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President Donald Trump’s administration aims to cut some 80,000 jobs from the federal department overseeing veterans’ health care and other benefits, according to a memo obtained Wednesday by AFP.The move to downsize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) brings Trump’s unprecedented cost-cutting efforts, led by billionaire adviser Elon Musk, into another sensitive area, with Democrats quick to pounce on the issue.The VA, in concert with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will “identify and eliminate waste, reduce management and bureaucracy, reduce footprint, and increase workforce efficiency,” the memo says.”A portion of the savings garnered will be reinvested in the veterans we serve and the systems required to support our workforce and execute our mission,” it says.The initial aim is to return staffing at the VA — which is responsible for providing benefits including health care, education and disability pay to veterans — to the 2019 level of 399,957 employees, according to the memo.The VA said in early February it employed more than 479,000 people, meaning about 80,000 jobs would be cut under the plan.Some Democratic lawmakers slammed the planned cuts, including Representative Mark Takano of California, who said in a statement: “This deliberate dismantling of VA’s workforce… isn’t just dangerous — it’s an outright betrayal of veterans.””These cuts won’t just impact those seeking health care. They will create chaos across every aspect of VA — delaying benefits, straining claims processing, and making it nearly impossible for student veterans and schools to get the assistance they need.”Senator Patty Murray of Washington said it is “infuriating that two billionaires think they can fire tens of thousands of people responsible for administering the services and care that over nine million veterans across the country count on,” referring to Trump and Musk.”It’s flat-out immoral and a breach of the sacred commitment we make to our veterans to take care of them when they return home,” she said in a statement.Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has launched a vast offensive aimed at slashing public spending and reducing the federal bureaucracy, one of the goals he promised on the campaign trail.To that end, he tapped Musk, a top campaign donor turned close adviser, to lead DOGE, which has cut thousands of government jobs and upended agencies — prompting numerous lawsuits.Among his first targets were members of the federal bureaucracy overseeing policies that promote diversity.His administration has also sought to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID), ending many humanitarian and other support projects around the globe.And a source with knowledge of the situation told AFP on Tuesday that the Internal Revenue Service — responsible for collecting US federal taxes — is considering letting go up to half of its approximately 90,000 employees.

Ukraine said on Wednesday it planned to hold new talks with the United States after Washington suspended its intelligence sharing, delivering a fresh blow to Kyiv as it battles Russia’s invasion.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been scrambling to contain the fallout from his explosive meeting with Donald Trump last week, in which the US leader berated him in front of international media and kicked him out of the White House.”Today, Ukrainian and American teams began working on an upcoming meeting. We’re seeing forward momentum,” Zelensky said in a late-Wednesday address, without saying when or where new talks would take place.Zelensky also said he would join EU leaders for a Brussels summit on Thursday.Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said European military forces could be sent to Ukraine if a peace deal is signed to ensure that Russia does not invade its neighbour again.The United States said earlier on Wednesday it had “paused” intelligence sharing with Ukraine, two days after announcing it was also suspending military aid.The moves have cemented fears in Kyiv and Europe that Ukraine could be forced to accept a peace settlement on terms favourable to Moscow or risk losing US support entirely.”We all want a safe future for our people. Not a temporary ceasefire, but an end to the war once and for all. With our coordinated efforts and US leadership, this is entirely achievable,” Zelensky wrote Wednesday on social media following a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.A day earlier, he said he was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer”, and that he wanted to “make things right” with Trump. – ‘Generally positive’ -In an address to US Congress on Tuesday, Trump read aloud from a letter he said he had received from Zelensky in which the Ukrainian leader said he was ready for peace talks.Trump has made ending the war one of his top foreign policy priorities, though has yet to outline his plan for a deal both sides could endorse.Zelensky wants security guarantees from the United States to deter Russia from invading again in the future.Moscow, meanwhile, has refused to rule out giving up any of the land it has captured in its three-year military campaign, and has been buoyed by the suspension of US military aid.The Kremlin welcomed news of the Ukrainian leader’s letter to Trump.”This approach is generally positive,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in answer to a question from AFP.However, the Kremlin has repeatedly thrown doubt on whether it would hold talks with Zelensky.On Wednesday, Peskov cited a decree passed by Zelensky that rules out direct negotiations with Putin.The Ukrainian president has since said on multiple occasions he would be willing to meet Putin — but only after Kyiv and its Western allies agree on a common negotiating position.Moscow has also accused Zelensky of not being a legitimate leader, citing the expiration of his five-year mandate following his 2019 election as president.Under Ukrainian martial law, elections are banned during wartime. Zelensky’s key European backers have supported the suspension of any vote amid Russia’s full-scale offensive.Trump has falsely claimed the Ukrainian leader is widely unpopular at home and called on him to hold elections.