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A vast Russian overnight attack on Ukraine killed three people and wounded nearly 30, officials said Saturday, with more than 600,000 households left without power after strikes on the grid as the US attempts to broker peace talks. “While everyone is discussing points of peace plans, Russia continues to pursue its ‘war plan’ of two points: to kill and destroy,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha wrote Saturday morning as Kyiv residents surveyed the damage after a heavy night of explosions that mostly targeted the capital. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched around 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones in the attack. Moscow has conducted regular large-scale bombardments of Ukraine’s power infrastructure since 2022, but the latest campaign this autumn has pushed Ukrainian cities including Kyiv into a torrid situation, with many households only getting eight hours of power on some of the worst days of blackouts. The deafening roar of generators and the stench of diesel fumes now fill the capital’s avenues, and people use torches at night as streetlights are often out. Ukraine’s energy ministry said the overnight attack had hit power facilities in Kyiv and five other Ukrainian regions. More than 500,000 of the households which lost power were in the capital. Ukraine has been negotiating with the United States on the terms of a peace agreement that Washington is seeking to broker between Kyiv and Moscow to end Russia’s nearly four-year-long war.Kyiv and its European allies say they want peace but pushed back against some of the original terms pushed by the US, with Ukraine unwilling to withdraw from land it currently holds and resisting any restriction on its future ability to join alliances. Yermak was Zelensky’s most important ally but in Kyiv, his opponents say he has accumulated power, gate-keeps access to the president and ruthlessly sidelines critical voices. A former film producer and copyright lawyer, he came into politics with Zelensky in 2019, having previously worked with the now-president during his time as a popular comedian. Yermak was widely considered the second-most influential man in the country and even sometimes nicknamed “vice-president”. “Yermak doesn’t allow anyone to get to Zelensky except loyal people,” a former senior official who worked with Zelensky and Yermak told AFP, describing him as “super paranoid”. “He definitely tries to influence almost every decision,” they added. A senior source in Zelensky’s party said Yermak’s influence over the president was akin to “hypnosis”. Speaking after the raid on Yermak, the European Union backed the work of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies. “We have a lot of respect for those investigations which show that the anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine are doing their work,” said European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho. Zelensky had in the summer tried to strip the independence of NABU and SPO, triggering rare wartime protests and forcing him to walk back the decision after criticism from the EU. Yermak had been a stalwart by Zelensky’s side throughout the war. The two men are seen together on official photos of almost all presidential events. According to media reports, their beds stand side by side in the presidential office’s underground bunker, and in their free time, they play table tennis, watch movies or work out. But he is widely unpopular in society and distrusted by two-thirds of the population, according to a March 2025 poll by the Razumkov Centre, an NGO. Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told AFP before Yermak’s removal that he needed to go to shore up Kyiv’s position in talks with the United States. Alluding to the vulnerability of the moment, Zelensky also stressed that he could not afford to make political missteps at this moment. “Russia really wants Ukraine to make mistakes,” he said. 

A meeting between US and Ukrainian officials in Florida Sunday was "very productive," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that work still remains towards ending Russia's war in Ukraine."There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow, although we've also been in touch in varying degrees with the Russian side, but we have a pretty good understanding of their views as well," Rubio told reporters.Rubio Sunday hosted high stakes talks with a Ukrainian delegation on Washington's plan to end Russia's war with its neighbour -- discussions a source close to Kyiv's team characterized as "not easy."The talks in Florida come as Kyiv faces mounting military and political pressure, along with the fallout from a corruption scandal. They could set the stage for next week's visit to Moscow by President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to discuss Ukraine diplomacy."This is not just about peace deals. It's about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous," Rubio said at the start of the negotiations.Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were also attending the meeting in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami.Ukraine's security council secretary Rustem Umerov led Kyiv's delegation, which also included Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Ukraine's armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz."We are discussing about the future of Ukraine, about the security of Ukraine, about no repetition of aggression of Ukraine, about prosperity of Ukraine, about how to rebuild Ukraine," Umerov said as the talks kicked off.A source close to the Kyiv delegation, however, cautioned that "the process is not easy because the search for formulations and solutions continues." The exchanges had nevertheless been "constructive," the source said.The US talks come amid turbulence for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government. A blockbuster corruption probe forced him to sack his chief of staff and top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, on Friday.Washington has put forward a plan to end the nearly four-year conflict and is seeking to finalize it with Moscow and Kyiv's approval.An initial 28-point proposal -- drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies -- would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognize the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.The United States pared back the original draft following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear. 

