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US President Donald Trump warned Vladimir Putin Tuesday that he was “playing with fire,” in a fresh jab at his Russian counterpart as he weighs new sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine.Trump’s latest broadside showed his frustration with stalled peace talks, and comes two days after he called the Kremlin leader “absolutely CRAZY” following a record Russian drone attack on Ukraine.”What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” Trump said on his Truth Social network.Trump did not specify what the “really bad” things were, or make any specific threats. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by AFP.But the Wall Street Journal and CNN both reported that Trump was now considering fresh sanctions against Russia as early as this week, while stressing that he could still change his mind.He told reporters on Sunday he was “absolutely” considering increasing sanctions on Moscow.His predecessor Joe Biden imposed sweeping sanctions after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but Trump has so far avoided what he says could be “devastating” sanctions on Russian banks.Trump’s recent rebukes mark a major change from his previous attitude towards Putin, whom he often speaks of with admiration and has previously held off criticizing.The Republican tycoon promised during the 2024 election campaign to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours and said his friendship with Putin from his first term would help seal a deal.Trump has however expressed increasing frustration with Moscow’s position in deadlocked truce negotiations with Kyiv.- ‘Game over’ -That frustration boiled over at the weekend when Russia launched a record drone barrage at Ukraine, killing at least 13 people.”I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday night.Trump however also criticized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky — with whom he had a stunning Oval Office row in February — saying on Sunday that he was “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does.”Russia’s attacks have continued despite a phone call between Trump and Putin eight days ago in which the US leader said the Russian president had agreed to “immediately” start ceasefire talks.Moscow on Tuesday accused Kyiv of trying to “disrupt” peace efforts and said its aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent days were a “response” to escalating Ukrainian drone strikes on its own civilians.US lawmakers have also stepped up calls for sanctions.Veteran Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said on X that it was “time for sanctions” that were strong enough for Putin to know it was “game over.”Two other senators, Republican Lindsay Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, also called for heavy “secondary” sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, gas and raw materials.Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg meanwhile told Fox News Tuesday that the US president’s “frustration is understandable” after the recent Russian attacks.Kellogg added that he expected the next peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, if they happen, to take place in Geneva after Moscow rejected the Vatican as a venue.After that the aim would be to “get the President, President Putin and President Zelensky together and hammer this thing out,” he added.

The US will no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines for children and healthy pregnant women, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday, calling it a “common sense” decision grounded in sound science.The change follows last week’s announcement by Food and Drug Administration officials that they would limit approval of Covid shots — a critical tool in ending the pandemic — to adults aged 65 and older, as well as younger individuals with underlying health conditions.Trump administration officials have framed the shift as bringing the US into closer alignment with countries like Britain, Germany and France where annual boosters are recommended only for the elderly and immunocompromised.But it comes as Kennedy — who has long promoted misinformation about vaccines in general and the Covid shots in particular — pushes to overhaul federal public health policy. “I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that as of today, the Covid vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommended immunization schedule,” he said in a video posted to X.FDA officials also said vaccine manufacturers will need to conduct new clinical trials — including comparisons against a saline placebo — if they wish to retain approval for use in healthy people under 65.These recent changes have drawn criticism.Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP last week that while the new approach matched that taken by other countries, “I do think, however, that the initial Covid-19 vaccine series should be part of routine childhood immunization.”Paul Offit, a top vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, warned the change could restrict access for people who still want boosters, particularly under the US’s privatized health care system, where insurers may decline coverage.The reversal on pregnant women marks a major departure from previous CDC guidance.As of Tuesday morning, the agency’s website — which had yet to reflect Kennedy’s announcement — still stated that pregnant women are among people for whom it is “especially important” to receive the vaccine. “If you are pregnant or were recently pregnant, you are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 compared to those who are not pregnant,” it says.

