Frankfurt - The European Central Bank called Poland's plan to enter the eurozone by 2012, "ambitious, but realistic," said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk after talks with the bank's leadership in Frankfurt, Germany on Wednesday.

Tusk said the recent world economic crisis has made the currency swap more difficult for Poland, but not impossible.

Washington - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Wednesday said he plans to shift some of the focus of the second half of the government's massive financial rescue action to credit card and loan companies and shelve original plans to buy up bad mortgage assets from finance firms.

He also dismissed a proposal that the 700-billion-dollar rescue plan should be used to bail out the ailing auto industry.

Paulson said that the first half of the rescue programme, or 350 billion dollars, had prevented "broad systemic" damage to a financial system that had been on the "tipping point," but warned the financial system "remains fragile" and needs broader help.

Bucharest - Romania's current account deficit grew by nearly 15 per cent in the first nine months of the year, authorities said Wednesday, the latest sign of a possible economic crunch for the European Union newcomer.

Goods imports running far ahead of exports were the main reason for the 12.7-billion-euro (16.1-billion-dollar) shortfall in the nation's broadest measure of international trade, central bank data showed.

Medium- and long-term foreign debt grew by 25.2 per cent since the start of the year, the report said.

Romania, which joined the EU in 2007, is among the ex-communist nations that has raised concern in the global financial crisis, especially after international lenders saved neighbouring Hungary from possible default.

Geneva - Norway is the country closest to closing the gaps between men and women, a new report released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum said.

Finland, Sweden and Iceland were the next ranking countries, according to the Gender Gap Index, with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Chad and Yemen listing at the bottom of the 130 countries surveyed.

New Zealand was the top ranking non-European country, making it to fifth place, followed by the Philippines.

Bratislava - Slovakia's inflation declined for the first time this year as the central European country prepares to switch to the euro on January 1, government data showed Wednesday.

The annual inflation rate fell to 5.1 per cent in October, from the 2008 peak of 5.4 per cent recorded in September, the Slovak Statistical Office said.

Consumer prices had climbed since January when the indicator stood at 3.8 per cent, the data showed.

The first former Soviet satellite to enter Europe's monetary union, Slovakia has pledged to rein in inflation as part of its euro- adoption deal with the European Central Bank and the European Union.