The Pakistani Taliban’s new leader gives no thought to peace – LGBT people from Africa might find safe havens in Europe – Russia is adding to charges against the Greenpeace Arctic 30.

The Pakistan Taliban has picked a new leader, and he’s a real piece of work.  Hardline cleric Maulana Fazlullah is suspected of planning the attempted assassination of Malala Yousafzai, then a 14-year old schoolgirl who campaigned for girls’ education in the Swat Valley.  At Fazlullah’s orders, they shot Malala in the head, but she survived and the rest is history.  He’s also implicated in the beheadings of 12 Pakistani soldiers.  Fazlullah immediately ruled out peace talks with Pakistan’s government.  Fazlullah replaces Hakimullah Mehsud who was killed in a US drone strike.

Globe-hopping US Secretary of State John Kerry is due in Geneva on Friday, for what could be a major breakthrough in nuclear control talks with Iran.  Reports have suggested that an agreement could be near, one that would freeze Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the US easing some economic sanctions.  Critics complain the reputed deal would leave the core of Iran’s nuclear program intact.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that gay and lesbian citizens of African countries that jail homosexuals can be granted asylum in any European Union (EU) member state.  The ruling came after the Netherlands petitioned the court to issue guidance on three gay Africans who had sought asylum behind Dutch borders.  Many African countries currently outlaw homosexuality, but the ECJ stressed that asylum seekers must be from those nations that actually jail homosexuals in practice.

Dutch representatives appeared before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, demanding that Russia release the Greenpeace “Arctic 30” protesters.  They’re charged with hooliganism for attempting to board a Russian oil platform to stop it from drilling in the pristine Arctic Ocean.  The sentence for that could be as long as seven years in prison.  Russian prosecutors now say some of the activists will face additional charges of resisting law officers, which would carry a maximum five year-prison sentence.

Garbage is starting to clog up the streets of Madrid, including at tourist destinations, as striking street sweepers stay off the job in protest of planned wage cuts and layoffs.  The companies that provide the street sweepers already cut 350 jobs in August, they want to slash 1,100 more.  This is austerity:  Garbage building up around a statue of a street sweeper.  Yeah, let’s save a few pennies.

North Korea says it has caught a spy from its archrival South Korea.  Pyongyang claims the alleged spy made it to the capital and had been operating in a “third country” for six years, wearing “the mask of religion,” to spy on and plot against North Korea.  The individual has not been identified.  South Korea calls the allegations groundless and preposterous.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez could be returning to her duties this weekend.  She’s been on medical leave for a month after brain surgery to remove a subdural hematoma.  Fernandez will be returning to a difficult situation:  Her party did poorly in October’s elections, although it retained a legislative majority; inflation is on the rise; oil and gas production is down.

Hey.  You know what’s awesome?  Baby Red Pandas making their debut at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.