Hurricane: Thousands Evacuated From New York

The mayor of New York has ordered the mandatory evacuation of 375,000 people ahead of Hurricane Sandy.

Michael Bloomberg said 72 evacuation centres had been set up around the city in schools and community centres.

Subway, bus and train services will be suspended from 7pm local time and hundreds of flights into the city's airports have been rerouted or cancelled.

"This is a serious and dangerous storm," 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 hurricane is expected to start hitting the area on Monday.

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

Stretches of Lower East Side, Staten Island and Manhattan are included.

People are boarding up their homes and businesses

Hurricane Sandy is heading north from the Caribbean - where it has killed 65 people - to threaten the eastern US with sheets of rain, high winds and heavy snow.

The majority of the deaths have 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 said 51 people have died there, though the number is expected to rise.

"This is a disaster of major proportions," Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said.

The hurricane is expected to affect up to 60 million people in the US when it meets a winter storm and a cold front, plus high tides from a full moon, and experts said the rare hybrid storm that results will cause havoc over 800 miles (1,300km) from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.

Sandy was at Category one strength, packing 75 mph (120kph) winds, about 260 miles (418km) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving northeast at 10 mph (16kph) as of 8am (1200 GMT) on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami. It was about 395 miles (635km) south of New York City.

The storm has also forced the presidential campaign to juggle schedules. Mitt Romney scrapped plans to campaign in Virginia on Sunday and switched his schedule for the day to Ohio.

First lady Michelle Obama cancelled an appearance in New Hampshire for Tuesday, and President Obama moved a planned departure for Florida to Sunday night from Monday to beat the storm. He also cancelled appearances in Northern Virginia on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday.

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Nanny 'Was Losing Her Mind' Before Child Murders

The New York nanny accused of murdering two children in her care told relatives she was "losing her mind", according to reports.

Yoselyn Ortega, who remains in a critical condition in hospital after apparently stabbing herself, was struggling emotionally and financially, friends said.

Celia Ortega told the New York Post that her sister "had snapped", adding: "We don't understand what happened to her mind."

Neighbour Ruben Rivas told reporters she seemed to have suddenly aged in recent weeks and had lost weight.

Other friends said that Ortega had suffered a financial setback and was forced to move out of her rented apartment in the Bronx and into her sister's home.

Juan Pozo, who had rented a room from the Ortega family, told The New York Times that the nanny's sister told him that she had "felt like she was losing her mind" lately.

She had recently been taken by relatives to visit a psychologist, Mr Pozo said.

"Apparently over the last month she was not herself," said police department spokesman Paul Browne.

Police said they were unaware of any significant history of psychological problems for Ortega, but were investigating whether she had recently sought treatment.

Leo Krim, two, and Lucia, six, were found dying of stab wounds in the bath when their mother Marina returned to the family's Upper West Side apartment.

Mrs Krim had been with her other daughter Nessie while her husband Kevin was away on business.

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Chuck Berry, 86, Promises Recording Comeback

Music legend Chuck Berry has revealed that he is planning a comeback with six new songs at the age of 86.

Berry, a rock pioneer with early hits that included Roll Over Beethoven, Sweet Little Sixteen and Johnny B. Goode, announced the move as he was honoured at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

He told reporters at an award and tribute concert that some of the songs were written 16 years ago.

"As soon as I can get someone to guide me - and I do know a little about the business - I want to push them out," he said.

"I'm going to come back and push them out if you know what I mean, somehow."

Berry gave no more details about the new songs or when they might be released.

"They might be old, but they are the same type of music that I have been playing," he said.

The line-up for Saturday night's tribute concert honouring Berry at the State Theatre included Ernie Isley and Darryl DMC McDaniels, Rick Derringer and Merle Haggard.

Berry, who still performs monthly at a club in suburban St Louis, offered some advice to the performers: "Keep rocking, keep rocking. That's two words. Next word is: Be kind to your fans."

To mark the American Music Masters award presentation, the rock hall has mounted a special exhibition with items including Berry's stage clothes, a guitar and his 1958 Chess Records recording contract.

The hall's new library and archives has a separate exhibit featuring Berry's 1964 British tour programme and a handbill promoting his appearance with the Grateful Dead in 1968.

Past American Music Masters programme honorees include Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and Woody Guthrie.

Berry, the museum's first inductee in 1986, called the award and enshrinement in the rock hall a great honour.

"You can't get any higher in my profession than this building or this reason for this building," he said.

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Chinese Pollution Protests Enter Third Day

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, in Beijing

Protests have continued for a third day in the Chinese city of Ningbo against pollution from an oil refinery and petro-chemical plant.

It followed clashes with police on Saturday outside the city's local government headquarters and in the central Tianyi Square.

The plant produces 500,000 tonnes of paraxylene, or PX, which can damage the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. Chronic exposure can result in death.

On Friday officials said crowds attacked police and overturned cars.

The demonstrations are the latest in a string of environmental protests

The demonstrations in Ningbo – a city of 7.6 million near Shanghai – are the latest in a string of protests over environmental pollution.

