Afghanistan Suicide Bomber Kills Worshippers

A suicide bomber has attacked a mosque in Afghanistan as people gathered to celebrate the Eid al Adha holiday.

Between 36 and 41 people, including at least five children, died in the attack in the town of Maymana, capital of northern Faryab province.

Top provincial officials, including the governor and the police chief, were inside the building when the bomber set off his explosives outside the packed Eid Gah mosque.

The officials were not hurt, but the dead included police officers, soldiers, intelligence agents and civilians. Dozens were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suicide bombings are a favourite weapon of Taliban Islamists trying to topple the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

One eyewitness, Sayed Moqeed, described the bomber as appearing to be in his early teens.

"Suddenly I heard a very big explosion," he said. "Everywhere were pieces of bodies, hands and limbs. The suicide attacker was in police uniform, he looked to be around 14 or 15 years old."

Deputy Governor Abdul Satar Barez said: "The targets of the bomber were all the officials inside the mosque."

It appeared to be the deadliest suicide attack in recent months.

On September 4, 25 civilians were killed and more than 35 wounded in Nanghar province, and on September 1, 12 people were killed and 47 wounded in a suicide attack in Wardak province.

Mr Karzai strongly condemned the attack, saying that those who carried it out were "enemies of Islam and humanity."

The attack came as Mr Karzai was urging Taliban insurgents "to stop killing other Afghans".

In his Eid al Adha message to the nation, Mr Karzai called on the insurgents to "stop the destruction of our mosques, hospitals and schools".

The United Nations says that Taliban attacks account for the vast majority of civilian casualties in the 11-year war. The insurgents routinely deny that they are responsible for attacks on civilians, saying they target only foreign troops or members of the Afghan security forces.

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Syria: Deadly Car Bomb Attack In Capital

At least five people have been killed and 32 wounded in a car bombing in southern Damascus, according to Syrian state television.

The blast in the capital comes on the first day of a ceasefire brokered by UN and Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

The regime and the main rebel force, the Free Syrian Army, had both agreed to temporarily lay down their arms.

"The explosion of a booby-trapped car outside the Omar bin Khattab mosque in the Daf Shawk district killed and wounded dozens of people," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The attack comes hours after three people were reported to have been killed by tank and sniper fire in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, which was apparently targeted in a violation of the temporary truce agreed to mark the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha.

The Syrian army said it had been responding to attacks by armed rebels that were in violation of the ceasefire.

"Armed terrorist groups attacked military positions, thereby clearly violating the halt to military operations agreed by the army command.

"Our valiant armed forces are responding to these violations and pursuing these groups," the military said in a statement, adding that rebel attacks had taken place against its positions in Deir Ezzor, Daraa, Idlib and in the Damascus region.

The Syrian army had said it would cease military operations from Friday to Monday for the Eid al Adha holiday, but warned it would react if "armed terrorist groups" carry out attacks or reinforce their positions, or if fighters cross into the country.

President Assad pictured at a prayer service on Friday

Rebels in a northern town close to the Turkish border also reported one of their fighters was shot dead by a sniper, and a Reuters journalist in the town heard what sounded like four rounds of tank fire.

In a statement read on state television after the truce deal, the Syrian army said it would still respond to gunfire or roadside bombs and keep rebels from bolstering their positions or getting supplies.

A Free Syrian Army commander also said rebels would retaliate if they were attacked.

On Friday morning, Syrian state television showed President Bashar al Assad attending morning prayers for the start of Eid at a mosque in Damascus.

He was pictured smiling and looking relaxed as he spoke to other worshippers, in his first television appearance for more than a month.

During prayers, Imam Walid Abdel Haq called on Syrians to "stop quarrelling because you are all brothers".

"Do you not see what has been happening for two years in the country, the destruction and death? Stop this," he said.

Protests were reported to have taken place in Raqa in the north east, where security forces fired tear gas, and in the southern Deraa province, where three people were injured as police fired live rounds to disperse demonstrators.

Activists said protests also took place in Damascus and Aleppo.

In the Idlib village of Al Habit protesters chanted against Mr Assad, saying: "Traitor, give up, you have destroyed Syria."

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Berlusconi Sentenced To Four Years In Jail

Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud connected to his television channels.

An Italian court delivered the verdict against the ex-leader and 10 others in a six-year-old tax fraud trial.

Lawyers for the 76-year-old, who was also barred from holding political office for five years, said he will lodge an appeal before November 10.

Berlusconi's age, coupled with Italy's lengthy appeals process and statute of limitations, means he is unlikely to go to prison.

If he does, he will only serve one year due to a 2006 amnesty law aimed at reducing prison overcrowding.

