Americans Vote In Tightest Election For Years

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

Barack Obama looks on course to secure a second term in the White House as Americans cast their votes following the most expensive election campaign in history.

The president appears to have the narrowest of leads over rival Mitt Romney in a number of critical swing states.

The Republican candidate and his wife Ann voted in Belmont, Massachusetts, before he headed to Cleveland in Ohio and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania for some last-minute campaigning.

Asked who he voted for, Mr Romney said: "I think you know," adding he felt "very, very good" about his election prospects.

If elected, he would be the first Mormon to become US president.

Mitt and Ann Romney cast their votes in Belmont, Massachusetts

Mr Obama, who voted earlier in the campaign, is spending the day in his home town of Chicago. He has recorded a number of television and radio interviews to be broadcast today.

His vice-president Joe Biden cast his ballot in Greenville, Delaware, saying: "It's always a kick."

When asked if he thought it was the last time he would vote for himself, he told reporters: "No, I don't think so."

US vice-president Joe Biden votes in Delaware

Mr Biden shook hands with and hugged other voters as he waited. He urged Americans to vote "even if you have to stand in line".

In a possible sign of the tightness of the race, the first ballots on election day saw both candidates receive five votes each in the tiny town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

The president wrapped up his campaign with a rally in Iowa, the state where his 2008 campaign sparked into life, calling 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.

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

:: Watch full coverage on Sky News as the results come in from 2230

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 latest 'poll of polls' by RealClearPolitics puts Mr Obama on 48.8% and Mr Romney on 48.1%.

In swing states, Mr Obama had a 2.9% lead in Ohio and was ahead by slimmer margins in Virginia and Colorado. Mr Romney led in Florida.

Voting at the Boston Public Library

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 state polls suggest 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 the size of its population.

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 Obama and Mr Romney picked up five votes each in Dixville Notch

But Mr Romney's advisers have dismissed those polls and believe they have the momentum.

At a rally in New Hampshire on Monday night, Mr Romney 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.

Barack Obama's final rally in Iowa

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.

Both campaigns have victory rallies lined up, in Chicago and at Mr Romney's HQ in Boston. 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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Driver Made To Wear Idiot Sign As Punishment

A woman in Ohio has been ordered to wear an 'idiot' sign after driving on a footpath to avoid a school bus picking up children.

Shena Hardin, 32, will have to stand at a junction as a warning to others, after she was repeatedly caught on camera driving dangerously.

The bus driver captured her in the act on his mobile phone and then contacted police, who lay in wait on September 11.

Shena Hardin said little in court. Photo: Fox 8 Cleveland

A judge at Cleveland Municipal Court told Hardin she would have to wear a sign saying: "Only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."

Hardin will have to complete the humiliating punishment between 7.45am and 8.45am on two days next week.

She was also ordered to pay $250 (£156) in court costs and her driving licence was suspended for 30 days.

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Oz Tour: Charles And Camilla Off To The Races

By Paul Harrison, Royal Correspondent

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have joined 100,000 spectators at "the race that stops a nation", during the latest leg of their Diamond Jubilee tour in Melbourne.

The royal couple was in the stands at Flemington Racecourse to watch the famous Melbourne Cup and to meet some of the jockeys riding in the historic race.

Charles and Camilla shook hands and waved at the crowds as they made their way into the main grandstand ahead of the race.

The royal couple met some of the leading jockeys in the weighing room, including Ryan Moore from the UK.

He was riding Mount Athos and was quizzed by the Duchess about whether he was suffering any jetlag.

Camilla, who is a keen horse rider and equestrian fan, told jockey James McDonald, riding Fiorente, that "it's a treat for us" to be at the Melbourne Cup.

Fashion is as much a part of the event as the horse racing and the women racegoers were dressed in summer dresses and wore hats and fascinators.

Among the guests was Camilla's favourite milliner Philip Treacy.

Mr Treacy said: "It's a great honour to design hats for the future Queen of England and I'm very excited to be here on a day when the royal couple are in Melbourne."

For the Duchess, he had created a wide brimmed cream hat that matched her flowing coat and dress by Bruce Oldfield.

The prize money and trophies make the Melbourne Cup one of the richest handicap races in the world and it is always run on the first Tuesday in November.

Australia is Charles and Camilla's second leg of their Diamond Jubilee tour on behalf of the Queen.

It began in Papua New Guinea where the Prince of Wales made an address in the Pidgin language.