King Charles III stressed Canada’s proud independence on Tuesday as he delivered a major speech to open parliament in Ottawa set against US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to take over the country.”Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the Government is determined to protect,” Charles said, adding Canada was facing a “critical moment.”Prime Minister Mark Carney invited the 76-year-old British monarch — who is the Canadian head of state — to the capital, accompanied by Queen Camilla.King Charles’s “speech from the throne” was the first by a monarch in nearly half a century.The king has never publicly commented on Trump’s repeated talk of making Canada the 51st US state, but his language was closely watched for any reference.Although the speech was read by the king as if his own words, it was in fact written by the prime minister’s office to set out the government’s priorities to “build Canada strong” and how it aims to achieve them.Trump has also ripped up the world trade order and launched tariff wars against friends and foes alike, particularly targeting Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth.”The system of open global trade that, while not perfect, has helped to deliver prosperity for Canadians for decades, is changing. Canada’s relationships with partners are also changing,” Charles said, in cautious words.”We must be clear-eyed: the world is a more dangerous and uncertain place than at any point since the Second World War. Canada is facing challenges that are unprecedented in our lifetimes.”The so-called throne speech was delivered in the Senate — a former railway station that has been converted while parliament undergoes major renovations.In diplomatic language, the speech was a reaffirmation of Canada’s sovereignty, which Trump has threatened repeatedly.Carney, a technocrat with no prior political experience, has vowed to oversee the biggest transformation of Canada’s economy since the end of the Second World War to enable it to “stand up” to Trump.Thousands gathered along a parade route early Tuesday morning for a chance to see their monarch. The atmosphere was festive with people waving Canadian flags.Kirsten Hanson, 44, said she welcomes the king’s show of support amid the pressure coming from Canada’s southern neighbor.”I think if there’s anything that he can do to demonstrate Canada’s sovereignty I think that that’s fantastic,” she told AFP.”Nobody wants to be absorbed into the US,” she said.”Elbows up,” said Marion Hand, 88, who travelled from Mississauga, Ontario for the event, in reference to Carney’s battle cry in the face of Trump’s annexation threats.

The US government intends to cancel all remaining financial contracts with Harvard, a senior official said Tuesday, in President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to force the prestigious university to submit to unprecedented oversight.The administration “will send a letter to federal agencies today asking them to identify any contracts with Harvard, and whether they can be canceled or redirected elsewhere,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The ending of contracts — estimated by US media to be worth $100 million — would mark the severance of business ties between the government and an institution that is both the country’s oldest university and a global research powerhouse.Amid a broad push to amass power in the White House, Trump has singled out Harvard for particularly fierce punishment.His administration accuses the Cambridge, Massachusetts university of permitting anti-Semitism and pervasive liberal bias.Harvard has rejected orders to allow a series of extraordinary measures, including an audit of political leanings on campus and a ban on students deemed to be “hostile to the American values.”In the last few weeks, the elite educational bastion has seen billions of dollars in federal grants frozen and an attempt — paused last Friday by a court ruling — to end its ability to host foreign students.The university is fighting back, arguing that the Trump attacks are unconstitutional and would cripple its ability to function.- Trump’s ‘unconstitutional’ actions -On Monday, Trump vowed he would prevail in the increasingly public struggle.In a social media post he claimed that foreign students at Harvard included “radicalized lunatics, troublemakers.”Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign nationals, throwing the future of thousands of students and the lucrative income stream they provide into doubt.She had threatened last month to block international students at the school unless it turned over records on visa holders’ “illegal and violent activities.”But a judge quickly suspended the move after the university sued to “stop the government’s arbitrary, capricious, unlawful, and unconstitutional action.”There will be an injunction hearing on Thursday, a court filing showed.Harvard President Alan Garber said in a statement that the attempted foreign students ban “imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams.”In addition to undermining the independence of storied US universities — which attract top students from around the world and produce much of the country’s lucrative scientific research — Trump has sought to dismantle the government’s traditional soft power tools, including humanitarian aid and the Voice of America radio network.