The verdict came two days after Berlusconi announced he will not run for premier in upcoming elections.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged the defendants were behind a scheme to purchase the rights to broadcast US movies on Berlusconi's private Mediaset television networks through a series of offshore companies, and had falsely declared the payments to avoid taxes.

Prosecutors further alleged they inflated the price for the TV rights of some 3,000 films as they re-licensed them internally to Berlusconi's networks, pocketing the difference amounting to around €250m (£200m).

Other charges of false accounting and false statements in financial reports were thrown out because the statute of limitations expired.

The court sentenced Berlusconi and his co-defendants to pay €10m (£8m) to Italian tax authorities, a statement said.

The trial began in July 2006, but was put on hold by a now-defunct immunity law that shielded Berlusconi from prosecution while he was premier until it was watered down by the constitutional court.

The trial also faced delays as Berlusconi cited conflicts with his schedule as premier.

Berlusconi has been tried numerous times for his business dealings. He has always denied wrongdoing and alleged that the cases were politically motivated.

In each case to date, he has been cleared or seen the statute of limitations expire. The statute of limitations in this case is set to expire sometime next year.

Berlusconi also is on trial in Milan on charges of paying for sex with a prostitute and trying to cover it up.

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Syria: Tank And Sniper Fire 'Kills Three'

Three people are reported to have been killed by tank and sniper fire in Syria's capital, hours after a ceasefire was agreed.

The Damascus suburb of Harasta was apparently targeted in a violation of the temporary truce agreed to mark the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adha.

Rebels in a northern town close to the Turkish border also reported one of their fighters was shot dead by a sniper, and a Reuters journalist in the town heard what sounded like four rounds of tank fire.

The ceasefire was brokered by UN and Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. The regime and the main rebel force, the Free Syrian Army, had both agreed to temporarily lay down their arms.

In a statement read on state television after the deal, the Syrian army said it would still respond to gunfire or roadside bombs and keep rebels from bolstering their positions or getting supplies.

President Assad pictured at a prayer service on Friday

A Free Syrian Army commander also said rebels would retaliate if they were attacked.

On Friday morning, Syrian state television showed President Bashar al Assad attending morning prayers for the start of Eid at a mosque in Damascus.

He was pictured smiling and looking relaxed as he spoke to other worshippers, in his first television appearance for more than a month.

During prayers, Imam Walid Abdel Haq called on Syrians to "stop quarrelling because you are all brothers".

"Do you not see what has been happening for two years in the country, the destruction and death? Stop this," he said.

Protests were reported to have taken place in Raqa in the north east, where security forces fired tear gas, and in the southern Deraa province, where three people were injured as police fired live rounds to disperse demonstrators.

Activists said protests also took place in Damascus and Aleppo.

In the Idlib village of Al-Habit protesters chanted against Mr Assad, saying: "Traitor, give up, you have destroyed Syria."

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Hurricane Sandy: US Braces After 11 Die In Cuba

Hurricane Sandy has killed 11 people in Cuba and is now expected to batter the east coast of the US – after lashing the Bahamas.

Cuban state media announced that a four-month-old boy, who was crushed when his home collapsed, was among the dead as the east of the island was hit.

Sandy is moving towards the US

It reported nine deaths in the Santiago province in eastern Cuba, and two deaths in the Guantanamo area, bordering the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay. The oldest victim was 84.

Cuban authorities said most of the fatalities occurred when homes fell down, but the cause of some was still being investigated.

A total of 21 people have now died across the Caribbean as a result of the storm.

A satellite image of Sandy over the Bahamas

Hurricane Sandy has now made landfall in the Bahamas and, as it heads towards the US, predictions are mounting that it could bring destruction to the mainland far worse than last year's Hurricane Irene.

As the Category Two storm made its way towards the east coast, disaster experts and meteorologists warned that coastal states from the mid-Atlantic through to New England could be hit with dangerous winds and heavy rains.

Some forecasters even say Sandy could become a multi-billion-dollar disaster, though it is still too early to tell if its power and trajectory will bring about that worst-case scenario.

A power line is brought down in Santiago de Cuba

Hurricane Irene struck in August 2011, causing some $4.3bn (£2.7bn) in losses as unexpectedly heavy flooding hit from New Jersey to Vermont.

There are also concerns that Sandy could join with a winter storm already on course to hit New England and New York City next week.

Should the two storms merge, they could form what some are terming – in a nod to the upcoming Halloween holiday – a "Frankenstorm".

Residents try to save a fridge from their house in Santiago de Cuba

"When that occurs there can be a bit of a synergy, sort of a one plus one equals three effect," said Michael Kistler, a product manager at RMS, one of the main firms used by the insurance industry to model potential disaster exposure.

The White House on Thursday urged residents on the east coast to monitor weather reports and to heed any warnings from local officials in the days ahead.

