China ups the ante to end the trade and consumption of endangered animals – South Korea admits releasing the wrong bodies to families of people trapped on the sunken ferry – France is hunting cowards – Chile will attempt to update its law to the 21st century – Alyssa comes down from the mountain – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

From now on, China will jail people caught eating endangered and rare wild animals.  Poaching and trafficking such species was already illegal, but the new interpretation of the law from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) targets the second half of “supply and demand” with jail terms of 10 years or more.  Currently, 420 species of wild animals are considered rare or endangered by the Chinese government, including giant pandas, golden monkeys, Asian black bears and pangolins.

A 28-year old man from Queensland is in trouble in Indonesia, after banging on the cockpit door of a Virgin Airlines flight to Bali.  Authorities say Matt Christopher Lockley was drunk or otherwise impaired when he caused a brief panic.  The crew signaled a possible hijacking attempt, but they were able to subdue Lockley and handcuff him until arrival, where Indonesian authorities took him into custody.

North Korea has detained a 24-year old American tourist for “rash behavior” at immigration.  On 10 April, the man identified by Pyongyang as Miller Matthew Todd tore up his tourist visa and shouted that he had come “to the DPRK after choosing it as a shelter.”  Pyongyang did not say why officials waited two weeks to make it public, however the announcement coincides with US President Barack Obama’s two-day visit to South Korea.

In Seoul, President Obama expressed his condolences for South Korea’s “incredible loss” in the ferry disaster and offered America's solidarity.  Divers have recovered 185 bodies so far, but 117 people missing and are feared dead in the dark rooms of the submerged vessel. Most of the passengers on the Sewol were high school kids on a class trip.  Investigators believed the illegally modified ferry was overloaded with improperly stowed cargo that shifted to one side, causing it to tip over.

The list of utterly avoidable foul-ups in South Korean ferry disaster is growing.  The bodies of 48 girls were found in a cabin that was only supposed to accommodate 38.  They might have all gathered there as the ship began to tilt, but it’s confirmed that passengers were told to stay in their cabins instead of abandon ship.  Also, the South Korean government admits that some of the bodies recovered from the capsized ferry were misidentified and given to the wrong families for funerals.

France, Germany, the US, Britain and Italy are threatening more economic sanctions against Moscow, accusing Russia of going back on the deal to disarm pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.  The militants haven’t given up their arms, and Ukraine's interior ministry says the militants have seized a bus carrying international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

French authorities have jailed a man for 18 months for sexually assaulting a woman on the Paris Metro.  Now, they’re trying to find the cowards who stood by and did nothing to help.  This sort of depraved indifference is punishable with up to five years in prison and a A$110,000 fine.  Several people were seen on security video ignoring the victim’s pleas for help in the station, on the train, and as she fled at the next station with the attacker on her heels.  A teenage driver and some hospital security guards eventually subdued the criminal.

Chile in two months will begin the debate on legalizing Abortion in certain circumstances, now that former pediatrician Michelle Bachelet is President and her Leftist-bloc controls both houses of parliament.  It’s one of the few countries that ban the procedure, even when the mother’s life is at risk.  But just because Abortion is illegal, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen – about 40 percent of maternal deaths in Chile are caused by complications from illegal abortions.  Despite the number of women’s deaths, the head of the government’s health committee says the opposition – including the Catholic Church, corporate media, and conservative politicians – will portray themselves as “pro-life” as they defend a draconian law leftover from the days of the Pinochet fascist dictatorship.

Teen adventurer Alyssa Azar has called off her attempt to climb Mount Everest.  The 17-year old Queenslander’s dad cites a lack of guides and “a bad vibe on the mountain”.  Most of the Sherpa mountain guides are refusing to lead any ascents because an avalanche killed at least 16 Sherpas when they were preparing the slopes for foreign climbers.  Since the tragedy, the number of foreigners in the base camp has gone from 600 awaiting their chance to climb to fewer than a hundred.

Baby Zonkey!  Baby Zonkey!  Dad’s a donkey, mom’s a Zebra.