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.

William Hague called on Israel to reverse the plan, saying the move undermined Israel's international reputation and created doubts about its commitment to achieving peace.

The British Foreign Secretary said he was "extremely concerned", warning it would make the two-state solution "difficult to achieve".

The US government also criticised 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.

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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

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent, in Beijing

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

The launch, planned for between December 10 and December 22, has significantly increased already strained tensions with South Korea ahead of its presidential election later this month.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry reacted swiftly to the news saying that it had "grave concern" and that Pyongyang could face severe repercussions from the international community.

North Korea tried in April to launch a long-range rocket but it broke apart shortly after lift off, crash-landing in the Yellow Sea.

Critics believe leader Kim Jong-un is flexing his military muscles

The country's space agency, the Korean Committee for Space Technology, said that it had studied 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.

Pyongyang claimed that the much-hyped failed April launch was intended to put a polar-orbiting earth observation satellite into orbit.

However, the US, South Korea and the UN all 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.

Saturday's announcement confirmed more than a week of speculation that a new launch was imminent.

Satellite imagery, released by DigitalGlobe, showed a marked increase in activity at a North Korean launch site.

Comparisons with earlier satellite imagery of the Sohae Satellite Launch Station near the Chinese border showed an increased number of people, trucks and other equipment.

"Given the observed level of activity ... a new tent, trucks, people and numerous portable fuel/oxidiser tanks, should North Korea desire, it could possibly conduct its fifth satellite launch event during the next three weeks," DigitalGlobe said in a statement last week accompanying its image.

Reports also emerged from Japan and the US suggesting their intelligence analysts were also concerned about an increase in activity.

On Thursday, the UN Security Council had cautioned Pyongyang against going ahead with another launch, saying it would be "extremely inadvisable".

South Korea has reacted with anger to the latest launch plan, saying the "so-called rocket launch" is a long-range missile that violates a UN ban.

Voters in South Korea go to the polls on December 19. The neck-and-neck contest is between the ruling conservative party candidate Park Geun-hye, daughter of former South Korean leader Park Chung-hee and her Democratic Union Party rival, Moon Jae-in.

The policies they are expected to adopt in relation to North Korea differ markedly. Democratic candidate Mr Moon is expected to adopt a "carrot and stick" approach. Ms Park's stance is more "stick, then carrot".

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Miami Airport: One Dead After Bus Hits Overpass

A bus has hit an overpass at Miami International Airport, killing at least one person and injuring dozens more, according to officials.

Airport spokesman Greg Chin said the bus, thought to be a cruise or tour bus, hit the overpass going into the airport's arrivals section this morning.

It was travelling at around 20mph when it clipped the roof entrance, he said.

Some 32 people were on board the bus, and all have some sort of injuries.

The arrivals area remains blocked off by fire trucks and police cars.

Mr Chin said buses are supposed to travel through the departure area, because it has a higher clearance for large vehicles.

Miami-Dade police lieutenant Rosanna Cordero-Stutz said the bus was privately owned.

It was unclear where it was travelling to, but Ms Cordero-Stutz said the driver was unfamiliar with the area and had not intended to go to the airport.

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Egypt: Islamists Rally For Mohamed Morsi

Islamist backers of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi are staging a mass rally in Cairo in support of his expanding powers and the drafting of a new constitution.

"The Muslim Brotherhood supports President Morsi's decisions," read a banner carried by supporters who chanted: "The people want the implementation of God's law."

Mr Morsi plunged Egypt into a new crisis last week when he issued a decree placing his decisions beyond judicial challenge and gave himself sweeping powers.

Its new Muslim Brotherhood President said it was a temporary measure to speed-up Egypt's democratic transition until the revised charter was in place.

A supporter of Mohamed Morsi holds a portrait of the Egyptian President

Saturday's demonstration in the heart of the capital comes a day after tens of thousands converged on Tahrir Square to protest against Mr Morsi's decree and the speedy adoption of the draft constitution which they see as a dictatorial power grab.

Mohamed Noshi, 23, a pharmacist from Mansoura, north of Cairo, said: "Those in Tahrir don't represent everyone. Most people support Morsi and aren't against the decree."

"There are people who want instability," said another demonstrator, referring to anti-Morsi protesters.

"There needs to be a constitution for there to be stability."

Members of the constituent assembly are due to later hand the President the final draft of the constitution, which was adopted after a marathon overnight session on Thursday that was boycotted by liberals, seculars and Christians.

They are opposed to the haste in which the charter has been adopted and some of its provisions on rights and freedoms.

Heba Morayef, Human Rights Watch Egypt directors, said some of the draft articles on freedom of expression and religion resemble a "penal code".

"Some of the provisions are penal code provisions. You don't list all the things that you are not allowed to do, you're supposed to set up the rights and limitations," she said.

Pro-Morsi protests are also taking place in Nahdet Misr Square in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Alexandria and the central Egyptian province of Assiut.

The Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters have branded the opposition as enemies of the revolution that toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

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Chimpanzee Attack: Victim Gets $4m Settlement

A woman who was blinded, lost both hands and underwent a face transplant after being mauled by a chimpanzee has agreed a $4m (£2.5m) settlement.

Attack victim Charla Nash's family had filed a lawsuit seeking $50m (£31.2m) in damages from chimp owner Sandra Herold, who died in 2010.

Ms Nash was attacked outside Ms Herold's home in Stamford, Connecticut in February 2009.

"The case is resolved," said Brenden Leydon, the lawyer representing Ms Herold's estate. "I think it was a fair compromise on all sides."

Ms Nash, 57, now lives in a nursing home outside of Boston.

She had gone to Ms Herold's on the day of the attack to help lure the 200lb (91kg) chimpanzee, Travis, back into her home.

But the animal went berserk and ripped off Ms Nash's nose, lips, eyelids and hands before being shot dead by a police officer.

