In Denmark, Fears Grow Among Syrian Asylum-Seekers As Residence Permits Are Revoked

In Denmark, Fears Grow Among Syrian Asylum-Seekers As Residence Permits Are Revoked

In 2019, Danish authorities issued a report stating that the security situation in some parts of Syria had “improved significantly.” Last year, that report was used as justification to begin reevaluating hundreds of Danish residence permits granted to Syrian refugees from the area around and including the…

Continue reading →

Global Mining Industry Closely Monitors Greenland’s Election

Global Mining Industry Closely Monitors Greenland’s Election

Voters in Greenland go to the polls on Tuesday in a parliamentary election that is dominated with questions about the future of rare earth mining, and greater independence from Denmark. Listen to the story at NPR.org.

Continue reading →

Denmark Orders Mink Population Culled After Coronavirus Mutation

Denmark Orders Mink Population Culled After Coronavirus Mutation

The Danish government had ordered all farmed mink in the country to be killed because the animals can carry a dangerous coronavirus variant. Critics say the government exceeded its legal authority. Listen to the story at NPR.org.

Continue reading →

Facing Eviction, Residents Of Denmark’s ‘Ghettos’ Are Suing The Government

Facing Eviction, Residents Of Denmark’s ‘Ghettos’ Are Suing The Government

Asif Mehmood moved to his neighborhood in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen back in 1994, shortly after immigrating to Denmark from Pakistan. At the time, few ethnic Danes wanted to live there. “A lot of bad things were happening,” he says. Nørrebro has a long history…

Continue reading →

Denmark Reopens Some Schools But Not Everyone Is Pleased

Denmark Reopens Some Schools But Not Everyone Is Pleased

The Danish government’s decision to allow children up to 12 years old to go back to school on Wednesday has split public opinion in the country. Listen to the story at NPR.org.

Continue reading →

Sweden Bans Groups Larger Than 50 In Its First Major Coronavirus Crackdown

Sweden Bans Groups Larger Than 50 In Its First Major Coronavirus Crackdown

Sweden’s prime minister announced Friday that public gatherings of more than 50 people will be banned as of Sunday, with violators subject to fines or even imprisonment. The ban is much tighter than the country’s previous restriction on groups over 500, but looser than limits…

Continue reading →

A Soccer Team in Denmark is Using Facial Recognition to Stop Unruly Fans

A Soccer Team in Denmark is Using Facial Recognition to Stop Unruly Fans

On a cold, sunny October day on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, a group of men dressed in black gathers outside Brondby Stadium to shoot off a couple of rockets, raise their fists and shout about how the home team will soon beat — and…

Continue reading →

Greenland Looks to Seize a Spotlight Moment

Greenland Looks to Seize a Spotlight Moment

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Greenlanders say their island has never received as much attention as it’s currently experiencing following President Trump’s talk about buying the island. The Visit Greenland website even crashed last week. And as Sidsel Overgaard reports, the question now is how Greenland’s 56,000…

Continue reading →

In Denmark’s Election, A Shift to the Left- Unlike Much of Europe

In Denmark’s Election, A Shift to the Left- Unlike Much of Europe

Europe’s once-powerful Social Democratic parties have been losing steam for decades, a trend that continued in the recent European Parliament elections. In Germany, the party’s leader quit after particularly terrible results. But in Denmark, the Social Democrats are holding their own and appear poised to take back the…

Continue reading →

Danish Gamblers Bet on Politics

Danish Gamblers Bet on Politics

Denmark’s very short national campaign season, with an election this spring without a date set, is causing a gambling bonanza for those willing to bet on who will win. DAVID GREENE, HOST: If the U.S. election cycle can feel sometimes like a marathon, in many…

Continue reading →

To Keep African Swine Fever Out, Denmark is Planning a Southern (Boar)der Fence

To Keep African Swine Fever Out, Denmark is Planning a Southern (Boar)der Fence

As U.S. politicians continue to spar over the idea of building a border wall, Denmark is preparing its own controversial southern border-control barrier. The target is wild boars — specifically, wild boars from Germany. But environmentalists warn the planned 5 ft.-high, 40-mile fence will harm…

Continue reading →

Ahead Of Elections, A Swedish City Reflects The Country’s Ambivalence On Immigration

Ahead Of Elections, A Swedish City Reflects The Country’s Ambivalence On Immigration

On Sunday, Swedes will vote in national elections for the first time since a wave of immigration changed the country’s tone of debate. Sweden began opening its doors to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers after the last election, in 2014. Since then, well over 300,000 people…

Continue reading →

Swedes Told How To Prepare For Security Issues Including War

Swedes Told How To Prepare For Security Issues Including War

The Swedish government is issuing a civil defense booklet to about 5 million households. The update of a Cold War-era pamphlet, advises Swedes how to prepare for various disasters and emergencies. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: In a few days, every household in Sweden will get a…

Continue reading →

In Denmark’s Plan To Rid Country Of ‘Ghettos,’ Some Immigrants Hear ‘Go Home’

In Denmark’s Plan To Rid Country Of ‘Ghettos,’ Some Immigrants Hear ‘Go Home’

FULL STORY AT NPR.ORG In a move aimed at ensuring an integrated Denmark without “parallel societies” and to protect “Danishness,” the Danish government recently released a plan to rid the country in the next 12 years of areas it officially calls “ghettos.” In Denmark, the word “ghetto”…

