- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
Danes begin voting on joining EU's common defence policy
Traditionally eurosceptic Denmark began voting Wednesday in a referendum on whether to overturn its opt-out on the EU's common defence policy after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The vote comes on the heels of neighbouring Finland's and Sweden's historic applications for NATO membership, as the Ukraine war forces countries in Europe to rethink their security policies.
More than 65 percent of Denmark's 4.3 million eligible voters are expected to vote in favour of dropping the exemption, an opinion poll published on Sunday suggested.
Analysts' predictions have, however, been cautious, given the low voter turnout expected in a country that has often said "no" to more EU integration, most recently in 2015.
Polls opened across the country at 8:00 am (0600 GMT), and were set to close at 8:00 pm. Final results were due around 11:00 pm (2100 GMT).
At Copenhagen's city hall, voting was busy in the early morning as residents of the capital hurried to cast their ballots on their way to work.
"I think that these kinds of votes are even more important than earlier. In times of war it's obviously important to state if you feel that you want to join this type of community or not," Molly Stensgaard, a 55-year-old scriptwriter, told AFP.
Mads Adam, a 24-year-old political science student, agreed.
"History changes and it affects us here in Denmark, and obviously we have to react to that."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had urged Danes to vote in a final televised debate on Sunday.
"I believe with all my heart that we have to vote 'yes'. At a time when we need to fight for security in Europe, we need to be more united with our neighbours", she said.
Denmark has been an EU member since 1973, but it put the brakes on transferring more power to Brussels in 1992 when 50.7 percent of Danes rejected the Maastricht Treaty, the EU's founding treaty.
It needed to be ratified by all member states to enter into force. In order to persuade Danes to approve the treaty, Copenhagen negotiated a series of exemptions and Danes finally approved it the following year.
Since then, Denmark has remained outside the European single currency, the euro -- which it rejected in a 2000 referendum -- as well as the bloc's common policies on justice and home affairs, and defence.
- 'Ukraine the major reason'-
The defence opt-out means that the Scandinavian country, a founding member of NATO, does not participate in EU foreign policy where defence is concerned and does not contribute troops to EU military missions.
Copenhagen has exercised its opt-out 235 times in 29 years, according to a tally by the Europa think tank.
Danish PM Frederiksen called the referendum just two weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and after having reached an agreement with a majority of parties in Denmark's parliament, the Folketing.
At the same time, she also announced plans to increase defence spending to two percent of gross domestic product, in line with NATO membership requirements, by 2033.
"It was a big surprise", said the director of the Europa think tank, Lykke Friis.
"For the past many, many years, nobody thought that the government would put the defence opt-out to a national referendum", she said.
"There's no doubt that Ukraine was the major reason for calling the referendum."
Eleven of Denmark's 14 parties have urged voters to say "yes" to dropping the opt-out, representing more than three-quarters of seats in parliament.
Two far-right eurosceptic parties and a far-left party have meanwhile called for Danes to say "no".
In December 2015, Danes voted "no" to strengthening their cooperation with the European Union on police and security matters for fear of losing their sovereignty over immigration.
T.Vitorino--PC