A month after the mauling, Ms Nash's family sued Ms Herold for alleged negligence and recklessness.

The lawsuit alleged Ms Herold knew Travis was dangerous, but failed to confine him to a secure area and allowed him to roam her property.

Travis had previously bitten another woman's hand and tried to drag her into a car in 1996. Two years later he had bitten a man's thumb.

In 2003, he escaped from Ms Herold's home and roamed around the town for hours before being captured, according to the court papers.

The family is trying to sue the state for $150m (£93m), but is awaiting permission from the state claims commissioner.

Ms Nash also wants to sue the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which she holds responsible for not seizing the animal before the attack despite a state biologist's warning it was dangerous.

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New York Good Cop Explains Act Of Kindness

It was meant to be a private gesture, but the New York policeman who bought a homeless man a $100 (£62) pair of boots has won international and official praise.

Officer Larry DePrimo appeared before throngs of reporters and cameras on Thursday after being awarded a pair of cufflinks by his boss, NYPD Commisioner Ray Kelly.

The 25-year-old explained that he had been inspired by his grandfather to buy the anonymous barefoot man a pair of shoes, after encountering him during his beat near Times Square on a cold evening in early November.   

"He told me when I was much younger, 'If you are going to do something, do it 100%. And do it, or don't do it at all,'" Officer DePrimo said.

"I didn't really think anything of it at the time," he added. "What sticks out in my mind is he was such a kind gentleman that I had to help him. I wanted to."

Larry DePrimo's family home in Suffolk County, where the officer lives in a basement apartment, was also besieged by satellite trucks and journalists.    

And both he and the tourist who secretly snapped the photo - a civilian police worker from Arizona - were doing the rounds of US breakfast TV shows on Friday.

Jennifer Foster posted the image to the NYPD's Facebook Page and kicked off the internet phenomenon which has seen millions viewing the story and thousands of 'likes' and positive comments.

Officer Larry DePrimo pictured in 2011 on the NYPD Facebook page

But amid all the praise, there has been inevitable cynicism and some concern for the unidentified man at the centre of the modern-day fairytale of New York. 

"I walked by this man in Union Square Wednesday, November 21," wrote Melissa Gallaher-Smith. "And he was again barefoot. I remember very clearly because his pants were also hiked up and his feet were very large."

Several others reported seeing the same man - always without shoes. One told how she had bought a pair for him on a previous occasion, leading to speculation among others that he may be working some kind of scam.

Homeless charities also waded in, praising Officer DePrimo's actions but pointing out it is not in line with the NYPD's usual treatment of vagrants.

Patrick Markee, from the Coalition for the Homeless told the LA Times that successive New York mayors had sought to clean the city's streets of rough sleepers.

"It was a really moving photo and a moving story," he said, "and a stark contrast to a mayor who has largely ignored the homeless crisis that has spiralled out of control on his watch."

Whatever the truth of the situation, others argue, it does not detract from the young officer's caring and inspirational gesture.

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Napoleon: Coded Document Up For Auction

A document containing Napoleon's coded secret order to blow up the Kremlin is going up for auction in France.

The single line of numeric code - dated October 20, 1812, and signed "Nap" in the emperor's hand - told Paris of his desperate attempt to win victory against the Russians.

It reads: "At three o'clock in the morning, on the 22nd I am going to blow up the Kremlin.

"My cavalry is in tatters, many horses are dying."

By the time authorities in France received the letter three days later, the Russian czar's seat of power was in flames and the diminished French army was in retreat.

Napoleon bemoaned the loss of his cavalry in the coded document

The Napoleon code, used only for top-secret letters when the French emperor was far from home, aimed to stop enemies from intercepting French army orders.

It was regularly changed to prevent it from being cracked.

Jean-Christophe Chataignier, of Fontainebleau Auction House where the document will go under the hammer on Sunday, said it was unique.

He said: "Not only is it all in code, but it's the first time we see this different Napoleon.

"He went into Moscow in 1812 at the height of his power. He returned profoundly weakened.

"In Moscow, the Russians had fled days before and burnt down the city. There was no victory for Napoleon, nor were there any provisions for his starving, dying army.

"When he wrote this letter, he thinks he will be victorious."

Napoleon's "Grand Army" - 600,000 men - entered Russia in June 1812 but was woefully unprepared for the harsh weather and Russian tactic of scorching ceded ground.

In September this year, the Kremlin held huge celebrations 200 years after Russia's victory over Napoleon, including a re-enactment of the Battle of Borodino - one of the most damaging clashes for Napoleon's troops.

The document, which is accompanied by a second decoded sheet, is estimated to sell for up to £12,200.

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Magician's Head Set On Fire In TV Prank

A US magician has been seriously injured after a TV host set his head on fire live on television.

Wayne Houchin was appearing on a show in the Dominican Republic when, in an apparently unscripted prank, its host dropped flammable liquid on his head, setting him alight.

Houchin's own crew, who were at the show, rushed to save him and put out the flames - but not before he had suffered burns to his head, face, neck and right hand.

Houchin tried to extinguish flames after his head is set alight

The illusionist, who hosts Breaking Magic on the Discovery Channel, was rushed to hospital where he says he is "in pain" but recovering.

Houchin, who was in the country promoting his Curiosidades show, wrote on Facebook after the incident: "I was not aware he was going to do this. This was not a stunt or part of an act - this was a criminal attack.

"The fast actions of the rest of our Curiosidades team saved my life. The fire was put out and I was rushed to the emergency room.

"I have bad burns on my head, face, neck and right hand. I am in pain, but am recovering. I will update you on the situation when I can."

He drops to the floor as his crews put out the flames

He has continued to report on his progress on Twitter and in one of his more recent posts wrote: "The doctors are cautiously optimistic that I will fully recover with no scars."

He has extended his stay in the Dominican Republic following the incident on Monday so he can remain in hospital to receive treatment for his injuries.

