Austrian ambassador to EU quits after reports he kept sexually explicit blog for years
VIENNA, July 30 - Austria's ambassador to the European Union has stepped down, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after reports he published an anonymous, sexually explicit blog for years.
Thomas Oberreiter, 59, had been permanent representative to the European Union in Brussels since 2023. He did not respond to requests for comment.
When Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger became aware of the allegations on Saturday, the matter was thoroughly reviewed, the foreign ministry said, without describing the allegations.
'On Monday, the ambassador requested that he be dismissed for personal reasons. Minister Meinl-Reisinger accepted the request,' the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it could not provide further details for reasons including data protection, and that its statement should not be taken as confirmation of the unspecified allegations.
Reports in Austrian media including Der Standard newspaper identified Oberreiter as the author of the blog, which included graphic accounts mixing fantasy scenes with real-life photos and appears to have been publishing by 2015. Der Standard said Oberreiter disputes what it called 'the alleged allegations.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
2 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Gunter: Trudeau cost Canada a chance to get into global LNG game — Trump and U.S. are reaping the benefit
Article content Last Sunday, at President Donald Trump's golf resort in Scotland (a.k.a. King Donald's summer palace), Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union pledged European countries would buy US$750 billion (over $1 trillion Canadian) of U.S. energy – largely LNG – over the next three years in return for Trump promising to impose only 15% tariffs on the union's member states. Article content Article content Boy, those American and European trade negotiators must be dunces. Don't they know that three years ago, then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a special trip to Canada to ask our government to sell tens of billions in LNG to his country? Our economic genius of a prime minister, Justin Trudeau rejected Scholz's request because 'there is no business case' for selling LNG to Europe. Article content Article content Article content This past Thursday, the South Koreans made a similar deal with the U.S. — $100 billion (about $138 billion Canadian) in energy over four years, primarily LNG. Article content What's wrong with these countries? Can they not see that the greatest economic mind of the 21st Century, Justin Pierre James Trudeau, had decreed it was foolhardy to sign such agreements? Article content Article content The U.S. deals with the EU and Korea just for LNG are worth about $800 billion Canadian over the next four years. The rest of the sales are for oil and nuclear fuels. Article content Article content A good part of that market might have been Canada's had we not been ruled by a 'green' dreamweaver and eco-cultist who prevented this country from jumping into the world LNG market early in the game. Article content Now the Americans have sucked up a lot of the oxygen in the room, and it will be hard for Canada to get a foothold, even if current Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney gets off his duff and agrees to more pipelines and LNG ports. Article content Trudeau's thinking (which remains Carney's thinking until the current Liberal government does more than just talk a good game) cost Canada at least $400 billion in investment during the Trudeau decade, drove down our per capita income, dropped us out of the 25 richest countries in the world, distorted our housing market and drove up prices and unemployment.
Winnipeg Free Press
15 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg students hope to develop Canada-EU AI literacy
A duo of local students has won a trip abroad to pitch diplomats on their made-in-Manitoba plan to bolster artificial intelligence literacy in Canada and the European Union. The University of Manitoba's Divya Sharma and Emily Katsman were named winners of the 2025 Schuman Challenge last week. 'It's a little bit surreal. I'm still taking it in,' said Katsman, noting the 20-somethings are the first Manitobans to enter the foreign policy competition put on by the EU Delegation to Canada. 'We are a province that has a lot of talent, but we sometimes get overlooked — especially when it comes to these high-level government and political competitions and policy settings.' The national contest calls on undergraduate students to brainstorm ways to strengthen the relationship between their home country and the EU. AI was the theme of this year's event, the third of its kind, which drew a total of 19 submissions from across the country. Sharma, 20, and Katsman, 21, were recognized for their proposal to create a Canada-EU roadmap for AI literacy in post-secondary education. 'By working together, Canada and the EU can create the shared infrastructure, standards, and trust needed to shape an AI-literate generation. One that will fuel future breakthroughs in health, climate, defence, and the digital economy,' they argued in a nine-page essay. 'From classrooms to NATO command centres, students in Canada and the EU must speak the same digital language.' Their recommendations to make that happen? Launch a joint AI literacy taskforce, standardized educator certification initiative and a research and student exchange program. 'AI is the future. There's no turning back,' Sharma said. Katsman echoed those comments. However, despite Canada's reputation as a world leader in AI research excellence, local universities have shied away from embracing the technology in classrooms due to plagiarism concerns, she noted. Their essay deemed this situation 'Canada's AI paradox,' and argued the lack of AI integration on post-secondary campuses is a major issue for the workforce and innovation at large. Canadian students are not being prepared to use AI tools effectively or responsibly — a stark contrast to what's happening in Estonia, they argued. Estonia's 'AI Leap' pilot aims to equip 20,000 high school students in northern Europe with lessons on how to use AI tools. A total of 3,000 teachers in that country are receiving training to leverage the technology for educational purposes this fall. Policymakers are working with Anthropic and OpenAI, alongside other partners, to create a related curriculum and workshops. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Sharma and Katsman suggested Canada and the EU learn from Estonia and develop a roadmap accordingly. The U of M students are slated to visit Brussels in the fall to share their ideas with European leaders. Katsman said they are hopeful they will meet Kaja Kallas, who resigned as Estonia's prime minister last year to join the EU government. EU representatives visited Winnipeg in April on a 'Team Europe mission' to the Prairies. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Protesters in Bangkok demand resignation of court-suspended prime minister following deadly conflict
BANGKOK — Protesters rallied Saturday in the Thai capital to demand the resignation of court-suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and in support of the armed forces following a violent border dispute with Cambodia that killed more than three dozen people and displaced over 260,000. Gathered at Bangkok's Victory Monument despite soaring temperatures, many sang patriotic songs and listened to speeches denouncing Paetongtarn and her father , former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, and voiced their backing of the country's army, which has always retained substantial power in the Southeast Asian country. Police said there were about two thousand protesters by mid-afternoon, though more were expected to join as the temperature cooled. Some locals accuse Paetongtarn and her family of allowing the conflict, which stretches back deacdes with both sides claiming pocket of lands near the shared borders, to escalate due to their close tied with Cambodian leader Hun Sen. A court suspened the prime minster last month after Hun Sen leaked a phone call in which she she called him 'uncle' and appeared to denigrate a Thai general, angering many. The most recent clashes ended with an uneasy Malaysian-brokered ceasefire on July 29. 'Ung Ing, you need to leave,' said one well-known conservative columnist and protester, Jittakorn Bussaba, using Paetongtarn 's nickname.'Because there's blood on your hands. People have died because of you,' he said from the stage to general applause. 'I'm here to help oust the government and protect Thai sovereignty and to support the soldiers,' said 75-year-old Kittiwat, who only gave one name. 'Ung Ing has damaged the country. Everyone needs to help out," said 58-year-old Ammorn Khunthong. 'Thaksin and his family should not run or command this country anymore,' she said. There were many familiar faces from a conservative, pro-royalist group once known as Yellow Shirts, longtime foes of Paetongtarn's father, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006. Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon, entered politics by founding his own political party and buying the loyalty of local political bosses nationwide. He was often accused of bullying critics and not separating his business dealings from those of the government. Yellow Shirts rallies had also helped oust the elected government of Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in a 2014 coup. The army in Thailand plays a major role in politics and has staged 13 successful coups since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, most recently just 11 years ago. Jerry Harmer And Sahatthaya Kraikhunthot, The Associated Press
