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CIA Director Petraeus Quits Over Affair

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 10 November 2012 | 16.15

CIA Director David Petraeus has resigned over an extramarital affair - which officials say was uncovered by an FBI investigation.

According to his letter of resignation, General Petraeus asked President Barack Obama on Thursday to allow him to resign, and on Friday the president accepted.

He admitted he had shown "extremely poor judgement" in having an affair.

"Such behaviour is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organisation such as ours," he wrote.

He had only been sworn in as director of the Central Intelligence Agency on September 6 last year.

Prior to that, he was a four-star general with 37 years' service in the US Army.

His last assignments in the army were as commander of Isaf, the International Security Assistance Force, and commander of US forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

The resignation took Washington's intelligence and political communities by surprise, coming as a sudden end to the public career of the best-known general in recent years.

Neither Gen Petraeus nor the CIA explained why he felt he had to step down over the affair, and whether his liaison presented a purely personal problem or raised security issues in his sensitive work as spy chief.

The affair came to light as the FBI was investigating whether a computer used by the general had been compromised, the New York Times and other US media reported, citing government officials.

General David Petraeus with his wife Holly General Petraeus with his wife Holly

In a statement released after the resignation was announced, President Obama hailed the "extraordinary service" of Gen Petraeus.

"David Petraeus has provided extraordinary service to the United States for decades," Mr Obama said.

"By any measure, he was one of the outstanding general officers of his generation."

The president said the CIA's Deputy Director Michael Morell would serve as acting director.

"I am completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission," Mr Obama said.

Gen Petraeus has been married for 37 years to Holly, whom he met when he was a cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point.

Although the president made no direct mention of Gen Petraeus' reason for resigning, he offered his thoughts and prayers to the general and his wife.

He said Mrs Petraeus has "done so much to help military families through her own work. I wish them the very best at this difficult time".

The CIA has come under fire in recent weeks in the wake of the September 11 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Critics have questioned how much the intelligence agency knew about the likelihood and nature of the attack.


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Turkey Helicopter Crash: 17 Troops Killed

Seventeen Turkish soldiers have died after their helicopter crashed in southeastern Turkey in bad weather, an official has said.

The Sikorsky aircraft came down on Herekol mountain, in the Pervari district of Siirt province, according to local governor Ahmet Aydin.

The victims were members of gendarmerie special forces, he said.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash which reportedly happened in thick fog.

The helicopter was transporting troops to Pervari, where the Turkish army has been involved in a land operation against Kurdish rebels for three days, security sources told AFP.

Last month, a Sikorsky crashed in southeastern Diyarbakir province after it hit power lines, killing one soldier and wounding seven.

More follows...


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Syria: 'Casualties After Two Large Blasts'

Two large explosions have struck the Syrian city of Deraa, causing multiple casualties, according to the state-run news agency.

The blasts were reportedly followed by clashes between regime forces and rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.

Deraa, in the south of the country, was the birthplace of the Syrian uprising against Mr Assad, which erupted in March 2011.

The conflict began largely with peaceful protests against his rule but turned bloody after rebels took up arms in response to the regime's crackdown.

Activists say more than 36,000 people have died in Syria during the 19-month-long uprising.

More follows...


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Giffords Gunman Jared Loughner Jailed For Life

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 09 November 2012 | 16.15

A man who admitted killing six people and injuring others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, in a shooting rampage has been jailed for life.

US District Judge Larry Burns sentenced Jared Loughner, 24, for the January 2011 attack in Tucson, Arizona.

He pleaded guilty to federal charges under an agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The hearing marked the first time victims could confront Loughner in court. Ms Giffords' husband Mark Kelly spoke on her behalf, saying his actions had changed his wife's life forever.

The former astronaut said: "Her life has been forever changed. Every day is a continuous struggle to do those things she once was so good at.

"Mr Loughner, you may have put a bullet through her head but you haven't put a dent in her spirit and her commitment to make the world a better place."

Gabrielle Giffords and husband Mark Kelly at Loughner sentencing Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly outside the court in Arizona

Ms Giffords embraced her husband and they then walked away, with her limping.

Loughner showed no emotion as one by one other survivors addressed him.

Mavanell Stoddard, who was shot three times and cradled her dying husband as he lay bleeding on the pavement after shielding her from the spary of bullets, said: "You took away my life, my love and my reason for living."

Another victim, Susan Hileman, told him: "We've been told about your demons, about the illness that skewed your thinking.

"Your parents, your schools, your community, they all failed you.

A man identified as Jared L Loughner, at the 2010 Tucson Festival of Books in Tucson, in March, 2010 (L). 2006 Mountain View High School yearbook shows Jared L Loughner (R). COMP Jared Loughner pictured in high school

"You pointed a weapon and shot me three times. And now I walked out of this courtroom and into the rest of my life and I won't think of you again."

Loughner admitted 19 federal charges - including murder and attempted assassination - as part of a plea deal three months ago. That deal meant he would avoid the death penalty.

He did not speak during the sentencing for the mass shooting, which took place outside a supermarket.

Ms Giffords has made a remarkable recovery from the traumatic head injuries she suffered, but has since retired from her political post.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Loughner will likely see out his life in a prison psychiatric unit, with no possibility of parole.

He was originally judged to be mentally unfit to stand trial and diagnosed as schizophrenic.

But he then underwent months of forced medication and treatment to restore his competency at a federal prison hospital in Missouri.

Psychologists eventually decided he could be tried, just before the plea deal was finalised.

The sentencing will mark the end of the federal case against Loughner, but he could still be tried for murder and other crimes in the Arizona state court.


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Obama Cries In Campaign Staff Thanks Video

Barack Obama showed his emotional side when he wiped away tears while thanking his staff, in a video released by his campaign.

The re-elected President was filmed giving the short speech to workers and volunteers gathered at his Chicago headquarters.

Speaking the day after he secured another four years in the White House, Mr Obama talks about his work as a community organiser in Chicago and tells campaign staff they will do "amazing things" in their lives.

And the President becomes emotional when he says that even before the election results, he felt the work he had done "had come full circle".

He tells staff members that he is proud of the work they did - before pausing to wipe away tears, as his campaign team launch into applause.


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Syria: Assad 'Employing Cluster Bombs' In War

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in northern Syria

Sky News has found overwhelming evidence that the Syrian regime is using cluster bombs against its own people, in contravention of international laws.

It comes despite repeated denials by Bashar al Assad's government, which has insisted the regime does not even possess the weapons.

The claims had already been made by rebel activists who are denounced by the Assad regime as terrorists and were then backed up by Human Rights Watch.

But until now the accusations could not be independently verified and have been repeatedly written off as lies and propaganda by the Syrian government.

This week, the UN political affairs chief told the Security Council that there was "credible evidence" that the regime had used cluster bombs, which release many small bomblets over a wide area.

But Sky cameraman Garwen McLuckie, producer Nick Ludlam, cameraman Jim Foster and myself travelled to northern Syria and discovered scores of unexploded Russian-made cluster bombs ourselves, providing overwhelming evidence that the regime is indeed using weapons. They are considered some of the most lethal in the world.

Holes in field from cluster bombs Holes showing evidence of cluster bombs in a field

The eyewitnesses we spoke to described the bombs raining down on them. Many still had unexploded bombs in their homes.

Two people died in the town of Tal Rafaat, near the Turkish border when the Government dropped cluster bombs from jets.

The bombs scattered the bomblets over a wide area, landing in fields, on top of scores of homes and hitting cars driving down the road.

Shortly afterwards, according to residents, the jets also attacked Maarat Al Numan. Both towns have a strong rebel presence and many residents told us they believed they had been attacked because of their anti-government stand.

One resident of Tal Rafaat, who did not want to be named for fear of government reprisals, told us: "I am very scared. I have three children and they are all sick now and I believe it was because of the cluster bombs that they are sick.

"They have been terrified since we were attacked."

Damage in Aleppo Damage from fighting in Aleppo

He showed us holes in his roof, in his garden wall and in his front room where the bombs had landed.

"Assad is a criminal," he said, "I am 42-years-old and I have never heard of this, in Chechnya or Palestine or anywhere in the world where a president attacks his own people like this. He wants to kill all of us."

Aamar Alommer, who also has three children, aged six, four and seven months, showed how the bombs had punctured his water tank and diesel storage before blowing a hole in his ceiling as his family were all at home having dinner.

"This is not just against international law," he said. "This is against humanity."

Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned the discovery. He said: "This footage is further evidence of the brutality of the Assad regime.

"The apparent use of cluster munitions shows an appalling disregard for human life. It reinforces the urgent need for all members of the UN Security Council to unite and respond to the crisis, and for all countries to step up efforts to hold the regime to account."

Syrian rebels Ongoing conflict in Syria

Many of the residents believe the attacks amount to a war crime and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is hoarding the intact bombs in a secret location as evidence.

Two Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters accompanied us gathering up the unexploded cluster bombs which the residents repeatedly produced as we went from house to house.

Ahmed Ousow told us the aircraft turned up just after Friday prayers on October 12.

"There were lots of people around. The residents had all just attended prayers. there were no demonstrations at that time and then suddenly the jet started bombing," he said.

He spoke of finding two big bombs with multiple smaller bombs inside - and most inside did not detonate.

A few weeks earlier, in Bdama, also near the Turkish border, we discovered a landmine planted in the middle of a residential area and left behind by the retreating Syrian army.

The civil war in Syria is becoming more and more vicious - with video surfacing on the internet of the FSA fighters executing groups of captured Syrian soldiers. The United Nations said if it could be verified, the killings would also amount to a war crime.


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Sandy Victims Suffer As New Storm Hits US Coast

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 08 November 2012 | 16.15

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent, in New York City

A second storm has battered the northeast coast of the United States adding to the misery felt by many after superstorm Sandy.

Heavy snow and strong winds have hit parts of New York and New Jersey, which brought down power lines and caused traffic delays.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said a number of care facilities and nursing homes were evacuated in areas hardest hit by Sandy.

But he insisted he was not recommending a mass evacuation following the latest bad weather.

"We haven't and won't order the kind of large-scale evacuation that we did in advance of Hurricane Sandy but, if you experienced significant flooding during Sandy, then you should consider taking shelter with friends and family at a safer spot or using one of the city's storm shelters," he said.

But communities hit by superstorm Sandy struggled amid the bad weather.

In Staten Island, one of the areas most affected, the task of clearing up debris was made more difficult and a government aid station was forced to close.

Hundreds of residents, displaced last week, had to spend last night in shelters run by state officials.

East Coast Of US Set For Winter Storm Major airlines cancelled flights in and out of the New York City area

Lorraine Orobello left her home in the middle of the storm because she had run out of food.

The 54-year-old said she had been turned away from the federal food station and had turned to another aid centre for help.

She said: "It's hard. All I want is some soup or a peanut butter sandwich.

"I shouldn't be coming out in this weather but I have nothing back home - just a few tins of tuna and a small heater to keep warm.

"But I'm an American, you know, we get on with things. We'll get through this."

Major airlines cancelled flights in and out of the New York City area ahead of the storm. Sandy last week led to more than 20,000 flight cancellations.

New York City has also closed all parks, playgrounds and beaches and ordered all construction sites to be secured.

More than 600,000 businesses and homes are still without power due to Sandy and at least 120 people have been killed in the US and Canada.

Around $32m (£20m) has been raised so far to help victims after around 10,000 donations came in from across the US.

Sandy started as a hurricane and killed dozens of people in the Caribbean.


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Hu Jintao Hails China's 'Golden Decade'

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

Outgoing Chinese President Hu Jintao has hailed what he described as his "golden decade" in power with a speech marking the opening of the Chinese Communist Party conference in Beijing.

But Mr Hu, who will hand over to a new generation of leaders at the end of the congress, warned of significant challenges ahead both at home and abroad.

"At present, as the global, national and our party's conditions continue to undergo profound changes, we are faced with unprecedented opportunities for development as well as risks and challenges unknown before," he told a gathering of more than 2,000 party members.

He acknowledged issues like corruption and accepted that change was needed.

Opening Session Of Chinese Communist Party Congress The congress is held every five years

"If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the party and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state," he said.

However he fell well short of calling for wholesale reform of the Chinese political system.

"We do not go down the road rigidly and without change," he said. "But we do not go by another road either."

The week long Communist Party Congress represents the end of the long, complicated, opaque and highly controlled process by which power is transferred in China.

At the end of the congress a new leader will be announced who will be set to rule one fifth of the world's population for the next 10 years.