The host used a liquid called Aqua De Florida to set Houchin alight.

It is a flammable cologne popular in Latin countries, which is also used as a sacred cleaning spray by shamans and witch doctors in the Caribbean.

Houchin immediately after the incident

Houchin has received hundreds of comments from well-wishers, including from fellow magician David Copperfield who wrote on Twitter: "My thoughts are with you and your family. Best wishes on a swift and complete recovery."

Once described as "a cross between a con man and a street magician", Houchin first came to prominence in 1999 at the age of 16 when he escaped from a straitjacket hanging 50ft above a busy road.

In 2010 he "stopped time" for the Dominican Republic in a live televised illusion.

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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.

Four tank cars were reportedly dumped into Mantua Creek. At least 18 contractors working in the area have complained of breathing problems.

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

The US Coast Guard said it was responding to the scene and would work with the Department of Environmental Protection to assess the situation.

"We don't know the extent of the situation yet," said Petty Officer Cindy Oldham.

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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China's 'Carrier Style' Takes On Gangnam

By Mark Stone, Beijing correspondent

Internet users across China have begun an unlikely craze inspired by the launch of fighter jets from the country's first aircraft carrier.

In what has quickly become known as 'Carrier Style', a cross-section of Chinese society have filmed themselves imitating the move made by the aircraft carrier's ground crew as the jets took off.

Footage of the historic launch of jets from the Liaoning were played repeatedly on Chinese state television at the weekend allowing viewers to get a close look of the ground crew's 'Top Gun' style pose.

Viewers have combined the pose with dance moves from Gangnam Style, the record breaking hit from South Korean singer Psy.

The move has been uploaded by firemen, policemen, businessmen, athletes and students.

"The successful taking off and landing of the jet on the aircraft carrier is very exciting to our entire nation, it has also encouraged our firefighters," said Hu Yang, a firemen in Chengdu.

"Doing this is to enrich our cultural life and is an entertainment for our spare time". 

According to postings on the Chinese version of Twitter, the gesture is seen as "powerful and confident as well as amusing".

Jets were first launched from The Liaoning last week

In just a day, more than eight million people had followed links to people adopting the move.

But there is a serious side to the craze. It is a gift for the Chinese government which many believe is trying to project its military might well beyond its borders.

The launch of the country's first aircraft carrier in September and the launch of aircraft from it at the weekend are hugely symbolic developments. The videos have resulted in plenty of people talking about it.

"Although the gesture has often been seen in movies, I couldn't restrain my excitement the first time I saw it used to instruct a fighter jet to land and take off from China's first aircraft carrier," Han Lu, chief editor of a leading car website told the China Daily newspaper.

The Chinese Communist Party insists  the aircraft carrier will be used only for training and that its military policy remains defensive in nature.

However, China is locked in a series of diplomatic disputes with most of its neighbours over territory in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

A craze like 'Carrier Style' could act as a perfect boost for nationalist sentiment.

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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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Afghan Girl's Throat Slit Over Refusal To Wed

A 15-year-old girl in Afghanistan has been murdered after her family refused a marriage proposal.

The teenager had her throat slit as she was carrying water from a river to her village home in the northern Kunduz province on Wednesday.

Two men have now been arrested over the attack.

Police said one of suspects had earlier proposed to the girl but the offer had been rejected by her family.

A police spokesman added: "The two men attacked her and slit her throat with a knife.

"They were arrested and are in police custody."

Extreme violence against women and girls remains a major problem in the conservative Muslim nation more than a decade after US-led troops brought down the notoriously brutal Taliban Islamist regime.

Figures from Oxfam show 87% of Afghan women have experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage.

Last month a 20-year-old woman was beheaded by her husband's family in the western province of Herat after she refused to become a prostitute, police said. Four people were arrested over the brutal killing.

And in September, five people were arrested over the public flogging of a 16-year-old girl for allegedly having an affair.

The girl was whipped 100 times in front of village elders and family members in the central Ghazni province. Her alleged boyfriend was fined.

Unmarried girls are often confined to the home and forbidden from maintaining any contact with men outside the immediate family.

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Manning Guard Joked About Underwear Risk

A prison officer guarding the soldier accused of giving classified documents to WikiLeaks made jokes about him being ordered to remove his underwear because he was a suicide risk, a pre-trial hearing was told.

On the second day of the hearing, a Maryland courthouse heard that Pfc Bradley Manning had his underwear confiscated at night because he told a prison guard that if he wanted to kill himself, he could hang himself with the waistband.

Officers testified that they regarded it as a suicidal comment when the 24-year-old said: "I have everything I need right here to be able to harm myself. The waistband of my underwear can do this."

But Manning's lawyer - who is seeking dismissal of all charges on the grounds that his imprisonment at the Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia, amounted to illegal punishment - suggested he was commenting on the absurdity of his situation.

David Coombs, defending, then revealed that the chief legal officer at Quantico at the time, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Greer, made light of the underwear episode in an email, composing a rhyme in the style of the popular Dr Seuss books.

The message said: "I can wear them in a box. I can wear them with a fox. I can wear them in the day. I can wear them so I say. But I can't wear them at night. My comments gave the staff a fright."

Marine Colonel Robert Oltman, the officer in charge of security in the brig, responded to the email with the signature, "Sam I am," another Dr Seuss reference.

During his court testimony, Mr Coombs asked the security chief if it was "funny to you that Pfc Manning was being stripped at night?"

"No, it was not, it was a very serious issue," Col Oltman replied.

Manning's supporters protesting during the hearing

The court heard that Manning was kept under strict conditions partly because a previous prisoner had committed suicide and despite the fact that psychiatrists who examined him at Quantico repeatedly recommended that his conditions be eased.

The suicide watch confinement also came after Manning was seen engaged in "erratic dancing" and licking the bars in his cell, the court martial was told.

