Vienna - An elderly Austrian farming couple just managed to escape an avalanche sweeping down towards their house in Tyrol province Wednesday - after being warned by their cows.
According to local police, the couple took heed as the cows in the barn grew agitated.
The 68-year-old man and his 63-year-old wife just got out in time before the avalanche descended on the their property, leaving it under snow up five metres high. The animals were unhurt.
The heavy snowfall of the past few days saw a large number of avalanches triggered in the Austrian Alps Wednesday.
A man was killed in the Salzburg province when he was buried while snowboarding away from marked slopes.
Vienna - The party of late Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider faced a key test Sunday as voters in his stronghold province of Carinthia cast their ballots for the regional parliament for the first time since his death.
Vienna - Austria's Erste Group Bank AG reported Friday that its net profit declined by 26.8 per cent to 860 million euros (1.1 billion dollars) in 2008, as it wrote down premiums on asset values in three Central and Eastern European daughter companies. 
Vienna - The price for oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries shot up by 2.45 dollars Thursday, as oil and gasoline stocks in the United States were seen to be lower than expected. 
Vienna - Austrian steelmaker voestalpine AG said Wednesday its net profit in the third business quarter fell by more than 50 per cent to 87 million euros (101 million dollars) and announced further job cuts.
