Austria

29 Apr 2023; AA: A Bosniak Muslim who set off on foot from Europe for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, has reached Kirkuk in Iraq.

Envar Beganovic, 52, a judo athlete who has lived in Austria for 28 years, continues to progress by crossing 10 countries along his route.

VIENNA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The growth in consumer prices in Austria slowed down between January and March amid falling energy prices, but overall, inflation was still high, according to data released by Statistics Austria on Wednesday.

The central European country's inflation in March stood at 9.2 percent, down from 10.9 percent in February and 11.2 percent in January, as "fuel and heating oil prices had fallen sharply" compared to March 2022, Statistics Austria said in a statement.

04 Apr 2023; MEMO: Oil prices soared yesterday by about five per cent after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ members announced a sudden voluntary cut in crude production.

US crude futures rose 4.85 per cent to $79.34 a barrel, while Brent crude futures rose 5.02 per cent to $83.90 a barrel, according to Bloomberg data.

Saudi Arabia led a coordinated reduction in daily production in a number of major oil countries, despite pressure from the United States to increase production.

04 Apr 2023; MEMO: The International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday that the oil production cuts announced by the OPEC+ group over the weekend could increase the "strains" in the market and push oil prices higher amid "inflationary pressures" that are "hurting vulnerable consumers … in emerging and developing economies."

VIENNA, April 3./TASS/: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that its Director General Rafael Grossi will visit the Russian city of Kaliningrad on Wednesday, April 5, to discuss issues related to the safety of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), IAEA Spokesperson Fredrik Dahl told TASS on Monday.

Rafael Grossi will visit Kaliningrad on Wednesday as part of ongoing consultations aimed at ensuring the protection of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant during the military conflict, Dahl said.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: Most of the roughly 2.5 tons of natural uranium ore concentrate (UOC) recently declared missing from a site in Libya have been found at that site, the UN nuclear watchdog told member states on Friday in a statement seen by Reuters.

VIENNA, March 8. /TASS/: Chances of restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the Iranian nuclear program remain and Russia is determined to continue negotiations to complete the work as soon as possible, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Raphael Grossi said any attack on Iran's nuclear sites by Israel or the United States would be "illegal", Reuters reported.

Grossi was responding to a reporter's question on Saturday about threats by Israel and the United States to attack Iran's nuclear facilities if they deem talks to limit Tehran's nuclear ability as having failed.

VIENNA, Mar 7 (NNN-XINHUA) – No “production” or “accumulation” of high enriched uranium has been found, by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inspectors, in Iran, said Rafael Grossi, the agency’s director general, yesterday.

Grossi made the statement on the sidelines of an IAEA Board of Governors meeting, following a report by Bloomberg on Feb 19, claiming that the IAEA inspectors in Iran had detected particles of uranium enriched to levels “just below that needed for a nuclear weapon.”

VIENNA (AP) — Austria has come under heavy criticism for granting visas that will allow sanctioned Russian lawmakers to attend a Vienna meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The issue highlights the delicate balancing act the European country has engaged in while trying to maintain its longstanding position of military neutrality during the war in Ukraine. The Austrian government has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago but also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow.