Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Wednesday
Thousands of homes get district heating, Vejle suffers flooding after deluge, minister discusses problem of ‘sextortion’ and more news from Denmark on Wednesday.
District heating installed at 40,000 Danish homes
Some 40,000 homeowners in Denmark were lasted year added to district heating networks, news wire Ritzau reports.
During the energy crisis of 2022, the government announced a drive to move as many homes as possible from freestanding boilers to district heating systems, which are largely fuelled by sustainable energy sources.
Some 1.9 million homes in Denmark now have district heating, according to figures frok industry organisation Dansk Fjernvarme.
Vocabulary: fjernvarme – district heating
Vejle suffers flooding after heavy rain falls on drenched ground
Southeast Jutland town Vejle has suffered flooding after two days of heavy rain left the drainage system unable to cope.
January 2024 was one of the wettest months of January or record in Denmark and ground in many areas is already saturated and unable to soak up additional rainfall. Vejle’s location at the mouth of a fjord makes it additionally susceptible to flooding.
People in the town centre took measures to protect their homes and businesses, including by placing sandbags on the ground, while street lighting was switched off. Areas just outside the centre of the town, where the ground is higher, escaped the flooding.
The floodwaters are expected to subside during the day today.
Vocabulary: mættet – saturated
Minister urges boys to report ‘sextortion’ scams
Danish teenagers are reportedly the target of online ‘sextortion’ scams, in which they are tricked into sharing intimate photos or videos of themselves, which are then used to extort them into handing over money.
As many as 1,200 cases were reported last year according to broadcaster DR, but Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the actual figure could be higher.
“We unfortunately are concerned that there is a large hidden number. Many maybe don’t report it to police and just pay the money,” he said.
More reporting can help to uncover the scammers’ methods and thereby crackdown on the problem, he said. Only 11 people were charged in relation to sextortion scams last year despite the high number of reports.
The Danish Nationalt Cyber Crime Center said that many of the scams originate from abroad, including from countries such as Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire where the is a lower level of IT regulation.
Hummelgaard said that Denmark was prepared to work with foreign authorities to catch perpetrators, but also stressed that the best way to fight the scams was to not share personal images or information with other persons online.
Vocabulary: anmeldelser – reports to police
Denmark to get King Frederik X coins by end of 2024
New Danish coins are to be produced this year after the King Frederik X succeeded Queen Margrethe as the country’s regent.
In a statement, the Danish National Bank said it had begun the process of producing new coins which will display King Frederik on the obverse side.
A special design for the reverse of the coin will also be used to mark the royal succession, which took place on January 14th when Queen Margrethe abdicated.
Customarily, the bank mints coins with the regent’s portrait on the obverse of the 10 and 20-krone coins, and the regent’s monogram on the 1, 2 and 5 krone-coins, which all have the same design (with a hole in the middle) but different sizes.
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District heating installed at 40,000 Danish homes
Some 40,000 homeowners in Denmark were lasted year added to district heating networks, news wire Ritzau reports.
During the energy crisis of 2022, the government announced a drive to move as many homes as possible from freestanding boilers to district heating systems, which are largely fuelled by sustainable energy sources.
Some 1.9 million homes in Denmark now have district heating, according to figures frok industry organisation Dansk Fjernvarme.
Vocabulary: fjernvarme – district heating
Vejle suffers flooding after heavy rain falls on drenched ground
Southeast Jutland town Vejle has suffered flooding after two days of heavy rain left the drainage system unable to cope.
January 2024 was one of the wettest months of January or record in Denmark and ground in many areas is already saturated and unable to soak up additional rainfall. Vejle’s location at the mouth of a fjord makes it additionally susceptible to flooding.
People in the town centre took measures to protect their homes and businesses, including by placing sandbags on the ground, while street lighting was switched off. Areas just outside the centre of the town, where the ground is higher, escaped the flooding.
The floodwaters are expected to subside during the day today.
Vocabulary: mættet – saturated
Minister urges boys to report ‘sextortion’ scams
Danish teenagers are reportedly the target of online ‘sextortion’ scams, in which they are tricked into sharing intimate photos or videos of themselves, which are then used to extort them into handing over money.
As many as 1,200 cases were reported last year according to broadcaster DR, but Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the actual figure could be higher.
“We unfortunately are concerned that there is a large hidden number. Many maybe don’t report it to police and just pay the money,” he said.
More reporting can help to uncover the scammers’ methods and thereby crackdown on the problem, he said. Only 11 people were charged in relation to sextortion scams last year despite the high number of reports.
The Danish Nationalt Cyber Crime Center said that many of the scams originate from abroad, including from countries such as Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire where the is a lower level of IT regulation.
Hummelgaard said that Denmark was prepared to work with foreign authorities to catch perpetrators, but also stressed that the best way to fight the scams was to not share personal images or information with other persons online.
Vocabulary: anmeldelser – reports to police
Denmark to get King Frederik X coins by end of 2024
New Danish coins are to be produced this year after the King Frederik X succeeded Queen Margrethe as the country’s regent.
In a statement, the Danish National Bank said it had begun the process of producing new coins which will display King Frederik on the obverse side.
A special design for the reverse of the coin will also be used to mark the royal succession, which took place on January 14th when Queen Margrethe abdicated.
Customarily, the bank mints coins with the regent’s portrait on the obverse of the 10 and 20-krone coins, and the regent’s monogram on the 1, 2 and 5 krone-coins, which all have the same design (with a hole in the middle) but different sizes.
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