Austria

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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Austria’s ex-chancellor Kurz to work for Thiel Capital

Former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who quit in the face of corruption allegations, will work for Thiel Capital starting next year, Austrian media outlets reported. Kronen Zeitung newspaper and Heute…

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Austria tightens restrictions as it braces for Omicron wave

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria is introducing restrictions including a 10 p.m. closing time to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant after Christmas and prevent it being imported from…

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Austria to allow tightly limited right to assisted suicide

Austria’s parliament has approved legislation that will allow chronically or terminally ill people to stipulate their will to die in tightly defined circumstances. Lawmakers approved the new rules by a…

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Austria offers seasonal lockdown reprieve for unvaccinated

Austria said it was temporarily loosening its lockdown on those not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 over Christmas and New Year's Eve thanks to a drop in infections. "Christmas should show…

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Austria likely to recommend COVID boosters from age 12

Austria is likely to soon recommend COVID-19 booster shots for children aged 12 and over once four months have passed since their second vaccine dose, Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein said.…

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UPDATED- Nehammer is sworn in as Austria’s third chancellor in two months

VIENNA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Austrian conservative Karl Nehammer was sworn in on Monday as Austria's third chancellor in two months, succeeding career diplomat Alexander Schallenberg, who took office on…

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FACTBOX-Austria’s next chancellor: ex-soldier, hardliner, survivor

Following are some key facts about Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer, who was picked by top officials of the ruling conservative party on Friday to be their leader and the…

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UPDATED: Immigration hardliner Nehammer to take over as Austrian leader

VIENNA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Austria's ruling conservatives on Friday picked the current interior minister, an immigration hardliner, to lead them and the nation after a wave of resignations by…

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Austria’s stunned conservatives meet to pick leader for party and country

VIENNA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Top officials of Austria's ruling conservative party, reeling from their leader Sebastian Kurz's surprise resignation, meet on Friday morning to pick a successor who will…

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Austrian chancellor stepping down after strongman Kurz quits politics

VIENNA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg is stepping down to make way for whoever takes over as leader of his conservative party, he said on Thursday, just…

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UPDATED: Austria’s Kurz quits party and parliament, stunning national politics

VIENNA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz stunned Austria and left a power vacuum in his governing conservative party on Thursday by announcing he was leaving politics, after…

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Austria extends COVID-19 lockdown by 10 days

An Austrian parliamentary committee, as widely expected, approved a decree extending the country's COVID-19 lockdown by 10 days, bringing its total duration to 20 days, which the government has said…

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German and Austrian COVID-19 incidence rate falls, stable in Netherlands

The COVID-19 incidence rate has dropped slightly in Germany and Austria and stabilised in the Netherlands since the three countries introduced new measures to curb the spread of the virus, new data showed. After becoming hot spots…

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Austria reports first suspected case of Omicron COVID-19 variant

ZURICH, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Austria has detected its first suspected case of the new Omicron coronavirus variant in the Tirol, authorities in the alpine region said late on Saturday.…

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Austria finds bird flu on small chicken farm as virus spreads

VIENNA, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Austria has found a case of bird flu on a small chicken farm near Vienna airport and is ordering poultry farms with more than 350…

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UPDATED: Fourth national COVID-19 lockdown begins in Austria

Austria entered its fourth national lockdown on Monday after tens of thousands of people, many of them far-right supporters, protested in Vienna against renewed curbs on movement as Europe again…

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Photo Story: Demonstration against coronavirus measures in Vienna

People take part in a demonstration against the measures of the Austrian government to slow down the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus at the…

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UPDATED: Austria to go into full COVID-19 lockdown

VIENNA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full coronavirus lockdown this autumn to tackle a new wave of infections, and…

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Austrian COVID-19 cases keep rising as provinces prepare full lockdown

VIENNA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Austria's daily coronavirus infections hit a new record on Thursday as the hardest-hit provinces started planning a full lockdown and pressure on the government grew…

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Germans, Austrians line up for shots as COVID cases soar across Europe

Germans and Austrians are rushing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus as infections soar across Europe and governments impose restrictions on the unvaccinated, figures showed. Germany and Austria have among…

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Austrian COVID cases hit record on third day of lockdown for unvaccinated

VIENNA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Austrian coronavirus infections hit a new daily record on Wednesday, the third day of a lockdown for those not fully vaccinated aimed at halting the…

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Covid-19: Europe accounts for half of new infections over past week

Austria imposed a lockdown on people unvaccinated against the coronavirus on Monday as winter approaches and infections rise across Europe, with Germany considering tighter curbs and Britain expanding its booster programme to younger adults.…

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Austria locks down unvaccinated as COVID cases rise across Europe

IENNA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Austria slapped a lockdown on people unvaccinated against the coronavirus on Monday as winter approaches and infections rise across Europe epicentre, with Germany considering tighter…

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Austria orders non-vaccinated people into COVID-19 lockdown

Austria is placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in lockdown as of Monday to deal with a surge in infections to record levels, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg…

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Austria plans to approve lockdown for the unvaccinated on Sunday

VIENNA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Austria's government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people who are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as daily infections…

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UPDATED: Austrian leader expects agreement on lockdown for those not vaccinated against COVID-19

Austria's government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people not vaccinated against the coronavirus, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Friday. The government will hold a…

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