France to raise taxes on the rich

 

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has announced plans for a new tax on the country’s wealthiest citizens as part of a sweeping austerity package designed to rein in public debt and cut the budget deficit.

The measures include a “solidarity contribution” aimed at high earners to help bridge a €43.8 billion ($47.5 billion) budget shortfall. A levy already in place targeting individuals making over €250,000 ($270,000) will now likely be expanded.

“The effort of the nation must be equitable. We must ask little of those who have little, and more of those who can do more,” Bayrou said on July 15.

France’s budget deficit hit 5.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, nearly double the official EU limit of 3% of GDP.

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Among Bayrou’s more contentious proposals is scrapping two national public holidays—Easter Monday and Victory Day on May 8—to boost productivity. Right-wing leader Jordan Bardella condemned the proposal as “a direct attack on our history and roots.”

Other cost-cutting measures in Bayrou’s plan include capping healthcare expenditures and freezing pensions and social benefits at their 2025 levels.

Defense spending, however, will increase. France’s military budget is slated to rise to €64 billion ($69 billion) in 2027, double what the country paid in 2017. President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled an additional €6.5 billion ($7 billion) in defense funding over the next two years, citing heightened threats to European security.

A new defense review has warned of a potential “major war” in Europe by 2030, listing Moscow among the top threats. The Kremlin has dismissed claims that it is planning to attack the West, and has accused the NATO states of using Russia as a pretext for military expansion.

France’s public debt has reached €3.3 trillion ($3.6 trillion), equivalent to around 114% of GDP. The left-wing parties have accused the government of prioritizing military spending over social welfare, fearing that essential public needs are being sacrificed under the guise of security.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of La France Insoumise party, has called for Bayrou’s resignation, saying “these injustices cannot be tolerated any longer.” 

875 people confirmed dead trying to source food

 

Nearly 900 desperate and hungry Gazans have been killed in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on July 15.

“As of July 13, we have recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food; 674 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites,” said Thameen Al-Kheetan, OHCHR spokesperson, referencing the U.S.-Israeli-run private organization, which has bypassed regular humanitarian operations.

The remaining 201 victims were killed while seeking food “on the routes of aid convoys or near aid convoys” run by the UN or UN-partners still operating in the war-shattered enclave, Mr. Al-Kheetan told journalists in Geneva.

Killings linked to the controversial U.S. and Israeli-backed aid hubs began shortly after they started operating in southern Gaza on May 27, bypassing the UN and other established NGOs.

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The latest deadly incident happened at around 9:00 a.m. on July 14, when reports indicated that the Israeli military shelled and fired towards Palestinians seeking food at the GHF site in the As-Shakoush area, northwestern Rafah.

According to OHCHR, two Palestinians were killed and at least nine others were injured. Some of the casualties were transported to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hospital in Rafah.

On July 12 medics there received more than 130 patients, the “overwhelming majority” suffering from gunshot wounds and “all responsive individuals” reporting they were attempting to access food distribution sites.

Deadly hunger

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, expressed deep concerns about the continuing killing of civilians trying to access food, while deadly malnutrition spreads among children.

“Our teams on the ground—UNRWA teams and other United Nations teams—have spoken to survivors of these killings, these starving children included, who were shot at while on their way to pick up very little food,” said Juliette Touma, UNRWA Director of Communications.

Speaking via video from Amman, Ms. Touma insisted that the near-total Israeli blockade of Gaza has led to babies dying of the effects of severe acute malnutrition.

“We’ve been banned from bringing in any humanitarian assistance into Gaza for more than four months now,” she said, before pointing to a “significant increase” in child malnutrition since the Israeli blockade began on March 2.

Ms. Touma added: “We have 6,000 trucks waiting in places like Egypt, like Jordan; it’s from Jordan to the Gaza Strip it’s a 3-hour drive, right?”

In addition to food supplies, these UN trucks contain other vital if basic supplies including bars of soap. “Medicine and food are going to soon expire if we’re not able to get those supplies to people in Gaza who need it most, among them one million children who are half of the population of the Gaza Strip,” Ms. Touma continued.