When Sarah Lezito began messing around with motorbikes at 13 she never dreamed that one day she would become the stunt double of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.The French winemaker’s daughter has stood in for Scarlett Johansson — twice — on “Avengers 2” and “Black Widow” and appeared in a dozen films including “The Batman”.The 32-year-old is one of a very rare breed of motorcycle stuntwomen, with a massive social media following that helped bring her from the vineyards of France’s Champagne region to Hollywood.AFP caught up with her on her own personal training track amid the otherwise tranquil vineyards near Epernay, the Champagne capital in northeast France.Barely astride her red chrome Kawasaki, she was off down the track performing stunts with disconcerting dexterity, her long brown hair trailing out of her helmet in the wind. “This is kind of my temple,” she said after performing a series of gravity-defying tricks including standing with both feet on top of her 200-kilo (440-pound) machine and then flipping herself onto the handlebars.”People think I’m working, but it mostly allows me to release all the pressure,” said Lezito, whose lucky charm — a plastic beaded bracelet — is wrapped around the throttle of her bike. – ‘Doing wheelies in a field’ – The woman now popularly known as the “world stunt champion” (although there is no recognised world championship) began her acrobatics career young on the family holding near Epernay.”I fell into stunts by watching videos,” she told AFP. “No one in my family was in the motor sports world. My father only had an agricultural quad, not at all made for sports, but I started trying to do wheelies with it in a field.”Then she began posting her stunt videos on YouTube.But she seemed destined to follow her family into wine and viticulture until she posted a video of a medley of tricks one day in March 2013 called “One out of Billion Girls”.”It was thanks to this video that they noticed me,” she said.The “they” being the team from the Hollywood blockbuster “Avengers 2”. A few months later, she abandoned her winemaking studies to fly to South Korea to perform Johansson’s stunts in the movie. Because she “adapted quickly” to stunt work, Lezito decided to go professional, appearing in several major movies, including “Inferno”, “Millennium” and “The Batman” with Zoe Kravitz. “I met all the actresses I’ve doubled for,” she said. – 30 million followers – She has had her moments on some of the movies, although she insists she has never felt fear on those she does “at home” for social media.”I had to ride through flames for ‘Bad Girl’, a film which was never released. On paper, it was very simple, but I didn’t have a helmet,” she recalled. And in the summer of 2023 while filming David Fincher’s “The Killer” in Paris, starring Michael Fassbender, Lezito had a severe fall.”I flew off the motorcycle, I wasn’t going very fast but fast enough to land on my head and the helmet cracked.”She ended up in the emergency room with a head injury. It “made her think”, she told AFP, and she “decided to take a break” and put her Hollywood career on hold.Lezito now devotes herself to her social media channels, posting videos of her stunts to her more than 30 million followers — including 9.5 million on Instagram, some two million more than MotoGP star Marc Marquez. Her garage doubles as a studio, with her YouTube trophies and gifts from her fans displayed on the walls. But it is also where she gets her hands dirty repairing her fleet of roughly 10 motorcycles. “As long as I enjoy sitting on the motorcycle, I’ll keep doing this,” she said.

Sales of cars made by Elon Musk’s Tesla slumped by more than half in April as Chinese electric carmakers saw their share surge, the continent’s manufacturing association said Tuesday.While sales of electric cars rose overall in the 27 European Union nations, Tesla’s share fell dramatically amid the spotlight on Musk’s work with US President Donald Trump and the US company’s ageing range.The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said Tesla sales in April fell to 5,475 cars, down 52.6 percent from the same month last year.In the first four months of 2025, Tesla sales have fallen 46.1 percent against the same period last year to 41,677 cars.Once the standout leader in electric car sales, Tesla was overtaken in April by 10 rivals including Volkswagen, BMW, Renault and Chinese automaker BYD, according to JATO Dynamics consultants. Tesla announced in April that its worldwide sales in the first quarter had fallen 13 percent, increasing pressure on Musk, though the company partly blamed lost production amid an upgrade to its Model Y standard-bearer.Musk has since announced he will reduce his work helping Trump slash US government spending and last week said that Tesla sales were “doing well”.- Hybrid leaders -Skoda’s new Elroq led electric car sales while Tesla’s Model Y, the former frontrunner, came ninth.Sales of electric cars overall rose 26.4 percent from last year to take a 15.3 percent share of the market in April, according to the ACEA.The rise is uneven across Europe as different governments and manufacturers give different incentives to buy electric. Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain have seen a major rise while electric car sales in France have fallen.”The share of battery-electric vehicles is slowly getting momentum, but growth remains incremental and uneven across EU countries,” said Sigrid de Vries, ACEA’s director general.”In order for battery-electric vehicles to become a mainstream choice, it is essential that governments continue to implement the necessary enabling conditions, such as purchase and fiscal incentives, recharging infrastructure and electricity prices.”The sustained popularity of hybrid vehicles among consumers also shows the merit of keeping a technology-neutral approach,” she added.Sales of hybrid cars with a small electric battery still dominate the European market, rising 20.8 percent since the start of the year, while petrol-only cars have fallen 20.6 percent over the same time.The Volkswagen group remains the top brand in Europe, with sales up 2.9 percent in April.But Chinese brands were a major factor in the popularity of electric and hybrid cars, according to JATO and have 7.9 percent of the European market.The BYD, MG, Xpeng and Leapmotor brands saw sales rise 59 percent over the year in electric and hybrid sales, while other manufacturers put on 26 percent.JATO expert Felipe Munoz said it remains to be seen whether the European Union imposes tariffs on Chinese hybrid cars as it has for electric vehicles. 

