A Palestinian Authority (PA) source on Friday told AFP that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas formally rejected US proposals for Israel to keep troops in a future Palestinian state along the Jordan border. The source further formally stated Abbas' position of refusing to recognize Israel as the Jewish state.

Abbas' rejection of US Secretary of State John Kerry's proposals in Ramallah Thursday night came after similar remarks to a public radio station earlier in the night. The PA source confirmed Friday that Abbas "has rejected the ideas" presented by Kerry.

The source also revealed that Abbas had given Kerry a letter on "Palestinian red lines," which include his "refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state." In November, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu remarked that the root of the conflict is the PA's refusal to recognize the Jewish state of Israel.

That is what we can now do with genetics: extreme crossbreeding. Freckles is the creation of Randy Lewis, a professor of genetics at Utah State University. The farm is a university outpost where they research modern farming techniques, teach animal husbandry and raise what are inevitably referred to as "spider-goats". Randy, like many of the other scientists here in Logan, Utah, has farming in his blood.

So although a creature that is part goat, part spider might seem like an idea born of science fiction, as far as Randy is concerned it's simply advanced farming: breeding animals to produce things that we want. "We're interested in dragline silk – the silk that spiders catch themselves with when they fall," he tells me in his midwest lilt. "It's stronger than Kevlar. It really has some amazing properties for any kind of a fibre."

We milk Freckles together and process it in the lab to leave only the silk proteins. With a glass rod, we delicately lift out a single fibre of what is very obviously spider silk and spool it on to a reel. It has amazing, and desirable, properties, which is why Randy's seemingly bizarre research is so robustly funded. "In the medical field, we already know that we can produce spider silk that's good enough to be used in ligament repair," he tells me. "We already know we can make it strong enough as an elastic. We've done some studies that show that you can put it in the body and you don't get inflammation and get ill."

Iran had threatened that new or tighter sanctions would nullify the recently reached Geneva interim deal, which is not yet in effect. The Iranians abruptly “halted” the talks and left Vienna so that they could consult with higher-level officials about how to proceed with talks following the tighter sanctions, which were announced Thursday morning by the US Treasury Department.

The White House defended it’s implementation of sanctions and directed reporters to question the Iranian delegation when asked about their departure from the nuke talks. “In terms of what the Iranians have said about their delegation, I will simply point you to the delegation and to Iran for them to speak for their actions,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters during the daily briefing.

“But let’s be clear, the designations announced yesterday were related to the enforcement of existing sanctions, and we have made clear all along that we would continue to enforce existing sanctions,” Carney said. “We have been clear with Iran throughout this process that we will continue to enforce existing sanctions, which is consistent with what was done yesterday, the action taken yesterday.”

The US contingent in Jordan, which includes Patriot missile systems and fighter aircraft, is there to help the Jordanian government as it grapples with strains from the civil war in neighboring Syria. A flood of refugees from Syria into Jordan has tested the Jordanian government of King Hussein, a close US ally.

"These forces will remain in Jordan, in full coordination with the government of Jordan, until the security situation becomes such that they are no longer needed," a White House report said.

The move has raised concerns of instability in the secretive and repressive nuclear-armed country. The US said it was consulting its regional allies. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said she would not speculate on what might be happening within the North Korean regime, but that the execution of Mr Chang had been "an incredibly brutal act" which "underscores the horrific human rights record of the North Korean regime".

"We're going to increase our discussions with our allies and partners in the region about the internal situation in North Korea," Ms Harf told reporters in Washington. "North Korea has a choice between continuing down the path of isolation and impoverishment of its own people or meeting its obligations and coming back to the international system," said Ms Harf.

The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul says one theory for Mr Chang's downfall is that he was too keen an admirer of China's economic reform. The speed of his downfall has sent a powerful message to those who had hoped for change under North Korea's new leadership that he can crush any opponents, says our correspondent. But many will be asking whether it is his nephew's hand alone behind this execution, or whether the army is seeking to reassert its power, she adds.

