Hello Australia!! - Boxing great Muhammad Ali is dead - Pope Francis signals he is finally willing to go after senior clergy who covered up the church's sex abuse scandal - Peru is poised to join the rush of nations back to authoritarianism and failed neoliberal policies - And more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

American boxing legend Muhammad Ali died in hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.  The 74-year old former Olympian and three-time heavyweight world boxing champion was admitted early last week with a lung infection and his condition gradually worsened.  The funeral will take place on Friday in the champ's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.  it will be a day-long affair with a long procession and eulogies to be read by former President Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal, among others.  He'll be buried in a local cemetery with only family watching.  Muhammad Ali will be remembered not only for his flashy fighting style and poetic antics outside of the ring, but also for his commitment to the US Civil Rights struggle and opposition to the Vietnam War - for which he was briefly jailed.

Pope Francis has approved a plan to sack bishops who are "negligent" in handling child sexual abuse cases.  The papal decree tightens language that allows for bishops to be fired for "serious" reasons:  "I intend to specify that among these so-called 'serious reasons' is the negligence of bishops in the exercise of their functions, especially in cases of sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable adults," Pope Francis wrote.  This appears to be in response to complaints that senior church officials seem to have escaped disciplinary action for their roles in the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal in the three years that Pope Francis has been in charge.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is reconsidering rescheduling the Summer Olympics in Rio over the Zika Virus.  A week ago, WHO ruled out delaying or moving the games.  But now  it is consulting a panel of infectious disease experts, and last week sent teams of senior scientists to Brazil four times "to gather first-hand data on the current situation and assess the level of risk to the large number of athletes and spectators expected to attend the Olympic Summer Games," according to a statement from WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.

At least 70 people are recovering after lightning strikes the Rock am Ring music festival near Frankfurt in Germany, one of Europe's most popular summer events.  Organizers suspended the rest of the festival over safety concerns.  Storms causing heavy rain and lightning strikes have killed 13 people and caused flooding in Europe over the past week.

Two former presidents of Poland led tens of thousands of marchers through Warsaw in protest of the right-wing government's policies, and to mark 27 years since the ouster of the Soviet system in 1989.  Aleksander Kwasniewski and Bronislaw Komorowski represent the center-Left and center-right, respectively, which built a thriving democracy and economy that was the envy of the former Soviet Bloc during that time.  But the current Law and Justice (PiS) government has weakened the highest court and forced its agenda through, claiming that there are still secret Communists in Warsaw.  Yep:  Because Commies.

The daughter of murderous dictator Alberto Fujimori is still favored to win Peru's presidential election on Sunday - although, a poll showed 41-year old Keiko Fujimori ahead of former IMF and World Bank executive Pedro Pablo Kuczynski by less than a percentage point.  Both are conservatives, and their economic policies aren't all that different.  But Fujimori's baggage - a father responsible for death squads, forced sterilizations, and widespread repression - are seen as positives for a politically-illiterate electorate believing it necessary to contain two largely defunct insurgencies.

The mayor-elect of Cebu city in the Philippines paid "bonuses" to cops who killed suspect drug traffickers, the first acknowledged incidents since the election of former Davao city mayor Rodrigo Duterte as President.  Politician Tomas Osmena claimed to have paid out more than $4,000 and is offering similar rewards for future killings - which seem to be blatantly extra-judicial.  So good luck with that, Philippines.

Syrian government troops moved closer to the de facto capital of the Islamic State terrorist group's "caliphate", crossing into Raqqa province under cover of Russian air strikes.  Neither Damascus nor the Kremlin are confirming this, but the Russians have agreed to coordinate with the US on the offensive.  And the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are believed to have deployed about 30,000 fighters north of Raqqa City, cutting off that escape route should IS try to run.

Hundreds of Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base at Bosso in Niger, killing at least 30 troops.  This is near where the borders of Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad meet.  The IS-linked terrorist group is based in northeastern Nigeria, but frequently spills over the borders.  Niger quickly mounted a counter attack and retook all positions, as well as inflicted heavy casualties among the jihadis.