The Week That Was, April 8th-14th 2024:
Politics/Economy:
The Tax Agency (SKAT) refused to provide information about why it employs 23 AI systems to monitor taxpayers - according to Politiken, SKAT and Udbetaling Danmark, which administrates social welfare payouts, employ geolocation data to check if people are cheating - Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus confirmed that SKAT doesn’t collect personal data from Google or Facebook for its tax collecting data.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard warned of a ‘Swedish-like’ civil war in this country unless there’s a crackdown on gang-related crime, after announcing the government is looking at ways to legally dissolve the notorious biker gang ‘Bandidos’.
‘Spy boss’ Lars Findsen was awarded DKK 211,850 ($30,700) in compensation for being kept under surveillance for more than a year and then imprisoned for 71 days in the long-running espionage affair.
The Ministry of State tabled three parliamentary resolutions that would increase spending on the monarchy from the present DKK126.5m ($18.2m) to DKK143.8m ($20.7m) - Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the aim is to ‘support a modern and future-proofed royal family.’
In a new Voxmeter poll for Ritzau News, 53.2% of respondents said they agree with the government that women should be conscripted, while 41.6% of female voters are opposed.
Inflation is slowly creeping up again after declining throughout 2023 - the consumer price index rose 0.9 percent year-over-year in March, following a 0.8 percent increase in February.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
In an interview with TV2, Hamas leader and spokesman Osama Hamdan denied any responsibility for the October 7th terror attack on Israel and made it very clear to TV2’s Middle East correspondent Rasmus Tantholdt that he still believes the slaughter of 1,200 people in October was ‘justified’. The government announced an emergency DKK100m donation to Gaza and the West Bank to help ease the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis.
A joint investigation by tabloid daily Ekstra Bladet and research centre Danwatch found that Danish Air Force planes may have been flying on Russian fuel, in violation of sanctions - almost 2 million litres of jet fuel purchased for fighter and transport planes was potentially of Russian origin but officially purchased from intermediaries such as Istanbul Airport, the Turkish military, and BP Oil.
The government signalled a change in policy by imposing an ‘extremely restrictive approach’ when exporting military equipment to Israel.
Denmark and five other European countries - Belgium, Britain, Germany, Norway and the Netherland - signed an agreement to work together to protect underwater infrastructure, including from possible Russian attacks.
Denmark is giving Ukraine an extra DKK40m ($5.8m) to help repair its bombed-out energy supply.
The EU parliament passed stricter migration rules in a wide-reaching asylum reform bill but Denmark isn’t legally required to join due to its opt-out on justice and home affairs.
Denmark suffered legal setbacks in two deportation cases at the European Court of Human Rights, with rulings against the state for violating individuals' rights to privacy and family life.
Social Affairs:
Pro-Palestine demonstrators disrupted an EU quiz in Copenhagen hosted by Moderates leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen - the Foreign Minister attempted to engage with the small group who shouted ‘boycott Israel’ and ‘ceasefire now’ before they were forcibly removed.
Lawmakers condemned Muslim leaders who boycotted a Ramadan dinner in Copenhagen because they didn’t want to be seen with Denmark’s chief rabbi, Jair Melchior.
The government put forward a bill that would allow the authorities to forcibly remove the children of gang members, following a new report showing eight criminal families have cost the Odense local authority DKK 227m ($33m) since 2009.
Denmark is facing a renewed threat from a surge in the number of convicted terrorists who will soon be released from prison, a new report warned.
The latest figures from Statistics Denmark showed that for the first time in many years ‘non-western’ immigrant women are having fewer children than ethnic Danes.
The Bjelkegruppen, set up the government four years ago to monitor the terror threat, warned that Denmark is facing a renewed threat from a surge in the number of convicted terrorists who will soon be released from prison.
A new Megafon poll for TV showed a majority of the electorate wants to see more demands placed on the royal family for the extra DKK17.3m they will receive this year.
Residents, locals, and tourists helped to dig up Pusher Street in the ‘Free Town’ of Christiania in a move to free the area of organised crime.
A growing number of cafes, restaurants and fast-food outlets are boycotting Coca-Cola because of its close affiliation with Israel - 28 businesses in the capital region have dropped the global soft drink, the majority located in the immigrant-dominated inner-city district of Nørrebro.
Business:
Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 1.6% month-on-month in February, reversing a 3.1% fall in January.
Arbejdernes Landsbank, Denmark’s 6th-largest bank, predicted the economy will grow by 3% GDP growth in 2024, more than twice the 1.4% it forecast in Autumn.
Two million passengers travelled with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) in March, a 5 percent increase compared with the same month last year – the airline was fined DKK250,000 ($36,000) for violating the rules during the coronavirus pandemic.
A Danish business executive in the U.S. who was fired following allegations of sex slavery launched a DKK278m ($40m) countersuit against his accuser - 45-year-old Christian Lanng, the co-founder and former CEO of San Francisco-based tech company Tradeshift, was fired last December after his assistant claimed that he subjected her to years of 'unwanted sexual horror.'
And That Was The Week That Was, April 8th - 14th 2024: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).