The eruption, which began in the Porong subdistrict of Sidoarjo in East Java in 2006, is the largest of its kind. The gooey, noxious muck has displaced tens of thousands of people with economic costs that exceed $4 billion to date. Initially, more than 100,000 tonnes a day was oozing to the surface.

This has decreased tenfold, and an analysis based on Japanese satellite observations of ground subsidence suggests a further tenfold decrease can be expected in the next few years. Lusi is thought to have been triggered by a drilling operation that went wrong.

From the reports of people there, the negotiators made sure that public interest groups were excluded from even the press briefing about the negotiations, which should tell you all you need to know about what the negotiators think of the public. But, in case you weren't sure, the USTR [US Trade Representative], Michael Froman, has finally explained why the TPP negotiating positions must be kept secret.

Apparently, all of us in the public are too stupid to understand the important work that he's doing, and we might "misunderstand" it. Therefore, we peons must be kept in the dark, while important people like himself negotiate on our behalf.

According to Jamie Love: Froman said if the text was public, people would misunderstand "negotiating positions." In other words, the USTR is not a fan of democracy. If you think the public is too stupid to understand the public policy positions you're negotiating for, then you shouldn't be in that job.

The ruling means other religions, such as Jedi Knights, could become legally recognised too. Jedi weddings could become possible. I wonder what the groom would wear. Lord Toulson, who made the ruling, said: "Unless there is some compelling contextual reason for holding otherwise, religion should not be confined to religions which recognise a supreme deity." He said, "to do so would be a form of religious discrimination unacceptable in today's society."

"It would exclude Buddhism, along with other faiths such as Jainism, Taoism, Theosophy and part of Hinduism." Buddhism is actually already classed as a religion, despite not fitting the definition that a god was necessary, as it was treated as an exception.

Macmillan says this is the first time this group has been quantified. The figures suggest more boys are affected than girls and the most commonly diagnosed children's cancer is leukaemia.

Although survival rates for childhood cancers have improved significantly in the past 40 years in line with improving treatments, children who survive can have an increased risk of other health issues, such as growth and development problems, and heart and lung conditions. They can also sometimes be at risk of developing secondary cancers.

We’ve long known that Yellowstone is merely the skin on top of a Supervolcano – a giant pool of magma sitting just under the Earth’s surface. Exactly how giant has been the subject of much speculation. Until now. A team from the University of Utah have told the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco that Yellowstone’s magma chamber is 2.5 times larger than previously thought.

The common picture of a volcano being a mountainous cone of ash and lava does not apply to a supervolcano like Yellowstone. These are vast spaces of collapsed crust that formed pools – known as calderas – under a seemingly normal surface. Only mapping reveals the gentle swell, over a space of hundreds of square kilometers, that contains the cauldron of molten magma below.

So what would happen if Yellowstone was to erupt?

Something close to Armageddon. Soil samples reveal that the last time it happened the whole of North America was smothered by ash. The lava flow was almost as great. The streams of molten rock were hundreds of miles long, and miles thick. Such was the extent of the smoke and debris cloud generated by the eruption that the climate of the entire world was affected for several centuries.

“When this information is finally exposed to the public, it will be universe-shattering,” Mike Zullo told WND. “This is beyond the pale of anything you can imagine.” Zullo explained that because it’s an active investigation that could produce criminal charges, he’s unable to reveal details at the moment.

But the allegations, he said, which go far beyond a fraudulent birth certificate, could be public as early as March. The issue arose once again because of the death Wednesday in Hawaii of state Health Department chief Loretta Fuddy in a plane crash. She was the official who waived state prohibitions and provided to the White House a copy of a document that Obama presented to the public as his birth certificate.

It’s the document that Arpaio’s investigators have concluded is fraudulent. Amid conspiracy theories circulating the Internet, Zullo told WND Friday that Fuddy’s death – she was the only fatality among nine people aboard a small airplane that crashed off the coast of Molokai – appears to be a tragic accident, not foul play.

