European leaders have called US President Donald Trump to discuss proposals for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine from Monday while on a visit to Kyiv.

The call came after leaders of the so-called "coalition of the willing" held a meeting to discuss advancing peace talks.

The leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland were hosted in person by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, while others joined remotely.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the coalition backed a "full and unconditional" ceasefire - originally mooted by Trump - and that the EU was ready to "impose further biting sanctions" if it was broken.

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The presence of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish PM Donald Tusk and new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Ukrainian capital was a symbolic response to the more than 20 leaders who joined Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

In a joint statement ahead of the visit, they said they "will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia's barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion".

The leaders added: "Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace."

A 30-hour ceasefire, unilaterally called by Putin to mark Russia's Victory Day, is due to end on Saturday. It has seen a decrease in fighting but both sides have accused the other of breaches.

The "coalition of the willing" was formed to reinforce any eventual peace agreement with security guarantees, including the possibility of placing troops in Ukraine.

Trump earlier reiterated the call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire after a phone call with Zelensky.

"If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions," he wrote on social media.

As the meeting was going on, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was already "used to sanctions" and knew how to minimise their impact, adding: "There is no point in trying to scare us with these sanctions."

Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and now deputy head of Russia's Security Council, told the European allies to "shove these peace plans".

Other leaders who joined the meeting remotely included Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian PM Mark Carney, von der Leyen, and Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of Nato.

Reports of Russian attacks across Ukraine continue, despite Russia's claims of a temporary ceasefire.

In northern Sumy region, an 85-year-old woman was killed, three others were injured, 19 residential homes and 10 other buildings were destroyed or damaged, Ukrainian police said.

In Kostyantynivka, eastern Donetsk region, one person was injured and two apartment blocks caught fire after Russian attacks, Ukrainian state emergency service DSNS said.

And in the southern city of Kherson, a 58-year-old local resident sought medical help after being attacked by a Russian drone carrying explosives, the regional administration said.

Taylor Swift's representatives have told the BBC she is being brought into a legal row between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively to create "tabloid clickbait".

The 35-year-old singer was summoned to a US court after it was alleged she encouraged Baldoni to accept script re-writes by Lively for It Ends With Us, a film that both starred in and is the centre of a sexual harassment case.

Baldoni says he was invited to Lively's New York home in 2023 to discuss script changes, where Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, and Swift were there to serve as her "dragons".

Representatives for Swift said "she was not involved in any casting or creative decision" and "never saw an edit or made any notes on the film".

Lively, 37, sued Baldoni, 41, in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and a smear campaign. Baldoni is counter-suing Lively and her husband, the actor Ryan Reynolds, on claims of civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.

Lively and Baldoni have been locked in a dispute since the film, which is an adaption of a Colleen Hoover novel, was released last summer.

According to Baldoni, there were tensions over the 2023 re-write of the scene, at which he was surprised to find Reynolds and Swift present.

He alleges Lively wrote in a text to him: "If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you'll appreciate that I'm Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for."

Baldoni says he responded supportively, writing: "I really love what you did. It really does help a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor).

"You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to do this together."

It is also alleged that Swift was involved in the casting of Isabela Ferrer in the film, who played a younger version of Lively's character, Lily Bloom.

Speaking at the New York premiere of It Ends With Us, Ferrer said: "She [Taylor Swift] was a helpful part of the audition, which I found out later when I got it, and that rocked my world."

But Swift's representatives said the only involvement she had in the film was permitting the use of her song, My Tears Ricochet, noting that she was among 20 artists featured in the film.

Swift "never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, [and] she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film", they said.

They added that Swift did not see It Ends With Us until "weeks after its release" as she was "travelling around the globe" on tour at the time.

The popstar's spokespeople argued that the subpoena "designed to use Taylor Swift's name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case".

Donald Trump's administration is "actively looking at" suspending habeas corpus - the right of a person to challenge their detention in court - one of the US president's top aides has said.

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, told reporters on Friday that the US Constitution allowed for the legal liberty to be suspended in times of "rebellion or invasion".

His comments come as judges have sought to challenge some recent detentions made by the Trump administration in an effort to combat illegal immigration, as well as remove dissenting foreign students.

"A lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not," Miller said.

There are several pending civil cases against the Trump administration's deportation of undocumented migrants based on habeaus corpus.

Most recently, a federal judge ordered the release of a Turkish university student who had been detained for six weeks after writing an article that was critical of Israel.

Last week, another judge ordered a Columbia University student detained over his advocacy for Palestinians be released after a petition on habeas corpus grounds.

However, other judges have sided with the Trump administration in such disputes.

Miller described habeas corpus as a "privilege", and said Congress had already passed a law stripping judicial courts of jurisdiction over immigration cases.

Legal experts have questioned the veracity of his interpretation of US law.

One of Trump's key campaign pledges was to deport millions of immigrants from the US, and his administration has pursued different means of expediting deportations since returning to the White House.

In March, a federal judge's order prevented the Trump administration from invoking a centuries-old wartime law to justify deporting more than 200 Venezuelans, despite the flights going ahead.

But deportations have lagged behind detentions - while one person has been deported erroneously.

• Trump's first 100 days in office

CNN reported, citing unnamed sources, that Trump was personally involved in the discussions around suspending habeas corpus.

Trump himself has not mentioned the suspension of habeas corpus, but has said he would take steps to combat injunctions against his actions on deportation.

• Listen: The President's Path: Doubling Down on Deportations

"There are ways to mitigate it and there's some very strong ways," he said in April.

"There's one way that's been used by three very highly respected presidents, but we hope we don't have to go that route."

Habeas corpus - which literally means "you should have the body" - allows for a person to be brought before a judge so the legality of their detention can be decided by a judge.

The legal right has been suspended four times in US history: during the American Civil War under Abraham Lincoln, in Hawaii following the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, in the Philippines during US ownership in 1905, and while combat the activities of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan group in the 19th Century.

It is unclear if Trump will attempt to suspend habeaus corpus without the approval of Congress.

Earlier this year, Deborah Grushkin, an enthusiastic online shopper from New Jersey, "freaked out".

US President Donald Trump had signed an order to stop allowing packages from China worth less than $800 (£601) to enter the country free of import taxes and customs procedures.

It was a move, backed by traditional retailers, that had been discussed in Washington for years amid an explosion of packages slipping into the US under the limit.

Many countries, including the UK, are considering similar measures, spurred in part by the rapid ascent of Shein and Temu.

But in the US, Trump's decision to end the carve-out while ordering a blitz of new trade tariffs, including import taxes of at least 145% on goods from China, has delivered a one-two punch that has left businesses and shoppers reeling.

US-based e-commerce brands, which were set up around the system, are warning the changes could spark failures of smaller firms, while shoppers like Deborah brace for price hikes and shortages.

With the 2 May deadline bearing down, the 36-year-old last month rushed in some $400 worth of items from Shein - including stickers, T-shirts, sweatshirts, Mother's Days gifts and 20 tubes of liquid eyeliner.

"I felt like maybe it was my last sort of hurrah," she says.

Use of rules known as "de minimis", which allow low-value packages to avoid tariffs, customs inspections and other regulatory requirements, has surged over the last decade.

Take-up accelerated during Trump's first term in office, when he raised tariffs on many Chinese goods.

By 2023, such shipments represented more than 7% of consumer imports, up from less than 0.01% a decade earlier. Last year, nearly 1.4 billion packages entered the country using the exemption - more than 3.7 million a day.

Advocates of the carve-out, which include shipping firms, say the system has streamlined trade, leading to lower prices and more options for customers.

Those in favour of change, a group that includes lawmakers from both parties, say businesses are abusing rules intended to ease gifts between family and friends, and the rise has made it easier to slip products that are illegal, counterfeit or violate safety standards and other rules into the country.

Trump recently called de minimis a "scam", brushing off concerns about higher costs. "Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls," he said.

However, polls suggest concerns about his economic policies are rising as the changes start to hit home.

Krystal DuFrene, a retired 57-year-old from Mississippi who relies on disability payments for her income, says she has nervously been checking prices on Temu for weeks, recently cancelling an order for curtains after seeing the price more than triple.

Though she eventually found the same item for the original price in the platform's US warehouse network, she says the cost of her husband's fishing nets had more than doubled.

"I don't know who pays the tariff except the customer," she says. "Everywhere is selling cheap stuff from China so I actually prefer being able to order directly."

When the rules around de minimis changed last week, Temu said it would stop selling goods imported from China in the US directly to customers from its platform, and that all sales would now be handled by "locally based sellers", with orders fulfilled from within the US.

'End of an era'

Even without the latest tariffs, economists Pablo Fajgelbaum and Amit Khandelwal had estimated that ending de minimis would lead to at least $10.9bn in new costs, which they found would be disproportionately borne by lower income and minority households.

"It does kind of feel like the end of an era," says Gee Davis, a 40-year-old author from Missouri, who used Temu during a recent house move to buy small items such as an electric can opener and kitchen cabinet organisers.

She says it was a relief to be able to easily afford the extras and the new rules felt like a "money grab" by the government to benefit big, entrenched American retailers like Amazon and Walmart that sell similar products - but at a bigger mark-up.

"I don't think it's right or fair that little treats should be [restricted] to people who are richer.

"It just would be a real bummer if everyone who was under a certain household income threshold was just no longer able to afford anything for themselves."

As with other Trump policy changes, questions remain about the significance of the shift.

The president was already forced to suspend the policy once before, as packages began piling up at the border.

Lori Wallach, director at Rethink Trade, which supports ending de minimis for consumer safety reasons, says the end of the exemption is significant "on paper", but she fears the administration is taking steps that will weaken its implementation.

She points to a recent customs notice, which said products affected by many of the new tariffs could enter the country through the informal process, a move that eases some regulatory requirements.

"Practically, because all of this stuff can come though informal entry, it's going to be extremely hard to collect tariffs or to be able to inspect really very much more than before the change happened," she says.

'An insurmountable shift'

Customs and Border Protection deny the move will undermine enforcement, noting that firms are still required to supply more information than before.

Businesses have indicated they are taking the changes seriously.

Both Shein and Temu last month warned customers that prices would rise, while Temu says it is rapidly expanding its network of US-based sellers and warehouses to protect its low prices.

Other business groups say many smaller, less high-profile American brands that manufacture abroad for US customers are struggling - and may not survive.

"If the tariffs weren't in place, it would be like taking a little bit of bitter medicine," says Alex Beller, board member of the Ecommerce Innovation Alliance, a business lobby group and a co-founder of Postscript, which works with thousands of smaller businesses on text messaging marketing.

"But paired with the other tariffs, especially for brands that manufacture in China, it just becomes an insurmountable shift."

In a letter to the government last month, men's clothing company Indochino, known for its custom suits made-to-order in China, warned that ending de minimis posed a "significant threat to the viability" of its business and other mid-size American firms like it.

Steven Borelli is the chief executive of the athleisure clothing firm CUTS, which manufactures outside the US, shipping products to a warehouse in Mexico, from where packages are mailed to customers in the US.

His firm has been pushing to reduce its reliance on China, halting orders in the country months ago. Still, he says he is now considering price increases and job cuts.

He says his business has room to manoeuvre, since it caters to higher income customers, but he expects "thousands" of other brands to die without changes to the situation.

"We want more time," he says. "The speed at which everything is happening is too fast for businesses to adjust."

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest pops its cork on Sunday, with a "turquoise carpet" parade featuring competitors from all 37 nations.

But the competition really begins on Tuesday, when the first semi-final will see five countries unceremoniously kicked out.

Another six will lose their place at the second semi-final on Thursday, before the Grand Final takes place in Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday, 17 May.

This year's entrants include two returning contestants, one professional opera singer, a thinly veiled allusion to sexual emissions and a dance anthem about a dead space dog.

It's a lot to take in.

To help you prepare, here's a guide to all 37 songs in the contest, which I've sorted into rough musical categories, mainly for my own sanity (it didn't work).

Left-field pop bangers

Win or lose, UK contestants Remember Monday have given headline writers a gift with the title of their entry: What The Hell Just Happened?

A souped-up, full throttle pop anthem, it cherry-picks the best bits of Queen, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Beatles, presumably to remind voters of Britain's rich musical heritage.

With eight tempo changes, it could prove tricky for voters to grasp, but the band's stellar harmonies and sparkling personalities should carry them through.

Crucially, the song avoids the Eurovision cliches of jackhammer dance anthems and windswept balladry – something Remember Monday have in common with this year's favourites.

Sweating it out at the top are Swedish representatives KAJ, whose song Bara Bada Bastu is an ode to the restorative powers of the sauna, complete with dancers in skimpy towels.

Unreasonably catchy, it's won the approval of Abba's Bjorn Ulvaeus, whose been singing the track in his own private sauna. As you do.

Stiff competition comes from Austrian singer JJ, and his operatic ballad Wasted Love.

A timeworn story of unrequited love, it leans on his training as a counter-tenor, before exploding into an unexpected techno breakdown.

A favourite with the bookies, the song's only Achilles heel is its similarity to last year's winner, Nemo.

Distinctive in a different way is Ireland's entry, Laika Party – a 90s rave track about a dog who was sent to space by Russia and left to die there.

Singer Emmy aims for a hopeful spin on a tragic story but, despite a peppy performance, it's a bit of a downer.

More palatable is Luxembourg's Laura Thorn, whose La Poupée Monte Le Son is a callback to France Gall's 1965 winning entry, Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son.

Where the original was about a "fashion doll" operated by songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, Thorn's response is all about taking control.

"If you think a man like you can manipulate me, go back to your mum," she scolds. Yeouch.

Other countries sucking up to Italy

Rome must be blushing. This year features not one, but two, songs about the vibrant culture of Il Bel Paese.

The first comes, not surprisingly, from San Marino – the independent microstate that nestles inside north-central Italy.

Titled Tutta L'Italia, it celebrates everything from the county's football team and its vineyards, to the Mona Lisa (under her Italian name Gioconda).

Written by Gabry Ponte – one of the brains behind Eiffel 65's Blue (Da Ba Dee) – it's a slight, but fun, mixture of dance beats, traditional accordion playing and the folk dances of Calabria.

The staging could be its downfall, though, with Gabry marooned behind his DJ decks while the singers, who for some reason wish to remain anonymous, obscure their faces with masks.

More memorable, but definitely more unhinged, is Estonia's Espresso Macchiato.

Performed by Tommy Cash (the only Eurovision contestant to have appeared on a Charli XCX record) it's an affectionate-ish caricature of Italian stereotypes, featuring the indelible lyric: "Life is like spaghetti, it's hard until you make it".

Smut!

I'm trying to give up sexual innuendo, but Eurovision is making it har... difficult.

