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Nations clinched a deal at the UN’s COP30 climate summit in the Amazon Saturday without a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels as demanded by the European Union and other countries.Nearly 200 countries approved the deal by consensus after two weeks of fraught negotiations in the Brazilian city of Belem, with the notable absence of the United States as President Donald Trump shunned the event.Applause rang out in the plenary session after COP30 president and Brazilian diplomat Andre Correa do Lago slammed a gavel signalling its approval.The EU and other nations had pushed for a deal that would call for a “roadmap” to phase out fossil fuels, but the words do not appear in the text.Instead, the agreement calls on countries to “voluntarily” accelerate their climate action and recalls the consensus reached at COP28 in Dubai. That 2023 deal called for the world to transition away from fossil fuels.The EU, which had warned that the summit could end without a deal if fossil fuels were not addressed, accepted the watered-down language.”We’re not going to hide the fact that we would have preferred to have more, to have more ambition on everything,” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told reporters.”We should support it because it is at least going in the right direction,” said Hoekstra.More than 30 countries including European nations, emerging economies and small island states had signed a letter warning Brazil they would reject any deal without a plan to move away from oil, gas and coal.But a member of an EU delegation told AFP that the 27-nation bloc was “isolated” and cast as the “villains” at the talks.The push to phase out oil, coal and gas — the main drivers of global warming — grew out of frustration over a lack of follow-through on the COP28 agreement to transition away from fossil fuels.French ecological transition minister Monique Barbut had accused oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Russia, along with coal producer India and “many” other emerging countries, of refusing language on a fossil-fuel phaseout.She said Saturday the text was bland but that there was “nothing extraordinarily bad in it.”The deal caps a chaotic two weeks in Belem, with Indigenous protesters breaching the venue and blocking its entrance last week and a fire erupting inside the compound on Thursday, forcing a mass evacuation.- Money and trade -Finishing without a deal would have been a black eye for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had staked political capital in the success of what he called the “COP of truth.”It was also a major test for international cooperation when Trump decided to skip COP30.”We also have to weigh the backdrop of geopolitics, and in the end there is no other process we have,” German environment state secretary Jochen Flasbarth told AFP.Developing nations, for their part, had pushed the EU and other developed economies to pledge more money to help them adapt to the impact of climate change, such as floods and droughts, and move toward a low-carbon future.The EU had resisted such appeals but the deal calls for efforts to “at least triple” adaptation finance by 2035.”Intergovernmental negotiations work on a minimum common denominator, but our fight will continue,” a negotiator from Bangladesh told AFP in a muted reception of the terms.The EU had also rejected language on trade in the text, as demanded by China and other emerging countries. The final deal calls for “dialogue” on trade issues.The head of China’s delegation at COP30, Li Gao, told AFP that the summit will go down as a success.”I’m happy with the outcome,” Li said. “We achieved this success in a very difficult situation, so it shows that the international community would like to show solidarity and make joint efforts to address climate change.”

Ukrainian and US officials will soon meet in Switzerland to discuss Washington’s plan for ending the war with Russia, Kyiv said Saturday, as it seeks to fix the draft that heeds to some of Moscow’s hardline demands.US President Donald Trump gave Ukraine less than a week to approve the 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, which would see the invaded country cede territory, cut its army, and pledge to never join NATO. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the agreement, said the plan requires “additional work” as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to beef up Kyiv’s positions. “In the coming days, consultations will take place with partners regarding the steps needed to end the war,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after he issued a decree stating Ukraine’s team for the talks, which will be led by his top aide, Andriy Yermak.”Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and what is necessary to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion,” Zelensky added. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also join the talks on Sunday morning in Geneva, sources at the G20 summit said. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s security council secretary who’s also on board for the talks, earlier also indicated Switzerland as a location for the deliberations. “This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps,” added Umerov, formerly a defence minister. He previously led a few rounds of negotiations with Russia in Turkey, which only yielded prisoner exchanges and bodies repatriations. Zelensky’s decree also said the negotiations will include “representatives of the Russian Federation.” There was no immediate confirmation from Russia whether it would join the talks. – More work needed -The unilateral US plan to end the war in Ukraine “is a basis which will require additional work”, Western leaders gathered in South Africa for a G20 summit said Saturday.”We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the leaders of key European countries as well as Canada and Japan said in a joint statement.France’s Emmanuel Macron earlier sent a sombre message to the gathering, saying “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle,” adding that the grouping was struggling to resolve major crises around the world, referring to the unilateral US plan for resolving the Ukraine war. Britain, Germany and France emerged as key Ukraine backers, providing it with crucial military and financial support, especially after the US sponsorship waned after Trump’s return to office.- Difficult choice -Zelensky said Friday in an address to the nation that Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, adding that he would propose alternatives to Trump’s proposal.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in his address, referring to a possible break with Washington.Russian President Vladimir Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.Better equipped and larger in numbers, the Russian army is slowly but steadily gaining ground across the lengthy front line.Ukrainians are meanwhile facing one of the toughest winters since the war began, after Moscow carried out a brutal bombing campaign against energy infrastructure. This comes as a sweeping corruption probe that unveiled graft in the energy sector was unravelling in Kyiv, sparking public outcry.    

