Hello, Australia! – New concerns over the cost of ferrying Government officials around for questionable trips – The world’s largest Zoo group is accused of flaming hypocrisy – Bibi apologizes to the voters he demonized – There’s gold in that brown stuff – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Let’s start with the important stuff:  Leopard Cub says, “I don’t like baths!”

Pope Francis recently lamented that he’s not able to just go out and get a pizza.  So, Pizzeria Don Ernesto in Naples took care of that during Francis’ visit, passing a pizza to the Pope as he rode down the waterfront.  Later at the cathedral, he was swamped by overly-enthusiastic nun groupies.  And now, the news..

Prime Minister Tony Abbott took a taxpayer-funded trip on an RAAF VIP plane from Sydney to the very private birthday party for mining magnate and Liberal Party donor Paul Marks at Melbourne’s Huntingdale Golf Club on Sunday night.  The Melbourne Herald Sun reports Tony and his pals dined on crayfish and aged Wagyu beef, washed down with chardonnay.  Abbott’s office claims he had “other work-related engagements in Melbourne” on Sunday, without detailing exactly what they entailed.  Marks gave A$250,000 to the Liberals in 2013-14, and his Nimrod resources gave another $500,000.

You were also billed $20,000 for more VIP flights last year to shuttle Joe Hockey around so he could attempt to sell his incredibly unpopular budget plan to Liberal Party members last year.  Hockey’s office also says the travel was fully in line with guidelines and entitlements.

Conservationists are suing the planet’s leading zoo organization for conspiring with the infamous dolphin hunters of Taiji, Japan to capture dolphins for one of its members.  But in public, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) supposedly condemns the Taiji hunt, calling the practice “inherently cruel”.  The Taiji hunters claim they’re just following ancient local traditions of consuming dolphin meat (in truth, very few people in Japan eat it).  But conservationists say that’s bunk, and hunt started in 1969 to make money through capturing animals for exhibit in dismal, tiny tanks at zoos and aquariums.  A dolphin might yield $125 in meat, but could fetch $125,000 from an exhibitor.  And not so coincidently, the number of dolphins most recently captured in the bloody cove has doubled from ten years ago.

Poachers slaughtered 30 endangered elephants in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Garamba National Park over the past two weeks.  This comes as conservationists at a conference in Botswana warn African Elephants could go extinct within a couple of decades if they continue to be hunted at the current rate.  Park officials blame militias who cross the border from Sudan and Uganda to kill the elephants for their ivory, which fetches premium prices in China.  There are only about 150 park rangers to protect 1,700 elephants in a vast expanse that easily targeted by roving militias looking for cash in for a quick buck.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron says he would not serve a third term if elected.  Labour and the Lib-Dems say the Tory leader is being just a little presumptuous, as he hasn’t even been elected to a second term and polls show the conservatives running slightly behind Labour in advance of the 7 May elections. 

Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu is kind of/sort of apologizing for demonizing Israel-Arab voters before last week’s election.  He told his Likud Party that “Arab voters are heading to the polls in droves” – with little regard that it was their right as citizens of Israel to vote in the election.  On Monday, Bibi said, Netanyahu said: “I know the things I said a few days ago hurt some citizens in Israel, the Israeli Arab citizens.  This was not my intention and I am sorry.”  So to be clear, he didn’t apologize for saying such a reprehensible thing, he just apologized if some were offended by his reprehensible words.  Spokesperson Emilie Moatti of the Israeli-Arab political coalition Joint List replied, “Unfortunately, Netanyahu and his government’s racism did not begin and end with that incendiary statement.”

Yemen’s foreign minister is calling on Gulf States to intevene and stop the Houthi rebels from advancing further.  The Shiite Muslim Houthis have already taken over the capital, and are moving closer to the city of Aden, where the internationally recognized government has fled.  The UN warns Yemen is on the verge of civil war, and what a mess it is:  The Houthi are backed by Iran – the government is favored, though not necessarily backed, by the West – al Qaeda and Islamic State, both Sunni Muslims, reportedly receive funding from wealthy Saudis.  Put that all together, and the world could conceivably have a war between proxies of the Persian Gulf region’s two major powers, on the doorstep of Saudi Arabia.

At least 37 people are dead in the crash of a double-decker tour bus carrying Christian missionaries in Peru.  The vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic, causing a chain reaction crash involving two other buses and a truck.  This happened in a sparsely populated and arid area near Huarmey, and injured passengers had to be transferred to Lima some 320 kilometers to the south.

There used to be an expression that went “the streets in America are paved with gold”.  They’re not, but the sewers might be.  US researchers announced they’ve found gold in human waste at sewage treatment plants.  So much, that if a comparable amount were found in rock, it’d be worth mining.  Now, before Gina gets out her shovel and bucket, the US Geological Survey (USGS) is still working out how to extract gold and silver from mountains of poop – which also contains rare earth minerals like palladium and vanadium, used in computers and cell phones.  Think about that the next time you put your mobile next to your face.