US President Donald Trump will host Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday for their first meeting since the pair's heated exchange in the White House earlier this year - but this time the Ukrainian president is bringing European allies.

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are among leaders who will join Zelensky in Washington for talks on how to end the war with Russia.

It follows Trump's summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska that resulted in the US president dropping a demand for a ceasefire and calling instead for a permanent peace deal.

A US envoy said on Sunday that Putin had agreed to a possible Nato-like security pact for Ukraine.

"BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating.

Also heading to Washington for Monday's meeting are French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It is unclear how many of them will go to the White House.

• What handing Donbas to Putin would mean for Ukraine
• Washington talks could prove more vital than Trump-Putin summit
• In maps: War-ravaged Ukrainian territories

For so many heads of state to travel with such little notice across the Atlantic to what is essentially a wartime crisis meeting appears without precedent in the modern era, underscoring the sky-high stakes.

Diplomatic sources say European officials are concerned that Trump may try to press Zelensky to agree to terms, after the Ukrainian leader was excluded from the Trump-Putin meeting on US soil last Friday.

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the BBC's US partner CBS that any suggestion Zelensky might be bullied by Trump into accepting a peace deal was a "stupid media narrative".

Nato leaders also appear eager to avoid a repeat of Zelensky's February trip to the Oval Office that ended abruptly after an argument with Trump and US Vice-President JD Vance.

The altercation - which saw Trump accuse Zelensky of "gambling with World War Three" - left Washington-Kyiv ties in tatters.

But European leaders have been working diligently behind the scenes since then to mend the relationship. The Ukrainian leader has been coached to talk in terms of deal-making - language that resonates with Trump.

In April, Ukraine signed a minerals agreement that gave the US a financial stake in the country, and Trump and Zelensky spoke privately at the Vatican before Pope Francis's funeral. Ukraine made clear it was willing to pay for US weapons.

By July, the two leaders had a phone call that the Ukrainian president described as "the best conversation we have had".

Meanwhile, Trump had begun to express exasperation with Russia's unrelenting onslaught in Ukraine. He called Putin "absolutely crazy", drastically shortened his deadline for a peace deal, and threatened economic sanctions on Moscow.

As these deliberations grind on, Russian forces continue to advance on the battlefield. They now occupy almost a fifth of Ukraine since Moscow launched its full scale invasion in February 2022.

A virtual summit was held on Sunday between Zelensky and the so-called coalition of the willing - a group of nations including the UK, France and Germany that have pledged to protect peace in Ukraine once it is achieved.

Afterwards, Emmanuel Macron told reporters their plan was to "present a united front" for Monday's talks with Trump.

Zelensky and the Nato leaders said they were keen to learn more after US envoy Steve Witkoff told US television that Putin had agreed on Friday to "robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing".

Witkoff said such an agreement could see Europe and the US protect Ukraine from further aggression with a Nato-like defence agreement.

"We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato," Witkoff told CNN on Sunday.

Putin has long opposed Ukraine joining Nato, and Witkoff said the arrangement could be an alternative if the Ukrainians "can live with it".

Article 5 is a principle at the heart of the 32-member transatlantic military alliance that says its members will come to the defence of an ally that is under attack.

Witkoff also told CNN that Russia made "some concessions" around five heavily contested regions of Ukraine.

In talks with European allies after the Alaska summit, Trump said Putin had reiterated that he wants the key Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up Donbas, eastern Ukraine, according to European officials.

But at Sunday's virtual summit with Nato leaders, Zelensky stressed that the Ukrainian constitution makes it impossible to give up territory - and that this should only be discussed by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at a trilateral summit with the US.

The US secretary of state, meanwhile, sought to temper hopes that a deal to end Europe's deadliest conflict for 80 years could be imminent.

"We're still a long ways off," America's top diplomat said on Sunday.

It is quite possible that Monday's meeting in the White House could prove even more crucial to the future of Ukraine - and for all of Europe's security - than last Friday's US-Russia summit in Alaska.

On the surface, that Putin-Trump reunion seemed to live down to every expectation.

There was no ceasefire, no sanctions, no grand announcements.

Were Ukraine and Europe about to get cut out of a deal cooked up behind closed doors by the world's two foremost nuclear powers?

Not, apparently, if Ukraine and its partners can prevent it.

The presence of Sir Keir Starmer, President Macron, Chancellor Merz and other leaders alongside President Zelensky in Washington is about more than making sure he does not get ambushed in the Oval Office again, in the way he did on 28 February.

They are determined to impress upon Donald Trump two things: firstly, that there can be no peace deal for Ukraine without Ukraine's direct involvement and secondly, that it must be backed by 'cast-iron' security guarantees.

Above all, Europe's leaders want the US President to see that Ukraine and Europe present a united front and they are eager to ensure he is not being swayed by his obvious personal rapport with Vladimir Putin into giving in to the Russian leaders' demands.

This is where the Sir Keir Starmer's diplomatic skills will be sorely tested.

Trump likes Starmer and listens to him, and in a month's time Trump will be coming to the UK on a state visit.

He also likes Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary-General who will be in attendance, a man who is sometimes called 'the Trump Whisperer'.

The US President appears to be less fond of President Macron and the White House was sharply critical recently of his intention to unconditionally recognise a Palestinian state at the next UN General Assembly.

For a peace deal in Ukraine to have any chance of working, something has to give.

European leaders have said frequently that international borders cannot be changed by force and President Zelensky has said time and time again he will not give up land and besides, Ukraine's constitution forbids it.

But Putin wants the Donbas, which his forces already control around 85 per cent of, and he has absolutely no intention of ever handing back Crimea.

Yet as the former Estonian PM and now Europe's top diplomat Kaja Kallas once said to me: victory for Ukraine in this war does not have to be exclusively about reconquering occupied land.

If Ukraine can obtain the sort of Article 5-type security guarantees now being talked about, sufficient to deter any future Russian aggression and thereby safeguard its independence as a free and sovereign state, then that would be a form of victory.

It does now appear that what the US and Russia have been discussing is a proposal that broadly trades some Ukrainian land for security guarantees that it won't have to give up any more to Russia.

But the question marks are huge.

Could Ukraine accept a deal that ends the war but costs it land, especially when so many thousands have died trying to save that land?

If it is asked to give up the remaining 30 per cent of Donetsk Oblast that Russia has yet to occupy then does that leave the path westwards to Kyiv dangerously under-defended?

And what of Starmer's much-vaunted Coalition of the Willing?

Earlier talk of deploying tens of thousands of boots on the ground have since been scaled back.

Now it's more about 'safeguarding skies and seas' while helping Ukraine to rebuild its army.

But even if peace does break out on the battlefield we are still in dangerous territory.

Every military expert I have spoken to believes that the moment the fighting stops Putin will reconstitute his army, build more weapons, until he is in a position, perhaps in as little as three to four years, to grab more land.

If and when that happens it will be a brave Typhoon or F35 pilot who is prepared to fire that first missile on an advancing Russian column.

A recent court ban on feeding pigeons in public spaces in the western Indian city of Mumbai has become a major flashpoint between civic bodies, public health activists and bird lovers.

This month, hundreds of people clashed with police twice while protesting the closure of a decades-old pigeon feeding spot, or a kabutarkhana. (Kabutar is the Hindi word for pigeon.)

Some tore down the tarpaulin sheets covering the spot and threatened an indefinite hunger strike. Police briefly detained about 15 people at another protest, media reports said.

Authorities had imposed the ban due to concerns about health hazards due to pigeon droppings.

The problem is not unique to Mumbai. In Venice, feeding pigeons in historic squares is banned. Singapore imposes hefty fines, and New York and London have regulated feeding zones.

In India too, Pune and Thane cities in Maharashtra state - of which Mumbai is the capital - have imposed penalties on feeding pigeons. Delhi is mulling an advisory against feeding the birds in public spaces.

The crackdown has angered animal lovers and religious feeders, as pigeons are long woven into India's cultural fabric.

Films often use shots of grain-feeding pigeons to evoke cities like Mumbai and Delhi, where the birds are a familiar presence on balconies and air-conditioners.

Some of Mumbai's kabutarkhanas are iconic heritage structures and are said to have originated as charitable spaces where communities could donate grain.

There are religious sentiments involved as well. In Mumbai, the Jain community, which considers feeding pigeons a pious duty, has been vocal in their protests.

Elsewhere too, many share a bond with pigeons - seen as symbols of peace and loyalty .

In Delhi, Syed Ismat says he has been feeding the birds for 40 years and considers them his family.

"They are innocent. Perhaps the most innocent of all creatures. All they ask for is a little kindness," said Mr Ismat.

But these sentiments are pitted against studies which show that prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings poses risks of pulmonary and respiratory illnesses.

A boom in India's pigeon population in recent years has heightened this risk, prompting the restrictions.

Delhi-based biodiversity expert Faiyaz Khudsar says easy availability of food has led to overpopulation of pigeons in many countries.

In India, he said, the challenge is compounded by a decline in birds like the goraiya, commonly known as the house sparrow, which are increasingly being displaced by pigeons.

"With easy food and no predators, pigeons are breeding faster than ever. They are outcompeting other urban birds, creating an ecological loss," Mr Khudsar said.

• Inside the life of Old Delhi's only female pigeon keeper
• Using fake eggs to control pigeon populations

The 2023 State of India's Birds report says pigeon numbers have risen more than150% since 2000 - the biggest jump among all birds - leaving homes and public spaces with droppings, as each bird can produce up to 15kg (33lbs) a year.

Studies show these droppings contain at least seven types of zoonotic pathogens that can cause diseases such as pneumonia, fungal infections and even lung damage in humans.

Nirmal Kohli, a 75-year-old Delhi resident, started complaining of persistent cough and had trouble breathing a few years ago.

"Eventually, a CT scan showed that part of her lung had shrunk," says her son Amit Kohli. "The doctors said it was due to exposure to pigeon droppings."

