Deadly early snowstorms hit US northeast

• New Yorkers make their way through falling snow in New York. Snow and icy rain pelted …
• A vendor cleans the fresh snow around his stall of Halloween pumpkins at a farmers …

Freezing conditions hit the US East Coast on Sunday after a rare October snowstorm and icy rain reportedly killed at least three people, sparked long airport delays and caused massive power outages.
The "historic early season" snowstorm wrought havoc on air, rail and road traffic from Washington to Boston, with the National Weather Service warning that travel at night would be "extremely hazardous."
One person died in Connecticut in a traffic accident caused by icy road conditions, local media reported.
In Massachusetts, a fallen power line electrocuted a man, and a tree that fell under the weight of snow killed a person in Pennsylvania, the reports said.
A total of two million people were without power in a storm zone stretching from the Mid-Atlantic to New England, MSNBC reported.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency across his state "because of the severe weather conditions," he said on Twitter.
Nearly 500,000 customers were without power in New Jersey alone, he said, urging residents to "stay safe and off the roads."
Air travelers were seeing an average delay of six hours on flights to and from Newark International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Similar problems were affecting New York's Kennedy international airport.
Passengers at Philadelphia's international airport were experiencing delays of two and a half hours on average, the FAA said on its website.
Rail travel was also hit, with the Amtrak service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg suspended until further notice due to signal problems caused by the storm.
Christie said there were "significant closures and delays" on NJ Transit train lines due to downed trees on the tracks.
Forecasters issued a winter storm warning for large parts of the northeast, in effect until 6:00 am (1000 GMT) Sunday, predicting heavy snow, freezing temperatures and strong winds with gusts of up to 60 miles per hour (100 kph).
Nearly a foot (30 centimeters) of snow fell in parts of Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey, authorities said.
In Manhattan, where the storm marked the first October snow in decades, forecasters said up to 10 inches could fall.
In Maryland and West Virginia, some towns already had 10 inches on the ground as of 2000 GMT Saturday, the weather service said.
Unseasonably cold air was pouring into the northeast, and deep tropical moisture was set to surge northward along the east coast and "fuel an expanding area of heavy rain and snow."
Much of the region was hit by Hurricane Irene in August. Its heavy rains and wind killed more than 40 people, left millions without power, destroyed homes and caused record flooding.
The unseasonably cold and wet weather did not dampen the spirits of anti-Wall Street protesters camped out in New York and Washington.
"Snow, what snow? I've got a country to worry about," read a sign held by a woman at New York's Zuccotti Park -- the nerve center of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
"We're cold, we're wet -- cancel the debt!" chanted a few dozen protesters marching in downtown Washington.
At the White House, President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle did not let the weather ruin their annual Halloween trick-or-treating event. They handed out candy, cookies and dried fruit to area children wrapped in wet coats.
"Let's give out some candy," Obama said. "I know it's cold. ... It's not ideal out here."

Hells Angels feud leaves trail of death and destruction

California's worst biker gang feud for a decade, which began as a battle over the right to use a Starbucks coffee shop, has left several men dead, wounded or missing.

Santa Cruz deputy police chief Steve Clark said: 'It was all about who would be allowed to hang out at the Starbucks downtown' 

The bloody turf war between the Hells Angels and a rival motorcycle club called the Vagos, has also led to shoot outs in the neighbouring states of Nevada and Arizona.

According to the US Justice Department both the Hells Angels and the Vagos are "outlaw" gangs involved in drug and weapons trafficking, extortion and money laundering.

The current spate of bloodshed between them can be traced to a disagreement at a Stabucks in the beach town of Santa Cruz last year.

A brawl in which some participants wielded ball-peen hammers erupted outside the coffee shop before police arrived and bikers scattered.

That led to a gunfight in the northern Arizona town of Chino Valley which left five people wounded and 27 under arrest.

