Neighboring countries are getting involved in Iraq – Telling the time just got a little more difficult in La Paz – Hero Dog takes on a Bear and saves a little boy – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Syrian warplanes crossed the border into Iraq and bombed positions held by jihadists with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).  20 people were reportedly killed and 93 were hurt, although western sources refuse to confirm these numbers.  It further broadens what is increasingly recognized as a regional conflict.  ISIS is also fighting the Syrian government, and has expressed desires to carry out attacks in Lebanon.

A suicide bomber set off his device in a hotel in Beirut, as Lebanese security forces moved in to arrest him.  A second would-be bomber was apprehended.  The Duroy Hotel is in an area frequented by foreigners and close to the Saudi Arabian Embassy.  Militants have carried out a string of bombings in Beirut in recent days, and although some suspect ISIS, an entirely separate al Qaeda group has warned the bombings are related to the Syrian Civil War.

The World Health Organization has revised down the number of people killed in the West African Ebola Outbreak, though not be very many.  The WHO now says 34 people died of the viral disease in Sierra Leone, instead of 54.  But 338 people have died in the three countries in what is being called the worst Ebola outbreak ever.

Chilean public school teachers went on strike, complaining that President Michelle Bachelet’s education reform proposals don’t go far enough to address the problems facing Chile’s two-tier (haves/have nots) education system that consistently favors the rich.  Students demanding free, quality education for all held a protest, too, which was confronted by police.  Protesters threw rocks and stuff, riot dogs barked at the cops in the water cannon trucks, and a good time was had by all.

Venezuela’s Attorney General is charging former opposition lawmaker Richard Mardo with a host of crimes including tax fraud, money laundering, and hiding some income sources.  Caracas Authorities have charged several opposition figures since the February’s street protests that sought to oust democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro.  They include Leopoldo Lopez, who has been jailed since the first deaths caused by the protests – and former opposition lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, who had traded emails with her American handlers about a possible coup d’etat.

Authorities in Greece placed the wife of the leader of the neo-nazi Golden Dawn party under house arrest, pending her trial for allegedly running a criminal organization.  Athens has cracked down on Golden Dawn ever since the murder of a popular Left-wing musician.  All 18 Golden Dawn lawmakers elected in 2012 have been charged with running a criminal organization.

Poland’s coalition government has survived a vote of confidence measure that was threatened by a scandal over leaked audio recording of officials disparaging the relationship with the US.  Another recording had the head of the central bank discussing how the bank could help the ruling party win reelection.  Prime Minister Donald Tusk convinced parliament that he wouldn’t be able to effectively represented Poland in the European Parliament without the vote of confidence.

Most of Latin America has turned to the Left in recent years.  Now, some of the clocks are, too.  The clock on tower of Bolivia’s Congress in La Paz has reversed the order of numbers, so that it goes from one to twelve counter-clockwise.  Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca calls it the “clock of the south” and asks, “Who says that the clock always has to turn one way?  Why do we always have to obey?  Why can't we be creative?”  Of course, regular clocks are available and will continue to be.

A normally placid pet dog is being hailed as a hero after saving her five-year old boy from a mauling by a wild bear.  This happened in Akita prefecture in far northern Japan.  Granddad was only a few meters away in the car, but the bear was fast and took a few swipes at the kid, tearing his clothes.  Mego the Shiba Inu wasn’t having any of that – she started barking “unusually loud” and the bear took off.  The boy suffered a few scratches and bruises but was otherwise okay.   Granddad says, “Mego has always been his friend and we have rewarded her with meat and other treats.”

Dogs will do that.  Bears know better.  Remember these brave guys in New Hampshire from earlier this year?