was two, a few days later nine.

In an area probably not much smaller than Copenhagen, you’ll get the context, but the mere fact of knowing the virus was in the locality was sufficient to send a shiver up the spine and double down on the hand washing.

The best pint ever IN THE end, we decided to leave China early, but after

changing our flight to February 8 with SAS, we then woke the next day to discover SAS had cancelled all flights in and out of mainland China to March at the earliest. We were refunded of course, but the very real fear we might be trapped in China loomed.

Air China fortunately continued to run and we booked flights for February 9, fingers crossed that they would still be flying the route on the day. That left us with one last obstacle: circumnavigating the airport successfully where, despite the strenuous efforts of the Chinese to clean, clean and clean yet again, there was the strong likelihood that there would be traces of the virus present.

We wore our masks. Not your ordinary ones this time, but heavy duty. We had special gloves.

We washed our hands again and again and again. And, despite the airport being virtually deserted, the fear was always there.

But we landed in Denmark without issue, other than facing the amusement of passport control staff as we walked through in our masks. And we then followed another two weeks of isolation until finally we could be sure we were virus-free.

Our first port of call? One of the Irish pubs of course where our daughter blissfully (and thankfully) slept through while we both enjoyed our first Guinness in a while. It was worth the wait.

COVER

13 - 26 March 2020

Denmark’s first coronavirus victim has recovered, but nobody else has

T

No expense spared in carrying out coronavirus tests BEN HAMILTON

I

NATHAN WALMER

V2 EMPLOYEE Jakob Tage Ramlyng was the first Dane to test positive for COVID-19. Jakob wrote about his infection and the events surrounding it in a Facebook post dated February 27.

“My wife and I had a shock last night at 02:15, when a doctor at Roskilde Hospital announced that I had tested positive for coronavirus as the first in Denmark,” he wrote on Facebook on February 27.

The TV2 employee had returned to Denmark on Monday of that week from a skiing holiday with family in Chiesa in Valmalenco in the province of Sondrio in northern Italy.

Jakob returned to work two days later, but began to experience flu-like symptoms and contacted a doctor before eventually checking himself into Roskilde Hospital.

It was like the scene out of 'ET'

PIXABAY

TV2: Always the first with everything

5

Rubbing elbows takes on a whole new meaning

Serious action HAVING already cancelled flights to China, SAS was one of the first Scandinavian companies to treat the coronavirus seriously, and it was quick to suspend services to and from northern Italy – a ban enforced on March 10 by the government from all areas designated ‘red’ by the Foreign Ministry.

Four days earlier, PM Mette Frederiksen had announced her first serious measures, which included a ban of all events that involve gatherings of over 1,000 people.

Although it was phrased as a recommendation, all and sundry announced cancellations, including all Superliga football league

fixtures and the Melodi Grand Prix on Saturday.

Of particular interest to the international community, the St Patrick’s 3-Legged Race on March 17 has been cancelled, but the parade is still scheduled to go ahead.

Celebrity corona case

Hand sanitiser rush

Fitness centre warning

FORMER national football player Thomas Kahlenberg will go down in history as the first Danish celebrity to get coronavirus. Following the confirmation, his movements were assessed and 13 Brondby employees, three Lyngby players and none other than Kahlenberg’s former teammate Christian Poulsen were placed in quarantine.

AMID REPORTS of stock-piling, the item highest on most Danes’ shopping lists these past two weeks has been hand sanitiser, with supermarkets and pharmacies quickly selling out of the item. Coop, however, has reassured consumers that its Fakta, Brugsen, Irma, and Kvickly supermarkets have reordered supplies and will soon have plenty.

A REPORT in BT on Wednesday cites an expert who claims fitness centres are a breeding ground for the coronavirus.

Visitors closely packed together tend to breathe deeper and release more bodily fluids – the ideal conditions for the virus to spread. Meanwhile, the Capital Region has cancelled all prenatal classes for the rest of March.

All good with Jakob IN THE meantime, Ramlyng has become the first and only confirmed recovery so far.

He was quarantined in an apartment separate from his own apartment where his family live – all of whom tested negative.

And it wasn’t long before experts deemed him to be symptom-free for more than 24 hours and thereby free to return to his family.

T WAS LIKE the scene in ET when the top-secret Roswell/ Area 51 crew turn up at the house," recalled Karina*, a Danish woman in her 40s from Vesterbro who was recently tested for coronavirus at Hvidovre Hospital, to the CPH POST. Precautionary measure THE SURREAL experience began when Karina's workplace sent out an alert that a recent visitor had been diagnosed with the virus, and that one of her colleagues had been placed in quarantine with his family. It coincided with Karina feeling symptoms: a mild fever, cough and a general feeling of being unwell.

In accordance with the Sundhedsstyrelsen health authority, she called up the hotline and healthcare professionals agreed she should be tested later that day. In the meantime, she was told to wait at home and avoid contact with anyone, including her children.

Came in white suits THE KNOCK duly came and Karina opened the door to be greeted by a medic dressed head to toe in overalls, gloves and goggles.

Karina was handed similar garb and instructed to dress.

She was then taken out onto the street to the waiting ambulance, where personnel had spent

Uncannily like that scene!

15 minutes lining the interior with plastic sheeting. A stretcher awaited her inside. She lay down and slipped into what appeared to be some sort of sleeping bag. It was in fact a bodybag.

Thru the back door WITH THREE healthcare professionals accompanying her, she was whisked off to Hvidovre Hospital, where she was taken through a back entrance to a room.

A tube was then inserted into one of her nostrils and fed down her throat to the approximate area of her bronchi, where fluids were extracted.

The all-clear THE RIDE home wasn't quite as dramatic, but all precautions were taken. Once home, she could finally remove her outfit in the hallway and await her children with the news that they weren't going to school tomorrow and that Mor might have coronavirus – and so might they.

The all-clear came at approximately noon the next day. *Karina would prefer not to give her actual name.

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NATIONAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

DRIVERS in Denmark are getting better at travelling down multi-carriage roads in the right direction.

Last year, there were just 88 reports of ‘ghost drivers’ – the first time since 2005 that less than a hundred have been reported, according to Vejdirektoratet. Ghost drivers are most likely encountered in mid and north Jutland.

Driverless bus debut DENMARK’S first driverless buses made their maiden journeys in eastern Aalborg on March 5. The buses are equipped with sensors, cameras and a 3D map, as well as an operator who can take action in case something goes wrong. The long-term plan is for the buses, which are part of an Aalborg University-led two-year pilot project, to be completely staffless.

Doctor imprisoned

Less illegal gambling ACCORDING to H2 Gambling Capital, 91.54 percent of the nation’s gambling was carried out through legal channels in 2019 – up from 72.44 percent in 2012. The Spillemyndigheden regulator blocked access to 25 online sites that did not have the necessary licences to operate in Denmark. In total it monitored 502 sites. Additionally, 19 physical sites were reported.

Bike theft record low BIKE THEFTS have hit a record low. Last year, the police received 46,212 reports – 33,060 fewer than 10 years ago. The sharpest falls have been seen in western and southern Zealand.

New leader should be transparent about temper problem, claims city culture mayor ROSELYNE MIN

J

OSEPHINE Fock, the new leader of Alternativet, is already under pressure despite only being in the job for barely a month.

A recent article in Information portrayed her as an “incendiary device”, both “intimidating and overbearing” who sometimes expresses her anger aggressively and physically.

Differing perceptions FOCK DENIED the allegations, although she concedes she might have been a little over-zealous in the past in her bid to advance her career.

“There is no doubt that we have been under pressure and

Fock off to rustle support for ailing party

that our temperaments might have got the better of us,” she told TV2. “There are different perceptions to what it means to be professional.”

Conflicts reignited FRANCISKA Rosenkilde, who as the Copenhagen culture mayor is one of the party’s most prominent politicians, told DR2 it would be a mistake for Fock not to be more introspective.

Her appointment, claimed

Rosenkilde, has “rekindled old conflicts”.

Uffe’s final word IN RECENT weeks, former leader Uffe Elbaek, who co-founded Alternativet in 2014 with Folk, has left the party along with Susanne Zimmer, Sikandar Siddique and Rasmus Nordqvist.

As a parting shot, Elbaek told DR he had “personal conflicts” with Fock.

More vow to quit smoking Resolve quickens ahead of 10 kroner price hike on April 1

S

ipality have all reported a surge in interest.

Handshake solution HEDENSTED Municipality has come up with a solution to the dilemma many prospective Danes face when they are required to shake a senior municipal figure’s hand at their citizenship ceremony: a choice between a man and a woman. The municipality claims the law does not specify whose hand should be shaken. Socialdemokratiet MP Rasmus Stoklund concedes the choice is not illegal, but goes against the spirit of the 2018 law.

