Denmark`s supreme court Wednesday ruled illegal the detention without trial of one of two Tunisians held for allegedly plotting to kill a cartoonist who satirised the Prophet Mohammed.

Denmark`s supreme court Wednesday ruled illegal the detention without trial of one of two Tunisians held for allegedly plotting to kill a cartoonist who satirised the Prophet Mohammed.

COPENHAGEN, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the former Dutch deputy who became a target of Islamic extremists, on Friday hit out at the government of The Netherlands for refusing to pay for her protection in the United States.

It was not a question of money, but of principle, said Hirst Ali in Friday's edition of the Danish daily in Jyllands-Posten.

'It costs less to pay an American company to protect me than to assure my safety in the Netherlands, because the threat there (the Netherlands) is a lot more real,' she told the paper.

MADRID, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - A 30-year-old Danish woman died Wednesday on Spain's Mediterranean island of Mallorca after the car she was traveling in got swept up in flash flooding, Spanish media reported.

The woman was in the car with her partner and their baby at a housing estate near the port city of Palma de Mallorca when they were surprised by the rapidly rising waters, the Europa Press news agency reported.

Her body was found a few metres (yards) away from the car, it said. The baby and the man were not hurt.

STOCKHOLM, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday he saw no need to hold a national referendum on the EU treaty currently being hammered out since it involves no transfer of sovereignty.

A poll published on October 11 showed that a majority of Danes, 54 percent, wanted a referendum to be held. Only 35 percent said they would vote in favour of the text.

In remarks on his blog, Rasmussen stressed that the new treaty was different from the previous EU constitution which was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands.

COPENHAGEN, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Denmark is close to offering sanctuary to a writer and former Dutch parliamentarian facing death threats over her criticism of Islam, Danish Culture Minister Brian Mikkelsen was quoted as saying Monday.

'Ayaan Hirsi Ali should top the list of writers who, in my opinion, should be invited to (come and live in) Denmark. She has, more than anyone, fought for freedom of speech and she has, more than anyone, faced personal threats on her life,' Mikkelsen told the Jyllands-Posten daily.

COPENHAGEN, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - A Danish NATO soldier was injured on Monday in a military operation in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, Denmark's army command HOK said in a statement.

The soldier was evacuated to a British field hospital in the region. The extent of his injuries was not known.

On October 7, two Danish soldiers from the same company were lightly injured when an explosion hit their vehicle.

COPENHAGEN, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Denmark should offer a safe haven to a writer and former Dutch parliamentarian facing death threats over her criticism of Islam, Danish Culture Minister Brian Mikkelsen was quoted as saying Monday.

'Ayan Hirsi Ali should top the list of writers who, in my opinion, should be invited to (come and live in) Denmark. She has, more than anyone, fought for freedom of speech and she has, more than anyone, faced personal threats on her life,' Mikkelsen told the Jyllands-Posten daily.

COPENHAGEN, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Fifty-four percent of Danes want a referendum on a EU reform treaty but only 35 percent will definitely give it their thumbs up if a vote is held, according to a new poll published Thursday.

Twenty-six percent were against a vote on the issue while 20 percent were undecided, according to a poll conducted by the Gallup institute on October 9 and 10 and covering 964 people.

The survey was published in the Berlingske Tidende newspaper on Thursday.

COPENHAGEN, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - A Scandanavian Airlines System (SAS) Dash 8-400 plane en route for Poland was forced to turn back mid-way Wednesday due to a fault, only weeks after the airline grounded its entire fleet of the aircraft.

'The pilot noticed a warning light in the cockpit indicating that the landing gear doors had not closed properly. He closed it again but it opened once more,' said Mikkel Loendahl, an SAS spokesman.