Last year, an 11-year-old boy died in Delhi due to hypersensitivity pneumonitis - a disease that causes inflammation in lungs. Doctors said the reason was prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers.

RS Pal, a pulmonologist, told the BBC that such cases were common.

"Even if you don't directly feed pigeons, their droppings on window sills and balconies can cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis," he said.

"We also see bacterial, viral and fungal infections in people handling pigeons regularly."

These concerns are what led the Mumbai civic body to impose the feeding ban last month and launch a drive to demolish feeding centres.

Demolitions are on hold, but the Bombay High Court has dismissed a plea against the feeding ban, citing public health as "paramount" and ordering strict action on illegal feeding.

Delhi mayor Raja Iqbal Singh told the BBC that love for birds cannot come at the cost of people's well-being.

"Feeding spots often turn dirty, leading to foul smells, infections and pests. We are working to minimise feeding," he said.

But many animal lovers disagree.

Mohammad Younus, who supplies grains to a feeding spot in Delhi, argues that all animals can spread diseases if hygiene is not maintained.

"I have been surrounded by pigeons for the past 15 years. If something were to happen, it would have happened to me too," he said.

In Mumbai, a Jain monk told BBC Marathi that thousands of pigeons would die of hunger due to the feeding ban.

Megha Uniyal, an animal rights activist, pointed out that there was no clarity on how the ban on feeding pigeons would be implemented.

"As far as regulating pigeon feeding is concerned, it is a word thrown around by the authorities, but no one really understands what this could entail," she said.

Amid these competing contentions, efforts are on to find a middle ground.

Ujjwal Agrain, of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) India, suggests allowing pigeon feeding only during set morning and evening hours.

"That gives enough time for civic bodies to clean the place and maintain hygiene. This way, we respect both public health and emotional bonds," he said.

The Bombay High Court has set up an expert panel to suggest alternatives, and Mumbai civic officials say controlled, staggered feeding may be allowed based on its advice.

For Syed Ismat, the solution lies in rethinking the relationship between birds and urban spaces.

"Maybe it's time to reimagine how we share our cities, not just with pigeons but with all forms of life," he said.

Additional reporting by Sharanya Dayal in Delhi

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European leaders have said they will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Those travelling include UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

It comes after Trump failed to reach a deal on ending the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The US president has since said he wants to bypass securing a ceasefire in Ukraine in favour of a permanent peace agreement.

Securing a ceasefire in Ukraine had been one of Trump's core demands before meeting Putin, but afterwards posted on social media that they "often times do not hold up" and that it would be better "to go directly to a peace agreement".

European leaders have reacted with caution to the outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting, seeking not to criticise the change of direction despite their long-held support for a ceasefire.

Putin reportedly presented Trump with a peace offer that would require Ukraine withdrawing from the Donetsk region of the Donbas, in return for Russia freezing the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Russia claims the Donbas as Russian territory, controlling most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk. It also illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, eight years before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The BBC's US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European officials were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky into agreeing to the possible terms discussed in Alaska when they meet on Monday.

Ukraine's president has previously ruled out ceding control of the Donbas - composed of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions - saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.

Von der Leyen, who is meeting Zelensky in Brussels on Sunday, wrote on X that she would join Zelensky at the White House at the Ukrainian president's request.

Macron, Rutte, Sir Keir, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni all followed in quick succession.

Downing Street said in a statement that it "follows the Prime Minister commending President Trump's efforts to end Russia's illegal war in Ukraine, reasserting his position that the path to peace cannot be decided without President Zelensky".

Monday's White House meeting will be Zelensky's first since an acrimonious public exchange in the Oval Office in February, when Trump told him to be more "thankful" for US support and accused him of "gambling with World War Three" in front of the world's media.

In unprecedented scenes, Zelensky was told to leave the White House, but European leaders have since worked to repair the relationship.

The two leaders appeared to reconcile in April, in what the White House described as a "very productive" 15-minute meeting on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral.

Ukraine has also signed a minerals deal that gave the US a financial stake in the country, and Kyiv made it clear they were willing to pay for US arms.

But there will have been concern in Kyiv and other European capitals following the Trump-Putin meeting on Friday.

The Russian president, who is facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, stepped off his jet and onto a red carpet to be warmly received by Trump, who later said they had a "fantastic relationship".

Ukraine's ket demand has been a quick ceasefire so that talks on a longer-term settlement do not take place on the backdrop of continued fighting.

Zelensky said following the Alaska summit that a "real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions".

European leaders have managed to maintain good relations with Trump since his return to the White House, with Sir Keir building an especially warm relationship with the US president.

Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Israel to call for an end to the Gaza war and a deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas.

The largest crowd was seen in Tel Aviv's "Hostages Square" on Sunday, with the organisers saying the government's plans to seize control of Gaza City risked the lives of around 20 hostages still being held by Hamas.

A one-day national strike - part of wider protests - closed roads, offices and universities in some areas. Nearly 40 people were arrested during the day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the protests, saying they would "harden Hamas's stance" and would only slow down the release of the hostages.

Far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich also denounced the protests, describing them as a "harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas".

The national strike was demanded by the families of hostages and others opposed to the expansion of the war.

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan and a leading figure in the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, said the group demanded "a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war".

"We demand what is rightfully ours - our children," she told the crowd in Tel Aviv. "The Israeli government has transformed a just war into a pointless war."

She was speaking after a video was released of her son.

"My heart burns with longing. My whole heart is scorched because of my Matan. Matan, I, an entire nation, we are doing everything we can for you, for all the hostages," she said.

The protests came a week after Israel's war cabinet voted to occupy Gaza City, the territory's largest city, and displace its population, in a move condemned by the UN Security Council.

Thousands of residents have since fled Gaza City's southern Zeitoun neighbourhood, where days of continuous Israeli bombardment have created a "catastrophic" situation, the city's Hamas-run municipality told the BBC.

At least 40 people were killed by Israeli attacks across the territory on Saturday, Gaza's civil defence agency said.

Hamas said in a statement that Israeli forces had been carrying out a "sustained offensive in the eastern and southern neighbourhoods of Gaza City, particularly in Zeitoun".

The Israeli military said it would begin allowing tents to be brought into Gaza by aid agencies again.

"As part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume," the Israeli military body Cogat said.

Israel plans to forcibly displace a million people from Gaza City to camps in the south but it has not provided an exact timetable of when its forces would enter Gaza City.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to want the entire city under Israeli occupation from 7 October.

At least 1.9 million people in Gaza – or about 90% of the population – have already been displaced, according to the UN.

The international body has indicated there is widespread malnutrition in Gaza, with experts backed by the organisation warning last month in a report that the "worst-case scenario" of famine is playing out in the Strip.

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage.

Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which the UN considers reliable.

Three Republican-led US states will send members of their National Guard forces to Washington, DC to bolster the roughly 800 troops President Donald Trump has already deployed to the city.

West Virginia Governor Parick Morrisey said he would send 300-400 of the state's National Guard troops at Trump's request. South Carolina will send 200 troops, and Ohio will send 150 military police from their National Guard, their governors said.

Trump declared a "public safety emergency" on Monday, claiming the nation's capitol was gripped by "complete and total lawlessness."

Washington DC's elected officials have objected these claims, and hundreds of DC residents marched in protest on Saturday.

Agents from several federal law enforcement agencies have spent the week patrolling Washington's most populous and touristed areas alongside the National Guard troops.

Many in Washington DC, where 92% of residents voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, have expressed frustration with Trump's enforcement policy.

Residents have taken to filming federal officers as they patrol and over the weekend, the frustration expanded into peaceful protests against the administration.

Marchers congregated in Dupont Circle, a central hub in the city, and marched through the streets chanting "Free DC!" Some banged drums and rang bells as they marched.

Residents in Washington, DC have expressed concerns about crime in surveys, and a former employee of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was attacked and beaten in the city recently.

Trump has painted a portrait of the nation's capital as beset by "violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals."

But Mayor Muriel Bowser has rejected Trump's claims about rampant crime in the city. She acknowledged there had been a spike in crime in 2023 that has since dropped off.

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) data shows homicides dropped by 32% between 2023 and 2024 and reached their lowest level since 2019.

Preliminary data shows violent crime overall is down 26% so far in 2025, compared to the same point in 2024, according to MPD data. Robbery is down 28%, BBC Verify reports.

The Trump administration initially tried to take command of the city's Metropolitan Police Department using the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, but rescinded the order after city officials took them to court.

However, Judge Ana Reyes said that Mayor Bowser was required to follow White House directives.

European leaders have said they will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Those travelling include UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

It comes after Trump failed to reach a deal on ending the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The US president has since said he wants to bypass securing a ceasefire in Ukraine in favour of a permanent peace agreement.

Securing a ceasefire in Ukraine had been one of Trump's core demands before meeting Putin, but afterwards posted on social media that they "often times do not hold up" and that it would be better "to go directly to a peace agreement".

European leaders have reacted with caution to the outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting, seeking not to criticise the change of direction despite their long-held support for a ceasefire.

Putin reportedly presented Trump with a peace offer that would require Ukraine withdrawing from the Donetsk region of the Donbas, in return for Russia freezing the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Russia claims the Donbas as Russian territory, controlling most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk. It also illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, eight years before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The BBC's US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European officials were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky into agreeing to the possible terms discussed in Alaska when they meet on Monday.

Ukraine's president has previously ruled out ceding control of the Donbas - composed of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions - saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.

Von der Leyen, who is meeting Zelensky in Brussels on Sunday, wrote on X that she would join Zelensky at the White House at the Ukrainian president's request.

Macron, Rutte, Sir Keir, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni all followed in quick succession.

Downing Street said in a statement that it "follows the Prime Minister commending President Trump's efforts to end Russia's illegal war in Ukraine, reasserting his position that the path to peace cannot be decided without President Zelensky".

Monday's White House meeting will be Zelensky's first since an acrimonious public exchange in the Oval Office in February, when Trump told him to be more "thankful" for US support and accused him of "gambling with World War Three" in front of the world's media.

