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 temblor's fury.

It was some 80 miles (130 kilometres) from the epicentre of the quake.

More than 300 people, including firefighters and policemen, tried to dig through half a tonne 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 temblor that killed 23,000.

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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 Chinese 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 controlled 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, smaller than that of the UK. Today its GDP stands at $7.3trn.

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

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. Industrialisation has produced environmental problems on a devastating scale.

Mr Hu (left, with Barack Obama in 2009) led China for the "golden decade"

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

That new team; the new "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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Syria: Assad Could Leave, Says David Cameron

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

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

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

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

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

Mr Cameron is on a tour of the Middle East

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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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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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Obama: Key States May Swing It For President

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mitt and Ann Romney campaigning in Virginia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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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Syrian Tanks 'Cross Into Israeli-Held Territory'

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

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

It was not immediately why the tanks had crossed the frontier but Israeli media said the tanks were involved in fighting in the Syrian village of Beer Ajam against rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

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

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

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

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

Israel seized the Golan Heights in 1967

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

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

The development came as dramatic video emerged from Syria which purportly shows rebels filming as a fighter jet targeted them.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Sandy Victims Warned Over New York Cold Snap

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

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

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

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

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

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

Electrical power has been restored to many residents

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

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

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

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

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

Residents get into arguments over gasoline supplies

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

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

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

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

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

New Jersey governor Chris Christie stopped gas to the Barrier Islands

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

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

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

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

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

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