loveLife to present youth HIV prevention strategies at World AIDS Conference

For the first time ever, loveLife, South Africa’s national HIV prevention campaign for the youth, will share its insights into HIV prevention for young people at the 18^th International AIDS Conference taking place from 18-23 July in Vienna, Austria.
As a world leader in HIV prevention strategies for young people, loveLife will be hosting a comprehensive plenary session. The session will include an overview of loveLife since it was launched in 1999, looking at whether the implementation of a comprehensive programme such as loveLife has worked for South Africa, focusing discussions around our cutting-edge strategies and multi-pronged campaign, designed to help South Africa’s youth take a lead in ensuring an HIV free future. We’ll also be looking to where we are headed in the next 10 years to further reduce the rate of new infections among young people.
Grace Matlhape, CEO of loveLife, former CEO of loveLife, Dr David Harrison and one of loveLIfe’s ex-groundBREAKERs Lerato Mahoyi will form part of the panel of speakers.
They will be joined by Prof Linda Richter, who is Executive Director of Child, Youth, Family and Social Development at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and one of our Board of Trustee members, who will also be chairing the session at the conference.
“loveLife aims to shift young people’s perceptions of opportunity, and in turn reduce their tolerance of risk of HIV infection through a holistic approach to prevention. The reduction of tolerance of risk however requires a different approach to prevention, focusing on strategies that are not necessarily about behaviour, but young people’s response to their circumstances,” says Botha Swarts, National Head of Communication for loveLife.  
The loveLife satellite session: ‘Sharing the experiences of the first 10 years of loveLife and making recommendations for HIV prevention among young people’ will be held on Sunday, the 18th of July at 13:30-15:30 (Mini-Room 7).
For more information about the session and participation at the conference, please contact Botha Swarts on +27 (0)72 229 0618.

Vienna night underground service to begin on 4 September
The new all-night underground service on Fridays and Saturdays will begin on Saturday, 4 September, it was announced Vienna Social Democratic (SPÖ) Deputy Mayor Renate Brauner and Günter Steinbauer, the manager of city public transport agency Wiener Linien, said trains would be spaced at 15 minute intervals during night time service.He said the new service would cost five million Euros annually, with electricity costing 1.5 million, infrastructure 3.2 million and miscellaneous things the rest.Agency employees would ride trains during night service to help keep order and answer the public’s questions, he noted, adding that the agency was coordinating security measures with the police.Brauner said that other European cities that offered night transport services like Hamburg and Stockholm had raised their prices but Vienna would not.
Vienna’s taxis, restaurants and tourist board have welcomed the new night service.
Vienna Tourism Office chief Norbert Kettner said earlier this week: "That is a real gift for us." He explained that the all-night service would give the city the character of a metropolis and enhance its image as a dynamic city.
Heinrich Frey from the Vienna Economic Chamber (WKW) said an all-night underground service would not pose any threat to taxi drivers. "When more people are moving around, it is always better for the taxi business," he noted, adding that night buses had resulted in more business for taxi drivers.
Josef Bitzinger from WKW added that night spots open after midnight would also benefit from the new service. The question of whether to take the last underground would no longer be asked on weekends, he said.City Hall announced last month that 53.98 per cent of city residents who had voted in a city referendum from 11 to 13 February had endorsed a night time underground service at weekends.

Vienna to ban professional beggars
Professional beggars are to be banned from Vienna's streets, says Social Democratic (SPÖ) whip Siegi Lindenmayr.Speaking yesterday (Weds), Lindenmayr said the provincial parliament would pass an amendment to the provincial security law at its 26 March session that would ban such beggars with a view to cracking down on criminal gangs that had been using them.The fine for violation of the new law would be 700 Euros or a week in jail, she added.
"There are people who for personal or other reasons do not want to apply for social assistance and instead beg to satisfy their personal needs," she said, adding that such people would be allowed to continue to beg as long as they were not aggressive.Begging has been punishable for some time in Vienna when it has been done in a brash or aggressive manner or when minors have been involved.
People’s Party (ÖVP) city security spokesman Wolfgang Ulm welcomed the news, claiming that the SPÖ had finally agreed to his party’s demands.
Freedom Party (FPÖ) official Johann Gudenus called it "the first correct step in the direction of public safety

