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Russia said Saturday its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region, in a fresh setback for Kyiv ahead of talks to try to end the war.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday named a high-level delegation including ministers to meet US negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, seeking to repair ties with President Donald Trump’s administration.”We hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps”, Zelensky said, stressing that Ukraine was “fully committed to constructive dialogue”.But he condemned “brutal” deadly strikes on eastern Ukraine, saying they proved that Russia was “not thinking about how to end the war”.Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs against Russia over its bombardment of Ukraine.The three-year-long war is now at a critical juncture for Kyiv after Trump suspended US military aid following his public falling-out with Zelensky last week.Ukraine still controls some 400 square kilometres (150 square miles) in the Kursk region after launching an offensive last August. Zelensky sees this as a possible bargaining chip in peace talks.But Ukraine’s troops in Kursk have seen their position worsen in recent weeks as Russian forces pushed back.- Russian claims gains -Russia’s defence ministry on Saturday announced the recapture of three more villages: Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina.According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a “breach” in the Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv’s control.The advance appears to have cut off the logistics route needed by Ukraine to supply its troops, although Kyiv has not confirmed this.Russia has already taken back more than two-thirds of the territory Ukraine initially seized in Kursk.The Ukrainian military General Staff said Saturday that clashes were ongoing amid heavy bombardment with artillery and guided aerial bombs.Small groups of Russian troops have also mounted attacks in recent weeks into Ukraine’s Sumy region bordering Kursk.Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation on Saturday denied reports of a “massive breakthrough”, saying its forces were destroying small groups trying to cross.- Saudi talks -Full peace negotiations remain a distant prospect, with Kyiv and Moscow making starkly opposed demands. Trump has made settling the conflict a priority since his return to the White House.But by reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin while criticising Zelensky, he has raised fears in Kyiv — and among its European allies — that Trump may try to force Ukraine to accept a settlement that favours Russia.Senior US and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks on the war in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Zelensky will also visit Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.US envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday that Washington wanted to discuss an “initial ceasefire” with Russia and a “framework” for a longer agreement.Zelensky said Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov would be among those representing Ukraine.In his evening address, he told Ukrainians he was “confident that the meeting will be productive”.Zelensky also urged allies to “increase sanctions against Russia” after heavy overnight bombardment in the east and northeast.A Russian barrage hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region late Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 40, said the emergency services. “Russia is proving literally every day with its cruelty that nothing has changed for them,” Zelensky said.Moscow wanted to “destroy and capture more as long as the world allows them to wage this war”, he said.On Saturday, a strike on the embattled city of Pokrovsk killed a man in his 40s and wounded two others, Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said. Four people were killed Saturday by drone attacks in the eastern Kharkiv region, the head of its military administration, Oleg Synegubov, said.A drone attack also killed a 74-year-old man in the southern Kherson region, the governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.- ‘More bombs’ -The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, reacting Saturday to the latest deadly attacks on Ukraine, wrote on X: “Once again, Putin shows he has no interest in peace.”This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on X. “More bombs, more aggression, more victims.”France’s Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu told the La Tribune newspaper Saturday that Paris would use 195 million euros of frozen Russian assets to fund more military aid for Ukraine.The money would, among other things, pay for the delivery of armaments used by the Mirage 2000 fighter jets France delivered to Ukraine in February, he added.In Dobropillia, AFP saw charred residential buildings, flattened market stalls and evidence of cluster bomb damage.Irina Kostenko, 59, spent the night cowering in her hallway with her husband. When she left the apartment building on Saturday, she saw a neighbour “lying dead on the ground, covered with a blanket”.”It was shocking, I don’t have the words to describe it,” Kostenko told AFP.burs-lgo-led-am/jj

