Vienna - Werner Faymann relied on his charm, populist touch and some help from the media to emerge as Austria's likely next social democratic chancellor.

The 48-year-old transport minister and new chief of the Social Democratic Party (SPOe) was not well known among the wider public before the start of the election race.

But it was relatively easy for Faymann to position himself as a more likeable candidate than outgoing Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, who stepped down as head of the SPOe this summer amid dismal approval ratings.

Besides his image as an "ideal son-in-law," as Austrians put it, the Vienna-born politician also had the support of the country's biggest newspaper, the tabloid Kronen Zeitung.

Tehran - The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has cancelled a scheduled trip to Vienna to attend the general assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), local media reported Sunday.

Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh, who is also Iran's vice-president, was to address the assembly Monday and was also expected to meet with IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.

ISNA news agency however quoted an unnamed nuclear official as saying that Aqazadeh would not attend the assembly.

Vienna - Austrians started casting their ballots for parliament on Sunday, with the social democratic SPOe and the conservative OeVP vying for the top spot to win the chancellorship.

As many Austrians are disappointed in these two parties that had formed a government coalition since early 2007, polls showed that the conservatives were set gain most in the early elections.

Vienna - Japan has officially nominated its United Nations ambassador in Vienna, Yukiya Amano, as a candidate for succeeding Mohamed ElBaradei as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Japanese foreign ministry said Friday.

As Director General ElBaradei's third term in office at the Vienna- based agency ends in November 2009, IAEA member states have time until the end of this year to name their candidates.

Amano previously served as Director-General of his ministry's Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department.

Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lost another 1.20 dollars Thursday, OPEC said Friday.

Vienna - Although many compare Austrian right-wing leader Heinz-Christian Strache with his erstwhile mentor Joerg Haider, the younger politician has overtaken his political godfather when its comes to popularity and radicalism.