Governor Deval Patrick today is expected to announce that state revenues will decline this year by as much as $1.5 billion, giving greater urgency to the state budget cuts and layoffs he is expected to announce in a televised news conference this afternoon.

The governor is planning to announce the cuts at 5 p.m., giving him a local news broadcast platform so he can speak directly to Massachusetts residents and explain to them how the national and foreign economic chaos has hit home.

Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/10/15/mass_short_by_as_much_as_15b/

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Georgian and Russian officials are in Geneva for key talks on the recent conflict over Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia.

The talks - which are being mediated by the UN, the EU and the OSCE - are aimed at encouraging stability and security in the Caucasus.

But they are unlikely to provide a solution to the dispute, diplomats say.

In August, Russia fought a brief war to repel Georgian troops trying to regain control of South Ossetia.

Moscow later recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia - another Georgian rebel region - as independent states, drawing condemnation from Tbilisi and Western leaders.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7670897.stm

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Barack Obama and John McCain are set to face each other in the final televised debate before the US presidential poll.

The third debate is likely to centre on the state of the US economy, and both candidates revealed new economic rescue plans in the past few days.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7671116.stm