Anger in Hong Kong – Two are killed in a rampage shooting on New Zealand’s South Island – Putin drops his broadest hint yet that he’s looking to annex more of Ukraine – And much, much more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Police in New Zealand have named a homeless man as a person of interest in a shooting at an employment office, and are warning Kiwis the subject is possibly armed with a sawed-off shotgun.  The shooter entered the Work and Income office (WINZ) in the South Island town of Ashburton just after 10:00 AM local time and opened fire, killing two people and wounding a third.  A witness reported chased after the man, shouting, “You bastard, you’ve blown her to bits!”

The person of interest is identified as John Henry Tully.  He is apparently a former worker in Australia’s mines, but came down with a skin disease and went back to his hometown of Ashburton, NZ “to die”.  His struggles were profiled by the local newspaper, and republished online.

Pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong are angry over a decision by China that they say short-circuits the first direct election for Hong Kong chief executive.  China ruled that all candidates must be approved by a majority of a special nominating body in Beijing – so much for “One Country, Two Systems”.  The democracy activists held a large demonstration in a park next to Hong Kong government headquarters, and promise to fill the streets of the financial district with protesters in short order.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is raising the stakes in the Ukraine crisis by hinting that southeastern Ukraine could become a new Russian state.  This is the region where Kiev and NATO say Russian troops and war machinery have flowed in from over the border to bolster the Moscow-backed rebels, pushing their way to the key port city of Mariupol.  Ukraine is now sending is own reinforcements to defend Mariupol.  Meanwhile, leading American Senators are calling for weapons to be sent to Ukraine to help repel the “Russian invasion”.  Of course, of one them was John McCain who calls for wars and arms sales whenever the humidity changes, so.. grain of salt.

Speaking of arms sales, Germany says it is sending weapons to the Kurds in Northern Iraq, as much to arm as many as 4,000 Peshmerga forces.  This comes as Iraqis, backed by US air power, have broken the siege of Amerli.  For weeks, Sunni militants with Islamic State (IS) had the predominantly Shiite town surrounded.  Australia, the UK, and France had assisted the resistance with airdrops of aid to the besieged people.  Iraqi troops, Kurds, and volunteer militia entered the town on Sunday, and captured at least 15 IS jihadis.

Well, that’s embarrassing.  Islamist militias have captured the US embassy compound in Tripoli.  And to prove it, they uploaded videos of what appears to be a jihadi pool party at one of the official residences.  Cowabunga, dudes.  The US personnel and their families had evacuated a couple of weeks ago, but they left behind a lot of top line exercise equipment like treadmills, weight benches, and protein bars.  So now Libya will have pumped-up jihadis.

Israel says it is taking 400 hectares of the West Bank from the Palestinians, the largest land seizure by Israel in 30 years.  The local Israeli military authority says the decision is retaliation for the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens in June.  It’s believed that reprehensible act was carried out by a Hebron militant group with close ties to Hamas.  The US is urging Israel to reverse the move, calling it “counterproductive to Israel's stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians”.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) says containing the spread of Ebola in Senegal is now “a top priority emergency”.  Senegal reported its first case last week, becoming the fifth country to join the West African Ebola Outbreak, joining Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.  The government is tracing anyone who had contact with the Guinean student who showed up at a hospital in Dakar with the killer virus.  Senegal is just as unprepared as the other countries, lacking in support and supplies including hygiene kits and personal protective equipment for health workers.  More than 1,500 people have died in the outbreak.