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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.

President Donald Trump marked the annual day for honoring the US war dead Monday by tearing into his “scum” opponents and judges who don’t rule in his favor.Trump performed the traditional presidential duties on Memorial Day of visiting Arlington National Cemetery — the resting place for some 400,000 fallen soldiers and others.And after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Trump delivered a speech that likewise stuck mostly to the typical presidential script of praising US war heroes.However, the 78-year-old Republican began his day with a lengthy, all-caps tirade on his Truth Social platform in which he declared: “HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY.”The post claimed that “warped radical left minds” had allowed in millions of illegal immigrants, “many of them being criminals and the mentally insane.”As well as blaming his political predecessors, Trump accused “USA hating” judges of being “on a mission to keep murderers, drug dealers, rapists, gang members, and released prisoners from all over the world, in our country so they can rob, murder and rape again.”Trump is locked in a series of court battles with federal judges who have repeatedly imposed temporary restraining orders to freeze potentially unconstitutional actions, pending further rulings.With the Republican Party controlling Congress and rarely pushing back against the White House, the only significant remaining roadblocks to Trump’s unprecedented drive to test constitutional norms are the courts.One of the key cases being contested revolves around court injunctions stopping the use by Trump of an obscure wartime law to deport alleged illegal migrants or alleged foreign criminals without any due process.In his Arlington speech, Trump hailed notable US battles over history and paid homage to several individual members of the armed forces killed in combat.However, Trump did not entirely avoid his penchant to veer off script and begin talking about his own successes.Overlooking the storied cemetery of white marble crosses, he mused about his luck in being president now, because he will preside over the 2026 soccer World Cup, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 250th anniversary of the United States also in 2026.Had he not lost his first reelection bid in 2020 — a result he tried to overthrow and still frequently claims he was cheated on — he would have not been president for the three events, he noted.”In some ways, I’m glad I missed that second term,” he told the audience of military officers, top government officials and surviving relatives of slain soldiers.”Now look what I have: I have everything,” Trump said. “Amazing the way things work out. God did that.”

King Charles III arrived in Ottawa Monday for a historic visit to open Canada’s parliament, a brief trip seen as part of the pushback against US President Donald Trump’s annexation threats. The 76-year-old monarch, 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. 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.Queen Camilla will accompany Charles on the 24-hour visit to Ottawa.- ‘Easier ways to send messages’ -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.”This historic honour matches the weight of our times,” he said in a statement.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. “If there’s a message in there, there’s easier ways to send messages. Just give me a call. Carney can call the president at any time,” he told the public broadcaster CBC last week.Hoekstra added that he sees the annexation issue as being “over.” “Move on. If the Canadians want to keep talking about it — that’s their business.”- ‘Entire world watching’ -Charles and Camilla are scheduled to land in Ottawa on Monday afternoon.They’ll be received by Governor General Mary Simon, Carney, Indigenous leaders and other dignitaries before meeting community organizations in Ottawa. Charles also holds an audience with Carney on Monday. At the Senate on Tuesday, the monarch will receive full military honors before delivering the throne speech. Canadian royal commentator Edward Wang told AFP he was traveling from his home in the west coast city of Vancouver to Ottawa for the visit.  “At a time when the sovereignty of our country is being challenged, having our head of state open the first session of a new Parliament sends a signal,” he said. “The entire world will be watching.”Walking his dog in downtown Ottawa in the morning, George Monastiriakos, 32, who normally supports abolishing the monarchy, said “in this moment we’re all monarchists.” “Trump seems to have a reverence for all things gold and the British monarchy especially,” he added, “So I think he’ll being paying attention” to the king’s Ottawa visit.Gaelle Hortop, 46, sipping her morning coffee in the ByWard Market, said she is “optimistic that it’ll be positive for Canadian morale” too.