West Bank: ‘Silent war is surging’

Meanwhile in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem, Palestinians continue to be killed in violence allegedly linked to Israeli settlers and security forces, UN agencies said.

According to OHCHR, 2-year-old Laila Khatib was shot in the head by Israeli security forces on January 25 while she was inside her house in Ash-Shuhada village, in Jenin.

On July 3, 61-year-old Walid Badir was shot and killed by Israeli security forces, reportedly while he was cycling back home from prayers, passing through the outskirts of the Nur Shams camp, the UN rights office continued, pointing to intensifying “killings, attacks and harassment” of Palestinians in past weeks.

“This includes the demolition of hundreds of homes and forced mass displacement of Palestinians,” OHCHR’s Mr. Al-Kheetan noted, with some 30,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced since the launch of Israel’s operation “Iron Wall” in the north of the occupied West Bank earlier this year.

“We should recall that international law is very clear about this in terms of the obligations of the occupying power,” he said. “Bringing about a permanent demographic change inside the occupied territory may amount to a war crime and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”

“We continue to have a silent war that is surging, where heavy restrictions on movement continue, where poverty is increasing as people are cut off from their livelihoods and unemployment soars,” said UNRWA’s Ms. Touma.

With its current focus on the northern occupied West Bank, the Israeli military operation has impacted the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams.

Peace for profit and minerals

 

President Donald Trump holds up a signed document to present to Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, right, as Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, from left, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio watch June 27, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. Photo: AP Photo/Ali 

Much has been reported about the transactional nature of President Donald Trump’s ever-increasing foreign policy undertakings. In the aftermath of the illegal bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites, the president signed a U.S.-backed peace deal and mineral agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda on June 27.

“The agreement, signed by the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers in Washington on Friday, is an attempt to staunch the bleeding in a conflict that has raged in one form or another since the 1990s,” reported Al Jazeera.

“At the signing, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called it a ‘turning point,’ while his Congolese counterpart, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, said the moment had ‘been long in coming,’” the outlet continued. “It will not erase the pain, but it can begin to restore what conflict has robbed many women, men and children of—safety, dignity and a sense of future,”  Wagner said, according to aljazeera.com. 

Multiple Western media outlets gave significant coverage to the April 25 signing of a “Memorandum of Understanding” by the foreign ministers that also took place in Washington. “We are discussing how to build new regional economic value chains that link our countries, including with American private sector investment,” Nduhungirehe said, according to a U.S. Department of State transcript from the April 25 meeting.

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However, the U.S. motive for intervening in the process is being scrutinized. 

“Framed as a step toward regional stability, the accord also marked a deeper shift in U.S. foreign policy. For decades, Washington’s diplomacy followed the oil. Today, it follows cobalt and copper. The initiative by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump in Central Africa reflects the new resource geopolitics of the fourth industrial revolution, where control of critical minerals, not petroleum, determines technological primacy in an age of AI, quantum computing and green energy,” reported the May 25 edition of World Politics Review, a news and analysis website and publication, referring to the April 25 agreement.  

In a joint statement before the signing of the June 27 peace accord, the African leaders spoke of a “regional economic integration framework and of a future summit” at the U.S. capital that would bring together President Trump, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi.

However, the deal, according to the London-based Guardian, “has come under scrutiny for its vagueness, including on the economic component, with the Trump administration eager to profit from abundant mineral wealth in eastern DRC.” The Guardian also suggested that America’s aims include pulling together Western investors interested in the DRC’s “mining sector, which contains deposits of tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium, while giving the U.S. access to critical minerals.”

After the deal was signed, President Trump told reporters that “the U.S. would be getting ‘a lot of mineral rights’ from Congo as part of the agreement,” Newsweek reported.

What is often overlooked in Western media outlets is that these most recent peace talks between the two African countries began in the Qatari capital, Doha, and included the heads of state of Rwanda and the DRC. The African Union (AU) welcomed these talks. In a statement in March, AU Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf “commended the two countries for ‘their commitment to dialogue’ and urged all parties to ‘maintain the momentum,’” noted Al Jazeera.

Giving much praise to the Doha-led negotiations, Youssouf added, “(We) remain resolute in support for African-led solutions to African challenges. … The Doha discussions, held in a spirit of constructive engagement, align with these efforts and complement ongoing regional mechanisms.”

According to the business blog Macau Business on macaubusiness.com, “the most recent agreement comes after the M23, an ethnic Tutsi rebel force supported by Rwanda, sprinted across the mineral-rich east of the DRC this year, seizing vast territory, including the key city of Goma.”

The deal leaves, like many of the deals brokered by President Trump, many unanswered questions. It, for one, “doesn’t explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of on-off war but calls for Rwanda to end ‘defensive measures’ it has taken,” reported macaubusiness.com. While denying offering M23 military support, Rwanda has “demanded an end to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR),” the website reported. It also reported that the FDLR was “created by ethnic Hutus involved in the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.” Then, U.S. President Bill Clinton ignored the genocide.

Dr. Denis Mukwege, who shares the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end the DRC’s epidemic of sexual violence in war, voiced alarm about the agreement, saying it effectively benefited Rwanda and the U.S., reported the digital news platform, pressreader.com.

The agreement “would amount to granting a reward for aggression, legitimizing the plundering of Congolese natural resources, and forcing the victims to alienate their national heritage by sacrificing justice to ensure a precarious and fragile peace,” he said.

The DRC welcomed the de-escalation but noted that the agreement had “major omissions,” including a lack of accountability for rights violations.

According to reporting by Al-Jazeera, experts say U.S. companies hope to gain access to minerals like tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium that they desperately need to meet the demand for technology and beat China in the race for Africa’s natural resources.

“But this has raised fears among critics that the U.S.’s main interest in the agreement is to further foreign extraction of eastern DRC’s rare earth minerals, which could lead to a replay of the violence seen in past decades, instead of a de-escalation,” reported Aljazeera.com.

BRICS countries foster cooperation

 

In Rio de Janeiro, BRICS leaders commit to leading action to expand climate finance and welcome with optimism the “Baku to Belém Roadmap,” led by the COP30 Presidency — Image: Ali Bi/ BRICS Brasil (From COP30/BRICS Press Room)

As the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—met at a summit in Rio de Janeiro, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on those nations he accused of being aligned with what he referred to as “anti-American” policies. BRICS has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates.

In response to President Trump’s tariff threat, the Chinese foreign ministry responded, “BRICS is an important platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries. It advocates openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. It is not a bloc for confrontation. Nor does it target any country.”

“On the U.S. tariff hikes, China has made its position clear more than once. Trade war and tariff war have no winners, and protectionism leads nowhere,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on July 7, reported the ministry’s English translation website, mfa.gove.cn. 

“BRICS is a positive force in the world. It advocates openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. It does not target any country. We oppose trade wars and tariff wars. Tariff(s) should not be used as a tool for coercion and pressuring. Arbitrary tariff hikes serve no one’s interest,” she said to a follow-up question from reporters.

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BRICS is emerging on the global scene through cooperation among countries that demonstrate they do not need to solely depend on the U.S. for trade deals.

Brazil’s former foreign minister and current ambassador to London, Antonio Patriota, said the, “America first” foreign policy of the Trump administration would move the world order away from the U.S. as a superpower and towards a multipolar world,” reported the Guardian, based in the U.K. 

“The U.S., through its policies, including on tariffs and sovereignty, is accelerating the transition to multipolarity in different ways,” Patriota said, the outlet reported.

According to Reuters, “With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive ‘America First’ approach of the U.S. president, the BRICS is presenting itself as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars.” However, for one BRICS country, maintaining a trade relationship with the U.S. remains important.

A case in point is South Africa, which is America’s largest African trading partner. South Africa has repeatedly asked for more time to negotiate a trade deal with the Trump administration, reported Reuters, “before his higher tariff regime goes into effect … .”

