Hello, Australia! – Ireland makes its choice – Burundi teeters on the brink – A judge fails to cover-up the embarrassing police report on a TV personality and political activist – Video rolls as a murderer chases his intended victim – And TONS more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

In 1982, Declan Flynn was kicked and beaten to death by thugs in Dublin, Ireland’s Fairview Park because he was gay.  The five assailants were given lenient sentences – one to five years – which were immediately suspended.  The flagrant miscarriage of justice sparked large protests and gave birth to Ireland’s LGBT Rights movement, which today is celebrating its biggest victory:  Irish voters approved a referendum to legalize same-sex marriage, making it the first country to do so via popular vote.  Mind you, Ireland decriminalized homosexuality only as recently as 1992. 

“Today Ireland made history,” said Prime Minister Enda Kenny at a news conference, adding, “in the privacy of the ballot box, the people made a public statement.”  Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said, “There are two Irelands, the elite Ireland and the hidden Ireland.  And today the hidden Ireland spoke.”  All major politicians and political parties urged a “yes” vote.

It marks a major shift in the Republic whose ostensibly democratic politics were for decades ruled by the Roman Catholic Church, which opposes marriage equality but has seen its support collapse after clergy sexual abuse scandal.  “Asked a simple question about fairness, equality and respect, Ireland said yes,” said Amnesty International’s John Dalhuisen,  “Irish people stood on the right side of history by choosing solidarity over prejudice; and in so doing send a welcome signal to those around the world still fighting for equal rights.”

When the final ballots were counted, the vote was 62 percent in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, and 38 percent opposed. 

Now, some incredible cuteness:

Pancake the Duckling is growing up in an office in Manchester.

And dumbness:

It almost looks real.  Why not just go all the way?

And on with the rest of the World News:

An opposition leader in Burundi has been shot dead by unknown assailants.  Zedi Feruzi of the Union for Peace and Development was found lying outside his home.  Feruzi had been one of the leaders calling on President Pierre Nkurunziza to reverse his decision to run for a third term, something that has sparked weeks of unrest and a failed coup attempt.  Demonstrators will stand down to allow for people to go to stores and stock up, but the situation is wearing down on the tiny country’s economy.  Public transportation and the country’s tax collection apparatus have shut down.  University of Burundi economic professor Gilbert Niyongabo says, “we expect economic collapse in a month.”

Tens of thousands of Roman Catholic pilgrims attended the beatification ceremony in Nyeri, Kenya of Sister Irene Stefani – the Italian-born nurse known locally as “Nyaatha”, or “Mother of Mercy”.  Millions more watched on television.  Around the world in El Salvador’s capital San Salvador, at least 250,000 filled the streets for the beatification of Bishop Oscar Romero, murdered in 1980 by a right-wing death squad.  He is noted for strongly speaking out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations, and torture.  Beatification is the final step before sainthood in the Catholic Church.

Peru is agreeing to study a proposal for a trans-Amazon railway that would link Peru’s Pacific coast with Brazil’s Atlantis shore.  President Ollanta Humala seems to be on board, saying that it would “consolidate Peru's geopolitical position as a natural gateway to South America” from the West.  However, rights campaigners are concerned about the potential impact on indigenous people.

Spain holds elections on Sunday, featuring about 50 politicians on the ballot in the Valencia region who are indicted on corruption charges.  It’s a test of the ruling conservative Popular Party’s resilience in its Mediterranean stronghold against fast-rising populist parties, such as the left-wing Podemos with its anti-corruption platform.

Elections are also taking place on Sunday in Poland, with voters deciding between conservative President Bronislaw Komorowski and his even more conservative challenger Andrzej Duda.

A witness was recording mobile video when a 21-year old woman ran screaming for help down the street on Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward, followed by her knife-wielding ex-boyfriend.  He had just mortally wounded the girl’s father in the neck – he died in hospital – and cut her and her mother.  A police officer responding to the grisly crime was also cut.  The latter three survived, and police did catch the 25-year old punk, a college student from China.

Five cars of a passenger train derailed in Assam, India, tearing up the bridge and injuring ten people.

In Stupid America, Josh Duggar and his family from the TV show “19 Kids and Counting” used to agitate against LGBT rights, going as far as to call trans people potential child molesters.  Last week, it was revealed Duggar sexually abused five girls including some of his siblings and that he and his parents covered it up.  Now, it turns out that as soon as the bad publicity started flowing, an Arkansas judge ordered police to destroy the police report labeling Duggar’s action a “felony” – even though such reports are usually kept indefinitely.  Luckily, the cover-up doesn’t extend to the media, which has obtained copies of the report and posted it online. 

The US-based Discovery Communications, which owns TLC, has put  “19 Kids and Counting” on hiatus, but this is the third of its programs to run into child sex abuse problems.  Previously, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” was cancelled after reports surfaced that June Shannon was dating a man convicted of molesting his eight-year old daughter.  Also last year, “Sons of Guns”, a reality show about a gunsmith, was cancelled when star Will Hayden was charged with raping his step-daughter – charges backed up by his own daughter who said she also suffered similar abuse.  Maybe it’s time to scrap redneck reality TV?  Yeah, I think so.