Most cyber-secure DENMARK is the most cyber-secure country in the world, according to comparitech.com. It rose three places up the charts to dethrone Japan, which itself fell to fifth. Close behind Denmark were Sweden, Germany and Ireland, while the US lost its place in the top five, falling to 17th. Denmark’s only failing was that its cybersecurity legislation could be more up-to-date.

Corporate quarantine PIXABAY

A 54-YEAR-OLD doctor, Kristian Wachtell, has been sent to prison for 30 months for defrauding the health services of close to 4 million kroner. Between 2007 and 2013, Rigshospitalet and Glostrup Hospital respectively paid 2.9 and 0.8 million kroner for blood tests that never took place – sums that Dr Wachtell, who has not been struck off, will have to pay back in full.

Fock off-kilter, claim critics

ONLINE THIS WEEK FACEBOOK/JOSEPHINE FOCK

Fewer ghost drivers

13 - 26 March 2020

EVERAL municipalities and the Kræftens Bekæmpelse cancer society report that more people are trying to quit smoking ahead of tobacco prices rising on April 1 – a 10 kroner hike for a pack of cigarettes to 55 kroner.

Slagelse Municipality now has a waiting list for its courses to quit smoking, while Holbæk Municipality and Stevns Munic-

Limited funding HOWEVER, the government has only earmarked 10 million kroner a year to supporting courses to tackle smoking and drug abuse, and some municipalities such as Lolland, which has the highest proportion of smokers in the country (one in four), have discontinued the courses.

By 2022, a pack of cigarettes

Piglet concerns

Contractor corruption

More living longer

IT IS SAD that more piglets are being transported abroad to be slaughtered, contends Socialdemokratiet MP Anders Kornborg in an opinion piece in Jyllands-Posten. In 2019 there were 21,600 truck journeys transporting the piglets, which he argues is bad for the environment, Danish jobs and the animals themselves, which have to endure 20-hour journeys (and death).

THE POLICE have informed PFA that one of its partners, the V2C consultancy firm, demanded a 6 million kroner procurement fee from WR Enterprise, a contractor interested in working on Redmolen, the pension company’s 2.6 billion kroner, 55,000 sqm construction project in Nordhavn. Pihl was also reportedly asked for a similar fee in regards to the Spidsen project.

MORE PEOPLE die closer to the average life expectancy than previously, according to a PNAS study. The average, for example, barely changed between 1970 and 1990 due to a high premature death rate caused by smoking and drinking. Reduced differences between the life expectancy of the rich and poor, and women and men, have also been observed.

THE DANISH Veterinary and Food Administration has for the first time used powers invested by the 2019 Food Act to close a premises for failing hygiene rules. The Ølby Bazar grocery store in Køge has been closed for three months – a so-called ‘corporate quarantine’.

Paedi punishment pledge Stubbing it out!

will cost 60 kroner in Denmark – a 33 percent increase on today’s price. (BH)

THE JUSTICE minister, Nick Hækkerup, wants to increase the penalty for sexually abusing children when it involves non-penetrative acts, such as groping. In several recent cases, offenders have only been given a sentence of three to four months. Since 2016, penetrative acts can be punished by 2.5-3.5 years in prison.

Less deadly than normal ORDINARY winter flu has killed 294 people in Denmark over the last six months – the lowest rate for years. During the 2018-19 season, 1,644 died, and the average is normally a thousand. Some 95 percent of the fatalities are among people aged over 65.

SCIENCE

13 - 26 March 2020

ONLINE THIS WEEK

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More child diagnoses

Akin to burning the rainforest?

SOME 14.9 percent of children have a diagnosis – up from 11.2 percent in 2012, although the numbers are similar in other countries.

Better Psychiatry Association contends that a commission should be set up to investigate the rise. Most of the new diagnoses are anxiety and stress psychiatric disorders. ADHD remains the most common.

Anti-venom breakthrough

Plug-in sales soar

IN LATE February, Lea Wermelin, the environment minister, concluded a 540,000 US dollar deal with Indonesia that will see it adopt a Danish model to tackle plastic waste.

DANISH entrepreneur Henrik Teisbæk, best known for founding ticketing site billetto.dk, has invented a new AI football camera. The Veo camera tracks the ball and allows for high angles.

Some 600 of the cameras have already been distributed – to Danish clubs and further afield.

SOME 227,000 fish died at a salmon-farming facility in Hvide Sande in western Jutland on February 29. Its owner, the Norwegian company Atlantic Sapphire, blamed the deaths on a design modification that raised the nitrogen level. The dead fish were insured.

THE DTU Food Institute has told the public it would be wise to consume 100 grams a day of legumes – for example, lentils, peas, chickpeas, beans, soybeans, and peanuts. The choice is not only good for health, but also the environment. At least 600 grams of fruit and veg, 30 grams of nuts, and seeds are also recommended.

Indonesian deal

New AI footy camera

Salmon farm disaster

Legume-rich diets

PLUG-IN electric car sales are soaring, according to EV Sales Blog, which reports there were 1,286 registrations last month – up 99 percent on February 2019. The two most popular models were the Volkswagen e-Golf (180) and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (172). They accounted for 6.9 percent of total car sales.

7

Rainforest kindling?

In its rush to become the first CO2-neutral capital by 2025, Copenhagen has been accused of sourcing woodchips from a rapidly deforested region in Brazil VALMIRA GJONI

S

OME 5-10 PERCENT of the woodchips burned by Copenhagen Municipality’s BIO4 project come from Brazil, raising fears that the city’s bid to become the first CO2-neutral capital by 2025

is helping to destroy the Amazon Rainforest.

A TV2 report claims that an Amager power station run by Copenhagen utilities company HOFOR has received around 60,000 tonnes of woodchips from an area in Brazil currently under pressure due to deforestation since mid-November.

Cerrado in the northern state of Amapá is an area of tropical forest and savanna, rich in animal and plant life, which has recently been transformed into eucalyptus plantations due to the

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Politician regret TV2 SPOKE to two politicians, who approved the construction of the new biomass plant in 2015, but now regret their decision.

However, HOFOR maintains that the supplier of the woodchips meets sustainability requirements.

Most of the burnt wood consists of timber tiles primarily sourced from neighbouring EU countries.

Green version of Uber THE TECH start-up Viggo, which is pursuing plans to launch its “green version of Uber” later this year, recently doubled its fleet of zero-emission Tesla electric taxis with a 23.5 million kroner purchase of 50 more vehicles.

There have already been 15,000 downloads of the Viggo app in anticipation of its arrival.

SH S LI E S G ITLEND EN BTWEEK SUON

A Column of Fire

high demand for wood.

A THESIS by a DTU graduate student, Sofie Føns, is creating waves in the world of antivenom production as it suggests creating antidotes based on how the DNA codes of human antibodies best bind toxins, as opposed to ones made during animal testing.

8

CULTURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

Dance With Me

The Visit

Strong pull of capital DR RECENTLY caught up with Jeremy Strong, one of the stars of ‘Succession’, to find out why he lives in Copenhagen. Since his breakout role as Kendall Roy, the 41-year-old’s film career has taken off, and it has all coincided with his move here to live with Danish wife Emma Wall and their two daughters. The pair met during Hurricane Sandy after defying a New York civic warning to stay at home, and they got married in Christianshavn in 2016.

Michelin greenwashing?

CHRISTIAN Puglisi, the head chef at Relae, believes Michelin’s badges of approval for sustainable gastronomy are a case of greenwashing. The clover-shaped emblems were dished out to any restaurant that answered a few questions affirmatively over the phone, he told greenqueen.com. Awards-wise, The Alchemist was the biggest winner, advancing from zero to two stars, while Italian restaurant Era Ora will close this summer after losing the star it earned in 1997.

Wild about film THE GUARDIAN has praised the new Danish film ‘Wildland’ (‘Kød & Blod’) following its screening at the Berlin Film Festival. Directed by debutant Jeanette Nordahl, Sidse Babett Knudsen plays a loan shark matriarch entrusted with the care of her niece, who quickly adapts to the new family business – or does she?

THEATRE

MUSICAL

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WHY NOT Theatre’s hard-hitting and evocative adaptation of Peter Asmussen’s 'Dance With Me' (ongoing until March 21) is definitely worth seeing. Teatret Ved Sorte Hest’s small space provides the perfect setting for Sue Hansen-Styles’ monologue as a woman trying to make sense of her betrayal by her ex-lover.

