Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Monday
Minister opposed to more foreign labour, pigs on motorway cause road closure and Viking fortresses make UNESCO heritage list. Here’s the news from Denmark on Monday.
Minister against easing rules for international labour
The employment minister, Ane Halsboe Jørgensen, is not in favour of easing immigration rules to make it easier for companies to recruit foreign labour, the minister said in an interview with newspaper Politiken.
Businesses and other political parties – including partners in the coalition government – have come out strongly in favour of more foreign labour to address Denmark’s ongoing shortage in many sectors.
READ ALSO: Fear of slack migration rules holds back Denmark on foreign labour: Deputy PM
“As a government we must have an eye on everything. The question I have to ask myself as minister, which individual employers don’t ask themselves is, that if they get those workers, let’s say from an African country, what does that mean for the cohesive force [of society],” she said in the interview.
Young Danes who are currently not engaged on the labour market can instead be drawn upon to help ease the worker shortage, according to the minister.
Vocabulary: fordom – prejudice
Police seize 30 weapons in stop-and-search zones
The stop-and- search zones put in place in Christania and parts of Nørrebro and Nordvest in Copenhagen have so far resulted in the seizure of at least 30 weapons.
The zones, which allow police to search individuals for weapons without any prior justification, are occasionally used in response to escalating gang violence. An ongoing conflict between gangs was connected to the fatal shooting last month of a 30-year-old gang member in Christiania.
Some 23 knives or sharp weapons and 7 other weapons had been confiscated as of Friday, police said.
The zones have been in place since August 28th and are currently set to expire on September 26th.
Vocabulary: stikvåben – sharp object used as weapon
Pigs on motorway halt traffic near Aarhus
Pigs on the carriageway on the E45 motorway near Aarhus early this morning have resulted in a closure of the road in both directions.
The incident occurred between junctions 48 and 49 near the city, when the truck that was transporting the animals was involved in an accident and caught fire. No injuries are initially reported.
“We received an emergency report of a truck fire on the southbound motorway at 3:54am. It is an animal transport and there were pigs in the vehicle which need to be dealt with,” East Jutland duty police officer Peter Hallstrøm told news wire Ritzau.
“There are also loose animals. We have therefore closed the road,” he said.
The motorway is expected to reopen during the morning, but the police cannot yet give an exact time. Motorists are encouraged to use alternative routes.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but it has now been extinguished.
Vocabulary: dyretransport – animal transportation truck/vehicle
Five Viking ring fortresses added to UNESCO world heritage list
UNESCO yesterday said it would add five Viking-age ring fortresses in Denmark to its world heritage list.
The five ring fortresses are located at Aggersborg (Limfjorden, North Jutland), Fyrkat (Hobro, East Jutland), Nonnebakken (Odense), Trelleborg (Slagelse, Zealand) and Borgring (Køge, Zealand).
“These ring fortresses tell the story of Denmark, from the Viking Age and the old Nordic religion to Christianity and Denmark as a unified nation,” Ministr of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt told Ritzau.
“They are priceless cultural heritage and are now internationally recognised as part of world history. I think that is huge for Denmark,” he said.
The five municipalities in which the ring fortresses are located will be able to benefit from increased tourism as a result of the listings, he added.
Vocabulary: ringborg – ring fortress
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Minister against easing rules for international labour
The employment minister, Ane Halsboe Jørgensen, is not in favour of easing immigration rules to make it easier for companies to recruit foreign labour, the minister said in an interview with newspaper Politiken.
Businesses and other political parties – including partners in the coalition government – have come out strongly in favour of more foreign labour to address Denmark’s ongoing shortage in many sectors.
READ ALSO: Fear of slack migration rules holds back Denmark on foreign labour: Deputy PM
“As a government we must have an eye on everything. The question I have to ask myself as minister, which individual employers don’t ask themselves is, that if they get those workers, let’s say from an African country, what does that mean for the cohesive force [of society],” she said in the interview.
Young Danes who are currently not engaged on the labour market can instead be drawn upon to help ease the worker shortage, according to the minister.
Vocabulary: fordom – prejudice
Police seize 30 weapons in stop-and-search zones
The stop-and- search zones put in place in Christania and parts of Nørrebro and Nordvest in Copenhagen have so far resulted in the seizure of at least 30 weapons.
The zones, which allow police to search individuals for weapons without any prior justification, are occasionally used in response to escalating gang violence. An ongoing conflict between gangs was connected to the fatal shooting last month of a 30-year-old gang member in Christiania.
Some 23 knives or sharp weapons and 7 other weapons had been confiscated as of Friday, police said.
The zones have been in place since August 28th and are currently set to expire on September 26th.
Vocabulary: stikvåben – sharp object used as weapon
Pigs on motorway halt traffic near Aarhus
Pigs on the carriageway on the E45 motorway near Aarhus early this morning have resulted in a closure of the road in both directions.
The incident occurred between junctions 48 and 49 near the city, when the truck that was transporting the animals was involved in an accident and caught fire. No injuries are initially reported.
“We received an emergency report of a truck fire on the southbound motorway at 3:54am. It is an animal transport and there were pigs in the vehicle which need to be dealt with,” East Jutland duty police officer Peter Hallstrøm told news wire Ritzau.
“There are also loose animals. We have therefore closed the road,” he said.
The motorway is expected to reopen during the morning, but the police cannot yet give an exact time. Motorists are encouraged to use alternative routes.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but it has now been extinguished.
Vocabulary: dyretransport – animal transportation truck/vehicle
Five Viking ring fortresses added to UNESCO world heritage list
UNESCO yesterday said it would add five Viking-age ring fortresses in Denmark to its world heritage list.
The five ring fortresses are located at Aggersborg (Limfjorden, North Jutland), Fyrkat (Hobro, East Jutland), Nonnebakken (Odense), Trelleborg (Slagelse, Zealand) and Borgring (Køge, Zealand).
“These ring fortresses tell the story of Denmark, from the Viking Age and the old Nordic religion to Christianity and Denmark as a unified nation,” Ministr of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt told Ritzau.
“They are priceless cultural heritage and are now internationally recognised as part of world history. I think that is huge for Denmark,” he said.
The five municipalities in which the ring fortresses are located will be able to benefit from increased tourism as a result of the listings, he added.
Vocabulary: ringborg – ring fortress
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