Deportation of Kosovar family postponed after protests
The deportation of four members of a Kosovar family living in Röthis, Vorarlberg, was postponed yesterday (Thurs) after the mayor and residents protested against it.Mayor Norbert Mähr told the media he had made telephone calls to various authorities and succeeded in having the family’s deportation at least temporarily postponed.
Around 30 people assembled at the family’s house before 4am, when they were to have been picked up by police, to try to prevent their removal.The mayor and the residents said the family, who had been living in Austria for four years, was well integrated and should be allowed to stay in the country.
The mayor complained that no one had officially informed him of the planned deportation, but Gernot Längle from the Federal Crime Office (BH) said there was no obligation to inform a town mayor about planned deportations of foreigners, only the family in question and its attorney. They had been informed, he claimed.
Vorarlberg People’s Party (ÖVP) councillor Erich Schwärzler, responsible for security, said all decisions on the family’s asylum application had been negative. He added he hoped for a humanitarian solution since the family was well integrated.Martin Fellacher from Catholic charity Caritas said the official reason for the deportation was that the family father had been banned from Germany after visiting his mother in Munich.Fellacher noted that anyone who had applied for asylum in Austria could not leave the country. For that reason, he said, the asylum court had approved the family’s deportation.The provincial Greens criticised the planned deportation. Provincial party leader Johannes Rauch said that proper procedures had not been carried out in the family’s case. He also said the time of the family’s proposed departure, 4am, had been preposterous, given their two children aged three and five.Vorarlberg deputy security director Walter Filzmaier said there would not be another attempt to deport the family pending detailed examination of the German ban on the father

Hamas official's murder allegedly coordinated in Austria
The murder of Hamas leader Mahmud al-Mabhuh in Dubai on 19 January was allegedly coordinated in Austria, according to German media.Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that analysis of telephone calls made in Austria showed that the operation’s "commando centre" had been in the Alpine Republic.Austrian authorities have reportedly said they are trying to trace the telephone calls made in Austria.The paper said 15 people suspected of belonging to the Israeli secret service Mossad had travelled to Dubai from a number of European airports only hours before Mabhuh was smothered to death with a pillow in his hotel room in Dubai.German security experts have said that only Mossad had the expertise to engage in such an operation and may have had help from some Palestinians.The operatives all had false passports and other identification, according to the newspaper, and left Dubai within hours after the murder.The murdered man was reportedly in Dubai to handle a weapons deal for Hamas

Shooting suspect escaped police station week before, cops admit
An alleged Serb mobster suspected of gunning down a Vienna policeman this week escaped from a Lower Austrian police station just a week before the shooting, it emerged today.Mihailo Vasic, 33, was held in custody in Königstetten on 4 January this year after it was discovered he had ignored a ban on being in Austria.But he managed to flee the station in "an unguarded moment", Sonja Fiegl, the police chief in Lower Austria’s Tulln district, said.She added officers had chased him and fired six shots at him, but had failed to catch him.Vienna police said today they suspected Vasic had fled abroad after the shooting.Spokesman Mario Hejl said: "There is a high probability that he is abroad."He added the hunt for Vasic was continuing. "We have received many tips but few of any quality," he said.Meanwhile, Dr Harald Hertz, head of the Lorenz-Böhler hospital where the shot policeman is being treated, said today: "He will remain in an artificial coma at least over the weekend." He added the condition of the man’s lungs has not improved as much as doctors had hoped.Police are hunting Vasic after a man was ordered to pull over last Tuesday after a BMW he had been driving at the time went through a yellow light at a junction in Vienna. But he sped off instead, abandoned his car and fled on foot. He then opened fire on the pursuing 27-year-old officer, seriously injuring him.
Local media have reported Vasic is part of the Serbian mafia

Women’s minister considering burka ban
Social Democratic (SPÖ) Women’s Minister Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek said in several media interviews today (Weds) she supported a ban on burkas or garments covering women’s bodies entirely.She added, however, there was not problem in Austria but, if one developed, she would ban burkas in public places to see if a ban would work."I consider the burka as a sign of the submission of women. It greatly hinders women from finding jobs in the labour market. If more women wearing burkas appear in Austria, I will test a ban on them and enact administrative fines for women wearing them in public buildings," she said.As for head scarves, the minister said it was up to women to decide whether to wear them even if they were also a sign of the submission of women to men.She added that Islam was a danger to women’s rights when it led to "politically fundamentalist-oriented policies" such as the mandatory wearing of burkas.The SPÖ had protested when People’s Party Science Minister Johannes Hahn suggested a ban on burkas last year.Support of a ban on burkas has been growing in Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland.

Austria mistreated asylum applicant
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled yesterday (Tues) that Austria had mistreated an asylum applicant who is now 37 years old.The court awarded the man 10,000 Euros in damages that Austria will have to pay. Austria has three months in which to appeal the court’s decision.It emerged in court that the applicant, from the former Yugoslavia, had been tortured while in preventive detention in 1994. The court said two prison wardens had poked a hole in the man’s skin behind an ear with a pen and scraped his body against a floor and a stairs.The man informed visitors about what had happened, and they told a prison doctor about it. He found wounds on the man’s body when he examined him.The Austrian independent administrative senate rejected the man’s complaint about his treatment in 1995 on the grounds that appropriate "disciplinary measures" had been used against him.The Strasbourg court, however, ruled that the wardens’ treatment of the man had violated Article Three of the European Convention on Human Rights that bans torture.What made the case even worse, the court added, was that the man had been on a hunger strike for three weeks and was quite weak when he was mistreated.The man was released from detention in 1994 and eventually obtained asylum in Austria.

Three freeze to death
Three people froze to death in Austria over the weekend as temperatures plummeted to below minus 20 degrees Celsius in many areas.A 59-year old man was found frozen in a field by a hunter yesterday (Sun) morning near Werfen in Salzburg’s Pongau. Police said the man had fallen seven metres down a grassy embankment onto an asphalt road just 50 metres from a tavern he had been drinking at one Saturday night.A 19-year-old from Oberhaag in Leibnitz district in Styria also died after apparently collapsing and freezing to death as he walked from a disco in the early hours of yesterday morning. Police said he had been wearing in gym shoes, jeans and a light pullover in minus 23 degrees Celsius.And a 43-year-old plumber froze to death on Friday night near Mühldorf in Styria’s Feldbach district . Police said the man had been to a disco after attending his firm’s Christmas party and left it to walk 1.5 kilometres to his apartment in Leitersdorf at 2am.

Labour market worsens
Austrian labour market conditions worsened in the third quarter of 2009 with fewer jobs and more employees in part-time work, according to figures released Statistik Austria reported that the number of employees in part-time work had climbed to 51,400 in the third quarter as the number of fully-employed people dropped by 70,400 compared to the same quarter last year.The number of people with jobs dropped 19,000 year on year to 4,119,000 in the quarter, the agency said.
The rate of unemployment at the end of the third quarter was 5.1 per cent, compared to 3.7 per cent a year earlier, leaving 221,800 people unemployed at the end of September 2009. The increase mainly affected men, younger age workers, foreigners and people looking for their first job, the agency said.The rate of unemployment at the end of the third quarter was highest in Vienna - 8.2 per cent - and lowest in Salzburg - 2.9 per cent, it added.Statistik Austria noted that the decline of jobs varied considerably according to the sector in question. While there were 61,800 more jobs in the services sector at the end of the third quarter compared to the same time last year, there were 74,300 fewer jobs in industry and trade and 6,600 fewer jobs in agriculture.The number of hours of overtime worked in the third quarter was 78 million, seven million fewer than in the same quarter last year, the agency reported.The agency painted a rather sombre picture, but things may get worse before they get better in the labour market since more than one in ten Austrian companies is planning lay-offs in the first three months of next year, according to a new survey.Erich Pichorner, CEO of personnel-service provider Manpower, which questioned 751 recruitment departments’ chiefs for its study, said earlier this month that 12 per cent of firms planned to sack staff in the first three months of 2010. He added, however, that 11 per cent planned to take on additional staff in the first quarter of next year.The Manpower CEO said the energy sector and public services were currently the job market’s "engines".

