South Korea's Yoon defied prosecutors' summons in martial law probe

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol did not comply with a summons from prosecutors on Sunday, and they plan to issue another order as they investigate his short-lived martial law decree.

Yoon and a number of senior officials face criminal investigation for potential charges of insurrection, abuse of authority, and obstructing people from exercising their rights.

The special prosecution team handling the investigation into Yoon's failed attempt to impose martial law sent Yoon a summons on Wednesday, asking him to appear for questioning at 10 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Sunday, but he did not show up, Yonhap news agency reported.

Lawmakers voted on Saturday to remove Yoon from office over his "insurrectionary" suspension of civilian rule, which lasted hours but plunged South Korea into some of its worst political turmoil in years.

Yoon has been suspended while South Korea's constitutional court Deliberates the impeachment, with Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo serving as interim leader.

The court has 180 days to rule on Yoon's future.

Reference Sources

1. nikkei - South Korea's Yoon defied prosecutors' summons in martial law probe: Yonhap
2. theborneopost - S. Korean opposition urges swift removal of impeached President Yoon
3. newarab - S. Korean opposition urges removal of impeached President Yoon
4. thestarmy - South Korean opposition urges swift removal of impeached President Yoon
5. newsukraine - South Korea detains current and former heads of military intelligence

UK becomes first European nation to join CPTPP trade bloc

The UK has officially become the first European nation to join the comprehensive and Progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership (Cptpp), a major Indo-Pacific trading bloc that includes Japan, Australia, and Canada.

The UK formally signed the accession treaty last year, and officials hope membership will boost Britain's flagging economy by as much as £2.0 billion ($2.5 billion) a year.

According to government figures, the value of UK total trade in the 12 months to the end of September was £1.7 trillion.

However, the estimated £2 billion "long-run" benefits to the UK economy will be dwarfed by Brexit-Related loss of trade with the EU.

Reference Sources

1. philstar - UK officially joins Indo-Pacific trade bloc
2. ft - Britain to join Pacific trade bloc on Sunday
3. standard - UK becomes first European nation to join CPTPP trade bloc
4. voanews - Britain joins trans-Pacific pact in biggest post-Brexit trade deal
5. express - Keir Starmer blasted over free trade flip-flop as UK enters major new post-Brexit deal

Economists trim Fed rate cut estimates on fear of Trump inflation surge

(Source: Shutterstock)

The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a quarter-point cut to its key lending rate on Wednesday, despite a recent uptick in inflation, in the central bank's last meeting of Joe Biden's Presidency.

The Fed is also tipped to signal a slower path of cuts going forward amid uncertainty over the impact of President-elect Donald Trump's economic proposals.

The vast majority thought it would hover at 3.5% or higher by the end of 2025, whereas most respondents in September said it would probably fall below 3.5% by that point.

If the Fed follows through with a Quarter-Point cut at its meeting next week as expected, the policy rate will stand at 4.25-4.5 per cent.

Reference Sources

1. bussinesstimes - The 24 hours of rate cuts that end year of global central-bank easing
2. thejakartapost - TheJakartaPost
3. ft - Economists trim Fed rate cut estimates on fear of Trump inflation surge

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.

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