World News Briefs For Sunday, 19 November 2017

Hello Australia - Malcolm Young, 1953-2017 - Will Zimbabwe's Mugabe take the hint today? - Gerry Adams announces the end of an era - Trump is bringing down brand America - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young is dead at age 64, after being sidelined from touring and the public eye for a few years.  The band announced, "It is with deepest sorrow that we inform you of the death of Malcolm Young, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother.  Malcolm had been suffering from Dementia for several years and passed away peacefully with his family by his bedside." 


With his brother Angus, the guitarists formed a potent, distinctive, and unwavering hard rock sound that sold more than 200 million albums over 40 years to become one of the highest-grossing bands of all time.  And it's not like they changed their sound to fit in with the times; no matter what was in style during any given year, AC/DC was AC/DC, built on the rock solid rhythm guitar of Malcolm Young that the rest of the band played off. 

"Malcolm is survived by his loving wife O'Linda, children Cara and Ross, son-in-law Josh, three grandchildren, sister and brother," the statement continued. 


It's the second death in the Young family in a month:  Older brother George Young of The Easybeats, who scored hits such as "Friday on My Mind" and later produced other bands including AC/DC into chart-topping success, died on 23 October.

Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party's top body will meet on Sunday to discuss dismissing long-time dictator President Robert Mugabe as party leader.  On Saturday, thousands of emboldened people flooded the streets of the capital Harare, celebrating the military takeover that has apparently ended rule after nearly four decades or corruption, coercion, and populist rhetoric.  Some made their way into Mugabe's office and residence, and tore up photos of him while the Mugabe family remained inside in virtual house arrest.  If Mugabe finally accepts his fate within the next few days, it is likely that former spy chief and sacked vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa will take charge.  Mnangagwa is seen as the one who engineered the repression of opposition parties in "elections" between 2000 and 2008.

Gerry Adams has announced plans to retire as leader of Ireland's Sinn Fein next year, breaking the party's last links with its past as the political ally of the Irish Republican Army.  Speaking before Sinn Fein delegates in Dublin, Adams says he was fulfilling plans he had made with the late Martin McGuinness to pass leadership onto a new generation.  Now 69-years old, Adams has led the party since 1983 and played a key role in the Good Friday Accords that brought peace to Northern Ireland.  Current deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald will likely assume a greater leadership role in Sinn Fein when Mr. Adams eventually steps down.

In Victoria, The Greens' Lidia Thorpe defeated Labor' Clare Burns in Northcote.  It makes Ms. Thorpe the third Green and the first Aboriginal woman in Victoria's parliament.

Lebanon's current or former prime minister (who the hell knows at this point) Saad Hariri was greeted in Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron, after two weeks in Saudi Arabia where he mysteriously quit his job.  Mr. Hariri did not explain why he flew to a foreign country to quit, why he stayed in Saudi Arabia for two weeks, or why he went to Paris to be warmly received by its president.  He claims he will return to Lebanon before Wednesday and will explain it all to President Michel Aoun, who has thus far refused to accept the resignation.

Donald Trump is ruining America's image.  For the first time in 13 years, the US has plunged from first- to sixth-place in the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index, which ranks nations in multiple categories, including governance, exports, culture, people, tourism, as well as immigration and investment.  The last time the US was knocked out of the top was in 2004, when George Bush's Iraq War proved as pointless and destructive as critics predicted it would be.  This time around, it didn't take a war - it just needed the big mouth of a racist, foul-mouthed xenophobic orange clown.