Denmark launches children’s TV show about man with giant penis

Critics condemn idea of animated series about a man who cannot control his penis, but others have backed it

John Dillermand has an extraordinary penis. So extraordinary, in fact, that it can perform rescue operations, etch murals, hoist a flag and even steal ice-cream from children.

The Danish equivalent of the BBC, DR, has a new animated series aimed at four- to eight-year-olds about John Dillermand, the man with the world’s longest penis who overcomes hardships and challenges with his record-breaking genitals.

Continue reading...

Denmark strengthens rape laws, outlawing sex without explicit consent

Justice minister says: ‘Now it will be clear, that if both parties do no consent to sex, then it’s rape’

Denmark has strengthened its rape laws by criminalising sex without explicit consent.

The new law passed by parliament on Thursday also widened the circumstances that could constitute rape – under the old legislation, prosecutors had to show the rapist had used violence or attacked someone who was unable to resist.

Continue reading...

Decomposing mink in Denmark ‘may have contaminated groundwater’

Nordic country culled 15 million mink after discovering mutated version of coronavirus

Decomposing mink buried in mass graves in Denmark after being culled because of coronavirus fears may have contaminated the groundwater, local radio has reported, as parliament announced a commission to investigate the government’s actions.

Denmark, the world’s largest exporter of mink fur, announced early last month it would cull up to 15 million mink after discovering a mutated version of the virus that could have jeopardised the effectiveness of future vaccines.

Continue reading...

UK urged to follow Denmark in ending North Sea oil and gas exploration

Britain’s credibility as climate champion rests on bold and urgent action, say campaigners

Britain must end all oil and gas extraction in the North Sea as a matter of urgency if it is to maintain its position as a credible climate champion. That was the stark warning issued by green campaigners yesterday in the wake of last week’s decision by Denmark to halt its exploration for new North Sea reserves as part of its commitment to cut carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

The Danish decision is an embarrassment for Boris Johnson who announced last week that Britain would take a lead in the battle against global heating by cutting national carbon emissions by 68% by 2030, a rate faster than any other major economy.

Continue reading...

Denmark to end new oil and gas exploration in North Sea

Decision as part of plan to phase out fossil fuel extraction by 2050 will put pressure on UK

Denmark has brought an immediate end to new oil and gas exploration in the Danish North Sea as part of a plan to phase out fossil fuel extraction by 2050.

On Thursday night the Danish government voted in favour of the plans to cancel the country’s next North Sea oil and gas licensing round, 80 years after it first began exploring its hydrocarbon reserves.

Continue reading...

Denmark could dig up and cremate mink killed in Covid cull

Fears nitrogen and phosphorus could be released in large quantities into soil at grave sites

Denmark’s government is considering exhuming and cremating the remains of millions of culled mink after decaying carcasses started to emerge from a hastily dug grave.

After a mutated version of Covid-19 was found in the animals, the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, announced a cull in early November of the estimated 15-17 million mink in Denmark, the world’s biggest exporter of mink fur.

Continue reading...

Hold the 18-course dinners: Noma’s chef opens up a burger joint

The team behind the feted restaurant found Danes queued around the block for their pandemic pop-up

It is one of the best restaurants in the world, known for its 18-course tasting menus costing north of £300 per person and for spawning a culinary movement based on foraging for ingredients.

Now the two Michelin-starred Copenhagen restaurant Noma, run by feted chef René Redzepi, is preparing to open the doors of a new venture: a burger-and-chips joint.

Continue reading...

Covid-19 mink variants discovered in humans in seven countries

Denmark has already launched a nationwide cull of its farmed mink herd after concerns for vaccine efficacy

Seven countries are now reporting mink-related Sars-CoV-2 mutations in humans, according to new scientific analysis.

The mutations are identified as Covid-19 mink variants as they have repeatedly been found in mink and now in humans as well.

Uncertainty around the implications of the discovery of a Covid-19 mink variant in humans led Denmark, the world’s largest mink fur producer, to launch a nationwide cull earlier this month.

The cull was sparked by research from Denmark’s public health body, the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), which showed that a mink variant called C5 was harder for antibodies to neutralise and posed a potential threat to vaccine efficacy.

Continue reading...

Travel to UK from Denmark to be banned amid worries over Covid in mink

Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, understood to be concerned by new strain

All travel to the UK from Denmark is being banned amid mounting concern over an outbreak in the country of a mutation of coronavirus linked to mink, the Guardian understands.

Downing Street had already taken action to remove Denmark from the travel corridor, forcing arrivals to quarantine for two weeks from Friday at 4am.

Continue reading...

