U.S. President Donald Trump summoned his top national security officials to the Oval Office on Monday to discuss Venezuela, as his counterpart Nicolas Maduro rejected a "slave's peace" amid mounting fears of American military action.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold talks in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the Trump administration's controversial proposal to end the war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed he had recently spoken with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro amid soaring tensions between the two countries, while Caracas slammed what it called U.S. preparations for an attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks on Ukraine with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday afternoon, the Kremlin said.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky Monday arrived for Elysee talks with French President Emmanuel Macron as he sought to shore up European support for a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the airspace "above and surrounding" Venezuela should be considered as "closed in its entirety," an assertion that raised more questions about the U.S. pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. His government accused Trump of making a "colonial threat" and seeking to undermine the South American country's sovereignty.

The White House did not respond to questions about what Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, and it was unclear whether he was announcing a new policy or simply reinforcing the messaging around his campaign against Maduro, which has involved multiple strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean on small boats accused of ferrying drugs as well as a buildup of naval forces in the region. More than 80 people have been killed in such strikes since early September.

A team of Ukrainian negotiators was on Saturday headed to the United States for talks on Washington's plan to end the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukraine was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Black Sea that it believed were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil, a Ukrainian security source said.

Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies Friday during an intensive apartment-by-apartment search of a high-rise tower complex, after a massive fire engulfed seven of its eight buildings. The death toll in one of the city's deadliest blazes is now at least 128.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own -- otherwise his army would take it by force.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.