Copenhagen - A Danish parliament vote allowing same-sex couples to adopt children continued Wednesday to generate reaction from opponents and supporters.

The legislation was passed Tuesday by a 63 to 52 vote after six members of the Liberal Party, the main force in the minority government, broke ranks and voted for the proposal.

The government must now draft a bill to be presented to parliament.

Copenhagen  - Researchers from over 70 countries ended a three-day meeting Thursday on future threats of global warming including rising sea levels.

Potential threats discussed included acidification of oceans and reductions of glaciers and ice sheets causing sea levels to rise.

The effects of higher temperatures could also change weather systems and precipitation causing climate refugees.

A group of researchers from the University of Cambridge in England said there was a case for more joint international efforts.

Copenhagen - Danish Crown Prince Frederik has undergone surgery after sustaining a leg injury while sledging with his children, the palace said Wednesday.

The procedure was conducted Tuesday at Copenhagen University Hospital. The 41-year-old heir to the Danish throne was likely to leave hospital on Thursday.

The prince sustained the shinebone fracture while sledging during a recent ski holiday in Switzerland.

His children, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, were not hurt in the crash.

Copenhagen - Fast rising sea levels that pose a future threat to populations living in coastal regions was one of the topics debated Tuesday when hundreds of international researchers gathered to a three-day meeting in Denmark.

The opening of the meeting was attended by among others Rajendra K Pachauri, chairman of the United Nations climate body the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for work on climate change.

Copenhagen - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday declined to comment on speculation that he might seek the post of NATO secretary-general.

Rasmussen has been tipped as a top candidate for the post and according to recent reports in the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and London-based Financial Times he has secured backing from Britain, France and Germany - key European NATO members.

Copenhagen  - The regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe has urged governments, health authorities and others to step up vaccination programmes against measles.

Although Europe is on the verge of eliminating measles, there have been outbreaks threatening the progress.

The Copenhagen-based regional WHO office attributed the lower immunization rates "to a combination of vaccine scepticism" as well as "the success of immunization programmes in earlier generations."