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“Avatar: Fire and Ash” retained the top spot at the North American box office after it debuted the week before, reeling in $64 million during the weekend after Christmas, industry estimates showed Sunday.  The third installment in director James Cameron’s blockbuster series stars Zoe Saldana as Na’vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington as ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family’s life on the planet Pandora.The film grossed $217.6 million at the box office worldwide during the current weekend, according to estimates.”Zootopia 2,” Disney’s feel-good animated film and an Oscar contender, rose to number 2 from 5 in the rankings, bringing in $20 million, according to weekend estimates. “Marty Supreme,” a period sports drama starring Timothee Chalamet, soared to third place in the rankings from the number 10 spot the previous week, bringing in $17.5 million, weekend estimates showed.”This is an excellent opening for a sports drama,” according to David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.”Critics’ reviews are sensational, with an excellent audience score (a B+ CinemaScore). The film is going to get a lift from holiday moviegoing this week — all of the releases are going to benefit now,” he said.Dropping one notch to fourth place was “The Housemaid,” a thriller from Lionsgate films starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, which earned $15.4 million, according to estimates.”Anaconda,” the new comedy action movie starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black, placed fifth in the rankings after making its debut. Distributed by Sony, the film brought in $14.5 million, according to estimates.  “This is a solid opening for a horror remake. The three-day figure is roughly average for the genre, and it’s a bit better start than the previous ‘Anaconda’ opening in 2004,” Gross said. Rounding out the top 10 are:”David” ($12.6 million)”The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” ($11.2 million)”Song Sung Blue” ($7.6 million)”Wicked: For Good” ($5.2 million)”Five Nights at Freddy’s 2″ ($4.4 million)

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he believed the leaders of Ukraine and Russia were serious about peace as he spoke with them both in what he called the final stages of his efforts to end the war.Trump, who had promised to finish the war on day one of his presidency, said he had no deadline but is embarking on a year-end diplomatic sprint as he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to his Florida estate.Much like when Zelensky last met Trump in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke shortly beforehand by telephone with the US leader, who immediately voiced new hope at working with Moscow, which has been seeking to avoid stronger pressure from Ukraine’s allies in Washington and Europe.Trump’s renewed upbeat tone comes despite wide skepticism in Europe about Putin’s intentions after Russia carried out another massive bombardment of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv just as Zelensky was heading to Florida.Asked if Putin was committed to peace despite the attacks, Trump said: “He’s very serious.””I can say that I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also, and I don’t say that negatively. I think you probably have to,” Trump said outside his estate.Before the talks began, Trump posted on social media that his conversation with Putin was “very productive.”Speaking next to Zelensky, who stood a step below him at the entrance in front of waiting cameras, Trump said that an emerging agreement would also be good for Ukraine.”There will be a security agreement. It’ll be a strong agreement,” Trump said.”And the European nations are very much involved in that. They’ll be very much involved in protection, et cetera,” he said.Trump’s advisors have previously floated the idea of offering NATO-like security guarantees to Ukraine, meaning in theory that the alliance’s members would respond militarily if Russia attacks again.- Russia demands concessions -The Kremlin gave a more pointed readout of Trump’s talks with Putin, saying that the US leader agreed that a mere ceasefire “would only prolong the conflict” as it demanded Ukraine compromise on territory.Zelensky, who in the past has faced verbal attacks from Trump, has sought to show willingness to work with the contours of the US leader’s plans, but Putin has offered no sign that he will accept it.At their October meeting, Trump refused Zelensky’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles as Trump again said that Putin was showing positive signs.Trump’s talks with Zelensky are expected to last an hour, after which the two presidents are scheduled to hold a joint call with the leaders of key European allies.Trump and Putin are also set to hold another phone call later Sunday.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who will join the call, wrote on X that the Russian attacks on Kyiv were “contrary to President Trump’s expectations and despite the readiness to make compromises” by Zelensky.The drone and missile assault on Kyiv temporarily knocked out power and heating to hundreds of thousands of residents during freezing temperatures.