Vienna  - Dutch beer brewer Heineken will consolidate its recent acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) rather than buy more breweries, Austrian news agency APA reported Tuesday.

With earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 177 million euros (253 million dollars) in the first half of this year, the CEE division of the world's third largest brewer faced a
12-per-cent decline in operating profits.

"High production costs, the economic slowdown and unfavourable weather conditions put us to the test," Heineken president for the CEE region Nico Nusmeier said in a statement.

Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by OPEC members continued to slide ahead of their meeting in Vienna on Tuesday, but Saudi Arabia signalled there was no need for production cuts.

One barrel of crude produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries stood at 101.08 dollars Monday, 13 cents less than on the previous day, and 39.75 dollars less than the record price set on July 3.

Ali al-Naimi, the oil minister of OPEC's largest producer Saudi Arabia, said Tuesday that the market was in balance.

Vienna - A cave explorer could face charges of attempted murder after he built a potentially deadly trap to keep a rival from a cave in the Austrian Alps, police said Monday.

The 68-year-old suspect placed large rocks onto a rope that would have come crashing down on anyone using it in the cave on Dachstein mountain, police said.

The trap was discovered last month by an amateur caver who attempted to abseil into the mountain two days after he was told by the suspect not to explore the cave.

The suspect was arrested last Thursday. He is also suspected of scratching cars of other cave enthusiasts.

Vienna  - Central European shares rose Monday, paced by financial companies, after the US government seized control of two troubled lenders that underpin the country's home loan market.

The Warsaw stock exchange's WIG20 blue-chip index was up 2.65 per cent to 2,569.62 points at mid-day. Benchmark indices in the Czech Republic and the Baltic nations also gained.

"The chief reason is the US government's bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said Roman Kodera, chief broker at Patria Online in Prague. "Investors in the banking sector see it as positive information."

Vienna, Sept 6 : India achieved a major milestone on Saturday in activating nuclear commercial relation with the rest of the world when the 45 nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted it an unconditional waiver to do so.

The NSG approval ends 34 years of isolation enforced upon India following the 1974 Pokhran nuclear tests.