CIA Director Petraeus Quits Over Affair

Officials have said revelations about the affair that led to Friday's resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus were discovered during an FBI investigation.

The Associated Press cites anonymous government officials who were briefed on the reasons behind General Petraeus' sudden resignation.

It was unclear what the FBI was investigating or when it discovered the Petraeus affair.

According to his letter of resignation, Gen Petraeus asked President Barack Obama on Thursday to allow him to resign, and on Friday the president accepted.

Gen Petraeus said he had shown "extremely poor judgement" in having an affair.

"Such behaviour is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organisation such as ours," Gen Petraeus wrote.

He had only been sworn in as director of the Central Intelligence Agency on September 6 last year.

Prior to that, he was a four-star general with 37 years' service in the US Army.

His last assignments in the army were as commander of Isaf, the International Security Assistance Force, and commander of US forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

The resignation took Washington's intelligence and political communities by surprise, coming as a sudden end to the public career of the best-known general in recent years.

In a statement released after the resignation was announced, President Obama hailed the "extraordinary service" of Gen Petraeus.

"David Petraeus has provided extraordinary service to the United States for decades," Mr Obama said. "By any measure, he was one of the outstanding general officers of his generation."

The president said the CIA's Deputy Director Michael Morell would serve as acting director.

"I am completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission," Mr Obama said.

Gen Petraeus has been married for 37 years to Holly Petraeus, whom he met when he was a cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point.

Although the president made no direct mention of Petraeus' reason for resigning, he offered his thoughts and prayers to the general and his wife.

He said Mrs Petraeus has "done so much to help military families through her own work. I wish them the very best at this difficult time."

The CIA has come under fire in recent weeks in the wake of the September 11 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Critics have questioned how much the intelligence agency knew about the likelihood and nature of the attack.

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Syria War: 11,000 Refugees Flee In 24 Hours

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Giffords Gunman Jared Loughner Jailed For Life

A man who admitted killing six people and injuring others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, in a shooting rampage has been jailed for life.

US District Judge Larry Burns sentenced Jared Loughner, 24, for the January 2011 attack in Tucson, Arizona.

He pleaded guilty to federal charges under an agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The hearing marked the first time victims could confront Loughner in court. Ms Giffords' husband Mark Kelly spoke on her behalf, saying his actions had changed his wife's life forever.

The former astronaut said: "Her life has been forever changed. Every day is a continuous struggle to do those things she once was so good at.

"Mr Loughner, you may have put a bullet through her head but you haven't put a dent in her spirit and her commitment to make the world a better place."

Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly outside the court in Arizona

Ms Giffords embraced her husband and they then walked away, with her limping.

Loughner showed no emotion as one by one other survivors addressed him.

Mavanell Stoddard, who was shot three times and cradled her dying husband as he lay bleeding on the pavement after shielding her from the spary of bullets, said: "You took away my life, my love and my reason for living."

Another victim, Susan Hileman, told him: "We've been told about your demons, about the illness that skewed your thinking.

"Your parents, your schools, your community, they all failed you.

Jared Loughner pictured in high school

"You pointed a weapon and shot me three times. And now I walked out of this courtroom and into the rest of my life and I won't think of you again."

Loughner admitted 19 federal charges - including murder and attempted assassination - as part of a plea deal three months ago. That deal meant he would avoid the death penalty.

He did not speak during the sentencing for the mass shooting, which took place outside a supermarket.

Ms Giffords has made a remarkable recovery from the traumatic head injuries she suffered, but has since retired from her political post.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Loughner will likely see out his life in a prison psychiatric unit, with no possibility of parole.

He was originally judged to be mentally unfit to stand trial and diagnosed as schizophrenic.

But he then underwent months of forced medication and treatment to restore his competency at a federal prison hospital in Missouri.

Psychologists eventually decided he could be tried, just before the plea deal was finalised.

The sentencing will mark the end of the federal case against Loughner, but he could still be tried for murder and other crimes in the Arizona state court.

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Syria: Assad 'Employing Cluster Bombs' In War

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in northern Syria

Sky News has found overwhelming evidence that the Syrian regime is using cluster bombs against its own people in contravention of international laws.

It comes despite repeated denials by Bashar al Assad's government, which has insisted the regime does not even possess the weapons.

The claims had already been made by rebel activists who are denounced by the Assad regime as terrorists and were then backed up by Human Rights Watch.

But until now the accusations could not be independently verified and have been repeatedly written off as lies and propaganda by the Syrian government.

This week, the UN political affairs chief told the Security Council that there was "credible evidence" that the regime had used cluster bombs.

But Sky cameraman Garwen McLuckie, producer Nick Ludlam, cameraman Jim Foster and myself travelled to northern Syria and discovered scores of unexploded Russian-made cluster bombs ourselves, providing overwhelming evidence that the regime is indeed using weapons. They are considered some of the most lethal in the world.

Holes showing evidence of cluster bombs in a field

The eyewitnesses we spoke to described the bombs raining down on them. Many still had unexploded bombs in their homes.

Two people died in the town of Tal Rafaat, near the Turkish border when the Government dropped cluster bombs from jets.