That man will almost certainly be Xi Jinping. He will be installed as the new general secretary of the Communist Party, and therefore by default, the new head of state and president.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping Xi Jinping is tipped to be the next president of China

Very few people know who Mr Xi is, what he is like, what he stands for and in what direction he will take the world's most populous nation.

Security across the Chinese capital has been tight ever since the date of the Congress was announced two weeks ago. Among the sea of red flags and Communist Party banners in Tiananmen Square are significant numbers of security officials.

As well as regular police, military police and plain-clothes officers, the Communist Party has the support of an estimated 1.4 million volunteers recognisable by their red armbands.

Chinese paramilitary policemen guard in front of the Great Hall Of The People Chinese paramilitary policemen guard the Great Hall Of The People

The sale of knives has been suspended along with remote-control planes and helicopters.

There are reports that bus companies and taxi drivers have been ordered to seal their vehicle windows shut to stop protesters from distributing anti-government flyers on Beijing's traffic-clogged streets.

During Hu's "golden decade" as leader, China has become the world's second largest economy. In 2002 it had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $1.45trn (£900bn), smaller than that of the UK. Today its GDP stands at $7.3trn (£4.5trn).

But with the quite remarkable economic growth have come significant problems.

US President Barack Obama (R) meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao during meetings at the Winfield House, the US Ambassador's residence in London Mr Hu (left, with Barack Obama in 2009) led China for the "golden decade"

Culturally and socially the country has moved very little. Rampant corruption is a huge issue. The gap between the rich and the poor has widened significantly and industrialisation has produced environmental problems on a devastating scale.

Take all these factors together and then combine them with a population which is much more technologically connected and geographically mobile than it was 10 years ago and the result could be extremely tricky for the incoming leadership team.

That new team, the "Standing Committee", will be revealed at the end of the Congress next Wednesday. The identity of the seven members - it is to be reduced by two - will not be confirmed until they walk onto the stage of the Great Hall.


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Guatemala Earthquake: At Least 48 Dead

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck off the Pacific coast of Guatemala, killing at least 48 people, injuring another 155 and destroying scores of homes.

The quake, which hit at 10.35am in the midst of the work day, caused terror over an unusually wide area, with damage reported in all but one of Guatemala's 22 states.

It also sparked a tsunami alert on the El Salvador coast and evacuations from offices, homes and schools as far north as Mexico City, 600 miles to the northwest.

President Otto Perez Molina, at a news conference, said 40 people died in the province of San Marcos and eight more were killed in the neighbouring province of Quetzaltenango.

He said: "One thing is to hear about what happened and another thing entirely is to see it. As a Guatemalan I feel sad ... to see mothers crying for their lost children."

Guatemala map San Marcos bore the brunt of the quake

The mountain town of San Marcos, where more than 30 homes collapsed, bore the brunt of the quake's fury.

It was some 80 miles from the epicentre.

More than 300 people, including firefighters and policemen, tried to dig through half a ton of sand at a quarry in the commercial centre of San Marcos in a desperate attempt to rescue seven people believed buried alive.

Among those under the sand was a six-year-old boy who had accompanied his grandfather to work.

Mr Perez flew to San Marcos to view the damage in the lush mountainous region of 50,000 indigenous farmers and ranchers, many belonging to the Mam ethnic group.

Damaged houses in San Marcos More than 30 homes collapsed in San Marcos

The president said the government would pay for the funerals of all victims in the poor region.

Hundreds of people crammed into the hallways of the small town hospital waiting for medical staff to help injured family members, some complaining they were not getting care quickly enough.

Mr Perez said more than 2,000 soldiers were deployed from a base in San Marcos to help with the disaster.

The quake, which was 20 miles deep, was centred 15 miles off the coastal town of Champerico and 100 miles southwest of Guatemala City.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit Guatemala since a 1976 trembler that killed 23,000.


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Obama Tells US: 'The Best Is Yet To Come'

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 07 November 2012 | 16.15

Barack Obama has promised that the "best is yet to come" for the US after winning another four years at the White House.

Following a bitter and costly election campaign, the Democrat president easily overcame his Republican challenger Mitt Romney - taking seven of the nine key battleground states.

Mr Romney won in North Carolina but Mr Obama swept to victory in Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Wisconsin, Virginia and Colorado.

With Florida the last swing state left to call, he has 303 electoral college votes to Mr Romney's 206 and is well over the crucial threshold of 270.

Barack Obama tweeting a picture after his victory in the 2012 presidential election. Obama confirmed his win on Twitter - it's now the most-retweeted tweet ever

The president was also ahead in the national popular vote, with the country-wide exit poll putting him on 50% - two points ahead of his Republican challenger.

This is despite his popularity plunging since he was swept into the White House on a wave of hope in 2008 and unemployment currently standing at 7.9%.

:: READ MORE - Live Election Updates

Jubilation grew through the night in Chicago as it became clear Mr Obama was going to be re-elected.

Once Mr Romney had conceded by phone, the president appeared on stage to rapturous cheers as Stevie Wonder's hit Signed, Sealed, Delivered played.

"In this election, you the American people reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back," he said.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivers his concession speech during his election night rally in Boston, Massachusetts. Mitt Romney walking out onto the stage in Boston

"We know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come."

He declared that he was returning to the White House "more determined and more inspired than ever ... about the future."

Before appearing in person, he had told his supporters via Twitter: "This happened because of you. Thank you," and: "We're all in this together. That's how we campaigned and that's who we are. Thank you".

In a third post, he said simply: "Four more years," and posted a picture of himself hugging his wife Michelle.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama embrace Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden moments after the television networks called the election in their favor, while watching election returns at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 6, 2012. The Obamas and Bidens after their victory was called

He also wrote an email, promising to "spend the rest of my presidency honouring your support, and doing what I can to finish what we started".

"Today is the clearest proof yet that, against the odds, ordinary Americans can overcome powerful interests," he said, adding: "There's a lot more work to do."

In Washington, thousands of well-wishers danced and waved flags outside the White House after the result became clear - chanting "four more years" and "USA, USA".

Crowds whooped and cried out "Obama, Obama" and gave high-fives to strangers as election fever swept across the city.

The contest had been billed as one of the tightest races for the White House in decades but ultimately, Mr Obama won comfortably.

His victory appeared to be a vindication for a campaign team that had predicted a close but winnable election - despite the pain of the deepest economic crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.

