Romney promises 'real change' to Obama's 'status quo'
Republican nominee Mitt Romney has called for "real change" against President Barack Obama's "status quo", on the final stretch of an election race that is too close to call.
Mr Romney dismissed the Democratic incumbent as a shadow of his former self, in an economic speech in the key battleground state of Iowa.
On Friday, new figures showed US gross domestic product grew by 2% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations.
The US goes to the polls on 6 November.
In a speech seeking to outline his core economic argument, Mr Romney said: "This election is a choice. A choice between the status quo, going forward with the same policies of the last four years, or instead choosing real change. Change that offers promise, promise that the future will be better than the past."
The former Massachusetts governor also accused Mr Obama of distracting the nation's "attention from the biggest issues to the smallest".
Climate 'crucial'
Mr Obama was taking a break from the campaign trail on Friday, after an intense 48-hour eight-state tour earlier in the week.
He spent the day in Washington, recording interviews and meeting fellow Democrats.
In one interview with radio host Michael Smerconish, Mr Obama stressed he would work with Congress to pass a budget deal to reduce the country's deficit and debt.
"I'll go to Capitol Hill, I'll wash John Boehner's car, I'll walk Mitch McConnell's dog," Mr Obama said, referring to the Republican House Speaker and Senate minority leader respectively. "I'll do whatever is required to get this done."
In a later interview with MTV, Mr Obama emphasised the importance of voting for young adults, saying "there's no excuse" not to and attacked Mr Romney on climate change, calling it a "critical issue" for MTV viewers.
"[Romney] says he believes in climate change... but he says he's not sure man-made causes are the reason," Mr Obama said. "I believe scientists, who say we're putting too much carbon emissions into the atmosphere and it's heating the planet and it's going to have a severe effect."
Disputing the data
Mr Romney's comments in Iowa come as the Department of Commerce figures showed the US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2% in the three months to September.
The Obama campaign said the data showed the economy was moving in the right direction.
"While we have more work to do, today's GDP growth report, showing the 13th straight quarter of growth, is more evidence that our economy continues to come back from the worst recession since the Great Depression under President Obama's leadership," it said in a statement.
Democrats also pointed out that Mr Romney spoke in Iowa outside Kinzler Construction Services, which benefited from more than $650,000 (£403,000) in stimulus funding from the 2009 law Mr Obama signed into law - the same stimulus the Republican nominee often criticises.
At a campaign stop, Mr Romney broadly attacked Mr Obama's record. "Despite all that he inherited, President Obama did not repair our economy, he did not save Medicare and Social Security, he did not tame the spending and borrowing, he did not reach across the aisle to bring us together."
An average of national opinion polls released on Friday show Mr Romney opening a modest lead of 0.9% over Mr Obama. Mr Obama is leading slightly in the key election states of Ohio and New Hampshire, but trailing slightly in Virginia and Florida.
In other news on Friday:
- Former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu retreated from his comments suggesting that former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Mr Obama because both men were black
- Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the Republicans' top donor, has given $10m (£6.2m) to a group supporting Mr Romney
- The presidential campaigns' combined fundraising total has crossed the $2bn mark, on track to become the most expensive race in history.
- Mr Romney and Vice-president Joe Biden both cancelled campaign appearances on Sunday because of the threat to the US east coast from Hurricane Sandy.
Barack Obama casts vote early in Chicago
President Barack Obama has cast his vote in his hometown of Chicago as his campaign seeks to boost early ballots in a neck-and-neck election race.
Mr Obama, who is on a two-day campaign marathon across eight states, is the first president to vote early.
His Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, is in Ohio, a swing state which could hold the key to the White House.
Thirteen days from the election, a new national poll says Mr Romney has 50%-47% support among likely voters.
The survey, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, finds that when asked about which candidate they would trust more to handle the economy, 52% backed Mr Romney versus 43% for Mr Obama - the first time a candidate has held a clear lead on the issue.
The president's ballot casting on Thursday was part of his campaign's wider effort to encourage early voting, with many states holding open in-person polls this week.
