Syrian Rebels 'Execute' Government Soldiers

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Jerusalem

Syrian rebels are suspected of murdering a group of captured government soldiers undermining a strategic victory which gave them control of the main highway between Aleppo and Damascus.

An unverified video of the killings, believed to have been in Saraqib, shows a group of about 20 armed men wearing rebel head bands standing over at least eight captured soldiers.

One of the soldiers pleads with the militia insisting that he did not shoot anyway.

A rebel can be overheard saying "gather them together for me".

Young men, many of them already wounded, are flung into a pile and then riddled with bullets.

Fighting in Aleppo

The executions are a reminder of a similar atrocity in Aleppo in August when a group of rebels murdered local people they accused of being members of Assad's Shabiha (ghosts) militia.

The capture of Saraqib is a significant strategic gain for the rebels. It controls the road to Damascus, and cuts the government forces main supply route to its Aleppo line.

It also severs the regime's links to Latakia, the main coastal city in the heartland of Assad's brethren in the Alawite community.

Rebel successes in the past have come from the valuable contribution of former regime soldiers who have changed sides, bringing their tactical skills with them.

Syrian refugees near the Turkish border

But recently deserters have been reluctant to contact revolutionary fighters for fear of summary execution. Last week a group of about 20 government soldiers gave themselves up in Turkey claiming asylum and saying they would not have surrendered to rebel forces for fear of retribution.

Amnesty International's Ann Harrison, the deputy Middle East and North Africa director, said that the footage appeared to show "a potential war crime in progress".

She said that the human rights group would continue to investigate the alleged atrocity.

The government is accused of widespread war crimes including the murder of civilians who have been found with their hands tied close to the government held air force headquarters in Aleppo.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

The rebel gains, which are reported to include a 25km radius around Saraqib, have come at a time when the exiled Syrian national Council and other groups are facing international criticism for their apparent failure to unite.

Two days ahead of key talks among the opposition in Qatar, the Syrian National Council lashed out at US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent statement that it was not fully representative of the country's diverse dissident forces.

"Any discussions aimed at passing over the Syrian National Council or at creating new bodies to replace it are an attempt to undermine the Syrian revolution by sowing the seeds of division," the SNC said in a statement.

Clinton said the SNC was not representative of on-the-ground opposition forces and that it "can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition".

It is likely that Washington will be pushing for an overhaul of the opposition at a meeting in Qatar this weekend. But US influence will depend on Qatari support.

Washington contributes a pittance, and only in the form of non-lethal aid, to rebels who receive hundreds of millions of pounds in support from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, much of it donated by individuals.

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Vigilantes Seize Mexico Town After Murder

Authorities in Mexico have said they are close to striking a deal to provide more security for a town where angry residents seized control after the abduction and murder of a taxi driver.

The takeover of the southern town of Olinala took place after around 100 people stormed a house where four suspected kidnappers were hiding. They were killed after the building was set alight.

The town's mayor, Eusebio Gonzalez, said nearly 700 residents had since been taking turns policing entry into the town by barricading streets and installing checkpoints.

Mr Gonzalez said the murder of the taxi driver was the latest in a series of violent attacks and Olinala residents are demanding more protection from criminal gangs.

He said the Guerrero state governor has promised to increase help to fight drug crime.

"We're looking to establish order. The governor is aware of the situation and wants to improve the situation," Mr Gonzalez said.

"People feel like there isn't another way."

The town's vigilante unrest erupted at the taxi driver's funeral after rumours emerged that a second driver had been kidnapped.

"Things got really ugly," said resident Paola Rosendo.

Eduardo Gallo, a respected Mexican anti-crime activist, said Olinala is just the latest town where people have taken up arms to combat organised crime in frustration over the government's inability to control drug violence.

"People took over in order to prevent authorities' collusion with criminals," he said.

At least two towns in the western state of Michoacan have formed their own armed guard forces and thrown up roadblocks to keep out criminals. Towns in northern Mexico also have taken similar measures.

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US Election Battle Shifts To Key State Ohio

Fears Obama Will Delay Windfall

Updated: 3:51am UK, Friday 02 November 2012

By Gary Mitchell, in Ohio

Farmers fear they could be denied a multi-million-dollar windfall from oil and natural gas reserves beneath their feet in Ohio because of Barack Obama's desire for cleaner energy.

