Austria

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Echoes of Fritzl: Austrian Arrested in 40-Year Incest Case

80-year-old raped, imprisoned daughters for 40 years: police

(Newser) - Kindling memories of the infamous Joseph Fritzl case , Austrian police have arrested a man on suspicion of raping and imprisoning his daughters for more than 40 years, the BBC reports. The 80-year-old denies wrongdoing, but authorities say one of his daughters fled during an attempted rape and reported his alleged...

Fritzl Cellar to Be Filled With Concrete

Josef Fritzl repeatedly raped daughter Elisabeth there for 24 years

(Newser) - The liquidator of Josef Fritzl's estate says the windowless cellar of the house where Fritzl imprisoned and repeatedly raped his daughter for 24 years will be filled up with concrete. The move is to ensure the space can never be entered again, and the work is set to begin...

Arnie Could Face Charges Over Airport Cigar

But was it lit?

(Newser) - Was it lit or was it cold? The status of a cigar in Arnold Schwarzenegger's mouth at an Austrian airport could decide whether or not he faces legal action. Smoking at airports is banned in Austria and an anti-smoking lobby said today it plans to launch a suit against...

Europe Bids Farewell to Last von Habsburg Heir

Last heir to Austro-Hungarian empire buried alongside wife

(Newser) - European royals are gathering in Vienna for the funeral of Otto von Habsburg, the son of Austria's last emperor, and his wife. Among the guests expected are Sweden's king and queen; the ruling grand duke and grand duchess of Luxembourg; Liechtenstein's ruling duke and duchess, and the...

Austrian Can Wear Pasta Strainer in License Photo

He claims it's a symbol of his religion—pastafarianism

(Newser) - Hopefully his car never breaks down in a thunderstorm. An Austrian atheist has won the right to don a pasta strainer on his head in his driver's license photo, reports the BBC . Austrians are permitted to wear headgear in official photographs only for religious reasons, and Niko Alm claims...

Chinese Building Replica of Austrian Village

China sets eye on tourism potential of 400-year-old Hallstatt

(Newser) - It's a scenic jewel, a hamlet of hill-hugging chalets, elegant church spires, and ancient inns all reflected in the deep still waters of an Alpine lake in Austria. Hallstatt's beauty has earned it a listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but some villagers are less happy about...

Austria Yanks Alpine Peaks Off Market

Selling Alps is 'selling nation's soul,' say critics

(Newser) - The hills are still alive for the public. Austria has decided to yank prime real estate off the market after residents screamed about the nation's plans to auction off two alpine peaks. "We have suspended the sale to evaluate alternative possibilities," said a spokesman for the agency...

Austria Investigates Hospital's Nazi-Era Graves

Some may be disabled victims of Hitler's regime

(Newser) - Mass exhumations at an Austrian psychiatric hospital are expected to shed light on a lesser-known aspect of the Nazi's murderous agenda: the killing of thousands of disabled people who, regardless of race, didn't fit the Third Reich's vision of an ideal society. The "euthanasia" programs are thought to have...

Austrian Fined for Yodeling During Muslim Prayer

'Grumpy old man' accused of mocking neighbors

(Newser) - An elderly Austrian yodeler has been fined $1,000 for ridiculing his Muslim neighbors' religious beliefs—by yodeling. The court was told that the 63-year-old Austrian, described by neighbors as a "grumpy old man," attempted to mock the Muslim call to prayer and always started his yodeling when...

Austrian Madoff 'Victim' Actually Accomplice: Lawsuit

Vienna's Sonja Kohn accused of funneling billions into Ponzi scheme

(Newser) - Before the suicide of his son , this was shaping up to be the big Bernie Madoff story of the day: A Vienna banker who once called herself one of the Ponzi scheme's biggest victims may in reality have been Madoff's biggest conspirator. The trustee handling the investigation accuses Sonja Kohn...

Josef Fritzl: I Love My Daughter

Incest dad says he's 'world famous,' 'dead sad'

(Newser) - Austrian incest monster Josef Fritzl has granted his first press interview, boasting to reporters that he's "world famous," "loves" the daughter he repeatedly raped for 24 years, and is convinced his wife is still in love with him. "My dream is to get out of here...

Kidnapped Girl: I Was Beaten 200 Times a Week

10-year-old forced to call her attacker 'my lord'

(Newser) - An Austrian girl kidnapped when she was 10 and kept in a basement dungeon in a Viennese suburb for 8 years is finally revealing her horrific ordeal of imprisonment and vicious beatings by the man she was forced to call "my lord." Natascha Kampusch's body was a mass...

Brewer Names Beer for Austrian Town

'f---ing Hell' is, in German, a lager from f---ing

(Newser) - After proving to European trademark authorities that it exists, a German brewer has won approval to make a beer named for the Austrian town of f---ing. And not just any beer: f---ing Hell, available as soon as the fall and sure to provoke tittering in frat-boy types everywhere, has a...

Pope's Brother Embroiled in Abuse Scandal

Georg Ratzinger denies knowledge of choir school abuse

(Newser) - Pope Benedict's older brother has been linked to a sex abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church in Germany. Allegations of abuse at a boarding school whose choir Georg Ratzinger ran for 30 years have surfaced, although he has denied any knowledge of abuse and has agreed to testify in any...

US on Pace to Win Most Olympic Medals
 US on Pace to Win 
 Most Olympic Medals 
nate silver
Feb 15, 2010 10:03 AM CST

US on Pace to Win Most Olympic Medals

Based on projections and medals so far, US could edge out Canada

(Newser) - Based on an analysis of Olympics projections from across the board, the US could come out on top of the medal count at this year’s games for the first time since Lake Placid—in 1932. Nate Silver averaged medal projections from 9 sources; after two days the US has...

Curtis Allina, Father of PEZ Dispenser, Dead at 87

Holocaust survivor turned Austrian smoking substitute into kids candy

(Newser) - Curtis Allina, the man most credited with popularizing the modern PEZ dispenser, is dead at 87. His family says the cause was heart failure. Allina, born in Prague in 1922, was the only member of his Sephardic Jewish family to survive the Holocaust. After the war, he traveled to New...

Pez Sues Calif. Museum Over Outsized Dispenser

(Newser) - Pez is suing a California store and museum over an 8-foot-tall dispenser custom-made for the establishment—and thus not sanctioned by the Austrian candy-maker, the San Jose Mercury News reports. “From a branding perspective, I think Pez should embrace the Dosses and the museum, instead of trying to attack...

'Groovy' Dry White From Austria Great for Summer

(Newser) - A difficult-to-pronounce wine from Austria is “one of summer’s great, unlikely pleasures,” Eric Asimov writes in the New York Times. Grüner veltliner has risen above the pack of other Germanic wines to become a favorite in America, thanks to its bracing dryness. It "can range...

Madoff May Have Paid Off Austrian Banker

She's accused of sending him investors' cash, getting kickbacks

(Newser) - The head of Bank Medici is being probed by authorities in the US, the UK, and her native Austria over alleged kickbacks she received from Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sonja Kohn is believed to have pocketed $40 million in return for turning three funds she managed into...

Woman Who Missed Air France Flight Killed in Car Crash

(Newser) - An Italian woman who cheated fate when she missed her flight on the doomed Air France jet has been killed in a car crash, the London Times reports. Johanna Ganthaler and her husband were late to the Rio airport on May 31 and caught another flight the next day. The...

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