Germany said Monday that Russia has to be present at talks on ending the Ukraine war as Europe and Kyiv pressed for more work on a US proposal seen as heavily favouring Moscow.Ukrainian, American and European officials met in Switzerland on Sunday to draft an "updated" plan after a 28-point proposal tabled by Washington on ending the Russian invasion was decried as an effective capitulation by Kyiv.At an EU-Africa summit in Angola, where emergency talks on the US proposal completely overshadowed proceedings, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Russia must be involved in any talks."The next step must be: Russia must come to the table," Merz declared."If this is possible, then every effort will have been worthwhile," he added.A new version of a draft worked on in Geneva has not been published but all sides agreed that any deal must "uphold Ukraine's sovereignty."US President Donald Trump initially gave Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky until Thursday to respond to the plan that would see Ukraine give up territory it controls, cap the size of its army and permanently close the door on Nato membership.Merz threw doubt on Trump's deadline, saying discussions would be a "lengthy, long-lasting process"."I don't expect a breakthrough this week."In a sign of the sensitivities involved, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: "The issue is delicate because nobody wants to put off the Americans and President Trump."Zelensky said Monday his country was at a "critical moment", after last week insisting Ukraine risked losing either its "dignity" or Washington as an ally."To achieve real peace, more, more is needed. Of course we all continue working with partners, especially the United States, and look for compromises that strengthen but not weaken us," he added.Russia's President Vladimir Putin has said the original US plan could be a basis for a deal. His country's invasion has decimated eastern Ukraine, forced millions to flee their homes, ravaged towns and cities, and killed tens of thousands in Europe's worst conflict since World War II.As talks continued, the war ground on. Russia, which has fired record numbers of missiles and drones, in recent months, claimed another southern Ukrainian village Monday. A Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv late Sunday killed four people and caused widespread damage, officials said.The issue of territory, Zelensky said, remained a major problem in the talks."Putin wants legal recognition for what he has stolen," the Ukrainian leader said.EU chiefs hailed progress towards a deal but also said there were outstanding issues to resolve."There is a new momentum in peace negotiations," European Council President Antonio Costa said on the sidelines of the summit in Angola."While work remains to be done, there is now a solid basis for moving forward," added European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.Putin last week welcomed the first US plan and Washington faced accusations that Moscow helped draft it.In a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday, the Russian leader repeated his view that the initial US plan could "serve as a basis for a final peace settlement."The Kremlin said it had not been informed on the results of the Geneva talks, but that it was aware that "adjustments" were made to the US proposal.Putin's spokesman told reporters, including AFP, that so far no Russia-US talks were planned for this week.In Washington, Trump appeared hopeful of a breakthrough."Don't believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening," Trump said on social media.In Geneva on Sunday, the Ukrainian delegation said a new draft of the plan, "already reflects most of Ukraine's key priorities".US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "tremendous" progress had been made at the talks."I honestly believe we'll get there," Rubio said, adding: "Obviously, the Russians get a vote."Moscow has captured and occupies large swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine, since it invaded claiming to have annexed five Ukrainian regions, including Crimea which it seized in 2014.The Kremlin is seeking recognition of the territories it occupies and wants Kyiv to pull out of the part of the Donetsk region that remains under its control — demands deemed unacceptable by Ukraine.

