Hello Australia!! - Hakeem al-Araibi's jail nightmare appears to be over - The US challenges China - Iran's Islamic Republican turns 40 - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

France insists it can deliver Australia's AU$50 Billion order for twelve new Shortfin Barracuda submarines.  After months of negotiations, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and French Defence Minister Florence Parly signed a "strategic partnering agreement" that includes the Future Submarine project.  The first ships are set to be delivered to the Australian navy in the early 2030s, and the project is set to be completed sometime in the 2050s.  A smiliar project fell way behind schedule in France; those were nuclear powered, the Aussie version will have convention diesel and electric engines.

Hakeem al-Araibi is expected to arrive in Melbourne this afternoon, after being released by a Thai jail.  The star footballer was being held there because Bahrain had put out an international arrest warrant for him; that has now been withdrawn.  Mr. al-Araibi had been granted asylum to  Australia in 2014, and his supporters say he would have faced torture if he was returned to Bahrain, where he was convicted in absentia on what he calls a bogus vandalism charge.  He plays for Pascoe Vale FC in Melbourne.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranian filled the streets of Tehran to mark the 40th anniversary of Iran's Islamic Republic.  There was plenty of burning of the US and Israeli flags, and the required "Death to America" chants.  Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Iranian people "will not stop saying 'Death to America' as long as the US acts maliciously" toward Iran, referring to Donald Trump saying that the US would not ignore "a regime that chants death to America".  Khamenei also said that Iran is now determined to expand its military, and it will not ask for permission from the international community.

The US Navy sent two destroyers through the South China Sea "in order to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law," said Cmdr. Clayton Doss of the US 7th Fleet.  The Spruance and Preble sailed within twelve nautical miles of Chinese military installations that Beijing had built onto artificial islands to press its claim to the South China Sea - most of which is far beyond China's internationally recognized maritime boundaries.  Beijing accused the US of "stirring up trouble".

Ukrainian prosecutors have charged a high-ranking local official over the horrific acid attack that eventually killed a prominent anti-corruption activist.  Kateryna Handzyuk died in November, following ten surgeries to try and repair damage from the attack in July.  The indictment says Vladyslav Manger ordered the gruesome attack because of Ms. Handzyuk's opposition to illegal logging going on in southern Ukraine.