Hello Australia! - Flooding spreads in rain-soaked northern Japan - Venezuela hands a stiff sentence to an opposition politician convicted of fomenting violence - Do cell phones allow people to command ant armies? - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Things:

The rain finally stopped before the noon hour in northern Japan, but the flood water has yet to drain away in Joso City north of Tokyo which still has murky, brown water up to the tops of cars.  But it's one of several towns in the eastern Tohoku region where rivers jumped their banks after as much as 400 millimeters of rain in just 48 hours, and flooding is now reported in Ibaraki, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Iwate prefectures.  NHK reports that three people are confirmed dead with 26 still missing.  Helicopters are rescuing hundreds of people who were stranded by the flash flooding in homes and businesses, even in a supermarket that luckily had roof top parking deck where a rescue chopper could land.

South Korea sentenced a man to 12-years in prison for the slashing attack on the US Ambassador.  The Seoul Central District Court said 56-year old Korean nationalist Kim Ki-jong had "shown no repentance" for the attack on Ambassador Mark Lippert in March, "attempting to justify his actions throughout the trial".  Lippert suffered a deep gashes on his face and wrist which required 80 stitches to close, and spent five days in hospital. 

A Venezuelan court threw the book at US-educated, hardline right-wing politician Leopoldo Lopez, sentencing him to 13 years in prison for stirring up violence in last year's anti-government protests during which 40 people were killed.  Long the darling of neoconservative circles in Washington and London which would like to see Venezuela's popularly-elected Socialist government replaced, Lopez' support is mainly among fellow blue bloods in Caracas' wealthier districts

The United Nations voted to allow the Palestinian and Vatican flags to be flown outside the UN building in New York City.  Palestine and the Holy See both have non-member observer status.  Ordinarily, only nations with full membership can fly a flag outside, but the vote changed the rules.  Australia, the US, Canada and a handful of teeny tiny countries joined Israel to cast the only eight votes against it.

People in Singapore are voting in an election that could bring some change to the country.  PM Lee Hsien Loong and his ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is expected to hold on to power.  But the PAP could lose seats because for the first time opposition candidates are running in every constituency, and there is a growing appetite for political plurality.

Here's a video that's getting a lot of views.  This guy puts his mobile phone on the ground near a bunch of really hyper ants.  When it rings, all of a sudden the ants organize and march around the phone going counterclockwise.  So what happened?  Is it the phone's magnetism, microwaves, or is the video a hoax?