Manning, who made his first public appearance in over two years at the courthouse on Tuesday, is due to testify in person at some point during the hearing, which is expected to last six days.

The informant was held at Quantico for nine months, from July 2010 to April 2011, when he was moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Throughout his time at Quantico, he was designated a "maximum custody" detainee and considered at risk of either suicide or harming himself or others.

He was locked up alone for at least 23 hours a day, forced to sleep naked for several nights and required to stand naked at attention one morning, his lawyers assert.

Manning now argues that all charges should be dropped due to what he calls his "needlessly harsh treatment" during his nine months of confinement in Quantico.

The soldier faces possible life imprisonment if convicted of aiding the enemy, the most serious of the 22 charges that he faces.

He is accused of sending hundreds of thousands of classified Iraq and Afghanistan war logs and more than 250,000 diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks while he was working as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010.

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Pussy Riot: Court Bans Videos From Internet

Videos made by the jailed feminist punk band Pussy Riot, including the infamous "Punk Prayer" in a Moscow cathedral, have been branded "extremist" by a Russian court.

It ordered that access to the videos should be banned online.

The judge hearing the case also restricted access to the official Pussy Riot website and the band's popular Livejournal blog.

The decision came after prosecutors told the court that linguistic experts found the clips offensive.

Judge Marina Musimovich said the video "has elements of extremism, in particular there are words and actions which humiliate various social groups based on their religion".

Materials officially branded "extremist" are put on a blacklist kept by the Russian justice ministry.

Three Pussy Riot members stood trial over the Punk Prayer

Currently the list has about 1,500 items, mostly related to banned religious and ultra-nationalist groups or those considered to be fascist.

Two Pussy Riot members are currently serving two-year prison terms after their cathedral performance was ruled an act of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

The video of the February Punk Prayer has gone viral and been viewed on YouTube several million times.

Pussy Riot also sang a song "Putin Got Scared" on Red Square, and staged an illicit concert on the roof of a Moscow prison for those detained at a protest rally last December.

The band's Yekaterina Samutsevich, who has been convicted for the church stunt but freed with a suspended sentence, called the latest ruling a "direct recognition of artistic censorship" in Russia.

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German Train Driver Killed 10 In Crash

A freight train driver has been convicted of manslaughter after he smashed into a passenger train, killing 10 in one of Germany's worst rail crashes.

The 41-year-old missed two stop signals and drove head-on into an express train travelling in the opposite direction.

The collision, which happened in heavy fog, was so loud it was heard in a village more than four miles away.

The driver, who has not been named because of Germany's privacy laws, told a regional court in Magdeburg that he did not know why he had passed though the red light.

He was given a year's suspended sentence for manslaughter and negligent bodily harm.

The youngest to die in the crash on January 29, 2011 was a 12-year-old girl. Three women and six men were also killed and 22 others were injured.

Investigators at the scene of the crash in 2011

The freight train nearly obliterated the first carriage of the Harz-Elbe-Express in the collision in Hordorf, near Magdeburg, the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt.

At the time Holger Hoevelmann, interior minister of Saxony-Anhalt, said: "We are still speechless and shocked by the images and the level of destruction."

Almost 200 police and rescue workers rushed to the crash site around 125 miles southwest of Berlin.

The crash was Germany's worst since 2006, when 23 people were killed in Emsland in the north of the country.

It is unclear whether the driver will appeal the sentence.

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Syria: Deadly Car Bomb Blasts Rock Damascus

At least 50 people have been killed after two suspected car bombs exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus, according to UK-based opposition activists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added that more than 120 people were wounded in the blasts occurred early in the morning in the eastern district of Jaramana.

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

State TV blamed "terrorists" for the bombings - a phrase its uses to refer to the rebels battling to force the regime of President Bashar al Assad from power.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The bombs went off in a car park lot between two commercial buildings. They were detonated within five minutes of one another as groups of labourers and employees were arriving to work.

The Jaramana district is mostly home to Christians and Druze

After the first explosion, people rushed to the site to help the injured before the second bomb went off, said Ismail Zlaiaa.

"It is an area packed with rush-hour passengers," he said. "God will not forgive the criminal perpetrators."

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," said Suhair al Atassi, one of the coalition's two vice presidents.

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

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 Assad's regime began 20 months ago.

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P Diddy Urged To Act Over Bangladesh Fire

Rapper Sean Combs has been urged to use his influence to improve Bangladeshi factory conditions after it emerged his clothing range was made in a workshop where 112 died in a fire.

Workers who survived the deadliest factory fire in the country's clothing industry history say that as they tried to flee they found exits at the Dhaka building locked.

They say when they started to run managers told them to return to their work and few of them had been trained to use the fire extinguishers.

Bangladeshis prepare to bury the bodies of those who died in the fire

A fire official has said had there been just one emergency exit, far fewer lives would have been lost. Of the dead, 53 bodies were burned so badly they could not be identified.

Amid the wreckage in the Tazreen Fashions building there were blue and off-white shorts from Combs' ENYCE label on the floor.

Combs, better known as P Diddy, was not the only big name linked to the factory - Wal-Mart, Disney, Sears and Teddy Smith ranges were also found inside.

The blaze has shone the spotlight on the scale of dangerous workplaces in Bangladesh and Western fashion companies are being encouraged to make sure they use safe and ethically run factories.

Liz Parker, of the Amsterdam-based Clean Clothes Campaign, said: "We are sure that Mr Combs will be as shocked as we are to find that his company is implicated in such a horrific tragedy.

Inside the burnt-out factory

"We urge him to use his influence to make sure clothing factories are safe places for people to work."

Wal-Mart had received an audit deeming the factory "high risk" last year, and said it had decided to stop doing business with Tazreen, but that a supplier subcontracted work to the factory anyway.

Calls made to The Walt Disney Company and to Sears Holdings were not immediately returned.

