An 88-year old former US President will reportedly try to free a North Korean prisoner – Taliban militants attack a Pakistani prison and free hundreds of inmates – A world class footballer is dead at age 27 – All that and a swimming cougar in your CareerSpot World News Briefs.

Former US President Jimmy Carter will reportedly go to North Korea and seek the release of a Korean-American man being held there.  If it does come together, this would be Carter’s second such mission to Pyongyang.  Kenneth Bae was detained by the North Koreans at a border crossing near China, and subsequently convicted of trying to topple the government.

The globe-hopping octogenarian former president was in Bogata to congratulate Colombia for being the first country in the Americas to eradicate “River Blindness”.  The disease is caused by a parasitic worm transmitted by black flies, but while it is being wiped out in Latin America, it is still a major problem in Africa.  It’s the world’s second leading cause of blindness, and treatable with simple and inexpensive anti-biotics.  Jimmy Carter and the World Health Organization are working with countries to get those medicines out there.

A US Military judge will read the verdict in the trial of whistleblower Bradley Manning, an Army Private who gave thousands of documents to WikiLeaks which proved embarrassing to the US occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Among the items sent to Wikileaks was graphic footage of an Apache helicopter attack in 2007 that killed a dozen civilians in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, including a photojournalist.  Manning has acknowledged leaking the documents but denies the most serious charge of “aiding the enemy”.

Taliban militants attacked a prison in northwest Pakistan, the third major prison attack in the Muslim world in recent days.  The attackers wore police uniforms and launched grenades at the prison where Taliban and members of other banned groups were housed.  At least three hundred escaped.  Militants executed similar jailbreaks in Iraq and Libya.

At least ten people are dead after a series of blasts in Kano, Nigeria.  The bombings are believed to be the work of Boko Haram militants.

A Kenyan court has sentenced a man to death after convicting him of being part of a gang who murdered a British tourist and held the man’s wife hostage in Somalia for six months.  Ali Babitu Kololo had been sacked from his job at a resort, but later used his knowledge of that resort fo lead the kidnappers to David and Judith Tebbutt. 

Footballer Christian Benitez is dead at age 27.  The top scorer in the Mexican league last season, “Chucho” had just debuted for El Jaish in Doha, Qatar.  Hours later, he was rushed to hospital complaining of stomach pains, but died of a heart attack.  He also played for Manchester United.  Benitez was considered to be a necessary part of his native Ecuador’s chances in the World Cup.

Spain has mourned the 78 people killed in the high-speed crash last week.  Somber music filled the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela during the mass, attended by the prime minister and crown prince.  The train’s driver faces reckless homicide charges for allegedly going too fast on a reduced speed bend.

The US Federal Aviation Administration is now requiring foreign air carriers to use global-positioning systems when landing at San Francisco International Airport.  This comes afther crash earlier this month, when after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 came in too low and too slow, clipping the seawall on the bay and crashing in the grass next to the runway.  Three people died in that crash.  It turns out a number of other flights aborted landings under similar circumstances, and the FAA wants the flights to use GPS from now on rather than relying on the deceptive view out the front of the aircraft.

OMG, Cougars can SWIM?  Graham Nielsen and Todd Culos of British Columbia were out on a boat on a lake in the Pacific Northwest, when a big carnivore tried to come on board.  Apparently, the mountain lions will swim if they’re after prey, which makes you wonder why this guy was trying to get aboard the fishing boat.