Good Morning Australia!! - The end of the Syria war will have to wait - Time is running out for miners buried in a landslide - A rape accusation could derail Trump's Supreme Court nominee - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Syria's push to retake the last major rebel-held bastion of the country is on hold after Russia and Turkey have announced a deal to create a de-militarised zone in Syria's Idlib province.  Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to this at a meeting in Russia's Black Sea resort Sochi.  Rebels and heavy weapons would be withdrawn from a 15 to 20 kilometer frontier.  This follows Syria softening up the region with a series of Russian-backed air strikes in recent weeks, which killed scores of people.

Hopes are fading for some 56 Philippine gold miners who sought shelter from Typhoon Mangkhut in a barracks that was consumed by a mudslide.  Eleven bodies have been pulled out, and the local mayor fears there are no survivors.  He also says the miners ignored police warnings to evacuate the area.  The death toll from the typhoon is 66 lives lost in the Philippines, four dead in China.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canelis wants to amend the Caribbean island's constitution to legalize same-sex marriage.  Currently, it defines marriage as between "a man and a woman.  President Diaz-Canelis says Cuba should recognize "marriage between people without any restrictions" as part of a greater drive towards "eliminating any type of discrimination in society".  A draft update of the constitution - which will specifically legalize marriage equality - will be put before the Cuban people in a referendum in February 2019. 

There is a growing sense that the confirmation of US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be delayed amid allegations he tried to rape a girl at a high school party three decades ago.  Kavanaugh doubled down on his denial of the allegations, but Christine Blasey Ford's willingness to testify in the Senate about the alleged assault is prompting calls to at least hear her out - even from key White House aide Kellyann Conway.  Still, the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote on Kavanaugh remains scheduled for Thursday.

Thailand's junta relaxed its ban on political activities only a week ago, but authorities this week already arrested and charged the three leaders of a nascent political party for allegedly spreading false information about the ruling military government.  The Future Forward opposes the influence of the military over Thai politics, and accused authorities of setting up "satellite" political parties that would support the junta.  For that, they were charged under the Computer Crime Act, considered draconian by rights groups and government critics.

The British diver who helped rescue a dozen Thai youths from a flooded cave is suing Elon Musk for defamation after the billionaire repeatedly claimed he was a pedophile.  One suit is filed in California, another will be filed in London.  Vernon Unsworth is seeking US$75,000 in compensation, an unspecified amount in punitive damages "to punish him for his wrongdoing and deter him from repeating such heinous conduct", and and an injunction to stop Musk from making further allegations.  The bad blood between the two men stems from Unsworth belittling the mini-submarine that Musk sent to Thailand to assist the cave rescue, which ultimately was not used.

Zimbabwe is banning street food vendors in the capital to battle a cholera outbreak that has killed at least 30 people.  Food vendors are against the ban, claiming that they were barely getting before the government told them to shut down.  Other critics say the ban distracts from the real cause of the outbreak, the government's failure to invest in repairing the country's water and sanitation facilities.

The head of the International Monetary Fund says Britain will suffer recession if it crashes out of the European Union in six months without a deal.  But IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde worries "the range of issues that remains to be addressed is daunting as is daunting the small time left to address them".  And an IMF report states that even if a deal is reached, it is "unlikely to bring sufficient benefits to offset the costs imposed by leaving the EU."