Austria

Austria strengthens controls at the Brenner Pass

Austria is to intensify monitoring at the Brenner Pass on the border with Italy in response to the uptick in the arrival of migrants and refugees to Lampedusa, the Austrian…

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Austrian leader backs far-right idea of enshrining cash in constitution

VIENNA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Austria's conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer wants the right to use cash enshrined in the constitution, he told Austrian media in remarks published on Friday, an…

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World’s oldest national newspaper prints final edition after 320 years

The world’s oldest national newspaper has printed its last daily edition almost 320 years after it began. Wiener Zeitung, a Vienna-based daily newspaper, will no longer print daily editions after…

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Austrian economy to stagnate in 2023 – economic institutes

June 28 (Reuters) - Austria's economy is expected to stagnate throughout the second half of the year, hindered by inflation, a tighter monetary policy and a weak international economy, before…

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U.N. report says cocaine market is booming as meth trafficking spreads

VIENNA, (Reuters) - Cocaine demand and supply are booming worldwide and methamphetamine trafficking is expanding beyond established markets, including in Afghanistan where the drug is now being produced, a United…

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Austria not liable for Ischgl ski resort COVID outbreak

Austrian state cannot be held liable for the Ischgl crisis that saw thousands catch COVID-19, a court has ruled, rejecting the plaintiff's claims of "catastrophic mismanagement." Vienna's Supreme Court of…

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Austria to summon Hungarian ambassador over migration spat

BRUSSELS, May 22 (Reuters) - Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg on Monday said his ministry would summon the Hungarian ambassador over a dispute linked to the release of people he…

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Eye In The Sky: Innsbruck, Austria

Innsbruck seen from the Hafelekar, at 2.256 m (approx. 7,000 ft) above sea level, on a warm winter day, Austria. Photo: EPA-EFE/CHRISTIAN BRUNA

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Austrian trains running again after technical failure

VIENNA, April 13 (Reuters) - Trains in the east of Austria, a swathe of the country that includes its biggest rail hub, Vienna, are running again after a technical disruption…

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Austria to extend checks at Hungarian, Slovenian borders

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria plans to extend checks at its borders with Slovenia and Hungary by another six months from May 11, when the current six-month suspension of free travel…

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Austrian banks unaffected by banking turmoil – finance minister tells NZZ

ZURICH, April 8 (Reuters) - Austria's government is monitoring the global banking turmoil although there are so far no signs of it spreading to the country's financial sector, Finance Minister…

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Austrian economy set to pick up next year – economic institutes

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - Austria's economy is expected to pick up starting next year, once price pressures that are set to slow growth this year should begin easing in…

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Austria not rowing back support for EU’s car CO2 law, minister says

By Bart H. Meijer and Kate Abnett BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - Austria has already supported the European Union's agreement on a law to phase out new sales of CO2-emitting…

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UPDATED: Police deploy to sensitive sites in Vienna, warning of Islamist attack

VIENNA, March 15 (Reuters) - Vienna police stepped up armed patrols at sensitive sites in the Austrian capital including churches on Wednesday after the country's domestic intelligence agency received information…

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IAEA board backs Grossi’s appointment to second four-year term

VIENNA, March 10 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation board of governors on Friday backed the reappointment of Argentina's Rafael Grossi to a second four-year term as director general, diplomats at…

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Suspected trafficker held in Austria after Italy shipwreck disaster

ROME (Reuters) - A fourth suspected human trafficker has been arrested in connection with a shipwreck off southern Italy last month in which at least 72 people died, an Italian…

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Austria expels four Russian envoys for breaching international agreements

VIENNA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Austria is expelling four Russian diplomats for behaving in a manner inconsistent with international agreements, a reason often invoked in spying cases, the Austrian Foreign…

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Dutch hacker obtained virtually all Austrians’ personal data, police say

VIENNA (Reuters) - A Dutch hacker arrested in November obtained and offered for sale the full name, address and date of birth of virtually everyone in Austria, the Alpine nation's…

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UPDATE – All missing people found alive afterAustrian avalanche – APA