In unprecedented scenes, Zelensky was told to leave the White House, but European leaders have since worked to repair the relationship.

The two leaders appeared to reconcile in April, in what the White House described as a "very productive" 15-minute meeting on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral.

Ukraine has also signed a minerals deal that gave the US a financial stake in the country, and Kyiv made it clear they were willing to pay for US arms.

But there will have been concern in Kyiv and other European capitals following the Trump-Putin meeting on Friday.

The Russian president, who is facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, stepped off his jet and onto a red carpet to be warmly received by Trump, who later said they had a "fantastic relationship".

Ukraine's ket demand has been a quick ceasefire so that talks on a longer-term settlement do not take place on the backdrop of continued fighting.

Zelensky said following the Alaska summit that a "real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions".

European leaders have managed to maintain good relations with Trump since his return to the White House, with Sir Keir building an especially warm relationship with the US president.

Days before meeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Donald Trump referred to what he called "land swaps" as a condition for peace.

For Ukrainians, it was a confusing turn of phrase. What land was to be swapped? Was Ukraine to be offered part of Russia, in exchange for the land Russia had taken by force?

As Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to travel to Washington on Monday to meet Trump, there is likely no "swap" element to the US president's thinking.

Instead, he is reportedly planning to press Zelensky to surrender the entirety of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in return for Russia freezing the rest of the front line – a proposal put forward by Putin in Alaska.

Luhansk is already almost entirely under Russian control. But Ukraine is estimated to have held onto about 30% of Donetsk, including several key cities and fortifications, at a cost of tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives.

Both regions – known together as Donbas – are rich in minerals and industry. To surrender them to Russia now would be a "tragedy", said the Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak.

• In maps: The war-ravaged Ukrainian territories at the heart of the Trump-Putin summit
• Analysis: Trump's ceasefire pivot will cause dismay in Kyiv and Europe

"This is Ukrainian territory," Mr Hrytsak said. "And the people of these regions – particularly the miners – played a huge role in the strengthening of the Ukrainian identity."

The region had also produced "famous politicians, poets and dissidents", he said. "And now refugees who will not be able to return home if it becomes Russian."

At least 1.5 million Ukrainians have fled the Donbas since Russian aggression began in 2014. More than three million are estimated to be living under Russian occupation. A further 300,000 are estimated to be in the parts where Ukraine still has control.

In areas closest to the front line, life is already a dangerous struggle. Andriy Borylo, a 55-year-old military chaplain in the badly hit city of Sloviansk, said in a phone interview that shells had landed next to his house over the weekend.

"It is a very difficult situation here," he said. "There is a feeling of resignation and abandonment. I don't know how much we have the strength to endure. Someone has to protect us. But who?"

Mr Borylo had been following the news from Alaska, he said. "I put this on Trump, not Zelensky. But they are taking everything from me, and it is a betrayal."

Zelensky has consistently said Ukraine would not hand over the Donbas in exchange for peace. And confidence in Russia to abide by any such arrangement – rather than simply use the annexed land for future attacks – is low.

For that and other reasons, about 75% of Ukrainians object to any formal cessation of land to Russia, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

But Ukraine is also deeply fatigued by war. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and wounded since the full-scale invasion began. People are craving an end to suffering, particularly in the Donbas.

"You ask about the surrender of the Donetsk region, well, I measure this war not in kilometres but in human lives," said Yevhen Tkachov, 56, an emergency rescue worker in the Donetsk city of Kramatorsk.

"I'm not ready to give tens of thousands of lives for several thousand square kilometres," he said. "Life is more important than territory."

For some, this is what it comes down to in the end. Land versus life. It leaves President Zelensky "at a crossroads with no good route in front of him", said Volodmyr Ariev, a Ukrainian MP from the opposition European Solidarity party.

"We don't have enough forces to continue the war for an unlimited time," Ariev said. "But if Zelensky were to concede this land it would be not only a breakdown of our constitution, it could have the hallmarks of treason."

And yet, it is not clear in Ukraine by what mechanism such an agreement could even be reached. Any formal handover of the nation's territory requires the approval of the parliament and a referendum of the people.

More likely would be a de-facto surrender of control, with no formal recognition of the territory as Russian. But even in that event, the process is not well understood, said Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun.

"There is no real understanding as to what the procedure should be," she said. "Does the president simply sign the agreement? Does it have to be the government? The parliament? There is no legal procedure set up because, you know, the constitution writers didn't think about this."

Things may become more clear after Zelensky speaks with Trump in Washington on Monday – the Ukrainian leader's first visit to the White House since a disastrous clash in the Oval Office in February. Amid the unhappiness left by the Alaska summit, there was one possible glimmer of good news for Ukraine.

Trump appeared to reverse his position on security guarantees after the summit, suggesting he was ready to join Europe in offering Ukraine military protection from future Russian attacks.

For Ukrainians, polling shows security guarantees are an absolutely vital part of any potential agreement on territory or anything else.

"People in Ukraine will accept various forms of security guarantees," said Anton Grushchetsky, the director of Kyiv's International Institute for Sociology, "but they require them."

For Yevhen Tkachov, the emergency worker in Kramatorsk, exchange of territory could only be considered with "real guarantees, not just written promises".

"Only then, more or less, I am in favour of giving Donbas to Russia," he said. "If the British Royal Navy is stationed in the port of Odesa, then I agree."

As various paths to peace are floated and discussed, sometimes in the deal-making style preferred by President Trump, there is a risk of losing sight of the real people involved – people who have already lived through a decade of war and who may stand to lose even more now in exchange for peace.

Donbas was a place full of Ukrainians from all different walks of life, said Vitalii Dribnytsia, a Ukrainian historian. "We are not just talking about culture, about politics, about demographics, we are talking about people," he said.

Donetsk might not have the cultural reputation of somewhere like Odesa, Mr Drinytsia said. But it was Ukraine. "And any corner of Ukraine, regardless of whether it has some great cultural significance or not, is Ukraine," he said.

Air Canada has suspended all its flights as a strike by cabin staff begins - a move the airline said will disrupt travel plans for around 130,000 passengers a day.

The union representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants confirmed the 72-hour industrial action early on Saturday morning.

The airline said it had suspended all flights, including those under its budget arm Air Canada Rouge, and advised affected customers not to travel to the airport unless flying with a different airline.

Air Canada's flight attendants are calling for higher salaries and to be paid for work when aircraft are on the ground.

The strike took effect at 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT) on Saturday, though Air Canada began scaling back its operations before then. The airline says around 500 flights will be affected per day.

Flight attendants will picket at major Canadian airports, where passengers were already trying to secure new bookings earlier in the week.

Air Canada, which flies directly to 180 cities worldwide, said it had "suspended all operations" and that it was "strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport".

It added that Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines and Air Canada Express flights were unaffected by the strike.

"Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers," it said.

By Friday night, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers, as part of a winding down of operations ahead of the strike.

In contract negotiations, the airline said it had offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year.

CUPE said the offer was "below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage" and would still leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports ahead of flights.

The union and the airline have publicly traded barbs about each other's willingness to reach an agreement.

Earlier this month, 99.7% of employees represented by the union voted for a strike.

Canadian jobs minister Patty Hajdu this week urged Air Canada and the union to return to the bargaining table to avoid a strike.

She also said in a statement that Air Canada had asked her to refer the dispute to binding arbitration.

CUPE has asserted that it had been negotiating in good faith for more than eight months, but that Air Canada instead sought government-directed arbitration.

"When we stood strong together, Air Canada didn't come to the table in good faith," the union said in a statement to its members. "Instead, they called on the federal government to step in and take those rights away."

A prominent Sudanese human rights group has accused the country's army and security forces of torturing people to death and operating "execution chambers".

The Emergency Lawyers group said it had documented hundreds of arrests in the capital Khartoum. It said that in the "worst cases", some captives had later been found dead with evidence of torture.

The Sudanese army recaptured the city from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in March, against which it is fighting a bitter civil war that has killed tens of thousands in two years.

The army did not respond to the BBC's request for comment on Sunday.

Throughout the war, the Emergency Lawyers group has documented atrocities by both the army and the RSF.

• Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening
• 'Tortured and terrified' - BBC witnesses the battle for Khartoum

In a statement on social media platform X, Emergency Lawyers said it had observed a "dangerous escalation in violations".

Some detainees were arrested at random and taken to large detention centres, the group alleged.

"Their fates range from continued detention in inhumane conditions, trials conducted by security agencies that lack the most basic standards of justice, or release in poor health," the statement said.

"In the worst cases, some are found dead after being killed or declared dead as a result of torture."

The use of torture was common during the oppressive rule of president Omar al-Bashir.

Throughout the current war, the RSF have also been found to have abused and executed prisoners.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said in March that both sides were responsible for "a widespread pattern of arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of detainees".

It said both both the RSF and the army had used "rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture and ill-treatment".

The fighting has sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises - 12 million people have been forced from their homes and famine has been declared in parts of the country.

Last week, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the war has fuelled the worst cholera outbreak the country has seen in years.

There have been nearly 100,000 cases of the disease and 2,470 deaths over the past year.

More BBC stories on the war in Sudan:

• 'Our children are dying': Rare footage shows plight of civilians in besieged Sudan city
• Oil-rich Sudanese region becomes new focus of war between army and rival forces
• The two generals at the heart of the conflict

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

European leaders have said they will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Those travelling include UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

It comes after Trump failed to reach a deal on ending the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The US president has since said he wants to bypass securing a ceasefire in Ukraine in favour of a permanent peace agreement.

Securing a ceasefire in Ukraine had been one of Trump's core demands before meeting Putin, but afterwards posted on social media that they "often times do not hold up" and that it would be better "to go directly to a peace agreement".

European leaders have reacted with caution to the outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting, seeking not to criticise the change of direction despite their long-held support for a ceasefire.

Putin reportedly presented Trump with a peace offer that would require Ukraine withdrawing from the Donetsk region of the Donbas, in return for Russia freezing the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Russia claims the Donbas as Russian territory, controlling most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk. It also illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, eight years before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The BBC's US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European officials were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky into agreeing to the possible terms discussed in Alaska when they meet on Monday.

