CIA Director Petraeus Quits Over Affair

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 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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Syria War: 11,000 Refugees Flee In 24 Hours

As many as 11,000 people have fled Syria in 24 hours - one of the biggest refugee exoduses the country has seen in its 20-month conflict.

The refugees were escaping fierce fighting between rebels and government forces for control of the northeastern Syrian town of Ras al Ain on the border with Turkey.

The exodus signals the escalating ferocity of the conflict, which has killed more than 36,000 people since March 2011.

The United Nations has warned that an estimated four million people inside Syria will need humanitarian assistance by early next year as winter sets in - up from 2.5 million now.

Of the 11,000 Syrians who fled in the 24-hour period that began on Thursday, 9,000 crossed into Turkey, while Jordan and Lebanon each absorbed another 1,000 refugees, according to UN officials.

Video from Turkey's news agency Anadolu showed Syrians jumping over and climbing through a razor-wire fence on the border to cross into the Turkish town of Ceylanpinar.

The influx has caused alarm in Turkey, which has long expressed worry over its ability to cope with such large numbers and has called for a buffer zone to be set up inside Syria where refugees could be housed.

Turkish soldiers guard the border with Syria near the town of Ceylanpinar

The flood of Syrians into Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon was "the highest that we have had in quite some time," said Panos Moumtzis, the UN refugee agency's coordinator for the region.

Despite the bloodshed, President Bashar al Assad said in a rare TV appearance that there was no civil war in Syria.

"It is about terrorism and the support coming from abroad to terrorists to destabilise Syria. This is our war," Mr Assad said in an interview by broadcaster Russia Today, which was aired on Friday.

Mr Assad has insisted he would not step down, saying he would "live and die in Syria".

But Syrians still in the country faced an increasingly desperate situation, senior UN official John Ging, in Geneva, said.

"Every day our humanitarian colleagues on the ground are engaging with people who are ever more desperate, ever more fearful for their lives and for the lives of their families because of this conflict," he said.

Also on Friday, Syria's main opposition bloc in exile, the Syrian National Council, elected veteran activist George Sabra, a Christian, as its new head.

The group has come under heavy criticism from international allies for being ineffective in the fight against Mr Assad and for being riven by personal disputes.

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Spain: Suicide Death Jump As Bailiffs Move In

A mother in Spain jumped to her death as bailiffs approached to evict her from her fourth-floor flat, officials have said.

Amaia Egana's death was the country's second apparent suicide linked to evictions, with authorities under mounting pressure to ease tough mortgage laws.

Around 500 evictions are being carried out each day across Spain, which is beset by a sinking economy.

Mrs Egana reportedly jumped from the balcony of her home in Barakaldo, in the northern city of Bilbao. She worked at a local bus depot, was married to a former town councillor and had a 21-year-old daughter.

While protests against Spain's mortgage rules took place in Madrid, neighbours of the 53-year-old held a vigil outside the building.

One of them, Francisco Algazira, said: "Shame on the government for these things.

"They are cutting and cutting and we can't live anymore. The same thing that happened to that woman could happen to me tomorrow."

A woman passes a Madrid bank painted with graffiti reading: 'Assassin'

Jose Luis, a 52-year-old former teacher, said: "They need to stop rescuing the banks and start rescuing people because we are heading nowhere and the loan sharks must have a limit."

Local judge Juan Carlos Mediavilla told reporters at the scene that it was "necessary to amend current mortgage legislation" to prevent a recurrence of such events.

And employment and social security minister Fatima Banez said the government deeply regretted Mrs Egana's death.

On Thursday, the European Court of Justice's advocate general, Juliane Kokott, handed down a non-binding legal opinion that criticised Spanish legal rules regarding evictions.

In October, Jose Miguel Domingo, 53, was found dead in the courtyard of his building in Granada moments after bailiffs appeared to evict him.

A day later, another 53-year-old man who had been unemployed for four years jumped out of his apartment window in the eastern town of Burjassot as eviction loomed. He survived but with injuries.

Spain's unemployment rate stands at 25% and the government predicts its economy - which is now in recession - will not grow until 2014.

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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.

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 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 bomb-lets 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 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."

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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Giffords Gunman Jared Loughner Jailed For Life

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 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.

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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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 10.35 am 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 said at a news conference that 40 people died in the province of San Marcos and eight more were killed in the neighbouring province of Quetzaltenango.

"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."

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.

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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Sandy Victims Suffer As New Storm Hits US Coast

By Nick Martin, News Correspondent, in New York City

A second storm has battered the north east 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 the hurricane 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.

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.

"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.

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.

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 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.

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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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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Obama Wins: 'Pacific President' Looks East

Four more years for Barack Obama in the White House will see a US foreign policy which is increasingly focusing on China and the Asia-Pacific region.

The re-elected US leader has made it clear he likes to be seen as a 'Pacific President'. He talks often of a 'pivot towards Asia'. It gives you an idea of just how important he sees China and this part of the world.

After ending the war in Iraq and nailing the timeline of America's exit strategy from Afghanistan the president's eyes are focussed here in Asia for his second term.

That's because China is the rising power of the world and America knows that China wants to take over the title, if not of super-power of the world then certainly economic super-power, over the next 10 years.

President Obama has said he wants 60% of America's warships stationed in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020. He wants to extend America's influence as China seeks to spread and cement its dominance in the region.

Teaching the Chinese how a democracy work

China took delivery of its first aircraft carrier a few weeks ago, sending shudders through American military circles about China's ambitions.

China is already the resident super-power in Asia. It practically built Cambodia and Burma's new infrastructures with its no-strings loans. It is busy wooing Thailand, offering it technology for a high-speed rail link.

That all stacks up to a head-on geo-strategic rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region between the US and China.

China's GDP, while having slowed, is still at a staggering 7.4%. Mitt Romney had said if he won the election he would declare China a 'currency manipulator'. He says China is stealing American jobs by keeping its currency artificially low, enabling it to deliver cheap exports. 

It is clear that the issue of trade between the US and China is a top priority for President Obama too, if he is to deliver on his pledge of rebuilding the US economy and delivering more jobs.

We watched the US election unfold on big screens at a Beijing hotel at an event hosted by the US Embassy. There was a mock-up polling booth - and people dishing out stickers which said 'I voted'.

It is more than an ironic twist that the event was held on the eve of China's once-a-decade power transition - the 18th Communist Party Congress.

During the Congress China unveils its leaders for the next 10 years - chosen by the minute inner circle of the Communist Party elite. 

China is the world's most populous nation - 1.3 billion people - amounting to a fifth of the world's population. Yet none of them have a say in who will lead them.

At the US Embassy event, invited Chinese guests could choose whether to stand next to life-size cut-outs of Barack Obama or Mitt Romney to have their pictures taken. It is the only choice these Chinese people get to make when it comes to political events in China this week.

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

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

After a bitter and costly election campaign, the Democrat 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.

"Four more years": Barack Obama and his wife Michelle

The President was also ahead in the national 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 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.

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 that lies ahead."

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 him hugging his wife Michelle.

Romney supporters absorbing the result

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 complete strangers as election fever swept across the city.

The Obamas and Bidens after their victory was called

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.

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".

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

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.

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 were 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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Afghanistan Massacre: Sgt Robert Bales In Court

The US soldier accused of one of the most notorious atrocities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has appeared in a military courtroom, where prosecutors were laying out their case against him.

Prosecutors allege Staff Sergeant Robert Bales killed 16 people on March 11, including children, during a pre-dawn raid on two villages in the Taliban's heartland.

Prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Jay Morse testified on Monday that Bales returned to his base the night of the killings wearing a cape and with the blood of his victims on his rifle, belt, shirt and pants.

The suspect was incredulous when fellow US soldiers drew their weapons on him when he returned to Camp Belambay in southern Afghanistan last March, Lt Col Morse said.

Bales, 39, is accused of slipping away from a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan with an M-4 rifle outfitted with a grenade launcher to attack the villages of Balandi and Alkozai in Panjwai district of Kandahar Province.

A married father-of-two from Lake Tapps, Wash., Bales is facing 16 counts of premeditated murder, as well as other charges of attempted murder, assault and steroid use.

Nine of the dead were children, and 11 were members of the same family. Six others were wounded, and some of the bodies were set on fire.

The prosecutor said on Monday that Bales returned to the base at one point, telling a colleague about shooting people at a village.

The soldier apparently took it as a bad joke and responded: "Quit messing around."

Prosecutors played for the first time a video captured by a surveillance blimp that showed a caped figure running toward the base, then stopping and dropping his weapons as he's confronted. There is no audio. Lt Cl Morse said Bales was the caped figure.

According to Lt Cl Morse, after being taken into custody Bales said: "I thought I was doing the right thing."

The session at Washington state's Joint Base Lewis-McChord marked the start of a preliminary hearing before an investigative officer charged with recommending whether Bales' case should proceed to a court martial.

During such hearings defendants have the right to make sworn or unsworn statements, but Bales' lawyers said he would not speak because they do not think he would gain anything by doing so.

"This hearing is important for all of us in terms of learning what the government can actually prove," said Bales' attorney, John Henry Browne.

Part of the hearing was to be held overnight to allow video testimony from witnesses in Afghanistan.

For his appearance, Bales wore green military fatigues and said "sir, yes, sir," when asked if he understood his rights.

Bales joined the Army in late 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and as his career as a stockbroker imploded.

He was serving his fourth combat tour after three stints in Iraq, and his arrest prompted a national discussion about the stresses posed by multiple deployments.

No motive has emerged in the attacks. Bales remembers little or nothing from that time, his lawyers have said.

American officials have said they believe Sgt Bales broke the slaughter into two episodes - walking first to one village, returning to the base and slipping away again to carry out the second attack.

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Breaching Whale Lands On Boat Injuring Three

Three men have been injured, one seriously, after a breaching whale leapt out of the sea off South Africa and landed on their boat.

"The men claim they were motoring slowly off-shore when a whale breached in front of their boat and came onto their boat, causing the boat and all three men to go under water as the whale sunk back into the water," said Ian Gray, NSRI Port Elizabeth station commander.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) used flares to find and rescue the men off Port Elizabeth, in the coastal province of the Eastern Cape.

A 41-year-old was taken to hospital in a serious condition with suspected rib fractures and injuries to his arm, leg and soft tissue.

A 25-year-old was also taken to hospital with soft tissue injuries, while the skipper, 35, had minor injuries.

"The boat has sustained extensive damage," said Mr Gray.

While the species of whale is unknown, he said breaching humpback whales have been spotted in the area.

South Africa is on the humpback's migratory route, with the ocean giants returning to Antarctic waters toward the end of the year.

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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.

"I came back to ask you to help us finish what we started because this is where our movement for change began, right here," he said.

Barack Obama's final rally in Iowa

"After all we've fought through together, we cannot give up on change now. We know what real change looks like."

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.

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.

Mr Romney called on New Hampshire voters to back him

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 advisers dismiss those polls and believe they have the momentum.

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 $20bn in debt. Unless we change course, we also may be looking at another recession."

And speaking at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, he said: "Tomorrow is a moment to look into the future and imagine what we can do, to put that past four years behind us and build a new future.

"Walk with me. Tomorrow, we begin a new tomorrow."

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, recounts and absentee ballots could mean it is days before the result is known.

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Syria: Bomb Explosion Near Damascus Hotel

An explosion caused by "terrorists" has hit an area near a hotel used by foreigners in the Syrian capital, state media has reported.

"An explosion caused by terrorists went off near to the Dama Rose hotel and the union federation, which left a number of people wounded and causing damage to the area," Syrian TV said.

The governing Assad regime regularly uses the term "terrorists" for armed rebels in the spiralling civil war.

State news agency Sana said the blast wounded 11 people, adding that the explosive "planted by terrorists" weighed an estimated 50lbs.

Damage to a building near the Dama Rose hotel

The Dama Rose hotel hosted UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi during his visits to Damascus.

The office of the ombudsman, headed by diplomat Mokhtar Lamani, is also located at the hotel.

The Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists on the ground, also reported plumes of smoke rising near Ommayad Square after a "powerful explosion" rocked the area close to the hotel.

The district also houses several security centres and military headquarters.

On September 26, twin blasts blamed on suicide bombers targeted the same military headquarters, killing four guards.

Meanwhile rebels fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades and captured an oilfield in the country's east on Sunday after three days of fierce fighting, according to activists.

Hillary Clinton has led calls for western help for rebels

Further afield, a leading Syrian dissident has denied he planned to head a government-in-exile as the main opposition group began a meeting aimed at broadening its membership.

Riad Seif rejected claims he was jockeying for control of the opposition at the start of a four-day meeting in Doha, the capital of the Gulf state of Qatar.

The less-than-inclusive nature of the Syrian opposition has been criticised by its key western supporter, the United States.

Details have emerged of plans to reshape the Syrian National Council (SNC) after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it was not representative.

Washington is pressing for an opposition makeover during the Doha meeting, with long-time dissident Mr Seif reportedly touted as the potential head of a proxy government dubbed the Syrian National Initiative.

But the prominent opponent to President Bashar Assad's regime was adamant that he does not want to lead such a government.

"I shall not be a candidate to lead a government in exile ... I am 66 and have health problems," he told reporters before the Doha gathering.

Rebels launched a rocket attack against a Syrian air base on the weekend

Some 286 members of the SNC are taking part in the meeting that was scheduled some time ago.

But both host Qatar and the Arab League have extended invitations for another "consultative" meeting on Thursday, believed to be aimed at promoting a body with a broader opposition representation than the SNC.

A Western diplomat said the initiative is "supported by the United States, Britain, France, and possibly by some Arab countries, Qatar and also Turkey".

"It is a balanced plan, which will bring together the components of the Syrian community: the Alawites, Christians and Syrians inside and outside the country," the unnamed diplomat said.

Mr Seif and some two dozen Syrian opposition figures gathered in Amman, Jordan, last Thursday and came up with proposals for a new body to represent the disparate groups opposing President Bashar al Assad.

Among those in attendance were some SNC members, former premier Riad Hijab who defected in August, Ali Sadreddin Bayanuni of the Muslim Brotherhood and Kurdish and tribal representatives.

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Boy, 2, Killed In Wild Dogs Enclosure At 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.

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 say it is 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 the 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, 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.

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.

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 to 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, 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."

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 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."

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'

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 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.

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.

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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