Abuse Victim's Apology To Lord McAlpine

A child abuse victim has apologised to former Tory Party treasurer Lord McAlpine after confirming he was not the man responsible for abusing him as a teenager.

Steve Messham was said to have issued a statement offering his "sincere and humble apologies" to the peer.

In a statement quoted by the BBC, Mr Messham said: "After seeing a picture in the past hour of the individual concerned, this (is) not the person I identified by photograph presented to me by the police in the early 1990s, who told me the man in the photograph was Lord McAlpine.

"I want to offer my sincere and humble apologies to him and his family."

Earlier, Lord McAlpine broke cover to issue a vehement public denial of the "wholly false and seriously defamatory" claims against him.

He has been the subject of intense speculation since Mr Messham claimed on Newsnight last week he had been abused at a children's home in Wrexham, north Wales, by a senior Conservative from the Thatcher era.

The BBC has also apologised for broadcasting the interview. A spokesman said: "On November 2, Newsnight broadcast a report that looked into criticism of the North Wales Abuse Tribunal.

"The report included an interview with Steve Messham, an abuse victim who said that a senior political figure of the time had abused him.

Lord McAlpine vehemently denies the claims

"We broadcast Mr Messham's claim but did not identify the individual concerned. Mr Messham has tonight made a statement that makes clear he wrongly identified his abuser and has apologised. We also apologise unreservedly for having broadcast this report."

Representatives of Lord McAlpine said solicitors were preparing writs with a view to taking legal action against "all media who have defamed (his) reputation and published defamatory statements".

In his statement, Lord McAlpine said he had visited Wrexham "only once", and that that had been in the company of an agent from Conservative Central Office. They visited a relative of Lord McAlpine's and did not stay overnight, he said.

"I have never been to the children's home in Wrexham, nor have I ever visited any children's home, reform school or any other institution of a similar nature," Lord McAlpine said.

"I have never stayed in a hotel in or near Wrexham, I did not own a Rolls-Royce, have never had a 'Gold card' or 'Harrods card' and never wear aftershave, all of which have been alleged.

"I did not sexually abuse Mr Messham or any other residents of the children's home in Wrexham."

Lord McAlpine said he had been defamed by "ill or uninformed commentators" on the internet and "by innuendo" in the written and broadcast media.

A "substantial number of people" would have "reasonably inferred" that the allegations in the media had referred to him.

"Even though these allegations made of me by implication in the broadcast and print media, and made directly about me on the internet, are wholly false and seriously defamatory, I can no longer expect the broadcast and print media to maintain their policy of defaming me only by innuendo," he said.

"My name and the allegations are for all practical purposes linked and in the public domain and I cannot rewind the clock.

"I therefore have decided that in order to mitigate, if only to some small extent, the damage to my reputation I must publicly tackle these slurs and set the record straight."

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CIA Director Petraeus Quits Over Affair

Officials have said revelations about the affair that led to Friday's resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus were discovered during an FBI investigation.

The Associated Press cites anonymous government officials who were briefed on the reasons behind General Petraeus' sudden resignation.

It was unclear what the FBI was investigating or when it discovered the Petraeus affair.

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

Gen Petraeus said 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," Gen Petraeus 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.

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 Petraeus, whom he met when he was a cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point.

Although the president made no direct mention of 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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Cameron Hits Out At 'Trial By Twitter'

Number 10 has warned against a "trial by Twitter" over sexual abuse claims after David Cameron was handed a list of suspects on live television.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said in a briefing: "We should not have a trial by Twitter. People should not be throwing about unsubstantiated allegations."

He added: "There are lots of accusations flying round and many accusations on the internet. We need to be very careful.

"If there are allegations, they need to be looked at properly in the right way by the relevant authorities. People need to be cautious of the fact that naming names could have implications for future criminal prosecutions."

The fresh warning followed Mr Cameron expressing fears about a "witch hunt" of gay people after he was questioned about the claims during an interview.

