Teen injured in moving staircase fall

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General News

A teenager is fighting for his life after plunging from an escalator in Vienna at the weekend.Rafael F., 17, was balancing on the handrail of the moving staircase at the Spittelau underground train station when he lost his balance. He sustained life-threatening head injuries in the eight-metre plunge which occurred on Saturday night, police said […]

Attempt to slide down escalator handrail puts boy in clinic

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General News

A 10-year-old boy was hospitalised with serious injuries after he tried to skid down the handrail of a moving staircase at an U-Bahn station in Vienna.The resident of Vienna hit his head in the three-metre plunge at the U3 Johnstraße underground station around 6pm yesterday (Sun).The incident occurred just hours after a 17-year-old party-goer got […]

Widespread fear of African riots’ impact on Europe

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Politics

A majority of Austrians think the turmoil in North Africa and the Arab region will influence the political and economic situation in Europe.Research group Market, which interviewed more than 400 Austrians, said today (Thurs), 76 per cent expected the developments in Libya and other countries to affect current circumstances in Europe.While many Austrians reportedly brace […]

Faymann meets Merkel and Socrates

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Politics

Austrian Social Democratic (SPÖ) Chancellor Werner Faymann met political leaders from Germany and Portugal in Berlin today (Weds).Faymann gathered with German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Chancellor Angela Merkel and Portuguese Socialist Party Prime Minister Jose Socrates in the German capital to speak about topics which will be debated at the upcoming Eurozone meeting.The term Eurozone […]

Graz fine dust woes continue

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General News

There have been more fine dust particles in the air than allowed in the Styrian city of Graz on nearly 50 days so far this year, figures presented today (Weds) showed.The Austrian Traffic Club (VCÖ) informed that federal fine dust limits were surpassed on 46 days in the provincial capital so far in 2011. Austrian […]

Austria freezes Gaddafi fortune

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Politics

Austria has blocked all assets of the Libyan Gaddafi clan in the country, it has been confirmed.The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) appealed on the country’s banks to block the deposits of 26 people including Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, his wife, their eight children and high-profile military and secret service chiefs.The OeNB said it estimated the […]

Romanian MP set for AKH surgery

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General News

A Romanian politician is to undergo pancreas surgery in Austria, it has been reported.Online newspaper Romanian Times reports today (Thurs) that Democratic Liberal Party MP Teo Trandafir needs to go under the knife at Vienna’s General Hospital (AKH).The 42-year-old MP’s condition has worsened in the past days, according to the report. Trandafir – a former […]

Diplomats ignore most traffic fines

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General News

Diplomats failed to pay more than 2,000 traffic fines across Austria last year, it has emerged.A parliamentary enquiry by Freedom Party (FPÖ) MP Martin Graf forced the office of People’s Party (ÖVP) Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger to reveal that two thirds of the 2,400 fines for various breaches of traffic rules by diplomats went unpaid […]

Lecturer fined for calling Koran ‘evil’

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Politics

An Islam-criticising lecturer has been fined for vilification of religious theories.Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff was in court yesterday (Tues) for calling Islam “hostile” and the Koran “evil” in a seminar held in a Viennese hotel in 2009.An ongoing debate about the Austrian system of subsidising party academies was fuelled when it emerged that the event – which […]

Spindelegger visits ‘partner’ New Zealand

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Politics

A delegation formed of Austria’s political and economic elite is currently meeting with decision-makers in New Zealand.Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger and Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl are heading the Austrian group who are currently on the island in the south-western Pacific Ocean.Spindelegger, who will meet New Zealand National Party […]