SpaceX is set Tuesday for the next test flight of its Starship megarocket — the linchpin of founder Elon Musk’s Mars ambitions — after the vessel’s last two outings ended in fiery explosions.A launch window opens at 6:30 pm (2330 GMT) from the company’s Starbase facility near a southern Texas village that recently voted to become a city, also called Starbase.Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship is the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built, and it carries Musk’s hopes of making humanity a multi-planetary species.NASA is also counting on a variant of Starship to serve as the crew lander for Artemis 3, the mission to return Americans to the Moon.But the last two tests ended with the upper stages erupting into fiery cascades that sent debris raining down over Caribbean islands and disrupting flights — piling more pressure onto SpaceX to get it right this time.The company is betting that its aggressive testing approach, which helped it become the dominant force in commercial spaceflight, will once again pay off. Still, it acknowledged in a statement that progress “won’t always come in leaps.”According to the Wall Street Journal, SpaceX is shifting personnel and resources to the Starship program in a push to have the vehicle ready for a Mars mission as soon as next year.On the bright side, SpaceX has now demonstrated three times that it can catch the Super Heavy first stage booster in the giant robotic arms of its launch tower — a daring feat of engineering that it says is key to making the system rapidly reusable and reducing costs.It will be reusing a Super Heavy booster for the first time on this ninth flight. As a result, it will not attempt a catch this time, opting instead for a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.Similar to previous missions, the upper stage will attempt to fly halfway around the globe and splash down in the Indian Ocean. For the first time, SpaceX will also aim to deploy a payload: mock-ups of its Starlink internet satellites, which are expected to burn up in the atmosphere.In issuing its launch approval, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had nearly doubled the airspace closure zone to 1,600 nautical miles east of the launch site. It is coordinating with authorities in the UK, the British-controlled Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, Mexico, and Cuba.The FAA also recently approved an increase in annual launches from five to 25 — stating the increased frequency would not adversely impact the environment and overruling objections from conservation groups who warned the expansion could endanger sea turtles and shorebirds.

King Charles III is to deliver a historic speech to open Canada’s parliament on Tuesday, with the nation, of which he is head of state, facing unprecedented threats from US President Donald Trump.Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he intends to use the king’s first visit to the British Commonwealth nation since his coronation to highlight Canada’s sovereignty.”This historic honor matches the weight of our times,” Carney said.It was at the prime minister’s invitation that the 76-year-old monarch, who is battling cancer, traveled to the Canadian capital, accompanied by Queen Camilla.King Charles has never publicly commented on Trump’s repeated talk of making Canada the 51st US state, but his speech will be closely watched for any comments on the topic.Trump has also ripped up the world trade order and launched tariff wars against friends and foes alike, particularly targeting northern neighbor Canada.The so-called “throne speech” will be delivered in the Senate — a former railway station that has been converted while parliament undergoes major renovations.Although it will be read by the king as if it were in his own words, it was, in fact, written by the prime minister’s office and will set out the government’s priorities to “build Canada strong” and how it aims to achieve them.Canada’s Liberal Party, led by Carney, a technocrat with no prior political experience, won legislative elections on April 28, after a campaign entirely focused on who would be best to deal with Trump.Carney has vowed to oversee the biggest transformation of Canada’s economy since the end of the Second World War to enable it to “stand up” to Trump.In cautious diplomatic language, the throne speech should also contain a reaffirmation of Canada’s sovereignty, which Trump has threatened repeatedly by suggesting the country should be annexed by the United States.- ‘Extraordinary’ symbolism -“In terms of symbolism, it’s extraordinary because this is only the third time the sovereign has read this speech,” said Felix Mathieu, a politics professor at the University of Quebec in Outaouais.The throne speech has only twice before been personally delivered by Canada’s monarch, in 1957 and 1977, both by Charles’s mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.”What will also be interesting is everything surrounding the speech from the throne,” Mathieu added, in reference to the “message to Donald Trump” to show him that “Canada is not alone in this fight.”Thousands flocked to the capital on Monday to greet the king and queen on their first day of the brief visit.For Shrikant Mogulala, 32, the king was here to deliver “a clear message to Trump that we are not for sale.”Retiree Dave Shaw, 60, said it was “a great time for (the king) to be here now at this particular time given the geopolitical circumstances, given the circumstances of our country right now.”On Monday, the monarchs visited a farmer’s market and were treated to Indigenous music and military honors before the king held private audiences with Carney and Indigenous leaders.They were scheduled to ride to the Senate Tuesday morning in a four-wheeled carriage escorted by 28 horses from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s fabled “Musical Ride” unit.There will be a 21-gun salute and a flypast by fighter jets, and the monarchs will also lay a wreath at a war memorial.