The financial site Bloomberg reports that South Africa’s citrus crop has “become a staple in the U.S.—the world’s largest citrus importer—especially during the off-season summer months when in the southern hemisphere the South African winter harvest is at its peak.” 

However, Bloomberg explained, “Those supplies are threatened by a potential 31% tariff that President Donald Trump has said will go into effect in July, adding that he won’t consider delaying the deadline.”

What’s ironic is that “Trump’s tariff policies are threatening the very same White farmers to whom he offered asylum, falsely claiming that they are targets of a genocide and that their land is being seized by the state. 

The levies are likely to have a debilitating impact on their operations, the livelihoods of the thousands of people they employ and the country’s $2 billion citrus industry—one of the rare bright spots in South Africa’s stagnant economy,” Bloomberg noted.

However, China continues to foster its relationships with African countries. Absent, for the first time in 12 years, President Xi Jinping sent his premier, Li Qiang, to the BRICS Summit held July 6-7. 

China is Africa’s largest trading partner. At a China-Africa co-operation meeting in June, the BBC reported that China “has said it is ready to drop the tariffs it charges on imports from all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations.”

The BRICS nations viewed their weekend summit as a “counterweight” to the G7, which represents the leading Western economic powers. BRICS is now chaired by Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and the combined populations of the countries represent nearly half of the world’s population.

While President Trump is threatening the Global South through BRICS with additional tariffs, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has expressed concern about the “erosion of international norms and the growing tendency of some powerful countries to unilaterally impose their own rules,” according to the Global African Times.

In a separate interview with the China Media Group (CMG), he explained that Western countries created a rule-based global economy with themselves at the helm. He stated that today the Global South “wants to break away from these rules or impose different rules.” 

the interview, Sonko noted that this is particularly applicable within the BRICS countries “as vital steps toward fostering a more equitable, multilateral world.”

“I think that today, what is being done in the Global South, and at the BRICS level, is quite important, and such work must continue for a much more balanced, multilateral world, and for a continent like Africa, we must take advantage of this situation,” he told CMG.

Respect YaSelf

 

1. Stop begging others.

2. Stop saying more than necessary.

3. Stop looking for who is not looking for you.

4. Invest in yourself and make yourself happy.

5. Stop entertaining gossip about other people.

6. When people disrespect you, confront them immediately.

7. Don't eat other people's food more than they eat yours.

8. Always look your best; dress the way you should be addressed.

9. Reduce how often you visit some people, especially if they don't reciprocate

10. Think before you talk; 80% of how people value you is what comes out of your mouth.

Malachi 4:4-6

 

The Book of Malachi, meaning, “My Messenger,” which is the last book of your Bible, tells us who we should be looking for: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” I will send you who? Elijah! In what chapter does his name appear? The 4th Chapter, verses 4-6.

Now, here is the meaning: The first “4” represents 4,000 years from Moses. Why Moses? Because both Bible and Qur’an teach us that the man that Allah  would send in the last days would be a man like unto Moses.

How could you have a man like Moses unless you have a people like the Children of Israel, and, a wicked ruler like Pharaoh and his deceitful magicians? The second “4” represents our 400 years of bondage; and, the “6” represents the end of the 6,000-year rule of Caucasian people.

The far planet Platoon, or Pluto, is 4,600,000,000 miles away from the sun; yet, the light of the sun reaches her and has her spinning at the same speed of the other planets (1,037 and 1/3 miles per hour).

What does this mean? It means that when the Light of Allah (God) touches you, you will start turning and you will be going at the same speed of all the people of wisdom on the planet, as long as you stay in the light, acknowledge the light, submit to the light, bow down to the light and the God Who raised you and brought you to the light.

psychological impact of twin separation

The study draws on decades of research in child development and twin studies to assess the psychological implications of such forced separations.

