Toxic Spill As Train Plunges Off Bridge

A rail bridge has collapsed over a creek in New Jersey causing a freight train to derail and spill hazardous chemicals.

Police said vinyl chloride, a highly toxic and flammable industrial chemical, was spilling from at least one of the Conrail cars that derailed in Paulsboro at a crossing near the Delaware River.

Seven cars derailed and three fell into Mantua Creek. Some 22 people were checked by a doctor, many for breathing problems, but there were only "minor" injuries.

Larry Ragonese, spokesman for New Jersey's environmental health department, said: "Several cars had vinyl chloride and only one of those cars went into the water and lost some of its cargo and released some of the vinyl chloride into the air.

"That vinyl chloride has dissipated at this point. It's really a minimal environmental or health issue at this point."

Residents in the area were advised to remain indoors, with their windows shut.

The US Coast Guard said in a statement: "Authorities are in the process of assessing what materials have been spilled from any damaged container cars."

Television images of the scene showed several cars partly submerged in the creek.

One car was shown at a near-vertical angle from the bridge bed into the water.

Conrail is jointly owned by rail operators CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp.

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West Bank Settlement Plan Blow To Peace Hopes

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

Palestinians say the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict is at death's door after Israel announced it is reviving plans to build on occupied land in a controversial area of East Jerusalem.

The US government is also criticising Israel for the move.

"This administration - like previous administrations - has been very clear with Israel that these activities set back the cause of a negotiated peace," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington.

E1 is the only large area of empty land left between East Jerusalem and the West Bank, sandwiched between Israeli settlements.

Reviving plans to build a settlement there could be fatal for the peace process, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told Sky News in Washington.

"It would kill it. This would be the last nail in the coffin of the peace process a process that fulfils that which has been and has become a matter of international consensus. The two state solution to this conflict. It simply cannot happen if E1 is implemented."

Palestinians say they cannot sign any peace deal that does not have at least a part of Jerusalem as their capital, for religious and political reasons.

An Israeli settlement on E1 would make a land corridor between that capital and the rest of a Palestinian state impossible.

That makes building on E1 a very different proposition to other Israeli settlement plans. For that reason former US President George Bush made then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promise not to build on E1 and put construction plans there on ice.

Danny Seidemann, from Jerusalem NGO Ir Amim, told Sky News: "E1 is the fatal heart attack of the two-state solution.

"If E1 is built there is no possibility of a contiguous viable Palestinian state and no possibility of connecting East Jerusalem and its hinterland on the West Bank."

An Israeli government spokesman told Sky News those plans are now being unfrozen.

"Planning is now going ahead," he said.

No decision to build has yet been taken but extensive plans are known to already exist.

Israel is responding to a vote in the United Nations General Assembly to recognise Palestine as a non-member state. Some 138 countries voted in favour of the move, only eight supported Israel in opposing it.

Israel has also said it will build 3,000 new units in existing settlements.

Under all interpretations of international law, Israel's settlements on occupied land are illegal.

Israel agreed to freeze settlement construction under the Roadmap for Peace plan in 2002 but has failed to comply with that commitment.

A European diplomatic source told Sky News: "If Israel officially confirms plans to expedite settlement building in E1 area, it will elicit a 'strong response' from European states."

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Egypt: New Constitution Set To Be Finalised

An Islamist-led assembly is expected to finalise a controversial new constitution aimed at transforming Egypt.

It could pave the way for an end to a crisis which erupted when President Mohamed Morsi gave himself sweeping new powers last week.

Mr Morsi said his decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which provoked protests and violence from Egyptians, was "for an exceptional stage".

"It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," Mr Morsi told state television on Thursday night. "There is no place for dictatorship."

Mr Morsi's decree provoked protests and violence from Egyptians

Some Egyptians had feared a new dictator was emerging less than two years after they ousted Hosni Mubarak.

The assembly is expected to finish approving the draft constitution on Friday, allowing a referendum to be held as soon as mid-December on a text the Islamists say reflects Egypt's new freedoms.

Mr Morsi's critics argue it is an attempt to rush through a draft they say has been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, which backed Mr Morsi for president in June elections, and its allies.

Two people have been killed and hundreds injured in the protests since last Thursday's decree, which deepened the divide between the newly-empowered Islamists and their opponents.

Setting the stage for more tension, the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies have called for pro-Morsi rallies on Saturday.

But officials from the Brotherhood's party changed the venue and said they would avoid Tahrir Square, where a sit-in by the president's opponents entered an eighth day on Friday.

Seeking to calm protesters, Mr Morsi said he welcomed opposition but it should not divide Egyptians and there was no place for violence. "I am very happy that Egypt has real political opposition," he said.