Ukrainian, US and European officials met in Geneva on Sunday to discuss a draft plan presented by Washington to end the war in Ukraine, after Kyiv and its allies voiced alarm over what they saw as major concessions to the aggressor Russia.US President Donald Trump, who has championed the 28-point plan, said on Sunday that Ukraine had not been grateful for American efforts over the war, even as US weapons continue to flow to Kyiv via NATO and Europe keeps buying Russian oil. On Friday, Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had until Thursday to approve the plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO.For many Ukrainians, including soldiers fighting on the front lines, such terms would amount to capitulation after nearly four years of fighting in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. On Saturday, Trump said the current proposal for ending the war is not his final offer.With the U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the main talks between US and Ukrainian officials got under way in Geneva on Sunday afternoon in a stiff atmosphere at the US mission, soon after Trump complained in a Truth Social post that Ukraine's leadership had shown "zero gratitude" to the U.S. for its efforts and Europe continued to buy Russian oil.Since the U.S. plan was announced, there has been confusion about who was involved in drawing it up. European allies said they had not been consulted. As officials began meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the goal was to craft a plan acceptable to Ukraine which could be used in a negotiation with Russia. "Right now, I'm not yet convinced we're going to get the solution President Trump wants in the next few days," Merz said on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Johannesburg.Before heading to Geneva, Rubio insisted on X that Washington had authored the plan after remarks from some US senators suggesting otherwise. Senator Angus King said Rubio had told senators the plan was not the administration's position, but "essentially the wish-list of the Russians." Europeans have submitted a modified version of the US plan for Ukraine that pushes back on proposed limits to Kyiv's armed forces and territorial concessions, according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.The draft US plan, which includes many of Russia's key demands and offers only vague assurances to Ukraine of "robust security guarantees", comes at a perilous moment for Kyiv. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that Ukraine's borders cannot be changed by force, its army cannot be left vulnerable to attack and that the European Union must have a central role in a Ukraine peace deal. Russia has been making gains on parts of the front, albeit slowly and, according to Western and Ukrainian officials, the advances have been extremely costly in terms of lives lost.The transportation hub of Pokrovsk has been partially taken by Russian forces and Ukrainian commanders say they do not have enough soldiers to prevent small, persistent incursions. Ukraine's power and gas facilities have been pummelled by drone and missile attacks, meaning millions of people are without water, heating and power for hours each day.Zelenskiy himself has been under pressure domestically after a major corruption scandal broke, ensnaring some of his ministers and people in his close entourage. He has warned that Ukraine risked losing its dignity and freedom - or Washington's backing - over the US plan.Zelenskiy welcomed the diplomatic efforts in Geneva, saying that he hoped they would lead to a result. Kyiv had taken heart in recent weeks after the United States tightened sanctions on Russia's oil sector, the main source of funding for the war, while its own long-range drone and missile strikes have caused considerable damage to the industry.But the draft peace plan appears to hand the diplomatic advantage back to Moscow. Ukraine relies heavily on U.S. intelligence and weapons to sustain its war against Russia. Rubio and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived on Sunday for the hastily convened Geneva meeting. "We hope to iron out the final details...to draft a deal that is advantageous to them (Ukraine)," a US official said. "Nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together," the official said, referring to Trump and Zelenskiy.US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was also in Geneva for the talks, where Ukraine's delegation is led by the head of Zelenskiy's office, Andriy Yermak. Yermak said his delegation met with the national security advisers from Britain, France and Germany and would next hold talks with the United States.European and other Western leaders have said the US peace plan was a basis for talks to end the war but needed "additional work". Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he would speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday about Ukraine and share the outcome with European and US allies.Putin has described the plan as the basis for a resolution to the conflict, but Moscow may object to some proposals in the scheme, which requires its forces to pull back from some areas they have captured.