BERLIN (Reuters) - The last two people unaccounted for after an avalanche in the Lech/Zuers skiing area in western Austria contacted authorities late on Sunday, and a search and rescue operation was…

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Austrian economy to slow in 2023

BERLIN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Austria's economy is expected to slow in 2023, according to forecasts by two leading economic institutes published on Thursday, as high energy costs and waning…

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Speed far above the limit and we’ll take your car, Austria says

Drivers in Austria guilty of extreme speeding will have their cars seized and auctioned off, the government said on Monday, seeking to deter "boy racers" by threatening to take away…

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Strike brings trains to standstill across Austria

VIENNA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Austrian rail traffic ground to a halt from midnight, impacting around 8,000 connections and some one million passengers, as workers held a 24-hour strike on…

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Serbia, Hungary and Austria agree to bolster fight against illegal migrations

By Aleksandar Vasovic BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia on Wednesday agreed with Hungary and Austria to deploy more joint police patrols along its southern borders and align visa policies with those…

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Austria says EU’s debt laggards are hurting the fight against inflation

VIENNA (Reuters) - Excessive debt in some EU countries is hampering the fight against inflation, Austria's finance minister said on Wednesday, adding that his country would soon press the worst…

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Austria seeks allies for legal challenge to EU green investment rules

Austria said it was seeking to enlist other European Union countries to support its legal action against Brussels for labelling investment in gas and nuclear power as "green". Vienna on Friday…

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Austrian president secures re-election with clear win, avoiding runoff

VIENNA, (Reuters) - Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen secured a second six-year term in office on Sunday by winning a clear majority of votes in an election to avoid…

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Austrian president secures re-election in first round, projections show

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen secured a second six-year term in office by obtaining more than 50% of the vote in an election on Sunday to…

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Austrian president seeks re-election by first-round knock-out

VIENNA (Reuters) - Candidates in Austria's presidential election began wrapping up their campaigns on Friday ahead of Sunday's vote in which the incumbent and clear favourite, Alexander Van der Bellen,…

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Austria to start checks at border with Slovakia

VIENNA, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Austria will introduce checks at its border with Slovakia from midnight (2200 GMT), an Interior Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, confirming a report by the…

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Austria’s Turk proposed to be next UN human rights chief

GENEVA, Sept 8 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will propose Austria's Volker Turk to be the next High Commissioner for Human Rights, a UN document showed. Turk, who…

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Austria plans to partly reimburse household power bills

VIENNA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Austria's conservative-led government on Wednesday outlined a plan to help households cope with soaring energy bills by partly reimbursing costs beyond what it called the…

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Austria backs EU cap to end ‘madness’ of runaway power prices

VIENNA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer backs a European Union-wide cap on runaway electricity prices, he said in a statement issued by his office on Sunday. Austria's conservative-led government…

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Photo story: People smuggling tragedy on Austrian-Slovak border

Emergency services at the scene where at least three people were killed and several seriously injured after an accident on the A6 near the Kittsee border crossing, Austria, 13 August…

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Austria mourns suicide of doctor targetted by anti-vaccine campaigners

ZURICH, July 30 (Reuters) - Austrian leaders appealed for national unity after a doctor who faced death threats from anti-vaccination activists and coronavirus pandemic conspiracy theorists took her own life.…

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Photo Story: Severe storms cause flooding and damage in southern Austria

A handout photo made available by the Austrian Federal Police in Carinthia (Kaernten) shows a flooded car after heavy rains and a mudslide in the southern region of Carinthia, Austria,.…

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Austria revives coal-fired power option as Russia cuts gas supply

VIENNA, (Reuters) - Austria's government agreed with utility Verbund to convert a reserve, gas-fired power plant so that it can produce electricity with coal should restricted gas supplies from Russia result in…

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Photo Story: The Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert

Bolts of lightning above illuminated Schoenbrunn Palace as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performs on stage during the 'Summer Night Concert' (Sommernachtskonzert) at the Schoenbrunn Palace gardens, in Vienna, Austria, on…

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Austria’s neutral status here to stay, foreign minister says

BERLIN, May 18 (Reuters) - The foreign minister of Austria said his country would retain its neutral status even as EU allies Sweden and Finland overhauled decades-long foreign policy stances to apply…