He was given a list of suspected paedophiles by Phillip Schofield when he appeared on ITV's This Morning, where he was appearing to talk about dementia.

Schofield, who said he had found the names on a quick trawl of the internet, came under fire after accidentally exposing the list on camera as it was handed to the PM.

Mr Cameron did not look at it and put it on the table, before raising concerns about internet speculation over who might be embroiled in historic cases.

"There is a danger if we are not careful that this can turn into a sort of witch hunt, particularly about people who are gay, and I'm worried about the sort of thing you are doing right now, taking a list of names off the internet," he told Schofield.

"If anyone has any information about anyone who's a paedophile, no matter how high up in society they are, that is what the police are for."

He added: "I've heard all sorts of names bandied around and what then tends to happen is everyone sits around and speculates about people, some of whom are alive, some of whom are dead."

Mr Cameron insisted the Government was moving quickly to investigate new claims, which include allegations that a senior Conservative from the Thatcher era was involved in abuse in North Wales.

One of the alleged victims in that case, Steve Messham, has claimed he was regularly taken to a hotel and sold for sex - including to the politician.

The Prime Minister described the allegations as "extremely serious" and pointed out the Government had this week launched an inquiry into the Welsh care home scandal.

There are now a series of different investigations into historic allegations, with two into the Welsh case and others sparked by the Jimmy Savile scandal.

The Prime Minister defended the move not to set up a single inquiry to look at all the claims, insisting this would not necessarily be quicker.

"The idea that if you had one mega-inquiry that you would speed everything up, I'm not sure is true," he said.

"I don't rule out taking further steps. I want the Government to be absolutely on top of this, I don't want anything to be covered up, I don't want any information to be held back. If there are more things we have to do, we will do them.

"But we always have to remember it's very easy for governments just to stand up and say, 'Here's a new inquiry.' What we've got to do is get to the truth as fast as we possibly can."

Conservative MP Stuart Andrew, who was a councillor in Wrexham at the time of the original inquiry in the 1990s into the Welsh abuse, accused Schofield of mounting a "very cheap stunt".

Mr Andrew said: "It is not acceptable to take a cheap shot on something that is so fiercely sensitive. Anybody who has got any allegations to make must make them to the police, so they can be properly investigated."

Schofield later said in a statement: "If any viewer was able to identify anyone listed, I would like to apologise and stress that was never my intention.

"I was not accusing anyone of anything and it is essential that it is understood that I would never be part of any kind of witch hunt.

"Unfortunately, there may have been a misjudged camera angle for a split second as I showed the Prime Minister some information I had obtained from the internet.

"I asked for his reaction to give him the opportunity to make a point which he very clearly made about the dangers of any witch hunt."

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'Russian Breivik' Guns Down Six Colleagues

By Yulia Bragina, Moscow Producer

A man dubbed the "Russian Breivik" has admitted killing his colleagues because of unrequited love and hatred towards humanity.

Dmitri Vinogradov, 29, went to the office of local pharmacy chain Rigla in Moscow on Wednesday with two shotguns and a uniform hidden in his backpack.

He had been working as a lawyer for the company since 2008 so security staff did not check him when he entered the building.

Vinogradov changed his clothes in a toilet, loaded his weapons and ran into the finance department, greeted his colleagues and began shooting everyone in the room in the head.

Six people died in the rampage, and another victim is still fighting for her life in hospital.

Authorities called for a ban on Manhunt, which Vinogradov enjoyed playing

He was eventually overpowered by security guards while attempting to reload his weapons. He was found with 230 shotgun cartridges in his backpack.

Anna Kaznikova, the girl thought to be the cause of Vinogradov's frustration, told the Metro newspaper their relationship was purely platonic and that she stopped seeing him after he became increasingly possessive and aggressive.

According to investigators, he also admitted drinking for five days in a row before the shooting.

Vinogradov published a manifesto hours before the shooting on his page on the Russian social network website vKontakte.

