US trade gap shrinks in September

THE US trade deficit narrowed in September to $US41.5 billion ($A40 billion), down from a revised $US43.8 billion in August, on a surge in exports led by industrial supplies, government data shows.

Exports of goods and services jumped 3.1 per cent over August, to $US187 billion, eclipsing a 1.4 per cent rise in imports to $228.5 billion, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

Exports of goods rebounded after two straight months of declines, surging 4.2 per cent month-on-month to $US134 billion.

The improvement in the US trade deficit surprised most analysts, who had forecast it would widen to $45.4 billion.

The overall trend has shown a steady narrowing of trade balance in the past four months. On a three-month moving average, the trade gap stood at $US42.6 billion in September, down from $US49.7 billion for the three months ended in May.

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US stocks recover from post-vote plunge

US stocks have edged higher in opening trade, a day after greeting President Barack Obama's re-election with a massive plunge.

In the first five minutes of trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added a bare 8.29 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 12,941.02.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.00 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 1,396.53.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 7.98 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 2,945.27.

The Dow marked its biggest one-day loss in a year on Wednesday after Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney at the polls, losing 313 points; the S&P lost nearly 34 points and the Nasdaq nearly 75 points.

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Interpol elects French woman as president

INTERPOL has elected a French police commissioner known for her drive against organised crime in Bordeaux and Corsica as its first female president at its general assembly in Rome.

"Mireille Balestrazzi of France becomes the first woman to be elected president of Interpol," the world's top association of crime-fighters said on Twitter.

Balestrazzi, 58, became a police commissioner in France in 1975 and was already vice-president for Europe on Interpol's executive committee.

She is particularly well known for her time as director of judicial police in Corsica in the 1990s at a time of fierce turf wars on the island.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, who attended the Interpol assembly earlier this week, said Balestrazzi was "a great police woman".

"She is one of the women who are the pride of the French police," he said.

Valls said her experience with organised crime would serve her well in fighting drug trafficking, mafias from southern and eastern Europe as well as growing political violence that requires a coordinated international response.

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26 dead in Syria clashes near border

AT LEAST 16 Syrian soldiers and 10 rebels were killed on Thursday in heavy clashes in the northwestern town of Ras al-Ain near the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Ten rebels and 16 soldiers have been killed so far in fighting for the majority Kurdish border town of Ras al-Ain," its head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, after Turkish media said two Turks were wounded by bullets from the Syrian side.

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Ambos on amber alert over staff numbers

PARAMEDICS across NSW will don yellow vests on Friday to draw attention to what they call dangerous and chronic under-staffing.

The Health Services Union (HSU) claims the state's Ambulance Service is running with 770 fewer full-time positions than necessary.

Staff numbers have remained at a standstill for a decade despite a workload increase of four per cent each year, the union says, and changes to rural rosters have left some paramedics on call for 160 hours straight.

The HSU's acting industrial manager, Tom Stevanja, said existing staffing and roster arrangements left paramedics vulnerable to fatigue and put patients at risk.

"Response times are blowing out and patients are suffering for it," Mr Stevanja said in a statement.

"We've got crews from Singleton responding to emergencies in Muswellbrook because there's no local crew available.

"One officer recently had to respond on lights and sirens 85 kilometres from Macksville to Woolgoolga. In Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra there's no cover for paramedics tied up for hours at hospitals."

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Royals kick off Sydney visit

AFTER mingling at the Melbourne Cup, enjoying an outback Queensland barbie and sampling South Australian wine, Charles and Camilla will begin the Sydney leg of their whirlwind Australian tour on Friday.

After arriving at Kingsford Smith Airport on Thursday night, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will make their first stop at Garden Island in Sydney Harbour, where they will meet Australian Defence Force personnel and their families.

From there, Charles is to attend a Campaign for Wool event at Circular Quay, before heading to Bondi for an emergency services reception hosted by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell.

The Prince will then attend a corporate social responsibility function put on by the National Rugby League and Community One, also at Bondi.

Meanwhile, Camilla will be appointed colonel-in-chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police at Government House.