The G20’s role in fixing economic crises is threatened by geopolitical fractures, leaders warned Saturday at a summit in South Africa boycotted by the United States.European leaders attending the G20 summit — the first held in Africa — huddled on its sidelines to push back at a unilateral plan by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war in Ukraine on terms favouring Russia.In a joint statement issued with Canada and Japan, they said Trump’s plan needs “additional work” and some of its points required “the consent of EU and NATO members”.Speaking at the opening of the summit, one of the statement’s signatories, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “We are struggling to resolve major crises together around this table.”He warned that, given fissures in international cooperation, “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle”.”There’s no doubt, the road ahead is tough,” agreed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who also signed the statement — adding: “We need to find ways to play a constructive role again today in the face of the world challenges.”Chinese Premier Li Qiang said “unilateralism and protectionism are rampant” and “many people are pondering what exactly is happening to global solidarity”.But the summit’s host, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, downplayed Trump’s absence and argued the G20 remained key for international cooperation.”The G20 underscores the value of the relevance of multilateralism. It recognises that the challenges that we face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership,” Ramaphosa said.The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union, and accounts for 85 percent of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of its population.- ‘Just’ peace in Ukraine -The Johannesburg summit was undermined by the American boycott, and China’s Li stood in for an absent President Xi Jinping, while Russia sent a Kremlin official, Maxim Oreshkin, instead of President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted under an International Criminal Court warrant. The leaders present adopted a G20 summit declaration early in their meeting that covered climate, energy, debt sustainability and a critical-minerals pact — along with a joint call for a “just” peace in Ukraine,  the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and the “Occupied Palestinian Territory”.Argentina’s Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno — standing in for absent President Javier Milei, a Trump ally — objected to “how certain geopolitical issues are framed in the document”, specifically the Israel-Palestinian conflict. But Ramaphosa said that did not block the declaration’s adoption by the participants, who also included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.As soon as the opening ceremony was over, Starmer, Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rushed into a meeting to discuss Trump’s plan for Ukraine, and were soon joined by other leaders from Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan, an EU official said.After the meeting all of them, except Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, issued a statement calling the US plan a “draft” with some “important elements” but that it “will require additional work”.”Borders must not be changed by force,” they said, adding they were “also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack”.European Council President Antonio Costa said on X the leaders of all 27 EU nations would hold a follow-up meeting on Monday, on the sidelines of a European Union-African Union summit in Angola. Several sources at the G20 summit, speaking on condition of anonymity, said security officials from Britain, France and Germany would meet US counterparts on Sunday in Switzerland, where US-Ukraine talks were to be held.Trump has said he wants Kyiv to accept his 28-point proposals — which involve ceding territory to Russia and cutting the size of Ukraine’s military — by Thursday.- Next G20 summit in US -While the United States skipped the Johannesburg summit because it said it viewed its priorities — including on trade and on climate — as running counter to its policies, it still intended to take up the G20 baton for the next gathering.Trump plans to stage that summit in 2026 at a Florida golf club he owns.Washington has said it will send the US charge d’affaires from its embassy in South Africa only for the handover ceremony on Sunday.

