CIA Director Petraeus Quits Over Affair

CIA Director David Petraeus has resigned over an extramarital affair - which officials say was uncovered by an FBI investigation.

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

He admitted 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," he 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.

Neither Gen Petraeus nor the CIA explained why he felt he had to step down over the affair, and whether his liaison presented a purely personal problem or raised security issues in his sensitive work as spy chief.

The affair came to light as the FBI was investigating whether a computer used by the general had been compromised, the New York Times and other US media reported, citing government officials.

General Petraeus with his wife Holly

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, whom he met when he was a cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point.

Although the president made no direct mention of Gen 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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BBC Apology Over Child Sex Abuse Slur

The future of one of BBC's flagship news programmes is in doubt over a report that wrongly implicated former Conservative Party treasurer Lord McAlpine in a child abuse scandal.

Newsnight made a unreserved apology on air on Friday night after Steve Messham admitted the man who abused him as a teenager at a care home in North Wales was not Lord McAlpine.

The 70-year-old peer found himself at the centre of a storm of internet speculation after Mr Messham told the BBC2 programme he had been abused by a senior Conservative from the Thatcher era.

In a statement, the corporation said: "We broadcast Mr Messham's claim but did not identify the individual concerned. Mr Messham has tonight made a statement that makes clear he wrongly identified his abuser and has apologised.

"We also apologise unreservedly for having broadcast this report."

Earlier, solicitors for Lord McAlpine indicated they were preparing to sue for defamation, saying their client's reputation had been left in "tatters".

BBC director general George Entwistle moved quickly to try to limit the damage, appointing BBC Scotland director Ken MacQuarrie to produce a report into why basic errors were made.

BBC boss George Entwistle has ordered an urgent inquiry into the fiasco

There will also be a "pause" in all ongoing Newsnight investigations while the BBC is suspending all co-productions with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which worked on the North Wales investigation.

Nevertheless, the disclosures come as another blow for the corporation which is still reeling from the Jimmy Savile scandal - including a decision to drop a Newsnight investigation exposing the late DJ as a child abuser.

Friday night's edition of Newsnight, which went out under the supervision of a senior news executive, carried a full, on-air apology for the broadcast on November 2.

Tory MP Rob Wilson, who was a fierce critic of the BBC over the Savile affair, questioned whether Newsnight could survive the latest fiasco.

He said Mr MacQuarrie needed to examine whether the programme on the Bryn Estyn children's home scandal had been an "over-compensation" for what happened over Savile or a "diversionary tactic" to draw attention away from the BBC.

"I want to have the information and evidence in front of me and take a considered view of whether Newsnight should continue or not," he said.

The programme had included an interview with Mr Messham who described how he used to be taken from the children's home to a hotel near Wrexham to be abused by men, including one described as a former senior Conservative.

Lawyers say Lord McAlpine's reputation has been 'severely damaged'

On Friday, Lord McAlpine finally broke cover to issue a vehement public denial of the "wholly false and seriously defamatory" claims against him.

In his statement, Lord McAlpine said he had visited Wrexham "only once", and that that had been in the company of an agent from Conservative Central Office. They visited a relative of Lord McAlpine's and did not stay overnight, he said.

"I have never been to the children's home in Wrexham, nor have I ever visited any children's home, reform school or any other institution of a similar nature," Lord McAlpine said.

"I have never stayed in a hotel in or near Wrexham, I did not own a Rolls-Royce, have never had a 'Gold card' or 'Harrods card' and never wear aftershave, all of which have been alleged.

"I did not sexually abuse Mr Messham or any other residents of the children's home in Wrexham."

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New York Storm: Mayor Orders Fuel Rationing

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered fuel rationing based on vehicle registration plates after the city was hit by its second severe storm in just over a week.

It comes as heavy snow fell across much of the northeastern US - bringing yet more misery for hundreds of thousands of people still without power since Sandy hit on October 29.

Mr Bloomberg announced at a news conference that drivers will be allowed to buy petrol on alternating days based on whether their licence plate ends in odd or even numbers.

"This is not a step that we take lightly," he said.

"Only 25% of our gas stations we estimate are open. Frustrations are only growing and it now appears there will be shortages for possibly another couple weeks."

Long lines like this one on Staten Island have been common in New York

He did not say when the measure would end.

Officials hoped the move would cut enormous lines of increasingly desperate drivers at city petrol stations - a shortage that has created a black market where unscrupulous online sellers offer fuel at more than twice the industry rate.

New York City has been hard hit by fuel shortages since Sandy struck on October 29 due to power cuts and petrol that has been stranded at refineries.

A second coastal storm, known as a nor'easter, struck on Wednesday bringing snow, rain and high winds - further hampering efforts to get the city's infrastructure back online.

The rationing plan, which follows a rationing programme similar to one implemented in New Jersey last week, begins on Friday at 6am local time (11am UK time).

