Anger spills over after Ukraine’s deadliest day – Baghdad girds itself against a terrorist army – Ban Ki-moon’s birthday present might make him fail a pee test – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Ukraine’s military launched air strikes against separatist checkpoints in the east.  It’s retaliation for the downing of a military cargo plane, killing all 49 people on board.  The Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin-76 was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the city of Luhansk, and was apparently captured on video – flashes on the left side of the video show some sort of missile launched into he sky, and a short time later there is a massive explosion on the ground.  It’s the government’s largest loss of life in the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the east.

Russia is protesting a raucous demonstration outside its embassy in Kiev, in which angry people overturned diplomatic cars, smashed windows, and tore down the Russian flag.  The demonstrators were angry over the downing of the Air Force jet, although there are accusations that at least some of them were fascist punks from the Pravy Sektor gang.  Meanwhile NATO released satellite imagery that backs up Kiev’s claims that Russia provided tanks to the separatists.

An Iraqi general claims Baghdad is stable and secure as Sunni Muslim jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are poised just over the horizon.  Major General Qassim al-Moussawi says his forces are coordinating with government troops elsewhere to retake huge swaths of Iraq now controlled by ISIS.  The government also carried out air strikes against ISIS positions in Tikrit, Jalawla. and Saadiyah.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country is ready to aid Iraq’s embattled Shi’a Muslim government against the Sunni insurgents.  More than 100 Iranian revolutionary guards and Quds force Special Forces are reportedly already inside Iraq.  But Rouhani assured Iranians that, for now, their sons would not be sent to Iraq.

America’s USS George HW Bush Aircraft Carrier accompanied by two guided missile ships should be in position in the Persian Gulf by now, assuming the US does order airstrikes to put down the ISIS threat to Baghdad.  The USS Truxton and USS Philippine Sea pack Tomahawk missiles that would easily reach ISIS targets in Iraq.

As bad as the violence in Iraq is, Boko Haram is worse.  The Islamist militant group has killed around 1,000 people in the two months since it kidnapped hundreds of girls from a school in northeast Nigeria, according to an analysis by the US network NBC.  That’s the deadliest killing spree by a single terrorist group since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.  The fate of the kidnapped girls is still unknown.

It’s another busy weekend for Italy’s coastal defenses, rescuing more than 300 migrants from North Africa trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in crappy boats.  Ten drowned when their dinghy overturned, 39 survived by clinging to the side of the hull.

In Santa Cruz, Bolivia, President Evo Morales gave UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a special gift for his 70th birthday – a birthday cake made with Coca leaves.  Coca is used to make the drug cocaine, but Evo has long championed the indigenous right to use the leaf for traditional items, such as tea, sweets, and medicine.  Ban thanked Evo, and even blew out the candles, but stopped just short of actually taking a bite. 

Ban was in Bolivia for the Group of 77 meeting, the coalition of dozens of developing nations plus China, in which Cuban President Raul Castro issued an urgent call to stand with Venezuela.  “The oligarchs who could not get rid of President Hugo Chavez think the time has come to topple the Bolivarian revolution and President (Nicolas) Maduro,” Castro argued, calling the democratically elected Socialist government in Caracas “the front line of independence, freedom and dignity”.  Bolivian President Evo Morales warned the US not to escalate its meddling lest it find itself in “another Vietnam”.