Last month the president of a Hells Angels chapter, Jeffrey Pettigrew, 51, was shot dead at a casino in Sparks, Nevada and a Vagos member was wounded in a drive-by shooting the next day.
At Pettigrew's funeral on Oct 15 another leading Hells Angel, Steven Tausan, 52, was shot and killed in an apparent internal quarrel over the death of their leader.
The alleged funeral gunman Steven Ruiz was initially thought to have been killed and police dug up a grave at the cemetery where they thought he had been hastily buried.
He was not there and is now believed to be on the run.
The last large scale California biker feud, between the Hells Angels and a group known as the Mongols, stemmed from a casino riot in 2002 and left at least three bikers died.
The Hells Angels were founded in 1948 in California, and have since established more than 230 chapters with up to 2,500 members worldwide.
Leaders of the organisation deny involvement in criminal activity and argue the club should not be blamed for the illegal actions of individual bikers.
The Vagos were formed in California in the late 1960s and have around 600 members in the western United States and Mexico.
Graham Barlowe, a US Department of Justice agent in California, said: "There have been concerns about this rivalry for some time."
Santa Cruz deputy police chief Steve Clark said: "It was all about who would be allowed to hang out at the Starbucks downtown.
"The Vagos brazenly came in and tried to cement their presence. It was a pretty strong play on their part to establish themselves as the premiere club.
"Only in Santa Cruz would you have biker wars over who's going to control pumpkin spice lattes."

Kenya troops move into Somalia to pursue kidnappers

 

Kenyan troops have been converging on the border with Somalia in recent days

Kenya has sent troops into Somalia in a bid to pursue militants it suspects of carrying out a spate of kidnappings.

Government spokesman Alfred Matua said troops were pursuing Somali al-Shabab militants across the border.
But a Somali diplomat at the United Nations said that if the reports were true it would be a violation of Somalia's sovereignty.
Several Westerners have been seized in Kenya by suspected Somali militants and taken into Somalia.
Two Spanish aid workers were abducted from Kenya's sprawling Dadaab refugee camp on Thursday.
A British woman and a French woman have been kidnapped from remote beach resorts over the past month, dealing a major blow to Kenya's tourism industry.
The first secretary of Somalia's mission to the United Nations, Omar Jamal, said the reports of Kenyan soldiers crossing the border had not been officially confirmed but said he was afraid the involvement of Kenyans in Somalia could make the situation worse.
"We understand the Kenyan concerns very well," he said.
"However if any action is to be taken... the Somali government has to be on the same page, the Somali government has to be informed, the Somali government has to know exactly in many details what is going on, otherwise it will be a different story."
Warplanes An eyewitness said he had seen about 25 armoured vehicles full of Kenyan soldiers passing through the Somali town of Dhobley. Tanks were also seen.
There are reports that Kenyan military helicopters have been carrying out raids in Somalia.
Senior Somali military commander Abdi Yusuf told Reuters that warplanes had attacked two al-Shabab bases in southern Somalia but could not confirm if the jets were Kenyan.
"I can't identify the military aircraft, but our neighbour Kenya is fully supporting us militarily and our mission is to drive al-Shabab out of the region," he said.
In response, al-Shabab - the radical Islamist insurgent group in Somalia - tried to raise the alarm in the areas it controls, AP news agency reports.
Residents in the town of Qoqani said militants were going into people's homes and forcibly recruiting new fighters, the report said.

 

MSF worker Montserrat Serra was abducted along with her colleague Blanca Thiebaut

 

Senior al-Shabab figure Sheikh Hassan Turki vowed to repulse the Kenyan forces.
"Kenya violated the territorial rights of Somalia by entering our holy land, but I assure you that they will return disappointed, God willing," he said.
"Mujahideen fighters will force them to test the pain of the bullets."
Abdirahman Omar Osman, spokesman for Somalia's UN-backed government, said Kenya is "providing logistical and moral support" but insisted that Somali forces are the ones "battling the Shabab on the ground".
Kenyan Defence Minister Yusuf Mohammed Haji said: "If you are attacked by an enemy, you are allowed to pursue that enemy until where you get him. We will force them far away from our border."
Our correspondent says some Kenyans fear their country could become a target for more al-Shabab attacks if it becomes more deeply embroiled in Somalia's conflict.
Kenya's Internal Security Minister, George Saitoti, announced on Saturday that forces would be sent to fight al-Qaeda inside Somalia.
The move comes days after the two aid workers with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), named as Blanca Thiebaut and Montserrat Serra, were taken from Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp.

Just 80km (50 miles) from the Somali border, Dadaab currently houses nearly half a million refugees, most of whom are Somalis who have fled conflict and famine.
A Kenyan driver working for the Care charity was abducted from Dadaab on 21 September.
Last month, 56-year-old Briton Judith Tebbutt was kidnapped - and her husband David killed - by gunmen while the couple were on holiday in a remote Kenyan resort at Kiwayu.
On 1 October, a 66-year-old French woman was seized by an armed gang on Kenya's northern resort island of Manda and taken to Somalia.
The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to the Kenyan coast near the Somali border.

