QWorld: Cubans Pay Last Respect to Castro; Zika Detected in Texas

Read the top headlines from around the world.

A historic photo of the relatively young Fidel Castro in 1959, just after the fall of Batista regime, after which Castro became the prime minister. (Photo: AP)

1. Trump: 'Very Impressed' With Petraeus as He weighs Top Diplomat Job

President-elect Donald Trump stepped up his search for a new US secretary of state, with the focus on David Petraeus, a former US military commander in Iraq, whose mishandling of classified information led to his resignation as CIA chief in 2012.

2. "Viva Fidel!" Tens of Thousands Pay Last Respects to Cuba’s Castro

Tens of thousands of Cubans, some wrapped in red, white and blue Cuban flags, paid final respects in Havana to Fidel Castro, who led a leftist revolution, ruled for half-a-century and resisted the United States throughout the Cold War.

3. Syrian Government Drives Rebels From Swath of Aleppo

The Syrian army and its allies announced the capture of a large swath of eastern Aleppo from rebels in an accelerating attack that threatened to crush the opposition in its most important urban stronghold.

4. Fewer North Korean Workers Come to China as Border Trade Tightens

A labour agent sat in his bus on a recent frigid morning, waiting to cross the "Friendship Bridge" at China's main border post with North Korea. He had come to pick up migrant workers and take them to jobs in factories and restaurants in China.

5. How a Rebel Myanmar Tin Mine May Up-End a Global Supply Chain

From a remote corner of northeastern Myanmar, an insurgent army sells tin ore to suppliers of some of the world's largest consumer companies.

6. Car, Knife Attack at Ohio State Injures 11; Suspect's Background Probed

A car and knife attack by an Ohio State University student that injured 11 people before the suspect was shot dead by a police officer is being investigated as a possible terror attack, a US Congressman and another government source said.

7. Texas Reports First Case of Zika Spread by Local Mosquitoes

Texas health officials reported that the state's first case of Zika was likely to spread by local mosquitoes, making Texas the second state within the continental United States to report local transmission of the virus that has been linked to birth defects.

8. Brazil's Leftist Opposition Seek Temer Probe, Impeachment

Leftist opponents of Brazil's President Michel Temer sought to have him investigated and impeached for his alleged role in pressuring a former culture minister to approve a property development.

9. French Conservatives Back Fillon for President, Left Flounders

France's centre-right rallied behind free market reformist Francois Fillon as its candidate for president after a snap opinion poll showed him the clear favourite to beat far-right leader Marine Le Pen in an election showdown next year.