The Copenhagen Post, January 13 - January 26

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Even Santa was at our Christmas party co-organised by International House Copenhagen. Shhhhh!

The queen’s NY diplomatic corps bash is a great place to meet all the new and rarely-seen ambassadors 11-14

18-19

CPHPOST.DK 13 - 26 January 2017

2016/2017 Queen and PM face off in battle of the NY speeches

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NEWS

A YEA R OF TWO CITI ES

Storms, floods, earthquakes No, not the start of ‘Flash Gordon’, just winter in Denmark

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4 Cutting out cash, speeding up traffic

BUSINESS R & D = more exports = record results = more tax evaders

Shake-up planned for night-time spending and speed limits

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WORK

The crucial extra mile Nothing stops them from coming, but everything can go wrong

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PTIMISTS will tell you that transport will be quicker in the future.

Pessimists will tell you that society will be cashless and that governments will be able to cut you off at will.

But dystopian sci-fi aside, Denmark has been busy exploring possibilities in both areas, and the first week of January brought news of two major developments.

Selected speed increases FOLLOWING a successful trial period, the government is preparing a bill for Parliament to raise speed limits on certain rural roads (from 80 to 90 km/h) and

motorways (from 110 to 120 km/h) where it can be done responsibly without endangering traffic safety.

A 2011-14 trial conducted by the Danish road directorate, Vejdirektoratet, in which limits were increased on 18 rural stretches of roads, saw fewer traffic accidents.

And even though the limit rose by 10 km/h, the average speed of drivers on those stretches of road only increased by 0.2 km/h.

“For relatively few expenses, we can ensure significant time benefits for the individual driver,” said Ole Birk Olesen, the transport minister.

“And that can help improve mobility in society and improve conditions for growth.”

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No cash at night MEANWHILE, a parliamentary majority is in favour of allowing shops in Denmark to decide for themselves whether they accept payment in cash between 10 pm and 6 am.

Since the introduction of the Dankort in 1984, shops have been required to accept cash if the customer insists, but now Brian Mikkelsen, the business and growth minister, is preparing a new bill that could become law by the spring.

Mikkelsen argues the law would reduce robberies and be welcomed by employees.

“A person will not have their entire life destroyed because someone has held a gun or a knife to their head,” he told DR. (BH)

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City tourists have doubled THE NUMBER of overnight stays at hotels in Copenhagen has more than doubled since 1992.

In the first nine months of 2016, there were more than 7 million.

Experts attributed the rise to cheap air tickets, more routes and a general increase in worldwide tourism. In related news, WOW is currently offering flights to the US and Canada for 599 kroner.

We’re all watchdogs UPSTANDING citizens are obliged to report invasive species to environmental watchdog NaturErhvervsstyrelsen – by law since January 1. Spokesperson Kristine Riskær conceded to DR that few will recognise the 250 harmful plants and animals on the EU quarantine list, but that it’s good “to have more eyes and ears” out there.

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THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK DANISH transport companies financially affected by Sweden’s border control can seek compensation from the Swedish state.

DSB’s passenger numbers across the Øresund strait fell by 12 percent in 2016. In related news, commuter numbers between Copenhagen and Helsingør have risen by 4 percent since 2014.

New bridge planned COPENHAGEN Municipality has announced plans for a new 250-metre harbour bridge to link Amager Boulevard to Christians Brygge, running parallel to Langebro, which is used by 40,000 cyclists every day. ‘Cykelslangen’ (the bicycle snake), with 20,700 – up 37 percent on 2015 – is catching up though.

More cargo bike parking

Philadelphia stories THE US city of Philadelphia’s tourism agency is establishing an office in Copenhagen to drive visitor numbers to and from the Nordics.

More planes and runways equals more jobs and long-range flights CHRISTIAN WENANDE

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PH AIRPORT plans to invest 20 billion kroner in an expansion that will create 12,500 temporary jobs and then 9,000 permanent jobs once it is completed in 2024.

The expansion would raise passenger numbers to 40 million a year and help the airport maintain its status as the biggest airport in the Nordic region and an international hub in Europe.

More planes THE EXPANSION will include new terminals and runways. For example, the western part of the airport will be enlarged to increase its plane capacity from 78 to 124.

“If we don’t seriously ex-

More terminals, more runways, more planes, more spotters

pand, we will run out of space for planes. The expansion will permit us to open up for new routes around the world,” said Thomas Woldbye, the CEO of the airport.

More destinations AMONG the destinations, the airport hopes to offer direct

long-distance routes to are: Vancouver, Seattle, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, New Delhi, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Perth, Hong Kong and Seoul.

In related news, journeys via the airport to Sweden will no longer require passengers to switch platforms from January 30.

ONE OF Copenhagen’s female Tasmanian wombats is carrying a joey in her pouch. Just two grams in size, it will carry on developing for the next eight months. In total, the zoo has four of the animals, out of 11 in the whole of Europe.

Aleppo demo in centre OVER 7,000 Danes peacefully demonstrated in support of civilian victims in the heavilybombarded Syrian city of Aleppo on December 14. Former UN General Assembly president Mogens Lykketoft was among the speakers.

New eSports centre

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

COPENHAGEN Municipality is investing 1.75 million kroner in a new eSports facility at the Grøndal Multicenter where gamers can rent out stations and receive instruction. It should be ready in the spring.

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ITY HALL councillors have once again pledged to legalise cannabis in the capital – partly in a bid to tackle increased drug-related gang activity.

GASOLINE Grill at Landgreven 10 near Kongens Nytorv has been included among the top 27 burger joints in the world on a list compiled by Bloomberg. It opened in April 2016 at a former petrol station.

Change of heart?

IN 2014, CITY Hall voted in favour of legalising cannabis, but the justice and health ministers at the time – in-laws Nick and Karen Hækkerup – refused to grant the motion.

But since then Parliament has approved medicinal cannabis trials, and Liberal Alliance (LA) and Enhedslisten are optimistic the

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Best burgers in world

New CIS campus opens

Wombat with joey

Copenhagen closing in on cannabis trial City Hall keen to legalise the drug in a bid to tackle increased gang activity

ONLINE THIS WEEK COPENHAGEN International School’s new 25,000 sqm campus in Nordhavn opened for business on Monday. It incorporates innovative architecture, sustainability and cutting edge pedagogy, challenging the students to consider their environment.

ISTOCK

COPENHAGEN Municipality plans to more than triple the number of parking spaces for cargo bikes. Each one costs 20,000 kroner, which the municipality contends is worth it as they help the city meet its climate and environmental goals and reduce congestion.

City airport eyes huge expansion ISTOCK

Compensation chance

13 - 26 January 2017

New controversial map Only a joint’s worth, but it plays with your mind, doesn’t it

result could be different this time.

Unsafe enough?

“OVER THE last few months we’ve seen an intensification of the battle between gangs to

dominate the lucrative and illegal cannabis market,” said Heidi Wang, the party group head for LA at City Hall.

“That has made the citizens feel unsafe.”

A NEW CITY map created by MetroMash consists entirely of written stereotypes of the districts’ various residents. From Chlamydia Castle to the Socalled Hipsterlamic State, its creator Barrington Russell told CPH Post that “controversy is the lifeblood of a project like this”.

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THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 January 2017

Big year ahead for the 850-year-old capital and European city of culture THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Ahead of Aarhus stepping out into the limelight, Copenhagen fires a few cultural canons of its own STEPHEN GADD

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HIS YEAR, by a strange quirk of chronological serendipity, Denmark’s two largest cities will both be celebrating major cultural milestones.

According to the – admittedly not always strictly reliable – historian Saxo Grammaticus, it is exactly 850 years since King Valdemar the Great gave the warrior-cleric Bishop Absalon the small fishing hamlet of Copenhagen. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Absalon set about fortifying the hamlet and it soon expanded into a very profitable business enterprise.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Has it got a pulse?

AS WE ARE constantly being reminded, glossy magazine pundits worldwide consistently rate Copenhagen as one of the most desirable places in the world in which to live and work. But hype aside, is there really anything that special about the place?

Copenhagen Municipality certainly thinks so. Accordingly, from September 8-24, the Golden Days festival will attempt to shed light on what is unique about the city by taking its “cultural historical pulse”, providing some pointers, perhaps, as to what we and the rest of the world can learn from it.

In addition to the program and very much in keeping with the spirit of the times, as a warmup to the festival, Golden Days has launched an online Copenhagen Canon, for which residents and visitors are asked to suggest things, events or places that are atypical Copenhagen.

Green shoots a-sprouting MEANWHILE, Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus – together with the other 18 municipalities in Region MidJutland – has been chosen as one of the two European Capitals of Culture for 2017.

Under the banner ‘Let’s Rethink’, a substantial and wide-ranging cultural program has been set in motion that aims to turn Region Mid-Jutland into “a cultural laboratory where al-

COPENHAGEN IN 1167 • Traditionally, the founding of Copenhagen has been dated to Bishop Absalon’s construction of a modest fortress on the little island of Slotsholmen in 1167, where Christiansborg Palace stands today.

• Archaeological evidence indicates that Copenhagen’s origins as a city go back at least to the 11th century. Many historians believe the town dates to the late Viking Age and was possibly founded by Sweyn Forkbeard.

• Substantial discoveries of flint tools in the area provide evidence of human settlements dating back to the Stone Age.

AARHUS 2017 TOP PICKS Not quite 1167 ... no that’s not Abasalon on his horse ... and there were certainly fewer buskers

ternative solutions can shoot and grow”.

To accompany the festival and to present the program, a richlyillustrated telephone book-sized tome has been produced, complete with introductory messages from various dignitaries including Queen Margrethe II. The book is attractive to look at from a graphics point of view, but not as practical as a pocketsized guide.

It’s a kind of magic IN THE publicity material, the festival secretariat stress that the celebrations are all about “involvement”, and that the idea is to create initiatives that will get people’s attention and encourage them to get involved and become part of the creative process. Laudable aims indeed, and it all kicks off with a ceremony on January 21 that promises “magical moments with angelic sounds and songs lifted by the wind to soar above the crowds as we welcome 2017”.

The program does indeed appear to offer something for everyone. There are concerts, exhibitions, theatrical events, light-shows, lectures, multimedia events – even a crime book festival.

