Hello Australia!! - A US ally casts doubt on Washington's Saudi oil attack narrative - NSW gets closer to legalizing women's reproductive rights - Was the world's oldest woman a total fraud? - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Donald Trump will announce details on new economic sanctions against Iran "over the next 48 hours", retaliation over the attack on two key oil producing facilities in Saudi Arabia.  Iran insists that it did not launch the attack, which was claimed by the Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen.  Saudi Arabia showed off debris from one of the drones that hit the facilities and say there's no doubt it's Iranian.  The US spent a lot of time leaking claims that the attack came from southwestern Iran, but has yet to offer any proof to back that up.  Meanwhile, US-ally Japan threw cold water out of the claims coming from Washington and Riyadh:  "We are not aware of any information that points to Iran," said Japanese defense minister Taro Kono during a media briefing in Tokyo, "We believe the Houthis carried out the attack based on the statement claiming responsibility."

As the New South Wales upper house considers the bill that would decriminalize Women's Reproductive Rights, lawmakers rejected an amendment to ban abortions on the grounds of gender selection.  But they did approve an amendment that states doctors must provide appropriate care to babies born alive after a termination.  Recent polling found that 77 percent of those NSW residents responding believe abortion needs to be decriminalized - including 72 percent of the Liberal voters and 83 percent of the Nationals. 

Ecuador's national assembly, goaded by the Catholic Church, rejected a bill that would have eased the nation's draconian restrictions on Women's Reproductive Rights.  The legislation would have allowed abortions in case of pregnancy by rape - right now, abortion is allowed only after the rape of a woman with a mental disability or when the mother's life is in danger.  After the bill fell five votes short of getting approved, police using tear gas clashed with pro-choice demonstrators outside the legislature.

Prosecutors in Brazil have indicted five people with trying to obstruct the investigation into the assassination of beloved progressive politician Marielle Franco and her driver, who were shot dead in Rio de Janeiro last year.  Two court officials and two police officers are among those named by Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge, how took the action on her last day in office.  Dodge also recommended that federal authorities take over the case from the Rio cops.  But that request and the indictments still need to be approved by by Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ).

A fire in a Koranic boarding school killed 27 people in a suburb outside Liberia's capital Monrovia.  Police were still searching the scene in Paynesville City, and were still looking for more possible victims.  Most of the victims were age 10 and older - the building reportedly had only one entrance.

France is vehemently denying a claim that the world's oldest woman - Jeanne Calment, who supposedly died at age 122 in 1997 - was a fraud who was much younger.  Russian investigators say that the real Jeanne Calmert died in 1934 aged 59 - but her daughter Yvonne assumed her identity to avoid paying inheritance taxes, and it was Yvonne who died in 1997 at age 99.  The Russians cite her relatively healthy physical appearance (for 122?), and the fact that her eye color is different in documents before and after 1934.  The French say Calment's identity was well-documented, and accuse the Russians of spreading a conspiracy theory.  Calment - whichever one - started attracted media attention in the 1990s, and was eager to entertain the media with quips about claiming to have met Van Gogh or loving cigarettes.