Superstorm Sandy Batters US Eastern Coast

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

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

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

New York University hospital was forced to move patients to other hospitals after it lost power and its back-up generator broke down. Among them were 20 babies from neonatal intensive care - some on respirators operating on battery power.

The collapsed front wall of an apartment building in New York

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

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

Some 670,000 New York homes have been left without power by the storm, with electricity knocked out to more than six million Americans.

An explosion rocks a flooded New York power plant

Amateur footage captured a large explosion at a power station near East 14th Street.

Mr Bloomberg said the worst of the storm had passed and officials expected the tidal surge to recede by Wednesday.

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

Rain caused by Sandy could last for days

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

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

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

Sandy killed 69 people in the Caribbean, where many islands were left devastated by the extreme weather conditions.

Cars in Manhattan were submerged by floodwater

Haiti was worst-hit, with 52 confirmed dead and many more still missing. Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe described the storm as a "disaster of major proportions."

Residents of Cuba's second-largest city of Santiago were left without power and running water for four days.

After battering the Caribbean, Sandy then made its way up the Atlantic. As it made its way toward land, it converged with a cold-weather system that turned into a hybrid consisting not only of rain, high wind and snow.

Subways, buses, trains and schools were closed across a region of more than 50 million people from Washington to Boston.

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

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

At the White House, Mr Obama had made a direct appeal to those at risk. "Please listen to what your state and local officials are saying," he said.

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

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

HMS Bounty Sinks: Rescued Crew Member Dies

A woman who was pulled fom the Atlantic after abandoning ship in rough weather churned up by Hurricane Sandy has died, the US Coast Guard says.

Claudene Christian, 42, was unresponsive when she was rescued from the water on Monday evening - hours after the HMS Bounty went down in the storm off North Carolina.

Ms Christian, who lived and sailed on the ship, was hospitalised in a critical condition, and was later pronounced dead, Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class David Weydert says.

Ms Christian said on Twitter that she joined the ship's crew in May.

The Coast Guard is still searching for ship's captain, Robin Walbridge, 63.

Fourteen other crew members were rescued from the stricken ship, which was about 160 miles from the hurricane's centre.

The captain ordered his crew to abandon the ship at about 5am on Monday after the vessel had lost power and started to take on water.

Sixteen people were on board the ship when it sank

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hurricane Sandy: Thousands Flee Before Storm

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

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

Key evacuation areas affecting New York City and adjoining areas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Police officers monitor Times Square subway station

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

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

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

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

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

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

The projected storm track passes over New York

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

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

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

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

Some said the huge storm was a sign

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

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

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

Boarded up homes in the path of the storm

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

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

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

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

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

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police Poised For More Savile Case Arrests

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky News Reporter

Police investigating Jimmy Savile are preparing to make fresh arrests as today marks the anniversary of his death.

Yesterday, former pop star Gary Glitter became the first high-profile arrest under Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree.

He may be one of many. Police have drawn up a detailed arrest strategy as 30 officers work through some 300 allegations of abuse.

Today marks one year since Savile's death. At the time he was saluted for his charity work and long TV career.

Gary Glitter was arrested yesterday

Now the depictions of Savile couldn't be more different, described as a predatory paedophile and one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

For many of Savile's victims, including his own great niece, too many turned a blind eye for too long.

Caroline Robinson told Sky News: "The rewards they got from Jimmy Savile's name and everything else kept them in a lifestyle that they became accustomed to.

"I am sure the BBC, if they could have stopped this in the 60s when they first found out about the allegations, I would not be a victim now.

"I would not be sat here. They have wrecked my world apart. They are to blame.

"I think a vast amount of people knew at the BBC, at the NHS and the council.

"I think everybody knew who surrounded themselves with Jimmy Savile."

Today former Court of Appeal judge Dame Janet Smith begins the first of two independent inquiries.

It will focus on whether the culture and practices at the BBC allowed Savile to carry out his abuse.

