Morning Briefing – Wednesday, July 3

The Copenhagen Post’s daily digest of what the Danish press is reporting

Riis knew about doping

As two other top riders have in the past, former professional cyclist Michael Rasmussen has also revealed that Bjarne Riis was well aware that members of his cycle team were using performance-enhancing drugs. Rasmussen, who rode on Riis’s team in 2001 and 2002, has been questioned by the anti-doping authorities after he come forth in January and admitted he had been doping during the majority of his career. – Politiken

More kids living single life

More and more teenagers are dropping the idea of having a girlfriend or boyfriend while in school. Research on teenagers’ free time by the Centre of Youth Studies showed that 40 percent of seventh to ninth graders had a partner in 2000, while that figure has almost halved to 21 percent in 2010. One expert pointed to the emergence of social media as a main culprit. – Berlingske

Ministers to get the axe

According to government sources, several ministers will be ousted after the summer break, including Socialistisk Folkeparti's Villy Søvndal, the foreign minister, and Astrid Krag, the health minister. Krag is expected to go because many of her allies have moved to Socialdemokraterne (S), while Søvndal is expected to be replaced by Nicolai Wammen (S) or Morten Østergaard (Radikale). – Ugebrevet A4

Hospitals hiding their errors

The vast majority of mistakes made in Danish hospitals never see the light of day, according to an evaluation from the patient complaint board Patientombuddet. Since 2004, hospitals have been required to register unintended occurrences of their treatments, but Patientombuddet estimates that just a fraction of cases, between five and 20 percent, are ever reported. – Jyllands-Posten

New light rail misplaced

Copenhagen’s new light rail will miss out on close to 12,000 daily passengers if Metroselskabet's preferred line, which bypasses Denmark’s Technical University (DTU), goes ahead as planned. DTU argued that most students and staff won’t take the light rail because they will have to walk up to one kilometre to get to the station. – Ingeniøren

Maersk’s super ship too big

Maersk's Triple-E container ships, which are the world’s largest, are so big that existing harbours are not equipped to handle them. The massive ships, which are supposed to save Maersk 35 percent in expenses, will have to sail at reduced capacity until the harbours update their loading cranes. – Børsen

Bille in the dog house, again

Danish footballer Nicki Bille has landed himself in hot water again after he uploaded a picture of himself on Twitter in which he is holding an assault rifle. His Norwegian club, Rosenborg, have called him into a meeting to discuss his online shenanigans. Earlier in the season, Bille was berated by his club for ripping off his shirt in anger after being substituted. – Tipsbladet




  • Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    A Wall Street Journal article describes that the US will now begin spying in Greenland. This worries the Danish foreign minister, who wants an explanation from the US’s leading diplomat. Greenlandic politicians think that Trump’s actions increase the sense of insecurity

  • Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    What do King Frederik X, Queen Mary, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Jaime Lannister have in common? No, this isn’t the start of a very specific Shakespeare-meets-HBO fanfiction — it was just Wednesday night in Denmark

  • Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    For many years, most young people in Denmark have preferred upper secondary school (Gymnasium). Approximately 20 percent of a year group chooses a vocational education. Four out of 10 young people drop out of a vocational education. A bunch of millions aims to change that

  • Beloved culture house saved from closure

    Beloved culture house saved from closure

    At the beginning of April, it was reported that Kapelvej 44, a popular community house situated in Nørrebro, was at risk of closing due to a loss of municipality funding

  • Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    With reforms to tighten the rules for foreigners in Denmark without legal residency, and the approval of a reception package for internationals working in the care sector, internationals have been under the spotlight this week. Mette Frederiksen spoke about both reforms yesterday.

  • Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Currently, around 170 people live on “tolerated stay” in Denmark, a status for people who cannot be deported but are denied residency and basic rights. As SOS Racisme draws a concerning picture of their living conditions in departure centers, such as Kærshovedgård, they also suggest it might be time for Denmark to reinvent its policies on deportation

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