Netherlands and Denmark to Donate Up To 61 F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine

THE GUARDIAN: Danish PM says country will provide 19 in stages when pilot training is completed as Dutch counterpart pledges up to 42 planes

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Mark Rutte give a press conference on Sunday at Eindhoven airbase in the Netherlands. Photograph: Rob Engelaar/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
The Netherlands and Denmark have announced they will donate up to 61 F-16 fighter jets between them to Ukraine once pilot training has been satisfactorily completed, as Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited both countries after months of entreaties to bolster the Ukrainian air force.

Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said her country would provide 19 jets – “hopefully” six around new year, eight more next year and the remaining five in 2025. “Please take this donation as a token of Denmark’s unwavering support for your country’s fight for freedom,” Frederiksen said.

Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, did not put a number on the Dutch donation, but said the Netherlands had 42 in its air force. The country was already in the process of replacing them with more advanced US-made F-35s. » | Dan Sabbagh in Kharkiv | Sunday, August 20, 2023

Livraison d’avions de combat à l’Ukraine : l’Occident franchit le pas : En visite aux Pays-Bas et au Danemark, le président ukrainien, Volodymyr Zelensky, a obtenu la promesse que des F-16 américains seraient transférés à Kiev avec l’approbation des Etats-Unis. « Ce n’est que le début », s’est-il félicité. »

Denmark’s Delightful Queen

One just must love Queen Margrethe II for her political incorrectness! She just does her own thing regardless, just as everyone else should have the courage to do.
With many thanks to theroyalforums.com on Pinterest for this truly lovely image of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark enjoying a smoke.
Despite recent controversy, there's no royal more popular than Denmark's chain-smoking queen »

Danish Royal Family: Queen 'Sorry' after Stripping Grandchildren's Titles

Queen Margrethe II said she wanted to keep the monarch in "keeping with the times" | GETTY IMAGES
BBC: The Queen of Denmark has apologised after stripping four of her grandchildren of their royal titles - but has not reversed the decision.

Queen Margrethe II said she wanted the monarchy in "keeping with the times", that her decision had been a long time coming, and that it would "future-proof" the institution.

But she "underestimated" her family's reaction "and for that I am sorry".

The initial decision was announced last week, to begin next year.

"The titles of prince and princess that they have held up until now will be discontinued," the initial statement said. "Prince Joachim's descendants will thus have to be addressed as excellencies in the future."

Prince Joachim - the younger son of Queen Margrethe - said he was upset by the change.

"It's never fun to see your children being mistreated like that," he told Ekstra Bladet. "They find themselves in a situation they do not understand." » | Merlyn Thomas, BBC News | Monday, October 3, 2022

Verwandter Artikel.

Danish Queen Apologizes After Stripping Royal Titles From 4 Grandchildren: Prince Joachim, the youngest of Queen Margrethe II’s two sons, has four children who will be affected by the change, which the queen said was “a necessary future-proofing of the monarchy.” »

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II Marks Five Decades on the Throne with Muted Celebrations

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II scales back her jubilee festivities in light of her UK counterpart’s -- and first cousin's -- death.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Says Queen Elizabeth II Made an 'Enormous Impression' on Her | ITV News | May 2022

ITV News Correspondent Lucy Watson sat down with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ahead of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. The two royals are the only two reigning queens in the world. Coincidentally, 2022 was the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th Jubilee and it is the 50th Jubilee year for Her Majesty Queen Margrette II.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark: A Portrait (1974)

Jan 6, 2018 • Portrait of the Danish royal family from 1974, featuring glimpses from the Queen's private and official daily life. The program was made in collaboration with the BBC and follows the Queen visiting the Faroe Islands, at the Swedish king's funeral and at the Queen's first New Year's Eve in 1974.

Denmark celebrates Queen Margrethe’s 50 years on the throne.

Kurt Westergaard, Danish Cartoonist behind Muhammad Cartoon, Dies Aged 86

Kurt Westergaard has died aged 86. The Danish cartoonist’s depictions of the prophet Muhammad sparked protests across the Muslim world. Photograph: Peter Endig/EPA
THE GUARDIAN: Westergaard was known for drawing a caricature of the prophet Muhammad which sparked outrage around the Muslim world

Danish artist Kurt Westergaard, known for drawing a caricature of the prophet Muhammad that sparked outrage around the Muslim world, has died at the age 86, his family told Danish media on Sunday.

Westergaard died in his sleep after a long period of ill health, his family told newspaper Berlingske.

The illustrator was behind 12 drawings published by conservative daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005 under the headline The Face of Mohammed, one of which sparked particular anger. Islamic tradition says no image of the prophet should be produced or shown.

The anger escalated into anti-Danish violence across the Muslim world in 2006 in which dozens died, with Danish embassies attacked, including the one in Damascus which was burned down. » | Staff and agencies | Monday, July 19, 2021

The Danish cartoonist who survived an axe attack »

Macron and Merkel Demand Explanations over US-Denmark Spy Claim

"This is not acceptable between allies, even less so between European allies and partners," Macron said

New Report Says Denmark Helped US NSA Spy on German Politicians | DW News

New details have come to light in the scandal over the US National Security Agency's surveillance of top European politicians.

Revelations that emerged in 2013 showed that the US intelligence agency had tapped the phones of several leaders – including Germany's Angela Merkel.

