Wifo expert calls for new state social aid system

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General News

Vienna think tank the Institute for Economic Research (Wifo) has called for a new state social aid system with “productive elements.”Wifo expert Alois Guger said today (Thurs) social infrastructure providing for care of the aged and children was more important than financial aid to individuals.Vienna Social Democratic (SPÖ) social councillor Sonja Wehsely added that provision […]

Austrian and Slovene foreign ministers to meet next month

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Politics

Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger and his Slovene counterpart Samuel Zbogar will meet on 16 March in Vienna, it was announced yesterday (Weds).Slovene news agency STA said yesterday that Zbogar would raise the situation of the Slovene minority in Carinthia at the meeting, including failure to put up bilingual place name signs […]

Salzburg Festival fraudster cannot yet be questioned

Categories
Culture

The former technical director of the Salzburg Easter Festival (Osterfestspiele) cannot yet be questioned by the public prosecutor’s office over fraud, his lawyer Leopold Hirsch said today (Thurs).Klaus Kretschmer, whom an audit has found solely responsible for embezzlement of up to 800,000 Euros from the Festival since 2006, is recovering from a jump from a […]

Red Bull Arena may get natural grass pitch

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Sports

Red Bull Salzburg has revealed plans to replace the stadium’s artificial grass pitch with natural soil in a bid to host national team matches.Dietmar Beiersdorfer, head of energy drink producer Red Bull’s football department, said today (Thurs): “We like the idea of our stadium being the venue of matches of the national team in the […]

Dutch skier ends up in clinic after ‘black slope’ crash

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General News

A 23-year-old skier from the Netherlands was hospitalised with head injuries after crashing on a piste at a Tyrolean resort yesterday (Weds).Police in Sölden said the man fell over on the difficult “black slope” after losing control of his skis and landed on his head and shoulders on the icy piste. He was knocked out […]

Styriagra producer goes bust

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Business

The company Firma Mandl Exclusiv owned by Styriagra producer Richard Mandl has entered bankruptcy proceedings, according to the Alpine Land Creditors Association (AKV).It reported yesterday that the firm in Krottendorf in Styria’s Voitsberg district had debts of 395,000 Euros and that Voitsberg attorney Wolfgang Klobassa would be bankruptcy administrator.A recent ruling by Vienna Commercial Court […]

OMV profit falls by more than half

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Business

Austrian oil and gas producer OMV reported today (Thurs) that its net profit had declined by 58 per cent year on year to 572 million Euros in 2009.Turnover fell by 30 per cent year on year to 17.92 billion Euros last year. Analysts had expected a decline of 26.5 per cent in turnover and 65.2 […]

Slovak stopped with 47 puppies in van

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General News

Styrian police discovered 47 puppies stashed in a Slovakian van during a routine motorway traffic check on the A2 yesterday (Weds).Cops said the animals were transported in carton boxes and on the car’s floor.The 31-year-old driver is facing animal cruelty charges. He admitted he had been driving nonstop for hours and was on his way […]

Pressure on Faymann as Pröll is ahead of chancellor in poll

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Politics

The pressure on Social Democratic (SPÖ) Chancellor Werner Faymann is increasing as new research reveals he has been overtaken by People’s Party (ÖVP) Vice Chancellor Josef Pröll in popularity.Research firm Karmasin found out 27 per cent of Austrians would support Pröll if they could elect the chancellor by direct vote but only 24 per cent […]

Church rejects blackmail bid

Categories
General News

The Roman Catholic Graz-Seckau diocese has today (Weds) revealed how a former victim of sexual abuse by priests tried to blackmail them for one million Euros.The dioceses made the statement when it confirmed reports about a case of sexual abuse of boys by a priest in the 1970s as reported by the newspaper Kleine Zeitung.The […]