GREEN MAG

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv on Thursday held a second day ofU.S.-brokered talksin Abu Dhabi on ending their war amidan escalationin Russia's winter attacks on Ukraine's power grid and after a sharp rise last year in Ukrainian civilians killed in the fighting.

"We are working in the same formats as yesterday: trilateral consultations, group work, and further synchronization of positions," said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council chief, who was present at the meeting.

The delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were joined in the capital of the United Arab Emirates by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to Umerov. They were also at last month's talks in the same place as the Trump administration tries tosteer the two countriestoward a settlement.

General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, was also present at the talks, according to a spokesman for the general who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allied countries to press Moscow into ending itsall-out invasion, which began almost four years ago on Feb. 24 2022, and said his country needs security guarantees to deter any postwar Russian attacks.

Ukrainians must feel that there is genuine progress toward peace and "not toward a scenario in which the Russians exploit everything to their advantage and continue their strikes," Zelenskyy said on social media late Wednesday.

Fighting has continued in parallel with the talks. Russia hashammered Ukraine's electricity network, aiming to deny civilians power and weaken their appetite for the fight, while a grinding war of attrition continues along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile)front linesnaking along eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.

Last year saw a 31% increase in Ukrainian civilian casualties compared with 2024, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a report published Wednesday.

Almost 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and just over 40,000 injured since the start of the war through last December, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

HONG KONG —Taiwan's president said its relations with the United States are "rock solid" on Thursday, after Chinese PresidentXi Jinpingstressed his country's territorial claims to the island in a call with PresidentDonald Trump.

According to a Chinese readout from the wide-ranging call on Wednesday, Xi also warned Trump over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, suggesting that the self-governing democracy could become a more prominent issue in U.S.-China relations after spending months in the background.

Like most countries, the U.S. has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which Beijing has vowed to bring under its control by force if necessary. But the U.S. is Taiwan's most important international backer and is legally bound to supply it with defensive weapons.

"Taiwan–U.S. relations are rock-solid and our various cooperation projects will continue without change," Taiwan PresidentLai Ching-tetold reporters, adding that U.S. commitments to Taiwan had not changed.

Though long a source of friction in U.S.-China relations, Taiwan has not been high on the agenda since Trump returned to office as the world's two biggest economies engaged in a trade war.

The Trump-Xi call suggests those days "are perhaps over," said Lev Nachman, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University.

Taiwan is now likely to be a central topic of discussion when Trump visits Xi in China this April, he said.

"I think Taiwan needs to be prepared," said Nachman, who is based in Taipei. "There's going to be more language and rhetoric on Taiwan coming from both the U.S. and China in 2026."

In December, the U.S. announced itslargest-ever arms sale packageto Taiwan, with a value of more than $11.1 billion. Chinaopposes such sales, and Xi told Trump on Wednesday that the U.S. must handle them with "prudence."

According to a Chinese government readout of the call, Xi emphasized that Taiwan is the most important issue in U.S.-China relations, and that China "will never allow Taiwan to be separated."

Trump said in a social media post that he had an "excellent" call with Xi that was "long and thorough." He said they discussed trade, Taiwan, theRussia-Ukraine war, the situation in Iran, and Chinese purchases of U.S. oil, gas and agricultural products, among other issues, "all very positive."

"The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way," Trump said.

It was the first public contact between Trump and Xi since their last phone call in late November. Trump did not mention Taiwan in his description of the November call.

The two leaders also held anin-person meetinglast October on the sidelines of a regional summit inSouth Korea, where they agreed to a one-year trade truce. Trumptold reportersafter that meeting that Taiwan "never came up" and "was not discussed."

Even if the focus of U.S.-China relations is shifting, that doesn't mean that Taiwan, the main producer of advanced semiconductor chips that are integral to modern life, needs to be "in panic mode," Nachman said.

"I think Trump is keenly aware of how important Taiwan is to the United States' current economic growth, and I don't think he would do anything to put that in jeopardy," he said.

It's also encouraging that Trump and Xi are having "open communication" about Taiwan, Nachman said.

"At the very least, this should hopefully minimize misunderstandings and misinterpretations that happen from from a lack of speaking to each other," he said.

By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has deployed an army battalion to Kaiama district in the central Kwara ​state after suspected jihadist fighters killed 170 people in an overnight ‌attack, his office said on Thursday.

Tuesday's assault on Woro village was the deadliest this year in ‌the state bordering Niger, a hotspot where Islamic State West Africa Province and other armed groups have stepped up village attacks and mass kidnappings.

The violence highlights fears that jihadist factions from the north are pushing south along the Niger-Kwara axis ⁠toward the Kainji forest, which ‌security analysts warn could become their next stronghold.

Nigeria has come under scrutiny after U.S. President Donald Trump accused it last ‍year of failing to protect Christians amid Islamist attacks and mass kidnappings. U.S. forces struck what they described as terrorist targets on December 25.

Abuja says it is working with Washington ​to improve security and denies any systematic persecution of Christians.

Tinubu said the ‌new military unit would stem further attacks and protect remote communities. He condemned the attack as "cowardly and barbaric," saying the gunmen targeted villagers who had rejected attempts to impose extremist rule.

"It is commendable that community members, even though Muslims, refused to be conscripted into a belief that promotes violence over peace," ⁠Tinubu said in a statement.

Residents told Reuters ​the attackers were jihadists who had long preached ​in the village, urging locals to abandon the Nigerian state and adopt Sharia rule. When villagers refused, the militants opened fire.

About ‍38 houses were destroyed, ⁠said Saidu Baba Ahmed, a lawmaker representing the district at the state assembly.

In a separate attack in northern Katsina state on Tuesday, gunmen ⁠killed at least 21 people, moving from house to house to shoot their victims, residents and ‌local police said.

