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Mumbai rocked by deadly attacks

2008-11-26T19:31:00.001-08:00

Mumbai rocked by deadly attacks

Employees and guests of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel are rescued by fire crews

Gunmen have carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks across the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), killing at least 80 people and injuring 250 more.

At least seven high-profile locations were hit in India's financial capital, including two luxury hotels where hostages are reported to be held.

A fire has destroyed part of the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai's most famous hotel, which is now ringed by troops.

Police said four suspected terrorists have been killed and nine arrested.

Attacks leave India reeling

Witnesses tell of violence

In pictures: Mumbai attacks

Are you in the area?

As day broke in Mumbai, the situation on the ground was still confused with reports of gunfire and explosions at between seven and 16 locations.

The city's main commuter train station, a hospital, a restaurant and two hotels - locations used by foreigners as well as local businessmen and leaders - are among those places caught up in the violence.

Commandos have now surrounded the two hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi Trident, where it is believed that the armed men are holding dozens of hostages.

A BBC correspondent outside the Taj Mahal Palace said there had been a series of gun shots between police and the armed men, and that 11 officers were killed in the skirmishes.

Eyewitness reports suggest the attackers singled out British and American passport holders.

If the reports are true, our security correspondent Frank Gardner says it implies an Islamist motive - attacks inspired or co-ordinated by al-Qaeda.

See detailed map of the area

A claim of responsibility has been made by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen.

Our correspondent says it could be a hoax or assumed name for another group.

The motive is far from clear - but the attacks come amid elections in several Indian states, including in disputed Kashmir.

In the latest developments:

• Reports say five gunmen have taken hostages in an office block in the financial district of Mumbai

• Fire crews are evacuating people from the upper floors of the Taj Mahal Palace, from where smoke can still be seen billowing although the blaze has been extinguished

• The head of Mumbai's anti-terrorism unit and two other senior officers are among those killed, officials say

• The White House holds a meeting of top intelligence and counter-terrorism officials, and pledges to help the Indian government.

Gunmen opened fire at about 2300 local time (1730 GMT) at the sites in southern Mumbai.

Eyewitness reaction and local TV footage from the scene

"The terrorists have used automatic weapons and in some places grenades have been lobbed," said AN Roy, police commissioner of Maharashtra state.

Local TV images showed blood-splattered streets, and bodies being taken into ambulances.

One eyewitness told the BBC he had seen a gunman opening fire in the Taj Mahal's lobby.

"We all moved through the lobby in the opposite direction and another gunman then appeared towards where we were moving and he started firing immediately in our direction."

One British tourist said she spent six hours barricaded in the Oberoi hotel.

BOMB ATTACKS IN INDIA IN 2008

30 October: Explosions kill at least 64 in north-eastern Assam

30 September: Blasts in western India kill at least seven

27 September: Bomb blasts kills one in Delhi

13 September: Five bomb blasts kill 18 in Delhi

26 July: At least 22 small bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad

25 July: Seven bombs go off in Bangalore killing two people

13 May: Seven bomb hit markets and crowded streets in Jaipur killing 63

International reaction

"There were about 20 or 30 people in each room. The doors were locked very quickly, the lights turned off, and everybody just lay very still on the floor," she said.

There has been a wave of bombings in Indian cities in recent months which has left scores of people dead.

Most of the attacks have been blamed on Muslim militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists.

Mumbai itself has also been attacked in the past: in July 2006 a series of bomb attacks on busy commuter trains killed almost 190 people and injured more than 700.

Police accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of planning those attacks, which they said were carried out by an Islamist militant group, Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Pakistan rejected the allegation, saying there was no evidence that its intelligence staff were involved.

But the latest shootings come at a time when ties between India and Pakistan have improved.

Just days ago Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told a summit in Delhi that Pakistan would not be first to carry out a missile strike on India.

The two countries have a joint anti-terror mechanism whereby they are supposed to share information on terrorist attacks.

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Michael Jackson sued by Arab sheikh in UK court

2008-11-17T16:38:00.001-08:00

Michael Jackson sued by Arab sheikh in UK court

11/17/2008 4:00 PM, AP

The son of an Arab monarch took the King of Pop to court Monday, charging that Michael Jackson took $7 million as an advance on an album and an autobiography that he never produced.