He stressed the need to attract investors and tourists to Egypt, where the crisis threatens to derail some early signs of an economic recovery after two years of turmoil.

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Palestinian Status Upgraded After UN Vote

The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly in favour of upgrading the Palestinians' status from observer entity to non-member observer state.

It marks a major diplomatic triumph for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who had met fierce opposition from the United States and Israel over the vote.

The resolution was approved by a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions. It gives the Palestinian Authority the same status as the Vatican and enables it to join UN agencies, sign international treaties and access bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC).

A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah celebrated the news - firing shots into the air, embracing each other and chanting "God is greatest".

Palestinians celebrate in Ramallah

In his speech to the General Assembly before the vote, Mr Abbas said the assembly was "being asked today to issue the birth certificate of Palestine".

His speech angered the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The world watched a defamatory and venomous speech that was full of mendacious propaganda against the IDF (army) and the citizens of Israel," he said in a statement.

Mr Netanyahu said the UN move violated past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and that Israel would act accordingly, without elaborating what steps it might take.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dubbed the vote as "unfortunate and counterproductive", saying it would "place further obstacles in the path to peace".

She said: "Only through direct negotiations between the parties can the Palestinians and Israelis achieve the peace that both deserve: two states for two people, with a sovereign, viable and independent Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security with a Jewish and democratic Israel."

The UK abstained in the vote after Foreign Secretary William Hague said he could only back the move if the Palestinians gave a commitment to an immediate and unconditional return to the negotiating table with Israel.

He said he respected the decision but added: "We continue to believe that the prospects for a swift return to negotiations on a two state solution - the only way to create a Palestinian state on the ground - would be greater today if President (Mahmoud) Abbas had been able to give the assurances we suggested, and without which we were unable to vote in favour of the resolution."

The vote had been certain to succeed, with most of the member states sympathetic to the Palestinians.

Several key countries, including France, this week announced they would support the move to elevate the status of the Palestinians.

Some countries fear the Palestinians new access to the ICC could become a springboard for pursuing Israel for alleged war crimes or its ongoing settlement building on war-won land.

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Tornado Hits Huge Steel Factory In Italy

A freak tornado has smashed into Europe's largest steel plant in the Italian city of Taranto, leaving one person missing and dozens injured.

Video footage shows the storm rolling in off the sea and tearing through the port city before hitting the huge IVLA site.

It brought down a chimney stack and caused significant damage to buildings at the factory's docks.

A total of 38 people - including 20 staff at the plant - are reported to be injured and divers have been searching for a worker who is unaccounted for after a dockside crane collapsed.

Three other people on the crane were rescued.

The sudden storm filled the sky with grey swirls of cloud that ripped across the harbour - and it is the latest blow to IVLA, which has become one of the most pressing issues confronting the government of Prime Minister Mario Monti.

Workers had stormed the plant on Tuesday to protest about a planned closure announced on Monday. Managers have been attempting to address health concerns amid reports of an elevated incidence of cancer in the area.

The government wants to save the factory, which employs around 20,000 people in a region of high unemployment, saying its closure would have devastating effects on the wider economy.

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Palestinian Vote At UN May See UK Abstain

The UK will abstain from a UN vote granting recognition to a Palestinian state if a commitment to talk with Israel is not made.

The Foreign Secretary said the UK would only vote in favour of an upgrade in the Palestinians' diplomatic status at the UN General Assembly in New York later if they gave an immediate commitment to return to negotiations with Israel.

William Hague said the UK would also require an assurance that the Palestinians would not seek to extend the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the Occupied Territories.

"Up until the time of the vote itself, we will remain open to voting in favour of the resolution if we see public assurances by the Palestinians on these points," he said in a statement to the House of Commons.

"However, in the absence of these assurances, the United Kingdom would abstain on the vote."

His comments drew a dismissive response from shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander who urged him to stop dithering and come out firmly in favour of Palestinian statehood.

He warned it was unreasonable to expect the Palestinians to make an unconditional commitment to return to talks while the Israelis were continuing settlement building on Palestinian territory.

"Statehood for the Palestinians is not a gift to be given but a right to be acknowledged. Abstention tomorrow would be an abdication of Britain's responsibilities," he said.

Hillary Clinton with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat

The calls came after France announced it was ready to support the resolution to upgrade the Palestinians' status at the UN from observer to non-member observer state, with other European states expected to follow suit.

With the General Assembly dominated by countries sympathetic to the Palestinian cause - and no veto for members of the Security Council - the resolution looks set to be passed, despite the opposition of both Israel and the United States.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned the vote "will not produce the outcome" that many desire.