- Intelligence pause -Outgoing German Chancellor Scholz on Wednesday gave his backing to Zelensky’s calls for a truce in the sky and at sea as a first step towards ending the fighting.”The Chancellor welcomed the Ukrainian president’s willingness to start negotiations as soon as possible. Both agreed on the importance of the American president’s leadership,” Scholz’s office said in a statement.Macron is mulling a joint visit to Washington alongside Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to present a united European front to Trump, the French government said Wednesday.Macron, in a televised address, said European troops could be deployed to Ukraine once a peace treaty is signed. “They won’t go to fight today, they won’t go to fight on the front line, but they would be there once a peace deal is signed, to guarantee it is fully respected,” he said.Macron added that chiefs of staff of European militaries would meet in Paris next week to discuss how to support Ukraine after a peace deal.Trump is pushing for Europe to do more for Ukraine’s defence.CIA director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday the United States had “paused” intelligence sharing with Ukraine after the dramatic breakdown in relations between Kyiv and the White House.The Ukrainian presidency declined to comment.On the battlefield, Russia’s forces said they had captured another small village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.The gains come as AFP analysis of US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) data showed Moscow’s advance had slowed in February after a series of accelerating territorial gains throughout the winter.burs/gv/rmb

For decades, Mexico’s industrial borderlands boomed thanks to growing trade with the world’s largest economy next door. Today, US tariffs cast a long shadow over a region home to thousands of factories employing armies of workers.Lower labor costs, tax incentives and a North American free trade pact dating back more than 30 years have long lured companies south of the US border.But President Donald Trump’s 25-percent duties on Mexican goods have heaped doubt on the future of the trade agreement, which was renegotiated during his 2017-2021 first term.Manufacturers of goods ranging from medical supplies to semiconductors and other electronic components will be hit by the tariffs, said Jose Luis Contreras, president of the Mesa de Otay Industrial Association in Tijuana, just south of California.Some products like car parts cross the Mexican-US border several times during production.In the Tijuana region, whose industrial parks are home to around 400 companies, a million cargo border crossings are made each year, according to official figures.Following Trump’s imposition of tariffs, Mexico’s “domestic market must be reoriented,” Contreras told AFP in an interview.He said that could mean replicating the production chains of the USMCA free trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada in the Latin American nation, home to 130 million people.It also requires offering tax incentives and seeking new markets, he added.”Action must be taken quickly” given the high stakes, notably 80,000 factory jobs just along the stretch of the border near Tijuana, said Contreras, a metalworking businessman.The tariffs have dealt a heavy blow to Mexico’s hopes of attracting US-owned factories from Asia to its industrial north, a trend known as “nearshoring.”President Claudia Sheinbaum warned Wednesday that Mexico would seek other trading partners besides the United States if needed.She has vowed to respond to Trump’s tariffs with retaliatory duties, calling on supporters to mass in Mexico City’s main square on Sunday to hear details.Sheinbaum has previously hailed the USMCA as “one of the best trade agreements in history” and “the only way we can compete with Asian countries, particularly China.”She has proposed replacing Chinese imports with domestically produced goods — an apparent bid to ease Washington’s concerns that Chinese companies want to use Mexico as a backdoor into the United States.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that Mexico had also proposed matching Washington’s tariff hikes on China.- ‘Unfair trade practices’ -In Mexico’s northeastern state of Nuevo Leon, business leaders who favor maintaining close ties with Washington pointed the finger at China as the trade tension culprit.”The common problem that we have in the United States and Mexico is the position of China,” said Maximo Vedoya, president of CAINTRA, an organization that represents several thousand companies.”China is the one that disrupts all world trade,” he told reporters Tuesday, accusing the Asian giant of “unfair trade practices.”The answer was not US-Mexico trade barriers but “strengthening the North American region” to make it more competitive, added Vedoya, chief executive of a steel products maker.The United States is Mexico’s top trading partner, buying more than 80 percent of its exports.Analysts have warned the US duties could push Mexico’s economy, the second largest in Latin America, into recession.Sheinbaum has accused Trump of violating the USMCA, which replaced the previous NAFTA accord in 2020 and is due for review next year.”Are we to blame for companies deciding to come to Mexico to export to the United States? No, it’s the result of a good relationship since President Trump’s first term and the trade agreement that came before,” she said.Contreras doubts the United States can quickly replace the labor and skills developed in Mexico during decades of trade.”We may be less competitive, but in the end we will still be competitive,” he said.

