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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UK Eyes Oz's Tough Anti-Smoking Laws

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

The British Government is considering following Australia's lead by stripping all branding and logos from tobacco packaging.

From today, Australia becomes the first country in the world to put all tobacco products in standardised packs which are a drab olive colour and have the manufacturer's brand in a simple uniform font.

The packs are covered in graphic health warnings portraying dying cancer sufferers, diseased feet and ill babies.

The law bans the use of logos, brand imagery, symbols, other images, colours and promotional text.

Australia's plain packaging laws are a potential watershed for the global industry, which serves one billion regular smokers, according to World Health Organisation statistics.

Australia's government says the aim is to deter young people from smoking by stripping the habit of glamour.

It is relying on studies showing that if people have not started smoking by the age of 26, there is a 99% chance they will never take it up.

The potential hitch, experts say, is the popularity of social media amongst the very demographic the plan is targeting.

After a series of Australian laws banning TV advertising and sports sponsorship and requiring most sellers to hide cigarettes from view, online is the final frontier for tobacco marketing.

"If you are a tobacco marketer and you've only got this small window left to promote your products, online is the compelling place for you to be in," said Becky Freeman, a public health researcher at Sydney University.

Australia has become the first country to introduce plain cigarette packs

The tobacco industry recently lost a High Court bid to have the legislation stopped.

Scott McIntyre of British American Tobacco Australia, the maker of Winfield cigarettes, says the new packs are easier to fake and will boost black market trade, leading to cheaper, more accessible cigarettes.

"There will be serious unintended consequences from the legislation," he said. "Counterfeiters from China and Indonesia will bring lots more of these products down to sell on the streets of Australia."

The industry has shifted its focus to potential copycat legislation elsewhere. Ukraine, Honduras and the Dominican Republic have filed complaints with the World Trade Organisation, funded by the tobacco industry, claiming the laws unfairly restrict trade, although their trade with Australia is minimal.

Many smokers in Australia say the new packs won't change their habit. "As a 14-year veteran smoker the packets make no difference to me," one man told Sky News.

Another smoker said she may be more inclined to keep the packet, with its gruesome health warnings, hidden from view, but that it wouldn't stop her smoking.

Earlier this year, the British Government launched a consultation on plans to introduce similar standardised packaging. Information generated by the consultation, which closed in August, is still being analysed by health officials.

Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said: "The Australian Government is to be applauded. Today marks the day when tobacco companies are further stymied in their efforts to recruit Australian children into a lethal addiction.

A UK Department of Health spokesman said: "We have received many thousands of responses to the tobacco packaging consultation. We are currently in the process of carefully collating and analysing all the responses received.

"The Government has an open mind on this issue and any decisions to take further action will be taken only after full consideration of the consultation responses, evidence and other relevant information."

Australia aims to cut the number of people smoking from 15% of the population to just 10% in six years' time.

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North Korea Unveils New Rocket Launch Plan

North Korea says it is to launch a long-range rocket later this month.

The launch, planned for between between December 10 and December 22, will heighten already strained tensions with South Korea ahead of its presidential election on December 19.

North Korea tried in April to launch a long-range rocket but it broke apart shortly after lift off.

The North's Korean Committee for Space Technology said that it had looked at the mistakes made in the April launch and had improved the rocket.

"Scientists and technicians of the DPRK analysed the mistakes that were made during the previous April launch and deepened the work of improving the reliability and precision of the satellite and carrier rocket, thereby rounding off the preparations for launch," it said.
                 
The rocket was intended to put a polar-orbiting earth observation satellite into orbit, it said.
                 
In April, North Korea failed with a much-hyped launch of an Unha-3 rocket that Pyongyang also said was aimed at placing a satellite in orbit.
                 
The US and United Nations insisted it was a disguised ballistic missile test using a three-stage variant of the Taepodong-2 inter-continental ballistic missile.
                 
The April test put a halt to the latest international effort to engage with North Korea, with the US calling off plans to deliver badly needed food assistance.
                 
The UN Security Council has warned North Korea against carrying out another launch bid after intense speculation that it was preparing for a new missile test.
                 
