Obama speaks out in US crisis

US President Barack Obama has unveiled a sweeping $25m (€19.2m) advertising campaign targeting middle-class voters, led by a commercial portraying him as the steward of a US economic comeback.

"We're not there yet," the ad says. "It's still too hard, for too many. But we're coming back. Because America's greatness comes from a strong middle class."

Countering from hard-hit Ohio, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Mr Obama's policies were squeezing middle-income Americans.

Priest 'lacked abuse training'

A high-ranking Roman Catholic priest who handled child sex abuse complaints for more than a decade had little to no training on how to conduct the sensitive investigations, a jury in Philadelphia heard.

Monsignor William Lynn, 61, faces years in prison for the alleged offences.

In excerpts of evidence from his 2004 appearance before a grand jury, read out during his child-endangerment trial, Lynn said he attended at most a workshop or two on the sexual abuse of minors, but otherwise had no training on how to interview the priests, their accusers or other potential witnesses.

Beijing kicks

Out reporter

Pan-Arab news network Al-Jazeera says Beijing has kicked its English-language reporter out of China.

Melissa Chan's expulsion marks the first time an accredited foreign reporter has been kicked out of China since 1998. Qatar-based Al-Jazeera said it had no choice but to close its English-language service's bureau because Ms Chan's press credentials were not extended.

Debate model is a good urner

Who won Mexico's presidential debate? According to the media and Twitter frenzy, at least, the victor was a curvaceous model who appeared on stage for less than 30 seconds during the showdown.

Julia Orayen made her mark on Mexican minds by carrying an urn filled with bits of paper determining the order that the candidates would speak -- not that viewers were looking at the urn.