Sales of cars made by Elon Musk’s Tesla slumped by more than half in April as Chinese electric carmakers saw their share surge, the continent’s manufacturing association said Tuesday.While sales of electric cars rose overall in the 27 European Union nations, Tesla’s share fell dramatically amid the spotlight on Musk’s work with US President Donald Trump and the US company’s ageing range.The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said Tesla sales in April fell to 5,475 cars, down 52.6 percent from the same month last year.In the first four months of 2025, Tesla sales have fallen 46.1 percent against the same period last year to 41,677 cars.Once the standout leader in electric car sales, Tesla was overtaken in April by 10 rivals including Volkswagen, BMW, Renault and Chinese maker BYD, according to JATO Dynamics consultants. Tesla announced in April that its worldwide sales in the first quarter had fallen 13 percent, increasing pressure on Musk, though the company partly blamed lost production amid an upgrade to its Model Y standard-bearer.Musk has since announced he will reduce his work helping Trump slash US government spending and last week said that Tesla sales are “doing well”.- Hybrid leaders -Skoda’s new Elroq led electric car sales while Tesla’s Model Y, the former frontrunner, came ninth.Sales of electric cars overall rose 26.4 percent from last year to take a 15.3 percent share of the market in April, according to the ACEA.The rise is uneven across Europe as different governments and manufacturers give different incentives to buy electric. Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain have seen a major rise while electric car sales in France have fallen.”The share of battery-electric vehicles is slowly getting momentum, but growth remains incremental and uneven across EU countries,” said Sigrid de Vries, ACEA’s director general.”In order for battery-electric vehicles to become a mainstream choice, it is essential that governments continue to implement the necessary enabling conditions, such as purchase and fiscal incentives, recharging infrastructure and electricity prices.”The sustained popularity of hybrid vehicles among consumers also shows the merit of keeping a technology-neutral approach,” she added.Sales of hybrid cars with a small electric battery still dominate the European market, rising 20.8 percent since the start of the year, while petrol-only cars have fallen 20.6 percent over the same time. The Volkswagen group remains the top brand in Europe, with sales up 2.9 percent in April.But Chinese brands were a major factor in the popularity of electric and hybrid cars, according to JATO and have 7.9 percent of the European market.The BYD, MG, Xpeng and Leapmotor brands saw sales rise 59 percent over the year in electric and hybrid sales, while other manufacturers put on 26 percent.JATO expert Felipe Munoz said it remains to be seen whether the European Union imposes tariffs on Chinese hybrid cars as it has for electric vehicles. 

US lawmaker Glenn Ivey said Monday that authorities in El Salvador had prevented him from visiting Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported from the United States by the Trump administration due to an administrative error.US President Donald Trump has delivered on campaign promises by launching a sweeping crackdown on migrants to the United States since coming to power in January. Rights groups have alleged that Trump’s government is committing rights abuses and denying undocumented migrants due process, claims that courts have, in part, upheld in cases that are ongoing.Abrego Garcia’s case is one of the most prominent to have come to light. US authorities admit that he was deported to a notorious El Salvadoran prison for violent criminals due to an error, but have refused to comply with court orders to return him to the United States.Ivey is the sixth US Democratic lawmaker to visit El Salvador in an effort to secure the return of Abrego Garcia, 29, who is being held in a penal facility in Santa Ana, 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Salvadoran capital, after being deported in March. “We were not able to meet with Kilmar, for sure,” Ivey told a press conference in San Salvador. “We went out to the Santa Ana prison today and got there, and we spoke to the people at the gate. They wouldn’t open the gate and let us in.”Ivey said he was told to obtain a permit for a visit, but he had already spoken to senior officials in order to arrange the meeting. He said he had spoken to Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States Milena Mayorga and that he intended to speak to Abrego Garcia “to make sure that he’s okay, to discuss his legal rights and the like.”The US lawmaker said he had met leaders of human rights groups, but was unable to meet officials from the government of President Nayib Bukele, a key Trump ally who has also refused to facilitate returning Abrego Garcia to the United States.Chris Newman, an attorney for Abrego Garcia’s family, said this was his third visit to El Salvador to try and secure the release of his client. “We want access to Mr. Abrego Garcia so he can receive legal services,” he said.El Salvador has received 288 migrants deported from the United States, including 252 Venezuelans, who are being held in a maximum security prison. The Trump administration says — without proof — that Abrego Garcia is a violent criminal who is a member of the MS-13 gang, which has been declared a “terrorist” organization by Washington.Trump’s government has used an obscure wartime law to summarily deport alleged gang members, a process some US courts have halted and that one, in Texas, has deemed “unlawful.”