In this document, he compared humanity to cancer and wrote that he hated society and life and the only way to justify his existence was to destroy as many units of "human fertiliser" as possible.

His page is still open and his manifesto has received 7,000 "likes" from other users.

Former colleagues said they never heard him express radical views, but his Vkontake page contains neo-Nazi posters.

According to his mother, Yelena Vinogradova, he was suffering from depression after the breakup and was taking medication.

She said: "He bought Anna a trip to Edinburgh, booked everything, paid for everything, and two days before he said 'I am not going anywhere'."

Vinogradova said after breaking up with his girlfriend he bought a rifle and went to shooting ranges outside Moscow to practice.

The ruling United Russia party has called for the computer game Manhunt, which Vinogradov is believed to have enjoyed playing, to be banned.

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Victorious Obama Heads Back To White House

Re-elected US President Barack Obama has arrived back in Washington, after offering to include his Republican rival in his plans to move the country forward.

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

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

With Florida still 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.

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%.

On Wednesday afternoon, the president was pictured boarding Air Force One in Chicago with his wife and two daughters, as he headed back to Washington.

Jubilation spread 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.

Mr Obama tried to unify the nation, saying: "In the weeks ahead I look forward to sitting down with governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward."

President Obama walks on stage with his family before his Chicago speech

He also said: "Despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our future. I have never been more hopeful about America.

"I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of individual ambitions."

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

The first US black president declared that he was returning to the White House "more determined and more inspired than ever ... about the future."

The Obamas and Bidens after their victory was called

Before appearing in person, the Democrat had told his supporters via Twitter: "This happened because of you. Thank you." Another tweet read: "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. This was retweeted more than half a million times - a Twitter record.

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.

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."

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.

Mitt Romney spoke to supporters after conceding defeat

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.

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

The hurricane, which was downgraded to a 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.

Republican strategist Karl Rove said the party should have made a better economic case against Mr Obama.

The Empire State Building turns blue after Barack Obama's victory

He said the Obama camp had managed to depict Mr Romney as a "heartless, cruel plutocrat".

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.

The Dow fell 2.8% - or 369 points - following the news of Mr Obama's re-election.

Read live updates from Sky's Ian Woods, Amanda Walker and Andrew Wilson in the US.

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Bradley Wiggins In Hospital After Bike Crash

Tour de France cycling champion and Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins is recovering in hospital after a collision with a vehicle.

Wiggins won the Tour de France with Team Sky

Wiggins, 32, was thrown off his bike when a white Vauxhall Astra Envoy is thought to have pulled out of a petrol station and collided with him.

A police source said his injuries from the crash were thought to be very serious at first, but later it appeared he suffered a number of broken ribs and cuts and bruises.

The accident happened at about 6pm on Wednesday in Wrightington, Lancashire, which is near to his family home in Eccleston.

Father-of-two Wiggins is known to regularly embark on training rides around the area's rural roads.

The driver of the Astra, a local woman, was uninjured.

Wiggins celebrates his time trial gold medal

A Lancashire Police spokesman said last night: "Police were called to the scene of a road traffic accident at Crow Orchard Road in Wrightington at about 6pm this evening.

"A cyclist has been involved in a collision with a white Vauxhall Astra car. The rider of the bike, a 32-year-old local man, was taken to hospital by ambulance with injuries not thought to be life-threatening. His family have been told."

Collision investigators visited the scene but the road did not need to be closed.

Garage attendant Yasmin Smith, who rushed to Wiggins's aid, told the Lancashire Evening Post: "By the time I got there he had moved to a safer place but was still on the ground and he was in a lot of pain.

Wiggins has become a household name after his summer successes

"He said he thought he had broken his ribs and while a lot of police cars arrived it was about 15 minutes before the ambulance got there, by which time he was blue."

In a statement on its website, Team Sky said: "We can confirm that on Wednesday evening Bradley Wiggins was involved in a road traffic accident whilst riding his bike near his home in Lancashire.

