Hello Australia!! - Scotland officially calls for an independence referendum - Japan gets away with killing a bunch of whales - The US is getting rough with NATO - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Japan's whaling fleet return to port with the bodies of 333 dead Minke Whales, ending its annual and pointless hunt.  Tokyo sent its fleet out taking advantage of the "scientific whaling" loophole in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) rules.  Australia already took Japan before the International Court of Justice in 2014, which forced it to cancel its 2015-2016 hunt - but Japan just shifted its rationalization to fit the tightened definition of "scientific whaling" and set out again in 2016-2017.  That any "science" is going on with this hunt is a dubious claim, as it has already been proven that the meat from these creatures has wound up on the market for the tiny, tiny minority of Japanese who want to eat it.  "Each year that Japan persists with its discredited scientific whaling is another year where these wonderful animals are needlessly sacrificed," said Kitty Block, vice president Humane Society International.  "It is an obscene cruelty in the name of science that must end."

Days after the UK triggered the Brexit from the European Union, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon requested a second independence referendum.  "In these very changed circumstances, the people of Scotland must have the right to choose our own future - in short, to exercise our right of self-determination," Sturgeon wrote.  Scotland rejected the last independence vote in 2014, based on promises of more autonomy from London and before the Brexit was even an idea.  Since then, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain a part of the EU's unified economy and the relationship with London has been dramatically altered.  British Prime Minister Theresa May claims that no Scottish referendum can come until after the Brexit; but Ms. Sturgeon maintains, "It is my firm view that the mandate of the Scottish Parliament must be respected and progressed," and, "The question is not if, but how."

South African President Jacob Zuma reshuffled his cabinet, sacking popular and internationally-respect Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.  Even Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the move as "totally unacceptable".  The currency plunged five percent as financial markets woke up to the news.  Mr. Gordhan had been seen as a firewall against rampant corruption in the Zuma government.

Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) in effect annulled the national assembly, raising political tensions there to new heights.  Thre have already been violent protests on Friday and the opposition has called for rallies on Saturday.  The SCJ move has led to hyperbolic accusations of an "internal coup" and "self-inflicted coup" not just from the same people who backed the 2002 failed coup against democratically-elected leader Hugo Chavez - even allies of President Nicolas Maduro are worried the court has gone too far.  The SCJ stripped the legislature of its power because its conservative majority refused to obey court orders to unseat four lawmakers who were found to have engaged on vote-buying in last year's election.  The conservatives could have kept their overwhelming majority by just decertifying the un-elected members, and gotten to work - instead, they've spent their time since winning their majority in December 2015 holding mock trials of President Nicolas Maduro for show.

Israel approved the first new settlement in the West Bank in 20 years.  A hilltop near the Palestinian city of Nablus will be developed to house some 40 families whose homes were cleared from an unauthorized settlement outpost.  The Palestinian Authority is condemning the plan and is calling on the International community to help stop the new settlement.

The US Senate has refused former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's request for immunity in exchange for his testimony before the panel investigating Russian influence on the 2016 election.   A senior source said the committee told Flynn's lawyer that his request was "wildly preliminary" and that immunity was "not on the table" at the moment.  Flynn's ties with Russia while he was a campaign official for Donald Trump and later an administration official have been under scrutiny.  The retired army lieutenant general was sacked in February after misleading the White House about a conversation he had with the Moscow ambassador shortly after the election.

Russia's influence on the election couldn't be more clear as US Secretary of State Rex Tiller belligerently gave NATO allies in Brussels two months to come up with plans to boost their military spending.  He didn't say what the United States would do at the end of that ultimatum.  NATO leaders pledged in 2014 to halt defense spending cuts and move toward a guideline target of 2 percent of gross domestic product within a decade - so, pulling a two month deadline out of his arse is ignorant and troubling.  When Tillerson was chairman of ExxonMobil in 2013, Vladimir Putin awarded him Russia's Order of Friendship for his projects with Russian oil companies.  And of course, fascist twunt Donald Trump questioned the NATO alliance during the campaign last year.