Category: Feature Stories

“This is the hour of shame” – this is how Pope Francis reacted in Rome to the report on child abuse in France. Addressing the more than 300,000 victims in Wednesday’s general audience, he expressed “sorrow and pain” in light of the trauma they have suffered. In addition, he spoke of shame, “vergogna,” the word can also be translated as shame: “my shame, our shame, my shame,” that the Church has been unable for too long to place the victims of abuse at the center of its concerns. Francis has…

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On Monday evening, the platforms were unavailable for more than five hours, and only around midnight the services slowly started working again.Around six hours without Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram: An unusually long total outage affected billions of users of the online network on Monday. While Facebook did not initially comment on the causes of the disruption, experts tipped a configuration error in the network infrastructure that made all Facebook services inaccessible. Founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized in a short Facebook post. Facebook’s technical team tweeted, “To the vast…

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The EU medicines agency EMA has approved booster vaccinations against coronavirus using the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine. Booster vaccination with the corona vaccine would be eligible for people aged 18 and older, the EMA said Monday. The third vaccination should be given no earlier than six months after the second dose is administered, it said. Austria had previously begun offering a third prick to early first-time vaccinated people – but did so without approval, meaning off-label. The booster vaccination will be given in this country with the mRNA vaccines from BioNTech/Pfizer and…

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After long negotiations, the federal government under the People’s Party (ÖVP) and Greens has now agreed on an eco-social tax reform. The key points are in place, but the details are still being worked out. The majority of the measures will take effect on July 1, 2022. In total, the government coalition promises to reduce taxes by 18 billion euros by 2025. Environmentally damaging behavior will be charged a price on CO2 emissions, and there will be a climate bonus to compensate for this. Wage and income tax will be…

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Global pandemic activity has slowed for the fifth consecutive week. The number of daily new Corona infections decreased by eleven percent to 457,000.That’s according to a count by the AFP news agency based on official data released Thursday. Infection numbers had been rising since mid-June because of the highly contagious delta variant, but they have been declining for more than a month. Countries have different testing strategieshe confirmed cases reflect only a fraction of the actual infections, however, because counting and testing practices differ among countries. Nevertheless, much of the…

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The autumn holidays are already approaching, and many are longing for relaxation and a change of scenery. One thing is fixed: those who travel must expect restrictions. Read here to find out which Corona measures apply in popular vacation countries. FranceIn France, restaurants, cultural institutions and sports facilities are open. However, proof of vaccination, testing or convalescence is required for entry, even for outdoor areas. Such proof is also required for travel by bus or long-distance train. Entry is possible from Europe with proof of vaccination or a negative PCR…

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Vaccinations protect against covid-19. How long the effect lasts depends on many factors. Data show: For all vaccines, protection against a severe course of covid remains very high for a very long time. How long does the protection of Corona vaccinations last? This is a question that concerns many people, but it is not easy to answer. On the one hand, the increasing number of vaccine breakthroughs – symptomatic Sars-CoV-2 infections despite complete vaccination – shows that the vaccines do not provide lasting protection against Covid-19. On the other hand,…

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The global pandemic slowed for the fifth week in a row. The number of new daily infections fell 11 percent to 457,000, according to a count by the AFP news agency based on official data released Thursday. Infection numbers had been rising since mid-June because of the highly contagious delta variant, but they have been declining for more than a month. Confirmed cases, however, reflect only a fraction of actual infections, as counting methods and testing practices differ among countries. Nevertheless, the situation is improving in much of the world:…

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A new CoV drug from U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck significantly reduces the likelihood of very severe courses in high-risk patients, according to a clinical study. The company, which is also known as MSD, said today that it plans to seek approval for use in the U.S. as soon as possible and will also submit applications to authorities worldwide. The drug is administered as a tablet. In the study, CoV patients with mild to moderate symptoms treated with a placebo were hospitalized or died within 29 days in 14.1 percent of…

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