"We all agree it would be extremely inadvisable to proceed with the test," the head of the North Korea sanctions committee at the council, Portuguese ambassador Jose Filipe Moraes Cabral said.

 

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Palestinian Status Upgraded After UN Vote

The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly in favour of upgrading the Palestinians' status to a non-member observer state, defying the wishes of Israel and the US.

It marks a major diplomatic triumph for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who had met fierce opposition from the US 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 who had gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah celebrated the news by firing shots into the air, embracing each other and chanting "God is greatest".

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

His speech angered the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr Abbas celebrates the result of the vote

"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 ... 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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Egypt: New Constitution Is Finalised

An Islamist-led assembly has finalised 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, triggering protests in the country.

At one point 200,000 people packed Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against Mr Morsi's 'pharoah' powers.

The assembly finished approving the draft constitution on Friday. It will be sent to Mr Morsi for ratification, before being put to a popular referendum.

The poll could be held as soon as mid-December on the text, which Islamists say reflects Egypt's new freedoms.

Mr Morsi's critics argue the draft was rushed through, having been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood which backed Mr Morsi for president in June elections.

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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Weapons Stolen In Raid On Australia Navy Base

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A cache of weapons has been stolen from an Australian navy vessel after at least one intruder overpowered military personnel on guard.

The Australian Department of Defence said the infiltrator "overwhelmed a duty member onboard a patrol boat" which was moored at HMAS Coonawarra, a naval base in the northern city of Darwin.

In a statement, it said: "The intruder overpowered the duty member, accessed the vessel's armoury and removed a number of weapons.

"The person then departed the vessel with the weapons."

The Australian newspaper said an Armidale-class patrol boat would be expected to carry a stock of machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, 9mm pistols and ammunition in its armoury.

The attack happened on the Larrakeyah Naval Base which is now in lock-down. It was unclear whether the intruder accessed the boat from land or sea and the types of weapons taken have not been revealed.

Vice Admiral Ray Griggs told the Australian Broadcasting Association the intruder was "armed", adding that the young sailor who was on guard is safe but very shaken by the incident.

He said: "Clearly his life was threatened, he is quite shaken but otherwise okay."

Earlier reports suggested the sailor had been tied up.

The incident is being investigated by Northern Territory police and Australian Federal Police in conjunction with defence personnel.

Tropical Darwin is a key defence hub for Australia, with US Marines based in a barracks outside the city since April this year as Washington looks to deepen its presence in Asia.

Almost 600 Navy personnel are based in the area.

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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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Powerball Lottery: Two Tickets Share $580m

Two winning tickets have shared the $580m (£362m) Powerball jackpot, the second biggest in US lottery history, according to the lottery's website.

Powerball officials have not confirmed whether the two winners have come forward to claim their prize, that the odds of winning were estimated to be one in 175 million.

Another 8.9 million players won lesser prizes in the draw.

The draw on Wednesday night followed 16 consecutive draws that had produced no top winner.

Tickets had been selling at an average of 130,000 every minute across the United States in the hours before the draw. That equates to players spending $15.6m (£9.74m) an hour for a chance at the huge jackpot.

An estimated 90% of the tickets sold were 'quick picks' where players let computers pick their numbers for them.

On Tuesday the jackpot was an estimated $500m but the high ticket sales boosted the prize, first to $550m ion Wednesday morning and up again to $579.9m (£361m) by the time of the draw.

"Sales have been so fast and so strong it's difficult to keep up with the estimates," Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, one of the founding Powerball states, said.

Powerball's website crashed shortly after the winning numbers 5, 23, 16, 22, 29, with Powerball 6 were announced, as did that of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball.

Besides the jackpot, Powerball players can win as much as $1m if they hold tickets with most but not all of the drawn numbers, but many people are unaware of such secondary prizes, which end up going unclaimed.

The biggest jackpot in US lottery history of $640m was claimed in March 2012 by MegaMillions players in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland who all held tickets bearing the same winning numbers.

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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.

