Good Morning, Australia! – The big powers are rattling sabers on Russia’s borders with Europe – South Africa appears to ignore a request from the International Criminal Court – Tbilisi digs out and tracks escaped zoo animals – And more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Russia is threatening “dangerous consequences” if NATO and the US makes good on plans to permanently station heavy American weaponry and troops in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.  This would be to calm the eastern members of the alliance after Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.  But Russia’s defense and foreign ministries warned that Moscow would respond with a military build up on its European frontier as well.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir left the African Union summit in South Africa and jetted back home, without any interference from South African authorities.  This is despite a South African court order barring him from exiting the country.  The International Criminal Court in The Hague wanted South Africa to bundle Bashir and send him to Europe to face a war crimes trial for his alleged atrocities in the Darfur region.  This puts in question South Africa’s status with the ICC, as it was once seen as an important member now ignoring its requests.

South Korea is holding a teenage soldier from the North after the young man walked across the DMZ and asked to defect.  Neither side exchange warning shots.  This happened Monday morning at Gangwon, a remote guardpost in the middle of the peninsula.  The North had been planting landmines on its side in a bid to deter defectors.

US officials have yet to confirm Libyan reports that an airstrike killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a notorious terrorist with Al Qaeda and Islamist links in North Africa.  Libya’s government said Belmokhtar was among 17 terrorists killed in the F-15 air strike.  The US will only say raid “appeared” to be successful, but isn’t popping the cork just yet. 

In stupid America, the local head of the Spokane, Washington NAACP civil rights group has stepped down after it became apparent that Rachel Dolezal isn’t African-American as she claimed, but is indeed of white European ancestry.  The NAACP board isn’t being nearly as judgmental as the rats on the Internet comment boards, and noting that Dolezal needs “support” (read: “counseling”).  This only became a story because Dolezal’s bitter vengeful white parents apparently wanted to humiliate her because of some past family squabble, and the corporate media greedily pounced on the “story” – pretending that this was the most-pressing racial issue in America, instead of those weekly videos of white cops killing and beating unarmed black people.

Fire ravaged the ceiling and roof of the 19th Century Saint Donatien Basilica in Nantes, France.  The fire apparently started with repair and maintenance work on the roof.  Mayor Johanna Rolland thanked firefighters for their “rapid and brave” action that saved the rest of the structure.

The search continues for missing people and zoo animals in Tbilisi, Georgia after a massive flood.  Surviving zookeepers are angry, accusing police and soldiers of going on “big game hunts” on city streets and killing the loose animals before they could be captured and returned to the Zoo grounds.  At least this Croc was captured and brought back to safety without any trouble.

Crews and volunteers are struggling to scoop up mountains of mud and muck.  At a minimum 14 people were killed, and several are still missing.

The cause of the flood is as fascinating as its aftermath is terrifying.  Days of heavy rain loosened a hillside, which fell down in the path of a minor neighborhood stream.  As the downpour continued, it formed a temporary natural lake that quickly overwhelmed the loose-earth dam that held it back.  When it burst through, it wiped out the Zoo, several homes, and everything else downstream.