Most Austrians back extended abortion services

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Politics

The majority of Austrians are in favour of an expansion of abortion services. Conservative opinion leaders turned their guns on Social Democratic (SPÖ) Health Minister Alois Stöger earlier this month after he suggested state-funded clinics across the country should provide induced abortions. The left-wing politician claimed women were “not taken seriously” at the moment. Public […]

Ansip unimpressed by Putin’s boycott appeal

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Politics

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip has stressed he is not worried about his country’s economic performance despite calls for a boycott of products. The conservative politician told Austrian magazine profil: “I do agree that there is room to improve our political relationship with Russia. However, the economic cooperation is getting better. A tenth of our […]

More North Africans seek asylum in Austria

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Politics

The number of requests for political asylum in Austria by people from North Africa has increased in the wake of the unrest in the region, new figures show. Official statistics presented today (Tues) reveal that 23 Libyans asked for asylum in Austria between January and June of this year. Only two refugees from the civil […]

Austria’s AAA rating confirmed

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Business

An influential rating agency has warned Austria about its high state debt. Fitch announced yesterday evening (Mon) Austria needed to act more ambitiously against its steadily increasing high debt rate. The agency claimed the Alpine country would be better protected against economic setbacks in the future if it started to get active now. Austria’s debts […]

Policeman provided KBN with Aliyev case data

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General News

A 51-year-old policeman has been sentenced to jail for accepting money from the Kazakh secret service. The officer – who has been sacked in the meantime – reportedly received 37,500 Euros from a former KNB official to provide him with secret data concerning the case of Rakhat Aliyev. The Kazakh state prosecution accuses the former […]

Strache sends emissary to Libya

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Politics

An Austrian right-winger has travelled to Libya in an alleged attempt to end the violent conflict in the North African country. Freedom Party (FPÖ) boss Heinz-Christian Strache confirmed today (Mon) that FPÖ Vienna councillor David Lasar was in Tripoli, the federal capital of the civil war-shattered nation. Strache explained he decided to send Lasar as […]

Germany aims to overtake Austria in Croatia

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Business

Germany is challenging Austria’s position as a top investor in Croatia. Figures presented by the Croatian National Bank (HNB) today (Fri) reveal that German companies spent 131.8 million Euros in the country in the first quarter of this year, more than any other country. German firms only spent 90.4 million Euros in the same time […]

MEPs are clueless, says minister

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Politics

A conservative opinion leader has been accused of “having no idea” about the situation in his homeland after calling for more support for a budget increase of the European Union (EU). Othmar Karas, the head of the delegation of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) in the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg, France, recently said that […]

Fekter sceptical about letting banks sneak away

Categories
Finance

Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Maria Fekter has emphasised that private companies should get on board to rescue Greece. The cash-strapped Eurozone and European Union (EU) member state is seen on the brink of bankruptcy by a growing number of financial market experts. Many commentators fear the southern country will be unable to pay […]

Vamed ‘to invest €200mn in Romania’

Categories
Business

Austrian health sector services provider Vamed AG is considering investing hundreds of millions of Euros in Romania, according to newspapers in the Eastern European (EE) country. The online news platform Romanian Times cites local newspapers claiming that the Vienna-based firm is interested in spending 200 million Euros on projects in the country which joined the […]