Officials in Vienna are offering free ashtrays to restaurants and cafes for smokers forced outside to enjoy a cigarette. Since the new rules came into effect on 1 July 2010 banning smoking in many places that do not meet certain specifications – an increasing number of smokers have been taking to the streets outside in […]
Crow hunting
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Officials in Styria are taking matters in hand over the massive number of crimes in Austria and have authorised hunters to shoot 17,000 of the birds. The decision comes after a record number of complaints from farmers about the birds – and will mean that the crows can be shot between 1 July and 31 […]
Coining it in
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Austrian hotel manager Rainer Ogrinigg is booked out after offering to allow guests to pay in Austrian Schillings and German Marks rather than Euros. Ogrinigg, who owns the Seehotel Grundlsee in Ausseerland in the Austrian lake district the Salzkammergut, confirmed it is now possible for guests to pay in German Marks. The offer was made […]
Dog checks stepped up in Vienna
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Dog owners in Vienna are being targeted by police in the city over the next two weeks to check their pets are licensed and being properly walked. In recent years a whole spate of tough new regulations governing the way dogs are looked after has been introduced in the capital city. Now Vienna police officers […]
Roadworks season starts
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Roadwork season gets underway now in Austria. Over the winter work on the roads stops because of the extreme cold that make it impossible to carry out repairs or new building. Concrete and tarmac for example can only be laid at certain temperatures. But the Austrians make up for that in spring and summer with […]
The European Commission (EC) has confirmed that it has received an official application from Slovenia for official recognition and protected status for the “Krainer Wurst”. That means that other countries that might also want to lay claim to the famous sausage or to dispute the Slovenian claim now have six months to register their objections. […]
School dropouts on the rise
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Austrian School officials say that across-the-board there is an increase in the number of pupils dropping out of further and higher education – and that of the dropouts there are more boys than girls. In general girls also perform better on the same assignments at school than boys, according to the latest research just published. […]
An Austrian millionaire who became an Internet sensation when he revealed he had given away everything in order to help the poor is really a conman who simply wanted to get publicity to sell his house and pay off his debts. Media around the world rushed to cover the story of Karl Rabeder when he […]
An Austrian man was left in a serious condition after a Bavarian curling game got out of hand during a tournament in Liebenfels, Austria. Police are investigating allegations that the curler aged 43 who was not named for legal reasons had been heckling his rivals when he was reportedly pushed by an opposing player – […]
Billionaire supermarket and property tycoon Karl Wlaschek, 94, has unveiled plans to marry in a few days, saying jokingly that he hopes to have more children. Wlaschek, who according to Forbes is worth an estimated 4.4 billion euros from the founding of the Billa supermarket chain and a property business, announced at the weekend that […]