- Zelensky shows openness -The revised peace plan, which emerged from weeks of intense US-Ukraine negotiations, would stop the war along its current front lines and could require Ukraine to pull troops back from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarized buffer zones.As such, it contains Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.It does not, however, envisage Ukraine withdrawing from the 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls — Russia’s main territorial demand.Zelensky was careful to stay positive as he met Trump, saying: “It’s very important to our teams talk about strategy.”The two leaders then entered the president’s dining room surrounded by top aides, as Trump told the press to leave and have lunch.Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting, and recent battlefield gains — Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine — are seen as strengthening Moscow’s hand in peace talks.”If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Putin said on Saturday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky will push a new peace plan for Ukraine when he sits down with Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday, bolstered by the backing of European leaders but with his capital Kyiv still reeling from a massive Russian bombardment.The US president has been non-committal on the revised 20-point proposal for ending the nearly four-year conflict, while Russian leader Vladimir Putin has offered no indication that Moscow would find it acceptable.Trump has made ending the Ukraine war a centerpiece of his second term as a self-proclaimed “president of peace,” and he has repeatedly blamed both Kyiv and Moscow for the failure to secure a ceasefire.Sunday’s meeting, to be hosted by Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence at 1:00 pm (1800 GMT), will be their first in-person encounter since October, when the US president refused to grant Zelensky’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.And the Ukrainian leader could face another hard sell this time around, with Trump insisting that he “doesn’t have anything until I approve it.”- European allies -The talks are expected to last an hour, after which the two presidents are scheduled to hold a joint call with the leaders of key European allies.The revised peace plan, which emerged from weeks of intense US-Ukraine negotiations, would stop the war along its current front lines and could require Ukraine to pull troops back from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarized buffer zones.As such, it contains Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.It does not, however, envisage Ukraine withdrawing from the 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls — Russia’s main territorial demand.Before landing in Florida, Zelensky made a stopover in Canada during which he held a conference call with European allies, who pledged their full support for his peace efforts and vowed to maintain pressure on Moscow.The Ukrainian leader said he hoped the talks in Florida would be “very constructive,” and stressed that Putin had shown his hand with a deadly drone and missile assault on Kyiv that temporarily knocked out power and heating to hundreds of thousands of residents during freezing temperatures.”This attack is again Russia’s answer on our peace efforts. And this really showed that Putin doesn’t want peace,” he said.He also told reporters that he would press Trump on the importance of providing security guarantees that would prevent any renewed Russian aggression if a ceasefire were secured.”We need strong security guarantees. We will discuss this and we will discuss the terms,” he said.Ukraine insists it needs more European and US funding and weapons — especially drones.- Russian opposition -Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting, and recent battlefield gains — Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine — are seen as strengthening Moscow’s hand when it comes to peace talks.”If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Putin said on Saturday.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state news agency TASS that Moscow would continue its engagement with US negotiators but criticized European governments as the “main obstacle” to peace.”They are making no secret of their plans to prepare for war with Russia,” Lavrov said, adding that the ambitions of European politicians are “literally blinding them.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sit down with Donald Trump on Sunday and seek to secure the US president’s stamp of approval for a new proposal to end the nearly four-year conflict with Russia.The 20-point plan, which emerged from weeks of intense US-Ukraine negotiations, lacks Moscow’s approval, and the face-to-face in Florida follows a massive Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv.The meeting, to be hosted by Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence at 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) according to the White House, will be their first in-person encounter since October, when the US president refused to grant Zelensky’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.Zelensky said during a stopover in Canada on Saturday he hoped the talks would be “very constructive”, and said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had shown his hand with the latest assault on the Ukrainian capital.”This attack is again Russia’s answer on our peace efforts. And this really showed that Putin doesn’t want peace,” he said.- Europeans vow support -Zelensky held a conference call while in Canada with European leaders who, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, pledged their full support for his peace efforts.Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.Adding to pressure on the battlefield, Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrnograd and Guliaipole.”If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Putin said on Saturday.He was also quoted by state news agency TASS as saying that “the leaders of the Kyiv regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully.”EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, who joined Zelensky’s conference call, said the European Union’s backing for Ukraine would never falter and vowed to maintain pressure on the Kremlin to come to terms.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told TASS that Moscow would continue its “engagement with American negotiators” and “address the root causes of the conflict”, but criticized the Europeans.”After the change of administration in the US, Europe and the European Union have become the main obstacle to peace,” Lavrov said.”They are making no secret of their plans to prepare for war with Russia,” Lavrov said, adding that the ambitions of European politicians are “literally blinding them.””Not only do they not care about Ukrainians, but they also don’t seem to care about their own population,” he said.Trump has been non-committal on the new peace proposal so far, telling Politico on Friday that Zelensky “doesn’t have anything until I approve it.”The talks will address a plan that would stop the war along its current front lines and could require Ukraine to pull troops back from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarized buffer zones.As such, it contains Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.However, it does not envisage Ukraine withdrawing from the 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls — Russia’s main territorial demand.Trump has made ending the Ukraine and Gaza wars the centerpiece of his second term as a self-proclaimed “president of peace.” But the Ukraine war has, by his own admission, proved far harder than he expected.- Security guarantees -Zelensky told reporters in Canada that security guarantees would be a focus of the Florida talks.”Security guarantees must be simultaneous with the end of the war, because we must be confident that Russia will not start aggression again,” he said.”We need strong security guarantees. We will discuss this and we will discuss the terms.”Ukraine insists it needs more European and US funding and weapons — especially drones.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who met with Zelensky on Saturday, announced CAN$2.5 billion (US$1.82 billion) in fresh economic assistance to help Ukraine rebuild once the war ends.The latest Russian attack, in which 500 drones and 40 missiles pummelled Kyiv, knocked out power and heating to hundreds of thousands of residents during freezing temperatures.Power has since been restored “to all homes in the capital”, DTEK, the largest private investor in the energy industry in Ukraine, said on Sunday.The military administration in Kherson city, just south of Kyiv, said Russia launched an attack overnight that left part of the city without electricity as well.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sit down Sunday with Donald Trump and seek to secure the US president’s stamp of approval for a new proposal to end the nearly four-year conflict with Russia.The 20-point plan, which emerged from weeks of intense US-Ukraine negotiations, lacks Moscow’s approval, and the face-to-face in Florida comes in the wake of a massive Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv.The meeting, to be hosted by Trump at his opulent Mar-a-Lago residence at 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) Sunday according to the White House, will be the pair’s first in-person encounter since October, when the US president refused to grant Zelensky’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.During a stopover in Canada on Saturday, Zelensky said he hoped the talks would be “very constructive” and said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had shown his hand with the latest assault on the Ukrainian capital.”This attack is again, Russia’s answer on our peace efforts. And this really showed that Putin doesn’t want peace,” he said.- Europeans vow support -While in Canada, Zelensky held a conference call with European leaders who, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, pledged their full support for his peace efforts.Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, who participated in the conference call, said the European Union’s backing for Ukraine would never falter and vowed to maintain pressure on the Kremlin to come to terms.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state news agency TASS that Moscow would continue its “engagement with American negotiators” but criticized Europeans saying: “After the change of administration in the US, Europe and the European Union have become the main obstacle to peace.””They are making no secret of their plans to prepare for war with Russia,” Lavrov added.”The ambitions (of European politicians) are literally blinding them: not only do they not care about Ukrainians, but they also don’t seem to care about their own population.”Trump has so far been non-committal on the new peace proposal.Zelensky “doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” the president said in an interview with Politico on Friday. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”The talks will address a plan that would stop the war along its current front lines and could require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarized buffer zones.As such, it contains Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.But is does not envisage Ukraine withdrawing from the 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls — Russia’s main territorial demand.Trump has made ending the Ukraine and Gaza wars the centerpiece of his self-proclaimed second term as a “president of peace.” But the Ukraine war has, by his own admission, proved far harder than he expected, and the president has repeatedly voiced his frustration with both sides for failing to secure a truce.- Security guarantees -In Canada, Zelensky told reporters that security guarantees would be a key focus of the talks in Florida.”Security guarantees must be simultaneous with the end of the war, because we must be confident that Russia will not start aggression again,” he stressed.”We need strong security guarantees. We will discuss this and we will discuss the terms.”Ukraine insists it needs more European and US support in terms of funding and weaponry — especially drones.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who met with Zelensky during his stopover on Saturday, announced CAN$2.5 billion (US$1.82 billion) in fresh economic assistance to help Ukraine rebuild once the war ends.The latest Russian attack, which saw 500 drones and 40 missiles pummel the Ukrainian capital and its infrastructure, knocked out power and heating to hundreds of thousands of Kyiv region residents during freezing temperatures.Just south of the capital, Kherson city military administration said Russia launched an attack that left part of the city without electricity.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky consulted with allies on Saturday and won renewed expressions of support ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump, hours after Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and missiles in its latest attack on the capital.During a stopover in Canada en route to Florida for the Trump meeting, the Ukrainian president spoke first with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.Then, in a conference call, he briefed EU, NATO and European leaders, who gave him their “full support” according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a social media post they welcomed “a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.Zelensky said the Russian onslaught showed Moscow had no intention of ending the invasion it launched in February 2022 and which has killed tens of thousands of people.”This attack is again, Russia’s answer on our peace efforts. And this really showed that Putin doesn’t want peace, and we want peace,” Zelensky said before meeting the Canadian premier.Carney said the latest Russian attack underscored the need to stand by Ukraine.”We have the conditions… of a just and lasting peace, but that requires a willing Russia, and the barbarism that we saw overnight… shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine,” said Carney.Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.Adding to pressure on the battlefield, Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrnograd and Guliaipole.”If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.- ‘They do not want to end the war’ -The overnight barrage of drones and missiles, which targeted Kyiv for about 10 hours, killed two people, wounded dozens and cut power and heating to more than a million of the region’s residents during freezing temperatures, Ukraine authorities said.Zelensky said some 500 drones and 40 missiles had pounded the capital and its surrounding region.”Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals (missiles) and Shaheds (drones) speak for them,” he said.”They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering,” he added. Neighbouring Poland, a NATO member, scrambled jets and put air defences on alert during the attack, its military said on social media.- ‘Security guarantees should be strong’ -Sunday’s meeting in Florida is to focus on a new, 20-point plan that would freeze the war on its current front line. It could require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarised buffer zones, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.The new plan, formulated with Ukraine’s input, is Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.It is a marked departure from an initial 28-point proposal by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico on Friday, said of Zelensky’s plan that “he doesn’t have anything until I approve it”. He added: “So we’ll see what he’s got.” Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy.Zelensky said those were changing daily. “As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” he added.Zelensky said his meeting with the US leader was aimed at reducing unresolved issues to a minimum.”Of course, today there are red lines for Ukraine and Ukrainian people. There are compromise proposals. All of these issues are very sensitive,” he said on X.Meanwhile, Ukraine needed European and US support to acquire weapons and funds, both of which were insufficient, Zelensky said — “in particular for the production of weapons and, most importantly, drones”.In negotiations, Ukraine’s “most important consideration — if we take certain steps — is that security guarantees should be strong and we should be protected”, he said.Ukraine is working with the US on a roadmap for the country’s reconstruction, said Zelensky, which will require between $700 billion and $800 billion. 