Deerfield beach in Florida is closed as winds pick up

It could possibly bring tropical storm conditions along the south eastern Florida coast, the Upper Keys and Florida Bay by Friday morning.

The storm tore down power lines and trees and damaged homes as it pounded Jamaica – crushing one man to death - before heading for Cuba and the Bahamas.

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British Oil Executive Gunned Down In Brussels

A British oil executive - named by Sky sources as Nicholas Mockford - has been shot dead in Brussels.

The killing took place on October 14 but Belgian investigators have only just revealed information about his death.

Mr Mockford, who worked for ExxonMobil,  was gunned down as he left a restaurant with his wife.

The Foreign Office said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Brussels on October 14 and we are providing consular assistance."

Police said the businessman was shot three times as he left an Italian restaurant in Neder-Over-Heembeek, a suburb of the Belgian capital.

It happened at around 10pm as he walked with his wife Mary from the Da Marcello restaurant on Rue de Beyseghem to their car, which was parked nearby.

The attack took place in the Neder-Over-Heembeek area of Brussels

Mrs Mockford was violently attacked and struck several times on her face as one of the attackers tried to grab her handbag.

A second attacker opened fire on the 60-year-old oil executive, who later died of his injuries.

He was shot three times, once as he lay on the floor, and his wife Mary was left beaten and covered in blood, cradling her husband and shouting for help. He died on the way to hospital.

Witnesses say they saw the couple walk across the street to their Lexus 4x4 car before shots were fired.

It is understood that the two men were carrying motorcycle helmets and they initially fled on foot before taking a ring road on a "two-wheeled vehicle".

Shortly after the events, a white van passed Rue de Beyseghem and came across the victims.

Investigators have been questioning the driver of this vehicle.

The Daily Telegraph said police in Belgium were considering all possible motives for the shooting, including a carjacking, although Mr Mockford's car was not stolen.

The Belgian prosecutor's office said last night that there was a "judicial instruction" from Martine Quintin, the investigating judge, that meant they could give no "explanation" and no detail about the killing, which a spokesman said was "usual in such a serious murder investigation", the newspaper reported.

However, Chief Inspector Wim Van Leifferenge said the killing had been reported by media in the country since it happened.

Mr Van Leifferenge said no-one had been arrested and those responsible were still on the run.

Mr Mockford is understood to have worked for ExxonMobil since the 1970s and was head of marketing for interim technologies for ExxonMobil Chemicals, Europe, promoting new types of greener fuel.

Brought up in Leicestershire, he had moved abroad from Chichester some years ago, living in Belgium and Singapore.

He was married to his Belgian wife for 15 years and has three grown-up children living in Britain from his first marriage, according to the Telegraph.

A family member, who asked not to be named, told the newspaper they thought he had been killed in a professional hit.

The relation said: "We are all confused about what has happened. Nick was a genuinely lovely, clean-cut, mild-mannered, family man."

He added: "He was shot so calmly and so quickly, it smacks horribly of a professional hit, but we can't fathom why. He isn't the type to cave in to blackmail and it just doesn't compute."

A spokesman for ExxonMobil said: "Mr Mockford, a British national, was a department manager at our office close to Brussels, but we have no indication that the incident was work related.

"Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues and we are supporting them as best we can at this very difficult time."

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Hurricane Sandy Hits Cuba After Jamaica

Hurricane Sandy tore down power lines and trees as it pounded Jamaica, before heading for Cuba and the Bahamas.

The storm had developed from a Category One to Category Two hurricane when it made landfall just west of Santiago de Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 114mph.

The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami said Sandy was moving north-northeast at 15mph and was expected to keep its hurricane strength as it moved through the Bahamas.

"It is a big storm and it's going to grow in size after it leaves Cuba," said Michael Brennan, a hurricane forecaster at the NHC.  

Storm clouds gathered over Cuba as Sandy approached

In Jamaica, schools and businesses were closed and authorities moved residents in low-lying, flood-prone areas into shelters amid steady rain and fierce winds.

Residents reported widespread power outages, flooded streets and some severely damaged homes.

One man was crushed to death by stones that fell from a hillside as he tried to get into his house in a rural village near Kingston, according to a police official.

Earlier on Wednesday, a woman in Haiti was swept away by a rushing river she was trying to cross.

Widespread flooding was reported across Jamaica

Cruise ships changed their itineraries to avoid the storm, which made landfall five miles east of the capital and airports were closed.

Curfews were imposed on 80 communities in an attempt to prevent the looting which has followed previous storms.

Many people refused to evacuate their homes because they were fearful their possessions would be stolen.

Officers said suspected looters shot and wounded a police official as he led a group through a volatile section of West Kingston called Craig Town.

In some southern towns on Jamaica, a few crocodiles were caught in rushing floodwaters that carried them out of the mangrove thickets, into housing districts, local residents reported.

