20. 08. 09. - 16:45

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20. 08. 09. - 16:45

Fat seats for trains

Special chairs for fatties have been installed on Brazil's trains to cope with the country's soaring obesity race.

The blue-coloured seats are nearly twice as wide as normal chairs and can support even the bulkiest passenger up to 550lbs without breaking.

But baffled Metro bosses in Sao Paulo say they're being ignored by obese passengers, who they think are to ashamed to use them.

A sign above each seat shows a cartoon of an roly-poly passenger saying "Priority chair for obese people."

"It may be that they don't want to think of themselves as fat or they resent being put in with pensioners and the disabled," said one manager.

Austrian Times

Google Street View cars to roll over Austria again
Google Street View cars are expected to drive all across Austria again this weekend as temperatures are expected to rise.

Asylum seeker tries to torch himself
An Afghan asylum seeker tried to burn himself to death at a petrol station in Hall in Tyrol’s Innsbruck-Land district yesterday (Weds), police said.

Majority believe in some kind of God
Sixty-nine per cent of Austrians believe in some kind of God, according to results of a new poll by Linz public-opinion research institute IMAS released today (Thurs).

'World Day for Water' events for kids at Vienna zoo this weekend
Orangutan Sol was snapped taking a gulp of water from a bottle while swinging though her enclosure as Vienna’s Schönbrunn Zoo prepares for Monday's "World Day for Water".

Fritzl finds friends in jail
Incest beast Josef Fritzl has made his first pal in prison – a notorious killer serving life for slaughtering seven helpless victims.

Roddick teaches Melzer lesson number ten
Austrian number one tennis player Jürgen Melzer failed to beat US star Andy Roddick for the tenth time in as many matches today (Thurs).

Bob Dylan to rock Austria twice in June
A second Austrian concert date by Bob Dylan has been revealed.

Transport key to climate protection, says traffic club
The transport sector was key to increased climate protection, Austrian Traffic Club (VCÖ) expert Martin Blum said today (Thurs).

Kapsch announces third board member
Kapsch TrafficCom AG announced yesterday (Weds) that Andre Laux would become its third board member on 1 April 2010.

What's on at the Burgkino this weekend?
The latest film by award-winning directing / producing brothers Joel and Ethan Coen is on at the Burgkino Vienna – where all movies are shown in their original language version – this weekend.