Hello!🐦‍⬛

A raven has landed with your weekly intelligence briefing. We've sifted through the global noise to bring you only what matters. Prepare for this week's essential developments—distilled, unbiased, and delivered in one swift flight.

China Evaluating Possibility of Trade Negotiations with U.S. 🇨🇳 🇺🇸 💰 🧧

• China stated it is evaluating the possibility of starting trade negotiations with the U.S.

• Senior U.S. officials have recently reached out multiple times hoping to start tariff negotiations.

• China reiterated its request for the U.S. to remove all unilateral tariffs as a sign of sincerity.

• U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs of 145% on imported Chinese goods, leading to China's retaliatory levies of 125%.

• Analysts cautioned that reaching a comprehensive deal will be a complex and time-consuming endeavor.

• The unpredictability of Trump is seen as a wild card Beijing must consider before entering negotiations.

• Talks are expected to be delicate as both sides are reluctant to make concessions on issues vital to national economic security.

• A major ask from China is for tariffs to return to pre-'liberation day' levels, at least during negotiations.

• Some U.S. officials indicated current tariff levels are "not sustainable on the Chinese side" and that a "big deal" could be made.

• Despite practical reductions through exemptions, China's political stance requires the U.S. to roll back all tariffs for meaningful talks.

Source: CNBC.

Israel Prepares for Expanded Offensive in Gaza, Mobilizes Reservists 🇮🇱 🇵🇸

• Israel’s military will mobilize thousands of reservists and plans to expand its offensive in Gaza.

• This expansion follows reports of a plan presented to intensify pressure on Palestinian militant group Hamas.

• The plan includes evacuating Palestinian civilians from northern and central Gaza ahead of expanded operations in those areas.

• Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet was expected to approve this plan.

• Families of the 59 Israeli hostages held by Hamas expressed concern that any escalation in fighting will put the hostages in immediate danger.

• Negotiations to secure the release of the remaining hostages have been stalled for weeks.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Qatari mediators of “playing both sides” in the negotiations.

• Qatar dismissed the accusation as a distortion of its diplomatic efforts.

• Netanyahu said explicitly that defeating Israel’s enemies was a higher objective than securing the release of the remaining hostages.

• Netanyahu’s planned visit to Azerbaijan was rescheduled due to an "intense diplomatic and security schedule" following developments in Gaza and Syria.

Source: CNN.

Raven Bites🐦‍⬛

Politics/General

• Anthony Albanese re-elected as Australia’s Prime Minister. (BBC)

• Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum rejected Trump’s plan to send U.S. troops across the border to fight drug trafficking. (ABC)

Economics/Business/Crypto

• M23 rebels to focus on the economy in Goma, Congo. (Reuters)

• Warren Buffet to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and have Greg Abel replace him by the end of the year. (CNBC)

• Bitcoin surges past $97k this week.(Crypto.news)

Technology

• ‘Fortnite’ plans return to U.S. iOS App Store by next week. (TechCrunch)

• Meta will store recording from Ray Ban Smart Glasses for AI training. (News18)

• Mastercard launches program to use AI tools for shopping. (CBS News)