The US has signalled to President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine must accept a US-drafted framework to end the war with Russia that proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.The sources said the proposals included cutting the size of Ukraine's armed forces, among other things. Washington wants Kyiv to accept the main points, they said. Such a plan would represent a major setback for Kyiv.A senior Ukrainian official earlier told Reuters that Kyiv had received "signals" about a set of US proposals to end the war that Washington has discussed with Russia. Ukraine has had no role in preparing the proposals, the source said.Zelensky is due to meet US Army officials in Kyiv today. Russian forces have pressed on with Moscow's nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine, killing 25 people in strikes overnight. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long demanded Kyiv renounce plans to join the Nato military alliance and withdraw its troops from four provinces Moscow claims as part of Russia.Moscow has given no indication that it has dropped any of those demands and Ukraine says it will not accept them.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has received the draft of a new US-backed plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine and expects to have talks with President Donald Trump in the coming days, Zelensky's office said Thursday.Two sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Washington had signalled to Zelensky that Kyiv must accept the US-drafted framework to end the nearly-four-year-old war, which includes territorial concessions and curbs on Ukraine's armed forces.European countries pushed back Thursday against the plan, which sources said would require Kyiv to give up more land and partially disarm, conditions long seen by Ukraine's allies as tantamount to capitulation. "We are ready now, as before, to work constructively with the American side, as well as with our partners in Europe and around the world, so that the outcome is peace," Zelensky's office said in a statement on Telegram. Zelensky's talks with Trump would include discussion of the "key points required to achieve peace", it said.Trump and Zelensky clashed in front of television cameras in a disastrous meeting for the Ukrainian leader at the White House in March, but talks went more smoothly when he visited the White House this summer. The acceleration in US diplomacy comes at an awkward time for Kyiv, with its troops on the back foot on the battlefield and Zelensky's government undermined by a corruption scandal.Parliament fired two cabinet ministers on Wednesday. Moscow played down any new US initiative. "Consultations are not currently under way. There are contacts, of course, but there is no process that could be called consultations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He said Russia had nothing to add beyond the position President Vladimir Putin laid out at a summit with US President Donald Trump in August, adding that any peace deal must address the "root causes of the conflict", a phrase Moscow has long used to refer to its demands.With another winter approaching in the nearly four-year-old war, Russian troops occupy almost one-fifth of Ukraine and are poised to capture their first substantial city in nearly two years — the ruined eastern railway hub of Pokrovsk.Video footage released by Russia's defence ministry Thursday showed its troops moving freely through the southern part of Pokrovsk, patrolling deserted streets lined with charred apartment blocks. European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels did not comment in detail about the US plan, which has not been made public, but indicated they would not accept demands for Kyiv to make punishing concessions. "Ukrainians want peace — a just peace that respects everyone's sovereignty, a durable peace that can't be called into question by future aggression," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. "But peace cannot be a capitulation."German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said US special envoy Steve Witkoff had, during a phone call Thursday, underlined "the importance of close coordination with Germany and our European partners" in talks to end the war.The White House has not commented on the reported proposals. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that Washington would "continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict". "...Achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions," Rubio said.A US Army delegation, led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and the Army's Chief of Staff Randy George, was in Kyiv and expected to meet Zelenskiy late Thursday. They met Ukraine's top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi late on Wednesday. Syrskyi said the best way to secure a just peace was to defend Ukraine's airspace, extend its ability to strike deep into Russia and stabilise the front line.