Landowners in the east of the state, many of whom have been struggling to make ends meet, are enjoying a huge reversal of fortune thanks to a natural gas boom.

Keith Burgett, 69, who was among the first to have a well drilled by oil firm Chesapeake a year ago and whose land is earmarked for several more sites, told Sky News the windfall was "like winning the lottery" - but he believes Mr Obama could try to stop it if he wins a second term in the White House.

Oil and gas exploration firms have leased parts of farmers' properties, handing over upfront payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars with the possibility of more in royalty cheques as fuel is pumped out.

Some property owners now expect to rake in millions as more in royalties wells are pumped - but only if the government does not intervene with more regulations.

The boom has contributed to Ohio's economic recovery, something Mr Obama has been keen to remind voters about - even as Mitt Romney's campaign adverts accuse the president of destroying Ohio's coal-mining industry.

Mr Burgett, a vet whose sons now deal with the daily running of his 600-acre cattle farm, has 12 grandchildren aged between two and 17. Their university education could be paid several times over by the money he is set to earn from fracking over the next 20 years.

He said: "A lot of the farmers were struggling around here. These lease payments are a tremendous amount of money. I'm a vet and we do all right, but it's been a tremendous blessing for my family.

"He doesn't say exactly this, but Obama is not happy with what we're doing here. I think he could get in the way."

More than 100 wells are waiting to be exploited in the "fracking" hotspot of Carroll County alone.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is where rock layers are cracked open with water pressure to free reserves of oil and natural gas. Critics say it causes air and water pollution.

The president has previously said the natural gas industry could create 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. However, he has also said the US cannot drill its way to energy independence and is pushing for other forms, such as solar and wind power. The Obama administration has been considering federal safeguards for fracking.

Jim Long, 66, lives near Dr Burgett - they jokingly call each other oil barons - and said he had "no faith" in Mr Obama.

A month ago Mr Long and his wife Martha, 63, were told Chesapeake wanted to start drilling on their land and they received a significant upfront payment.

Mr Long, whose farm equipment business has suffered in recent years, said: "Obama has some kind of agenda with green policy. I worry he's got an agenda to slow down these wells. Behind the scenes he is working on a way to put controls on us.

"Between him and Romney it's about picking the lesser of two evils. I don't know enough about Romney, but at least he's a successful businessman."

Only a few years ago, many farmers in this area were "beating and scratching the earth for a living", said Amy Rutledge, from the local chamber of commerce.

"A lot of them will keep farming because it's all they've ever known," she said. "They're holding onto the money because they're not sure what's going to happen in future."

She doubts that any government administration would put a total halt on fracking.

Before the fracking boom, unemployment in Carroll County was running at 13.9% in 2009, above the national average. Now, it is below 7% - below the national average.

Jobs and new companies are pouring into the area - although higher rents have been squeezing minimum-wage workers.

James Brock, an economics professor at Miami University in Ohio, told Sky News fracking, along with the revived car industry, was part of an "economic renaissance" in the state, where both candidates have days to win over crucial undecided voters.

He said Mr Obama had stayed out of the industry's way, which allows him to take credit for growth.

"For Romney, that's not great because he's trying to paint the picture of the economy in this terrible position," he said.

"It makes it hard to predict votes. It's what makes Ohio especially interesting as a swing state – there's so much optimism now and the only question is: Which candidate will benefit?"

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Superstorm Sandy Death Toll Continues To Rise

The death toll from superstorm Sandy has reached more than 90 people as the US Coast Guard halted its search for the captain of a tall ship that sank off the North Carolina coast.

The search for 63-year-old Robin Walbridge - which employed ships, helicopters and planes - was suspended after more than three days of around-the-clock effort.

"Suspending a search and rescue case is one of the hardest decisions we have to make," said Captain Doug Cameron, the chief of incident response for the Coast Guard 5th District.

Mr Walbridge was the captain of the three-masted tall ship, which sank before dawn Monday in hurricane-churned waters about 90 miles off Cape Hatteras.

The crew abandoned ship in two life rafts, and the Coast Guard rescued 14 crew members.

Claudene Christian, 42, was among those rescued, but she later died.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Walbridge and Christian families," Cameron said.

The rising death toll comes as cities across the US East Coast continue their recovery efforts in the wake of the storm.

New Jersey officials say they will deploy military trucks to serve as polling places on Election Day in storm-battered communities, and are also extending the deadline for mail-in ballots.