Ukraine and the US will soon meet in Switzerland to discuss Washington’s plan for ending the war with Russia, which currently heeds to some of Russia’s hardline demands, Kyiv said Saturday. US President Donald Trump gave Ukraine less than a week to approve the 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, which would see the invaded country ceding territory, cutting its army, and pledging to never join NATO. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the agreement, were scrambling at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to Trump’s plan to beef up Kyiv’s positions. “In the coming days in Switzerland we are launching consultations between senior officials of Ukraine and the United States on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement,” Rustem Umerov, who is on Ukraine’s negotiating team, wrote on social media. “This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps,” added Umerov, a former defence minister, who is now the Secretary of the Security Council. He previously led a few rounds of negotiations with Russia in Turkey, which yielded no breakthrough. This time, Zelensky appointed his top aide, Andriy Yermak, to lead the team, according to a presidential decree. The decree said the talks will also include “representatives of the Russian Federation.” There was no immediate confirmation from Russia whether it would join the talks. – Just peace -In a joint declaration, the G20 leaders called for a “just, comprehensive, and lasting peace,” but not only in Ukraine, but also in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the “Occupied Palestinian Territory.”France’s Emmanuel Macron sent a somber message to the gathering, saying “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle,” adding that the grouping was struggling to resolve major crises around the world. He referred specifically to a new unilateral US plan to end the war in Ukraine that accepts some of Russia’s hardline demands. Shortly before that, Macron met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines the summit, boycotted by the US, to discuss a joint response to Washington’s plan.Starmer had earlier said the aim was to “look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”. – Difficult choice -Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, Zelensky said in an address to the nation, adding that he would propose alternatives to Trump’s proposal.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in his address, referring to a possible break with Washington.To end the war, the US plan envisages recognising territories controlled by Moscow as “de facto” Russian, with Kyiv pulling troops out of parts of the Donetsk region. Ukraine would also cap its army at 600,000, rule out joining NATO and have no troops from the alliance deployed to its territory.In return, Ukraine would get unspecified “reliable security guarantees” and a fund for reconstruction using some Russia assets frozen in foreign accounts.While Russia would gain territory, be reintegrated into the global economy and rejoin the G8, according to a draft of the plan. Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.Better equipped and larger in numbers, the Russian army is slowly but steadily gaining ground across the lengthy front line.Ukrainians were meanwhile facing one of the toughest winters since the war began, after Moscow carried out a brutal bombing campaign against energy infrastructure. This comes as a sweeping corruption probe that unveiled graft in the energy sector was unravelling in Kyiv, sparking public outcry.    

US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, an influential right-wing figure and MAGA acolyte who recently broke with President Donald Trump, announced she is quitting her seat in Congress, prompting him to double down on Saturday on accusations she is a “traitor.”In a video posted online, the 51-year-old Republican congresswoman from Georgia, who was elected in 2020, said on Friday she had “always been despised in Washington DC and never fit in.”Greene said she did not want her supporters and family to endure “a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms.””I will be resigning from office with my last day being January 5, 2026,” she said.Trump responded on his Truth Social platform by referring to the lawmaker as Marjorie “Traitor” Brown, a label she had singled out as unacceptable in an explanation of her decision to step away. “For some reason, primarily that I refused to return her never ending barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went BAD,” he said in the post early on Saturday morning.The shock move by Greene was the clearest sign yet of a growing split in MAGA world, still churning over strong Democratic victories in this month’s off-year elections, including the win for leftist New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — who had a chummy meeting with Trump Friday. The movement has been particularly riven over Trump’s flip-flop on releasing emails related to the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, a wealthy financier, moved in elite circles for years, cultivating close ties with business tycoons, politicians, academics and celebrities to whom he was accused of trafficking girls and young women for sex. The Epstein affair appeared to have forced the break between Trump and Greene — something she referenced in her resignation speech.”Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for,” Greene said.Trump ended his Truth Social post by saying: “Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie, and thank her for her service to our Country!”- ‘A two-way street’ -Just this week, Congress passed and the president signed a law requiring government records on the millionaire sex predator to be made public, after months of Trump trying to keep a lid on the material.But before his about-face on the issue, the president announced he was withdrawing all support for “‘Wacky’ Marjorie,” a vocal proponent of the release of the so-called Epstein files.He followed up the following morning with multiple posts on his Truth Social platform attacking Greene as a “lightweight” and even a “traitor” to the Republican Party.The former key political ally to Trump subsequently said she was being targeted by a wave of threats.Greene had previously been a standard-bearer of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, a proponent of immigrant deportation, champion of gun rights and a vaccine skeptic. The high-profile rupture came after Greene distanced herself from the president, who has faced growing criticism over US cost of living concerns and the Epstein scandal.Trump himself had campaigned on releasing the Epstein files, delighting a political base fervent about throwing a spotlight on the scandal and convinced that doing so would expose many powerful figures.Greene’s sudden shift away from Trump prompted speculation that she is lining up for her own presidential bid in 2028, although she dismissed it as “baseless gossip.”Her resignation comes halfway through her third term in the US House of Representatives. In her resignation speech, she did not say what she will do next.“Her split with Trump made her an even bigger national sensation,” observed the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia’s biggest newspaper, in its coverage of her resignation.Greene said she “fought harder than almost any other elected Republican to elect Donald Trump and Republicans,” spending “millions” of her own money along the way — comparing herself with “establishment Republicans who secretly hate him and who stabbed him in the back.””My voting record has been solidly with my party and the president,” Greene said. “Loyalty should be a two-way street.”