Iran on Monday ruled out suspending uranium enrichment as part of any nuclear deal with the United States — a key demand from Washington in successive rounds of talks between the foes.The issue has come into focus in recent weeks, with Iran staunchly defending its right to enrich uranium as part of what it says is a civilian nuclear programme, while the United States wants it to stop.The negotiations, which began in April, are the highest-level contact between the two sides since the United States quit a landmark 2015 nuclear accord during US President Donald Trump’s first term.Trump described the latest round of discussions in Rome as “very, very good”, while Iran’s foreign minister described it as “complicated”.Since returning to office, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign on the Islamic republic, backing diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails.Tehran wants a new deal that would ease sanctions battering its economy.Western governments and Israel suspect Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons — a charge it strongly denies.US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the talks for Washington, said the United States “could not authorise even one percent” of enrichment by Iran.- ‘Totally false’ -On Monday, Iran ruled out suspending its uranium enrichment.”This information is a figment of the imagination and totally false,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, asked about the possibility during a press briefing in Tehran.Iran insists it has the right to a civilian nuclear programme, including for energy, and considers the US demand a red line that violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which it is a signatory.Following the latest round of Omani-mediated talks in Rome, Iran’s foreign minister and lead negotiator Abbas Araghchi downplayed the progress, stressing “the negotiations are too complicated to be resolved in two or three meetings”.Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the fifth round concluded “with some but not conclusive progress”, adding he hoped “the remaining issues” would be clarified in the coming days.But on Sunday Trump said the ongoing discussions had been “very, very good”.”I think we could have some good news on the Iran front,” he said, adding that an announcement could come “over the next two days.”No date has yet been set for the next talks, according to Iran’s foreign ministry.The talks came ahead of a June meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, during which Iran’s nuclear activities will be reviewed.They also come before the October expiry of the 2015 accord, which aimed to allay US and European Union suspicions that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons capability, an ambition that Tehran has consistently denied.Iran has ramped up its nuclear activities since the collapse of the 2015 deal, and is now enriching uranium to 60 percent — far above the deal’s 3.67 percent cap but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.Experts say that uranium enriched beyond 20 percent can be further enriched to a weapons-grade level quickly.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to visit Oman this week.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Germany along with Ukraine’s other key Western backers had lifted range restrictions on weapons they send to Kyiv to fight against Russia.Russia in response warned that such a move would be “at odds” of reaching a peace agreement.  Merz, who took office early this month, also vowed that “we will do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine, including militarily”, in close coordination with other supporters.”There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine — neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans,” he said in a wide-ranging TV interview.”This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia… With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that.”Merz did not specify at which stage which country, including his own, had decided on any changes, sparking some confusion.Former US president Joe Biden decided in November 2024 to authorise Ukraine to use long-range Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, against targets inside Russia.Also in November, Ukraine fired UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, after being given the green light from London, British media reported at the time.France, which has supplied Scalp missiles to Ukraine, reiterated at the time that strikes on military targets inside Russia were an option.The Kremlin said on Monday after Merz’s comments that any Western decision to lift range limits on arms delivered to Ukraine would be “dangerous”.”If these decisions have indeed been made, they are completely at odds with our aspirations for a political (peace) settlement… These are quite dangerous decisions, if they have been made,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Alexander Yunashev.The previous German government of centre-left chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly backed Kyiv but shied away from sending it long-range Taurus missiles, worried that this might escalate tensions with the nuclear power.Merz has in the past said he favours delivery of Taurus, but he did not say Monday whether Germany would now do so or whether he was referring to other weapons systems.His new government has stressed it would no longer detail what arms it is sending to Ukraine, preferring a stance of strategic ambiguity.The recently appointed chancellor however took the opportunity to slam Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to engage in talks to end the sighting in Ukraine.The Kremlin chief has responded to diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to a close by prosecuting the war “harder than before”, Merz told WDR.”Putin obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness,” Merz said.Since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, he has sought to push the two sides in the conflict toward direct talks at the highest level.Trump last week suggested the Vatican as a possible host for a meeting, with the Italian government saying the leader of the Catholic Church was ready to organise talks. But Moscow has cast doubt on the potential for the Holy See as a host. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it would be “inelegant” for the Catholic Church to mediate discussions between two principally Orthodox Christian countries. Merz said that Ukraine’s Western backers had sought to use all the diplomatic options available to them to initiate talks.”After the last three weeks, no one can seriously accuse us of not having exhausted all available diplomatic means,” Merz said. Short of “raising the white flag”, Ukraine’s supporters had “done everything” they could.”If even an offer to meet at the Vatican does not get (Putin’s) approval, then we must be prepared for this war to last longer than we all wish or can imagine.”

