Good Morning, Australia! – A threatening turn for Thailand's ousted PM – Malala criticizes Nigeria and the world for the “weak” response to find and free the Chibok girls – The Communists and the beauty queen – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Thailand’s military Junta is preventing deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from traveling overseas, to ensure that she will be in the country to face criminal charges.  Yingluck faces charges for a rice subsidy program that the unelected junta claims was corrupt.  Supporters say the charges are bunk and designed to crush the Shinawatra political movement, which has been popularly elected twice, and twice deposed by the military.

Japan yanked the passport of a journalist planning to travel to Syria, after Islamic State (IS) murdered two Japanese.  59-year-old photographer Yuichi Sugimoto said he was not going to go to any IS-controlled areas, and asked, “What happens to my freedom to travel and freedom of the press?”  Yeah, not under Shinzo Abe’s increasingly right-wing government.  This is the first time since the end of World War II that the Japanese government has done such a thing, which officials claim was “necessary” to “protect” Sugimoto’s life.

Egypt set a 12 February retrial date for the two remaining jailed Al Jazeera journalists in a case widely condemned around the world.  Aussie Peter Greste spent more than a year in jail and was deported, returning home to Brisbane last week.  His colleague Canadian-Egyptian Mohammed Fahmy was supposedly going to be released soon as well, but that hasn’t happened yet, and he remained jailed with Baher Mohamed. 

Nigeria’s opposition says postponing elections until the end of March is a “setback” for democracy.  The government delayed the presidential election from 14 February to 28 March because the troops needed to guard polling stations would be deployed north supposedly to fight the Boko Haram insurgency.  The social-democratic All Progressives Party calls this “highly provocative”, and the US also expressed disappointment.

Malala Yousafzai is urging world leaders not to forget the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from their boarding school in Chibok, Nigeria.  In a letter on her website, the 17-year old education activist she will not forget her sisters who were abducted more than 300 days ago.  “Nigerian leaders and the international community can and must do much more to resolve this crisis and change their weak response to date,” Malala wrote on her blog,  “If these girls were the children of politically or financially powerful parents, much more would be done to free them.  But they come from an impoverished area of north-east Nigeria and sadly little has changed since they were kidnapped.”  Malala also indirectly held President Goodluck Jonathan to account, “Politicians running for office in the upcoming March elections should not only demonstrate their empathy but finally take some responsibility for this tragedy.”

Meanwhile, Boko Haram sent a young female suicide bomber into a market town across the border in Niger – the same town the militants had been expelled from a few hours later.  At least five people were killed.  Witnesses say the girl showed up with the bomb just as soldiers had surrounded the market.

Colombia’s Marxist FARC militants are asking the newly crowned Miss Universe to assist their peace negotiations with the government.  During the pageant and before she got the top prize, Colombian Paulina Vega said she wanted to see peace in her country after five decades of civil war.  The FARC invited her to the peace talks in Havana, Cuba, “We invite you to materialize your visit to update you about the development of the peace talks.” 

Slovakia’s anti-gay referendum has failed due to lack of interest.  Only 21.4 percent of eligible voters showed up, far short of the 50 percent requirement.  The referendum, championed by nosey conservative religious meddlers, was supposed to have strengthened the country existing constitutional ban on gay marriages.  Backers are worried that freedom and an end to pointless discrimination in Western Europe will spread to the Balkans and undermined their small-minded bigotry.  By the way.. if someone’s straight marriage is in any way threatened by Marriage Equality, then the chances are that someone is already Gay!