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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.”

King Charles III was given an enthusiastic welcome on Monday by Canadians who turned out in droves to see their monarch on his historic visit to open parliament, as part of the pushback against US President Donald Trump’s annexation threats.The 76-year-old king, who is Canada’s head of state as part of the Commonwealth, was greeted at the airport by Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has invited him to give an address opening Canada’s new legislature on Tuesday. “This historic honor matches the weight of our times,” Carney said.On their first stop in the Canadian capital, the royals visited a farmer’s market, where they were cheered by thousands of Canadians. The king also dropped the puck for a street hockey game.The so-called throne speech outlining the government’s priorities is typically given by the British monarch’s representative in Canada, the governor general.Queen Elizabeth II, the king’s late mother, delivered a throne speech in Canada just twice during her long reign, in 1957 and 1977.Charles, making his first visit to Canada since his coronation, has never commented on Trump’s repeated talk of making Canada the 51st US state.But he will be closely watched for any comments on Canada’s sovereignty, and on trade.Trump has slapped tariffs on Canadian goods including sector-specific levies on autos, steel and aluminum, rattling the Canadian economy, although he has suspended some of them pending negotiations.- ‘Momentous occasion’ -Queen Camilla is accompanying Charles on the 24-hour visit to Ottawa.Carney has said his newly-elected government has been given a mandate “to define a new economic and security relationship with the United States,” a neighbor he believes Canada “can no longer trust.”He has promised to curb reliance on trade with the United States by boosting internal commerce while forging deeper economic ties with allies overseas. The government’s path to build up Canada and create new relationships will be outlined in Charles’s speech, Carney said Monday.A government statement described the visit as “a momentous and historic occasion that underscores Canada’s identity and sovereignty as a constitutional monarchy.”Trump repeatedly returned to his annexation musings during Carney’s Oval Office visit earlier this month, insisting it would be a “wonderful marriage.”Carney stood his ground, saying Canada was “never for sale.”Trump’s envoy to Canada, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, dismissed the notion that inviting Charles to open parliament was an effective way to make a statement on annexation. According to him, the annexation issue is “over.”But, among the throngs that showed up to welcome the royals, Robert Brown, 64, said: “I think it’s a very subtle form of diplomacy. A good one.”- ‘Once in a lifetime’ -After Charles and Camilla landed in Ottawa in the afternoon, they were received by Governor General Mary Simon and other dignitaries before meeting community organizations.They also planted a tree at the governor general’s estate, and Charles held audiences with Carney and Indigenous leaders.At the Senate on Tuesday, the monarch will receive full military honors before delivering the throne speech.Noah Marshall told AFP he couldn’t miss this “once in a lifetime opportunity to come see the royals.” The 24-year-old also noted that because Trump seems to respect the King, “that’s a good kind of signal to him.”Gaelle Hortop, 46, said she is “optimistic that it’ll be positive for Canadian morale” too.

Charles Rangel, a founding member and pioneering leader of the US Congressional Black Caucus, died on Monday, the Caucus said. He was 94.A native and longtime resident of the storied New York neighborhood of Harlem, Rangel entered the US Congress in 1971, serving for 46 years before retiring in 2017.In the wake of the US civil rights movement, he emerged as a leading political voice representing Black Americans at the turn of the 1970s.Rangel was the first African American to be appointed chairman of the powerful House Ways And Means Committee, which shapes fiscal legislation. He was forced out of that position and was censured for an ethics violation in 2010, but that did not appear to dent his electability, as he continued to hold public office until his retirement seven years later.The censure was related to alleged violations of congressional gift rules related to his acceptance of corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean, the New York Times reported. Over the course of an almost-five-decade career, he established himself as an influential figure in the Democratic Party, forging close ties with former president Bill Clinton and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.Rangel was instrumental in convincing Hillary Clinton to run for a US Senate seat in New York in 2000, kickstarting her political career. “I’ll miss Charlie Rangel, a beloved icon and public servant of New York,” she posted on the X social media platform. “He was a proud veteran who loved serving his Harlem constituents. He urged me to run for the Senate and later was an invaluable colleague.”The Congressional Black Caucus called him “a trailblazer and statesman.””Known affectionately as the ‘Lion of Lenox Avenue,’ his legacy is one of tireless advocacy, historic firsts, and unwavering dedication to justice and equality. May he rest in power and everlasting peace,” the caucus said in a statement.New York City Council President Adrienne Adams described him as “a giant” of US politics. “He served with unmatched wit, courage, and an unshakable belief in the power of government to change lives,” she said in a statement.”His legacy lives on in the countless Black and Latino New Yorkers he lifted up and inspired.”The death of Rangel, a veteran of the Korean War, came as the United States commemorated Memorial Day on Monday, a day honoring fallen US soldiers. 

