Catholic Church killjoys have ordered a parish to take its confessional box auction offline – right after the highest bid was exactly 666 Euros.Priest Otto Weber of cash-strapped Hirschstetten parish in Vienna-Donaustadt decided to offer one of the churchs confessional boxes on eBay to carry out essential renovations.But Archdiocese Vienna decision-makers forced the canny cleric […]
Police said today (Mon) a Russian prisoner slashed his throat in the toilet of a Vienna jail on Saturday.Vienna-Josefstadt prison chief Alfred Steinacher said: “We did not find a farewell note. The prisoner did not have relatives in Vienna. The embassy has already been informed about the incident.”Steinacher said foul play could be ruled out, […]
Austrias oldest driver died when he crashed into a truck on Tuesday, it emerged today (Fri).Josef Kainz, 96, steered his Toyota into a lorry near Schrems, Lower Austria, after entering a road in the wrong direction.The pensioner died instantly while the truck driver only suffered minor injuries, according to local authorities.Neighbours in Marbach said Kainz […]
Annual FSME toll clocks 20
Categories
Twenty people have suffered from FSME (tick-borne encephalitis) so far this year after being bitten by ticks across Austria, it has been announced.ARGE Gesundheitsvorsorge said today (Weds) all cases could have been avoided since none of the affected people were vaccinated against the dangerous disease. The healthcare body added two of the victims were children […]
An ice cream investigation has revealed almost one in four served to the public suffer serious hygiene flaws.The Upper Austrian Labour Chamber (AKOÖ) said today (Tues) that hygiene specialists who examined ice cream on sale at parlours in the provincial capital Linz found only eight of the 19 probes they took to be of passable […]
The number of Austrians backing a total smoking ban in pubs and restaurants has soared after a new ruling went into force earlier this month.Opposition party chiefs have criticised the government coalition of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Peoples Party (ÖVP) for its ruling which forced venues smaller than 50 square-metres to decide between becoming […]
‘Roof blaze’ was swarm of fireflies
Categories
Graz firemen were called to evacuate a busy city centre square after a man mistook a swarm of fireflies for a burning roof.Officials said today (Fri) fire-fighters decided to shutdown the bustling Franziskaner Square a popular night-time entertainment location housing several restaurants and pubs when a caller claimed the roof of an apartment […]
A German pensioner has been fined for trying to smuggle pure gold worth half a million Euros from Switzerland via Austria into his homeland.Vorarlberg custom officials said today (Fri) the man was ordered to pay 35,000 Euros over the incident last April, but added he had been allowed to keep the valuables.The 69-year-old claimed he […]
Would-be robbers fled in horror when their tobacconist victim began clubbing them with a bludgeon.Police in Vienna-Brigittenau said today (Fri) the 40-year-old woman grabbed the wooden stick she kept behind the counter for self protection when the duo entered the her shop.Officials said the men described by the newsagent as aged between 20 and […]
Minor quake churns Tyrol
Categories
Experts said they expected no damage reports after a minor quake rattled a Tyrolean valley this morning (Fri).A spokesman for Viennas Centre for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) said the earthquake felt by many in the town of Imst reached 3.4 on the Richter scale around 8.30am.He added it was unlikely that the quake […]