Britain’s spy chiefs are called to explain the Snowden leaks – A power Typhoon is bearing down on the Philippines – A murderous dictator escapes justice for at least another year – Baby Animals Galore! – Justin Bieber is a (expletive deleted) – And Jetman does Fuji.

The chiefs of Britain’s intelligence services – The GCHQ, MI5, and MI6 – will give their first ever public testimony on Thursday when they are cross-examined in parliament about revelations from US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.  The grilling will come amid calls for the UK government to step up oversight of its three main intelligence agencies after Snowden leaks exposed Britain's role in secret and embarrassing mass surveillance programs.

German lawmakers investigating the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) monitoring of chancellor Angela Merkel’s personal mobile want Edward Snowden to testify from Moscow – not in Berlin.  They’re also making clear that Snowden will not get asylum in Germany, as he enjoys in Russia.  Apparently, Vladimir Putin’s Russia wasn’t what Snowden was expecting – he’s seeking asylum in a “democratic country” after his year-long ticket expires in Russia next year.

Super Typhoon Haiyan (aka Yolanda) is gaining strength and heading towards the Philippines.  The storm is packing winds of up to 260 kilometers per hour and is expected to make landfall sometime on Friday.  Emergency workers around the archipelago are on high alert and low-lying coastal areas are evacuated.

Twin Snow Leopard Cubs made their debut at the Central Park Zoo in New York City.  Their older cousin already said, “Hello,” at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo.  And 13-week old Baby Tiger Cubs get tested at Washington, DC’s National Zoo – yep, they know how to swim.

A court in Ivory Coast is trying to clean up the corrupt cocoa industry, handing harsh 20-year prison terms to 15 former officials who were convicted of looting the joint under the former President Laurent Gbagbo.  The 15 must make restitution of the millions they stole.  Gbabgbo is currently jailed at The Hague.  His state-controlled cocoa agencies were rife with graft during his decade in power from 2000 – 2010.

The retrial of Guatemala’s genocidal fascist dictator Efrain Rios Montt has been delayed to 2015.  The 87-year old former general was found guilty and sentenced to 80-years in prison in May, but that was quickly overturned.  Amnesty International says, “This decision to further delay is a letdown for genocide victims and their families who have already waited over three decades” for justice. 

Colombia's government and Marxist FARC rebels reached a “fundamental agreement” ensuring the group’s future in politics should a peace deal be reached, something that is now much closer.  Both sides agreed on guarantees, conditions and support for the creation of new political parties.  Some 220,000 people have died in the violence of Colombia’s 50 years of civil war.

US actor Danny Glover is using his star power to highlight the damage that global oil giant Chevron has done to the Ecuadorian rainforest and its inhabitants.  Texaco oil, which was later bought by Chevron, operated in the country between 1964 and 1990, during which time its haphazard and careless handling of toxic waste caused a lot of damage.  Ecuador ordered the company to pay more than A$19 Billion, but the oil giant has balked.  Glover says oil companies must now free up resources to clean up the mess they have created.

Police in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday said they were investigating whether Canadian teeny-bopper heartthrob Justin Beiber vandalized a hotel by spray painting a self-aggrandizing slogan on it.  The little jerk.. oops, I mean “19-year-old entertainer” is having a grand old time in Rio, having been spotted at a nightclub famous for prostitution and tempestuously storming off stage after getting smacked in the face with a water bottle, which probably totally wasn’t well-deserved.

Also, Jet-Man flies around Mount Fuji!