Changes at the top of the AWU – Worried families discover a gruesome house of horrors in rural Nigeria – Venezuela is dealing with cops accused of overstepping their bounds against anti-government protesters – Adorable bear cubs! – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs.

Australian Workers Union (AWU) chief Paul Howes is stepping down following speculation he was seeking a corporate job.  Howes denies he’s doing so to run for parliament.  An anonymous friend cited by ABC says Howes wants to get some business experience under his belt before entering politics, to better position himself as a “consensus” candidate.

Turkish fighter jets shot down a Syrian warplane after it violated Turkey’s airspace, the whole thing caught on video.  The pilot miraculously parachuted to safety.  “If you violate our border,” boasted Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “our slap will be hard.”  The two countries used to be allies, but Turkey is backing the rebels against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. 

Eighteen people are still missing in rural Washington State after a giant mudslide consumed an entire neighborhood in America’s Pacific Northwest some 80 kilometers north of Seattle.  Four people are confirmed dead, and rescuers themselves had to be pulled from the muck as they found themselves sinking up to the armpits.  The region is prone to a lot of rain, and a saturated hillside could take no more when more rain came down over the weekend.

Police in Nigeria are investigating a house of horrors where 15 severely malnourished people were found shackled among human skulls and corpses in various states of decomposition.  Nigeria’s Sunday Tribune has the really macabre details, calls it a kidnapper’s den possibly disguised as a plastics factory, and reports it was discovered by motorcycle cab drivers who went looking for missing relatives in the city of Ibadan.

Four people are dead and several are injured after gunmen opened fire in a church in Kenya’s port city Mombasa.  The attackers managed to get away on foot, but similar attacks have been blamed on al-Shaabab, the Islamist militant group that attacked a mall in Nairobi last year killing 67 people.

Venezuela's attorney general says some security force members have committed “excesses” in dealing with anti-government protesters, and she’s dealing with it.  15 officers have been arrested so far, out of 60 active investigations of police abuse during the opposition protests.  Attorney General Luisa Ortega insists that most officers are following the law.  America, meanwhile – which Caracas accuses of encouraging the protests – is partially suspending the issuance of tourist visas because President Nicolas Maduro's recent expulsion of American diplomats has left it understaffed.

The trial of Oscar Pistorius could extend into mid-May.  The court granted the extension after hearing from only 18 witnesses out of a potential 107.  Prosecutors could call Pistorius to the stand this week to explain the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.  Pistorius says he shot her four times mistakenly believing she was a burglar, while prosecutors insist it was deliberate.

Aussie journo Peter Greste and his al-Jazeera colleagues are expected back in court in Cairo where they are accused of defaming Egypt and aiding terrorists.  The current government believes al-Jazeera favored the Muslim Brotherhood rulers toppled last year, Greste and crew deny it.  There are slight signs that Egypt is possibly looking for a way out of this, because families are being granted more access to the prisoners – a noticeable change in tactics.

What.  The hell.  Is that?

Former US President Jimmy Carter says he uses “snail mail”, but not because of nostalgia.  Carter says he’s pretty sure that the National Security Agency (NSA) is eavesdropping on his email – so, when he wants to communicate with world leaders, he uses a typewriter, stamps, and envelopes.  The NSA’s excesses have been documented over the past year through leaks from fugitive leaker Edward Snowden.  Carter says electronic surveillance has been “abused by our own intelligence agencies.”

US First Lady Michelle Obama and the First daughters visited the Great Wall of China. 

Osaka, Japan Mayor Toru Hashimoto has been reelected, but in a way that is nothing to brag about.  Voter turnout was a record low – about 23 percent – denying him the popular mandate for his radical reform program.  Other parties refused to run candidates against him to demonstrate how low his supporter really is.  The social conservative ticked off a lot of his own supporters last year by suggesting all participants in World War II forced women into prostitution, and advised US troops to frequent adult businesses in Okinawa to curb sex crimes.  Japan has really got to get over this revisionist history thing.  Once considered a contender for Prime Minister, the remarks got Hashimoto ostracized from the top levels of Japanese politics.

And as promised, EVERYONE loves Bear Cubs!