A trio of artists are trying to sneak smut past the censors, led by Malta's Miriana Conte, with a throbbing club track called Serving.

In its original form, the song's chorus revolved around the phrase "serving kant" – the word kant being Maltese for "singing" and a homophone for an English term that definitely doesn't mean singing.

It's a reference to a well-known phrase in the drag / ballroom world; but several countries complained it broke broadcasting guidelines, prompting a hasty re-write.

If the stunt was meant to generate headlines it worked, but now that Miriana has our attention, she's not letting go.

Her performance, featuring a giant disco ball pursed between two red lips, is gloriously OTT, and she has an enviable set of pipes. Too bad the song is riddled with Europop cliche.

Another contestant doubling his entendres is Australia's Go-Jo, who wants us to "take a sip" of milkshake from his "special cup". Interpret that how you want but I'd be wary of hitching a lift in his ice cream van, if I were you.

With a smattering of Electric Six's saucy disco funk, Milkshake Man is tasty enough to get Australia back in the finals after only achieving a semi last year.

Finally, we have Finland's Erika Vikman, whose song Ich Komme is billed as a "joyous message of pleasure, ecstasy and a state of trance".

Structured to mimic the pneumatic realities of lovemaking, it recalls iconic gay anthems such as Kylie's Your Disco Needs You and Donna Summer's Hot Stuff – and ends with Erika shooting into the sky astride a massive gold microphone that's definitely not a stand-in for a phallus.

Three songs inspired by cancer

Little in life is more devastating than the phrase "I'm afraid it's cancer".

The disease will affect one in two of us and, although survival rates have dramatically improved, the impact can be devastating.

This year, three separate Eurovision contestants have been touched by cancer, inspiring songs of unmatched heartbreak and reflection.

French singer Louane captures it best. Her song Maman, is an intimate conversation with her mother, who died when she was just 17 years old.

Over three verses, Louane describes the "emptiness" she was felt; and how she filled the void with bad behaviour and meaningless love affairs. But, as the song progresses, she tells her mum she's settled down and found purpose... by becoming a mother herself.

She sings it beautifully, with a mixture of regret and strength. And when her daughter's voice appears in the final moments of the song, it would take a steely heart not to shed a tear.

Over in Norway, 19-year-old Kyle Alessandro shared a similar story, when his mother was diagnosed with cancer in autumn 2023. Thankfully, she's now in remission, but something she said during her treatment inspired his Eurovision entry: "Never lose your light."

Kyle took that phrase and turned it into a thumping pop song about surviving adversity. "Nothing can burn me now," he sings. "I'm my own Lighter."

Klemen Slakonja, meanwhile, is a comedian best known in Slovenia for his impressions of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin - but his ballad, How Much Time Do We Have Left was written after his wife, actress Mojca Fatur, was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.

As he sings, Klemen's dancers raise him into the air and hold him upside down, to represent the disorientation the family felt.

"When she read her diagnosis, our world turned upside down and I felt that rush of blood in my head, the same one I feel whenever I am upside down in the performance," he told Eurovision World.

Defying the odds, Mojca survived, and joins him on stage at Eurovision. It's a deeply intimate and moving moment.

The bops

Listening to this year's line-up, it's like the contestants all heard Cascada's Evacuate the Dancefloor and went, "Nah, we're good, thanks".

There are club bangers everywhere, with Belgium's Red Sebastian (named after the crab in The Little Mermaid, bless him) submitting an entire song about the loved-up liberation of an all-night rave.

"Where no words are needed to feel the connection / Where clocks never tick and where love is the ending."

A favourite with fans, the 90s rave elements of Strobe Lights feel a little dated to me, but his meticulously-choreographed performance is a treat.

Denmark's Sissal takes a similar sound, with a throwback Euro-bop called Hallucination that effortlessly evokes two-time Eurovision winner Loreen.

Sissal said her biggest goal was for the audience to feel they couldn't sit down during the song. Mission accomplished.

Germany, meanwhile, have been hoping to reverse their 15-year losing streak with Baller, a super-catchy trance anthem that wouldn't sound out of place at Berlin superclub Berghain.

Performed by Austrian siblings Abor & Tynna, it's languishing in the middle of the field, after Tynna developed laryngitis, robbing the duo of the chance to impress fans at Eurovision's various pre-parties. But now that she's recovered, the song could rise up the rankings.

That's less likely for Væb, aka the Icelandic Jedward. Their energetic dance-rap song, Roá, is all about rowing from Iceland to the Faroe Islands, "because no matter what happens in life you just keep on rowing through the waves".

Sadly, it's not as deep as it sounds.

Spanish star Melody fares better with Esa Diva, a pumping house track with a sprinkling of flamenco guitar, that documents her journey to fame.

And Azerbaijan's Mamagama go all Maroon 5 on Run With U, a smooth pop song elevated by a twinkling riff on the saz – a long-necked plucked instrument similar to the lute.

Post-immigrant pop

OK, so I've stolen that description from Shkodra Elektronike.

They're an Albanian duo living in Italy, who fuse the ethnic music of their hometown, Shkodër, to a progressive electronic sound.

Their song Zjerm (Fire) imagines a time when cross-cultural understanding would lead to peace and harmony – a world without a need for soldiers and ambulances, and where "oil would smell like lilac" (no, me neither).

Greece's entry, Asteromáta, is also rooted in history and memory, as Klavdia describes the unbreakable bond that refugees share with their homeland.

"Even if they cross the seas / They shall never forget the sacred earth they called home," she sings, in a haunting ballad that blends traditional Greek and Pontic elements with soaring strings.

Taking a more upbeat approach is Dutch singer Claude. A refugee from the bloody civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he moved to the Netherlands at the age of nine and fell in love with Eurovision while waiting in the refugee centre.

His song, C'est La Vie, is a tribute to his mum, who taught him to see the positive in their situation.

Fizzing with freedom and joy, it combines elements of chanson and French-Caribbean zouk, and looks set for a top 10 placing.

Witchcraft, sorcery and moody goth boys

The success of "goth gremlin witch" Bambie Thug at last year's Eurovision has conjured a veritable coven of imitators in 2025.

Polish singer Justyna Steczkowska, representing her country for the second time, even includes a Slavic magic spell in her song, Gaja – summoning the spirit of the mother Earth to "cleanse" her of a toxic relationship.

It's a suitably intense performance, with Justyna singing long sustained notes and playing a furious violin solo, before being hoiked into the rafters on a pair ropes.

What a time to be alive.

Marko Bošnjak, meanwhile, is cooking up a Poison Cake to feed to his tormentors - chiefly the people who bombarded him with homophobic hate messages after he was selected to represent Croatia.

The criticism was so intense that he lost his voice and couldn't leave the house for five days.

His song is suitably melodramatic, replete with guttural synths and creepy playground chants. It's a little overbaked, but should still sail through to the finals.

Taking a more ethereal approach are Latvian group Tautumeitas, whose song Bur Man Laimi translates as "a chant for happiness".

Reminiscent of Bjork and Enya, its overlapping folk harmonies are based on traditional Latvian wedding songs, making it one of this year's most captivating entries. I fear it may be too subtle to score well, though.

Further mystery is provided by, Theo Evan, Cyprus's answer to Nick Jonas. The lyrics to his song, Shh, are a riddle, written by former tennis player Elke Tiel, whose "hidden truth will only be revealed on the Eurovision stage in May".

He opens his performance perched between two pieces of scaffolding in a recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Vitruvian Man sketch – so there's a clue.

Shh is one of a number of gothic pop songs, sung by brooding young men with interesting hair.

Among the best is Kiss Kiss Goodbye, by Czechia's Adonxs, who divebombs from an angelic falsetto to an unsettling baritone as he confronts his absent father.

Lithuanian band Katarsis are an interesting experiment, with a deliberately downbeat rock song that declares "the foundations of everything have begun to rot".

Titled Tavo Akys (your eyes), it builds to a compelling climax, but it's hard to see it being a vote-winner, unless Eurovision suddenly attracts an audience of depressed emo teens.

Rounding out the field are Armenian singer Parg, with the Imagine Dragons-inspired Survivor and Serbia's Princ, whose overwrought ballad is called Mila.

Both performers give it their all, but the songs don't feel strong enough to survive the semi-finals.

70s rock throwbacks

Four years after Måneskin's victory, Eurovision's rock revival continues apace.

Italy are back at it again, thanks to Lucio Corsi – think David Bowie as Pierrot – and his glam rock ballad Volevo Essere Un Duro (I wanted to be tough).

A delicate anthem for people who feel they don't fit in, it recalls how Lucio was bullied as a kid, and how he's grown to embrace his fragility. At one point, he sings: "Instead of a star, [I'm] just a sneeze."

It's a timeless bit of songwriting that pulls off that crucial Eurovision trick of sounding new and familiar all at once.

Portuguese indie band Napa also have a 70s vibe, channelling Paul McCartney's Wings on the soft rock tear-jerker Deslocado (out of place).

It's another song about migration, written after the band were forced to relocate from Madeira to the Portuguese mainland due to the economic crisis.

"Even though we've been here for a few years we always have that desire to go back, and that anguish of saying goodbye to family," said singer Guilherme Gomes.

Last but not least are Ukraine's Ziferblat, who continue the country's astonishing run of high-quality entries in the midst of a war with Russia.

Their song, Bird Of Pray, is an unexpected mix of 70s new wave band Cars, birdsong and the guitar riff from Rachel Stevens' Sweet Dreams My LA Ex – while the lyrics are full of hope for a peaceful reunion with their loved ones.

It's better than that makes it sound.

The ballads

Where would Eurovision be without a raven-haired woman bellowing into a wind machine set to "hurricane"?

Israel has strong form in this category, and sets the bar again with New Day Will Rise, a melancholy piano ballad sung in a mixture of English, French and Hebrew.

The song's performed by Yuval Raphael, a 24-year-old who narrowly escaped with her life at the 2023 Nova music festival, where an attack by Hamas claimed the lives of 378 people and triggered Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza.

It's hard not to interpret her lyrics as a response to those events – "everyone cries, don't cry alone". As a result, her participation hasn't received the same level of criticism as Eden Golan, who represented Israel last year.

That can't be said for Georgia's contestant, Mariam Shengelia, who has been booed during pre-Eurovision appearances for her alleged support of the country's authoritarian, pro-Russian, anti-LGBT ruling party, Georgian Dream.

Shengelia has denied the accusations, pointing out that her song – a stirring, quasi-militaristic ballad called Freedom – is about "freedom of choice, freedom to love, freedom to live as you want to live".

"No amount of manufactured hate will change that," she told the Eurovision fan site Wiwibloggs.

Montenegro's Nina Žižić tackles domestic abuse in Dobrodošli, a brooding and refined orchestral ballad.

The singer, who previously entered Eurovision in 2015 with the cyborg pop oddity Igranka, delivers her lyrics with passion and sincerity, but somehow the song never quite takes off.

Last but not least, we have defending champions Switzerland, represented by 24-year-old Zoë Më, who describes herself as a "little fairy".

Appropriately enough, her self-penned song, Voyage is delicate as a fairy's wings, fluttering with a soft-spoken plea to treat each other with kindness.

Automatically qualifying for the final, it's a welcome oasis of calm amidst the steamy sauna sessions, moody goth haircuts and thrusting innuendo.

But that's Eurovision for you. All human life is here. See you in Basel!

The US-China trade war could be letting up, with the world's two largest economies set to begin talks in Switzerland.

Top trade officials from both sides will meet on Saturday in the first high-level meeting since US President Donald Trump hit China with tariffs in January.

Beijing retaliated immediately and a tense stand-off ensued as the two countries heaped levies on each other. Those now stand at 125%, although some Chinese imports to the US face duties as high as 245%.

There have been weeks of stern, and sometimes fiery, rhetoric where each side sought to paint the other as the more desperate party.

And yet this weekend they will face each other over the negotiating table.

So why now?

Saving face

Despite multiple rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, both sides have been sending signals that they want to break the deadlock. Except it wasn't clear who would blink first.

"Neither side wants to appear to be backing down," said Stephen Olson, senior visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and a former US trade negotiator.

"The talks are taking place now because both countries have judged that they can move forward without appearing to have caved in to the other side."

Still, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian emphasised on Wednesday that "the talks are being held at the request of the US".

And the commerce ministry framed it as a favour to Washington, saying it was answering the "calls of US businesses and consumers".

The Trump administration, however, claims it's Chinese officials who "want to do business very much" because "their economy is collapsing".

"They said we initiated? Well, I think they ought to go back and study their files," Trump said at the White House on Wednesday.

But as the talks drew closer, the president struck a more diplomatic note: "We can all play games. Who made the first call, who didn't make the - it doesn't matter," he told reporters on Thursday. "It only matters what happens in that room."

The timing is also key for Beijing because it's during Xi's visit to Moscow. He was a guest of honour on Friday at Moscow's Victory Day parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the World War Two victory over Nazi Germany.

Xi stood alongside leaders from across the Global South - a reminder to Trump's administration that China not only has other options for trade, but it is also presenting itself as an alternative global leader.

This allows Beijing to project strength even as it heads to the negotiating table.

The pressure is on

Trump insists that the tariffs will make America stronger, and Beijing has vowed to "fight till the end"- but the fact is the levies are hurting both countries.

Factory output in China has taken a hit, according to government data. Manufacturing activity in April dipped to the lowest level since December 2023. And a survey by news outlet Caixin this week showed that services activity has reached a seven-month low.

The BBC found that Chinese exporters have been reeling from the steep tariffs, with stock piling up in warehouses, even as they strike a defiant note and look for markets beyond the US.

"I think [China] realises that a deal is better than no deal," says Bert Hofman, a professor at the East Asian Institute in National University Singapore.

"So they've taken a pragmatic view and said, 'OK, well we need to get these talks going.'"

And so with the major May Day holiday in China over, officials in Beijing have decided the time is right to talk.

On the other side, the uncertainty caused by tariffs led to the US economy contracting for the first time in three years.

And industries that have long depended on Chinese-made goods are especially worried. A Los Angeles toy company owner told the BBC that they were "looking at the total implosion of the supply chain".

Trump himself has acknowledged that US consumers will feel the sting.

American children may "have two dolls instead of 30 dolls", he said at a cabinet meeting this month, "and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally".

Trump's approval ratings have also slid over fears of inflation and a possible recession, with more than 60% of Americans saying he was focusing too much on tariffs.

"Both countries are feeling pressure to provide a bit of reassurance to increasingly nervous markets, businesses, and domestic constituencies," Mr Olson says.

"A couple of days of meetings in Geneva will serve that purpose."

What happens next?

While the talks have been met with optimism, a deal may take a while to materialise.