The trucks will be parked at polling places that do not have power.

The deadline for when clerks may accept mail-in ballot applications was also extended until the close of business on Friday.

More than 4.6 million homes and businesses remain without electricity - down from a peak of 8.5 million.

The total damage in the US from superstorm Sandy could run as high as $50 billion, according to the forecasting firm Eqecat.

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Sandy: Face To Face With Storm's Devastation

The superstorm came ashore over a thousand miles of coastline to engulf 20 states - and counting.

In each state Sandy has had different consequences for different communities.

In Rockaway Park in the Queens borough of New York, the storm surge was overwhelming.

Like a tsunami, the sea rose by five or six feet, and swept through the town.

It dumped much of the beach on the streets, flipped cars and ripped up the boardwalk.

For Frankie Burk who was watching from a sixth-floor window it felt like the end of days.

This was the work of God, he said, just as damaging as what terrorists wrought on 9/11 only more spread out.

The night it happened he ventured out in his waders, but was lifted up and pinned to a fence. 

Not before seeing electricity transformers above him explode down the street.

The historic Rockaway boardwalk was destroyed

The fire they ignited was still burning in a block of properties almost completely destroyed.

Sky News found the Van Leirs, a couple who lived round the corner, hugging each other; Jan Van Leir crying. 

It was too much to see their neighbourhood shops in smouldering ruins, she said. 

She wondered if the town would ever get its character back.

Rockaway Park is not affluent - it's a carefree seaside beach town say the people who live here.

They are pulling together, helping neighbours remove sodden belongings. But the challenge is enormous. 

Every building was flooded one way or another. Cars were carried down streets and flipped over.

Basements and ground floors have been wrecked. 

Further down this narrow peninsula in Breezy Point, people were killed and many homes went up in flames in a fire caused by a flooded electricity station. 

The Breezy Point fire razed dozens of homes

It is a dark, cold Halloween night for more than eight million Americans. 

We drove back from Rockaway to Manhattan, the power was out for around two-thirds of the way, and it will be for days to come. 

Beyond Brooklyn Bridge, Lower Manhattan stood dark and ghostly.

We had seen military helicopters patrolling the skies over Queens, helmeted National Guardsmen touring in Humvees, and scenes of devastation you do not expect to see in America.

If the scientists are right, this is just the beginning. The weather is only going to become more extreme because of climate change.

Ironically that issue has received barely a mention in the election contest that culminates next week. 

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Superstorm Sandy Death Toll Continues To Rise

Sandy Chaos In Atlantic City

Updated: 12:49am UK, Thursday 01 November 2012

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

When the people of Atlantic City emerged from wherever they had been sheltering against Superstorm Sandy, there was only thing they wanted to see.

A stretch of the city's iconic boardwalk, ripped up and thrown inland, has become a nationwide symbol of the devastating impact of nature's assault on the New Jersey shore.

Ever since, locals have been stopping by: Simply to stare in wonder, or pick through what remains of the demolished boardwalk and abandoned buildings knocked over by Sandy.

The beach is littered with all kinds of debris: Massive chunks of timber, long buried maritime metal work, bits of brick wall, even local newspapers from as far back as 1974.

The site, at the end of Atlantic Avenue, has become something of a tourist attraction.

John Paxton, a lifelong resident of Atlantic City, said: "This is the first time I have been down to see it.  It is devastating, it looks like a bombed-out area.

"It is the first time I've seen mass destruction like this."

Like many, the 75-year-old ignored evacuation warnings. He saw out Sandy in a house which stands alone on a patch of waste ground four blocks from the beach.

He showed us how three feet of flood water had even left the food drawers in the bottom of his fridge filled with foul water. His home of 57 years is now caked in mud and sludge.

He said: "When I saw the road outside had become a river, there was nothing else to do. I went to bed."

Atlantic City has now begun a massive clean-up operation and almost every street is dotted with piles of damp or destroyed furniture and carpets.

Close to the bay, Kathleen Fitzgerald was dragging plastic rubbish bags full of soaking home goods out on to the pavement.

She says this is the first time that the city has been hit badly by a hurricane-like storm after several warnings came to nothing over the years.

"In a way we were lucky," she said. "As far as my family and all my neighbours, no loss of life, no injuries, so everyone did good."

Red Cross volunteers in the city say even those who prepared well for the storm are now running low on resources.

Catherine Barde said: "This has been incredibly difficult for the residents of this community. It is so completely devastating."