Continue reading →

Denmark’s ‘House Of Memories’ Re-Creates 1950s For Alzheimer’s Patients

Listen to this story at NPR.org A living history museum usually conjures up images of butter churns and anvils. At Den Gamle By (The Old Town) Museum in Aarhus, Denmark, you’ll find all that. But tucked away in one corner of this museum, there’s also…

Continue reading →

Denmark’s ‘Martyr Museum’ Places Socrates And Suicide Bombers Side-By-Side

Listen to this story at NPR.org   Who, exactly, is a martyr? That seemingly simple question is behind a controversial new exhibit by artists in Denmark that’s ignited a fierce debate. Even before the May 26 opening of the exhibit, called the Martyr Museum, critics claimed it endorsed…

Continue reading →

Love Your Sourdough Starter? In Stockholm You Can Hire a Sitter for it.

Ah, Stockholm: the only city in the world (we think) with such a meticulous dedication to artisinal bread that it’s possible to hire a baby sitter for your sourdough starter. Sourdough starter — a fermented mix of flour, water and procreating microorganisms — is the…

Continue reading →

Danes Say Zoo Dissections Fit With Country’s ‘Very Honest’ Parenting

Listen at NPR.org It’s a cold day in Copenhagen, and the brightly colored snowsuits worn by Danish children make it easy to pick them out of a crowd here at the Odense Zoo, on the Danish island of Fyn. There are dozens of kids —…

Continue reading →

AIR: Migrants Enter Denmark, Determined To Reach Sweden

According to European rules, refugees are supposed to seek asylum in the first country they reach. That hasn’t always been possible in the chaos of the past few weeks. Since Sunday, an estimated 3,000 people have crossed the border into Denmark, but most of them…

Continue reading →

BLOG: When Danish Cows See Fresh Spring Pasture, They Jump For Joy

“They’re running a little late,” chides an elderly gentleman, tapping his watch at 12:02 p.m. He’s come to this farm near the Danish city of Ikast, along with about 1,500 others, to celebrate what has become something of a national holiday in Denmark. It’s the…

Continue reading →

AIR: Congenial Arctic Council Displeased By Russia’s Move Into Crimea

Listen to this story at NPR.org STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Ukraine faces so much tension because it’s a kind of frontier state, the frontier between Russia and the West. We report next on another frontier between Russia and the West, the Arctic, the place at the…

Continue reading →

AIR: ABBA’s Waterloo Turns 40

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Eurovision attracts more viewers than the Super Bowl. And yet, a lot of Americans have scarcely heard of it. Probably more people know that B.J. Leiderman does our theme music. Winners of this pan-European song contest generally become one-hit wonders, if even…

Continue reading →

AIR/BLOG: Norway Takes the Lead in Electric Cars

When Jonette Øyen bought her first electric car, it turned heads. “Now nobody turns around!” she says with a laugh. Sometime in April, Norway is expected to become the first country where one in every 100 cars is purely electric. One percent may not sound…

Continue reading →

AIR: Oslo May Be Mad For Winter Games — But Not So Much For Hosting Them

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: Norwegians love winter sports. Their haul of 26 medals in Sochi placed them third behind Russia and the U.S., a disproportionate haul. So you might think people in Oslo would be thrilled that their city is a likely contender to host the…

Continue reading →

BLOG: When is Cinnamon Spice Not So Nice?

Who doesn’t love a Danish pastry? And in Denmark, they like their pastries sprinkled with plenty of cinnamon. But now, Denmark’s bakers are being told that their time-honored recipe for the beloved kanelsnegle — or cinnamon swirl — may be unhealthy and against the law….

Continue reading →

AIR/BLOG: Denmark’s ‘Fix Rooms’ Give Drug Users A Safe Haven

Martin Jensen smokes heroin. In the past, when this gaunt-faced Dane had to hide in elevators and stairwells to feed his addiction, he probably wouldn’t have been so willing to advertise that fact. Back then, his days were spent scouring Copenhagen — mostly the notorious…

Continue reading →

BLOG: Too Cool For (Bike) Helmet Head? Here’s One Swedish Solution

Hey there, hipster. No bike helmet, huh? Well, we all have our excuses. There are the vanity-driven ones that — let’s be honest — explain why the majority of our brain cages sit collecting dust in the dark corners of the garage. Squashed hair, unflattering…

Continue reading →

AIR: As Greenland Seeks Economic Development, Is Uranium The Way?

Karen Hanghøj, a scientist with Denmark’s Geological Survey, points to the southern tip of Greenland on a colorful map hanging in her office. “What you can see here in the southern region here is you have a big pink region,” she says. “And then within…

Continue reading →

BLOG: Pork Politics. Why Some Danes Want Pig Meat Required On Menus

In Denmark, pigs outnumber people 2 to 1. No traditional Danish meal would be complete without something wrapped in, wrapped around, or topped with pork. In 2012, the country exported close to $6 billion in pig meat, a figure that includes “” — which leads…

Continue reading →

CREATIVE NONFICTION: Family Farm

CREATIVE NONFICTION: Family Farm

Let’s begin with the rainbow, even though, in an ideal world, it would probably come at the end: It has been a wet summer, worst in twenty-eight years. Mud and gloom. The old family farm, Fjederholt, empty for most of a decade, grows damper and…

Continue reading →

Page 1 of 2 1 2