Dick Cheney, celebrated as a master Republican strategist but defined by the darkest chapters of America's "War on Terror," was honoured Thursday in a funeral attended by Washington's elite that pointedly left out President Donald Trump.Cheney's career over half a decade reads like a catalogue of American statecraft, even as his long shadow over foreign policy — as defence secretary during the Gulf War and as the 46th vice president under George W Bush — still divides the country.Bush and fellow former president Joe Biden were among more than 1,000 guests at the Washington National Cathedral. But Trump, who hasn't commented on Cheney's death, and his vice president JD Vance were not invited.Every living former vice president — Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore and Dan Quayle — were in attendance, along with generals, foreign dignitaries and Supreme Court justices. "Vice President Dick Cheney was an American patriot who served this country like very few in our history, and I was always inspired by his by his quiet and steady leadership," Pence told cable news network MS NOW outside the cathedral. Bush was due to deliver a tribute, along with Cheney's daughter Liz — famously ousted from the congressional Republican Party over her opposition to Trump.Praised for his intellect and described by historians as the "most powerful vice president in modern US history," Cheney was admired as a strategist of unusual clarity, and a steady hand who helped steer the nation through its darkest hours.His career spanned the Cold War, the Gulf conflict and the turbulent aftermath of the September 11 attacks. As vice president under Bush, he redefined a traditionally ceremonial role into one of unparalleled influence, helping drive national security policy and expanding presidential authority.He was said to embody the paradoxes of power as a meticulous behind-the-scenes operator who often found himself in the spotlight, a staunch conservative and a statesman regarded both as indispensable and dangerous. Flags across states were lowered to half-staff after his death on November 3. But looming over every tribute will be the darker side of his legacy: the expansion of executive power, the "War on Terror," the invasion of Iraq and the now-infamous debate over America's use of torture.For critics, he was the architect of some of the nation's most calamitous decisions, a politician whose belief in executive power and aggressive foreign policy left deep scars at home and abroad. Cheney was a key advocate for the 2003 invasion of Iraq — famously stating that "there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction" — a conviction that haunted his legacy after the intelligence unraveled.He championed sweeping surveillance powers under the Patriot Act and defended controversial "enhanced interrogation" tactics. But Cheney underwent a late-career reinvention as a critic of his own party's populist drift.A vocal detractor of Trump, whom he called a "threat to our republic," he even endorsed Harris, the president's Democratic election rival in 2024. Trump's absence from the funeral reflected the ideological rifts that divided Washington and the wider United States during Cheney's final years, and the demise of the bipartisanship valued by the oldest generation of Washington power-brokers.The president has been silent on Cheney's death, although his press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump was "aware" of his passing. Responding to criticism from Cheney, Trump once described the former vice president as an "irrelevant RINO" — meaning "Republican In Name Only" — and a "king of endless, nonsensical wars, wasting lives and trillions of dollars."

Forest ranger Daouda Bamba is in no doubt about who the apex predator is in Ivory Coast's Comoe National Park, ravaged by war and unrest between 2002 and 2011. "The most dangerous animal here is man," the lieutenant said, while at the head of a 10-strong patrol on the lookout for hostile intruders. Founded as a big game reserve in 1926, Comoe long ranked among Africa's most beautiful natural parks. Tourists flocked by the thousands to catch a glimpse of its elephants, lions, leopards and herds of antelope and hippopotamuses. But that status came under threat during Comoe's lost decade, when the government abandoned the park during the west African country's two civil wars, leaving its rich fauna and flora at the mercy of looters and poachers. Yet while Bamba's militia still has to guard against the threat of unscrupulous humans, Comoe has made strides towards recovering from its close brush with destruction in the years since. On a rare reporting mission to the reserve in Ivory Coast's far northeast, near the border with militant-riven Burkina Faso, an AFP team saw antelopes frolicking, clans of barking baboons and families of warthogs with snouts to the ground