One factory worker, Nasima, who uses only one name, said when they tried to flee, managers told them to go back to their work stations, but they were ignored.

She said: "Everyone was screaming for help. Total chaos, panic and screaming. Everyone was trying to escape and come out. I was pulling the shirt of a man. I fainted and when I woke up I found myself lying on the road outside the factory."

A firefighter tries to bring the blaze at the factory under control

Police have arrested three factory officials suspected of locking in the workers inside the factory. The owner of the factory is not among them.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Interior Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir have said arson is suspected. Police say they have not ruled out sabotage.

Bangladesh is the world's biggest exporter of clothing after China but more than 300 workers there have died in fires since 2006.

On Monday there was another fire, in Dhaka, in which eight people were injured in a blaze at an 11-storey factory.

Since the fire some 3,000 factory workers have taken to the streets to protest against working conditions. Police used batons to disperse the protesters.

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Anti-Islam Film: Seven Face Death Sentence

A court in Egypt has sentenced to death seven Christians in absentia for taking part in an anti-Islam film released on the web.

The film, which depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a paedophile, was released in September and has prompted violent protests in many Muslim countries.

"The seven accused persons were convicted of insulting the Islamic religion through participating in producing and offering a movie that insults Islam and its prophet," Judge Saif al Nasr Soliman said.

During the trial, judges were shown clips of the low-budget film, the Innocence of Muslims, and footage of Muslim protesters outraged by its content.

Produced privately in California, it triggered anti-US attacks on Western embassies and consulates.

In Libya, Islamists killed the US ambassador Chris Stevens in an attack on the consulate in Benghazi.

The movie was made by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, also known as Sam Bacile, who is believed to be a Coptic Christian from Egypt. He now lives in the US.

Egyptian courts usually hand out the maximum punishment and send the decision to the state's top Islamic scholar to get his approval, which is always granted.

If the defendants do return to Egypt, they could get a new trial.

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BP Banned From US Government Contracts

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US has temporarily suspended BP from new US government contracts.

The ban stemmed from the British oil giant's conduct regarding the blowout at its Deepwater Horizon rig which killed 11 workers in April 2010.

It comes after the company agreed to plead guilty to charges over its part in the largest environmental disaster in US history, and to admit lying to Congress about the amount of oil that was spilling from the Macondo well.

"EPA is taking this action due to BP's lack of business integrity as demonstrated by the company's conduct with regard to the Deepwater Horizon blowout, explosion, oil spill, and response," the agency said. 

"Suspensions are a standard practice when a responsibility question is raised by action in a criminal case."

The move prevents BP from getting new government contracts or grants "until the company can provide sufficient evidence to EPA demonstrating that it meets Federal business standards," EPA added.

Existing agreements between the company and the government are not affected.

At the end of last month, BP revealed that the disaster had cost it more than $38bn (£23.7bn) to date.

More follows...

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Jersey Bridgeman: Neighbour Arrested For Murder

Jersey Bridgeman - who was abused by her father and stepmother - was allegedly killed last week by a neighbour, investigators have said.

The six-year-old was reported missing from her home in Bentonville, 215 miles northwest of Little Rock, on the morning of November 20.

Her body was discovered minutes into a police search in an abandoned house just a few yards away.

Zachary Holly, 28, who lives next door to Jersey, is being held in the Benton County jail on charges of capital murder, kidnapping and residential burglary.

David Bridgeman is serving 18 years in jail for abusing Jersey

He is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

"Many questions related to this investigation and arrest will be answered by the affidavit of probable cause, which will be released on Wednesday," police chief John Simpson told reporters.

Police released no detail about how Jersey was killed, but police captain Justin Thompson said earlier there was "no reason ... for the community to be worried at this point".

Jersey's death came 18 months after abuse allegations were levelled against her father and stepmother.

David Bridgeman and Jana Bridgeman eventually both pleaded guilty in June 2011 to repeatedly chaining her to a dresser at their home in nearby Rogers.

The pair are serving 18 and 12 year prison sentences respectively.

Jersey's biological mother DesaRae Bridgeman has been informed of the arrest.

The child's funeral was due to take place on Tuesday afternoon.

 

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Arafat Poisoning Probe: Remains Tested

Timeline: Yasser Arafat

Updated: 9:52am UK, Tuesday 27 November 2012

Here are some of the key dates in Mr Arafat's life.

:: February 4, 1969 Mr Arafat, the fifth child of a Palestinian merchant, takes over the PLO chairmanship. He transforms it into a force that makes the Palestinian cause known worldwide.

:: June 6, 1982 Israel invades Lebanon to crush the PLO, forcing Mr Arafat and loyalists to flee Beirut.

:: October 1, 1985 Mr Arafat narrowly escapes death in an Israeli air raid on the PLO's Tunisian headquarters.

:: April 16, 1988 Khalil al Wazir, Mr Arafat's military commander, is assassinated in Tunis. Israel is blamed.

:: December 12, 1988 Mr Arafat accepts Israel's right to exist and renounces terrorism. Nearly two years later, Iraq invades Kuwait, Mr Arafat supports Saddam Hussein and the PLO is isolated.

:: November 1991 Mr Arafat marries his 28-year-old secretary, Suha Tawil. Their daughter Zahwa is born in 1995.

:: April 7, 1992 Mr Arafat is rescued after a plane crash lands in the Libyan desert during a sandstorm.

:: September 13, 1993 Israel and the PLO sign an accord on Palestinian autonomy in Oslo, Norway, giving Mr Arafat control of most of the Gaza Strip and about a quarter of the West Bank. He shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn. The two later share the Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres.

:: July 1, 1994 Returning from exile, Mr Arafat sets foot on Palestinian soil for the first time in 26 years.

:: September 28, 2000 Israel's then opposition leader Ariel Sharon visits a Jerusalem shrine holy to Jews and Muslims, leading to clashes that escalate into a Palestinian uprising.