Brand on the brain IT’S EASY to be a tad cynical about this kind of promotional exercise. After all, hand on heart, aside from pub quiz aficiona-

dos, how many of us can recall which city was European Capital of Culture in 2016 – let alone 2013, or 1999? (answer: Mons and Plzeň in 2016, Marseille and Košice in 2013 and Weimar in 1999!).

The argument goes that if enough (usually taxpayer) money is showered on an event (i.e the Eurovision Song Contest, World Cup, a big cycle race) it will then draw thousands of extra tourists (and attendant revenue) to it. Assuming the experience has been positive, a thought will then take root in the mind of said tourist, exhorting them to return to that place again.

There is also the matter of ‘branding’, so beloved of tourist-board marketing types everywhere. For some reason, city bureaucrats and politicians seem to get particularly dewyeyed over this, but it often ends in tears – or, at least, a large hole in the city finances. A good example was in 2005 when Tina Turner was paid 5.8 million kroner to sing a couple of songs at Parken to celebrate Hans Christian Andersen’s 200th birthday.

A brand new bag DR SEBASTIAN Zenker, an assistant professor at Copenhagen Business School, is a specialist in the branding of places. He suggests that if it is done properly, a place branding scheme can accomplish three things.

First of all, he told CPH

POST, “large events can raise awareness and provide international recognition, which is especially important if the place is not known that well.”

The process can also be used to change the perception of a city. Rotterdam took advantage of this with a very well-thoughtout strategy through which they managed to change the image of the city from an old, tired, industrial harbour city and transform it into a vibrant culture centre, rich in exciting modern architecture.

Finally, the branding process can be used to motivate and engage local residents. Indeed, Hamburg came unstuck when it tried to attract the Olympic Games as part of a ‘rebranding’ because the residents were not sufficiently behind the scheme and thought it a waste of money to spend so much on sport when there were other, more pressing, problems in the city.

Long-term strategy needed AS ZENKER points out, the bottom line is that “a branding exercise, such as a huge event that is not supporting the existing values of a city and what it offers – and which is not embedded in a long run strategic marketing strategy – is often wasted in the mid and longer term. However, if done strategically and with a long-term perspective, it has the potential to develop potential for the place”.

• Jan 21 at Musikhuset Aarhus: Faroese composer Sunleif Rasmussen presents ‘More fair than the sun’, a four-movement fanfare for symphony orchestra and choir inspired by the Elder Edda and commissioned by the festival • Feb 11-May 28 at Museum Jorn in Silkeborg: An exhibition that brings together two of the greatest Scandinavian artists, Edvard Munch (50 works) and Asger Jorn (60) • May 24-July 1 at Moesgaard Museum: A unique collaboration between the Royal Danish Theatre, Moesgaard Muesum and Aarhus 2017, ‘Røde Orm’ is a Viking spectacular performed on the grass-covered roof of the museum.

• Aug-Nov at Musikhuset Aarhus: Susanne Bier’s celebrated film trilogy, consisting of ‘Brothers’ (Aug 16-22), ‘Open Hearts’ (Nov 8-11) and ‘After the Wedding’ (Sep 2330), has been adapted for the stage in three different genres – as an opera, a dance performance and a musical.

So let’s hope the good burghers of Copenhagen and Aarhus and their environs get to reap long-term benefits from these festivals. Meanwhile, perhaps they should just go out and enjoy what’s on offer. After all, it’s been planned and paid for, and some of it promises to be truly spectacular.

2016/2017

13 - 26 January 2017

ONLINE THIS WEEK A TV BLACKOUT that prevented over a million YouSee subscribers from watching the queen’s speech on New Year’s Eve was probably the work of a saboteur. Last week on Thursday, Copenhagen Police charged a 51-year-old man with the “extensive disruption of television systems”, and it is believed he had some sort of insider knowledge. The man was later released and claims he is innocent.

Blind to danger SOME 267 Danes were this year treated for fireworks injuries sustained on New Year’s Eve, according to figures from Odense University Hospital. Some 37 cases were serious, of which only three were wearing safety glasses.

Three-quarters of the victims were men, and 89 were under the age of 15. Ahead of the celebrations, the police warned against the purchase of illegal fireworks.

Go, go, google it!

POKÉMON Go was the most searched topic on Google in Denmark in 2016, followed by Euro 2016, the new iPhone 7, the game ‘slither.io’, and the TV series ‘Skam’. Olympic gold medallist swimmer Pernille Blume was the most googled Dane, followed by pop band Lukas Graham and Asteroids Galaxy Tour lead singer Mette Lindberg. Pokémon Go also topped the global results.

In a nutshell: Denmark’s rooted in history, but maybe some change is for the better CHRISTIAN WENANDE

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SIDE FROM a coughing fit and a lunge for a glass of water hidden behind some flowers, Queen Margrethe’s traditional New Year’s Eve speech avoided any embarrassing moment. The content, though, still made for some awkward listening – for new arrivals and Danes alike.

Help needed ‘REFUGEES prepared to integrate are welcome’ was the general message. She praised those who were willing to apply “hard work and an open mind” to “acclimatising to a new country where life and traditions are vastly different and rooted in a long history”.

But they need help, according to the queen, who appeared to reproach the “self-sufficiency” of her countrymen, content to “see

Slow with a smile is better

ourselves as an accommodating people, quick with a smile and a chat”, when the tendency can be to “forget their fellow man”.

The queen also addressed what being Danish means and thanked Danish soldiers stationed abroad, sparing a thought for the populations of Greenland and the Faroes, as well as Danes in SchleswigHolstein in north Germany.

Life is one big TV show A DAY LATER in his New Year’s Day speech, PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen ushered in 2017 with multiple references

to the classic Danish TV series ‘Matador’, telling Danes to remember the past but to embrace the future.

The future that Rasmussen has in store for Denmark this year includes spending less on the SU student grant and asylum centres, while spending more on education, research, agriculture, welfare and helping refugees.

The PM underlined that it was important to take advantage now that the financial crisis was over, but also to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

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Lone-wolf attacks THE REPORT also warned that Islamic State posed the greatest terrorism threat, but that it would mainly be lone-wolf attacks – a prognosis similar to the one made by Norwegian expert Petter Nesser, which concludes that al-Qaeda tended to target Denmark more than IS. “It appears as if the wave of terrorist plots in Scandinavia, which was witnessed especially in 2008-2011 and motivated to a large extent by the publication of the Mohammed cartoons, has abated,” he wrote in the magazine Perspectives on Terrorism.

“It was the result of a targeted information campaign and the strong call from al-Qaeda’s top

More Xmas holidays DANES are increasingly celebrating Christmas abroad.

Copenhagen Airport has seen a 102 percent increase in flights since 2011, searches on travel search engine Momondo have doubled since 2014, and travel agency TUI estimates that holiday package sales have jumped 25 percent from 2013 to 50,000. The top destinations are the US, Spain, Thailand and the UK.

Christmas carpooling rise A RECORD number of people used the carpooling company GoMore on December 23, with the majority travelling from Greater Copenhagen to Jutland, according to a spokesperson. Over 5,000 used the service, compared to 4,500 in 2014 and a daily weekday average of 1,500. An estimated 200,000 cars crossed the Great Belt Bridge between December 23 and 27.

One more holiday!

Keeping wolves from the door Risk assessment warns of Russian aggression and cybercrime, but deems terror plots less likely

ONLINE THIS WEEK ISTOCK

YouSee no see

Queen urges better integration

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leadership to punish Denmark in retaliation for the cartoons.

But IS targets other countries in Europe as their primary goal,” Nesser then told Politiken.

THE PUBLIC holiday count will only be a day better off in 2017 because both Christmas and New Year’s Eve will once again fall on a weekend. But while the public institutions will be glad to get May 1 off, Constitution Day (June 5) falls on the same day as Whit Monday. Along with the nine public holidays are two Friday the 13ths (January and October).

TELIA, TDC and 3 all reported a steep fall in mobile use between 5 and 10 pm on December 24, the time when most families are eating their Christmas dinners and exchanging presents. According to a YouGov survey for Telia, 70 percent of Danes disapprove of mobile phone use on Christmas Eve.

HE ANNUAL Intelligence Risk Assessment from the Danish Defence Intelligence Service has identified the biggest threats to national security this year as friction with Russia, terrorism and cyberattacks.

“The Baltic Sea region has become a key area of friction between Russia and NATO,” it noted. “Danish authorities and companies are facing a persistent threat involving regular cyber espionage attempts.”

Fewer Xmas break-ins

December beats November Record December 23

Trees the top export

Berlin knock-on effect

SOME 136 families in Denmark reported a break-in on December 25 – 49 fewer than last year, according to the national police.

Between December 20 and 24, the police registered 464 burglaries - a sharp decrease from the 704 in 2015. North Zealand led the way with 70 burglaries, followed

by Funen (53) and the western suburbs of Copenhagen (52).

THANKS to a low pressure system that brought mild, moist air to Denmark in December, last month was warmer than its predecessor for the first time since 1988. The average day temperature was 4.7 degrees Celsius, compared to 4.0 in November – a lot warmer than in 1988, when it was 3.9 vs 3.7. The average in December is normally only 1.6.

DENMARK’S most valuable December export is the Christmas tree, generating revenue of 653 million kroner for the nation’s 3,500 growers who annually produce 12 million trees, of which the Nordmann fir is the most popular. A long way behind on Dansk Industri’s list are specialist confectionary products (marzipan etc) on 83 million and decorations (45 million).

SECURITY was beefed up for New Year’s Eve celebrations in Copenhagen, with more police officers and road-block barriers in the centre – particularly around Rådhuspladsen, which became a no-car zone. The police said they wanted to avoid a repeat of the Berlin terror attack on December 19 and the multiple sexual assaults in Cologne in 2015.

Christmas Eve respect

DANISH consumers spent 30.5 billion kroner in the first 23 days of December, according to electronic payment provider Nets – 2.9 percent more than last year. On December 23, 1.7 billion kroner were spent – the fourth most lucrative day in history and 70 percent more than the daily average over the first 11 months of 2016.

PET is listening MEANWHILE, Ingeniøren has claimed that Danish intelligence agency PET wiretapped 2,200 phones last year following an analysis of transparency reports published by the telecom companies Telenor and Telia.