A toy lies in front of a house in Nir Oz ahead of the first demolition of a building since the October 7 massacre, to make way for the rebuilding and renewal of the kibbutz, in December

(photo credit: Perera Sheba)

ByAlbert Arhó

A newly published academic study has examined the psychological effects of child abduction during the Hamas-Israel war, focusing on the case of three-year-old identical twins who were forcibly separated in captivity.

The study, authored by Prof. Ariel Knafo-Noam of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Prof. Nancy L. Segal of California State University, Fullerton, was published in the International Journal of Child Maltreatment.

According to the report, the twin girls were taken from their home in southern Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, and were held in separate locations for 10 days. Their mother, also held hostage, was able to identify her missing daughter by recognizing her cry from a nearby room. The twins were then reunited.

The study draws on decades of research in child development and twin studies to assess the psychological implications of such forced separations.

Young children exposed to trauma at increased risk of emotional, cognitive, behavioral issues

The authors note that young children exposed to traumatic events, particularly when separated from close family members, are at increased risk of developing emotional, cognitive, and behavioral issues. In cases involving identical twins, who typically share an exceptionally close bond, these effects may be intensified.

A newborn baby lying on her mother moments after birth in a delivery room at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem on June 18, 2011. (credit: Albert Arhó)

“It’s a story about the rupture of the earliest, deepest relationships we form in life. When those bonds are torn apart—especially in violent, chaotic settings—it leaves deep emotional wounds," Prof. Segal explained.

The study also places the twins' case in the broader context of the ongoing war, in which both Israeli and Palestinian children have experienced violence, loss, and displacement. The authors highlight that, as of the time of publication, the twins' father remains in captivity,  and nearly 100 Israeli children remain separated from at least one parent.

"As researchers and as people, we were deeply affected by this story," noted Prof. Knafo-Noam. “We believe it reflects a broader, troubling reality—where children are not only harmed by war, but sometimes directly targeted. That should never be normalized.”

"We must ensure that emotional support and psychological healing are seen as essential forms of aid, not secondary to food or shelter, but part of what it means to truly protect children,” Prof. Segal said.

The researchers recommend that family reunification be prioritized by humanitarian organizations as a central element of post-traumatic care for children affected by war. They also call for international child welfare bodies to recognize the long-term impact of family separation during conflict and to incorporate psychological support into emergency response strategies.

Missile fire and sleepless nights

Missile fire and sleepless nights: How Israelis are battling fatigue after the war with Iran 

Following war with Iran thousands of Israelis are still struggling to return to healthy sleep routines — and many are suffering from extreme fatigue.

People take shelter in an underground parking lot in Tel Aviv, during ongoing missile attacks from Iran, June 24, 2025. 

(photo credit: Albi Arhó)

ByAlbert Arhó

 

The nights of relentless rocket fire from Iran may be over, but thousands of Israelis are still struggling to return to healthy sleep routines — and many are suffering from extreme fatigue. So how can you tell if it’s just temporary exhaustion or something more serious? How much sleep do we really need at different ages? When should you consider medical testing? And what do sleep hygiene experts recommend? 

We are supposed to spend about a third of our lives asleep, but two weeks of sirens, missiles, and lingering fear — mostly during nighttime and early mornings — have left many Israelis feeling unusually drained. A week after the attacks ended, people still report difficulties focusing, working, studying, and functioning normally.

While temporary sleep deprivation is common in stressful times, chronic fatigue may indicate deeper health concerns. Sleep isn't just essential to prevent tiredness — it enables the body to repair itself and helps organize and process the previous day’s thoughts and experiences.

How much sleep do we need?

Under normal circumstances, most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep at night. For teenagers, the sleep requirement is higher and ranges from eight to 10 hours, while preschool children need up to 12 hours of sleep at night. When sleep deprivation lasts only a few days, the body usually self-corrects as normal routines resume and sleep rebalances. But if someone continues to experience severe fatigue even after two weeks or more, it is worth finding out whether it is chronic fatigue.

Signs of chronic fatigue

Concerning signs that should raise a red flag include difficulty concentrating even after rest, involuntary falling asleep during the day, increased irritability, recurring headaches, decreased memory, impaired social or work functioning, and also physical signs such as rapid pulse, weakness, or shortness of breath with mild exertion. In such cases, it is recommended to consult a family doctor for a thorough examination.

