Russia plays down the start of a new Cold War – Two more witnesses cast doubts on star athlete Oscar Pistorius’ version of his girlfriend’s shooting death – The international community is failing to step up to help Haiti in its hour of need – And more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has said there will be no new Cold War with the West despite “deep disagreement” over Ukraine.  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that he still believes that common ground can be found.  But at the same time, Russian lawmakers have voted to back Crimea’s referendum on splitting from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation, something the west considers to be a violation of International Law.

The USS Truxton warship passed through the Bosphorus Strait into the Black Sea – But the Pentagon says it’s a routine military exercise with the Bulgarian and Romanian navies, planned long before the Ukraine crisis.  The US has already added more fighter jets to NATO installations in the Baltics for increased air patrol missions.  Ukraine says that with recent Russian troop movements, Moscow now has 30,000 troops in the Crimea region.  Russia claims to only have 11,000 there.

Computer security researchers and Western intelligence officials suspect Russia is the origin for a sophisticated piece of Spyware infecting hundreds of government computers in across Europe and the United States.  It’s called “Turla”, and it supposedly bears the hallmarks of a similar suspected Russian cyber assault in 2008.  But the experts warn that unless the author stands up and takes a bow, the Turla malware’s origin can’t be completely confirmed.

A former girlfriend testified that Oscar Pistorius once fired a gun in anger through the roof of a car.  The Olympic sprinter is on trial in Pretoria, South Africa for allegedly murdering his partner Reeve Steenkamp, he claims he mistook her for a burglar.  The security guard at his gated complex told the court that after neighbors complained of shots fired at the Pistorius home, he called Pistorius who replied that everything was fine – but the defendant called back crying, not saying anything.

Uniformed police formed a barrier around Portugal’s parliament to hold off 10,000 protesters, most of whom were off-duty cops themselves.  Inside, lawmakers worked on drastic cuts to police pay, pensions, and benefits – all part of European Union-dictated austerity measures.  You know, the thing the new Ukrainian government wants to join. 

The Malaysian court of appeals convicted opposition party leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy and sentenced him to five years in prison.  The overturning of an earlier acquittal is widely seen and condemned as a political move to end his career.  He first ran into trouble after the 1997 Asian financial crisis when he campaigned against widespread corruption in government.

The UN is calling for a “Marshall Plan” to combat a cholera epidemic in Haiti and Central America.  8,540 have died since 2010, and 700,000 people have been infected since 2010, when sewage from a UN camp leaked into a stream.  Prior to that, Haiti was cholera-free.  But the worst part is the way the world “cares”:  Haiti says it needs US$2.2 Billion to eradicate the killer;  The United Nations is seeking $69 Million from wealthier nations;  So far, the only funding committed is $6 Million from the UN central emergency response fund.

Colombia holds legislative elections on Sunday, and it could turn into a referendum on the government’s peace talks with the FARC Marxist rebels who’ve been fighting the government for five decades.  President Jose Manuel Santos needs his ruling coalition to win to not only continue the peace process, but to boost his chances for reelection in May.  Former president Alvaro Uribe is seeking a senate seat, calling Santos a “traitor” for “legitimizing” the FARC through negotiations.  We’ll see what Colombian voters say.

Venezuela has expelled the Panamanian Ambassador and three other diplomats, accusing Panama of pushing for the Organization of American States to intervene in Venezuela’s weeks of street protests that have left 21 people dead.  However, the majority of Latin American governments are backing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro – individually and through regional umbrella groups such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Organization of American States, the Union of South American Nations and the Mercosur trading bloc – noting that he is the democratically elected President.

A drug-resistant “superbug” killed 16 people around Manchester, UK over the last four years.  A BBC investigation found that 1,241 patients were affected within the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS foundation trust area from 2009 to 2013, with the numbers increasing year on year.  Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) is highly resistant to antibiotics, even the most powerful drugs considered the last line of defense against stubborn infections.