The President of Austria has apologized after he and his wife were caught by police in a restaurant after a curfew in place to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Alexander Van der Bellen and his wife along with two friends were found in an open-air restaurant in Vienna just after midnight on Saturday night when police entered to conduct a spot check. In Austria, bars and restaurants are currently only permitted to stay open until 11 p.m., with owners facing fines of up to €30,000 ($32,700) if they break the rules.
“I am very sorry,” Van der Bellen wrote on Twitter. “It was a mistake.” He told local media that he had been talking and didn’t notice the time. His party still had drinks on their table when the police entered, but the restaurant was officially closed.
DW
29th April 2026
The European Parliament has overwhelmingly backed proposals for Europe’s first sustainable tourism strategy, with Maltese MEP Daniel Attard saying the sector’s future must balance econom...
29th April 2026
European Union governments and institutions are heading for a bitter battle over the bloc's 2028-2034 budget, as fresh defence and competitiveness demands vie for funds against more tra...
29th April 2026
Morning Briefing
Labour's first proposals centre on families and first-time buyers Labour has launched its 2026 election campaign with a package of early proposals aimed at first-time...
28th April 2026
Morning Briefing
Malta set for 30th May General Election: Maltese voters will go to the polls on May 30 after Prime Minister Robert Abela called a general election nine months before ...
28th April 2026
The European Parliament has thrown its weight behind demands for a bigger long-term EU budget, approving its position for negotiations on the bloc’s next seven-year financial framework f...
25th April 2026
Disinformation is no longer spreading only through fringe actors or political agitators, but through a digital system that rewards outrage, sensationalism and engagement above accuracy, ...
29th April 2026
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) will end duty-free sales on board its flights, marking the close of a long-standing retail practice in commercial aviation as the carrier adjusts to...
29th April 2026
OPEC and its allies will lose some of their power over the oil market when the United Arab Emirates leaves the group on May 1, but the rest of the producer alliance is likely to stick to...
14th April 2026
“A company’s workplace culture praised by management, needs to be taken with caution. But when the recognition comes directly from employees, that carries greater weight,” says JONATHAN ...
14th April 2026
EU lawmakers have approved new rules aimed at strengthening how failing banks are managed, extending protections to a wider range of institutions and depositors across the bloc.
The p...
28th April 2026
Malta Public Transport will be operating extended late-night services on the final night of the Malta International Fireworks Festival, scheduled for Thursday 30th April, ensuring specta...
17th April 2026
Malta Public Transport announces that it will be operating two additional evening trips between Mġarr and Nadur in Gozo on Saturday 18 April 2026 to facilitate passenger travel following...
20th April 2026
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a virtual standstill on Monday with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data.
The oil prod...
14th April 2026
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, say Iran carries out more executions per capita than any other country, and more in total than any nation except China, where reliable fig...
25th February 2026
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
9th February 2026
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
28th April 2026
Ukraine struck Russia’s oil infrastructure in the Black Sea port city of Tuapse for the third time in a month, local authorities said Tuesday.
The city, which declared an environmenta...
21st April 2026
Russian forces have taken 1,700 square km (656 square miles) of territory in Ukraine this year and are advancing on its so-called fortress belt in Donbas, Moscow's top general said whil...