Budapest - The amount of natural gas piped into western Hungary from Austria fell on Tuesday as a result of Russia cutting supplies to Ukraine in an ongoing dispute over pricing, said Hungary's gas distributor in a statement.

The situation illustrates how the spat between Ukraine and the Russian state gas company Gazprom is having a knock-on effect in countries several links down the supply chain.

Hungary is still receiving the bulk of its natural gas via Ukraine, although Ukraine cut the daily delivery from 38 to 30 million cubic metres on Monday.

Linz, Austria  - The Austrian city of Linz is easily overlooked on the route between picture-perfect Salzburg to imperial Vienna.

The city on the Danube has no grand alpine panorama, no historic Baroque charm and gone are the days of the romantic horse-drawn carriages. The city's main claims to fame are Linzer Torte or cake and its role in Adolf Hitler's exorbitant architectural plans.

Kitzbuehel, Austria  - Top polo players from around the world will gather in the Austrian ski resort of Kitzbuehel from January 16-18, 2009 for what is being billed as the world's biggest winter polo tournament.

Eight teams of three players from five nations are taking part in the action this time around, with 96 polo ponies due to compete. Previous contests saw only six teams involved.

Watching the polo matches at the snow-clad Muenichauer Wiese just outside the Tyrolean town is free of charge and organisers expect around 10,000 spectators to attend.

Vienna - The organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on Monday called for banning Vienna's traditional horse carriages, following a recent accident in which a drunken coachman lost control of his horses.

The carriages are a popular tourist attraction. Visitors can book the coaches, many of which are over 100 years old, for guided tours through Vienna's historical centre.

"The seemingly romantic coach rides conceal a brutal industry that commits cruelty to animals," PETA's German branch said in a statement.

Vienna - The price for oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) jumped by more than 4 dollars at the end of last week, the Vienna-based cartel announced Monday.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at 39.95 dollars on Friday, up from 35.58 dollars on the previous Wednesday.

One of the factors behind the price hike was that OPEC members seem to be implementing production cuts that were decided in December, Vienna-based analysts JBC Energy said.

Innsbruck, Austria - Austrian Wolfgang Loitzl clinched the third round of the Four Hills ski-jumping tournament in Innsbruck Sunday to move closer to the overall title.

Loitzl landed jumps of 126.5 metres and 128.5 metres for 261 points to defeat fellow Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer (260.3 points/126.0m/127.5m) and Germany's Martin Schmitt (257.7 points/128.5m/125.5m).

Swiss hope Simon Ammann, who won the opening leg of the tournament, finished eighth.

Loitzl's victory follows on Thursday's win in the second round in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and a second place in the series opener behind Ammann on Monday in Oberstdorf, Germany.