Ukraine and its European allies scrambled Saturday to come up with counter-proposals after US President Donald Trump gave Kyiv a tight deadline to approve a deal to end the war that accepts some of Russia’s hardline demands.  President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against the 28-point US plan. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, which would force Ukraine to give up land, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Saturday on the the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa, the French presidency said.The huddle was held ahead of a wider meeting on the same topic that would include other European leaders, the presidency said. Starmer had earlier said the aim was to “look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the allies should make it clear “that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”US Vice President JD Vance reacted to the criticism of the plan, saying it “either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground.””There is a fantasy that if we just give more money, more weapons, or more sanctions, victory is at hand,” he added.Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, Zelensky said in an address to the nation, adding that he would propose alternatives to Trump’s proposal.A top Ukrainian official on Saturday said Kyiv would launch talks with the US in Switzerland to discuss ways to end the war. The delegation will be led by Zelensky’s top aide Andriy Yermak.Better equipped and larger in numbers, the Russian army is slowly but steadily gaining ground across the lengthy front line.Ukrainians were meanwhile facing one of the toughest winters since the war began, as Moscow carried out a brutal bombing campaign against energy infrastructure. This comes as a sweeping corruption probe that unveiled graft in the energy sector was unravelling in Kyiv, sparking public outcry.    US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine less than a week to sign. Zelensky pledged to work to ensure any deal would not “betray” Ukraine’s interests, acknowledging he risked losing Washington as an ally.- ‘He’ll have to like it’ -Russia would gain territory, be reintegrated into the global economy and rejoin the G8, under a draft of the plan seen by AFP.Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.”Ukraine and its European allies are still living under illusions and dreaming of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,” Putin said in a televised meeting with his security council. If Kyiv walks away, Russia claimed its recent recapturing of the Ukrainian city Kupiansk “will inevitably be repeated in other key areas of the front line”, Putin added.The Ukrainian army denies Russia has retaken Kupiansk, which Kyiv lost to Moscow the day it launched its invasion in 2022, then wrested back.Trump said that November 27 — when the United States celebrates Thanksgiving — was an “appropriate time” to set for Zelensky to agree a deal, but he indicated it could be flexible.”He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting,” Trump told reporters. “At some point he’s going to have to accept something.”- ‘Loss of dignity’ -Earlier this week, Russia carried out one of its deadliest attacks this year and one of the worst on western Ukraine since the invasion.Thirty-two people died  in the western city of Ternopil after cruise missiles slammed into apartment blocks.To end the war, the US plan envisages recognising territories controlled by Moscow as “de facto” Russian, with Kyiv pulling troops out of parts of the Donetsk region. Ukraine would also cap its army at 600,000, rule out joining NATO and have no NATO troops deployed to its territory.In return, Ukraine would get unspecified “reliable security guarantees” and a fund for reconstruction using some Russia assets frozen in foreign accounts.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in his address.

