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Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen and his wife Doris speak to the media in front of a polling station in Vienna

Projections show Austrian president re-elected

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has been re-elected, according to projections, after campaigning on promises of stability as the Alpine country struggles with an energy crisis and inflation.

World • 09 Oct 22

Descendants place cloaks over boxes with the ancestral remains of Maori and Moriori that were returned from the Natural History Museum Vienna during a welcoming ceremony at Te Papa

Austria returns Indigenous remains to New Zealand

The remains of dozens of Indigenous Maori and Moriori people were officially received at New Zealand's national museum in Wellington, completing a repatriation process from Austria, where the bones have resided for more than 130 years.

World • 02 Oct 22

Another avalanche hit a slope in the ski resort of Soelden, burying five people who were all rescued alive

Five dead, one injured in Austria avalanche

Five people died and another was injured today when an avalanche struck Austria's Tyrol province, the rescue services said.

World • 04 Feb 22

The new legislation passed with 137 votes in favour and 33 votes against

Austria parliament approves mandatory Covid vaccination

Austria's parliament has approved the introduction of mandatory Covid-19 vaccination, becoming the first European country to do so.

Coronavirus • 20 Jan 22

Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich tested positive for coronavirus last month

Footballer to miss games with Covid-related lung damage

Bayern Munich said that star midfielder Joshua Kimmich would not return to action until January as he recovers from lung damage caused by Covid-19.

Coronavirus • 09 Dec 21

Karl Nehammer takes over a party in turmoil that since 2017

Austria's third leader in two months takes office

Austria's third conservative chancellor in two months, Karl Nehammer, takes office today, seeking to bring the coalition government out of months of scandal-tainted turmoil and guide the country out of its current coronavirus lockdown.

World • 06 Dec 21

A coronavirus sign at the entrance to the Christmas market in Berlin

Germans will be 'vaccinated, cured or dead' - minister

Most Germans will be "vaccinated, cured or dead" from Covid-19 in a few months' time, according to the country's Health Minister Jens Spahn.

Coronavirus • 22 Nov 21

Alexander Schallenberg described his new office as an "honour" (Image: epa)

Austria gets new leader after corruption scandal

Austria's top diplomat Alexander Schallenberg has taken over as chancellor, as the ruling party tries to emerge from a corruption scandal that cost the job of one of Europe's youngest leaders.

World • 11 Oct 21

Alexander Schallenberg arrives to meet Austria's President at Ballhausplatz in Vienna

Austria's foreign minister set to replace Kurz

Austria's top diplomat Alexander Schallenberg is expected to take over the chancellorship, a day after Sebastian Kurz announced he would step down amid corruption claims.

World • 10 Oct 21

Sebastian Kurz said he is "just human with emotions and mistakes"

Austrian Chancellor Kurz resigns amid graft claims

Austria's Sebastian Kurz has announced he is stepping down as chancellor following pressure on him to resign after he was implicated in a corruption scandal.

World • 10 Oct 21

The EU competition watchdog said it estimated the illegal aid to Ryanair came to around €2m

Ryanair to appeal after court backs EU order

Ryanair said today it would appeal a ruling by Europe's second-highest court rejecting its challenge against an EU order to repay millions of euros in illegal aid given by an Austrian airport.

Business • 29 Sep 21

Lawyers Alexander Klauser (R), Peter Kolba (C) and their client Ulrich Schopf (L)

Austria hears first lawsuit over ski resort outbreak

The first civil lawsuit began in a court in Vienna today over an outbreak of coronavirus at a popular ski resort last year, where thousands of people from 45 countries claim to have become infected.

Coronavirus • 17 Sep 21

Austrian police said that the man did not kill his mother

Austrian man kept dead mother in cellar to get benefits

Austrian police said they had discovered the body of an 89-year-old woman who died over a year ago and was mummified in the cellar by her son who wanted to continue receiving her benefits.

World • 10 Sep 21

Heinz-Christian Strache resigned as vice-chancellor and head of the far-right Freedom Party over the scandal

Austria ex far-right chief sentenced over corruption

A court in Vienna has convicted the former leader of Austria's far-right Heinz-Christian Strache of corruption charges in a case stemming from a 2019 scandal known as "Ibizagate".

World • 27 Aug 21

A train is stuck in the mud after flooding in Wald-im-Pinzgau near Salzburg

Roads and railways swept away after Austrian floods

Large parts of Austria have been battered by summer storms that left a trail of destruction.

World • 17 Aug 21

Irish among 96 fined for lockdown breaches in Austria

A number of Irish people are understood to be among 96 foreigners fined by Austrian police at the ski resort of St Anton am Arlberg in breach of pandemic-related rules on entering the country and the national lockdown.

Coronavirus • 30 Jan 21

Hotels, bars and restaurants will remain closed, effectively limiting the slopes to locals

Austria ski resorts reopen despite looming lockdown

Austria allowed its more than 400 ski stations to open, just two days before the country enters its third nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

Coronavirus • 24 Dec 20

Flowers, candles and an Austria scarf are left at a memorial site at the scene of an attack in Vienna

Austria admits security failings over Vienna gunman

Austria has acknowledged there had been security failings leading up to the deadly gun attacked in Vienna by a convicted Islamic State sympathiser.

World • 05 Nov 20

Candles and flowers tonight near the scene of multiple shootings in Vienna, Austria

Islamic State claims it carried out Vienna attack

The so-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting rampage in Vienna yesterday, the group said in a statement on its Telegram channels.

World • 03 Nov 20

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the restrictions would be in place from midnight on Tuesday until the end of November

Austria announces national shutdown to tackle Covid-19

Austria's government has announced a second mass shutdown and a curfew starting next week until the end of November, in an attempt to halt rocketing coronavirus infection numbers.

World • 31 Oct 20

The 9pm to 6am curfew came into force at midnight on Friday

Up to 20 million people under Covid-19 curfew in France

Some 20 million French people are preparing to spend their first evening under a new Covid-19 curfew.

Coronavirus • 17 Oct 20

The building's fate was the subject of a lengthy legal battle with the house's owner, which only ended last year

Hitler's birth house to be turned into police station

Austrian officials have unveiled plans to "neutralise" Adolf Hitler's birth house by turning it into a police station, with the building receiving some cosmetic changes in the process.

News Lens • 02 Jun 20

Will the Nyhavn tourist area in Copenhagen see more hustle and bustle in the next number of weeks?

Lockdown exit - Austria and Denmark take first steps

Much focus will be on Austria and Denmark in the next couple of weeks as they begin to ease coronavirus restrictions, writes Justin McCarthy.

Coronavirus • 13 Apr 20

The carriages, or 'Fiaker' as they are called in Vienna, are taking part in a food delivery scheme in one of the city's central districts

Vienna's horse-drawn carriages now delivering food

Vienna's horse-drawn carriages, a staple of street life in the Austrian capital and a popular tourist attraction, have been sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic - so they are now helping deliver food to the elderly.

News Lens • 08 Apr 20

A sign to inform patients about the entrance to a Covid-19 testing centre in Canal Salat, Menorca

Spain to widen testing for Covid-19 as death rate drops

Spain is planning to widen coronavirus testing to include people without symptoms as a first step towards slowly easing a lockdown in the nation with the second highest death toll from the global pandemic.

Coronavirus • 06 Apr 20