Vienna- A bank robber who had taken a woman hostage in Feldkirch in the westernmost part of Austria on Thursday surrendered to police after having fled across two thirds of the country by car.

The hostage, a 37-year-old bank employee, was safe and unharmed, police spokeswoman Elisabeth Wolfschlucker told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Vienna  - As the first large Austrian bank to apply for government aid, Erste Group Bank AG said Thursday it will receive 2.7 billion euros (3.5 billion dollars) of public funds to strengthen its capital base.

The percentage of the bank's debts covered by equity through the cash injection will rise to 10 per cent by the end of the year, compared with the previous estimate of 7.5 per cent.

In return for the government help, Erste agreed to provide credit worth 6 billion euros to Austrian commercial and retail customers over the next three years.

Vienna - Josef Fritzl, the Austrian accused of having raped and imprisoned his daughter, has said he also kept his mother locked up in his house, Austrian media reported Thursday.

According to members of his family, Fritzl, 73, frequently insulted his mother and locked her up in a room in his house, where she died in 1980. He also bricked up the room's window, News magazine reported.

Police discovered last spring that the suspect had kept his daughter Elisabeth Fritzl, 42, in a cellar at his home in Amstetten for 24 years, where he had seven children with her.

Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose by 2.23 dollars Wednesday, as the weaker dollar buoyed oil markets, according to data released by OPEC on Thursday.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC crude stood at 58.13 dollars on Wednesday, up from 55.90 dollars on the previous day.

The oil price rebounded as interest-rate cuts in the United States and China on Wednesday led to a depreciation of the dollar, Vienna-based analysts JBC Energy said.

Vienna  - Austrian Airlines AG will receive up to 500 million euros (625 million dollars) from its public owner after closing a deal to privatize the ailing flag carrier, the Austrian government decided Wednesday.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Russian domestic carrier S7 Airlines have both submitted bids for the 42.75-per-cent stake that is currently held by Austria's state holding OeIAG.

However, S7 announced Wednesday that its offer was non-binding.

Vienna - The price fo