Hello Australia! - China announces a major carbon containment strategy - Pope Francis reached out to Muslims after the deadly Hajj stampede - Ukraine separatists go after aid agencies helping war victims  - And more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Washington, where he will announce his country will adopt a nationwide cap-and-trade program to curtail carbon emissions, adopting a mechanism most widely used in Europe to limit greenhouse gases.  It will impose a nationwide limit on carbon emissions.  Companies that exceed their quotas will have to seek out and purchase permits from those that have sharply reduced emissions.  The breakthrough will be one of the only policy measures announced when Mr. Xi meets with US President Barack Obama, but it's actually pretty amazing when you consider the backdrop:  The US and China are divided over allegations of Chinese spying, Xi's handling of the economy, and China's regional territorial disputes.

Saudi Arabia has ordered a review of safety at the annual Hajj pilgrimage after more than 700 were crushed to death in a human stampede on the outskirts of Mecca.  Many hundreds more are injured.  King Salman has offered his condolences to the families of victims, prayed that the dead would be entered to heaven as martyrs, and ordered an investigation into how it happened.

Pope Francis offered his sympathies to the Muslim community after the deaths of 717 in the stampede in Saudi Arabia.  "In this moment I give assurances of my prayers.  I unite myself with you all.  A prayer to all mighty God all merciful," Francis said at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, the latest stop of his visit to the United States.  While in New York, the Pope will address world leaders at the UN and preside over a Mass at Madison Square Garden.

Separatists in eastern Ukraine have ordered UN aid agencies and other non-governmental organizations (NGO) to leave rebel-held territory by Saturday.  Undersecretary Stephen O'Brien urged the separatists "to ensure the immediate resumption of UN and international NGO activities".  He warned that restrictions on humanitarian shipments had prevented delivery of some 16,000 tons of vital supplies.  The separatists have harassed and banned NGOs, in one case accusing the medical charity Doctors Without Borders of hoarding "psychotropic drugs", which the group denies.  More than 8,000 people have died in the fighting between government troops and pro-Russian rebels.

More than 60 people have been injured and 200 houses damaged after a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia.  No deaths and no tsunami damage have been reported after the temblor near Sorong in the Papua region. 

Mexico is establishing a special investigative committee and prosecutor to look into the apparent kidnappings and murders of 43 student teachers in Iguala town.  The anniversary of the crime is Saturday.  The parents and families of the missing students do not believe the government's account of what happened in Guerrero State, and want an independent, international body to handle the case - they not only want to know what happened to the 43, but they also want an investigation into the government's initial report which they believe was meant to mislead them.