Austrian police records in Vienna and the Styria district bordering Slovenia show the number of applications for handgun permits has risen fourfold in the past months, while firearms dealers say the number of weapons sales has skyrocketed. [...]

Austrian athlete and daredevil, Felix Baumgartner, known for his super-sonic leap from the stratosphere, has bashed EU politicians for their “idiotic” refugee policies in a lengthy post. He added that Washington is destabilizing Europe “on purpose.” [...]

A waitress at a bar in Austria, which controversially banned asylum seekers after some of them sexually harassed the female clients there, is pressing charges after migrants sexually assaulted her on New Year's Eve, she told Sputnik. Steffi G, a 19 year old waitress at Charly's Bar in the Austrian town of Bad Ischl, told Sputnik German that she is pressing charges after migrants sexually assaul [...]

Austria is set to use its army to stop refugees intending to transit through Germany and not apply for asylum there, as hundreds are being rejected at the German border. More than 1,000 migrants with forged IDs are being turned around at the Austrian border each week. [...]

After an Austrian bar announced that it was "free of refugees," with people expressing their outrage on social networks, claiming that such measures reminds them of the Nazi regime. A local bar in the small town of Bad Ischl, Austria, has banned asylum seekers from entry and has caused outrage among the local population, media reported. [...]

Russia would make a much better ‘world gendarme’ than the US, according to Austrian media. During the course of human history Russia often acted as a force of righteousness, according to Austrian author Thomas Roth. And as today many people across the globe turn to Russia for assistance, it's possible that level-headed Moscow would make a better ‘world’ gendarme than egotistical Wash [...]

Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met for six hours with Polish political patriarch Jaroslaw Kaczynski at Niedzica Castle in southern Poland. With virtually no details available on the meeting, journalists were quick to speculate, some suggesting that the two political outsiders were hatching a conspiracy. In his analysis, recently published on the website of independent Russian [...]

Austria’s highest court will rule on whether a case filed against Facebook over its privacy policies could be regarded as a class action lawsuit. Austrian law student Max Schrems, who launched the case against Facebook over the way it handles personal information in July 2014, has claimed 500 euros ($532) on the behalf of more than 25,000 people who took up his idea and signed up to the lawsu [...]

Facing a record influx of refugees, the Austrian government has proposed measures toughening requirements for asylum seekers and reunification with their families. The UN refugee agency has denounced the move, saying it will lead to more suffering. [...]

Women arming themselves in Austria as migrant rape epidemic hits Europe. Private gun sales are exploding in Austria as women prepare to defend themselves against migrant rapists. “All long guns are currently completely sold out,” a Czech TV station reported. “Those arming themselves are primarily women.” [...]

Sealing the Hungarian border will not stem the tide of Muslim migrants as long as Germany & Sweden offer the incentive of open borders and the open coffers of the welfare state. With crime, especially rape, soaring from the migrants, women in Austria are arming themselves with firearms and the German government fears a backlash from citizens who have been “radicalized”, awakened to the [...]

Hand guns and rifle sales are spiking in Austria, with some shops reporting they are running out of stocks of shotguns, since no license is needed to buy them. “Yes, I can confirm, the demand in Austria for weapons is growing. My revenue doubled in September. And in October it has doubled again, and we are still in October,” a gun shop owner told RT. [...]

The Austrian army has been sent to assist in introducing tougher border checks amid the growing migrant crisis, Reuters cited the country's vice-chancellor as saying. At least 2,200 soldiers will assist police in tackling the refugee crisis on the border, according to a statement from the Austrian government. [...]

Over 260,000 Austrians have signed a petition calling for the EU exit for the country, and now the Austrian parliament must discuss a referendum on the issue. Overall, the 261,159 people who signed the petition represent 4.12 percent of the electorate. The petition was most popular in the regions of Lower Austria (where 5.18 percent of potential voters signed it) and in Carinthia (4.85 percent) [...]

Austrians have launched a petition to quit the EU, arguing that the nation will be better off economically if it leaves the union. To force the national parliament to consider the initiative activists need to have gathered 100,000 signatures by July 1. The petition was started by a retired 66-year-old translator, Inge Rauscher, who has collected enough signatures to launch an official campaign. [...]

Austria, Spain and South Korea have been approved as founding members of the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), the Chinese Finance Ministry announced Saturday. A founding member of the bank has the right to help write its rules and Saturday’s additions bring the number of prospective founders to 41. The exact number of founding members will be finalized on April 15. [...]

Mercer has released their updated Quality of Living Survey for 2013. The survey analyzes 39 factors like political stability, cost of living, crime levels, pollution, and healthcare, which are important for future expats moving to the country. Europe dominated the top five list with just one city being from North America. [...]