A US-European rift over the future of Ukraine threatened to overshadow a G20 summit that started in South Africa on Saturday marked by the absence of Donald Trump. The Johannesburg gathering was attended by a host of world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.But it was boycotted by the US president, with his government saying South Africa’s priorities — which include boosting global cooperation on trade and climate action — run counter to US policy.South African President Cyril Ramaphose, opening the event, implicitly rebuffed Trump’s absence by stressing that “multilateralism” was needed to help solve global challenges, including from “escalating geopolitical tensions”.The US president nonetheless loomed large at the first summit of the group of major economies to be held in Africa after he produced a surprise unilateral US plan to end the war in Ukraine largely in line with Russia’s goals.Leaders from Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia were to huddle on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday to “discuss the way ahead on Ukraine”, an EU official said.A European diplomatic source told AFP: “We are working on making the US plan something more able to be applied, based on previous dialogue.”Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stressed that any such plan needed the “joint support and consensus of European partners and NATO allies”.But Ukraine and its allies have only a few days to try to influence Washington’s 28-point proposal.Trump has warned that “Thursday is, we think, an appropriate time” for Ukraine to accept it.- Climate impasse -Another issue dogging the G20 summit was a deadlock at COP30 climate negotiations taking place in Brazil.Friday was meant to be the last day of those talks, which had gone on for nearly two weeks. But they have spilled into overtime because petro-states were accused of resisting any reference to a fossil fuel phaseout in the final text.Despite the headwinds, host South Africa stressed that international cooperation was key.”The G20 underscores the value of the relevance of multilateralism. It recognises that the challenges that we face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership,” Ramaphosa said.He said that a joint G20 summit leaders’ declaration, adopted at the start of the summit, “sends an important signal to the world that multilateralism can and does deliver”.The US boycott echoes Trump’s decision not to send an official delegation to the COP30, and reflects a general American withdrawal from international forums.Washington has said it would send its charge d’affaires from its embassy at the end of the Johannesburg meeting only for a handover ceremony, as the United States will host next year’s G20 summit at a golf club owned by Trump in Florida.The G20 is a grouping of 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union. It represents 85 percent of global GDP and around two-thirds of the world’s population.

Ukraine scrambled Saturday to respond to a US plan to end the war that includes many of Russia’s hardline demands, with Kyiv saying it had discussed the next steps with several key European allies.  While President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against the 28-point plan, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, which would force Ukraine to give up land, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO. The United States bypassed Europe with the plan, but Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X he had “outlined the logic of our further steps” in a call with European counterparts, including from France, Britain and the EU’s foreign policy chief.British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper tweeted separately that “Ukraine must determine its future”.European leaders are due to meet Saturday on the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa to make it clear “that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine less than a week to sign but Zelensky on Friday pledged to work to ensure any deal would not “betray” Ukraine’s interests, acknowledging he risked losing Washington as an ally.Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, Zelensky said in an address to the nation, adding that he would propose alternatives to Trump’s proposal.Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.Russia would gain territory, be reintegrated into the global economy and rejoin the G8, under a draft of the plan seen by AFP.- ‘He’ll have to like it’ -“Ukraine and its European allies are still living under illusions and dreaming of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,” Putin said in a televised meeting with his security council. If Kyiv walks away, Russia claimed its recent recapturing of the Ukrainian city Kupiansk “will inevitably be repeated in other key areas of the front line”, Putin added.The Ukrainian army denies Russia has retaken Kupiansk, which Kyiv lost to Moscow the day it launched its invasion in 2022, then wrested back.Zelensky on Friday recalled how he marshalled Kyiv’s response to the Russian invasion, saying “we did not betray Ukraine then, we will not do so now”. “I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will propose alternatives,” he added.Trump said that November 27 — when the United States celebrates Thanksgiving — was an “appropriate time” to set for Zelensky to agree a deal, but he indicated it could be flexible.”He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting,” Trump told reporters. “At some point he’s going to have to accept something.”Zelensky said after talks with US Vice President JD Vance that Ukraine continues to “respect” Trump’s desire to end the war. He also held an emergency call with the German, French and British leaders.The Ukrainian leader plans to speak directly to Trump soon, his office has said.