Egypt clashes: Copts mourn victims of Cairo unrest

Eyewitnesses said people were deliberately shot and run over by military vehicles

Thousands of Egyptian Coptic Christians have gathered for the funerals of protesters killed during clashes with security forces in Cairo on Sunday.

Many mourners expressed anger at the army, which they blame for the deaths.
The protesters say they were attacked by thugs before the security forces fired on them and drove military vehicles into the crowds.
The ruling military council has ordered a swift inquiry into the violence, in which 25 people died.
The council, which was handed the power to govern by President Hosni Mubarak before he was ousted in a popular revolt, is in temporary charge of the country while elections are organised.
US President Barack Obama called for restraint "so that Egyptians can move forward together to forge a strong and united Egypt".
"These tragic events should not stand in the way of timely elections and a continued transition to democracy that is peaceful, just and inclusive," he said in a statement.
The Copts, who make up about 10% of Egypt's 85 million population, have a number of grievances against the interim administration.
They say the authorities have been slow to punish radical Islamists who have attacked their churches.
Infiltrators blamed Sunday's protest was sparked by the burning down of a church in the southern Aswan province.

Coptic Christians organised Sunday's demonstration after a church was set on fire near Aswan last week. Local Muslims insisted it did not have the proper construction permits.
In the past few months, security services have repeatedly been accused of failing to intervene to stop sectarian clashes across the country.
The transitional government is also accused of doing little to address the long-standing grievances of Christians. These include complaints about restrictions on building churches and a school curriculum focused on Islam.
Speaking on al-Arabiya television, Fouad Allam, the former head of Egypt's security services, gave a stark warning: "There needs to be serious action from the leaders to resolve the root causes, otherwise this could lead to civil war."

On Monday there were more angry scenes and low-level clashes between security forces and Copts, who had gathered for the funerals.

Many mourners directed their anger against the military, and particularly the head of the military council Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi.
"Tantawi you traitor, the blood of Copts is not cheap," Christians chanted outside the hospital where the bodies of their loved ones had been stored.
Others called for Field Marshal Tantawi to be deposed.
In addition to the 25 people who were killed on Sunday, hundreds more were injured.
It is not clear how many of those killed were Christians, but the authorities said three soldiers were among the dead.
Coptic Church leader Pope Shenuda III blamed Sunday's violence on infiltrators.
"The Christian faith denounces violence. Strangers infiltrated the demonstration and committed the crimes for which the Copts have been blamed," the pope said in a statement.
The military called on the government to carry out a quick investigation into the clashes by "forming a fact-finding committee to determine what happened and take legal measures against all those proven to have been involved".
Security has been stepped up at vital installations in Cairo, with additional troops deployed outside parliament and the cabinet building in anticipation of further unrest.
Election tension Thousands of people - mainly but not exclusively Christians - joined Sunday's march from the Shubra district of northern Cairo to the state TV building in Maspero Square.
They were calling on the military council to sack the governor of Aswan province.
They also accused state TV of fanning the flames of anti-Christian agitation.
The demonstrators said they were assaulted by attackers in plain clothes before the clashes with the security forces broke out.

Egypt's Copts

• Estimates of the number of Coptic Christians in Egypt range from 5.6m to 11m
• Descended from ancient Egyptians; Coptic language is derived from ancient Egyptian
• Split from Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics in 451AD in row over nature of Christ
• On most issues doctrinally similar to Eastern Orthodox Church

The violence began outside the state TV building but soon spread to Tahrir Square, the centre of the demonstrations which led to President Hosni Mubarak's resignation in February.

There were reports of thousands joining in the street violence, attacking both sides. Rioters tore up the pavement and hurled stones.
Christians in Egypt have been worried by the increasing show of strength by ultra-conservative Islamists.
In May, 12 people died in attacks on Coptic churches. In March, 13 people were killed in clashes between Muslims and Copts in Tahrir Square.
A parliamentary election is scheduled for 28 November, the first such vote since Mr Mubarak was ousted.
The Copts, the largest minority in Egypt, complain of discrimination, including a law requiring presidential permission for churches to be built.
And the country recognises only conversions from Christianity to Islam, but not the other way.

