A crowded passenger plane crashes into the ocean and splits in half;  The US and China announce new cooperation to denuclearize North Korea;  A French Bandit stages a daring escape from Le Slammer;  And Tiger Woods is not disqualified.

Amazingly, all 108 passengers and crew survived the crash of a Lion Air jet that missed the runway in Bali by 50 meters and ended up in the shallow waters off shore.  Several people are injured, and the practically brand new Boeing 737 cracked in half a few rows behind the wings.  The cause is under investigation.

US Secretary of State John Kerry secured China’s public promise to work together on a nuclear free Korean Peninsula.  Kerry and his Chinese counterpart State Councilor Yang Jiechi did not give concrete details on how this would happen.  But Beijing is North Korea’s main trading partner and is seen as having the most influence after days of threats from Pyongyang to wage nuclear war. 

Kerry and Yang also agreed to set up a working group to combat cyber terrorism.

Beijing has its first case of the new H7N9 Avian Flu, a seven-year-old girl who is in stable condition after being treated in hospital with the drug Tamiflu and intravenous drips. The girl’s parents are live poultry sellers.  The new Bird Flu crossed over to humans only within the last few weeks, and has killed 11 people.  So far, all of the patients are in China.

Japan is confirming the Chinese doctors’ treatment of the latest Bird Flu victim.  Officials at the Health Ministry in Tokyo say they used Tamiflu, Relenza, and two other drugs to successfully stop a sample H7N9 virus supplied by China from multiplying.  Japan has stockpiled enough Tamiflu to treat half the country’s population, should the new Bird Flu get out of China.

Russia is lashing back at the United States for banning 18 Russians from entering the country because of their involvement in the death of human rights lawyer Sergei Magnitzky.  Moscow is banning Americans in retaliation, including two Bush Administration officials who wrote memos authorizing torture of terrorism suspects, and two former commanders of America’s detention center at Guantanamo Bay.  The other 14 allegedly abused Russian citizens’ human rights abroad.

A notorious gangster used explosives to bust out of Sequedin Prison in northern France.  Police believe Redoine Faid’s wife smuggled the explosives into prison, where he’d been sentenced in 2011 for violating his parole from previous convictions.  He took four hostages, all of whom were relapsed at various stages of the escape.  Faid is considered armed and dangerous.  In 2009, Faid wrote a book about growing up in the crime-ridden suburbs of Paris, and turning his back on crime.  Police never really believed him, and here’s the proof.

At least eight people are dead after a bus bombing in Peshawar in northwest Pakistan.  Women and children are among the dead.  The bus was going through a crowded market when the bomb went off.

The retrial of deposed Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak collapsed as a judge in Cairo recused himself, sent the case to a lower court, and hustled out of the courtroom. Mubarak is charged with the killing of peaceful protesters during the Arab Spring uprising that led to his ouster in February 2011.  Protests and clashes erupted inside and outside of the courtroom as soon as the judge took a powder.

An American who threatened to go on a killing spree (which never happened) because he feared gun control legislation (which also never happened) has gotten his firearm owner’s permit back (unfortunately that happened).  It was taken away after James Yaeger went on YouTube to mouth off, like real tough guys do.  Yaeger’s previous encounter with Internet stardom happened when he was a soldier of fortune in Iraq, and critics say he turned his tail and abandoned his position while under attack from insurgents.  Meanwhile, meager gun control legislation to require background checks on criminals and idiots creeps through Washington, D.C.

No Disqualification:  Tiger Woods will stay in The Masters golf tournament.  Officials assessed a 2-stroke penalty on Woods after he took an illegal drop following his third shot on the par-5 15th hole in the second round.  If you’re a golfer, you know what that means, because I sure as hell don’t.  But the bottom line is that he pulled an illegal move, signed his scorecard without acknowledging it, and got his wrist slapped.

This is one zany New Year's observance.

Big elections in Venezuela later today!  Will the legacy of Hugo Chavez be passed on to his successor Nicolas Maduro, or will the country slow the revolution to make nice with capitalist critics and elect Enrique Capriles?  We’ll have the results for you in CareerSpot World News (unless I eat bad sushi or get run over by a truck).  Meanwhile, try clicking on one of those links below this paragraph and begin writing the next chapter of your career!