One large crocodile reportedly took up temporary residence in a family's front yard in the city of Portmore.

Sandy dumped heavy rain on Jamaica and Cuba

Sandy was expected to dump a total of 6in to 12in of rain as it made its way across parts of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba.

The 18th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was expected to pass to the west of the US naval base at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, where pre-trial hearings were being held for a suspect in the deadly 2000 attack on the destroyer USS Cole off Yemen.

The 15,500 people living on the US base, along with the 166 prisoners held there, have been warned to be ready for the storm.

Sandy could possibly bring tropical storm conditions along the southeastern Florida coast, the Upper Keys and Florida Bay by Friday morning.

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Obama 'Bubble' Confident On Home Straight

US President Barack Obama has launched an unprecedented campaign blitz through eight states in 39 hours in his bid to secure a second term in the White House.

Mr Obama is travelling more than 6,000 miles across four time zones in what he has described as a "marathon extravaganza" to encourage voters to the polls.

The President is neck-and-neck with Republican challenger Mitt Romney with 12 days to go until election day.

His trip includes swing states Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Ohio and Virginia and he held a conference call with 9,000 undecided voters from aboard the presidential jet Air Force One.

Both campaigns have now unleashed what they call their "ground game" of knocking on doors and calling undecided voters in swing states.

Sky News joined the Obama campaign "bubble" for his sweep across the country and discovered a mood of confidence.

Senior advisors believe he has regained the momentum after a sticky patch after the first televised debate. They say he has a "clear path" towards securing the 270 electoral college votes he needs.

Mr Obama's advisors believe he has regained the momentum

Obama campaign advisor David Plouffe told reporters: "We win the election if it were held today.

"Our view is that in all the battleground states we've contested, every single one of them, we have a credible pathway to 50%."

The campaign believes the key is keeping the pressure on people who voted for Mr Obama in 2008 to come out and do it again.

In Iowa, 3,500 people packed into Mississippi Valley Fairground to stand under autumnal leaves and hear the President.

He told them: "This is where it all began four years ago, on your front porches, in your backyards. This is where the movement for change began. And Iowa, you will once again choose the path ahead.

"We can't afford to go back to what got us into this mess. We've got to stick with policies that are getting out of this mess."

Supporter Heather Khoury said: "I think he's moving us forward, I don't think think that is just his spiel. I think some of the things he promised Congress didn't allow him to do so it shouldn't all be blamed on him."

Randall Dreese said: "I really don't see how the United States as a whole could survive four years of Mitt Romney."

Obama recorded an interview with late night comedy host Jay Leno

In Denver, 16,000 braved the chill to listen to a shirt-sleeved Mr Obama lambast his rival's plans and repeat his now familiar "Romnesia" campaign gag.

Buses were waiting to ferry people to early voting stations nearby. The campaign is now focused on energising its core and looking to find every wavering voter.

Mr Obama, who spent the night aboard Air Force One, also stopped off in Los Angeles to record an interview with late night comedy host Jay Leno.

He mocked controversial tycoon and "birther" Donald Trump, who earlier offered to give $5m to charity if Mr Obama released his college and passport records.

The President joked that their disagreement dates back to when he and Trump were growing up Kenya.

"We had constant run-ins on the soccer field. He wasn't very good and resented it. When we finally moved to America I thought it would be over," he said.

Mr Obama will make detour to his home city of Chicago today to cast his own early vote before completing his trip.

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Malala Shooting: Police Name Prime Suspect

Police have named the prime suspect in connection with the shooting of Malala Yousafzai, the teenage activist who spoke out against the Taliban.

Detectives are attempting to track down 23-year-old Atta Ullah Khan, a chemistry student from the Swat district where Malala was attacked.

Khan's mother, brother, and fiancee have been arrested, as well as six other men.

The suspect's relatives are not accused of involvement, a senior police official is reported to have said.

Malala is being treated at a hospital in Birmingham

Alam Zeb, the principal at Jahanzeb College where Khan is studying for a physics degree, said Khan had given school officials three or four dates of birth.

He condemned the attack and said he was surprised to hear that a former student may have been involved.

The 15-year-old girl became a symbol of courage after being shot in the head by the Taliban earlier this month for demanding education for girls.

She is now being treated in Britain, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

The teenager is a high-profile campaigner against the Taliban

The hospital has said she continues to make steady progress and is in a stable condition after she was admitted a week ago following initial treatment in Pakistan.

She had been able to stand with help for the first time in hospital and was "communicating very freely", according to Dr Dave Rosser, medical director of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

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Man Killed By Shark As Friend Watches Helpless

A California surfer has been killed by a shark off a beach at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The attack was reported by another surfer on Tuesday morning off the coast of Surf Beach in Lompoc, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Francisco Javier Solorio Jr "had a friend who he was surfing with who saw the shark bite or hit the man," said Sheriff's Sgt Mark A Williams.