New Zealand oil ship leak 'raises questions'

Bruce Anderson, Maritime New Zealand: "It has the potential to be a significant environmental impact"

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key says "serious questions" must be answered about why a container ship ran aground on a reef off one of the country's most spectacular coastlines.

Oil leaking from the Liberian-flagged Rena has created a 5km (3 mile) slick.
An all-out effort is under way to remove nearly 2,000 tonnes of oil from the vessel, which is stranded 12 nautical miles off the coast.
Heavy swells and gale-force winds are forecast for the area from Monday.
Officials says 20-30 tonnes of oil have already spilled into the Bay of Plenty, one of the country's top tourist destinations, since the MV Rena ran aground on Wednesday.
If the ship breaks up, it could release 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel into an area that is home to whales, dolphins, seals, penguins and a variety of other birds.
'Working tirelessly' John Key, who flew over the scene in a helicopter on Sunday, said two inquiries to determine why the ship had collided with the Astrolabe Reef were already under way.
"People know about the reef, and for it to plough into it for no particular reason - at night, in calm waters - tells you something terrible has gone wrong and we need to understand why," he told Radio New Zealand.

 

Four naval vessels and two barges are in the area to try to contain the spill.
The barges have already begun scooping up the oil that has spilled into the sea.
A third ship is alongside the MV Rena and attempts are under way to hook them up so the oil can be transferred off the stricken ship.
But the process of linking up the two ships is tricky in the calmest of conditions, and will be all but impossible in gale-force winds and heavy swells, our correspondent adds.
And, because one end of the ship is stuck on the reef while the other floats free, the oncoming storm brings another fear for rescue teams.
"Once you increase the swell, the upsurge, the lift on the aft end of the ship will increase, and the chances of her separating start to rise," explained Marine Risk Assessor John Riding.

"From tip to toe, they are covered in black sticky gunk, matting up all their feathers right down to the skin”

Brett Gartrell Wildlife Health Centre

 

The MV Rena's owners, Greece-based Costamare Inc, said it was "working tirelessly" on the response.

"Minimising any impact to New Zealand's coastline is the absolute priority," the firm said in a statement. "The current primary focus of the salvage operations is the safe transfer of the vessel's fuel oil from her tanks."
Our correspondent says that the next 48 hours will determine whether this incident can be contained or become a serious environmental disaster.
Exclusion zone
The department of conservation has established two wildlife rescue centres and dispatched teams to scour the beaches and islands of the Bay of Plenty looking for oil-covered animals and birds.
The maritime authorities has said a total of eight oiled birds, including little blue penguins, had been recovered and taken to a wildlife facility in Te Maunga.
"From tip to toe, they are covered in black sticky gunk, matting up all their feathers right down to the skin," said Brett Gartrell, of New Zealand's Wildlife Health Centre. "They have ingested it and started to get anaemic which is part of the toxic effect of the oil."
Officials say they are preparing for the possibility the slick will hit the coast, after dispersants sprayed from aircraft proved ineffective.
"It has the potential to be very, very serious indeed, simply because of the age of the ship, the damage she's sustained," Andrew Berry of Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) said.
MNZ has established a one-kilometre maritime exclusion zone around the ship and warned that the fuel oil is toxic.
The animal welfare group Forest and Bird said the timing of the accident, in the middle of the breeding season for birds, was "disastrous".

Libya NTC fight Gaddafi forces in streets of Sirte

Commanders say they are mounting fresh tank and artillery attacks on areas still held by Gaddafi loyalists

Street fighting has raged in Sirte for a second day as troops loyal to Libya's transitional government confront the remnants of ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Interim authority forces seized control of a key boulevard, isolating a conference centre where Gaddafi loyalists have been holed up.
Thousands of civilians remain trapped.
Once Sirte falls, Libya's leaders say they will declare liberation, even if Col Gaddafi remains on the run.
"There is a very vicious battle now in Sirte," said National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil in the capital Tripoli.
"Today our fighters are dealing with the snipers that are taking positions and hiding in the city of Sirte."

What looked yesterday like a rapid sweep through Col Gaddafi's hometown has slowed down to a grinding battle to take each street and each building.
Civilians have continued to leave Sirte when they can, in cars overloaded with people and their possessions. They're stopped and searched thoroughly for any evidence of pro-Gaddafi sympathies before they can move on, although many say they have no other place to go.
They looked terrified. Some said they still loved Gaddafi and would have stayed and fought, but for the welfare of their families.
They were convinced, they said, that they would be killed when they came out. In an effort to ease those fears, government fighters handed out bottles of water and flags of the new Libya that these dogged supporters of the old regime have so fiercely resisted.

