Good Morning Australia!! - Powerful storms hit Sydney while the north bakes - New evidence of widespread atrocities by the so-called Islamic state - Trump vs GM - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Sydney airport closed runways after more than 70 millimeters of rain fell in an hour, cancelling several domestic and international flights.  The SES has been busy all morning answering emergency calls; at least five people needed to be rescued from flash flooding.  Two police officers were injured when a tree fell on them as they were helping flood victims.  Light rail and traffic was also messed up by the wild weather.  In Queensland, the heatwave will continue at least through the weekend after temperature records in excess of 40 C degrees fell in town after town.  Residents of Deepwater, Baffle Creek, Rules Beach, and Oyster Creek areas are being warned to evacuate immediately because of "an extremely large and intense fire" that is expected to impact those areas in the coming hours.

Russia has filed charges against the sailors from the three Ukrainian navy ships that it seized for allegedly violating its waters after a clash near Crimea over the weekend.  Three of the captured Ukrainians were shown on Russian TV, one of them reading a statement acknowledging he was aware of the "provocative nature" of the Ukrainian action.  Their commander says they were forced to read the statements under duress. 

Crews have exhumed 500 bodies from a mass grave near Raqqa, once the "capital" of the so-called "Islamic State", and they believe more remains are down there.  "We're in a race against time," said Sara Kayyali, of Human Rights Watch, "These bodies are decomposing at an exponential rate."  The remains appear to be those of a mix of civilians and Islamic State fighters.  The "Panorama" site is believed to be the largest of as many as nine mass graves around Raqqa.

Donald Trump is threatening to cancel General Motors' government subsidies, after the automaker announced it would close three plants in America's rust belt and cut 15 percent of its workforce.  "Very disappointed," Trump tweeted, noting that the total of seven plants GM will shutter aren't in China or Mexico.  But lest you think that Trump is standing up for American workers, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Axios that Trump felt personally betrayed by GM after his administration struck a trade deal with Canada and Mexico:  "I think his disappointment is it seems like they kind of turned their back on him." 

A US court charged the younger brother of Honduras' president with being part of a major drug smuggling ring.  Juan Antonio Hernandez is accused of providing security for the ring over a twelve year period as it smuggled drugs into the US via land, sea, and even in a submarine.  President Juan Orlando Hernandez said it's "a heavy blow for the family" but "no one is above the law".

France's domestic intelligence agency is investigating an employee of the French Senate over alleged spying for North Korea.  Benoit Quennedey is for appearing on TV public affairs shows as an expert on the hermit kingdom.  Authorities detained him on Sunday night after an investigation that was opened in March, suspecting him of "collecting and delivering information to a foreign power susceptible to harming fundamental interests of the nation".  

Tanzania's president has thrown some shade on the West over aid to developing nations.  At the opening of a university library Dar es Salaam today, President John Magufuli said he likes aid from China because it comes with no strings attached:  "The thing that makes you happy about their aid is that it is not tied to any conditions.  When they decide to give you, they just give you."  Earlier this month, Denmark suspended almost US$10 Million in aid because of "unacceptable homophobic comments" by a Tanzanian politician.  The World Bank halted a $300 Million loan for an educational project because of the Magufuli government's decision to expel schoolgirls who become pregnant.

Police in Japan's southwestern Miyazaki prefecture say a family dispute possibly led to the discoveries of six people murdered with a machete in a mountain home, and another dead person who jumped or was pushed off of a bridge.  The five family members and a friend in the home were found in pools of blood.  The youngest victim was just seven years old.