"His friend ended up swimming over and pulling him from the water where he received first aid."

Another surfer called for help but the male victim was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

He was reportedly bitten on the upper torso

The Air Force said only that the 39-year-old was not affiliated with the base, which allows public access to some of its beaches.

The type of shark involved and other details are under investigation.

There were no shark warning signs posted at Surf Beach on Tuesday, said Lt. Erik Raney, adding that beaches do not typically post such notices unless the location had a recent shark sighting.

It was the latest shark attack fatality at Surf Beach, about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

In October 2010, Lucas Ransom, a 19-year-old student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, died when a shark nearly severed his leg as he body-boarded.

Hundreds of miles south near the coast of San Diego, a 15ft great white shark is believed to have killed triathlete David Martin in 2008.

Fatal shark attacks are rare. There is an average of 65 incidents around the world every year, which typically result in two or three deaths, according to the Pew Environment Group.

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Woman 'Set Herself On Fire In Staged KKK Attack'

A woman who told police she had been subjected to a racist attack in which three men set her alight and scrawled KKK on her car was lying, according to US investigators.

"The wounds were self-inflicted," said Kyle Hanrahan, a spokesman for the FBI's Louisiana bureau.

Sharmeka Moffitt, 20, was seriously burned in the fire and remains in a critical condition.

She called police from a park in the town of Winnsboro on Sunday night and told them three men in white hoodies had doused her with a flammable liquid and ignited it.

The letters KKK, for the white supremacist organisation Ku Klux Klan, and a racial slur were scrawled on her car in what appeared to be toothpaste.

According to local media, investigators decided the burns were self-inflicted after finding Ms Moffitt's fingerprints on a cigarette lighter and lighter fluid.

Louisiana's KATC News reported her family had issued a statement saying: "Our family is devastated to learn the circumstances surrounding our daughter's injuries.

"While this was not the resolution we had expected, it is a resolution, and we appreciate the thorough investigation by the local and state police as well as federal agencies.

"We are sincerely sorry for any problems this may have caused and wish to express our appreciation for the outpouring of love, prayers and support we have received from friends, acquaintances, church organisations and government officials."

The FBI was called in to assist local authorities because the apparent attack was initially considered a possible hate crime.

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Paraplegic Left In Desert Crawls Four Miles

A paraplegic man has said he dragged himself four miles down a dirt road over three days to get help after being stranded in the desert without his wheelchair.

Ricky Gilmore is in intensive care suffering from acute kidney failure due to dehydration, cuts to his buttocks and leg, a sprained wrist and a blood infection following his ordeal.

The 49-year-old said a couple who had picked him up while he was hitchhiking had left him in the New Mexico desert south of the town of Shiprock after he had refused to share his alcohol with them.

"It was dark and I was shivering and the wind was blowing, so I just crawled to a bush and dug in right there. It was cold that night," he said.

When the sun came up, he decided he had to move on.

"I started dragging myself. I did the same thing all day and I only got about two miles," he said.

Two vehicles passed, but when he tried to flag them down they honked their horns and carried on.

"I could have easily gave up and said forget it, but I said I'm not going to freeze out here and I just kept on going," he said.

On the third afternoon, a man in a truck stopped and called for help.

"I don't think I would have made it another night," Mr Gilmore said.

He said he had been hitchhiking for 19 years since he lost the use of his legs in a car crash, but this was the first time anything like this had happened to him.

He is heavily bandaged and it could be up to a week before he is well enough to go home.

"Ah man, I'm just a big mess. I ache and I'm just in the first stages of healing," he said.

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Obama Aggressive In Final Presidential Debate

Romney Avoids Foreign Policy Blow

Updated: 5:37am UK, Tuesday 23 October 2012

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

This was always going to be a tough one for Mitt Romney.

The Republican challenger has not distinguished himself on foreign policy. 

And on many foreign issues there is not enough swinging room between him and the President to let him land a punch.

The President probably won on points, but his challenger held his own and made no gaffes. Given his previous form on foreign policy, that's an improvement.

This debate was about foreign policy when the election is not. The economy remains the overriding issue.

It was predictable then that both men would try and bring the debate back to domestic issues.

President Obama was the first, 25 minutes in, stressing that nation building starts at home.

Mr Romney joined in, forcefully making the argument that America will only be respected overseas if it's strong at home. 

Then followed a slew of argument that had nothing to do with foreign policy from healthcare reform to classroom sizes. 

There were cheers in the adjoining "spin room" from journalists when moderator Bob Schieffer tried to return the discussion to foreign affairs even if it was largely in vain.

With the odds stacked against him, Mr Romney was largely avoiding losing.

His most dangerous moment was one of his own creation, a tactical error he could have avoided.

