Vienna - No radioactivity was released outside the International Atomic Energy Agency's laboratory after a small plutonium container burst in early August, the IAEA reported Friday, citing independent analysis.

On August 3, less than one gram of plutonium spilled in the Agency's laboratory in Seibersdorf, around 35 kilometres south-east of Vienna.

Michael Hlava, spokesman of the Austrian Research Centers (ARC), which analyzed samples outside the facility, confirmed to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the environment was not contaminated.

Vienna  - Uniqa Versicherungen AG, one of Austria's largest insurers, said Friday its net profit slipped by 3.5 per cent to 109 million euros (161 million dollars) in the first half of 2008, as falling income from investments outweighed growing premiums.

The insurer reported the value of its written premiums had grown 10.4 per cent to 3 billion euros in the first six months of this year, compared with the same period of the previous year.

Business in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe was booming, Uniqa said, with premiums written in that region rising 60 per cent to 603 million euros.

The region contributed 20.1 per cent to group premiums, up from 13.9 per cent in the first six months of 2007.

Vienna - Austrian-based construction group Strabag SE on Friday reported its net profit rose 25 per cent to 82.3 million euros (121.4 million dollars) in the second quarter, and raised its forecast for 2008, due to a record order backlog.

Strabag's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to 109.8 million euros, up 11 per cent from the second quarter of 2007, while revenues increased by 17 per cent to 3.01 billion euros.

Vienna  - SkyEurope's losses more than tripled in the latest quarter as record fuel prices wiped out rising passenger revenue, the low-cost airline said Thursday.

SkyEurope, which uses Bratislava, Slovakia, as its hub, lost a net 16.8 million euros (24.7 million dollars) in the three months ending June 30, compared to a 5.1-million-euro loss a year earlier.

"We have been forced to increase fares and cut capacity to eliminate poor performing routes," the Austria-based airline said in a statement. "Our results have been significantly impacted by the high fuel prices."

Vienna - At a special meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) that started on Thursday, Georgia's Foreign Minister was set to address Russia's recognition of Georgian separatist regions.

The Permanent Council, the OSCE's decision-making body, would hear Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili's speech and discuss Moscow's recognition of independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, a source close to the OSCE said.

The body would probably also deliberate on the modalities of sending up to 100 additional observers to Georgia, he said.