Snipers on rooftops

On Friday, NTC forces launched what they called a final assault on Sirte, pushing pro-Gaddafi fighters back from their positions and towards the city centre.

But on Saturday, their rapid advance slowed down as they fought street by street to take control of the city, Col Gaddafi's birthplace and a symbolic second capital for Libya.
Pro-Gaddafi snipers fired from the rooftops of the Ouagadougou conference centre, the university and a complex of flats.
However, the NTC side won control of a key boulevard which connects the Ouagadougou centre to central Sirte.
NTC fighter Faraj Leshersh told Reuters the Gaddafi loyalists were experts at operating unseen, using trenches or burning tyres to give themselves cover to move between buildings.
"They took advantage of the dust and they advanced a little. There is 500m (yards) between us and them," he said.
Civilians continued to leave Sirte, on foot and by car. They were stopped and searched by NTC forces at checkpoints.
The NTC gave civilians the opportunity to leave before the assault began.
However, thousands remained in the city, unable to get out or fearful after warnings from pro-Gaddafi fighters that they would be attacked by the interim forces if they surrendered.
Efforts to negotiate with loyalist commanders have also failed. On Thursday, Col Gaddafi delivered an audio message urging Libyans to take to the streets "in their millions" to resist the interim leaders.
Pro-Gaddafi forces also control the desert enclave of Bani Walid, but it is seen as less significant as it does not lead to any exit routes from the country.

Nobel Peace Prize split between three women

Nobel committee chair Thorbjrn Jagland made the Peace Prize announcement

This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded jointly to three women - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen.

They were recognised for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work".
Mrs Sirleaf is Africa's first female elected head of state, Ms Gbowee is a peace activist and Ms Karman is a leading figure in Yemen's pro-democracy movement.
Announcing the prize in Oslo, Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said: "We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women achieve the same opportunities as men to influence developements at all levels of society."
"It is the Norwegian Nobel Committee's hope that the prize... will help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realise the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent."

 

The women had led the non-violent struggle for women's political rights, said the committee

Ms Karman was recognised for playing a leading part in the struggle for women's rights in Yemen during the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings "in the most trying circumstances".
She told the Associated Press she was dedicating the prize "to the youth of revolution in Yemen and the Yemeni people".
Ms Sirleaf, 72, was elected to office in 2005, following the end of Liberia's 14-year civil war. She had said she would only run for one term, but is standing for re-election next week.
Ms Gbowee was a leading critic of the violence of the civil war, mobilising women across ethnic and religious lines in peace activism - in part through implementing a "sex strike" - and encouraging them to participate in elections.
"She has since worked to enhance the influence of women in West Africa during and after war," said the award citation.
The women will share the $1.5m (£1m) prize money.

Sarah Palin says she will not run for president in 2012

 

Sarah Palin burst on to the national political scene in 2008 as vice-presidential candidate

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has declared she will not run for the White House next year.

Mrs Palin said in a statement that the decision came after much thought, and that she and her husband, Todd, "devote ourselves to God, family and country".
The 47-year-old's announcement ends months of uncertainty over her plans.
Ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry lead the Republican pack to challenge Barack Obama for the White House in 2012.
"After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States," Ms Palin wrote in a letter to supporters.
"My family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision."

It's not a big surprise. For months the polls have shown a distinct lack of support among Republican voters for a Palin presidential bid.
And while party movers and shakers were shrieking for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to enter the race, there was a deafening silence regarding Mrs Palin.
The GOP faces searching questions about 2012 but the former Alaska governor was simply not the answer.
That's not to say that Sarah Palin cannot play a part in the campaign. Last year's midterms showed her to be a fiery, formidable campaigner for Republican congressional and gubernatorial candidates, a role she will now reprise with gusto.
Likewise, the declared Republican candidates for the presidency will compete for her blessing and for the support of her loyal followers.
The decision draws a line under the existing Republican field. It now looks to be a case of the centrist former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney versus whichever of the more conservative candidates can challenge him. Texas Governor Rick Perry, in particular, will be breathing a sigh of relief because a Palin run might have further eaten into his already shrinking support.

But Mrs Palin said that in the coming weeks she would "co-ordinate strategies to assist in replacing the president, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House".