He probably should not have mentioned foreign trips, given how badly his last one went, offending the British, Palestinians and the press travelling with him.

But he brought up the President's visits overseas all the same, accusing him of indulging in an "apology" tour allowing his opponent to come right back at him.

"If you want to talk about trips governor," came back the president. Mr Obama then compared his visit to Israel, which included a tour of the Yad Vashem holocaust museum, to Mitt Romney's which he said was more about attending fundraisers.

Many Americans will not have been watching. This was a big sports night.

In the Tailgaters Sports Bar in Daytona Beach up the coast, most people weren't focused on the debate. The Chicago Bears were playing the Detroit Lions, by coincidence the hometown teams of each candidate.

The game was on a much bigger screen than the debate in the bar.

But a few were paying attention to the candidates.

Carl Dephillipe told Sky News the debate had made all the difference to his vote.

"I am a Democrat so I was leaning towards Obama but I hadn't heard anything about his foreign policy till tonight so finally being to sit down tonight to listen to his foreign policy I'll definitely be giving him my vote," he said.

Further down the bar David Daley was also critical of Mr Romney.

"I think he's basically selling the American people a dream. That he's promising a lot of things that he's not going to be able to do," he said. 

For the record, the President's team beat Mr Romney's by 13 to 7.

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Taiwan Nursing Home Fire: 12 Dead

At least 12 people have been killed and 60 wounded in a fire at a nursing home in southern Taiwan.

The fire started in the early hours in a nursing facility housing mainly bed-bound patients in Tainan city.

An earlier official estimate had reported there were 72 injured, but this was revised down in a health department statement.

Firefighters carry one of the patients out of the burning building

A fire official said the blaze could have started in a storage room on the second floor of the five-storey building - part of the public Sinying Hospital.

The cause of all the deaths is believed to be smoke inhalation, while the injured were rushed to a dozen hospitals for treatment.

Television footage showed the burnt-out second floor of the building and bed and wheelchair-bound patients being carried out on to the hospital lawn.

Many of those rescued were seriously ill

Premier Sean Chen expressed his shock at the incident and sent his condolences to the families of the victims.

Tainan mayor Lai Ching-te said the fire was unusually deadly because the hospital was in a relatively remote area and most of the patients were immobile.

Concerns over staffing levels have also been raised as there were only six workers on duty for 70 patients.

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched.

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Qatar Ruler's Visit To Gaza 'Will Boost Hamas'

Qatar's ruler is expected to visit Gaza soon in what will be seen as a major boost for Hamas, the rulers of the Strip.

The controversial trip is the first by an Arab head of state since Hamas, who are considered a terrorist group in the UK and America, was elected in 2006. It then fought a bloody internecine war with the more moderate Fatah movement which dominates the West Bank.

Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa al Thani is expected to arrive in Gaza via the Egyptian border at Rafah, the scene of frequent bloody clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces - and more recently of fighting between Egyptian security and local Islamists linked to al Qaeda.

The visit is intended to celebrate Qatar's commitment to pump $250m (£156m) into re-building projects in the strip, which suffers from severe restrictions on imports and exports imposed by the Israeli government.

The centre piece of the project will be the creation of a new city on land once inhabited by Israeli settlers, which will be named after the Emir.

Qatar's ambassador to Gaza, who will oversee the project, has claimed the new city would see the construction of 1,000 new homes in five-storey apartment blocks, new schools, shops, clinics parks and entertainment facilities.

Contracts have also been put out for tender for the rebuilding of three major highways, including the main coastal route Al Rashid street, as well as millions of dollars' worth of agricultural projects.

The Hamas administration in Gaza is not recognized either by Israel or many Western governments. It raises much of its revenue from 'customs' tariffs on goods smuggled into the Gaza Strip through a network of tunnels from Egypt.

The Qatari's plans will be a major economic boost to the 1.7 million residents of Gaza. A substantial percentage of it is likely to also flow in Hamas coffers.

This may be an attempt to drive Hamas away from violence and into focussing greater effort on civilian development.

The visit of a major Arab leader to Gaza will be seen by many as a tacit endorsement of the Hamas leadership.

It is also a rebuke to the PA, which has been criticised for widespread corruption and its handling of the economic situation in the West Bank.

The decision for the Emir of Qatar to make the visit also shines a light on the foreign policy of the small but increasingly influential Sunni Gulf State.

Qatar's overseas strategy has been the subject of intense debate and analysis, particularly since the Arab uprisings of 2011.

Qatari Special Forces were influential on Libya's rebel militia's leading them on the capture of Tripoli and training some of the most effective tribal fighting groups.

The mostly British-trained Qatari forces are also active in Syria. Qatar and Saudi Arabia has been sending "hundreds of millions worth of support including lethal hardware" to Syrian rebels for months, according to senior Western diplomats.

