Austria

Two Dutch mountain climbers died while on an expedition at the glacier in the Pitztal in Austria. They were found dead in their tent early on Saturday morning. It is believed they died from carbon monoxide poisoning, AD reports.

The Dutch men, aged 50 and 52, were found by other participants in the expedition. They were camping at a height of over 3 thousand meters at the time. The climbers slept in dome tents and had to prepare their own meals. It is believed that a gas stove used for this purpose leaked carbon monoxide into the tent.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel described Prime Minister Mark Rutte's refusal to budge during a summit on the new budget for the European Union last week as "childish behavior". Other EU leaders also criticized the attitude of Rutte and the other frugal countries - Austria, Sweden and Demark. "What arrogance," French president Emmanuel Macron said, the Volkskrant reports.

The Ministers of Health from the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Ireland all spoke out against an expensive medicine against the deadly muscle disease SMA being "raffled". Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis wants to give the super expensive medicine Zolgensma free to 100 patients outside the United States via a raffle, NOS reports.

The tenant of a farm where a family was found concealed is suspected of depriving people of their physical freedom, and harming the health of others, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Wednesday. The suspect is reportedly 58-year-old Austrian man Josef B., according to multiple published reports.

A 67-year-old Dutch man was seriously injured in a fall in the Austrian Alps on Wednesday. There are concerns that the man may now be paralyzed, NOS reports.

The accident happened while the man and his wife were walking near the town of Bludenz in western Austria on Wednesday afternoon. The man fell around 15 meters and landed in a very rocky area, according to the broadcaster.

A doctor who happened to be in the area provided first aid before the Dutch man was airlifted to a hospital in Feldkirch. 

Twenty years after the release of hit song 'We're going to Ibiza' by Dutch band Vengaboys, the song is again a number 1 hit in Austria, thanks to a political scandal in the country. Vengaboys also performed live there on Thursday evening, at a protest demonstration in Vienna, NOS reports.

A Dutch skier was killed in an accident on the slopes of a ski resort in Sölden, Austria on Sunday. The 50-year-old man collided with a wooden marker during a descent and flew 15 meters through the air before landing on the ground, RTL Nieuws reports.

An air ambulance was dispatched to the scene, but could not land due to thick fog. Other skiers and emergency services tried to resuscitate the Dutch man, but he died at the scene.

The victim was on holiday with five family members. Where in the Netherlands he was from, has not yet been revealed.

A study by travel organization Expedia revealed that Dutch people are the wildest skiers in the world. They are the biggest drinkers of all ski enthusiast and are not averse to being naked, or even having sex on the slope, according to the study, RTL Nieuws reports.

Expedia surveyed 13 thousand skiers over the age of 18 from 13 different countries. The survey revealed that Austria is the favorite skiing destination, mainly due to the great apres ski culture in the country. And especially Dutch people make good use of this culture. 

The Dutch Public Prosecutor will not prosecute Geert Wilders over statements he made in a speech in Vienna, Austria in March 2015, the prosecutor announced. The Austrian authorities asked the Dutch Prosecutor to investigate Wilders for hate speech, but his statements are not punishable by Dutch law, according to the Prosecutor, NU.nl reports.

As is almost a tradition by now, the Dutch royal couple and their three daughters posed for photos at the start of their skiing vacation in Lech, Austria on Monday.

The Royal family goes skiing in Lech every year, according to broadcaster NOS. To avoid being followed around by photographers all through their vacation, they always meet the press for a few photos at the start of their holiday.

Dutch cat Pepper is quite a wanderer it seems. Six months after going missing from his owner's home in Tilburg, the three year old cat turned up in Vienna, Omroep Brabant reports. 

According to the broadcaster, the cat was found by a hunter near Vienna, Austria. She had worms in her lungs and was severely emancipated. Luckily Pepper was chipped, and the chip led to her Dutch owner Franka Schapendonk.