One worker is unaccounted for

The sudden storm filled the sky with grey swirls of cloud that ripped across the harbour.

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 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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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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'Sexy Kim Jong-Un' Spoof Fools Chinese Paper

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

The Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper appears to have fallen for a spoof by a US satirical website.

An article in The Onion last month declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to be the "Sexiest Man Alive For 2012".

"With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true," the spoof article read.

"Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile."

However, The People's Daily appears to have taken it all rather too seriously.

In their English and Chinese editions, the newspaper not only quoted The Onion and its editor but also ran a 55-page photo special - a dedicated slideshow of the North Korean leader.

The original story in The Onion

"He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time," the paper quoted Marissa Blake-Zweiber, editor of The Onion Style and Entertainment as saying.

Responding to the People's Daily report, The Onion has now updated its own article: "For more coverage, please visit our friends at the People's Daily in China, a proud Communist subsidiary of The Onion, Inc. Exemplary reportage, comrades."

The Onion has a history of fooling unsuspecting overseas news outlets.

In September, Iran's Fars News Agency published a made-up poll from The Onion that claimed many Americans preferred Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to President Barack Obama.

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Syria: Deadly Car Bomb Blasts Rock Damascus

At least 20 people have been killed after two suspected car bombs exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus, according to activists and local media.

Addounia television said the blasts occurred early in the morning in the eastern district of Jaramana.

It broadcast footage of firefighters hosing down two vehicles. Debris from damaged buildings had crushed other cars in the area.

The explosions happened as the opposition coalition was due to meet in Cairo to discuss forming a transitional government.

"The objective is to name the prime minister for a transitional government, or at least have a list of candidates ahead of the Friends of Syria meeting," Suhair al-Atassi, one of the coalition's two vice presidents, said.

Countries friendly to the rebels are also meeting in the Egyptian capital over the coming days.

The Jaramana district is mostly home to Christians and Druze

Meanwhile, a UN committee condemned "gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms" by both the Syrian regime and government-controlled militias.

The resolution urges Syrian authorities to immediately release all detainees and calls for a prompt independent international investigation into abuses and violations of international law with a view to bringing to justice those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other crimes.

It makes no mention of opposition forces but does express "grave concern at the escalation of violence" in the country.

The resolution is almost certain to be adopted by the 193-member General Assembly next month, however will not be legally binding.

More than 40,000 people are estimated to have died since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al Assad's regime began 20 months ago.

More follows...

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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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Britons Held Over Heroin Hidden In Breadsticks

Two British lorry drivers have been arrested in southern Italy after police found 20 million euros (£16m) worth of heroin hidden in their vehicle among boxes of breadsticks.

The men were detained when they were stopped by police in Bari after a ferry crossing from Greece.

The drugs were discovered during a routine check by customs officials in the back of a lorry bound for Lancashire.

Footage released by officials showed officers unloading the white packages, wrapped in black plastic and stashed in between the breadsticks.

The drivers have been named as lorry owner Samuel Wilson, 42, from Scotland and 32-year-old Peter Cameron from Belfast.

They have been remanded in custody and the lorry and drugs seized by customs.

The Foreign Office has confirmed the men's detention.

A spokesman said: "We can confirm the arrest of two British nationals on Monday, 26 November in Bari, Italy."

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Scientists Take Samples From Body Of Arafat

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent

Samples have been taken from Yasser Arafat's remains by scientists investigating claims he was poisoned with polonium.

The probe comes after 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 Organisation (PLO), 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 a post-mortem examination.

Yassar Arafat's tomb covered in tarpaulin as scientists begin their work

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.

His remains were uncovered early on Tuesday, beneath large blue sheets of tarpaulin. A military reburial ceremony was cancelled because scientists were able to do their work without exhuming the body.

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.

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.

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

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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Catalans Back Pro-Independence Parties

Voters in Catalonia have overwhelmingly backed parties that favour breaking away from Spain, but the region's biggest party saw its majority in parliament fall.

Artur Mas, the current Catalonia president and leader of the centre-right Covergence and Union (CiU) alliance, had promised a referendum on "self-determination" if the election had given him a strong mandate.

