China’s Xi reaffirms US relations in talk with Trump
AP, Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed the importance of relations with the United States in a phone conversation with President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, opening communication with a politician who had been strongly critical of China during his campaign. State media reported that Xi congratulated Trump on his election and said cooperation was the “only correct choice” for China and the U.S., the world’s two biggest economies.
Erdogan hints at referendum on Turkey joining EU
AFP, Istanbul
Accusing Brussels of wanting Turkey to abandon its bid to join the EU, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinted in an interview published Sunday he might put the question to a referendum. “The European Union is trying to compel us to withdraw from this (accession) process. If they don’t want us they should be clear about this, they should make a decision,” Erdogan told the leading daily Hurriyet.
Heavy pollution shuts schools in Iran’s capital
AFP, Tehran
Tehran officials shut schools on Monday as the first of the winter’s heavy pollution hit the Iranian capital. A blanket of choking brown-white smog descended on the city on Sunday, blocking out the view of the mountains that line its northern edge and leading many of its 14 million residents to retreat indoors or don face masks in the street.
