Denmark

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt called on Wednesday an early general election to take place on June 18.

It is expected that her centre-left coalition will face a formidable challenge from the opposition, the BBC reports.

The Danish government agreed on Tuesday on the elements of the EU's Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) agenda, which will be submitted to a forthcoming referendum.

Denmark is likely to move from a complete opt-out on all JHA matters to a partial opt-in approach, EurActiv reports.

Denmark has had no majority government since 1982. Turkey, on the other hand, has been ruled by a tight single party majority since 2002. That is 33 years of debate and deal-making in Denmark and 13 years of parliamentary hegemony in Turkey. Life is so boring in Denmark, or so I tell myself. And anyway, a single-party government means political stability.

Tens of thousands of Danes have gathered for a torchlit vigil in Copenhagen to commemorate the victims of two shootings that shocked the nation and heightened fears of a new surge in anti-Semitic violence.
      

Copenhagen police said on Feb. 15 they  believe a man shot dead by officers was responsible for two fatal attacks that shocked the normally peaceful Danish capital.
      
The killings, coming little more than a month after bloody Islamist attacks in Paris that left 17 people dead, were described by Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt as "a cynical act of terror".

Thousands march against Muhammad cartoons

NOVI PAZAR -- About 5,000 people in Serbia's southwestern town of Novi Pazar on Friday took part in a peaceful protest against cartoons depicting Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Novi Pazar is the largest town in the Raska District, also known informally as Sandzak, that is home to a large Muslim minority.

Copenhagen is pressuring Ankara for an explanation regarding the release of the suspected shooter of a Danish writer in Turkey and conveyed the issue to the European Union, the Danish foreign minister has said.

Maintaining good relations with Turkey is more crucial for Denmark than the recent dispute between the countries that erupted after the release of the suspected shooter of a Danish writer, the country’s foreign minister has said.

The world's largest toymaker Lego said it was ending a deal with oil giant Shell, bowing to pressure from a Greenpeace campaign linking Lego toys to Arctic oil spills

Denmark's largest purpose-built mosque, including the country's first minaret, opens on Thursday in Copenhagen's gritty northwest district after receiving 20.1 million euros ($27.2 million) endowment from Qatar.