Danish Covid mink cull and future disease fears will kill fur trade, say farmers

Mutation that led to government order fuels debate about future of fur and safety of farms

John Papsø is devastated. You can hear it in his voice over the phone from Jutland. Like every other fur farmer in Denmark, he has 10 days to kill his mink.

“It’s horrible. I’m not even sure it’s dawned on me how grave the consequences will be for us. We are shellshocked. I was up at 4am because I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been pacing up and down the floor, and I’ve cried. It’s a state of shock,” said Papsø, who has more 30,000 mink on his farm.

Continue reading...

Denmark tightens lockdown in north over mink Covid outbreak

Twelve people infected so far with new strain against which vaccines may be ineffective

An outbreak among farmed mink of a mutant form of Covid-19 with the potential to be resistant to future vaccines has led to the Danish government bringing in tougher lockdown measures in parts of the country.

The measures were announced following the discovery of a new strain of the disease in animals bred for fur in the country’s northern regions.

Continue reading...

Denmark announces cull of 15 million mink over Covid mutation fears

Mutated virus infects 12 humans, sparking concerns that effectiveness of future vaccine could be affected

The world’s largest mink producer, Denmark, says it plans to cull more than 15 million of the animals, due to fears that a Covid-19 mutation moving from mink to humans could jeopardise future vaccines.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said 12 people are already infected with the mutated virus and that the mink are now considered a public health risk.

Continue reading...

Submarine killer Peter Madsen recaptured after taking hostage in Denmark jail escape

Madsen, convicted of murdering Kim Wall in 2017, arrested shortly after escaping from Copenhagen jail

A Danish man convicted of torturing and murdering a Swedish journalist has been recaptured after escaping from his suburban jail in Copenhagen by taking a psychologist hostage.

Peter Madsen threatened a prison employee with what appeared to be a homemade explosive device before fleeing from Herstedvester jail, pursued by guards, who alerted a nearby police patrol.

Continue reading...

Police surround and capture submarine murderer Peter Madsen after he escaped jail – video

Peter Madsen, a Danish man convicted of torturing and murdering a Swedish journalist on his homemade submarine, escaped the suburban Copenhagen jail where he is serving a life sentence – but was recaptured nearby on Tuesday. Danish media showed video of Madsen sitting in the grass with his hands behind his back and police at a distance

Continue reading...

Minority of Europeans think US election will be free and fair – poll

Exclusive: majorities in seven countries favour Joe Biden and rate Donald Trump poorly

Fewer than one in 10 Europeans expect next month’s US presidential election to be completely free and fair, and an overwhelming majority say they would like Joe Biden to triumph over Donald Trump.

According to a YouGov tracker survey in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, in only one of these countries – Italy – are more than a tenth of voters confident that the American electoral process will prove irreproachable.

Continue reading...

As Covid cases rise again, how are countries in Europe reacting?

Tighter measures are being imposed, but they vary across the continent

Continue reading...

King’s trophy fish found preserved in centuries-old Danish shipwreck

Two-metre-long sturgeon found in pantry of Danish king’s vessel that sank in 1495

A two-metre-long sturgeon, a species today near extinction, has been found preserved in the pantry of a 500-year-old Danish royal shipwreck in the Baltic Sea.

“During archaeological excavations in 2019, a wooden barrel submerged inside the shipwreck revealed the almost complete and well-preserved remains of a sturgeon fish,” archaeologists from Lund University in Sweden wrote in a recent article in the Journal of Archeological Science.

Continue reading...

Lego reports sales jump after Covid crisis kept families at home

Shoppers globally bought toys online while physical stores were hit by restrictions

Lego, the toy brick company, has enjoyed a lockdown boost to sales as families around the world were forced to spend more time at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Total sales rose by 14% in the first half of 2020 and sales were up by more than 10% in its largest markets – including the Americas, western Europe, Asia Pacific and China – despite the closure of toy shops for months in some countries, including the UK.

Continue reading...

Denmark announces plans to reform sexual violence laws

The government plan to make consent rather violence the basis for determining rape

The Danish government has announced plans to reform sexual violence laws to make consent rather than violence the basis for determining rape.

“We are moving from a system where there had to be coercion and violence for it to be rape, to one where there must be consent,” justice minister, Nick Haekkerup, told a press conference.

Continue reading...

Reopening schools: how different countries are tackling Covid dilemma

As schools in England prepare to reopen, we examine the situation around the world

As schools in England and Wales get set to reopen amid continued controversy over safe conditions, attention has focused on potential evidence of coronavirus transmission in the classroom and on the experiences of other countries.

Research on the ability of children of different ages to catch and transmit the virus is contradictory, and differences in education systems and social conventions make comparisons difficult.

Continue reading...