ÖBB head promises ticket price freeze

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Business

Federal Railways (ÖBB) boss Christian Kern has ruled out tickets becoming more expensive.”Ticket prices should not rise this year. We can save money in passenger services and our infrastructure elsewhere,” he told weekly magazine profil.Asked why he recently called for a 400-million-Euro injection by the state for the debt-ridden company, Kern explained he wanted to […]

Austrian brewers employ nearly 4,000

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Business

Almost 4,000 people work for Austrian breweries, new figures show.A study published by magazine News reveals the country’s 69 brewing companies have around 3,900 employees. Only Germany’s 1,319 breweries (29,604) and the 124 Belgian beer firms (5,190) have more staff in the European Union (EU). There are significantly more breweries in Denmark (120) than in […]

Transfer rumour mill says McClaren wants Arnautovic

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Sports

VfL Wolfsburg boss Steve McClaren has reportedly set his sights on Werder Bremen star Marko Arnautovic as Edin Dzeko is about to leave the club to join Manchester City.The 24-year-old Bosnian is expected to sign with the Premiership giants for around 35 million Euros later this week, and German sport press claim today (Weds) Arnautovic […]

Waitress fined for juice / detergent mix-up

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General News

A 56-year-old waitress who served dish detergent to a child who had ordered apple juice has been fined.The woman, who works at an eatery in the Tyrolean town of Axams, pleaded guilty in an Innsbruck court yesterday (Tue). But in her defence she pointed out that the September day on which the tragic mix-up occurred […]

Green light for disputed €18mn Hilton project

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Business

A controversial hotel conference hall building project has been given the go-ahead by Viennese officials.The majority of members of the Vienna-Leopoldstadt construction affairs council approved the Hilton Vienna Danube hotel’s plan to set up a hall for 18 million Euros. The site will be used for various events like balls and conferences, according to managers […]

Fugitive caught 18 years on

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General News

A Turk who escaped from an Austrian jail more than 15 years ago has been arrested after he tried to settle down in Vienna.The man managed to break out of a prison in Hirtenberg, Lower Austria, in 1993 when being ordered to mow the lawn in a low security zone.The 47-year-old was caught in Vienna […]

Anger as WKO set to abandon €8mn ÖW injection

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Business

Officials have engaged in a bitter war of words after the Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) decided to stop subsidising the Austrian Tourism Marketing (ÖW).WKO said recently it will end its annual eight-million-Euro injection from 2012 and intensify its own tourism marketing initiatives instead. The authority criticised the ÖW for neglecting emerging markets like Brazil, India […]

Woman found living with 49 dogs

Categories
General News

A woman faces charges for torturing animals after police found her living with 49 dogs.Police and animal experts visited 36-year-old Margit P., who runs a charity organisation for puppies, yesterday (Tues) after neighbours informed officials of the horrific conditions the dogs were forced to live in at her estate in Kienings near Zwettl in Lower […]

Up to 200,000 Austrians are full-time illicit workers

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Business

Around one million Austrians now and then work illegally, according to a new study.Friedrich Schneider of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz said today (Tues) that a million of the overall 8.5 million Austrians occasionally work without letting labour officials and insurance companies know of their activities.The university professor explained “around 100,000 to 200,000” Austrians […]

Trust poll shocks quarrelling government

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Politics

The Austrian government has suffered heavily over the level of trust it enjoys, a new poll shows.Research firm Karmasin found that 67 per cent of Austrians have less trust now in the joint administration of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) than they had one year ago.The agency, which spoke to around […]