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Austria’s current account swings to deficit for first time in two decades

VIENNA, May 6 (Reuters) - Austria's current account balance swung to a deficit in 2021 for the first time in 20 years as coronavirus-related travel restrictions hurt tourism badly and Austrian investments…

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Austria says Ukraine war is swelling deficit back to EU’s 3% limit

VIENNA, April 20 (Reuters) - The Ukraine war's negative impact on economic growth and associated costs such as reducing dependence on Russian natural gas have forced Austria to increase its budget deficit…

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Austrian Chancellor in “open and tough” talks with Putin

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer held "very direct, open and tough" talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin near Moscow on Monday, in Putin's first meeting with a European Union leader since the invasion of…

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Austrian leader to meet Putin in Moscow, hoping to build bridges

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, he said, adding he hoped to help build bridges between Russia and Ukraine and stop the "war of aggression".…

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UPDATED: Russian facing most difficult situation in three decades, PM says

April 7 (Reuters) - Russia is facing its most difficult situation in three decades due to unprecedented Western sanctions, but foreign attempts to isolate it from the global economy will fail, Prime…

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Factbox: Sweden or Austria as military model for Ukraine neutrality

Ukraine could become a non-aligned or neutral state like Sweden or Austria, Russia said on Wednesday, as it seeks a compromise with Kyiv to end three weeks of war. Here…

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Former Austrian chancellor leaves Lukoil job over Ukraine

BERLIN, March 4 (Reuters) - Former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel is stepping down from his position on the board of Russian energy giant Lukoil, the latest Western politician to distance himself from…

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Austrian watchdog imposes moratorium at Sberbank Europe

VIENNA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) has imposed a moratorium on Sberbank Europe AG, a unit of Russia's Sberbank, with immediate effect until March 1, 2022, 11:59 pm,…

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Austria to lift most COVID-19 restrictions by March 5

VIENNA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Austria will lift most of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions by March 5, including scrapping an earlier closing time of midnight for bars and restaurants and allowing night…

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Germany and Austria told to curb boom in home prices

Germany and Austria should curb a boom in house prices by setting caps on mortgages and forcing banks to build up more capital, the European Union's financial stability watchdog said.…

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Austria’s upper house backs COVID vaccine mandate

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's upper house of parliament on Thursday passed a bill to make coronavirus vaccines compulsory for adults, bringing the European Union's first such sweeping vaccine mandate a…

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Austria to further ease COVID restrictions

ZURICH, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Austria will begin easing COVID-19 related restrictions next week, Chancellor Karl Nehammer told a news conference on Saturday, allowing shops and restaurants to remain open…

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Austria set to make COVID shots compulsory after bill clears parliament

Austria's lower house of parliament passed a bill on Thursday making COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for adults as of Feb. 1, bringing Austria closer to introducing the first such sweeping coronavirus…

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UPDATED: Austria introduces lottery as COVID vaccine incentive

VIENNA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Austria's conservative-led government said on Thursday it was introducing a national lottery to encourage holdouts to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, hours before parliament was…

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Austria to begin compulsory vaccination from next month

Austria's government proposed on Sunday setting the minimum age for mandatory coronavirus vaccinations against COVID-19 at 18 and rolling out the programme in stages from Feb. 1, seeking to build…

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Austria’s daily COVID-19 infections reported to have hit record

VIENNA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Austria's daily new coronavirus infections have risen to a new record of 18,427, newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported on Wednesday as cases have been surging because…

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Ex-Austria Chancellor Kurz made co-chairman of anti-racism group

ZURICH, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who quit his post last year after corruption allegations against him, has been appointed co-chairman of the European Council on…

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Austrian chancellor says he has no COVID symptoms and ‘doing well’

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Saturday he was well and had no COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the coronavirus this week, vowing to do…

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Austria shortens coronavirus quarantine, presses ahead with mandatory jabs

Austria will impose new COVID-19 measures from Saturday and the government is still working on a draft law to make vaccinations compulsory from Feb. 1 as the highly contagious Omicron…

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