Posts Tagged ‘Copenhagen’
Written by admin on 04 November 2011
Copenhagen, Nov 4 (IANS) The chief of NATO Friday dismissed suggestions that the military alliance would intervene to stop the conflict in Syria.
‘I understand the question, but Libya and Syria are two very different things,’ said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in response to journalists’ questions over why NATO does not intervene in Syria given its operation in Libya, which ended Monday, reported Xinhua.
‘We said ‘yes’ to and undertook responsibility for the operation in Libya because firstly, there was a clear UN mandate to protect the civilian population against attack, secondly because we got active support from countries in the region,’ he added.
NATO received a UN mandate to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and protect its civilians as well as the backing from the Arab League, but has not received any such approval in Syria’s case, Rasmussen explained.
‘Neither of these conditions exist when it comes to Syria. But having said that, I would like to condemn in the strongest possible terms the Syrian security forces’ behaviour and their attacks on the civil population,’ he said.
Syria has witnessed massive anti-government protests across the country since mid-March and a subsequent crackdown by its armed forces.
Rasmussen went on to say that there is ‘only one way forward in Syria’ and that was to respect the population’s wishes on freedom and democracy.
He added that the case of Libya — where erstwhile leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled by an opposition revolt along with NATO air strikes — sends a ‘clear signal to the world’s dictators.’
Rasmussen, who previously served as Denmark’s prime minister from 2001-2009, was in Denmark during his tour to meet leaders of NATO member countries.
Here he met Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt for the first time since she was elected to the post in mid-September. The two leaders discussed NATO’s missions in Libya and Afghanistan and the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago in May 2012.
Denmark has actively contributed to NATO missions in recent years, including sending six F-16 fighter jets and personnel to the Libya mission. It continues to contribute to the NATO military action in Afghanistan and to a NATO-led anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.
Tags: Copenhagen
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Written by admin on 01 November 2011
Copenhagen, Nov 1 (IANS) Denmark’s national soccer coach will retain his job until the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Danish Football Association (DFA) said.
The DFA said at a press conference that it extended coach Morten Olsen’s contract by another two years so that it includes the final round of the World Cup in Brazil.
Olsen, who has been national coach for over 11 years, had planned to retire after his current contract expired in 2012.
In fact, the association had been on the look out for a replacement for Olsen even as it negotiated an extension of his contract.
But the team’s good progress over the past one year made him change his mind.
‘When players tap you on the shoulder and ask you to continue, you need to consider doing that,’ said Olsen.
Olsen replaced Bo Johansson of Sweden as national coach in July 2000 and has since helped Denmark to 64 victories and 32 draws in a total of 123 matches.
He coached the national soccer team to qualifications at the World Cup in Japan/South Korea in 2002 and again in South Africa last year.
Under his watch, the team qualified for the UEFA Championship in Portugal in 2004, when it reached the quarterfinal round.
The team has also qualified for the Championship’s next edition in Poland/Ukraine in 2012.
Tags: Copenhagen
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Written by admin on 28 October 2011
Copenhagen, Oct 28 (IANS) Denmark will deploy a surveillance aircraft off Somalia’s coast in a bid to tackle piracy in the region, the government said Friday.
From January 2012, a Challenger surveillance aircraft will assist in aerial patrols for an initial two-month period as part of a NATO coalition force operating against pirates in the Gulf of Aden, Xinhua reported.
‘Other countries have aircraft there, but it is a gigantic nautical area,’ said Defence Minister Nick Haekkerup.
‘Therefore it is important to know where to place the (coalition’s) ships,’ he added, explaining the need for deploying surveillance aircraft.
The decision to deploy the aircraft was confirmed at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Danish Parliament Friday.
Meanwhile, the Danish frigate Absalon is sailing again to the waters off the Horn of Africa with a crew of 150 to strengthen the NATO mission known as Operation Ocean Shield, Danish news agency Ritzau said.
The Absalon has already seen action in the region and its tour of duty has now been extended by six months. Its arrival means there will be four international ships operating under Ocean Shield as of Nov 1.