- ‘Loss of dignity’ -In Kyiv, people were divided over whether Ukraine should engage with the proposal and negotiate a better position, or reject it as a capitulation. Yanina, a 41-year-old seamstress, predicted the proposal will lead nowhere and the war will continue. “Neither us nor Russia will make concessions,” she said. Earlier this week, Russia carried out one of its deadliest attacks this year and one of the worst on western Ukraine since the invasion. The death toll in the western city of Ternopil rose to 32, regional police said, after cruise missiles slammed into apartment blocks.The Ternopil attack came as Russia batters Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of winter, and with Kyiv’s stretched troops under pressure on the front line.To end the war, the US plan envisages recognising territories controlled by Moscow as “de facto” Russian, with Kyiv pulling troops out of parts of the Donetsk region. Kyiv would also cap its army at 600,000, rule out joining NATO and have no NATO troops deployed to its territory.In return, Ukraine would get unspecified “reliable security guarantees” and a fund for reconstruction using some Russia assets frozen in foreign accounts.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in his address.bur-ant-jc-asy/kjm/lb

US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, an influential figure of the far right, announced Friday she is quitting her seat in Congress, one week after President Donald Trump pulled his support for the former staunch ally.In a video posted online, the 51-year-old Republican congresswoman from Georgia elected in 2020 said she had “always been despised in Washington DC and never fit in.”Greene said she did not want her supporters and family to endure “a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms.”I will be resigning from office with my last day being January 5, 2026,” she said.Greene had previously been a standard-bearer of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, but the president announced he was withdrawing all support for “‘Wacky’ Marjorie” on November 7.He followed up again the next morning with multiple posts on his Truth Social platform attacking Greene as a “lightweight” and even a “traitor” to the Republican Party.The former key political ally to Trump subsequently said she was being targeted by a wave of threats.The shock move by Greene was the clearest sign yet of a growing split in MAGA world, in churn over strong Democratic victories in this month’s off-year elections, and Trump’s chummy White House meeting earlier Friday with leftist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.The movement has been particularly riven over Trump’s flip-flop on the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose web of contacts allegedly included several American elites.”Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for,” Greene said. 

A US-European rift over the future of Ukraine is set to overshadow a G20 summit starting in South Africa on Saturday further marked by Donald Trump’s pointed absence. The Johannesburg gathering is being attended by a host of world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.But Trump is boycotting, with his government saying South Africa’s priorities — notably boosting global cooperation on trade and climate action — run counter to US policy.The US president nevertheless loomed large at the event, the first summit of the group of major economies to be held in Africa, after producing a surprise unilateral US plan to end the war in Ukraine largely in line with Russia’s goals.Following an urgent call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed that any such plan needed the “joint support and consensus of European partners and NATO allies”.On Saturday, European leaders are to meet on the sidelines of the summit to make it clear “that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.She said a follow-up meeting would be held at an EU-Africa Union summit in Angola on Monday and Tuesday.Trump has warned Ukraine it has a limited window to accept his administration’s 28-point plan, telling Fox News Radio that “Thursday is, we think, an appropriate time”.- Climate impasse -Another issue dogging the G20 summit was a deadlock at COP30 climate negotiations taking place in Brazil.Friday was meant to be the last day of those talks, which had gone on for nearly two weeks. But they threatened to drag on because petro-states were accused of resisting any reference to a fossil fuel phaseout in the final text.Despite the headwinds, host South Africa was projecting optimism that it would get backing for its G20 aims to reduce economic inequalities, shrink debt for low-income countries, secure help for clean-energy transitions and establish a critical minerals pact.”As South Africa, we are hoping that we will have the leaders’ declaration adopted, which will set a new and continuing agenda for the world, particularly the G20,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said late Friday.Political negotiators from the participating countries finalised on Friday a final draft joint text for the leaders to agree on, sources told AFP. They were not authorised to divulge the draft’s contents.It was uncertain the document would be a traditional summit statement, given the US boycott and a warning from Washington that no declaration in the name of the G20 should be issued.Ramaphosa, who has bristled at the US absence and the Trump government’s unfounded allegations of a “white genocide” in South Africa, has been joined by other leaders in stressing that the G20 was an important platform for multilateral cooperation. “Multilateralism is our best, maybe our only defence against disruption, violence and chaos. And South Africa put multilateralism to work,” Antonio Costa, European Council president, told a pre-summit press conference. The US boycott echoes Trump’s decision not to send an official delegation to the COP30.Washington has said it would send its charge d’affaires from its embassy at the end of the Johannesburg meeting only for a handover ceremony, as the United States will host next year’s G20 summit at a golf club owned by Trump in Florida.The G20 is a grouping of 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union. It represents 85 percent of global GDP and around two-thirds of the world’s population.