Automakers received a temporary reprieve Wednesday from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs targeting Canada and Mexico, as concerns mounted over consumer impacts and talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yielded no immediate breakthrough.Following talks with the “Big Three” US automakers — Stellantis, Ford and General Motors — Trump decided to “give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, referring to the North American free trade pact.”They made the ask, and the president is happy to do it,” Leavitt told reporters.But prospects of wider relief were dampened after Trump’s call with Trudeau, with the US leader saying he was unconvinced Ottawa had done enough to address Washington’s concerns over illicit fentanyl.In a social media post, Trump accused Trudeau of using the dispute to “stay in power,” although he added that the discussion ended in a “somewhat” friendly manner.Trump’s sharp 25 percent tariffs on US imports from Canada and Mexico — with a lower rate for Canadian energy — kicked in Tuesday, sending global markets tumbling and straining ties between the neighbors.Ottawa swiftly announced retaliatory levies, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to unveil her response at a mass rally on Sunday.The US president has nominally cited illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking in imposing the measures, though he frequently lambasts alleged trade imbalances when discussing levies.Trudeau has said that less than one percent of the fentanyl and undocumented migrants that enter the United States come through the Canadian border, although Trump has shrugged off these figures.- ‘Offers’ -Earlier Wednesday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said an announcement on Canada and Mexico tariffs was expected in the afternoon.Trump is listening to “offers” from Canada and Mexico, Lutnick told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.While he dismissed the possibility of lifting the levies completely, Lutnick said Trump was mulling market segments where he could provide temporary relief.”It will be 25 percent but it’ll be, there will be some categories left out,” he said.During Trump’s first term, he renegotiated the free trade pact with Mexico and Canada, touting the reworked deal at the time as the “fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement” in US history.- ‘Other trading partners’ -Sheinbaum, at her morning press conference Wednesday, said Mexico has to take “important decisions for the future of the country,” adding that “if necessary, other trading partners will be sought.”Expressing a preference for a negotiated solution, she has said she anticipates speaking to Trump by phone on Thursday about tariffs on Mexican goods.She earlier vowed retaliatory action and called for supporters to gather in Mexico City’s main square on Sunday to hear details on her government’s response.Beyond the steep tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Lutnick maintained Wednesday that broader reciprocal tariffs, tailored to all US trading partners, are still coming on April 2.Trump has vowed “reciprocal tariffs” targeting friend and foe to remedy potential practices deemed as unfair.Some of these duties could come immediately, although Lutnick told Bloomberg that others could take a month or longer.This week, Trump also inked an order doubling an additional tariff rate on Chinese imports from 10 percent to 20 percent, similarly over the country’s alleged role in illicit fentanyl entering the United States.The latest US duties pile atop existing ones on various Chinese products.Beijing hit back swiftly, promising 10 percent and 15 percent tariffs on a range of US agricultural imports.Economists warn that tariff hikes stand to bog down economic growth and add to inflation in the world’s biggest economy.The mounting trade war could complicate Trump’s stated aims of bringing cost-of-living relief to households.