From the slight opening of her mouth, to the quick, panicked twitches and turning of her head, she convincingly depicts the unself-conscious psychosis loneliness can cause. (DM)

HANS CHRISTIAN Andersen (Peter Holst-Beck) and Charles Dickens (Ian Burns) are an inspired pairing for this original play about the Danish writer’s 1857 holiday at his English peer’s home. Holst-Beck and director Barry McKenna have fashioned a wonderfully witty script full of throwaway lines, knowing looks and furious banter, whilst mining the pair’s literary sources for further gold. It’s a godsend for Andrew Jeffers, the Dame from the Crazy Christmas Cabaret, who fills six parts and some pretty enormous dresses. (BH)

THIS DANISH musical adaptation of Ken Follett’s historical novel offers up a powerful score with standout performances from the small orchestra ensemble and Silke Biranell as Margery Fitzgerald, a Catholic in love with a rich Protestant. Captivating scenes of conflict abound from the story’s backdrop of religious fanaticism and political struggle, though the scenes of sexual violence seem gratuitous. It has all the elements of an epic love story along with laughs and religious persecution – something for everybody. (NW)

Meet the ‘Cardio-shians’

Tyler, Taylor, tickets dry

Scarf fall-out

IMAGINE some of the discussions Caroline Wozniacki and her father and coach Piotr have had!

Well, now viewers are going to get that chance when the pair, together with her hubby David Lee and three other family members, put their bodies through eight tests of endurance for a new Discovery series. First up is the ascent of a well-known mountain.

ROSKILDE has already sold all 80,000 of its full-festival tickets, thus vindicating its focus on youthful acts in what will be its 50th edition. One-day tickets are still available to see the likes of Taylor Swift and Tyler the Creator. This year’s festival will run from June 26 to July 4.

TV2 HOST Mette Helena Rasmussen has been criticised for wearing a Muslim scarf on Instagram. She apologised, noting that none of the criticism of her cultural misappropriation came from Muslims. “The critics wrote in a fashion that suggested they were university educated,” she noted. In contrast, some Muslims complimented her.

Top city venues

TRINE Dyrholm has won yet another Best Actress Bodil award for her role in 'Dronningen', which also scooped the gongs for best film, supporting actor and cinematography. There is no Bodil award for best director.

READ THE REST OF THESE REVIEWS AT CPHPOST.DK

THE THREE most popular music venues in Copenhagen are DR Koncerthuset, Amager Bio and Jazzhus Montmartre, according to a Voxmeter poll.

Another gong for Trine

Plum role for Kim KIM BODNIA has landed a role in the second season of ‘The Witcher’. Bodnia, 54, joins a cast that includes Lars Mikkelsen, a fellow Dane.

ONLINE THIS WEEK BELLEVUE TEATER

THEATRE

A Column of Fire THAT THEATRE COMPANY

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ONLINE THIS WEEK

13 - 26 March 2020

Cool vibrations HEARTLAND Festival has confirmed that Beck and Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson will be playing at the festival later this spring, joining a line-up that includes The National, The Cardigans and Rufus Wainwright. This year’s Heartland Festival will be held from May 29-31. Meanwhile, Distortion’s line-up includes Solumon, John Talabot, Kölsch, Peggy Gou and Charlotte de Witte.

Harder to discover IT’S HARDER to access the Discovery channels in Denmark despite some of them, like K4, K5 and K6, holding the rights to key sports packages. At the start of the year, YouSee’s 1.2 million customers lost access, and now Telia’s 21,000 customers likewise after the company failed to negotiate a new deal. Instead, Telia customers will get more channels from the cable provider CMore, which has a puny sports portfolio but a strong one in terms of series and films.

DFI gender demand SINCE March 1, all funding applications submitted to the Danish Film Institute have needed to break down how many men and women are involved. The data will enable the industry (the DFI and the director and producer associations) to better reflect society.

A trial launched last year for feature film applications confirmed that far more men than women worked in the industry.

SPORT

13 - 26 March 2020

Celtic cops choke on sour grapes

MAGNUM, a five-year-old Danish horse recently taken on by a British trainer, got a Racing Post write-up ahead of its hurdles debut at Musselburgh on February 27, where it finished second over a distance of nearly two miles.

Magnum, a regular on the flat at Klampenborg, just missed out on joining the exclusive Danish National Hunt winners’ enclosure that includes King Brex, Algenon and Invictress.

Double standards on display as Scotland’s top side are bundled out of the Europa League by FC Copenhagen

Catch that pigeon!

THE WINNER of a recent Pakistani endurance race for pigeons, in which the birds had to fly from Punjab’s Rajanpur district to Peshawar in the shortest possible time, was originally imported from Denmark, reports The Tribune. It covered 650 km in seven hours and five minutes. The sport attracts all social classes. While owners tend to be rich, experts are often illiterate.

Handball worlds nod DENMARK will co-host the 2025 Men’s Handball World Championship with Croatia and Norway. Their joint bid was the only one for the 2025 tournament.

However, Denmark will only host one quarter-final. Norway will get the final and share the semis with Croatia. Denmark is also due to co-host the 2023 women’s worlds with Sweden and Norway and 2023 women’s Euros with Norway. In related news, Jesper Jensen is the new coach of the women’s national team.

ONLINE THIS WEEK Danes smash records SCREENSHOT

ONLINE THIS WEEK Magnum pops its cork

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

W

HEN CELTIC levelled the score with just seven minutes remaining of the second leg of their Europa League clash at home to FC Copenhagen on February 27, to tie the score 1-1 on the night and 2-2 on aggregate, there was every reason to think the Buoys could pull off a famous comeback.

But events were about to transpire that would wipe the smile off the local fans’ faces – and in the away end too!

9

THE DANISH men’s pursuit team, complete with nifty helmets, set three world records in two days on their way to the gold medal at the World Track Cycling Championships. And then one of the four, Lasse Norman Hansen, added another gold in the men’s Madison.

England beckons Hoops memes: an abuse of power at Celtic Park

on FCK’s Uruguayan forward Michael Santos, who seconds later barreled into him, knocking him clean off his feet. Even Fabio Cannavaro, in his prime, wouldn’t have gone down quicker.

Turkish league leaders Istanbul Basaksehir on March 12. Parken has already confirmed that the return leg will be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus.

Neck-high tackle WHEN SPANISH midfielder Pep Biel burst the net in the 85th minute to put the Lions 2-1 ahead – a goal that meant Celtic needed to score twice to win the tie – his enthusiasm to celebrate in front of the FCK fans was understandable.

But also illegal, according to an officer on the sidelines who tried to stop Biel with a neck-high tackle before grappling with him.

However, he hadn’t reckoned

Disbelief at charges MUCH DISBELIEF has been uttered online that Santos now faces charges for his actions, along with a 42-year-old FCK staffer who also got involved in the fracus.

A recent clip in which a Celtic scorer jokingly swiped a police officer’s helmet during his celebration was quickly adopted into a meme or two to illustrate the double standards of the situation.

It remains to be seen whether the incident will prevent him from playing in the next round against

Record-breaker PRESUMABLY when FCK coach Ståle Solbakken told Bold. dk that he was hoping for “another two close games”, it wasn’t a translation issue.

Solbakken, meanwhile, can take pride in setting a new Europa League record for the most games coached at a single club.

His 40th Europa League game in charge of FCK took him past Unai Emery, who guided Seville through 39 games from 2013-2016.

Youngest ever in Superliga

Clara into top 250

Bears close to Euro semis

HORSENS youth Jeppe Kjær recently became the Superliga’s youngest ever player, making his debut on his 16th birthday, which is in fact the age limit for the league.

CLARA Tauson has climbed a further 49 spots up the tennis world rankings to 217th following her victory in the Glasgow Open in late February.

IN BASKETBALL, the Bakken Bears are close to reaching the semis of the FIBA Europe Cup after beating the Belarus side Tsmoki Minsk 79-66 in the first leg of the quarters.

DENMARK’S reward for being promoted into the top level of the Nations League is a group alongside England, Belgium and Iceland. Heading into the draw, Denmark were a third seed.

Historic Ironman DANISH athlete Anders Hofman has become the first person ever to complete an IronMan on Antarctica, even though he had to take a 27-hour break during the 42.2km running leg due to a blizzard offering up 100 km/h winds.

Cyclists in charge DANISH cyclist Jakob Fuglsang has retained his Ruta del Sol title, a five-stage race in Spain. Meanwhile, Kasper Asgreen won the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne oneday race in Belgium.

FCM rewriting history FC MIDTJYLLAND are on course for a record points average in the Superliga with 2.57 per game from their first 23 contests – a new record at this stage. FCK had an average of 2.52 back in March 2012.

10 BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

SKATTESTYRELSEN recouped 2.1 billion kroner from its latest effort to investigate Danish residents with overseas assets.

The tax shelter project, which wrapped up in December, enabled Skattestyrelsen to scrutinise 60 million individual transfers to and from abroad. Every year, tax revenue of between 0.9 and 1.5 billion kroner is lost.

Brewery on target SVANEKE Bryghus is expected to be the first ever CO2-neutral brewery in the country by the end of 2020. Its beer became 100 percent organic in 2018 and bottling fully sustainable in 2019. This year its facilities are switching to biogas.