A further review will examine current sexual harassment policies at the corporation.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hurricane Sandy: 60 Million People Warned

Hurricane Sandy is expected to affect up to 60 million people in the US when it meets two other powerful winter storms.

The threat has prompted President Barack Obama to cancel campaign events to monitor the storm from the White House.

The hurricane is continuing to head north from the Caribbean - where it has killed at least 43 people - to threaten the eastern US with sheets of rain, high winds and heavy snow.

Officials warned millions in coastal areas to get out of the way.

Experts said that no matter how strong it is when it hits land, the rare hybrid, monster storm - dubbed "Frankenstorm"-  will cause havoc over 800 miles (1,300kms) from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.

"This is not a coastal threat alone," said Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "This is a very large area."

Residents have boarded up their homes in New Jersey

Climate expert Andrew Freedman said: "This could get very bad actually.

"This could approach unprecedented or record levels of storm surge for parts of New Jersey, New York City, Connecticut, up into southern New England especially. We're pretty worried about the amount of water that's going to come in from the ocean."

Sandy weakened briefly to a tropical storm early on Saturday but was soon back up to Category One hurricane strength, packing 75mph (120kph) winds about 335 miles (539km) southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday.

Experts said the storm is most likely to hit the southern New Jersey coastline by late Monday or early Tuesday.

Governors from North Carolina, where heavy rain was expected on Sunday, to Connecticut have declared states of emergency, while Delaware has ordered mandatory evacuations of coastal communities.

Massachusetts was forecast to feel the hurricane's effects as early as Sunday evening and the peak of the storm's forces on Monday afternoon.

President Obama has cancelled some campaigning appearances

New York was considering shutting down the subways to avoid flooding. Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned New Yorkers of the dangers of Hurricane Sandy, but stopped short of ordering any evacuations.

"This is a dangerous storm and I think we're going to be OK but if it were to strengthen unexpectedly or change its expected path, it could do a lot of damage and you could be at risk," he said.

Half a dozen states have warned residents to prepare for several days of lost power.

It is feared that the presidential election could be affected by Hurricane Sandy.

The White House said the President was cancelling campaign appearances in Northern Virginia on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday so he can monitor Hurricane Sandy.

The President has directed his team to work to bring all available resources needed by state and local governments preparing for the storm, which could affect a third of the country with high winds, heavy rains and flooding.

A satellite image of Sandy off the US east coast

The storm's trajectory also caused Mitt Romney to cancel an event on Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Sunday.

The category one storm could cause further late changes to the candidates' campaign schedules and any resulting flooding and power cuts could make it hard for voters to get to the polls.

Meanwhile, airlines have told passengers to expect cancellations and have waived change fees for those who wanted to reschedule their trips.

The US National Weather Service said Sandy, after it hits the coast, is expected to merge with two winter weather systems near New York or New Jersey as it moves inland.

That combination may create a rare hybrid monster storm that could bring nearly one foot of rain, high winds and up to two feet of snow to the nation's most heavily populated corridor.

Experts said the storm could be wider and stronger than Hurricane Irene, which caused more than $15bn (£9.3bn) in damage when it struck in August 2011, and could rival the worst East Coast storm on record.

Members of a Joint Base in New Jersey prepare sandbags

"It's looking like a very serious storm that could be historic," said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground.

James Franklin, forecast chief for the National Hurricane Centre, added: "It's going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impact for a lot of people."

Electric utilities were taking no chances, lining up extra crews and tree-trimmers.

Trees that still have their leaves could be weighed down by snow and topple onto power lines, or strong winds could knock trees and lines down.

Some observers have compared Sandy to the so-called Perfect Storm that struck off the coast of New England in 1991, but that one hit a far less populated area.

"The Perfect Storm only did $200m (£124m) of damage and I'm thinking a billion" this time, the Weather Underground's Masters said.

"Yeah, it will be worse."

Earlier in the week Sandy killed more than 40 people in the Caribbean, wrecked homes and knocked down trees and power lines.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Child Killings: Police Search Nanny's Home

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More