"The only way to get a lasting solution is to commence direct negotiations," she said.

"And we need an environment conducive to that, and we urge both parties to refrain from actions that might, in any way, make a return to meaningful negotiations that focus on getting to a resolution more difficult."

Israel had already said it would not return to negotiations following the vote, arguing it would undermine efforts to secure a Middle East peace settlement.

Mr Hague told MPs that he, like Mrs Clinton, had appealed to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas not to move the resolution at the General Assembly, but to give the newly re-elected US administration of Barack Obama the chance to launch a fresh peace initiative.

"We pointed out that a UN resolution would be depicted by some as a move away from bilateral negotiations with Israel," he said.

"We were also concerned about the considerable financial risks to the Palestinian Authority, at a time when their situation is already precarious, if a vote led to a strong backlash from Israel and within the US political system," he added.

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Hugo Chavez To Get Medical Treatment In Cuba

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will return to Cuba for medical treatment, months after he received chemotherapy for cancer there.

The 58-year-old, who was re-elected for a fourth term in October, has made regular trips to Cuba since he was diagnosed with the disease in June 2011.

He celebrated his election win in front of thousands of supporters on a balcony of the presidential palace and had appeared to be making a good recovery.

The Venezuelan President celebrates his election victory in October

However, he has not been seen in public for almost two weeks and has been absent from Twitter, where he has not posted a message to his 3.7m followers since November 1.

Mr Chavez revealed his travel plans in a letter to Venezuela's National Assembly.

He wrote: "Six months after I completed the last radiation therapy treatment, it has been recommended that I begin a special treatment consisting of various sessions of hyperbaric oxygenation.

"Together with physical therapy, (this) will consolidate the process of strengthening my health."

Mr Chavez was given permission to travel to Cuba by his country's Congress, and was expected to make the journey on Tuesday.

Hyperbaric oxygenation involves breathing pure oxygen while in a pressurised chamber, according to Macmillan Cancer Support.

The charity said it is most commonly used to treat the side effects of radiotherapy, which affects blood cells and vessels and can cause changes in the oxygen supply to body tissues.

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Egypt: Major Protest Against President Morsi

More than 200,000 people packed Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi's new 'pharoah' powers.

They accused the Islamist leader of seeking to impose a new era of autocracy after he issued a decree that expanded his powers and barred court challenges to his decisions.

The demonstration in the iconic plaza was as large as some of the protests during last year's uprising that drove ex-president Hosni Mubarak from power.

The same chants aimed against Mr Mubarak have now been directed towards the country's first freely-elected leader.

Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths in streets near the protest and there were clashes between Mr Morsi's opponents and supporters in a city north of Cairo.

Mr Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, faces the biggest challenge in his five months in office.

Protesters in Tahrir Square

"The people want to bring down the regime," protesters in Tahrir Square chanted, echoing slogans used in the 2011 revolt.

"We don't want a dictatorship again. The Mubarak regime was a dictatorship. We had a revolution to have justice and freedom," said 32-year-old Ahmed Husseini in Cairo.

Protesters also demonstrated in Alexandria, Suez, Minya and other Nile Delta cities.

A 52-year-old demonstrator died after inhaling teargas in Cairo, the second protester death since Mr Morsi issued his decree last week.

The president's administration has defended the decree as an attempt to speed up reforms and complete a democratic transformation.

But opponents say Mr Morsi is behaving like a modern-day pharaoh, a jibe that was levelled at Mr Mubarak.

Mr Morsi's move also provoked a rebellion by judges and has hit confidence in an economy struggling after two years of turmoil.

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Eurozone And IMF Reach Greece Debt Deal

Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund have reached an agreement on Greek debt, which paves the way for the release of much-needed loans.

After nearly 10 hours of talks, it was agreed that the country's public debt should fall to 124% of GDP in 2020 through a package of extra debt cutting measures.

The deal emerged in Brussels after a meeting of finance ministers from the 17 eurozone countries, the European Central Bank and the IMF on how to make Greek debt sustainable - their third meeting on the issue in as many weeks.

"It's going very slow, but we have financing and a Debt Sustainability Analysis. We've filled the financing gap until the end of programme in 2014," one official said, adding that talks on the details of the debt cutting measures with the IMF were still ongoing.

The deal is a breakthrough towards releasing the next tranche of loans to Greece after its 31.2bn (£25bn) aid package was suspended in the summer over concerns it was not meeting the conditions of its bailout programme.

The Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras said earlier that Athens had fulfilled its part of the deal by enacting tough austerity measures and economic reforms, and it was now up to the lenders to do their part.