Qatar has been a key Western ally. But there remains lingering suspicions that the conservative kingdom may also harbour sympathies with hard line groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood - which is now dominant in Egyptian politics.

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Wisconsin Spa Shooting: Suspect Haughton Dead

The suspect in a shooting that left three people dead and four injured at the spa where his wife worked has been found dead at the scene in Wisconsin.

Radcliffe Franklin Haughton, 45, of Brown Deer in Wisconsin, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Brookfield Police Chief Dan Tushaus said his body was found inside the Azana Day Spa building, despite initial reports that the gunman had fled and a police hunt had been launched.

Authorities confirmed Haughton took a taxi to his wife's workplace on Sunday and opened fire, but did not say if she was among the victims.

Haughton had been placed under a restraining order on Thursday and directed by a judge to surrender his weapons to local authorities in connection with an alleged domestic abuse case involving his wife.

Police Chief Tushaus said he had slashed his wife's car tyres two weeks before the shooting.

Before learning of his son's death, the suspect's father, Radcliffe Haughton Sr, told TMJ4 News: "This is not the way I raised my son ... My son is facing a domestic problem. Things happen, and some people cannot take it."

Later he said: "This is very sad."

The two-storey, 836 square metre Azana spa is across the road from a shopping mall in Brookfield, a middle-to-upper class community west of Milwaukee.

The mall and a number of other nearby buildings were locked down as police searched for Haughton.

Buildings around the spa were closed during the manhunt

Police initially believed there might be an improvised explosive device at the spa, but this was found not to be the case.

David Gosh, of nearby West Allis, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel newspaper he was returning from duck hunting with his father and a friend when he saw a woman emerge from the spa, screaming, as she ran into traffic.

"She ran right out into the street and was pounding on cars," he told the newspaper.

He added that moments later, a man with a handgun ran out, apparently chasing her, before going back inside.

Mr Gosh's father, John, said he saw two wounded women taken out of the spa. One appeared to have been shot in the leg and the other in the back, he told the newspaper.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said in a statement: "Senseless acts of violence leave us with heavy hearts and many questions.

"Our state will stand with the victims and their families, and we will provide them with the law enforcement and community support they need to heal in the coming days."

The mass shooting was the second in the US state this year. In August, six people were killed in a rampage at a Sikh temple in another suburb of Milwaukee, Oak Creek. The gunman in that incident killed himself.

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'Al Qaeda Terror Plot' Foiled By Jordan

Jordanian authorities have said they foiled an al Qaeda plot targeting shopping malls and Western diplomats.

Sameeh Maaytah, a spokesman for the Jordanian government, said 11 suspected militants were in police custody.

State news agency Petra reported that the men had been planning a wave of attacks on diplomatic missions, hotels and other key sites.

Mr Maaytah said the men - who are all Jordanian citizens - had brought arms into Jordan from neighbouring Syria to use in the alleged plot.

"The kind of weapons, explosives they were ready to use include mortars and machine guns," he said.

"I say again they hold Jordanian nationality, they went to Syria and came back using the Samr route which crosses the Syrian-Jordanian border."

Authorities said there were several possible targets in the capital Amman

He added al Qaeda operatives based in Iraq have been assisting the suspects with the manufacture of explosives.

The suspects were arrested over the past few days by Jordanian intelligence agents, he said.

A judicial source told news agency AFP the case had been referred to the prosecutor of the state security court - a military tribunal.

"They will face two charges: conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts and possession of explosives," said the source who declined to be named. The charges carry the death penalty.

The group scouted possible targets in Amman, experimented with explosives after getting hold of raw materials to make bombs, and had begun selecting possible suicide bomb candidates, Petra reported.

Among their alleged plans were attacks on two malls as well as a major attack in the upmarket Abdoun neighbourhood in western Amman.

A security source told Reuters the cell had manufactured explosives "aimed at inflicting the heaviest losses possible".

"The group was able to devise new types of explosives to be used for the first time and planned to add TNT to increase their destructive impact," the source said.

Jordan is a key US ally and is one of the safest countries in the Middle East. However, it has seen al Qaeda-linked violence before.

In 2005, triple suicide bomb attacks at luxury hotels in Amman killed 60 people.

Jordanian authorities have reportedly arrested a number of jihadists in recent months who have crossed into Syria to join the anti-regime armed insurgency there.

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Lebanon: Gun Clashes After Official's Funeral

Two people have been killed and more than a dozen injured after clashes between Sunni and Shi'ite gunmen in Lebanon, security officials said.

Troops managed to separate the gunmen and restore calm to two neighbourhoods in the capital Beirut where fighting had erupted.

Heavy overnight clashes were also reported in the northern city of Tripoli.

