Category: General Interest

New Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Junior has taken office. The son of longtime Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos took his oath at the National Museum in the capital Manila. The 64-year-old had clearly won the May 9 election in the Southeast Asian country and succeeds incumbent Duterte. Duterte’s daughter Sara was elected as Marcos’ vice president. During the campaign, he and Sara Duterte avoided controversial issues and focused on calling for national unity. Marcos Jr. appealed to be judged “not by my ancestors but by my deeds.” Last week, Marcos Jr.…

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Last year, more people left the Roman Catholic Church than ever before. 359,338 Catholics turned their backs on their church in 2021 alone, the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) announced in Bonn on Monday. This is a new negative record. “For us, this is the highest number ever,” said DBK spokesman Matthias Kopp. The Catholic Church still had 21,645,875 members – accounting for 26 percent of the total population. DBK chairman Georg Bätzing said he was “deeply shocked by the extremely high number of people leaving the church.” The figure is…

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More than 30 degrees Celsius are expected this weekend. Airing out in the morning hours, taking a siesta at midday, and taking lukewarm showers – a few tips to cool down. It’s going to be hot these coming days. Not only soils and plants are suffering. People are also suffering from the heat and the high UV exposure. It is hottest in the late afternoonThe sun is highest at noon. However, not at noon, but because daylight saves time, only around 1 o’clock. But that’s not when it’s warmest. The…

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According to the ZAMG forecast, the new week will continue to bring us midsummer temperatures and the risk of thunderstorms. Temperatures are expected to climb to 36 degrees by midweek. Midsummer is warm to hot and not always sunny – this is how the forecast for next week’s weather in Austria can be summarized. According to the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG), there is also a high risk of thunderstorms. This is especially true for tomorrow Monday evening and then on Friday from the west. The new week…

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The outbreak of monkeypox in more than 50 countries, including Austria, is not being assessed as an “emergency of international concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO). The U.N. agency in Geneva made the announcement Saturday evening after an emergency committee convened deliberations out of concern about the infections. However, the committee plans to reassess the situation quickly if there is a sharp increase in the number of infections or affected countries, if clustered cases occur among vulnerable groups, or if the virus changes. “I am deeply concerned about the…

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Vienna simplifies access to the fourth Corona vaccination. Effective immediately, all city residents twelve and older whose third vaccination was six months ago can get the booster. “These people we ask to go as soon as possible to refresh. For those who want to do it already after four months, we will make it possible in all municipal vaccination centers and will not deny anyone,” Mario Dujakovic, spokesman for City Health Councillor Peter Hacker (SPÖ), told APA. The current Covid vaccination schedule for mRNA vaccines stipulates that it takes three…

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In the coming days, heat but also thunderstorms are expected in Austria. This forecast also applies to the Vienna Danube Island Festival. Sun and thunderstorms at the Donau Inselfest Saturday starts dry and sunny in the south and east of AustriaIn the south and east, Saturday will start mainly dry and sunny. Otherwise, many clouds will remain, and there will be some showers, which will be locally heavy. With a few sunny clearings, thunderstorms may also occur in the east and later in the south and southeast. The afternoon will…

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More monkeypox infections have occurred in Austria. Twenty cases have been confirmed as of Friday, according to AGES. In addition, there is one probable cause. The most evidence of the disease, which has been reportable for several weeks, is in Vienna, with 14 so far. Two have already recovered, twelve men are still active cases in the federal capital and segregated by the authorities, and three are currently being treated in hospital, said to the office of Health Councillor Peter Hacker (SPÖ). More precise data are available for the federal…

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The Austrian government announced Thursday that mandatory vaccination is now history. What’s next for the green passport and the 4th prick? Compulsory vaccination in Austria is history: health minister Johannes Rauch and ÖVP club leader August Wöginger officially announced the end on Thursday. “Compulsory vaccination was introduced under different conditions than how we have it today. With Delta, we had a variant with 60 percent more hospitalizations. Austria was then in November on the verge of a lockdown,” said Health Minister Johannes Rauch, explaining a changed overall situation as the…

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