Upon arrival in Australia, he told Queenslanders he was so jet-lagged he felt "a few sausages short of a barbie".

The Duchess of Cornwall has never visited Australia or New Zealand, where the couple will travel next.

Earlier, the Prince of Wales visited Melbourne's Australian Tapestry Workshop, the only one of its kind in the country.

Prince Charles tried his hand at the ancient art of tapestry weaving.

The visit celebrated the collaboration of Australian arts institutions with the Prince's School of Traditional Arts.

And before going to the races, Charles visited Cricket Victoria's Harmony Programme at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The programme uses sport to integrate generations of migrant populations into the community.

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Nelson Mandela Notes Issued In South Africa

In a tribute to the first black president of South Africa, bank notes featuring a picture of Nelson Mandela have gone into circulation.

The notes, rolled out by the South African Reserve Bank, display the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon's smiling face.

Using the notes for the first time, Governor Gill Marcus described Mr Mandela as "a South African extraordinary human being".

"We felt it was time to reflect a new image that builds us. Everyone is excited about the new notes," she added.

Governor Gill Marcus said: "Everyone is excited about the new notes."

The images of one of the five big animals featured on the old bank notes - lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant - will be retained on the reverse of the note.

Mr Mandela, who is currently living out his retirement in his childhood rural village of Qunu, is happy with the notes according to Governor Marcus.

The former president was the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election in South Africa.

He is the first black face to appear on South African money.

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Crocodiles Leave Man Half-Eaten In Philippines

A man's half-eaten body has been found after he was attacked by crocodiles at a breeding farm in the Philippines, police say.

The victim, named by officers as unemployed 57-year-old Sorbelo Sajona, was discovered in a pond by workers at the privately-owned facility.

It is not known how Mr Sajona, who lived in a village a few miles away, had entered the farm on the southern island of Mindanao.

He was last seen drunk the previous day at a local cemetery, visiting the graves of his relatives like many other residents on All Saints' Day, authorities added.

While there was no sign of any other injuries, police have yet to officially conclude he was killed by crocodile bites, police officer Lowell Neniza said.

"There was no evidence of foul play, but the farm security guards told us they were clueless on how he got into the pond," he said.

The farm, in the rural town of Santo Tomas, is run by JK Mercado and Sons Agricultural Enterprises.

Company spokesman Lerio Gaceta said there were 2,800 saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to 4.3 metres (14ft) long, at the facility.

It exports the creatures' skins and sells the meat to local restaurants offering exotic cuisine.

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Greece: General Strike Before Austerity Vote

Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Athens as a two-day general strike begins ahead of a tight Parliamentary vote on a new round of austerity measures.

The 13.5bn euro (£10.8bn) package of proposed cuts and tax increases includes a rise in the retirement age to 67 as well as pensions being slashed by up to 15% for workers whose pots are worth more than 1,000 euros (£800) per month.

The effects of the strike - the third general strike in six weeks organised by the country's two main unions - are being felt in both the public and private sectors with at hundreds of thousands failing to show for work.

Many schools, banks and local government offices have been closed while scores of flights have been cancelled.

Public bus workers in the capital and taxi drivers as well as metro, tram and train workers also walked out, paralysing traffic in the capital.

Ferry lines were also crippled, as ships linking to Greece's islands remained docked.

The General Strike has largely shut down the Greek public transport system

The government argues that the strikes only make the country's dire economic situation more perilous.

It needs the austerity bill to pass through parliament to secure crucial international aid totalling 31.5bn euros (£25bn) and prevent the debt-laden nation from potentially defaulting later this month.

According to EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn, the international lenders and Greece are on track to reach a deal to unfreeze the next tranche of loans at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on November 12.

The EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund demanded more savings in return for further financial support.

The austerity package, which was put to the Greek parliament late on Monday, would also include salary cuts for academics, hospital doctors, judges, diplomats and members of the armed forces.

There is a heavy police presence outside the Greek Parliament

Greek MPs are due to hold an emergency vote on Wednesday with opposition critics saying the measures will only deepen the country's five-year recession.

It is understood unions are lobbying sceptics of the plan in a bid to force a defeat on the government - a nightmare scenario for the pro-euro camp which could force the country back to the drachma.

But there is support among the public for the austerity plan as many admit there may not be a better solution.

Yannis Levas, who works in a recruitment company aimed at finding jobs for Greeks abroad, called the measures "a double-edged sword".