Jesper Lund, the head of the IT-Political Association, contends that the United States have roughly the same number of wiretaps as Denmark despite a population more than 50 times larger.

DANES were more likely to celebrate the New Year with champagne than in previous years.

Coop has seen a 65 percent increase in sales in just the last year, while imports of the drink – along with other sparkling wines – rose by 77 percent between 2006 and 2015, according to Vin & Spiritus. In 2015, 1.3 million litres of bubbly entered the country.

Champers more popular

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NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK CHUNG Yoo-ra, the daughter of a confidant of South Korean President Park Geun-hye who is sought in connection with the leader’s impeachment, was arrested in Aalborg on January 1. The SK foreign ministry has applied pressure on Denmark to get her extradicted. Danish authorities were alerted to her presence by SK media.

Abduction outrage DANSK Folkeparti and Socialdemokratiet are up in arms that a parent of a child abducted from Denmark by their former partner, who lives in another country, can be forced to pay child allowance. They want the European Hague Convention amended. However, an expert argued that the biggest loser would be the child if their parent was financially punished.

Facebook depressing DANES who stop using Facebook for just a week are happier, less angry and less lonely than those who regularly check the social network, reveals a study

by Morten Tromholt from the department of sociology at the University of Copenhagen. The survey involved 1,095 people.

Facebook has 2.9 million members in Denmark.

Emilie found dead A 17-YEAR-OLD girl, whose disappearance on July 10 gripped the nation, was found dead on December 24 in a lake west of Køge in Zealand. Emilie Meng’s body was discovered by a passer-by on a walk in the forest area of Regnemarks Bakke near Borup. She was last seen alive at 4 am on July 10 at Korsør Station after a night out with friends.

Paid to fight for IS A PRE-CHRISTMAS Ekstra Bladet exclusive revealed that 36 Islamic State fighters have continued to receive unemployment benefits in Denmark whilst fighting in Syria and Iraq. While 34 were on the lowest benefit kontanthjaelp, two were receiving dagpenge – 805 kroner a day for up to two years.

Danes today: Sensible, safe, sozzled Most are smart enough to prioritise their bodies over sensory fulfilment

ONLINE THIS WEEK ISTOCK

High-profile arrest

13 - 26 January 2017

BEN HAMILTON

T

HE POINTLESS surveys (see page 7 for the latest Donald Trump one) never stop, but occasionally one comes along packed with insight.

Analyse Danmark’s survey for online magazine Ugebrevet A4 asked Danes what they must be able to afford so they would not feel poor, and the answers are pretty revealing.

They expose the Danes as a pretty sensible nation, as very few opted for cigarettes, smartphones, gym membership, takeaways or having a TV – although that would have figured a lot higher before the advent of Netflix!

Instead, top of their priority list was three meals a day (82 percent), medicine (81) and dental care (79). Seasonal clothing, funds to buy presents and public transport usage all scored around 60 percent, while having the internet and a TV at home were selected by around a half.

Love going on holiday STILL, on the whole, most Danes don’t have these worries, and while few cited holidays as a must-have, an awful lot take them.

According to the online travel portal Expedia, 81 percent of Danes take off for at least four weeks of holiday travels every year – well above Sweden (64 percent) and Norway (66).

While the Swedes tend to prefer one long holiday, the Danes take significantly more long weekend breaks, with 66 percent saying they took at least one holiday trip every one to six months.

IKEA craze hits town IN DECEMBER, IKEA Denmark confirmed it had already caught youngsters on ten occasions hiding at closing time with intent to spend the night in one of its stores. In each case, it contacted the police. The trend, which started in Belgium, has been seen in numerous countries where the sleepovers are filmed and posted online.

They forgot to ask about pork – surely that’s number one!

89.1 percent feel safe in their community, according to Politiets Tryghedsindeks survey.

Even in the vulnerable neighbourhoods, the so-called ghetto areas, 72.4 percent feel safe, while Bornholm topped the regional rankings with 96.7.

And while 81.1 percent of Danes have confidence in the police, only 17.6 percent do not trust them.

Seldom strangers THERE’S a growing feeling that we might need them more in the future as the number of violent assaults is steadily increasing, according to Danmarks Statistik – most significantly in Copenhagen.

In the last four years, the number of assaults in the capital has risen by 72 percent (from 634 a year to 1,091), while the number of aggravated assaults rose 67 percent to 304.

Experts caution that the rise is due to more reports than in the past. For example, all violent attacks on public employees must now be reported, which was not always the case. In Copenhagen alone, assaults on public employees rose from 286 to 627.

Men are twice more likely to fall victim to violent crimes than women, most victims are aged 15-49, nearly half of the attacks take place during night hours at the weekends, and only a quarter of the attacks are carried out by a stranger.

More kms = more deaths WITH TRAFFIC accidents, it always tends to be a stranger, unless you’re Keith Moon’s bodyguard. Fatalities increased from 178 to 208 in 2016 – the first time since 2011 that the annual number has exceeded 200.

Economists attributed the rise to the better financial situation of most Danes, who tend to drive more kilometres, thus increasing the risk.

A silver lining could also be found in the 2015 ESPAD Report, which reveals that Danish teens aged 15-16 are more often intoxicated than their European peers.

Some 32 percent had been intoxicated at least once over the past month, compared to a European average of 13 percent.

However, their use of cannabis was 4 percentage points lower than the norm.

Is it anti-Islamic?

JUST BEFORE Christmas, Parliament adopted the last part of an anti-extremism package, forkynderlov, which experts claim is in conflict with religious freedom. The law includes a public sanction list of religious preachers, and Denmark has been accused of singling out Islam and applying stricter restrictions than on other segments of the population.

More foreigners pass test SOME 67.5 percent of the 3,359 foreign nationals who took the Danish citizenship test in December passed. In June, only 31.2 percent answered at least 32 out of the 40 questions correctly. Dansk Folkeparti said the test was too easy this time.

The next test is on June 7 and costs 738 kroner. The registration deadline is May 3.

Better behaved BUT WHILE today’s teens like a drink, they are committing fewer crimes. The number of convictions among 15 to 19-year-olds has fallen by 46 percent over the last 10 years, while the 10 to 14-year-old rate has also almost halved, according to Danmarks Statistik.

In general, the number of registered crimes fell by 4 percent in 2015, and every fourth person arrested was a non-resident.

Socialising made easy

Six bodies found in Randers Hotel reopening delayed

Airbnb limit proposed

POLICE in Jutland on Monday found six people – two adults and four children – dead in a house in Ulstrup, southwest of Randers in Jutland. A large area in the Amstrup Hill area was cordoned off whilst police and forensic officers attempted to gather evidence. Local police indicated that a family tragedy had taken place.

SEVERAL politicians in Copenhagen, including the city mayor, are keen to limit the annual number of days that homeowners can rent out their property in the capital via Airbnb, the peer-to-peer online rentals marketplace, to 60.

A similar deal was recently reached with Airbnb for Amsterdam in which rental ads are removed once they have reached their limit.

SHORTLY before 03:00 on Tuesday morning, a large fire broke out at an Arriva bus station in eastern Aalborg, engulfing seven vehicles with flames that rose 30 metres into the air. North Jutland Police said that an oil heater in one of the buses may have overheated, causing the blaze to spread to other buses. There is no suspicion of any crime being committed.

Safe in the hood IT’S NOT like the Danes don’t like it at home, though. Some

THE REBUILDING and reopening of the famous Svinkløv Badehotel in north Jutland, which burned to the ground in September, will take a year longer than initially expected and now officially open in time for the 2019 season. The owner does “not want to compromise on planning or reconstruction due to the pressure of time”.

A NEW APP being launched in April will enable users to organise local social events such as a game of football. IUSO (I-USOcial) is seeking to crowdfund its way to success on Kickstarter on January 18, and one investor from the Danish startup community has already kicked in about 1 million kroner.

Fire at bus station

NEWS

13 - 26 January 2017

ONLINE THIS WEEK

7

FULL STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

Fraudster held abroad

Trump threat

Sending refugees back

New extradition bid

Syrian opposition meeting

A JAILED Lebanese-born Dane in his late 30s, who goes by the name of YK, is suspected of conning a woman out of 132,000 kroner in the Costa Rican city of Puerto Viejo, according to local newspaper La Prensa Libre.

YK has previously been sought in both northern Jutland and Copenhagen in connection with alleged fraud, arson, embezzlement and forgery.

NEARLY 70 percent of Danes agree that US president-elect Donald Trump poses a threat to world peace and stability, according to a YouGov poll for Metroxpress. US expert Mette Claushøj told the paper that Trump is “actually insane and apparently has an extremely fragile ego, and that’s a dangerous combination”. Trump will be inaugurated on January 20.

THE IMMIGRATION service, Udlændingestyrelsen, is investigating the possibility of sending about 100 Somali quota refugees back to their home country – an option that has been legally possible since 2005 – and revoking the residence permits of another 800. However, Enhedslisten’s Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen argues that they deserve “permanent protection”.

DENMARK has received a new request from India for the extradition of Niels Holck, aka ‘Kim Davy’, to faces charges he delivered four tonnes of weapons to Bengali separatists in 1995. Six associates were all imprisoned for their participation. India made its first request in 2002. However, in 2011, the Eastern High Court ruled against it due to the high risk he would be tortured.

AS DENMARK continues to push for a national ceasefire in Syria, and unhindered humanitarian access through the UN and EU, its foreign minister, Anders Samuelsen, met with members of the Syrian moderate opposition in Copenhagen on December 16. Those represented included the Free Syrian Police, Syrian civil society and the White Helmets.

Just as needy

Fewer rescue missions

Designing Shanghai library Clean water for camps

Denmark’s “arrogance”

THE GOVERNMENT has set aside 118 million kroner to aid conflicts that are perhaps given less media attention than those against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Internallydisplaced people in the likes of Central African Republic, Burundi, Yemen, Sudan and Nigeria will benefit. Denmark gave 2.35 billion kroner to humanitarian crises in 2016.

DANISH commercial vessels in the Mediterranean saved far fewer refugees from drowning in 2016. In 2014 and 2015, they rescued 3,253 and 2,660, but last year only 525.

Experts attributed the fall to the EU’s drive to strengthen coastguard co-operation and arrange more patrols. However, the chances of dying on a trip have increased from 268/1 to 87/1.

