Vienna  - Although the Danube is getting cleaner, the lack of sewage systems in Central and Eastern Europe continues to strain Europe's second longest river, a new study says.

In the upper stretch of the Danube in Germany and Austria, wildlife is disappearing because of river regulation, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) said in its survey which it presented in Vienna on Thursday.

The study shows that the river is less polluted by chemicals than it was during an earlier study in 2001.

Vien

Vienna - Mohamed ElBaradei will not seek a fourth term as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an agency spokesman confirmed in Vienna on Thursday.

Last week, IAEA Board members were informed about the decision by Director General ElBaradei, whose term in office runs out in November 2009.

The 66-year-old diplomat, who has led the UN nuclear agency since 1997, received the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the IAEA in 2005.

Vienna - OPEC oil fell bel

Vienna - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countr

Vienna  - Ahead of their meeting in Vienna on Tuesday night, OPEC oil cartel members signalled they would not cut production.

Ali al-Naimi, the oil minister of OPEC's largest producer Saudi Arabia, said Tuesday that the market was in balance.

Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said his country wanted to "maintain production levels as they are now," even though there was an overproduction of 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day of OPEC crude.