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GENEVA, July 23 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Wednesday launched an international inquiry into human rights violations and crimes that may have been committed by Israel during its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned the Israeli assault which it said had involved "disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks", including aerial bombing of civilian areas, collective punishment, and the killing of more than 650 Palestinians. At the end of an emergency session, the 47-member forum adopted a resolution presented by Palestinians by a vote of 29 states in favor, 1 against (the United States) with 17...

The German government is expecting around 175,000 people to file applications for asylum this year, the highest number in two decades. Regional politicians are acting surprised, but there have been signs of this development for years now. […] The refugees in Germany are fleeing many things: the civil war in Syria, the recent wave of terror in Iraq, torturous regimes but also, in many cases, a life of poverty and no prospects, be it in Africa or as a member of the Roma minority in Serbia. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) estimates that as many as 175,000...

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Twelve EU countries have warned investors not to do business with Israeli settler entities, amid a security crisis in Israel and Palestine. The group includes: Austria; Belgium; Croatia; Denmark; Finland; Greece; Ireland; Luxembourg; Malta; Portugal; Slovakia; and Slovenia. Portugal published its statement on Wednesday (2 July) and the others came out on Thursday. France, Italy, and Spain put out similar communiques earlier this week. Germany and the UK already did it months ago. Poland is expected to publish a warning shortly. The Irish foreign ministry said the action “has been coordinated at EU level”. …

American reality TV star Kim Kardashian has called her trip to Vienna to attend the Opera Ball “a true nightmare,” adding that “it was so racist”. Scenes from the trip were shown on Sunday night's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and Kim told her sister that “it's like we're honestly in a time warp. Racial insensitivity, everything from this trip, has just been a true nightmare.”

ienna (AFP) - Coinciding with a visit to Vienna by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian energy giant Gazprom on Tuesday signed a deal with Austria's OMV approving the EU country's section of the controversial South Stream pipeline. The crisis in Ukraine has made the planned pipeline bringing Siberian gas to the European Union -- bypassing Ukraine -- a new focus of tensions between Moscow, Brussels and Washington. EU member Bulgaria earlier this month said it was suspending work on building its section of the multi-billion-euro (-dollar) project following pressure from the EU and the United States. The European Commission has...

Archaeologists have discovered one of the earliest Roman military camps in the Carnuntum on the Danube near Vienna. The discovery of the extensive military camp, that is believed to be the size of six football pitches, was done using a high tech radar machine that can detect objects deep into the ground. The camp was unearthed at the Archaeological Park Carnuntum, located in Lower Austria between Vienna and the Slovakian capital Bratislava. It was discovered near to the remains of an ancient village and researchers believe it is probably the earliest military camp at Carnuntum. The discovery follows that made...

An Austrian man caused mayhem on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Munich on Thursday, when he started shouting about terror attacks and bombs. Two men shot in Munich beer garden (27 May 14) Firefighters rescue man from women’s jail (23 May 14) Cheap flights get pricier as airlines expand (24 Apr 14) The 25-year-old man, from Tyrol, had to be restrained and the Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Sofia, Bulgaria. About two hours into the flight the man jumped up and started shouting: "Here are the terrorists, we have a bomb! You’ll all be blown...

Teen finds WWII-era bazooka rocket, brings it to local authorities on his moped A 16-year-old boy in Austria was at Wallersee, a large lake approximately 10 miles from the city of Salzburg, when he came across something peculiar – an old, rusted object. He picked it up, threw the item in his backpack, and then headed off on his moped to find some police officers. If he knew what he was carrying, however, he wouldn’t have been quite so cavalier. As the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reports, it was a World War II-era anti-tank missile. The BBC, pointing to a...

Die Welt [Summary: Pope Francis has excommunicated the Austrian president of the Catholic reform movement called We Are Church. A report in Tiroler Tageszeitung has confirmed that Martha Heizer and her husband can no longer participate in the sacraments. Excommunication is the most severe penalty the church can impose. The retired religious educator and her husband in their private home regularly celebrated with other believers but without ordained priests.] THE FOLLOWING TRANSLATION IS FROM GERMAN TO ENGLISH USING A TRANSLATION DEVISE, SO IT MIGHT NOT BE TOO GOOD FROM THE NEWS PAPER DIE WELT : Pope Francis, the Austrian...

Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst, popularly known as “the bearded lady,” won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with the James Bond-theme-like ballad “Rise Like a Phoenix”, before a global TV audience of about 180 million people in 45 countries.