DANISH architecture firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen has won a tender to design Shanghai’s new city library. The 110,000 sqm library will be situated next to the Pudong District’s park, the largest in the city, which is known for its iconic skyline. Scheduled for completion in 2020, the design is structured as a monolithic object floating above the park’s tree canopy.

GREENLAND’S foreign minister, Vittus Qujaukitsoq, has chastised Denmark for ignoring its desire for independence, accusing it of “arrogance devastating to our relations with the commonwealth”. Qujaukitsoq also accused Denmark of scuppering Greenland’s bid to join international fishing organisations and permitting detrimental US bases to further its own NATO standing.

A DANISH-FUNDED project involving solar energy will help provide clean water to over 250,000 refugees in three Tanzanian camps. Funded by the Poul Due Jensen Foundation, in collaboration with the US NGO Water Mission, it will be the world’s largest solar energy-driven water system.

Tanzania’s Nyarugusu Camp is one of the world’s biggest camps.

BJØRN’S INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL The English department of BIS is looking for a highly motivated experienced Secondary School Teacher to work with our enthusiastic students and dedicated staff in our friendly, respectful, learning environment.

BIS is a long established international school with 165 students aged 6-16 from 50 different countries. The school has an English and a Danish Department which work closely together.

*INFORMATION EVENING*

To thrive in this engaging environment applicants should: #1 Be creative, innovative and collaborative #2 Have experience of IGCSE/CIE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education/Cambridge International Education)

#3 Be English first language speaker #4 Have experience of teaching English as a first and second language, History and Religious Studies for IGCSE – more subjects are very welcome

#5 Have a passion to develop the potential in each child #6 Have proficiency in Danish The teaching position is full-time and starts soon after the interviews are completed. A written application with C.V. and references should be sent electronically before January 25th to: Principal Pia Drabowicz: principal@b-i-s.dk Employment is according to the agreement between the Finance Ministry and LC.

WEDNESDAY 18TH JANUARY - 19:30-21:00

An accredited IB World School since 1990, Nørre Gymnasium offers pre-IB classes and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) for students in the age group 16-18. In the environment of a Danish public high school, our international education lines are targeted at a highly motivated student clientele seeking academic challenge on a global level.

Visit our comprehensive homepage at www.norreg.dk and feel welcome to attend our Information Evening on Wednesday 18th January at 19:30-21:00, where you will hear more about our programmes and experience the vibrant atmosphere of our school!

Bjørn´s International School • Gartnerivej 5 • 2100 Copenhagen • www.b-i-s.dk

NØRRE GYMNASIUM • TEL: +45 4454 4735 • WWW.NORREG.DK

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BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK Inspired by nature

No longer mentally ill ON JANUARY 1, Denmark became the first nation in the world to no longer define transgendered as being mentally ill. However, long psychiatric proceedings are necessary before applicants can be given hormone treatment or a sex change operation. In 2016, around 120 children applied to the Sexological Clinic at Rigshospital for hormonal therapy.

Crutch is the problem HOSPITALS in Denmark have in the past two years lost about 2.5 million kroner because patients do not return medical equipment like wheelchairs, crutches and toilet chairs loaned to them, claims a DR survey.

Hospitals in the Capital Region have lost about 750,000 kroner this year alone.

Screenings questioned A COCHRANE Center study casts doubt on the effectiveness of breast-cancer screenings, reports Metroxpress. Screenings rarely detect the aggressive tumours that cause breast cancer, it found, and often led to a psychologically harmful misdiagnosis.

Far more Danish women get cancer than their Nordic counterparts, claims the National Institute of Public Health.

Drones can locate mines NEW DANISH drone technology developed by DTU Space, Sky-Watch, Geo and Dong Energy can help detect unexploded mines in the sea and make it safer and cheaper to build offshore wind farms in the future. An estimated 40,000 unexploded devices from WWII remain buried in silt along the Danish coast alone.

More like once-in-a-decade Rise in sea level no longer a rare occurrence, warn experts as storms and other phenomena continue to batter Denmark

ONLINE THIS WEEK New dementia plan BEV LLOYD ROBERTS

A LECTURER from the Technical University of Denmark is developing new sports technology inspired by nature. Torben Lenau seeks innovative solutions by emulating nature’s models and strategies – such as the way geckos use the adhesive hair on their fingers to stick to flat surfaces, and the way pine cones release their seeds.

13 - 26 January 2017

BEN HAMILTON

H

URRICANCES, floods, earthquakes. It sounds like the start of ‘Flash Gordon’, but it was in fact just the first month of winter in Denmark, even if the quake in the North Sea was a mere 3.9 on the Richter Scale and three to four times closer to the UK than Denmark!

Sea levels soar STILL, it’s been pretty dramatic on home soil. National weather forecaster DMI described a dramatic rise in sea levels on January 4 and 5 as a “once-in-a-century” event, but as flood waters begin to subside across the nation, experts warned that this kind of event was becoming the norm.

Levels rose as high as 177 cm above sea level in southern Denmark, where the worst damage was sustained, and 157 cm just south of the capital where the city districts of Amager and Dragør were flooded.

The phenomenon was the result of a change in wind direction that blew excess amounts of seawater from the Skagerrak and Kattegat, where it had been pushed by winds from the northeast, into the Baltic.

THE MINISTER for the elderly, Thyra Frank, and the health minister, Ellen Trane Nørby, have revealed a 470 million kroner dementia plan with three goals looking ahead to 2025. It wants to account for every sufferer in the country, give 80 percent a specific diagnosis, and reduce the use of anti-psychotic medication by 50 percent.

Fishing quotas raised

Wagner’s ‘The Flying Dutchman’ would have been an apt choice

damage than those that followed the 2006 floods.

“People are getting better at taking care of their houses, and the emergency agency is much better at fighting flooding with its new water tubes,” Mogens Hansen, the head of Stormrådet, told DR.

Another flood strategy MEANWHILE, despite its reputation for flood prevention, Copenhagen has unveiled yet another strategy to protect the capital in response to the January 4-5 floods.

The city wants to ensure that the cost of any future flood damage does not exceed 19 billion kroner, and it wants more state liability for damage – particularly along the coastline.

Disaster averted AT ONE point Denmark even called on its neighbours Sweden and Germany for emergency assistance. But in the end, disaster was averted by sensible preparation by emergency departments, police, military personnel and volunteers.

Stormrådet, the Danish storm council, and the country’s biggest insurance companies, Tryg and Codan, have both reported significantly fewer claims for

Climate change’s reach “THE HISTORICALLY abnormal weather is a reminder that climate change is in full vigour,” Jens Hesselbjerg, a climate professor at the University of Copenhagen, told Metroxpress.

“We can’t rule out that climate change’s effect on flooding is accelerating even more swiftly than we had anticipated.”

Kirsten Halsnæs, a professor of climate and economy at the Technical University of Denmark, concurred. “What we called a ‘once-a-century’ occurrence took place in 2006 and again now,” she added.

According to a report from 2011, the 10 areas in Denmark most in danger of seeing floods are Aabenraa, Fredericia, Holstebro, Juelsminde, Korsør, Køge Bay, Nakskov, Odense Fjord, Randers Fjord and Vejle.

Flu season here to stay

Roman link to cats

Danger of circumcision

THE SHARP rise in the number of Danes getting influenza in December had tailed off as of the first week of 2017.

Over 300 people have been hospitalised so far since the begining of December. Influenza type A (H3N2) – an often fatal strain, particularly among the over-65 – is the main culprit.

CATS MAY have been brought to Denmark by the Romans, according to research by the Nordjyllands Historiske Museum following its analysis of the thousand-year-old remains of two felines found in Aalborg. Up until now, it had been believed they arrived in the Viking Age, possibly aboard ships on which they killed rats.

STATE Serum Institute research reveals that circumcised boys are 26 times more likely to develop meatus stenosis, a narrowing of the urethral opening that makes it harder to urinate and ultimately leads to infection, kidney problems and the need for an operation. Upwards of 2,000 boys are circumcised in Denmark every year.

Storms queuing up IN OTHER weather news, the January 4-5 floods were preceded by 30 metre per second gale-force winds a day earlier that hit the west coast of Jutland, Funen and Zealand, along with Lolland and Bornholm.

The hurricane-strength Storm Urd similarly battered northern Denmark on December 26, bringing with it wind speeds of up to 37.8 m/s, closing bridges and cancelling ferry services. Nobody was killed, but plenty of trees were felled. Tryg reported hundreds of claims.

At the time of going to press, yet another storm had been forecast for Wednesday.

THE FISHING industry was given an early Christmas present when the EU approved higher quotas for cod, langoustine, plaice and sole in the Kattegat, Skagerrak and North Sea. Cod quotas, for example, rose by 16.5 percent in the North Sea and by 19.5 percent in the Skagerrak.

The Baltic Sea, however, was given no quota increases.

Perils of being single A NEW SURVEY by the Men’s Health Society has revealed that being single can have adverse effects on the health of men – mainly because they have nobody to confide in about emotional issues. Added to the likelihood of increased smoking and drinking alcohol, and less exercise, being single tends to cut seven years off their lifespan.

Climate change blamed MANY MIGRATORY birds are struggling to survive because climate change is constantly altering the location of green areas, according to research carried out by the Natural History Museum of Denmark. Climate change has also been blamed for the presence of a bottlenose dolphin in Skagen Harbour since December 22.

Failing on child activity DANISH children performed well in the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance’s activity report, but were let down by the lack of movement in their classrooms.

For organised sports participation, in contrast, Denmark scored an ‘A’, and it also did well in active transportation (B), school (B), community & built environment (B+) and government strategies & investments (A-).

BUSINESS OPINION

13 - 26 January 2017

ONLINE THIS WEEK

9

FULL STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

FCK’s eSports ambition

Pro cuddling courses

Tivoli gets A lister

Never gonna throw you up

Handball hopes

FC COPENHAGEN has linked up with Nordisk Film to co-found a world-class eSports team. ‘North’ will include an elite Counter Strike team that will compete in an ELEAGUE tournament in Atlanta later this month.

DENMARK remains the only nation in Scandinavia to offer professional cuddler educations.

So far, 15 have already qualified, with a further 10-15 on the way.

The courses cost 6,500 kroner, while the standard hourly rate for cuddles is 650 kroner.

