Howdy Australia!! - Scores are killed in a massive bombing - French protesters join forces to oppose Macron's pension cuts - A costly spill for a big bourbon maker - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

At least 78 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in a massive truck bomb attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu.  "There are many casualties as well so the death toll is expected to rise," said Mogadishu Mayor Hodan Ali.  Authorities already suspect the terrorist group al Shabaab, which has carried out several deadly attacks over the years.  This explosion happened at a checkpoint near a tax office that has been targeted before by Islamist extremists.  The dead include several police officers and the more than 100 injured include several children.  

A small airplane went down hard in a field behind a Walmart in LaFayette, Louisiana in America's deep south killing at least five people.  Three other people reportedly survived, which seems incredible given the wide debris field of flaming wreckage.  The dead include a local TV Sports reporter.

Another one of those "ghost boats" from North Korea washed up on Japan's Sado Island on its northwest shore, with five corpses and two human heads.  Rather than attempting to defect, the crews on these ill-fated vessels tend to die of starvation or exposure on the cold Japan Sea before it washes up on the other side.  

Iraqi authorities say at least 494 protesters have been killed in anti-government demonstrations in Baghdad and other cities since the start of October.  The protesters decry corruption, poor services, and a lack of jobs.  But they're also calling for an end of the political system imposed upon Iraq by the Americans who invaded for some reason in 2003, and they want an independent candidate to serve as acting prime minister until full democratic elections are held.

French Gilet Jaunes activists joined several thousand other protesters against neo-con President Emmanual Macron's despised pension reform propsal, which would force people to work longer and which critics say would end up paying seniors less.  Police used tear gas against protesters close to tourist hotspots like the Centre Pompidou art museum.  The Yellow Vests haven't given up in 13 months of protests, and cross-sector trade unions have shut down train services and other other business since Macron unveiled his proposal.  

In Kentucky, the Jim Beam Bourbon company faces as US$600,000 fine for last summer's huge bourbon spill that resulted in fish kills as far as 100 kilometers down Glenn's Creek and the Kentucly River.  Lightning hit the factory, causing a fire that resulted in the collapse of roughly 40,000 barrels of bourbon.