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BBC News with Sue Montgomery.
President Trump has said that Russia and Ukraine are very close to finalizing a peace deal after what he called a "good day of talks." Mr. Trump wrote on social media that all the major points had been agreed upon and the two sides should now meet at "very high levels." The U.S. special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and President Vladimir Putin met for three hours in Moscow on Friday. Steve Rosenberg reports. As he arrived in the Kremlin for his fourth meeting with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump's envoy was full of smiles. President Putin was beaming, too. He will have heard that in interviews Mr. Witkoff has repeated Kremlin talking points on Russia's war in Ukraine. There is no guarantee that today's talks will end in peace and there will be concern in Kyiv and in Europe that they were not at the table. But it's clear that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are determined to bring their countries closer. President Zelenskyy earlier conceded that Ukraine does not have enough weapons to recapture Crimea from Russia. The head of the World Health Organization has said that Israel's blockade of aid to Gaza must end. The World Food Programme said its remaining food stocks were now all depleted. There are reports of intense fighting on the ground in Gaza as Israel continues its military offensive. Sebastian Usher is in Jerusalem. The Israeli military has issued a new evacuation warning for Palestinians in the Zaytun district of Gaza City ahead of Israeli strikes in response to what the IDF says are attacks by what it calls terror groups in the area against Israeli forces. Israel is also continuing to impose a blockade on aid supplies into Gaza which the World Food Programme says has brought the territory to a new breaking point. The head of UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, has condemned the blockade as man-made starvation. Brazil's Supreme Court has sentenced a woman to 14 years in jail for writing an offensive message in lipstick on a statue two years ago. Deborah Rodrigues, a supporter of the former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, was convicted of involvement with a criminal organization aiming to launch a coup. This report from Leonardo Rocha. Deborah Rodrigues was one of hundreds of supporters of the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who took part in riots in the capital of Brasilia a week into the government of President Lula da Silva. The 39-year-old hairdresser has apologized for writing the expression "losers" on the statue and said she didn't take part in any act of violence. She has already spent two years in prison. Many in Brazil believe that her sentence is too harsh. Supporters of Mr. Bolsonaro say the ruling is further evidence that the Supreme Court has become too powerful and partisan. World News from the BBC. The man accused of shooting dead a health insurance executive in New York last year has pleaded not guilty to all federal charges against him. Luigi Mangione appeared in a Manhattan court. He will now face trial with government prosecutors seeking the death penalty. They argue Mr. Mangione killed the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, to spark resistance to the health insurance industry. The foreign ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed an agreement in Washington to respect each other's sovereignty and come up with a draft peace deal within a week. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced in recent months as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have seized swathes of mineral-rich territory in eastern Congo. The Vatican says more than a quarter of a million people came to pay their respects to Pope Francis during the three days he was lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The pope's funeral will be held in the open air in St. Peter's Square on Saturday morning. Mark Lowen has more details. This city and the world's Catholics will be waiting for Saturday's funeral and then that funeral will be attended by about 130 delegations, 50 heads of state, 10 monarchs. It will last 90 minutes. It will be an elaborate funeral as papal funerals are, but actually pared down in many ways in a much simpler coffin and then he will be not buried at the Vatican. He wants to be buried beneath the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in a much poorer part of Rome actually. One of England's finest Gothic cathedrals, York Minster, has hosted a heavy metal concert featuring the band, Plague of Angels. The sold-out gig prompted controversy, but York Minster staff say they hope the event, entitled Organic Metal: Two Worlds Collide, will bring in new audiences. BBC News. |