Semmering, Austria - Maria Riesch of Germany survived a mistake in the second run to win a slalom ski race on Monday which was dominated by the World Cup leaders.
Riesch, 24, hung on to her first-run lead despite the hiccup halfway through the second run as she won in a combined total 1 minute 55.97 seconds. It was her second season win and eighth overall.
Tanja Poutiainen of Finland came second on 1:56.18 and American World Cup leader Lindsey Vonn fought from sixth place after the opening run to third overall in 1:56.69.
Vienna/Linz, Austria - Some European Capitals of Culture are luckier than others. While this year Liverpool banked on the Beatles, the Austrian town of Linz has to grapple with its connection to Adolf Hitler in 2009.
But besides using the opportunity to deal with the fact that Hitler planned to make Linz a major cultural centre of the Third Reich, the steel town along the Danube river will offer a host of quirky cultural projects geared towards a wide public rather than a select few.
Vienna - Austrian-based car parts supplier Eybl International AG declared bankruptcy Friday and said that the future of its production sites in Central Eastern Europe was still to be determined.
As takeover talks with the Slovenian Prevent Group failed and the company lacks liquidity owing to the crisis in the car industry, Eybl not only filed for receivership but also announced that 600 staff in Austria faced potential layoffs.
Strasbourg/Vienna - The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) said Friday that corruption was common in Austria and legal measures against it were still in the early stages, according to a spokesman and a report presented in Strasbourg.
In the construction business, in political life and in public administration, such practices were common occurrences, said a spokesman for GRECO, which was founded by the Council of Europe.
Although Austria had initiated some anti-corruption measures, "overall, the country is still at an early stage of the fight against corruption," the report said.
Vienna - Austria's economy will shrink by up to 0.5 per cent in 2009, economists predicted Friday, as the global economic downturn leads to lower exports.
The WIFO institute lowered its projection to a contraction of 0.5 per cent, while researchers at the IHS institute expect a decrease by 0.1 per cent.
In October, the independent institutes had predicted growth rates between 0.9 and 1.2 per cent.
WIFO and IHS both forecast growth of 1.8 per cent this year, a downward revision by 0.2 percentage points, as the economy is expected to contract slightly in the fourth quarter.
Semmering, Austria - Maria Riesch of Germany survived a mistake in the second run to win a slalom ski race on Monday which was dominated by the World Cup leaders. 
Vienna/Linz, Austria - Some European Capitals of Culture are luckier than others. While this year Liverpool banked on the Beatles, the Austrian town of Linz has to grapple with its connection to Adolf Hitler in 2009.
Vienna - Austrian-based car parts supplier Eybl International AG declared bankruptcy Friday and said that the future of its production sites in Central Eastern Europe was still to be determined.
Vienna - Austria's economy will shrink by up to 0.5 per cent in 2009, economists predicted Friday, as the global economic downturn leads to lower exports.
