Vienna yet to confirm Austrians held hostage
The militant group al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa has claimed it has taken two Austrian tourists hostage in Tunisia. In a message broadcast on al-Jazeera TV, the group said they had kidnapped the two on February 22nd and that they are in good health. The Austrian foreign ministry has said the audio tape is being analyzed but has not confirmed the hostage-taking. The Al Qaeda group reportedly said the kidnapping was retribution for Western cooperation with Israel.

Gotovina trial opens
Former Croatian general Ante Gotovina goes on trial at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague today. Two other Croat generals are also facing charges of crimes against humanity. The three led a 1995 military campaign that seized back land taken over by rebel Serbs in 1991. Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac are accused of orchestrating the killing of at least 150 Serbs and the expulsion of thousands of others during the offensive.

President warns governing parties
Austrian president Heinz Fischer has reportedly called on the leaders of the two governing parties, the Social Democrats and the conservative People’s party, to put aside recent differences and improve cooperation. Neither chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) nor vice chancellor Wilhelm Molterer (ÖVP) commented on the discussions over the coalition crisis. Relations between the parties have deteriorated amidst differences over tax reform and anti-inflation measures. They worsened after allegations a former People’s party interior minister abused her office in trying to get early access for her party to any evidence the Social Democrats were involved in a bank scandal. The Social Democrats voted with opposition parties to set up a parliamentary enquiry into those allegations and others.

Lower Austrian Social Democrats respond to defeat
The leader of the Social Democrats in Lower Austria Heidemaria Onodi has stepped down after her party’s disastrous showing in provincial elections on Sunday. Support for the Social Democrats fell nearly 8% to around 25% of the vote. The Social Democrat’s local party manager, 36 year old Josef Leitner, is to take over her position. Sunday’s election saw a resounding victory for the People’s party governor of Lower Austria, Erwin Pröll.

Comprehensive schools in demand
Applications for a place at the new comprehensive schools being introduced in some model regions in Austria are well above expectations. The education ministry say extra classes are being planned for Carinthia and Upper Austria to meet demand. The introduction of comprehensive schooling, which ends streaming of pupils into academic and trade schools at the end of primary school, is controversial in Austria. Around 3,500 pupils are expected to begin in the new schools in the Autumn term, but few are pupils who would qualify for the academic schools in their region have applied.

Jewish sports centre re-opened 70 years after Nazi theft
The Jewish sports association Hakoah reopens its facilities today in the Vienna Prater. The association was founded in 1909 and its properties confiscated by the Nazis in 1938. It was not returned to the Jewish community until 2002. Around 7 million euro has been invested by the Vienna city government and the federal government in the sports centre.

Weather
Mainly cloudy with scattered showers, sunnier in the afternoon. Top temperatures 5 to 13 degrees.