But she says that community spirit has helped: "Everyone comes together at a time like this."

It is perhaps a sign of the scale of Sandy that even Atlantic City's famed casinos were forced to close, at a cost of $5 million a day.

They will re-open and the city will re-build with the spirit demonstrated by residents like Shelley Grossman.

When the storm hit her apartment block, she said, residents retired to a safe room: "We were playing bingo during the height of the storm, it was like being on the Titanic, the music playing as the ship was going down.

"But it kept us all calm."

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Sandy: Search For Bounty Captain Continues

The search for the captain of a tall ship that sank during Hurricane Sandy is to continue for a second night, US coast guards have said.

Lt Mike Patterson said a C-130 plane and two cutter ships will be used to look for HMS Bounty captain Robin Walbridge.

Searchers hope the 63-year-old of St. Petersburg, Florida, has been able to survive in the relatively mild 25C (77F) waters of the Atlantic, about 90 miles (145km) off Cape Hatteras.

Lt Patterson said search planes could no longer see the Bounty, an 18th-century replica tall ship used in many movie dramas.

The ship's masts had stayed visible for hours after the decks disappeared below the waves early on Monday.

A woman rescued from the sea hours after the Bounty went down later died.

Claudene Christian was pulled from the water hours after the historic ship sank - but was unresponsive.

The 42-year-old, who lived and sailed on the ship, was taken to hospital in a critical condition but was later pronounced dead.

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Sandy: Obama To Visit Storm-Hit US East Coast

Frankenstorm: Why Is Hurricane Sandy So Big?

Updated: 3:41pm UK, Monday 29 October 2012

A number of complications have caused Hurricane Sandy to grow into a menacing monster storm which is threatening to become the biggest in US history.

Sandy, which is hundreds of miles across, is set to merge with other weather systems, unleashing a deadly punch of high wind, heavy rain, extreme tides, several days' worth of snow and potentially deadly storm surges.

On course to interact with Sandy is a wintry storm moving across the US from the west and frigid air streaming south from Canada.

New York and Long Island could see huge seawater surges of up to 11 ft (3 m) which coincide with high tides due to a full moon.

Sky News Weather producer Christopher England said these factors makes Sandy "unusually intense".

"It's a major storm that's going to hit a major place - and it will hit New York City at high tide, due to a full moon, causing a massive storm surge," he said.

England said most hurricanes that hit America's biggest city tend to make landfall further south, so they weaken before hitting the Big Apple.

"Most storms don't come from over the ocean, like Sandy is. They tend to hit land earlier, often around North Carolina, and lose their strength," England said.

"It's often the decaying remnants that hit New York - rather than the full-blooded storm.

"But Sandy has maintained its strength because it has kept its track up over the ocean."

England said another major issue making Sandy worse is the fact the air is set to be colder than usual.

"A storm's energy comes from temperature and humidity differences in the atmosphere - essentially warmer air rises and condensing water vapour adds to the energy and drives the storm," he said.

"Sandy is moving into a region with a strong flow from the Arctic, so will be coming into contact with much colder than average air causing the potential for greater temperature contrasts, and hence greater energy release and a more potent storm."

While Sandy does not yet pack the punch of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, it could become more potent as it approaches the US coast.

And England said the storm is unlikely to change its path.

"It could change track, but it doesn't seem likely," he said.

"It's possible that the worst-case scenario will not happen - it all depends on how it comes together.

"But it certainly looks like it's going to be a big event."

Sandy killed 66 people in the Caribbean before pounding US coastal areas with rain and triggering snow falls at higher elevations.

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HMS Bounty Sinks: Captain Still Missing

The Coast Guard has found one of the missing crew members of the stricken HMS Bounty.

Lt Mike Patterson said crews have taken 42-year-old Claudene Christian to hospital for treatment. She is described as "unresponsive".

They are still searching for the captain of the ship Robin Walbridge, aged 63.

HMS Bounty sunk near the eye of Hurricane Sandy on Monday.

Fourteen crew members were hoisted to safety from a lifeboat. The replica tall ship has now disappeared from view, apart from the top of the mast.

Sixteen people were aboard the ship (Pic: www.tallshipbounty.org)

The captain ordered his crew to abandon the ship at about 5am on Monday morning.  They were located 160 miles from the hurricane's centre, and the vessel had lost power and started to take on water.