The talks will mostly be about "touching base", Mr Hofman said, adding that this could look like an "exchange of positions" and, if things go well, "an agenda [will be] set for future talks".

The negotiations on the whole are expected to take months, much like what happened during Trump's first term.

After nearly two years of tit-for-tat tariffs, the US and China signed a "phase one" deal in early 2020 to suspend or reduce some levies. Even then, it did not include thornier issues, such as Chinese government subsidies for key industries or a timeline for scrapping the remaining tariffs.

In fact, many of them stayed in place through Joe Biden's presidency, and Trump's latest tariffs add to those older levies.

What could emerge this time is a "phase one deal on steroids", Mr Olson said: that is, it would go beyond the earlier deal and try to address flashpoints. There are many, from the illegal fentanyl trade which Washington wants China to crack down harder on to Beijing's relationship with Moscow.

But all of that is far down the line, experts warn.

"The systemic frictions that bedevil the US-China trade relationship will not be solved any time soon," Mr Olson adds.

"Geneva will only produce anodyne statements about 'frank dialogues' and the desire to keep talking."

Catholicism has rarely been more prominent in US politics as the Trump administration openly embraces advisers and officials who proudly say faith has shaped their politics.

But any jubilation on the American Make America Great Again right about the new Pope this week quickly dissipated as key voices from Donald Trump's Maga movement came to a disappointed conclusion: the first American Pope does not appear to be "America first".

Little is known about the political leanings of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago.

He has voiced concerns for the poor and immigrants, chosen a name that may reference more liberal church leadership, and he appears to have both supported the liberal-leaning Pope Francis and criticised the US president's policies on social media.

But the president so far has said only that Leo's election was a "great honour" for the US. Still, some of Trump's most prominent supporters were quick to attack Pope Leo, lambasting him as a possible challenge to Trump and on the perception that he will follow Pope Francis in areas like immigration.

"I mean it's kind of jaw-dropping," Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon told the BBC on Friday, speaking of Leo's election.

"It is shocking to me that a guy could be selected to be the Pope that had had the Twitter feed and the statements he's had against American senior politicians," said Bannon, a hard-right Trump loyalist, practising Catholic and former altar boy.

And he predicted that there's "definitely going to be friction" between Leo and Trump.

• Pope Leo XIV calls Church 'a beacon to illuminate dark nights' in first Mass
• Pope's first speech in full
• Who is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV?

The Pope's brother, John Prevost, told The New York Times that he thinks his brother would voice his disagreements with the president.

"I know he's not happy with what's going on with immigration," he said. "I know that for a fact. How far he'll go with it is only one's guess, but he won't just sit back. I don't think he'll be the silent one."

Recent survey data shows that about 20% of Americans identify as Catholic, according to the non-partisan Pew Research Center.

About 53% identify with or lean towards the Republican Party, though there's plenty of nuance, too: America's two Catholic presidents, John F Kennedy and Joe Biden, were both Democrats. And nearly two-thirds of US Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances - a departure from the Church's current stance.

US Catholics also broadly supported Pope Francis: 78% of those surveyed in February viewed him favorably, including a majority of Catholic Republicans.

A number of Catholics in the new Pope's home city of Chicago on Thursday aired disappointment with President Trump and said they hoped Pope Leo XIV would follow the path of his predecessor.

"We hope he'll continue with Francis's agenda going forward," said Rick Stevens, a Catholic deacon from New Jersey who happened to be visiting Chicago when he heard the news.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which leads and coordinates US Catholic activities, celebrated Pope Leo's election and the message it sends.

"Certainly, we rejoice that a son of this nation has been chosen by the cardinals, but we recognise that he now belongs to all Catholics and to all people of good will," the conference said in a statement. "His words advocating peace, unity, and missionary activity already indicate a path forward."

Though Maga supporters represent a small subset of US Catholics, it's one with outsized access to conservative media and Trump's ear.

On Bannon's War Room podcast - known for its hard-right, pro-Trump bent - one guest after another heaped criticism on the new Pope.

"This guy has been massively embraced by the liberals and the progressives," said Ben Harnwell, a journalist who led Bannon's efforts to establish what he calls a "gladiator school" for the "Judeo-Christian West" outside of Rome.

"He is one of their own… he has [Pope] Francis's DNA in him," Harnwell said.

Jack Posobiec, another Maga commentator dialing in from Rome, was blunt: "This choice of the American cardinal was done as a response, as a message to President Trump."

The full picture of what led to Pope Leo's selection on Thursday is still emerging and church decisions don't map neatly onto US politics. Still, watchers around the world have pored over Pope Leo's social media profiles in search of clues about his leanings and beliefs.

An X account under his name, with tweets going as far back as 2015, shares links to criticism of Trump's approach to immigration and hints at other political views, such as stricter gun control.

In February, the account sharply rebuked the US vice-president by posting a link to an opinion piece titled "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others".

The account also posted a link to a letter from Pope Francis after he clashed with Vance over church doctrine and immigration. Vance – a Catholic convert – had given an interview in defence of the Trump administration's immigration policies.

Vance has routinely invoked his faith in defense of the administration, particularly immigration policies, which the White House has said put "America first".

"There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbour, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritise the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that," Vance told Fox News.

• What is behind the new Pope's chosen name, Leo?
• Reaction: 'I flipped out, I said no way!' - Chicago celebrates hometown Pope
• Analysis: Continuity the key for Pope seen as unifier in the Church

But US Democrats were not spared either on the account, which has more than a decade of posts. They appear to support Catholic employers who refuse to pay for contraceptives via employee health plans, and following the 2016 US presidential election, one post links to an article accusing Democrat Hillary Clinton of ignoring pro-life Catholic voters.

The BBC asked the Vatican to confirm the account was Leo's, but did not receive a response.

Vice-President Vance told conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt on Friday: "I try not to play the politicisation of the Pope game.

"I'm sure he's going to say a lot of things that I love. I'm sure he'll say some things that I disagree with, but I'll continue to pray for him and the Church despite it all and through it all, and that'll be the way that I handle it."

The new Pope's LGBTQ views are also unclear, but some groups, including the conservative College of Cardinals, believe he may be less supportive than Pope Francis.

Matt Walsh, a commentator with the conservative Daily Wire, wrote: "There are some good signs and bad signs with this new Pope. I want to see what he actually does with his papacy before I pass any kind of judgment."

But some of the most dedicated Maga supporters already have made up their minds.

Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer who has Trump's ear, swaying the president on top personnel decisions, called the new Pope "anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis".

Bannon, who had suggested Leo as a dark horse for the papacy, predicted tensions between the White House and Vatican - and said they could even tear apart American Catholics.

"Remember, President Trump was not shy about taking a shot at Pope Francis," he said.

"So if this Pope - which he will do - tries to come between President Trump and his implementation of the mass deportation programme, I would stand by."

Additional reporting by Cai Pigliucci

A diver has died during preliminary operations to recover British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht from the waters off the coast of northern Sicily, local police said.

The accident happened on Friday happened while the diver was underwater in Porticello, police said, adding the precise cause of death was still unknown.

According to local Italian media, the diver was a 39-year-old Dutch national who worked for a specialist salvage company.

It comes as salvage ships arrived earlier this month to waters off the small port of Porticello, near Palermo, where the Bayesian vessel sank during freak weather last August.

Seven of the 22 people onboard the Bayesian last summer were killed, including Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy, 71, US lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo and the yacht's chef Recaldo Thomas, who was originally from Antigua, also died in the sinking on 19 August.

Fifteen people managed to escape on a lifeboat including a one-year-old and Mr Lynch's wife Angela Bacares.

The cause of the sinking is still under investigation with naval experts saying a yacht of Bayesian's calibre should have been able to withstand the storm and certainly should not have sunk as rapidly as it did.

The salvage operation is being overseen by British marine consultancy TMC Marine and led by Dutch-based companies Hebo, a maritime services company from Rotterdam, and SMIT Salvage, with support from Italian specialists.

About 70 specialist personnel have been deployed to Sicily from across Europe to work on the recovery operation.

• The 16 minutes that plunged the Bayesian yacht into a deadly spiral
• Bayesian sinking: The key questions for investigators
• Tributes to 'brilliant' Mike and Hannah Lynch as family speak of shock
• 'For two seconds I lost my baby in the sea' - Sicily yacht survivor

On Thursday, the team said on-site preparations were on schedule and "significant progress" had been made over the past five days.

Analysis of the yacht and the surrounding seabed confirmed there had been no change to its condition since the last inspection, meaning plans to raise the vessel can now go ahead.

Work to move the Bayesian into an upright position and lift it to the surface was scheduled to begin later this month - subject to suitable weather and sea conditions.

Before the vessel is transported to port, sea water will be pumped out of it.

Before the Bayesian is raised it will be held in position by steel slings, as salvage workers detach the vessel's extensive rigging and 72m (236ft) mast, thought to be one of the tallest in the world.

These will then be stored on the seabed and recovered after the team has recovered the ship's hull, which investigators say is a primary source of evidence.

There has not been any pollution from the yacht reported, with conditions being monitored and efforts made to secure its tank vents and openings.

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as Mr and Mrs Bloomer, who were all British nationals.

Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London, and the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks in Kent.

The tycoon founded software giant Autonomy in 1996 and was cleared in June last year of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of the firm to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.

The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US.

Earlier this year, Deborah Grushkin, an enthusiastic online shopper from New Jersey, "freaked out".

US President Donald Trump had signed an order to stop allowing packages from China worth less than $800 (£601) to enter the country free of import taxes and customs procedures.

It was a move, backed by traditional retailers, that had been discussed in Washington for years amid an explosion of packages slipping into the US under the limit.

Many countries, including the UK, are considering similar measures, spurred in part by the rapid ascent of Shein and Temu.

But in the US, Trump's decision to end the carve-out while ordering a blitz of new trade tariffs, including import taxes of at least 145% on goods from China, has delivered a one-two punch that has left businesses and shoppers reeling.

US-based e-commerce brands, which were set up around the system, are warning the changes could spark failures of smaller firms, while shoppers like Deborah brace for price hikes and shortages.

With the 2 May deadline bearing down, the 36-year-old last month rushed in some $400 worth of items from Shein - including stickers, T-shirts, sweatshirts, Mother's Days gifts and 20 tubes of liquid eyeliner.

"I felt like maybe it was my last sort of hurrah," she says.

Use of rules known as "de minimis", which allow low-value packages to avoid tariffs, customs inspections and other regulatory requirements, has surged over the last decade.

Take-up accelerated during Trump's first term in office, when he raised tariffs on many Chinese goods.

By 2023, such shipments represented more than 7% of consumer imports, up from less than 0.01% a decade earlier. Last year, nearly 1.4 billion packages entered the country using the exemption - more than 3.7 million a day.

Advocates of the carve-out, which include shipping firms, say the system has streamlined trade, leading to lower prices and more options for customers.

Those in favour of change, a group that includes lawmakers from both parties, say businesses are abusing rules intended to ease gifts between family and friends, and the rise has made it easier to slip products that are illegal, counterfeit or violate safety standards and other rules into the country.

Trump recently called de minimis a "scam", brushing off concerns about higher costs. "Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls," he said.

However, polls suggest concerns about his economic policies are rising as the changes start to hit home.

Krystal DuFrene, a retired 57-year-old from Mississippi who relies on disability payments for her income, says she has nervously been checking prices on Temu for weeks, recently cancelling an order for curtains after seeing the price more than triple.

Though she eventually found the same item for the original price in the platform's US warehouse network, she says the cost of her husband's fishing nets had more than doubled.

"I don't know who pays the tariff except the customer," she says. "Everywhere is selling cheap stuff from China so I actually prefer being able to order directly."

When the rules around de minimis changed last week, Temu said it would stop selling goods imported from China in the US directly to customers from its platform, and that all sales would now be handled by "locally based sellers", with orders fulfilled from within the US.

'End of an era'

Even without the latest tariffs, economists Pablo Fajgelbaum and Amit Khandelwal had estimated that ending de minimis would lead to at least $10.9bn in new costs, which they found would be disproportionately borne by lower income and minority households.

"It does kind of feel like the end of an era," says Gee Davis, a 40-year-old author from Missouri, who used Temu during a recent house move to buy small items such as an electric can opener and kitchen cabinet organisers.

She says it was a relief to be able to easily afford the extras and the new rules felt like a "money grab" by the government to benefit big, entrenched American retailers like Amazon and Walmart that sell similar products - but at a bigger mark-up.

"I don't think it's right or fair that little treats should be [restricted] to people who are richer.

"It just would be a real bummer if everyone who was under a certain household income threshold was just no longer able to afford anything for themselves."

As with other Trump policy changes, questions remain about the significance of the shift.

The president was already forced to suspend the policy once before, as packages began piling up at the border.

Lori Wallach, director at Rethink Trade, which supports ending de minimis for consumer safety reasons, says the end of the exemption is significant "on paper", but she fears the administration is taking steps that will weaken its implementation.

She points to a recent customs notice, which said products affected by many of the new tariffs could enter the country through the informal process, a move that eases some regulatory requirements.

"Practically, because all of this stuff can come though informal entry, it's going to be extremely hard to collect tariffs or to be able to inspect really very much more than before the change happened," she says.

'An insurmountable shift'

Customs and Border Protection deny the move will undermine enforcement, noting that firms are still required to supply more information than before.

Businesses have indicated they are taking the changes seriously.

Both Shein and Temu last month warned customers that prices would rise, while Temu says it is rapidly expanding its network of US-based sellers and warehouses to protect its low prices.

Other business groups say many smaller, less high-profile American brands that manufacture abroad for US customers are struggling - and may not survive.

"If the tariffs weren't in place, it would be like taking a little bit of bitter medicine," says Alex Beller, board member of the Ecommerce Innovation Alliance, a business lobby group and a co-founder of Postscript, which works with thousands of smaller businesses on text messaging marketing.

"But paired with the other tariffs, especially for brands that manufacture in China, it just becomes an insurmountable shift."

In a letter to the government last month, men's clothing company Indochino, known for its custom suits made-to-order in China, warned that ending de minimis posed a "significant threat to the viability" of its business and other mid-size American firms like it.

Steven Borelli is the chief executive of the athleisure clothing firm CUTS, which manufactures outside the US, shipping products to a warehouse in Mexico, from where packages are mailed to customers in the US.

His firm has been pushing to reduce its reliance on China, halting orders in the country months ago. Still, he says he is now considering price increases and job cuts.

He says his business has room to manoeuvre, since it caters to higher income customers, but he expects "thousands" of other brands to die without changes to the situation.

"We want more time," he says. "The speed at which everything is happening is too fast for businesses to adjust."