A man was killed in a shooting in the Wadi Zayneh area north of Sidon and another person died in the Tripoli clashes, officials said. At least six people were wounded in Beirut and 10 in Tripoli.

Lebanon has seen significant unrest since Friday after an anti-Syrian top intelligence official was killed in a car bombing.

The assassination has threatened to shatter the country's fragile political balance.

Many politicians have blamed Syria for the killing and angry protesters attempted to storm the government palace after Brigadier General Wissam al Hassan's funeral on Sunday.

There have been calls for Prime Minister Najib Mikati - whose government is dominated by pro-Syrian parties - to resign.

Mr Mikati offered to resign over the weekend, but will remain in position after President Michel Sleiman's request to avoid a "political vacuum" in the country.

The opposition bloc has blamed Syrian President Bashar al Assad for the bomb attack.

It also holds Mr Assad responsible for the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri, who was also killed in a Beirut car bombing.

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Beirut Bomb Blast: Call For Demo At Funeral

Lebanon's opposition has called for an anti-Syria demonstration at this afternoon's funeral of a security chief killed in a car bombing blamed on the regime in Damascus.

General Wissam al Hassan, a prominent figure opposed to President Bashar al Assad, died in the attack in the capital Beirut which killed a total of eight people on Friday. 

There are fears that the devastating attack threatens to bring Syria's civil war to Lebanon.

Last night, protesters calling for the Lebanese government to resign set up tents in the capital burned tyres and set up roadblocks.

Lebanese troops stood guard at road junctions and official buildings in the capital as the Lebanese cabinet held an emergency meeting to decide on what, if any, action to take.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati later said the blast was linked to the civil war in neighbouring Syria and revealed that he had agreed to stay on as premier at President Michel Sleiman's request because of "national interest".

Brig-Gen al Hassan, 47, headed an investigation over the summer that led to the arrest of former information minister Michel Samaha, one of Mr Assad's most loyal allies in Lebanon.

Politics in Lebanon and Syria are closely connected

Mr Samaha, who is in custody, is accused of plotting a campaign of bombings and assassinations to spread sectarian violence in Lebanon at Syria's behest.

Also indicted in the August sweep was Syrian Brigadier General Ali Mamlouk, one of Mr Assad's highest aides.

Dozens were left wounded in the blast in Beirut's mainly Christian Achrafieh neighbourhood.

Lebanon's fractious politics are closely entwined with Syria's.

The countries share political and sectarian ties and rivalries, often causing events on one side of the border to have a "knock on" effect on the other.

Lebanon's opposition is an anti-Syrian bloc, while the prime minister and much of the government are pro-Syrian.

The civil war in Syria has laid bare Lebanon's sectarian tensions as well.

Many of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims have backed Syria's mainly Sunni rebels, while Shi'ite Muslims have tended to back Mr Assad.

Brig-Gen al Hassan was a Sunni whose stances were widely seen to oppose Syria and Shi'ite Hezbollah, the country's most powerful ally in Lebanon.

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White House Denies Iran Nuclear Talks Report

The White House has denied reports it has agreed to stage one-on-one talks with Iran to find a diplomatic solution to concerns over its nuclear programme.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that the US and Iran had agreed in principle to negotiations, which would take place after the November 6 presidential election.

But National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor denied there was any agreement.

He said: "It's not true that the US and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections.

President Obama and Mitt Romney will likely discuss Iran in Monday's debate

"We continue to work with the P5+1 on a diplomatic solution and have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally."

He added that efforts to get Iran back to the negotiating table with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany - the so-called "P5+1" - will continue.

President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney meet on Monday night in the third and final presidential debate focusing on foreign policy - with Iran's nuclear ambitions a likely topic.

Mr Obama has said he will prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and that he hopes sanctions can get Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment.

Mr Romney has accused the president of being weak on Iran and says the US needs to present a greater military threat.

Iran has continued with its nuclear programme despite tough sanctions and measures imposed by the US and European nations.

Those measures have taken their toll, particularly on the Iranian economy, and authorities have been forced to quell protests in recent weeks over the plummeting value of the Iranian rial.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for energy and research purposes, but Western nations fear it is determined to develop nuclear weapons.

Israel has also threatened to strike its nuclear facilities if it does not halt uranium enrichment.

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At Least One Dead In Damascus Car Bomb Blast

At least one person has been killed after a car bomb exploded near a police station in the Syrian capital.

The pro-government broadcaster Ikhbariya TV said the blast hit the Old City quarter of Bab Touma in Damascus.

It came as President Bashar al Assad opened talks with visiting UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who is trying to broker a truce to start during a Muslim holiday this week.

A security official said the explosion targeted a police station in the neighborhood, which is a popular attraction for shoppers and inhabited mostly by the Christian minority.

More follows...

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