With the latest developments, the total number of Danish military personnel deployed in the Gulf of Aden operations will rise to 190, Ritzau said, marking a sharp increase in Danish counter-piracy initiatives.
Ocean Shield has operated since 2008, and been involved in several actions against pirates. But captured pirates are often released for lack of sufficient grounds for prosecution.
Without a functional government since 1991, Somalia has become a home for pirates who have launched numerous attacks on commercial shipping off its coast. They are believed to make millions of dollars by capturing and ransoming both commercial and private ships and crews.
Tags: Copenhagen
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Written by admin on 12 October 2011
Copenhagen, Oct 12 (IANS) The Danish football team qualified for the 2012 European Championship Finals with a convincing 2-1 victory over visiting Portugal.
The first goal was scored by Danish Michael Krohn-Dehli after 13 minutes of play in the first half.
After a tense game through the first half and some chances the Portuguese squandered, the hosts increased their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Nicklas Bendtner in the second half, leaving the Portuguese team desperate and vulnerable to further attacks, Xinhua reported.
A last minute scoring by Portugal increased the tension, but the Danish victory was inevitable in front of over 37,000 cheering spectators at the soccer field, Parken stadium here Tuesday.
‘We had a great game, we all believed that we could win — and that is what we did. It was like a dream to play this game in front of our Danish fans,’ said Bendtner.
According to game statistics, the first half of the game was played in a surprising way as the Danes took over the traditional Portuguese style with fast shifts and high defences, while the first goal put pressure on the Portuguese team, making their defences fall apart.
Tags: Copenhagen, Netherlands
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Written by admin on 10 August 2011
Copenhagen, Aug 10 (IANS) Two remaining Libyan diplomats serving in Denmark would be sent home within the next five days, the Danish foreign minister has said.
‘The two remaining diplomats are declared persona non grata,’ Lene Espersen was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The two diplomats are Vice Consul Saleh Omar Abu Rwesha and Economic Affairs Attache Khaled Mansour Salem el-Asfar.
They received their marching orders at a meeting of Denmark’s foreign ministry’s protocol division Monday night, Espersen said.
Denmark initially hoped the two diplomats would switch loyalties to the Transitional National Council, which Denmark recognises as the legitimate authority in Libya.
Denmark expelled in May Libya’s Consul General Muner Eldawani who openly declared his loyalty to Muammar Gaddafi.
But the two other diplomats were allowed to stay, since they did not make any public statements about where their allegiance lies.
‘They have decided to remain as diplomats chosen by Gaddafi. Therefore, we have decided to say that they must leave the country,’ Espersen said.
Tags: Copenhagen, Netherlands
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Written by admin on 20 July 2011
Copenhagen, July 20 (IANS) A Danish city is experimenting on turning household garbage and waste water into biofuel that can power homes and public transport, Xinhua reported.
‘Our goal is to change the management of wastewater and household rubbish from a costly problem into a valuable resource for local energy production,’ said Thomas Banke, mayor of Fredericia city on Denmark’s Jutland peninsula.
‘Rubbish will be turned into gas, which will be sold and become an asset for the (city) council’s budget,’ he said.
If the plan succeeds, Fredericia would become the first city in Denmark to turn its waste into a storable and portable biofuel that can eventually be used to run city buses and provide heat for homes.
The venture is a public-private initiative based on a new bio-refining process called REnescience. It was developed by Danish utilities company Dong Energy and enzyme maker Novozymes.
The process involves spinning and heating household rubbish and wastewater in a cylindrical tank, while enzymes that digest the organic components in the mixture are added, Dong Energy said on its website.
After 12 to 20 hours, a brown, combustible biofuel is left over, which can be then refined to produce biogas and bioethanol, heat and electricity.
About 800 kg of waste per hour could be treated and turned into biogas.
Any non-organic waste in the mixture, such as plastic, metal and glass, that are not digested by the enzymes, can be separated from the biofuel and recycled.
Tags: Copenhagen, Netherlands
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