1A young man is recovering from burns after a narrow escape from a fire in a Penrose panel beaters' workshop this morning.

2Air New Zealand pilots are planning a 24-hour strike on 1st December.

3The balance of payments deficit has been underestimated by more than $1 billion.

4Tornadoes have battered several American States, killing at least 19 people and injuring hundreds more.

5South Africa has announced a major reform to its apartheid policies - beaches will be open to all races.

6Fifteen people were killed and many injured when two trains collided near a railway station in southern Italy.

7Sixty-five trapped coal miners have been rescued in India after being trapped underground for four days. Six miners remain missing.

8East Germany's new Prime Minister Hans Modrow is expected to announce a coalition of the five main parties which will be presented to Parliament next week. Overnight, British Home Secretary Douglas Hurd has paid a brief visit to the Berlin Wall. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has called for further reforms in East Germany and in other Warsaw Pact nations.

9The Soviet Union has warned Czechoslovakia that it may face a possible uprising if changes are not made soon.

10United States intelligence sources say they have discovered the Soviet Union is shipping highly sophisticated planes to Cuba.

11Analysts believe the breaking down of barriers between East and West Germany may result in positive long-term economic benefits to both countries. Could a German economic 'super-state' eventually dominate Europe?

12Reports from around the country suggest drivers are escaping onto private property in an effort to evade traffic officers.

13A New Zealand wine from the Corbans Estate has been chosen by the King of Sweden for next month's Nobel Prize winners' dinner in Stockholm.

14Rare White Tiger cubs have been born in a Japanese zoo.

15The Government is planning to increase immigration levels to stimulate New Zealand's economy. However, experts are concerned about the social and economic impact of opening the floodgates and urge caution.

16British entrepreneur and adventurer Richard Branson is going to attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the United States in a hot air balloon.