Russia fired its biggest ever drone barrage on Ukraine overnight, Kyiv 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 has been trying to broker an end to the three-year war but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between his administration and Russia.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. In a rare rebuke of the Russian leader, Trump said on Truth Social late Sunday in Washington: “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!”The Kremlin played down Trump’s criticism on Monday, 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 said the attacks showed Russia had a sense of “impunity”.”The increase in Russian strikes should be met with increased sanctions,” he said on social media.Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed towns as well as cities and spurred the biggest crisis in relations with the West since the Cold War.Kyiv did not report any immediate 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.Russia said Monday it had captured two border villages in Ukraine’s north eastern Sumy region, where it has been mounting an offensive for weeks.- Blasts heard in Kyiv -Earlier Sunday, Trump told reporters he was “not happy” about Russia’s attacks on Ukraine and was “absolutely” considering increasing sanctions on Moscow.AFP reporters in the capital Kyiv heard loud blasts from air defences early Monday.Russia fired “355 Shahed-type drones” including decoys at Ukraine between Sunday night and early Monday, as well as nine cruise missiles, Ukraine’s air force said.Air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told AFP it was the largest drone attack since Moscow’s invasion began.Air alerts in Kyiv lasted for six hours, officials said. In the western Khmelnytsky region, Russian aerial attacks damaged 18 residential buildings, according to authorities.A Russian attack also wounded a 14-year-old boy in the southern Odesa region, the region’s governor said.Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war have stepped up a gear in recent weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian officials holding direct talks in Istanbul earlier this month for the first time in three years.Both sides swapped 1,000 people each over the weekend in their biggest ever prisoner exchange, while Russia said it was preparing a document outlining its peace terms for ending the war.But Moscow has repeatedly rejected proposals for a 30-day ceasefire from Kyiv and its Western allies, while grinding forward on the front line.

The head of a US-backed aid group for Gaza announced his resignation, saying it was impossible to do his job in line with principles of neutrality and independence, as the organization vowed to start delivering assistance on Monday.The Gaza Humanitarian foundation (GHF), based in Geneva since February, has promised to distribute some 300 million meals in its first 90 days of operation.But the United Nations and international aid agencies have said they will not cooperate with the group, amid accusations it is working with Israel while lacking any Palestinian involvement.In a statement by the GHF, executive director Jake Wood said he felt compelled to leave after determining the organization could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to humanitarian principles.Israel has faced global condemnation over the conditions in Gaza, where it has been at war since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.A more than two-month total blockade on Gaza has only begun to ease in recent days, as agencies warned of growing starvation risks.”Two months ago, I was approached about leading GHF’s efforts because of my experience in humanitarian operations,” Wood said.”Like many others around the world, I was horrified and heartbroken at the hunger crisis in Gaza and, as a humanitarian leader, I was compelled to do whatever I could to help alleviate the suffering.”But, he said, it had become “clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.”The GHF said it was disappointed to learn of Wood’s resignation, but added that it would not be deterred.”Our trucks are loaded and ready to go. Beginning Monday, May 26, GHF will begin direct aid delivery in Gaza, reaching over one million Palestinians by the end of the week. We plan to scale rapidly to serve the full population in the weeks ahead,” it said in a statement.There was no immediate confirmation that GHF would be able to launch its aid effort Monday, however, or of how the aid would be distributed in a territory battered by war.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that at least 3,785 people had been killed in the territory since a ceasefire collapsed on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,939.Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

From false claims of Americans panic-buying Chinese goods to bot-driven attacks on US brands, a tide of misinformation is casting a shadow over a temporary trade truce between Washington and Beijing.The world’s two biggest economies agreed earlier this month to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, a surprise de-escalation in their bitter trade war following high-level talks in Geneva.But an alternate reality is unfolding across social media platforms, including China’s Douyin and Weibo, where a surge of falsehoods is fueling anti-American sentiment that could undermine the fragile truce.One online video, which garnered millions of views across those platforms and TikTok, claims to show panicked American shoppers snapping up Chinese-branded television sets in the aftermath of trade tensions.But in reality, that was old footage from 2018 showing Black Friday shopping frenzy at a US supermarket.The falsehood was further amplified by Chinese state media outlets, including China Daily, which ran headlines such as: “Americans are starting to stock up like crazy amid tariffs and snapping up Chinese-branded TVs.”A news clip on its website — more recycled footage from 2018 — bears a “file footage” watermark in the upper left corner, apparently to shield the outlet from legal liability.Other unfounded claims emerged on Chinese platforms about Americans flying to China to shop for Chinese goods, and that US citizens — reeling from the economic fallout of the trade war — were queuing up to purchase supplies in bulk.”These narratives are almost certainly curated by the state, which has become increasingly fluent in harnessing social media,” Andrew Mertha, director of the SAIS China Global Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP.”(They) help align Chinese public opinion with governmental strategy, in this case demonstrating — albeit inaccurately, certainly prematurely — that ‘the US is already feeling the pain, so China must stay the course.'”- Economic jitters -US President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs have sent jitters through the world economy, unnerving investors and roiling financial markets.Under the May 12 truce, the United States agreed to temporarily reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent from 145 percent, while China said it would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent.Some of the false narratives emerged before the agreement but have continued to spread online, fueling confusion and a broader wave of information chaos.”A lot of friends in China asked me: Are there no eggs in the United States? Is it very unsafe? Are people rushing to buy things? Have you stockpiled anything?” Vivian Wei, a Chicago-based content creator, told AFP.”Some people even (suggested) not to come to the United States for tourism or study.”The rumors prompted Wei to tour several supermarkets across Chicago, only to find shelves stocked. While American shoppers seemed unfazed by the swirl of online misinformation, Wei observed that the “Chinese were getting very excited.”- ‘Digital blitz’ -Last month, disinformation security firm Cyabra uncovered an anti-US influence campaign on the Elon Musk-owned X involving thousands of fake or bot-operated accounts.They targeted global brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Amazon, amplifying the unfounded narrative that they produced goods in China while branding them as “Made in France” or “Made in Italy.”The accounts blamed Trump’s trade policies for enabling such deceptive marketing practices, while urging consumers to ditch those brands and purchase products directly from China.”This was a digital blitz. A third of the accounts weren’t real, but the backlash they triggered was,” Dan Brahmy, chief executive of Cyabra, told AFP.”Fake profiles hijacked luxury brands, pushed anti-US narratives, and steered buyers away without raising suspicion. That’s what makes it effective.”Last month, AFP also uncovered viral TikTok videos by Chinese content creators promoting the spurious claim that international luxury brands were secretly manufacturing their products in China.The targeted brands did not respond to the claim, which appeared to be part of a sprawling campaign exploiting US-China trade tensions to market counterfeit luxury goods.The false narratives are unlikely to fade as trade negotiations continue, experts say.”I believe these narratives will continue and will evolve in parallel with strengthening the Chinese government’s negotiating position,” said Mertha from Johns Hopkins University.burs-ac/sla/dhc

