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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Wednesday

Denmark through in Euros but face daunting last-16 task, Copenhagen to close some forest kindergartens but save others, Wegovy approved in China and more Danish news on Wednesday.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Wednesday
Danish fans in Aarhus watch the nervewracking game against Serbia. Photo: Mikkel Berg Pedersen/Ritzau Scanpix

‘Everything is possible’: Denmark unawed by Euros hosts Germany in last-16

Denmark defender Jannik Vestergaard backed his underdog side ahead of Saturday’s last-16 meeting with Euro 2024 hosts Germany, saying “everything is possible”.

Denmark drew 0-0 with Serbia in Munich on Tuesday but qualified second in the group after the parallel England-Slovenia Group C match finished with the same scoreline.

As a result, Denmark — who reached the semi-finals of the most recent Euros — will face hosts Germany in Dortmund on Saturday.

“Everything is possible,” Vestergaard told MagentaTV after the game.

“The Germans are a strong team. We need a really strong performance and to stop Germany from showing their best form.”

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand called Germany “one of the favourites” for the tournament but said he “had a good feeling about the game”.

“Playing against Germany (in Dortmund) with the Danish team, it couldn’t be better. It’s a great team but we’re a great team as well and when we play the big nations, we always step up,” said the 52-year-old.

Vocabulary: en god fornemmelse – a good feeling

Copenhagen Municipality makes decision on kindergarten cutbacks

A City Council (Borgerrepræsentation) meeting at Copenhagen Municipality yesterday resulted in 14 of 33 kindergartens being spared after they had earlier been earmarked for closure.

Eight of the kindergartens will be closed, the council decided, with the fate of the remaining 11 either undecided or coming down to a partial closure.

The decision was announced in a statement by the municipality after the Council meeting, the top level of decision-making procedure in the city government. The issue was sent to the Council after it failed to pass the lower committee stage, partly due to campaigns by parents against the closures during the hearing stage.

The closures are necessary to cut costs due to a declining number of children living in the capital, the municipality has said.

READ ALSO: Copenhagen forest kindergartens get delay on closure decision

Among the affected kindergartens and creches are several ‘forest kindergartens’, where children spend their entire day outside, including during winter. The concept has past been the focus of international media and praised for its potential learning and developmental benefits.

You can see the list of affected childcare institutions on the municipal statement and we’ll have a separate article with more detail on our website later today.

Vocabulary: daginstitution – daycare/childcare, including creche and kindergarten

Novo Nordisk says weight-loss drug Wegovy approved in China

Novo Nordisk’s flagship weight-loss drug Wegovy has been approved for use in China, the Danish pharmaceutical giant said.

The company — Europe’s largest by market capitalisation — confirmed to news agency AFP on Tuesday that Beijing had given the green light for the breakthrough treatment in people who are overweight or obese with at least one weight-related comorbidity.

It was not clear when Wegovy would be formally launched in China, where Novo Nordisk’s sales rose by 11 percent last year at constant exchange rates.

Its patent in the world’s second-most populous nation expires in 2026.

Based on the semaglutide molecule, Wegovy is seen as spearheading a revolution in the treatment of obesity, a major cause of ill-health across the developed world.

In the United States — the group’s largest such market — Wegovy has also been approved to treat heart disease in adults who are overweight or obese.

Vocabulary: godkendt – approved

One in four stocked up with ‘crisis’ water and food

A significant proportion of the Danish population has followed official advice to ensure they have enough supplies at home to get by for three days in the event of a crisis.

Around a quarter of households have stocked three days’ supplies of water after advice was issued by authorities earlier this month to keep stores in case of a crisis.

A survey for newswire Ritzau by the Voxmeter institute found that around a quarter have already followed the guidelines. Over 1,000 people answered the survey, which was conducted between 6 and 9 days after the announcement.

Some 26 percent said they have sufficient stocks of both food and water, while 72 percent said they did not in the survey conducted between June 21st-24th.

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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Friday

Thousands of lightning strikes, shocking figure for child poverty in Copenhagen, Danish rider returns for Tour de France and more news from Denmark this Friday.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Friday

31,000 lightning strikes registered in Jutland

Thunderstorms across southern and western Jutland night brought over 31,000 lightning strikes in the region, broadcaster DR reports.

Residents in the area also report hailstones that, in a least one case, we big enough to rip through terrace roofing.

The storms signal the end of the hot weather spell this week, with more moderate temperatures forecast this weekend.

Vocabulary: lynnedslag – lightning strike

5,000 children ‘live in poverty’ in Copenhagen

As many as 5,000 children in Copenhagen live in poverty according to a new review from the city’s municipal Finance Committee (Økonomiudvalg).

Around half of the children live in the Brønshøj-Husum, Bispebjerg and Nørrebro districts. The number represents around five percent of the total number of children who live in the city.

More should be done to support charities that fight child poverty, Karina Vestergård Madsen, an elected municipal councillor said.

“What we need focus on is support for organisations in civil society like Save the Children and Mødrehjælpen who can give them some good experiences which they can’t afford,” she said to DR.

Vocabulary: fattigdom – poverty

Road-rusty Vingegaard set for Tour de France duel with rival Pogačar 

Two-time Danish Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard faces a serious challenge in the form of longstanding rival Tadej Pogačar when the tour sets off from the Italian city of Florence on Saturday.

Team Visma’s Vingegaard hasn’t raced since suffering multiple fractures in a fall in March but recently declared himself fit for the Tour, the biggest event in cycling.

Vingegaard’s fall offers Slovenia’s Pogačar a chance at revenge for the brutal manner in which the Dane crushed him on two Alpine stages late in the 2023 edition.

“I’ve tested my legs a little and to be honest, I’ve never felt so good on a bike,” Pogačar, a back-to-back winner in 2020 and 2021, told news agency AFP.

“Everyone thinks that I’m going to win the Tour every year, but I didn’t win the last two times,” he said.

Vocabulary: et styrt – a fall/crash (on a bike)

Blaze at Tax Ministry put out by firefighters

A fire at Denmark’s Tax Ministry yesterday was swiftly extinguished after the building was evacuated.

A fire broke out on during the morning on the roof of the building in central Copenhagen which houses Denmark’s Tax Ministry as well as some residential flats.

The building is located very close to the Old Stock Exchange (Børsen), which suffered a devastating fire earlier this year. The Tax Ministry building is a modern building, unlike the historic Børsen, and is on the opposite side of Copenhagen Harbour on Nicolai Eigtveds Gade.

READ ALSO: Why have there been so many fires in Copenhagen this year?

Vocabulary: den modsatte side – the opposite side

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