Romney campaign staff in Boston were shocked as Democrat victories piled up and Republican supporters looked increasingly devastated as they realised their dream was over.

People standing in the crowd react while watching election results displayed on a television during Mitt Romney's campaign election night event at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on November 6, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts. Romney supporters absorbing the result

The candidate, who was watching the result in the city, rang Mr Obama to concede once he lost Ohio and then briefly addressed the crowds.

"This is a time of great challenges for America and I pray that the president is successful in guiding our nation," he said.

The Republican thanked his running mate Paul Ryan and his family, calling wife Ann "the love of my life" and saying "she would have been a wonderful first lady".

He added: "Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given everything to this campaign. I so wish that I had been able to fulfil your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader."

Mr Romney had earlier revealed he had written a 1,118-word victory speech and claimed he had not prepared anything in case he lost.

Until last month, the Republican was considered to have little chance of ousting Mr Obama after his campaign was damaged by a string of gaffes.

However, a lacklustre performance by the president in the first television debate turned the race on its head and Mr Romney surged back in the polls.

The incumbent was much stronger in the second and third debates, but it was not enough to derail the Romney campaign.

The Empire State Building is lit blue after Obama wins the presidential election on election night. The Empire State Building turns blue after Barack Obama's victory

Better than expected employment figures last week helped bolster the Democrat and then fate also played a hand when Hurricane Sandy roared in.

The superstorm forced Mr Romney into the shade as campaigning was suspended and Mr Obama returned to presidential duties, but the pair was still neck-and-neck going into the final day.

Once the euphoria of another victory fades, the president will face a tough task enacting his second-term agenda, after Republicans - who thwarted him repeatedly in his first term - retained control of the House of Representatives.

Democrats kept the Senate but fell short of the 60-vote super majority needed to pass major legislation over Republican blocking tactics.

Two Republican Senate candidates, Richard Mourdock in Indiana and Todd Akin in Missouri, both lost their seats after making controversial remarks about rape during the campaign.


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Syria: Assad Could Leave, Says David Cameron

David Cameron has suggested that Syria's president Bashar al Assad could be allowed safe passage out of the country if it would guarantee an end to the nation's civil war.

In an interview with Sky News Arabia, the Prime Minister said the international community is not doing enough to stop the fighting and a "political road map" was needed to see Mr Assad leave.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi on the second day of a three-day tour of the Gulf and Middle East, he added that he was committed to work with the opposition both within and outside the country to help bring about a transition.

"I am certainly not offering (Assad) an exit plan to Britain, but if he wants to leave, he could leave, that could be arranged," Mr Cameron said.

Activists say that since Syria's unrest began in March 2011, more than 36,000 people have been killed.

David Cameron Mr Cameron is on a tour of the Middle East

The conflict is now stuck in a military stalemate, which rebel fighters blame on a lack of strategic weapons, such as anti-aircraft missiles.

Appearing on Al Arabiya television about Mr Assad, Mr Cameron continued: "Of course, I would favour him facing the full force of international law and justice for what he's done."

The Prime Minister has previously called the failure of world powers to halt the Assad regime's assault on its opponents a "terrible stain" on the reputation of the deadlocked United Nations.

Syria's allies Russia and China have repeatedly blocked attempts to approve harsher sanctions in the Security Council.

Meanwhile, fighting continues a day after nearly 250 people died in the country's worst violence in weeks and rebels launched one of their deadliest attacks yet.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 247 people were killed on Monday, including 93 soldiers and pro-regime fighters, in the deadliest day in Syria since an attempt to impose a ceasefire for the October Eid al Adha Muslim holiday collapsed.

Another car bomb struck early on Tuesday, causing injuries and significant damage in the city of Mudamiya near the capital, the Observatory said.

The regime also renewed a campaign of air strikes pounding rebel positions, with fighter jets dropping at least two bombs in the heart of the town of Douma, eight miles northeast of the capital.

Syrian state television has also reported that Mohammad al Laham, brother of parliament speaker Jihad al Laham, was "assassinated by terrorists" in Damascus.


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Obama's Home City Enjoys His Victory

By Gary Mitchell, in Chicago

In a small bar in the north of Barack Obama's adopted home city of Chicago, roar after roar was deafening.

His rival's fate seemed certain as a series of key states were called in the president's favour.

When a TV anchor finally confirmed that Mr Obama was projected to stay in the White House, the regulars at St Andrew's Inn punched the air, screamed with delight and clapped for a good 30 seconds. At least two were seen with tears in their eyes.

It was scene that must have been repeated in countless bars, homes and other places around the city and the country.

Everyone knew it was incomparable to the elation that greeted the election of the first black president in 2008, but that did not matter.

Mr Obama's supporters felt a sense of joy at the victory, as well as relief that a gruelling fight that had dragged on for many months, and in many states, was finally at an end.

Julius Lamar, owner of St Andrew's Inn Bar owner Julius Lamar had the champagne flowing

A clearly emotional St Andrew's bar owner Julius Lamar, who cracked open a case of champagne and handed out glasses on the house, said he wanted to be alone so he could cry.

"I was crying four years ago, but for a different reason," he said.

"Then, it was because we had the first African-American president. Now, it's not just because I'm black and he's black - it's because I know I've still got a guy in the White House who is looking out for people like me.

Liz Andrew Liz Andrew: 'alienated' by Romney

"If it had been Romney, I wouldn't have had a guy in power speaking on my behalf. He was just about making rich people feel better."

Darrell and Tiffany Dixon, 28 and 30, are expecting their first child together. Mr Dixon said: "I feel better about bringing a child into the world with Obama in power."

Mr Dixon is traditionally a Republican, but chose to vote for Mr Obama in this election because he felt Mitt Romney was a "shady character" and he trusted Mr Obama with the economy. He bought a round of shots to celebrate.

He said: "It's no holds barred now - Obama isn't going to be fighting for election in his second term so he can achieve a lot more."

Mrs Dixon is a seasoned Democrat - describing herself as Darrell's "tree-hugging wife" - and said Mr Obama's victory gave her hope.

"The economy is going to be turned around, in time, under Obama - people are going to get jobs again.

"I feel a lot better. I feel relieved."

Drake Burrell Drake Burrell: 'amazing' victory

Ray and Jacque Ames, 65 and 59, entered the pub moments after the election was called for Mr Obama.