Lawyers for Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa say their client paid Jackson expenses as an advance on the book and joint recording project with the sheikh, who is an amateur songwriter. Jackson claims the money was a gift.

Al Khalifa, 33, was due to testify at London's Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday. Jackson's lawyer Robert Englehart said he was seeking permission to have Jackson testify by video link from Los Angeles.

A lawyer for Al Khalifa said the royal first spoke to Jackson, 50, by telephone while the singer was on trial in California following his 2003 arrest on child molestation charges. Attorney Bankim Thanki said that Al Khalifa wanted to work with Jackson on rebuilding his career. Jackson's finances fell apart after his arrest and he was desperately short of cash.

Al Khalifa's first payment, for $35,000, went toward paying the utility bills at Neverland, Jackson's 2,500-acre (1,000 hectare) ranch and miniature amusement park in California, Thanki said. When Jackson was found innocent of the molestation charges in June 2005, Al Khalifa footed $2.2 million in legal bills, the lawyer said.

Al Khalifa said he believed the money would be repaid once Jackson's career recovered from the damaging trial.

"I saw the payment as an investment in Michael's potential," the sheikh said in a statement read out by his lawyer in court. "He said he would pay me back ... through our work together."

Al Khalifa moved Jackson and his entourage to Bahrain almost immediately after the trial, setting up a recording studio for him in Manama, the Gulf state's capital. The sheikh, who is the governor of Bahrain's Southern Province, supplied Jackson with $500,000 in cash to subsidize his lifestyle and splashed out on a $350,000 European vacation for Jackson and his associates in February of 2006, Thanki said.

"The costs even included the expenses of bringing out Mr. Jackson's hairdresser," he said.

The lawyer said Jackson and the sheikh became close friends and at one time both lived in a palace in Abu Dhabi owned by Al Khalifa's father, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahrain's king. The singer stayed nearly a year in Bahrain as a guest of the son, but the relationship soured when Jackson repudiated a business deal Thanki said they had agreed to.

Jackson's lawyers say the pair never entered a valid agreement and that Al Khalifa's money was given freely.

Thanki acknowledged that Al Khalifa gave some gifts to Jackson but said that most of what the singer received was part of a business deal.

The gifts, he said, "were essentially personal effects — watches, jewelry."

Thanki said the sheik was wealthy but that paying Jackson's bills had taken a big bite out of his finances.

"Some of the payments were staggering by any standards," Thanki said, saying the expenditure "should not be regarded as loose change for my client."

As for Jackson, he still appears to be in difficult financial straits.

Last week, he was forced to give up the deed on Neverland, which is named for the mythical land of Peter Pan.

The trial is being held in London because the parties had agreed to take any disputes over their deal to an English court, Al Khalifa's representatives said. The trial is due to wrap up by the end of the month.

Donovan McNabb didn't know that NFL games could end in ties

2008-11-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

Donovan McNabb didn't know that NFL games could end in ties

By Chris Chase

Donovan McNabb's team tied the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday, an outcome which came as a complete surprise to the 10-year NFL veteran:

What did ... I mean ... how can ... wow. That's it, wow. He didn't know that games could end in a tie. You know who knows that games can end in ties? Everyone. Even Tony Siragusa knows that. Yet a quarterback who has led his team to four NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl didn't know. I mean, it's not like the referee says it before every overtime session! (And to those who think he's joking, he's not. Donovan laughs at his own jokes more than Jon Stewart; his demeanor was far too serious for that to be a joke, despite what his inevitable excuse is today.)

What did Donovan think that "T" section in the standings was next to the "W" and "L"? Was he confused when he had to run a hurry up offense with two minutes left? And in 2002, when his team played the 9-6-1 Falcons in the playoffs, did McNabb think those numbers represented the Atlanta area code?

Maybe athletes' lack of knowledge about the sports they play is more widespread than we know. (This would explain Joe Morgan.) A friend of mine who played college football had no clue that there wasn't a two-minute warning in the college game. But I just emailed him and even he knew that NFL games end in ties.

Week Ending Nov. 9, 2008: The Vampire That Rocked The Chart

2008-11-13T06:28:00.000-08:00

Week Ending Nov. 9, 2008: The Vampire That Rocked The Chart

Posted Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:08am PST by Paul Grein in Chart Watch

The soundtrack to the upcoming teen vampire romance Twilight debuts at #1 on The Billboard 200. Twilight is the first soundtrack to hit #1 in advance of the movie's release since 8 Mile six years ago. That album topped the Nielsen/SoundScan chart for the week ending Nov. 3, 2002. The Eminem movie was released on Nov. 8.

Only five other soundtracks have ever hit #1 in advance of the movie's release. In 1997, Private Parts hit #1 five days before the Howard Stern comedy opened. In 1994, Murder Was The Case hit #1 four months before the Snoop Dogg movie opened. In 1975, That's The Way Of The World hit #1 one month before the little-seen Earth, Wind & Fire movie opened. In 1964, A Hard Day's Night hit #1 two weeks before The Beatles movie opened. And in 1951 (hey, I said "ever"), Show Boat hit #1 six weeks before the MGM musical opened.

The Twilight soundtrack features two songs by Paramore plus songs by such other acts as Linkin Park, Collective Soul and Perry Farrell. Twilight is the first rock-oriented soundtrack to hit #1 since Armageddon rang the bell in its second week in 1998. That album spawned Aerosmith's only #1 hit on the Hot 100 and also included tracks by the likes of ZZ Top and Journey. (I'm classifying the Juno soundtrack, which hit #1 earlier this year, as alternative, as opposed to rock).

Twilight is the third movie soundtrack to hit #1 so far this year, following Juno and Mamma Mia! This is the first year in which three movie soundtracks have gone all the way since 1998, when Titanic, City Of Angels and Armageddon all rang the bell.

Twilight is the first movie soundtrack to debut at #1 since Jack Johnson's Curious George did it in 2006. It's the first rock-oriented movie soundtrack to debut at #1 since Private Parts in 1997. Only four other movie soundtracks-Murder Was The Case, Gridlock'd, 8 Mile and Bad Boys-have opened in the lead position.

Robert Pattinson, who plays the vampire in Twilight, has one song, "Never Think," on the soundtrack. Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, who plays the heroine Bella, appear on the cover of the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. The movie, due Nov. 21, is based on Stephanie Meyer's popular series of books. The books have been best-sellers, the CD is #1. Does any one doubt that the movie will be a smash?

High School Musical 3: Graduation Day holds at #3 for the second straight week. This is the first time that movie soundtracks have held down two of the top three spots since January 2007, when Dreamgirls was #2 and Jump In! was #3.

With AC/DC's Black Ice dropping to #2, rock albums hold down both of the top two slots this week. This is the first time in more than a year that two rock albums have ruled the chart. It last happened in October 2007 when Bruce Springsteen's Magic and Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus held the top two spots for two weeks running.

Black Ice has sold 1,215,000 copies in just three weeks. That's more than the band's last two studio albums have sold in their entire runs (hat tip: Keith Caulfield.) Ballbreaker has sold 1,162,000 copies since its release in 1995. Stiff Upper Lip has sold 949,000 since its release in 2000. In addition, AC/DC this week moves up to #23 on Nielsen/SoundScan's running list of the top-selling album artists since 1991. The headbangers trade places with *NSYNC, now in 24th place.

Kanye West's "Heartless" enters the Hot Digital Songs chart at #1. The song sold 201,000 downloads this week. It's West's third #1 on this chart. "Gold Digger" (featuring Jamie Foxx) was #1 for nine weeks in 2005. "Stronger" was #1 for two weeks last year. Both of those songs have sold more than 2 million downloads (see item below). West's previous release, "Love Lockdown," holds at #11 this week. The change-of-pace ballad had sold 968,000 downloads in its first eight weeks. "Heartless" and "Love Lockdown" are both from West's fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, due Nov. 24.