Protesters took to the streets across the world Saturday to mark International Women’s Day, demanding equal pay, political representation and an end to gender-based violence while voicing fears of rising repression.In eastern Ukraine, scores of demonstrators held a minute’s silence to honour women killed defending the country from Russia’s invasion. Many carried banners bearing the faces of the deceased.”Women are half of our society and we need to talk about what they do, what they are like, how they protect and what they do to make our country free and independent,” activist Iryna Lysykova told AFP in Kharkiv.Many of the women marking on the streets in European capitals including Paris, Berlin and Madrid said they feared the growing strength of reactionary political forces, including a resurgent far right. “It is coming now and we’re taking backwards steps,” said Dori Martinez Monroy, 63, in the Spanish capital. “We have to reclaim what has already been won, because women are the first to be targeted.”In Jakarta, one activist, Ajeng, accused the Indonesian government of budget cuts that were “making women lose their rights.”Women are killed, impoverished, criminalised,” she said, as nearby protesters held up placards reading “This body belongs to me” and “Glory to the women of the working class”. “Indonesian woman are fighting against the state for these reasons,” he said.- ‘Not over’ -Some demonstrators their directed ire at US President Donald Trump.In Paris, women from the Femen activist group marched topless with either the US or the Russian national flag, marked with a swastika, painted on their chests.Dozens of women have alleged the Republican sexually abused them, and his administration has been accused of pushing through anti-women policies.”This is a battle, it’s not over,” said 49-year-old Sabine, who was marching with her seven-year-old son in Paris, where organisers put turnout at around 250,000. Police gave a figure of 47,000.”We’re going in the right direction: Trump, the masculinists, they make lots of noise but they’re not as strong as we are,” she told AFP.At the Berlin protest, some protesters held placards bearing messages including “Burn the patriarchy not the planet”.One marcher, Steff Voigt, expressed her fears for the future.”I find it quite frightening how certain developments are reversing, how women’s rights could simply be moving backward again, so to speak, because of the right. Especially in the USA,” she said.At the rally in Istanbul, Cigdem Ozdemir took aim at male violence against women and the Turkish authorities’ declaration of 2025 as “The Year of the Family”.”Since 2025 was declared ‘The Year of The Family’, we as women have been confined to our homes,” the psychologist lamented, adding that LGBTQ people like her were “criminalised”.”Today, we are here to make our struggle visible, to defend our lives against male violence, to defend our place in society and our rights.”Iran’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi said it would be women who would overthrow the Islamic republic established after the 1979 revolution.”Women have risen up against the Islamic republic in such a way that the regime no longer has the power to suppress them,” Mohammadi said in a video message where she was, as usual, not wearing the headscarf obligatory for all Iranian women.Mohammadi, 52, who won the 2023 Nobel prize in recognition of her years-long fight for human rights in Iran, is currently on temporary release from a prison term for health reasons.Her lawyers fear she could be sent back to prison at any time.burs-afptv-sbk/jj

Russia said Saturday its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region, in a fresh setback for Kyiv ahead of talks to try to end the war.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday named a high-level delegation including ministers to meet US negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, seeking to repair ties with President Donald Trump’s administration.US envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday Washington wanted to discuss a “framework for a peace agreement”.”We hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps”, Zelensky said, stressing that Ukraine was “fully committed to constructive dialogue”.But he condemned “brutal” deadly strikes on eastern Ukraine, saying they proved that Russia was “not thinking about how to end the war”.Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs against Russia over its bombardment of Ukraine.The three-year-long war is now at a critical juncture for Kyiv after Trump suspended US military aid following his public falling-out with Zelensky last week.Ukraine still controls some 400 square kilometres (150 square miles) in the Kursk region after launching an offensive last August. Zelensky sees this as a possible bargaining chip in peace talks.But Ukraine’s troops in Kursk have seen their position worsen in recent weeks with Russia’s army pushing back.- Russian claims gains -Russia’s defence ministry on Saturday announced the recapture of three more villages: Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina.According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a “breach” in the Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv’s control.The advance appears to have cut off the logistics route needed by Ukraine to supply its troops, although Kyiv has not confirmed this.Russia has already taken back over two-thirds of the territory in Kursk initially seized by Ukraine.The Ukrainian military General Staff said Saturday that clashes were ongoing amid heavy bombardment with artillery and guided aerial bombs.Small groups of Russian troops have also mounted attacks in recent weeks into Ukraine’s Sumy region bordering Kursk.But Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation on Saturday denied reports of a “massive breakthrough”, saying its forces were destroying small groups trying to cross.