MICHELIN-STARRED restaurant Kiin Kiin is leaving its current location on Guldbergsgade in Nørrebro to reopen at the iconic Japanese Tower in Tivoli on April 6.

CRAFT beer brewer Mikkeller is planning a brew in collaboration with singer Rick Astley, a resident of Denmark for many years, where he helped raise his daughter. Presumably Mikkeller is eyeing a gap in the burgeoning beer and cheese market.

DENMARK’S men’s handball team start their 2017 World Championship campaign in France on Friday against Argentina. Meanwhile, the women’s team finished fourth at the 2016 Euros in Sweden last month.

‘Mine’ in final nine

Danes on song

‘UNDER sandet’ (’Land of Mine’) has made the nine-film shortlist for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar – the sixth time in seven years that the Danish entry has been included. The final five will be confirmed on January 24 and the winner announced on February 26.

DENMARK lost 0-4 to Russia in the quarters of the IIHF World Junior Championships in Canada, but will take heart from a tournament in which they beat powerhouses Finland and the Czech Republic for the first time.

SOUNDVENUE magazine has named ‘Shelley’ as its Danish film of the year. Ali Abbasi’s psychological thriller about a surrogate mother got the nod ahead of Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘The Neon Demon’, with ‘Forældre’, ‘Kollektivet’ and ‘I blodet’ completing the top five. In total, 22 Danish films were released in 2016.

2017’s gender imbalance FILM FANS can look forward to a startling gender imbalance in Danish film in 2017. Of the 26 movies being released, only two have a female lead and only two have female directors.

Best medal year ever THE DANISH athletics association (DIF) has hailed 2016 as its best ever year. Across all major sports, the country’s sportspeople won 146 medals, of which 42 were gold. In comparison, Denmark only won 88 medals in 2012 – the last Olympic year.

Top films of the year

Fourth time lucky?

MORTEN Andersen has again been included on the shortlist to be inducted into American football’s Hall of Fame – for the fourth consecutive year. The inductees will be confirmed on February 4, a day before the Super Bowl.

New star emerging DANISH winger Nikolai Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets is on target to topple Frans Nielsen’s NHL season points record from 201314 of 58 points in 80 games.

Ehlers has already scored 31 points from 39 games.

Repeat noms for groups THAT THEATRE Company and Why Not Theatre have again been nominated for CPHCulture awards – this time for ‘Proof ’ and ‘Vita and Virginia’.

Additionally Why Not’s founder Sue Hansen-Styles has been shortlisted for best actress.

Journos shortlisted MARTIN Kjær Jensen and Irene Thyrri from TV2 were nominated for the Cavling Prize journalism award for their work on the documentary series ‘Moskeerne bag sløret’ (the mosques behind the veil). However, they were beaten to the prize by an investigative team from Berlingske.

Unwelcome Lego delivery LEGO AND Kinder egg toys washed up in their millions on the shores of the German island of Langeogg after a Maersk ship lost several containers during a storm last week. They are expected to hit the local ecology hard.

KØBENHAVNS KØRESKOLE THEORY & PRACTICAL LESSONS Københavns Køreskole offers theory classes with an instructor in English to obtain a Danish driving license.

DRIVING LICENSE SCHOOL FOR BEGINNERS Københavns Køreskole offers English B license classes starting EVERY week.

Take your license with Copenhagen Driving School and learn to pass your theory test on first attempt.

In order to obtain a driving license in Denmark, you have to have a legal residence in the country and can at the earliest start three months before your 18th birthday.

REDO OR EXCHANGE FOREIGN LICENSE INTO A DANISH DRIVING LICENSE Exchange your license here with the Copenhagen Driving School and pass your test on first attempt.

Attend LIVE online tutoring classes whether you live in Hellerup, Gentofte, Virum, Lyngby, Fyn, Jytland or even when you are abroad on business or holiday.

Københavns Køreskole • Krusågade 21 • Phone: +45 2720 9099 / 7020 3330 E-mail: info@kbhkoereskole.dk

10

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK Loss for motorsport venture FOLLOWING a pre-tax loss of 76 million kroner for their last fiscal year, FI driver Kevin Magnussen and billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen have now lost 151 million kroner over the last five years in their motorsport investment venture Anpartselskabet af 1. april 2010. In related news, Povlsen has launched a judicial review to stop a wind farm on an estate neighbouring one of his in Scotland.

Germany most important A DANSK Industri survey of 528 businesses reveals that Germany is the most popular export market in the EU, and the US the most attractive outside it. Some 223 companies chose Germany, with Sweden a distant second with 120. The US was the preferred non-EU market of 128, with China second on 63.

Get the Biers in TIGER franchise holders Philip and Emma Bier have sold their 50 percent stake in their 44 stores in London and southeast England back to the parent company. The Biers were the first to launch a store in the UK back in 2005. Other franchise holders then emerged and 90 more shops followed. UK sales totalled 542 million kroner in 2015.

Newspaper loses out ONLINE newspaper Den Korte Avis will not receive any media support from the Danish state in 2017, confirms the chief editor Ralf Pittelkow. According to the rules, media companies have to employ at least three full-time editorial employees. However, DKA has only two: Pittelkow and his wife Karen Jespersen.

Last year it received 147,000 kroner.

Oil’s slippery slope DANISH oil production in the North Sea has decreased for the 11th straight year since peaking in 2004 and now stands at the same level as in 1992. Natural gas production, meanwhile, remained unchanged. However, Maersk has confirmed that it is from this month slowly shutting down gas production in the Tyra field in the North Sea.

13 - 26 January 2017

Research paying off for Denmark Country’s future looking rosier by the minute BEN HAMLITON

D

ENMARK’S continued investment in research and development is really paying off. In 2015, it spent 59.976 billion kroner – about 1.7 billion more than in 2014 and the third highest among the OECD countries in the EU. According to Danmarks Statistik figures reported by videnskab. dk, the investment corresponds to 2.96 percent of its GDP, just shy of a target set for all EU nations in 2000 to become “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world”.

However, while Denmark spends the most on research carried out in the public sector, much less is invested by the private sector.

kroner. The EU, the US and China are all significant importers.

As cities struggle with air pollution, “they need Danish expertise”, contends Sara Røpke, a spokesperson at the environmental authority Miljøstyrelsen, to tackle a problem that kills 7 million people every year worldwide.

“There is a strong base for generating growth and jobs in Denmark while contributing to solving a very serious environmental dilemma.”

Respected research NEVERTHELESS, it is getting Denmark noticed. Its research – most particularly in the areas of medicine, health sciences and engineering – is the third most cited among the OECD nations, and it ranks second for the number of published research publications per capita.

“It is research that will help us prepare for the future,” stated the education and research minister, Søren Pind, who urged the private sector to get more involved.

“It is crucial that Danish research has a high quality and can be used by other researchers and the business community.”

Well placed to thrive IT IS COMMON knowledge that Denmark is a world leader in cleantech, and now its many companies look well placed to capitalise via Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), a new international fund dedicated to funding research within green energy technology.

“Looking at what the fund wants to support, it’s a fantastic opportunity,” said Thea Larsen, the head of the public grant scheme for the energy arena EUDP. “It matches a lot of areas in which Denmark has a position of strength, such as bio-energy, wind energy, district heating and smart-energy solutions.”

Spreading the clean air IT IS OPENING doors to future revenue-earning streams, such as clean air solutions, which 500 Danish companies are busy exporting to other nations, earning annual revenue of over 7 billion

Delegation in India ALSO PLAYING their part are government-led delegations. The latest – which is being led by the energy and climate minister, Lars Christian Lilleholt – is in India until the end of the week and mainly

Assets accumulating too STILL, every Dane knows by now that the best place to invest their money is in property – most particularly villas and semi-detached houses.

Following a rapid rise of 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2016, the government expects house prices to grow by 4 percent both in 2017 and 2018.

Blow for pension company

Tax scheme amendment

Cheap for gadgets

PENSIONDANMARK risks losing another 200 million kroner in the US – this time due to a dispute with a Texan client. A poor investment in three wind farms 2012, in collaboration with the German energy company E.on, led to a 203 million loss due to falling power prices, and now a dispute is looming with Lower Colorado River Authority, a purchaser of power from one of the farms.

THE GOVERNMENT has adopted an amendment to the Danish expert tax scheme that changes the criteria for foreign researchers and highly-paid employees. since January 1, it has been possible for an employee who is tax-resident in Denmark and approved to use the Danish expert tax scheme to take advantage of the scheme if working outside Denmark for up to 30 working days within a calendar year.

PRICES for popular electronic gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, gaming systems and printers are moderate in Denmark, according to an analysis of 72 countries by the eCommerce platform Linio. Denmark rated fourth cheapest for external harddrive 2TB, expensively for a portable charger (61), a Samsung tablet (58) and a Windows laptop (50), and average for an iPhone (44).

She can see gold through them microscopes

pursuing green technology, food and maritime interests.

“Last year, Denmark’s total exports to India were worth almost 10 billion kroner, and our target is to increase that by about 5-6 billion kroner over the next four to five years,” said Lilleholt.

Record profits AND ALL the hard work is translating into profits. Danish companies in 2014 enjoyed their best figures since the financial crisis, according to FSR Danske Revisorer, which assessed 140,000 financial statements.

Profits increased by 19 percent to 269 billion kroner before tax compared to 226 billion in 2014, which might explain why 75,490 Danes are hiding their wealth in offshore tax havens – a jump from 58,652 in 2013.

The tax evaders owe the Danish state billions of kroner in unpaid taxes, duties and fines, according to JydskeVestkysten. As of November, Danish citizens owed the Danish state about 91.7 billion kroner.

ONLINE THIS WEEK Apple gives up APPLE has decided not to appeal against an October ruling by a district court in Glostrup in favour of a Danish customer, David Lysgaard, who had contested its warranty policy. Lysgaard said he was “extremely glad” the five-year case was finally over. He plans to send Apple a bill for 4,399 kroner (the original price of his faulty iPhone 4), plus interest.

Oculus eyes talent FACEBOOK’S virtual reality company Oculus has paid an undisclosed sum for The Eye Tribe, a Danish company that develops technology that allows users to control devices such as smartphones with the movement of their eyes. Founded in 2011 by four students from the IT University in Copenhagen, the company had been struggling financially.

