Latest news with #Austrian-Hungarian
American Military News
09-05-2025
- American Military News
Pic: Gold treasure found by hikers in overgrown field
An 'unusually large' treasure trove of gold coins, tobacco boxes, and jewelry was recently discovered by two hikers in the Czech Republic. In a statement obtained by Fox News, the Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, confirmed that a 15-pound 'depot of gold coins, jewelry and tobacco boxes' was found by two hikers and delivered to the museum in February. A Museum of East Bohemia press release obtained by Fox News stated, '[T]wo finders discovered two boxes in an artificially created stone wall on the edge of a now non-existent field overgrown with forest during a tourist walk on the southwestern slope of Zvičina Hill.' A picture shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows the large collection of gold coins, bars, and rings found by the hikers in the overgrown Czech Republic field. The picture reveals that some of the gold items have been tarnished due to age. Whoa, what a find! Hikers in the Czech Republic uncovered a $340K stash of gold coins & jewelry near Zvičina Hill! Hidden since WWII, this treasure's now at the Museum of East Bohemia. Keep hunting, folks! — @_Treasure_Kings_ (@_Treasure_Kings) April 30, 2025 According to Fox News, the Museum of East Bohemia confirmed that 598 coins were found in a container that was 'divided into 11 columns and wrapped in black fabric.' The museum said, 'In a metal box found about a meter away, objects made of yellow metal were stored — 16 tobacco boxes, 10 bracelets, a bag made of fine wire mesh, a comb, a chain with a key, and a powder box.' Fox News reported that Miroslav Novák, an archaeologist at the Museum of East Bohemia, described the hikers' discovery as a 'unique find.' 'Storing valuable objects in the ground as treasures, known as depots, has been common practice since prehistoric times,' Novák said. 'Initially, religious motives were more common, but later it was property stored during uncertain times with the intention of retrieving it later. This find is notable for the unusually large weight of precious metal.' READ MORE: Pics: Surprising WWII shipwreck finds revealed Fox News reported that the Czech Republic gold discovery is an unusual find since the earliest coins in the treasure trove are only from 1808. Vojtěch Brádle, a coin specialist with the Museum of East Bohemia, noted that the treasure was buried for 'just over 100 years.' 'Based on the dates stamped on them, the coins range from 1808 to 1915,' Brádle said. 'However, the year 1915 is not decisive for determining when the depot was placed there.' Brádle explained that marks stamped on the coins indicate that the gold coins must have been buried after World War I. 'These marks were stamped on coins in the territory of former Yugoslavia during the 1920s and 1930s,' Brádle said. 'Within the context of domestic finds, this collection is very specific, as most of it consists of coins of French origin, and besides Austrian-Hungarian coins, it also includes Belgian and Ottoman coins.'
Fox News
08-05-2025
- Fox News
Hikers uncover mysterious gold-filled treasure trove in overgrown field: 'Unusually large'
A cache of gold items and other pieces of treasure came to light recently – and officials are still perplexed by the trove's origin. In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, the Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, said that a "depot of gold coins, jewelry and tobacco boxes" had been found. Weighing a hefty 15 pounds, the cache was found by two hikers who handed the treasure over to the museum in February. "[T]wo finders discovered two boxes in an artificially created stone wall on the edge of a now non-existent field overgrown with forest during a tourist walk on the southwestern slope of Zvičina Hill," the museum said in a press release translated from Czech to English. Pictures show the stunning finds consisting of various gold rings, bars and coins, though the gold had varnished with age. In total, 598 coins were found. The container holding the gold items was "divided into 11 columns and wrapped in black fabric," according to the museum. "In a metal box found about a meter away, objects made of yellow metal were stored — 16 tobacco boxes, 10 bracelets, a bag made of fine wire mesh, a comb, a chain with a key, and a powder box," the museum also said. "This find is notable for the unusually large weight of precious metal." In a statement, Museum of East Bohemia archaeologist Miroslav Novák called the discovery a "unique find." "Storing valuable objects in the ground as treasures, known as depots, has been common practice since prehistoric times," the expert said. Novák added, "Initially, religious motives were more common, but later it was property stored during uncertain times with the intention of retrieving it later. This find is notable for the unusually large weight of precious metal." What makes the discovery so unusual is how relatively young it is. The earliest coins date to 1808. Museum of East Bohemia coin specialist Vojtěch Brádle said that the treasure had been buried "for just over 100 years." "Based on the dates stamped on them, the coins range from 1808 to 1915," the numismatist said. "However, the year 1915 is not decisive for determining when the depot was placed there." He noted that the coins must have been placed after World War I, based on certain marks. "These marks were stamped on coins in the territory of former Yugoslavia during the 1920s and 1930s," Brádle noted. "Within the context of domestic finds, this collection is very specific, as most of it consists of coins of French origin, and besides Austrian-Hungarian coins, it also includes Belgian and Ottoman coins." He added, "Conversely, German and Czechoslovak coins are entirely absent." The museum concluded its announcement by noting the opportunities that the relatively recent treasure trove presents. "[It] presents much broader, albeit more complex, possibilities for studying historical archival documents," the statement read.
