NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The United States plans to suspend South Africa and Rwanda from duty-free trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), with the suspensions taking effect on Jan. 1, 2027.U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Monday notified Congress of the news. President (Donald) Trump found that the governments of Rwanda and South Africa are engaging in practices that are inconsistent with AGOA's eligibility criteria, he said in a statement.Both countries are being suspended due to barriers that undermine American trade and investment and practices that pose a threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests in the region.South Africa has been the largest beneficiary of AGOA, exporting about 1.7 billion dollars' worth of goods to the United States under the program in 2025, with main exports including car parts, citrus fruit and wine. Rwanda's main exports to the United States are coffee and minerals.Enacted in 2000, AGOA has been the centerpiece of U.S. economic engagement with Africa, offering duty-free access to the U.S. consumer market for thousands of products from eligible countries, local media reported Monday.

RAMALLAH, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Palestinian families returned to their homes in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Monday after the Israeli army announced the end of its 11-day military operation.The families have returned to al-Jalda, Deir Bahha, Khallat al-Maghariba and other targeted neighborhoods, while reporting damage, according to Palestinian sources.Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari told Xinhua the municipal crews had begun clearing debris, reopening roads and assessing damage, while students were returning to schools.Earlier in the day, Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin announced that Israeli forces had withdrawn from the neighborhoods they had raided, allowing residents to return.The Israeli military launched the Hebron operation following a shooting incident on Oct. 23 in which two Israeli soldiers were killed, vowing to displace residents and carry out demolitions.Approximately 537 families, comprising nearly 3,300 people, had been forced to leave their homes since then, according to the Support and Relief Committee in Hebron Governorate.The daily losses exceeded 12 million shekels (about 3.8 million U.S. dollars), while infrastructure damage surpassed 6 million shekels, according to Abdo Idris, head of the Hebron Chamber of Commerce and Industry.The operation also disrupted education for around 262,000 students in 589 schools across the governorate, Idris said.