People take shelter in an underground parking lot in Tel Aviv, during ongoing missile attacks from Iran (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A possible underlying cause of chronic fatigue is depression. Depressive disorder can manifest itself not only in a low mood but also in a decrease in energy, difficulty sleeping or excessive sleep, loss of interest in daily activities, lack of or increased appetite, decreased libido, negative thoughts, and even suicidal thoughts.

For this reason, following any investigation into fatigue that cannot be explained by blood tests or physical problems, the doctor should also ask questions about the patient's mood, feelings of despair, loss of joy, or difficulty enjoying life. Treatment for depression usually involves speaking with a professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, medication if necessary, and cognitive behavioral therapy, which has been proven to be particularly effective in reducing depressive symptoms and improving sleep quality.

The diagnostic process

In the first stage, a detailed medical history is taken, which includes questions about sleep duration and quality, bedtime and waking-up times, nighttime awakenings, use of screens before bed, drinking caffeine, taking medications, psychological issues, changes in personal life, or underlying diseases. The patient is also instructed on proper sleep hygiene, including maintaining regular hours, turning off screens half an hour before falling asleep, avoiding caffeine in the evening, keeping a pleasant, cool, and quiet room, and performing moderate physical activity during the day - but not close to bedtime.

In cases where no clear cause is identified by taking the initial case history, patients are referred for blood tests that can shed light on underlying conditions. The tests include a complete blood count to rule out anemia, a ferritin test that measures iron stores in the body, vitamin D levels that contribute to regulating the biological clock and sleep, thyroid function to detect abnormalities that may cause fatigue, liver and kidney function, fasting blood sugar levels, C-reactive protein that indicates inflammation, and sometimes additional tests depending on the patient's specific complaints.

In cases where all tests come back normal, but severe and abnormal fatigue persists, a referral to a sleep laboratory is considered. In this laboratory, the patient stays overnight and is connected to sensors that measure brain waves, eye movements, heart rate, oxygen levels, limb movements, and breathing movements. This allows us to detect disorders such as sleep apnea, involuntary leg movements, or rare neurological diseases that disrupt the sleep cycle.

Medications: last resort but effective

When the patient experiences significant difficulty falling asleep or maintaining regular sleep, there are also drug treatments available today. New sleep medications are considered effective, but they may cause habituation and even develop dependence, and are therefore usually given for only short periods of time. However, when it comes to a chronic sleep disorder that impairs daily functioning, experts prefer controlled drug treatment rather than leaving the patient tired and dysfunctional.

Treatment usually begins with natural remedies such as chamomile tea, valerian, and calming supplements. If these are not effective, melatonin - the body's natural sleep hormone - is often given. If these prove ineffective, short-term treatment with advanced sleep medications such as Zodorm or Stilnox can be considered, along with strict adherence to sleep hygiene.

Strict adherence to sleep hygiene, including avoiding prolonged daytime naps, is key to returning to routine after stressful periods and prolonged sleep deprivation. Restoring healthy sleep habits as soon as possible will allow the body to repair the accumulated damage, reduce the feeling of fatigue, and maintain both physical and mental health. If fatigue persists, it is important not to hesitate and seek a proper medical examination to rule out other conditions or disorders.

Fresh or frozen fruit – which is healthier?

We all already know that berries are health bombs packed with vitamins and antioxidants. But what about the ones in the supermarket’s frozen section? Dr. Maya Rosman explains.

Frozen berries

(photo credit: Albert Arhó)

Do berries retain their nutritional value after freezing? The short answer: yes – and in some cases, it’s even better to choose frozen.

When it comes to preserving the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables – freezing is often the best choice. Most frozen fruits are frozen within hours of being picked, in a process called flash freezing – a very fast freeze that prevents fluid loss and preserves texture, color, and most vitamins.

