CHINA
Envoy to WTO removed
Senior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang (李成鋼) has been removed from his post as permanent representative to the WTO, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday, just days after US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent described him as “unhinged.” Li, during a visit to Washington in August, had allegedly threatened that “China would unleash chaos on the global system if the US went ahead with our docking fees for Chinese ships,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday last week, adding that his behavior was “slightly unhinged.” Xinhua yesterday published a list of ambassadorial appointments and changes, including the removal of Li as WTO envoy. Asked if the move was related to Bessent’s comments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “This is a routine personnel change.” Li remains China’s international trade representative and vice minister of commerce.
Photo: Reuters
AUSTRALIA
PLA jet maneuver ‘unsafe’
Canberra yesterday raised concerns with Beijing after a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares near one of its maritime patrol planes, labeling the incident “unsafe and unprofessional.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jet released flares in close proximity to an Australian maritime patrol plane carrying out surveillance in the South China Sea, posing a risk to the latter craft and its crew, the Department of Defence said in a statement. “On two occasions, it released flares very close to the [Australian patrol plane] P-8,” Minister for Defence Richard Marles said in a TV interview with Sky News Australia. “And it’s really that, the proximity at which the flares were released, which has given us cause to deem this unsafe and unprofessional.” Marles said the government had raised its concerns with the Chinese embassy in Canberra and through the Australian embassy in Beijing. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
SOUTH KOREA
US acting envoy leaving
Acting US ambassador to South Korea Joseph Yun is to leave his position on Friday, the US embassy in Seoul said in a social media post yesterday. “The State Department expresses its deep appreciation to Ambassador Yun for his leadership and dedication in advancing the United States’ interests and further strengthening our enduring and ironclad commitment to the US-Republic of Korea Alliance,” the embassy wrote on X. Local media, including newspaper Hankyoreh, on Sunday reported that US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan, Korea and Mongolia Kevin Kim is expected to replace Yun as acting US ambassador to Seoul without citing a clear source. Yun leaving his post comes days before US President Donald Trump is expected to visit South Korea later this month for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
UNITED STATES
AWS cloud hit by outage
Amazon Web Services (AWS) yesterday morning reported a widespread disruption that affected services on other platforms. “We can confirm increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS Services in the US-EAST-1 Region.” Amazon.com Inc said on the AWS health dashboard. User complaints began spiking just after 7:30am London time, with data from Down Detector showing thousands of user reports. Artificial intelligence firm Perplexity said the AWS service disruption was “affecting the stability of the website.” A representative for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment as of press time last night.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
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