World News Update, What you need to know

The United Nations has warned that a deadly surge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians is headed toward "catastrophe" as new knife attacks took place in the volatile West Bank.

ELSEWHERE:

PARIS - Stunned scientists have announced the unexpected discovery of large quantities of oxygen on a comet which streaked past the Sun in August with a European spacecraft in tow.

BARCELONA - A high-ranking Polish Catholic priest who was sacked after he came out as gay has accused the Vatican of making the lives of homosexuals "a hell", in a letter sent to the pope.

WASHINGTON - A massive US surveillance blimp has broken loose from its mooring in Maryland and is floating toward Pennsylvania with two US fighter jets following it.

MOSCOW - Six Russian women have clambered into a mock spaceship to begin a unique experiment testing how an all-female crew would interact on a trip to the Moon and back.

WASHINGTON - A white police officer who was filmed manhandling a disruptive black female student in a US high school - an incident now under federal investigation - has been fired.

BEIJING - A sailor on the first Chinese yacht to enter the Sydney to Hobart yacht race has been swept overboard as the vessel made its way to Australia, his club said.