Good Morning Australia!! - Spain's conservative ruling party loses its majority hold on government - Burundi threatens to attack African Union peacekeepers - India wonders about its justice system after a notorious convict is released - And more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

A suspected Russian air strike on a rebel-held city in Syria killed at least 43 people, with explosions ripping through a marketplace, government buildings, and residential areas.  Russia, which stepped up its air support of its ally Bashar Al-Assad in September, has not confirmed whether it carried out strikes in the area.  But in the past, Moscow has said it only targets "terrorists" - meaning Islamic State or other jihadist groups opposed to Assad.  "There are a lot of corpses under the rubble," said civil defense workers Yasser Hammo as bodies were pulled from the rubble. 

Spain's ruling Popular Party appears to have won the election, but has fallen way short of a majority to control government on its own.  The Left-wing anti-austerity upstart Podemos appears to have come in second, followed by the Socialists.  The Right-wing Cuidadanos party may not have won enough seats to give the PP control.  It points to a period of negotiations and new alliances that could upset the two party system that has run Spain for the last few years.

Burundi is upping the rhetoric, now suggesting that it would attack African Union (AU) troops if they entered the country to tamp down spiraling violence.  "If AU troops came without the government’s approval, it would be an invasion and occupation force, and the Burundi government would reserve the right to act accordingly," said Burundi deputy presidential spokesman Jean-Claude Karerwa.  The AU authorized a peacekeeping force of 5,000 troops to bring calm to the country, and gave Burundi four days to respond.  President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term, deemed unconstitutional by opponents, was the catalyst for the building crisis.

The ongoing El Nino shows no sign of going away, and has prompted states of emergency in five nations.  Two, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, are Aussie's neighbors; PNG is experiencing food shortages and expects the problem to continue at least three more months.  Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are in South America, and declared their emergencies in anticipation of what troubles could be coming, based on what happened during the last particularly strong El nino in 1997 - '98.  The United Nations is mobilizing to assist another 10 countries.  El Nino typically adds 0.1 to 0.2 degrees C to global temperatures, and many forecasters say 2016 will be the warmest year on record.

Outrage in India after the release of the youngest of six men convicted in the country's most notorious rape and murder.  On 16 December 2012, the victim was attacked on a moving bus with her boyfriend, and had injuries so severe that she had to be flown to a more modern hospital in Singapore for treatment, but died 13 days later.  But the suspect released over the weekend was shy of his 18th birthday, and could only be sentenced to three years in prison under Indian law.  He's been moved to an undisclosed location.  One other suspect committed suicide in jail, and the other four are going through the appeals process towards their death sentences.

Indonesia says it has foiled a plot to attack Shia communities and Christmas and New Year celebrations.  Counter-terrorism police carried out a series of raids and arrested at least seven people suspected of plotting attacks for Islamic State.  Another set of raids in East Java nabbed four suspected members of a different "terrorist network".

Dozens of people are missing in southern China after a landslide buried more than 20 buildings in Shenzhen, a city near Hong Kong.  The state-run Xinhua news agency says at least 58 people are missing.  Soil excavated from a massive construction project had been piled onto a hill, and turned into torrents of mud after heavy rains.