"We were watching at home and we just felt like it was time to be with other people," Ray said as he took a seat at the bar.

Regina Wiethrop, 37, said: "This means more change for the better can happen in the next four years."

Kareem Dixon, 33, said: "I feel incredibly relieved and I feel a sense of hope that Americans were able to choose the right person."

Drake Burrell, 30, said: "I feel amazing. Romney would have pulled us back years.

"He's going to stop more people going through what I did as a young boy, growing up in poverty."

Greg Kokes, Regina Wiethop and Kareem Dixon Greg Kokes, Regina Wiethop and Kareem Dixon

Mitt Romney is thought to have suffered badly among women voters because of his views on abortion rights among other issues. Among those he alienated was Liz Andrew, 27, who said: "I grew up in a house full of women. Romney cannot relate to us."

Bob Oehehmen, 56, who wore an Obama-Biden T-shirt and an anti-Republican badge, said he was "satisfied". "It's the right result."

But Angel Garcia, president of Chicago Young Republicans, was swallowing defeat along with hundreds of fellow Romney supporters at another venue in the city.

Taking a phone call from Sky News from St Andrew's Inn, he said: "We're disappointed now, of course. It's not what we wanted.

"We felt a lot of energy during the campaign, but we knew it would be close. But we take comfort in that we had a strong vote, we can still proudly say we are a serious party with serious support."


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Election: Final Push In Race To White House

Written By Unknown on Senin, 05 November 2012 | 16.15

Who Will Win The Presidency?

Updated: 12:54am UK, Monday 05 November 2012

By Adam Boulton, Political Editor

In predicting who is going to be the next US president, all we have to go on are the opinion polls - the rest comes down to hunches and conscious or unconscious prejudice.

What's more, opinion polls in America are particularly unreliable. Polling just a few thousand people in a country where around 140 million are expected to vote is a risky business.

In many polls the margin of error, typically plus or minus 3%, is much bigger than the arithmetical 'lead' enjoyed by the top candidate.

There are also differences in the representative sample used by the pollsters. For example, that venerable organisation Gallup seems consistently to favour the Republicans by as much as 6% more than its rivals in national opinion polls.

As things stand, national opinion polls are mostly a dead heat, when a margin of error is allowed for.

Mr Obama's popularity declined after his poor performance in the debate on October 3 and he has not recovered his big lead since then. But Mr Romney had no "momentum" by the beginning of November.

At the weekend, the RealClearPolitics (RCP) National Poll Average stood at 47.5% for Mr Obama and 47.3% for Mr Romney.

Mr Obama is clearly not on course to do as well as he did in 2008 against John McCain when he polled 52.9% of votes cast compared to 45.7% for the Republican.

Indeed conventional wisdom has now placed at least two of the states he won then - Indiana and North Carolina - firmly in the Republican column.

National opinion polls reflect the popular vote across the country, and winning that is not how you get to be president. You win the election by winning the vote state by state, thus stacking up the majority of the 538 electoral college votes.

It's perfectly possible to win the popular vote and lose the electoral college. That's what Al Gore did against George W Bush in 2000. And it's what some Republicans fear Mr Romney may do this time.

So to work out who is going to sleep in the White House next January, you need to follow the state polls.

Working from this data America's leading analysts have come up with different snapshots of the state of the electoral race.

With 270 college votes needed to win, RCP allocates 201 to Mr Obama, 191 to Mr Romney and 146 votes in 11 states to play for.

Calling states on a solid and leaning basis, the Washington Post gives Mr Obama 243 electoral votes, Mr Romney 181, with 89 up for grabs in the toss up states - Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Nate Silver at the New York Times' controversial FiveThirtyEight blog makes a different probability-based analysis of the same polling data. 

He says there is now an 85.1% chance of Mr Obama being re-elected compared to just 14.9% that Mr Romney will become the 45th POTUS.  He calculates final electoral vote share at 306.9 for Mr Obama compared to 231.1 for Mr Romney.

You get a similar result if you apply the latest state polls to the toss-up states in the Washington Post and RCP models. With two days to go these state polls do not point to a dead heat - they suggest that Mr Obama is going to be re-elected.

In the latest polls from most of the swing states - Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Virginia and above all Ohio - the President is ahead, not by much but consistently. He has also edged ahead in Florida, where he held his biggest rally on Sunday.

The Romney campaign shifted its focus to Pennsylvania at the weekend, in an attempt to suggest that more states than the usual suspects may be in play. But here and in Minnesota and Michigan, which the Republicans are also citing, the latest polls are also against them.

David Axelrod, Mr Obama's campaign chief, has promised to shave off his moustache if the President loses any of these three.

So why is there such confidence among Republicans that their man will win? Basically they say the opinion polls are wrong - and they point to surveys of early voting which show that Mr Obama's support amongst key voters is well down on 2008.

This argument, best articulated by George W Bush's old aide Karl Rove in the Wall St Journal, says the pollsters are over-representing democrats in their samples. On the ground they say Democrats are de-motivated to vote, while Republicans are fired up, and independents are breaking their way.

No wonder so many pundits are sitting on the fence, pointing out that this is a very close race according to the polls - with Mr Obama's edge in most circumstances in the margins of error.

Those who are making a guess, have to fall back on hunches and rules of thumb.

There are plenty of personal bellweathers to choose from.

No president since Franklin D Roosevelt has ever been re-elected with unemployment this high (although at 7.9% it is only a tenth of a per cent above the level where they have been returned).

At the start of the campaign, 25% of the electorate said the would never vote for a Mormon.

"As goes Ohio, so goes the nation" is pretty good but not infallible, but it is the case that no Republican has ever won without carrying what pundits insist on calling the Buckeye [i.e. Conker] State.

Then there are the lessons from recent history.

Incumbent presidents generally have some squatter's advantage. In modern times the only two incumbent presidents denied re-election have been George Bush senior and Jimmy Carter. But both had stronger negatives against them than Mr Obama.

Mr Bush's 1988 election pledge "read my lips no new taxes" was a demonstrable lie by 1992, while in 1980 Mr Carter was humiliated by  American hostages held in Iran and a disastrous military mission to rescue them.

In contrast, Mr Obama presided over the killing of Osama bin Laden, economic indicators are at last moving in the right direction, and he's enjoyed high approval and endorsement in the past week for his handling of Hurricane Sandy.

