Category: General Interest

The day after his victory in the U.S. election, Joe Biden today attended church services and visited the graves of family members near his home in Wilmington. Biden’s son Beau, his first wife Neilia and daughter Naomi are buried in Greenville Cemetery. Beau died in 2015 as a result of a brain tumor. Neilia and Naomi Biden died in a car accident in 1972. According to the journalists on the spot, the elected US president was accompanied by his daughter from a second marriage, Ashley Biden, and his grandson Hunter.…

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Joe Biden has come another step closer to the White House in the US presidential election. The Democratic challenger to incumbent Donald Trump also took the lead in today’s count in the particularly hard-fought state of Georgia. A success in Georgia could lift the 77-year-old above the 270 voters needed to win a presidential election in the United States. The decision could be made this Friday. So far Biden has managed to attract 253 voters. Trump currently has 214 voters. Should Biden actually win Georgia and his success in Arizona…

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November hadn’t even started yet, when the questions were already coming up: Would the measures really only last until the end of the month? Why would gastronomy, cultural and sports facilities have to close, but church services could take place? Were there no other ways to protect endangered population groups? Could we still afford this renewed shutdown of public life? Impatience and reluctance everywhere – although nobody can deny that the number of infections is growing exponentially. Although the restrictions in force since Tuesday are comparatively mild compared to those…

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A mourning service for the victims of the terrorist attack took place Tuesday evening in Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn conducted the service, representatives of the other Christian churches in the country as well as of Islam and Judaism took part. On the political side, representatives included Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka (both ÖVP) and Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ). The few mourners, among them several ministers, sat in the middle of the cathedral, on the…

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After the attack in Vienna, the German police controlled the German-Austrian border with increased vigilance. “Our forces have been sensitized accordingly,” a spokesman said in Potsdam today. The control of the border is now a “tactical focus”. The border officials paid close attention to whether there were any conspicuous features “from the appropriate spectrum”. After the terrorist attack in Vienna, Italy is also tightening security controls at the border crossings to Austria, starting with the Brenner Pass on the border between Tyrol and South Tyrol. The military of the Italian…

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In consultation with the Ministry of Culture, the churches and religious communities are tightening their coronavirus protection measures for public worship services, which are still possible. The use of online services, the shorter duration of church services and the cordoning off of every second pew are mentioned. The most important change is that from Tuesday onwards a minimum distance of 1.5 meters must be maintained during church services. As before, a mouth and nose protector must be worn. The agreement was concluded on Sunday and comes into force, as do…

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The lockdown from November 3 means a hard cut for the gastronomy. Guests may only enter restaurants under these conditions. From Tuesday onwards, all restaurants and bars in Austria will be prohibited from entering the premises. This means that restaurants and pubs must actually remain closed to customers. But there is no rule without exception: ordered meals may still be picked up between 6.00 and 20.00 hours. Delivery services may continue to operate without time restrictions. READ MORE: Rules for the second lockdown at a glance > As with the…

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Today, Sunday, the “situational winter equipment obligation” for cars and trucks up to 3.5 tons came into force again. From November 1, motorists in Austria must drive on snow, slush or ice with winter tires or have snow chains mounted on at least two drive wheels. However, chains are only permitted if the road is covered with snow or ice throughout. The police can impose fines of up to 5,000 euros for violations of the equipment requirement. From November 1, trucks and buses weighing more than 3.5 tons must be…

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Although the stores remain open even in the renewed lockdown, people are again storming the domestic supermarkets and plundering the shelves. It is a familiar picture from March 2020: Empty shelves and long lines in front of the domestic supermarkets. But these photos are not from spring, they are brand new. After the renewed lockdown announcement by the federal government, people are once again storming the stores and hoarding food. On Twitter, a user shared a photo of a supermarket shelf in Sandleitengasse in Ottakring that had been half emptied.…

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