Vienna - Austrian oil and gas group OMV AG announced Monday it would sell all its filling stations in Italy, saying it wanted to focus on Eastern Europe instead.

By retreating from the Italian market, the company is stepping up the restructuring of its filling station network.

By the end of the year, OMV will seek to sell its Italian daughter firm, which owns 96 stations located in the north of the country.

The company said it would focus on markets with higher growth potential like the Danube region, South-Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.

Vienna - The price for oil pro

Vienna  - Polish regional politician Marek Nawara remained in critical condition Sunday after suffering severe head injuries while skiing in Austria, according to a spokeswoman at his hospital in the Austrian town of Klagenfurt.

"It's impossible to make any prediction at this stage," spokeswoman Nathalie Wurzer said when asked about Nawara's chances of regaining full health.

The premier of the Malopolska province was skiing in Sankt Margarethen in the province of Salzburg on Friday when he fell and hit his head on the piste surface.

Nawara, 52, suffered severe head and brain injuries and is in an induced coma.

Liberec, Czech Republic  - Austria has always been associated with having first-class ski-jumpers, and now this also shows in the record books.

Thomas Morgenstern gave Austria a first overall World Cup title in a dozen years in 2008, Wolfgang Loitzl won the nation's first Four Hills title in nine years in January and on Saturday also ended an 18-year drought for an individual world title.

Loitzl won on the normal hill from compatriot Gregor Schlierenzauer and it would have even been a sweep had not double Olympic champion Thomas Morgenstern failed to stand his second jump.

Vienna - Polish regional politician Marek Nawara suffered serious head injuries i

Vienna  - Fewer top managers than in previous years were among the guests at Thursday night's opening of the 2009 Vienna Opera Ball, as the glittering event was overshadowed by the gloomy economic climate.

In addition to commenting on which managers were not attending the prestigious ball at the Vienna State Opera, society reporters focused on actress Nicollette Sheridan, one of the stars in the US television series Desperate Housewives.

"This is like a fairytale come true," the British-born actress told Austrian broadcaster ORF.