The IMF has said Greece's debt as a proportion of GDP must be cut to around 120% by 2020, from a forecast 190% next year, for it to be manageable in the long term.

It was not immediately clear how the debt would be reduced from its currently forecast level of 144% in 2020 to the target, but it is expected to involve a series of measures including the lowering of interest rate on loans to Greece.

Last week Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras criticised the failure to deliver bailout funds to Athens after 12 hours of emergency talks among the eurozone finance ministers and representatives of the troika of lenders had ended without agreement.

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Scientists Exhume Body Of Yasser Arafat

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent

International teams of scientists will take samples of tissue from the exhumed body of Yasser Arafat to test for polonium poisoning, following allegations he was killed by Israeli agents.

Tawfiq al Tirawi, the head of the Palestinian investigation committee said: "We have evidence which suggests he was poisoned by Israelis. I consider this a painful necessity. It is necessary to find the truth in the death of President Yasser Arafat".

Mr Arafat, the revered and reviled leader of Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization, died suddenly in 2004.

He was flown to Paris for treatment before he died and doctors were unable to diagnose the cause of his death. His wife, Suha, refused to allow an autopsy.

An investigation by al Jazeera TV claimed to have found "elevated levels of the substance in Mr Arafat's final personal effects," according to its website.

The Israeli government has denied any involvement in his death, and refused to comment.

Mr Arafat was interred in the Mukataa, the head-quarters of the Palestinian Authority, in a marble-floored mausoleum.

He was being removed for a few hours to allow samples are taken and then re-buried with full military honours.

Investigators from Switzerland, France and Russia will take samples back to their laboratories to test for unnatural levels of polonium, the radioactive material allegedly used in the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.

Ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, who was allegedly killed with polonium

Mr Arafat's comb, his toothbrush and his iconic kaffiyeh (traditional Arab headdress) were examined earlier this year and tested for Polinium-210 by  the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Experts found unusually high levels of the substance.

The results of news tests are likely to be released in four months. If his death turns out to have been the work of assassins, the consequences are likely to be explosive.

Israel would be blamed. The Jewish state will be accused of killing the man who, along with Yitzhak Rabin, ushered in the Oslo Peace Process.

This lead to the creation of the Palestinian Authority in the 1990s but collapsed after the eruption of the Second Intifada in 2000.

Peace talks continued through the violence but got nowhere as the death toll of Palestinians and Israelis climbed.

But Israel has continued with its campaign to expand its territory into the Occupied West Bank of the Jordan River by building Jewish settlements.

These have caused intense anger among Palestinians who, many believe, may be on the verge of a third Intifada which could be ignited if evidence emerges Mr Arafat was murdered.

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Gas Worker's Blunder Caused Strip Club Blast

An explosion which flattened a strip club in Springfield, Massachusetts, has been blamed on a gas worker who accidentally pierced a high-pressure pipeline while looking for a leak.

The blast levelled the Scores Gentlemen's Club on Friday evening, and blew out the windows of dozens more buildings up to three blocks away.

Eighteen people were hurt. Most of the injured were part of a group of gas workers, firefighters and police officers who ducked for cover behind a lorry just before the blast.

Officials said it was a miracle no one was killed.

State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan confirmed the explosion was caused by "human error".

He said a Columbia Gas company worker was responding to reports of a gas leak when he damaged the underground pipe with a  metal probe.

The explosion damaged buildings in a three-block radius

A flood of gas then built up in a building that housed the strip club, and a spark touched off the blast, Mr Coan said.

Preliminary reports showed the blast damaged 42 buildings in the vicinity and 115 residential units.

Three buildings were immediately condemned, while 24 others require additional inspections by structural engineers to determine whether they are safe.

The building that housed the Scores Gentleman's Club was completely destroyed and a children's day care centre next door was heavily damaged.

Several buildings were evacuated after the gas pipe was ruptured.

The injured were mostly gas workers, police officers and firefighters

Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant praised the actions of firefighters.

"The firefighters did an excellent job evacuating the area which certainly prevented additional civilian injuries and saved many lives," he said.

Columbia Gas said it planned to open a claims centre for residents and businesses affected by the explosion.

Company officials have been co-operating with investigators and have determined there are no more gas leaks in the area.

Springfield, which is 90 miles (145km) west of Boston and has about 150,000 residents, is the largest city in western Massachusetts.

The city is still recovering from a tornado that caused extensive damage in June 2011.

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Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood HQ Clashes 'Kill One'

At least one person has been killed in clashes outside an office of Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood, reports say.

The violence at the Freedom and Justice Party headquarters in the Nile Delta town of Damanhour came amid widespread anger in Egypt over President Mohamed Morsi's decision to grant himself sweeping new powers.

