US consulate in China readies for closure as diplomatic row rages

Workers removed the US insignia from the consulate in the Chinese city of Chengdu on Saturday, one day after Beijing ordered its closure as relations deteriorated in a Cold War-style standoff.The Chengdu mission was ordered shut in retaliation for the forced closure of Beijing's consulate in Houston, Texas, with both sides alleging the other had endangered national security.The deadline for the Americans to exit Chengdu remained unclear, but AFP reporters saw a worker on a small crane removing a