Yesterday was Valentine’s Day – was it good for you?
Hey.. France is sending more troops to try and stop a repeat of that continent’s genocides of the 1900s – Finally, a serious move to hold North Korea accountable for “alleged crimes against humanity” – Things falling from the sky cause trouble in Asia – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs.

France is sending another 400 troops to the troubled Central African Republic, as Christian militias step up revenge attacks upon Muslim civilians for the violence and chaos caused by Muslim militias following last year’s coup.  President Francois Hollande is calling on the United Nations to speed up the deployment of more peacekeepers to CAR as the situation spins further out of control.  Thousands of Muslims have fled to neighboring countries but many others are trapped in camps.

A United Nations report is calling for a restoration of the arms embargo on Somalia, because the military can’t stop weapons from being routed to local warlords and al Shaabab Islamist militants. It said shipments of weapons from Uganda and Djibouti could not be accounted for.  Investigators blame a key advisor to Somalia’s president as well as military officials. 

Another UN panel is accusing North Korea of “crimes against humanity”.  The three-member commission, led by retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, will issue a report on Monday calling for a formal international investigation of North Korea for crimes against humanity against starving populations and a widespread campaign of abductions of individuals in South Korea and Japan. 

At least three people are dead because of the eruption of Mount Kelud in Indonesia.  Ash and grit is causing all sorts of problems – Tens of thousands of people are on the move, Australia to Indonesia flights are delayed, possibly for days, and three airports are closed.  The UNESCO World Heritage site Borobudur is also coated with ash as workers race to cover the most sensitive treasures.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is calling on supporters to march “for peace and against fascism”, to counter days of anti-government protests in the capital.  Three people were killed in the first day of the protests, which were organized by a wealthy conservative opposition leader.  Maduro accused the opposition of trying to stir up conditions for a coup.  Twitter accused the Venezuelan government of blocking images on its site, however the Venezuelan telecom company points out the Twitter’s servers aren’t even in the country, they’re in California – and other countries experienced the name outages.

Meanwhile in Rio de Janeiro, people continued their protests against a planned public transportation fare hike, and the money being spent on hosting the World Cup and Olympics that is not being spent on health, education, and infrastructure.  But up on Corcovado Mountain, Rio de Janeiro Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta blessed workers who will scale the 38-meter “Cristo Redantor” statue and repair lightning damage. 

Cops in Bulgaria arrested more than 120 people when nationalists tried to storm a mosque, succeeding in smashing windows with stones.  The mob was upset about a series of lawsuits initiated by Muslims, seeking the return of Mosques and properties seized by the government a century ago.

Human Rights advocates and Jewish groups are condemning Hungary’s neo-fascist Jobbik party for holding a political rally in a former synagogue.  Protesters surrounded the building. Some wearing yellow Stars of David, alluding to Jobbik’s similarities with the nazis.  Jobbik has regularly provoked outrage by issuing anti-Semitic statements, although this time party leaders claim they didn’t mean to offend anyone.

Ukraine freed the last of 243 protesters who were detained during the months of protests that have brought Kiev to a standstill.  But the charges will not be dropped until the protest movement abandons its barricades around the government center.  Protest leaders say some of the government’s demand would be met.

The European Union wants Spain to explain why cops fired rubber bullets at migrants trying to swim to the Spanish territory of Ceuta, across the Strait of Gibraltar in North Africa.  At least 14 people drowned on 6 February, but Spain claims its actions didn’t harm anyone.  The victims, all from sub-Saharan Africa, were later found washed up on a beach in Morocco.

The US is offering guidelines to banks on how to handle cash from marijuana sellers, acknowledging and tacitly approving – just a little – of quasi-legal marijuana businesses in states that have legalized it, although it’s still illegal under federal law.  The move gives medical marijuana dispensaries access to the same banking system as other businesses.

Another 30 centimeters of snow hit parts of Japan, which is clearly not used to getting that level of snowfall in the cities and suburbs.  Two people were killed in vehicle accidents.  Flights were cancelled, trains were cancelled.. the usual “too much snow” stuff.