The US Coast Guard said the Bounty's crew had donned cold water survival suits and lifejackets before launching in two 25-man lifeboats with canopies.

The suits are designed to protect people from the cold waters for up to 15 hours.

"The first Jayhawk (helicopter) crew hoisted five people into the aircraft and a second helicopter arrived and rescued nine people," the Coast Guard said.

They were flown to Air Station Elizabeth City for medical treatment.

Rescuers faced 40mph winds and 18ft waves at the scene, which is 90 miles southeast of Hatteras in North Carolina.

Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received a call from the owner of the 180ft, three mast ship, saying she had lost communication with the vessel's crew late on Sunday evening.

It regained contact with the ship after receiving a signal from the emergency position indicating beacon registered to the Bounty.

The current Bounty was built for the 1962 movie Mutiny On The Bounty with Marlon Brando and has since appeared in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

The original Bounty is known for the mutiny that took place in Tahiti in 1789.

The rescued crew were flown to Air Station Elizabeth City for treatment

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Superstorm Sandy Batters US Eastern Coast

Superstorm Sandy has battered parts of the eastern United States, flooding major cities and killing at least 13 people.

The National Hurricane Centre, which reclassified the storm as 'post-tropical', said torrential rains and wind made landfall along the New Jersey coast near Atlantic City at around 8pm EDT (12am UK time).

It brought gusts of more than 85mph (135kph) and a record-breaking 13ft surge of seawater in Manhattan, submerging road and subway tunnels.

New York University hospital was forced to move patients to other hospitals after it lost power and its back-up generator broke down.

The collapsed front wall of an apartment building in New York

Among them were 20 babies from neonatal intensive care - some on respirators operating on battery power.

Firefighters in New York said one man had been killed by a falling tree, while two people were also killed when a tree fell onto a vehicle in New Jersey.

A total of 12 people were reported dead by local officials in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and North Carolina, while in Toronto, Canada, police said a woman died after being hit by flying debris.

An explosion rocks a flooded New York power plant

Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference 250,000 Manhattan homes had been left without power by the storm, with electricity knocked out to more than six million Americans.

Amateur footage captured a large explosion at a power station near the island's near East 14th Street.

Mr Bloomberg said the worst of the storm had passed and that authorities expected the tidal surge to recede by 12am EDT on Wednesday.

Rain caused by Sandy could last for days

But thousands of flights have been cancelled at airports in cities up and down the coast, causing widespread travel chaos.

British Airways axed all of its flights to and from New York, Newark, Baltimore, Washington DC, Boston and Philadelphia, and 11 of today's return flights to and from the East Coast have been cancelled.

It had been feared the surge of seawater could damage the underground electrical and communications lines in lower Manhattan that are vital to the nation's financial centre.

And the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq suspended trading for a weather event for the first time since Hurricane Gloria in 1985.

Cars in Manhattan were submerged by floodwater

Sandy, which killed 69 people in the Caribbean before making its way up the Atlantic, has seen subways, buses, trains and schools closed across a region of more than 50 million people from Washington to Boston.

As it made its way toward land, it converged with a cold-weather system that turned into a hybrid consisting not only of rain, high wind and snow.

Earlier, a US sailor on board a replica of the HMS Bounty was recovered from the sea in an "unresponsive" condition, and the captain was missing and feared dead after the tall ship went down off the Carolinas.

President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney suspended their campaigning with just over a week to go before election day.

At the White House, Mr Obama had made a direct appeal to those at risk

"Please listen to what your state and local officials are saying," he said.

"When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate. Don't delay, don't pause, don't question the instructions that are being given, because this is a powerful storm."

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Syria: Rebel Fighters Are Becoming Radicalised

By Alex Crawford, Sky News Special Correspondent

Sky has seen new evidence that the Syrian uprising is becoming more and more radicalised and being fought by Islamic fundamentalists and extremists.

The Syrian rebels have all but given up on military intervention by the West but after 18 months of grinding battle and a feeling they have been abandoned by the international community, they are making their own bombs and weapons and becoming much more self-sufficient.

There are some weapons and arms being smuggled across the borders from sympathetic Muslim neighbours.

We saw brand new rocket propelled grenade launchers with their rockets still in their plastic wrappers which had been smuggled across the Turkish border and an anti-aircraft gun which the rebels told us had come from Iraq.

But although that means that the rebels have many more weapons than they have had before, it is still small fry in comparison to the heavy weaponry, tanks and artillery employed by the regime.