We had an election last week (perhaps you heard). Even if you somehow missed this momentous news, you could tell by looking at Hot Digital Songs. "It's A New Day" by will.i.am debuts at #41, ahead of "My President" by Young Jeezy & Nas, which opens at #69. There's also a song on the list that seems to be about the state of the economy: T-Pain featuring Ludacris moves up to #80 with "Chopped ‘n' Skrewed."

Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.

1. Various Artists, Twilight soundtrack, 165,000. More than 48,000 copies were sold digitally, making this the week's #1 Digital Album. That's the biggest digital tally ever for a movie soundtrack. Paramore's "Decode" enters Hot Digital Songs at #18.

2. AC/DC, Black Ice, 160,000. The album dips from #1 to #2 in its third week. Black Ice is already #8 on the year-to-date chart. Metallica's Death Magnetic is #6. If both albums stay on track, this will be the first year since 1992 that two mainstream hard rock albums have finished in the year-end top 10. Metallica and Def Leppard scored that year. AC/DC are digital holdouts, so no songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs.

3. Various Artists, High School Musical 3 soundtrack, 110,000. The album holds at #3 in its third week. This is already the fourth best-selling movie soundtrack of 2008, following Mamma Mia!, Juno and Alvin And The Chipmunks. (On the down side, after three weeks, it still hasn't matched the first-week sales tally of HSM2.) Nine songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Now Or Never," which dips from #48 to #64.

4. Hinder, Take It To The Limit, 81,000. This new entry is the alternative band's second top 10 album in a row and its first to reach the top five. Its opening week tally is more than 13 times larger than the band's 2005 debut album, Extreme Behavior, which bowed (at #167) with first-week sales of 6,000. Extreme Behavior took 31 weeks to hit the top 10. It peaked at #6 in October 2006, remained on the top 200 for 96 weeks and finished as the #10 best-seller of 2006. Two songs from the new album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Thing For You," which opens at #59.

5. Pink, Funhouse, 73,000. The album dips from #2 to #5 in its second week. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "So What" at #10. The song has sold 1,964,000 downloads in its first 12 weeks.

6. John Legend, Evolver, 72,000. The album dips from #4 to #6 in its second week. "Green Light" (featuring Andre 3000) dips from #28 to #35 on Hot Digital Songs.

7. T.I., Paper Trail, 69,000. The album dips from #7 to #8 in its sixth week. The album inches up to #10 on the year-to-date chart. It's #2 among rap albums behind Lil Wayne's Lil Carter III. If both albums stay on track, this will be the first year in which two rap albums have finished in the year-end top 10 since 2005, when 50 Cent, Kanye West and The Game all finished in the year-end top 10. For the sixth straight week, five songs from Paper Trail are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna), which dips to #2.

8. Andrea Bocelli, Incanto, 62,000. This new entry is Bocelli's fourth top 10 album, following Sogno, Amore and Best Of Andrea Bocelli-Vivere. No songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. Bocelli, 50, is the first opera star to amass four or more top 10 albums since Mario Lanza, who had 12 consecutive top 10 albums from 1951 to 1960. Lanza's career was cut short by his death from a heart attack in 1959. He was just 38.

9. Brad Paisley, Play, 54,000. This new entry is Paisley's fourth straight studio album to debut in the top 10, following Mud On The Tires, Time Well Wasted and 5th Gear. The mostly instrumental set (10 of the 15 tracks are instrumental) features contributions from Buck Owens, Steve Wariner, Andy Griffith and B.B. King. This is the week's #1 country album, replacing Toby Keith's That Don't Make Me A Bad Guy. "Start A Band," a duet with Keith Urban, enters Hot Digital Songs at #85.

10. Rascal Flatts, Greatest Hits Volume 1, 39,000. The compilation dips from #6 to #10 in its second week. No songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs.

Four albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Toby Keith's That Don't Make Me A Bad Guy drops from #5 to #13, Celine Dion's My Love: The Ultimate Essential Collection falls from #8 to #17, Snow Patrol's Hundred Million Suns tumbles from #9 to #35, and Kenny Chesney's Lucky Old Sun falls from #10 to #15. This is Keith's lowest-charting studio album since 2001.