It's also the case that the more charismatic candidate tends to win the presidency. Mr Carter outshone Gerald Ford but was put in the shade by Ronald 'Morning in America' Reagan; the reserved George Walker Bush was no match for 'Slick Willy' Clinton.

This year, by common consent, Mr Obama has the star power although Mr Romney is making the best of his buttoned-up big businessman demeanour.

Fifty-one-year-old Mr Obama is playing the man of the people: most often open-necked, shouting till he is hoarse and allowing himself the occasional blunt epithet such as "bull****er" about his opponent.

A well-preserved 65-year-old Mr Romney presents more formally as a president in waiting, he's even had his campaign plane painted to look like Air Force One. He's less inclined to dive into the crowd and typically delivers more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger pep talks about the state of Mr Obama's nation. A bit like the harangues most managers subject their employees to these days.

There is also a clear choice between the two men's visions of America - although both claim they are the man to unite the country across the political divide.

Arguing "we are all in this together" Mr Obama argues that government has a role in directing the country, the rich he says, need to contribute more.

Mr Romney champions the private sector, volunteers and individuals. He argues that lower taxes, even for the better off, will benefit all.

So who do I think will win?

I think it's unlikely that all the polls are as wrong as they would have to be for a Republican victory.

I note that the Republicans are under-performing in their ambitions for the US Congress - unlikely to take control of the Senate and set to lose a few seats in the House.

It also seems to me that the Republican Party is a house divided against itself. With powerful voices on the right such as the Tea Party pulling it along way from the centrist ground which saw Mr Nixon, Mr Reagan and even the Bushes first elected. If Mr Romney is elected, I suspect that the internal rows are only just beginning. Swing voters don't like divided parties.

Shifts in the US population do not favour Republicans - if this was a 'whites only' election Mr Romney would be home and dry. But as the Republican Senator Linsey Graham quipped this summer: "We are not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term."

Disappointment yes, almost everywhere, but I don't detect widespread anger and contempt for Mr Obama. The mood seems more to press on in hard times. A mood which may well have been strengthened by the travails of Hurricane Sandy in this closing week.

So my guess is that the President will be re-elected taking Ohio and probably Florida. But it is only a guess, America has two credible leaders to take it forward.

But most of the real votes have not been cast yet in spite of early polling, and they won't be until Tuesday.

Paddy Power is already paying out on an Mr Obama victory. If you've got a bet on, my advice is to get down to the bookies ASAP.


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Child Killed In Wild Dog Area At Pittsburgh Zoo

A two-year-old has been killed at Pittsburgh Zoo in the US after he fell off a railing into an enclosure for wild dogs.

Police say the boy's mother put him on top of the railing to view the African painted dogs.

He then fell 11 feet into the enclosure, where he was attacked by the wild animals.

Visitors to the zoo immediately told staff members when the boy fell from the railing.

Zookeepers called off the dogs, and seven of them immediately withdrew from the child.

Three other dogs were eventually drawn away from the boy, but the last dog had to be shot.

Map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The accident occurred at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in Pennsylvania

Barbara Baker, the president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, said staff "tried everything" to save the boy.

"They responded immediately when visitors alerted them to the fact that a child was in the yard," she said.

"They responded immediately and were able to get several of the dogs into the backup building."

Police said it was unclear whether the boy died from the fall, or from injuries inflicted by the dogs.

African wild dogs are also known as cape hunting dogs, spotted dogs, and painted wolves.

They have large, rounded ears and dark brown circles around their eyes and are considered endangered.

Lieutenant Kevin Kraus, of Pittsburgh police, described the accident as "horrific".

Authorities are yet to release the name of the boy or his 34-year-old mother.


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Call To End 'Gang Warfare' In Obama's Chicago

By Gary Mitchell, in Chicago

Matt DeMateo clearly remembers the day he had to tell his five-year-old daughter that her schoolmate had been shot dead on a porch.

The girl, Aliyah Shell, aged six, was an innocent victim in one of the hundreds of shootings that have blighted some of Chicago's poorest communities this year.

Her death in March refocused attention on gun violence in America and led to the Windy City's mayor, Rahm Emanuel, publicly challenging the unknown killer, telling a news conference: "How dare you?"

In some of Chicago's most deprived areas, where Barack Obama prepared for his political career as a community activist, people such as Mr DeMateo are hoping whoever is elected president will act to end the bloodshed.

Guns are easily bought in his neighbourhood of Little Village, in the west of the city.

Matt DeMateo runs a mentoring scheme for young offenders in Little Village, Chicago. A youth in Matt DeMateo's mentoring scheme was shot dead earlier this year

The 30-year-old pointed to scenes of shootings on virtually every block as he gave Sky News a tour of the area.

They are easy to spot because they are often marked with shrines made of beer bottles left by fellow gang members. Gang graffiti tags are everywhere.

He told how Aliyah's murder just a short drive from the house he shares with his wife and three children left his daughter fearing that they too would be shot.

"When you see and hear those kind of things growing up in a neighbourhood, it has a deep effect on people," he said. "It's traumatic."

Mr DeMateo runs a mentoring scheme for teenagers who have been put on probation for firearms offences.

Gang graffiti in Chicago's Little Village. Gangs use graffiti to taunt rivals in Little Village

He said his employer, Christian organisation New Life Centres, has had huge success turning young people's lives around and he insisted the area is mostly a vibrant and friendly community, not the "Godforsaken place" he said it is often portrayed as.

Sporting events run by the centre along with the YMCA tend to coincide with a drop in violence reported to police, he said, because teenagers who would otherwise be causing trouble are off the streets.

But he said they face an uphill battle as rival gang factions, whose members include boys as young as 13, engage in a turf war in which innocent victims such as Aliyah Shell are caught in the crossfire. The shooting in which she died was a retaliation for the killing of a 19-year-old man who had been helped by New Life Centres.

"We try to show young people that there's more to life than violence, but it's hard," he said. "There's no magic bullet. It's not easy to keep hearing moms wailing at funerals. I don't want to hear that sound any more."

Mr DeMateo questions whether his organisation's funding could be hit if Mr Obama were to lose to Mitt Romney, although the president is currently predicted by polls to be in line for a second term in the White House.

Emmy Lozano's grandson is in a gang. Emmy Lozano's grandson, 16, is a member of a gang

"A lot of the things we've got in the neighbourhood could be cut back," he said. "It could be harmful."

