China suspends ‘special port fees’ on US vessels for one year
China said on Monday it would suspend for one year “special port fees” on US vessels “simultaneously” with Washington’s pause on levies targeting Chinese ships, as a fragile trade truce between the superpowers takes shape.The United States and China have been engaged in a volatile trade and tariff war for months, but agreed to walk back some punitive measures after presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea last month.Duties on both sides had reached prohibitive triple-digit levels at one point, hampering trade between the world’s two largest economies and snarling global supply chains.The suspension of the port fees, which applied to ships operated by or built in the United States that visited Chinese ports, began at 13:01 (0501 GMT) on Monday, a transport ministry statement said.The US shipbuilding industry was dominant after World War II but has gradually declined and now accounts for just 0.1 percent of global output.The sector is now dominated by Asia, with China building nearly half of all ships launched, ahead of South Korea and Japan.Beijing also said separately it would suspend sanctions against US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea’s largest shipbuilders.The year-long suspension of measures against Hanwha, effective from November 10, was linked to the US halting port fees it had levied on Chinese-built and operated ships, China’s commerce ministry said in an online statement.”In light of this (US suspension)… China has decided to suspend the relevant measures” for one year, it said.China had imposed sanctions on five US subsidiaries of Hanwha in October, accusing them of supporting a US government “Section 301” investigation that found Beijing’s dominance of the shipbuilding industry unreasonable.Organisations and individuals in China had been banned from cooperating with Hanwha Shipping LLC, Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., Hanwha Ocean USA International LLC, Hanwha Shipping Holdings LLC and HS USA Holdings Corp.A planned probe into whether the Section 301 investigation affected the “security and development interests” of China’s shipbuilding industry and supply chain had also been shelved for one year, according to the transport ministry.Beijing “looks forward to the United States continuing to meet China halfway and jointly safeguarding fair competition in the global shipping and shipbuilding market”, the commerce ministry said in another statement.- Export controls -In another apparent move on Monday to implement recent agreements, China’s commerce ministry said it had added more than a dozen fentanyl precursors to a list of controlled exports to the United States, Mexico and Canada.Washington has long accused Beijing of failing to effectively crack down on flows of the deadly chemicals underpinning a devastating drug crisis in the United States.While the Chinese statement did not mention recent negotiations, the White House said on November 1 that Beijing had agreed to “stop the shipment of certain designated chemicals to North America” — part of “significant measures to end the flow of fentanyl”.The measures are the latest sign of a thaw in economic ties since the Xi-Trump meeting. China said on Wednesday it would extend the suspension of additional tariffs on US goods for one year, keeping them at 10 percent, and suspend some tariffs on soybeans and other US agricultural products.It also suspended an export ban on gallium, germanium and antimony, metals crucial for modern technology, on Sunday.Beijing also agreed following talks to halt restrictions on the export of rare earths technology for one year. Washington in turn agreed to suspend for one year export restrictions on affiliates of blacklisted foreign companies in which they had at least a 50 percent stake, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Wednesday.