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest pops its cork on Sunday, with a "turquoise carpet" parade featuring competitors from all 37 nations.

But the competition really begins on Tuesday, when the first semi-final will see five countries unceremoniously kicked out.

Another six will lose their place at the second semi-final on Thursday, before the Grand Final takes place in Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday, 17 May.

This year's entrants include two returning contestants, one professional opera singer, a thinly veiled allusion to sexual emissions and a dance anthem about a dead space dog.

It's a lot to take in.

To help you prepare, here's a guide to all 37 songs in the contest, which I've sorted into rough musical categories, mainly for my own sanity (it didn't work).

Left-field pop bangers

Win or lose, UK contestants Remember Monday have given headline writers a gift with the title of their entry: What The Hell Just Happened?

A souped-up, full throttle pop anthem, it cherry-picks the best bits of Queen, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Beatles, presumably to remind voters of Britain's rich musical heritage.

With eight tempo changes, it could prove tricky for voters to grasp, but the band's stellar harmonies and sparkling personalities should carry them through.

Crucially, the song avoids the Eurovision cliches of jackhammer dance anthems and windswept balladry – something Remember Monday have in common with this year's favourites.

Sweating it out at the top are Swedish representatives KAJ, whose song Bara Bada Bastu is an ode to the restorative powers of the sauna, complete with dancers in skimpy towels.

Unreasonably catchy, it's won the approval of Abba's Bjorn Ulvaeus, whose been singing the track in his own private sauna. As you do.

Stiff competition comes from Austrian singer JJ, and his operatic ballad Wasted Love.

A timeworn story of unrequited love, it leans on his training as a counter-tenor, before exploding into an unexpected techno breakdown.

A favourite with the bookies, the song's only Achilles heel is its similarity to last year's winner, Nemo.

Distinctive in a different way is Ireland's entry, Laika Party – a 90s rave track about a dog who was sent to space by Russia and left to die there.

Singer Emmy aims for a hopeful spin on a tragic story but, despite a peppy performance, it's a bit of a downer.

More palatable is Luxembourg's Laura Thorn, whose La Poupée Monte Le Son is a callback to France Gall's 1965 winning entry, Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son.

Where the original was about a "fashion doll" operated by songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, Thorn's response is all about taking control.

"If you think a man like you can manipulate me, go back to your mum," she scolds. Yeouch.

Other countries sucking up to Italy

Rome must be blushing. This year features not one, but two, songs about the vibrant culture of Il Bel Paese.

The first comes, not surprisingly, from San Marino – the independent microstate that nestles inside north-central Italy.

Titled Tutta L'Italia, it celebrates everything from the county's football team and its vineyards, to the Mona Lisa (under her Italian name Gioconda).

Written by Gabry Ponte – one of the brains behind Eiffel 65's Blue (Da Ba Dee) – it's a slight, but fun, mixture of dance beats, traditional accordion playing and the folk dances of Calabria.

The staging could be its downfall, though, with Gabry marooned behind his DJ decks while the singers, who for some reason wish to remain anonymous, obscure their faces with masks.

More memorable, but definitely more unhinged, is Estonia's Espresso Macchiato.

Performed by Tommy Cash (the only Eurovision contestant to have appeared on a Charli XCX record) it's an affectionate-ish caricature of Italian stereotypes, featuring the indelible lyric: "Life is like spaghetti, it's hard until you make it".

Smut!

I'm trying to give up sexual innuendo, but Eurovision is making it har... difficult.

A trio of artists are trying to sneak smut past the censors, led by Malta's Miriana Conte, with a throbbing club track called Serving.

In its original form, the song's chorus revolved around the phrase "serving kant" – the word kant being Maltese for "singing" and a homophone for an English term that definitely doesn't mean singing.

It's a reference to a well-known phrase in the drag / ballroom world; but several countries complained it broke broadcasting guidelines, prompting a hasty re-write.

If the stunt was meant to generate headlines it worked, but now that Miriana has our attention, she's not letting go.

Her performance, featuring a giant disco ball pursed between two red lips, is gloriously OTT, and she has an enviable set of pipes. Too bad the song is riddled with Europop cliche.

Another contestant doubling his entendres is Australia's Go-Jo, who wants us to "take a sip" of milkshake from his "special cup". Interpret that how you want but I'd be wary of hitching a lift in his ice cream van, if I were you.

With a smattering of Electric Six's saucy disco funk, Milkshake Man is tasty enough to get Australia back in the finals after only achieving a semi last year.

Finally, we have Finland's Erika Vikman, whose song Ich Komme is billed as a "joyous message of pleasure, ecstasy and a state of trance".

Structured to mimic the pneumatic realities of lovemaking, it recalls iconic gay anthems such as Kylie's Your Disco Needs You and Donna Summer's Hot Stuff – and ends with Erika shooting into the sky astride a massive gold microphone that's definitely not a stand-in for a phallus.

Three songs inspired by cancer

Little in life is more devastating than the phrase "I'm afraid it's cancer".

The disease will affect one in two of us and, although survival rates have dramatically improved, the impact can be devastating.

This year, three separate Eurovision contestants have been touched by cancer, inspiring songs of unmatched heartbreak and reflection.

French singer Louane captures it best. Her song Maman, is an intimate conversation with her mother, who died when she was just 17 years old.

Over three verses, Louane describes the "emptiness" she was felt; and how she filled the void with bad behaviour and meaningless love affairs. But, as the song progresses, she tells her mum she's settled down and found purpose... by becoming a mother herself.

She sings it beautifully, with a mixture of regret and strength. And when her daughter's voice appears in the final moments of the song, it would take a steely heart not to shed a tear.

Over in Norway, 19-year-old Kyle Alessandro shared a similar story, when his mother was diagnosed with cancer in autumn 2023. Thankfully, she's now in remission, but something she said during her treatment inspired his Eurovision entry: "Never lose your light."

Kyle took that phrase and turned it into a thumping pop song about surviving adversity. "Nothing can burn me now," he sings. "I'm my own Lighter."

Klemen Slakonja, meanwhile, is a comedian best known in Slovenia for his impressions of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin - but his ballad, How Much Time Do We Have Left was written after his wife, actress Mojca Fatur, was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.

As he sings, Klemen's dancers raise him into the air and hold him upside down, to represent the disorientation the family felt.

"When she read her diagnosis, our world turned upside down and I felt that rush of blood in my head, the same one I feel whenever I am upside down in the performance," he told Eurovision World.

Defying the odds, Mojca survived, and joins him on stage at Eurovision. It's a deeply intimate and moving moment.

The bops

Listening to this year's line-up, it's like the contestants all heard Cascada's Evacuate the Dancefloor and went, "Nah, we're good, thanks".

There are club bangers everywhere, with Belgium's Red Sebastian (named after the crab in The Little Mermaid, bless him) submitting an entire song about the loved-up liberation of an all-night rave.

"Where no words are needed to feel the connection / Where clocks never tick and where love is the ending."

A favourite with fans, the 90s rave elements of Strobe Lights feel a little dated to me, but his meticulously-choreographed performance is a treat.

Denmark's Sissal takes a similar sound, with a throwback Euro-bop called Hallucination that effortlessly evokes two-time Eurovision winner Loreen.

Sissal said her biggest goal was for the audience to feel they couldn't sit down during the song. Mission accomplished.

Germany, meanwhile, have been hoping to reverse their 15-year losing streak with Baller, a super-catchy trance anthem that wouldn't sound out of place at Berlin superclub Berghain.

Performed by Austrian siblings Abor & Tynna, it's languishing in the middle of the field, after Tynna developed laryngitis, robbing the duo of the chance to impress fans at Eurovision's various pre-parties. But now that she's recovered, the song could rise up the rankings.

That's less likely for Væb, aka the Icelandic Jedward. Their energetic dance-rap song, Roá, is all about rowing from Iceland to the Faroe Islands, "because no matter what happens in life you just keep on rowing through the waves".

Sadly, it's not as deep as it sounds.

Spanish star Melody fares better with Esa Diva, a pumping house track with a sprinkling of flamenco guitar, that documents her journey to fame.

And Azerbaijan's Mamagama go all Maroon 5 on Run With U, a smooth pop song elevated by a twinkling riff on the saz – a long-necked plucked instrument similar to the lute.

Post-immigrant pop

OK, so I've stolen that description from Shkodra Elektronike.

They're an Albanian duo living in Italy, who fuse the ethnic music of their hometown, Shkodër, to a progressive electronic sound.

Their song Zjerm (Fire) imagines a time when cross-cultural understanding would lead to peace and harmony – a world without a need for soldiers and ambulances, and where "oil would smell like lilac" (no, me neither).

Greece's entry, Asteromáta, is also rooted in history and memory, as Klavdia describes the unbreakable bond that refugees share with their homeland.

"Even if they cross the seas / They shall never forget the sacred earth they called home," she sings, in a haunting ballad that blends traditional Greek and Pontic elements with soaring strings.

Taking a more upbeat approach is Dutch singer Claude. A refugee from the bloody civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he moved to the Netherlands at the age of nine and fell in love with Eurovision while waiting in the refugee centre.

His song, C'est La Vie, is a tribute to his mum, who taught him to see the positive in their situation.

Fizzing with freedom and joy, it combines elements of chanson and French-Caribbean zouk, and looks set for a top 10 placing.

Witchcraft, sorcery and moody goth boys

The success of "goth gremlin witch" Bambie Thug at last year's Eurovision has conjured a veritable coven of imitators in 2025.

Polish singer Justyna Steczkowska, representing her country for the second time, even includes a Slavic magic spell in her song, Gaja – summoning the spirit of the mother Earth to "cleanse" her of a toxic relationship.

It's a suitably intense performance, with Justyna singing long sustained notes and playing a furious violin solo, before being hoiked into the rafters on a pair ropes.

What a time to be alive.

Marko Bošnjak, meanwhile, is cooking up a Poison Cake to feed to his tormentors - chiefly the people who bombarded him with homophobic hate messages after he was selected to represent Croatia.

The criticism was so intense that he lost his voice and couldn't leave the house for five days.

His song is suitably melodramatic, replete with guttural synths and creepy playground chants. It's a little overbaked, but should still sail through to the finals.

Taking a more ethereal approach are Latvian group Tautumeitas, whose song Bur Man Laimi translates as "a chant for happiness".

Reminiscent of Bjork and Enya, its overlapping folk harmonies are based on traditional Latvian wedding songs, making it one of this year's most captivating entries. I fear it may be too subtle to score well, though.

Further mystery is provided by, Theo Evan, Cyprus's answer to Nick Jonas. The lyrics to his song, Shh, are a riddle, written by former tennis player Elke Tiel, whose "hidden truth will only be revealed on the Eurovision stage in May".

He opens his performance perched between two pieces of scaffolding in a recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Vitruvian Man sketch – so there's a clue.

Shh is one of a number of gothic pop songs, sung by brooding young men with interesting hair.

Among the best is Kiss Kiss Goodbye, by Czechia's Adonxs, who divebombs from an angelic falsetto to an unsettling baritone as he confronts his absent father.

Lithuanian band Katarsis are an interesting experiment, with a deliberately downbeat rock song that declares "the foundations of everything have begun to rot".

Titled Tavo Akys (your eyes), it builds to a compelling climax, but it's hard to see it being a vote-winner, unless Eurovision suddenly attracts an audience of depressed emo teens.

Rounding out the field are Armenian singer Parg, with the Imagine Dragons-inspired Survivor and Serbia's Princ, whose overwrought ballad is called Mila.

Both performers give it their all, but the songs don't feel strong enough to survive the semi-finals.

70s rock throwbacks

Four years after Måneskin's victory, Eurovision's rock revival continues apace.

Italy are back at it again, thanks to Lucio Corsi – think David Bowie as Pierrot – and his glam rock ballad Volevo Essere Un Duro (I wanted to be tough).

A delicate anthem for people who feel they don't fit in, it recalls how Lucio was bullied as a kid, and how he's grown to embrace his fragility. At one point, he sings: "Instead of a star, [I'm] just a sneeze."

It's a timeless bit of songwriting that pulls off that crucial Eurovision trick of sounding new and familiar all at once.

Portuguese indie band Napa also have a 70s vibe, channelling Paul McCartney's Wings on the soft rock tear-jerker Deslocado (out of place).

It's another song about migration, written after the band were forced to relocate from Madeira to the Portuguese mainland due to the economic crisis.

"Even though we've been here for a few years we always have that desire to go back, and that anguish of saying goodbye to family," said singer Guilherme Gomes.

Last but not least are Ukraine's Ziferblat, who continue the country's astonishing run of high-quality entries in the midst of a war with Russia.

Their song, Bird Of Pray, is an unexpected mix of 70s new wave band Cars, birdsong and the guitar riff from Rachel Stevens' Sweet Dreams My LA Ex – while the lyrics are full of hope for a peaceful reunion with their loved ones.

It's better than that makes it sound.

The ballads

Where would Eurovision be without a raven-haired woman bellowing into a wind machine set to "hurricane"?

Israel has strong form in this category, and sets the bar again with New Day Will Rise, a melancholy piano ballad sung in a mixture of English, French and Hebrew.

The song's performed by Yuval Raphael, a 24-year-old who narrowly escaped with her life at the 2023 Nova music festival, where an attack by Hamas claimed the lives of 378 people and triggered Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza.

It's hard not to interpret her lyrics as a response to those events – "everyone cries, don't cry alone". As a result, her participation hasn't received the same level of criticism as Eden Golan, who represented Israel last year.

That can't be said for Georgia's contestant, Mariam Shengelia, who has been booed during pre-Eurovision appearances for her alleged support of the country's authoritarian, pro-Russian, anti-LGBT ruling party, Georgian Dream.

Shengelia has denied the accusations, pointing out that her song – a stirring, quasi-militaristic ballad called Freedom – is about "freedom of choice, freedom to love, freedom to live as you want to live".

"No amount of manufactured hate will change that," she told the Eurovision fan site Wiwibloggs.

Montenegro's Nina Žižić tackles domestic abuse in Dobrodošli, a brooding and refined orchestral ballad.

The singer, who previously entered Eurovision in 2015 with the cyborg pop oddity Igranka, delivers her lyrics with passion and sincerity, but somehow the song never quite takes off.

Last but not least, we have defending champions Switzerland, represented by 24-year-old Zoë Më, who describes herself as a "little fairy".

Appropriately enough, her self-penned song, Voyage is delicate as a fairy's wings, fluttering with a soft-spoken plea to treat each other with kindness.

Automatically qualifying for the final, it's a welcome oasis of calm amidst the steamy sauna sessions, moody goth haircuts and thrusting innuendo.

But that's Eurovision for you. All human life is here. See you in Basel!