:: December 3, 2001 After three suicide bombings, Israel destroys Mr Arafat's helicopters in Gaza City, confining him to the West Bank town of Ramallah.

:: March 2002 Israel declares Mr Arafat an "enemy" two days after a Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover holiday meal, prompting an Israeli incursion into the West Bank.

:: June 24, 2002 President George W Bush calls on Palestinians to replace Mr Arafat as leader. A year later, his deputy Mahmoud Abbas becomes the first Palestinian prime minister in a move pushed for by the US and Israel to sideline Mr Arafat.

:: June 4, 2003 At the first major Israeli-Palestinian summit without Mr Arafat, Mr Sharon and Mr Bush launch "road map" peace plan, which aims to end fighting and create Palestinian state by 2005.

:: October 21, 2003 Mr Arafat is diagnosed with gallstones. Nearly a year to the day later, he collapses and is flown to hospital in France with a serious, undisclosed illness.

:: November 9, 2004 A French medical team acknowledges that Mr Arafat has been in a coma for a week. He dies two days later at the age of 75.

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Mexico: Beauty Queen Dies In Gang Gunfight

A Mexican beauty queen has been killed in a gunfight between soldiers and a suspected gang she was travelling with.

Authorities suspect that 22-year-old Maria Susana Flores Gamez, who was the Woman of Sinaloa 2012, was part of the gang and may have fired a gun in Saturday's violence.

An AK-47 assault rifle was found next to her body in the group's car.

"She was in the criminal group that clashed with army service members," Sinaloa state prosecutor Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez told a news conference.

He said a forensics test was positive for gunshot residue on her body, suggesting she fired a weapon.

Two men and two women, including Ms Gamez, and a soldier died in the gun battle in the municipality of Mocorito.

The army seized seven AK-47s, a grenade launcher, two grenades, a 40mm-calibre rifle, a handgun and around 1,000 cartridges.

Mexican media say the woman, who participated in the Miss Oriental Tourism pageant in China in May, was travelling with her boyfriend, a suspected hitman, when the shootout erupted. The boyfriend also died.

The armed group is linked to Orso Ivan Gastelum, the suspected leader of a group of hitmen working for the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel.

Families and friends held a funeral in the state capital of Culiacan on Sunday, covering Ms Gamez in a veil amid a heavy military presence.

On its Facebook page, the organisers of the Nuestra Belleza Sinaloa pageant voiced their "deepest condolences" for the death of Ms Gamez, who was a "charming and happy young woman with a great future".

Ms Gamez is not the first state beauty queen to be embroiled in a gang-related incident.

In December 2008, Laura Zuniga, the winner of the Nuestra Belleza Sinaloa pageant that year, was arrested in the western state of Jalisco along with seven suspected Juarez cartel members.

More than 60,000 people have died in drug-related violence across Mexico since President Felipe Calderon, whose six-year term ends on Saturday, launched a military offensive against cartels in 2006.

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Two And A Half Men Star Says Show Is 'Filth'

A teenage actor on Two And A Half Men has criticised the hit US television show, calling it "filth" and urging viewers not to watch it.

Angus T Jones, 19, made the comments in a recording in his production trailer.

He reportedly earns $350,000 (£218,000) an episode playing the character Jake in the show, which now stars Ashton Kutcher.

Charlie Sheen was fired last year after he criticised its producers in a series of bizarre media appearances.

Jones' video was posted by US Christian website Forerunner Chronicles on YouTube on Monday.

In it, the actor, who has been in the show since he was 10, said: "Jake from Two And A Half Men means nothing. He is a non-existent character.

"If you watch Two And A Half Men, please stop watching Two And A Half Men. I'm on Two And A Half Men, and I don't want to be on it.

"Please stop watching it. Stop filling your head with filth. Please. People say it's just entertainment.

"Do some research on the effects of television and your brain, and I promise you you'll have a decision to make when it comes to television, and especially with what you watch."

In an apparent reference to Satan, Jones said in the video: "A lot of people don't like to think about how deceptive the enemy is. He's been doing this for a lot longer than any of us have been around.

"There's no playing around when it comes to eternity."

Warner Bros, which produces the show along with CBS, has declined to comment.

Two And A Half Men is the third most popular comedy on US television with an average audience of 14.5 million per episode.

The Forerunner Chronicles' MySpace page says it is "dedicated to proclaiming the TRUTH that you need to know".

"Jesus Christ is our General," it goes on. "He gives the orders ... we put in the work! No questions asked."

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China: Scandal As Bribery Sex Tape Goes Viral

Chinese ministers are facing a new scandal with the release of a five-year-old sex tape involving an 18-year-old woman allegedly hired by developers to sleep with a city official.

Lei Zhengfu, who is in his 50s, was sacked as district party secretary of Chongqing - the city once led by fallen politician Bo Xilai - after the video, an apparent extortion attempt, went viral earlier this month.

He became the butt of numerous internet jokes and there are no signs yet of the scandal dying down, with whistle-blowing Beijing-based former journalist Zhu Ruifeng reportedly considering releasing similar tapes of more city officials soon.

The party is already reeling from the scandal that led to the political demise of Bo - his wife was convicted of murdering a British businessman, and Bo himself faces allegations of corruption and obstruction of justice in the murder case.

Disgraced politician Bo Xilai with his convicted wife, Gu Kailai

News of the sex tape, which was apparently shot in 2007 but only leaked this month, comes as China's newly installed leadership is increasing its anti-corruption efforts as it deals with a steady stream of corruption cases that it fears has undermined its authority.

The tape was uploaded to Mr Zhu's Hong Kong-registered website, an independent online clearing house for corruption allegations.

After the blackmail attempt, Lei reported the case to Chongqing officials in 2009, which led to the construction boss being jailed for a year on unrelated charges and the woman being detained for a month.

