Red light for card fee: International payment processing firm Teller has decided to withdraw a 7.50 kroner transaction fee for using the magnetic strip on a bank card after it surfaced that customers would be footing the bill. The fee, implemented in an attempt to nudge retailers into ensuring that bank cards are read using the more secure, embedded microchip, was scrapped after it became apparent that retailers would pass the fee on to consumers, according to Teller. The company says it will now work with businesses to come up with ways to encourage retailers to reduce the number of swiped bank card payments.
Yellow flag in Afghanistan: Intelligence experts are predicting that Afghanistan will be plunged into a period of instability once the NATO-led security force operating there withdraws in 2014. Although Denmark and other countries with troops in Afghanistan have successfully reduced the Taleban’s military capability, defence intelligence agency FE warns of a resurgence by the group. According to FE’s 2012 national security threat assessment, despite the setbacks, the resolve of insurgent groups remain intact. Denmark has lost 42 soldiers in Afghanistan since 2002, and the analysis led to critics of Denmark’s involvement in Afghanistan suggesting that the effort had been in vain.
Green badge of efficiency: Owners of electric vehicles and other energy-efficient cars should bear a green number plate, according to MP Rasmus Prehn (Socialdemokraterne). Prehn suggested that the green plates would stimulate the sale of energy-efficient vehicles by making people more aware they were on the road. “If you’re sitting in a car and you see someone ahead of you with a green number plate, you’d know it was an electric car,” he told the press this week. Recognising that the light-hearted approach might not be enough to affect sales, Prehn also suggested a 50 percent reduction in car taxes on electric cars purchased as company cars.
Good-bye facial friend:Copenhagen Post journalist Ray Weaver shaves off his moustache (note, no shaving foam) on Wednesday in preparation for Movember. Ray and other members of The Copenhagen Post staff will be participating in the annual charity moustache growing month.
CPH Post Word of the Week: Skideballe (noun) – a scolding Where you heard it: In stories about the Odense headteacher who received an official warning for using racially charged language when reprimanding a group of unruly students.
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