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

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to be the country's next ambassador to the United Nations. The 44-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants is serving her second term as governor.

Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and former Republican presidential hopeful, says he has been offered a cabinet position as housing and urban development chief, but it's not clear if he plans to accept.

And charter school advocate Betsy DeVos has been chosen for education secretary.

Turkey has issued an arrest warrant for a Syrian Kurdish leader, accusing him of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. Dorian Jones reports.

Turkish media are reporting that Ankara has issued an international arrest warrant for Muslim, who heads Syria's Democratic Union Party, or PYD. Turkish authorities link Muslim to February's suicide bombing in Ankara, which was reportedly carried out by a PKK splinter group.

The issuing of an international warrant could put Turkey's European allies in a difficult spot. Muslim is a frequent guest of European governments. The PYD and its militia are viewed by Turkey's Western allies as one of the most effective forces against the Islamic State group.

Dorian Jones, Istanbul.

Iraqi-led forces say they have completely surrounded the city of Mosul, effectively cutting off Islamic State forces from supply routes to their main stronghold in Raqqa, Syria.

Pakistan says cross-border gunfire from India Wednesday killed at least 11 civilians in the Neelam Valley of Kashmir. It says three of its soldiers were also killed.

The Pakistani military says retaliatory fire by its troops killed at least seven Indian soldiers. India has not commented.

This is VOA news.

It's German Chancellor Angela Merkel. On Wednesday, she expressed displeasure with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's plans to pull the United States out of the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership.

While Merkel didn't mention Trump by name, she said she was "not happy" about the potential collapse of the trade agreement.

Japan and South Korea signed an agreement Wednesday to share intelligence information about North Korea's military activities, including its nuclear program.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said the pact will help "restrain" North Korea's missile and nuclear activity.

The agreement allows South Korea and Japan to exchange information directly, instead of going through the United States.

Fifty-three-year-old Thomas Mair was found guilty Wednesday of killing British Member of Parliament Jo Cox.

Cox was a pro-immigrant, pro-refugee, junior member of Parliament. She was killed June 16 as she arrived at a library in the town of Birstall to meet with voters.

Here is detective superintendent Nick Wallen: "Thomas Mair is a cold-blooded killer. He calmly planned her death, he lay in wait and then killed Jo in a sustained attack as she went about her daily business of trying to help people in her local community."

The jury at London's Old Bailey central criminal court took only 90 minutes to convict Mair.

An Ohio man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to planning attacks in support of the Islamic State group.

Munir Abdulkader was sentenced in Cincinnati for plotting to attack a police station and a member of the U.S. military.

Court documents say Abdulkader also conspired to provide supporting material to a foreign terrorist organization.

He pleaded guilty to a firearms count to pursue a crime of violence.

After hearing the verdict, Abdulkader apologized to the court.

Four people, including two students, are confirmed dead in the city of Melbourne, Australia, from a rare condition known as thunderstorm asthma.

Hundreds more were rushed to hospitals while suffering from asthma attacks. Many had no history of the disease. The local ambulance service reported more than 1,800 cases Monday evening.

Authorities say a thunderstorm passed through the area Monday, causing rain-sodden rye grass pollen to explode and disperse all over the city, triggering the attacks.

Experts say there is no way to predict when such a thing will happen.

Colombia's government and the country's largest rebel group, known as the FARC, are set to sign a renegotiated peace deal on Thursday.

The revised document will be signed in Bogota by FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

From the VOA news center in Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.