Putin says hopes to discuss better Russia-U.S. ties with Trump

BEIJING Chinese state media on Friday expressed alarm and warned of a "showdown with the U.S." after President-elect Donald Trump named Peter Navarro, an economist who has urged a hard line against China, to head a new White House National Trade Council. WASHINGTON A top U.S. senator who oversees the United States' UN funding threatened on Friday to pull financial support for the international body if it moves forward with a vote on a resolution over Israeli settlements, and for any nation that backs the measure. MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he wanted constructive relations with the United States under President-elect Donald Trump.