across its vast and nigh-on-pristine expanse. "We're seeing lots of animals. The park's getting better," said Bamba, one of 160 rangers working for the Ivorian Parks and Reserves Office (OIPR) in Comoe. "Since we upped our game in 2016, the animals have been at peace. They don't run away all the time, which means they're not being hunted anymore." **media[381929]** However, the Kalashnikov slung over Bamba's shoulder, as well as the truncheons and tear gas grenades hanging from the rangers' belts, are hints that not all is well in paradise. "When we catch intruders, it often leads to a brawl," the lieutenant said. "Three major threats hang over the park," Bamba said, namely "poaching, illegal gold mining and unlawful livestock herding". Nearby, one of his deputies tinkered with a drone, a useful tool when tasked with detecting human activity across the park's 11,500 square kilometres. Often, however, the rangers have to resort to old-school means. "Our day-to-day is spent on foot. We're on the lookout for smoke from a fire, tracks from bicycles or motorcycles, or vultures circling overhead," said Bamba. In 2024, 125 people were arrested in the park, including 105 gold diggers and 18 poachers, according to the OIPR. Raynald Gilon's voice trembled as the old bushman remembered Comoe's glory days. "We had a fabulous era here. The wildlife was magnificent," said the grizzled Belgian, who has spent half a century guarding the park. Hyenas and red hartebeest roamed its sun-baked savannahs, while Nile crocodiles and fishing eagles alike plunged into the waters of the Comoe River, which gave the park its name. Comoe welcomed "up to 6,000 to 7,000 tourists each season, most of them Europeans who arrived here by plane", he remembered. At the park's northwest point, the dusty Kafolo Safari Lodge's crumbling stone entrance and abandoned blue-bottomed swimming pool serve as a reminder of that bygone age, long left to rot. When the crisis began in 2002, the park found itself deep within territory controlled by the rebels who were fighting to overthrow then-president Laurent Gbagbo. With the rangers forced to flee, the park was left exposed to the whims of the poachers, gold diggers and farmers. "It was a massacre, a real ransacking," lamented Raynald Gilon. "Everyone was taking part in the looting, including the rebels who claimed to be protecting it!" Within a year of the war's outbreak, Unesco added the park to its list of endangered World Heritage sites. "The Comoe park nearly died," he said. 'TARGET OF GREED' When Ivory Coast's crisis ended in 2011, the new government worked to fix the damage done, pouring funds into equipping and training up guards tasked with flushing out the poachers. "All of this allows us to really monitor the park and restore peace and quiet for the wildlife," said Commander Henri Tra Bi Zah, one of the park's managers. Those efforts bore fruit. In 2017, Unesco removed Comoe from its endangered heritage site list, in a first for an African park. Three herds of elephants have been spotted, with a total of 200 individuals, while the chimpanzee has made a comeback. Although the lion and the African wild dog are both believed to be locally extinct, leopards, spotted hyenas and even the caracal cat are a common sight in Comoe. Antelopes and buffalo number by the thousands. **media[381930]** That said, those hoping to catch a glimpse of the park's rarer beasts have to venture deep into the savannah, often while braving thick swarms of biting tsetse flies, the AFP team observed. While insisting that the "biggest problem" of illegal gold mining has been "contained", Commander Tra Bi Zah warned that the park "is still the target of greed because it is brimming with resources". Nearby villagers seem to be respecting the park's boundaries. "Hand on heart we can't enter. If they catch you in there, you'll go straight to jail," said a farmer from Bambela, whose hut lies just a few metres from the edge of the savannah. The OIPR even has hopes to revive tourism to make the park "a driving force for socioeconomic development" in the Ivorian northeast. Those hopes, however, are complicated by the park's proximity to Burkina Faso, which is locked in conflict with fighters linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group. Western governments have advised against all travel to the region as a result. That said, no militant has been arrested or even spotted recently in the park, according to security sources questioned by AFP. A new hotel has sprung up in Kafolo to welcome humanitarian workers, civil engineers or even the odd foreigner passing through, its walls adorned with hunting trophies from the big game era of yore. "The park is struggling to recover from the disaster... The revival is fragile," said local deputy Abdoulaye Karim Diomande. "But the OIPR is making great strides. The future looks bright."