Mortgage warning MANY MORTGAGE holders are taking advantage of historically low interest rates, which have hit a low of 0.84 percent, to renegotiate their home loans, but they might be ill-advised, warns Boligøkonomisk Videncenter.

Any money saved, it claims, will probably be written off by bank charges and restructuring costs.

Violated monopoly THE MARITIME and Commercial Court has upheld an earlier decision and found CD Pharma guilty of violating the Competition Act by raising the price of the anti-stimulant drug Syntocinon by 2,000 percent from 45 to 945 kroner in 2014.

Syntocinon, which is used for labour stimulation, has been in common usage since the 1950s.

CD Pharma has the exclusive rights to market it.

7-Eleven expansion WITH REVENUE expected to soar for 2019, 7-Eleven intends to open 40 to 50 new stores in Denmark within the next three to five years. Since opening its first store at Trianglen in Østerbro in 1993, it has added another 171.

Virus puts jobs in jeopardy Government lifts pressure on businesses by postponing VAT, tax and labour market payment deadlines

ONLINE THIS WEEK PIXABAY

Recouped from abroad

13 - 26 March 2020

THE MINIMUM wage for store employees has risen by 2.5 kroner an hour, following an agreement between Dansk Erhverv and HK Handel, which represents 150,000 such workers. An additional pool, the ‘free-choice’ account, will rise by one percentage point every year from 4 percent in 2019 to 7 percent in 2022.

NATHAN WALMER

O

UTSIDE the Danish skiing community, nobody is feeling the pinch of the coronavirus more acutely than the business world.

As the public increasingly elects to stay at home, shunning holidays, nights out and anything involving medium to long-term planning, many companies are scrambling to find revenue sources.

Record falls AND THIS has been quickly reflected on the C-25, the index of Denmark’s 25 most valuable shares.

Taking their cue from world markets, it has been in freefall, notching up record falls on February 28 and March 9, when it plummeted 6.0 percent.

Danske Bank Research Team has issued a report suggesting that Nordic economies will continue to be impacted by coronavirus, though less severely than elsewhere in Europe – “in the magnitude of 0.2-0.3 percentage points lower GDP growth in 2020” than anticipated.

The research team concedes, however, that there is significant risk that the outbreak becomes more severe.

Store worker pay rise

Galatic endeavour Share prices have been in freefall

calculates the Danish economy will slow from 1.3 to 0.9 percent.

The report explains that Danish companies are major exporters, and when world economic growth slows, so will the Danish economy.

In this worst-case scenario, DI estimates 3,500 fewer Danish jobs due to a disruption to demand as consumers avoid stores, restaurants, travel etc.

reducing spending on personnel, which may include “temporary layoffs, voluntary leave, early retirement or other initiatives”.

Jacob Pedersen, an analyst with Sydbank, predicts the hit to the full-year profit could be a “large three-digit million” sum depending on how quickly the situation can be normalised.

Growth slowdown DANSK Industri (DI), based on an Oxford Economics prediction that global growth will decline from 2.3 to 1.1 percent in 2020,

Worst since WWII ELSEWHERE, Copenhagen Airport has reported a 33 percent decline in passengers compared to seasonal expectations, with its CEO Thomas Woldbye describing the “unprecedented magnitude” as something “we haven’t seen anything like since World War II”.

SAS, which has seen its share price fall by 36 percent this year, has been forced to withdraw its fiscal year 2020 guidance due to the great uncertainty.

It has indicated it is pursuing a range of cost-cutting measures, including a hiring freeze and postponing marketing, while also

To the rescue TO ALLEVIATE the hurt felt

by Danish businesses, the finance minister, Nicolai Wammen, has issued a series of measures worth 125 billion Danish kroner.

The government will support business liquidity by temporarily postponing due payments of VAT, tax and labour market contribution, as well as administering tax breaks for businesses affected by the coronavirus.

Discussions for more temporary measures between the government and business sector are ongoing as the situation develops, and further challenges are faced by the transportation, tourism and leisure economies.

Lay-offs at bank

Tele-sale complaints

More bank charges

DANSKE Bank has laid off 230 employees, of which 120 were employed in Denmark. Back in January, only 60 took voluntary retirement after the bank offered the option to 2,000 employees.

In related news, Pandora has let 180 employees go, while TDC has made 185 redundancies at its subsidiary Nuuday.

THE CONSUMER Ombudsman received 920 complaints concerning tele-sales in 2019 – double the number in 2018. It accordingly took action against 29 companies, of which 17 have accepted fines – among them Ørsted (175,000 kroner), Vindstød (135,000) and C More (100,000).

SYDBANK and Jyske Bank have lowered negative interest limits, which means customers with over 250,000 kroner in their accounts have to pay negative interest. Back in December, 13 major banks introduced limits, but for larger sums. Around 700,000 Danes have at least 250,000 kroner in their account.

GHOST Ship Games’ game 'Deep Rock Galactic' is one of the most downloaded on Steam, the world’s biggest gaming service. It has been purchased by a million customers and generated 100 million kroner in revenue.

To celebrate its second birthday, GSG made it free to download for a limited time.

Lego’s record revenue LEGO HAS confirmed record turnover of 38.5 billion kroner for 2019. A double-digit growth rate was registered in China, where the toy company has seen off all its illegal imitators in court, but overall the 8.3 billion kroner profit only represented a slight gain.

In related news, the creator of its iconic mini-figure, Jens Nygaard Knudsen, has died aged 78.

Useful tool SKATTESTYRELSEN’S new digital control tool, which was introduced in 2018, has so far prevented erroneous entries of deductions totalling almost 50 million kroner – a saving of 13 million in tax revenue. The system has a capacity to assess 1,000 annual statements per minute.

Tax reports released SINCE March 9, tax-payers have been able to visit skat.dk to check their annual report for 2019. Three out of four are expected to discover they are owed money: an average of 4,700 kroner each. The remainder, meanwhile, faces an average burden of 6,000 kroner each.

ADVERTORIAL

13 - 26 March 2020

11

Improved humanitarian development co-operation urged at 2nd International Humanitarian Forum

T

HE IMPORTANCE of strengthening global humanitarian, development and peace collaboration is the key conclusion of the 2nd Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, which closed on March 2.

Eleven recommendations towards achieving this goal were adopted at the conclusion of the event, which was held over two days.

Over 2,000 delegates, including the directors of six United Nations agencies, gathered in the capital for this high-level event co-hosted with the UN. The forum brought together humanitarian experts and global aid specialists to discuss the many challenges facing humanitarian action and how to better assist those in need.

From Gaza to Yemen THE SUPERVISOR General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, met and signed agreements worth over USD 60 million with a number of high-level officials.

These included the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore.

Projects included enhancing Access to Basic Education and Protecting Children Affected by Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso, Malaria Control and Prevention in Yemen and Supporting the Provision of Healthcare to inneed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“We are proud not only of being able to host this global gathering, but also to provide practical and workable principles and recommendations that can now be followed,” Dr Al Rabeeah stated.

“This Forum was about bringing the world’s most eminent expertise on humanitarian affairs to Riyadh to find ways to improve assistance to those who need it the most”.

Closer ties THE ELEVEN recommendations focus on humanitarian and development co-operation, health and communicable diseases, large-scale migration flows and supporting vulnerable people.

The participants agreed that closer collaboration between humanitarian action, sustainable development and, where appropriate, peacebuilding, is a priority.

The UN, Governments, humanitarian and development actors, civil society organisations, members of the private sector and community leaders were asked to prioritise these recommendations to improve humanitarian assistance and promote transitions to long-term sustainable development in crisis countries affected by conflict and natural disasters.

They were also urged to identify other forms of support needed to address and solve humanitarian challenges.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also announced it would be hosting the next high-level pledging conference for the UN 2020 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan next month.

Prince Faisal bin Bandar honours top donors and the humanitarian ambassadors of KSRelief

KSRelief Supervisor General Dr Abdullah Al-Rabeeah meets WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom

12 OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 March 2020

cuisine and traditions – “When in Rome” as the saying goes – but when was the last time you reviewed your present identity?

KAREY-ANNE DUEVANG WE'RE WELCOME – HONEST!

W

ITH THE city bracing to become greener than usual, St Patrick’s Day celebrations around the globe will take place on March 17, marking the passing of the patron saint of Ireland in the 5th century.

While February saw the Danish celebration of Fastelavn, which is better known for cake, fancy dress and barrel-bashing. However, originally it stems from the 1800s: a day to mark the start of a 40-day fast.

Roam, but in Rome MY CALENDAR used to have a ‘British celebrations’ option that I could select, but after a quick review, I’ve noticed a new pattern emerging: a hybrid of celebrations from around the world.

