Hello, Australia! – One of Peter Greste’s colleagues might soon be freed from prison – The US is considering arming Ukraine against the rebels – Don’t use rodents with sharp teeth to predict the weather – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird expects Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy to be freed from an Egyptian prison soon.  Fahmy’s Al Jazeera colleague Peter Greste was released over the weekend and is resting in Cyprus before continuing on home to Brisbane.  That would leave only Egyptian Baher Mohamed in jail.  The three were convicted of undermining the government by reporting on the crackdown on Islamists after the overthrow of ex-president Muhammed Morsi.

An Argentine judge refused to pursue allegations the President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) conspired with Iran to impede the investigation into a terrorist bombing in order to further a trade deal with Iran.  There simply is no evidence to back the claims – Argentina never boosted trade with Iran, and never asked Interpol to lift a “red notice” warrant for the suspects in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.  Prosecutor Alberto Nisman made the accusations shortly before he was found dead of apparent suicide.  Although some suggest a conspiracy involving CFK’s office, critics note he appears to have based his case around bad intelligence and illegal wiretaps.

The US is reportedly considering sending “lethal aid” to the government of Ukraine to help del with the Russian-backed rebellion in the east.  The current policy of sending non-lethal aid – gas masks, radar units, bullet-proof vests – hasn’t done much to stop the rebels, who have rearmed with Russian help and gone back on the offensive.  President Barack Obama originally opposed sending defensive weapons for fear of a setting up a proxy battle with Russia, but anti-tank, anti air, and anti-mortar systems are back on the table.

A female suicide bomber detonated an explosive at a campaign rally just after President Goodluck Jonathan exited the venue.  At least one person was killed in Gombe city and 18 more are wounded.  The militant group Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks in the run-up to the 14 February election, in which Jonathan is running for releection despite his failure to deal with Boko Haram.

Indonesia’s attorney general says two Australian members of the “Bali 9” are next in line to be executed.  New President Joko Widodo has pretty much dashed all hopes of pardons for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukukaran, convicted of drug smuggling.  The executions have not yet been scheduled.

China executed two members of a cult for murdering a woman in a McDonald’s restaurant in Shandong last May.  Cult members tried to recruit the woman, and when she refused they attacked her.  Three other culties were given sentences of seven years to life in prison.  The “Eastern Lightning” group is a doomsday cult accused of kidnapping, torturing, and brainwashing people to attain converts, and murdering people when they try to leave.

Greece is proposing ending the standoff with its European creditors by swapping its outstanding debt for new growth-linked bonds.  After meetings with his French and UK counterparts, new Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis also said Athens would no longer call for a write-off of Greece’s foreign debt.  Meanwhile, the European Commission is considering replacing the EU-IMF troika that’s been overseeing Greece’s finances.  Greece's new left-wing government does not accept the troika’s agenda, and has already done away with EU-imposed austerity measures.

Monday was Groundhog Day in America, where tradition states of a sleeping groundhog (a big rat) wakes and sees its shadow, winter will continue for six more weeks.  Yeah, I know.  Anyway, it’s basically an excuse for some towns to yank a big rat out of the local zoo and bring it to town for a photo-op with politicians, and maybe get on TV.  That was the plan in frigid Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.  However, the handler for some reason put the rodent right in the mayor’s face, and it just couldn’t resist the temptation, attempted to take a piece of the mayor’s ear for his trouble.  But at least Mayor Jonathan Freund got on TV all around the world.

Mischievous Pandas are mischievous.  My niece did this once when she was a baby.