Twelve Chinese nationals, including two public security ministry officers, have been indicted for a series of hacking attacks, including a 2024 breach of the US Treasury, the Justice Department said Wednesday.Other alleged victims include US-based Chinese dissidents, the foreign ministries of several Asian countries, religious organizations and additional US federal and state government agencies, the department said.Eight employees of a Chinese company called Anxun Information Technology Co. Ltd, also known as i-Soon, and two Ministry of Public Security officers were indicted in New York for involvement in the alleged hacking of email accounts, cell phones, servers, and websites between 2016 and 2023.”For years, these 10 defendants -— two of whom we allege are (People’s Republic of China – PRC) officials — used sophisticated hacking techniques to target religious organizations, journalists, and government agencies, all to gather sensitive information for the use of the PRC,” acting US attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement.The Justice Department said the private Chinese hackers were paid in some cases by the Chinese ministries of public security and state security to exploit specific victims.”In many other cases, the hackers targeted victims speculatively,” it said, identifying vulnerable computers and then selling hacked information to the Chinese government.The Justice Department said i-Soon charged the ministries of public and state security between $10,000 and $75,000 for each email inbox it successfully hacked.All 10 defendants remain at large and the State Department offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to their arrest.The hacking targets allegedly included a missionary organization, a group focused on promoting human rights and religious freedom in China, a Hong Kong newspaper and the foreign ministries of Taiwan, India, South Korea and Indonesia.- ‘Silk Typhoon’ -A separate indictment was also unsealed in Washington against Yin Kecheng and Zhou Shuai, alleged members of hacker group “APT 27,” also known as “Silk Typhoon.””Yin, Zhou, and their co-conspirators exploited vulnerabilities in victim networks, conducted reconnaissance once inside those networks, and installed malware, such as PlugX malware, that provided persistent access,” the Justice Department said.Their targets included US-based technology companies, think tanks, law firms, defense contractors, local governments, health care systems, and universities.The United States sanctioned Yin in January for alleged involvement in a hack of the Treasury Department last year.According to US media outlets, then-Treasury secretary Janet Yellen and other senior Treasury officials were among those targeted.The State Department announced a reward of $2 million each for information leading to the arrest of Yin and Zhou, who are believed to be in China.Several countries, notably the United States, have voiced alarm at what they say is Chinese-government-backed hacking activity targeting their governments, militaries and businesses.Beijing rejects the allegations, and has previously said it opposes and cracks down on cyberattacks.

A divided US Supreme Court handed a legal defeat to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, rejecting his bid to freeze some $2 billion in foreign aid payments.The top court, in its first significant ruling on a legal challenge to the Trump administration, voted 5-4 to uphold a lower court order requiring that payments be made on aid contracts that have already been completed.The justices said the federal judge who ordered the resumption of payments for contracts with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department “should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill.”Conservatives John Roberts, the chief justice, and Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, voted with the three liberals on the nine-member Supreme Court.Justice Samuel Alito wrote a dissent that was joined by the three other conservatives.”Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?” Alito wrote.”The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned,” he added.The American Civil Liberties Union, which has backed several legal challenges to moves by the Trump administration, welcomed the Supreme Court decision.”President Trump’s attempt to halt foreign aid funding was a reckless, cruel, and unprecedented abuse of executive power,” ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said in a statement.”The lower court rightly held that President Trump exceeded his authority when he unilaterally declared he was freezing funding for programs Congress had already authorized, stiffing federal contractors who had already done work,” Romero said.District Judge Amir Ali, an appointee of former president Joe Biden, issued a temporary restraining order last month prohibiting the administration from “suspending, pausing, or otherwise preventing” foreign assistance funds.Trump has launched a campaign led by his top donor Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, to downsize or dismantle swaths of the US government.The most concentrated fire has been on USAID, the primary organization for distributing US humanitarian aid around the world with health and emergency programs in some 120 countries.Trump has said USAID was “run by radical lunatics” and Musk has described it as a “criminal organization” needing to be put “through the woodchipper.”

An Islamic State operative who allegedly helped carry out the 2021 suicide bombing outside Kabul airport during the chaotic US military withdrawal was to appear in a Virginia court Wednesday, the Justice Department said.The bomber detonated a device among packed crowds as they tried to flee Afghanistan, killing 170 Afghans and 13 US troops securing the perimeter, days after the Taliban seized control of the capital.The Department of Justice (DOJ) said a member of the Islamic State Khorasan (ISK) branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan who had admitted to “helping prepare” for the attack would appear in court near the US capital Wednesday.The man, named Mohammad Sharifullah, had told FBI agents that his help included “scouting a route near the airport for an attacker,” the DOJ said.ISK militants gave Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, a cellphone and a SIM card and told him to check the route, according to the affidavit in the case.When he gave it the all clear they told him to leave the area, it said.”Later that same day, Sharifullah learned of the attack at HKIA described above and recognized the alleged bomber as an ISIS-K operative he had known while incarcerated,” the affidavit said, using an alternative acronym for the group.Sharifullah has been charged with “providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death.”In his first address to Congress since returning to the White House, Trump announced on Tuesday that Pakistan had assisted in the arrest of “the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity.”He thanked Islamabad “for helping arrest this monster.””This evil ISIS-K terrorist orchestrated the brutal murder of 13 heroic Marines,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.Sharifullah also admitted to involvement in several other attacks, the DOJ said, including the March 2024 Moscow Crocus City Hall attack in which he said “he had shared instructions on how to use AK-style rifles and other weapons to would-be attackers” by video.The United States withdrew its last troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans who had rushed to Kabul’s airport in the hope of boarding a flight out of the country.Images of crowds storming the airport, climbing atop aircraft — and some clinging to a departing US military cargo plane as it rolled down the runway — aired on news bulletins around the world.In April 2023, the White House announced that an Islamic State official involved in plotting the attack at the airport’s Abbey Gate had been killed in an operation by Afghanistan’s new Taliban government.- ‘Leverage US concerns’ -Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for acknowledging his country’s role in counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan.He promised to “continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability,” in a post on X.Pakistan’s strategic importance has waned since the US and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has seen violence rebound in the border regions.Tensions between the neighboring countries have soared, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil who launch attacks on Pakistan.The Taliban government denies the charges and in a statement said Sharifullah’s arrest “is proof” that ISK hideouts are on Pakistani soil.ISK, which has claimed several recent attacks in Afghanistan, has staged a growing number of bloody international assaults, including killing more than 90 in an Iranian bombing last year.Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute director at The Wilson Center, said on X that Pakistan was trying to “leverage US concerns about terror in Afghanistan and pitch a renewed security partnership.”

