https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Austria in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed As Austria prepares to take over the chairmanship of The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2017, Austria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz has said he will use it as an opportunity to push for an easing of the sanctions against Russia. https://www.thelocal.at/20161230/kurz-to-push-for-easing-of-sanctions-against-russia Fri, 30 Dec 2016 14:10:13 +0100 kurz-to-push-for-easing-of-sanctions-against-russia International observer body the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed Wednesday being the victim of a "major" cyber attack. https://www.thelocal.at/20161228/vienna-based-osce-hacked-by-russian-group Wed, 28 Dec 2016 17:55:18 +0100 vienna-based-osce-hacked-by-russian-group Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz has invited a young Yazidi woman who was trafficked as a sex slave by the so-called Islamic State to be a “Goodwill Ambassador” for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). https://www.thelocal.at/20160920/kurz-asks-former-isis-sex-slave-to-be-ambassador-for-osce Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:47:46 +0200 kurz-asks-former-isis-sex-slave-to-be-ambassador-for-osce The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Wednesday that one of its monitors was threatened at gunpoint in eastern Ukraine in an incident involving several armed and apparently drunk men of uncertain affiliation. https://www.thelocal.at/20160803/osce-monitors-held-at-gunpoint-in-ukraine Thu, 04 Aug 2016 00:03:21 +0200 osce-monitors-held-at-gunpoint-in-ukraine The Vienna-based Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has called for countries to treat migrants "humanely", as the EU struggles to cope with tens of thousands of people arriving in rickety boats. https://www.thelocal.at/20150619/osce-calls-for-humane-treatment-of-migrants Fri, 19 Jun 2015 14:09:25 +0200 osce-calls-for-humane-treatment-of-migrants The OSCE looks set to name an Austrian diplomat to replace Switzerland's Heidi Tagliavini as the security body's representative in peace talks over Ukraine, diplomats and press reports said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.at/20150612/osce-eyes-austrian-as-new-ukraine-talks-representative Fri, 12 Jun 2015 14:21:21 +0200 osce-eyes-austrian-as-new-ukraine-talks-representative The OSCE, which has been tasked with monitoring a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, has emerged as a key player in the region over the past year, mediating between government leaders and rebels towards a peaceful solution. https://www.thelocal.at/20150214/background-on-the-osce-and-ukraine Sat, 14 Feb 2015 11:18:38 +0100 background-on-the-osce-and-ukraine Serbia takes over the presidency of the OSCE from Switzerland on Thursday, as the multinational body plays a prominent role in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict. https://www.thelocal.at/20150101/serbia-now-has-osce-presidency Thu, 01 Jan 2015 10:06:59 +0100 serbia-now-has-osce-presidency One of two Austrian-made drones monitoring a truce in eastern Ukraine has been subjected to serious electronic jamming whilst flying over rebel-controlled Chermalyk on Tuesday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said. https://www.thelocal.at/20141105/attack-on-austrian-drone-in-east-ukraine Wed, 05 Nov 2014 12:01:00 +0100 attack-on-austrian-drone-in-east-ukraine Elections organised and won by separatists in eastern Ukraine over the weekend were "unfortunate and counterproductive," UN chief Ban Ki-moon said at OSCE headquarters in Vienna on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.at/20141104/un-chief-elections-in-east-ukraine-counterproductive Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:53:00 +0100 un-chief-elections-in-east-ukraine-counterproductive UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived Sunday evening in Vienna, where he will attend a UN conference on developing countries on Monday. https://www.thelocal.at/20141103/ban-ki-moon-arrives-in-vienna-for-talks Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:19:00 +0100 ban-ki-moon-arrives-in-vienna-for-talks The US ambassador to the OSCE said Moscow continued to block the expansion of the checkpoint observation mission on the Russia-Ukraine border, hindering the monitoring that was agreed in a peace plan to end hostilities, according to a report from Agence France-Presse (AFP). https://www.thelocal.at/20141022/moscow-hindering-osce-ukrainian-mission-expansion Thu, 23 Oct 2014 01:24:00 +0200 moscow-hindering-osce-ukrainian-mission-expansion Nearly 700 OSCE observers will monitor Ukraine's key parliamentary vote on October 26, the pan-European security body said on Friday, as it opened an election observer office in Kiev, according to a report from Agence France-Presse. https://www.thelocal.at/20140919/700-election-monitors-monitor-ukraines-election Fri, 19 Sep 2014 17:35:00 +0200 700-election-monitors-monitor-ukraines-election The Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Friday that neo-Nazi vandalism and threats against a local newspaper in eastern Germany were "unacceptable and must be stopped", according to Agence France-Presse. https://www.thelocal.at/20140912/neo-nazi-vandalism-unacceptable-says-osce Fri, 12 Sep 2014 22:30:00 +0200 neo-nazi-vandalism-unacceptable-says-osce Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that the European security body OSCE will hold a special meeting in Vienna on Thursday to discuss developments in conflict-torn Ukraine, following reports of Russian troops on the ground there, the US mission to the organisation said. https://www.thelocal.at/20140828/osce-holds-urgent-meeting-over-ukraine Thu, 28 Aug 2014 12:44:00 +0200 osce-holds-urgent-meeting-over-ukraine The US ambassador to the OSCE in Austria married his long-time partner in a ceremony at his residence in Vienna on the weekend. https://www.thelocal.at/20140805/us-ambassador-marries-his-husband-in-austria Tue, 05 Aug 2014 11:53:00 +0200 us-ambassador-marries-his-husband-in-austria Every Thursday lunchtime for the past several months, a small but determined group of Ukrainians has been gathering outside the head office of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) at Vienna's Hofburg. https://www.thelocal.at/20140717/the-ukrainians-protesting-in-vienna Thu, 17 Jul 2014 18:49:00 +0200 the-ukrainians-protesting-in-vienna Top officials from Ukraine, Russia and the European security body OSCE have called for urgent efforts to reach a peace settlement in Ukraine amid continued violence in the east of the country. https://www.thelocal.at/20140707/contact-group-urges-concrete-progress-on-ukraine-peace-deal Mon, 07 Jul 2014 13:27:00 +0200 contact-group-urges-concrete-progress-on-ukraine-peace-deal The respectable Austrian daily broadsheet Der Kurier has called out one of its tabloid rivals over a "nasty piece of photojournalism". https://www.thelocal.at/20140702/oesterreich-newspaper-caught-faking-photo Wed, 02 Jul 2014 12:21:00 +0200 oesterreich-newspaper-caught-faking-photo More must be done to protect journalists in crisis zones like Ukraine, the Vienna-based OSCE has warned, following the deaths of two more reporters in the country's east. https://www.thelocal.at/20140619/osce-calls-for-more-journalist-protection Thu, 19 Jun 2014 16:16:39 +0200 osce-calls-for-more-journalist-protection