Cold snap causes havoc in Europe
Snowstorms and sub-zero temperatures have killed at least 19 people across Europe as well as severely disrupting air, rail and road transport. At least 15 people froze to death overnight in Poland as temperatures dipped way below freezing. In parts of Germany a figure of -33C was recorded. Flights have been cancelled, train services have been severely affected and roads made impassable. Eurostar passenger trains are still not running after electrical failures.More than 2,000 people were trapped on the trains in the Channel Tunnel for up to 16 hours after condensation caused a series of electrical failures on Friday night.It is currently unclear when services will resume. Eurostar is running tests on the line on Sunday. Two people were reported dead in Austria's southern province of Styria as they tried to get home after nights out. In France, 40% of flights out of Paris's Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports were cancelled as a second wave of snowstorms hit northern France. Germany's third largest airport - in Duesseldorf - was also closed because of heavy snow, authorities said. In Belgium, the three biggest airports - Brussels, Charleroi and Liege - were completely shut. Severe delays and cancellations were reported at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.In Britain, officials at Manchester Airport - the busiest outside the London area - suspended flights for 90 minutes as staff moved snow and de-iced a runway.
Rail traffic has been affected from Belgium to Italy.

'Indecent' US and British pressure over Afghanistan, minister claims
Defence Minister Norbert Darabos has accused American and British officials of putting "indecent" pressure on Austria to send troops to Afghanistan.The Social Democratic (SPÖ) minister said attempts by US army officials and diplomats to get Austria to send more than its current three officers to the war-torn central Asian state were "relatively strong and partly indecent".And he added that British officials had been involved as well.Speaking to newspaper Der Standard for its edition from today (Fri), Darabos said: "(These attempts) go via embassies, military contacts, but are also made by Great Britain."The minister added William Eacho – who recently took office as the United States’ ambassador in Vienna – was also involved in the pressure."It is his right to do so. But Austria is a sovereign country and we will not wilt under this pressure," Darabos said.He added that increasing the number of soldiers in Afghanistan would not solve the country’s problems and that the situation in Afghanistan was something NATO had to solve.Austria – a member of the European Union (EU) since 1995 – had been neutral since the 1955 State Treaty in which the country pledged not to join international military alliances such as NATO.But it has sent soldiers to peace-keeping missions led by the EU and the United Nations in Golan, Chad and Kosovo among others.

Austria to keep immigration at current levels
Official immigration will remain at current levels, ministers decided,The Council of Ministers decided at its weekly meeting today that 8,145 people - the same number as this year - would be allowed to immigrate legally to Austria in 2010.The majority of new immigrants will consist of 4,905 people immigrating for family reunification. The second-largest group of immigrants, 2,450, will be highly-qualified workers needed by Austrian businesses.The number of seasonal workers will fall to 7,500 next year from 8,000 this year, given the worsening situation in the labour market as unemployment continues to rise, and most of them will help harvest crops, according to the Council.The federal government had wanted to switch to a red-white-red card system for immigrants similar to the US green-card system next year, but negotiations with social partners on the new system have been slower than expected and ministers have decided to keep using the current system of setting annual quotas for the time being.

Austrian Islamic Community deplores Swiss anti-minaret vote
Austria’s Islamic community has bemoaned the Swiss minaret referendum result this weekend.In the referendum on Sunday 57 per cent of citizens backed a halt to more minarets being built in the country.Omar Al-Rawi, the Austrian Islamic Community’s integration consultant, said yesterday (Mon): "With this decision the Swiss failed to make a statement against social exclusion, discrimination and populism."Human rights are not separable, and religious freedom rights are a main part of these rights."Catholic Church leaders and leaders of the People’s Party (ÖVP), the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Greens also criticised the result.But Austria’s two right-wing parties – the Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) - praised the result, calling Switzerland a "role model for other European countries".There are three minarets in Austria: in Vienna, Bad Vöslau in Lower Austria and Telfs, Vorarlberg. The provinces of Carinthia and Vorarlberg have recently introduced laws which ensure no more minarets can be erected

