Good Morning Australia! - Hundreds are killed in a human stampede at the Hajj - The Pope addresses the US Congress - The VW emissions scandal spreads to the company's home turf - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

More than 700 people are dead in Mecca, Saudi Arabia after a human stampede.  Two large groups of pilgrims converged on a small street on the way to the Jamarat pillars, at which Muslims throw pebbles in a symbolic stoning of the devil.  Saudi officials blame ill disciplined pilgrims for not following schedules to manage the multitudes taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage, which brought millions of Muslims to Islam's holiest sites.  Iran appears to have lost a lot of citizens in this disaster, and Tehran was quick to criticize Saudi mismanagement of the crowds.

Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars building bridges, walkways, and expanding the Grand Mosque to accommodate an incredible number of people who visit during a very short time every year.  More than a hundred people were killed a couple of weeks ago when a construction crane crashed through the Grand Mosque's roof.  Today's stampede was the deadliest since 1990.

Twin explosions at a Shiite mosque in Yemen's capital Sana'a killed at least 25 people.  Islamic State claims responsibility for the suicide attack. 

Pope Francis addressed the US Congress, calling on lawmakers to remember the Golden Rule when dealing with refugees and migrants.  The Pontiff reminded lawmakers that they are sons and descendants of immigrants.  In a nod to conservatives, he openly worried about marriage equality's effects on "the family" (helpful hint: it's creating more stable ones), and called on them to protect human life "in all stages of development" - but then quickly reminded them that the message includes the abolition of the Death Penalty.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is warning that a truly durable solution to Europe's refugee crisis is still a long way off.  Merkel told the Bundestag that the agreement reached by EU nations this week to redistribute refugees - a plan still bitterly opposed by some EU members - is only a start.  The flow of refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia continues unabated - more than ten thousand in Hungary alone on Wednesday of this week.  And nations are still bickering over shuffling the refugees from border to border. 

Volkswagen admits that it used the same engine control software to fake emissions tests in Europe that was used in the United States.  Germany's transport minister said the company told him that vehicles with 1.6 and 2.0 liter diesel engines are "affected by the manipulations that are being talked about".  The company on Friday is expected to announce that boss of Volkswagen's ultra-luxury Porsche badge is expected to be named CEO.  And the head of VW's US unit Michael Horn is expected to leave the company after less than two years on the job.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague rejected Chile's assertion that it didn't have jurisdiction to hear a case brought by its land-locked neighbor Bolivia over forcing the two to enter negotiations to grant it a corridor to the Pacific Ocean.  Bolivian president Evo Morales called this first step a major victory, Chilean president Michelle Bachelet says her country's borders remain intact.  Chile says the borders have been set for more than a century because of a 1904 treaty.  The ICJ didn't rule on the merit's of Bolivia's claim, only that it will continue to hear both sides.

Russian president Vladimir Putin will meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week, and "the top item on his agenda will be Ukraine," said White House Spokesman Josh Earnest.  The two have been at odds for several months over mutual accusations of meddling in the former Warsaw Pact ally of the Kremlin.