Good Morning Australia!!- Greek voters decide if Syriza should survive - Almost two decades in Parliament is coming to an end for a noted Aussie lawmaker - Why were giant red underpants flying above the office of a European leader? - And more your CareerSpot World News Briefs:
Greece's conservative New Democracy Party has conceded defeat, thus the governing Syriza Party has won the weekend elections - the fifth elections in six years. But Prime Minister Alex Tsipras' party fell far short of a clear majority and will need to work deals with minor parties to form a new government; the center-right Independent Greeks party already signaled it would join a coalition. He tweeted that Greece faces a road of hard work and struggle ahead. The nazi scum Golden Dawn party came in third with seven percent, unfortunately giving them 19 seats in parliament.
PM Malcolm Turnbull is promoting women and close allies to senior roles in his government, cutting loose familiar names such as Joe Hockey, Eric Abetz, Ian MacFarlane, and Kevin Andrews. Joe Hockey says he will resign from parliament, and the PM hinted that he might look forward to a future ambassadorial role, likely to America. Kevin Andrews did not go quietly to the backbench: He criticized Mr. Turnbull's decision to replace him, noting that it "means there have been more defense ministers in Australia than prime ministers in the last three years".
Pope Francis celebrated mass in Havana, Cuba's Revolution Square before tens of thousands of people - including President Raul Castro, himself not a religious person. Later, the Pope met with the founder of Communist Cuba Fidel Castro. Francis said that the detente he helped engineer between the US and Cuba should be an example for the entire world, and urged both nations to stick to the path.
Novelist Jackie Collins is dead at age 77 following a battle with Breast Cancer. First published in 1968, all 32 of her novels about the racy exploits of wealthy and powerful people appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. She kept her medical condition a closely guarded secret, and elder sister Joan Collins said, "She was my best friend. I admire how she handled this. She was a wonderful, brave and a beautiful person and I love her."
Two refugee boats bound for the Greek island of Lesbos met disaster. One collided with a ferry off the Turkish port of Canakkale, killing at least 13 people including children. Eight people were rescued. Another boat with 26 people went missing closer to the island.
Hundreds of protesters defied Thailand's military junta and demanded the return of democracy. Military dictator Prayuth Chan-ocha last week ruled out new elections until September of 2017. His "government" has come under criticism for cracking down on political opponents, demonstrators, and journalists, several of whom were confined to military bases without trial for so-called "attitude adjustments".
The leader of the coup d'etat in Burkina Faso is insisting on remaining in power until elections are held. Former spy chief Gilbert Diendere stated that position at talks with mediators from other West African nations in the capital Ouagadougou. Earlier, the mediators had claimed progress was being made to restore the transitional government that Diendre overtrhew as they planned democratic elections. The transitional regime was put into place following the popular ouster of dictator Blaise Compaore earlier this year.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris was closed on Sunday after reports of a man with a backpack ascending the tower. Police found nothing, and theorized that it could have been someone hoping to make a base jump. Paris has been under a high state of alert following the terrorist attacks earlier this year.
A group of Czech pranksters replaced the nation's flag from atop Prague Castle, and replaced it with a giant set of red underpants, apparently in protest of Prime Minister Milos Zeman's alleged close ties to Russia and China, and representing the "dirty laundry" of a scandal-beset PM "who is not ashamed of anything". Zeman's people quickly removed the big, giant undies.