First Lady Michelle Obama voted by absentee ballot on 15 October.
It is estimated that 7.2 million people have already cast early ballots, and that about 35% of the electorate will have already voted by polling day.
The Obama campaign also announced on Thursday that it backs gay marriage laws in three states that are holding referendums on the issue in November.
In Maryland and Washington, ballot measures are seeking to overturn gay marriage bills that were signed into law earlier this year. Meanwhile, Maine is voting on whether to reinstate a gay marriage law that was overturned in a popular vote in 2009.
Mr Obama first voiced support for the right of same-sex couples to marry in May.
Key states
Because the US election is a state-by-state contest, a presidential candidate must win key battlegrounds like Ohio, Virginia and Florida, which do not reliably vote for either party. No Republican has ever won the White House without taking Ohio.
The Obama campaign recently won a court ruling to keep Ohio's early voting open through the weekend before the election.
Former Massachusetts Governor Romney made three stops across the Mid-Western state on Thursday, while his running mate Paul Ryan spent the day in Virginia.
But they have been distracted by the fall-out from a fellow Republican candidate's remarks on Tuesday night that pregnancy from rape was part of God's plan.
The Romney campaign has said it disagreed with the comments by anti-abortion Indiana Senate hopeful Richard Mourdock, although it did not withdraw support from him.
"We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest, but still support him," a campaign spokeswoman said.
Republicans running in tight contests elsewhere have repudiated Mr Mourdock's remarks.
Mr Obama criticised Mr Mourdock on a US late-night talk show on Wednesday.
"I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas... rape is rape. It is a crime," Mr Obama told host Jay Leno, adding that politicians had no business making decisions for women about their bodies and health choices.
On Thursday, the president makes campaign stops in Florida, Virginia and Ohio. On Monday, he will appear for the first time at a campaign event this election cycle with former President Bill Clinton.
Italy’s Berlusconi Guilty of Tax Fraud
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to a year in prison.
A Milan court Friday found the 76-year-old media magnate guilty in a case linked to the purchase of U.S. film and television rights on behalf of Mediaset, Italy's largest private television company that he controls. Prosecutors had accused Berlusconi and other officials of fraudulently declaring the cost of the U.S. productions in order to cut their tax bills.
Despite years of criminal probes of his activities, it is the first time that Berlusconi has been handed a prison term. The court at first imposed a four-year term, but then cut it to one.
Mr. Berlusconi had either been acquitted or the statute of limitations had run out on other cases. He is expected to appeal the tax fraud conviction, with Italian law requiring two levels of review before a verdict is considered final.
The flamboyant Berlusconi is still on trial on charges of paying an underage woman for sex and abusing his office as prime minister.
The Milan court banned Berlusconi from holding office for three years. Just this week, he announced he would not seek another term as prime minister. He was ousted from the government last November as Italy became one of the focal points of the governmental debt crisis in the euro currency bloc.
Russian Activist Udaltsov Charged in Plotting Riots
Russian investigators have charged another opposition activist with plotting riots as part of an apparent Kremlin crackdown on the anti-Putin protest movement.
Russia's State Investigations Committee filed charges Friday against Sergei Udaltsov, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
He was not detained but has been ordered to stay in Moscow pending further investigation.
Udaltsov says he is innocent of the charges. He described them as “absurd” and called for protests in support of political prisoners of “Putin's regime.”
The charges come a few days after Russia's Investigations Committee brought charges against Leonid Razvozzhayev, an assistant deputy of the opposition Just Russia party, who said he was kidnapped and forcibly taken to Moscow.
Russia's Investigations Committee said Razvozzhayev turned himself in on Sunday in Ukraine and admitted to involvement in organizing mass disturbances in Russia. The activist said he was tortured into confessing, and his lawyer later said his client retracted his confession. He also faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
Authorities launched a criminal probe last week against Udaltsov and his aide, Konstantin Lebedev, on charges they organized riots in May in Moscow. Lebedev is in police custody.