Josh Groban's Noel, the #1 album of 2007, jumps to #1 on this week's Catalog Albums chart. The album sold nearly 35,000 copies this week and would have ranked #11 on the big chart if older, catalog albums were eligible to compete there. It's the week's #1 holiday album.

Q-Tip's The Renaissance bows at #11. The title is apt. This is the rapper's first album in nearly nine years. It has already climbed higher than that album did. Amplified peaked at #28. Q-Tip amassed three straight top 10 albums in the ‘90s with his group A Tribe Called Quest.

Three more holiday albums enter the chart: Sarah Brightman's A Winter Symphony opens at #38, the Starbucks compilation Winter Wonderland opens at #42 and Harry Connick Jr.'s What A Night! A Christmas Album bows at #48. The title of Brightman's album plays off her last album, Symphony, which became the highest charting album of her career when it debuted at #13 in February. Connick had the #1 Christmas album of two previous holiday seasons. When My Heart Finds Christmas was the #1 holiday album of 1993. Harry For The Holidays was on top for 2003.

Shiny Toy Guns' Season Of Poison (not a Christmas album for holiday dreaders) bows at #47. It's the alternative group's first top 50 album. The band's 2006 breakthrough album We Are Pilots peaked at #90...Hezekiah Walker's Souled Out bows at #55. It's the gospel legend's first album to make the top 100...Randy Owen's One On One bows at #77. It's the first solo album by any of the members of the vocal quartet Alabama, which was far and away the hottest country act of the early ‘80s.

Ups & Downs: Yo-Yo Ma's Songs Of Joy & Peace vaults from #50 to #20 in its fourth week. The album's sales jumped by 122% this week, more than any other non-debuting album. The album is second only to Josh Groban's Noel on this week's Holiday Albums chart. On the down side, Bloc Party's Intimacy plummets from #18 to #81 in its second week. Sales dropped by 72%, the steepest decline in the top 200.

Download This: Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" topped the 2 million mark in paid downloads two weeks ago. It's the first pre-2000 release to reach this milestone. The rock anthem was released in 1981 and got a second wind last year when it was featured on the series finale of The Sopranos.

A total of 55 songs have sold 2 million or more downloads each. Fergie and Rihanna are the leading artists in this realm, with three 2 million sellers each. On all-time list of songs with the most paid downloads, Fergie has "Big Girls Don't Cry" at #7, "Fergalicious" at #20 and ""Glamorous" (featuring Ludacris) at #25. Rihanna has "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z) at #8, "Don't Stop The Music" at #29 and "Disturbia" at #37.

Nine artists have two songs each that have topped the 2 million mark in paid downloads. They are: Timbaland, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, The Fray, Nickelback, Gwen Stefani, Chris Brown, Nelly Furtado and Natasha Bedingfield.

Heads Up: Taylor Swift's sophomore album, Fearless, is expected to enter at #1 next week. Swift's debut album has sold more than 3.5 million copies. Five songs from the new album are already listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "You Belong With Me," which debuts at #3. Other key releases include Christina Aguilera's Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade Of Hits, a Target exclusive; David Archuleta's David Archuleta, which includes the Idol runner-up's hit single "Crush"; and T-Pain's Thr33 Ringz, the rapper's follow-up to the #1 Epiphany. NOW 29, the latest in the long- running franchise, is also on its way. Also due: Enya's And Winter Came; Seal's Soul; Hilary Duff's Best Of... and David Foster's Hit Man.

Bali remains secure after bomber`s execution : governor

2008-11-10T03:20:00.000-08:00

Bali remains secure after bomber`s execution : governor

Jakarta, (ANTARA News) - Security conditions in Bali, the scene of the terrorist attack which killed 202 people in 2002, have remained conducive and free of threats after the execution of Bali bombers Amrozi et al, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said.

"The people of Bali gave a proportional response to the execution of the three death-row convicts," the governor said during a function to observe the 63th Heroes' Day here on Monday.

He said with the execution of Amrozi, Mukhlas alias Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudra, Indonesia had shown that its system to administer justice was working.

Pastika hoped the conducive security conditions in Bali would be maintained, saying the people of Bali should remain vigilant and sensitive to any unusual happenings in their respective surroundings.

