Vienna  - Schurli, the giant tortoise, is the oldest inhabitant of the Vienna zoo. But despite his age of more than 100 years, the animal has started a fitness training programme.

The exercise regime is part of a research project conducted by scientists from the zoo and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to learn about the animal's visual and learning capabilities.

The male Seychelles giant tortoise is not the most animated creature, but when he notices his keeper Roland Halbauer approaching, he knows his training session is about to start.

Vienna - Austria's anti-doping agency NADA has started procedures against two Austrian cyclists, one of whom is being linked to the country's disgraced cross-country skiing coach Walter Mayer.

The names of Christoph Kerschbaum, 32, and Ferdinand Bruckner, 37, appeared on a list of banned or suspected cyclists published on the website of the Austrian Cycling Federation on Wednesday.

Vienna  - Lisa Huetthaler, a key witness in Austria's ongoing doping scandal, announced Tuesday that she ended her thriathlon career, some five months before her ban would have expired in September.

"My doping past and its emotional and physical consequences have taken an extreme toll on me," 25-year-old Huetthaler said in a statement quoted by Austrian press agency APA.

The 2007 national champion made headlines in late March when she publicly accused the former sports manager Stefan Matschiner of having supplied her with the blood booster EPO.

Vienna - Road traffic poses an increasing threat to Austria's hares and rabbits, with some 41,000 animals run over last year, according to figures published by a traffic watchdog group on Tuesday.

With Easter Sunday mere days away, the Austrian Traffic Club said that there had been a 21-per-cent increase in rabbit roadkill last year, owing to more offspring and increased traffic.

Vienna  - Austrian President Heinz Fischer Tuesday affirmed his country's support for Serbia's efforts to forge closer relations with the European Union.

He was speaking during a visit by Serbian President Boris Tadic to Vienna which came shortly after France and Germany signalled to Turkey and seven Western Balkan nations in late March that there would be no further enlargement unless the Lisbon Treaty is enacted.

"We stick to our aim of bringing you and your country closer to the EU," Fischer told Tadic.

Vienna - Austria-based construction group STRABAG SE reported Tuesday that its operating profit fell by 14 per cent in 2008, owing to currency devaluations and higher risks in Eastern Europe.

Construction output jumped by 28 per cent to 13.7 billion euros (18.5 billion dollars), while STRABAG's order backlog increased 23 per cent to 13.3 billion euros.