Ukraine's president has previously ruled out ceding control of the Donbas - composed of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions - saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.

Von der Leyen, who is meeting Zelensky in Brussels on Sunday, wrote on X that she would join Zelensky at the White House at the Ukrainian president's request.

Macron, Rutte, Sir Keir, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni all followed in quick succession.

Downing Street said in a statement that it "follows the Prime Minister commending President Trump's efforts to end Russia's illegal war in Ukraine, reasserting his position that the path to peace cannot be decided without President Zelensky".

Monday's White House meeting will be Zelensky's first since an acrimonious public exchange in the Oval Office in February, when Trump told him to be more "thankful" for US support and accused him of "gambling with World War Three" in front of the world's media.

In unprecedented scenes, Zelensky was told to leave the White House, but European leaders have since worked to repair the relationship.

The two leaders appeared to reconcile in April, in what the White House described as a "very productive" 15-minute meeting on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral.

Ukraine has also signed a minerals deal that gave the US a financial stake in the country, and Kyiv made it clear they were willing to pay for US arms.

But there will have been concern in Kyiv and other European capitals following the Trump-Putin meeting on Friday.

The Russian president, who is facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, stepped off his jet and onto a red carpet to be warmly received by Trump, who later said they had a "fantastic relationship".

Ukraine's ket demand has been a quick ceasefire so that talks on a longer-term settlement do not take place on the backdrop of continued fighting.

Zelensky said following the Alaska summit that a "real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions".

European leaders have managed to maintain good relations with Trump since his return to the White House, with Sir Keir building an especially warm relationship with the US president.

A prominent Sudanese human rights group has accused the country's army and security forces of torturing people to death and operating "execution chambers".

The Emergency Lawyers group said it had documented hundreds of arrests in the capital Khartoum. It said that in the "worst cases", some captives had later been found dead with evidence of torture.

The Sudanese army recaptured the city from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in March, against which it is fighting a bitter civil war that has killed tens of thousands in two years.

The army did not respond to the BBC's request for comment on Sunday.

Throughout the war, the Emergency Lawyers group has documented atrocities by both the army and the RSF.

• Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening
• 'Tortured and terrified' - BBC witnesses the battle for Khartoum

In a statement on social media platform X, Emergency Lawyers said it had observed a "dangerous escalation in violations".

Some detainees were arrested at random and taken to large detention centres, the group alleged.

"Their fates range from continued detention in inhumane conditions, trials conducted by security agencies that lack the most basic standards of justice, or release in poor health," the statement said.

"In the worst cases, some are found dead after being killed or declared dead as a result of torture."

The use of torture was common during the oppressive rule of president Omar al-Bashir.

Throughout the current war, the RSF have also been found to have abused and executed prisoners.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said in March that both sides were responsible for "a widespread pattern of arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of detainees".

It said both both the RSF and the army had used "rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture and ill-treatment".

The fighting has sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises - 12 million people have been forced from their homes and famine has been declared in parts of the country.

Last week, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the war has fuelled the worst cholera outbreak the country has seen in years.

There have been nearly 100,000 cases of the disease and 2,470 deaths over the past year.

More BBC stories on the war in Sudan:

• 'Our children are dying': Rare footage shows plight of civilians in besieged Sudan city
• Oil-rich Sudanese region becomes new focus of war between army and rival forces
• The two generals at the heart of the conflict

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

Hurricane Erin has rapidly intensified into a category five hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 160mph (260km/h).

National Hurricane Center Director Mike Brennan told a briefing that the "extremely powerful" storm had "explosively deepened and intensified" overnight after growing from tropical storm strength on Friday.

Erin is expected to pass north of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend, bringing up to 6in (15cm) of rain, with the potential for flash flooding and mudslides.

The storm, which is the first hurricane the 2025 Atlantic season, is not currently forecast to make landfall on the mainland US.

Hurricane Erin underwent rapid intensification, in which a storm strengthens by at least least 34mph in a 24-hour period.

Erin's winds had intensified from 100mph early in the hours of Saturday morning to 160mph, Mr Brennan said.

Next week, Hurricane Erin is forecast to move gradually northward, past the east of the Bahamas and up towards the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The storm will generate life-threatening surf and rip currents up almost "entire east coast" of the United States next week, said Mr Brennan.

Florida and the mid-Atlantic states will see the most dangerous surf conditions, he said.

Bermuda could also see "life-threatening" surf conditions and heavy rainfall, Mr Brennan added.

Because of gale force winds, the US Coast Guard is imposing restrictions for vessels at ports on the St Thomas and St John in the US Virgin Islands, as well as six municipalities in Puerto Rico, including San Juan.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US government's primary weather agency, has predicted an "above normal" Atlantic hurricane season this year.

The number of tropical storms that reach category four and five is projected to increase due to global warming.

More than 200 people remain missing in one district of north-west Pakistan as a result of devastating monsoon flooding and landslides, an official has said.

Flash floods have killed more than 300 people in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in recent days, with most of the deaths recorded in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A local official in the worst-affected Buner district told the BBC that at least 209 people were still missing there, but it is feared that number could rise.

Rescue teams have buried eight unidentified bodies as there were no family members found alive to claim them, said Jehangir Khan, spokesman for the deputy commissioner office of Buner.

Some relatives are also unable to claim their relatives bodies' as roads are severely damaged, he added.

A provincial rescue spokesman told news agency AFP that "10 to 12 entire villages" were partially buried.

Asfandyar Khattak, head of the provincial disaster management authority, said "dozens" of people were missing in Shangla district.

Monsoon rains between June and September deliver about three-quarters of South Asia's annual rainfall.

While landslides and flash floods are common as a result, scientists say that climate change is making these weather events more intense and more frequent.

Torrential rain has also hit Indian-administered Kashmir, days after at least 60 people were killed there by flash floods.

Nine were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir this week, while another five died in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, authorities said.

Government forecasters say heavy rainfall is expected until 21 August in the north-west, where several areas have been declared disaster zones.

Pakistan has been reckoning with the devastation of this year's monsoon season since June. At least 650 people have been killed so far this year.

In July, Punjab, home to nearly half of Pakistan's 255 million people, recorded 73% more rainfall than the prior year and more deaths than in the entire previous monsoon season.

Northern Pakistan is also one of the most glaciated areas in the region, but these are rapidly thinning and retreating because of climate change - meaning rocks, soil, and other debris can be dislodged.

Monsoon rains can further destabilise mountain faces, exacerbating landslides that sometimes block rivers.

While the exact cause of the recent floods and landslides are yet to be determined, glaciologists say that ice melt is a contributing factor.

Ronnie Rondell Jr - who was famously set alight for the front cover of Pink Floyd's iconic Wish You Were Here album cover - has died at the age of 88.

The Hollywood stuntman and actor died on 12 August at a care home in the US state of Missouri, according to an online obituary.

Rondell was involved in the production of a number of films and TV shows during his long career, including Lethal Weapon, Thelma and Louise and Star Trek: First Contact.

He is survived by his wife Mary and his son, who is also called Ronald.

Rondell was born in California in 1937 and got his first acting role as a teenager in the early 1950s in the film Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair.

His first role as a stuntman was for the TV series Soldiers of Fortune, which ran from 1955 to 1957.

Between the 1960s and 1990s he worked on several US TV series, including Charlie's Angels, Dynasty and Baywatch, as well as movies such as Spartacus, Diamonds are Forever and The Karate Kid.

One of his best-known stunts was leaping from a pole that was on fire as it toppled over - a feat he performed for the 1963 adventure film Kings of the Sun.

He was also involved in fighting scenes in the 1965 film Shenandoah, which was set during the US Civil War, a bar brawl in the 1974 Western comedy Blazing Saddles and impressive fire scenes in The Towering Inferno, which was released the same year.

Later in his career, he worked as a stunt co-ordinator for films including Batman and Robin, and The Mighty Ducks.

While many might not recognise Rondell's name, they will have likely seen him set alight for the cover of Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here while shaking hands with fellow stuntman Danny Rogers.

During the shoot, the wind changed direction and blew the fire into his face, causing him to lose an eyebrow and part of his signature moustache.

Rondell started his own stunts company, Stunts Unlimited, in California in 1970.

He retired in 2001, but earned his final stunt credit for The Matrix Reloaded in 2003 - taking part in a complex car chase scene.

Rondell was given a lifetime achievement honour at the Taurus World Stunt Awards in 2004.

He was not the only performer in the family. His father, Ronald R Rondell, was an actor and assistant director - known for his work on films including the 1956 adaptation of the Jules Verne novel Around the World in 80 Days.

Both of Rondell's sons have also worked in the industry, one of whom, Reid, died while performing a helicopter stunt for the TV series Airwolf in 1985.

Air Canada has suspended all its flights as a strike by cabin staff begins - a move the airline said will disrupt travel plans for around 130,000 passengers a day.

The union representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants confirmed the 72-hour industrial action early on Saturday morning.

The airline said it had suspended all flights, including those under its budget arm Air Canada Rouge, and advised affected customers not to travel to the airport unless flying with a different airline.

Air Canada's flight attendants are calling for higher salaries and to be paid for work when aircraft are on the ground.

The strike took effect at 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT) on Saturday, though Air Canada began scaling back its operations before then. The airline says around 500 flights will be affected per day.

Flight attendants will picket at major Canadian airports, where passengers were already trying to secure new bookings earlier in the week.

Air Canada, which flies directly to 180 cities worldwide, said it had "suspended all operations" and that it was "strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport".

It added that Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines and Air Canada Express flights were unaffected by the strike.

"Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers," it said.

By Friday night, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers, as part of a winding down of operations ahead of the strike.

In contract negotiations, the airline said it had offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year.

CUPE said the offer was "below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage" and would still leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports ahead of flights.

The union and the airline have publicly traded barbs about each other's willingness to reach an agreement.