Norwegian & American Independence Days, Thanksgiving, julegudstjeneste, Christmas, Fastelavn, Pancake Day, St Patrick’s Day, kobberbryllup, Midsummer – the list goes on.

As expats, we expect to be introduced to a new culture,

Home truths THEORISTS say that cultural intelligence is the ability to understand people and to be interested enough in people to want to learn to understand them. I agree in part, but would add that cultural intelligence is also knowing about your own culture and having the willingness to share it with others.

Where you come from – the traits, culture and celebrations of where you were raised – are a part of who you are. You do not need to forget your cultural background to accommodate the new. There is room for both.

So, in with the old and in with the new, and let’s embrace full-hybrid expat status whilst remembering that cultural intelligence starts at home!

A Dane Abroad Born and raised in Denmark and a resident of New Zealand for over 14 years, Kirsten has lived a pretty nomadic life since her early 20s. A physiotherapist, yoga teacher and keen home cook, she is passionate about food, good living and natural health.

Follow her on Instagram @kirstenlouiseyoga

I

PIXABAY

British-born CEO & entrepreneur Karey-Anne has lived in Denmark for 17 years and is the founder of English Job Denmark (englishjobdenmark.dk).

She founded EJD to address the employment challenges faced by expats in settling into a new country dominated by unspoken rules.

Stateless, state-proud SPEAKING at an International Women’s Day event recently, I noticed that a uniting factor was a yearning to be culturally tolerant, but at what cost? How far can you go before you forget your own cultural background?

Just when did I realise that I could never return to live in the UK?: that I wasn’t a Dane, but certainly had no desire to return (other than for fine Northern cuisine aka fish ‘n’ chips and chicken tikka masala).

I’ve been in Denmark for 17 years now and my identity review started many years ago. It involved cultural awareness and assimilation, but also a strong sense of realisation and acceptance of who I am, what I like, and how far I am willing to go towards accommodating others.

KIRSTEN LOUISE PEDERSEN

N DENMARK, the concept of ‘krænkelses kultur’, or ‘snowflake-culture’, has gone from not really existing at all to becoming a household term in a very short amount of time. Much is debated about when something can be deemed offensive or not.

Humans differ notoriously in their personal preferences. What one person finds funny, another finds offensive; what one person thinks is a delicious meal, another finds completely gross.

Are these matters not natural occurrences as a result of a difference in opinion? And why are we so afraid of being offended?

Subjective reality SCIENCE has long argued that a person’s sense of reality is very much a subjective experience. In other words, your world-view is your perception. In the world of health, it is a known fact that the feeling of pain is a response by the brain based on potentially threatening stimuli. How much pain is experienced (if any at all) is strongly influenced by personal beliefs and prior painful experiences.

John Cleese famously said: “I’m offended every day, but I’m not going to expect someone to stop that happening,” adding: “We can’t have comedy and be politically correct at the same time.” Cleese warns against giving in to political correctness, contending that it has come to a point when any kind of criticism is labelled cruel.

Cultural differences WHEN I was living in New Zealand I got used to being addressed as anything from ‘Bro’

Exactly. It starts with yourself. So lose the heels!

(not kidding) to ‘Babe’. I thought this was hilarious. These were standard greetings where I was living and really had nothing to do with me personally. They weren’t meant to be derogatory or sexist, they were just the cultural norm in that place. Why read any more into it?

I would argue that rather than focusing on how we want others to act (which is a hopeless task anyway), it is necessary that we turn our attention towards our own responses. Surely we can learn to control our own uncomfortable emotion, rather than demanding that our environment moulds to our liking?

Taking responsibility for how we choose to respond is the only place where we have any real control. We cannot change what happens to us, but we can change how we respond to what happens.

In a world that is fast filling up with more and more peo-

ple of different nationalities, cultures and religious beliefs, surely the way forward must be to foster a less sensitive, more tolerant attitude, and not a more sensitive, less tolerant attitude?

Tend to your own garden I DON’T think we should try to create an anti-offence formula. I think we should try to be more okay with not being able to legislate our way out of everything (that will be hard for the Danes!). But simply accept that some elements in life can’t be made into a set recipe.

If we learn to modulate our own responses in the first place, we will honestly have little need for controlling those of others.

At the end of the day, we can choose to be offended about whatever we want, but we just have to remember that it is still us who are offended. As the clever yogis always say: It all starts with yourself – begin there.

OPINION

13 - 26 March 2020

NEXT ISSUE

ZACH KHADUDU

Mackindergarten

Straight Up

ADRIAN MACKINDER

Zach Khadudu is a Kenyan by birth and a journalist by choice. He is a commentator and an activist with a passion for refugee and human rights. He may share a heritage with a certain US president, but his heart lies elsewhere – in the written and spoken word.

PIXABAY

The reality Euo politicians are doing their best to ignore

T

HE SUMMER of 2015 brought with it a stain on the consciousness of humanity.

Seismic shockwaves THE WORLD watched in horror as families – children, women and men – were swept overboard into the Mediterranean off boats fleeing war and hardship, seeking safety in European harbours.

Five years after the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, the world is staring at yet another possible one. The declaration by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he could soon permit the free passage of refugees heading towards Europe has sent shockwaves through Brussels and many other European capitals.

Yet, the lessons from 2015 are far from learnt, as the movers and shakers of Euro-politics are out with their guns blazing.

They are blaming Erdogan, the refugees themselves, human smugglers, aid organisations – anyone but themselves.

Yet this potential crisis, like many in the past, has all the hallmarks of power-play, geopolitics and the not-so invincible hands of powers: from the US and Russia, to Turkey and the EU. The human cost of it all is not a top priority. Europe’s first reaction was to send Frontex, its border and coast guard agency, to Greece to help protect its borders from the European ‘invasion’.

Power-play protectionism ANTI-IMMIGRATION evangelists were up in arms. Once again the politics of fear and hate is taking centre stage (not that it ever left).

Full up, we’re afraid HERE AT home, the usual suspects who take pride in riding anti-immigration sentiments are having a field day. Denmark shouldn’t take more refugees,

13

they have declared. Never mind that this completely disregards international conventions and treaties that this country is proudly a part of.

This short-sighted view of isolationism, nationalism and ‘othering’ of refugees because ‘they have a different culture’, or ‘are Muslims’, is detrimental to our common good. For all the pushing, something will have to give.

Given the protracted war in Syria, solidarity and burden-sharing is inevitably the only long-term solution. Otherwise the image of thousands of displaced people walking across borders to find safety in Europe will be a continued sight every two, three or five years.

Truth in the numbers MATTER of fact, the refugees who make it to Europe’s doorsteps are but a tiny percentage of the whole displaced population.

Over 90 percent of the world’s refugees end up as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) or in neighbouring countries.

According to Pew research, for example, the Syrian War has generated over 6 million IDPs, while neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan have taken in close to 6 million refugees.

For all the talk of a European ‘invasion’, all of Europe, USA and Canada combined have taken significantly fewer refugees than what Turkey has.

It is not a question of proportions but of fear-mongering. One hopes the EU and Turkey reignite discussions towards achieving a lasting solution to the human suffering of the Syrian refugees – and refugees in general.

Living Faith REVD SMITHA PRASADAM

An Actor’s Life

IN 2 ISSUES

IAN BURNS

Early Rejser ADAM WELLS IN 3 ISSUES

The Road Less Taken JESSICA ALEXANDER

Mishra’s Mishmash MRUTYUANJAI MISHRA

IN 4 ISSUES

Englishman in Nyhavn JACK GARDNER

Green Spotlight SIBYLLE DE VALENCE IN 5 ISSUES

Crazier than Christmas VIVIENNE MCKEE

Straight, No Chaser STEPHEN GADD

Join the chat WWW.CPHPOST.DK WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/COPENHAGENPOST WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/CPHPOST WWW.TWITTER.COM/CPHPOST

14 COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ABOUT TOWN

13 - 26 March 2020

PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

Indonesian ambassador Muhammad Ibnu Said was the host of a special reception to mark the 70th anniversary of the commencement of diplomatic relations between his country and Denmark at Asia House on February 27. Among the guests was Lars Gert Lose, the Danish permanent secretary of state for foreign affairs

Chinese ambassador Feng Tie (right) was among the guests of Serbian ambassador Jasmina Mitrović Marić (centre) at a reception to celebrate her country’s national day at the embassy on February 27. The reception included the opening of a photo exhibition, ‘Impressions from Serbia’, compiled by none other than Hasse Ferrold

Romanian ambassador Mihai-Alexandru Gradinar and his wife (centre and right) were among the guests of Bulgarian ambassador Svetlan Stoev (centre right) at a celebration of his country’s national day at Amager Bio on March 1. The embassy marked the day with a performance of ‘With Bulgaria in the heart’, a folklore concert by Bulgarians based locally

Croatian ambassador Tina Krce (centre) was the host of a special screening of the 2020 film ‘Extracurricular’ at Cinemateket on March 3 where the special guest was Croatian-Danish actor Zlatko Burić (third left). The star of the ‘Pusher’ series of films (both Danish and English) was recently interviewed by CPH POST for a special edition about Croatia’s presidency of the EU Council

Sue Hansen-Styles (left) and her director Solbjørg Højfeldt were in celebratory mood following the premiere of ‘Dance with Me’ at Teatret ved Sorte Hest in Vesterbro, the first time Peter Asmussen’s play has been performed in English. The run continues until March 21

The new Estonian ambassador is Mart Laanemäe. Tere tulemast!

