Iraq is careening towards a showdown between regional Sunni and Shi’a Muslims – Obama refuses to be rushed on possible American intervention– An astounding number of poachings are threatening the African Elephant’s very existence – And Canadians say "no" to austerity in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Iraq’s most-senior Shi’a Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is calling on Iraqis to pick up arms against the Sunni Muslim ISIS jihadists who’ve taken over several cities in the north and west.  Al-Sistani said whoever can hold a weapon needs to pick one up and go.  And the leader of Iran’s Quds Force has traveled to Iraq to assess the situation for possible intervention from Iraq’s Shi’a neighbor to the east.  Two battalions from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have reportedly been dispatched to help the Iraqi government retake Tikrit.

Meanwhile, ISIS is boasting of executing 1,700 Shi’a government soldiers in its drive towards the capital Baghdad, and is posting gruesome images to social media to back up its claims.  There are reports of summary executions in the streets of Mosul and other cities under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria jihadists.  As ISIS rampaged through the country towards Baghdad, tens of thousands of US-trained Iraqi troops dropped their weapons and uniforms and ran – they also left the keys to at least two helicopters, 15 tanks, and several armored vehicles.

US President Barack Obama says he’ll decide on whether to use American military power to help Iraq “in the days ahead”.  But he made one thing clear – there will be no US troops involved, no boots on the ground.  Obama cautioned against quick action, saying planning was needed to make sure nay US airstrikes would have the maximum effect.  The Pentagon is moving an aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush to the area.

European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso is pulling out a chair for Moscow at discussions over a planned trade agreement with Kiev, to take place in the next few weeks.  It’s the same agreement that was dropped by then-President Viktor Yanukovich, which led to Euromaidan protests that ousted him, which begat the pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine’s east.  Meanwhile, the United States is confirming Kiev’s accusation that Russia sent a convoy of three T-64 Tanks to the pro-Russian separatists.  But this didn’t stop government troops from regaining control of the port city of Mariupol from the separatists.

Poachers killed more than 20,000 African Elephants in 2013, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  That’s the third consecutive year that the poaching toll topped 20,000.  CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon says the threat of extinction is worse than ever, with illegal elephant killings far outpacing natural births.

70 people were hurt when a high-speed turbojet ferry smacked a breakwater before entering the terminal in the gambling Mecca of Macau.  Investigators say it happened at high tide, and the breakwater might have been submerged out of view.

Thailand’s military junta lifted the nationwide curfew, noting the lack of violence and citing the need to support the country's tourism sector.  General Prayuth Chan-ocha says he will install an interim government in August.  He did not say whether the government would be made up of civilians or military officials.  Prayuth has already said that Democratic elections won’t come back for more than a year.

Later today, Colombia’s national team plays against Greece in its first appearance in this year’s World Cup.  On Sunday, voters will choose their next president.  Incumbent Juan Manuel Santos wants to continue groundbreaking peace talks with Marxist guerillas and end the 50-year civil war.  Ultra conservative Oscar Zuluaga says the government has been too nice to the rebels.  Peace and war, pretty clear choice.  Polls show the two candidates are very close.

Afghanistan’s presidential run-off election takes place today.  Both candidates – Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai – promise to improve ties with the West, combat corruption and guide the country with a steadier hand than outgoing leader Hamid Karzai.  They also vow to sign a long-delayed security agreement with the US, so it’s really a matter of personalities and which one has the backing of more regional authority figures.

Ontario voters sent a message to Canada’s conservatives, rejecting austerity and giving an unexpected majority to the Liberal Party (which matches the North America definition of Liberal, not like Tony Abbott’s mob).  Premiere Kathleen Wynne is now the first elected female leader of Canada's most populous province, and is also the first openly gay premier in Canada.  She plans to create a provincial pension plan.