- Meeting in Saudi Arabia -Full peace negotiations remain a distant prospect, with Kyiv and Moscow making starkly opposed demands. Trump has made settling the conflict a priority since his return to the White House.But by reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin while criticising Zelensky, he has raised fears in Kyiv — and among its European allies — that Trump may try to force Ukraine to accept a settlement that favours Russia.Senior US and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks on the war in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Zelensky will also visit Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.For the US, Witkoff has said he wants to discuss an “initial ceasefire” with Russia and a “framework” for a longer agreement.Zelensky said Ukraine would be represented by officials including Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.In his evening address, he told Ukrainians he was “confident that the meeting will be productive”.Zelensky also urged allies to “increase sanctions against Russia” after heavy overnight bombardment in the east and northeast.A Russian barrage hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region late Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 40, according to the emergency services. “Russia is proving literally every day with its cruelty that nothing has changed for them,” Zelensky said.He accused Moscow of wanting to “destroy and capture more as long as the world allows them to wage this war”. On Saturday, a strike on the embattled city of Pokrovsk killed a man in his 40s and wounded 2 others, the Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said. Separately, four people were killed Saturday by drone attacks in the eastern Kharkiv region, one of which hit a meat processing plant, the head of its military administration, Oleg Synegubov, said.A drone attack also killed a 74-year-old man in the southern Kherson region, the governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.- ‘More bombs’ -The latest strikes came after EU leaders, shaken by the prospect of US disengagement, agreed to boost the bloc’s defences.Putin “has no interest in peace”, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Saturday, reacting to the latest attacks.”We must step up our military support– otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price,” she added.Zelensky said Saturday that Ukrainian and British diplomats had held “highly productive” talks in Kyiv.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the latest Russian attacks were “what happens when someone appeases barbarians”, resulting in “more bombs, more aggression”.In Dobropillia, AFP saw charred residential buildings, flattened market stalls and evidence of cluster bomb damage.Irina Kostenko, 59, spent the night cowering in her hallway with her husband. When she left the apartment building on Saturday, she saw a neighbour “lying dead on the ground, covered with a blanket”.”It was shocking, I don’t have the words to describe it,” Kostenko told AFP.burs-lgo-led-am/jj

Mysterious metallic mirrors, stacks of imported marble boulders and a 3D-printed mud hut appeared in the California desert Saturday, as the biennial outdoor art festival Desert X returned.The free event, which drew 600,000 visitors in its last edition, sends contemporary art-lovers on a treasure hunt to find works scattered across the Coachella Valley, some 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. French-American artist Sarah Meyohas used intricately curved metallic mirrors to reflect and refract the bright desert sunlight, beaming the words “Truth Arrives in Slanted Beams” across the sides of a meandering 400-foot (120-meter) stucco ribbon.”Truth is definitely something that’s at stake in today’s world,” she explained. “And I try to make art that is not tricking anybody. This isn’t a trick. This is the light. And this is true.”Using “caustic” technology based on the way light “plays at the bottom of a swimming pool” to turn sun beams into text, the work speaks to “a world in which we are so politically divided,” she told AFP.- ‘Here to stay’ -Twenty miles across the desert, Mexican artist Jose Davila has stacked colossal 16-ton marble boulders that were quarried in the Chihuahua Desert of his nearby home country.The work is titled “The act of being together.”Arranged to invoke megalithic structures like Britain’s Stonehenge, the giant hewn marble lumps also speak to the “current climate of events” in which tariffs have recently been hiked at the US-Mexican border.”Rocks like these remind us that things are here to stay, and these inconveniences come and go,” said Davila. Still, Desert X artistic director Neville Wakefield conceded that President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and Mexican reciprocal measures, had made organizing an art event a two-hour drive from the border “very complicated.”The show brings artists from around the world to make installations specific to the North American desert landscape, sourcing and fabricating many materials from Mexico.Other installations include Ronald Rael’s “Adobe Oasis,” which used an enormous robotic arm to 3D-print walls made of clay and straw, in the adobe style traditional in this region.Rael suggested the ancient building material, which is fireproof, should be reappraised in the wake of the deadly Los Angeles fires that killed 29 people in January.”This is mankind’s oldest building material,” modified only by “the introduction of one tool, a robot,” he told AFP.The recent fires “burned buildings that are made of plastics — toxic materials — and people in LA still can’t drink their own water,” Rael added.Desert X runs until May 11.

