Hello, Australia! – Audacious thieves pull off what could be London’s biggest jewel heists – Kerry warns Iran – Pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine are accused of war crimes – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Japan’s Imperial couple has paid tribute to those who died in one of World War II’s fiercest battles in Palau.  Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko prayed at memorials for Japanese and American troops.  “We are here in Palau to mourn and pay tribute to all those who lost their lives in World War II and reflect on the hardships suffered by the bereaved families,” said the 81-year old Akihito, who has repeatedly urged his country not to forget the horrors of World War II.  The ceremony on the isle of Peleliu was broadcast live on Japanese TV.

A jewel heist reportedly worth A$387 Million may be London’s biggest-ever, and the thieves may have already skipped out of the country.  Police believe the gang entered a lift shaft on the roof of Hatton Garden, London’s jewelry quarter, on Good Friday after the business closed for Easter.  They evaded detection by guards, and broke into the basement vaults, where local jewelers stored their inventory over the four-day weekend. 

Amnesty International accuses Russian-backed rebels of summarily executing four Ukrainian troops – shot at point-blank range by a rebel commander.  Such killings are war crimes.  “These claims must be promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigated, and the perpetrators prosecuted in fair trials by recognized authorities,” said Amnesty’s Denis Krivosheev.

At the same time that Red Cross aid is starting to get through in war-torn Yemen, the United States is warning Iran over its support for the Houthi rebels who’ve routed the government and thrown the country into chaos.  Secretary of State John Kerry says the US would not “stand by” if Iran destabilized the region.  And while the Red Cross has just now gotten flights into Aden, Kerry claims Iran has instigated “a number of flights every single week that have been flying in.”

The US has deported an El Salvadoran former general responsible for torture and killings under the US-backed right-wing dictatorship of the 1980s.  But 77-year old Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova won’t face charges in El Salvador because of an amnesty law.  Vides Casanova led El Salvador’s security service in 1980 when four US nuns were kidnapped and murdered by his thugs.  Once considered a US ally, he was arrested last month under a law designed to keep out people who committed war crimes and abuses abroad.

Panama has lifted former President Ricardo Martinelli’s immunity from prosecution.  It clears the way for prosecutors to investigate allegations the conservative politician and billionaire supermarket magnate inflated contracts worth US$45 million to purchase dehydrated food for a government social program.  Martinelli has fled the country, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Big giant Turtle chases dog around the yard.

One of China’s biggest TV personalities is under a different sort of spotlight after a viral video showed him insulting the founder of the People’s Republic, Mao Zedong.  Bi Fujian is heard singing a Cultural Revolution-era opera while inserting his own comments – including that Mao led his people to misery.  China’s main state broadcaster CCTV is investigating Bi, a news anchor and host of the annual New Year’s Eve show.  Hardline Communists in China are increasingly defensive of Mao and his policies, noting that decades of market-based reform have created vast inequality and led to seeping corruption.