Europe Austria The country is introducing a €1,7 billion package of measures to help households cope with rising energy costs, with one-off payments of €150 for unemployed people and households paying up to the maximum level of mandatory social security contributions
Europe Austria The Austrian Catholic Church reported a decline in membership, with the number of Catholics dropping by about 1,6%, from 4,91 million in 2020 to 4,83 million
Europe Austria Local Jewish associations have called for a criminal investigation into Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl for comments they say grossly trivialize the Holocaust, illegal in the country
Europe Austria Parliament has passed a law allowing assisted suicide for people with very serious or incurable illnesses, joining a wave of other EU countries moving towards legalisation
Europe Austria Right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ) MP Dagmar Belakowitsch caused outrage by claiming that hospitals were not filled with the unvaccinated, but with people who needed treatment because of vaccination damage
Europe Austria An avalanche in the Salzburg region killed three people of which two while skiing off-piste; in recent years, an average of about 20 people a year have been killed by avalanches in the country
Europe Austria Tens of thousands of Austrians gathered this weekend to protest against the government's introduction of compulsory vaccination - the first EU country to do so
Europe Austria The famous Christmas markets in Vienna started opening yesterday at various locations; other towns will follow suit
Europe Austria Vignettes 2022 - the toll windshield sticker needed to drive on most Austrian motorways - are available from this month at around 6.000 outlets across the country
Europe Austria The Austrian government has unveiled its plans to legalize assisted suicide from 2022, in response to a court ruling affirming that the current ban violates fundamental rights
Europe Austria Vienna airport has started building what will be the largest photovoltaic power plant in the country, with the aim of meeting almost a third of its annual electricity consumption with solar energy
Europe Austria The Austrian government is set to revise its carbon tax - €30 per tonne of CO2 - in a bid to curb greenhouse gas emissions, including an annual rebate to help offset rising costs and encourage climate-friendly decisions around transport and home heating
Europe Austria In an unexpected result, the Communists won the municipal elections in Austria's second largest city, Graz, ahead of the centre-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the party of the mayor who will resign from office