Category: Feature Stories

Christmas and the New Year without alcohol? For many, that sounds unthinkable. But for some, it’s a conscious decision or even a necessity. How the plan can succeed. Whether it is mulled wine at the Christmas market, eggnog under the tree, or champagne at the end of the year, alcohol consumption plays a larger role in society than usual during the holiday season. For people who give up alcohol, whether out of personal conviction or during a withdrawal process, this can be a major challenge. How can the project succeed…

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Time and again, spammers and scammers use text messages to send annoying advertising or dangerous messages. If you have received a suspicious message, you can report the text message. Where is the best place to do this? Who you report a text message to depends on the content. Depending on whether it is “just” annoying advertising or a fake text message with phishing intentions, you should contact a different department. Telekom customers with an iPhone will have a convenient option to report spam text messages at the end of 2023.…

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Despite the fact that the pandemic is over, more than 50,000 Austrians are currently on sick leave due to coronavirus. The current Omicron variants are highly contagious, but demand for the booster vaccine has been hesitant. Until now, there has also been a lack of proof of its effectiveness against currently circulating variants. This has now been provided by the Hannover Medical School (MHH) with a new study. In cooperation with the MHH Institute of Immunology and the German Primate Center Göttingen, researchers have published the world’s first paper on…

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December 22 at 4:27 a.m. is the winter solstice. On this day, the Earth reaches the point in its orbit around the sun where the northern hemisphere tilts away from the sun as much as possible due to the Earth’s tilted axis. From our position in relation to the sun, this means that it slips “downwards” as far as possible. Polar night prevails north of the Arctic Circle. This means it is dark all day. However, the shortest day of the year is not also the day with the latest…

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The EU member states agreed on uniform measures to reduce packaging waste across Europe on Monday in Brussels. This is according to a statement from the Council of EU Environment Ministers. Quotas will be set for reusable or recyclable packaging. Some single-use plastic packaging is to disappear completely. This includes, for example, small shampoo bottles in hotels or plastic wrapping for fruit and vegetables. However, the EU countries will be given some leeway for derogations. Furthermore, a reduction in packaging waste of five percent by 2030, ten percent by 2035…

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Criminals are currently trying to defraud iCloud users with fake invoices. Find out how you can protect yourself here.Type of scam: phishing emailTarget of the attacks: iCloud usersRisk classification: HighA new wave of phishing messages targets Apple’s iCloud service users, warns the consumer advice center. With the subject “Your file may be deleted,” this email refers to allegedly full iCloud storage. The content includes an invoice with the invoice date, order number, and other data.However, the exact item or service ordered is not specified. This is followed by the information…

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Austria is continuing extraordinary controls at the Schengen border with the Czech Republic for fear of illegal migration. The Ministry of the Interior announced on Saturday that checks will continue for a further two months after December 17 for the time being. “Border controls are necessary both to combat the smuggling mafia and to take consistent action against internationally active extremists,” said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP). Border controls with the Czech Republic since OctoberAccording to information, border controls between Austria and the Czech Republic were reintroduced on October 18.…

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On December 14, a massive eruption occurred in the Sun. A class X solar flare—the highest class such events can fall into—occurred in an active region called AR 3514. The eruption could also have an impact on Earth. The eruption is the strongest in the current solar cycle since September 2017, when the event caused a moderate radio blackout in South America. Radio signals in the high-frequency range were completely lost for 2 hours. Other frequencies had temporary degradation. Simultaneous coronal mass ejectionDuring the current solar flare, a coronal mass…

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Mom was right! The latest scientific evidence suggests that chicken soup really does help to heal. Making a bowl of chicken soup for someone who is sick has been a common practice around the world for centuries. Today, generations from virtually every culture swear by the broth. The soup owes its reputation as a household remedy for colds to Pedanius Dioscorides, an army surgeon who was consulted by early healers for more than a millennium under the Roman Emperor Nero and his five-volume medical encyclopaedia. However, the origins of chicken…

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