Mrs Palin did not endorse any of the existing presidential contenders, but ruled out running as a third-party candidate.
Speaking to talk radio host Mark Levin, she said: "I would assume that a third party would just guarantee Obama's re-election and that's the last thing our republic can afford. So the consideration is not there for a third party, no."
Her announcement comes a day after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ruled himself out of the race.
Mrs Palin burst on to the national political scene in 2008 as the vice-presidential candidate on the White House ticket of Arizona Senator John McCain.
After losing the 2008 election she returned to Alaska, and then stepped down as governor half way through her first term.
Mrs Palin had fanned speculation that she was considering a bid for the presidency when she announced a summer bus tour with stops in early-voting US states.
She has been a champion of the conservative Tea Party movement and is one of the most recognisable faces in US politics.
The mother-of-five has signed a number of lucrative television deals, published two best-selling books and set up a successful fundraising machine.

Greece hit by new 24-hour general strike over austerity

 

The strike has largely shut down public transport in the capital

A 24-hour general strike is underway in Greece in protest at the nation's austerity measures.

Flights and ferry services are expected to be cancelled, schools will be closed and hospitals will be working with reduced staff.
Greece's biggest unions will want a huge turn-out to prove that resistance is still strong.
The European Commission is meeting later to discuss co-ordination on propping up banks in Europe.
Global financial markets have been in turmoil over fears that Greece could default on its debt, increasing the cost of borrowing for other debt-laden countries.
On Monday, Italy's credit rating was slashed by the Moody's ratings agency, which blamed a loss in confidence in eurozone governments.
'Stunting growth' Wednesday's general strike in Greece is the first since the government announced an emergency property tax and the suspension of 30,000 public sector staff last month.
"People are very angry," Greek civil servant and trade unionist Tiana Andreou told the BBC.
"Not only because of the measures that the government's taking but because of the whole situation. Our lives have been ruined. We have decided that we're going to stop this."

This is expected to be the biggest show of force from Greece's public sector workers in many weeks.
For the first time this year, air traffic controllers will stop work for 24 hours, causing major disruption at Athens airport, while many hospitals and schools will also close.
Public anger against the austerity measures is growing but the government says it will stay its course.
It is, though, a race against time, as this country rushes to implement deep structural reforms and public sector cuts to avoid defaulting on its debt: something that could spread contagion throughout the global economy.

Greece must implement the stringent austerity measures in order to secure its next instalment of bailout cash from the EU.

Inspectors from the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission have been in Greece this week to assess its financial situation.
On Monday, eurozone finance minister delayed a decision on handing over the money, after Greece said it would not meet this year's deficit cutting plan.
The government admitted that the budget deficit will stand at 8.5% this year, rather than the 7.5% target.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said on Tuesday that the government had enough cash to pay pensions, salaries and bondholders until mid-November.
Greece had previously said it needed more money by mid-October to avoid a default.
The government's austerity measures are hugely unpopular and have led to a wave of strikes and protests.
Some militant civil servants are promising to sabotage the reforms and on Tuesday, protesters again blocked the entrance to several government departments including the finance and transport ministries.
They say the austerity drive is deepening the recession, stunting Greece's growth - the economy will shrink 5.5% this year - and stopping Greece from being able to reduce its government debt itself.

Media reacts to Amanda Knox acquittal

 
Tense before the verdict, Amanda Knox burst into tears after the verdict was read

Below are reactions from Italian, British and American media to the acquittal on appeal of US citizen Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito of the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher in 2007.