A suicide bomber killed 12 people in Pakistan's capital Tuesday in a sharp escalation of militant violence that the defence minister said had pushed the country into a "state of war".Pakistani government ministers accused neighbouring Afghanistan of complicity in the bloodshed — an accusation Kabul denied — and vowed retaliation if Afghan authorities failed to rein in the militants Islamabad says were responsible."We are in a state of war," said Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif after the attack, the first strike on civilians in Islamabad in a decade. "Bringing this war to Islamabad is a message from Kabul, to which Pakistan has the full power to respond."Pakistan is locked in confrontation with Kabul and New Delhi, fighting a four-day war with India in May and then last month carrying out airstrikes in Afghanistan, including Kabul, in response to what it said was the presence of Pakistani militants there. Subsequent skirmishes on the Pakistan-Afghan border were followed by unsuccessful peace talks.No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack, in which a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a busy lower court in Islamabad. It happened hours after militants stormed a school near the Afghan border on Monday, killing three people.Attackers were still holed up inside the compound late Tuesday, with around 500 students and staff trapped in another part of the complex.The main Pakistani jihadist group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, otherwise known as the Pakistani Taliban, denied involvement in the attacks.Pakistani Taliban militants have in recent years focused attacks on security forces. Civilians had not been hit in Islamabad for a decade, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a group that tracks attacks.**media[380275]**Islamabad says that the Pakistani Taliban and other militants are based in Afghanistan, with the support of India."We are totally clear that Afghanistan has to stop them. In case of a failure, we have no option but to take care of those terrorists who are attacking our country," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said, speaking at the scene of the court bombing.Naqvi said that the school assailants were in contact with their handlers in Afghanistan during the attack. He said the authorities are investigating the backers of the court bombing, adding that an attack in Islamabad "carried a lot of messages". The Taliban administration in Kabul said in a statement that it "expresses its deep sorrow and condemnation" of the attacks. A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Pakistan's accusations. Kabul denies that its territory is used for attacks on other countries. India denies supporting militants against Pakistan. The attacks in Pakistan came a day after an explosion in the Indian capital, which killed eight people."These targets are clearly an attempt to spread panic in society," said Muhammad Saeed, a retired three-star general."The terrorists have a huge country supporting them and another country providing them space," he added, referring to India and Afghanistan.Abdul Basit, Senior Associate Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore, said that in recent weeks, new militant factions had emerged, which appeared aimed at allowing the TTP plausible deniability for attacks."They are sending a signal: if there will be strikes in Kabul, Islamabad will not be safe," said Basit. "And they are signalling that they can change their modus operandi to indiscriminate violence."The suicide bombing outside an Islamabad court wounded 27 people, in addition to at least 12 killed, Interior Minister Naqvi said. The court bomber blew himself up near the entrance at around lunchtime.Images on local media showed people covered in blood lying next to a police van. A vehicle was seen on fire and another car was badly damaged. Police cordoned off the site.Naqvi said the bomber had tried to enter the court building on foot but, unable to find a way in, detonated the device outside, close to a police vehicle. Several of the wounded were in critical condition, a hospital source said.The attack on the school in Wana, in the north west, began Monday, when a suicide vehicle rammed the main entrance, killing three people, Naqvi said.Militants then entered the school, which is run by the military but educates civilians. By Tuesday evening, three militants were still inside the compound, security officials said, with rescue operations under way for the students trapped in another part of the school.Analysts said that it seemed to be an attempt to replicate a 2014 attack on another army-run school in the north west, in which more than 130 children were killed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied reports suggesting the existence of an agreed-upon "12-point peace plan" to end the war with Russia."It's important in this matter whether I, as the President of Ukraine, have seen this plan. I haven't. I think that answers all the questions. There are different European thoughts and proposals regarding a peaceful settlement," Zelenskyy said in remarks cited by Ukrainian National News Agency (Ukrinform).He also expressed surprise at claims regarding Russia's alleged participation in possible negotiations, saying: "It's strange to hear that Russia is at the negotiating table, since currently no European leader or the US president can force them to do so."Zelensky stressed that any further progress toward a peace settlement must involve the United States, emphasizing that moving to a diplomatic stage is impossible without Washington's political and military support."Our position is this: there are now consultations among advisers, several different discussions are ongoing, but there is no concrete, finalized plan on the table yet," he added.

The prosecutor's office at the International Criminal Court warned Monday that atrocities committed in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher could constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.The ICC prosecutor's office (OTP) voiced "profound alarm and deepest concern" over reports from El-Fasher about mass killings, rapes, and other crimes allegedly committed.After 18 months of siege, bombardment and starvation, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of El-Fasher on October 26, dislodging the army's last stronghold in Sudan's western Darfur region."These atrocities are part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region since April 2023," said the OTP in a statement."Such acts, if substantiated, may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute," the founding text of the ICC.The UN said more than 65,000 people have fled El-Fasher, including around 5,000 to nearby Tawila, but tens of thousands remain trapped.Before the final assault, roughly 260,000 people lived in the city.Since the RSF takeover, reports have emerged of executions, sexual violence, looting, attacks on aid workers and abductions in and around El-Fasher, where communications remain largely cut off.The RSF traces its origins to the Janjaweed, a predominantly Arab militia accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago.Reports since El-Fasher's fall have raised fears of a return to similar atrocities.