The Tax Agency (SKAT) refused to provide information about why it employs 23 AI systems to monitor taxpayers - according to Politiken, SKAT and Udbetaling Danmark, which administrates social welfare payouts, employ geolocation data to check if people are cheating - Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus confirmed that SKAT doesn’t collect personal data from Google or Facebook for its tax collecting data.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard warned of a ‘Swedish-like’ civil war in this country unless there’s a crackdown on gang-related crime, after announcing the government is looking at ways to legally dissolve the notorious biker gang ‘Bandidos’.
‘Spy boss’ Lars Findsen was awarded DKK 211,850 ($30,700) in compensation for being kept under surveillance for more than a year and then imprisoned for 71 days in the long-running espionage affair.
The Ministry of State tabled three parliamentary resolutions that would increase spending on the monarchy from the present DKK126.5m ($18.2m) to DKK143.8m ($20.7m) - Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the aim is to ‘support a modern and future-proofed royal family.’
In a new Voxmeter poll for Ritzau News, 53.2% of respondents said they agree with the government that women should be conscripted, while 41.6% of female voters are opposed.
Inflation is slowly creeping up again after declining throughout 2023 - the consumer price index rose 0.9 percent year-over-year in March, following a 0.8 percent increase in February.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
In an interview with TV2, Hamas leader and spokesman Osama Hamdan denied any responsibility for the October 7th terror attack on Israel and made it very clear to TV2’s Middle East correspondent Rasmus Tantholdt that he still believes the slaughter of 1,200 people in October was ‘justified’. The government announced an emergency DKK100m donation to Gaza and the West Bank to help ease the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis.
A joint investigation by tabloid daily Ekstra Bladet and research centre Danwatch found that Danish Air Force planes may have been flying on Russian fuel, in violation of sanctions - almost 2 million litres of jet fuel purchased for fighter and transport planes was potentially of Russian origin but officially purchased from intermediaries such as Istanbul Airport, the Turkish military, and BP Oil.
The government signalled a change in policy by imposing an ‘extremely restrictive approach’ when exporting military equipment to Israel.
Denmark and five other European countries - Belgium, Britain, Germany, Norway and the Netherland - signed an agreement to work together to protect underwater infrastructure, including from possible Russian attacks.
Denmark is giving Ukraine an extra DKK40m ($5.8m) to help repair its bombed-out energy supply.
The EU parliament passed stricter migration rules in a wide-reaching asylum reform bill but Denmark isn’t legally required to join due to its opt-out on justice and home affairs.
Denmark suffered legal setbacks in two deportation cases at the European Court of Human Rights, with rulings against the state for violating individuals' rights to privacy and family life.
Social Affairs:
Pro-Palestine demonstrators disrupted an EU quiz in Copenhagen hosted by Moderates leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen - the Foreign Minister attempted to engage with the small group who shouted ‘boycott Israel’ and ‘ceasefire now’ before they were forcibly removed.
Lawmakers condemned Muslim leaders who boycotted a Ramadan dinner in Copenhagen because they didn’t want to be seen with Denmark’s chief rabbi, Jair Melchior.
The government put forward a bill that would allow the authorities to forcibly remove the children of gang members, following a new report showing eight criminal families have cost the Odense local authority DKK 227m ($33m) since 2009.
Denmark is facing a renewed threat from a surge in the number of convicted terrorists who will soon be released from prison, a new report warned.
The latest figures from Statistics Denmark showed that for the first time in many years ‘non-western’ immigrant women are having fewer children than ethnic Danes.
The Bjelkegruppen, set up the government four years ago to monitor the terror threat, warned that Denmark is facing a renewed threat from a surge in the number of convicted terrorists who will soon be released from prison.
A new Megafon poll for TV showed a majority of the electorate wants to see more demands placed on the royal family for the extra DKK17.3m they will receive this year.
Residents, locals, and tourists helped to dig up Pusher Street in the ‘Free Town’ of Christiania in a move to free the area of organised crime.
A growing number of cafes, restaurants and fast-food outlets are boycotting Coca-Cola because of its close affiliation with Israel - 28 businesses in the capital region have dropped the global soft drink, the majority located in the immigrant-dominated inner-city district of Nørrebro.
Business:
Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 1.6% month-on-month in February, reversing a 3.1% fall in January.
Arbejdernes Landsbank, Denmark’s 6th-largest bank, predicted the economy will grow by 3% GDP growth in 2024, more than twice the 1.4% it forecast in Autumn.
Two million passengers travelled with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) in March, a 5 percent increase compared with the same month last year – the airline was fined DKK250,000 ($36,000) for violating the rules during the coronavirus pandemic.
A Danish business executive in the U.S. who was fired following allegations of sex slavery launched a DKK278m ($40m) countersuit against his accuser - 45-year-old Christian Lanng, the co-founder and former CEO of San Francisco-based tech company Tradeshift, was fired last December after his assistant claimed that he subjected her to years of 'unwanted sexual horror.'
And That Was The Week That Was, April 8th - 14th 2024: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).
Danish Krone Exchange Rate