Irish Examiner
25-04-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Foot and mouth crisis deepens in Hungary and Slovakia
The difficulty of finding places to bury culled livestock sums up the horror of the continuing outbreak of foot and mouth across Hungary and Slovakia. Last week, the Austrian authorities started testing groundwater when it discovered that some of the cattle culled from infected herds in Hungary had been buried six kilometres from the Austrian-Hungarian border. Within Hungary, there have been local objections to livestock burials. Even in neighbouring countries, a foot and mouth outbreak raises fears. In Austria, the military was mobilised to prevent the infectious disease from entering the country. But the real victims are, of course, the owners of more than 8,000 livestock, which had to be disposed of since the disease was first detected in Hungary at the beginning of March. Up to this week, the disease was found in five farms in Hungary, and six in neighbouring Slovakia. More than 6,000 cattle had to be put down in Slovakia. According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), annual losses from foot and mouth are estimated at between €6.5bn and 21bn in regions where the disease is endemic, and more than €1.5bn when outbreaks occur in foot and mouth free zones. The viral illness affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, and goats. It causes fever, painful blisters around the mouth and hooves, and spreads rapidly via contaminated equipment, feed, vehicles, clothing, and even human contact with infected surfaces. Though humans cannot catch the disease, they can inadvertently spread it. Containment requires quarantine, trade restrictions, vaccination, monitoring, and the slaughter of both infected and at-risk animals. In Hungary, vaccination of cattle on farms where the disease is detected is carried out immediately, to minimise virus shedding until the cattle are killed and buried. Testing of susceptible animals is ongoing, and farms are being checked at random for compliance with the containment rules. But the disease kept spreading, and epidemiological investigations of the latest fifth case revealed no trace back to previous outbreaks. In fact, samples taken at this dairy farm in Rábapordány (60 km south of the most recent previous outbreak) on March 11 and 23, and at the pig farm associated with it on April 4, 9 and 10, had all yielded negative results. However, one dairy cow in the herd of 600 presented symptoms during morning milking on April 17. The farm is near the borders with Slovakia and Austria. The spread of the disease has led some in the governments of Hungary and Slovakia (both foot and mouth free for more than 50 years) to suggest the outbreaks could be linked to bioterrorism, but without presenting any supporting scientific evidence. However, unregulated animal movement and the breakdown of safe trade practices are more likely causes, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health. By the 1990s, most countries in the EU had gained foot and mouth free status, according to the WOAH. But in 2001 and 2007, the disease recurred in the UK (no country wants a repeat of the 2001 UK outbreak with the loss of more than 10 million animals, and a crisis costing more than €15 billion). Russia reported it in 2005, with recurrences that ended in 2022. Bulgaria reported an outbreak in 2011. Germany had an outbreak in 2025 (but regained foot and mouth free status in March, except for the contaminated zones). Sheep and goat plague It may be significant that Hungary was also hit this year by its first occurrence of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), also known as sheep and goat plague. This large geographical leap for the PPR virus is typical of animal migration or trade issues, which may also be behind the foot and mouth outbreak. Africa, Asia and the Middle East are the regions most affected by PPR and foot and mouth, but several incursions into new areas, such as Europe, have been observed in recent years. Animal movement, both legal and illegal, has been a major factor in the spread of PPR within and between countries in Europe, as well as globally, said the WOAH. Following an outbreak in Greece in 2016, PPR resurfaced in Georgia in 2024, in Bulgaria in 2018 and 2024, Greece again in 2024, Romania in 2024 and 2025, and now Hungary in 2025. PPR and foot and mouth know no political or geographical limits, and surveillance, prevention, management of animal movement, and adequate veterinary services are required to keep them at bay. That is why other countries have reacted quickly to Hungarian and Slovakian outbreaks, with, for example, the UK upgrading the risk of foot and mouth incursion to medium, and taking some new measures. These include banning personal imports of meat and dairy products from the EU. Austria closed 21 border crossings with Hungary, allowing entry only at the larger crossings and only with disinfection. Many member states have banned live animal and other agricultural commodity imports from Hungary and Slovakia. DAFM has confirmed that no susceptible animals moved into Ireland from Austria, Slovakia, or Hungary this year. It said anyone arriving in Ireland following contact with susceptible animals in foot and mouth affected areas must take biosecurity precautions. Read More Irish farmers urged to be vigilant after Germany records case of foot and mouth disease
