Good Morning Australia!! - Unease grows over Russia's election hacking - China blasts "ignorant" Trump - Highway robbers strike again in France, and get away with a big haul - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Unfortunately, the top stories have to do with the orange clown, so check your gag reflex and here we go:

US Congressional republicans are starting to take more seriously the CIA's conclusion that Russia interfered with last month's US presidential election.  Senate leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed a bipartisan investigation into the Kremlin's effort to sway the outcome in favor of their party.  "The Russians are not our friends," said McConnell, whose wife Elaine Chao has been tapped for a job in the Trump administration.  "We ought to approach all of these issues on the assumption that the Russians do not wish us well."  US pretender-elect Donald Trump stepped up his war with the CIA, gaslighting the US spy agency's report as a "conspiracy theory".

China is "seriously concerned" over the orange bloviator's rumblings that his administration might not continue to respect the four decade old "One China Policy" that has Washington recognizing Beijing but not Taipei.  In an interview broadcast on Sunday, Trump said he understands the policy but hinted he would use it to extract concessions out of China.  This comes after his planned error of accepting a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan's president after he "won" the election.  China state-run Global Times tabloid said Trump is as "ignorant as a child" and warned that "the One China Policy cannot be traded".  The White House said Taiwan is not a "bargaining chip".  The US doesn't formally recognize Taiwan, but maintains defense and trade ties; China considers Taiwan to be a renegade province that must eventually be reunited with the mainland.

So, what is this drama - real and manufactured - distracting from?  How about market manipulation?  Early on Monday morning, Trump blasted major defense contractor Lockheed Martin for costs overruns in the F-35 fighter jet program.  Fair enough, many critics believe it to be an overpriced piece of crap.  Lockheed stock tanked four percent immediately, and so far the scenario is a repeat from one week ago:  You'll recall that Trump criticized Boeing for non-existent cost overruns in the Air Force One replacement program.  The stock cratered.  But there's only one rule on Wall Street that actually works:  Buy low, sell high.  And Boeing is trading at about six points above the Trump-inspired low from last week.

Speaking of highway robbery, thieves stole 70 kilos of gold in a brazen heist on a motorway between Paris and Lyon in France.  One car blocked the road, and gunmen in a second car surprised the guards in the targeted armored van.  As soon as they got the gold - worth more than AU$2.1 Million - they locked the guards in the van and torched one of their cars.  Last month, robbers stopped two Qatari women on a road north of Paris and stole stole more than AU$7.1 Million worth of jewels; in October, thieves accosted Kim Kardashian in her Paris hotel and made off with millions of dollars in jewels.

Venezuela is pulling its highest denomination banknotes to fight smuggling.  President Nicolas Maduro said the 100 Bolivar would be taken out of circulation on Wednesday - Venezuelans would have ten days after that to exchange them for coins or notes of different values.  Mr. Maduro says right-wing gangs in Colombia are hoarding billions of the note to destabilize the economy.

Syria's military says it is on the verge of completing its retaking of Aleppo, and that rebels - mostly western-backed - have been pushed back into one small area.  Meanwhile, dozens of people have been killed in an apparent chemical attack in an area controlled by the so-called Islamic State near Palmyra.  The Syrian government had been bobing in the same area.

Turkey arrested 235 people for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).  An offshoot of the PKK claimed responsibility for the weekend bombing in Istanbul that killed 44 people.

The UK is banning a right-wing group for the first time using the Terrorism Act of 2000.  Home Secretary Amber Rudd described "National Action" as "a racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic organization".  From Friday, it will be a crime to join or support it.