World News Briefs For Sunday, 21 May 2017

Hello Australia!! - Chibok Girls are reunited with their families - They weren't expected the permafrost to melt - Justice cuts deep when it comes to a rapist - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Norway is taking steps to ensure water can't seep into the "doomsday vault" again.  It has been revealed that a heatwave last year caused water to pour into the access tunnel of the Global Seed Vault north of the Arctic Circle. 


The vault is where the freeze-dried seeds of more than 5,000 crops crucial to humanity's survival are safeguarded in the event of some global calamity.  But even though it was completed less than a decade ago, designers didn't count on Global Warming being as fast as it is, and runoff from the thawing permafrost - which is no longer permanently frosty as the global climate changes - seeped in.  "The tunnel was never meant to be water tight at the front, because we didn’t think we would need that," said Cary Fowler, who helped create the seed vault.  No seeds were lost, no systems were shut down - but it goes to highlight that the world is getting hotter much faster than anticipated.

Scenes of joy in Abuja, Nigeria as 82 young women from the Chibok boarding school were reunited with their families, in a ceremony that brought out hugs, tears, and dancing. 


The girls were among around 274 kidnapped three years ago by Boko Haram terrorists in its campaign to stamp out Western influences in Nigeria and institute an insanely draconian version of Sharia law.  The episode sparked international outrage, giving rise to the #bringbackourgirls hashtag used by world leaders.  These girls were released just last week in a swap for a handful of Boko Haram prisoners.  Others were released last year and some managed to get away, but more than a hundred Chibok girls are still being held by the Islamist terrorist group.

Iran's moderate President Hassan Rouhani has easily won reelection with 57 percent of the vote, avoiding a run-off with one of his more conservative challengers.  Mr. Rouhani said his re-election shows Iranians have rejected extremism and want more links with the outside world:  "The Iranian nation has chosen the path of interaction with the world, a path which is distant from extremism and violence," he said.  Rouhani was helped by unexpectedly high voter turnout of more than 70 percent.

Saudi Arabia staged a warm welcome for Donald Trump in Riyadh, where the orange clown managed to avoid creating an international incident.  The possibility of that increases greatly on Sunday when Trump is expected to deliver a speech outlining America's relationship with Islam - it could strike a more conciliatory tone than the rest of the garbage he spit out over the past few years; or, it could be pretty bad because it's being written by White House aide Stephen Miller, who helped craft Trump's ill-fated Muslim ban at the borders.  Trump and King Salman: watched a sword dance; rode around in one of those airport scooter things; and signed a slew of trade deals worth US$350 Billion, including one covering the sale of $110 Billion worth of US arms to one of the world's worst human rights abusers.

Brazil President Michel Temer is asking the Supreme Court to stop the criminal investigation against him.  Temer claims that secretly recorded audio showing him discussing the payment of hush money to a now-jailed former government official needs to be "validated".  Opposition parties say Temer must step down and the government must call snap elections.  Temer was not elected, he was appointed last year when Brazil's congress impeached democratically-elected President Dilma Rousseff for an accounting irregularity that isn't a crime.

Paris police say DNA connects a new suspect to the shooting death of a cop on the Champs-Elysees last month.  Other cops shot and killed the main suspect, 39-year old Karim Cheurfi, at the scene.  But further investigation came up with DNA on the murder weapon - an AK47-type rifle - that allegedly matches a 23-year old man whose identity hasn't yet been released.  The new suspect is charged with criminal terrorist conspiracy and using a weapon linked to terrorism.

Prosecutors are not expected to charge a young woman in India who cut off the donger of her alleged rapist.  The 54-year old suspect in southern Kerala state is a Hindu holy man who for years would come to the family home to pray for the father - but during that time the victims says he had repeatedly attacked her.  Until the most recent time, and then:  CHOP.  Doctors at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College said the cut went 90 percent through, so the dangly bits couldn't be reattached.  I understand that we're talking about the frank and the beans.  Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan praised the young woman for a "a courageous and strong act".