Hello Australia!! - The horror fire in the Bronx was started by an unsupervised toddler - The investigation into a Sydney woman's death will go past the New Year - Was China caught violating trade sanctions on North Korea? - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Fire investigators in New York City have quickly determined the cause of a fire that raced through an apartment building in the Bronx, killing twelve people:  A 3-year-old boy with a "history of playing with the burners" on the stove switched them on, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.  Before the mother knew it, "this fire had gotten a good hold of the kitchen".  She picked up her boys, aged two and three years, and exited the building - but she left her unit door open, and the fire raced up the stairwell of the century-old building "like a chimney".  The dead include three girls aged one, two, and seven.  Some died of burns, others of smoke inhalation.  Four residents are in hospital, fighting for their lives. They were among the 14 injured, which also include five FDNY firefighters and emergency workers.

At least 15 people died and twelve are injured in a fire in an upscale rooftop restaurant in Mumbai, India.  Most of the victims died of smoke inhalation.

Minnesota prosecutors will wait until next year to decide if a police officer should be charged with the shooting death of former Sydneysider Justine Damond.  "We are getting more information and evidence and additional investigation must be completed," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, "It is more important to get it right than to get it done quickly."  Officer Mohammad Noor, allegedly startled by a loud noise, shot and killed Ms. Damond when she approached their Minneapolis police vehicle to discuss the call she made earlier in the evening to report a possible sexual assault in the neighborhood.

South Korea says it seized a Hong Kong-registered ship last month for allegedly transferring 600 tonnes of refined oil to a North Korean ship in violation of international economic sanctions.  Yonhap news agency in Seoul says the Lighthouse Winmore loaded up on South Korean oil in October and headed south towards Taiwan.  But it rendezvoused with a known North Korean ship and three other vessels in international waters days later, where the illegal transfer allegedly took place, apparently caught in satellite photos.  Beijing denies this, saying the the accusations against it were "not consistent with the facts".

Jacob Zuma is a step closer to impeachment, after South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled that parliament failed to comply with its duties to hold him responsible for looting state coffers to fund construction on his private estate.  The ruling orders lawmakers to set out rules for impeachment proceedings, but it remains unclear how this will happen with Zuma's ANC party firmly in the majority.  Around US$15 Million was spent on Zuma's residence for things like a swimming pool and a private amphitheater.  He's paid back less than $650,000, which the treasury said was "sufficient".

A gunman opened fire on a Coptic Christian church in Egypt's capital Cairo, killing at least nine worshipers.  The attacker tried to throw an explosive device at the church before security forces shot and wounded him. 

Some of Iran's major cities have been hit with a wave of protests.  The anti-government demonstrations began with anger over rising prices, but morphed into an outcry against clerical rule and called for a release of political prisoners and an end to police violence.  Dozens of people have been arrested in Tehran and five other population centers.

Singapore is preventing a gay Doctor from adopting his own child, finding a loophole in the fact that 40-year old man used a surrogate mother in the US to carry the kid to term, and not an "approved" surrogate in the restrictive city-state.  Gay marriage is banned in Singapore, and in-vitro fertilization is allowed only for married couples.  The child remains in the care of his father and the father's partner, and remains a birthright citizen of the US. 

Cuba has improved on its already exceptionally-low infant mortality rate, 4.1 per 1,000 live births in 2017.  That's down 0.2 from the previous year.  It's not quite as good as Australia's 3.1 per 1,000, but it a big advancement over the US number of 5.6 per 1,000, both posted in 2016.  The cash-strapped Socialist country's healthcare system focuses on preventative medicine to post the best numbers in the reason.  Cuba allows expectant mothers to stay in maternity homes where potential health risks to mothers and babies can be identified early on in pregnancy, as well as provide proper nutrition and education materials. 

Baby Polar Bear Alert!