Copenhagen - Danish voters still narrowly favour the introduction of Europe's joint currency, the euro, but are in no hurry to vote in a referendum, two surveys showed Wednesday.

The results were published on the eve of a parliamentary hearing on the euro.

A survey commissioned by banking group Danske Bank suggested that 41.4 per cent of voters wanted to introduce the euro while 39.8 per cent were against replacing the krone.

About one in five were undecided, according to the survey based on telephone interviews with 1,060 voters.

Copenhagen - Danish banking shares opened higher on Monday after the announcement that the government and opposition had agreed on a new banking package.

The package worth 100 billion kroner (17.8 billion dollars) was unveiled late Sunday and aimed to prevent "businesses and citizens getting caught in a credit squeeze," the government said.

Copenhagen - A Danish freighter and its crew of 13 were Friday freed after being held for 68 days by pirates off the coast of Somalia.

An undisclosed ransom secured the release of the CEC Future, Per Gullestrup, head of the Clipper Elite Carrier shipping company, told Danish news agency Ritzau.

The vessel was seized on November 8 in the Gulf of Aden. It was on Friday heading to Oman under escort by a Russian warship. The crew were mainly Russian nationals.

Gullestrup said the ransom was placed in a container that was parachuted from a small plane to a spot identified by the pirates.

After picking up the ransom, the pirates counted the sum on the vessel.

Copenhagen - Denmark's central bank Thursday lowered its lending rate

Copenhagen  - Thousands of people gathered Tuesday in downtown Copenhagen to protest the ongoing violence in Gaza.

The protest at the main city hall square was organized by among others opposition parties and trade unions. Organizers estimated 5,000 people attended.

Earlier Tuesday, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged Israel and Hamas to cease the violence.

Rasmussen said Copenhagen had no plans to seek compensation from Israel for damages to Danish-funded aid projects damaged or destroyed in the ongoing offensive in Gaza.

Copenhagen- A 50-year-old man was Friday remanded in custody on suspicion of defrauding a Danish bank of some 17 million kroner (3.1 million dollars), news reports said.

The fraud against Carnegie Denmark A/S, a subsidiary of a Swedish investment bank, took place over a five-year period until earlier this year, the Jyllands-Posten newspaper reported.

The custody hearing against the man, a high-placed employee, was held behind closed doors in Copenhagen.