Category: General Interest

Winter is making its return in many parts of Austria this weekend. A cold front brings not only hard and wet weather but also snow. Friday will start with a few hours of sunshine, but more and more clouds will move in from the north and southwest during the day. There will be rain showers, especially in the country’s northern half. In the south, it will remain largely dry on FridayThe area between the Inn and Waldviertel will be particularly affected. The snow line will continue to move between 1,300…

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The inflation rate in January reached a new record level in this crisis. Energy prices, in particular, are driving inflation to record highs. According to Statistik Austria, the inflation rate for January 2023 rose to 11.2 percent, which was even higher than in December 2022 (10.2 percent). This also shattered the current crisis record from October (11 percent). So while this country’s inflation crisis has worsened, the rest of Europe can take a breather. Year-on-year inflation in the eurozone was 9.2 percent in December and fell to 8.5 percent in…

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Thousands of Austrians received “fake emails” from sex blackmailers. Sextortion” is what investigators call those perfidious extortion emails currently being sent out in the tens of thousands in the name of senior police officers such as that Director General Gerhard Pürstl. The clear accusation can only be cleared up by paying a high Bitcoin fine: “child pornography and sex trafficking.” These had been discovered on respective computers during investigations. “Many recipients go – whether rightly or wrongly unsettled – to the blackmail,” says cyber security expert Dr. Cornelius Granig, who…

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Vitamin B12 is essential for cell division and the nervous system. What are the best foods for this purpose, and why do we not need tablets? Vitamin B12 is important for producing genetic material, such as cells, i.e., blood cell formation, nervous system function, and absorption of folic acid and carbohydrates in the diet. Vitamin B12 also plays a role in the metabolism of homocysteine, which is considered a risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Foods containing vitamin B12Vitamin B12 is important for producing genetic material, such as cells,…

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Those new regulations around the women’s retirement age in Austria, which will apply gradually from 2024, are not surprising. After all, the basis for this goes back to 1992. At that time, the Constitutional Court set the course for raising the legal retirement age with its decision. The aim was to align it with the statutory retirement age for men, i.e. 65. At the beginning of February, the National Council and, on Thursday, the Bundesrat, with an amendment of the Social Security law key dates finally concretized and fixed. In…

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Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH (RTR) warns of a new scam via SMS. A new scam SMS is currently circulating in Austria. Using SMS, an impending seizure of household goods is faked to stir up fears and extort payments, Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH (RTR) informs in a release. The message contains a link to allegedly settle outstanding debts. In this way, the perpetrators try to obtain account data and thus the victims’ money, RTR warns. The new SMS scam was reported via the “rufnummernmissbrauch.at” platform. “The SMS informs you that a…

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Omicron variant is deadlier than seasonal flu, study says. According to a representative study by the University of Lucerne, the Corona variant Omicron has a higher mortality rate among hospitalized individuals than seasonal flu. During the first 30 days of hospitalization, mortality was about 1.5 times higher in people sick with the Omicron variant, the University of Lucerne said Thursday. Higher mortality with Omicron variant than with influenzaThe results were published Wednesday in the journal Jama Network Open. Data from 3,066 people affected by omicron were matched with 2,146 who…

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The red, purple and blue pigments in fruits, vegetables and tubers may reduce the risk of diabetes, a recent Finnish study shows. The purple pigments, called anthocyanins, affect energy metabolism, the gut microbiome, and inflammation. The positive effect of anthocyanins on type 2 diabetes is particularly high in certain vegetables. These include purple potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, radishes, purple carrots and red cabbage. Blueberries, blackberries and mulberries are also dark purples, but they chemically lack a so-called acyl group, so their effect is smaller. The researchers managed to show this…

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Austrians can look forward to warmer temperatures: according to the current forecast of Geosphere Austria (formerly ZAMG), up to 18 degrees are expected at the weekend. Regionally, however, stormy weather may also occur. First, however, it will still be somewhat uncomfortable on Friday. Embedded in the northwesterly high-altitude current, a frontal system will capture the country and bring dense clouds north of the main ridge of the Alps and intermittent rain, especially in the north. In the south, however, it will be sunny for longer periods on Friday with variable…

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