Unprecedented cuts to the US government overseen by President Donald Trump’s billionaire advisor Elon Musk are sending thousands of federal workers and contractors back to the labor market — but experts warn that hiring is low at this time.Official data released Friday showed federal government employment declined by 10,000 in February, the first full month of Trump’s return to the White House.”We’re trying to shrink government and grow the private sector,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after the data was released.Analysts say the full effects of his government cuts are yet to be seen, and they warn of a possible mismatch between workers’ skills and the jobs available in the marketplace.For some, like staff in the international development sector, their whole industry has been upended.”I’m grieving, trying to figure out what next to do for a paycheck,” said a 38-year-old contractor for the US Agency for International Development (USAID).The Trump administration has sought to dismantle USAID, ending many humanitarian and other support projects globally.The worker, who declined to be named, told AFP: “It’s going to be quite difficult to find alternative jobs, because basically an entire industry has been wiped out in less than a month.”She has been on unpaid leave since mid-February and is living on her savings.She has applied for other jobs but not heard back, and said she cannot afford to live in Washington indefinitely without a job.- Major employer -The US unemployment rate is fairly low, at 4.1 percent, but how easily workers find new jobs will depend on whether their skills translate to the private sector.The federal government is the country’s largest employer, with around 2.4 million employees, excluding active-duty military and US Postal Service personnel.While the thousands of layoffs within the federal workforce may not seem large on paper, numbers could balloon once government contractors are included, said Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.Economists expect the government layoffs to show up in employment data over the coming months.”We’ll see it unfolding over time,” said economist Aaron Sojourner at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.In the US capital Washington and its neighboring states Maryland and Virginia, nearly six percent of employees work for the federal government, according to the Pew Research Center.Sojourner points out that 80 percent of civil servants are based outside this area, however.In states like Wyoming, New Mexico or Oklahoma, they represent more than two percent of total employment.- Low hiring rate -“It could be quite hard to find alternative employment if there’s a big flood of people onto the market at once,” Sojourner warned.The hiring rate is currently low, noted economist Nancy Vanden Houten at Oxford Economics.While some sectors have higher hiring rates, these include less skilled occupations in areas like leisure and hospitality, as well as retail trade.This could prove to be a mismatch for federal workers who “are generally more educated and skilled than the private sector workforce,” she said.Baker noted that highly educated researchers, especially younger ones, may seek employment in other countries.”It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to pick up talent,” he said.

