Romney-Obama debate: Round 2 in New York
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama plans to be respectful but firm in his second debate against Republican challenger Mitt Romney Tuesday, a spokeswoman said.
"You should expect that he's going to be firm but respectful in correcting the record and the times we expect Mitt Romney will hide from and distort his own policies," Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Monday.
"He's energized and I expect he will also be making a passionate case," she said.
The debate, at a 5,000-seat sports and exhibition complex at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., near New York City, was to be a "town meeting" format moderated by CNN "State of the Union" host Candy Crowley.
The third and final debate, Oct. 22, is to take place at a 750-seat performing arts center at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. It is expected to focus on foreign policy and be moderated by CBS News "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer.
Obama, who was widely seen as weak in the first debate Oct. 3, has been preparing at a resort in Williamsburg, Va., in an attempt to stop Romney's momentum and regain lost ground.
A United Press International poll Monday indicated Romney had a 3 percentage-point lead over Obama, with 49 percent of likely voters saying they would vote for Romney and 46 percent saying they favored Obama.
A Washington Post poll Monday found the number of supporters who back Romney "very enthusiastically" doubled after the debate, with 62 percent of likely voters backing Romney saying they now back him intensely.
Syria denies but videos show cluster bombs
DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Damascus denied using cluster bombs to combat rebel forces, as new videos showed cluster bomb canisters and widely ejected small "bomblets" in Syrian cities.
Syria's army "does not possess these kinds of weapons" and the allegations are therefore "baseless," the armed forces general command said in a statement carried over state television.
It said such cluster-bomb reports "are untrue and come in the framework of misleading media that are aimed at diverting public opinion from the practices of the armed terrorist groups against civilians."
"Armed terrorist groups" is the regime's term for insurgents seeking President Bashar Assad's ouster.
The regime accused "some news outlets" of being "complicit in the bloodletting in Syria."
The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch said Sunday Syrian regime forces dropped Russian-made cluster bombs on civilian areas last week in an effort to reverse rebel gains on a strategic highway between Damascus and Aleppo.
Cuban travel restrictions to be eased
HAVANA, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Cuba has eased restrictions on its citizens who want to travel outside the country.
The changes are part of reforms promised by President Raul Castro in 2008, CNN reported Tuesday.
No longer will a travel permit and a letter of invitation be required. Beginning in January, travelers will only have to present a valid passport and an entry visa for the country to which they want to go.
Currently, Cubans have to pay $150 for an exit visa, and someone in the country to which the person wants to travel must write a letter of invitation. Fees for that letter can run as high as $200.
Even with the changes, not everyone will be able to travel. There will still be restrictions on moving financial assets out of the country. Intellectuals or people with specialized knowledge will face similar rules to preserve "human capital created by the revolution from the theft of talents practiced by the powerful nations."
Major art works taken from Dutch gallery
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A number of paintings by famous artists were stolen from an art gallery in Rotterdam, Netherlands, police say.
The extent of the theft, which was committed overnight Monday, is still being determined by police and staff at the Kunsthal art gallery, Dutchnews.nl reported.
The works are part of the "Avant Gardes" show that opened Oct. 7. Artists included in the exhibition are Karel Appel, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Lucian Freud, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.
"Reading Girl" by Henri Matisse is reportedly one of the paintings taken although police and gallery staff have not released a list of the stolen art.
The paintings are from the Triton Foundation collection, which the gallery described as one that "comprises representative works by the most important and influential artists of the late 19th century to the present day."
Bermuda prepares for Hurricane Rafael
MIAMI, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Bermuda, under a tropical storm warning, braced for Hurricane Rafael's center to pass east of the island Tuesday afternoon into the evening, forecasters said.
Rafael, a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, was about 345 miles south of Bermuda, moving north-northeast at 16 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 8 a.m. EDT advisory.
Rafael was forecast to turn toward the northeast with an increase in forward speed by Tuesday night. Forecasters said the hurricane was expected to begin weakening by Wednesday morning.
Weather conditions over southern Baja California, Mexico, were expected to deteriorate Tuesday as Hurricane Paul raced toward land, forecasters said.
Paul, a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, was about 200 miles south of Cabo San Lazaro, Mexico, moving north-northeast at 20 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 5 a.m. EDT advisory.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the west coast of Baja California from Santa Fe north to Punta Abreojos.