The Independent
10-04-2025
- Health
- The Independent
‘Biological attack' could be behind Europe's latest foot-and-mouth outbreak
Hungary has suggested a "biological attack" may be behind the country's first foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in more than half a century. The World Organisation for Animal Health said the outbreak, which was first detected on a cattle farm in the northwest near the border with Austria and Slovakia last month, has triggered border closures and the mass slaughter of cattle. By Thursday, animal health authorities had inspected nearly 1,000 farms across Hungary. Of those, only four farms in the affected northwestern region returned positive results. "At this stage, we can say that it cannot be ruled out that the virus was not of natural origin, we may be dealing with an artificially engineered virus," Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said at a media briefing. Gulyas said he could not rule out that the virus outbreak was the result of a biological attack, without giving information on who might be responsible. He also said that suspicion was based on verbal information received from a foreign laboratory and that their findings have not yet been fully proven and documented. Hungary's cattle stock numbered 861,000 head based on a livestock census in December, little changed from levels a year earlier. That constituted 1.2 per cent of the European Union's total cattle stocks, official statistics showed. Foot-and-mouth disease poses no danger to humans but causes fever and mouth blisters in cloven-hoofed ruminants such as cattle, swine, sheep and goats, and outbreaks often lead to trade restrictions. Thousands of cattle had to be culled as the landlocked country tried to contain the outbreak, while Austria and Slovakia have closed dozens of border crossings after the disease also appeared in the southern part of Slovakia. "Everyone was just standing there, crying and saying that this cannot be true, that this was impossible," said Paul Meixner, an Austrian-Hungarian dual citizen who owns one of the affected farms in Hungary. While his business has taken a 1.5 billion forint ($4.09 million) loss after culling 3,000 cattle and other livestock, Meixner has vowed to rebuild. "In two weeks, we will start harvesting and storing the hay," he said. "We need the fodder for next year."
Express Tribune
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Paul Costelloe collection radiates equestrian theme
Irish designer Paul Costelloe drew inspiration from the equestrian world for his latest collection at London Fashion Week on Friday, showing jodhpur-shaped culottes, tweeds and prints featuring show jumpers. Costelloe's autumn-winter 2025 line included dressage-like fitted jackets and structured skirts and shorts, sometimes paired with caps and long boots. Models also wore feminine coats and voluminous dresses. "The theme is ... showing my vintage, dating back to when I launched a collection called Dressage, so it's quite equestrian," Costelloe, 79, told Reuters. "It's got lovely tweeds ... but we've made it a little more raunchy maybe." Costelloe chose autumnal hues for his colour palette - brown, amber and red - as well as cream and black. His outfits bore check as well as floral patterns. Turkish designer Bora Aksu said his latest collection was inspired by Austrian-Hungarian Empress Elisabeth. Models wore structured coats and jackets with delicate, embroidered chiffon and lace dresses. The collection, mainly in white, cream, red, purple and blue, also featured long tiered skirts, blouses with bows and layered frocks. Some models wore veils over their faces and long gloves. "She was one of those characters that I was drawn to because she was, I think, so misunderstood," Aksu said. "People could only see her as...(Empress Elisabeth) but ... she was into poetry, she was into writing. She was doing beautiful drawings." Running from February 20-24, London is the second leg of the autumn-winter 2025 catwalk calendar, which began in New York and will go to Milan and Paris. On the programme are emerging designers as well as more established brands including Burberry, Erdem and Roksanda. London is known for its fashion schools and for nurturing talent that has gone on to work at some of the world's biggest luxury labels. "It is a particularly challenging time at the moment, in the UK ... because we are still focusing really on sort of overcoming the trade barriers of being out of the EU," Caroline Rush, outgoing CEO of the British Fashion Council, told Reuters. Reuters
