Chile cancels APEC trade summit and COP25 climate gathering as Santiago burns

Chile withdrew as the host of an APEC summit next month on Wednesday. The abrupt move came after weeks of riots over inequality in Chile that has left at least 18 people dead. The move also plunged the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting into disarray, with participating countries caught off-guard and no alternative venue lined up. Chilean President said he had taken the "painful" decision to cancel the summit, as well as the high-profile COP25 international gathering on climate change in December, to focus on restoring law and order and pushing through a new social plan.

The APEC summit was scheduled to bring together 20 world leaders on Nov. 16-17. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had been due to sign an interim agreement to end the 15-month-old trade war. The cancellation might deny the two leaders a chance to meet on neutral soil soon but the Trump administration said it still expects to sign the deal with China next month.