What is increasingly obvious is the number of Jihad (holy war) flags and Jihad paraphernalia worn and used by the rebel fighters. The black headbands worn by many of the fighters are a symbol of Islamic fundamentalism - used by extremist groups and usually anti-Western.

The common refrain from many of the rebel fighters is that they have been forgotten by the outside world.

A cache of weapons seized by rebel fighters

A number of commanders told us they were disappointed, angry and frustrated by the lack of help from the international community.

One said: "All we get is words, not actions."

I asked him how many fighters were from outside Syria. He replied: "Most of the fighters are Syrians. I would say 90% of the fighters are Syrian. Only a few hundred in the whole of Syria are from outside the country and most of them are from sympathetic countries."

We met a Libyan medic and former rebel in his own country who said he had come to help the rebels in Syria as a fellow Muslim.

He said: "We know what it is like to suffer. I have come to help in the hospital but if I had to pick up a gun and shoot Assad soldiers, of course I would.

"The real problem here is not foreign fighters, not Al Qaeda or any other group but the regime which has done far more damage than any other group."

The rebels have been making significant gains in the north, crushing regime bases and the Assad army has been losing men as well as arms.

But the frustration by the rebels and the inaction by the international community is driving the rebels towards religious extremism.

If Assad falls, the West's lack of help may have lost them a potential ally in the Middle East and even worse, may have created an angry and resentful new enemy.

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Hurricane Sandy: Thousands Flee Before Storm

Authorities have ordered the evacuation of 375,000 people on the east coast of the United States ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the mandatory evacuation and said 72 centres had been set up around the city in schools and community centres.

The full public transport system has also been shut down and the New York Stock Exchange will only continue with electronic transactions.

Sandbags have been used to thwart flooding in low-lying areas

"This is a serious and dangerous storm," Mr Bloomberg said.

"If you don't evacuate you are not just putting your own life in danger, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who may have to come in and rescue you."

The New York Stock Exchange announced it would close its trading floor but continue to trade electronically, despite fears from some experts that flooding could knock out the vital underground network of power, phone and high-speed Internet lines.

Officials also postponed today's reopening of the Statue of Liberty, which had been closed for a year for $30m (£22m) in renovations.

The storm is expected to start hitting the area shortly, with the worst weather continuing into Tuesday.

Police officers monitor Times Square subway station

Experts estimate it will affect up to 60 million people in the area, when it meets a winter storm and cold front. The storm surge will be boosted by storm tides from a full moon.

Parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina could get 2ft or more of snow in places, meteorologists said.

Experts said the rare hybrid storm will cause havoc over 800 miles, from the Atlantic coast inland to the Great Lakes.

British Airways flights to and from New York's JFK airport, Newark airport in New Jersey, Baltimore airport in Maryland and Boston airport in Massachusetts, have been cancelled.

Virgin Atlantic flights to and from New York, Washington and Boston have also been halted.

Some said the huge storm was a sign

British Airways said: "We understand that customers may be disappointed, however their safety is our highest priority. We are offering the option to rebook or receive a refund to those customers whose flights are cancelled."

Virgin Atlantic warned passengers of cancelled flights not to travel to departure airports and advised travellers to check their flight status page for the latest information.

Domestic airlines also moved planes out of airports to avoid damage, and added Sunday flights out of New York and Washington ahead of today's flight cancellations.

All of New York City's state schools have been closed, and the evacuation zone includes parts of Coney Island, Manhattan Beach and other areas along the east river in Brooklyn.

Boarded up homes in the path of the storm

Stretches of the lower east side, Staten Island and Manhattan are also included in the danger zone and President Barack Obama said authorities needed to take Sandy "seriously" and advised residents to listen to state officials for guidance.

"We don't yet know where it's going to hit, where we're going to see the biggest impacts. And that's exactly why it's so important for us to respond big and respond fast as local information starts coming in," Mr Obama said.

"My main message to everybody involved is that we have to take this seriously.

"The federal government is working effectively with the state and local governments. It's going to be very important that populations in all the impacted states take this seriously, listen to your state and local elected officials."

US rail operator Amtrak began cancelling train services on Saturday night, including services between Washington and New York.

Hurricane Sandy is heading north from the Caribbean, where it has killed 65 people.

