The Super Typhoon slams the Philippines – A US hostage rescue mission goes horribly wrong – Russia gets its first visit from a major western leader since annexing Crimea – South America is on the move – And more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

Typhoon Hagupit is battering the Philippines with a powerful storm surge, strong wind, and heavy rain.  Hagupit was packing sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour and gusts as strong as 210 kph.  It’ll take a couple of days to get a full accounting of the damage because Samar and Leyte Islands are still reeling from last year’s super typhoon.  Hagupit is now heading for Masbate, the boomerang-shaped island in the middle of the Philippine archipelago.

US commandos attempted to rescue two hostages held by al Qaeda terrorists in Yemen – but barking dogs alerted the terrorists who then mortally wounded the hostages.  Al Qaeda was planning on killing American photojournalist Luke Somers, which was why Navy SEAL Team Six was sent in.  But the terrorists also killed South African relief worker Pierre Korkie, who was going to be released this weekend.  One of the men died in the aircraft flying away, the other died once they landed on an assault ship.  The whole raid lasted less than 10 minutes.

A Swiss man escaped his Abu Sayyaf captors in the Philippines by getting his hands on one of their machetes, and hacking to death a terrorist commander.  49-year old Lorenzo Vinciguerra was shot and wounded during his escape, but managed to get out.  Philippine troops found him and escorted him to safety.  A Dutch hostage remains in Abu Sayyaf’s custody somewhere in the jungles of Sulu in the southern Philippines.

A senior al Qaeda commander was killed in a raid by Pakistani forces in the lawless Waziristan region.  Adnan Shukrijumah was suspected of masterminding planned attacks in New York City, London, Norway, and Panama. 

French President Francois Hollande paid a surprise visit to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow, stopping on his way back home from a trip to Kazakhstan.  Hollande is the first western head of state to visit Moscow since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.  The two discussed ways to end the Ukraine crisis, in which more than 4,300 people have died since April.

Investigators have identified the remains of all 38 Australians who were killed in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.  The remains will be repatriated to Australia within the coming weeks.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are condemning Azerbaijan for detaining a prominent investigative journalist.  Khadija Ismayilova is a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which is funded by the United States government.  She’s accused of somehow a man to suicide.  The Azeri government accused the US of “colonialism” through the media.  Amnesty says Baku is trying to “silence independent media voices in the country”.

Greek police clashed with protesters marking the sixth anniversary of the fatal shooting of a 15-year old boy by police officers who’ve since been jailed.  Protesters smashed windows and hurled Molotov cocktails at cops in Athens, and clashes erupted in other cities – cops responded with tear gas and water cannons, and a good time was had by all.  On 6 December 2008, Alexandros Grigoropoulos and a friend were smarting off to a couple of cops, who later returned and shot Alex dead.  The cops returned to the station, claimed they were attacked by Anarchists, and didn’t mention that they killed a 15-year old.  But the streets already knew – and thousands of protesters came out, followed by pitch battles with cops.  Since then, 6 December has been marked by protests.

Vietnam arrested prominent blogger Nguyen Quang Lap, accusing him of publishing articles that defied authorities.  It’s very unusual, because Lap is part of the mainstream of Vietnamese literature.  He has often appeared on state media and has won state prizes.  The press freedom group, Reporters without Borders, says Vietnam has 34 bloggers in prison.

More evidence that 90-year old Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe is clearing a path to power for his 49-year old wife Grace Mugabe.  She’s been appointed the new head of the ruling ZANU-PF party’s women’s wing, giving her a seat in the party’s politburo.  Only a few months ago, Vice President Joice Mujuru was seen as a possible successor to Mugabe.  But in recent days, the elder autocrat has begun accusing Mujuru of plotting to overthrow Mugabe.

The Cuban doctor who caught Ebola fighting the epidemic in West Africa is finally back home in Havana.  43-year old Dr. Felix Baez was evacuated from Sierra Leone to a hospital in Geneva, where he was treated with both the American experimental drug ZMapp and Japan’s Avigan anti-viral drug from Fujifilm.  Cuba has earned international praise for its contribution to fighting the West African Ebola Epidemic, which has killed more than 6,100 people this year.

Heads of the twelve-nation Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) have taken a major step toward creating a South American common market.  They approved the concept of South American citizenship with continent-wide freedom of movement, moved closer to integrating their economies, and inaugurated the new UNASUR headquarters in Quito, Ecuador.  The striking, modern building is named after the late former president of Argentina Nestor Kirchner, who was the first secretary general of the regional body.