La Repubblica, Italy Outside the courtroom, after the verdict, the anger of the crowd exploded. They shouted: "Shame! Bastards!" to the judges and lawyers who were being interviewed. More than 1,000 people, mostly youths, shouted their rage, kept back by the cordon and police officers.
But from the American TV trucks parked in front of the building there were cries of joy.
The Guardian, UK The "many faces of Amanda" was not all media hype, or overheated lawyers' rhetoric. Part of the continuing fascination of the affair will be to see which one is the true one.
Is she just an older version of the compassionate, diligent girl her parents knew back in Seattle - or the predatory and provocative young woman described by some who knew her in Perugia?
Prison may even have made her more enigmatic. "Like all the women in here, she puts a mask on in the morning that she only takes off in the evening, in her own bed, when she is alone," said Father Saulo Scarabattoli, the chaplain at Capanne prison, where she has spent the last four years.
Daily Mail, UK They have endured four years of the most terrible torment as the murder of their daughter was pulled apart in the minutest detail.
And for Meredith Kercher's family, the agony will now only continue after last night's dramatic court decision leaves them still wondering how exactly their 'lovely, lovely girl' came to be so horrifically killed.
Adding to their pain, the family have told how their simple search for justice has been overshadowed by the circus surrounding Amanda Knox and her appeal.
When Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty two years ago, the Kerchers' legal team had told them it was an open-and-shut case.
That should have been their closure, marking the end of their questions and the beginning of acceptance.
The Seattle Times, US The 2007 murder case is a tragedy on many fronts. Kercher's family has every right to want justice for their slain beloved daughter and sister. The family has ached deeply for four years.
The family was not satisfied that there was only one person involved in the killing, a local drifter, Rudy Guede, who admitted to being at the cottage the night of the murder and whose DNA was found all over Kercher's room, on her clothes and body.
But the other tragedy is for a Seattle family and Knox, who has spent more than 1,000 days of her young life behind bars.
Knox is not entirely without fault. In the wild, media-fuelled frenzy following the murder accusations, she falsely accused a bar owner, Patrick Lumumba, for whom she worked at the time and caused him undue pain and suffering.
Still, it is time for Knox to come back to Seattle and resume her life.
Forbes, US Knox was not guilty of the charges against her. She was tried largely in the tabloids and the court of public opinion. Her case was badly mangled by Italy's postal police, and the trial was more of a show trial than anything, with headlines declaring her a sex-crazed monster and impugning her reputation with no facts to support them.
Knox faced 26 years in prison. She would have been middle aged before she was released, having spent more than half her life in a foreign prison. She will spend the rest of her life facing down rumours of her guilt and a tarnished reputation.

Amanda Knox says she is innocent of Kercher murder

Amanda Knox has made a courtroom appeal against her conviction for the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher, saying she was "paying with her life".

The US student told a jury in Perugia: "I did not kill, I did not rape, I did not steal. I was not there."
Her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito earlier denied accusing Knox of the murder and said he was in a "nightmare" he had never woken up from.
A verdict on the appeals is not expected until Monday evening.
Knox, 24, who was sentenced to 26 years in jail in 2009, said she had been betrayed and manipulated.
Tearful, and speaking in fluent Italian, she said: "I am not who they say I am. The perversion, the violence, the lack of respect for life - I did not do the things they are saying I did.
'Untidy and careless' "I did not kill, I did not rape, I did not steal. I was not there."
Knox has been working on her speech for three months, her father said.

How Perugia's Court of Appeal works

• Appeal decided by a jury of eight, made up of main judge - in this case Claudio Pratillo Hellmann - another judge and six jurors from the general public
• Judges take part and vote as part of the jury, but guide rather than instruct others how to vote
• Jury can overturn or uphold the convictions of Knox and Sollecito, and keep their sentences the same, raise them to life, or cut them
• Jury must stay in chambers until a verdict is reached
• If verdicts are upheld, Knox and Sollecito have one more chance to appeal - in Italy's highest appeals court

Raffaele Sollecito, 27, who was given a 25-year term, told the jury he had never harmed anyone in his life and the claims against him were "totally untrue".

"I've heard that I have accused Amanda, this in not true, this is totally untrue," he said.
His lawyer Giulia Bongiorno told reporters his client was "very emotional" but "strong" and sure of his innocence.
"We do say there have been an awful lot of mistakes, mainly not asking for an expert opinion," she said.
"The way things were personalised was something I didn't particularly like."
The pair have since been taken back to jail while the jury considers its verdict.
Prosecutors have said they will appeal if the verdict is overturned.
Much of the case has centred on a review of DNA evidence on a knife, thought to be the murder weapon, which indicated that the evidence could be flawed.
The defence team has also challenged witness sightings of Knox and Sollecito near the murder scene.
But prosecutors have called for the sentences to be increased to life terms, saying there was also considerable circumstantial evidence putting the ex-lovers at the scene of the killing.