Since starting his third mandate earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed for laws restricting civic freedoms and foreign influence. The lower house of parliament, or Duma, passed a new bill Tuesday widening the definition of high treason – a move that critics say is part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.
Current law describes high treason as espionage or other aid to a foreign state that damages Russia's external security. The new bill expands it to include moves against Russia's “constitutional order, sovereignty and territorial and state integrity.''
The bill drafted by the Federal Security Service also changes the interpretation of treason to include activities such as financial or consultative assistance to a foreign state or an international organization. It is certain to pass easily in the upper house, and President Putin can then sign it into law.
EU Awards Rights Prize to 2 Iranian Dissidents
The European Parliament has awarded its prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights and freedom of thought to two Iranian dissidents.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz announced Friday in Strasbourg, France, that human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi received the annual prize.
Schulz said the award is a message of “solidarity and recognition to a woman and a man who have not been bowed by fear and intimidation.”
He said he hopes the two will be able to come to Strasbourg in December to receive their award, and he urged Iranian authorities to make that possible.
Sotoudeh was arrested in 2010 for spreading propaganda and for behavior deemed “detrimental to national security.” She is serving a six-year jail sentence and is banned from practicing law for 10 years.
Panahi, a winner of international awards for his films, supports Iran's opposition movement. He is under house arrest and has been banned from making movies or traveling abroad.
Jailed Belarusian dissident Ales Beliatsky and the anti-Kremlin Russian punk band Pussy Riot were also nominated for the Sakharov Prize this year.
Three members of the band were convicted in August on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” after bursting into an Orthodox cathedral to stage protest songs against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Two were sentenced to two-year prison terms.
The trio has argued their impromptu performance was political in nature and not an attack on religion.
The Sakharov prize is named for the late Soviet nuclear scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
Suicide Bomber Kills 40 in Afghan Mosque
Officials in northern Afghanistan say a suicide bomb attack on a mosque has killed at least 40 people, in one of the deadliest such attacks in recent months.
Authorities say the bomber struck the mosque in Maymana, the capital of Faryab province, on Friday, at the start of the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
Local officials say the bomber was targeting a regional police official who was inside the mosque for Eid prayers. The official reportedly survived the blast, but more than 20 of the dead were security personnel. Officials say several civilians, including children, were also killed.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but officials blamed the Taliban.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the attack, saying those behind the bombing were “enemies of Islam and humanity.” In an earlier statement for the Eid holiday, Mr. Karzai had urged the Taliban to lay down their weapons.
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John Allen, condemned the “heinous act,” which he said is an affront to human life, to religious devotion and to the peaceful aspirations of the Afghan people.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul also condemned the attack.
Also Friday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the latest so-called “insider attack” on international forces.
The U.S. military said two American service members were killed Thursday after a man wearing an Afghan National Police uniform turned his weapon on them in the southern province of Uruzgan.
So far this year, at least 53 coalition troops have been killed by members of the Afghan security forces or militants wearing a police or army uniform.
Eight Killed in Eastern DRC Clash
Officials in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say eight people were killed when militiamen attacked rangers in the famed Virunga National Park.
Authorities say the Mai Mai Pareco group ambushed a park patrol traveling with an army escort on Thursday. Two rangers, a soldier and five militiamen were killed in the clash.
Virunga Park, known for its rare mountain gorillas, is the site of frequent clashes between soldiers and the rebel and militia groups active in the region. The park lies near Congo's border with Uganda.
Separately, an attack at the home of a prominent Congolese doctor has drawn international condemnation.
Rights groups say armed men entered Dr. Denis Mukwege's home in eastern South Kivu Province late Thursday, killed his security guard and held some of his family members at gunpoint.
Dr. Mukwege, a surgeon and head of a local hospital, was not home at the time.
Rights groups say he may have been targeted for his work treating thousands of Congolese women and girls who have been victims of sexual violence.
Amazon reports loss led by its stake in LivingSocial
Online retailer Amazon has reported a bigger than expected quarterly loss, led by its investment in struggling online deals service LivingSocial.