"On the one side they must not go through, on the other they must. There is always that dilemma if we will return or not to the drachma," he said.

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Putin Axes Defence Minister Over Military 'Fraud'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sacked defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov two weeks after a criminal investigation was opened into alleged fraud over the selling off of military assets.

The surprise announcement was made during in a televised meeting between Mr Putin and Moscow regional governor Sergei Shoigu, whom he appointed as the new minister.

Mr Serdyukov's departure comes amid accusations that the state has been cheated of around $100m (£63m) because its assets, including property, were sold off at prices that were far below market value.

"Taking into consideration the situation around the defence ministry, I have made a decision to relieve defence minister Serdyukov of his post in order to create conditions for an objective investigation of all the issues," Mr Putin said.

Some analysts believe the sacking of a top official who had enjoyed the president's unconditional support is aimed at instilling fear in the elites as the Russian strongman struggles with the worst political crisis of his almost 13-year rule.

"This decision is very much in the spirit of Stalin," said Pavel Felgenhauer, a military commentator for opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta. "You need to keep the elites in fear."

A former furniture salesman who rose to head the Russian tax authority, Anatoly Serdyukov became the first civilian to serve as post-Soviet Russia's defence minister when he was appointed in 2007.

However, his lack of military credentials and controversial military reform programme earned him derision in the defence ministry as he tried to push through an army overhaul.

Mr Putin had previously repeatedly resisted calls from within the military for Mr Serdyukov - the son-in-law of Viktor Zubkov, a former Russian deputy prime minister and a long-time Putin ally - to leave his post.

"There are no indispensable people for Putin," a defense ministry source said, adding that the armed forces had greeted Mr Serdyukov's sacking with "moderate joy".

Mr Shoigu is another Putin loyalist, who headed the country's emergency ministry from 1994 until earlier this year.

He has often accompanied Putin on his macho fishing and wildlife-spotting stunts but usually remains in the background.

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Skydiver Baumgartner Loses Assault Appeal

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner has lost his appeal against an assault conviction dating from before his record-breaking freefall from the edge of space last month.

The 43-year-old daredevil was found guilty last April and fined €1,500 ($1,900 or £1,189) for hitting a Greek truck driver after an altercation near the Austrian city of Salzburg in September 2010.

His lawyer claimed it was self defence and launched an appeal, which was rejected by the Salzburg court.

The truck driver insisted Baumgartner had thrown the first punch.

"He apologised and was convicted in absentia with the consent of his attorney. The matter is now finished," a spokeswoman for the appellate court in Salzburg told reporters.

The skydiver became the first man to break the sound barrier unaided as he plummeted more than 24 miles towards the Earth in a freefall watched live by millions around the globe on October 14.

The jump above New Mexico was the highest and fastest freefall ever recorded.

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Iraq: Deadly Bomb Blast Hits New Recruits

At least 25 people have been killed in a car bombing in the front of an Iraqi army base as potential new recruits gathered, officials say.

The suspected suicide bombing in the town of Taji, 15 miles north of the capital Baghdad, was the deadliest single attack in the country since July.

More than 40 other people were hurt in the explosion that took place as the base was holding a recruitment day to welcome potential new troops.

It was not immediately known how many of them were among the victims.

Such events have previously been targets of militants trying to carry out mass-casualty attacks.

It was the second bombing in Taji in less than 24 hours. On Monday, police said a car bomb struck an army patrol not far from the site of Tuesday's blast, wounding eight people.

The latest bombing is likely to raise fresh concerns over the capabilities of Iraq's security forces 11 months after American troops left.

The Iraqis are seen as capable of largely maintaining internal stability, despite regular deadly attacks nationwide, but are widely acknowledged as being unable to protect their borders, airspace or maritime territory.

No group immediately admitted responsibility for the attack although al Qaeda's front group in Iraq has claimed previous attacks on recruitment centres.

The Sunni extremist group sees security forces and civil servants as supporters of Baghdad's Shia-led government.

It was the worst single attack since July 23, when a series of co-ordinated blasts also in Taji killed 42 people on what was Iraq's deadliest day in two-and-a-half years.

The latest fatalities came after figures released last week showed a sharp decline in attacks in October, with the number of people killed the lowest since June.

Violence is sharply down nationwide since its peak during Iraq's brutal sectarian war in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common, especially in and around Baghdad.

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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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