As the continuing India-Pakistan crisis takes a dangerous turn, nations around the world are urging calm.

The initial thinking was that after India launched air strikes, and with Pakistan claiming to have shot down several Indian jets - a claim Delhi has not confirmed - both sides could claim "victory" and de-escalate.

But there's a danger that any protracted tit-for-tat attacks could lead them to a far more damaging prospect.

During past conflicts, such as in 2019 and 2016, it was the United States and a few other global powers that put pressure on Delhi and Islamabad to bring the situation under control and de-escalate.

Now passions are running high and the nationalist rhetoric has reached a crescendo on both sides. The neighbours are closer to war than in recent decades.

• Kashmir: Why India and Pakistan fight over it
• What we know about India's strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir

“The World community is keeping quiet; that’s dangerous,” Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistani academic who is a senior fellow at King’s College London.

“Though the flare up has been happening for decades, this is the first time the two countries find themselves in a conflict without anyone monitoring them or forcefully telling them to stop,” she said.

Unless Washington gets more involved, Islamabad and Delhi may continue with their accusations and counter-accusations.

Although US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been telling the senior leaders of India and Pakistan to de-escalate, the message from other American leaders is different.

US Vice-President JD Vance has said that a potential war between India and Pakistan would be "none of our business" during an interview with Fox News.

"We want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We can't control these countries, though," Vance said.

Vance was on a visit to India when the militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, took place.

US President Donald Trump had earlier called rising tension between India and Pakistan a "shame".

During previous India-Pakistan skirmishes, for example in 2019, tension was defused quickly after India carried out what it called “surgical strikes” on what it called terrorist camps inside Pakistan.

One Indian military jet was shot down in the aftermath of the crisis and the pilot was captured by Pakistan. He was released two days later after reported intervention from Washington and other world powers.

But the intensity of the current conflict is different and passions are running high on both sides.

While the Trump administration’s priorities are more about tariffs, China and Ukraine-Russia, it may require a concerted attempt by the international community to lower tension between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

The other world power which has a stake in South Asia is China. Beijing has close economic and military ties with Islamabad. It has invested more than $50bn (£37.5bn) in Pakistan as parts of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to boost trade.

China also has unresolved border issues with India and the two countries recently had a border clash in the Himalayan region 2020. Despite the tension, China is the second largest trading partner of India.

"If the US is uninterested [in resolving India-Pakistan tension] then other permanent members of the UN Security Council – P5 - should get involved. It is their responsibility as well," Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international affairs expert tells the BBC.

As India accuses Pakistan of supporting the Kashmiri separatist rebels, who carried out the deadly attack on tourists last month, the Chinese academic says "the P-5 members can launch a credible investigation into the incident", to address India's concerns.

Gulf states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to both the countries, could step up their mediation efforts.

Saudi Arabian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir arrived in Delhi on 7 May in what was seen as a surprise visit amid the backdrop of a spike in tensions between India and Pakistan.

“A good meeting with Adel Al-Jubeir," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, adding that his counterpart “shared India’s perspective on firmly countering terrorism”.

The Saudi minister arrived in Islamabad on Friday for talks with Pakistan's leaders.

There are an estimated 2.6 million Pakistanis living and working in the Gulf Kingdom. Riyadh has considerable influence in Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia has loaned billions of dollars to Pakistan to bail out the country during economic crises over the years.

One way out of the current crisis could be a situation where both sides can claim victory to satisfy their audience.

Delhi says the missile strikes on suspected militant hideouts inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir were part of a commitment to hold “accountable” those responsible for the last month’s attack in Pahalgam.

“India has already said it has achieved its objectives. Now, the ball is in Pakistan’s court. If they wish to retaliate then that would elicit a strong response from India,” retired Indian Lt Gen D S Hooda said.

For Pakistan, especially for its powerful military, it would want to show its people that it can stand up against India and teach it a lesson once again by downing five of the Indian air force jets during a dog fight.

India has not acknowledged the loss of any of its fighter jets in the current skirmish.

But according to Pakistani academic Siddiqa, how the current crisis ends depends on what India’s stated objectives are.

“India’s goal posts keep changing day by day – from punishing Pakistan to attaining something more,” she said.

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Dua Lipa, Sir Elton John, Sir Ian McKellen and Florence Welch are among a list of stars calling on the prime minister to update copyright laws in a way that protects them from artificial intelligence.

A letter signed by more than 400 British musicians, writers and artists, addressed to Sir Keir Starmer, says failing to give that protection would mean them "giving away" their work to tech firms.

Also at risk, they write, is "the UK's position as a creative powerhouse".

They want the PM to back an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill that would require developers to be transparent with copyright owners about using their material to train AI models.

A government spokesperson said: "We want our creative industries and AI companies to flourish, which is why we're consulting on a package of measures that we hope will work for both sectors.

"We're clear that no changes will be considered unless we are completely satisfied they work for creators," they added.

Other signatories include author Kazuo Ishiguro, playwright David Hare, singers Kate Bush and Robbie Williams, as well as Coldplay, Tom Stoppard and Richard Curtis.

Sir Paul McCartney, who told the BBC in January he was concerned about AI ripping off artists, has also signed the letter.

"We are wealth creators, we reflect and promote the national stories, we are the innovators of the future, and AI needs us as much as it needs energy and computer skills," it states.

They say their concerns can be met if the government backs an amendment proposed by Baroness Beeban Kidron ahead of a key vote in the House of Lords on Monday.

Baroness Kidron's amendment, it says, would "allow both AI developers and creators to develop licensing regimes that will allow for human-created content well into the future."

Not everyone agrees with the artists' approach.

Julia Willemyns, co-founder of the Centre for British Progress think tank, said such proposals could hamper the UK and its bid for growth.

The measures would "do nothing to stop foreign firms from using content from the British creative industries," she told the BBC.

"A restrictive copyright regime would offshore AI development, chill domestic innovation, and directly harm the UK economy," she said.

However, the letter comes amid mounting concern from artists over the inclusion of their works, and material protected by copyright, in the data used to develop generative AI systems.

These tools, which can produce new content in response to simple text prompts, have become increasingly popular and available to consumers.

But their capabilities have been accompanied by concerns and criticism over their data use and energy demand.

• What is AI, how does it work and what are the concerns about it?

In February, artists including Annie Lennox and Damon Albarn released a silent album to protest about the government's proposed changes to copyright law.

The government carried out a consultation around its proposal to allow developers to be able to use creators' content on the internet to help develop their models, unless the rights holders elect to "opt out".

According to The Guardian, ministers were reconsidering the proposal following creator backlash.

Mr Ishiguro pointed the BBC to an earlier statement in which he wrote, "why is it just and fair - why is it sensible - to alter our time-honoured copyright laws to advantage mammoth corporations at the expense of individual writers, musicians, film-makers and artists?"

The Nobel Prize-winning author added that since then the only limited advance was that it now appeared the government had accepted the opt-out proposals were not likely to be workable, He thought a new consultation to find a fairer scheme was possible, though it remained to be seen how meaningful any consultation would be.

"It's essential that they get this right," he wrote.

MPs recently rejected a separate amendment tabled by Baroness Kidron that aimed to make AI developers accountable to UK copyright law.

Now, she says transparency obligations for tech firms under the new proposed amendment could support the development of licensing agreements between creators and companies.

"The UK is in a unique position to take its place as a global player in the international AI supply chain, but to grasp that opportunity requires the transparency provided for in my amendments, which are essential to create a vibrant licencing market," Baroness Kidron said.

In their statement the government said: "It's vital we take the time to work through the range of responses to our consultation, but equally important that we put in the groundwork now as we consider the next steps.

"That is why we have committed to publishing a report and economic impact assessment – exploring the broad range of issues and options on all sides of the debate."

A massive increase in the price of water is just one consequence of a week of aerial attacks on the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.

Once seen as a relatively safe haven from Sudan's devastating civil war, Port Sudan is now reeling from days of bombardment from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

After six days of drone attacks, smoke is still rising from three fuel depots which were targeted. Rescue teams are gathered around the destroyed sites, but they are struggling to put the fires out.

The conflict, which began as a struggle between the leaders of the RSF and the army more than two years ago, has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and forced more than 12 million people from their homes.

One of those who fled to Port Sudan is 26-year-old Mutasim, who did not want his second name published for safety reasons.

The BBC spoke to him after he had waited hours for a water vendor to turn up.

The vital commodity has become scarce. The explosions at the fuel depots have left Port Sudan without the diesel used to power the pumps that bring up the groundwater.

• A simple guide to what is happening in Sudan
• BBC finds fear, loss and hope in Sudan's ruined capital after army victory
• How war devastated Sudan's museums

Mutasim told the BBC that whereas a day's supply of water cost him 2,000 Sudanese pounds ($3.30; £2.50) a week ago, he is now being charged five times that amount.

It leaves him and the seven other members of his family without much water for cooking, cleaning and bathing.

"Soon, we won't be able to afford it," he said explaining that he gets money from buying and selling basic goods in the market.

Water is not the only challenge in Port Sudan.

Daily life is going back to normal, markets and shops are open, but there are crowds of cars outside the city's petrol stations as people desperately wait for fuel.

"It could take me five hours to get petrol," said Mutasim.

It is a situation that many Sudanese have faced before, but not in this city.

Until last week, Port Sudan was one of the few places in the country that was considered protected from the worst of the civil war.

"We came here two years ago from Omdurman," Mutasim said, referring to the city that sits on the other side of the River Nile from the capital, Khartoum.

It cost the family their entire savings - $3,000 (£2,250) – to set up in a new place.

"We were forced to leave our home by the RSF, so it was a relief to come here. Life was starting to go back to normal."

"We were thinking about moving because it is no longer safe here, but it's so expensive - and where do we go?"

Port Sudan has been experiencing blackouts for the past two weeks, which have been made worse by the latest attacks.

"My auntie is over 70 years old, she is struggling with the heat and humidity because there is no electricity for fans at night," Mutasim said.

"We can't sleep."

Hawa Mustafa, a teacher from el-Geneina in Darfur, in the west of the country, also sought refuge in Port Sudan.

She has been living with her four children in a shelter for displaced people for over two years. She said this week's attacks left her "living in fear".

"The drones came to us and we returned to a state of war and the lack of safety," she told the BBC.

"The sounds of the drones and the anti-aircraft missiles remind me of the first days of the war in el-Geneina."

Hawa lives without her husband, who has been unable to leave their home due to the deteriorating security situation. She is now responsible for her family.

"I don't know where to go if things get worse in Port Sudan. I was planning to go to one of the neighbouring countries, but it seems that this dream will no longer come true."

Another person living in the city, Mariam Atta, told the BBC that "life has changed completely".

"We are struggling to cope," she said. "The fear is constant."

Since Sudan's civil war started in 2023, humanitarian agencies have depended on Port Sudan as a gateway to bring in aid, because of its port and the country's only functional international airport.

It has been used by organisations such as the UN's World Food Programme to deliver food assistance.

"Port Sudan is our main humanitarian hub," says Leni Kinzli, WFP spokesperson for Sudan.

"In March, we had almost 20,000 metric tonnes of food distributed, and I would say definitely more than half of that came through Port Sudan," she told the BBC.

The WFP has said that there is currently famine in 10 regions of the country, with 17 more at risk.

Many aid agencies are now concerned these attacks could block the flow of aid, making the humanitarian situation even worse.

"I think this is going to severely constrain the delivery of life-saving food and medical supplies, which will risk further deterioration of the already critical situation," Shashwat Saraf, country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, told the BBC.

He added that while agencies will look for other routes into the country, it will be challenging.

At night the city is quiet.

Before the attacks, people would gather at the coast and some would watch football in local cafes. But the electricity blackout has left the city in the dark and residents are choosing to stay at home for security reasons.

More BBC stories on the war in Sudan:

• Inside Khartoum, a city left in ruins after two years of war
• 'Child in arms, luggage on my head, I fled Sudan camp for safety'
• Sudan's years of war - BBC smuggles in phones to reveal hunger and fear

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

Not long after greeting crowds from the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square on Thursday evening, Pope Leo XIV returned to the Sant'Uffizio Palace, where he had been living for the last two months.

He was met by a jubilant group of staff and former colleagues, all eager to shake his hand and congratulate him.

A young girl handed him a Bible to bless and sign. "Of course, though I have to try out my new signature," Pope Leo said with a smile. "The old one is of no use anymore."

He had only stopped being Robert Francis Prevost a few hours before, when he was elected pope. As he took on the name Leo XIV, a new life began for the 69-year-old Chicago-born cardinal.

But details on how Pope Leo will be looking to run the Catholic Church are still scarce, and so over the next few days and weeks every small clue – from his attire to his choice of accommodation – will be examined.

Scrutiny began as soon as he stepped on to the balcony, giving the crowd a glimpse of the vestments he chose for his first appearance.

The gold cross around his neck that caught the evening light was seen as a first sign he was departing from the simplicity of his predecessor's simple silver pendant; the embroidered stole and red mozzetta cemented that impression.

Then, the fact that the homily he delivered to cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on Friday morning was scripted – rather than improvised – also sent a signal that "Leo will be more closely aligned to tradition than Francis was," said Austen Ivereigh, a Catholic writer and commentator.

But several events over the next few days and weeks will give Pope Leo a further chance to sketch out the priorities of his pontificate.

On Monday he is due to hold an audience with the media and on 18 May he will celebrate a solemn inaugural mass in St Peter's Square.

As part of that mass he will deliver a homily in the presence of numerous heads of state and dignitaries.

In his 2013 inaugural homily, Pope Francis asked "all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life" to be "protectors of creation, of God's plan… of one another and of the environment".

So that moment might also provide clues about the matters dearest to Pope Leo's heart.

• Watch: Oh my God, it's Rob! - Pope's brother speaks of joy
• Analysis: Continuity the key for Pope seen as unifier in the Church
• Reaction: 'I flipped out, I said no way!' - Chicago celebrates hometown Pope
• 'God loves Peru': Country celebrates new Pope as one of their own

The new Pope's choice of accommodation too will be significant.

Francis made the choice of choosing to live in the simple Casa Santa Marta guesthouse, which was seen as revolutionary, but Leo may well decide to follow in the footsteps of virtually all his predecessors and reside in the grand Apostolic Palace.

"He was elected less than a day ago; let's give him time to decide," Vatican sources quoted by Italian media said.

"These are all important choices," Ivereigh added.

"Over the next few days we'll be learning more and more about it – the first week of the pontificate is a constant revelation."

Meanwhile, in the absence of details about his future as Leo XIV, fragments of the Pope's old life as Robert Prevost are emerging from around the world.

This is the case especially in his native Chicago and his adopted homeland of Peru, of which he became a citizen in 2015.