Amazon made a loss of $274m (£170m) for the July to September period, compared with a profit of $63m a year earlier.
The overall loss is equivalent to 60 cents per Amazon share. Amazon said that 37 cents of the loss was due to its stake in LivingSocial.
Without this it would still have lost 23 cents, more than market targets.
Analysts had expected Amazon to post a loss of just seven cents per share.
The additional losses were caused by Amazon continuing to spend heavily on expanding its business, both in existing and new markets around the world.
Its revenues for the quarter grew 27% to £13.8bn from $10.9bn a year earlier, also below analyst expectations.
Amazon said its best-selling product was its Kindle Fire HD tablet computer, but it did not release exact sales figures.
Shares in the company fell 3% in after hours trading.
Amazon spent $175m buying an undisclosed stake in LivingSocial back in December 2010.
Analyst Ken Sena of Evercore Partners, said you had to look at Amazon over the longer term rather than just one quarter.
"Amazon lost money this quarter, but it is still a story that requires some patience," he said.
"There is more flexibility down the road to drive gross margin expansion. It's still exciting longer term."
UK economy returns to growth with help from Olympics
The UK economy emerged from recession in the three months from July to September, helped by the Olympic Games.
The economy grew by 1.0%, according to official gross domestic product figures (GDP), which measure the value of everything produced in the country.
The Office for National Statistics said that Olympic ticket sales had added 0.2 percentage points to the figures.
The figures are welcome news for business and ministers, said the BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders.
"The positive 'surprise' in these figures is largely to be found in the service sector, which is estimated to have grown by 1.3% in the third quarter, after shrinking by 0.1% in the three months before," she said.
The data also exceeded expectations from economists, who had predicted an increase of 0.6% in the quarter.
The economy had been in recession for the previous nine months and has still not recovered the levels of output seen before the financial crisis in 2008.
The ONS said that beyond the effect of ticket sales, it was hard to put an exact figure on the Olympic effect, although it cited increased hotel and restaurant activity in London as well as strength from employment agencies.
The GDP figures were also enhanced by comparison with the previous three months, because the second quarter had an extra public holiday as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June, as well as unusually bad weather, which reduced growth.
"There is still a long way to go, but these figures show we are on the right track," said Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
"Yesterday's weak data from the eurozone were a reminder that we still face many economic challenges at home and abroad."
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls praised the news but said that the figures "show that underlying growth remains weak".
"A one-off boost from the Olympics is welcome," he said. "But it is no substitute for a plan to secure and sustain the strong recovery that Britain desperately needs if we are to create jobs, get the deficit down and make people better off."
The data is a preliminary estimate from the ONS, meaning that the third-quarter figures could be revised higher or lower.
"While the news is positive, the estimate must be put in context," said David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce.
"The 1% GDP figure for the third quarter is affected by distortions in the second quarter due to the Jubilee and Olympic ticket sales. Compared to a year earlier, the figures show that the economy is stagnant."
The ONS said that the economy had contracted by 6.4% between the start of 2008 and the middle of 2009, and had since recovered about half of that output.
The level of output in the third quarter of 2012 was almost exactly the same as it had been in the third quarter of 2011.
S&P cuts French banks' credit rating
Three French banks including BNP Paribas have had their credit rating downgraded by ratings agency Standard and Poor's (S&P).
Explaining its decision, S&P said that French banks faced increased economic risks, which left them "moderately more exposed to the potential of a more protracted recession in the eurozone".
The other two lenders to be downgraded are Cofidis, and Banque Solfea.
S&P also warned that 10 other banks might be downgraded in the future.
These 10, which have been placed on a negative outlook, include Credit Agricole and Societe Generale.
S&P has lowered its long-term rating on BNP Paribas from AA- to A+.
Banque Solfea has been cut from A to A-, and Cofidis from A- to BBB+.
S&P said French banks faced problems including "a relatively high public debt burden, reduced external competitiveness, and persistent high unemployment, which are being aggravated by the ongoing eurozone crisis, a more protracted recession across Europe, and lower domestic growth prospects".