COMMUNITY

13 - 26 March 2020

Christian started polo in 2013 by taking an introductory lesson and now owns and runs the club. He believes that anyone can learn the sport.

“My background is in advertising and marketing. I never had anything to do with horses so I’m living proof,” he explained.

Polo is a horseback riding game played with a ball and 150 cm mallets. It is the oldest team sport in the world, but one of the newest in Denmark.

Participants learned the basic polo skills and played a final match. The majestic polo horses were well-trained and controllable, and the skilled instructors

assisted closely through the experience.

The polo club has recently seen quite a lot of international interest, according to Green, who is himself married to a Finnish woman who also plays the sport.

The evening concluded with a champagne tasting pre-

EVENT FACEBOOK PAGE

NEESA RAJBHANDARI

EVENT FACEBOOK PAGE

What role can Denmark and Europe play in the Indo-Pacific? The DIS examines how the IndoPacific is shaping global affairs in a seminar in English open to everyone. Register for free no later than March 24 (March 25, 9:30- 1 1 : 3 0 ; DIIS, Gl. Kalkbrænderi Vej 51A, Cph Ø; free adm, diis.dk)

Want to update your closet while helping the environment? Join the annual Clothing Swap organised by oikos Copenhagen. Grab your sustainability buddy and enjoy an afternoon of fun activities and music (March 18, 16:00-20:00; Café Nexus, Solbjerg Plads 3, Frederiksberg; free adm, eventbrite.com)

Fight racism and discrimination in a cool way at LoveMusicHateRasicm. On the UN’s International Day Against Racism, you are invited to enjoy the diversity of music at a concert featuring ISAM B, JJ Paulo and DJ Mof! Yah (March 21-22, 21:00 & 01:00; Nørre Allé 7, Cph N; 50kr, billetto.dk)

OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE

OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE

DANIEL ARAGAY

Party like a Greek! The Greek Trash Party is like no other. Experience an unforgettable night with Greek music from the 90s in the centre of Copenhagen (March 20, 22:00-04:00; Husets Teater, Halmtorvet 9, Cph V; 70kr, cash only upon arrival)

Is a turbulent Europe ready to welcome aboard more members, such as Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro? Former PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen is on the panel for this English-language debate! (March 19, 17:00-19:00; University of Copenhagen – Center for Health and Society, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Cph K; free adm, registration at nyteuropa.nemtilmeld.dk)

Experienced speakers from four toastmasters clubs in Copenhagen are battling it out to win Best International Speech. The event, which is organised

by Toastmasters International, is in English and requires pre-registration (March 18, 18:00-21:00; kulturstationen, Heerupsalen, Frode Jakobsens Plads 4, Vanløse; free adm, speaktolead.dk)

Taste the authentic flavours of Mexico on a night that will transport you through the most important states of the country’s gastronomy, such as Oaxaca, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Puebla and Jalisco with dishes created using top-quality Mexican gourmet products. Make sure you reserve before March 19 (March 21, 18:00-24:00; Polykrom, Oslo Plads 1, Cph Ø; 350kr, MobilePay)

sented by Kira Milan from Champagne Universet. Three different kinds of champagne not only quenched the polo-tryers’ thirst but also enlightened them about common misunderstandings. Kira’ certainly knows her bubbly.

The next event is scheduled for April 16.

ROSELYNE MIN

OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE

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MKOENITZER

COMING UP SOON

15

Recreate famous paintings and learn about art at the Art Escape Studios every Sunday evening under the guidance of a professional instructor and artist.

Materials are included in the price (March 15, 18:0021:00; Art Escape Studios, Heinesgade 13, Cph N; 225kr)

PHOTOS: COPENHAGEN POLO CLUB

O

N FEBRUARY 27, Copenhagen Polo Club and Champagne Universet together held an event, ‘In the King’s Footsteps’. In the private country estate of Lyngebækgård in Nivå, a small group of curious invitees were greeted by the owner of the club, Christian Green.

OUT AND ABOUT

Discover the Hopfanatic craft brew, dance to live Hungarian music and mingle with the Hungarian community to celebrate their national day (March 14, 17:00-02:00; Kompasset Ølbar, Østerbrogade 103, Cph Ø) NABANITA GHOSH & VALMIRA GJONI

16 HISTORY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 March 2020

A century later: Recalling how Northern Schleswig became Southern Jutland

DOMINIE MCINTOSH

T

HIS YEAR marks the centenary of the Schleswig Plebiscites – Saturday March 14 will be exactly 100 years since the second of the referenda – which resulted in what is now Southern Jutland re-amalgamating with Denmark.

Today, this united and apparently homogeneous nation-state is, historian Uffe Østergård explains, a far cry from the ethnically diverse and polyglot composite kingdom of Denmark’s past.

The centenary is a cause for celebration for many Danes, but it also prompts a reconsideration of Denmark’s identity.

Confusing history LORD PALMERSTON famously said that only three people ever properly understood the Schleswig-Holstein question.

One was Prince Albert, who was dead, the second a Danish statesman, who had lost his mind, and the third was himself, who had forgotten everything about it.

A Danish territory in the 13th and 14th centuries, Schleswig was then united with Holstein between 1386 and 1460. From 1474, that union broke and they were ruled as separate duchies of the Danish crown. Schleswig answered to the Danish monarchy, whereas Holstein remained under the Holy Roman Empire, with the king of Denmark acting as duke. This was the case until 1806, when the Holy Roman Empire collapsed and Holstein was incorporated into Denmark.

This changed again in 1815, with the establishment of the German Confederation, when Holstein became a duchy once more.

A fate in focus AS TIME went on, nationalists on both sides claimed Schleswig.

The German ones favoured the reunification of Holstein with Schleswig, whereas the Danish ones wanted Schleswig to amalgamate with Denmark.

In 1848, tensions boiled over and an independence revolt, led by the Prussian-backed German majority in Schleswig-Holstein, developed into the Three Years War (1848-51). A Danish victory resulted in Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg uniting with Denmark. Under the London Protocol (1852), Denmark agreed not to try making Schleswig any more aligned to itself than to Holstein.

A lost princess IN A BID to maintain Danish rule of the duchies, and worried about the future Frederik VII’s lack of children, Christian VIII changed the laws of succession to allow female heirs. This broke the German Salic laws of succession.

When Frederik VII died heirless in 1863, German-born Christian IX took the throne.

Story has it, as first recounted by CPH POST editor Ben Hamilton in September 2014, that there was in fact an heiress: a girl born in 1851. The late Irene Ward, a woman from England, believed herself to be the granddaughter of that heiress, a baby girl who was smuggled out of Denmark in a joint Danish-British effort.

It was done out of fear that her illegal succession would cause a war in the duchies during a period when many sought to halt German expansion. Assisted

by Queen Victoria, the girl was sent to Wales and raised in secret.

Lead-up to plebiscites IN 1864, DENMARK’S Liberal Government tried to influence the Danish king into signing a constitution between Schleswig and Denmark. Doing so broke the London Protocol. A second

BENNET SCHULTE

Barely any of the German minority population of 15,000-20,000 remembers the day they were detached from their homeland a century ago, but the hurt continues

No, not Berlin, although perhaps a little like it. To be sure, this is one 'wall' that won't be coming down

war began between Denmark and the Prussian and Austrian Empire.

A defeated Denmark conceded Schleswig (including its large Danish population) and Holstein. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 left both the former duchies in Prussia’s hands, and later, in 1871, they became part of the new German Empire.

The Schleswig-Holstein question did not die, however. The Austro-Prussian Peace of Prague in 1866 permitted a plebiscite to be carried out in the following six years to give the people of Northern Schleswig the power to decide their own fate. It was not until the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference that this clause was enacted.

The people decide TO DECIDE Schleswig’s future, it was split into three voting zones based on demarcations designed to match the inhabitants’ own sense of their nationality (see map).

Zone 1 represented Northern Schleswig from the River Kongeå to the towns of Kruså and Padborg. Zone 2 encapsulated Central Schleswig from Flensburg in the North to the River Eider in the South. Zone 3 covered Southern Schleswig, but was excluded from the vote by the Danish government due to its strongly pro-German support.