In one photo, he is presented with a large handmade birthday card written in Spanish and surrounded by cakes and balloons.

A video recorded when he left Peru for Rome, in which he says he would miss the "joy" of Peru and staples of local cuisine like ceviche, has been met with triumph by South American social media users.

"The pope is Peruvian; God loves Peru," Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said.

American tourists ambling in St Peter's Square on the day after the election were more restrained, and a bit frazzled by the news that the new Pope is from the US.

"I'm still surprised they chose an American, to be honest," said Chicagoan Kerry, who is in Rome on her honeymoon.

She admitted she didn't yet know much about the new Pope but was pleased by rumours that he is a fan of the White Sox baseball team.

Asked how she thought Pope Leo felt today, she laughed: "He must be really overwhelmed; I bet he didn't sleep a wink!"

Her husband Joseph agreed: "When you're elected Pope you come here as a cardinal for the conclave but then things never go back to the way they were," he said.

But he felt like the new Pope seemed to be "a man of confidence, prayer and humility".

"I just pray that he shows the world what being a man of God can do."

The newly-weds posed for a picture with the day's newspapers, then wandered off into St Peter's Square, resplendent in the spring sunshine.

A federal judge has ordered the release of a Turkish student at Tufts University who is being held in Louisiana after US immigration officials arrested her in Massachusetts.

Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, testified virtually at a court hearing on Friday, where US District Judge William Sessions said the student met all the conditions needed for release and lambasted the government's case against her, according to BBC news partner CBS.

"Her continued detention chills the speech of millions in this country who are not citizens," the judge said.

Ms Otzurk co-authored an opinion piece in her campus newspaper that was critical of Israel's war. Her arrest follows the White House's crackdown on what it has classified as antisemitism on US campuses.

The US Department of Homeland Security had accused Ms Ozturk of "engag[ing] in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans". The government did not call any witnesses during the hearing.

After the judge's ruling, a DHS spokesperson responded: "Visas provided to foreign students to live and study in the United States are a privilege not a right. The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system, and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country."

Videos of Ms Ozturk's arrest in March, showing masked plain-clothes officers handcuffing her and taking her into an unmarked car after a Ramadan celebration, sparked nation-wide protests.

Earlier this week, the judge ordered that Ms Ozturk be transferred by 14 May to immigration authorities in Vermont, where she was last held before she was taken to Louisiana.

The judge said Friday that she should be released immediately without travel restrictions, so she can go to Vermont or Massachusetts, where Tufts is located, as needed.

He heard from a number of witnesses in the case, including Ms Ozturk, her doctor and a Tufts University professor.

During her testimony, Ms Ozturk told the court about her Fulbright scholarship and her PhD work. She said her asthma condition had worsened during detainment, and at one point, had to take a short break after suffering an asthma attack on camera.

After hearing from witnesses for the defence, Judge Sessions said Ms Ozturk had raised "very substantial" claims that her First Amendment and due process rights were violated. He said the only evidence the administration had against Ms Ozturk was her op-ed.

"That literally is the case," he said, according to court reporters. "There is no evidence that she has engaged in violence or advocated violence."

In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Ms Ozturk, said they were "delighted" by her release.

"Rümeysa can now return to her beloved Tufts community, resume her studies, and begin teaching again," said Noor Zafar, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU. "Today's ruling underscores a vital First Amendment principle: No one should be imprisoned by the government for expressing their beliefs."

Judge Sessions told the court that the government must notify him when Ms Ozturk is freed and said he would deny any motions to block her release.

The Trump administration has detained several international students - some legal residents - who have organised in support of Palestine.

Last week, a judge ordered the government to release Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi after immigration officials detained him during a naturalization interview.

The 34-year-old permanent resident was raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank and had been held at a facility in Vermont.

One of the highest profile cases thus far involves Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist, who remains in a Louisiana detention facility without charges.

Former British Army officer and mercenary Simon Mann, who was part of a coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea in 2004, has died of a heart attack while exercising, friends confirmed.

The 72-year-old made millions of pounds from protecting businesses in conflict zones before he took part in the failed attempt to overthrow the west African nation's ruler.

Mann was sentenced to 34 years in prison on arms charges and later said he had been the "manager, not the architect" of the scheme.

In 2009, the ex-SAS commando was pardoned, released and given 48 hours to leave the country.

The plot had been an attempt to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema - at the time Mann and co-conspirators said the aim was to install exiled opposition leader Severo Moto.

It was uncovered after police in Zimbabwe's capital Harare impounded a plane which had flown in from South Africa.

Mann and more than 60 others were arrested, amid claims they were mercenaries.

They said they were providing security for a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mann attended private boys' school Eton before studying at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and then joining the Scots Guards.

He became a member of the SAS - the army's special forces unit - and rose through the ranks to become a commander.

In 2011, he said the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea - which saw him arrested with fellow mercenaries after trying to load weapons onto a plane in Zimbabwe - was foiled by the CIA.

After serving three years of his 34-year sentence in Zimbabwe, he was moved to Black Beach Prison in Equatorial Guinea.

Speaking in 2011 about that move, he said "friends, family, and enemies" had told him "if that happens, you have had it, you're a dead man".

After being pardoned and released, he expressed regret for what he had done, saying that "however good the money is", the moral case "has to stack up".

Mexico is suing Google for ignoring repeated requests not to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America on Google Maps for US users, President Claudia Sheinbaum says.

She did not say where the lawsuit had been filed. Google did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

On Thursday, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted to officially rename the Gulf for federal agencies.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office in January.

He argued the change was justified because the US "do most of the work there, and it's ours".

However Sheinbaum's government contends that Trump's order applies only to the US portion of the continental shelf.

"All we want is for the decree issued by the US government to be complied with," she said, asserting that the US lacks the authority to rename the entire gulf.

In January, Sheinbaum wrote a letter to Google asking the firm to reconsider its decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico for US users. The following month, she threatened legal action.

At the time, Google said it made the change as part of "a longstanding practice" of following name changes when updated by official government sources.

It said the Gulf - which is bordered by the US, Cuba and Mexico - would not be changed for people using the app in Mexico, and users elsewhere in the world will see the label: "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)".

The Associated Press (AP) news agency's refusal to start referring to the Gulf of America led to a months-long conflict with the White House, which restricted AP's access to certain events.

A federal judge ordered the White House in April to stop sidelining the outlet.

Trump hinted Wednesday that he may recommend changing the way the US refers to another body of water.

During an upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, he plans to announce that the US will henceforth refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia, AP reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has responded by saying he hopes the "absurd rumours" are "no more than a disinformation campaign" and such a move would "bring the wrath of all Iranians".

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A federal judge has ordered the release of a Turkish student at Tufts University who is being held in Louisiana after US immigration officials arrested her in Massachusetts.

Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, testified virtually at a court hearing on Friday, where US District Judge William Sessions said the student met all the conditions needed for release and lambasted the government's case against her, according to BBC news partner CBS.

"Her continued detention chills the speech of millions in this country who are not citizens," the judge said.

Ms Otzurk co-authored an opinion piece in her campus newspaper that was critical of Israel's war. Her arrest follows the White House's crackdown on what it has classified as antisemitism on US campuses.

The US Department of Homeland Security had accused Ms Ozturk of "engag[ing] in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans". The government did not call any witnesses during the hearing.

After the judge's ruling, a DHS spokesperson responded: "Visas provided to foreign students to live and study in the United States are a privilege not a right. The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system, and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country."

Videos of Ms Ozturk's arrest in March, showing masked plain-clothes officers handcuffing her and taking her into an unmarked car after a Ramadan celebration, sparked nation-wide protests.

Earlier this week, the judge ordered that Ms Ozturk be transferred by 14 May to immigration authorities in Vermont, where she was last held before she was taken to Louisiana.

The judge said Friday that she should be released immediately without travel restrictions, so she can go to Vermont or Massachusetts, where Tufts is located, as needed.

He heard from a number of witnesses in the case, including Ms Ozturk, her doctor and a Tufts University professor.

During her testimony, Ms Ozturk told the court about her Fulbright scholarship and her PhD work. She said her asthma condition had worsened during detainment, and at one point, had to take a short break after suffering an asthma attack on camera.

After hearing from witnesses for the defence, Judge Sessions said Ms Ozturk had raised "very substantial" claims that her First Amendment and due process rights were violated. He said the only evidence the administration had against Ms Ozturk was her op-ed.

"That literally is the case," he said, according to court reporters. "There is no evidence that she has engaged in violence or advocated violence."

In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Ms Ozturk, said they were "delighted" by her release.

"Rümeysa can now return to her beloved Tufts community, resume her studies, and begin teaching again," said Noor Zafar, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU. "Today's ruling underscores a vital First Amendment principle: No one should be imprisoned by the government for expressing their beliefs."

Judge Sessions told the court that the government must notify him when Ms Ozturk is freed and said he would deny any motions to block her release.

The Trump administration has detained several international students - some legal residents - who have organised in support of Palestine.

Last week, a judge ordered the government to release Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi after immigration officials detained him during a naturalization interview.

The 34-year-old permanent resident was raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank and had been held at a facility in Vermont.

One of the highest profile cases thus far involves Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist, who remains in a Louisiana detention facility without charges.

South Africa has criticised the US amid reports it could receive white Afrikaners as refugees as early as next week.

A document seen by the BBC's US partner, CBS, describes the potential resettlement as a "priority" for President Donald Trump's government, however the timing has not been publicly confirmed by the White House.

In a statement published on Friday, South Africa's foreign ministry described the purported move as "politically motivated" and designed to undermine South Africa's "constitutional democracy".

In February President Trump described Afrikaners as victims of "racial discrimination" in an executive order, opening up the prospect for them to resettle in the US.

The South African authorities said they would not block the departures of those chosen for resettlement, but that the government had sought assurances from its American counterpart that those selected had been fully vetted and did not have pending criminal charges.

South Africa reiterated that allegations of discrimination against the country's white minority are unfounded, adding that crime statistics do not indicate that any racial group has been targeted in violent crimes on farms.

Some groups representing the rights of white farmers have said they are being deliberately killed because of their race.

A spokesperson for the US state department told the BBC they were interviewing individuals interested in resettling in the US, and prioritising "Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination", but would not confirm when the resettlement would begin.

The Trump administration has also accused South Africa of seizing land from white farmers without compensation, something Pretoria has repeatedly denied.

You may also be interested in:

• Almost 70,000 South Africans interested in US asylum
• Race policies or Israel - what's really driving Trump's fury with South Africa?
• The expelled envoy at the heart of the latest US-South Africa row

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

The US has confirmed that a new system for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza through private companies is being prepared, as Israel's blockade continues for a third month.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said "distribution centres" protected by security contractors would provide food and other supplies to up to a million people initially, as part of an effort to prevent Hamas stealing aid.

He denied Israel would take part in aid delivery or distribution, but said its forces would secure the centres' perimeters.

It comes as details emerged about the controversial plan, which UN agencies have reiterated they will not co-operate with because it appears to "weaponize" aid.

"We will not participate," the spokesman for the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Laerke, told the BBC in Geneva, "only in efforts that are in line with our principles".

He added: "There is no reason to put in place a system that is at odds with the DNA of any principled humanitarian organisation."

Since early March, Israel has cut off all supplies from reaching Gaza - including food, shelters, medicines and fuel - leading to a humanitarian crisis for its 2.1 million residents.

A third of the community kitchens in Gaza - one of the territory's last remaining lifelines - have been forced to shut down over the past two weeks due to shortages of food and fuel, according to OCHA.

Among them were the last two field kitchens of World Central Kitchen, a US-based charity which had been providing 133,000 meals daily before it ran out of ingredients on Tuesday.

Prices of basic foodstuffs have also skyrocketed at local markets, with a 25kg (55lb) bag of flour now selling for $415 (£313) in Gaza City - a 30-fold increase compared to the end of February, OCHA says.

Huckabee told journalists in Jerusalem that US President Donald Trump saw aid for Gaza as an urgent matter and that his team was tasked "to do everything possible to accelerate that and to as expeditiously as possible get humanitarian aid into the people".

Israel and the US accuse Hamas of diverting aid. "Previous actions have often been met with Hamas stealing the food that was intended for hungry people," the ambassador said.

The UN and other agencies say they have strong supervisory mechanisms and that when aid has surged into Gaza, incidents of looting have largely halted. The World Health Organization says none of its medical supplies have been looted during the war.

The Trump administration is trying to build momentum behind the new aid initiative ahead of the president's trip next week to wealthy Arab Gulf countries that could help to fund it.

It says that a non-governmental organisation has been set up and that aid delivery will not be under Israeli military control.

Huckabee said: "The Israelis are going to be involved in providing necessary security because this is a war zone. But they will not be involved in the distribution of the food, or even the bringing of food into Gaza."

The newly registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) appears to have been set up for this purpose.

A 14-page document from GHF, seen by the BBC, promises to set up four distribution sites, giving out food, water and hygiene kits initially for 1.2 million people - less than 60% of the population. It says the project aims to reach all Gazans eventually.

Aimed at potential donors, the paper states that "months of conflict have collapsed traditional relief channels in Gaza".

It goes on: "GHF was established to restore that vital lifeline through an independent, rigorously-audited model that gets assistance directly - and only - to those in need."

The document maintains that GHF is "guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence".

Its boards of directors and advisors are said to include a former chief executive of World Central Kitchen, along with the American former head of the UN's World Food Programme, David Beasley - though his participation is not yet confirmed.

Full details of how the aid mechanism will work on the ground are not given.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which saw about 1,200 people killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Some 59 are still held captive, up to 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

Israel's military campaign has killed more than 52,700 people in Gaza, mostly women, children and the elderly, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Last Sunday, Israel's security cabinet approved an intensified military offensive against Hamas in Gaza which could involve forcibly displacing the population to the south, seizing the entire territory indefinitely, and controlling aid.

This was quickly met with widespread international condemnation. Many of Israel's allies pointed out that it was bound under international law to allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid.

The UK's Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, told Parliament on Monday that the British government was gravely concerned that the Israeli announcements could lead to the 19-month-long war in Gaza entering "a dangerous new phase".

On the subject of aid, he said: "As the UN has said, it is hard to see how, if implemented, the new Israeli plan to deliver aid through private companies would be consistent with humanitarian principles and meet the scale of the need. We need urgent clarity from the Israeli government on their intentions.

"We must remember what is at stake. These humanitarian principles matter for every conflict around the world. They should be applied consistently in every war zone."

This week, the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, briefed members of the UN Security Council - which includes the UK - behind closed doors about the new plan to resume the delivery of aid.

Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Israeli forces were already setting up distribution hubs in Rafah, in southern Gaza, in "a sterile zone" designed to be free of any Hamas presence.

According to reports, Israel expects that aid will be distributed to security-screened representatives from each Gazan family who would be allowed to take supplies for his or her relatives only. They would be allowed into the hubs only on foot.

The Israeli defence establishment was said to have assessed that the average quantity of aid that would have to be distributed as 70kg (154lb) per family per week.

The Israeli military would ultimately be stationed outside the distribution hubs, allowing aid workers to hand out food without soldiers being directly involved, the reports say.

Israel and the US argue that the new system would prevent Hamas from being able to steal food for its own benefit. By preventing its access to aid and involvement in security for convoys, they hope to reduce the group's influence over the Gazan population.

However, there are major questions over the plan's feasibility. The current UN system uses some 400 points of aid distribution, while the situation in Gaza is now at a crisis point, with warnings that mass starvation is imminent.

At a UN briefing in Geneva, aid officials said they had carried out "careful analysis" before deciding they could not participate in the US-Israeli scheme. They said they had not been formally presented with the GHF document that is currently circulating.

James Elder, spokesman for the UN's children's agency Unicef, said the plan that had been laid out would lead to more children suffering, not fewer. He noted that civilians would have to travel to militarised zones to receive aid, meaning the most vulnerable - children and the elderly - would struggle to get there.

He said the decision to locate all the distribution points in the south appeared designed to use aid as "a bait" to forcibly displace Gazans once again. The UN says 90% of the population has been displaced during the war, often many times.

The plan that has been discussed with UN agencies envisages just 60 lorry loads of aid entering each day - far less than they say is needed to meet growing needs, and a tenth of the number that went in daily during the recent two-month ceasefire.

OCHA's Jens Laerke said that in short, the proposals from Israel "do not meet the minimum bar for principled humanitarian support".

Analysts say that the current impasse over aid for Gaza is not only an existential threat to the UN's vast humanitarian operation in the Palestinian territory but could also have implications for its future work.

If it was to agree to a scheme accommodating the demands of the military on one side in a conflict, it could dent perceptions of the UN's neutrality and impartiality, and set a dangerous precedent leading to similar demands in other war zones where it operates.

The UN and other aid agencies also point out that they currently have tonnes of supplies piled up near Gaza's border crossings, ready to enter, if Israel would allow it.

Without an end to the blockade, the risk of famine is expected to grow.

In Jabalia, in northern Gaza, which has already been the focus of Israeli military operations against Hamas, Palestinian families told the BBC of their growing despair as they waited for a food handout at a takia, or community kitchen, which turned into a chaotic scramble.

"Every day I come here and wait with my cooking pot to feed my children," Umm Ahmed said. "The pot doesn't fill us up. We have been suffering for two months. There's no flour or anything. Open the borders so we can eat properly."

She said she would not comply with Israeli efforts to force her to move south to Rafah to receive aid.

"We don't have money for transport, we don't have money to eat!" she exclaimed. "I don't want to evacuate from here, I'd rather die than leave."

"The takia is our last source of food," said Mohammed, who had been waiting for five hours in line. "My wife is pregnant and sick and I'm unable to get her to the hospital. How am I supposed to get to Rafah?"

Additional reporting by David Gritten in Jerusalem

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers have been found guilty of cutting down the iconic Sycamore Gap tree. The deliberate felling of the tree on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland angered people around the world. For the man who was first on the scene, it was a moment that changed his life forever.

Park ranger Gary Pickles was in shock.

Where once had stood arguably England's favourite tree, there was now just air.

When the call had come through earlier that morning, Gary had thought it was a prank.

His working day on 28 September 2023 had barely started when a farmer called his office to report the tree was down.

"I doubted a farmer would be telling us a silly story so I thought 'oh my god, I think this might be true'."

The team of park rangers were alerted by email and Gary got in his van to drive to the tree.

With every passing minute of the short journey, his anxiety levels increased.

"As I got nearer and nearer, I just thought 'it's gone, it's gone'."

He'd arrived at the road adjacent to the tree and had to "double take" as he saw it for the first time lying on its side.

"It was shock," said Gary, who was met with a gaping hole in the landscape.

At this stage, he presumed the tree had been damaged in Storm Agnes, which had brought strong winds overnight.

"When you look and it's gone, it's just....oh my god," he said.

"It's a landmark. It's a piece of the landscape."

Gary needed to investigate further. He parked his van in a nearby car park and rushed on foot to the fallen tree.

The sadness he was feeling soon turned to anger and panic.

"When I got there I realised it had been chopped down and not blown down.

"There was a clean cut so that escalated it up.

"Once you realise it's been chopped down, then it's going to become a massive worldwide story."

The seriousness of the developing situation quickly became apparent.

Gary hastily reported back to Northumberland National Park's headquarters that it appeared that the tree had been cut down deliberately. At this stage there was no time to consider who by or why.

Just after 09:00 BST, the National Park alerted colleagues at the National Trust, including general manager Andrew Poad.

"My personal phone started lighting up. Messages were coming through on my laptop.

"Once I realised it was a deliberate act, crisis mode kicked in," said Andrew, whose priority was to personally inform people before they saw it on social media.

"It was like ringing people up to tell them that someone had passed away.

"On the day I was using the expression 'it's like losing a loved one'. We all went through that grief.

"There were numerous members of staff in tears."

Viral photographs shared on social media showed the tree on its side, as the PR teams at the National Park and the National Trust frantically collaborated on an official response.

"Within the hour it was global, effectively," Andrew said.

Shortly before 11:00, a statement from the organisations confirmed the tree had been cut down.

At around midday, Northumbria Police announced it was being treated as "a deliberate act of vandalism".

Local journalists were already carrying out interviews at the scene, before reporters from around the world turned the grassy mound opposite the stump into a "sea of camera tripods".

"It is the largest press story that the National Trust has ever dealt with," Andrew said.

"It was one of the things that surprised us. The sheer scale of the global reach of the interest really took us back a bit."

The usual calming sound of the vast countryside was drowned out by the clicks of cameras and the engines of broadcast trucks.

"We knew it was popular, but we didn't know how popular," Andrew said.

The international interest also surprised Gary.

"My sister lives in France, my brother is in America, and by dinner time they'd both rung me, so it was global news at such a fast rate."

Senior management from the National Park and the National Trust spent the afternoon at the fallen tree, speaking to the crowds of emotional walkers and journalists.

Reporters gathered shocking footage of the trunk draped over a now damaged Hadrian's Wall.

This idyllic, tranquil spot that had brought peace to so many was now a crime scene wrapped in blue and white police tape. Forensic officers in white suits also gathered DNA from the stump.

Eighteen months on from its felling, Andrew and Gary regularly reflect on the day that north-east England lost "a massive local landmark."

"It's just senseless. Who or what were they trying to get at?" said Andrew.

"It's still a huge part of my life dealing with this. It's a big gap in all our lives, never mind the landscape."

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The new Pope, Leo XIV, has called for the Catholic Church to "desperately" counter a lack of faith in his first mass at the Vatican.

Speaking on Friday, the day after he was elected the first US leader of the Catholic Church, he warned that people were turning to "technology, money, success, power, or pleasure" for security instead of the Church.

Pope Leo also called for cardinals to extend missionary outreach.

The ascension of Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, 69, has been widely celebrated by 1.4 billion Catholics across the world, with joyous outbursts in particular in Peru, where he was stationed for 20 years, and in his US homeland.

In his speech, the new pope said he had been elected to be a "faithful administrator" of the Church and to steer it as a "beacon" to reach areas suffering a "lack of faith".

"A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society," he said in Italian.

Pope Leo wore a white robe trimmed in gold as he addressed the seated cardinals in the Sistine Chapel address broadcast live by the Vatican administration.

On Thursday evening, Prevost was introduced to the world as the new Pope Leo XIV to rousing cheers from crowds gathered in St Peter's Square.

Appearing on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, his first words to the tens of thousands of worshippers gathered outlined a vision of a "missionary" Church which "builds bridges, which holds dialogues, which is always open".

• Live: Follow the latest updates after new Pope chosen
• Profile: Who is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV?
• Watch: Oh my God, it's Rob! - Pope's brother speaks of joy
• Analysis: Continuity the key for Pope seen as unifier in the Church

He echoed his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, in calling for peace.

"Help us, and each other, to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace," he said.

World leaders have rushed to congratulate Prevost on his election, pledging to work with him on global issues. US President Donald Trump called it a "great honour" to have the first American pope.

Prevost, who also holds Peruvian citizenship, only became an archbishop and then cardinal in 2023. He was elected leader by his fellow cardinals in just two days of voting in the secret conclave that took place two weeks after Francis died.

He is seen as being aligned with the late Pope, who was viewed as a progressive champion of human rights and the poor and celebrated for his charismatic style that sought to make the Catholic Church more outward-facing.

Vatican watchers have noted that Francis appeared to have brought Prevost to Rome in recent years, perhaps to set him up as a potential successor.

Pope Leo's upcoming remarks, which include Sunday's midday Regina Coeli prayer and a Monday press conference with journalists, will be closely scrutinised for hints as to which direction he intends to lead the Church and what kind of Pope he will be.

Vladimir Putin is leading Russia's Victory Day commemorations with a parade in Red Square and heightened security after days of Ukrainian strikes targeting the capital.

Addressing Russia's military, veterans and more than 20 international leaders, including China's Xi Jingping, Putin said Russia remembered the lessons of World War Two and declared that "truth and justice are on our side".

He claimed that the whole of Russia backed the war in Ukraine, which he called a "special military operation" - now well into its fourth year.

A unilateral, three-day ceasefire was announced by Russia to coincide with the lavish 80th anniversary event, which Ukraine has rejected as a "theatrical show".

Ukraine's military said it has come under thousands of attacks since the ceasefire came into force on 8 May. Russia has insisted the ceasefire is being observed and accused Ukraine of hundreds of violations.

In the days ahead of the proposed truce, Moscow and Kyiv exchanged a barrage of strikes.

Flights at airports across Russia were cancelled and some 60,000 passengers left stranded in the wake of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Heavy restrictions were in place in the centre of Moscow as Russia marked the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.

Before Putin's address and a one-minute silence, the commander of ground troops led 11,000 troops into Red Square, where they were inspected by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov.

Russia says 27 world leaders are attending the event, with thousands of troops marching on Red Square ahead of a parade of some of Russia's latest weaponry.

Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are among the assembled guests, along with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Robert Fico, Slovakia's prime minister who is the only European Union leader to travel to Moscow.

The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had earlier made clear that European leaders should not take part because of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.

For Putin, the attendance of China's Xi on Victory Day is seen as a significant achievement. The two men held two rounds of talks before the parade as well as an informal chat on the war in Ukraine, Chinese reports said.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier warned that he could not guarantee the safety of anyone attending the event and has urged heads of state not to travel to Moscow.

Mykhailo Samus, a Ukrainian military analyst and director of the New Geopolitics Research Network, told the BBC he believed that Ukraine would forego attacking the parade, largely because of the presence of foreign leaders.

But should Ukraine choose to do so, it would constitute a legitimate military target, Samus said.

During his evening address on Thursday, Zelensky said that Ukraine was "ready for a full ceasefire starting right now".

"But it must be real," he said in a video on X. "No missile or drone strikes, no hundreds of assaults on the front."

He called on Russia to support the ceasefire and "prove their willingness to end the war".

Ukraine has accused Russia of violating its own truce thousands of times since it was supposed to come into effect on Wednesday night.

On the second day of the truce, Ukraine said there had been nearly 200 clashes along the front line, eighteen Russian air strikes and almost four thousand instances of shelling by Russian troops.

In Prymorske, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, a woman was reportedly killed after a Russian drone struck her car.

Russia's defence ministry has said that all groups of Russian forces in Ukraine "completely ceased combat operations and remained on the previously occupied lines and positions". However, they were reacting in a "mirror-like manner" to violations by Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky has repeatedly dismissed Putin's proposal as a "game" and called for a longer truce of at least 30 days, something that is supported by Ukraine's allies in Europe and the US.

He said he had spoken with US President Donald Trump to reiterate his readiness for a "long and lasting peace" and talks "in any format". He said he had told Trump that a 30-day ceasefire was a "real indicator" of moving towards peace.

Writing on Truth Social on Thursday, the US president reiterated the call for an unconditional ceasefire and warned of further sanctions for any party failing to sign up to it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin make it look like they're the best of friends.

Xi took his place at the right-hand side of Putin, the position of a steadfast ally, as their troops marched together on Red Square as part of Moscow's Victory Day parade.

Hours earlier, Xi described the bond between the two countries as "unbreakable" and added that Russia and China should be "friends of steel".

This is Xi's 11th visit to Russia since becoming president in 2013 and the two leaders have met on more than 40 occasions.

Putin has already announced plans to visit China in the autumn and the two leaders have even, in the past, shared a rare public hug.

But there is more to this relationship than meets the eye.

"We see a lot of exchanges between the two men and patriotic displays of togetherness," said Mathieu Boulegue, from the Center for European Policy Analysis.

"They can be friends on one end or co-operating on one end and then ripping each other apart on others, and actually be competitors in certain aspects of their relationship.

"We get wowed by the symbolism. There's a lot of performance around this relationship. But it's interesting to look at the real substance."

• Putin and Xi no longer have a partnership of equals
• China is the true power in Putin and Kim Jong Un's budding friendship

In truth, President Xi is walking a very fine line. Russia is an important partner for China but Putin's invasion of Ukraine has made him an international pariah in much of the world.

Beijing needs to be careful that its friendship with Moscow doesn't isolate other prospective partners, especially as it is fighting an economic war with the United States.

China has been courting Europe for several months and stepped up its campaign after Donald Trump became US president.

Beijing has been keen to portray itself as a stable alternative global partner in contrast to an unpredictable White House in Washington.

• A defiant China looks beyond Trump's America
• Xi's real test is not Trump's trade war
• Five cards China holds in a trade war with the US

There were some signs earlier this week that these diplomatic overtures were working.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and António Costa, the president of the European Council, exchanged messages on Tuesday with President Xi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations.

The stumbling block of any prospective partnership has been Beijing's close-knit relationship with Moscow and its economic support for Russia. China has not condemned its "old friend" for the invasion and instead calls for an end to the "crisis".

If President Xi appears to stand too close to Putin, it could cause friction with Europe at a time when it is looking for friendship.

Message to Trump

But the Chinese leader has another key message to send.

Trump's initial attempts to end the war in Ukraine had him touting his close personal relationship with Putin. It prompted analysts to ask if Washington was trying to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing.

Xi will want to make it clear to Trump this is not possible.

