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December 20th, 2012

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Danske Bank apologises for financial crisis
Eivind Kolding, the head of Denmark’s largest bank has apologised for the Danske Bank’s role in the financial crisis and for the bank's highly criticised New Standards advertising campaign. “One reason for the apology is because we were part of the system that gained too much momentum before the financial crisis. We should have stopped earlier,” Kolding told Politiken newspaper. The advertising campaign included a picture of an Occupy Wall-Street demonstrator and critics said that it reeked of hypocrisy, renaming it ‘New Double Standards’. Danske Bank indicated that it has lost over 10,000 customers since April this year and Kolding admitted that the bank underestimated public sentiment about the financial crisis. – Politiken

Refugees flocking to Denmark
This year the country has seen the highest number of asylum seekers in ten years. During the first eleven months of 2012, 5,521 people sought asylum and 2,279 of them were granted refugee status, according to figures from  Udlændingestyrelsen, the immigration service. The police expect a further 500 to apply in December, resulting in more than 6,000 applicants for this year, compared with only 3,806 applicants last year. One expert pointed to the Arab Spring and other incidents in the Middle East as a reason for the rise. The majority of those seeking asylum hail from Somalia and Syria. There has also been a rise in the numbers of Serbs, Moroccans, Burmese, Nigerians and Russians seeking asylum. – Jyllands-Posten
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Laudrup eyes cup final
Michael Laudrup and Swansea City have only one more obstacle to overcome to make the final of the Capital One Cup; but it's a big one. Only 2007 winners Chelsea stand between Laudrup and his first chance at winning silverware for Swansea City. The first leg of the two games will be played on January 7 or 8, while the return leg takes place a fortnight after. Under the leadership of the Danish legend, Swansea has played some exciting attacking football this season and currently find themselves sitting in the top ten in the English Premier League. –Tipsbladet

Most congested in Denmark
Copenhagen’s Helsingør Motorway has the dubious honour of being the most congested stretch of road in Denmark. During rush hour, motorists travelling on E47 towards the capital often find themselves driving at a snail’s pace in a 10 kilometre queue. The stretch between Kokkedal and Gammel Holte is the worst in Denmark between 7:30 and 8:15 in the morning, according to figures compiled by researchers from Aalborg University using 13 months of GPS data from council vehicles to document road traffic. The data indicated that on half the stretch, cars rarely exceeded speeds of 30 kilometres an hour during rush hour. See the worst congestion in Denmark. – Ingeniøren

Weather
Cloudy with the chance of flurries. Highs around 2 C. Temperatures falling to -3 C overnight. – DMI