Increasing problem with beggars

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General News

Austrian police have registered a dramatic increase in the number of beggars hanging around outside shopping centres and supermarkets in Austria. Alongside the increasing number of beggars there has also been an increase in the numbers of complaints about people trying to collect money for supposed community initiatives. But in many parts of Austria in […]

Homosexual’s success scares off priest

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General News

A Catholic preacher plans to withdraw from his local parish after a gay man entered the community council. Florian Stangl, a homosexual carer of disabled children, received a majority of votes in the recent Stützenhofen parish community council ballot. Viennese Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, the highest representative of the Austrian Roman Catholic Church, gave the […]

Man rescued from crevasse after 14 hours

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General News

A Hungarian ski tourer was rescued after 14 hours stuck in a crevasse in East Tyrol, Austria at the weekend. The skier plunged 10 metres into the crevasse – a friend notified rescuers who after 14 hours were able to get the man out. The conditions were particularly difficult due to extreme weather conditions. Rescue […]

Facebook wall post cost teenager her job

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General News

Waitress Stephanie Panner, 19, is taking her employer to court after she was fired when another colleague posted a critical comment about their employer on her Facebook wall. The waiter had posted a comment on Stephanie’s page when she was not even on the social networking site and never saw the message before getting a […]

Glacier fall girl saved by snagged rucksack

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General News

A Belgian teenager survived after plunging feet first into a crevasse on the Pitztaler Glacier in Tirol because her rucksack stopped her from falling 20 meters into the heart of the huge ice block. The teenager was treated for shock and the effects of the cold after she was freed by mountain rescue workers. Ailleboust […]

Michal Jackson memorial gets green light

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General News

A statue to Michael Jackson is being put up in the middle of a tiny Austrian town by fans that live there as a tribute to their hero. Councillors in Mistelbach in a wine growing region north of the Austrian capital Vienna have officially approved the request for the statue which will go in the […]

Preachers’ Initiative head happy about Pope’s reaction

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General News

The head of the Austrian Preachers’ Initiative has reacted positively to the Pope’s criticism. Pope Benedict XVI. said in his Maunday Thursday sermon held in Italian in the Vatican that disobedience was no solution. The Pope mentioned a “group of priests from a country in Europe” without directly referring to Helmut Schüller or his movement. […]

Green light for Vienna’s cyclists

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General News

The Viennese Greens plan significant cycling rule reforms. Several Viennese newspapers report today (Thurs) that the party of Vice Mayor Maria Vassilakou wants to lift the obligatory cycling path usage law. The restriction means that all cyclists have to use cycling strips wherever available. Abandoning the ruling could create a conflict between the city coalition […]

Danish kidnap dad evades police across Europe

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General News

The Danish man who together with an accomplice kidnapped his son by force from his ex-wife in Austria and then managed to evade an international arrest warrant as he fled over 1,000 miles back to Denmark is unlikely to have to hand the boy back. Dane Thomas Sörensen had used an accomplice to pin down […]

Pope condemns Austrian priests

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General News

Pope Benedict XVI has sharply condemned a group of dissident Austrian priests and laymen for questioning key teachings of the Catholic Church. The group, known as the Pfarrer Initiative, has challenged the church on topics such as priestly celibacy and its ban on female priests. Speaking during a Maundy Thursday mass in the Vatican, the […]