Russia on Saturday said its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region in a fresh setback for Kyiv as the prospect of peace negotiations appeared to be increasing.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called for more sanctions against Russia as overnight strikes killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more.The war is at a critical juncture, days ahead of talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at securing a truce in the three-year-long war.Washington has suspended crucial US military aid and access to satellite imagery and intelligence sharing after President Donald Trump and Zelensky had a public falling-out in the Oval Office last week.Ukraine still controls some 400 square kilometres (150 square miles) in the Kursk region after launching a cross-border offensive last August and Zelensky sees this as a possible bargaining chip in peace talks.But Ukraine’s troops in Kursk have seen their position worsen in recent weeks with Russia’s army encroaching.Russia’s defence ministry on Saturday announced the recapture of three more villages: Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina.According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a “breach” in Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv’s control.Russia appears to have cut off the logistics route needed by Ukraine to supply its troops in the town.The Ukrainian army has not commented on the latest claim, but Russia has already taken back more than two-thirds of its territory initially seized by Kyiv.- Meeting in Saudi Arabia -Peace negotiations remain a distant prospect with Kyiv and Moscow making starkly opposed demands. But Trump’s return to the White House has brought this prospect nearer.The American president has radically shifted the US position, reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin while criticising Zelensky.Trump has said it may be “easier” to work with Moscow than Kyiv on efforts to end the three-year-long war.Senior US and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks on the war in Jeddah on Tuesday. Zelensky will also visit on Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.US envoy Steve Witkoff said he would speak to the Ukrainian negotiators about an “initial ceasefire” with Russia and a “framework” for a longer agreement.Trump says he wants to end the war as soon as possible, but Ukraine fears being forced to make heavy territorial concessions to Moscow.Kyiv’s troops are also struggling on the eastern front, although an AFP analysis of US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) data showed Moscow’s advance had slowed in February.Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia over its bombardment of Ukraine.Zelensky also called for allies to “increase sanctions against Russia” after heavy overnight bombardment in the east and northeast.A Russian assault hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region late on Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 30, according to the emergency services. Separately, three people were killed and seven others wounded in a drone attack early on Saturday in the town of Bogodukhiv, the military head of the eastern Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegubov, said.Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, Ukraine’s air force said.- ‘Shocking’ -The latest air raids came after EU leaders, shaken by the prospect of US disengagement, agreed to boost the bloc’s defences.Putin “has no interest in peace”, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Saturday, adding that “we must step up our military support”.In Dobropillia, AFP saw charred residential buildings, flattened market stalls and evidence of cluster bomb damage.Irina Kostenko, 59, spent the night cowering in her hallway with her husband. When she left the apartment building on Saturday, she saw a neighbour “lying dead on the ground, covered with a blanket”.”It was shocking, I don’t have the words to describe it,” Kostenko told AFP.Moscow’s defence ministry on Saturday said its air defence systems destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the past night.A Ukrainian drone attack also targeted Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery and falling debris caused damage to a reservoir, the governor of the northwestern Leningrad region, Aleksandr Drozdenko, said.A civilian was wounded by a drone attack in Belgorod district near the Ukraine border, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.burs-lgo-led-am/bc

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called for more sanctions against Russia as overnight strikes killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, days ahead of talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at securing a truce.A Russian assault hit the centre of Dobropillia in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region late on Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 30, according to the emergency services. Separately, three people were killed and seven others wounded in a drone attack early on Saturday in the city of Bogodukhiv, the military head of the eastern Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegubov, said.Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, Ukraine’s air force said.The overnight air raids came after US President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia but said it may be “easier” to work with Moscow than Kyiv on efforts to end the three-year-long war.”Such strikes show that Russia’s goals are unchanged. Therefore, it is very important to continue to do everything to protect life, strengthen our air defence, and increase sanctions against Russia,” Zelensky wrote on the Telegram social media channel.In Dobropillia, AFP saw charred residential buildings, flattened market stalls and evidence of cluster bomb damage.Irina Kostenko, 59, spent the night cowering in her hallway with her husband. When she left the apartment building on Saturday, she saw a neighbour “lying dead on the ground, covered with a blanket”.”It was shocking, I don’t have the words to describe it,” Kostenko told AFP.Zelensky said that Russia had struck Dobropillia, waited until rescuers arrived and then “deliberately” targeted them as well.”This is a despicable and inhumane tactic of intimidation that the Russians often use,” he said.- Trump sanctions threat -US and Ukrainian negotiators are due to meet in Saudi Arabia next week with bilateral relations frayed.Trump publicly berated Zelensky during a White House meeting and suspended US aid to Kyiv in a stated bid to encourage diplomacy.”I’m finding it more difficult frankly to deal with Ukraine and they don’t have the cards,” Trump said on Friday. “It may be easier dealing with Russia.”The remarks followed Trump on Friday threatening new sanctions and tariffs on Russia over its bombardments of Ukraine.”To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,” he added.Zelensky is due to land in Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.The meeting is a day before Ukrainian officials are expected to hold fresh talks with their US counterparts on Tuesday there.On Saturday, Russia said it had retaken three villages in its Kursk region previously captured by Ukraine.The Russian defence ministry announced the recapture of Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina. Ukrainian soldiers launched an offensive in Kursk last summer but Russia has wrested back control of more than two-thirds of the territory captured by Kyiv.Moscow’s defence ministry on Saturday said its air defence systems destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the past night.A Ukrainian drone attack also targeted Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery, with air defence forces shooting down one drone on approach and another over the facility, Leningrad governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said, adding that the “external structure of one of the reservoirs was damaged by falling debris”.A civilian was wounded by a drone attack in Belgorod district near the Ukraine border, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.- Talks on track -Russia’s defence ministry confirmed on Friday that it had carried out “precision” strikes on energy facilities.The Ukrainian air force said it had deployed French Mirage fighter jets — delivered to Ukraine last month — for the first time to repel the aerial onslaught.Ukrainian energy facilities in the Black Sea region of Odesa and the central Poltava region were damaged.The latest air raids came after EU leaders, shaken by the prospect of US disengagement, agreed to boost the bloc’s defences.burs-lgo-led/bc/ach 

Russian strikes overnight had killed at least 12 people in eastern Ukraine as of Saturday morning, the country’s emergency service said, days ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at a truce.A Russian assault hit the centre of Dobropillia in Ukraine’s Donetsk region late Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 30, according to the emergency service. Separately, one person was killed in a drone attack and seven others wounded early Saturday in the city of Bogodukhiv, said Kharkiv region military head Oleg Synegubov.The overnight air raids come after US President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia but said it may be “easier” to work with Moscow than Kyiv on efforts to end the three-year war.After Trump publicly berated Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House meeting and suspended US aid to Kyiv in a stated bid to encourage diplomacy, the US president told reporters Friday that he trusted Russian President Vladimir Putin.”I’m finding it more difficult frankly to deal with Ukraine and they don’t have the cards,” Trump said. “It may be easier dealing with Russia.”The remarks followed Trump earlier Friday threatening new sanctions and tariffs on Russia over its bombardments of Ukraine — his warning coming just hours after Moscow launched a “massive” drone and missile attack on Ukrainian energy facilities.”Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.”To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,” he added.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, on the phone Friday.On the call, Rubio underscored Trump’s goal of ending the three-year war quickly, and emphasized that “all sides must take steps to secure a sustainable peace”, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.