Neil Heywood was found dead in his hotel room in Chongqing last year

State news agency Xinhua revealed that Chongqing's corruption watchdog had pledged a thorough investigation of Lei, who was sacked on Friday, but added it had yet formally to receive a report about the allegations against Lei or the footage.

In an editorial, China Daily said the case showed that the "internet is worth being embraced by the country's corruption busters as a "close ally".

"Strangely, the mistress was once detained and the contractor jailed for blackmailing Lei," it said, as it called for greater transparency. "What had happened? ... These are crucial questions waiting to be answered."

While many Chinese remain cynical about recent assurances of China's newly installed leadership that the party is determined to tackle corruption, Zhu Ruifeng points out that his website has not been blocked despite its allegations.

"Possibly what we are seeing is that the new leaders are perhaps taking steps toward enforcing the constitution, a sliver of a new dawn," he said.

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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.

Christopher Preece had gone outside to check why the power was cut at the property when three men attacked him with machetes, according to officers.

The 54-year-old victim bled to death after the attack near Ficksburg, a town near the border with Lesotho, on Saturday night.

His wife, 56, was seriously wounded in the assault and is now being treated in hospital.

Captain Phumelelo Dhlamini of the South African Police Service said the robbers stole about $350 (£220) and a mobile phone.

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Australia Apologises For Military Sex Abuse

The Australian government has made an apology to military personnel who were sexually abused or otherwise mistreated during their service.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith made the apology in Parliament on behalf of the government following hundreds of claims of rape and sexual assault from members of the armed forces, past and present.

An inquiry into the allegations - which span six decades – has also begun and a compensation fund set up.

Mr Smith said: "Young men and women have suffered treatment which no member of our defence force or our community generally should experience."

The apology is the latest step in a two-year effort to reform the culture of the Australian military and make it more accepting of women.

The minister added: "Young men and women have endured sexual, physical or mental abuse from their colleagues which are not acceptable and do not reflect the values of a modern, diverse, tolerant, Australian society."

He acknowledged claims that officers had abused their positions of trust through their own behaviour or by turning a blind eye to the actions of others.

Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith apologised in Parliament

Mr Smith also announced that retired judge Len Roberts-Smith had been appointed to examine allegations of abuse from more than 1,000 people dating back to the 1950s.

The earliest case relates to the alleged abuse of a 13-year-old navy trainee in 1951, while the most recent relates to events in 2011.

A preliminary review of these allegations by a law firm found that 750 were "plausible," Mr Smith said.

The three-month inquiry could result in compensation of up to 50,000 Australian dollars (£33,000) for each victim and the alleged perpetrators being referred to criminal authorities for prosecution.

Mr Smith warned that some of the perpetrators could still be serving in the military.

Australian Defence Force (ADF) Chief Lieutenant General David Hurley also apologised to victims and pledged to cooperate with the inquiry.

He said: "The number, nature, and range of allegations demonstrates that some members of the ADF have failed to understand the responsibility that rank imposes; that rank is a privilege and not a licence for domineering, belittling or predatory behaviour."

The government began its inquiries last year after a young woman alleged that a fellow cadet had secretly filmed a sexual encounter between the pair and broadcast it to their colleagues at the Australian military officer training academy.

That, and the attention the government focused on it, provoked a flurry of complaints of sexual misconduct over the decades.

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Second Fire At Bangladeshi Clothing Factory

There has been a second fire at a multi-storey clothes factory in Dhaka, just two days after over 100 people were killed in a blaze at another factory in the Bangladeshi capital.

The fire at the 11-storey building, housing three garment factories, in the suburb of Uttara sparked fresh scenes of panic as workers rushed to safety.

It caused widespread damage but there were no reports of deaths, with employees managing to escape to an adjacent building.

Eight workers are said to have been injured due to heavy smoke inhalation.

Workers protesting at the deaths of colleagues

The fire came as garment workers staged a mass protest at working conditions in Bangladesh following the country's worst ever factory blaze over the weekend, in which at least 112 people are thought to have died.

Survivors of Saturday night's fire joined several thousand colleagues blocking a highway during a march in the manufacturing hub of Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, with some protesters throwing stones at one factory.

They are angry at poor labour conditions and overcrowding in the factories as well as the lack of enforcement of safety laws. Locked fire doors are said to be commonplace.

Ashulia's 500-plus factories, which make clothing for top global retailers such as Walmart, H&M and Tesco, declared a "holiday", fearing the protests could worsen and turn into large-scale unrest.

Smoke engulfed the fire at the 11-storey clothes factory

"Most workers are in shock. They want to see safety improvements to these deathtrap factories," Babul Akter, head of a garment union, said.

The protesters chanted slogans, including a demand for bosses at the factory at Tazreen, where the weekend fire broke out, to be brought to justice.

Bangladesh's chief inspector of factories Habibul Islam revealed that the the nine-storey Tazreen factory, which was built in 2009, had permission for only three storeys.

Police and the government are trying to establish if the owners were to blame for the fire, for which the cause has not yet been determined.

A man searches for his daughter, missing since Saturday's fire

Habibul Islam, revealed that the the nine-storey factory at Tazreen, which was built in 2009, had permission for only three storeys.

Dozens of workplace fires have now killed more than 600 employees in Bangladesh's booming garment industry since 2006, according to the Clean Clothes Campaign, an Amsterdam-based textile rights group.

But none of the owners have so far faced prosecution for poor safety conditions.

Firefighters battled for several hours to contain the blaze on Saturday, with witnesses describing how desperate workers, most of them women, cried for help and several leaped to their deaths from upper floors as they tried to escape.

Debris on the floor of the nine-storey Tazreen fashion plant

A mass burial of the bodies of 58 workers has been postponed until Tuesday after requests from relatives who want more time for identification.

Bangladesh has around 4,500 garment factories and is the world's biggest exporter of clothing after China, with garments making up 80% of its annual exports.

