From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting.

President-elect Donald Trump has put his vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, in charge of his transition team, replacing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Advisers to Trump said he wanted to use Pence's Washington experience to aid a swift transition in January. Before he was governor of Indiana, Pence served six terms in the House of Representatives.

In a statement Friday, Trump said that Pence would "build on the initial work" done by Christie. The New Jersey governor will remain as a vice chair of the transition effort.

In addition to Pence, Trump said that three of his five children, Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka, along with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, would help with the transition effort, serving on an executive committee.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that he and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan will work with President-elect Donald Trump to determine which issues to tackle first once the new president is sworn in.

McConnell, speaking in Kentucky, predicted that major tax reform will come in 2017 as will a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I'm not here in order to make the pronouncements about the Supreme Court, except to say that President Trump will make a selection and the Senate will act on it expeditiously."

The court has needed a ninth justice since the late Antonin Scalia died earlier this year.

Senate Republicans had refused to consider President Obama's nominee, waiting for the outcome of this week's election.

For more on these stories, log on to our website voanews.com. This is VOA news.

The president of the European Commission on Friday said that Donald Trump's election as president of the United States poses a risk to intercontinental relations.

Speaking to students at a conference in Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker called Mr. Trump "completely unaware" when it comes to Europe.

He said the transatlantic alliance and NATO alliance is called into question so it could be quite pernicious. With regard to refugees and other non-Americans, Trump has an approach which in no way coincides with the approach in Europe.

During the U.S. election campaign, candidate Trump had called into question the NATO alliance and was a vocal critic of the open border migration policies of some EU nations.

U.S. President Barack Obama thanked the country's former service members for preserving America's democracy, a reference to Donald Trump's stunning presidential victory after a contentious campaign.

Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington to commemorate Veterans Day, Mr. Obama said the nation owed those who have served in the military a debt of gratitude.

Earlier, the president laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns, a memorial dedicated to military service members killed on combat.

U.N. human rights monitors in Iraq are uncovering more evidence of growing atrocities against civilians by Islamic State militants as the battle for Mosul advances.

As Lisa Schlein reports, abuses include widespread killings and torture, sexual exploitation of women and girls, and recruitment of children as fighters and suicide bombers.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein's spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani says the U.N. has come across images of children being forced to carry out executions.

"ISIL also posted a video on Wednesday showing four children, believed to be between 10 and 14 years old, shooting to death four people for spying for the ISF and the Peshmerga. The video shows the victims falling into a river nearby."

Shamdasani says there is evidence Islamic State is stockpiling large quantities of ammonia and sulfur in Mosul close to civilian areas. She says this is raising concern that IS intends to use chemical weapons against civilians as part of its strategy to hang on to Mosul.

Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.

A mixed day on Wall Street, with the Dow up and the NASDAQ higher, but the S&P 500 down. European and Asian markets also ended trading mixed.

For more, visit our website. I'm David Byrd in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.