Zone 1 voted with a Danish majority of 74.9 percent. Zone 2 voted with a German majority of 80.2 percent.

Celebrations ongoing REUNIFICATION was completed on 9 July 1920 – a day that continues to be celebrated.

On 10 July 1920, King Christian symbolically rode across the new border on a totally white horse. On July 11, around 100,000 people, including the Royal Family and members of Parliament, assembled to sing nationalistic songs in celebration.

Every year, on June 15, all government buildings fly the Danish flag in honour of the reunification. In recognition of the centenary, celebrations began this year on January 10 and will continue until July 12. The Sekretariatet for Genforeningen wishes to “heighten the public’s awareness of the reunion’s epoch-making political and cultural significance to Danish society”.

Many left behind HOWEVER, the re-amalgamation is not positively considered by all. Some consider it a ‘loss’, and minority groups were left behind on both sides of the border.

In Northern Schleswig (Southern Jutland), there still live an estimated 15,000-20,000 Germans. Concentrated in the

German districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg and Northern Rendsburg-Eckernförde, meanwhile, are an estimated 50,000 people in the Danish minority.

Although relations appear amicable today between minority and majority groups, the situation is not perfect.

The Council of Europe’s News Room, in January of this year, wrote that Denmark needs to do more to “address rising intolerance” against the German minority. They suggested additional steps to "promote intercultural understanding", such as implementing bilingual signs for South Jutland municipalities.

Still relevant THE DANISH and German minorities are not alone. Groups exist around Europe trapped within political boundaries they haven’t chosen. Many Scots, for example, hope for a vote to choose independence from the UK but within the EU. Closer to home, independence sentiments exist in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, with foreign interests complicating the picture.

Contesting identities and affiliations are a constant in human history. Bearing past conflicts in mind will hopefully avoid more bloodshed and marginalised people in the future.

EVENTS

13 - 26 March 2020

17

A Column of Fire ends March 29, Sat & Sun 15:00; Bellevue Teatret, Strandvejen 451, Klampenborg; 350-450kr, discounts for under-25s, bellevueteatret.dk Following on from last year’s success with the Danish public, ‘A Column of Fire’ is returning to Bellevue Theatre to take audiences back to Elizabethan times in this Danish musical adaptation of Ken Follett’s medieval novels.

The subtitles are shown on your smartphone or tablet through the free app Thea dogood. (VG)

Something’s Missing?

March 19 & 23, 18:00; Café KANT, Drejervej, Cph NV; 150 -225kr, billetto.dk The premiere of the new work Something’s Missing? has something for everyone. Expect hearty laughs and awkward dancing on an introspective journey that follows a character learning how he can overcome his greatest flaws. All capped off with an inventive, delicious meal with three dishes. Created and performed by Australian actor Hector Smith. (VG)

The Visit ends March 21, Mon-Fri 20:00, Sat 17:00; Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2, Cph Ø; 175kr, teaterbilletter.dk This is the world premiere of a play based on an extraordinary true story. Set in 1857, it relates how HC Andersen visited Charles Dickens’ home and ended up staying six weeks. His limited English led to monumental gaffs, misunderstandings and odd adventures. Marvel at how the eloquent men got on without a means of verbal communication!

Dance with Me ends March 21, Mon-Fri 20:00, Sat 17:00; Black Horse Theatre, Vesterbrogade 150, Cph V; 40205kr, teaterbilletter.dk Peter Asmussen’s monologue about loneliness, longing and love is being performed in English for the first time. Sue Hansen-Styles plays a woman abandoned by her lover for her best friend. Alcohol is now her only anchor. This is a testimony to what loneliness does to a human being as well as a heartwarming story about the human need for love and inclusion. (RM)

Smil Belinda March 13-14, 21:00; Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2, Cph Ø; 175kr, teaterbilletter.dk Meet Franca and Frank, a cosmopolitan musical duo on a mission to refresh our common cultural heritage with newly interpreted songs that we all know and love from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Smil Belinda is an entertaining theatre concert with a repertoire of music and theatre that challenges the audience to travel back to old times and think afresh about who and where we are now. (VG)

Ballet de Luxe ends April 4; Kongens Nytorv 9, Cph K; 105-655kr, kgl.dk Whether you are a true ballet aficionado who has seen almost everything, or a curious beginner with healthy enthusiasm, you can relax and look forward to this ballet.

In what was one of George Balanchine’s last works, the choreography pushes the ballerinas to the limits of their physical abilities. (RM)

CPH:DOX March 18-29, various venues & times; cph-dox.dk CPH:DOX is back with an eleven-day program of films, talks, concerts and exhibitions. Make sure you visit the VR cinema and interactive installations and the Kunsthal Charlottenborg exhibition, which is free entry every day from 11:00-21:00. With 114,400 admissions in 2019, CPH:DOX is the biggest documentary festival in the world. (VG)

Beer, opera and pizza ongoing, ends March 18, 21:30; Folkehuset Absalon, Sønder Blvd 73, Cph V; 50kr, billetto.dk Meet Voluptua who has a lover. Together they brew a poison to murder her husband with poisonous mushrooms in his favourite meal: pizza.

Don’t choke on yours as you watch La Pizza con Funghi, a comic drama opera in English about love, adultery and murder. (VG)

Heads up! ongoing, ends March 15, open Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, Thu 10:0021:00, Mon closed; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Dantes Plads 7, Cph V; 85-115kr, glyptoteket.com Fresh from an excavation site, four Roman marble heads, all approximately 2,000 years old, are being exhibited at Glyptotek with traces of earth still on them – what a contrast to the manicured sculptures visitors normally see on display at a museum. (VG)

Hot Pink Turquoise ends May 17; Louisiana, Gl Strandvej 13, Humlebæk; 130kr, louisiana.dk What’s the brightest thing in the dark? The audience will be able to find the answer when visiting Ann Veronica Janssens’ exhibition during the darkest time of the year.

Her artwork transcends borders between artforms. But one thing is ultimate: light. Who knows?

You might get the shot for your 2020 Instagram profile pic! (RM)

Pub Quizzes March 12 & 26, 19:30; The Globe, Nørregade 43, Cph K; 30kr; 5 PT April 6 19:30; Kennedy’s, Gammel Kongevej 23, Cph V; 50kr; 4 PT The Globe winners get 1,000 kroner and at Kennedy’s 800.

Monthly Belgian Waffles!

March 15, 12:00-18:00; 1420 Bar, Griffenfeldsgade 20, Cph Ø; free adm Enjoy Sunday morning with crispy Belgian waffles and a hot cup of coffee at 1420. (VG)

Per Kirkeby: Bronze ongoing, ends June 21; Gammel Strandvej 13, Humlebæk; 110130kr, ticket.louisiana.dk Don’t miss this exhibition of the sculptures of the internationally renowned Danish artist. (NG)

Anna Ancher ongoing, ends May 24; SMK, Sølvgade 48-50, Cph K; smk.dk Enjoy the work of one of the most important Danish impressionists - a six-star exhibition according to our reviewer. (NG)

Copenhagen Film Festival March 13-14; Husets Biograf, Rådhusstræde 13, Cph K; free adm The fourth edition of the Copenhagen Film Festival is here with an exciting two-day program of international indie films. (VG)

Copenhagen Bike Show March 14-15, 10:00-17:00; Øksnehallen, Halmtorvet 11, Cph V; 40-100kr, billetto.com A full weekend in the company of 150 exhibitors focusing on innovation, design and funny stories from cycling. (VG)

Pour, pot, plant, prosecco March 17, 17:00, Little Pink Maker, Peter Fabers Gade 1, Cph N; 375kr, littlepinkmaker.com Put on an apron and enjoy the bubbles while creating with concrete at this English-language workshop. (VG)

Christiania night market March 20, 23:59-05:00; Café Loppen, Sydområdet, Christiania; free adm Shopping for the nighthawks!

Make your night better with food, handcrafts, recycled art or clothing and cheap beer? (VG)

Visual Bluff March 12, 21:00; Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2, Cph Ø; 175kr, teaterbilletter.dk With caustic actors and audience interaction anything can happen at Panda Project’s politically-charged performance. (VG)

CPH English Comedy Nights March 12, 20:00; Copenhagen Admiral Hotel, Toldbodgade 2428, Cph K; 90kr, billetto.dk Dana Alexander from Canada and ‘confused’ Italian stand-up Valerio Miconi are among the comics. (VG)

18

ON SCREENS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 March 2020

Hiding behind the skirts of little women BEN HAMILTON

S

O JAMES BOND scarpers just when we need him! To be fair, it’s not as if he’s been saving the world from being blown to smithereens and repopulated with Gucci models lately.

In recent films, he’s won a poker tournament, stopped a coup in Bolivia, failed to prevent his boss from being murdered and foiled the kind of cyber-terrorism plot that Raymond Babbitt could have sorted out in his sleep.