Comedian may head Greens' list in Styria
German-born comedian Jörg-Martin Willnauer, 52, was today (Fri) unveiled by the Styrian Greens as a candidate to head the party’s list in the autumn 2010 provincial election.Willnauer said after the news was announced by the party’s executive committee: "It is a time to change and to build rather than merely to comment."He added his goal would be to strengthen the provincial Greens and lead them into the provincial parliament.Willnauer’s candidacy must first be approved at the Greens’ provincial party day on 5 December.The comedian said he would continue to perform if chosen to head the list but would no longer make comedy the centre of his life.Willnauer, who went to Graz in 1981 to study music and remained there, said being a native of Germany would not affect his chances."California has a Styrian governor, and the new German government has a health minister born in Vietnam, so Styria can stomach a politician from Heidelberg," he said, adding he had already applied for Austrian citizenship.He also commented on his support for the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and SPÖ Governor Franz Voves in the 2005 election and said the SPÖ had had its chance but failed to make use of it.Willnauer declined comment on other parties but said that the Freedom Party (FPÖ) was "a party of yesterday that does not have any good qualities."Asked if he was a fundamentalist or a realist, he said he was a realistic utopian or a utopian realist.But he declined to say whether he would become a provincial deputy if he had the chance. "It is too early to divide up the pelt of the not yet skinned bear," he said.Green Styrian provincial spokesman and deputy federal party leader Werner Kogler said the choice of Willnauer to head the list would "signal a break-out."Kogler said Willnauer was socially and ecologically engaged and offered "creativity and openness to the world."He added five Green mandates in the provincial parliament instead of the present three and, perhaps, a seat in the provincial government were realistic goals.

Around 8,000 legal immigrants next year
There will be 8,145 places for legal immigrants in 2010 - almost the same number as this year, the interior ministry announced today The ministry said there would be 4,905 places for family reunification, 2,450 for non-self-employed skilled workers, 250 for self-employed skilled workers and 235 for independently wealthy people.The ministry added the quota for seasonal workers would shrink from 8,000 this year to 7,500 in 2010 and the quota for agricultural workers would remain constant at 7,500.Vienna will receive 4,160 legal immigrants, followed by Upper Austria with 850, Styria with 800, Lower Austria with 580, Tyrol with 480, and Salzburg with 465. Vorarlberg will take 295, Carinthia 240 and Burgenland with 175, ministry officials added.The numbers must be approved by Parliament and will enter into force on 1 January 2010.
People’s Party (ÖVP) Interior Minister Maria Fekter had announced at the beginning of the year that a so-called red-white-red card points system would be adopted for legal immigrants.Lack of agreement between the government and social partners, however, has delayed its adoption.
Swine flu vaccinations to begin next week
Swine flu vaccination of Austria’s 280,000 health-care personnel is to begin on 27 October, the health ministry has said. Ministry official Clemens Auer said today (Thurs) that vaccination of the 600,000 people at high risk, such as the chronically-ill and pregnant women, would begin on 9 November.Auer added: "It is a very critical and difficult situation for us. We must accept our responsibility, but we are not in the hysteria business. We do not know how swine flu will develop since viruses, especially flu viruses, are unpredictable."The best protection against a viral infection is vaccination. However, we will not have enough vaccine for the entire population right away. We will be able to vaccinate 800,000 people by the end of November. "The ministry has already received 520,000 doses of pharmaceutical firm Baxter’s "Celvapan" swine flu vaccine and will receive additional doses at the rate of 200,000 a week.Health-insurance funds will cover the cost of the vaccinations except for a fee of 4.90 Euros a dose. Health Ministry official Jean-Paul Klein, who is in charge of preparations for a swine flu pandemic, said all Austrians could in theory be vaccinated by the end of the seasonal flu season next year.He added it was important for everyone also to be vaccinated against seasonal flu as swine and seasonal flu could infect a person simultaneously and increase the danger of serious complications and of dangerous mutations of the viruses.