However, with just 50 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament the CiU was 18 short of the absolute majority he desired.

Mr Mas, who during campaigning said he hoped to be the last president of Catalonia reliant on Madrid, acknowledged that he would now have to share power as he fights for greater sovereignty for the economically powerful Spanish region.

"From this result we note that we are clearly the only force that can lead this government, but we cannot lead it alone. We need shared responsibility," Mr Mas told supporters in Barcelona.

"There must be a period of reflection in Catalonia over the coming days. The presidency must be taken up, but we will also have to reflect along with other (political) forces," he said, without naming a particular party.

The pro-independence leftist party ERC was second with 21 seats after 97% of the ballots had been counted.

"The vote is fragmented but the message is clear," Ferran Requejo, political science professor at Barcelona's Pompeu Fabra University, said.

"Two-thirds of the electorate voted for parties that are in favour of calling an independence referendum, but Mas has been hit hard for his austerity policies."

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.

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

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Egypt Clashes: President Morsi To Meet Judges

A teenager has reportedly been killed outside an office of Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood, as President Mohamed Morsi prepares to meet senior judges to try to ease violent clashes.

The violence at the Freedom and Justice Party headquarters in the Nile Delta town of Damanhour, south of Alexandria, also left dozens injured.

"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.

It came amid widespread anger in Egypt over President Morsi's decision to award himself sweeping new powers.

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.

Egyptian protesters clash with security forces near Cairo's Tahrir Square

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

The country's highest judicial authority has hinted at compromise to avert a further escalation, although Mr Morsi's opponents want nothing less than the complete cancellation of the decree they see as a danger to democracy.

The Supreme Judicial Council said Mr Morsi's decree should apply only to "sovereign matters", suggesting it did not reject the declaration outright, and called on judges and prosecutors, some of whom have begun a strike, to return to work.

Angry protesters have clashed with police this morning for a fourth consecutive day in central Cairo, 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.

Activists have been 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.

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Brit Killed In South Africa Farm Robbery

A British man who went to South Africa to run a nature reserve has been killed in a robbery at his farm, police say.

More follows...

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Egypt Judges Condemn President's 'Attack'

Egyptian judges have condemned a decree granting President Mohamed Morsi sweeping new powers, as angry protesters clashed with police for a second day.

A handful of rock-throwing activists battled riot police in the streets near Tahrir Square, where several thousand protesters massed on Friday to demonstrate against the decree, which effectively prevents Mr Morsi's decisions from being challenged.

The move also removed powers from the judiciary and allows the president to take any measures to protect national security.

The Supreme Judicial Council, the country's highest judicial authority, said the decree was an "unprecedented attack" on their independence, the state news agency reported.

Judges in the coastal city of Alexandria said all work at courts and prosecution offices would be suspended until the measures were reversed.

Some protesters are staging a sit-in in Tahrir Square

A number of opposition parties have called for an open-ended sit-in with the aim of "toppling" the decree, which has also drawn criticism from the US, the UN and the European Union.

A mass protest has also been called for Tuesday.

"We are facing a historic moment in which we either complete our revolution or we abandon it to become prey for a group that has put its narrow party interests above the national interest," the liberal Dustour Party said in a statement.

Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party also called its supporters out onto the streets of Cairo on Tuesday for a counter-demonstration to show support for the move.

On Friday, the president addressed his supporters at a rally outside the presidential palace, telling them he would press forward and that he was on the path to "freedom and democracy".

He said that the new powers were designed to stop "weevils" from the regime of ousted former president Hosni Mubarak blocking progress.

The decree reflects the concerns in the Muslim Brotherhood-led government that sections of the judiciary remain unreformed following the overthrown of Mubarak.

"It aims to sideline Morsi's enemies in the judiciary and ultimately to impose and head off any legal challenges to the constitution," said Elijah Zarwan, a Fellow with The European Council on Foreign Relations.

"We are in a situation now where both sides are escalating and it's getting harder and harder to see how either side can gracefully climb down."

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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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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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