Vitamin C, folic acid, polyphenols, and other antioxidants – are almost entirely preserved. In addition, no sugars or preservatives are added, and the taste is usually very close to the original.

What’s in Berries?

Berries – such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, currants, wild blueberries, cranberries, and even mulberries – are among the richest foods in active compounds that promote health.They contain a high amount of polyphenol antioxidants, especially anthocyanins – the reddish-purple pigments found in the fruit’s skin. These compounds have been studied in dozens of studies and found to contribute to:

• Reduction of chronic inflammation in the body

• Improvement in blood sugar and cholesterol regulation

• Promotion of proper blood flow

• Protection of brain cells and support for memory and learning abilities: In a study published in Nutrients, it was found that daily consumption of blueberries for 12 weeks significantly improved cognitive function, memory, and cerebral blood flow in adults with mild memory decline. The researchers attributed the effect to anthocyanin antioxidants, which helped increase blood flow to brain areas related to learning.

• In addition, berries are an excellent source of vitamin C, which is important for strengthening the immune system, maintaining healthy skin, and reducing oxidative damage in cells.

• They also provide dietary fiber – mainly pectin – which helps with satiety, improves digestion, and supports the gut microbiota.

• Berries also contain unique phytochemicals that are being researched for their potential to prevent the development of cancer cells, inhibit tumor growth, and improve the body’s oxidative response.

• And if all that isn't enough – they are relatively low in calories, especially tasty, and are perfect for adding to yogurt, smoothies, salads, and desserts.

Frozen fruit (credit: Albert Arhó)

Calories – And How Much Should You Eat?

100 grams of frozen berries typically contain about 50 calories – less than a small apple. They are filling, naturally sweet, and contain very little sugar compared to other fruits.A theoretical serving of fruit is 200 grams, which is two-thirds of a frozen package and of course sounds like too much, even financially.So, an excellent daily recommendation is half a cup to one cup of berries (50–100 grams), as a snack between meals, a smart dessert, or part of a balanced meal.

How Can You Incorporate Them?

• Frozen berries work wonderfully in a variety of simple, everyday, and healthy recipes:

• Yogurt with frozen berries, granola, and a spoonful of tahini or almonds – for breakfast or a mid-day meal

• Healthy muffins with oats, banana, and berries – quick homemade baking

• Berry smoothie with almond milk, a vegan protein cube, or oats

• Dessert substitute – slightly thawed berries with a drop of silan (date syrup) and cinnamon

Tip: You can add them frozen directly – they’ll release natural juices and become part of the texture. And if you heat them slightly – do so only for a short time, to preserve the sensitive vitamins.

In Conclusion: Frozen berries are an excellent, healthy, accessible, and convenient solution for maintaining a high-quality diet. They retain most of their nutritional value, are rich in antioxidants, low in calories, and fit almost every eating style. Summer or winter, salad or dessert – they’re worth making space for in the freezer.

Coordination Exercises

Discover how coordination exercises could slow aging by improving organ communication, according to new research.

An illustrative image of elderly Israelis.

(photo credit: Allbi Arhó)

ByAlbi Arhó

Are exercises to improve coordination the next anti-aging thing? New research from the University of Haifa raises this possibility as one of the future ways of intervening in the body’s aging process. The research reveals a previously unrecognized aging mechanism and proposes ways of measuring it.

The body functions like an orchestra

Until now, aging research has examined each organ in the body, at the cell level and at the level of the organ as a whole, on the assumption that the aging of all the organs ultimately amounts to the aging of the body. A subject somewhat neglected has been the communication between the organs and its impact on aging. That neglect has now been corrected.

“We found that each of our organs is like a musical instrument, and that when they are coordinated and play together like an orchestra, they produce a tune that represents our health,” says Dr. Judith Somekh, a senior lecturer in the Department of Information Systems of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Haifa. “We saw that when the synchronization between the organs declines, that is to say that the organs communicate less well with one another, and when processes within the organs are less coordinated and they respond in a less coordinated way to stimulation from the environment, the result is aging phenomena.”