- ‘Interested in peace’ -Zelensky is due to land in Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.The meeting is a day before Ukrainian officials are expected to hold fresh talks with their US counterparts on Tuesday in the Middle Eastern kingdom.After meeting with Prince Mohammed, Zelensky said his team “will remain in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners”.”Ukraine is most interested in peace,” he added.Earlier on Friday, he renewed calls for a mutual halt to aerial attacks on critical infrastructure following the recent Russian barrage.The Ukrainian leader said the first steps to establishing real peace should be stopping both Russian and Ukrainian aerial and naval attacks.This latest proposal builds on growing rhetoric from Kyiv, Washington and Moscow on halting the war.The Kremlin has previously ruled out a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine.Moscow’s defence ministry said Saturday its air defence systems destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the past night, with most over the territory of Krasnodar Krai.A Ukrainian drone attack also targeted Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery, with air defence forces shooting down one drone on approach and another over the territory of the facility, Leningrad governor Aleksandr Drozdenko wrote in a post, adding that the “external structure of one of the reservoirs was damaged by falling debris”.A civilian was wounded by a drone attack in Belgorod district near the border, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.- Talks on track -Russia’s defence ministry confirmed earlier Friday it had carried out “precision” strikes on energy facilities.The Ukrainian air force said it had deployed French Mirage fighter jets — delivered to Ukraine last month — for the first time to repel the aerial onslaught.DTEK, the largest private energy supplier in Ukraine, said its facilities in the Black Sea region of Odesa had been targeted for a fourth night.Its gas facilities in the central Poltava region had “ceased operations” after being struck in the overnight attack, it added.State gas company Naftogaz said its production facilities had been damaged.Ukraine’s energy minister German Galushchenko said Russia was trying to “hurt ordinary Ukrainians by shelling energy and gas production facilities”. The latest air raids came after EU leaders, shaken by the prospect of US disengagement, agreed to boost the bloc’s defences.Washington, however, has said talks with Kyiv were back on track to secure a ceasefire with Moscow — after the public falling out between Trump and Zelensky.US envoy Steve Witkoff said he would speak to Ukrainian negotiators about an “initial ceasefire” with Russia and a “framework” for a longer agreement at the talks in Saudi Arabia.burs-jj/sco/tym

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died of natural causes about a week after his wife’s death, a medical examiner said Friday, ending more than a week of mystery surrounding the death of one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars.The bodies of “The French Connection” star and his wife were found on February 26 in their home in New Mexico after emergency services were called to their property.”The cause of death for Mr. Gene Hackman, aged 95 years, is hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor,” Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, told reporters.”The cause of death for Miss Betsy Hackman, aged 65 years, is hantavirus, pulmonary syndrome. The manner of death is natural.”Neither body showed any sign of trauma, nor any indication of carbon monoxide poisoning, which had been an initial suggestion.Hantavirus presents as a flu-like disease, with symptoms including fever, muscle aches, cough, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure, Jarrell said.”This occurs after a one- to eight-week exposure to excrement from a particular mouse species that carries hantavirus.”Jarrell said data from Hackman’s pacemaker showed its last activity over a week before his body was found when maintenance workers were unable to access the couple’s sprawling Santa Fe property.”Based on this information, it is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Hackman probably died around February 18. Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Miss Hackman passed away first, with February 11 being the last time that she was going to be alive,” said Jarrell.First responders found the door unlocked and open, and pills scattered next to Betsy Hackman’s body, which was in the bathroom.Gene Hackman’s body was found in another room, fully clothed, with sunglasses nearby, indicating a sudden fall.Investigators suggested it could be the case that the elder Hackman had not realized his wife was dead in the bathroom, given his advanced age and neurodegenerative disease.”He was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s, and it’s quite possible that he was not aware that she was deceased,” the medical examiner said.A Hackman family spokesperson had previously denied reports of his Alzheimer’s disease.In addition to the deceased couple, a dog was found dead in the bathroom, and two other healthy dogs were at the house.Along with the autopsies, the investigation had focussed on piecing together a timeline of the couple’s last days, which detectives said had been complicated by their low profile and their preference for privacy.Hackman, a two-time Academy Award winner, was credited for intense performances inspired by his troubled upbringing, notching up dozens of movie credits extending into his 70s.He is perhaps best known as vulgar New York cop Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in the 1971 crime thriller “The French Connection” — for which he won an Oscar for best actor.He won another golden statuette two decades later for best supporting actor for his portrayal of the brutal small-town sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett in the 1992 western “Unforgiven.”

