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This is Danielle Jalowiecka with the BBC News. Hello.
President Trump has said he believes he could have a productive meeting with the Ukrainian leader when they meet on Sunday to discuss efforts to end the war with Russia. Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said there was 90 percent agreement with American officials. Samira Hussain is in Kyiv. Speaking to U.S. media, President Trump appeared to indicate any peace deal would be down to him. He told Politico that Ukraine didn't have anything until he approved it, striking a very different tone to President Zelenskyy, who appeared optimistic on the prospects for an agreement. President Trump said he expected to speak with Russia's President Putin soon. The Kremlin says a senior aide to President Putin has been in touch with U.S. officials over the phone and is committed to continuing with the negotiations. The U.S. leader has said Christmas Day strikes he ordered on Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria have decimated their camps. It's not yet clear how many people were killed in the strikes as Jonathan Frewin reports. Donald Trump told Politico there had been a plan to carry out the operation a day earlier but he had chosen the timing as a Christmas present for those targeted. He added they didn't think that was coming but we hit them hard. Nigeria's Information Minister Mohammed Idris said that the attack was carried out with full involvement of the armed forces of Nigeria and that it had explicit approval from President Bola Tinubu. Exact casualty numbers are still to be determined but both U.S. and Nigerian officials say militants were killed. The Nigerian authorities have also said that there were no civilian casualties in any of the targeted locations. Hours after Israel became the first country in the world to recognize Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state, Somalia has reacted with fury. More from Youssef Taha. The Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has said that his country "categorically and unequivocally" rejected what he said was a deliberate attack by Israel on sovereignty. Earlier, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government was formally recognizing Somaliland and would immediately expand cooperation in agriculture, health and technology. Somaliland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi hailed the development as "a historic moment." The foreign ministers of Egypt, Somalia, Djibouti and Turkey have condemned Israel's move as a dangerous precedent that threatens regional and international stability. Brazilian media say a former police chief, Silvinei Vasques, who escaped from house arrest and fled the country, has been arrested in Paraguay. Earlier this month, Mr. Vasquez was found guilty of being an accomplice to the convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and sentenced to more than 24 years. On Christmas Eve, he broke his electronic monitor, escaped from his home and drove across the border to Paraguay. You're listening to the World News from the BBC. The British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has arrived back in the U.K. from Cairo after a travel ban imposed by the Egyptian authorities was lifted. He'd spent two five-year terms in Egyptian prisons, the second after being convicted of spreading fake news when he shared a Facebook post about torture in the country. An explosion at a mosque in an Alawite neighborhood in Syria's northern city of Homs during Friday prayers that has killed at least eight people has drawn widespread international condemnation. Nearly 20 people have been injured. France has described it as an "act of terrorism" aimed at destabilizing Syria and its transitional government. Thousands of Americans have had their travel plans disrupted by the approach of a winter storm expected to cause hazardous travel conditions for the Great Lakes and Northeast. Airline trackers say almost 2,000 flights have already been cancelled and more than 22,000 delayed. New York state and New Jersey have declared a state of emergency in anticipation of dangerous road conditions. At football's Men's Africa Cup of Nations, the hosts Morocco have missed the chance to guarantee their spot in the last 16 after drawing one-all with Mali on Friday night. Today's fixtures saw three of the four matches end in a draw. Temesghen Debesai has the details. Egypt were the only winners on Friday, beating South Africa 1-0 to become the first team to reach the last 16 of the tournament. Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot, sending the Pharaohs top of Group B on six points. Hosts Morocco missed the chance to secure qualification after drawing one-all with Mali. They now face Zambia on Monday, knowing a win will guarantee top spot in their group. Elsewhere, Angola and Zimbabwe drew one-all in Group B, while Zambia and Comoros played out a goalless draw in Group A. And that's the latest BBC World News. |