Denmark's prime minister slams asylum status for presumed pirate
Denmark's prime minister expressed her indignation Tuesday after a Nigerian who has been found guilty of engaging in an exchange of fire with Danish sailors was granted asylum in the Nordic country.
The affair, which dates to 2021, has been a long-running source of embarrassment for the Danish government.
"I cannot defend this decision," said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whose administration has taken a hard line against migration and asylum requests. "He does not belong here in Denmark."
In November 2021, alleged pirates on a small boat in the Gulf of Guinea opened fire on a Danish naval helicopter on anti-piracy patrol. Four men on the boat were killed in the exchange, a fifth went overboard, and three were arrested before being released at sea.
But another man, who presented himself as being from Nigeria and going by the name "Lucky", wasn't released because his leg had to be amputated on the spot after he was hit. He was later transferred to Denmark for further treatment. He applied for asylum while in a centre waiting to be sent back to Nigeria.
Danish vocabulary: at høre hemme - to belong [somewhere]
Danish short film nominated for an Oscar
The Danish short film "A Knight of Fortune", directed by Lasse Lyskjær Noer, has been nominated for an Oscar, the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Tuesday.
The short film is nominated in the category Best Live-Action Short Film, which includes short films with actors and without animation.
"The mood is completely euphoric right now," Christian Norlyk, the film's producer, told the Ritzau newswire.
Danish vocabulary: at instruere - to direct
Danish government to close infamous market in 2024
Pusher Street, a market in Copenhagen enclave Christiania known for illicit sales of cannabis, is to be permanently closed this year, Denmark’s justice minister said on Tuesday.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told local media TV2 Kosmopol that a permanent closure of the Pusher Street market would be seen through by authorities this year.
“I dare not promise a date right now, but during the next six months we will see this plan take full effect. That means you will see a closure of Pusher Street this year,” Hummelgaard said.
The statement represents the first time Hummelgaard has been close to giving a specific date for closure of the market.
Danish vocabulary: at turde - to dare
Denmark's debt at lowest level in 20 years
Denmark’s national debt has consistently fallen and is now at the lowest level seen in over two decades.
New figures from the central bank, Nationalbanken, which calculates the state debt at the beginning of each year, put the national debt at 294 billion kroner, some 28.6 billion kroner lower than at the beginning of 2023.
The debt is equivalent to around 10.5 percent of Denmark’s GDP and is the lowest level registered since the Nationalbank began tracking it.
“We are at a place where we, a few years ago, probably never imagined we would be and that reflects the healthy state of public finances,” senior economist with the Danish Chamber of Commerce, Kristian Skriver, said to news wire Ritzau.
Danish vocabulary: statsgæld - national debt
Danish wage increases credited for public optimism over economy
A measure for optimism over the economy among consumers in Denmark increased significantly between December and January. Wage increases are now outstripping inflation, an expert noted.
Danish consumers have taken a considerably more optimistic view of the national economic situation, according to a new index released by Statistics Denmark.
The ‘consumer confidence’ indicator, released monthly by the agency, hopped from -13 in December to -8.4 in January.
That is the biggest upwards jump in the metric since April last year and the highest it has been overall since February 2022.
An expert said wage increases, gradually implemented in response to inflation in 2022 and 2023, have now overtaken price increases, giving cause for consumers to feel optimistic.
Danish vocabulary: forbrugerne - consumers
Comments