Organic dairy merger DANISH organic dairy producers Øllingegaard and Naturmælk have announced they will merge under the name ‘De Økologiske Mejerier’ to secure the future of organic dairy products in Denmark. The companies will continue operating as independent entities with their own production and brands, but with a common management.

Vestas in Honduras DANISH wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has won its first ever order in Honduras and recently signed new contracts in Germany, Belgium and the US. The order from Honduras totals 59 MW and includes a 15-year service deal, a 370 MW deal to supply wind turbines is for Belgium’s largest offshore wind project, and multiple US orders over December totalled 541 MW.

Fewer bank branches THERE are 74 percent fewer bank branches than in the early 1980s, reports Jyllands-Posten.

The number has fallen from 3,656 to below 1,000, and many do not provide cash handling banking services. In the case of Nordea customers in the south Jutland town of Tønder, they are having to travel up to 80 km to deposit or withdraw money from their account.

COMMUNITY

13 - 26 January 2017

11

Your Excellency, you’re expected by Her Majesty!

PHOTOS: HASSE FERROLD

WORDS: BEN HAMILTON

The ambassadors of (left-right) Japan, South Korea, Morocco, Argentina, Romania, Canada and Greece were among the newbies nervously (perhaps) waiting to be presented to Queen Magrethe II at the queen’s reception for the diplomatic corps at Christiansborg Palace on January 3

It can be intimidating meeting a monarch, which explains why she’s smiling

After all, she’s always got plenty of back-up

And don’t forget the support, and star appeal, of these two: the Crown Prince Couple, Frederik and Mary

And this year the privilege of going first fell to Mina Marie Baldé Laurent (Ivory The wait is always worth it – among those in the queue were Indian ambassador Coast), the longest serving ambassador in Denmark who is now the dean of the Rajeev Shahare (right) diplomatic corps following the departure of Moroccan ambassador Raja Ghannam

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT, PLEASE VISIT HASSEFERROLD.BLOGSPOT.DK

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COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 January 2017

Such occasions give CPH POST a great chance to catch up on all the ambassadors who are either new to these shores, or rarely seen, often because their main base is somewhere else in the Nordics, like in Stockholm. Among the new or rarely seen European ambassadors were (left-right) Alexander Ostrovsky (Belarus), Skender Xhakaliu (Kosovo), Haris Basic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Henk Swarttouw (the Netherlands)

Denmark isn’t the only country addressing the gender imbalance amongst its diplomatic corps, and (left-right) Ginte Damusis (Lithuania), Janet Lowe (New Zealand) and Efthalia Kakiopoulou (Greece) were the proof of the palace

Among the new female ambassadors to arrive in 2016 were (left-right) Khadija Rouissi (Morocco), Emi Furuya (Canada), Yiliam Gómez Sardiñas (Cuba) and Sonia Durán Smela (Colombia)

Meanwhile, rarely seen on the circuit, but familiar faces at this event, are (left-right) Amadou Tcheko (Niger), Henryk Józef Nowacki (Holy See) and Bounpheng Saykanya (Laos)

13 - 26 January 2017

COMMUNITY

13

Continuing with the new arrivals we had (left-right) Dominic Schroeder (UK), Fredrik JĂśrgensen (Sweden) and Mihai-Alexandru Gradinar (Romania) from Europe ...

Juan Pablo Chain (Bolivia), Conrado Solari Yrigoyen (Argentina) and the rarely-seen Jose Beraun Aranibar (Peru) from South America ...

Karan Singh Thakral (Singapore), Muhammad Ibnu Said (Indonesia) and Jai Chul Choi (South Korea) from Asia ...

and also Toshiro Suzuki (Japan), Alaa Hussain Musa (Iraq) and Morteza Moradian (Iran) – the last ambassador to arrive on these shores in 2015 in fact

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COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 January 2017

Also present were (left-right): Stefano Queirolo Palmas (Italy), Hrachya Aghajanyan (Armenia), Gérard Léon Pierre Philipps (Luxembourg) and Kastriot Robo (Albania) ...

Muhammad Abdul Muhith (Bangladesh), Ali Benzerga (Algeria), Edith Hazel (Ghana) and the Chinese charge d’affaires Hongbo Hu with the counsellor for political affairs, Jia Guo ...

and Vimon Kidchob (Thailand), Zindziswa Mandela (South Africa) and Croatian charge d’affaires Ivana Skracic

WORK

13 - 26 January 2017

15

Helping socially-disadvantaged EU migrants to find work

Plotting a municipal course to a new job

Help is at hand from The Extra Mile Project, providing you’re willing to work hard!

Students and spouses thriving on employment courses at International House Copenhagen

ZACH TAN

OB PROGRAMS launched

by Copenhagen Municipality are boosting the employment prospects of former foreign students and the spouses of highly-skilled international workers.

Since their respective launches in 2013 and 2014, the employment rates of those enrolled on the Canadian-inspired courses have been 74 and 75 percent within a year of completion.

J

T

HERE WILL be many from outside the EU who might initially think it sounds unfair that someone is specifically helping job-seeking, socially-disadvantaged EU migrants.

However, in the case of The Extra Mile Project, it was born out of an already existing organisation founded to address a more pressing need: an independent information service for homeless migrants without registration in Denmark.

Housing and network KIRKENS Korshær duly founded ‘Kompasset’ four years ago and quickly realised more needed to be done to address the underlying causes.

The Extra Mile Project, which was founded last year to provide guidance and assistance in the job-seeking process, was therefore the next logical step.

Staffed by a group of 15 to 20 volunteers, who fulfill key positions as mentors, language teachers and coaches, the project has two main aims: helping the EU migrants to find housing and establishing a network.

“One of the biggest obstacles socially-disadvantaged EU migrants face is a lack of network and stable housing,” explained manager Marta Wisniewska.

“It creates suspicion among employers, and it’s also difficult to structure a day and be a proactive job-seeker if you’re trying to fulfill your basic needs.”

Pros and cons BEING in a foreign country doesn’t help either. “The way that they look for jobs in their

If you’re from Italy, for example, you’re first encouraged to say ciao to your own community to find work

countries differs from the way you look for a job here in Denmark,” continuing Wisniewska.

“Through mentoring and workshops we improve their interview skills. We also teach them how to write a CV because back in their home countries that’s not how they find a job.”

However, being foreign can be advantageous, and participants are accordingly encouraged to start their job search in their local communities.

“We had a Spanish migrant who didn’t know English or Danish, but he found a job after networking within the Hispanic community,” she said.

Timing is everything NEVERTHELESS, it’s not always that easy, and finding a job can often take months, or even years. And sometimes, it’s better to wait, as timing is everything, according to Wisniewska.

“It’s a lot easier to find a job in the summer, as there’s more demand for work in the summer.

For example, construction in winter is on hold. And if you’re homeless it works against you completely,” she warned.

“We advise the participants to apply in the early spring because they need to train before the summer season starts so they are prepared.”

CSR emphasis THE EXTRA Mile Project takes great care to ensure its participants make good candidates, and to pave the way to employment as much as it can by “building a trusted network of companies”.

Wisniewska vets potential employers, initially asking them if they take foreigners, before sending them emails seeking further co-operation.

“We enable businesses to advance their corporate social responsibility and help with CPR registration. It’s our expertise. We try to tell them that we have good candidates and that it makes good business sense for them to employ the migrants

because of their skills and motivation,” she explained.

“We prepare our candidates for the job market and assess if they have the right qualifications and attitude and send them to companies,” she said.

Successful already ALREADY The Extra Mile Project has enjoyed great success with a construction job agency, which has placed candidates on training programs and hired some, and local restaurant and cleaning companies.

Overall, Wisniewska is optimistic that she will find jobs for the participants as long as they work hard with their mentors.

“As long as they’re putting in the extra effort, I’m also willing to put in much more effort to help them if there are some opportunities with businesses,” she said.

“I want to make sure that the candidates that I match with businesses are motivated, well prepared and ready to work.”

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Stopping the brain drain THE MUNICIPALITY, which intends to spend another 1.4 million kroner on the initiatives over the next year, launched the programs to address the drain of talent seen when international students educated in Denmark leave the country, and when highly-skilled international workers depart because their spouses failed to find work.

Figures compiled by Dansk Industri, the confederation of Danish industry, had previously shown that only a third of foreign graduates find work within a year of completing their education.

Just five hours a week THE SIX-MONTH international student program, the Greater Copenhagen Career Programme, was launched at International House Copenhagen in 2013. It provides seminars, workshops, mentors and network opportunities to students, who tend to participate for about five hours a week.

And since 2014, the Copenhagen Career Programme at International House Copenhagen has been similarly educating the spouses of highly-skilled international workers, often finding them internships or subsidised employments. (BH)

FULL STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

Interest in farmland

Over-50s most secure

Falck fires its CEO

Davies departs BCCD

DFDS’s birthday gift

FOREIGN investors from countries including China, Germany, Ireland and the UK are increasingly showing interest in buying Danish farmland, reports Finans. The price of Danish agricultural land fell sharply during the recent agricultural crisis.

EMPLOYEES aged over 50 have the lowest level of unemployment in Denmark, according to ‘Working Environment and Health in Denmark 2012-2020’, a Dansk Industri survey. Just 3.5 percent are unemployed, compared to a national average of over 4 percent.

ALLAN Søgaard Larsen has been fired from his position as the CEO of the rescue company Falck, after it was discovered he owned a significant stake through the company Liberatio. His ownership was judged to be in conflict with the board’s interests.

AFTER 20 years at its helm, Mariano Davies has stepped down as president of the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark to take a similar position at BOSS (British Overseas Security Services) UK Certification. His replacement is the former CFO, Gareth Garvey.

IN RECOGNITION of the contribution made by DFDS’s employees to the company’s growth and to celebrate the company’s 150-year anniversary, the company has awarded 30 shares to each employee – a total value of 70 million kroner.

