Good Morning Australia!! - A hit, dry, and dangerous week awaits Queensland and New South Wales - Shock and awe in Bolivia - The horrific crime allegedly committed by a world famous academic - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Officials are warning that this week could bring a "catastrophic" bushfire threat to areas surrounding Sydney, the first time that warning has been issued since new fire ratings were introduced a decade ago.  Worsening conditions could impact the greater Sydney and greater Hunter regions, including the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast:  "High temperatures, strong winds and low humidity are forecast, making conditions dangerous," said the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.  "Catastrophic is the highest level of bush fire danger. Homes are not designed to withstand a fire under these conditions.  If a fire starts and takes hold during catastrophic fire danger conditions, lives and homes will be at risk."  For the latest updates on the bushfires in New South Wales, check the NSW RFS website.  For information on the bushfires in Queensland, check the Queensland RFS website.

Whatever is happening in Bolivia, it appears to be happening too quickly for President Evo Morales to handle.  The head of the Bolivian military General Williams Kaliman is demanding Evo "renounce his presidential mandate, allowing for peace to be restored and the maintenance of stability for the good of Bolivia".  This comes after Evo called for fresh elections to resolve the crisis.  Morales is Latin America's longest-standing leader, the first of indigenous heritage, and a Socialist.  He won the 20 October election, but a day-long delay in the vote count looked hinky as all get out and sparked accusations of vote fraud.  That led to protests, which cops in opposition areas abandoned their posts to join.  The US-backed Organization of American States (OAS) also claims there were "irregularities" in the election.  

Chile's embattled conservative President Sebastian Pinera is promising investigations of police misconduct in handling the protests against his austerity policies and widening inequality.  Critics accuse police of deliberately maiming people by shooting rubber bullets at the eyes of protesters - and if that sounds familiar, yes, it did happen that way with the French police handling of the Yellow Vest protesters, too.  Anyway, Pinera said, "I think there have been excesses, abuses, non-compliance with the protocols, non-compliance with the rules of use of force, bad judgement, or crimes."  But despite hundreds of thousands of people protesting and battling police in Santiago practically on a daily basis, he still refuses to step down.

At least 13 people are dead after Cyclone Bulbul hit Bangladesh and northeastern India.

Iran says it has discovered a new oil field in the southwest province of Khuzestan that contains 53 billion barrels of crude - that would increase world reserves by a third.  The country has had a hard time selling oil because of US economic sanctions, but President Hassan Rouhani is claiming Iran could increase its revenue by US$32 Billion "if extraction rate from the oil field increases only one percent".

A well-known Russian historian has confessed to murdering his girlfriend in an argument, chopping her up, and attempting to dispose of her in a river in Saint Petersburg.  63-year old Oleg Sokolov is an expert on Napoleon, often dressing up as the military dictator in historical reenactments (nerd) and has been awarded France's Legion d'Honneur.  Police arrested him - drunk and falling down - in the river, with the arms of 24-year old Anastasia Yeshchenko in his rucksack.