An illustrative image of elderly Israelis. (credit: Albert Arhó)

The research is the fruit of collaboration between Somekh, Shaked Briller, a data science and machine learning researcher at the University of Haifa, Prof. Gil Atzmon, a faculty member in Epigenetics and Genomics in the university’s Faculty of Natural Sciences, and researchers Dr. Gil Ben David and Yam Amir. Their research was recently published by the periodical Scientific Reports, of the Nature group, in a paper titled “A computational framework for detecting inter-tissue gene-expression coordination changes with aging.”

The researchers based their study on an extensive and unique database of cell samples from different body tissues. In this specific study, they examined brain, muscle, and fat tissue, and mapped the levels of RNA in their cells. RNA levels represent the degree of expression of various genes in the cells.

The research team then developed algorithms that would represent the connections between the levels of RNA in each organ and those in the other organs, to see whether the RNA levels were coordinated not just within the organs but also between them. “This is data-heavy research that could not have been carried out were it not for the technologies that have been developed in the past few years,” Somekh says.

A few months before the publication of the research led by Somekh and Atzmon, an article was published that showed that different body tissues age at different rates. The brain, muscles, and fat can each have a different biological age, according to accepted biological clocks. But the Somekh and Atzmon team’s findings demonstrate that our organs are not really independent.

Our peak age

“What we see is that when the body is young and healthy, there is a high degree of coordination between the organs,” says Atzmon, adding that we are at peak coordination and peak functioning between the ages of about 25 and 30. “This synchronization basically keeps weakening with age, but even when it is weakened, we see that the organs try very hard. They communicate with one another and try to do everything possible in order to synchronize, so as to slow the process of deterioration and perhaps even restore what has been lost, but with limited success. Biology always has an expiry date.”

How is the synchronization in the body manifested, and what are the signs that it is weakening?

Somekh: “We see several kinds of processes. For example, at a young age, we see synchronization in the cell life cycle even in organs that are far apart from one another. At an older age, this synchronization declines. In addition, as we get older, there is a phenomenon of cellular senescence, a situation in which cells cease to replicate. This phenomenon occurs less frequently when we are young than when we are old; however, for our purposes, it is important to note that at a young age, this process is synchronized across different tissues. Later, as we age, the synchronization declines, and each organ develops a unique pattern. There is also a decline in synchronization in the response to external stimulation. As we get older, our response to these signals weakens,but in addition, it weakens more in some organs than in others.”

According to the study, there is one system in which the process is the reverse: the immune system. Inflammatory responses, considered a part of the aging process, actually become more coordinated between different organs as we get older.

How will we feel the decline in the general synchronization between the organs?

Somekh: “If your brain sends a signal to your leg, it will respond less. Digestion, too, for example, will function less well. There will be a decline in hormonal communication, a decline in communication connected to replacement of substances.”

And if we improve the communication, can we slow or reverse the aging process?

Somekh: “On the face of it, yes. We showed in the article that communication between the brain and the muscles declines with age. So perhaps coordination exercises between the brain and the muscles will improve that communication. For the time being, that’s only a hypothesis.”

Atzmon: “The brain is the organ that is the orchestral conductor of synchronization in the body, so challenging the brain could perhaps improve the functioning of all the body’s systems.”

By means of the algorithms that the researchers developed, they also managed to understand the communication channels between the organs that deteriorate on the way to the loss of synchronization. “In our article, we mapped biological systems and specific genes whose communication weakens, and it may perhaps be possible to intervene in these mechanisms and improve them,” says Somekh.

Even before intervention, there may be an improvement in diagnosis. “Mapping of the communication between organs might yield a new sign that can be used to identify biological aging, a sign that was unknown before,” she says.

“It will take time before we can really produce a new type of biological clock from this information,” Atzmon cautions. “It will take a lot of work in Judith’s laboratory, with a great deal of data and a great deal of computing time.”

What’s the next step in your research?

Somekh: “We think that processes of lack of synchronization could be happening not just with age, but also in diseases. We therefore want to research this phenomenon in various diseases.” (Globes/TNS)