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said an announcement on Canada and Mexico tariffs was expected later Wednesday, signaling potential relief for specific sectors such as automobiles, a day after the steep levies took effect.President Donald Trump’s sharp 25 percent tariffs on US imports from Canada and Mexico — with a lower rate for Canadian energy — kicked in Tuesday, sending global markets tumbling and straining ties between the neighbors.Ottawa swiftly announced retaliatory tariffs, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to unveil her response at a mass rally on Sunday.The US president has nominally cited illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking in imposing the measures, though he frequently lambasts alleged trade imbalances when discussing the issue.Some sectors such as automobiles are expected to be hit particularly hard by the tariffs, with parts crossing North American borders multiple times during production.Trump is listening to “offers” from Canada and Mexico, Lutnick told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.He said he expects an announcement to be made Wednesday afternoon.Lutnick dismissed the possibility of lifting the levies completely, but said Trump is mulling market segments where he could provide temporary relief.”The president gets to make the decision,” Lutnick said. “But our expectation is that it’ll be categories.””It will be 25 percent but it’ll be, there will be some categories left out. It could well be autos, could be others as well,” he said.During Trump’s first term, he renegotiated a free trade pact with Mexico and Canada, touting it at the time as the “fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement” in US history.- ‘Other trading partners’ -Sheinbaum, at her morning press conference Wednesday, said Mexico has to take “important decisions for the future of the country,” adding that “if necessary, other trading partners will be sought.”Expressing a preference for a negotiated solution, she said she anticipates speaking to Trump by phone on Thursday about the tariffs.She vowed retaliatory action and called for supporters to gather in Mexico City’s main square on Sunday to hear details on her government’s response.Beyond the steep tariffs that took effect on Canada and Mexico, Lutnick maintained Wednesday that broader reciprocal tariffs, tailored to all US trading partners, are still coming on April 2.The levies could affect Mexico and Canada further, addressing their broader trade with the United States, he said.Trump has vowed “reciprocal tariffs” targeting friend and foe to remedy potential practices deemed as unfair.While some of these duties could come immediately, Lutnick told Bloomberg that others could take “over a month or two to come online.”This week, Trump also inked an order doubling an additional tariff rate on Chinese imports from 10 percent to 20 percent, also over the country’s alleged role in illicit fentanyl entering the United States.The latest US duties pile atop existing ones on various Chinese products.Beijing hit back swiftly, condemning Washington’s “unilateral imposition” of levies and promising 10 percent and 15 percent tariffs on a range of US agricultural imports.Economists warn that tariff hikes stand to bog down economic growth and add to inflation in the world’s biggest economy.The mounting trade war could complicate Trump’s stated aims of bringing cost of living relief to households.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is now aiming for Thursday to conduct the next test flight of its massive Starship rocket, following a last-minute cancellation on Monday.The world’s biggest and most powerful launch vehicle is set to lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, during a launch window that opens at 5:30 pm local time (2330 GMT).An earlier attempt set for Wednesday was postponed a day without explanation.It will be Starship’s eighth orbital mission — all so far uncrewed — and the first since its dramatic mid-air explosion over the Caribbean during its last test.Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall — about 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty — Starship is designed to eventually be fully reusable and is key to Musk and SpaceX’s vision of colonizing Mars.Meanwhile, NASA is awaiting a modified version of Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon this decade.The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded Starship after its previous flight on January 16 ended with the upper stage disintegrating in a fiery cascade over the Turks and Caicos Islands, prompting cleanup efforts for fallen debris.Last Friday, the FAA announced that Starship could proceed with its next flight before the agency finalizes its review of SpaceX’s “mishap investigation.”During Joe Biden’s presidency, Musk frequently accused the FAA of excessive scrutiny over SpaceX’s safety and environmental concerns. Now, as President Donald Trump’s cost-cutter-in-chief, the world’s richest person faces allegations of wielding undue influence over regulatory agencies overseeing his companies.The administration has taken particular aim at the FAA over its hiring policies, and a union says hundreds of staff at