Emmy Lozano, 56, has lived in Little Village for 30 years. Each night as she goes to bed, she wonders if she will see her 16-year-old grandson alive again.

The boy, Manuel, has been sucked into a gang and not long ago he needed surgery after rivals set upon him, smashing his elbow with a plank of wood. She found him bleeding in the street.

"The president needs to do more for us," said Ms Lozano. "We need more money here. We have so many empty plots of land that aren't being used - why can't they create green spaces where these kids have something to do?

"It's scary here. I want to leave. I hear gunshots every week. We've lost a lot of young kids and too many mothers have suffered."

Torn Obama posters in Chicago's South Side. Support for Mr Obama remains strong - these posters are in the South Side

One ex-gang member helped by Mr DeMateo's team, a 17-year-old who cannot be named, told Sky News how he was arrested when he was 14 for carrying a gun. "I was on my way to kill a guy from another gang. I don't know why, I just had it in my head to do it."

He had joined a gang a year earlier when he started using marijuana and cocaine. "It was dumb. Being in a gang seemed like a good life. It was all b*******."

Chicago's murder rates have fallen in the past 10 years, but so far this year more than 440 people have been killed - greater than the death toll for all of last year. The murder rate here is higher than in New York or Los Angeles.

The city has attempted to deploy extra police to the worst-hit areas, but Mr DeMateo shrugs when he is asked about the police. "Police alone aren't the answer," he said. "There are many parts to the puzzle. We need to get to the cause of the problem."

A few miles away from Little Village, in Chicago's South Side, Father Michael Pfleger spent Sunday morning urging his congregation to vote and offering them free lifts to polling stations.

The unconventional Catholic priest at Saint Sabina's church is one of the city's most outspoken critics of guns and says he wants "whoever the next president may be" to ban assault weapons. Outside his church is a glass display containing pictures of local people who have been gunned down.

Fr Pfleger is quite a presence as he preaches in a style hard not to compare to an evangelist. On Sunday he danced to gospel music against the backdrop of a huge painting of a black Jesus and in front of a predominantly African-American audience before telling them: "You must vote. It is your obligation."

There is clear support for Mr Obama here - one parishioner was wearing a jacket bearing a large print of a smiling president, while others wore T-shirts branded with the Obama campaign logo.

Fr Pfleger hinted at his own liberal political leanings when he said things such as: "You can't be pro-life and not be against strong gun control in the community where these guns are killing our children."

Parts of Auburn Gresham, in Chicago's South Side, are run down. Parts of the South Side show signs of neglect and lack green spaces

After the Mass he told Sky News the local neighbourhood of Auburn Gresham had recently seen a drop in shootings after several gangs agreed to stop fighting. He hopes gang members stick to the truce, but says that cannot happen unless jobs or education opportunities are found for them.

"Communities have post-traumatic stress from this violence that's rampaged... where teddy bears and police tape have become the new landmarks," he said.

"It's an undeclared war in urban America, but America has pretty much turned its back because the primary victim of this war is black and brown, and so they've ignored it.

"Whoever becomes the next president on Tuesday, we've got to put the pressure on them to deal with the guns, violence, education and poverty."

Asked if he felt it was Mr Obama's direct responsibility to tackle the issue, he said: "I don't think anybody in America or in the last generation of presidents has done enough to deal with violence. Part of that is our fault - we haven't forced them."

Korn Nash believes the media overplays violence in his neighbourhood. Koron Nash thinks the media exaggerates violence in his neighbourhood

Koron Nash, 32, who works for a scheme that finds jobs for young people in Auburn Gresham, said it was "unfair" to expect Mr Obama to do everything and said the media made too much of violence in the city.

"The majority of people here are good people," he said. "There is violence, there is anger, but I don't have a problem with that anger - it's just directed at the wrong people.

"We've got brothers shooting brothers, instead of directing that frustration at getting out of the mess that they're in."

His friend Tina Wallace, 35, a stay-at-home mother, said: "Things aren't as bad as they used to be."

Teacher Delores Wedgeworth, who lives near the church, said people were "realistic" that Mr Obama cannot tackle violence on his own.

"We know it's not going to happen overnight, that unemployment is just going to go away. But it's human nature to be impatient."


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Chicago: First US Gun Tax 'Will Stem Carnage'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 04 November 2012 | 16.15

By Gary Mitchell, in Chicago

A leading anti-gun campaigner has told Sky News a new tax on guns will help end "carnage" on the streets of Chicago - where firearms now change hands for as little as $20.

There have been more than 440 murders in Barack Obama's adopted home city so far this year, surpassing last year's total of 435.

Most involved gang shootings in the south and west of the city. It has been dubbed America's "murder capital" with a higher rate of killings than New York or Los Angeles.

Cook County, which takes in Chicago, is believed to be the first city in the US to introduce a firearms tax. It was approved by county officials on Friday.

Father Michael Pfleger, pastor of St Sabina Church in the city's South Side, said the $25 levy is a start.

"Guns are causing carnage on our streets," he said.

"Anything that makes them harder to get hold of, no matter how small, is to be welcomed.

Father Michael Pfleger Father Michael Pfleger has lobbied hard over gun laws

"We tax things like alcohol and cigarettes, but we haven't been taxing firearms.

"But I'd prefer if the tax was a lot higher, and if every single bullet was taxed."

A proposed tax of five cents per bullet was abandoned by Cook County because the tax would, in some cases, have exceeded the price of ammunition.

Officials said nearly a third of guns used in Chicago crimes were purchased legally in Cook County.

However, despite the surge in fatal shootings, gun control is not one of the big issues in the current presidential race - it was discussed only briefly in the second election debate.

Mr Obama, who has been attempting to win over conservative voters in battleground states, has refrained from stricter restrictions.

Father Pfleger, whose church is in the troubled Englewood area, has for years been lobbying for stronger gun laws, which are opposed by the National Rifle Association.

No fewer than 12 people have been shot dead in the three-square-mile Englewood district since the start of this year, according to RedEye, which tracks the latest figures from Chicago police and hospitals.

It lies a short drive away from the Kenwood family home of Mr Obama, who was a community activist in the South Side before entering politics. A man was shot a block away from his mansion in August.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel

In the summer, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel was in Englewood to announce a move to secure or demolish vacant buildings to stop gangs using them as gathering places.

