Today in Denmark: a roundup of the news on Friday
Storm Otto to hit at 2pm, hidden Covid cases, Queen remembers Putin's "cold eyes", and Parliament calls hearing on abolition of holiday. Here's some of the main news from Denmark.
Storm Otto to hit Denmark with ‘hurricane’ strength at about 2pm-3pm
Storm Otto is now expected to bring hurricane force winds to North Jutland from 3pm on Friday, before sweeping across Denmark, arriving in Zealand in the evening.
Denmark meteorological agency DMI has issued a Category 2 warning of "dangerous weather" from 3pm to 11pm for North Jutland and Northwest Jutland.
This means that "weather developments may affect your surroundings and disrupt traffic and supply".
In other parts of the country, there is a Category 1 warning of gale force winds, applying all the way from northernmost Zealand to Bornholm.
The emergency services are recommending removing loose objects around the house, such as garden furniture, building materials and trampolines.
Several ferry companies have suspended their services.
Danish vocab: kuling – gales
Wastewater testing points to large number of hidden Covid cases
Data from wastewater testing in Denmark is indicating a 17 percent rise in Covid levels over the past three weeks, a rise that has come at the same time as the number of registered cases has slightly decreased.
Denmark's infectious diseases agency SSI said in its weekly Covid-19 report that this could mean a large amount of undiagnosed cases in the country.
"Since the number of PCR tests is decreasing and the testing activity is at a low level, it may indicate that the increase in the waste water is an expression of a hidden figure in the number of infected," the agency wrote.
Danish vocab: spildevand – wastewater
"I haver never seen such cold eyes": Queen remembers meeting Putin
When Queen Margrethe met the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, back in 2011 and 2014, she did not get a positive impression of him.
"I remember thinking he was not pleasant. I have never seen such cold eyes in my life," she says in a large interview with Weekendavisen newspaper.
In 2011, Queen Margrethe was on a state visit to Russia with Prince Henrik. At the time, Vladimir Putin was Prime Minister and the official host was then President Dmitry Medvedev.
Three years later, she met Putin again in connection with the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings in France during the Second World War.
Danish vocab: kolde øjne – cold eyes
Danish parliament calls public to hearing over Great Prayer Day abolition
The Danish parliament has put out a call for members of the public who want to have a say on the planned abolition of the Great Prayer Day public holiday.
Debate over the plan to scrap the holiday has been a major talking point since it was announced by the coalition government at the end of last year.
Parliament’s website states that its committee for employment (Beskæftigelsesudvalg) is responsible for the hearing, which is open to the public. The date of the hearing will be February 22nd and registration will be required.
“This is a very good tool because it is important to get things in the open before we vote in the parliamentary chamber,” the chairman of the committee, Social Democrat MP Bjarne Laustsen, told news wire Ritzau.
“Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, it’s important that we MPs can hear people about a topic. Then you can weigh things up afterwards,” he said.
Danish vocab: en høring – a hearing
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Storm Otto to hit Denmark with ‘hurricane’ strength at about 2pm-3pm
Storm Otto is now expected to bring hurricane force winds to North Jutland from 3pm on Friday, before sweeping across Denmark, arriving in Zealand in the evening.
Denmark meteorological agency DMI has issued a Category 2 warning of "dangerous weather" from 3pm to 11pm for North Jutland and Northwest Jutland.
This means that "weather developments may affect your surroundings and disrupt traffic and supply".
In other parts of the country, there is a Category 1 warning of gale force winds, applying all the way from northernmost Zealand to Bornholm.
The emergency services are recommending removing loose objects around the house, such as garden furniture, building materials and trampolines.
Several ferry companies have suspended their services.
Danish vocab: kuling – gales
Wastewater testing points to large number of hidden Covid cases
Data from wastewater testing in Denmark is indicating a 17 percent rise in Covid levels over the past three weeks, a rise that has come at the same time as the number of registered cases has slightly decreased.
Denmark's infectious diseases agency SSI said in its weekly Covid-19 report that this could mean a large amount of undiagnosed cases in the country.
"Since the number of PCR tests is decreasing and the testing activity is at a low level, it may indicate that the increase in the waste water is an expression of a hidden figure in the number of infected," the agency wrote.
Danish vocab: spildevand – wastewater
"I haver never seen such cold eyes": Queen remembers meeting Putin
When Queen Margrethe met the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, back in 2011 and 2014, she did not get a positive impression of him.
"I remember thinking he was not pleasant. I have never seen such cold eyes in my life," she says in a large interview with Weekendavisen newspaper.
In 2011, Queen Margrethe was on a state visit to Russia with Prince Henrik. At the time, Vladimir Putin was Prime Minister and the official host was then President Dmitry Medvedev.
Three years later, she met Putin again in connection with the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings in France during the Second World War.
Danish vocab: kolde øjne – cold eyes
Danish parliament calls public to hearing over Great Prayer Day abolition
The Danish parliament has put out a call for members of the public who want to have a say on the planned abolition of the Great Prayer Day public holiday.
Debate over the plan to scrap the holiday has been a major talking point since it was announced by the coalition government at the end of last year.
Parliament’s website states that its committee for employment (Beskæftigelsesudvalg) is responsible for the hearing, which is open to the public. The date of the hearing will be February 22nd and registration will be required.
“This is a very good tool because it is important to get things in the open before we vote in the parliamentary chamber,” the chairman of the committee, Social Democrat MP Bjarne Laustsen, told news wire Ritzau.
“Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, it’s important that we MPs can hear people about a topic. Then you can weigh things up afterwards,” he said.
Danish vocab: en høring – a hearing
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