The captain of the capsized South Korean ferry is arrested – Twelve mountain guides are killed at the top of the world – Separatists in Ukraine say a peace deal doesn’t speak for them – The US bars an Iranian diplomat with a thorny past – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

South Korea arrested the captain and other crewmembers of the ferry that capsized earlier this week on charges including negligence of duty and violation of maritime law.  Captain Lee Joon Seok reportedly defended his decision to order passengers to stay in place instead of evacuating the ferry.  28 people are now confirmed dead, but strong currents and murky water causing poor visibility are hampering efforts to find the 268 missing passengers.

Divers managed to enter the sunken ferry’s cargo bay, but were blocked from advancing any further because of debris and items in their way.  Officials are now deploying small robot submarines to find the best places to attempt to reenter the vessel.

A school official who was accompanying hundreds of high schoolers on the sunken South Korean ferry is dead.  52-year old vice principal Kang Min-kyu was one of the first people rescued.  He apparently hanged himself from a tree near the choppy waters where the ferry Sewol capsized and sank.  South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that Kang was stricken with guilt for surviving a tragedy that took the lives of so many under his care.

Hundreds of text messages purported to be from teens trapped on the sunken ferry turned out to be fakes – many of them sent by kids and teenagers with the same names as the young passengers, but who didn’t understand that their attempts at gallows humor would spread way beyond their circles of friends.  South Korean police are telling the namesake kids to knock it – The families of the missing are upset enough already.

Japan says it would resume its controversial “research whaling” in the Southern Ocean next year under a redesigned program that would circumvent objections raised by the International Court of Justice at The Hague.  The 2014 hunt is cancelled, but Agriculture Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says Tokyo will submit a new plan to the International Whaling Commission during autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. 

An avalanche killed twelve Sherpa guides on the slopes of Mount Everest.  Nepali authorities say four climbers are missing as well.  The Sherpas were up on the slopes of the world’s tallest peak preparing for the opening of the climbing season in May by grooming paths and fixing ropes.  It’s believed to be the worst climbing tragedy on a mountain that’s seen a lot of heartache and death.

Pro-Russian separatists are refusing to stand down in Eastern Ukraine, despite the agreement signed by Russia, the US, the EU, and Kiev.  That deal calls for the militants to give up their weapons and leave occupied government buildings.  The separatists say Moscow did not sign the deal on their behalf, and the Ukrainian military’s attempts to dislodge the militants were embarrassing at best.

The chief warned of Africa’s oldest wildlife park, Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will be evacuated to Kenya for treatment, after being shot several times earlier this week.  Family members say the bullets broke ribs and punctured a lung, but missed 43-year old Emmanuel de Merode’s vital organs.  Virunga is where about 200 of the world’s few remaining endangered Mountain Gorillas live.  De Merode was shot after giving a Congolese prosecutor information about oil exploration going on in the park.

French troops have freed five aid workers who were kidnapped in the north of Mali two months ago.  Troops recovered the five from a village near Timbuktu and they are said to be in good health.  French forces arrived in Mali last year helped oust a force of al Qaeda-linked militants from the north, but some of the militants have been able to stage further attacks.

No serious damage or injuries after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake caused a panic in Mexico City.  The epicenter was actually near the seaside resort town Acapulco.  The region is seismically active, and an even stronger quake three decades ago killed more than 10,000 people.  Building standards have greatly improved since then.

US President Barack Obama signed a law that bars entry to any UN ambassador whom the US says has engaged in “terrorist activity”.  It’s in response to Iran’s new envoy to the United Nations, who is linked to the militants who took over the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held several diplomats hostage for more than a year.  Hamid Aboutalebi claims he was just a translator for the hostage-takers.

A New Jersey woman is suing the northeastern American state for denying her choice of a personalized vehicle registration plate:  “8THEIST”.   Shannon Morgan says the Motor Vehicle Commission website told her that the homophone for “Atheist” was offensive – but when she tried to enter religious words such as “Baptist”, they were approved.  Earlier, New Jersey had to be forced to approve a similar plate, one that read “ATHE1ST” with a numeral 1 instead of and “I”.  The United States separates church and state on its constitution.