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Canada Saturday for talks on his way to a meeting with US President Donald Trump, hours after Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and missiles in its latest attack on the capital.Later Saturday, Russia also claimed fresh gains on the ground with the capture of two towns at different spots along the frontlines.Zelensky said the Russian onslaught showed Moscow had no intention of ending the invasion it launched in February 2022 and which has killed tens of thousands of people.Before scheduled talks with Trump in Florida on Sunday, Zelensky met in Halifax with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said the latest Russian attack underscored the need to stand by Ukraine.”We have the conditions… of a just and lasting peace, but that requires a willing Russia, and the barbarism that we saw overnight… shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine,” said Carney.Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.Adding to pressure on the battlefield, Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrnograd and Guliaipole.”If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.- ‘They do not want to end the war’ -The overnight barrage of drones and missiles targeting Kyiv killed two people, wounded dozens and cut power and heating to more than a million of the region’s residents during freezing temperatures, Ukraine authorities said.Some 2,600 residential buildings were hit in the attack, as well as more than 300 schools, pre-schools or social services buildings, said Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.Zelensky said some 500 drones and 40 missiles had pounded the capital and its surrounding region.”Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals (missiles) and Shaheds (drones) speak for them,” he said.”They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering,” he added. During the Russian onslaught, which lasted 10 hours, AFP reporters in Kyiv heard loud explosions, some accompanied by bright flashes that turned the sky orange.The Russian army said it used hypersonic missiles and drones to target infrastructure and energy facilities used by Ukraine’s military, as well as military sites. Neighbouring Poland, a NATO member, scrambled jets and put air defences on alert during the attack, its military said on social media.Just as Zelensky flew out of the country, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency announced a new probe which it said implicated some MPs.- ‘Security guarantees should be strong’ -Sunday’s meeting in Florida is to focus on a new, 20-point plan that would freeze the war on its current front line. It could require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarised buffer zones, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.The new plan, formulated with Ukraine’s input, is Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.It is a marked departure from an initial 28-point proposal by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico on Friday, said of Zelensky’s plan that “he doesn’t have anything until I approve it”. He added: “So we’ll see what he’s got.” Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy.Zelensky said those were changing daily. “As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” he added.Zelensky was to brief EU allies after his meeting with Carney.Zelensky added Saturday that the aim of the Florida talks was to reduce unresolved issues to a minimum.”Of course, today there are red lines for Ukraine and Ukrainian people. There are compromise proposals. All of these issues are very sensitive,” he said on X.Meanwhile, Ukraine needed European and US support to acquire weapons and funds, both of which were insufficient, Zelensky said — “in particular for the production of weapons and, most importantly, drones”.In negotiations, Ukraine’s “most important consideration — if we take certain steps — is that security guarantees should be strong and we should be protected”, he said.Ukraine is working with the US on a roadmap for the country’s reconstruction, said Zelensky, which will require between $700 billion and $800 billion. 

Russia pummelled Ukraine’s capital with drones and missiles on Saturday as President Volodymyr Zelensky was headed to the US to meet with President Donald Trump. Zelensky said the attack showed Russia did not want to end its invasion launched in February 2022 that has left tens of thousands dead.Ahead of Zelensky’s talks in Florida with Trump on Sunday, Russia said Kyiv and its EU backers were trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting. The barrage of drones and missiles killed two people, wounded dozens and cut power and heating to hundreds of thousands of Kyiv region residents during freezing temperatures, Ukraine authorities said.Some 2,600 residential buildings were hit in the attack, as well as more than 300 schools, pre-schools or social services buildings, Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.Zelensky said some 500 drones and 40 missiles had pounded the capital and its surrounding region.”Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals (missiles) and Shaheds (drones) speak for them,” he said. “They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering,” he added. Just as Zelensky departed for the US, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency announced a new probe in which it said some MPs were implicated. It tried to raid parliamentary offices but was blocked by security personnel.During the Russian onslaught, which lasted 10 hours, AFP reporters in Kyiv heard loud explosions, some accompanied by bright flashes that turned the sky orange.The Russian army said it used hypersonic missiles and drones to target infrastructure and energy facilities “used in the interests of the armed forces of Ukraine”, as well as military sites. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the attack left about 600,000 people without power while authorities said apartment blocks, a university dormitory and a petrol station had been among buildings hit. Neighbouring Poland, a NATO member, scrambled jets and put air defences on alert during the attack, the Polish military said on social media.Air traffic at two airports in Poland near the Ukrainian border were temporarily suspended during the strikes, the country’s air navigation agency said.- Florida talks -Sunday’s meeting in Florida is to focus on a new, 20-point plan that would freeze the war on its current front line but could require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.The new plan, formulated with Ukraine’s input, is Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions, and differs markedly from an initial 28-point proposal by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico on Friday, said of Zelensky’s plan that “he doesn’t have anything until I approve it”. He added: “So we’ll see what he’s got.” Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy. Zelensky said those were changing daily.”As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” he added.On the way to the US, Zelensky was making a stopover in Canada and was to speak in a video call with EU allies, he said.Zelensky added Saturday that the aim of talks was to reduce unresolved issues to a minimum.”Of course, today there are red lines for Ukraine and Ukrainian people. There are compromise proposals. All of these issues are very sensitive,” he said on X.Meanwhile, Ukraine needed European and US support to acquire weapons and funds, both of which were insufficient, Zelensky said — “in particular for the production of weapons and, most importantly, drones”.In negotiations, Ukraine’s “most important consideration — if we take certain steps — is that security guarantees should be strong and we should be protected”, he said.Zelensky added that Ukraine was working with the US on a roadmap for the country’s reconstruction which he said will require $700 billion to $800 billion.

Immediately following surprise US strikes targeting militants in Nigeria, it remained unclear who or what was actually hit as Washington and Abuja told slightly different stories.Complicating matters was the fact that the strikes were delayed by American President Donald Trump, apparently to prioritise the symbolism of launching the attack on Christmas — and allegations that Washington backed out of issuing a joint statement with the Nigerians.The two countries agree the strikes hit targets linked to Islamic State, but neither immediately provided details on which of Nigeria’s myriad armed groups were targeted.”Twenty-four hours after the bombing, neither Nigeria nor its so-called ‘international partners’ can provide clear, verifiable information about what was actually struck,” activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore said Saturday.Nigeria is battling multiple jihadist organisations, including several linked to Islamic State. Neighbouring countries are also fighting IS-linked groups, and there are worries those conflicts are spilling into the country.Mohammed Idris, the country’s information minister, said late Friday that the strikes “targeted ISIS elements attempting to penetrate Nigeria from the Sahel corridor”.More official clarity started to emerge Saturday, when Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, told AFP the strikes targeted Islamic State militants who were in the country to work with the Lakurawa jihadist group and “bandit” gangs.All three were targeted, and there were casualties, though it is unknown who was killed, and from which group, Bwala said.- Trump claims credit -Taking to social media the night of the strike, Trump was the first to take credit for the overnight Thursday into Friday strikes in northwestern Sokoto state — sparking worries from Nigerians that their sovereignty had been violated.Trump also told US outlet Politico that the strikes had been scheduled earlier than Thursday, “And I said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present’.”The opposition People’s Democratic Party slammed the government for allowing “foreign powers” to “break the news of security operations in our country before our government does”.Early Friday, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar insisted it was a joint operation, with Tinubu ultimately giving the go-ahead and Nigeria supplying intelligence for the strikes. Tuggar later told broadcaster Arise News that, while he was on the phone ahead of the strikes with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the two had agreed on issuing a joint statement, but Washington rushed out its own.