Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Tuesday

Government apologises for historical abuse of people with disabilities, dead seals found on beach and Denmark improves visitor numbers during rainy summer. Here’s a roundup of the news in Denmark on Tuesday.
Government apologises for decades of abuse of people with disabilities
The Danish government offered an apology Monday to thousands of people with disabilities who were abused in state-run facilities, including with forced sterilisations or sexual assaults, beginning in the 1930s.
From 1933 to 1980, around 15,000 children and adults with disabilities including blindness, epilepsy and physical or mental handicaps were committed to the centres for various periods of time, amid claims of protecting society.
"The state had... an obligation of oversight, and did not sufficiently do its job," social affairs minister Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil told a group of around 50 victims from the period in Jutland city Horsens.
"In the name of the Danish state, in the name of the government: Sorry," she said.
Vocabulary: at blive misbrugt – to be abused (by someone)
Denmark performs well on foreign tourist numbers
Despite two thirds of the summer being a wet and windy affair, a large number tourists visited Denmark during the season, the Business Ministry said in a statement yesterday.
A record number of tourists from abroad came to Denmark this summer, according to the ministry, which said that overnight stays were up by 5 percent from January up to and including July, in comparison with last year.
“The record number of foreign tourists speaks to a trend in which Central and Southern Europeans make their way north for more comfortable summer temperatures,” the ministry said in the statement.
Vocabulary: overnatninger – overnight stays
READ ALSO: How will Denmark be affected by climate change-driven tourism?
Seals die of bird flu in Denmark
Several dead seals have been found in Denmark after succumbing to avian flu, the national infectious disease control agency State Serum Institute (SSI) said.
The seals were discovered at the end of August at Avnø on the southern coast of Zealand, and were reported to experts at the University of Copenhagen.
“It is very unusual, so we went down to Avnø and took samples from the seals to try to clarify the cause of death,” veterinarian Tim K. Jensen of the University of Copenhagen told news wire Ritzau.
Several dead swans were also discovered on the beach, one of which tested positive for H5N1, while the others were not testable. Further testing will now seek to establish whether the same virus killed both the seals and the swans.
Vocabulary: sæler – seals
Homeowners can now check preliminary property tax information
Homeowners can now view their property tax valuations for forthcoming new rules, which take effect in 2024.
The preliminary property tax valuations are scheduled to be released today by the Danish Property Assessment Agency (Vurderingsstyrelsen).
The early tax estimates should provide reassurance to homeowners over next year’s changes in the way property tax is calculated, an expert said yesterday.
Vocabulary: vurderinger – valuations/assessments
READ ALSO:
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Government apologises for decades of abuse of people with disabilities
The Danish government offered an apology Monday to thousands of people with disabilities who were abused in state-run facilities, including with forced sterilisations or sexual assaults, beginning in the 1930s.
From 1933 to 1980, around 15,000 children and adults with disabilities including blindness, epilepsy and physical or mental handicaps were committed to the centres for various periods of time, amid claims of protecting society.
"The state had... an obligation of oversight, and did not sufficiently do its job," social affairs minister Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil told a group of around 50 victims from the period in Jutland city Horsens.
"In the name of the Danish state, in the name of the government: Sorry," she said.
Vocabulary: at blive misbrugt – to be abused (by someone)
Denmark performs well on foreign tourist numbers
Despite two thirds of the summer being a wet and windy affair, a large number tourists visited Denmark during the season, the Business Ministry said in a statement yesterday.
A record number of tourists from abroad came to Denmark this summer, according to the ministry, which said that overnight stays were up by 5 percent from January up to and including July, in comparison with last year.
“The record number of foreign tourists speaks to a trend in which Central and Southern Europeans make their way north for more comfortable summer temperatures,” the ministry said in the statement.
Vocabulary: overnatninger – overnight stays
READ ALSO: How will Denmark be affected by climate change-driven tourism?
Seals die of bird flu in Denmark
Several dead seals have been found in Denmark after succumbing to avian flu, the national infectious disease control agency State Serum Institute (SSI) said.
The seals were discovered at the end of August at Avnø on the southern coast of Zealand, and were reported to experts at the University of Copenhagen.
“It is very unusual, so we went down to Avnø and took samples from the seals to try to clarify the cause of death,” veterinarian Tim K. Jensen of the University of Copenhagen told news wire Ritzau.
Several dead swans were also discovered on the beach, one of which tested positive for H5N1, while the others were not testable. Further testing will now seek to establish whether the same virus killed both the seals and the swans.
Vocabulary: sæler – seals
Homeowners can now check preliminary property tax information
Homeowners can now view their property tax valuations for forthcoming new rules, which take effect in 2024.
The preliminary property tax valuations are scheduled to be released today by the Danish Property Assessment Agency (Vurderingsstyrelsen).
The early tax estimates should provide reassurance to homeowners over next year’s changes in the way property tax is calculated, an expert said yesterday.
Vocabulary: vurderinger – valuations/assessments
READ ALSO:
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