Such incidents illustrate the social tensions confronting the central government ahead of its once-a-decade leadership transition.

Protests over workers' rights and other issues are growing in strength in China – but are still met with a strong hand and usually cracked down on by the government.

But it is particularly nervous at the moment ahead of the Communist Party Congress on November 8 which will start the power transition leading to the announcement of Xi Jinping as the country's next President.

The protests come ahead of China's once-a-decade political transition

Officials are quick to quash any criticism of some of the key issues which confront the new crop of leaders. Those issues also include the economy and corruption.

In an unusual move lawyers for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's family have denied reports over allegations over hidden wealth.

It follows a report by the New York Times which claimed that relatives of the Premier had controlled assets worth at least $2.7bn (£1.7bn).

The Chinese foreign ministry said the story "blackened China's name and had ulterior motives".

Authorities have now blocked access to the NYT's website in China.

It is unusual for the family of a senior Chinese leader to comment publicly on foreign media reports about them.

When Bloomberg ran an article earlier this year on the wealth of relatives of Xi Jinping there was no public response from the family.

The statement, issued by lawyers from two Chinese firms late on Saturday night said they had been "entrusted by the family members of Wen Jiaobo".

It said: "The so-called hidden riches of Wen Jiabao's family members in the New York Times' report does not exist.

"Some of Wen Jiabao's family members have not engaged in business activities. Some were engaged in business activities, but they did not carry out any illegal business activity. They do not hold shares of any companies."

It said that Wen's mother had never had any income or property beyond her salary and pension.

The statement added: "Wen Jiabao has never played any role in the business activities of his family members, still less has he allowed his family members' business activities to have any influence on his formulation and execution of policies."

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Peru: Deadly Riots At 'Criminal' Market

At least four people have been killed and over 20 hurt as police trying to shut down Peru's biggest wholesale market clashed with protesters.

The mayor of the capital Lima, Susana Villaran, want to move the market - reportedly an easy place to buy illegal goods and stolen merchandise - to a modern, cleaner facility nearby.

She has accused traders opposed to the move of paying criminals to attack officers.

The outbreak of violence in connection with the La Parada market has stunned residents and could hurt Ms Villaran's chances of re-election.

The skirmishes have also prompted criticism of President Ollanta Humala's interior minister, who is in charge of the police force that was caught off guard when protests broke out on Thursday.

Two civilians died during the initial violence while two others were killed on Saturday. One was shot and the other stabbed.

Riot police have been out in force firing tear gas at the demonstrators who threw rocks at police. More than 100 people have been arrested.

In a television interview, Ms Villaran called La Parada "a world where a lot of people earn a lot of money through criminal acts, control of territory, protection rackets. And they don't want to leave."

She called the violence "pre-meditated reaction by hired bands or troublemakers who want to continue ruling their territory outside the law. We are not going to permit that in Lima".

Ms Villaran had set a deadline of mid-September for traders to move to a new market in the Santa Anita district but they refused.

One unnamed shop owner said: "Why is Susana taking our bread away?"

The capital Lima has been hit by a series of strikes over the past month as unions demand better pay and complain of being left behind by a decade of growth that has seen the economy surge more than 6% a year.

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Earthquake Off Canada Sparks Tsunami Alert

Thousands of people in Hawaii have been ordered to leave their homes after a tsunami was triggered by an earthquake off the coast of Canada.

Initial warnings have now been downgraded but residents and tourists are still being advised to stay on higher ground until an all-clear is given.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit off the west coast of Canada, around 96 miles (155km) south of Masset in the Haida Gwaii region, at just after 8pm local time.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was followed by a 5.8 magnitude aftershock several minutes later.

An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 people who live in Hawaii's coastal zones were urged to move to higher ground after a tsunami warning was issued.

The earthquake hit around 96 miles off the coast of Canada

This was later downgraded to an advisory and video footage of the island of Oahu showed relatively small waves rolling towards the shore.

Lenore Lawrence, a resident of Queen Charlotte City on the Haida Gwaii, said the quake was "definitely scary".

She said the shaking lasted more than a minute and that several things had fallen off her mantlepiece. 

Residents in parts of British Columbia were also evacuated but the province seemed to escape the biggest quake in Canada since 1949 largely unscathed.

Lucy Jones, a USGS seismologist, said: "This isn't that big of an earthquake on tsunami scales. The really big tsunamis are usually up in the high 8s and 9s."

Tremors were felt across a wide area in British Columbia, both on its Pacific islands and on the mainland.

"It looks like the damage and the risk are at a very low level. We're certainly grateful," said Shirley Bond, British Columbia's minister responsible for emergency management.

Officials downgraded a tsunami warning to an advisory for southern Alaska and British Columbia. They also issued an advisory for areas of northern California and southern Oregon.

The first wave of the small tsunami, about four inches, hit the southeast Alaska coastal community of Craig.

