Connetwork

09/05/2025

Inside Trump’s negotiating strategy with China.

A few hours after President Donald Trump’s trade negotiating team boarded a flight for the most important economic meetings in the world, their boss took to social media to publicly throw a curveball into the negotiations.

That was the point – not necessarily the path.

Trump’s decision to float the possibility of cutting his 145% tariffs on China to 80% gave the impression that Trump was negotiating with himself before the discussions started. But the substance of the message, was not a surprise to his top negotiators, who have discussed the possibility of lowering America’s tariff on China in internal discussions ahead of the US-China talks in Geneva, Switzerland.

But it was certainly news to Chinese officials.

Trump’s feigned deference to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who he said in the post would make any final decision, was intended to elevate “Scott B” in the eyes of his Chinese counterparts. In reality, US officials are clear-eyed about the fact it will be Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping who will ultimately need to cement any major agreement.

Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer landed in Geneva, Switzerland, for two days of meetings with top Chinese officials eyeing what may be viewed as less ambitious, but no less important, outcomes.
White House officials have made clear they view the China talks on a separate track than the furious scramble to secure trade agreements with dozens of other nations. Those negotiations are officially on the clock after Trump’s decision to pause the April 2nd “reciprocal” tariff rates for 90 days.

Trump’s advisors have framed some of those bilateral negotiations as another lever to exert pressure on China’s economy, with a specific focus on securing early agreements with Indo-Pacific countries including South Korea and Japan.

The White House approach to China is defined in its nascent stages as an altogether different approach separate and apart from the roughly 20 prioritized negotiations under way.

Administration officials have framed a process intended to start with mutual steps toward de-escalation, followed by demands for specific moves by China to address Trump’s priorities, such as the facilitation of fentanyl production and resuscitating the first term US-China “Phase One” trade deal.

Those steps would set the stage for more expansive discussions about the broader trade and economic relationship between the two nations.

“This talk is about: Can we get to a stable place and maybe that’s a foundation for something more,” Greer said Thursday in an interview with CONNETWORKNEWS.

More immediate US concerns over export controls placed by China on rare earths may also drive potential early-stage agreements, but any kind of wide-ranging agreement is at best a long-term process.

Unless, of course, Trump decides otherwise.

09/05/2025

New Israeli development PHARAOH reveals nature’s secret to healthy long life

Nowadays, we can demand that PHARAOH grant us healthy aging. PHAROAH is the acronym of Positive Posttranslational Modifications Regulator of Healthspan developed at Bar-Ilan University (BIU) in Ramat Gan. It helps people both longer and free from disabilities and disease complications.

The team used the name PHARAOH because they produced a transgenic mouse they named “Moses” that lives 30% longer than ordinary mice, due to having different genes. Although it is claimed that when one eats less, one lives longer, this special rodent is, in fact, chubby and thanks to its expression of the SIRT6 (sirtuin) protein at high levels – they age more slowly and act like young mice as if their diets had been restricted.

Humanity has witnessed over the past few decades a remarkable and continuous extension of lifespan – but this progress has been accompanied by a growing aging population increasingly affected by age-related disease such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and diabetes. To extend not only lifespan but also the amount of time people can enjoy good health (“healthspan”), a more profound understanding of the biological mechanisms that support healthy aging is vital.

In nature, the lifespans of mammals vary dramatically, from only one or two years in some rodents to over a century in whales and humans. This extraordinary diversity raises a fundamental question: What enables long-lived mammals to maintain health into old age?

The search for an answer led to an urgent need for new approaches for extending human healthspan. A deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms of healthy ageing is required. Armed with such knowledge, it will be possible to develop interventions that will help alleviate the negative impact of ageing and convert the elderly population from dependent to contributing individuals. One intriguing option to explore how healthy ageing may be achieved is by analyzing nature’s largest ongoing biological experiment – evolution – and in particular, the development of long-lived animals.

In a new study published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications under the title “The mammalian longevity associated acetylome,” BIU researchers deal with this question by making use of evolution, which is the most extensive and long-term experiment of all.

Until now, few studies have tried to understand the mechanisms underlying the increased lifespans of long-lived organisms. These studies suggested that such species develop and enhance specific longevity-favoring characteristics including body size, brain development, sociality, increased DNA repair, and protection against tumor formation.

The research was led by Prof. Haim Cohen, director of the Sagol Healthy Human Longevity Center at BIU’s Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences in collaboration with Dr. Sagi Snir of the University of Haifa. Sarit Feldman-Trabelsi, a doctoral student in Cohen’s lab, developed the novel computational tool called PHARAOH.
New Israeli development compared 107 different species' protein sequences
Using advanced statistical methods, PHARAOH compared protein sequences across 107 different species of mammals that have varying lifespans. This approach made it possible for the researchers to trace specific protein changes, especially posttranslational modifications (PTMs) such as acetylation, throughout evolution, and identify those consistently enriched in long-lived species.