"Brotherhood member, Islam Fathy Masoud, 15, was killed and 60 were injured after thugs attacked the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Damanhour in the total absence of police forces," the party's website said.

Mr Morsi had sought to calm the anger over the decree which effectively protects the president's decisions from any legal challenge.

"The presidency reiterates the temporary nature of the said measures, which are not meant to concentrate power, but ... to devolve it to a democratically elected parliament ... as well as as preserving the impartiality of the judiciary and to avoid politicising it," a statement from the president's office said.

The statement also reaffirmed that the new powers - which Mr Morsi says were taken to protect Egypt's revolution from followers of former president Hosni Mubarak -  would only apply until a new constitution is adopted.

Mr Morsi will meet senior members of the judiciary, which has changed little since the Mubarak era, on Monday after they called the move an "unprecedented attack" on their authority.

Angry protesters accusing him of blatant power grab clashed with police for a third consecutive day in central Cairo on Sunday as Egypt's stock market reacted with a nearly 10% fall.

More than 500 people are believed to have been injured in violent protests since the decree was announced on Thursday.

Several offices belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party have been torched.

Activists are staging a sit-in at Cairo's Tahrir Square - the symbolic hub of the popular uprising that forced Mubarak from power - and a mass protest has been called for Tuesday. The Muslim Brotherhood is planning a counter demonstration.

Many of Morsi's political opponents share the view that Egypt's judiciary needs reform, but they disagree with the concentration of power into the hands of the president.

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Catalonia Holds Vote That Could Reshape Spain

Spain's wealthy region of Catalonia votes today in an election that could determine whether it eventually breaks away from the rest of the country.

The region must choose a new assembly, after a campaign dominated by the issue of independence from Spain and financial woes.

Opinion polls show that most voters will cast ballots for pro-independence parties, with Catalan President Artur Mas expected to win re-election.

Mr Mas has advocated independence despite strong resistance from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has been fighting deep recession in his country.

"I hope to be the last president of a Catalonia that the Spanish state is trying to destroy," Mr Mas told a recent campaign rally for his conservative Convergence and Union Party.

"The next one will not depend on the Spanish state and they will no longer be able to destroy it," he told supporters, who chanted back to him: "Independence! Independence!"

If the vote today goes his way, he has promised to call a referendum on statehood within four years.

Like the Basque Country, Catalonia - a northeastern region of 7.5 million people - has its own language and sees itself as different from the rest of Spain.

Until recently, Catalans were content just pushing for greater autonomy, and stopped short of seeking independence.

But Spain's economic woes, including a 25% unemployment rate, and tough austerity measures imposed by Madrid have added to the Catalans' discontent and persuaded many they would be better off on their own.

Catalonia has a significant weight in Spain's economy, accounting for one-fifth of its total output, and a greater share of its exports.

It features one of the world's greatest football teams, FC Barcelona, which contributes many players to Spain's World Cup winning national squad.

However, the region has also suffered from Europe's financial crisis and has a 44bn euro debt.

In the voting for the regional assembly, called by Mr Mas two years ahead of schedule, 135 seats are up for grabs, with Mr Mas' alliance expected to take 60-64, according to recent surveys.

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More Than 100 Die In Bangladesh Factory Fire

At least 112 people have been killed in a fire which tore through a clothes factory in Bangladesh, an official has said.

The blaze broke out in the seven-storey building operated by Tazreen Fashions on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, late on Saturday.

By this morning, firefighters had recovered 100 bodies, fire department operations director Mohammad Mahbub said.

Mr Mahbub said another 12 people, who had suffered injuries after jumping from the building to escape the fire, later died at several hospitals.

The death toll could rise as the search for victims is continuing, he added.

Army soldiers and border guards had been deployed to help police keep the situation under control as thousands of anxious relatives of the factory workers gathered at the scene.

It is not yet known what caused the blaze.

Firefighters at the scene of the blaze

Bangladesh has some 4,000 clothes factories, many without proper safety measures.

The country annually earns about $20bn from exports of garment products, mainly to the US and Europe.

Meanwhile, in Bangladesh's southeastern port city of Chittagong, military rescue teams were drafted in to help when a flyover collapsed just shortly before the factory fire.

"So far 13 dead bodies have been recovered," sub-inspector Mohammad Alauddin said.

The number of missing could not immediately be confirmed but police constable Shakakhawat Hossain said that dozens could be trapped under the debris.

Mr Hossain said about 20 people were injured, including some during clashes between police and an angry crowd that attacked the site offices of the construction company after the flyover collapse.

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