One of the highest profile skeptics has been billionaire Donald Trump. Trump repeatedly has insisted Obama has not documented his eligibility. At one point, he offered $5 million to the charity or charities of Obama’s choice if he would release his passport records and authorize the colleges he attended to release his applications and other records. Trump argues that those documents would show whether or not Obama ever accepted scholarship or other aid as a foreign student, which could preclude him from being a “natural-born citizen.”

It seems incomprehensible in the US, but Icelanders did just that.

Icelanders forced their entire government to resign after a banking fraud scandal, overthrowing the ruling party and creating a citizen’s group tasked with writing a new constitution that offered a solution to prevent corporate greed from destroying the country.

The constitution of Iceland was scrapped and is being rewritten by private citizens; using a crowd-sourcing technique via social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. These events have been going on since 2008, yet there’s been no word from the US mainstream media about any of them. In fact, all of the events that unfolded were recorded by international journalists, overseas news bureaus, citizen journalists and bloggers. This has created current accusations of an intentional cover up of the story by mainstream US news sources.

An “iReport” on CNN, written by a private citizen in May 2012, has questioned the reasons why this revolution has not been widely covered in the US, suggesting that perhaps the mainstream media is controlled by large corporate interests and thus has been unwilling to report on Iceland’s activities.

As Iceland struggles to regain its footing with a new government, US citizens may or may not be able to look to Iceland as an example of perfect democracy in action. The real question, though, is why weren’t US citizens given the information about the ousting of the Icelandic government and the jailing of the unscrupulous bankers? Are journalists in control of the mainstream media or is there some truth to accusations that big business may, in fact, be strong-arming reporters to keep quiet about world events that could inspire similar actions here in the US?

They were accused of hiding the fact that a Qatari investor bought a stake in the firm with money lent - illegally - by the bank itself. Kaupthing collapsed in 2008 under the weight of huge debts.

For years, Kaupthing and other Icelandic banks had aggressively pursued overseas expansion plans, but when they went into administration, they brought the country's economy to its knees. Just a few weeks before the collapse, Kaupthing announced that Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Hamad al-Thani had bought a 5.1% stake during the financial crisis in 2008.

Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, the former chief executive, received five and a half years, while Sigurdur Einarsson, former chairman of the board, was sentenced to five years in jail. These are the heaviest sentences for financial fraud in Iceland's history.

The fast day of the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet, which begins at dawn on Friday and ends when the stars come out, commences in Jerusalem at 4:55 am and concludes at 5:00 pm with Kiddush for Friday night. It is the only fast kept even if it falls on a Friday, because it marks the beginning of the process of Jerusalem's destruction, while other fasts are moved back to Thursday when they occur on a Friday. Considered a minor fast, it does not begin at night to last 25 hours, as do Yom Kippur and the Ninth of Av, nor does it include prohibitions other than food and drink, as they do.

The Tenth of Tevet is one of four fast days that mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple, and it marks the day in which the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem. It took Nebuchadnezzar 30 months to breach Jerusalem's thick stone walls, but he finally succeeded on the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, in the year 586 BCE, on which date the second fast was declared.

Only one month later, on Tisha B'Av - the Ninth of Av - the first Holy Temple was destroyed, and the Jewish People were sent out into exile to Babylonia for the next 70 years. The prophet Jeremiah wrote Lamentations to memorialize the tragedy.

In Jerusalem, a power outage has affected more than half the city. In Kiryat Moshe, Merkaz Harav Yeshiva opened its dormitory and dining room to stranded families who reached the entrance of the city, where the yeshiva is located, but could not get to their destination.

Many more drivers were stuck on the roads in the city overnight, without food and water, after attempting to reach the city to see the snow. The Jerusalem municipality is continuing with the rescue operations that began Thursday night and have so far saved over 2,000 people. The IDF and the Border Police are assisting in the operation.

The Israeli police have released a particularly strong warning to drivers in affected areas against going out in blizzard conditions. Police have warned residents across the country to avoid leaving their homes for any reason during the snowfall.