"He is being kept in hospital overnight for observation but the injuries he has sustained are not thought to be serious and he is expected to make a full and speedy recovery.

"We will announce more details in due course."

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Fresno Chicken Plant Shootings: Three Dead

A man who worked at a chicken processing plant has opened fire on colleagues, killing two and wounding two others before taking his own life, authorities said.

Police say they do not know what prompted the attack by Lawrence Jones, but fellow employees said he did not appear to be himself when he arrived for work at Apple Valley Farms in Fresno.

The names of the victims have not been released

Jones, 42, opened fire a few hours into his shift, moving methodically between three of the victims, putting a handgun against their head or neck before pulling the trigger.

The fourth victim, a woman, was shot as she tried to flee the plant.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Jones had an extensive criminal history dating back to the 1990s.

Police said they put Jones' home on lock-down and were searching to see if there were any other victims.

Chief Dyer said: "It is difficult to say at this point if in fact there was a specific target that Jones was looking for. 

"There was something that must have provoked this incident, perhaps that occurred today, or maybe was building up to today."

Police say they do not know what prompted Jones' attack

Officers found Jones with a gunshot wound to the head and a 32-year-old woman bleeding from a wound to her lower back outside the business.

The woman was in stable condition, Chief Dyer said.

Three other people were found shot inside the plant. One was pronounced dead at the scene. Jones and another victim were pronounced dead later.

The names of the victims have not been released.

About 30 employees witnessed the shooting, and there were a total of 62 people at work when the gunfire started.

People hug each other as details of the shootings emerge

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US Election: High Turnout As Nation Decides

Barack Obama's hopes of re-election have been given a boost with projected wins in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.

The President is projected to have held Pennsylvania despite his Republican challenger Mitt Romney mounting a late charge to rally support there.

Wisconsin and New Hampshire, two of nine key swing states, are also being called for the Democrat, but other battlegrounds are still too close to call.

Early exit polls put Mr Obama narrowly ahead in Ohio and Florida but put the candidates neck-and-neck in Virginia and Colorado. North Carolina is also in the balance.

People lining up to vote in Brooklyn

The poll for Ohio, a state that has backed the winner in the last 12 elections, put the US President three points ahead of Mitt Romney on 51% to 48%.

No Republican has ever won the presidency without taking the bellwether state and a loss there would be a major blow to the challenger's campaign.

In Florida, where Republicans had been quietly confident, the initial exit poll put Mr Obama 1% ahead but later reports suggested the Republican may have clawed back.

:: READ MORE - Live Election Updates

Away from the main battleground states, expected victories racked up for each candidate.

Mr Obama took Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland and Delaware and Mr Romney was the winner in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana - a state won by the Democrat in 2008.

Both men are relying on their supporters to show up in high numbers and early indications are of a high turnout.

Pennsylvania officials said they expected about 70% of the state's nearly 8.5 million voters would have cast their ballot by the time polls close.

Despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy and fears it could keep people from the polls, turnout was also high in New Jersey and New York.

Barack Obama talking to supporters on Tuesday

In Hoboken, across the Hudson River from New York City, one makeshift polling station was 40 minutes late in opening, drawing complaints from people in line.

A poll worker told the crowd: "Please excuse the appearance of this place. Two days ago, it was under two feet (60cm) of water."

The current president sought to burn off his election-day nerves in traditional fashion, with a game of basketball with close friends.

Following the match, he returned to his house in Chicago and had dinner with his family.

Mr Romney spent the final hours making an eleventh-hour appeal for votes in Ohio and Pennyslvania before heading to Boston to see in the results.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in Ohio on Tuesday

Speaking on his campaign plane, he revealed he had already written his victory speech - which runs to 1,118 words - and that he had not prepared one in case he loses.

He told reporters he could lose because "nothing is certain in politics" but insisted he had "fought to the very end" to win the presidency.

"I feel like we have put it all on the field. We left nothing in the locker room. We have fought to the very end and I think that is why we will be successful," he said.

Even before election day began, more than 32 million early voters had made their choice. In a number of states, early voting levels were on track to exceed totals from 2008.

Mr Obama, waiting out the results in Chicago, has admitted: "We feel confident we've got the votes to win but it's going to depend ultimately on whether these votes turn out."

Tim Glisson, 57, leaving a polling station in the city, said: "Are you kidding? Obama," when asked who he had picked.

"I voted for him because of his character, his fairness - just doing the right thing," he said.

Fellow Obama supporter, Sandra Rendrich, 64, added: "I don't think any president can get done what he needed to get done in four years."

Elsewhere in the country, Romney supporters were equally confident of victory.

"We need to change this president," said Ruben Salazar, 72, a Cuban-American who woke up early to cast his ballot in Miami.

"I need a job for my wife, for my daughter, a better future for my grandsons. That's why I'll vote for Romney."

An unaffiliated group supporting Mr Romney's vice-presidential running mate Paul Ryan warned in a fundraising email that Democrats were voting in droves.

The message said: "We have to counteract this with a late surge of Republican and conservative Independent turnout."

The first ballots were cast just after midnight in the New Hampshire hamlet of Dixville Notch, where they were immediately counted.

In a sign of how close the race has become, the vote was tied for the first time ever with five for Mr Obama and five for Mr Romney.

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Derby House Fire: Man Charged With Murder

A 45-year-old man has been charged with the murder of six siblings who died as a result of a house fire in Derby in May.

Paul Mosley, of Derby, is accused of murdering Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and 13-year-old Duwayne, Derbyshire Police said.

He will appear before Derby Magistrates Court later.

Another man, 49, arrested earlier on Monday, has been released without charge.

The children died after the blaze engulfed their home in Victory Road in the Allenton area of the city on May 11.

Their parents, Mick Philpott, 55, and his 31-year-old wife Mairead, have also been charged with their murders.

They are next due in court for a plea and case management hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.

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Obama: Key States May Swing It For President

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

Barack Obama looks on course to secure a second term in the White House as the most expensive and negative campaign in history finally reaches election day.

Mr Obama looks to have the narrowest of leads over rival Mitt Romney in a number of critical swing states.

The Republican candidate has even added two election day campaign stops in Ohio and Pennsylvania, a break with election tradition.

Mr Obama wrapped up his campaign with a rally in Iowa, the state where his 2008 campaign sparked into life, and he called on Americans to give him a second chance.

The two candidates have criss-crossed a handful of swing states in recent days as they try to energise supporters and secure every last vote. Both have sounded weary and hoarse at times.

The result is that national opinion polls put Mr Obama on 48% and Mr Romney on 46%.

In swing states, Mr Obama maintained a four-percentage point lead in Ohio and was ahead by slimmer margins in Virginia and Colorado. Mr Romney led in Florida.

Mitt and Ann Romney campaigning in Virginia

The other states to watch include Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada and Pennsylvania, where Mr Romney has poured money into a late run.

The electoral college system and the way the state polls are going suggests that Mr Obama could be headed toward re-election partly due to his lead in Ohio, according to Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.

A victory in US presidential elections relies not on a popular vote count but reaching 270 electoral college votes. They are allocated to each state based on population size.

Ms Clark said: "Obama only needs a couple of these swing states and the data suggests that he'll win one or two of them."

Mr Romney's advisors dismiss those polls and believes they have momentum.

The candidate unveiled a new slogan in Florida: "Tomorrow we begin a new tomorrow."

He said: "The same course we're on isn't going to lead to a better destination. The same course we're on is going to lead to $20 billion in debt. Unless we change course, we also may be looking at another recession."

The economy has been the key issue in the campaign and both candidates have been driving grassroots efforts to mobilise support.

Mr Romney told them:  "We have one job left, and that's to make sure that on election day, we make certain that everybody that's qualified to vote gets out to vote."

In the last few days, Mr Obama has been accompanied by stars including Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z and with appearances from former president Bill Clinton.

While Mr Romney makes those extra stops in blue-collar districts, Mr Obama will spend the day in his home-town of Chicago. He has recorded a number of television and radio interviews which will air today.

Both campaigns have victory rallies lined up, in Chicago and at Romney HQ in Boston, and the candidates will address the nation once the results are known.

There have already been some allegations of irregularities at polling stations and if the numbers are close, re-counts and absentee ballots could mean it is days before the result is known.

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Barack Obama Leads US Presidential Race

The US presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have entered the last two days before voting, with polls indicating the incumbent is in the lead.

According to latest polls, Mr Obama appears to be ahead in enough swing states to secure the presidency for a second term.

After an intensive Saturday criss-crossing key battleground states, the American president is targeting Democrats in Colorado, Florida, Ohio and New Hampshire on Sunday, urging them to vote.

Meanwhile, Republican candidate Mitt Romney has decided to intensify efforts in Iowa, Ohio and then in Democrat-leaning Pennsylvania.

Mr Obama has an apparent edge in some key battleground states, including Ohio, while Mr Romney's campaign is projecting momentum, and banking on late-breaking voters to propel him to victory in the close race.

Pop singer Katy Perry was thanked by Mr Obama for her campaigning

The Republican hopeful plans to cut away briefly from the nine key battleground states that have dominated the candidates' travel itineraries.

Mr Romney, along with running mate Paul Ryan, plan an early evening rally in Morrisville, Pennsylvania in an attempt to woo disillusioned Democrats.

The key battlegrounds states in the election have been Ohio, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Hampshire.

After rules regulating campaign funding were eased for this election, the two political parties ploughed huge amounts into primarily negative advertising against the opposition.

Americans in the key states have been hit by a blizzard of campaign ads.

The two political parties and their allied independent groups aired more than a million ads between June and the end of October, according to the Wesleyan University Media Project.

Mr Romney has continued to campaign in key areas

The advertising in 10 strategic states has cost more than $1bn (£620m).

Would-be voters have been bombarded with some 40% more television advertising than the number that ran in the same period in 2008 when Mr Obama defeated Republican John McCain.

But both candidates have appeared to become more fatigued in the frenzied final weekend of campaigning.

Mr Obama apologised to supporters for a hoarse voice at one speech on Saturday.

His apology came as former Democrat president Bill Clinton suffered from a similar problem and told supporters in Virginia he had "given my voice in the service of my president".

Mr Obama's strategy has included appeals to the industrial Midwest, where jobs have been saved after the federal government invested large amounts in the wake of the financial meltdown.

Ann Romney has been on the weekend trail with her husband

His Republican challenger trails the president in some polls in battleground states but retains a narrow and plausible path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency

Mr Romney's camp also argues that the Republican may not even be behind the incumbent.

They argue state polls are based on unrealistic assumptions of the size of the Democratic slice of the electorate and underplay Republican enthusiasm.

Mr Romney told crowds in Colorado Springs that the vote is "a moment to look into the future, and imagine what we can do to put the past four years behind us".

"The door to a brighter future is there."

Mr Obama has stirred up support from cheering fans

But both sides realise with just two days to go the result may now be beyond their control.

"The power is not with us anymore, the planning, everything we do, it doesn't matter," Mr Obama told supporters in Virginia.

"It's all up to you, it's up to the volunteers - that's how democracy is supposed to be."

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NI Prison Officer Murder: Two Men Released

Two men being held in connection with the murder of prison officer David Black have been released without charge.

The 55-year-old was shot on Thursday during a high-speed ambush on a motorway, as he drove to work at Maghaberry prison near Lisburn.

High profile republican Colin Duffy, 44, and a second man aged 29 were detained in Lurgan, County Armagh, just miles from where Mr Black was targeted.

A police service spokeswoman said the pair had been released unconditionally. A third man arrested is still being questioned in County Leitrim.

Politicians on all sides condemned the murder of the prison officer, who was planning to retire next year after more than 30 years of service.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton strongly condemned the murder as senseless and applauded the efforts of police to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"There is no justification for this outrageous and cowardly act," she said.

"I offer my sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of officer Black, who had a long and distinguished record of service.

"The United States remains resolute in support of the people of Northern Ireland, who have condemned violence and embraced the path to peace and reconciliation."

Mr Black's funeral will take place on Tuesday at Molesworth Presbyterian Church in Cookstown, a church which Mr Black had attended regularly.

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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.

Although Israel restricted its response to complaining to UN peacekeepers which monitor the de facto truce in the area, which was captured from Syria in 1967, the entry highlights the threat of the ever-worsening conflict spreading beyond its borders.

It was not immediately why the tanks had crossed the frontier but Israeli media said the tanks were involved in fighting in the Syrian village of Beer Ajam against rebels 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.

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 this week in a bid to reverse rebel gains.

Israel seized the Golan Heights in 1967

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 dramatic video emerged from Syria which purportly shows rebels filming as a fighter 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 embattled commercial hub Aleppo, which rebel advances in the past month have cut off from Damascus and the Mediterranean coast.

"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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Sandy Victims Warned Over New York Cold Snap

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has warned residents of the risk of hypothermia as temperatures plunge amid the aftermath of superstorm Sandy.

Temperatures are set to plunge to 2C overnight in the area as some residents remain without gas for heating or electrical power.

Mr Bloomberg said that the Long Island Power Authority (Lipa) "has not acted aggressively enough" to restore power to storm-hit residents in the region.

He called it "unacceptable" that the worst-hit areas were not given priority for repairs after some residents were told it could take two weeks to restore power.

The Red Cross said it was stepping up its efforts in the face of the new storm, which is expected to bring cold winds, rain and possibly snow.

Charley Shimanski, senior vice president of disaster services, said: "We're working closely with emergency operations centres to stand up warming facilities, warming shelters, and stocking those with additional blankets, pillows and everything needed."

Electrical power has been restored to many residents

Mr Bloomberg's attack on the power company comes just hours after US President Barack Obama showed reporters a photo of a US Air Force transport plane being used to bring electrical utility cherry-picker trucks from other parts of the country to the damaged areas.

Mr Bloomberg also warned residents that fully resolving the shortages at petrol stations could take a few days.

Long lines of vehicles and pedestrians formed after governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the US Department of Defence was opening the mobile fuel stations in New York City and on suburban Long Island.

The government then asked the public to stay away from the locations until emergency responders get their fuel tanks filled.

National Guard Colonel Richard Goldenberg said on Saturday afternoon that people who were already at the distribution sites would not be turned away.

Residents get into arguments over gasoline supplies

Energy companies have said they were working around the clock to restore power to parts of New York devastated by the powerful storm.

In the last 24 hours, engineers in Manhattan have managed to repair 11 power grids damaged by the high winds and storm surge.

But around 5,800 homes were still without electricity in Manhattan as of Saturday morning.

The worst-hit area of New York remains Queens - with 81,000 people still without power. Brooklyn and Staten Island both have 31,000 and the Bronx has 25,000 without electricity.

A statement from energy firm Con Edison said it had now restored power to 70% of customers - around 645,000 homes.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie stopped gas to the Barrier Islands

It said: "The hurricane is the worst natural disaster to strike Con Edison's customers in the company's history.

"Crews are facing thousands of downed wires in New York City and Westchester County.

"Some cannot be re-energised since they are in flood zones with damage that bars the safe re-introduction of electricity."

Earlier on Saturday, New Jersey governor Chris Christie announced a decision to cut natural gas supplies to the Barrier Islands, due to the risk of explosions caused by gas leaks.

Some residents of New Jersey have been moved to tents set up by a utility company due to the length of time they are expected to be homeless due to the storm that hit the east coast last Monday.

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