“China will suspend an additional 24% tariff on [Chinese buyers of] US goods for another two months, formalizing a decision by the two countries’ leaders to prolong their trade truce until next January. The move will take effect at 1:01 p.m. Beijing time on Tuesday, with a 10% blanket tariff retained on [Chinese buyers of] US imports, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said in a statement. China will also extend its suspension of special fees on American ships docking at its ports until Jan. 10, the Transport Ministry said in a separate statement on Monday.” (11/09/26)
“Donald Trump conceded he had been ‘too tough’ on immigration and offered to work with Democrats on an amnesty deal for migrants in a sign that he could temper his deportation campaign in the wake of Republicans’ midterm rout. The president said in a TV interview aired on Sunday that some voters had been turned off by the severity of his administration’s approach to immigration. … Asked if he thought some kind of ‘legal status’ deal with Democrats was possible, Trump told CBS that was ‘something that’s actually doable’. He added that he would be willing to work with legislators such as Texas senator-elect James Talarico to achieve reform. The interview was filmed on Friday morning, shortly before Trump announced he was appointing immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as his chief of staff.” (11/08/26)
“On Saturday, at least two tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, including one that caught fire. The first vessel was transiting about eight nautical miles off the coast of Khasab, on Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, when it caught fire. Unverified videos purporting to show the blaze have circulated on social media, and appear to show a vigorous cargo fire burning amidships. The crewmembers were evacuated, and no injuries have been reported. Video footage shows at least two firefighting tugs on scene and working to combat the blaze.” (11/08/26)
“Bitcoin has seen sharp two-way moves in the last several hours, reminding traders why leverage can hurt. The volatility came as the market digested two uncomfortable headlines. First, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia – AI bellwether and the largest stock by market cap – admitted to an affair with a woman U.S. officials believe was spying for China. Second, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations with Iran had stalled. … Bitcoin fell to about $73,761 late Sunday, its lowest point since August, before recovering to trade above $75,000, according to CoinDesk data.” (11/08/26)
“A data leak from Moscow’s statistics agency has revealed that more than 450,000 Russians have been killed in the war in Ukraine. Rosstat was hit by a cyber attack carried out by groups banned by Russia as ‘extremist organisations’, who stole data on the economy and wartime losses. The Belarusian Cyber Partisans and Silent Crow hacking groups obtained the records, which contained information from death certificates registered between February 2022 and August this year, from Rosstat’s internal demography database. …. Silent Crow, a pro-Ukrainian hacktivist group, published the data, which showed there had been an estimated 450,100 deaths. However, the Cyber Partisans, a group of anonymous hacktivists opposing the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, estimated the figure to be lower – at 393,881 – because of a more limited methodology that explicitly identified military operations as the cause.” (11/08/26)
“Sudan’s army has detained a former senior Islamist official from ousted strongman Omar al-Bashir’s era who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, officials from his party said. Ahmed Haroun, who chairs Sudan’s former ruling National Congress Party, has been hiding for years and is wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and genocide in the Darfur region in the early 2000s. He has dismissed the charges as political.” (11/08/26)
“President Donald Trump on Saturday said he had ordered the Justice Department to look into ‘threats’ by Democrats against Republicans in the wake of the GOP’s midterm electoral defeat, adding that those responsible should be imprisoned. Across two Truth Social posts, Trump accused Democrats of threatening Republican donors with imprisonment and Attorney General Todd Blanche and other administration officials with impeachment. He also said Democrats were targeting people ‘just because they happen to be Republicans, or Republican supporters.'” (11/07/26)
“Michel Barnier, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator has warned that the UK cannot ‘cherry pick’ which elements of the single market to which it subscribes, after Andy Burnham said he wanted to explore closer economic ties with Europe. The prime minister has said rejoining the bloc’s internal market was among options he could pursue as part of a reshaping of ties since the UK’s exit from the EU nearly six years ago. But Michel Barnier told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that EU members would insist on the UK readopting certain conditions, such as the free movement of people, to gain access. He said there was not a ‘single market à la carte’ menu from which the UK could pick and choose what elements it wanted to adopt.” (11/07/26)
“Israeli authorities have released Palestinian journalist Abed Abou Shhadeh after detaining him for five days without charge. Speaking after his release, Abou Shhadeh said on Sunday that his detention was part of ‘political measures’ intended not only for him ‘but to intimidate Arab society as a whole’. … Abou Shhadeh was held in a Shin Bet intelligence facility in Petah Tikva, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, after being detained on Tuesday on suspicion of ‘contact with a foreign agent’. He was suspected of receiving money from foreign sources in order to support Israel’s Arab voters, according to the legal rights group Adalah, which is part of his defence team.” (11/08/26)
“The manager of the late country music star Dolly Parton has dropped a lawsuit against her nephew. The civil case was filed by the company that manages Parton’s business interests less than a month after her death. It included allegations of threats, intimidation and coercion against Bryan Seaver, the relative who publicly confirmed Parton had died in August. A temporary restraining order was also sought. Seaver, who previously served as Parton’s head of security, denied the allegations. In a statement to the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, Seaver’s attorneys said he was ‘grateful to put this misunderstanding behind him so that the family can grieve peacefully’.” (11/07/26)