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COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 January 2017

ABOUT TOWN

PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

The diplomatic corps were out in force at the Polish Embassy’s Christmas Party on December 15 at the Copenhagen Marriott Hotel that included a special presentation by the robot company PIAP (left). Among those present were (centre: left-right) Slovakian ambassador Boris Gandel, Bulgarian ambassador Roussi Ivanov, Canadian ambassador Emi Furuya and her husband, and Albanian ambassador Kastriot Robo; and (right: left-right) Swedish ambassador Frederik Jørgensen, Polish ambassador Henryka Moscicka-Dendys, Czech ambassador Jiri Brodsky and Armenian ambassador Hrachya Aghajanyan

Italian ambassador Stefano Queirolo Palmas was the proud host of ’Ice – at the Edge’ at his embassy on December 10. The event included a piano performance, an art presentation and, of course, red wine. The event gave Palmas the perfect opportunity to present ‘Italy’, a country-specific supplement published by CPH POST

South Korean ambassador Jai Chul Choi marked his official presentation to the queen on December 16 with a reception at his residence to introduce himself to the diplomatic corps, the South Korean community and others. The event included South Korean opera and cuisine

Russian ambassador Mikhail Vanin (standing) was among those present at the funeral of Prince Dmitri Romanov (centre), who was the oldest living relative of Tsar Nicholas II until he died aged 90 on New Year’s Eve. Also pictured is South African ambassador Zindzi Mandela (right)

On a visit to Copenhagen in November, Che Guevara’s daughter Aleida Guevara (second right), a children’s doctor in Cuba, made a speech in November about health issues at the Global Cultural Center Nørre Alle. Also present was Cuban ambassador Yiliam Sardinas Gomez (right)

The new ambassador of Morocco is Khadija Rouissi. Mrehba!

ØSTERBRO

me grow with us

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

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DIPLOMA PROGRAMME

OPEN DAY!

nveil cation ust 2015

19th JANUARY FROM 17-19

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for d 4.

ABOUTto UShearing from you! k forward

ØIS welcomed 19 universities from all over the world to meet with MYP5 and Diploma students. This was an exciting afternoon for our students to engage with representatives from various institutions around the world. ØIS hopes that the students were Østerbro International School inspiredØ by their with these • 2100 København • + 45 70 20conversations 63 68 • info@oeis.dk • www.oeis.dk universities and walked away feeling more CAMP Program: confident and informed about worldwide nt Programme June 29 – August 14, 2015; 9am – 3pm, Mon-Fri. Workshops for students entering grades 2 through 5, mer of activity, friendship higherageseducation.

Offering large university 6 to 12. Choose between: chment Program offers  English as an Additional Language nglish. fairs is Hand-on something we hope to continue in Music!  Art & Crafts the future to give our students every oppor Let´s swim!

– 4.30pm Mon-Fri.  Copenhagen Explorers rough 4, from ages 6 to 10. tunity  inBollywood navigating the multitude of course dance hildren of all nationalities. uding sports, crafts, Register on-line www.oeis.dk/enrichments offerings for higher education.

bro

CHOOL

Email inquiry enrichments@oeis.dk

Østerbro International School is a three programme IB school, offering full PYP, MYP, and DP classes.

Østerbro

I N T E R N AT I O N A L S C H O O L

Østerbro International School • Rygårds Allë 131 • 2900 Hellerup +45 70 20 63 69 • info@oeis.dk • www.oeis.dk

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COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 January 2017

Gløgg, gifts and great guests guarantee a gathering of gladness PHOTOS: ASHLEY SMALLEY

WORDS: IDA BILIC

Gløgg, gifts and great guests – we’re not talking about any party, but our Christmas Party, which we coorganised with hosts International House Copenhagen (IHC) on December 15. An estimated 200 Danes and internationals attended, but there were no arguments about which one was the most esteemed. Straight from the North Pole, the man in red didn’t let us down.

What a shame that CPH POST owner Ejvind Sandal Entitled ‘Christmas Coziness’, the event was all about contentment, as the kids got busy playing and drawing, missed his visit! and the parents sighed in relief that it would keep them busy for an hour or two

The night began with Ian Burns reading from ‘A Christmas Carol’ (left) , followed by a performance by Improv Comedy Copenhagen (centre). Meanwhile, Bastard Coffee provided the boardgames and IHC the refreshments and goodies (right)

It was truly a team effort. Sarah and Marta (left) were among the IHC volunteers handing out a free raffle ticket to every attendee – among the prizes were tickets to see the Crazy Christmas Cabaret and CTC pantomime Pantostein, and some huge boxes of Lego – while the CPH Post were well represented by managing editor Ben Hamilton (centre – with daughter Billie) and by that guy (right). At least one of the kids was happy to see him!

13 - 26 January 2017

COMMUNITY

19

We saw many international parents (left-right), including: Roxana and Remi from Venezuela; Philip and Tina, a Scottish-Danish couple; Nancy and Rogvi from the Faroe Islands; and Kaushal, Kanu and Pooja from India

The children had a great time, making new friends and generally running riot with the decoration-making materials

While many others found their own little cosy corner to play boardgames. Among them were (left-right) Haja from Croatia, Najwa from Canada and Emily from Germany; Tea from Croatia and Asli from Turkey; and in some cases whole families – in training for Christmas no doubt CPH POST and International House Copenhagen, the co-organisers of Christmas Coziness, would like to thank the following sponsors for making the event possible:

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INOUT: WHAT’S ON THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 January 2017

GOLDIN.MEDIA

PANTOSTEIN

Jan 26-Feb 5, 19:00 every day (except Jan 30), 14:00 on Jan 28-29, Feb 4-5; Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2, Cph Ø; 160kr, under-18s: 80kr, discounts available for groups of adults: 10-19: 140kr, 20+: 125kr, tickets@ctcircle.dk, ctcircle.dk BEN HAMILTON

SINCE the winter of 2011-12, the Copenhagen Theatre Circle has been delighting both young and old with its annual pantomime, bringing gentle vibes, laughter and weather to this good kingdom.

Yes … indeed, weather, for it is a little known fact that the Norse god Thor is an ardent fan of British pantomime, and that he has been mercifully kind as a result, bringing only partial snow and cold tem-

COLOURS OF DJIBOUTI Nov 23-April 16, Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, Wed 10:00-21:00; David Collection, Kronprinsessegade 30, Cph K; free adm; davidmus.dk PETER Bonnén’s photo series brings us to the small Muslim country of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

Displaying scenes of buildings in vari-

ous states of wear – reflecting the needs and requirements of the city at a specific time – Bonnén’s photos are marked by strong motifs of colours and lines.

Since the 1960s, Bonnén’s primary medium of sculptures have been prominent throughout Denmark. As such, this represents an interesting opportunity to see Bonnén’s work with photography at the David Collection, a venue that is no stranger to the world of Islam. (ZT)

CAMPING: Jan 20-22; Bella Center, Cph S; 80kr, campingibella.dk; WEDDING: Jan 14-15; Forum, Frederiksberg; 100-125kr; denstoredag.dk NO JANUARY is complete without a trip to the Holiday Fair at Bella Center – a welcome injection of endorphins as you

MUSIC

THE HEAD AND THE HEART

Jan 16, 20:00; Vega; 160kr Formed in 2009, The Head and the Heart are an indie-rock and folk band from Seattle.

Their success is heavily linked to television, having appeared on Conan O’Brien’s late night talk show, as well asseries like How I Met Your Mother and Chuck. (YY)

visualise the rewards if you can make it through another winter.

So why has it been replaced by camping and memories of raw food and damp beds. It doesn’t fill you with the same level of anticipation, although the modcons do make it more bearable these days.

Still, it might not conjure up the same level of terror as the Wedding Fair and its 140 exhibitors.

Run while you still can? (BH)

SPECTACLE

FROM HERE TO EAR

ongoing, ends Feb 5; Copenhagen Contemporary, Trangravsvej 10-12, Cph K; 50kr, cphco.org A 600 sqm hall has been transformed by Céleste Boursier into a giant aviary where birds provide ambient music that changes according to the vibrations of the visitors. Challenge your senses! (AA)

LEARN

SUSHI COURSE FOR BEGINNERS

Jan 15, 15:00; Peder Lykke Skolen, Brydes Alle 35, Cph S; 605kr, register at info@sakana.dk This two-hour course presented

by Japanese-trained chef and sake sommelier Zoë Escher will let you into the secrets of making perfect, affordable sushi.

Escher also offers advanced and veggy courses. (BH)

DAVID LYNCH This Summer the long-awaited sequel to cult TV show ‘Twin Peaks’ is expected to premiere. We count down with an extensive series of films and talks from January to April.

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

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

ZOEESCHER.COM

Jan 12, 15, 19 & 22; Operaen, Cph K; 125-795kr, kglteater.dk Mahagonny creators Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill (The Threepenny Opera) fell out over politics. What a waste. Elsewhere in the world of opera this month, catch Dead Man Walking (from Jan 24) and Martyrdom (from Jan 28). (BH)

CAMPING FAIR & WEDDING FAIR

Prepare to be whisked away to the creepy setting of Cemeteria in the company of a promising cast that includes old hands Patrick Presencer and Mr Elastic Face himself, Mario Paganini, playing characters with weird and wonderful names such as Dame Bloodengutz and Boris van Rental.

© CÉLESTE BOURSIER-MOUGENOT, 2007

RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHOGONNY

three months of snow from the mountaintops of Transylvania and set up shop at Krudttønden theatre to wreak havoc (that will get a few clicks) with two hours of ritual singalongs, interactive fun, slapstick, crossdressing dames and best boys, and ghouls by the gallon-load.

AFUNK45

OPERA

THOMAS PETRI

DANS2GO

Jan 10-14, 16-18, 21 & 23; Gamle Scene, Kongens Nytorv 9 200-245kr, kglteater.dk Enjoy three vignettes lasting no more than 30 minutes from a good seat for a fraction of the normal price. Jerome Robbins tackles Chopin in Other Dances, while there is the obligatory August Bournonville work. (BH)

KGLTEATER.DK

BALLET

peratures. (Oh yes he is.)

But look behind you Copenhagen, because a storm is approaching in the form of Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula and his bride, werewolves, witches, zombies and (worst of all) villagers.

They have banished the sun, brought

MARKETPLACE & SCHOOLS

13 - 26 January 2017

21

St Alban’s Church The Anglican (Episcopal) Church in Denmark

Join the American Club in Copenhagen, and take part in our exciting and interesting events and excellent networking opportunities!

A lively, diverse and inclusive Christian community of adults and children from every corner of the world

Sunday Service at 10.30

This is a great way to meet others from the international community in Copenhagen!