the agency were fired last month.For the upcoming flight, SpaceX says it has introduced numerous upgrades to the upper-stage spaceship that enhance its reliability and performance.The mission, expected to last just over an hour, includes another attempt to catch the booster stage using the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms — a feat SpaceX has successfully executed twice, including in the last flight.Additionally, Starship will deploy Starlink simulators designed to mimic Starlink satellites, which will burn up upon atmospheric re-entry.Eventually, SpaceX aims to recover the upper stage as well, but for now, it is targeting splashdown in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Australia, as in previous flights.In a recent interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Musk said the toughest engineering hurdle is building a “fully reusable orbital heat shield — a problem that has never been solved before.”Despite the challenge, Musk remains optimistic, predicting that Starship will be fully and rapidly reusable by next year, a milestone he describes as the “fundamental breakthrough required for life to be multiplanetary.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that a lasting peace was “entirely achievable” as the Kremlin called it “positive” that Kyiv was professing its readiness for talks on ending the three-year war.Zelensky has been scrambling to contain the fallout from the explosive meeting with Donald Trump last week that saw him kicked out of the White House after being scolded by the US leader and his vice president in front of news cameras.The United States said Wednesday it had “paused” intelligence sharing with Ukraine, a blow to Kyiv’s military capacity that came after Washington suspended military aid to the country.The moves have cemented fears in Kyiv and Europe that Ukraine could have to accept a settlement on terms favourable to Moscow or risk losing US support entirely.”We all want a safe future for our people. Not a temporary ceasefire, but an end to the war once and for all. With our coordinated efforts and U.S. leadership, this is entirely achievable,” Zelensky wrote Wednesday on social media following a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.A day earlier he said he was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer” and that he wanted to “make things right” with Trump. In an address to US Congress on Tuesday , Trump read aloud from a letter he said he had received from Zelensky in which he said he was ready for peace talks.The Republican has made ending the war one of his top foreign policy priorities, though has yet to outline his plan for a deal both sides could endorse.Zelensky wants security guarantees from the United States to deter Russia from invading once again in the future.Moscow, meanwhile, has refused to rule out giving up any of the land it has captured in its three-year military campaign, and has been buoyed by the suspension of military aid.- ‘Generally positive’ -The Kremlin welcomed news of the Ukrainian leader’s letter to Trump.”This approach is generally positive,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in answer to a question from AFP.However, the Kremlin has repeatedly thrown doubt on whether it would hold talks with Zelensky.On Wednesday, Peskov cited a decree passed by Zelensky that rules out direct negotiations with Putin.The Ukrainian leader has since said on multiple occasions he would be willing to meet Putin — but only after Kyiv and its Western allies agree a common negotiating position.Moscow has also accused Zelensky of not being a legitimate leader, citing the expiration of his five-year mandate following his 2019 election as president.Under Ukrainian martial law, elections are banned during wartime.Zelensky’s key European backers have supported the suspension of any vote amid Russia’s full-scale offensive, though Trump has falsely claimed the Ukrainian leader is widely unpopular at home and called on him to hold elections.- Intelligence pause -Outgoing German Chancellor Scholz on Wednesday gave his backing to Zelensky’s calls for a truce in the sky and at sea as a first step towards ending the fighting.”The Chancellor welcomed the Ukrainian president’s willingness to start negotiations as soon as possible. Both agreed on the importance of the American president’s leadership,” Scholz’s office said in a statement.French President Emmanuel Macron is mulling a joint visit to Washington alongside Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to present a united European front to Trump, the French government said Wednesday.Trump is pushing for Europe to do more for Ukraine’s defence.CIA director John Ratcliffe said Wednesday the United States had “paused” intelligence sharing with Ukraine after the dramatic breakdown in relations between Kyiv and the White House.The Ukrainian presidency declined to comment.On the battlefield, Russia’s forces said they had captured another small village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.The gains come as AFP analysis of US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) data showed Moscow’s advance had slowed in February after a series of accelerating territorial gains throughout the winter.