Sixty-nine years after the end of World War II, nearly a third of Austrians would like to have a “strong leader” (Führer) at the helm of their country “who doesn’t have to deal with elections and a parliament”, according to a new study published on Wednesday in Vienna. Asked about what Nazi rule from 1938 to 1945 had given the country, 36 percent of the 1,015 Austrians surveyed answered “both good and bad things” while three percent said “primarily good things”. […] A clear majority of respondents (56 percent) said discussions about the Holocaust and the Second World War should...

Russia has cut a deal with Sudan to deliver a dozen advanced MiG-29 Fulcrum jet fighters to the war-torn country. The deal, announced Christmas Day in Moscow, also includes 14 MiG-29 jets for Yemen. The transfer of fourth-generation MiG-29 Fulcrums to Sudan has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and is certain to alter any possible U.S. plans for air strikes at known terrorist bases inside the African nation. Sudan was cited as one of a limited number of nations with direct links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. The U.S. State Department also listed Sudan as one of a few hostile ...

As far as his closest aides were aware, he kept to a strict healthy diet and drank only lukewarm water. But Adolf Hitler would regularly stave off attacks of midnight munchies by tucking into specially made ‘Fuhrer Cake’ and other gooey treats. He would raid the kitchen after staying up late talking to guests and rarely get up before 2pm, according to a maid who worked at his mountain retreat in Bavaria. Austrian Mrs Kalhammer – then Elisabeth Marchtrenkerin – went to work at the Fuhrer’s retreat near Berchtesgaden in 1943 after answering an advert in her local paper: ‘Maid...

A collection of photographs that Ukraine says shows the presence of Russian forces in the eastern part of the country, and which the United States cited as evidence of Russian involvement, has come under scrutiny. The photographs were submitted by Ukraine last week to the Organization for Security and Cooperation, an organization in Vienna that has been monitoring the situation in Ukraine. Some of the photographs were also provided by American officials to Secretary of State John Kerry so he could show them when he met in Geneva last Thursday with his counterparts from the European Union, Russia, and Ukraine....

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Front, blamed the European Union for declaring a new Cold War on Russia that would hurt all concerned, Russian media reported on Saturday as she paid an official visit to Moscow. Europe-Russia relations are at their lowest ebb in decades after President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea prompted the EU to impose sanctions on dozens of prominent Russian officials and lawmakers. However Le Pen, along with other Eurosceptic leaders of the far left and nationalist right, believe the original fault lies with Brussels for offering closer ties with Ukraine, a move Russia...

Austrian Soldier, Eastern Europe, 1915 German troops in Berlin, 1914 Ambulances in Palestine, 1918 French trenches, 1916 Senegalese troops, France, 1917 Dead Italian soldiers, Italy, 1915

Gang Founder Claimed Innocence Until the End By KIM CURTIS, Associated Press Writer Tue Dec 13,11:26 AM ET SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - Stanley Tookie Williams maintained his innocence right up until his death, even when an admission of guilt may have spared him execution. ADVERTISEMENT Even after the courts and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected a flurry of Williams' last-ditch appeals before his execution early Tuesday, his supporters vowed to prove his innocence. Williams, the Crips gang co-founder whose case stirred a national debate about capital punishment versus the possibility of redemption, was executed Tuesday morning for killing four people in...

Sunday, March 09, 02:00 AM MYT +0800 Malaysia Airlines MH370 Flight Incident - 6th Media Statement Sepang, 9 March 2014: Malaysia Airlines humbly asks all Malaysians and people around the world to pray for flight MH370. It has been more than 24 hours since we last heard from MH370 at 1.30 am. The search and rescue team is yet to determine the whereabouts of the Boeing 777-200 aircraft. An international search and rescue mission from Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam was mobilized this morning. At this stage, they have failed to find evidence of any wreckage. The sea mission will continue...

Although it has not been stated explicitly yet, there seems little doubt that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has crashed and probably with great loss of life. Rescue will inevitably turn into recovery - of wreckage and bodies - and the search for clues will begin. --SNIP-- So what might they look for? Weather can almost certainly be ruled out as a cause. Conditions have been described in different ways, but the consensus is that the aircraft was airborne in near-perfect flying conditions. This leaves just two main possibilities - catastrophic mechanical failure or an act of terrorism. Investigators will undoubtedly...