Now, a new multi-national media investigation says a Danish military intelligence unit supported the US wiretapping operation. Danish intelligence reportedly worked with the US National Security Agency from here - to eavesdrop on European politicians.

A joint investigation by several European media outlets shows former German chancellor candidate, Peer Steinbrück, was among the espionage targets.

A major problem is that the Danish government didn't inform their German neighbors, though they apparently knew about the eavesdropping as early as 2015. The German government said it only found out about the spying after press inquiries.

Spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was revealed by NSA leaker Edward Snowden and a parliamentary inquiry. It did not reveal that a close European ally was involved.

The NSA, the Danish intelligence service and the Danish government refused to comment on the latest revelations.

The Aussie Princess: The Wedding of Mary and Frederik in Denmark | 60 Minutes Australia

Ukraine Crisis Put On Ice by Trump Staff Busy Working Out How to Buy Greenland

THE GUARDIAN: State and defence departments wanted military aid restored, but the Greenland issue ‘took up a lot of energy’, new testimony reveals

After the White House cut off military aid to Ukraine, Donald Trump’s top officials scrambled to get it restored but were unable to organise a meeting with the president, in part because his staff were too busy pursuing his interest in buying Greenland, according to newly released congressional testimony.

The acting US ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor, told Congress that Trump’s order in mid-July to cut off security assistance triggered a series of high-level meetings with cabinet members on how to get it resumed, given the urgency of the Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine.

Taylor testified on 22 October, but the House committees holding impeachment hearings released a full transcript on Wednesday. The veteran ambassador told congressional investigators it was the “unanimous opinion of every level of inter-agency discussion” that the aid should be restored and that the secretaries of state and defence as well as the CIA director and the national security adviser work together to arrange an urgent meeting with Trump “to convince him to release the hold”.

However, no meeting could be arranged until September. Taylor said part of the reason was the cabinet secretaries involved went on work trips abroad during the period, but he added: “I think this was also about the time of the Greenland question, about purchasing Greenland, which took up a lot of energy in the NSC [National Security Council].” » | Julian Borger in Washington | Thursday, November 7, 2019


Is Trump's deep fear and envy of Obama behind his plan to purchase Greenland? »

Rejected Trump Cancels State Visit to Denmark | DW News

US President Donald Trump has canceled an official state visit to Denmark because the Danish prime minister has refused to consider selling Greenland to the US, describing the proposal as "absurd". Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory rich in natural resources - and is also the world's biggest island, strategically located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

Trump Calls Danish Prime Minister's Statement 'Nasty'

Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to cancel his trip to Denmark, saying that the Danish Prime Minister's comments this week were "nasty" and "inappropriate" while speaking to reporters at the White House.

Trump Cancels Denmark Trip as Greenland Says It’s Not for Sale

The Danish Prime Minister says she is "annoyed" that Donald Trump has cancelled his state visit to Denmark, after he was told that Greenland is not for sale.

Mette Fredriksen said the US is still a close ally, but last week described President Trump's proposal as "absurd". Today he said the Prime Minister's comment was "nasty".


THE GUARDIAN: Greenlanders on Trump: ‘We are neither for sale nor can be bought’ »

THE GUARDIAN: The Guardian view on Trump and Greenland: no sale » | Editorial

Former US Ambassador to Denmark: 'This Is Not the Way You Treat an Ally'

Former US Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford lambasted President Donald Trump for his decision to cancel a trip to the country after its leader declined to discuss Trump's interest in purchasing Greenland during the visit, saying the move is "not the way you treat an ally."

In Denmark, Bewilderment and Anger Over Trump’s Canceled Visit

THE NEW YORK TIMES: ODENSE, Denmark — The astonishment in Denmark over President Trump’s apparent desire to buy Greenland turned to bewilderment and anger on Wednesday after the American leader abruptly scrapped a state visit because the Danes have no desire to sell.

The cancellation was a rare snub of Denmark’s head of state, Queen Margrethe II, who had extended the invitation to the president and would have hosted him and the first lady.

News that Mr. Trump is not coming “came as a surprise,” the Royal House’s communications director told the state broadcaster, adding, “That’s all we have to say about that.”

Others, however, had more to say. “Is this some sort of joke?” Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former prime minister, wrote on Twitter. “Deeply insulting to the people of Greenland and Denmark.”

It was not a joke. A day earlier, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that Denmark was “a very special country with incredible people” but added that he was abandoning plans to visit because of the country’s refusal to sell Greenland, a semiautonomous part of the kingdom of Denmark. » | Martin Selsoe Sorensen | Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Danish Politicians Mock Trump as Crazy over His Idea to Buy Greenland

Royal Family, Episode 6: Uncrowned Marriages | Documentary

Queen Margrethe of Denmark: A Portrait (1974)

Portrait of the Danish royal family from 1974, featuring glimpses from the Queen's private and official daily life. The program was made in collaboration with the BBC and follows the Queen visiting the Faroe Islands, at the Swedish king's funeral and at the Queen's first New Year's Eve in 1974.

Lawyer for Accused in Denmark's First Blasphemy Case in 45 Years

Rasmus is the lawyer for Denmark's first blasphemy case in 45 years, defending a Dane who burned the Koran in 2015