Cohen, who studies the molecular mechanisms that determine the rate of aging and researches longevity and healthy aging, told CONNETWORKNEWS that PTMs regulate essential cellular processes and have been linked to increased resilience against age-related diseases including cancer. By comparing long-lived and short-lived mammals, the team uncovered consistent protein modifications connected with extended lifespan. Experimental validation confirmed that the PTMs identified by PHARAOH play significant biological roles in aging and disease resistance.

In the course of his research, Cohen showed that SIRT6 protein levels increase under conditions of calorie restriction and even fasting. These findings suggested that SIRT6 protein plays a key role in extending lifespan and prolonging healthy life through caloric restriction. Age-related diabetes and inflammation were significantly eliminated among them and gene expression was almost identical to that under calorie restriction. The SIRT6 protein was found to protect against the development of frailty that characterizes the elderly, who may suffer from fatigue and inactivity; at a very old age, mice that overexpressed the protein showed the same level of physical activity as young mice.

09/05/2025

Arab media indicates change in US demands in Gaza deal, Iran, US to continue nuclear talks.

The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) struck several Hamas terrorists who were operating in the area of Jabalya, in northern Gaza, the security forces announced on Friday.

Four Palestinians were killed.

"Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence," the military said, adding, "The terrorist organizations systematically violate international law, exploiting civilian infrastructure and the Gazan population as human shields for terrorist activity."

22/06/2024

US tells Israel it will support Israel in a conflict with Hezbollah

Senior US officials told Israeli officials that in the event of war in the North with Hezbollah, the US was ready to provide Israel with all the support it needed, according to a CNN report.

According to the report, the promise was conveyed to Israel at a meeting held by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi in Washington this week.

22/06/2024

Kuwait urges its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country amid increasing tensions

The Kuwaiti Foreign Affairs Ministry has called on its citizens who are currently in Lebanon to leave the country due to fears of escalation and the transition to full-scale war between the Hezbollah terrorist organization and Israel.

22/06/2024

Anti-tank missiles directly hit two houses in Metulla

Anti-tank missiles directly hit two houses in Metulla on Saturday, Walla reported. Fires have broken out in the houses and their yards.

22/06/2024

Militia kills at least 23 people in eastern Congo village attacks

A militia killed at least 23 people in attacks on several villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province in recent days, local authorities said on Saturday.

The Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) group, one of many armed groups operating in the conflict-ridden east, carried out the killings in Djugu territory on Thursday and Friday.

"Most of the victims were killed with machetes, but those who tried to flee were shot. In all these villages, people's belongings were taken, houses were burnt down," said Vital Tungulo, president of Djugu's Nyali-Kilo community.

The motive for the attacks was not clear but militia violence in Congo is linked to long-running competition for influence and the region's rich mineral resources.

28/12/2023

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27/12/2023

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29/10/2023

Tinubu meets German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz in A*o Rock;

President Bola Tinubu on Sunday met with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The German leader began his two-day visit to Nigeria on Sunday and will hold talks with government officials and players in the private sector during his stay in Africa’s biggest economy.

On his arrival, Olaf Scholz was received by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, alongside another top Nigerian government official.

The two-day visit by the German Chancellor between the 29th and 30th of October is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Germany and Nigeria.

Scholz will proceed to Lagos where he will open a Nigeria-German Business Conference organised by the Nigerian-German Chamber of Commerce.

While in Lagos, he will interface with representatives of Nigerian Civil Society as well as with Nigerian start-up entrepreneurs.

Along with the delegation, Chancellor Scholz will take part in a tour of the city of Lagos to gain insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by a megacity such as Lagos.

29/10/2023

Israeli troops push into Gaza as war enters ‘second stage’:

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says his country’s war with Hamas has entered its ‘second stage’ as Israeli troops and armoured vehicles push into Gaza in an expansion of ground operations.

29/10/2023

UNIFIL says peacekeeper injured on Lebanese-Israeli border:

United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL said on Sunday that one of its members was injured after shells hit the mission's base near the village of Houla on the Lebanese-Israeli border on Saturday.

The Israeli army and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon have been exchanging fire on a daily basis since the start of the Gaza conflict three weeks ago.

UNIFIL said on Saturday that its headquarters near the Lebanese coastal town of Naqoura was also damaged by a shell that landed inside the base.