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December 18th, 2012

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Majority support PET terrorist assassinations
Over half of Danes believe that it is acceptable that domestic intelligence agency PET can assist in the tracking and elimination of terrorists, according to a new survey. The survey, completed by Rambøll/Analyse Danmark for Jyllands-Posten newspaper, indicated that 55.5 percent of the 987 people asked agreed that it was acceptable for PET to take part in such operations, while 32.8 percent disagreed. Broken down into political affiliations, only 41.5 percent of voters who support the current government and its allies agreed, while 70.5 percent of voters who support the opposition agreed. The survey, which was conducted between December 10 and 13, follows in the wake of revelations by former civilian PET agent Morten Storm, who claims that the agency took part in the CIA’s 2011 killing of al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki. – Jyllands-Posten

Matas drops bonus scheme
Matas, the nation’s largest pharmaceutical and cosmetics chain, has immediately ceased awarding its customers bonus points after being rebuked by the national board of health. Sundhedsstyrelsen ruled that the practice of attracting customers by awarding them bonus points for purchasing medicinal products is a direct violation of advertising laws. The board also contends that the bonus system is a dangerous approach to medicine. Started in 2010, the Club Matas scheme allowed customers to accumulate bonus points for every medicinal product purchase for later use on exclusive events, arrangements and competitions. Matas explained that it had misinterpreted the rules and believed that it was permitted to offer customers awards for their business. – Politiken

Electrical car sales struggling for a better place
Drastically low electric car sales in Denmark mean that the goal of having 400,000 electric cars on Danish highways by 2020 is looking increasingly unrealistic. Only 173 of the most-hyped electric car in Denmark, the Renault Fluence ZE, have been sold so far in 2012. Adding that total to the 89 Peugeot Ions and 81 Citroen C-Zeros means that leading electric car operators in Denmark, Better Place, could be in financial trouble next year, despite taking a 225 million kroner loan from the European Investment Bank in August. Electric car sales are also struggling on the global stage. In France, Germany and Great Britain, there was a small increase in electric car purchases, but sales in China and Japan fell considerably. – Berlingske

Swimmers impress in Istanbul
Danish swimmers have won ten medals at the short-course World Swimming Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, far surpassing pre-tournament goals and giving departing coach Paulus Wildeboer a fitting sendoff. Jeanette Ottesen Gray, Rikke Møller Pedersen and Mads Glæsner all won two individual medals, while Lotte Friis and Mie Ø Nielsen both won one each. Denmark also won the women’s 4×100 metre medley and finished third in the 4×100 metre freestyle. The sporting director of the Danish Swimming Team, Mikkel von Seelen, had predicted that Denmark would win two medals, but raised that prediction to six after swimmers won two medals early on. – BT

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Cloudy with a little rain or snow. Highs around 3 C. Overnight lows falling to 0 C.