Hello Australia!! - China kicks the Australian Dollar really hard - An actor is accused of faking an attack - A bug that looks like a flying death machine really is kind of chill - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

The Australian dollar took a beating because of China blocking Aussie coal, resting at just under US$0.71.  Customs officers at China's key northern port of Dalian stopped Australian coal imports and would move to cap imports through their harbours at 12 million tons a year.  "It has crystallised the fear that something is going on, that China is targeting Australian coal," said CBA commodities analyst Vivek Dhar to the ABC.  Trade Minister Simon Birmingham sought to ease concerns, "China is a valued partner of Australia and we trust that our free trade agreement commitments to each other will continue to be honoured."

Actor Jussie Smollett was released on US$100,000 bond are being charged with filing a fake police report.  Authorities say the star of TV's "Empire" paid two fellow actors to help him stage a fake homophobic attack in Chicago, I guess so he could claim victimhood and boost his career.  Meanwhile, a 30-year US military officer and self-proclaimed white nationalist was caught red handed plotting to assassinate scores of leading American journalists and politicians he viewed as Left-wing.  The judge denied bail for 49-year old Christopher Paul Hasson, who stockpiled weapons and steroids, and idolized Norwegian right-wing terrorist and mass murderer Anders Breivik.  Guess which story the US corporate devoted more air time towards?  G'head, guess.

German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch has been fined more than 3.7 Million Euros (around AU$6 Million) for illegal arms sales to government of Mexico, to be distributed to police in states where murderous drug gangs have kept the country in a state of perpetual chaos and economic stagnation.  Unfortunately, some of the weapons were believed to have been used in the kidnappings and murder of 43 students from a teachers college in Iguala, Guerrero state.  The court in Stuttgart gave suspended prison sentenced to two H&K employees.

Another environmental defender has been murdered:  Activist and radio host Samir Flores Soberanes from Mexico's central Morelos state opposed plans for a new gas pipeline out of fear of polluting the water supply for the local indigenous group.  Flores was shot twice in the head; his body was discovered in his home in Amilcingo, about 130 kilometers south of Mexico City.

The world's biggest bee is back, and actually never went away.  A research team found the Megachile pluto, also known as Wallace's giant bee, on the Indonesian island of North Moluccas. 
Courtesy ClayBolt.com
Despite its frightening and formidable appearance - it's four times the size of the average honeybee, with a wingspan of around 2-1/2 inches, with enormous, beetle-like jaws it uses to gather resin and wood for its nest - it's not much of a threat.  Females are actually quite peaceful and stings have been rarely reported.  Prior to this, Western science has only seen the Megachile pluto twice since 1858.

Peter Tork, who played the bass player for the TV rock band The Monkees in the 1960s, is dead at age 77.  The cause of death wasn't immediately released, but he had dealt with recurring cancer over the years. 
The Monkees
Mr. Tork played the innocent and kind-hearted member of the pre-fab four, constantly being taken advantage of by ne'er-do-wells and requiring his bandmates to get him out of trouble.  In real life, he was the most skilled musician in the quartet and was the one who actually performed on early Monkees recordings alongside some of Hollywood's greatest studio musicians of the day.  Later, all four Monkees would play their own instruments on recordings. 
Peter Tork
The first song he ever wrote - "For Pete's Sake", a rockin' rallying cry for young people to get up and make the world a better place - was used for the show's closing credits.

Tork's bandmate, teen idol Davy Jones, died of a massive heart attack in 2012.  Mike Nesmith and Mickey Dolenz had plans to perform in Australia later this year as "The Monkees present: The Mike and Mickey Show".