US envoy Kushner in Jerusalem to press Gaza truce
US envoy Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday as Washington pressed efforts to ensure the fragile Gaza ceasefire holds.The truce, in effect since October 10, has largely halted the war that erupted after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.As part of its first stage, a series of prisoner and hostage exchanges have taken place in recent weeks.Netanyahu’s office confirmed his meeting with Kushner but did not provide further details.Israeli media said his visit coincided with ongoing US efforts to stabilise the truce and lay groundwork for its next phase.The second stage of the truce aims to tackle some of the most sensitive issues: Hamas’s disarmament, Gaza reconstruction, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.Hamas has repeatedly insisted that giving up its weapons is a red line.Plans also include deploying an “international stabilisation force” coordinated by US troops to maintain security across the territory.Egypt, Qatar and Turkey are potential participants, but the United Arab Emirates has indicated it is unlikely to join without a clear operational framework.”Under such circumstances, the UAE will probably not participate in such a force,” Emirati presidential adviser Anwar Gargash told the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate Forum on Monday.Since the truce began, Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages and the remains of 24 captives, including 21 Israelis. Four bodies of hostages killed in the October 2023 attack remain in Gaza.- ‘We still do not feel safe’ -In exchange, Israel has freed nearly 2,000 prisoners and returned 315 bodies of Palestinian captives.The latest of those were the remains of 15 Palestinians handed over by Israel on Monday after Hamas a day earlier returned the remains of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, killed in the 2014 Gaza war.Goldin, killed while attempting to destroy Hamas tunnels near Rafah, had been missing for 11 years.”Time has stood still. It still feels like he just left and is already coming back,” his sister Ayelet Goldin said in a statement on Monday.”How do you process fighting for a brother who’s gone? How do you fight for a soldier who went into battle, fighting to bring him home, when in reality he’ll return in a casket? How are you supposed to feel? I still don’t know,” she said.Despite the progress in hostage returns, Gazans remain anxious about their future.”We still do not feel safe. Shooting continues … we try to protect our children from psychological trauma and to help them forget the war and its effects,” said Salma Abu Shawish, 40, a resident of Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.”Life in Gaza is hard. We still lack food, and many families remain homeless. We only wish this nightmare would stop and never return.”Israel and Hamas continue to accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.On Monday, the Israeli military said it killed two militants who approached the so-called “Yellow Line,” the boundary beyond which Israeli forces hold their positions in Gaza.
What we know on renewed fighting in north EthiopiaMon, 10 Nov 2025 12:34:31 GMT
With reports of heavy weapons fire and drone strikes in northern Ethiopia over the past week, there are fears the region is returning to the devastating warfare it experienced between 2020 and 2022.AFP looks at the latest flaring of violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray and Afar regions, which threatens to upend a fragile peace deal.- What …
What we know on renewed fighting in north EthiopiaMon, 10 Nov 2025 12:34:31 GMT Read More »
Mali jihadists seeking Islamist control, not to rule themselves: French spy chiefMon, 10 Nov 2025 12:19:19 GMT
Jihadists who have imposed a crippling fuel blockade in Mali want to topple the military junta and impose Islamist rule, but not necessarily rule themselves, France’s foreign intelligence chief said Monday.Speaking as France prepares this week to mark 10 years since the November 13, 2015 jihadist attacks in Paris that left 130 dead, Nicolas Lerner …
No link between paracetamol and autism, major review finds
There is no clear link between pregnant women taking the common painkiller paracetamol and autism in their children, despite repeated claims otherwise by Donald Trump, according to the most comprehensive review of the existing evidence published Monday.In September, the US president sparked outrage among the medical community by claiming that paracetamol — also known as acetaminophen — was associated with higher rates of autism.Trump urged pregnant women to “tough it out” rather than take paracetamol, comments which health researchers warned could scare women off their safest option to treat pain — and risked further stigmatising autistic people.The World Health Organization has emphasised that there is no robust evidence showing that paracetamol — which is the main ingredient in massively popular painkillers such as Tylenol and Panadol — causes autism.On Monday, an “umbrella” review of all the scientific research yet conducted on the subject was published in the British medical journal BMJ.”Existing evidence does not show a clear link between in utero exposure to paracetamol and autism and ADHD in offspring,” the UK-lead team of researchers wrote in the review.There have been several previous studies which suggested a possible link between paracetamol and autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).However the quality of those studies was “low to critically low”, the review said, partly because they did not take adequate steps to rule out potentially misleading factors such as whether autism runs in the family.These controversial previous studies also could not establish exactly how paracetamol might cause autism.The umbrella review called for better research, pointing out that there has been a “historical and ongoing underinvestment in women’s health research”.- Confirmation -Several researchers praised the new study.Dimitrios Siassakos, professor in obstetrics and gynaecology at University College London, said the review “confirms what experts around the globe have been saying”. “Autistic and neurodivergent people are more likely to experience chronic pain, and they are also much more likely to have neurodivergent children — but paracetamol doesn’t cause neurodivergence,” said Steven Kapp of the University of Portsmouth.”As a researcher and autistic person with ADHD, I think we should not be trying to prevent neurodivergence anyway, but make life better for neurodivergent people,” he added.Beyond paracetamol, Trump and his vaccine-sceptic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr have repeatedly made unfounded claims about autism, including that there is an “epidemic” of cases.However experts maintain that the recent increase in autism rates is due to improved, broadened diagnosis methods along with growing awareness.