Earlier this month, 99.7% of employees represented by the union voted for a strike.

Canadian jobs minister Patty Hajdu this week urged Air Canada and the union to return to the bargaining table to avoid a strike.

She also said in a statement that Air Canada had asked her to refer the dispute to binding arbitration.

CUPE has asserted that it had been negotiating in good faith for more than eight months, but that Air Canada instead sought government-directed arbitration.

"When we stood strong together, Air Canada didn't come to the table in good faith," the union said in a statement to its members. "Instead, they called on the federal government to step in and take those rights away."

Thousands of residents have fled Gaza City's southern Zeitoun neighbourhood, where days of continuous Israeli bombardment have created a "catastrophic" situation, the city's Hamas-run municipality has told the BBC.

At least 40 people were killed by Israeli attacks across the territory on Saturday, Gaza's civil defence agency said.

The Israeli military said it would begin allowing tents to be brought into Gaza by aid agencies again. Israel plans to forcibly displace a million people from Gaza City to camps in the south.

In Israel, a one-day general strike is due to be held in Sunday in protest of the government's plan to seize Gaza City.

The stoppage was demanded by the families of hostages and others who say the expansion of the war puts the lives of Israelis being held by Hamas at greater risk.

It comes a week after Israel's war cabinet voted to occupy Gaza City, the territory's largest city, and displace its population, in a move condemned by the UN Security Council.

"As part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume," the Israeli military body Cogat said.

A spokesperson for the Gaza City municipality said mass displacement was already taking place in Zeitoun after six days of relentless Israeli air strikes, shelling and demolition operations.

The Zeitoun neighbourhood is home to about 50,000 people, most of whom have little to no access to food and water, according to the civil defence agency.

Ghassan Kashko, 40, who is sheltering with his family at a school building in the neighbourhood, told news agency AFP that air strikes and tank shelling were causing "explosions... that don't stop".

"We don't know the taste of sleep," he said.

Hamas said in a statement that Israeli forces had been carrying out a "sustained offensive in the eastern and southern neighbourhoods of Gaza City, particularly in Zeitoun".

The Israeli government has not provided an exact timetable of when its forces would enter Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to want the entire city under Israeli occupation from 7 October.

The municipality spokesperson said that 80% of Gaza City's infrastructure had been damaged over nearly two years of Israeli attacks, while the four remaining hospitals there were operating at less than 20% of their capacity due to severe shortages of medicines and supplies.

At least 1.9 million people in Gaza – or about 90 per cent of the population – have been displaced, according to the UN.

The international body has indicated there is widespread malnutrition in Gaza, with experts backed by the organisation warning last month in a report that the "worst-case scenario" of famine is playing out in Gaza.

On Saturday, Gaza's hospitals reported 11 more deaths from malnutrition, including a child, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition to 251, including 108 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Meanwhile, a Gazan woman who was evacuated to Italy for treatment while severely emaciated has died in hospital. The 20-year-old, who was identified as Marah Abu Zuhri, flew to Pisa with her mother on an overnight flight on Wednesday under a scheme established by the Italian government.

The University Hospital of Pisa said that she suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Friday, less than 48 hours after arriving. The hospital said she had suffered severe loss of weight and muscle, while Italian news agencies reported she was suffering from severe malnutrition.

Earlier this week, the UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan issued a statement saying "famine is unfolding in front of our eyes" and urged action to "reverse starvation".

Last week, more than 100 organisations signed a letter that said they had been unable to to deliver a single truck of humanitarian supplies to Gaza since 2 March.

Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of aid it allows into Gaza and continues to insist there is no starvation there. It accuses UN agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering it.

The civil defence agency said at least 13 of the Palestinians killed on Saturday were shot by Israeli troops as they waited for food near distribution sites in the territory. The latest figures from the UN, released on Friday, indicate that at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May, mostly by Israeli forces.

The war was triggered by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage.

Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which the UN considers reliable.

Hurricane Erin has rapidly intensified into a category five hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 160mph (260km/h).

National Hurricane Center Director Mike Brennan told a briefing that the "extremely powerful" storm had "explosively deepened and intensified" overnight after growing from tropical storm strength on Friday.

Erin is expected to pass north of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend, bringing up to 6in (15cm) of rain, with the potential for flash flooding and mudslides.

The storm, which is the first hurricane the 2025 Atlantic season, is not currently forecast to make landfall on the mainland US.

Hurricane Erin underwent rapid intensification, in which a storm strengthens by at least least 34mph in a 24-hour period.

Erin's winds had intensified from 100mph early in the hours of Saturday morning to 160mph, Mr Brennan said.

Next week, Hurricane Erin is forecast to move gradually northward, past the east of the Bahamas and up towards the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The storm will generate life-threatening surf and rip currents up almost "entire east coast" of the United States next week, said Mr Brennan.

Florida and the mid-Atlantic states will see the most dangerous surf conditions, he said.

Bermuda could also see "life-threatening" surf conditions and heavy rainfall, Mr Brennan added.

Because of gale force winds, the US Coast Guard is imposing restrictions for vessels at ports on the St Thomas and St John in the US Virgin Islands, as well as six municipalities in Puerto Rico, including San Juan.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US government's primary weather agency, has predicted an "above normal" Atlantic hurricane season this year.

The number of tropical storms that reach category four and five is projected to increase due to global warming.

Donald Trump has said he wants to bypass a ceasefire in Ukraine to move directly to a permanent peace agreement after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a major shift of position, the US president said on Truth Social following Friday's summit that this would be "the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine", adding ceasefires often "do not hold up".

Trump will welcome Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, to Washington on Monday and urged him to agree to a peace deal.

Following a phone call with Trump after the summit, Zelensky called for a real, lasting peace, while adding that "the fire must cease" and killings stop.

Trump's comments indicate a dramatic shift in his position on how to end the war, having said only on Friday ahead of the summit that he wanted a ceasefire "rapidly".

Ukraine's main demand has been a quick ceasefire before talks about a longer-term settlement, and Trump reportedly told European leaders beforehand that his goal for the summit was to obtain a ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, multiple news outlets reported on Saturday that Putin had presented an offer that involved Ukraine handing over complete control of its eastern Donetsk region, which is 70% occupied by Russia.

In return, Russia would reportedly agree to front lines being frozen and other unspecified concessions were apparently offered.

The US president, who has previously said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories", is said to have relayed the offer to Zelensky in a phone call following the summit.

Just days ago, Ukraine's president ruled out ceding control of the Donbas region - made up the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk - saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.

The BBC's US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European diplomats were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky on Monday into agreeing to deal terms he and Putin may have discussed at the summit.

CBS quotes sources as saying that Trump told European leaders in a call after the summit that Putin would make "some concessions", but failed to specify what they were.

In an interview with Fox News following Friday's summit, Trump was asked what advice he has for the Ukrainian leader, to which he responded by saying "make a deal".

"Russia's a very big power and they're not," he added.

Trump had previously threatened "very severe consequences" if Putin did not agree to end the war, last month setting a deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face tough new sanctions, including secondary tariffs.

Little was announced by way of an agreement by either president following Friday's summit, but Trump insisted progress had been made.

On Saturday, Putin described the summit as "very useful" and said he had been able "set out our position" to Trump.

"We had the opportunity, which we did, to talk about the genesis, about the causes of this crisis. It is the elimination of these root causes that should be the basis for settlement," the Russian president said.

Meanwhile, the "coalition of the willing" - a group of countries that have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine that includes the UK, France, and Germany - will hold a call on Sunday afternoon before Zelensky's visit to the White House on Monday.

A group of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said "the next step must now be further talks including President Zelensky".

The leaders said they were "ready to work" towards a trilateral summit with European support.

"We stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia," they said, adding: "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Trump's efforts to end the war, saying they had "brought us closer than ever before".

"While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him," he said.

And in Kyiv, Ukrainians have described feeling "crushed" by the scenes from Alaska.

"I understand that for negotiations you shake hands, you can't just slap Putin in the face when he arrives. But this spectacle with the red carpet and the kneeling soldiers, it's terrible, it makes no sense," Serhii Orlyk, a 50-year-old veteran from the eastern Donetsk region said.

President Donald Trump was riding along in his motorcade through Washington DC last Sunday on the way to his golf club when he saw something that clearly irked him - a homeless tent encampment on a patch of grass.

"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," he posted on Truth Social that morning, along with four photos.

One of these showed a man sitting in a camping chair by his tent, who I would eventually learn was Bill Theodie. Four days later, Mr Theodie was forced to move after the president announced a crackdown on homelessness in the nation's capital.

"That's me," he said when I showed him the photo Trump posted, which was the first time he had seen it.

"That is insane that he just leaned out the window and takes a picture of me and then posts it on social media in a negative way, using it as his political tool."

On Monday, Trump announced his administration would be "removing homeless encampments from all over our parks, our beautiful, beautiful parks".

"We have slums here, we're getting rid of them," he said from behind the podium in the White House press room.

After the announcement, BBC Verify decided to investigate the photos that the president had posted.

We matched visual clues in the pictures of the tents - including a bend in the road alongside the grassy area where they were pitched - to a location on Google streetview.

The encampment was about a 10-minute drive from the White House, and less than that from the BBC office in Washington - so I headed down there to see what had happened to the site that had caught the president’s attention.

When I arrived local officials were there warning people they could soon be forced to move.

I also found Mr Theodie, a 66-year old from Missouri, sitting in the same camping chair.

He had seen Trump drive by before.

"The president's motorcade is pretty long," Mr Theodie said. "I've seen it coming through here three times."

"You know, I understand he doesn't want to see mess, that's why we go out of our way to maintain it clean. We're not trying to disrespect the president or any other person who comes by."

He told me he had been living at the site for years and works in construction, though he's been out of full-time employment since 2018. Normally, he can pick up just a few shifts a month.

On Thursday, Mr Theodie and the other residents there were told to pack up and leave immediately.

A local reporter filmed as a bulldozer was sent in to dismantle tents and other belongings people left behind.

"They said you need to pack it up or they are going to bulldoze it. They didn't come for talking, it was go, go, go," Mr Theodie said.

Wayne Turnage, the deputy mayor of the DC Department of Health and Human Services, said city authorities have removed encampments across the capital before.

This is usually done with at least a weeks notice, he said, but the process has been fast-tracked following Trump's announcement.

The homeless encampment was the largest in the city, according to the local authority - with 11 people living next to one of the main routes out of Washington DC.

Before the latest crackdown, there were 97 people living in homeless encampments in the city this year, a big drop from 294 in 2023, the figures show.

The estimated amount of people experiencing homelessness is 5,138 this year, down from 5,613 in 2024, according to the city's yearly snapshot.

The latest data from the Community Partnership, an organisation that works to reduce homelessness, shows about 800 people are unsheltered, while about 4,300 others have some sort of temporary housing.

The White House said it will offer to place people sleeping on the streets in homeless shelters and provide access to addiction or mental health services - but if they refuse, they will face fines or jail time.

"You can't just snatch people up and threaten them with arrest or force people to go to a shelter," said Mr Theodie. "I don't want to go to a shelter - they're bad places."

Organisations that work with homeless people say the system is flawed as shelter capacity is often limited.

• US Supreme Court allows cities to ban homeless camps

Since leaving the site, Mr Theodie has spent three nights in a motel in Virginia after someone who saw the removal gave him money to cover it.

"If I wasn't blessed by that person, I don't know what I would have done. I probably would've sat down on the curb all day," he said.

"This room is jammed packed full of stuff, my tent and my belongings… but it's so good to sleep in a bed, to take a shower, to use a private bathroom, it feels absolutely amazing."

Mr Theodie said he will try to find a new spot when he checks out of the motel: "My best option is to try to find a safe place to set my tent up. I don't know where that's going to be, but I would like to stay in DC."

I also met George Morgan, a 65-year old from Washington DC, at the encampment. He said he had only been living there for two months, after he had to move out of an apartment he could no longer afford.

When I called to see what had happened to him after the encampment was removed, he was in a motel reception area with his dog, Blue, after someone covered the cost of a night there for him too.

"We're sitting here to see if we're able to get another night. I had to pay $15 dog fee - which was the last money I had."

When I last spoke to Mr Morgan, he had been able to extend his stay at the motel through the weekend - but said he didn't know what next week would bring.

"I have to play it by ear as I have no money. God has always come through, so I'll see what God sets up next."

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With sloping red-tiled roofs, trimmed lawns and a shop selling home-baked ginger biscuits, Villa Baviera looks like a quaint German-style village, nestled in the rolling hills of central Chile.

But it has a dark past.

Once known as Colonia Dignidad, it was home to a secretive religious sect founded by a manipulative and abusive leader who collaborated with the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Paul Schäfer, who established the colony in 1961, imposed a regime of harsh punishments and humiliation on the Germans living there.

They were separated from their parents and forced to work from a young age.

Schäfer also sexually abused many of the children.

After Gen Pinochet led a coup in 1973, opponents of his military regime were taken to Colonia Dignidad to be tortured in dark basements.

Many of these political prisoners were never seen again.

Schäfer died in prison in 2010, but some of the German residents remained and have turned the former colony into a tourist destination, with a restaurant, hotel, cabins to rent and even a boating pond.

Now, the Chilean government is going to expropriate some of its land to commemorate Pinochet's victims there. But the plans have divided opinions.

Across Chile, more than 3,000 people were killed and more than 40,000 tortured during the Pinochet regime, which was in power until 1990.

Luis Evangelista Aguayo was one of those who was forcibly "disappeared".

His sister, Ana Aguayo, sits by the fire in her house in Parral, the nearest town to Colonia Dignidad.

"Luis was quiet, he loved swimming. He wanted to create a fairer world," she said.

Mr Aguayo worked as a school inspector, was a member of the teachers' trade union and was active in the Socialist Party.

On 12 September 1973, one day after Pinochet overthrew Chile's elected Socialist President, Salvador Allende, police came to Mr Aguayo's house and arrested him.

Two days later, he was sent to the local prison, but on 26 September 1973, police arrived and dragged him into a van. His family never saw him again.

Ana Aguayo says a local farmer came to her house to say that he had seen her brother at the German colony.

"My mother and father went to Colonia Dignidad but weren't allowed in," she said.

"They went everywhere looking for him, at police stations, at the courts, but could get no information. My father died of sorrow because he wasn't able to help him. My 96-year-old mother thinks she can hear him calling 'Mama, come and get me'."

Mr Aguayo was one of 27 people from Parral believed to have been killed in Colonia Dignidad, according to an ongoing judicial investigation ordered by the Chilean government.

The total number of people murdered here is not known, but there is evidence that this was the final destination of many opponents of the Pinochet regime, including Chilean congressman Carlos Lorca and several other Socialist Party leaders.

The Chilean justice ministry says investigations suggest hundreds of political detainees were brought here.

Ana Aguayo supports the government's plan to create a site of memory there.

"It was a place of horror and appalling crimes. It shouldn't be a place for tourists to shop or dine at a restaurant. It ought to be a place for remembrance, reflection and for educating future generations, so that it never happens again."

But the government's expropriation plans have divided opinion in Villa Baviera, where fewer than 100 adults live.

Dorothee Munch was born in 1977 in Colonia Dignidad.

"We lived in single-sex dormitories like barracks," she recalls.

"From a young age, we had to work, cleaning the dishes for the whole community and collecting firewood."

The government plans to expropriate 117 hectares of the 4,829-hectare site, including buildings where torture took place, and sites where victims' bodies were exhumed, then burnt and their ashes deposited.

Ms Munch disagrees with the expropriation plans because they include the centre of the village, encompassing the residents' homes and shared businesses including a restaurant, hotel, bakery, butchers and a dairy.

"We lived under a system of fear, we are victims too. We are rebuilding our lives and this will make us victims once more. Perhaps people my age could re-locate, but for the older residents it would be devastating."

Erika Tymm arrived in Colonia Dignidad from Germany in 1962, aged two.

Separated from her parents, she remembers crying at night for her mother.

Like several other people from the colony, she says she was given electric shocks as a child.

She also opposes the expropriation plans and wants to stay living in the same place. "I want to be with people who understand what I went through."

Chilean Minister for Justice and Human Rights Jaime Gajardo Falcón told the BBC that the government took the decision to expropriate the area in which the main buildings of the ex-colony are concentrated.

"These were sites of political detention, of torture, surveillance and training of state agents to commit crimes against humanity."

The expropriation decree was published in July. Over the next few months, the state will determine the value of the expropriated assets, he said.

Seventy-three residents and former residents of Villa Baviera have written to the Chilean president expressing their concern about the expropriation plans and asking to be involved in discussions about it.

They have hired a public relations firm to handle their relations with the media and a representative of this firm accompanied the BBC on its visit to the site.

Separately the BBC spoke to several other inhabitants and former inhabitants of Colonia Dignidad who support the plan to create a memorial site.

Georg Klaube lived in the Colonia Dignidad from 1962 – when he arrived from Germany with his parents aged two – until 2010.

Like many boys in Colonia Dignidad, he says he was given electric shocks, forced to take psychotropic drugs and was sexually abused by Schäfer.

"Every night I was taken to a building, I was stripped naked, they would put a black towel on my face and electric shocks were applied, here, here, here," he says, pointing to his genitals, his throat, his feet and under his arms.

"I think we should have a memorial because so much cruelty happened here to both Germans and Chileans. I cannot believe there is now a restaurant in the place where so many children's tears, urine and blood flowed."

Mr Klaube is part of a legal action – supported by an association of former and current Colonia Dignidad inhabitants – which claims that the leaders of Villa Baviera are not sharing out the income of the former colony fairly.

They want the government to ensure that when the expropriation takes place, the indemnification payment is distributed amongst all residents and former residents.

Among the other victims that support the expropriation plans are former political prisoners who were tortured in Colonia Dignidad, small farmers who were evicted from their land when the German colony was established and Chileans who lived locally and were sexually abused as children by Schäfer.

Schäfer was arrested in 2005 and in 2006 convicted of sexually abusing 25 children, including five counts of child rape. Several of his accomplices were also convicted.

Justice Minister Gajardo says it is important to ensure the horrors that happened here are not forgotten.

"Atrocious crimes were committed here. Until now it has been private property. Once it is taken over by the state, Chileans will be able to enter freely and it will become a space for memory and reflection to ensure that such crimes are never committed again."

Thousands of residents have fled Gaza City's southern Zeitoun neighbourhood, where days of continuous Israeli bombardment have created a "catastrophic" situation, the city's Hamas-run municipality has told the BBC.

At least 40 people were killed by Israeli attacks across the territory on Saturday, Gaza's civil defence agency said.

The Israeli military said it would begin allowing tents to be brought into Gaza by aid agencies again. Israel plans to forcibly displace a million people from Gaza City to camps in the south.

In Israel, a one-day general strike is due to be held in Sunday in protest of the government's plan to seize Gaza City.

The stoppage was demanded by the families of hostages and others who say the expansion of the war puts the lives of Israelis being held by Hamas at greater risk.

It comes a week after Israel's war cabinet voted to occupy Gaza City, the territory's largest city, and displace its population, in a move condemned by the UN Security Council.

"As part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume," the Israeli military body Cogat said.

A spokesperson for the Gaza City municipality said mass displacement was already taking place in Zeitoun after six days of relentless Israeli air strikes, shelling and demolition operations.

The Zeitoun neighbourhood is home to about 50,000 people, most of whom have little to no access to food and water, according to the civil defence agency.

Ghassan Kashko, 40, who is sheltering with his family at a school building in the neighbourhood, told news agency AFP that air strikes and tank shelling were causing "explosions... that don't stop".

"We don't know the taste of sleep," he said.

Hamas said in a statement that Israeli forces had been carrying out a "sustained offensive in the eastern and southern neighbourhoods of Gaza City, particularly in Zeitoun".

