Hello Australia!! - Civilians die in bombing runs linked to Australian forces in Iraq - The US warns its tourists to avoid Cuba - San Juan's Mayor is out of patience with the Trump Administration - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Australian forces appear to have been involved in two coalition bombing raids in northern Iraq in which two children and several other civilians were killed.  Royal Australian Navy Vice Admiral David Johnston says an anti-Islamic State raid near Mosul on 30 March killed or injured seven civilians, including one believed to be a child; the coalition partner that dropped the bomb wasn't specified, but the approval to strike involved an Australia Defense Force stationed nearby.  In June, Iraqi troops called in a support airstrike from RAAF, which hit hit another building in Mosul that reportedly killed another child.  The military says ADF personnel followed the rules and blamed the so-called Islamic State for operating too close to non-combatants.

More than 60 nations signed a joint declaration in support of Venezuela before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.  "We condemn any action that disturbs peace, tranquility, and democratic stability" or Venezuela, according to Cuban UN Ambassador Pedro Luis Pedroso, specifically condemning anything "that threatens sovereignty, including the recent threats of a possible foreign military intervention".  The US has been threatening Venezuela a lot lately, accusing the democratically-elected government of rights violations against the right-wing protests backed by the US and carried out by the opposition.

The US is pulling half of its people out of the newly opened Embassy in Havana, Cuba because of the somewhat incredible allegations of a "sound weapon" used on the staff.  The Trump administration is also advising Americans not to travel to Cuba.  Washington claims at least 21 staff - not identified - reported health problems ranging from hearing loss to deafness, and neurological symptoms ranging from dizziness and nausea to mild brain trauma.  Cuba's Foreign Ministry chief for US Affairs Josefina Vidal said, "We consider the decision announced today by the US Government through the State Department is hasty and will affect bilateral relations," but both countries said they'd cooperate in the investigation.

"Damn it, this is not a good news story.  This is a people are dying story," said San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz in response to acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke telling reporters the weak federal response to successive hurricanes was "a good news story".  It's been nine days since Category Five Hurricane Maria slammed the US territory, and there is still no organized distribution of food, water, medicine, and necessary supplies.  "When you are drinking from a creek, it's not a good news story.  When you don't have food for a baby, it's not a good news story," Ms. Yulin Cruz said.  Later, on another TV news network, she said: "The world will see how we are treated - not as second-class citizens, but as animals that can be disposed of," she added, "Enough is enough."

BTW, when we say "medicine", we're talking about diabetes meds, chemotherapy, psychotherapeutic drugs - everything from aspirin on up.  This is a big deal.  Officials say 16 people have in Hurricane Maria and in the says since, but communications throughout the island are still down - and no emergency officials have been to the central highlands to assess the damage or loss of life. 

Donald Trump again on Friday tried to defend the US government's weak and seemingly non-existent efforts to help the US territory of Puerto Rico:  "The response and recovery effort probably has never been seen for something like this," Trump said, "This is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water."  Big water.  Ocean water.  SMDH.  But in the same speech, the orange clown spoke of Puerto Rico's debt and how to fund the rebuilding of the devastated infrastructure - all but tipping his hand that the billionaire privateers are coming across the big water for Puerto Rico's public assets, such as the electricity grid and water systems.

Late Friday, the White House announced that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price had resigned in a scandal in which he spent more than a million dollars on private and military flights instead of flying coach on commercial airlines like his predecessors.  A former Republican congressman who harangued Democrats for alleged overspending, Price on Thursday tried to weasel out of it by offering to reimburse the taxpayers only $52,000.  Again, this guy wasted $1,000,000.  But he's only the tip of the iceberg, as five other members of the administration are under criticism for taking expensive private airplanes to events instead of cheaper commercial flights.

A showdown is brewing in Barcelona, where tens of thousands of people rallied and vowed to vote in an independence referendum on Sunday - despite the Spanish government's intention on stopping it and declaring it illegal.  Paper ballots have been confiscated, thousands of extra police have been drafted in from across Spain to stop the vote, a court ordered Google to pull an Android app that helps people find polling places.  The Catalan government ignored Madrid and said it planned to open more than 2,000 polling stations.