Abdeslam pas mis en cause dans un projet d’attentat, selon la DGSI et ses avocats
La directrice générale de la sécurité intérieure Céline Berthon a affirmé lundi sur RTL que Salah Abdeslam “n’était pas mis en cause dans un projet d’attentat”, une information martelée aussi par les avocats du seul membre vivant des commandos meurtriers du 13 novembre 2015.Salah Abdeslam est une “figure très symbolique (…), c’est le seul survivant des commandos des attentats du 13 novembre. Aujourd’hui, il n’est pas mis en cause dans un projet d’attentat”, a assuré Mme Berthon.C’est “un individu qui demeure radicalisé et convaincu de l’idéologie mortifère”, a-t-elle poursuivi.Condamné à la perpétuité incompressible et incarcéré à la prison de Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais) pour sa participation à ces attentats, Salah Abdeslam avait été placé mardi en garde à vue, avant qu’elle ne soit levée le jour-même, dans une enquête ouverte en janvier 2025 portant sur la détention illicite d’un objet en détention, une clé USB.Dans cette enquête, trois personnes sont en garde à vue dont la compagne de Salah Abdeslam.Interrogée sur le profil de cette femme, Mme Berthon a répondu qu’elle faisait “l’objet d’investigations”. “Ce type de profil fait partie de nos cibles”, a-t-elle ajouté.En cette semaine de commémoration des dix ans des attentats du 13 novembre, qui ont fait 130 morts à Paris et Saint-Denis, et des centaines de blessés, Céline Berthon a affirmé qu’il n’y avait “pas de menace concrète identifiée pour le 13 novembre” prochain.”A ce stade, Salah Abdeslam n’est en aucune manière soupçonné par la justice d’être impliqué de près ou de loin dans un quelconque projet criminel”, ont aussi affirmé dans un communiqué ses avocats face “au déchaînement de désinformation qui (les) conduit à faire ici une mise au point”.Dans ce document signé par Me Olivia Ronen, Benoît David, Martin Vettes, Delphine Paci et Harold Sax, il est affirmé qu'”à ce jour, Salah Abdeslam n’est pas poursuivi, encore moins condamné” dans ce dossier. “Aussi, et plus que jamais, la présomption d’innocence doit s’appliquer.””L’enquête préliminaire suit son cours. Il apparaît qu’aucune clé USB n’a été retrouvée, que Salah Abdeslam n’a plus de liens avec son ex-compagne depuis avril dernier”, ont ajouté les conseils.Les avocats s’étonnent de la “temporalité (qui) ne peut qu’interroger” entre l’ouverture de l’enquête préliminaire, “en janvier 2025”, et les gardes à vue mardi et vendredi dernier de leur client, “soit une semaine avant les commémorations des attentats du 13 novembre 2015”.Ils critiquent les “très nombreux médias, personnalités politiques et même professionnels du droit” qui présenteraient Salah Abdeslam “non seulement comme coupable d’avoir recelé une clé USB mais aussi d’avoir fomenté un attentat”.”Alors que s’ouvre une semaine de souvenir qui devrait appeler chacun à la dignité, nos pensées vont vers toutes les victimes des attentats du 13 novembre 2015″, concluent ces cinq avocats.sm-gd/cal/dch