By Canadian Press

The Latest: Japan’s SoftBank to invest $1B in US company

Dec 19, 2016 | 4:15 PM

WASHINGTON — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times local):

10:20 p.m.

Japanese telecommunications and energy company SoftBank — whose founder met with President-elect Donald Trump this month — says it has agreed to invest $1 billion in the U.S. company OneWeb Ltd., which is building a network of satellites for global broadband access.

The $1 billion commitment follows founder Masayoshi Son’s promise to Trump to create 50,000 jobs and invest $50 billion in U.S. startups.

The two companies announced Monday that OneWeb had obtained promises of $1.2 billion from SoftBank and other investors.

modified weapon

Sawed-off shotgun seized after Nanaimo RCMP spot well-known offender

3h ago

rainbow eyes

Nanaimo judge hands old growth logging protestor additional jail time

5h ago

Paris Bound

Nanaimo race walker Olivia Lundman qualifies for Paris Olympic Games

7h ago

The funds will finance the construction of a factory in Exploration Park, Florida, to produce 15 satellites per week at low cost. The companies said the business could create nearly 3,000 engineering, manufacturing and other jobs.

OneWeb expects the factory to go online in 2018.

___

8:40 p.m.

A spokeswoman for Donald Trump has confirmed a published report that the president-elect recently had dinner with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

The weekend meal at Trump’s Florida estate is surprising because Trump criticized Slim toward the end of the U.S. presidential election. Slim is a major investor in The New York Times.

Slim also was critical of Trump, but the businessmen appear to be trying to leave the rancour behind.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed Saturday’s dinner, which The Washington Post first reported. People briefed on the conversation said the dinner was designed to open a friendly line of communication between Trump and Slim.

Slim’s trip came after former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who remains close to Trump, quietly visited Slim in Mexico City earlier this month.

___

6:45 p.m.

President-elect Donald Trump is blaming “Islamist terrorists” for a truck crash in a Christmas market in Berlin that killed at least nine people and wounded scores more.

German authorities were still investigating the event. The White House says it “appears to have been a terrorist attack.”

Trump says in a statement released Monday evening the Islamic State group “and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad.” He adds that they must be “eradicated from the face of the earth” and pledges to carry out that mission with the United States’ “freedom-loving partners.”

The Islamic State group and al-Qaida have called on followers to use trucks to attack crowds.

Trump has offered nothing to back up his claim that Islamists were behind the attack.

__

5:55 p.m.

President-elect Donald Trump is condemning the killing of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey.

In a written statement, Trump calls the killing of diplomat Andrei Karlov a “violation of all rules of civilized order” and says it must be “universally condemned.”

Trump is also extending his condolences to Karlov’s family and loved ones.

A Turkish policeman fatally shot Karlov in front of an audience at a photo exhibit in Ankara. The assailant, who was identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas, a member of Ankara’s riot police squad, was later killed in a shootout with police. Authorities said three other people were wounded in the attack.

Trump called Altintas a “radical Islamic terrorist.” The gunman reportedly shouted, “We are the descendants of those who supported the Prophet Muhammad, for jihad.”

___

11:25 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump plans to meet with Robert Lighthizer, a former deputy U.S. trade representative in the Reagan administration, and Thad Allen, the retired Coast Guard commandant who oversaw the federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Trump has yet to name his pick for U.S. Trade Representative.

Spokesman Jason Miller says Trump also will meet with R. Donahue Peebles, board chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Peebles is also founder, chairman and CEO of Peebles Corp., a real estate development and investment company.

The meetings will take place at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the holiday week there with his family.

Trump also plans to meet with J. Christopher Reyes, co-chairman of Reyes Holdings, a Chicago-based beer and food distributor.

___

9:15 a.m.

President-elect Donald J. Trump has picked Vincent Viola as secretary of the Army. Viola is the founder of several businesses, including Virtu Financial, an electronic trading firm. He also owns the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers and is a past chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In a statement Monday, Trump said Viola is “living proof of the American dream.” Viola grew up in a family of Italian immigrants in Brooklyn. His father worked as a truck driver.

Viola is a 1977 West Point graduate. He trained as an Airborne Ranger infantry officer and served in the 101st Airborne Division. He is a graduate of New York Law School. In 2003, he founded and helped fund the creation of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.

Viola bought the Panthers for about $250 million in 2013.

The Associated Press