Category: Sports

Vatican City, December 24, 2025 – In his first Christmas Eve Mass as pope, Leo XIV called the faithful to rediscover the humility of God made human, urging them to “look not upward, but downward” to find the Savior. The newly elected pontiff delivered his homily before 6,000 worshippers inside St. Peter’s Basilica, while another 5,000 followed the liturgy from the rain‑soaked St. Peter’s Square. Before entering the basilica, Pope Leo greeted those gathered outside who had been unable to obtain admission tickets due to overwhelming demand. “Buonasera, benvenuti tutti,”…

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The 4th Sunday of Advent draws our gaze toward Mary, the woman who said yes to God even when the path ahead was uncertain. Her quiet courage, her openness to God’s plan, and her willingness to carry Christ into the world become a mirror for our own journeys—especially for Filipinos living and working far from home. Mary’s Yes and the Filipino Migrant Heart For many Filipinos in Austria, migration began with a difficult but loving “yes.” A yes to sacrifice. A yes to responsibility. A yes to hope for a…

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Austria is facing an unusually early start to the flu season, driven by the highly contagious A(H3N2) virus variant of the subclade K. Virologists had already warned in recent weeks that influenza activity was rising faster than usual. Now, the data confirms it: the flu season has arrived about a month earlier than in previous years, with infections expected to peak right around the Christmas holidays — both in workplaces and at family gatherings. Clinical samples across Germany show a sharp rise in detections. “Last week, influenza viruses were found…

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Apply for a passport digitally: Austria is simplifying the application process for citizens and Austrians living abroad with a new online platform starting in 2026. Austria is declaring war on bureaucracy – more comprehensively than ever before: with a 114-point package, the federal government wants to reduce costs for companies by billions, relieve the burden on citizens, and modernize public authorities. Among other things, the government wants to expand the “Digital Consulate” – a project that will primarily benefit the approximately 600,000 Austrians living abroad. The aim is to create…

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Every year, the same big question comes up: Will we have a white Christmas or not? An analysis by a booking platform attempts to answer this question: Based on weather statistics from Geosphere Austria since 1975, the chance of snow on all three Christmas holidays is 61 percent across Austria. The booking platform Omio commissioned data analysts to evaluate the Christmas weather of the past 50 years: According to their findings, a white Christmas is almost guaranteed, mainly in Tyrol. Between 1975 and 1999, there were 1.6 times more white…

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The Timpuyog Ilokandia iti Austria, a vibrant Filipino community organization composed of members from Ilocano-speaking provinces in the Philippines, gathered for a heartfelt Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration on November 29, 2025, at the Marriott Hotel Vienna. The event brought together families, friends, and supporters for an evening filled with cultural pride, gratitude, and festive joy. In her warm and inspiring welcome message, President Ms. Florencia-Oliva Rosal Steiner highlighted the deeper essence of the Christmas season. “Christmas is more than lights, songs, and gifts,” she said. “Christmas is about sharing —…

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Plastic as packaging for our food. Plastic is in our kitchen appliances, which we use to prepare our meals. Plastic in the air from furniture abrasion. Plastic is in our cosmetic products. Plastic in fine dust. Plastic is all around us – and inside us too. We ingest microplastics and nanoplastics every day, mainly through breathing and eating. Around five grams, the weight of a credit card, enter the gastrointestinal tract every week. “We have found, for example, that hyper-processed foods such as ready meals contain more micro- and nanoplastics…

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Blue, red, or yellow? According to a study, people with high IQs tend to like a particular color. Does your favorite color say something about your character? Yes, say certain studies, which go one step further: it can even influence how confident and intelligent you are perceived to be. Among all colors, blue stands out, as it is associated with calmness, concentration, and reliability. A Korean study called “Intelligence and Color Preferences: Is There a Connection?” examined the relationship between color preferences and intelligence. Nine hundred participating students were asked…

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20 November 2025, Vienna, Austria – “Identify Me: Policy Solutions for Transnational Femicide” highlights the urgent need for cross-border cooperation to end violence against women. On 20 November 2025, the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN in Vienna convened diplomats, UN experts, law-enforcement specialists, civil society leaders and activists for a high-impact event marking the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and the global Orange the World campaign. Among the participants was Marizel Rojas, Chairperson of ENFiD-Austria (European Network of Filipino Diaspora–Austria), who joined all three components…

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