Good Morning, Australia! – Israel reacts to the Vatican’s new treaty with Palestine – More than two dozen are killed in a factory fire – Seven killed in a train wreck, and the US Republicans are doing what? – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Pope Francis has reached a treaty that formally recognizes the State of Palestine, at least in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.  The Vatican has recognized the Palestinian state since 2012, but this will be the first time it is formalized on paper and signed by a Pope.  Vatican Deputy Foreign Minister Monsignor Antoine Camilleri says the deal “aims to enhance the life and activities of the Catholic Church and its recognition at the judicial level”.  Israel’s foreign ministry says it is “disappointed” by the development, which it says, “does not promote the peace process.”

At least 28 workers died as a fire raged through a rubber slipper factory in the Philippines near Manila.  Another 65 workers were reported missing and fear dead, though firefighters are hoping they managed to jump out the windows or doors and just haven’t reported in yet.  Witnesses described a sudden explosion, which might have been caused by chemicals being stored too close to open flames.

The US Amtrak train that derailed and crashed near Philadelphia yesterday was going faster than 160 kilometers per hour – that’s twice the speed limit for that bend of track.  The US National Transportation Safety Board determined that from the train’s data recorders, which operate much in the same way as the “black boxes” of airplanes.  Seven people were killed and scores of passengers are recovering from various injuries.  The morning after the crash – and before the bodies were cold – US Congressional Republicans voted to cut Amtrak funding even more, precluding it from purchasing any automatic braking equipment that slows trains on dangerous stretched of track which might have prevented the tragedy.

A Burundian general is attempting a coup to prevent President Pierre Nkurunziza from running for a third term.  That leaves Nkurunziza stranded in neighboring Tanzania, where he was attending a summit.  The opposition came out in the thousands to celebrate the coup – their position was that a third term in office breaks the 2005 deal that ended Burundi’s civil war.  Nkurunziza’s loyalists still hold the presidential palace, and it remains unclear if Major General Godefroid Niyombare can hold power, or what he’ll do if he can.  For now, General Niyombare says he’s working with civil society groups, religious leaders and politicians to form a transitional government.

Has Islamic State’s second-in-command been killed in a coalition air strike?  Iraq’s defense ministry says Abu Alaa al-Afari was meeting with other militants in a mosque near Tal Afar in northern Iraq when the bomb hit its mark.  The US Central Command says it “can confirm that coalition aircraft did not strike a mosque as some of the press reporting has alleged.”  Afari had been taking on more responsibility in leading the terrorist group since the wounding of self-styled “Caliph” Abu Abkr al-Baghdadi.

Gunmen on motorcycle opened fired on a bus in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi, killing 43 Shiite Muslims.  A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban called Jundullah claimed responsibility.

Still no sign of a US Marine helicopter that went missing in the hours after Tuesday’s earthquake in Nepal.  The UH-1 Huey was delivering aid in a mountainous region, to victims of the bigger, earlier quake last month that killed more than 8,000 people and flattened thousands of buildings.  The helicopter was carrying six US Marines and two Nepalese service members.  The search resumes when morning rolls around to Nepal.