Global News

The West African Ebola outbreak is getting worse – The UN World health Organization (WHO) says the death toll has grown to 467 lives lost,  And 68 of the deaths have occurred in the past week, beginning on 23 June.

French police have taken the unprecedented action of detaining former President Nikolas Sarkozy for questioning in an investigation over alleged influence peddling.  It's the first time this has happened to an ex-president in France.  Sarkozy’s attorney has been placed under formal investigation.

The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reversed the nation’s post-World War II pacifism and rubber-stamped Abe’s plan to allow the military to engage in “collective self-defense” – that is, to aid allied nations under attack from a common enemy.

Japan’s ruling parties are set to end the ban that has kept its military from fighting overseas since the end of World War II, and allowing the sending of troops to exercise “collective self defense” of Japan’s allies.  The new rules would relax limits on United Nations peacekeeping activities.

Nigeria says it has broken up one of the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram’s intelligence cells and arrested its leaders.  Officials say the unit is linked to the April kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok town as well as the assassination of a local leader, the Emir of Gwoza.

Oscar Pistorius gets a clean bill of mental health, much to his defense attorneys’ chagrin – America’s wall between church and state is kicked in by its own Supreme Court – How to survive getting run over by three trains – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s extended cease-fire with pro-Russian separatists in the east of his country ended on Monday night, and he vowed to renew military operations against the rebels whom he blamed for failing to both keep to the truce and follow his path to peace.

84-year old Australian-born singer and artist Rolf Harris has been found guilty of all twelve counts of indecent assault on four underage girls, between the 1960s and 1980s.  Jurors agreed with the prosecution’s contention that the affable entertainer was a “Jekyll and Hyde” character who took advantage of his fame.

Three Israeli teenagers who went missing while hitchhiking through the West Bank were found dead under a pile of rocks.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to exact a heavy price for the deaths, declaring, “Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay.”

A man set himself on fire in front of thousands of people walking between the world’s busiest train station and some of Tokyo’s most-popular stores, in protest of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to amend Japan’s pacifist constitution to allow for more military missions.

North Korea says it will put two American citizens on trial for crimes against the state.  It pretty much dims any hopes that the families of Jeffrey Fowle and Matthew Miller had for getting the two men released and back home anytime soon.

Authorities in Bulgaria have arrested five to seven suspects for spreading rumors about the stability the nation’s banks, which allegedly sparked runs on two financial institutions.  This comes as Bulgaria’s president declared he would dissolve parliament and appoint a caretaker government.

At least eleven workers have been killed in the collapse of a building under construction in Chennai, India, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.  Rescuers managed get to 28 people to safety, but there are still many trapped under the rubble.  It’s the second building collapse in India in the past few day

The Islamist State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group is declaring a Caliphate in the territory it controls in those two countries.  This comes as Iraqi government troops are taking a bit longer to reestablish control of the city of Tikrit, despite earlier claims of gains.

The rush to find two Aussies teens to went to Iraq – Someone might be trying to torpedo a European nation’s economy – Could we please not restart World War One? – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

A three-day reprieve for peace in Ukraine – What’s up with the Pope’s health? – David Cameron’s very bad week – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Germany pulls a US plug, and we’re not talking about the World Cup – A former Transformers star is getting to be more well known for trouble than for acting – How about a president who doesn’t want his ego stroked with endless smiling likenesses plastered up around the country? – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

After conflicting reports about her status, Meriam Ibrahim and her family are out of police custody in Sudan and they are currently in the US Embassy in Khartoum.  Ibrahim’s Sharia law death sentence for marrying a Christian was overturned, but the family was arrested at the airport as they tried to leave the country.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will sign a long-awaiting economic association agreement with the European Union, when Friday rolls around to Strasbourg, France.  Seven months ago, his predecessor Viktor Yanukovich balked on the deal, leading to Euromaidan protests that brought a new regime to Kiev.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has now grown to 635 suspected and confirmed cases in three countries, including 399 deaths.  And some of the doctors and health workers fighting the outbreak are blasting the government for making hopeful pronouncements that might have made things worse.