For further information: www.americanclub.dk or contact Vibeke Henrichsen at 3961 7375

Sung Eucharist with Sunday School Followed by refreshments

Mid-Week Service of Holy Communion on Wednesdays at 10.30 We are on Churchillparken, half way between the Little Mermaid and Amalienborg. www.st-albans.dk

We look forward to welcoming you!

SALES INTERN

www.of ag.dk

THE POST IS LOOKING FOR A SALES INTERN TO SUPPORT THE SALES TEAM

ANIMATION FASHION DESIGN ART WRITING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Responsiblities include the following: ■

You will be assisting the team with various tasks including face to face selling, administration, ad sales, home page, events, etc.

■

We are looking for a candidate who has completed or is currently pursuing a degree or has experience in sales.

■

You must have excellent verbal and written communication skills

10TH. GRADE DESIGN-HF ART & CULTURE

in English. A knowledge of Danish is an advantage.

■

You should be able to work approximately 20 - 30 hours per week.

■

You should be an enthusiastic team-player with the ability to work independently at times.

Please send your application and CV to hans@cphpost.dk noting Sales Intern in the subject line.

THE PLACE FOR

The Copenhagen Post is Denmark’s leading source for news in English. In addition to publishing the only regularly printed English-language newspaper in Denmark, we also provide a special supplement division of our newspaper and online news.

C RE ATIVE PEOPLE

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT US AT: WWW.CPHPOST.DK

Odense Fagskole - Ørstedsgade 28 - 5000 Odense - Tlf: (+45) 66 12 21 45

22

INOUT:TV

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

13 - 26 January 2017

POLDARK TV2 CHARLIE, JAN 14, 15:00

PICK OF THE WEEK

RICHARD Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman, Terrence Stamp in Far from the Madding Crowd, Sean Bean in Sharpe, and now Aidan Turner in Poldark … give female viewers a man in uniform and the plot goes out of the window.

This redcoat has reddened cheeks the length of Britain, and now he’s bringing his considerable allure to TV Charlie to woo the real housewives of Hellerup.

With Barnaby (John Nettles) on

He left a land of hills knee-deep in gold to reclaim his tin mine

WOW, WHAT a line-up: the Rockettes, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and America’s Got Talent singer Jackie Evancho – don’t miss Donald Trump’s inauguration (SVT2, Jan 20, 18:00).

Had they written that in S6 of Homeland, you’d write it off as their most preposterous storyline yet. Last we saw, it was turning into 24, but will S6 see a return to the form of S1 and 4?

The Challenger Disaster (DR2, Jan 21, 23:00) never got a

COMING SOON Lots of brandy is consumed

second chance, and this aftermath TV movie presents a fascinating dissection of events. The 2016 doc Challenger Disaster – Lost Tapes (DRK, Jan 13, 19:10), meanwhile, provides a thoughtful companion piece.

In a good week for docs, David Bowie: the last five years (SVT1, Jan 13, 22:00) and political expose Weiner (SVT1, Jan 18, 23:05) are recommended, but Barack Obama: Inside his Presidency (DR2, Jan 16-19, 23:00)

and President Trump (DR2, Jan 19, 21:30) might be too depressing for some.

Elsewhere, Football Fight Club (DR3, Jan 19, 22:30) takes us to the dark side of English football; and there’s another chance to see S4 of Boardwalk Empire (SVT1, Jan 13, 23:20), British miniseries The Driver (DR2, Jan 18, 20:00), classic US miniseries The Winds of War (DRK, Jan 23, 20:50) and the Golden Globes (DR3, Jan 14, 22:30). (BH)

DR2, Jan 18, 21:30 or SVT1, Jan 16, 22:30 Homeland

ON PAPER Taboo looks like dynamite. Tom Hardy stars and co-creates, and a great cast includes Jonathan Pryce and Oona Chaplin from Game of Thrones and Michael Kelly (Doug Stamper in House of Cards).

But something isn’t clicking in this HBO drama series set in 19th century London about a returning son trying to solve his father’s

mysterious death. The reviews have been mixed (Metacritic: 68).

“Taboo is utterly ridiculous,” warns Digital Spy. “It’s melodramatic, stagy and desperately unsubtle throughout. But it’s still supremely watchable.”

A mysterious death also drives Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (82) in which Neil Patrick Harris has

taken over from Jim Carrey as the evil-doing Count Olaf in this Netflix series.

“Although it promises tragedy at every turn, this series proves hope can trump hate – at a time we need to hear it as much as our children,“ notes mashable.com.

Safer bets, perhaps, are British series The Halcyon – Downtown Abbey set in a hotel during WWII

ALSO NEW

– and miniseries The Witness of the Prosecution, which is adapted by Sarah Phelps, who previously took on And Then There Were None.

The Guardian was a fan of both, noting of the latter that it doubted “there has ever been more brought by a cast, crew and writer to Agatha Christie”.

LESLIE HAWENER ARDFERN

MAN CITY FC

TOR LINDSTRAND

THANKS for the sunshine, NFL! At the serious end of the season, we’ve got the divisional playoffs and Conference championship games ahead of Super Bowl LI. Vying for top EPL game status are Man City vs Tottenham and Man Utd vs Liverpool. Elsewhere, we’ve got the Men’s Handball World Championship (DR1 & TV2) and the X Games (DR3, from Jan 26). (BH)

board (plus Phil Davis and the late Warren Clarke), there’s little Denmark can object to.

Of course, the character quickly swaps the uniform on his return from the US War of Independence for something with fewer buttons – for obvious reasons – to brood with intensity on Cornwellian cliff-tops about getting his tin mine back.

Turner, a good bet to be the next James Bond, has become one of Britain’s biggest stars. Tune in to watch the first four episodes on Saturday.

BEN HAMILTON

SPORT OF THE WEEK 3+, Jan 15 & 22, 19:00 NFL playoffs & Conference games

K6, Jan 21, 18:30 EPL: Man City vs Tottenham

FILM OF THE WEEK DR3, Jan 15, 21:00 The Paperboy

DR2, Jan 14, 23:00 Parkland

DR1, Jan 20, 22:35 Oblivion

3+, Jan 15, 16:00 EPL: Man Utd vs Liverpool

IF ONLY they’d called it Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy. Despite the success of Precious, a great cast, racial tension and a smouldering Nicole Kidman all over Zac Efron, it’s been criminally ignored. Zac is also in the equally under-rated Parkland, a drama set on the day of JFK’s death in 1963. Elsewhere, Tom Cruise star vehicle Oblivion had no such problems grabbing attention. It’s a cruel world. (BH)

INSTITUT SANKT JOSEPH IS SEEKING A PRIMARY MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE FOR OUR INTERNATIONAL BILINGUAL PROGRAM Institut Sankt Joseph is looking for a highly skilled, experienced primary teacher to join our exciting International Bilingual department. We are looking for a teacher who is professional, committed to excellence and wishes to promote the educational and formational mission of Institut Sankt Joseph.

THE POSITIONS: From 1 February 2017 we are looking for a teacher to lead on the following subjects: • Primary Mathematics and Science following the Cambridge International Curriculum • PE

OUR REQUIREMENTS: • You are a mother-tongue English speaker • You are fluent or almost fluent in Danish (B2-C2 according to the C.E.F.R) • You will be dedicated to the educational and formational mission of Institut Sankt Joseph • You can be a classroom leader and contribute to the dynamic bilingual team • You are able to communicate effectively with parents and students from different educational and cultural backgrounds

EVEN BETTER: • You have experience with bilingual education • You have experience with the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) program • You intend to be in Denmark for the long term • You have a working knowledge of the Danish educational system

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING: As a teacher in our program, you will be required to work in a unique bilingual team, composed of both Native Danish and English speakers. You will report directly to the International Department Head and be involved in the following activities: • lesson planning • teaching • parent teacher conferences • student conferences • evaluation • daily communication with students and parents via the intranet • team meetings • participation in training programs • participation in school committees that promote our formational/ educational mission and team building

MORE ABOUT YOUR PLACE OF WORK: Institut Sankt Joseph is a private Catholic school located in the heart of the Østerbro district of Copenhagen. As of 2016, there are over 700 students, 70 employees; with both the students and staff representing culturally diverse backgrounds. We expect overall well-being and high academic levels to complement each other for both students and employees as we live our formational/educational mission. Our wonderful children come from over 55 different countries, which on a daily basis enliven our school with intercultural learning and international discovery. We see ourselves as a humanistic formation centre grounded in Catholic-humanistic values that are expressed in our school motto: “It is every human beings task to become human.”

HOW TO APPLY: You must have the necessary international and/or Danish teaching credentials, as well as meet the aformentioned credentials to be eligible. All applications should include a cover letter and CV. Please send both applications and CV´s by mail to Thomas Knudsen Mulhern at tkm@sanktjoseph.dk Conditions of employment will be according to the common agreement with the Danish Ministry of Finance and the LC collective bargaining agreement for leaders and teachers in private schools.

DEADLINE FOR APPLYING: 23TH OF JANUARY 2017

Dag Hammarskjoelds Allé 17 2100 København Ø (+45) 35 38 47 35 isj@sanktjoseph.dk

Oplev vores nye Campus i Nordhavn - Kom til Besøgsdag. Tilmeld dig på cis.dk

www.cis.dk

Our students go to

Harvard, Cambridge and Outer Space CIS is an international High School and not just a gymnasium. That, together with our brand new campus, makes us special in Denmark.

We offer our students unique experiences and fantastic opportunities: An IB Diploma from CIS opens the doors to top universities across the globe. Our graduates have been accepted at Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Cambridge, London School of Economics and CBS - to mention a few.

Denmark’s first and only astronaut, Andreas Mogensen, graduated from CIS. We have students and teachers from 80 different countries. Thirty percent of our 2016 graduating class were Danish. And three of our Danish students ranked among the top one percent globally.

Our new facilities on the water include a real restaurant, a fitness center, a dance studio, three indoor sports halls, three music rooms, seven science rooms and a 350 seat theater – all powered by 12,000 solar panels.

It’s no wonder that our new campus has been listed as one of the five most innovative and sustainable new buildings in the world, together with Apple’s new Headquarters in California and Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Nevada.

Oplev vores nye Campus i Nordhavn. Kom til Besøgsdag. Tilmeld dig på cis.dk