Russia accuses the US of trying to wreck the deal that prevented war in Syria – Kiwis demand Russia release Greenpeace activists – And Typhoon Usagi slams into China.  That and a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs.

The Kremlin is accusing Washington of trying to sabotage the deal that has Syria’s Bashar al-Assad handing over his chemical weapons.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused his American partners of “blackmail” for threatening to stop work on Syria's chemical disarmament deal unless Russia supported a UN resolution authorizing military action against the Syrian government.  

Protesters rallied in front of the Russian Embassy in Wellington, calling for the release of the Greenpeace activists held by Russia, a contingent that includes two Kiwis.  Armed Russian officers seized the Greenpeace vessel, commando-style, as it tried to stop Gazprom from drilling for oil in a pristine area of the Russian Arctic coast.

China has activated its emergency response plan as Typhoon Usagi made land on its southern coast in Guangdong Province.  China confirms 25 people have been killed and thousands have been evacuated.  Hundreds of flights are cancelled and a major shipping lane is shut down.  But the storm appears to have spared Hong Kong the worst of its fury.

A suicide attack on the historic All Saint’s Church in Peshawar in Pakistan’s northwest claimed at least 78 lives.  It’s one of the deadliest attacks on the Christian minority in Pakistan in years.  It happened as worshippers were leaving the church after Sunday services, lining up for free food being distributed on the lawn.  Women and children were among the dead.

Hamas is in financial trouble.  Since the Egyptian military ousted Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood from the presidency, they’ve destroyed most of the smuggling tunnels from Egypt to Gaza; “taxing” the smuggled goods brought Hamas at least 40 percent of its operating budget.  Worse for Hamas, Iran cut its funding because Hamas refused to support Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.  Meanwhile, 70 trucks with the first legally delivered construction materials from Israel entered Gaza over the weekend.  Palestinians say the shipment is going to the private sector.

Egypt’s interim government is now expected to completely rewrite the constitution adopted by deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, rather than amend it.  The Islamist constitution failed to guarantee human and women's rights and to reflect Egypt's diverse population, and the 50 member constitution committee is working to change that, as well as dumping a Morsi provision to jail journalists for what they write.

Everyone loves Polar Bear Cubs!

Cuba and the US are on the verge of breaking the ice; delegations from each country have approved a deal to cooperate on air and sea search and rescue in the Florida Strait.  The basis is that people in need of rescue are more important than international political squabbling.  The two have also quietly cooperated on fighting drug smuggling and human trafficking.  The search and rescue deal needs to be approved by each government.

California teen Cassidy Lynn Campbell cried tears of joy this past weekend when students at Marina High School elected the openly transgender teen their Homecoming Queen.  The 16-year old was born male, but has recently lived as a girl and has already begun taking hormone blockers and estrogen injections in advance of an eventual gender reassignment surgery.  This didn’t happen just anywhere in California, but in Orange County, which used to be considered one of the most conservative places in the country.  The coming generation is telling adults what they can do with their homophobia.