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Deaths After Fire At Workshop For Handicapped

Fourteen people have died after a fire broke out at a workshop for people with disabilities in Germany.

At least six other people were also injured in the blaze, which occurred in the small town of Titisee-Neustadt in southwestern Germany.

Karl-Heinz Schmid, a spokesman for police in the nearby city of Freiburg, told local news channel N24: "We can tell you that we have 14 dead. The process of identification is ongoing.

"We also have a large number of injured who have been taken to hospital," said Schmid, adding it was too early to determine how serious the injuries were."

The fire reportedly broke out around 2pm local time (1pm GMT) and had still not been extinguished nearly two hours later.

Fireman at the Titisee-Neustadt workshop

Some 100 firefighters were said to be battling the flames.

The authorities have so far been unable to determine the cause of the fire at the workshop, which employs 120 people with either mental or physical disabilities in a variety of jobs including metalwork, woodwork and electrical installation.

Local news agency DPA quoted a source as saying there had been an explosion in a storage room.

It was still unclear whether chemicals were stored in the room, but the workshop activities include the treatment of wood.

Several people were removed from the building by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus, according to Focus magazine.

The centre in the Black Forest region is run by the Catholic Church's Caritas organisation.

More follows...

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Breivik: Video Of Killer Parking Van Bomb

CCTV footage of Anders Behring Breivik parking his van and walking off before a massive bomb inside exploded has been shown publicly for the first time.

The security camera video from July 2011 also contains pictures of the significant damage caused by the device which weighed nearly a ton and killed eight people, as well as injuring dozens of others.

Norwegian mass killer Breivik, wearing a security guard's uniform, is seen parking his white van next to a building that housed the prime minister's offices. The PM was not there at the time.

Breivik gets out of the vehicle in the capital Oslo and briskly walks away.

He then got into a second vehicle, a grey Fiat van, which he used to drive to the nearby island of Utoya where he gunned down 69 people, mostly teens, at a Labour Party youth camp.

Footage shows damage to the area after the Oslo bombing

Photographs of Breivik parking the van had previously been released and footage was shown during his trial earlier this year, but this was the first time the video was released publicly.

It is part of a documentary that Norway's public broadcaster NRK will air on Tuesday evening.

The programme also features comments by the security guard on duty that day.

Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison

On August 24 this year, Breivik was declared sane and sentenced to Norway's maximum sentence of 21 years in prison - a sentence that can be extended indefinitely if he is deemed a continued threat to society.

Breivik confessed to the attacks, calling them "cruel but necessary" to protect his country from the multiculturalism his victims embraced and which he hates.

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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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Catalonia Holds Vote That Could Reshape Spain

Polls have opened in Spain's wealthy region of Catalonia for 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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First Jet Lands On New Chinese Aircraft Carrier

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent in Beijing

A Chinese fighter jet has made a successful landing on the country's first aircraft carrier.

Footage released by China's State Television shows the Chinese made J-15 jet touching down on the Liaoning sometime over the past week.

The successful landing will be seen as a further attempt by Beijing to project its military might beyond its borders.

China has been locked in a series of territorial disputes with almost all its neighbours in the region including Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

According to local media reports, the successful landing was completed by pilot Dai Mingmeng from the Sea Eagle Regiment of the East China Sea Fleet.

His jet, the J-15, is still in its trial stages. Nicknamed the 'Flying Shark' it is based on a similar Russian plane and is said to carry anti-ship, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles.

Chinese State media claim that it is comparable to the US F-18, but given the secrecy surrounding Chinese military hardware, those claims cannot be verified.

The Liaoning was unveiled to the world in a lavish ceremony in September attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Named after the province where it was refitted, the ship is a former Soviet aircraft carrier. It was built in Ukraine but mothballed after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Tensions are rising over the future of the Diaoyu Islands

In 1998 a Chinese tour operator bought the ship in an auction with plans to convert it into a Macao casino.

But on arrival in Chinese waters, after a lengthy and problematic journey around the world, the plans changed and an extensive military refit began.

Traditionally, China had what is known as a 'green water navy' whose sole objective is to provide coastal defences.

The acquisition of the aircraft carrier is a sign of Beijing's desire to become a 'blue-water' navy: projecting its might far from its shores.

China has a longstanding but historically dormant claim to a large swathe of the South China Sea and a number of small islands in the East China Sea.

But recently China has been much more vocal with its claim. This has caused significant diplomatic and military tensions with Vietnam, The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Japan. 

Islands in the disputed waters are important to each of the nations involved because of what might be beneath them but also because of the domestic fallout that losing or capturing them could provoke.

Nationalism has played a significant role in stoking tensions particularly between China and Japan.

Japanese elections next month could once again escalate the tensions over a series of rocky outcrops known in China as the Diaoyu Islands and in Japan as the Senkaku Islands.

Posters have been erected in Beijing telling people that the islands 'Belong to China'.

China, Japan and South East Asia are all have vital import and export markets for Europe and the West. Any escalation of the maritime dispute could have broad consequences.

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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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Dangling Truck Hangs From Overpass After Crash

An Oregon man dangled several feet above a highway for nearly an hour after his truck crashed through an overpass guard rail.

Matthew Alan Hamilton was hospitalised on Saturday after firefighters plucked him from his pickup truck using a ladder with a basket.

The 38-year-old was arrested for driving under the influence after his release from hospital. 

Matthew Hamilton

His blood alcohol content was 0.50, according to Beaverton Police spokesman Mike Rowe. Oregon's legal limit is 0.08.

The crash occurred on the Southwest Danny Road overpass above Highway 217 in Beaverton, near Portland.

Emergency crews secured the truck from falling with a fire engine, and used another to bring Hamilton to safety.

The highway was closed for nearly six hours in both directions until the stranded vehicle was removed with a large crane, according to Officer Rowe.

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