The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (Opec) annual meeting in Vienna on September 11 comes at a time of mounting tension between crude producers and consuming countries.
There has even been a move in the US Congress to pursue a legal action against the organisation for alleged price fixing. Opec countries control 75 per cent of global oil reserves and produce about 40 per cent of the world's crude.

Conflict of interest
More than anything else, the major consuming countries led by the US would like to see an increase in production announced. In spite of prices moving steadily upward through the summer, Opec's members have shown little inclination to do this.

Expansion of their economies is predicated on rising revenues and governments are wary about the timing of any production increase that might tip crude prices into a downward spiral.

PARIS (AFP) - Women who exercise intensively during the first phase of pregnancy are 3.7 times more likely to miscarry than pregnant women who don't break a sweat, according to a recent study carried out in Denmark. 

Women who practiced high impact sports -- such as jogging and racketball -- or exercised strenuously for at least seven hours a week during the first trimester of pregnancy ran the highest risk, according to the study, published in The International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The risk dropped off almost entirely after the 18th week of pregnancy.

Women who swam during any phase of pregnancy also showed no increased danger of miscarriage, noted the study, based on interviews with 92,671 pregnant women in Denmark analysed by Anne Marie Nybo Andersen and colleagues from the University of Southern Denmark.

SEATTLE - The Cleveland Indians finally finished off their prolonged, snowed-out series from April, then watched a major postseason concern flare up yet again — closer Joe Borowski.

Pinch-hitter Jeff Clement hit his first career homer with two outs in the ninth off Borowski to tie the game at 2, and Mike Morse singled home pinch-runner Rob Johnson with two outs in the 10th as the Mariners rallied for a 3-2 victory in the second game of an unusual doubleheader.

It was the second straight blown save for Borowski, who gave up a two-run homer to Adrian Beltre on Tuesday night, and eighth of the season.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Barry Bonds played his last game for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, bidding farewell to fans who stuck by him through a doping scandal and cheered as he became Major League Baseball's home run king.

The night game with the San Diego Padres did not stop to honor Bonds, in his 22nd Major League season, but after leaving the game in the seventh inning he stepped on to the field of AT&T Park to a standing ovation and thanked Giants fans.

Bonds was hitless for the night but he brought Giants fans to their feet in the sixth inning by striking a long fly ball that fell just before the centerfield wall. It was caught for an out and ended the inning. The Padres won the game 11-3.

MLB.com reported on Wednesday that Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he had written Bonds's name on the team's lineup card for the final time.

Bonds, 43, will leave the Giants at the end of this season, an emotional parting for the biggest name in baseball and the club's management, which aims to rebuild a struggling team. The Giants are in last place in the National League West.

TOKYO (AFP) - The euro struck another record high against the dollar in Asian trade on Wednesday on growing concerns that the world's largest economy is losing steam, dealers said.

They said that another batch of sluggish data had sparked renewed speculation about possible further US interest rate cuts.

The euro reached 1.4162 dollars in early Tokyo trade, the highest level since its introduction in January 1999.

By mid-afternoon it stood at 1.4146 dollars, up from 1.4135 in New York late on Tuesday.

The dollar rose to 114.79 yen from 114.77 while the euro eased to 162.40 yen from 162.43.

The greenback stumbled in overseas trade as markets reacted to news that US consumer confidence slid to a near two-year low in September while sales of existing homes declined 4.3 percent in August.

STUTTGART, Germany (AFP) - Friction is mounting between German automaker Porsche and workers at Volkswagen, where employee representatives fear losing their influence if VW is swallowed up by Porsche.

Porsche head Wendelin Wiedeking fired the first shot earlier this month, unveiling his plans to take control of Volkswagen, the German group of which Porsche already owns about 31 percent.

Adding to the tension, he let it be known that if his plans bore fruit, there would be no more "sacred cows" at VW, where employees enjoy advantageous working conditions thanks to collective bargaining agreements.

Porsche finance director Holger Harter this past weekend disclosed in an interview that his company did not intend to include a VW representative on its board of directors if the takeover went ahead.

His comments drew a sharp response from the influential IG Metall trade union as well as from the workers' council at Volkswagen.

Council president Bernd Osterloh then filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking a planned worker participation agreement that would take effect if Porsche raised its stake in VW to more than 50 percent.

DETROIT, United States (AFP) - Eighty thousand General Motors production workers were braced to be called out on strike Monday after talks with the main auto union failed to reach a new pay accord.

The United Auto Workers union said the stoppage would start at 11:00 am (1500 GMT) if no deal were reached by then.

But Dan Flores, a spokesman for the ailing US car giant, said the company was determined to seek a negotiated solution until the last minute. "We will continue focusing our efforts no reaching an agreement as soon as possible." he told The Detroit News.

GM has been pressing the UAW for significant concessions, including two-tier wages and moves to make it easier to lay off workers.