Category: General Interest

According to the Red Cross, the world is still not adequately prepared for possible future pandemics, even three years after the coronavirus outbreak. “A next pandemic could be imminent,” International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Secretary General Jagan Chapagain warned in Geneva on Monday. According to recent figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 6.8 million people have died in connection with Covid-19. The Red Cross pointed out in its global disaster report that the pandemic has caused the largest spike in deaths since…

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Apple is used to giving new technologies more time before integrating them into their own devices. They also stayed true to this strategy with foldable displays. While the competition – such as Samsung – has already launched several generations of foldable devices, Apple has remained cautious. But that could change soon, as the usually well-informed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes on Twitter. Apple is expected to launch a foldable iPad as early as next year. The foldable iPad is supposed to come with a carbon base, bringing growth to the supplier…

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The §57a certificate will have a new layout and a QR code printed, ÖAMTC reported on Monday. With the help of this QR code, an electronic version of the expert opinion can be retrieved from the central database free of charge. The new regulation will take effect on February 2. According to ÖAMTC, these changes bring advantages for consumers: “The QR code on the §57a appraisal brings security in particular when buying a used car. This makes it very easy to check the authenticity of the appraisal,” explains ÖAMTC technician…

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For half a year now, isolation has been no longer mandatory in the case of a Corona infection. What applies in case of a positive test, and what to do? After the long Christmas break, corona numbers are slowly but surely rising again. Fueling the infectious activity in Austria is the now dominant subline XBB.1.5 – a highly contagious omicron variant. The problem is that after nearly three years of the coronavirus pandemic, many have lost track of what’s happening. The rules and measures have finally changed several times, but…

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Since mid-December, the omicron derivative XBB.1.5 has been making headlines. In the U.S., the coronavirus variant accounted for a quarter of cases quickly. In Austria, its share recently doubled every week. The Stockholm-based EU health agency ECDC expects the sublineage to continue to spread rapidly. According to a recent assessment published by the agency, mathematical models would suggest that XBB.1.5 could become dominant in Europe as early as one to two months. But although the variant is considered highly contagious because of its mutations, the “octopus,” as the variant has…

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A powerful snowstorm sweeps across large parts of Austria on Monday! In several provinces, the increased warning level was called. At the beginning of the week, the gradient between a high over the East Atlantic and a pronounced low-pressure complex over Scandinavia increasingly strengthens. Thus, partly bad northwestern weather continues until the week’s second half. In addition, several fronts along the northern Alps repeatedly provide snowfall. Expert now predicts 70 centimetres of new snow and storm A first front reaches the eastern Alpine region on Monday; until Tuesday, the largest…

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After using a USB stick, the computer prompts you to “safely remove the hardware.” Is that necessary? And what happens if you pull out the stick? Generally, hardware connected to the computer, such as USB sticks, memory cards and external hard drives, should be disconnected from the PC using the “Safely Remove Hardware” function. But why is this the case? Don’t just pull out USB sticks and the likeThere is a persistent myth that improper removal of USB memory can break the stick if you pull it out and that…

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On Wednesday, free HPV vaccination for 9 – to 20-year-olds will start in Austria. Previously, the offer was free only for children from nine to eleven years inclusive. The vaccination is effective against cervical, anal, and pharyngeal cancers. Anal and throat cancers affect all genders. The HPV vaccine also works against penile cancer in men, cervical cancer and vaginal and vulvar cancer in women and was added to the free childhood vaccination program in 2014. Now the age limit is being expanded. Starting Wednesday, February 1, the vaccine will be…

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After fuel prices in Austria have recently recovered, there is now the threat of another jump in the cost of diesel. This is because imports from Germany are becoming scarce, as Germany itself imports large quantities from Russia. Fuel prices already rose massively with the start of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine – but such a high-cost jump is not currently expected.Although Austria no longer buys petroleum products directly from Russia, the second part of the EU embargo could indirectly impact Austria. “Austria imports about 60 percent of…

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