Vienna - The price for oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose by 1.21 dollars Monday, ahead of an expected decision on Wednesday to cut output in order to raise oil prices and react to lower demand.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at 42.53 dollars Monday, the Vienna-based organization announced Tuesday.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Monday evening that all member states were in favor of lowering production at their meeting in Oran, Algeria on Wednesday.

Vienna - The price for oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) continued to rise Friday, ahead of a meeting of the cartel on December 17, at which production cuts are expected to be discussed.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at 41.32 dollars Friday, 1.20 dollars higher than on the previous day, the Vienna-based organization announced Monday.

OPEC president Chakib Khelil last week called for a "drastic cut" of oil production, ahead of the meeting of oil ministers in Oran, Algeria on Wednesday.

Hochfilzen, Austria - Emil Hegle Svendsen won the men's 12.5-kilometre biathlon pursuit on Saturday to register a third victory of the season and extend his lead in the World Cup standings.

The 23-year-old Norwegian, who also won Friday's sprint, claimed victory in a time of 45 minutes, 46.32 seconds, despite missing three times on the shooting range in Hochfilzen.

Compatriot Ole Einar Bjoerndalen finished second, 9.3 seconds behind Svendsen after missing two targets. Poland's Tomasz Sikora, who like Svendsen missed three targets, was third, 12.0 seconds off the pace.

Vienna - When Stefan Petzner said after the death of Joerg Haider in October that the far-right leader was his "Lebensmensch", the most important person in his life, he probably did not guess that Austrians would vote the term as buzzword of the year.

Although the word usually describes a close, important friendship, the public saw Petzner's use of the term as having a more intimate meaning, said professor Rudolf Muhr, the head of the panel of linguists at the University of Graz who announced the results of the online vote Thursday.

Vienna - The price for oil produced by

Vienna - A Vienna woman, Ellen Mueller, is offering "laughter-yoga" seminars to help Austrians cope with the global financial crisis. She has also written a book on her exercise method.

"Laughter yoga is a wonderful way to achieve a cheerful prevailing mood and thus better cope with everyday challenges," Mueller said. The trick, she explained, was simply to draw up the corners of one's mouth to cheer up, even when things were most dismal.