Good Morning Australia!! - Trump names a flagrant racist as his chief advisor - Putin calls Trump - Prosecutors call on Julian Assange - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed as his Chief Strategist a man described as a "racist" and "anti-Semite" - and that's what Republicans have to say about Steve Bannon, the former editor-in-chief of the white nationalist Breitbart website.  Political operatives on both sides of the aisle criticized the move, because Bannon is too close to the alt-right and white nationalism.  However, party leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan immediately downplayed their concerns; and Republican National Committee chief was named Trump's Chief of Staff, so he's already bought off. 

Advocates and Civil Rights groups are not placated by Ryan's empty words.  NAACP president Cornell William Brooks said, "Racism has been routinized"; Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said Bannon and "his alt-right are so hostile to core American values".  The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it "sends the disturbing message that anti-Muslim conspiracy theories and white nationalist ideology will be welcome in the White House".  Racist groups couldn't be happier, one announced that "with Trump, every day is Christmas".

The Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has phoned US President-elect Donald Trump, with Putin adding he was ready to engage in dialogue with the new administration based on "the principles of equality".  The two apparently agreed that current Russian-US relations were "extremely unsatisfactory" during the phone call.  SMDH.

A prosecutor questioned Putin's and Trump's pal Julian Assange in his hide-out in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, about rape allegations in Sweden.  Mr. Assange denies the accusations, and Sweden has yet to file formal charges.  Assange fears that if he goes to Sweden to fight the allegations, he'll be deported to the US to answer for leaking government and military secrets through Wikileaks.  He's been holed up under the protection of Ecuador in the London Embassy since 2012, and used the location to launch internet attacks on the US Presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, until Ecuador cut off his Internet access.

A senior Israeli cabinet minister says Trump's election gives Israel a chance to back out of its stated commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state.  "The era of a Palestinian state is over," Naftali Bennett declared last week - and on Monday, he declared that the rise of nationalism in the US and Europe will give Israel "a unique opportunity to reset and rethink everything".  In between, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet to pipe down about the Palestinians until after he gets a meeting with Trump.  The Two-State Solution has been the international goal of the Mideast Peace Process since the end of the 1967 Six Day War.  Meanwhile, Palestinian officials are warning Israeli Knesset members against two new bills that would legitimize rogue Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas.

France is going to close the UK border post in Calais if the Republican Party wins next year's presidential election.  It's because of the upcoming Brexit, said MEP Arnaud Danjean, a close ally of Republican Party frontrunner Alain Juppe:  "It's not a punishment," he said, "It's an uncomfortable consequence for Britain."  London wants the border post to stay open. 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says "nobody should get obsessed with electoral processes that are not in the constitution", therefore ruling out early elections amid calls from opposition groups for him to step down.  The next round of Vatican-sponsored talks between the opposition and the government is scheduled for 6 December.

New Zealand is cleaning up after the earthquakes.  Hope these cows get rescued.