Donald Trump confirms Secretary of State choice then meets with Kanye West

A more serious meeting is to take place between Trump and Bill Gates, who has compared Trump to JFK. [Lisa Hagen/The Hill]

2. Evacuation deal struck

Just a short time ago news came through that a deal had been struck to evacuate rebel fighters and civilians out of east Aleppo. [Al Jazeera]

It came after the United Nations said it received reports that pro-Assad forces have executed 82 civilians in their own homes in Aleppo "on the spot."

The "hell" is a "complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo," says the UN. [The Washington Post]

French President Francois Hollande said it is the West's duty to now act. He was speaking with German Chancellor Angela Merkel who described the situation as "heartbreaking." [Politico.eu]

The British Parliament held an emergency debate on Syria. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says the Russians have the future of Syria in their hands. [Andrew Sparrow/The Guardian]

The Kremlin says the US is to blame for Islamic State reclaiming Palmyra. [AFP]

Meanwhile two men involved in the November 2015 attacks in Paris have been killed in a US airstrike over Syria, the Pentagon says. [BBC]

And the winner in this quagmire is...Tehran, writes David Garnder. [Financial Times]

3. Iran wants nuclear ships

And the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered his officials to develop nuclear powered ships. He says the US has reneged on Obama's international nuclear deal. [BBC]

4. Australian politics

There's a bit of scuttlebutt around amid speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle.

One anonymous Liberal believes Christopher Pyne is after Marise Payne's job as Defence Minister.[James Massola,Amy Remenkis/Fairfax]

Pyne has been in London and is en route to France and then Saudi Arabia. [Nick Miller/Fairfax]

He is proposing a defence industry dialogue between the UK and Australia. [Michelle Grattan/The Conversation]

But the media-shy Senator Payne, who has been in hospital, forcing the cancellation of talks with Japan, made a virtual appearance at yesterday's Cabinet and National Security Committee meetings, reports The Australian.

This report also says there have been "suggestions" Julie Bishop no longer wants to be the Foreign Minister and wants a domestic portfolio.

Bishop has repeatedly and accurately described her gig as her "dream job." (Hence why there are plenty of her colleagues after it!)

So while this could (a). be backgrounding against Bishop or (b) as the authors of the report suggest - a precursor to her taking on the Prime Ministership if the struggling Turnbull were to leave or be forced out. [Dennis Shannahan, David Crowe]

However the Foreign Minister Julie Bishop tells me the report that she no longer wants her job is definitely not true. "I wish and intend to remain Foreign Minister," she says. And so I refer you to point (a)!

The closure of the coal-fired Hazelwood power plant in Victoria will cost households an average of extra $78 per year, Adam Morton reports. [Fairfax]

The Australian Energy Market Commission's report is also covered in the Financial Review [Ben Potter, Mark Ludlow] and Michael Owen [The Australian].

And if the difference between an emissions trading scheme and an emissions intensity scheme passed you by during last week's furore then Ross Gittins has an excellent piece about the difference between the two and why Malcolm Turnbull's political cowardice will end us costing us all more in electricity prices. [The Sydney Morning Herald]

And regarding last week's furore over climate policy, the right-wing commentator Janet Albrechtsen says it's the fault of the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Martin Parkinson. [The Australian]

Parkinson is loathed by many right-wing types but respected by the moderates. Indeed, it was Turnbull as freshly-minted prime minister, who called Parkinson out of retirement after he was dispatched as Treasury head under the Tony Abbott-Peta Credlin regime.

5. Bali widow rejects Sara Connor's monetary offer

Sara Connor, of Byron bay, is charged in Bali, along with her British DJ boyfriend, over the alleged murder of policeman Wayan Sudarsa.

Connor says she is innocent. She has offered a "donation" of $2,500 to Sudarsa's widow, it has been rejected. Our Indonesia correspondent Jewel Topsfield reports on the dramatic day of events in court. [Fairfax]

6. Ahok case set for Dec 20

Jewel, who is a stellar corro and worthy of your follow on Twitter and Facebook, has also been covering the trial of Jakarta Governor Ahok who is accused of insulting Muslims. [Fairfax]

Why does this case matter? Topsfield explains that Indonesia is at risk of becoming a "mobocracy". [Fairfax]

And that's it from me today, you can follow me on Facebook for more.