(Additional reporting by Ardo Hazzad in Bauchi and ‌Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa; Writing Elisha Bala-Gbogbo)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — There wasn't one specific thing coach Mark Few could point to in trying to explain Gonzaga's struggles against Portland.

It all went wrong.

"Just outplayed us, outexecuted us, outshot us," Few said. "When they got open shots, they made them. And we didn't. Literally every phase of the game."

Sixth-ranked Gonzagalost 87-80 to the Pilotson Wednesday night, snapping a 15-game winning streak.

Favored by 21 1/2 points according to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Bulldogs (22-2, 10-1 West Coast Conference) had won 20 straight against Portland — and 19 of those were by double digits. The Pilots' previous victory over the Zags came on Jan. 9, 2014, an 82-73 win in Portland. Gonzaga was ranked No. 18 in that game.

The Pilots had never defeated a team in the top 10. That win over the Bulldogs in 2014 was their last victory against a ranked opponent.

Portland led by as many as 15 points, but Gonzaga closed the gap in the final two minutes, coming as close as 84-80 with 30 seconds left. Portland, riding both its own momentum and the cheers of its home crowd, held on for the win and the fans rushed the court.

"I think when you have a program like ours, and we're having a season like we're having, I think you always feel like you've got to respond — but then you've got to respond. You can't be talking about it," Few said about the expectation that Gonzaga would eventually pull out the win. "You've got to bear down and get stops on defense."

Graham Ike had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Zags. The 6-foot-9 forward was coming off a 30-point performance in a win against rival Saint Mary's at home on Saturday and had earned his fourth WCC player of the week award. Before that, he missed three games with a sore right ankle.

"They had more effort, more energy than us tonight," Ike said. "Kudos to them, but we've got to flush it. ... Got to be better."

The Bulldogs are still without forward Braden Huff because of a knee injury.

Gonzaga's only other loss this season came in December to then-No. 7 Michigan, 101-61, at the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas.

The Pilots (11-14, 4-8) were coming off a 104-74 loss at Washington State and a 74-51 loss at Pacific before that. So it's no wonder they were heavy underdogs to Gonzaga.

"Everything has to happen right in a game like that," Portland coach Shantay Legans said. "They have to miss some key shots and some key free throws. And our guys played with a lot of confidence and kept their cool and kept their composure. And I think it helped playing at home. We've been pretty good at home. But every game we've been in, we've had a turnover here, or something like that. Tonight, it all came together."

Joel Foxwell led Portland with 27 points and eight assists. The Pilots hit 59% of their shots from the field, compared to 40% for the Zags.

Gonzaga will look to rebound Saturday against Oregon State, a team the Bulldogs will join next season in the rebuilt Pac-12 Conference.

Said Ike: "I can promise it won't happen again."

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphereandhere(AP mobile app). AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Jonathan Kuminga reportedly is on his way out of Golden State, and the Warriors hope his departure brings them an inside presence he could never consistently provide.

The Warriors sent Kuminga and guard Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for center Kristaps Porzingis, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday night.

Golden State also reportedly is sending center Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Toronto Raptors for a 2026 second-round draft pick that originally belonged to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Kuminga trade signifies that the Warriors are out of the running in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes -- if such a sweepstakes exists. Golden State reportedly made several offers to the Milwaukee Bucks for their star big man but came away with the impression the Bucks are not trading Antetokounmpo before the trade deadline on Thursday.

Kuminga, 23, was selected seventh overall by the Warriors in 2021. After averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 70 games (12 starts) as a rookie, Kuminga improved those numbers to 9.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in his second season, then to 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds the following campaign.

Then his career flattened out as he struggled with inconsistency and injuries. In the 2024-25 season, his averages dipped to 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds as he played in only 47 games with 10 starts, leading to a strange offseason in which the restricted free agent wasn't sure the team still wanted him. The sides agreed on a two-year extension in late September.

He played in 20 games this season (13 starts), averaging 12.1 points though his 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game would be career bests.

Hield, 33, is playing in his 10th season. In 44 games this season, he is averaging 8.0 points and shotting 34.4% from behind the 3-point arc. Drafted sixth overall out of Oklahoma by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016, Hield is a career 39.5% shooter from long distance and an 85.5% free-throw shooter.

Carrying a career 14.6 points-per-game average, Hield has played at least 80 games in seven seasons.

Porzingis is playing on an expiring $30.7 million contract as he goes through another season battling injuries. After playing in only 42 games for Boston last season, the 30-year-old Latvian has played in only 17 of the Hawks' 52 games this season.

He is averaging 17.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 24.3 minutes this season. The Warriors will hope Porzingis will be healthy enough to provide rim protection paired with the ability to stretch out opposing defenses with his 3-point shooting. Golden State, which had been gauging the trade market for Draymond Green, are expected to keep Green and hope Porzingis' presence can open some space inside for their veteran forward.

Porzingis, who hasn't played since Jan. 7 because of first Achilles tendinitis and more recently an illness, came to Atlanta in a three-team trade between the Hawks, Celtics and Brooklyn Nets last July.

The Warriors will be Porzingis' sixth club in his 10-year career. He spent his first four seasons (2015-19) with the New York Knicks after they selected him fourth overall in 2015 (though he missed the 2018-19 season because of injury). Every time he has changed teams has been the result of a trade.

Along with the Knicks, he spent time with the Dallas Mavericks (2019-22), Washington Wizards (2022-23), Boston (2023-25) and Atlanta (2025-26). He has career averages of 19.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 518 career games (512 starts).

He finished runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting in 2016, was named an All-Star in 2017-18 and won a championship with the Celtics in 2023-24.

Last month, the Hawks traded star guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards.

--Field Level Media