Category: Feature Stories

Pope Francis has again urged a ceasefire, negotiations, and humanitarian corridors in Ukraine. Ukraine: “war,” not “military operation.” In his most detailed statement to date on the Russian attack on the neighboring country, he stressed this Sunday that the arms race could not be called a “military operation” but only a “war.” In doing so, the pope contradicted the official Russian reading of events. “War is madness.” At his Angelus prayer in Rome with thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, Francis announced that two cardinals of the Curia would…

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According to the United Nations, more than 1.5 million people have already fled the country because of the war in Ukraine. This is the “fastest-growing refugee crisis” in Europe since World War II; the UN said Sunday on the short message service Twitter. With fighting intensifying, the number of people fleeing the country every day is likely to continue to rise. According to UN estimates, four million people may want to leave Ukraine. By the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, there were just…

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In Austria, the willingness to accept restrictions to fight the pandemic is reducing. This is shown by the latest round of the “Corona Sentiment Barometer” conducted by the Gallup Institute. In it, nearly half of respondents said they thought the threat posed by the coronavirus was exaggerated. Regular Corona mood barometer The Gallup Institute began surveying common public sentiment about the corona crisis before the first lockdown in March 2020. At that time, most people in Austria were still quite relaxed: 53 percent agreed with the statement “that the danger…

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It was already known that previous illness with Covid-19 does not permanently protect against reinfection. Therefore, health authorities in the USA, Europe, and England advise those who have recovered to refresh their immunity. Two recent studies now show a significant decrease in reinfection rates when natural immunity is boosted by a vaccine, the New England Journal of Medicine reports. Israeli epidemiologists evaluated data from 149,032 patients infected during Israel’s first two waves of disease. Of these, 83,356 Israelis had responded to a call from the Ministry of Health and had…

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On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called on Russia to end its aggression. The vote, taken by a large majority, cannot be blocked by a veto from one of the Security Council countries. 141 UN member states voted in favor of a resolution to this effect in New York. Thirty-five countries abstained, 5 opposed the resolution. Austria had also announced that it would vote in favor. Before the largest body of the United Nations with 193 members, the Western allies wanted to make…

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The ash cross is considered a sign of repentance and conversion: a text message from the Holy Father. “Remember, man, that you are dust, and you will return to dust,” the priest says as he blesses the faithful today. Today’s Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the forty days of Lent in the Western Church. Its name comes from the custom of Christians drawing a cross with ashes on their foreheads on this day as a sign of repentance and conversion. The time commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting…

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According to the United Nations, nearly 700,000 people have left Ukraine for neighboring countries since Thursday’s Russian invasion. According to the government in Warsaw, kilometer-long lines are entering Poland, and people have to wait up to 60 hours, although waiting times have been shortened. The U.N. said that queues at the border with Romania are up to 20 kilometers long. Most people are fleeing west to neighboring countries such as Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. The number of refugees is growing “exponentially,” a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said…

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The Civil Defense Association of Lower Austria urges people to take precautions for general emergencies. Elevated radiation levels around the ruins of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had recently alarmed the population. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there was no cause for concern. The reason was radioactively contaminated soil stirred up by the Russian military’s capture of the accident reactor. At present, there is no acute danger of a radioactive incident, but the As an example, the creation of a food stockpile was mentioned. The main task…

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Vaccinations start this week with the protein vaccine. The most important questions and answers. It is vaccine number five against the new coronavirus: this week, the Covid vaccinations prepare Nuvaxovid of the U.S. company Novavax. 1.1 million doses have arrived in Austria so far – in a warehouse of one of the member companies of the Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (Phago). Currently, delivery to the provinces is already in full swing. In total, the Ministry of Health has ordered 3.1 million doses for the first quarter of this year. Several…

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