Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks 

Denmark’s government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the maximum gestation period at which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first change to Danish abortion law in 50 years. 

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternativet party. 

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said announving the deal. 

Danish vocabulary: abortgrænsen – abortion limit 

Colder weather to return on weekend 

Friday will be the last day in the current spell of 20C temperatures, with colder, rainier weather returning on the weekend.  According to the Denmark’s state forecaster DMI, a cold front will arrive in Denmark on Friday evening, bringing rain, colder temperatures of 7C-12C overnight and local thunderstorms. 

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, temperatures will be between 13C and 18C, with rain in some places, with sunnier weather expected from Tuesday.  

Danish voabulary: en byge – a shower

Vestas, Maersk and Novo Nordisk report results

Novo Nordisk reported soaring profits, Maersk falling ones, and Vestas, the world’s number one wind turbine maker, posted a loss, as Denmark’s biggest companies posted results for the first three months of the year. 

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk reported more soaring profits Thursday on the back of its anti-diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Its net profit reached 25.4 billion kroner ($3.6 billion) in the first quarter, a 28 percent jump from the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

Vestas said on Thursday it had swung to a 75-million-euro ($80-million) loss in the first quarter and warned “geopolitical volatility” would continue to cause uncertainty. Revenue fell 5.2 percent to 2.68 billion euros in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period a year earlier. Its net loss followed a net profit of 16 million euros in the first quarter of 2023. The value of its order backlog reached a record high €61 billion.

Maersk profits plummeted as Yemeni attacks closed off its vital Red Sea route, with the company reporting a net profit of $177 million in the first three months of the year, a 13-fold drop from the same period last year.