News in brief
Special brigade a bust | After spending 11 million kroner yearly on the Multinational Standby High Readiness Brigade, the Defence Ministry has told the United Nations it wants to disband the elite fighting group. The brigade was Denmark's brainchild in...
Fat chance | Obese people seeking liposuction operations at the nation's public hospitals are sent to the back of the queue, according to the Gastric Bypass Association. Those referred to private hospitals are normally rejected for the procedure, despite the free choice of hospital and treatment within one month guaranteed by law, the association claims. The guarantee was suspended after the summer's health care strikes, and parliament does not reconvene to address the issue until the fall.
'New' blood | After several months of dwindling public support figures and three of its five MP's departing, the New Alliance party got a shot in the arm this weekend when Lars Seier Christensen, chief executive of Saxo Bank, joined the party. With a million kroner contribution, Christensen will be a major player behind the scenes and says he wants to 'create liberal credibility' in the party.
Europe's finest | Two city establishments have cracked TripAdvisor's top 10 European restaurants list. Double Michelin-starred, Nordic-inspired Noma, which made Restaurant Magazine's World's Top 10 list earlier this year, was an obvious choice for the prestigious list. French-Danish trendy spot Formel B, also boasting a Michelin star, was the other Danish member on the list. TripAdvisor's website is visited by more than 25 million net surfers each month.
Mary effect | Australia's imports of Danish goods is directly connected to Crown Princess Mary's roots Down Under, according to the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). Figures from Statistics Denmark show a sharp increase in Danish exports to Australia since 2003, the year Queen Margrethe gave her official approval for her son Frederik and Mary to wed. 'Australia's interest in Denmark has risen greatly over the past few years, unquestionably due to the royal relationship,' said DI's chief economist, Klaus Rasmussen. Last year, Danish exports to Australia totalled 555 million kroner.