The Israeli government has not provided an exact timetable of when its forces would enter Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to want the entire city under Israeli occupation from 7 October.

The municipality spokesperson said that 80% of Gaza City's infrastructure had been damaged over nearly two years of Israeli attacks, while the four remaining hospitals there were operating at less than 20% of their capacity due to severe shortages of medicines and supplies.

At least 1.9 million people in Gaza – or about 90 per cent of the population – have been displaced, according to the UN.

The international body has indicated there is widespread malnutrition in Gaza, with experts backed by the organisation warning last month in a report that the "worst-case scenario" of famine is playing out in Gaza.

On Saturday, Gaza's hospitals reported 11 more deaths from malnutrition, including a child, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition to 251, including 108 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Meanwhile, a Gazan woman who was evacuated to Italy for treatment while severely emaciated has died in hospital. The 20-year-old, who was identified as Marah Abu Zuhri, flew to Pisa with her mother on an overnight flight on Wednesday under a scheme established by the Italian government.

The University Hospital of Pisa said that she suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Friday, less than 48 hours after arriving. The hospital said she had suffered severe loss of weight and muscle, while Italian news agencies reported she was suffering from severe malnutrition.

Earlier this week, the UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan issued a statement saying "famine is unfolding in front of our eyes" and urged action to "reverse starvation".

Last week, more than 100 organisations signed a letter that said they had been unable to to deliver a single truck of humanitarian supplies to Gaza since 2 March.

Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of aid it allows into Gaza and continues to insist there is no starvation there. It accuses UN agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering it.

The civil defence agency said at least 13 of the Palestinians killed on Saturday were shot by Israeli troops as they waited for food near distribution sites in the territory. The latest figures from the UN, released on Friday, indicate that at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May, mostly by Israeli forces.

The war was triggered by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage.

Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which the UN considers reliable.

The mayor of New Orleans and her bodyguard have been charged with fraud and corruption over claims they used public funds to fuel an alleged romance.

Prosecutors said on Friday that LaToya Cantrell developed a "personal, intimate relationship" with Jeffrey Vappie from October 2021, while he was part of her protection team.

From then until his retirement in June 2024, the pair are accused of claiming Mr Vappie was on duty when they were actually engaged in "personal activities", including during 14 separate domestic and international trips.

Neither Cantrell nor Mr Vappie have publicly commented on the allegations.

The City of New Orleans told the Associated Press that it was aware of the charges and that the mayor's lawyer was reviewing them.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Cantrell and Mr Vappie used secure messaging platform WhatsApp and its auto-delete function while exchanging thousands of messages to "perpetuate their continued fraud".

This allowed the pair to hide their relationship and their alleged unlawful activity, prosecutors said.

While in New Orleans, they treated a city-owned apartment as their personal, shared residence and spent time there together while Mr Vappie claimed to be on duty and was being paid for his protection work, prosecutors allege.

The two were also said to have taken personal trips - including to a vineyard in California to take part in a wine tasting - while Mr Vappie was on duty to "maximize their time together", at a cost of $70,000.

When asked about these trips, Cantrell previously said she brought a bodyguard with her as a matter of safety due to the Covid pandemic. Prosecutors contest this claim, and cited occasions when she travelled alone.

US attorney Michael Simpson said their relationship did not constitute a crime, but reflected "a years-long fraud scheme that used public money for personal ends by exploiting their power and their authority", according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

At an undisclosed point in their relationship, a member of the public took photos of Cantrell and Mr Vappie dining together while the latter was said to be on duty.

Cantrell filed a police report and sought a restraining order against the individual, prosecutors claim.

The two are also accused of intimidating subordinates, lying to FBI agents and committing perjury by making false statements to a grand jury - which decide whether charges should be brought in certain cases in the US.

If found guilty, any of the charges could bring multi-year prison sentences and fines of up to $250,000 (£184,000).

Cantrell, a Democrat, is the first female mayor of New Orleans in the city's 300-year history, having served since 2018. She is is set to leave the office in January.

Donald Trump has said he wants to bypass a ceasefire in Ukraine to move directly to a permanent peace agreement after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a major shift of position, the US president said on Truth Social following Friday's summit that this would be "the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine", adding ceasefires often "do not hold up".

Trump will welcome Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, to Washington on Monday and urged him to agree to a peace deal.

Following a phone call with Trump after the summit, Zelensky called for a real, lasting peace, while adding that "the fire must cease" and killings stop.

Trump's comments indicate a dramatic shift in his position on how to end the war, having said only on Friday ahead of the summit that he wanted a ceasefire "rapidly".

Ukraine's main demand has been a quick ceasefire before talks about a longer-term settlement, and Trump reportedly told European leaders beforehand that his goal for the summit was to obtain a ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, multiple news outlets reported on Saturday that Putin had presented an offer that involved Ukraine handing over complete control of its eastern Donetsk region, which is 70% occupied by Russia.

In return, Russia would reportedly agree to front lines being frozen and other unspecified concessions were apparently offered.

The US president, who has previously said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories", is said to have relayed the offer to Zelensky in a phone call following the summit.

Just days ago, Ukraine's president ruled out ceding control of the Donbas region - made up the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk - saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.

The BBC's US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European diplomats were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky on Monday into agreeing to deal terms he and Putin may have discussed at the summit.

CBS quotes sources as saying that Trump told European leaders in a call after the summit that Putin would make "some concessions", but failed to specify what they were.

In an interview with Fox News following Friday's summit, Trump was asked what advice he has for the Ukrainian leader, to which he responded by saying "make a deal".

"Russia's a very big power and they're not," he added.

Trump had previously threatened "very severe consequences" if Putin did not agree to end the war, last month setting a deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face tough new sanctions, including secondary tariffs.

Little was announced by way of an agreement by either president following Friday's summit, but Trump insisted progress had been made.

On Saturday, Putin described the summit as "very useful" and said he had been able "set out our position" to Trump.

"We had the opportunity, which we did, to talk about the genesis, about the causes of this crisis. It is the elimination of these root causes that should be the basis for settlement," the Russian president said.

Meanwhile, the "coalition of the willing" - a group of countries that have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine that includes the UK, France, and Germany - will hold a call on Sunday afternoon before Zelensky's visit to the White House on Monday.

A group of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said "the next step must now be further talks including President Zelensky".

The leaders said they were "ready to work" towards a trilateral summit with European support.

"We stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia," they said, adding: "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Trump's efforts to end the war, saying they had "brought us closer than ever before".

"While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him," he said.

And in Kyiv, Ukrainians have described feeling "crushed" by the scenes from Alaska.

"I understand that for negotiations you shake hands, you can't just slap Putin in the face when he arrives. But this spectacle with the red carpet and the kneeling soldiers, it's terrible, it makes no sense," Serhii Orlyk, a 50-year-old veteran from the eastern Donetsk region said.

No deal in Alaska. It was always the most likely and, in the absence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, perhaps the most desirable outcome.

But US President Donald Trump's pivot away from the need for an immediate ceasefire, which he said beforehand he wanted, will have caused profound dismay in Kyiv and around Europe.

Russia's position has long been that a ceasefire can only come in the context of a comprehensive settlement taking account of Russia's interests - and inevitably implies Ukraine's capitulation.

That's the position that Trump, once again, appears to have endorsed.

• ANALYSIS: What summit means for Trump, Putin and Ukraine
• WATCH: How the Trump-Putin summit unfolded in 82 seconds
• VISUALS: The war-ravaged Ukrainian territories in maps
• IN PICTURES: Trump rolls out the red carpet for Putin

"It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine," he wrote on Truth Social, "is to go directly to a peace agreement."

Ceasefires, he noted, "often times do not hold up".

This appears to fly in the face of Ukraine's main demand, endorsed by all its European backers: that an unconditional ceasefire has to come first.

Crucially, it also buys Russia's Vladimir Putin time on the battlefield, where he is convinced he's winning.

"If Putin's military objective was to avoid immediate constraints on Russian operations in Ukraine then he appears to have succeeded," says Matthew Savill, the director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute.

At their brief press appearance last night, Putin warned Ukraine and the Europeans not to "throw a wrench" in the works of the unspecified progress he and Trump had made.

But that, for Kyiv and its allies, is precisely what Trump has done, undoing the achievements of what they all hoped was a successful preceding week of frantic diplomacy aimed at influencing the outcome in Alaska.

It's a reminder, as if one were needed, of Trump's tendency to echo the views of the last person to have his ear.

For a short while this morning, European leaders will have held their breath, waiting to see if their efforts had borne fruit or been cast aside.

True to his word before the summit, Trump got on the phone to Zelensky. The two men spoke for an hour, before being joined by European leaders.

Zelensky said the call was "long and substantive" and that he would travel to Washington on Monday for his first visit since the disastrous Oval Office encounter in February.

A lot has happened since then, with Kyiv's European allies working assiduously to repair the damage and school Zelensky in the best ways of handling the capricious and volatile occupant of the White House.

"I am grateful for the invitation," Zelensky posted, adding "it is important that America's strength has an impact on the situation".

But in a later post, after Trump's statement on Truth Social, Zelensky adopted a more urgent tone.

"Killings must stop as soon as possible," he said. "The fire must cease both on the battlefield and in the sky, as well as against our port infrastructure."

Europe's "Trump whisperers" picked up this morning where they left off last week.

They highlighted the vital importance of involving Ukraine in conversations about its future but also paused, as they know they must regularly do, to show appreciation for Trump's efforts.

"President Trump's efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia's illegal war in Ukraine," said Sir Keir Starmer, the UK's prime minister.

Starmer said he welcomed what he called the "openness" of the US, along with Europe, to provide "robust security guarantees" for Ukraine in the event of a deal.

If and when the fighting does eventually end, the precise nature of those guarantees will need to be spelled out in a great deal more detail than has so far been the case.

Despite Europe's emerging role as Ukraine's principal military, economic and political backer, everyone knows Ukraine's future security cannot really be assured without the substantive backing of the US.