Long Island will also impose the rationing system, which will begin on Friday at 5am local time.

More than 110 people died across the US northeast during Sandy

The system will mean licence plates ending in a letter are eligible to buy fuel on odd-numbered days.

Emergency vehicles, buses, taxis and certain other vehicles are exempt from the rationing system.

More than 110 people died across the US northeast during Sandy, which began as a deadly Caribbean hurricane before driving into New Jersey on October 29.

In New York City, authorities reported that the local death toll reached 41 when an elderly man was found dead in his building.

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo estimated that Sandy and its aftermath had caused $50 billion in damage, with New York state bearing $33 billion of that.

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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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Bradley Wiggins In Hospital After Bike Crash

Tour de France cycling champion and Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins is recovering in hospital after a crash.

Wiggins, 32, was thrown off his bike when he was in a collision with a white Vauxhall Astra Envoy outside a petrol station.

A police source said his injuries from the crash were thought to be very serious at first, but later it appeared he suffered a number of broken ribs and cuts and bruises.

The accident happened at about 6pm on Wednesday in Wrightington, Lancashire, which is near to his family home in Eccleston.

Father-of-two Wiggins is known to regularly embark on training rides around the area's rural roads.

Wiggins celebrates his time trial gold medal

The driver of the Astra, a local woman, was uninjured.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said last night: "Police were called to the scene of a road traffic accident at Crow Orchard Road in Wrightington at about 6pm.

"A cyclist has been involved in a collision with a white Vauxhall Astra car. The rider of the bike, a 32-year-old local man, was taken to hospital by ambulance with injuries not thought to be life-threatening. His family have been told."

Crash investigators visited the scene but the road did not need to be closed.

Garage attendant Yasmin Smith, who rushed to Wiggins's aid, told the Lancashire Evening Post: "By the time I got there he had moved to a safer place but was still on the ground and he was in a lot of pain.

Wiggins has become a household name after his summer successes

"He said he thought he had broken his ribs and while a lot of police cars arrived it was about 15 minutes before the ambulance got there, by which time he was blue."

In a statement on its website, Team Sky said: "We can confirm that on Wednesday evening Bradley Wiggins was involved in a road traffic accident whilst riding his bike near his home in Lancashire.

"He is being kept in hospital overnight for observation but the injuries he has sustained are not thought to be serious and he is expected to make a full and speedy recovery.

"We will announce more details in due course."

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Surgeon Faces Inquiry Over Breast Cancer Ops

A surgeon is to face a criminal inquiry over allegations about his treatment of more than 1,000 breast cancer patients.

More follows...

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Obama Wins: 'Pacific President' Looks East

Four more years for Barack Obama in the White House will see a US foreign policy which is increasingly focusing on China and the Asia-Pacific region.

The re-elected US leader has made it clear he likes to be seen as a 'Pacific President'. He talks often of a 'pivot towards Asia'. It gives you an idea of just how important he sees China and this part of the world.

After ending the war in Iraq and nailing the timeline of America's exit strategy from Afghanistan the president's eyes are focussed here in Asia for his second term.

That's because China is the rising power of the world and America knows that China wants to take over the title, if not of super-power of the world then certainly economic super-power, over the next 10 years.

President Obama has said he wants 60% of America's warships stationed in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020. He wants to extend America's influence as China seeks to spread and cement its dominance in the region.

Teaching the Chinese how a democracy work

China took delivery of its first aircraft carrier a few weeks ago, sending shudders through American military circles about China's ambitions.

China is already the resident super-power in Asia. It practically built Cambodia and Burma's new infrastructures with its no-strings loans. It is busy wooing Thailand, offering it technology for a high-speed rail link.

That all stacks up to a head-on geo-strategic rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region between the US and China.

China's GDP, while having slowed, is still at a staggering 7.4%. Mitt Romney had said if he won the election he would declare China a 'currency manipulator'. He says China is stealing American jobs by keeping its currency artificially low, enabling it to deliver cheap exports. 

It is clear that the issue of trade between the US and China is a top priority for President Obama too, if he is to deliver on his pledge of rebuilding the US economy and delivering more jobs.

We watched the US election unfold on big screens at a Beijing hotel at an event hosted by the US Embassy. There was a mock-up polling booth - and people dishing out stickers which said 'I voted'.

It is more than an ironic twist that the event was held on the eve of China's once-a-decade power transition - the 18th Communist Party Congress.

During the Congress China unveils its leaders for the next 10 years - chosen by the minute inner circle of the Communist Party elite. 

China is the world's most populous nation - 1.3 billion people - amounting to a fifth of the world's population. Yet none of them have a say in who will lead them.

At the US Embassy event, invited Chinese guests could choose whether to stand next to life-size cut-outs of Barack Obama or Mitt Romney to have their pictures taken. It is the only choice these Chinese people get to make when it comes to political events in China this week.

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