He has also attempted to increase policing in the worst-hit areas, but the death toll continues to rise and the police force has been hit with budget cuts.

Hermene Hartman, publisher of N'Digo, a Chicago magazine focused on African-Americans, said the South Side was like a "war zone". Whoever ends up in the White House for the next four years needs to do more to focus on urban crime, she said.

"Nobody is talking about urban America, the fear that people suffer," she told Sky News.

"Here in Chicago, people have been dying in greater numbers than in Afghanistan.

"People are afraid of letting their kids go to school, play outside. They fear doing everyday things because people are being killed.

"How do we figure out what's making these kids so violent? We've got to focus on these crime areas."

Cook County's gun tax is expected to raise $600,000 (£375,000) next year, which will be contributed to healthcare for survivors of shootings.

The tax has been criticised by the Illinois State Rifle Association, which said people will simply travel elsewhere to buy guns.


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Syrian Tanks 'Cross Into Israeli-Held Territory'

Israel says three Syrian tanks have entered the demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights for the first time in 40 years.

Israel restricted its response to complaining to the UN peacekeepers who monitor the de facto truce in the area, which was captured from Syria in 1967.

But the entry highlights the threat of the ever-worsening conflict spreading beyond its borders.

It was not immediately clear why the tanks had crossed the frontier, but Israeli media said the tanks had been in combat in the Syrian village of Beer Ajam where rebels have been trying to overthrow President Bashar al Assad.

Stray ordnance has previously exploded on the Israeli side as Syrian forces have conducted operations nearby.

Rebels also launched a major assault on the Taftanaz airbase in the northern province of Idlib, which is used to deploy regime air power.

Video posted on the internet is said to show rebel fighters firing rockets at the airbase, and being fired on as they try to secure a strategic north-south corridor.

Map of Golan Heights, Syria Israel seized the Golan Heights in 1967

The attack on the Taftanaz base, from where helicopter gunships raid opposition positions and rebel-held areas, comes after troops launched an unprecedented wave of air strikes to try to reverse the rebels' gains.

The video said eight battalions were taking part in the attack, including the radical Islamist Al-Nusra Front.

It showed a missile launcher mounted on the back of a pick-up truck firing on regime positions.

The development came as video emerged from Syria which purportedly shows rebels filming as an attack jet targeted them.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists on the ground, said an operation had begun "to liberate the Taftanaz airbase".

Analysts said rebel forces clearly have the momentum in the battle for Syria's northwest.

"The rebels' gains in the north seem irreversible," said Thomas Pierret, a Syria expert at the University of Edinburgh's Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies department.

He said regime forces appeared to be concentrating their efforts in the region on defending the embattled commercial hub of Aleppo, which has been cut off from Damascus and the Mediterranean coast due to rebel advances in the past month.

"The problem with this strategy is that the Aleppo garrisons are now largely isolated. It is likely they will fall in the months to come," he said.

The fresh clashes came as the opposition prepared for key talks starting in Qatar on Sunday, where the United States is expected to push for a new umbrella organisation to unite the country's fractured regime opponents.


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Obama And Romney Hit Key US Swing States

The King Is Dead Long Live The King

Updated: 6:26pm UK, Saturday 03 November 2012

By Kay Burley, In Las Vegas

Elvis rocked the '60s with Viva Las Vegas. Almost half a century later and the two presidential candidates are hoping they can do the same.

Nevada is one of a handful of crucial swing states which will decide whether there's a new man at the White House or the present incumbent stays at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for four more years.

Such then is the importance of the Silver State to both candidates that the President broke off from visiting those worst affected by superstorm Sandy to make a flying visit to Vegas.

Mitt Romney has also spent much of his time in the desert gambling on being able to woo the locals.

Barack Obama is counting on the Latino, Hispanic and female vote. Mr Romney is hoping for some divine intervention with the support of fellow Mormons, who make up 10% of the vote in Nevada.

In fact, so deep is their faith, they put aside contempt for drinkers and gamblers and reluctantly attended a celebration party in a Vegas casino when their man won the party nomination here.

It was all so different four years ago. Back in 2008, Mr Obama found it easy to walk voters up the aisle of the little White Chapel where thousands of others tie the knot each year in Vegas.

He won the state convincingly with a 12-point margin. But did the President not pay his new companions enough attention? Could he be heading for a messy divorce in 2012?

The Obama campaign is spending a fortune on TV advertising to try to make sure they forget any indiscretions and give him another chance.

Vegas residents are bombarded with more political ads than any other viewers in the country. Apparently those watching the local news, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are particularly vulnerable to the TV appeals.

So what's the message? Well, the challenges of the economy have taken their toll on the USA and Nevada in particular. No longer are the streets paved with gold, certainly not for the residents at least.

If the issues this time are jobs and the economy then it should be easy for Mr Romney to convince the voters here to say "I do".

Nevada has the highest unemployment in the country (11.8% in September) and 60% of mortgages are underwater - negative equity - here, that's almost three times higher than the national average.

The city of northern Las Vegas has been described as the Ground Zero of the housing market. Foreclosure racked neighbourhoods sprawl way beyond the strip - and beneath it too.

More than 1000 people live in dirty, rat-infested underground flood tunnels way beneath Caesar's Palace and the Luxor casino hotels.

Disease and highly poisonous spiders are the major concern. Begging and "dumpster diving" for food is how they survive.

Many of those who call this home are former war veterans or those who came to Las Vegas in pursuit of the American dream.

Drink, drugs and depression are now their way of life. So, who do the residents of underground Vegas want to win on Tuesday?

I'll be finding out as I spend the next few days broadcasting for Sky News from Nevada.

But it's not just Vegas baby. There are another half a dozen swing states where the election can be won and lost.

My Sky News colleagues have fanned out from Washington to Florida, Ohio to Colorado to find out who the American people want to see victorious on Tuesday.

Using wireless digilinks we'll have correspondents strolling down mainstreet Des Moines and beach side Tampa. We'll be presenting across all the US time zones and have a pop up newsroom in Chicago.

Coverage starts in quite reserved Las Vegas with quite reserved me at 0600 Monday morning. Worth remembering that Nevada has backed the winning candidate in every election since 1976.

By early Wednesday morning UK time we should know who'll be King of Vegas and most probably the USA for the next four years.


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