Jan 19 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Federal Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains says he hopes Iran's growing appetite to purchase hundreds of civilian aircraft on the world market translates into an opportunity for Canadian aerospace, but the Justin Trudeau government hasn't said when or how Ottawa might roll back economic sanctions on Tehran to make this possible. (http://bit.ly/1PnFNul)
** Two Chinese government soldiers were part of a hacking conspiracy allegedly carried out by a Chinese resident of Canada to steal secrets relating to components of F-35s and other American warplanes, according to court-filed documents. (http://bit.ly/1PnFNul)
** Canada has been excluded from a high-level meeting of "significant contributors' to the U.S.-led coalition called to discuss stepping up the fight to defeat Islamic State militants. The meeting of defense ministers from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands is set for Wednesday in Paris. (http://bit.ly/1ZJnuL0)
** A potential rate cut by the Bank of Canada this week risks undermining confidence in the Canadian dollar, some prominent Canadian economists have warned. Trading in overnight index swaps currently implies the probability of a rate cut at about 60 percent when the Bank of Canada releases its monetary policy report on Wednesday. (http://bit.ly/1nv6Yx7)
NATIONAL POST
** As oil prices continued to free fall last week, oilsands giants Suncor Energy Inc and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd were quietly ending an acrimonious hostile battle and working out the details of a C$6.6-billion ($4.56 billion)merger, announced on Monday. Both companies said their respective boards were recommending a merger and that Suncor would raise its ownership in Syncrude to 49 percent from 12 percent if the deal is finalized. (http://bit.ly/1P2oFyg)
** Justin Trudeau will try to reposition Canada as more than a petro-state this week when he meets some of the planet's top business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. This comes on the backdrop of the Canadian dollar plummeting in lockstep with the price of oil that has fallen by nearly three-quarters. (http://bit.ly/1StupU9)
** The mother of Maude Carrier, one of the Canadians killed in a terror attack in Burkina Faso, has made a desperate plea for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep up Canadian airstrikes against Islamic State. Carrier was one of six aid workers from Quebec killed on Friday when a group of Islamist terrorists stormed a luxury hotel and cafe in the capital city of Ouagadougou. In all, 28 people died. (http://bit.ly/1S1zfqi) ($1 = C$1.45) (Compiled by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru)