Global News

China puts a human rights activist on trial – A one-time US presidential hopeful faces decades in prison – FIFA is getting really, really worried about Brazil’s World Cup readiness – And the return of Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor, in your CareerSpot World News Briefs.

It’s not just gay rights suffering in Russia in the days leading up to the Sochi Olympics.  The leading international group Human Rights Watch says Vladimir Putin’s Russia is committing numerous abuses against others such as violating the rights of migrant workers, local residents and environmental activists.

Russia is issuing an ominous warning about its neighbor Ukraine:  That the street protests against the pro-Moscow president may be spinning out of control; and no matter what happens, it will not stand by if Ukraine splits into two.

Thailand’s government has imposed a 60-day “state of emergency” on the capital Bangkok and surrounding provinces, to deal with the opposition protests aimed at forcing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down. 

The annual slaughter of dolphins has begun at Taiji, Japan over the objections of protesters and the US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy.  But one famous ex-pat is appealing to Japan’s perpetual neurosis about its place in the world to retune the way it thinks about killing animals that everyone likes.

Australia is hauled before the World Court – A prison walk-away is threatening war against his government – An American in North Korea confesses to.. something? – Iran halts its nuclear program.

The world’s 85 richest people have a combined net worth equal to the entire to that owned by half of the world's population – the 3.5 billion people starting at the poorest and going on up to the 50 percent line.  This shameful statistic is being revealed by a new report from Oxfam.

Russian security services are believed to be looking for as many as four “black widows”, the wives of Islamist terrorists killed by authorities.  They’ve reportedly been dispatched to attack sites related to next month’s Winter Olympics – and one of them is believed to be in or near the Olympic city of Sochi.

As the clock ticks down on the Syrian civil war peace talks, a team of experienced war crimes prosecutors says they’ve come across evidence of atrocities committed by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad including the “systematic killing” of about 11,000 detainees.  It significantly widens the scope of Assad’s war crimes from what was already known or assumed.

Iran is not going to attend the Syrian civil war peace talks, known as Geneva II.  UN Secretary general Ban Ki-Moon withdrew his invitation after Tehran refused to endorse the agreement that is the basis of the discussions.

A simple action is frightening Brazil’s elites to the point that President Dilma Rousseff is convening meetings about it, and business owners are trying to get court injunctions to stop it:  Poor people are taking “rolezinhos” (“little strolls”) through shopping malls.

US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy is calling attention to the “inhumaneness” of a coastal Japanese village’s annual dolphin hunt, a bloody yearly ritual scorned by conservationists and animal lovers all around the world.

Aussie beef is being told to stay home – Indonesia deals with killer flooding – China releases surprising economic figures – Explosions rock Thailand’s anti-government protests.

Ukraine’s draconian new law banning protests and public dissent were met with defiance and violence in Kiev.  Cops battled protesters and others who refused to accept any restrictions on the demonstrations against the government of President Viktor Yanukovych.

Fresh violence is cursing the Central African Republic, with 50 people killed in the northwest part of the country over the past 48 hours.  In the capital Bangui, two Muslim men were taken out and hanged to death in a revenge attack by angry members of the Christian community.

Iran has accepted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s invitation to take part in the Geneva II Peace Talks taking place this week in Switzerland, with the aim of ending Syria’s Civil War.  Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif assured Mr. Ban that Tehran would play a positive role in securing a transitional government in Syria.

Syria’s opposition makes a decision on whether to boycott the Geneva peace talks – An EU official says Ukraine has crossed a sinister line – A new film reveals the truth of violence in Russia before the Sochi Olympics  - And the raw power of nature in your CareerSpot World News Briefs.

Indonesia sends its Navy to patrol waters where Aussie ships intruded – Barack Obama is rolling back some US spy programs that proved embarrassing – A species brought back from the brink needs help – Vlad Putin threatens Gay people.

Could Australian-Indonesian relations get worse?  Oops, they did – Ukraine bans the protests that have stymied the capital for weeks on end – European countries reportedly protest Israel’s settlement building spree – The woman in the French Presidential sex scandal seeks her pounds of flesh.

The Chilean search for justice is reaching across the vast sea to Australia.  The Supreme Court of Chile is asking Canberra to extradite a woman accused of torture and murder in her role in the fascist dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.