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Ukraine Goes To Polls With Main Rival Jailed

Polls have opened in Ukraine's parliamentary election - in which the world heavyweight boxing champion is one of the main contenders.

Superstar boxer Vitali Klitschko has emerged as an unlikely challenger to the ruling elite in place of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

While Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's pro-business Regions party seems likely to win, it will face a re-energised opposition which has vowed to fight growing authoritarianism and corruption.

Klitschko, a famous Ukrainian sporting hero, has injected an element of unpredictability into the election and his liberal Udar party is expected to win a large number of seats.

It is the first ballot in the country since former prime minister Tymoshenko was jailed for abuse of office.

President Viktor Yanukovich

The last parliamentary election in the former Soviet republic of 46 million took place in 2010 when Tymoshenko lost to President Yanukovych in a bitterly fought contest.

Commentators expect Regions, bankrolled by industrialists and drawing on state resources, to keep a majority in the 450-seat assembly with support possibly from communists and some independents.

"We have rebuilt the country, we have achieved stability," Mykola Azarov, prime minister and formal leader of the Regions, told a close-of-campaigning rally on Friday.

But if it wins, Regions faces a tougher time in Parliament.

WBC world heavyweight champion Klitschko has pledged to team up with the opposition led by former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk to fight corruption they say deters entrepreneurial spirit and foreign investment.

Supporters of United Opposition attend a pre-election rally in Kiev

From her jail in Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast, Tymoshenko issued a statement that Yanukovich, who comes up for re-election in 2015, would set up a "dictatorship and never again give up power by peaceful means".

Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years last year for abuse of office relating to a 2009 gas deal with Russia she made when she was prime minister.

The Yanukovich government says the agreement saddled Ukraine with an enormous price for gas supplies.

Amid claims that her prosecution was politically motivated, Tymoshenko's imprisonment has prompted worldwide condemnation and anger.

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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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Nigeria: Revenge Attacks After Church Blast

At least two people have been killed in revenge attacks after a car bombing at a Catholic church in northern Nigeria.

Anger erupted after a suicide bomber drove a jeep laden with explosives into the packed St Rita's building, killing eight and injuring more than 100.

One of the church's walls was blasted open following the attack in Kaduna, a city on the dividing line between Nigeria's largely Christian south and Muslim north.

"The heavy explosion also damaged so many buildings around the area," said survivor Linus Lighthouse.

Shortly after the blast in the Malali part of the city, angry Christian youths took to the streets armed with sticks and knives.

A Reuters reporter saw two bodies at the roadside lying in pools of blood.

"We killed them and we'll do more," shouted a youth, with blood on his shirt, before police chased him and others away.

Police set up roadblocks and patrols in an attempt to prevent the violence spreading.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the jeep bombing.

But Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed similar attacks in the past and has attacked several churches with bombs and guns as it intensified its campaign against Christians in the past year.

At least 2,800 people have died in fighting since Boko Haram's campaign began in 2009, according to Human Rights Watch.

Most were Muslims in the northeast of the country, where the sect usually attacks politicians and security forces.

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Hurricane Sandy Disrupts Election Campaigning

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney overhauled campaign plans on Sunday as Hurricane Sandy threatened tens of millions of Americans.

The massive storm was churning up the US Atlantic coast nine days before voting in the extremely close race for the White House.

As the hurricane neared, Mr Romney scrapped appearances in Virginia to join running-mate Paul Ryan in Ohio.

Mr Obama brought forward his departure for Florida to Sunday evening to dodge the storm, which was forecast to begin hitting the Washington region on Monday with strong wind and drenching rain.

The president also planned a stop in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday before returning to Washington to monitor the storm.

The Obama campaign said the president was being briefed regularly on the hurricane and preparations for the federal government "to bring all available resources to bear" to ease the effects of the monstrous, late-season storm.

Barack Obama made a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Saturday

"The best thing we can do is focus on how we can help people during this storm and hope that it all clears out and that by the next weekend we'll be free of it and people can focus on the election," said top Obama strategist David Axelrod.

The president was going to the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Sunday to participate in a storm briefing.

The National Response Coordination Centre in Washington, DC, is where FEMA is managing the deployment of federal resources and teams to states along the East Coast ahead of the big storm.

Because of the hurricane, Mr Obama had also cancelled a campaign event in Virginia on Monday and one in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Tuesday.

Virginia and Colorado - like Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nevada - are the critical battleground states where the outcome of the election will be determined.

Democrats claim the president has the edge heading into the final full week of the campaign.

Republicans insist Mr Romney has the momentum necessary for victory.

Voters in many states are already casting ballots early, and about one-third of the electorate will have voted before Election Day.

In addition to scrambling to tweak schedules over the weekend, the campaigns were pumping millions of more dollars into TV ads running in the decisive battleground states.

Well-funded outside groups and super PACs are paying for direct mail, automated phone calls and other get-out-the-vote efforts.

Total spending in this campaign has exceeded $2 billion, making it the most expensive presidential race in the history of electoral politics.

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