Environmentalists hope to stop oil drilling before it can destroy a sensitive jungle – A macabre discovery in a garage leads to multiple murder charges – If can’t beat’em, eat’em – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs. 

The batteries powering missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370’s flight data and voice recorders may be out of juice.  Ships dragging “black box” detectors have not detected a signal from the devices since last Tuesday.  The battery life is designed to be about 30-days, and today is day 38.

Environmentalists in Ecuador presented 727,947 petition signatures to hold a referendum on whether the Yasuni National Park should have oil drilling.  The Amazon reserve is incredibly rich in bio-diversity as well as oil.  After the world’s most highly developed nations reneged on their promises to pay Ecuador to protect it, President Rafael Correa was faced with the difficult choice to okay drilling to pay for programs for the poor.

Libya’s coastguard detained more than 400 would-be immigrants in just a couple of days as they tried to cross from North Africa to Europe in small boats.  Most of the immigrants were from the destitute Horn of Africa, and most of them were from Somalia and Eritrea.  Since the fall of Moammar Gaddafi, more and more people from Africa and the Middle East have taken advantage of the security gap and used Libya as a springboard to launch their attempts to cross the Mediterranean. 

A close ally of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been arrested in Lebanon and will likely be extradited back to Italy.  Marcello Dell’Utri wsa declared a figitive when he didn’t show up for a court date last week.  He is a life-long friend of Berlusconi and a former advisor and senator in Berlusconi’s conservative movement.  He’s also convicted of acting as a liaison between Berlusconi and the Sicilian mafia.  Dell’Utri faces up to seven years in prison if he loses his appeal.

A Utah woman is accused of killing seven babies she gave birth to over a decade, and stashing their bodies in cardboard boxes in the garage of her former home.  The woman’s older children who still live there didn’t know their mother was pregnant seven times or notice anything suspicious.  The woman’s ex-husband also somehow isn’t a suspect.  Neighbors also claim to have noticed nothing.  But 39-year old Megan Huntsman faces at least six counts of murder.

Florida authorities are hunting the black bear that attacked and mauled a woman in the garage of her home in an upscale neighborhood wedged between nature preserves near Orlando.  45-year old Terri Frana had just watched her kids ride down the block on their bikes, when she turned and saw a family of five bears rummaging through her garbage cans.  The presumed mother attacked her, and tried to drag the woman into the woods by the skull.  Frana broke free and eventually was taken to hospital.  The problem:  Too much new development in Central Florida encroaching into the swamps.  Four months ago, another woman was attacked by black bears in the same area.

A few years ago, Jamaica was having a problem with the Lionfish, an aggressive invasive species that was throwing off the ecological balance in the regional coral reefs.  Today, Jamaica's National Environment and Planning Agency is reporting a 66 percent drop in sightings of lionfish in coastal waters because they taste good.  Fishers used to stay away from Lionfish because of the painful stings from its venomous spines.  But after an education campaign called “Eat them to beat them” about how to handle the Lionfish and cook it, Jamaicans quickly figured out there’s nothing a couple of Scotch Bonnet Peppers can’t handle.

It’s New Year in Bangkok!  Thai paused their massive political protests to welcome tourists to the Water Festival where people soak each other for good luck.