Good Morning Australia!! - The verdict is in for a Sydney woman in a death penalty case - Obama takes a swipe at the Orange Clown - Not all are ready to forgive and forget a murderous dictator's crimes - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

A Sydney grandmother has avoided the noose in Malaysia after a court found her not guilty of drug trafficking charges.  Police arrested Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto at Kuala Lumpur airport in December 2014 for carrying 1.1 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.  Malaysian Judge Dato Ghazali agreed with her explanation that she was duped by a man whom she met online into carrying the drugs.  She had no idea that the bag given to her to take to Australia on the return trip was drugs, and even had volunteered for extra security.  "I'm happy now that I'm free," said Ms. Exposto, although she won't be able to return to Australia immediately because the prosecutors are appealing the verdict.

One of the two sisters left in a critical condition after a triple-fatal horror crash in NSW on Boxing Day is 28-year old Jessica Falkholt, an actor who has had roles on "Far and Away" and other Aussie drama series.  Ms. Falkholt and her 21-year old sister Annabelle lost both their parents in the fiery wreck, which police say happened because one vehicle was on the wrong side of the wrong and went head-in into the other.  With NSW's holiday road fatalities at 21, police are warning drivers about "fatigue and complacency" behind the wheel leading to tragedy.

Former US President Barack Obama warned against the irresponsible use of social media in an interview with Britain's Prince Harry on the BBC's Radio Four.  Without mentioning the current occupant of the White House by name, Mr. Obama how misinformation creates confirmation bias:  "One of the dangers of the internet is that people can have entirely different realities. They can be cocooned in information that reinforces their current biases," he said, "The question has to do with how do we harness this technology in a way that allows a multiplicity of voices, allows a diversity of views, but doesn't lead to a Balkanisation of society and allows ways of finding common ground."  Mr. Obama's successor Donald Trump is a constant abuser of social media and is known to spread racism and lies on his Twitter feed.  The rest of the exchange between Barack and Harry ranged from serious topics to the light-hearted. 

The power failed at Disneyland in Southern California, stranding dozens of tourists in mouse-ear hats on rides.  Half of the world's most famous amusement park is blacked out. The week between Christmas and New Year's is Disneyland's busiest, so the place was packed and many a family outing has been impacted.

A blast inside a Saint Petersburg, Russia supermarket injured ten people.  Police are investigating it as a case of attempted murder, but haven't ruled out terrorism.

Four critically-ill patients have been allowed out of a rebel-held district outside Damascus, Syria - and another 20 could be similarly evacuated from Eastern Ghouta by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent in the coming days.  Some 400,000 residents have been under siege by government forces since 2013, and despite warring parties declaring it a "de-escalation zone", fighting has increased there in recent weeks.

Zimbabwe's former army chief Constantino Chiwenga has been named one of the country's vice presidents.  Last month, he led the military in a bloodless overthrow of long-term dictator Robert Mugabe.  Another ruling leader, ex-state security minister Kembo Mohadi, will also become vice-president.  And several former security officials have been named ministers.  So.. lots of spies and soldiers in charge in Zimbabwe.

The opposition in Honduras filed a motion to annul and re-do the presidential election that returned incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez to office, after a three week-long vote count that saw totals massaged in secrecy while voters fumed.  Opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla conceded the election on 22 December after the US said it would recognize the results, which had already been condemned by the Organization of American States (OAS).  Now, Nasralla's ally and former President Manuel Zelaya's Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship has filed the appeal with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.  Zelaya was a legally-elected internationally-recognized president who ousted in a 2009 coup that the Obama administration tacitly endorsed by quickly recognizing the coup government.  Oh, and Zelaya was overthrown because the conservatives didn't want him running for a second term, against the constitution - which "President" Hernandez just did.  In short, the US doesn't give a crap about democracy in Central America.

Protesters plan to return on Thursday to speak against the pardoning of former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori.  The current conservative President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski issued the pardon after the 79-year old Fujimori was taken from prison to hospital in deteriorating health - but more suspiciously, after Fujimori's congressman son voted against impeachment of Kuczynski.  To many Peruvians, it is more than suspicious:  "This is the second times I've put my trust in a president who's failed me," said protester Rosa Rojas, whose husband and eight-year old son were murdered by Fujimori's death squads in the 1991 Barrios Altos massacre.  The far-right leader Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the death squads and other murders during his thuggish 1990-2000 rule, and was serving concurrent prison terms for corruption.

Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels have exchanged hundreds of prisoners, the biggest such event and the first in 15 months.  Kiev sent 230 prisoners to rebel-held areas, and the separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions released 74.  Unfortunately, it doesn't represent any progress towards resolving the heavily-armed stalemate and both sides still hold prisoners.