Hello Australia!! - A drive by shooting directed at immigrants is blamed on a far-right politician - Turkish forces accused of atrocities in Syria - Uma Thurman breaks her silence - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Police in Italy arrested a former far-right political candidate for a drive-by shooting at African immigrants; the attack wounded at least six people.  This happened in the town of Macereta, near the Adriatic Coast.  Investigators say 28-year old Luca Traini had an Italian flag wrapped around him and made a fascist salute as officers moved in; the gun was still in his car.  He's a member of the far right Northern League, and unsuccessfully ran in a local election last year.  Immigration is a major issue in the national elections on 4 March.

Turkish border guards and troops are shooting and abusing Syrian refugees seeking help while trying to escape fighting in Syria's northwest, some of it involving Turkish troops who crossed the border.  Human Rights watch conducted interviews with refugees, and uncovered tales of Turkish forces shooting children and turning back mothers with newborn babies: "Syrians fleeing to the Turkish border seeking safety and asylum are being forced back with bullets and abuse," said the group's deputy Middle East director Lama Fakih.  "As fighting in Idlib and Afrin displaces thousands more, the number of Syrians trapped along the border willing to risk their lives to reach Turkey is only likely to increase," she added.  The refugees are under pressure from Syrian forces advancing in the rebel-held Idlib while the Turks attack Kurdish forces in Afrin.

Turkey's proxies in the Syrian civil war - the Free Syrian Army - say they will investigate allegations FSA forces abused and mutilated the body of a Kurdish YPG fighter.  Mobile video appears to show FSA fighters standing over the body, believed to be that of Barin Kobani - she was killed in fighting last week.  Kurdish officials said, "We hold the Turkish government responsible for this heinous act."  Ankara has not commented on it.

It's not clear which faction shot down a Russian Sukhoi-25 fighter jet over Syria, but the plane went down in territory controlled by al Qaeda-linked groups.  The pilot ejected by the Russians say he was killed on the ground.  The Russians have been conducting air strike around Idlib to support Syrian government troops.

Moscow is slamming reports that the US Defense Department wants to pursue the development of small, tactical nuclear weapons.  A Pentagon report said America's nukes are too big, and couldn't be used effectively in smaller clashes, and therefore lost their effectiveness as a deterrent.  "The bellicose and anti-Russian nature of this document is obvious," said the Kremlin's Foreign Ministry, adding that it was "deeply disappointed" - and planning to respond in order to ensure its own security.

North Korea was able to get around international economic sanctions and sell US$200 Million in goods internationally.  A 213-page United Nations report says Pyongyang used phony paperwork to hide the origin of coal it shipped to Russia, China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Vietnam.  The Kim regime  also appeared to have cooperated with Syria and Myanmar in ballistic missile development.  The report concludes that the international will to fully enforce sanctions on North Korea just isn't there.

Uma Thurman is breaking her silence over the Hollywood sex abuse scandal centering around disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein.  In a lengthy New York Times article, Ms. Thurman says Weinstein assaulted her in his hotel room in London during the 1990s, before she managed to get away.  Weinstein's camp denied the allegations and, like total sleazebags, released a bunch of photos of the two at public events over the years as if that proved something one way or the other.  Last November, Thurman commented on the growing #meToo movement with a cryptic social media message directed at Weinstein:  "I'm glad it's going slowly - you don't deserve a bullet."

Thurman also had harsh words for director Quentin Tarantino, whom she accuses of berating her for initially refusing to perform a driving stunt during the production of the movie(s) "Kill Bill"; the stunt went badly, temporarily pinning her in the wrecked Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and leaving her with chronic neck and leg pain.  Tarantino has not responded.