The bombs scattered bomb-lets over a wide area, landing in fields, on top of scores of homes and hitting cars driving down the road.

Shortly afterwards, according to residents, the jets also attacked Maarat Al Numan. Both towns have a strong rebel presence and many residents told us they believed they had been attacked because of their anti-government stand.

One resident of Tal Rafaat, who did not want to be named for fear of government reprisals, told us: "I am very scared. I have three children and they are all sick now and I believe it was because of the cluster bombs that they are sick.

"They have been terrified since we were attacked."

Damage from fighting in Aleppo

He showed us holes in his roof, in his garden wall and in his front room where the bombs had landed.

"Assad is a criminal," he said, "I am 42-years-old and I have never heard of this, in Chechnya or Palestine or anywhere in the world where a president attacks his own people like this. He wants to kill all of us."

Aamar Alommer, who also has three children - aged six, four and seven months - showed how the bombs had punctured his water tank and diesel storage before blowing a hole in his ceiling as his family were all at home having dinner.

"This is not just against international law," he said. "This is against humanity."

Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned the discovery. He said: "This footage is further evidence of the brutality of the Assad regime.

"The apparent use of cluster munitions shows an appalling disregard for human life. It reinforces the urgent need for all members of the UN Security Council to unite and respond to the crisis, and for all countries to step up efforts to hold the regime to account."

Ongoing conflict in Syria

Many of the residents believe the attacks amount to a war crime and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is hoarding the intact bombs in a secret location as evidence.

Two Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters accompanied us gathering up the unexploded cluster bombs which the residents repeatedly produced as we went from house to house.

Ahmed Ousow told us the aircraft turned up just after Friday prayers on October 12.

"There were lots of people around. The residents had all just attended prayers. there were no demonstrations at that time and then suddenly the jet started bombing," he said.

He spoke of finding two big bombs with multiple smaller bombs inside - and most inside did not detonate.

A few weeks earlier, in Bdama, also near the Turkish border, we discovered a landmine planted in the middle of a residential area and left behind by the retreating Syrian army.

The civil war in Syria is becoming more and more vicious - with video surfacing on the internet of the FSA fighters executing groups of captured Syrian soldiers. The United Nations said if it could be verified, the killings would also amount to a war crime.

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China Communist Congress To Name New Leader

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

A week-long Communist Party Congress has opened in Beijing marking the beginning of a vital leadership transition for the world's second largest economy and most populous nation.

At the end of the process, 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.

The pivotal meeting will take place near Tiananmen Square

China's method of shifting power is taking place just two days after the US election and the difference between the two could not be more stark.

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a remarkably opaque event.

Vague details of what to expect over the coming week were only announced on Wednesday, along with the date that the congress will end.

At the start of the event, 2,000 delegates, said to represent the Communist Party's 80 million members, filed into The Great Hall of the People next to Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Sitting before them were the nine members of the outgoing Standing Committee. They are the nine most powerful men in the country and include the outgoing President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

President Hu addresses the Communist Congress

The delegates listened to President Hu deliver a speech in which he is outlined what he and the Communist Party consider to have been a "golden decade" for China.

Mr Hu told delegates that the Communist Party needed to move into the 21st Century but there was no suggestion of the reform that many are calling for.

"We do not go down the road rigidly and without change," he said. "But we do not go by another road either."

"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," Mr Hu said.

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 Mr Hu's decade as leader, China has become the world's second largest economy.

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

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.

Take all these factors and then combine them with a population which is much more technologically connected and geographically mobile than it was 10 years ago and the result could be extremely tricky for the incoming leadership team.

That new team; the 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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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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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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British Soldier Stabbed To Death In Cyprus

A British soldier has been stabbed to death during a fight with UK tourists in a Cyprus nightclub, police have said.

Cypriot police said four off-duty soldiers stationed on the island got involved in an altercation with three tourists in the early hours of Sunday morning.

One of the tourists then allegedly drew a switch blade knife and stabbed the teenage soldier, according to police spokesman Georgios Economou.

He said: "Today at around 3.30am while a group of British soldiers from Dhekelia garrison were enjoying themselves at a club in Ayia Napa they had a confrontation with three of their compatriots.

"During the confrontation one of the three drew what is believed to be a knife injuring the soldier in the chest."

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Famagusta General Hospital in nearby Paralimni.

The three tourists, all British citizens, have been detained for questioning, police said.

Connie Pierce, a British military spokeswoman, said the incident took place in a part of Ayia Napa that is off limits to British soldiers because of past trouble there.

Two police sources told Reuters news agency the stabbing happened at Black & White nightclub.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "It is with great sadness that the MoD must confirm that a soldier from 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers has died in an incident in Cyprus.

"An investigation is being conducted by Cyprus police and it would be inappropriate to comment any further. The family has been informed and our thoughts are with them."

Around 3,000 British military personnel are stationed in Cyprus at bases retained after the former British colony gained independence in 1960.

In 2008 nine British soldiers went on trial accused of trashing a pub and beating up its owner during a mass bar brawl on the island.

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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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