Good Morning Australia!! - China rapidly arms the South China Sea while threatening US automakers - Syria's actions in Aleppo could be a "War Crime" - Europe tries to stop Greece from helping poor seniors for the Holidays - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Baby Giraffe Alert!  Baby Giraffe Alert!  At the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa.

Baby Sloth Alert!  At the Tiergarten Schoebrunn zoo in Vienna, Austria.

New satellite images show that China has significantly built-up its military capabilities on artificial islands in the South China Sea.  The US-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) released photos that appear to show anti-aircraft guns and missile defense systems in hexagon-shaped structures on the seven islands.  The weaponry is capable of attacking long-range and close-in targets and "show that Beijing is serious about defense of its artificial islands in case of an armed contingency in the South China Sea," AMTI said.  Beijing has denied that it planned to militarize the occupied islands in the strategic trade route, where territory is claimed by several countries.

China threatened to slap price-fixing charges against an unnamed US automaker, causing shares in Ford and GM to drop.  The threat was not explicitly linked to US pretender-elect Donald Trump's hints that he would reverse the long-standing "One China" policy, but China has used regulatory sanctions as leverage on diplomatic bouts in the past.  Trump's transition team brushed it off; GM insisted that it "fully respects local laws and regulations wherever we operate", while Ford's Asia-Pacific operations claimed the company was "unaware of the issue". 

The US is limiting sales of precision-guided weapons to Saudi Arabia amid concerns of civilian casualties in the Yemen civil war, in which the Saudis are backing the government.  More than 140 people were killed in a Saudi strike on a funeral in October.

The UN Human Rights chief says bombing of the last rebel-held districts of the Syrian city of Aleppo is "probably" a "war crime".  A cease-fire deal to allow the remaining rebels and civilians to leave the city is back on, after having been stalled for a period during which the government resumes bombing.  UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein said the Syrian government had "a clear responsibility to ensure its people are safe".

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is refusing to give up his plan to pay a bonus to poor pensioners earning less than AU$1,100 per month.  Earlier, the villains of the Eurozone suspended the recently agreed short-term debt-relief plan for Greece, because they had not been consulted about the bonus plan, worth more than AU$875 Million to some very, very poor people.  "If the rescue program is going to be deemed a success, it is imperative that measures are not taken unilaterally," said a spokesman for the German Finance Ministry, who then kicked the crutch out from under Tiny Tim and rewarded Ebeneezer Scrooge for firing Bob Cratchit and outsourcing his job to China.

Residents of a Mexican village have kidnapped a criminal gangleader's mother, and are holding the woman until he releases townsfolk seized during the gangs mass abductions.  Local police say they have been unable to find the gangleader known as "El Tequilero", but residents of San Miguel Totolapan say they have suffered for too long from the violence and intimidation. 

The UN special Envoy for Western African says Gambian President Yahya Jammeh will be "strongly sanctioned" if he tries to stay in power.  Jammeh went back on his pledge to honor this month's election, which he lost to reformer Adama Barrow.  US Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also urged the Gambian security forces to end their occupation of the country's electoral commission office.