Vienna - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer in Vienna Monday, at the start of a visit that was set focus not only on the situation in the Middle East, but also on bilateral economic ties. In his talks with Fischer, al-Assad was expected to discuss Syria's role in the region.

In an interview published Sunday in the Austrian daily Die Presse, the Syrian president said Israel has an "extremist, far-right government that does not support peace."

Vienna  - United States officials who drafted policies on harsh interrogation tactics for terrorism suspects should be prosecuted as accomplices in torture, the United Nation's monitor on torture Manfred Nowak said Friday in Vienna.

Nowak was reacting to the announcement by US President Barack Obama on Tuesday that he would let Attorney General Eric Holder, the chief of the the US Justice Department, decide whether to investigate those who drafted the legal memos during the Bush administration.

Vienna - The price of oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) gai

Vienna - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Thursday there were encouraging signs that Moldova's opposition is getting ready to join the political process, after anti-government protests shook the country earlier in April.

Moldovan opposition politicians with dual citizenships from countries like Romania and Russia had previously protested a law requiring them to give up foreign passports before taking a seat in parliament.

Vienna - Western governments should help their banks operating in Eastern Europe to deal with the economic and financial crisis, the head of the Banking Association for Central and Eastern Europe, Istvan Lengyel. said Thursday.

The current problems with liquidity and non-performing loans had "cascaded" down from Western banks which control some 95 per cent of the region's banking system, Lengyel told reporters at a conference of Eastern European bankers in Vienna.

Vienna- The steep drop in the price of oil produced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Count