Raffaele Sollecito: "I've never woken up from this nightmare"

Knox told the jury: "I had good relationships with everybody who was living in my flat. I was untidy, careless, but we did have good relationships.
"I shared my life, particularly with Meredith. She was always very kind towards me. Meredith was killed and I have always wanted justice for her. I do not run away from the truth and I've never run away from it."
She added: "I want to go back home. I want to go back to my life. I don't want to be punished. I don't want my life and my future to be taken away for something I didn't do because I am innocent."
Francesco Maresca, the Kercher family lawyer, said it was a tense, emotional time for them as the verdict neared.
He said the Kerchers have followed the appeal closely, and think the legal process had been "thorough".
"The Kerchers are fully satisfied with what has been done by the judges," he said.
The trial has heard some colourful phrases used to describe Knox, with one lawyer comparing the American to Who Framed Roger Rabbit cartoon character Jessica Rabbit, and another to a witch.
Carlo Pacelli, who represents Diya "Patrick" Lumumba - the man Knox originally accused of the murder - said she had a split personality.
One side was "angelic, good, compassionate, and in some ways even saintly", but the other side was "Lucifer-like, demonic, satanic, diabolic" and "longs to live out borderline extreme behaviour", he said.

 

Meredith Kercher was murdered in her bedroom in November 2007

Knox's family have said they will take her back to Seattle immediately if her conviction is overturned, despite prosecutors vowing to appeal.
Andrea Vogt, a freelance journalist for the Seattle Post, said a big party was already under way in Knox's home city.
People had gathered to hold a vigil and erupted in applause after Knox's speech to the appeals court, she added.
If freed, the reception to Knox's return would be "overwhelmingly positive" in Seattle. But if her conviction was upheld, there would be "an outcry from the US", she added.
'Completely forgotten' Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, south London, had been sharing a cottage in Perugia with Knox during an year abroad from Leeds University.
Prosecutors say she was killed in a brutal sex game which went wrong. Her throat had been slit and she had been sexually assaulted.
Miss Kercher's family, who will be in court for the verdict, have said they feel the true victim has been "completely forgotten", with the media's focus on Knox.
In a recent interview on Italian television, her sister Stephanie said: "In these four years, Meredith has been completely forgotten. But we need to find justice for her, we need to find the truth for her."
Daniel Sandford, who is in Perugia, said there had been some suggestion the Kercher family would hold a press conference ahead of the court's decision.
A third person - Rudy Guede, 21 - was also convicted of Miss Kercher's murder in a separate trial and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
His conviction was upheld on appeal but his sentence reduced to 16 years.

Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested

Demonstrator Henry-James Ferry (not pictured): "'The police moved in with orange mesh barricade"

More than 700 people from the Occupy Wall Street protest movement have been arrested on New York's City's Brooklyn Bridge, police say.

They were part of a larger group crossing the bridge from Manhattan, where they have been camped out near Wall Street for two weeks.
Some entered the bridge's roadway and were met by a large police presence and detained, most for disorderly conduct.
The loosely-organised group is protesting against corporate greed.
They say they are defending 99% of the US population against the wealthiest 1%.
Occupy Wall Street called for 20,000 people to "flood into lower Manhattan" on 17 September and remain there for "a few months".
Several hundred remain camped at Zuccotti Park, a privately owned area of land not far from Wall Street.
A police spokesman quoted by Reuters said the arrests came "after multiple warnings by police were given to protesters to stay on the pedestrian walkway".
"Some complied and took the walkway without being arrested. Others locked arms and proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound vehicular roadway. The latter were arrested," the spokesman said.
Many were released again shortly afterwards, police said.
Some of the protesters said police had allowed them on to the roadway and were escorting them across when they were surrounded and the arrests began.

 

Traffic on Brooklyn Bridge was closed for a while as police arrested hundreds of protesters

 

"This was not a protest against the NYPD. This was a protest of the 99% against the disproportionate power of the 1%," protester Robert Cammiso told the BBC.
"We are not anarchists. We are not hooligans. I am a 48-year-old man. The top 1% control 50% of the wealth in the USA."
Another protester, Henry-James Ferry, said: "It is not fair that our government supports large corporations rather than the people.
"I only heard about the protest on day one when I came across it. I then decided to go back every day," he said.
March on police HQ The protesters have had previous run-ins with New York's police.
On Friday, about 2,000 people marched under the Occupy Wall Street banner to New York's police headquarters to protest against arrests and police behaviour.
Some 80 people were arrested during a march on 25 September, mostly for disorderly conduct and blocking traffic, but one person was charged with assaulting a police officer.
A series of other small-scale protests have also sprung up in other US cities in sympathy with the aims of Occupy Wall Street.