In her own comments on the Alaska summit, Italy's leader, Giorgia Meloni, said guarantees for Ukraine could be "inspired by Nato's Article 5" - the principle of collective defence signed on to by all Nato members.

Several reports this morning suggested the idea of guarantees outside Nato but equivalent to Article 5 were discussed during the latest call between Trump and European leaders.

But in the wake of Trump's apparent about-face this morning, you can almost hear the sound of minds spinning across European capitals.

In London, the government appears to be putting on a brave face.

"If you can get that all done [a ceasefire and a peace agreement] in one go or in quick succession that's obviously a good thing," said a senior Downing Street source.

"But we all want to see the fighting stop".

Trump has walked away from the idea of an immediate ceasefire, no doubt informed by Putin's highly contentious account of how ceasefires broke down in the past.

The quasi-summit in Alaska already represented a cost-free win for Putin. The return of an international pariah to the international stage (albeit one festooned with unambiguous displays of American military might at the Elmendorf-Richardson airbase) and some of the trappings of a state visit.

The threat of increased US sanctions on Moscow receded too, with Trump saying it may be two or three weeks before he even has to think about it.

All this raises a host of questions about what may greet Zelensky, both on Monday in Washington and when he finally finds himself in the room with Putin and Trump.

What advice does Trump have for the Ukrainian leader, Fox's Sean Hannity asked.

"Make a deal," came the blunt reply. "Russia's a very big power and they're not."

The offices of the the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have been set on fire during a fifth night of unrest in a row that saw fresh clashes between anti-government protesters and riot police.

Police in the city of Valjevo reportedly used stun grenades and tear gas on protesters after a small group of masked individuals attacked the empty facilities of the SNS.

There were widespread allegations of violence and police brutality in the capital, Belgrade, and Novi Sad. Serbia's interior ministry has denied these allegations.

It comes as Russia pledged to assist the beleaguered pro-Moscow President Aleksandar Vučić, who leads the SNS, saying it would not "remain unresponsive".

The protests were initially triggered by a railway station collapse in Novi Sad in November last year that killed 16 people, with many blaming corruption and corner-cutting by Vučić's government for the disaster.

While anti-corruption demonstrations have drawn in hundreds of thousands of protestors, they had been largely peaceful until Wednesday's clash, when pro-government loyalists staged counter-demonstrations.

On Saturday night, riot police were again deployed in a number of cities including Belgrade as people took part in demonstrations to demand early elections.

Offices and flags representing Vučić's SNS party had been a focus of the protesters' anger.

Protesters also smashed the windows of the headquarters of the Serbian Radical Party, a coalition partner of the SNS.

In the past week, injuries have been reported at protests across the country and unverified video has circulated on social media of police beating a man in Valjevo.

Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, raised concern on Friday over the "police's disproportionate force" in Serbia, urging authorities to "end arbitrary arrests and de-escalate the situation".

Vučić responded to Saturday's developments on Instagram, writing that "violence is an expression of total weakness" and promising to "punish the bullies".

He has repeatedly rejected calls for early elections and denounced the demonstrations as part of a foreign plot to overthrow him.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has offered its support to the pro-Moscow, right-wing president.

It said in a statement that "we cannot remain unresponsive to what is happening in brotherly Serbia".

The statement said that police were "using lawful methods and means to contain the violent mobs" and that "public order, security, and human lives" were at risk.

Protests have gripped Serbia almost daily since the Novi Sad railway station collapse.

The tragedy became a symbol of entrenched corruption in the Balkan nation, with initial calls for transparent probes growing into demands for early elections and the end to Vučić's 12-year reign.

At their peak, the protests drew hundreds of thousands on to the streets.

Donald Trump has said he wants to bypass a ceasefire in Ukraine to move directly to a permanent peace agreement after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a major shift of position, the US president said on Truth Social following Friday's summit that this would be "the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine", adding ceasefires often "do not hold up".

Trump will welcome Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, to Washington on Monday and urged him to agree to a peace deal.

Following a phone call with Trump after the summit, Zelensky called for a real, lasting peace, while adding that "the fire must cease" and killings stop.

Trump's comments indicate a dramatic shift in his position on how to end the war, having said only on Friday ahead of the summit that he wanted a ceasefire "rapidly".

Ukraine's main demand has been a quick ceasefire before talks about a longer-term settlement, and Trump reportedly told European leaders beforehand that his goal for the summit was to obtain a ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, multiple news outlets reported on Saturday that Putin had presented an offer that involved Ukraine handing over complete control of its eastern Donetsk region, which is 70% occupied by Russia.

In return, Russia would reportedly agree to front lines being frozen and other unspecified concessions were apparently offered.

The US president, who has previously said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories", is said to have relayed the offer to Zelensky in a phone call following the summit.

Just days ago, Ukraine's president ruled out ceding control of the Donbas region - made up the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk - saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.

The BBC's US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European diplomats were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky on Monday into agreeing to deal terms he and Putin may have discussed at the summit.

CBS quotes sources as saying that Trump told European leaders in a call after the summit that Putin would make "some concessions", but failed to specify what they were.

In an interview with Fox News following Friday's summit, Trump was asked what advice he has for the Ukrainian leader, to which he responded by saying "make a deal".

"Russia's a very big power and they're not," he added.

Trump had previously threatened "very severe consequences" if Putin did not agree to end the war, last month setting a deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face tough new sanctions, including secondary tariffs.

Little was announced by way of an agreement by either president following Friday's summit, but Trump insisted progress had been made.

On Saturday, Putin described the summit as "very useful" and said he had been able "set out our position" to Trump.

"We had the opportunity, which we did, to talk about the genesis, about the causes of this crisis. It is the elimination of these root causes that should be the basis for settlement," the Russian president said.

Meanwhile, the "coalition of the willing" - a group of countries that have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine that includes the UK, France, and Germany - will hold a call on Sunday afternoon before Zelensky's visit to the White House on Monday.

A group of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said "the next step must now be further talks including President Zelensky".

The leaders said they were "ready to work" towards a trilateral summit with European support.

"We stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia," they said, adding: "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Trump's efforts to end the war, saying they had "brought us closer than ever before".

"While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him," he said.

And in Kyiv, Ukrainians have described feeling "crushed" by the scenes from Alaska.

"I understand that for negotiations you shake hands, you can't just slap Putin in the face when he arrives. But this spectacle with the red carpet and the kneeling soldiers, it's terrible, it makes no sense," Serhii Orlyk, a 50-year-old veteran from the eastern Donetsk region said.

A Gazan woman who was evacuated to Italy for treatment while severely emaciated has died in hospital.

The 20-year-old, who was identified as Marah Abu Zuhri, flew to Pisa with her mother on an overnight flight on Wednesday under a scheme set up by the Italian government.

The University Hospital of Pisa said that she suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Friday, less than 48 hours after arriving.

The hospital said she had suffered a severe loss of weight and muscle, as the UN warned of widespread malnutrition in Gaza.

More than 180 children and adults have been brought to Italy since the start of Israel's war with Gaza.

Thirty one patients and their companions arrived Rome, Milan, and Pisa this week, all with serious congenital diseases, wounds or amputations, the Italian foreign ministry said.

Meanwhile, British MPs urged the government to bring sick and injured children from Gaza to the UK "without delay", weeks after the British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, promised to set up an evacuation scheme.

The Home Office said it intends to evacuate a few hundred children from Gaza "at pace" and that biometric tests must be carried out before children and carers can be allowed in the UK.

The Israeli ministry said it will start providing Gaza City residents with tents and other equipment from Sunday before relocating them to "safe zones".

The statement came days after Israel's government announced troops would occupy Gaza City. Several days of heavy bombardment of the Zeitoun, the largest district in the city, has since followed.

A spokesperson for the municipality told the BBC that the situation in Zeitoun was "catastrophic", with mass displacement taking place after six days of relentless Israeli air strikes, shelling and demolition operations.

At least 36 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday, according Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

The health ministry also said that 11 more people had died from malnutrition, bringing the number of hunger-related deaths to more than 250.

The Israeli military said it was "committed to mitigating civilian harm" and questioned the reliability of the death tolls provided by the Hamas-run ministries.

Israel's government denies there is malnutrition in Gaza. It says its forces target terrorists and never civilians, and claims that Hamas is responsible for the humanitarian crisis.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since the start of Israel's war in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Air Canada has suspended all its flights as a strike by cabin staff begins - a move the airline said will disrupt travel plans for around 130,000 passengers a day.

The union representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants confirmed the 72-hour industrial action early on Saturday morning.

The airline said it had suspended all flights, including those under its budget arm Air Canada Rouge, and advised affected customers not to travel to the airport unless flying with a different airline.

Air Canada's flight attendants are calling for higher salaries and to be paid for work when aircraft are on the ground.

The strike took effect at 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT) on Saturday, though Air Canada began scaling back its operations before then. The airline says around 500 flights will be affected per day.

Flight attendants will picket at major Canadian airports, where passengers were already trying to secure new bookings earlier in the week.

Air Canada, which flies directly to 180 cities worldwide, said it had "suspended all operations" and that it was "strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport".

It added that Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines and Air Canada Express flights were unaffected by the strike.

"Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers," it said.

By Friday night, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers, as part of a winding down of operations ahead of the strike.

In contract negotiations, the airline said it had offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year.

CUPE said the offer was "below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage" and would still leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports ahead of flights.

The union and the airline have publicly traded barbs about each other's willingness to reach an agreement.

Earlier this month, 99.7% of employees represented by the union voted for a strike.

Canadian jobs minister Patty Hajdu this week urged Air Canada and the union to return to the bargaining table to avoid a strike.

She also said in a statement that Air Canada had asked her to refer the dispute to binding arbitration.

CUPE has asserted that it had been negotiating in good faith for more than eight months, but that Air Canada instead sought government-directed arbitration.

"When we stood strong together, Air Canada didn't come to the table in good faith," the union said in a statement to its members. "Instead, they called on the federal government to step in and take those rights away."