French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France must not be "weak" faced with the threat from Russia, while emphasizing it had no intention of "sending our young people" to fight in the Ukraine war.

"We would be wrong to show weakness in the face of this threat. If we want to protect ourselves, we French -- which is my sole concern -- we must demonstrate that we are not weak against the power that threatens us the most," he told RTL radio in an interview.

Afghanistan's Taliban government on Tuesday accused Pakistan of launching overnight airstrikes in three eastern provinces, killing 10 civilians, including nine children, in a sign of worsening tensions between the two neighbors.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesperson for the Afghan government, said on X that Pakistan "bombed" the home of a civilian in Khost province, killing nine children and a woman. He said additional strikes were carried out in the provinces of Kunar and Paktika, injuring four others.

Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine on Tuesday, killing at least six people in overnight strikes that hit city buildings and energy infrastructure, while a Ukrainian attack in southern Russia killed three people and damaged homes, authorities said.

The large-scale attacks come during a renewed U.S. push to end the war that has raged for nearly four years and talks about a U.S.-brokered peace plan. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Russian officials for several hours in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, a U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press.

Washington and Kyiv said that any eventual deal to halt the war with Russia must fully uphold Ukraine's sovereignty, after "constructive" talks between U.S., Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday hailed "important steps" after a Geneva summit with the U.S., but said more was needed to end a nearly four-year war following the Russian invasion.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Geneva Sunday morning for discussions on a U.S. plan to end the Ukraine war, after Washington signalled room for negotiation on the controversial proposal.

Iran's intelligence ministry has warned of attempts by foreign adversaries, including the United States and Israel, to target supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and destabilise the Islamic republic.

Ukraine scrambled Saturday to respond to a U.S. 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.

Iran has requested foreign assistance in extinguishing a large fire that has ravaged UNESCO World Heritage-listed forests in the north of the country for several days, local media reported on Saturday.

Months of sniping melted away Friday as New York's incoming leftist mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump were all smiles at a White House meeting -- promising to set aside their feud and cooperate on the city's future.