Icelandic charities have received applications for special assistance at Christmas from 3,900 individuals and families, which is a significant increase on last year. Read the full story

The future of Greenland’s remote settlements has come under scrutiny after the Democratic Party’s Palle Chritiansen questioned the feasibility of villages with fewer than 100 residents. Read the full story

Denmark’s Art Council has initiated a two-year project designed to attract talented foreign artists to live and work in the country. DKK 6 million (USD 1,188,059 EUR 804,169) have been allocated for the plan, which is hoped will inject some creative energy into Denmark’s art scene.

The chairman of the Art Council, Mads Ovilsen, told the Politiken newspaper that the project will hopefully lure exciting Read the full story

A recent poll suggests that the Sweden Democrats have finally gathered enough support from the Swedish population to enter parliament, according to reports in The Local. The far-right group has made political gains and even polled ahead of groups who participate in the country’s coalition government.

The poll was conducted by Demoskop and Expressen newspaper and found that if there was an election today, 4.2 percent of the population were likely to vote in favour of the Sweden Democrats. In contrast, the Christian Democrats, who are a member of the governing coalition, received just 3.8 percent support in the poll.

Previous polls have found that the Sweden Democrats captured just 3.1 percent of the population’s support. The increase in interest in the party may be due to last week’s annual conference meeting of the Sweden Democrats in Karlstad.

Based on the new poll figures, Jimmie Akesson, chairperson for the Sweden Democrats believes that the party could enter parliament in the next elections in 2010.

“If we can keep up this support level of 3 – 4 percent until the next elections, then this is a good starting point. I am sure that we will get into Parliament at the next elections,” he said.

Demoskop’s CEO Anders agreed with the optimistic feeling. “It isn’t really a surprise; more a case of when, not if. This is a development that has been coming for quite a while,” he said.

Most of Sweden’s political parties do not support the views of the Sweden Democrats who have a reputation for being sexist and xenophobic. Anki Ahlsten, the Left Party’s Secretary, once told the Expressen newspaper that the Sweden Democrats were outright racists.