Washington / AFP As Donald Trump builds the team he has promised will drain the Washington swamp, the president-elect may temper concerns provoked by early controversial picks by hiring a respected but tough-talking Marine general. As the Republican billionaire’s motley crew of advisors gathered once again on Monday at his Trump Tower offices in New York, talk was of retired …

  Washington / AFP One policeman was shot dead and three others shot and wounded in four US cities, coinciding with an epidemic of racially-tinged gun violence involving law enforcement. Police were shot in San Antonio, Texas, Sanibel, Florida, and in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and Gladstone, local police departments said. There was no known connection between the shootings. …

  Manila / AFP Children as young as nine could be jailed in the Philippines for certain crimes under a proposed law backed by the president, sparking concern on Monday from the United Nations and rights groups. President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies have been pushing to pass laws by December that would restore the death penalty and lower the minimum age of …