Clearly he’s ducking out of confronting the coronavirus (OHMSS had a similar plot), and we won’t see him until November. Fat load of good he would have been anyway.

Where are Bond’s barriers?

AS A WHITE privileged male, educated at Eton no less, if it wasn’t for the 007 tradition, nobody would make a film about him. He’s simply not challenged enough. March’s line-up has got him beat in every department in that respect. Whether it’s being Down Syndrome or a drug addict, female or dead, none of them can call on an Aston Martin or Walther PPK to help them out.

It’s much harder being a woman in 19th century America or 4th century warlord China.

Quite what Greta Gerwig needed to do to earn an Oscar nomination for Little Women (91; March 26) is anybody’s guess, as she has managed to breathe new life into a literary source that most

people assumed long dead. Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh got nods, though, and the general consensus is that this has finally been given the modern interpretation it has been aching for.

Mulan (Not Released Worldwide; March 26) is the latest Disney film to cash in on the live-action treatment, complete with echoes of the soundtrack. Released on the same day as Little Women, you can drop the kids off to weep at this one, while you have a good cry over the March sisters. With the coronavirus in full swing, almost everybody’s carrying tissues.

And then once they’re safely tucked up in bed, put on missing prostitute drama Lost Girls (65; Netflix; March 13) – believe us, you’ll want to know where your kids are when you watch this. And maybe the tissues if you’re sick in the head.

The man who would be Bond?

APPEARING in both Little Women and Mr Jones (64; April 2) is English actor James Norton, the favourite to be the next James Bond, and one wonders whether the Danish distributors have had some serious money on him – scuppered now, as his face won’t be peering out of the Mr Jones posters next to Craig.

The film tells the story of the Welsh journalist who uncovered the truth behind the Holodomor, a man-made famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the early 1930s, which history blames on

the policies of Joseph Stalin and today regards as a genocide. But while the acting, which includes Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), is mostly applauded, some critics questioned whether it deserved a longer adaptation – most probably because they’re still going through Chernobyl cold turkey.

In similar vein, but on the scale of an American small town, Dark Waters (73; March 19) is a true story drama about a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) who switched sides during an environmental lawsuit launched at DuPont 20 years ago. DuPont has not taken kindly to the film because its share price fell following its release.

But for Anne Hathaway, who plays Ruffalo’s wife, it is a welcome tonic following the debacle The Last Thing He Wanted (35; Netflix since Feb 21), a wasted opportunity to depict one of the most unlikely gun-running operations in history.

A lot like Frank Spencer STILL, its plot is plausible compared to Spenser Confidential (48; Netflix; March 6), the tale of a disgraced Boston cop (he’s innocent) who is quick to used his fists (the all-omnipotent Mark Walhberg) to bash up black guys (he’s not racist – this is Marky Mark we’re talking about).

Far more feasible is The Peanut Butter Falcon (70; March 12) in which a young man with Down Syndrome pursues his dream of becoming a professional wrestler; Bloodshot (NRW; March 19) in

Corona too manly for you, James?

which a dead soldier (Vin Diesel) becomes a killing machine à la Robocop; fantasy duo Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Netflix; March 30) and The Letter for the King (Netflix; March 20); apocalyptic sequel A Quiet Place 2 (NRW; March 19); and 1978 classic cartoon Watership Down (64; April 4) complete with talking rabbits.

In the thick of parenthood THE CHALLENGE in A Quiet Place 2 is that those pesky kids won’t do what they’re told, and a similar plot device is employed in the darkly comic new TV series Breeders (67; HBO Nordic; March 3) starring Martin Freeman, which sounds a bit basic (who wants to be reminded of that?) until you realise that its creators also worked on The Thick of It. The Plot Against America (HBO Nordic; March 17) and Noughts and Crosses (HBO Nordic; March 5) are dystopian dramas in which history is reimagined: that the US became fascist after WWII as opposed to 2016 and Africa colonised Europe in the 14th century respectively.

They both look promising, as does Devs (72; HBO Nordic; March 5), a futuristic limited series from the imagination of Alex Garland (The Beach), which keeps its cards close to its chest – even after two episodes of the high intrigue Garland fans have come to expect.

Dave (61; HBO Nordic; March 5) and Feel Good (Netflix; March 20) star two US stand-up comedians as themselves, again with challenges. While Dave (Burd) is trying to follow in Eminem’s footsteps, Mae Martin is introducing her biggest fan to the joys of lesbian sex whilst fighting addiction.

Meanwhile, among the returning series we’ve got The Protector (S5; March 6) and Ozark (S3; March 27) on Netflix; and Liar (S2; March 3), Better Things (90; S4; March 6), Westworld (70; S3; March 16), Black Monday (S2; March 16) and Roswell (S2; March 17) on HBO Nordic.

Call us liars, but there are some blinders worth peaking at this month, but seriously, how many seasons can you crank out of a bad Monday at the stock exchange?

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK Recruitment Announcements Part of The Welcome Group PROCESS EXCELLENCE MANAGER, NILFISK

Nilfisk are looking for a Process Excellence Manager, who will facilitate process optimization across Nilfisk with special focus on improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Location: Deadline: Contact:

Brøndby 23 March 2020 Pernille Ladefoged Sørensen, Head of Strategy & Transformation, +45 20 82 91 12

SENIOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, ARLA FOODS You will play a central role in executing on Arla Food’s strategic priorities and you will be part of shaping the future of dairy and supporting our sustainability ambition in becoming carbon net zero by 2050.

Location: Aarhus Deadline: When filled Contact: Louise Kirk Refsgaard, Senior Business Development Manager, louise.kirk.refsgaard@arlafoods.com

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE, ELEMENT

Primarily responsible for handling straightforward price and requests for quotes (RFQ’s) from our customers via email or over the phone and following up on pending or issued quotations.

Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen When filled element.com/careers

To advertise your vacancy here and reach 60,000+ readers weekly, contact: info@englishjobdenmark.dk or call 60 70 22 98.

For more information about what we can offer: https://englishjobdenmark.dk/

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK

SR. MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER, ISSUU

You will be working end to end from idea inception to creating production system in close collaboration with the team.

Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen When filled issuu.com/careers

SALESFORCE BUSINESS MARTECH LEAD, SIMCORP

You are recognized as having comprehensive knowledge of Salesforce, who can discuss detailed solutions and be a sparring partner to IT and CRM developer teams, as well as partner with business stakeholders to proactively drive initiatives.

Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen 30 March 2020 Azeta Guiti, Talent Acquisition Partner, +45 35448800

ARE YOU OUR NEW FINANCIAL ANALYST? MOBILEPAY (ID:24324), DANSKE BANK

To support further growth and efficiencies in MobilePay, as the new Financial Analyst you will take responsibility for financial controlling, business planning and management financial support.

Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen 30 March 2020 Janne Dyrlev, CFO & COO, mobile +45 23 44 14 28

DYNAMICS F&O INDUSTRY ARCHITECT (DYNAMICS AX) #D365, MICROSOFT

You will assist with the identification, pursuit and closure of strategic business development activities whilst continuing to be responsible for the architecture of existing projects.

Location: Deadline: Contact:

LABELING CONTENT DESIGNER (ID9888), NATUS MEDICAL DENMARK APS

If you are looking for a challenging opportunity in labeling design in an international environment, then this may be a job for you!

Location: Deadline: Contact:

Taastrup When filled natus.com/careers

PRODUCT OWNER, MAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS We are looking for a talented and motivated colleague, who will help us leading the change towards digital operation and make a real impact in the maritime industry world-wide!

Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen 23 March 2020 Carsten Hounsgaard, +45 24 37 59 76

LEAD BUYER – APPLIANCES / WHITE GOODS, NOBIA

You will be a part of the Sourcing Team responsible for the supplier selection process, to manage, develop and optimize the QDCP-values (Quality, Delivery, Cost, Product Development) for suppliers delivering to the Nobia Group.

Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen When filled careers.nobia.com/en/

CV TEMPLATE COURSE

Location: Copenhagen 24 March 2020 from 10:30-12:30 This CV Template course is designed to give you a completely new CV design and suggestions for content that will make your CV stand out to recruiters.

Contact:

twg-academy.com

Copenhagen When filled careers.microsoft.com/us/en

Working together with internationals and companies to better understand the needs of one another.

The Welcome Group has created this page and provides additional services, including an online community supporting employment for internationals on Facebook.

Danish will look fantastic on your lips

Kiss bad language learning goodbye We have been teaching foreigners the beautiful language of Danish for more than 40 years. So, if you are looking for high-quality learning, outstanding teachers and fast progression, Studieskolen is the place to go. Right in the center of Copenhagen.

Choose from a variety of classes at Studieskolen.dk Check out how we look on SoMe