An influential author and university lecturer has criticised the United States of America for having changed little since the end of the presidential term of George W. Bush. Thomas Nowotny, who worked as secretary of late Austrian Social Democratic (SPÖ) Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, claimed in an interview that the USA “are still very self-centred and […]
Hollywood star and Chanel poster girl Blake Lively has admitted being ashamed for not speaking any French. The actress said today (Fri) she rented a house in southern France to learn the language. “I’m feeling embarrassed about not understanding a single French word but being a Chanel model at the same time,” she told Austrian […]
Two elderly women were saved from drowning after a car crash yesterday morning (Thurs). The car of the friends, both aged 72, came off the road for reasons unknown and fell into the Traisen River near Schrambach in Lower Austria. They failed to get out of the vehicle which quickly filled with water. Road maintenance […]
Austrian construction company Strabag SE has taken over a port and hydro power and building technology specialist in full. The Vienna-based firm acquired a 70 per cent interest in Josef Möbius Bau AG (Möbius) four years ago. The company, which has its headquarters in Hamburg, carried out projects worth 150 million Euros in 2007, according […]
Political opponents and some fellow party members are expected to turn their guns on Social Democratic (SPÖ) chief Werner Faymann once more as the chancellor skipped an arranged meeting with the president of Poland. Faymann was expected to welcome Bronislaw Komorowski for a brief chat at his office in Vienna on Wednesday. However, the meeting […]
A Russian institute has got one step closer to acquiring the international branch of one of Austria’s biggest banks. Bosses of Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) and Moscow-based Sberbank signed a declaration of intent about a takeover of Volksbank International (VBI) yesterday (Thurs). The teams of negotiators refused to reveal an envisaged takeover price. Business newspapers claim […]
An Austrian-flagged sailing boat has been seized in southern Italy when coastal guards discovered more than two dozen refugees on board. Twenty-five asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq were found on the vessel which sailed under Austrian flag. The refugees were taken to a local centre for asylum seekers, officials in the city of […]
The Innsbruck area has been affected by a power cut for a second time in as many days. Local electricity providers said today (Thurs) around 3,000 households had been affected by the 45-minute disruption yesterday afternoon. They explained investigations into the cause were ongoing. Tyrolean officials stressed that the most recent incident was unrelated to […]
A leading lemonade manufacturer has revealed plans to expand in Germany and Great Britain. Almdudler announced today (Thurs) it wanted to increase its market share in Germany in the coming years. The firm claimed doubling or tripling its current share in the German supermarket and gastronomy sector was not impossible. Almdudler sold 10 million litres […]
Complaints by consumer protection groups that politicians should do more about “reckless” speculations triggering soaring foodstuff prices are unlikely to recede considering new inflation figures. Statistik Austria announced today (Thurs) Austrians had to fork out 3.3 per cent more on various products and services of daily life last month than in June 2010. It was […]