Meanwhile, Bali tourism observer I Nyoman Ruhta Adhy hoped that the execution of Amrozi et al would restore the positive image of Bali's tourism in the future.

Before the Bali bombers' execution, a number of countries, among others Australia, had advised their citizens not to visit Bali, he said.

Another Bali tourism observer, I Nyoman Darma Putra, said the world community, including the Australian public, would soon forget the executions of Amrozi at al.

"The world, including the Australian people who lost 88 of their compatriots in the bombing, will soon forget the execution so that Bali is expected to be visited by many holiday makers during this year's X'mas season and the 2009 New Year," he said.

He thanked God for the fact that the execution was done eight weeks before the peak of the holiday season at year-end.

"I think, Bali will be very busy receiving an increased number of foreign tourists because a few days from now the public will have forgotten the execution," he added.

Putra, who is the author of "Tourism, Development and Terrorism in Bali" said in the next few days, Indonesia, particularly Bali, would be completely safe from terrorist attacks.

Eurozone rates lowered to 3.25%

2008-11-06T07:04:00.000-08:00

Eurozone rates lowered to 3.25%

Eurozone growth is expected to remain little changed in 2009

The European Central Bank has lowered its eurozone interest rates to 3.25% in an attempt to prevent a recession.

The bank reduced rates by half a percentage point from 3.75% amid increasing signs of slowing growth.

After the rate cut, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said: "I don't exclude that we could decrease rates again."

Also on Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that the eurozone's economy would shrink by 0.5% in 2009.

More cuts?

Speaking after the ECB rate cut, Mr Trichet said that the level of uncertainty stemming from the turmoil on the financial markets remained "extraordinarily high and exceptional challenges lie ahead".

He also said that inflation rates were set to continue falling, and added that the ECB had discussed the possibility of a bigger rate cut on Thursday

The comments leave the ECB room for more rate reductions, especially after the Bank of England slashed UK rates from 4.5% to 3%.

The last time ECB rates stood at 3.25% was in October 2006.

Swiss rate cut

Also on Thursday, Switzerland cut its interest rates by a half percentage point, the second cut in a month.

The Swiss National Bank said it was cutting its the target range to 1.5-2.5%, and intended to hold the rate in the middle of this range.

Following the cut in Swiss rates, Henrik Gullberg, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, said: "I am surprised, but it is clear central banks generally are determined to cut rates sharply now when the inflation threat is receding".

The ECB cut rates by half a percentage point in October, as central banks worldwide, including the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, did the same in light of the worsening financial crisis.

Slowdown

In July this year, the ECB had raised rates to try to put a lid on growing inflationary pressures, but since then these pressures have eased considerably largely thanks to a sharp fall in oil prices.

While inflation - a main focus of the ECB - is at 3.2%, it is coming closer to the target of under 2% following the recent contraction.

"Inflation may go down to below 2.5% by year end," Natixis economist Ceric Thillier forecast.

A series of economic data released this week has shown how economies across the eurozone are slowing.

On Wednesday, figures showed that retail spending across the eurozone dropped in September, as consumers tightened their belts.

Retail sales dropped 0.2% from August, and by 1.6% compared with September 2007.

On Thursday, the IMF predicted in its latest World Economic Outlook that the eurozone would shrink by 0.5% next year, against an earlier prediction of 0.2% growth.

Obama's victory speech in full

2008-11-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

Obama's victory speech in full

Democratic Senator Barack Obama has made his first speech as President-elect of the United States after defeating rival John McCain.

He told supporters in Chicago: "Change has come to America"

US rivals in final dash for votes

2008-11-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

US rivals in final dash for votes

Both men know they need to get voters out in swing states

The US presidential rivals are spending a hectic final day of campaigning criss-crossing the country in a last push for votes in key states.

Republican John McCain, trailing in polls, starts early in Florida and finishes close to midnight in Nevada, more than 1,800 miles (3,000km) west.

Democrat Barack Obama is travelling to Florida, North Carolina and Virginia - all won by the Republicans in 2004.

On Tuesday voters give their verdict and elect the 44th US President.

