Hello Australia!! - Uber's much-awaited IPO failed to set Wall Street on fire - Ireland acknowledges the international emergency we all must deal with - The tragic and deadly secret hidden in a stray puppy - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Uber's first day as a publicly traded company didn't go so well, despite weeks of hype and speculation.  The ride-hailing company valued its IPO of stock at US$45 per share - but it began trading at $42 apiece, only to close even lower at $41.57.  That's down 7.6 percent from its IPO price.  Despite the embarrassment of failing to gain on it first day, the initial public offering of stock put about US$82.4 Billion into Uber's coffers, which analysts hope will be enough to invest in growth and transform it into a profitable business.

US-China trade talks collapsed without a deal, so Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports will stand.  China is expected to retaliate.

At least five Venezuelan lawmakers are taking refuge in foreign embassies after the Supreme Court removed their legislative immunity to allow the investigation into their roles in last week's failed coup attempt.  This comes after authorities arrested Edgar Zambrano, the opposition-run National Assembly's vice president and deputy to self-declared "interim president" Juan Guaido, who was literally towed to prison because he wouldn't get out of his car.  The others are inside the Italian, Spanish, and Argentine embassies.  As Guaido is still backed by the US and other Western countries, the democratically elected government of President Nicolas Maduro is unlikely to arrest him immediately so as not to provoke a backlash, but will continue to isolate him by moving on his allies.

Ireland's parliament has declared a Climate Emergency, only the second Western nation to do so.  The "historic" amendment moved by the Green Party calls on parliament to "examine how (the Irish government) can improve its response to the issue of biodiversity loss".  The British version declared earlier this month sets a 2050 target date to reach net zero emissions, which it says can be achieved without causing substantial economic damage and at a relatively low cost.

Nearly all of the world's nation's have agreed to a "legally binding framework" to decrease plastic waste, and stop it from washing into the world's rivers and oceans where it congregates in large areas posing a deadly threat to marine wildlife.  All except the United States.  The agreement means that nations will monitor products used in a broad array of industries, such as healthcare, technology, aerospace, fashion, as well as food and beverages.  Marco Lambertini of the World Wildlife Fund International welcomed the agreement but wished it was more comprehensive: "However, it only goes part of the way.  What we - and the planet - need is a comprehensive treaty to tackle the global plastic crisis."

A Norwegian woman's act of kindness cost her life:  24-year old Birgitte Kallestad died of rabies after being scratched and bit by a stray puppy she tried to rescue while on vacation in the Philippines.  She treated the scrapes with disinfectant and returned to Norway, where doctors weren't able to diagnose her rapidly declining health in time.  Rabies causes a life threatening infection of the brain and nervous system, and kills thousands of people every year in Africa and Asia.  But Ms. Kallestad is the first rabies death in her country in more than 200 years.

Israel's Nature and Parks Authority is investigating the poisoning deaths of eight Griffon Vultures in the Golan Heights, a "mortal blow" to the local population that effectively reduces it by 50 percent.  A decade ago there more 130 of the large, scavanging bird patrolling Gaza skies.  These were killed by eating the poisoned carcass of a cow, likely left out as bait by cattle ranchers.  A dead fox and two dead jackals were found in the area, likely killed by the same tainted meat.  It's a massive blow to efforts to rebuild and conserve Gaza's vultures, which included transplanting some from Spain.