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16. 03. 10. - 14:00

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16. 03. 10. - 14:00

Worlds smallest mans big rival broke his heart

The tiny teenager who was set to steal the crown of the world's smallest man before he died is to contact Guinness World Records bosses to take over the title.

Mongolian-born He Pingping - 29 inches tall - collapsed with chest pains on a visit to Rome on Saturday.

Now his 17-year-old rival Khagendra Thapa Magar in Nepal is set to be awarded the title within weeks, say his family.

At just 22 inches tall Khagendra is head and shoulders shorter than Pingping and was about to take the title from him before he died.

"It's a terrible tragedy. Maybe the strain of losing his title got to Pingping and his heart couldn't take the strain any more," said one member of the new champion's family.

Only weeks ago the two rivals met for a TV programme about short people.

Austrian Times

Set up tax on financial transactions soon, says Katzian
The head of the Association of Private Employees (GPA-djp) has called for a quick introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

Pühringer rejects U-turn on rightist ball
Young Social Democrats (SPÖ) have appealed to Upper Austrian Governor Josef Pühringer not to attend the Burschenbundball in Linz this Saturday.

FPÖ under fire after trip to Grozny
The Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been harshly criticised for meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

WKO boss wants pension age hike incentives
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl has identified attempts to raise the average retirement age as the key issue regarding Austria’s budget.

Woman and child run over in Vienna
A woman and child have died in a road accident in Vienna, Austria. The lorry driver was making a right turn when he drove into a group of pedestrians leaving a 59-year-old and a 12-year-old dead. The mother of the school girl was left with serious injuries.

Schlecker says Austrian jobs are safe
The son of Schlecker founder Anton Schlecker has claimed that the company has no plans to sell its Austrian affiliate.

SPÖ sees smaller parliament as key signal
The general secretary of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) has argued his support for a reduction of the size of the parliament.

Austrian food to feature in organic trade fair
Austria is expected to be well represented at next week’s BioFach 2012 international organic trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Some 90 companies and organisations from the Austrian organic good sector will feature at the fair from 15 to 18 February.

Brothel for the homeless in Vienna
Homeless people are queueing up for free rooms in an Austrian brothel after owner Peter Laskaris said it would be unfair not to do everything he could during the current cold spell.

Deep-freeze snacks for orangutans in Schönbrunn
The lucky orangutans who take up residence in Europe’s oldest zoo have been indulging in a twice weekly take-away. Despite the trees in Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria now being completely bare the fury friends have fresh branches and leaves delivered twice a week.