Survivors fleeing the Sudanese city of El-Fasher told AFP on Saturday that paramilitary fighters separated families and killed children in front of their parents, with tens of thousands still trapped following the city's fall. Germany's top diplomat Johann Wadephul described on Saturday the situation in Sudan as "apocalyptic" while fresh satellite images suggested mass killings were likely ongoing, five days after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized El-Fasher. At war with the regular army since April 2023, the RSF pushed the military out of its last stronghold in the vast Darfur region after a grinding 18-month siege. Since the takeover, reports have emerged of summary executions, sexual violence, attacks on aid workers, looting and abductions, while communications remain largely cut off. "I don't know if my son Mohamed is dead or alive. They took all the boys," Zahra, a mother of six who fled El-Fasher to the nearby town of Tawila, told AFP in a satellite phone interview. Before reaching the nearby RSF-controlled town of Garni, she said RSF fighters stopped them and took her sons, aged 16 and 20. "I begged them to let them go," she said, but the fighters only released her 16-year-old son. Another survivor, Adam, said two of his sons, aged 17 and 21, were killed in front of him. "They told them they had been fighting (for the army), and then they beat me on my back with a stick," he told AFP. In Garni, RSF fighters saw the blood of Adam's sons on his clothes and accused him of being a fighter. After hours of investigations, they let him go. The survivors' full names have been withheld for their safety. The UN says more than 65,000 people have fled El-Fasher since Sunday but tens of thousands remain trapped. Around 260,000 people were in the city before the RSF's final assault. "Large numbers of people remain in grave danger and are being prevented by the Rapid Support Forces and its allies from reaching safer areas," Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said. The group said that only 5,000 people had managed to make their way to Tawila, about 70 kilometres to the west. The numbers of people arriving in Tawila "don't add up, while accounts of large-scale atrocities are mounting", MSF's head of emergencies Michel Olivier Lacharite said. Several eyewitnesses told MSF that a group of 500 civilians, along with soldiers from the military and the army-allied Joint Forces, had attempted to flee on Sunday, but most were killed or captured by the RSF and their allies. Survivors reported that people were separated based on their gender, age or presumed ethnicity, and that many were still being held for ransom. Darfur is home to a number of non-Arab ethnic groups, who make up a majority of the region's population, in contrast to Sudan's dominant Sudanese Arabs. Hayat, a mother of five who fled the city, previously told AFP that "young men travelling with us were stopped" along the way by paramilitaries and "we don't know what happened to them". The UN said on Friday the death toll from the RSF's assault on the city may be in the hundreds, while army allies accused the paramilitary group of killing over 2,000 civilians. Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab suggested on Friday that mass killings were likely continuing in and around El-Fasher. The lab, which uses satellite imagery and open-source information to document human rights abuses during wars, said fresh images from Friday showed "no large-scale movement" of civilians fleeing the city, giving them reason to believe much of the population may be "dead, captured, or in hiding". The lab identified at least 31 clusters of objects consistent with human bodies between Sunday and Friday, across neighbourhoods, university grounds and military sites. "Indicators that mass killing is continuing are clearly visible," the lab said. At a conference in Bahrain on Saturday, Wadephul said Sudan was "absolutely an apocalyptic situation, the greatest humanitarian crisis of the world". The RSF said on Thursday that it had arrested several fighters accused of abuses during the capture of El-Fasher, but UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher questioned the group's commitment to investigating atrocities. Both the RSF -- descended from the Janjaweed militias accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago -- and the army have faced war crimes accusations over the course of the conflict. The US has previously determined that the has RSF committed genocide in Darfur. Meanwhile, the army has drawn on support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey. El-Fasher's capture gives the RSF full control over all five state capitals in Darfur, effectively splitting Sudan along an east-west axis, with the army controlling the north, east and centre. UN officials have warned that the violence is now spreading to the neighbouring Kordofan region, with reports emerging of "large-scale atrocities perpetrated" by the RSF. The wider conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly 12 million and created the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.