The majority of the deaths happened in Haiti and the area around the capital Port-au-Prince, which holds most of the 370,000 Haitians who are still living in flimsy shelters as a result of the devastating 2010 earthquake.

Officials in Haiti said 51 people have died there although the number is expected to rise.

The US National Hurricane Centre said that the storm has top sustained winds of 75 mph, with higher gusts. It is moving toward the northeast at 14mph, with hurricane-force winds extend up to 175 miles from the epicentre.

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US Child Killings: Police Search Nanny's Home

Police are searching the US home of a nanny suspected of murdering two children in her care.

Yoselyn Ortega remains in a critical condition in hospital after apparently slitting her own throat, moments after stabbing Leo Krim and his sister, six-year-old Lucia.

Police are investigating whether Ortega had sought psychiatric support in the weeks leading up to the tragedy.

Leo and Lucia were found by their distraught mother, Marina, dying of knife wounds in the bathtub of their luxurious Upper West Side apartment near Central Park.

Mrs Krim had returned to the flat with her three-year-old daughter Nessie, whom she had taken for a swimming lesson.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the investigation has yet to reveal anything amiss in the household before the slayings.

Detectives were searching Ortega's home in Washington Heights, a working-class neighbourhood north of where she worked and near Harlem.

It emerged that Ortega had worked for the Krims as a nanny for two years and there did not appear to be any problems.

A Web journal kept by the children's mother spoke lovingly about travelling to the Dominican Republic last February to stay at the home of Ortega's sister.

"We met Josie's amazing familia!!! And the Dominican Republic is a wonderful country!!" she wrote.

Pictures posted on the blog showed the two families posing together for a happy photo, with Ortega hugging Nessie, their cheeks pressed together.

Mrs Krim's husband, Kevin Krim, a CNBC digital media executive, wrote that Ortega's family had nicknamed Nessie "Rapida y Furiosa," (or Fast and Furious), for her energy.

There are tens of thousands of nannies working in New York City, but reports of serious violence by caregivers against children are exceedingly rare.

Across the street from the building where the Krims lived, several nannies with children in pushchairs stood as if stricken, watching police officers milling around the entrance.

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Burma: Satellite Images Show 'Destruction'

Human rights campaigners have called for action to end the violence in Burma after a week of sectarian unrest that has shaken the country.

Muslims trying to escape the clashes have taken to rickety wooden boats in an attempt to reach refugee camps but some have still not made it to land.

As nine boats remained unaccounted for, Human Rights Watch called on Burma's reformist government to protect Muslims from "vicious" attacks.

The New York-based group has released satellite images of what it claims is the "near total destruction" of a coastal community around Kyaukpyu.

It identified more than 811 destroyed buildings and houseboats across an area measuring 35 acres after alleged arson attacks on October 24.

Kyaukpyu before this week's violence (Pic: Human Rights Watch)

Kyaukpyu, which is around 75 miles (120km) south of Sittwe, is crucial to China's most strategic investment in Burma - twin pipelines that will carry oil and natural gas to western provinces.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Burma's government urgently needs to provide security for the Rohingya in Arakan State, who are under vicious attack.

"Unless the authorities also start addressing the root causes of the violence, it is only likely to get worse."

The UN has warned that Burma's fledgling democracy could be "irreparably damaged" by a week of communal violence.

It comes five months after machete and arson attacks killed more than 80 people and displaced at least 75,000 in the same region.

Calm does now appear to have been restored after the Home Minister warned the government could declare martial law and impose emergency rule.

Kyaukpyu pictured on October 25 (Pic: Human Rights Watch)

A committee of lawmakers led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has called for security reinforcements and swift legal action against those behind the fighting in which at least 67 people were killed.

Another 95 are believed to have been injured and 2,818 houses burned down.

The chaos suggests the quasi-civilian government is struggling to contain historic ethnic and religious tensions between Rohingyas and ethnic Rakhines that were suppressed during five decades of military rule that ended last year.         

Burma's estimated 800,000 Rohingyas are officially stateless, and regarded by the government of the majority Buddhist country as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh does not recognise them either, and the United Nations has referred to them as "virtually friendless".

It is still unclear what set off the latest arson and killing that started last Sunday.

In June, tension flared after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman that was blamed on Muslims, but there was no obvious trigger this time.

Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific deputy director, Isabelle Arradon, said: "These latest incidents between Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhists demonstrate how urgent it is that the authorities intervene to protect everyone, and break the cycle of discrimination and violence."

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