"Together, we must foil all schemes to disrupt or undermine our bonds of amity and trust," Xi wrote in a signed article for Russian media.

The Russian and Chinese leaders also described Trump's plans for a "Golden Dome" missile defence shield over the US as "deeply destabilising", and argued that it would weaponise space.

Both leaders are keen to present their vision of an alternative world order in the face of what they believe is US hegemony.

But Xi will be aware that while China is a superpower – Russia's power is now limited. This is no longer a partnership of equals.

The war in Ukraine has weakened Russia's economy and depleted its arsenal and army.

Western sanctions have also left Moscow far more reliant on Beijing for economic survival. They have severely weakened the Kremlin on the world stage.

"Russia needs China much more than the opposite is true," Boulegue said.

Moscow will need to "suck it up", he added.

Putin may lean into his friend as they watch the tanks roll through Red Square and they can team up when they need each other.

But behind the bold statements, the smiles, handshakes and the occasional hug, there are potential sources of discord and disharmony which could surface in the years to come.

Ukraine says it has uncovered a Hungarian-operated spy network attempting to obtain intelligence about its defences.

The country's security service said it had detained two alleged Hungarian spies who it accused of gathering intelligence on its air defence systems.

"For the first time in Ukraine's history, the Security Service has exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network that was conducting espionage activities to the detriment of our state," the SBU said.

Hungary is a member of the European Union and Nato - both firm allies of Ukraine - but President Viktor Orban has repeatedly sided with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. The Hungarian government has not responded to the claims.

The alleged spy network was established by Hungary's military intelligence with the aim of collecting data about the location of air defence systems in the western Zakarpattia region, which sits near Ukraine's border with Hungary, the SBU said.

The spies had also been looking into the public sentiment among local residents to predict their response in the event of a Hungarian incursion, according to the SBU.

The SBU gave no indication that the alleged plot was in aid of Russia.

The two people detained were a woman and a man who were former members of the Ukrainian military, the security service said.

The alleged spies were taken into custody at their homes, Ukrainian news agency Interfax reported, and phones and other evidence which indicated they were spies were seized during a search.

The detainees are suspected of treason and face up to life imprisonment.

The new Pope, Leo XIV, has called for the Catholic Church to "desperately" counter a lack of faith in his first mass at the Vatican.

Speaking on Friday, the day after he was elected the first US leader of the Catholic Church, he warned that people were turning to "technology, money, success, power, or pleasure" for security instead of the Church.

Pope Leo also called for cardinals to extend missionary outreach.

The ascension of Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, 69, has been widely celebrated by 1.4 billion Catholics across the world, with joyous outbursts in particular in Peru, where he was stationed for 20 years, and in his US homeland.

In his speech, the new pope said he had been elected to be a "faithful administrator" of the Church and to steer it as a "beacon" to reach areas suffering a "lack of faith".

"A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society," he said in Italian.

Pope Leo wore a white robe trimmed in gold as he addressed the seated cardinals in the Sistine Chapel address broadcast live by the Vatican administration.

On Thursday evening, Prevost was introduced to the world as the new Pope Leo XIV to rousing cheers from crowds gathered in St Peter's Square.

Appearing on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, his first words to the tens of thousands of worshippers gathered outlined a vision of a "missionary" Church which "builds bridges, which holds dialogues, which is always open".

• Live: Follow the latest updates after new Pope chosen
• Profile: Who is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV?
• Watch: Oh my God, it's Rob! - Pope's brother speaks of joy
• Analysis: Continuity the key for Pope seen as unifier in the Church

He echoed his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, in calling for peace.

"Help us, and each other, to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace," he said.

World leaders have rushed to congratulate Prevost on his election, pledging to work with him on global issues. US President Donald Trump called it a "great honour" to have the first American pope.

Prevost, who also holds Peruvian citizenship, only became an archbishop and then cardinal in 2023. He was elected leader by his fellow cardinals in just two days of voting in the secret conclave that took place two weeks after Francis died.

He is seen as being aligned with the late Pope, who was viewed as a progressive champion of human rights and the poor and celebrated for his charismatic style that sought to make the Catholic Church more outward-facing.

Vatican watchers have noted that Francis appeared to have brought Prevost to Rome in recent years, perhaps to set him up as a potential successor.

Pope Leo's upcoming remarks, which include Sunday's midday Regina Coeli prayer and a Monday press conference with journalists, will be closely scrutinised for hints as to which direction he intends to lead the Church and what kind of Pope he will be.

The world's first drone war between nuclear-armed neighbours has erupted in South Asia.

On Thursday, India accused Pakistan of launching waves of drones and missiles at three military bases in Indian territory and Indian-administered Kashmir - an allegation Islamabad swiftly denied.

Pakistan claimed it had shot down 25 Indian drones in recent hours. Delhi remained publicly silent. Experts say the tit-for-tat attacks mark a dangerous new phase in the decades-old rivalry, as both sides exchange not just artillery but unmanned weapons across a volatile border.

As Washington and other global powers urge restraint, the region is teetering on the edge of escalation, with drones - silent, remote and deniable - opening a new chapter in the India-Pakistan conflict.

"The Indo-Pak conflict is moving into a new drone era - one where 'invisible eyes' and unmanned precision may determine escalation or restraint. Thus, in South Asia's contested skies, the side that masters drone warfare won't just see the battlefield - they'll shape it," Jahara Matisek, a professor at the US Naval War College, told the BBC.

Since Wednesday morning, Pakistan says Indian air strikes and cross-border fire have killed 36 people and injured 57 more in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. On the other side, India's army reports at least 16 civilians dead from Pakistani shelling. India insists its missile barrage was retaliation for a deadly militant attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam last month - an attack Islamabad denies any role in.

Pakistan's military announced on Thursday that it had shot down 25 Indian drones across various cities, including Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. The drones - reportedly Israeli-made Harop drones - were reportedly intercepted using both technical and weapon-based countermeasures. India claimed to have neutralised several Pakistani air defence radars and systems, including one in Lahore, which Islamabad denied.

Laser-guided missiles and bombs, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become pivotal in modern warfare, significantly enhancing the precision and efficiency of military operations. These can relay co-ordinates for airstrikes or, if equipped, directly laser-designate targets, and help immediate engagement.

Drones can be used as decoys or suppression of enemy air defences, flying into contested airspace to trigger enemy radar emissions, which can then be targeted by other munitions like loitering drones or anti-radiation missiles. "This is how Ukraine and Russia both do it in their war. This dual role - targeting and triggering - makes drones a force multiplier in degrading enemy air defences without risking manned aircraft," says Prof Matisek.

Experts say India's drone fleet is largely built around Israeli-made reconnaissance UAVs like the IAI Searcher and Heron, along with Harpy and Harop loitering munitions - drones that double as missiles, capable of autonomous reconnaissance and precision strikes. The Harop, in particular, signals a shift toward high-value, precision-targeted warfare, reflecting the growing importance of loitering munitions in modern conflict, experts say.

The Heron, say experts, is India's "high-altitude eyes in the sky" for both peacetime monitoring and combat operations. The IAI Searcher Mk II is designed for frontline operations, offering up to 18 hours of endurance, a range of 300km (186 miles), and a service ceiling of 7,000m (23,000ft).

While many believe India's combat drone numbers remain "modest", a recent $4bn deal to acquire 31 MQ-9B Predator drones - which can can fly for 40 hours and up to an altitude of 40,000ft - from the US marks a major leap in its strike capabilities.

India is also developing swarm drone tactics - deploying large numbers of smaller UAVs to overwhelm and saturate air defences, allowing higher-value assets to penetrate, say experts.

Pakistan's drone fleet is "extensive and diverse", comprising both indigenous and imported systems, Ejaz Haider, a Lahore-based defence analyst told the BBC.

He said the inventory includes "over a thousand drones", featuring models from China, Turkey and domestic manufacturers. Notable platforms include the Chinese CH-4, the Turkish Bayraktar Akinci, and Pakistan's own Burraq and Shahpar drones. Additionally, Pakistan has developed loitering munitions, enhancing its strike capabilities.

Mr Haider said the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has been actively integrating unmanned systems into its operations for nearly a decade. A key focus is the development of "loyal wingman" drones - unmanned aerial vehicles designed to operate in co-ordination with manned aircraft, he added.

Prof Matisek believes "Israel's technical assistance, supplying Harop and Heron drones, has been pivotal for India, while Pakistan's reliance on Turkish and Chinese platforms highlights an ongoing arms race".

While the recent drone exchanges between India and Pakistan mark a significant escalation in their rivalry, they differ markedly from the drone-centric warfare observed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, experts say. There, drones become central to military operations, with both sides deploying thousands of UAVs for surveillance, targeting and direct attacks.

"Deploying drones [in the ongoing conflict] instead of fighter jets or heavy missiles represents a lower-level military option. Drones are less heavily armed than manned aircraft, so in one sense, this is a restrained move. However, if this is merely a prelude to a broader aerial campaign, the calculus changes entirely," Manoj Joshi, an Indian defence analyst, told the BBC.

"The [India-Pakistan] drone warfare we're witnessing may not last long; it could be just the beginning of a larger conflict."

Ejaz Haider believes the recent drone activity in Jammu "appears to be a tactical response to immediate provocations, not a full-scale retaliation [by Pakistan]".

"A true retaliatory strike against India would involve shock and awe. It would likely be more comprehensive, involving multiple platforms - both manned and unmanned - and targeting a broader range of objectives. Such an operation would aim to deliver a decisive impact, signalling a significant escalation beyond the current tit-for-tat exchanges," Mr Haider says.

While drones have fundamentally reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine, their role in the India-Pakistan conflict remains more limited and symbolic, say experts. Both countries are using their manned air forces to fire missiles at one another as well.

"The drone warfare we're witnessing may not last long; it could be just the beginning of a larger conflict," says Mr Joshi.

"This could either signal a de-escalation or an escalation - both possibilities are on the table. We're at an inflection point; the direction we take from here is uncertain."

Clearly India is integrating drones into its precision-strike doctrine, enabling stand-off targeting without crossing borders with manned aircraft. However, this evolution also raises critical questions.

"Drones lower the political and operational threshold for action, providing options to surveil and strike while trying to reduce escalation risks," says Prof Matisek.

"But they also create new escalation dynamics: every drone shot down, every radar blinded, becomes a potential flashpoint in this tense environment between two nuclear powers."

Vladimir Putin is leading Russia's Victory Day commemorations with a parade in Red Square and heightened security after days of Ukrainian strikes targeting the capital.

Addressing Russia's military, veterans and more than 20 international leaders, including China's Xi Jingping, Putin said Russia remembered the lessons of World War Two and declared that "truth and justice are on our side".

He claimed that the whole of Russia backed the war in Ukraine, which he called a "special military operation" - now well into its fourth year.

A unilateral, three-day ceasefire was announced by Russia to coincide with the lavish 80th anniversary event, which Ukraine has rejected as a "theatrical show".

Ukraine's military said it has come under thousands of attacks since the ceasefire came into force on 8 May. Russia has insisted the ceasefire is being observed and accused Ukraine of hundreds of violations.

In the days ahead of the proposed truce, Moscow and Kyiv exchanged a barrage of strikes.

Flights at airports across Russia were cancelled and some 60,000 passengers left stranded in the wake of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Heavy restrictions were in place in the centre of Moscow as Russia marked the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.

Before Putin's address and a one-minute silence, the commander of ground troops led 11,000 troops into Red Square, where they were inspected by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov.

Russia says 27 world leaders are attending the event, with thousands of troops marching on Red Square ahead of a parade of some of Russia's latest weaponry.

Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are among the assembled guests, along with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Robert Fico, Slovakia's prime minister who is the only European Union leader to travel to Moscow.

The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had earlier made clear that European leaders should not take part because of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.

For Putin, the attendance of China's Xi on Victory Day is seen as a significant achievement. The two men held two rounds of talks before the parade as well as an informal chat on the war in Ukraine, Chinese reports said.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier warned that he could not guarantee the safety of anyone attending the event and has urged heads of state not to travel to Moscow.

Mykhailo Samus, a Ukrainian military analyst and director of the New Geopolitics Research Network, told the BBC he believed that Ukraine would forego attacking the parade, largely because of the presence of foreign leaders.

But should Ukraine choose to do so, it would constitute a legitimate military target, Samus said.

During his evening address on Thursday, Zelensky said that Ukraine was "ready for a full ceasefire starting right now".

"But it must be real," he said in a video on X. "No missile or drone strikes, no hundreds of assaults on the front."

He called on Russia to support the ceasefire and "prove their willingness to end the war".

Ukraine has accused Russia of violating its own truce thousands of times since it was supposed to come into effect on Wednesday night.

On the second day of the truce, Ukraine said there had been nearly 200 clashes along the front line, eighteen Russian air strikes and almost four thousand instances of shelling by Russian troops.

In Prymorske, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, a woman was reportedly killed after a Russian drone struck her car.

Russia's defence ministry has said that all groups of Russian forces in Ukraine "completely ceased combat operations and remained on the previously occupied lines and positions". However, they were reacting in a "mirror-like manner" to violations by Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky has repeatedly dismissed Putin's proposal as a "game" and called for a longer truce of at least 30 days, something that is supported by Ukraine's allies in Europe and the US.

He said he had spoken with US President Donald Trump to reiterate his readiness for a "long and lasting peace" and talks "in any format". He said he had told Trump that a 30-day ceasefire was a "real indicator" of moving towards peace.

Writing on Truth Social on Thursday, the US president reiterated the call for an unconditional ceasefire and warned of further sanctions for any party failing to sign up to it.

Ukraine says it has uncovered a Hungarian-operated spy network attempting to obtain intelligence about its defences.

The country's security service said it had detained two alleged Hungarian spies who it accused of gathering intelligence on its air defence systems.

"For the first time in Ukraine's history, the Security Service has exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network that was conducting espionage activities to the detriment of our state," the SBU said.

Hungary is a member of the European Union and Nato - both firm allies of Ukraine - but President Viktor Orban has repeatedly sided with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. The Hungarian government has not responded to the claims.

The alleged spy network was established by Hungary's military intelligence with the aim of collecting data about the location of air defence systems in the western Zakarpattia region, which sits near Ukraine's border with Hungary, the SBU said.

The spies had also been looking into the public sentiment among local residents to predict their response in the event of a Hungarian incursion, according to the SBU.

The SBU gave no indication that the alleged plot was in aid of Russia.

The two people detained were a woman and a man who were former members of the Ukrainian military, the security service said.

The alleged spies were taken into custody at their homes, Ukrainian news agency Interfax reported, and phones and other evidence which indicated they were spies were seized during a search.

The detainees are suspected of treason and face up to life imprisonment.