US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “crazy” on Sunday after Moscow launched a deadly barrage of drones against Ukraine, even as the warring countries completed a large-scale prisoner exchange.At least 13 people were killed when Russia launched a record number of drones against Ukraine overnight to 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!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.”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!” he added.His comments marked a rare rebuke to Putin, who he often speaks of with admiration. The US leader has, however, expressed increasing frustration with Moscow’s position in deadlocked truce negotiations with Kyiv.Earlier Sunday, Trump told reporters he was “not happy” about the latest attack on Ukraine and that he was “absolutely” considering increasing sanctions on Moscow.”I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.- ‘Terror’ -Ukraine’s emergency services described Sunday an atmosphere of “terror” in the country after a second straight night of massive Russian air strikes, including on the capital Kyiv.Those killed in the latest Russian strikes included victims aged eight, 12 and 17 in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, officials said.”Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.”The silence of America, the silence of others around the world only encourages Putin,” he said, adding: “Sanctions will certainly help.”In his social media post, Trump also criticized Zelensky, a frequent target of his ire, accusing him of “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does.””Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” he said.The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, also called for “the strongest international pressure on Russia to stop this war.””Last night’s attacks again show Russia bent on more suffering and the annihilation of Ukraine,” she said on social media.- Call for sanctions -German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also denounced the attacks. “Putin does not want peace, he wants to carry on the war and we shouldn’t allow him to do this,” he said. “For this reason we will approve further sanctions at a European level.”Ukraine’s military said on Sunday it had shot down a total of 45 Russian missiles and 266 attack drones overnight.Air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said 298 drones were launched, adding that this was “the highest number ever.”Four people were reported killed in Ukraine’s western Khmelnytskyi region, and four in the Kyiv region.Two people were killed in the southern Mykolaiv region. “We saw the whole street was on fire,” a 65-year-old retired woman, Tetiana Iankovska, told AFP in Markhalivka village just southwest of Kyiv.Russia said its strikes were aimed at Ukraine’s “military-industrial complex” and that it had brought down 110 Ukrainian drones.The previous night, Russia had launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones, wounding 15 people, according to Ukrainian officials.Flights at Moscow airports suffered temporary closures due to Ukrainian drone activity on Sunday but no injuries were reported, officials said. Ukrainian officials also reported Russian strikes overnight to Monday, but not on the same scale.Two people were injured and a house was destroyed in the Zaporizhzhia region when “the enemy struck the village of Yurkivka”, Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the region, said in a Telegram post.- Major prisoner exchange -The massive strikes on Ukraine came as Russia said it had exchanged another 303 Ukrainian prisoners of war for the same number of Russian soldiers held by Kyiv — the last phase of a swap agreed during talks in Istanbul on May 16.That marked their biggest prisoner swap since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with 1,000 captured soldiers and civilian prisoners in total sent back by each side.Zelensky confirmed the swap was complete.An AFP reporter saw some of the formerly captive Ukrainian soldiers arrive at a hospital in the northern Chernigiv region, emaciated but smiling and waving to crowds.One former captive, 58-year-old Viktor Syvak, told AFP he was overcome by the emotional homecoming.Captured in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, he had been held for 37 months and 12 days.”It’s impossible to describe. I can’t put it into words,” he said of the release.