US President Donald Trump once more appears to be losing patience with Vladimir Putin’s warfare in Ukraine, but it remains unclear whether he will actually toughen his stand against the Kremlin leader.The Republican billionaire, who returned to office in January vowing to end the war “in 24 hours,” has long appeared to side with his Russian counterpart, frequently speaking of him with gushing admiration.Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile has been a frequent target of Trump’s ire, as seen with the spectacular dressing down of the Ukrainian leader in a tense Oval Office meeting in March. But the US president has in recent weeks shown growing frustration with Putin’s position in deadlocked truce negotiations with Kyiv.And in statements made on Sunday, Trump, who is facing increasing calls from Republican lawmakers to take a tougher stance against Putin, seemed to change his tone.After Moscow unleashed a particularly deadly barrage of drones against its western neighbor, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he believed Putin “wants ALL of Ukraine”.Pursuing such a goal, he warned in a rare rebuke of the Russian leader, “will lead to the downfall of Russia!”- ‘Absolutely crazy’ -“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” There was little sign his criticism made an impact, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggesting Monday the “very critical moment” was fraught with “emotional reactions”.And following Trump’s outburst, Moscow fired 355 drones at Ukraine overnight in the biggest such attack since Moscow’s 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, a day after Russian strikes killed 13 people.Russia’s weekend onslaught came as diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war stepped up, with a prisoner exchange and direct talks between the two sides.European leaders voiced hope that Trump’s expressed anger might signal a shift ahead.”President Trump realizes that when President Putin said on the phone he was ready for peace, or told his envoys he was ready for peace, he lied,” France’s leader Emmanuel Macron told reporters during a trip to Vietnam.”We have seen once again in recent hours Donald Trump express his anger, a form of impatience,” the French president said. “I simply hope now that this translates into action.”- US credibility ‘at stake’ -Macron said it was time to threaten Russia with “much more massive sanctions” to persuade it to end the conflict.”The credibility of the United States is at stake.”But it remains unclear what path Trump might choose in coming days, especially since he has not let up on his relentless criticism of Ukraine’s leader.In his social media post on Sunday, Trump also slammed Zelensky, who had warned earlier that “the silence of America, the silence of others around the world only encourages Putin.” Zelensky was “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does,” Trump wrote.”Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” he said.While flush with bluster, Trump’s foreign policy achievements to date remain rather meager, be it on Ukraine, the Iran nuclear program or the war raging in Gaza.During his first term, Trump also boasted of unique access and deal-making potential, including meetings with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.While unprecedented for a Western leader, those meetings ultimately appeared to do little to change Kim’s provocative behavior.

Russia fired its biggest ever drone barrage on Ukraine, authorities said Monday, just hours after Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin “CRAZY” and warned Moscow risked new sanctions if it kept up its deadly bombardment.The US president’s efforts to halt the three-year war have failed to extract major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between officials and several phone calls between him and Russia’s president.For three consecutive nights Russia has pummelled Ukraine with large-scale drone attacks, saturating its air defences and killing at least 13 people on Sunday, officials said.Russia fired “355 Shahed-type drones” including decoys, in the largest drone attack of the invasion between Sunday night and early Monday, as well as nine cruise missiles, Ukraine’s air force said.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that there were “no longer any range restrictions” on arms supplied by Western allies to Ukraine, allowing Kyiv to attack “military positions in Russia”.It was not immediately clear which countries had changed their policy however.The Kremlin said any Western decision to lift range limits on arms delivered to Ukraine would be “dangerous” and “at odds” with peace efforts. In a rare rebuke of the Russian leader, Trump said on social media late Sunday: “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!””I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”Earlier, Trump told reporters he was “absolutely” considering increasing sanctions on Moscow.- ‘Critical moment’ -The Kremlin played down Trump’s criticism, saying Putin was taking measures “necessary to ensure Russia’s security”.”This is a very critical moment, which is fraught with emotional stress for everyone, as well as emotional reactions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more sanctions on Moscow.”Russian strikes are becoming increasingly brazen and large-scale every night,” Zelensky said in his daily address, adding that some 900 drones and missiles were launched on Ukraine in the last three days. “This makes no military sense, but it is an obvious political choice –- Putin’s choice, Russia’s choice –- to continue fighting and destroying lives,” he said.Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed cities and spurred the biggest crisis in relations with the West since the Cold War.Kyiv did not report any deaths from the latest drone attack, but said Russian shelling in the last 24 hours had killed a civilian man in the northern Sumy region.Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat warned it was becoming difficult to counter the sheer number of drones Moscow was firing.”We need rational and cheaper ways to shoot them down,” he told Ukrainian TV. A Ukrainian military source told AFP that Kyiv was “somehow fighting” with available air defence capabilities and that there was “no need to panic”. “To maintain our defence, we need deliveries of Western weapons,” the source said, adding that deliveries of Patriot missiles as well as NASAMS medium range air defence and IRIS-T short range systems were especially important for Ukraine. After today’s attack, Zelensky ordered “a significant increase in the production of interceptor drones” and “will seek additional funding from our partners for this purpose,” he said in the address, adding that Ukraine will increase funding for missile production as well.- Diplomatic efforts -Diplomatic efforts to end the war have heightened in recent weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian officials holding direct talks in Istanbul earlier this month for the first time in three years.They each sent back 1,000 people over the weekend in their biggest ever prisoner exchange, while Russia said it was preparing a document outlining its peace terms.Any more potential POW exchanges would depend on talks with Ukraine, Peskov told journalists ahead of Putin’s meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, adding that Moscow was still working on a ceasefire memorandum. Putin and Fidan discussed peace efforts after the Istanbul talks, as well as economic and energy cooperation, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.  Fidan earlier met with Vladimir Medinsky, Moscow’s chief negotiator with Kyiv.Moscow has repeatedly rejected proposals for a 30-day ceasefire from Kyiv and its Western allies, while grinding forward on the front line. Instead, Putin offered to work on a memorandum stating conditions for a ceasefire, sparking critisism from Ukraine of stalling the talks.