A USA Today/Gallup poll published on Monday finds likely voters favouring Sen Obama by 11 points over Sen McCain, 53-42%.

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

In my estimation 70% of the crowd had already been to the polling stations

Gavin Hewitt

Guide to US election night

Updates from the campaign trail

Campaign in pictures

Send us your views

Other national polls indicate Mr Obama's lead over his rival is holding steady at between five to 11 percentage points.

But the BBC's James Coomarasamy, in Washington, says that while Mr Obama has held a pretty steady lead for several weeks, there are a number of factors that could undermine the predictions of the pollsters.

Among them, he says, are the role the Illinois senator's skin colour may play in voters intentions; whether newly-registered voters will actually vote; and the Palin effect - whether Mr McCain's running mate has energised or alienated Republicans.

McCain defiant

Both camps are keenly aware of the need to get voters out in the states that polls suggest remain in the balance.

"The Mac is back" McCain tells supporters

At a raucous, heavily Hispanic rally in Miami, Florida late on Sunday night, Mr McCain was defiant, telling supporters: "My friends, it's official: There's just one day left until we take America in a new direction."

Various polls suggest Mr Obama has a two- to four-point lead over Mr McCain in electoral vote-rich Florida.

The 72-year-old is dashing through at least seven states on the marathon campaign's final day - including Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada.

In an article for Monday's Wall Street Journal, Mr McCain attacked his rival on the economy.

"Senator Obama wants to raise taxes and restrict trade. The last time America did that in a bad economy it led to the Great Depression," he wrote.

Mr Obama, 47, is spending Monday targeting a series of states that four years ago voted Republican, but where he now has a chance of winning; including Virginia and North Carolina, which have not backed a Democratic hopeful in decades.

In his own opinion piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal, Mr Obama writes: "Tomorrow, I ask you to write our nation's next great chapter... If you give me your vote, we won't just win this election - together, we will change this country and change the world."

Both campaigns have thousands of volunteers working flat-out manning phone banks, handing out brochures and knocking on doors ahead of Tuesday's election.

The BBC's North America editor Justin Webb says millions of Americans - perhaps a quarter of the total turnout - have already voted early. Now the final rallies are in sight.

ELECTION DAY ON THE BBC

Join us on 4 November to follow the news as America votes, including:

Live text updates through the day and night, with input from BBC correspondents around the US

Results as they come in, on a live updating map, from midnight GMT

Streaming video of the BBC election night programme in Washington

Analysis from BBC North America editor Justin Webb in Washington, and Gavin Hewitt and Matthew Price at the candidates' HQs

Some 130 million Americans are expected to cast a vote, in a higher turnout than in any election since 1960, our correspondent adds.

Under America's Electoral College system, states are apportioned votes based on their population, the biggest being California with 55 votes.

A candidate needs to win the magic number of 270 out of the 538 Electoral College votes to win the presidency.

When Americans go to the polls, as well as choosing a new president and members of Congress, they will be casting votes on a wide range of ballot initiatives such as same-sex marriage, abortion and animal rights.

Polls suggest the six closest state races on election day will be in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada and Ohio.

Mr McCain holds the lead in Indiana and North Carolina, but Mr Obama is ahead in the others, the latest polls from Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby suggest.

"Obama's lead is very steady. He could be looking at a big day on Tuesday," said pollster John Zogby.

Backed by the Boss

In Ohio on Sunday, Mr Obama told supporters they were "two days from changing America".

Ohio, a narrow Republican win in 2004, has 20 Electoral College votes, making it one of the largest "undecided" states.

Bruce Springsteen introduces Barack Obama

Ohio has also voted for the winning candidate in every presidential election since 1964.

In Cleveland, the Illinois senator told a crowd of 80,000 who had gathered to hear him - and the singer Bruce Springsteen - that he was "feeling good".

"The crowds seem to grow and everybody's got a smile on their face," he said. "You start thinking that maybe we might be able to win an election."

The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says the race for the White House has now reached fever pitch in what has been the longest and perhaps one of the most dramatic election campaigns in American history.

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2008-11-03T00:36:00.001-08:00

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