In the early evening, the royal couple are due to cross the harbour by barge to the Sydney Opera House for a reception with NSW Governor Marie Bashir.

The royal couple's busy day will conclude with a reception at Kirribilli House with Governor-General Quentin Bryce.

Charles and Camilla will fly out of Sydney for Canberra on Saturday morning.

The royals are on a 13-day tour of the southern hemisphere and are in Australia for six days as part of the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations.

On the tour they have already met World War II veterans of the Kokoda Campaign in Papua New Guinea, sampled an "Aussie" barbecue in Longreach, Queensland, and attended the Melbourne Cup.

On Wednesday, they enjoyed South Australian wine and cheese in Adelaide, before flying to Tasmania for a five-hour stopover on Thursday.

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Sandy cuts United October revenue by $87m

UNITED Airlines, the world's largest airline, says superstorm Sandy cut its October revenue by about $US90 million ($A87 million) as it was forced to cancel almost 5300 flights.

That's nearly an entire day's worth of United's schedule lost.

It runs about 5500 flights a day throughout the world.

United said late on Wednesday that last week's storm in the US Northeast shaved about $US35 million off its profit in October.

But the hurricane-driven storm boosted its per-passenger revenue by about one per cent. That's because some stranded travellers were moved onto other flights, allowing the airline to improve efficiency.

Delta said last week Sandy cut its October revenue by $US45 million and profit by $US20 million.

United parent United Continental Holdings Inc is based in Chicago.

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Object thrown from stolen car strikes man

A MAN is in hospital with serious head injuries after being hit by an object thrown from a suspected stolen car in the Northern Tablelands of NSW.

Police had been trying to stop the suspect vehicle but called off their pursuit on the New England Highway near Glen Innes at about 4.20pm (AEDT) on Thursday.

Shortly afterwards, when the vehicle passed another car, a heavy object was thrown from it.

It hit the other driver on the head, leaving his passenger to take over as he was left incapacitated.

The car was eventually stopped by the passenger and the injured man was taken to Armidale Hospital with serious head injuries, after being treated at the scene.

Officers from New England Local Area Command arrested four men and one woman who are assisting them with inquiries.

A critical incident team from a neighbouring command will investigate circumstances surrounding the police operation, overseen by the Professional Standards Command.

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It's crunch time for Abbott, warns Wilkie

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott is facing crunch time and has to prove he could be prime minister, an independent MP has claimed.

If he fails to come up with detailed policies, Mr Abbott could be in trouble, according to Andrew Wilkie.

Speaking to ABC's Lateline on Thursday night, Mr Wilkie said the Liberal leader has experienced "a rough couple of months".

"It was always going to come to the point where people were expecting him to be the alternative prime minister, to be a statesman, a man who offered a range of well thought out and detailed and fully-costed policies," said Mr Wilkie, federal member for Denison.

"He's reached crunch time. If he hasn't started acting like that, if he doesn't roll out good policies, costed policies, he could well be in strife."

Either party could win an election at this stage, according to Mr Wilkie, but he described both Mr Abbott and Prime Minister Julia Gillard as "two deeply unpopular politicians".

He said that even with hindsight, he believes he made the right decision in backing Ms Gillard, however.

Discussing Ms Gillard's now infamous misogyny speech, he said he was surprised "at how effective it has been for her".

The prime minister would have had the "moral high ground" if she had taken the unprecedented step of supporting the opposition's motion to remove Peter Slipper as Speaker however, he added.

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US stocks gain in early trade

US stocks have registered solid gains as the markets rebounded from a two-day shutdown and a hesitant reopening a day earlier.

Earnings reports ahead of the opening were mixed: ExxonMobil (-0.68 per cent) reported a smaller-than-expected seven per cent dip in profit for the third quarter.

Pfizer (-1.37 per cent) disappointed with a 14 per cent fall in net income and lowered guidance for the rest of the year.

Ten minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 72.01 points, or 0.55 per cent, at 13,068.47.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 4.85 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 1,417.01.

The Nasdaq added 13.67 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 2,990.90.

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