Greenland votes Tuesday in legislative elections following a campaign largely focused on when — not if — to cut ties with Denmark without falling into the clutches of the United States.President Donald Trump’s at-times threatening remarks about seizing Greenland have lent fresh momentum to the self-governing territory’s independence movement.Many of the island’s 57,000 inhabitants insist they want to be neither American nor Danish — just Greenlandic.”Donald Trump has kind of sparked the issue of independence again,” University of Greenland political scientist Maria Ackren told AFP.”It’s nothing new for Greenlanders … But it is giving the Greenlandic decision-makers and politicians momentum now to actually maybe reach some goals that haven’t been available lately,” she said.The issue of independence has featured predominantly in the campaign, alongside education, social affairs, fisheries — which account for 90 percent of the vast Arctic island’s exports — and tourism.Almost all of the parties represented in parliament support the idea of full sovereignty for the massive ice-covered island, 50 times the size of Denmark yet 100 times less populated.Clusters of building cranes towering over the capital Nuuk are a sign of Greenland’s rapidly modernising society, one that has left some of its mainly Inuit population — mostly hunters and fishermen — by the wayside.While visible on the streets, the social woes are even more glaring in the statistics: Greenland has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, more abortions than births and a life expectancy for men under 70 years.  – Fast track? -While most parties vying for the 31 seats in parliament back independence, their views differ on the timeline. Some prefer a “fast track” while others want to take it slow.Among the most impatient is the opposition nationalist Naleraq party, which has been highly prominent in the campaign.It wants the independence process to begin immediately. In the previous 2021 election, it won 12 percent of votes.”The interest that we’re seeing, not only from the United States but basically from the whole world, which has been there for quite some years now, is turning out to be in our favour,” Juno Berthelsen, one of Naleraq’s most prominent candidates, told AFP.When does he think independence will happen?”We could try and predict that it’s going to be within one or two election cycles” of four years each, he said.But “it depends on how the negotiations are going to go between Greenland and Denmark”.Colonised by Danes more than 300 years ago, the island was granted home rule in 1979, with Copenhagen maintaining control over matters such as foreign and defence affairs.Since 2009, a law has enabled Greenland to unilaterally initiate the independence process.The law stipulates that negotiations be held between the Danish and Greenlandic governments to reach an agreement, which must be approved by the Greenlandic parliament, endorsed by a referendum on the island and voted on by the Danish parliament.- ‘Jail’ -The outgoing government coalition, made up of Prime Minister Mute Egede’s green-left Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) and the social democratic Siumut party, also support independence.But despite internal divisions, they are in less of a rush to attain it.They have insisted the island must first gain economic independence. It currently receives around $565 million from Copenhagen in annual subsidies, equivalent to around a fifth of its GDP.”The independence talk is always on the table. That’s the end goal for a lot of us from Greenland but it will be in 10, 20 years or more,” said Aaja Chemnitz, a member of IA and one of two Greenlandic representatives in the Danish parliament.”It’s important to talk about the economic development of Greenland and how we do this in a way that’s much more sustainable,” she said.Siumut party leader Erik Jensen, the outgoing finance minister, expressed frustration that the independence issue has eclipsed — at least in Danish and international media — issues affecting Greenlanders’ daily lives. “It’s also an important part of our programme but everyone here in Greenland talks about health, schools and kindergarten,” he told AFP.In the chilly, windy streets of Nuuk, residents swing between wanting to break free and economic realism.”Of course we want to have independence from Denmark, because we are seen as lower-ranking people,” said Peter Jensen, an entrepreneur.But with its subsidies, Copenhagen has “kept us in this ‘jail’,” he said.The exploitation of Greenland’s mineral resources, often seen as an economic springboard to independence, is in its infancy.”We should think about how we can become self-sufficient in our food and fuel. Because everything we’ve got is from abroad,” added Ole Moeller, a middle manager at a transport company.”And as you can see right now, the world is not very safe right now.”