Tag Archives: Austrian
Hotelier trapped in Austrian lift for four days
VIENNA |
VIENNA (Reuters) – The Swedish manager of an Austrian hotel was trapped in a faulty lift for four days before a bread delivery man heard his cries for help on Friday, police said.
The 58-year-old was in good physical condition after his ordeal in the spa town of Bad Gastein near Salzburg, police in the mountainous Austrian province said.
“He told police he had done a hunting course with survival training in the Swedish military, which stood him in good stead in this case,” a police statement said.
The delivery man, a friend of the hotel manager, alerted the fire brigade after letting himself in with his own key to drop off a pile of mail that had accumulated outside the hotel door.
Austrian EU lawmaker investigated over “elephant” expenses
Austrian independent candidate for the European parliament elections Hans-Peter Martin is pictured during campaigning in Linz June 5, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Dominic Ebenbichler
BRUSSELS |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – An Austrian member of the European Parliament is under investigation over suspect expenses claims totaling 1.3 million euros, including one item listed as “elephant”.
In a request to the European Parliament to waive Hans-Peter Martin’s immunity, the Vienna prosecutor’s office said it suspected the independent MEP of embezzling public funds and making money “illicitly for himself or a third party by fraudulent means”.
“It is suspected that, by using money for the reimbursement of election campaign costs for purposes other than those intended, Dr Hans-Peter Martin has committed crimes of misuse of funding … and embezzlement,” said the request, made last May and seen by Reuters.
Martin, 55, says the allegations are an invention by adversaries upset by his efforts to expose the parliament’s waste of public funds.
“I see a direct link between the fact that I have made these things public and now false allegations being leaked to the press,” Martin told Reuters last week.
Asked about some of the details and figures set out by the prosecutor, Martin said they were accurate but that no embezzlement was involved.
The prosecutor’s request details a series of suspect or unexplained expenses that were claimed either in Austria or via the European Parliament.
Among them is a payment of 832,800 euros for “public relations work” that the prosecutor says was made to “businessmen who are friends of Dr Hans-Peter Martin, even though no (equivalent) services were provided”.
Another concerns the employment of a parliamentary assistant at a cost of 67,343 euros. The prosecutor said it suspected the individual “never actually carried out work” for Martin in connection with his parliamentary activities.
One claim for 2,200 euros was identified in accounts as being for an “elephant”.
Martin says he in fact meant to claim for books about Auschwitz from an Austrian publisher called “Ephelant”. The publisher does offer such a book, priced at 22 euros.
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Austrian bus driver returns half a million dollars found in bag
VIENNA |
VIENNA (Reuters) – A Vienna bus driver who found a bag with 390,000 euros ($ 509,700) in cash inside handed the money over to police, who tracked down the elderly woman who had inexplicably left her fortune behind.
The driver, identified by the Vienna transport authority only as Wolfgang R, was inspecting his vehicle at the end of the line when he found the bag in a seat behind the driver’s.
“At first I thought it was shopping or medicine,” the Krone newspaper quoted him as saying. However, when he opened the bag he found a collection of 500-euro notes staring back at him.
Police in the Austrian capital used a bank deposit slip inside the bag to trace the owner. There was no word on whether the woman had given the honest driver a reward.
Austrian admits making up story to get rid of snake
A Boa constrictor is seen at a zoo in Puerto Vallarta October 13, 2011. The keepers at the zoo educate visitors and raise awareness on endangered animals around the world.
Credit: Reuters/Carlos Jasso
VIENNA |
VIENNA (Reuters) – An Austrian applauded for capturing a 2.3-metre (7.5-foot) boa constrictor he said he discovered on a riverbank has admitted he made up the story to get rid of a pet snake he found too big to handle, an animal rescue group said on Thursday.
“It turns out he could not get to grips with the snake and wanted to get rid of it this way,” said Susanne Hemetsberger, head of the Austrian Animal Protection Association. The owner handed over the reptile to an animal shelter.
She said in hindsight the tale originally told by the Salzburg man, who has not been identified, that he had happened upon and bagged the 7-kg (15.5-pound) boa last week, seemed suspicious.
“No passer-by who isn’t familiar with snakes would ever grab a boa constrictor. On the contrary, they would scream, run away and call the police,” she said.
The man has two other two-meter snakes that he wants to give away as well, Hemetsberger said.
“The snake owner dished up one lie after another and I hope he gets the proper punishment for this. He can’t just release a snake and then pose as its finder,” she said, calling for curbs on the sale of exotic pets that inexperienced owners often find overwhelming.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; editing by Andrew Roche)
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Austrian find dates bras back to 15th century
1 of 4. A brassiere from the late Middle Ages is pictured at the University of Innsbruck, archaeology department July 24, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Michaela Rehle
VIENNA |
VIENNA (Reuters) – Four mediaeval bras have been found in a collection of textiles excavated from an Austrian castle, confounding conventional wisdom that bras did not exist before the 19th century.
The linen garments were found in the remains of Lengberg Castle in eastern Tyrol. They resemble modern bras in that they have two distinct cups, and have decorative needle lace that would not have been visible when worn under a dress.
The bras were among 2,700 textile fragments found during archaeological investigations of the castle by a team from the University of Innsbruck, which began in 2008.
Carbon dating has now confirmed that the garments date back to the 15th century, the researchers said.
Varying accounts exist of who invented the modern bra, but Sigmund Lindauer, who came from a German family of corset makers, patented an elastic version in 1913 and began mass producing the garments.
The metal shortages of World War Two helped hasten the demise of the corset.
(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, editing by Paul Casciato)
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