- Villages hit by mistake -Late Friday, almost 24 hours after the strikes, it was Nigeria that finally provided clarity around what the targets were: “two major Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves” in Sokoto state’s Tangaza district, according to Idris.Other villages were hit by what the information minister said was debris from the strikes.Images from an AFP photographer in Offa, in neighbouring Kwara state, showed crumbled buildings, destroyed by the debris, with roofs caved in and belongings scattered among the wreckage.Explosions in Sokoto state’s Jabo town, also apparently from the debris, shook the community and “surprised us because this area has never been” a stronghold for armed groups, local resident Haruna Kallah told AFP. The munitions used were unclear. The US military released a video showing a navy ship launching what appeared to be missiles. Idris said “the strikes were launched from maritime platforms domiciled in the Gulf of Guinea”. But he also said “a total of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed using MQ-9 Reaper” drones.- Targets unknown -The choice to strike the northwest has sowed confusion among analysts, as Nigeria’s jihadists are mainly concentrated in the northeast.Some researchers have recently linked some members of the armed group known as Lakurawa — the main jihadist group located in Sokoto State — to Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), but other analysts have disputed those links.The strikes also come after a diplomatic spat between Washington and Abuja sparked by Trump saying the violence in the country amounted to “persecution” against Christians — a framing long used by the US religious right.The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject the accusations.The framing of Nigeria’s violence in religious terms, the lack of clarity around the targets and the fact that the strikes were delayed til Christmas all add to concerns from critics that the attack was bigger on symbolism than substance.Both countries have said that more strikes are on the table.

US strikes in Nigeria this week targeted Islamic State militants from the Sahel who were in the country to work with the Lakurawa jihadist group and “bandit” gangs, a spokesman for the Nigerian president told AFP Saturday.The exact targets of the strikes, launched overnight Thursday into Friday, had been unclear.Washington and Abuja previously said they targeted IS-linked militants, without providing details on which of Nigeria’s myriad armed groups were attacked.”ISIS, Lakurawa and bandits were targeted,” Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, told AFP on Saturday. “ISIS found their way through the Sahel to go and assist the Lakurawa and the bandits with supplies and with training,” he said.The Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) group is active in neighbouring Niger, as well as Burkina Faso and Mali, where it is fighting a bloody insurgency against the governments of those countries.While Nigeria has long battled its own, separate jihadist conflict, analysts have been worried about the spread of armed groups from the Sahel into the west African country.”The strike was conducted at a location where, historically, you have the bandits and the Lakurawa parading around that axis,” Bwala said.”The intelligence the US government gathered, also, is that there is a mass movement of ISIS from the Sahel to that part.”There were casualties, but it was unclear who among those targeted were killed, Bwala added.The site of the strikes — in Nigeria’s northwest state of Sokoto — has puzzled analysts, since Nigeria’s jihadist insurgency is mostly concentrated in the northeast.Researchers have recently linked some members of the armed group known as Lakurawa — the main jihadist group located in Sokoto State — to the ISSP. Other analysts have disputed those links, however, and research on Lakurawa is complicated as the term has been used to describe various armed fighters in the northwest.- Diplomatic spat -In the northwest, the biggest security concern is that from criminal gangs known as bandits.They loot villages, conduct kidnappings for ransom and extort farmers and artisanal miners across swathes of rural countryside outside of government control.On Friday, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the strikes hit “two major Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves” in Sokoto state’s Tangaza district. Other villages were hit by what the information minister said was debris from the strikes.Images from an AFP photographer in Offa, in neighbouring Kwara state, showed crumbled buildings with roofs caved in and belongings scattered among the wreckage.The strikes — which US President Donald Trump said he pushed back to happen on Christmas Day in order to “give a Christmas present” to the militants — come after a diplomatic spat between Washington and Abuja.Trump accused Nigeria in October and November of allowing “persecution” and “genocide” against Christians.The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject that framing of the country’s violence, which has long been used by the US religious right that backs Trump.The country faces multiple conflicts — from jihadists and bandits to farmer-herder violence and southeastern separatists — that kill both Christians and Muslims. On Christmas Eve, a suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people in an attack on a mosque in northeastern Borno state.After the strikes, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said: “It is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion nor simply in the name of one religion or the other.”