live from london, this is bbc news. turkey's election candidates take part in the last few hours of campaigning before the country goes to the polls. ukraine's president zelensky is making a surprise visit to italy. he is due to meet the pope and italian prime minister. liii< is due to meet the pope and italian prime minister.— prime minister. uk rail passengers are facin: prime minister. uk rail passengers are facing further— prime minister. uk rail passengers are facing further disruption - prime minister. uk rail passengers are facing further disruption as - are facing further disruption as members of the rmt union walk out on strike. stoppages are affecting 14 operators. and the fans are out in liverpool as excitement builds over the eurovision song contest final.

hello, thank you forjoining us. the presidential candidates in turkey are gearing up for their last day of campaigning ahead of sunday's crucial election. president recep tayyip erdogan will hold a rally in istanbul, where he built his popular support as mayor more than 20 years ago. in the evening, he is expected to pray at the hagia sophia, which he controversially converted into a mosque to please religious conservatives. his secular challenger, kemal kilicdaroglu, will also be touring istanbul with the current mayor. the 74—year—old has been appealing to the young — promising to restore democracy and improve relations with the west. let's talk now to our correspondent in istanbul, silin girit. thank you very much for talking to us. the two men at the forefront of this race are very different, aren't they? talk to us about the different personalities and policies. yes.

personalities and policies. yes, the are personalities and policies. yes, they are exact _ personalities and policies. yes, they are exact opposites, - personalities and policies. 1&1: they are exact opposites, actually. some people say. mr kemal kilicdaroglu, some say, is at the antithesis of president erdogan. president erdogan is a charismatic figure, very powerful, strong figure, very powerful, strong figure, a giant in turkish politics. he has won so many parliamentary elections, two presidential elections, two presidential elections, referendums. he was seen as an invincible person until today. kemal kilicdaroglu on the other side, is a very soft—spoken person, a 74—year—old former bureaucrat who is known for being an honest person, and that is actually his trademark, true to his word. his motto was justice. actually, a few years ago, he had held in march for hundreds of kilometres from ankara, the capital

of turkey, to istanbul demanding justice for the imprisoned political prisoners. that is why many people across the world and in turkey by then, the time, called him the gandhi of turkey. and he actually liked that he was called gandhi as well. they are totally different, very exact opposites, but apparently the polls show that the turkish electorate wants a change because the polls show that for the very first time, per resident's rule could actually come to an end. —— president erdogan�*s rule. the polls actually show that. kemal kilicdaroglu, the poll suggest, could be leading by 56% and if the trend continues tomorrow, he could actually secure the presidency in the first round, of course we have

yet to see that. people now across turkey feel the necessity of change, it seems, and that they feel like a strong leader, a charismatic powerful leader is not enough to solve their problems. and they want a peaceful... find solve their problems. and they want a peaceful- - -— a peaceful... and 'ust doctors about what those _ a peaceful... and just doctors about what those problems _ a peaceful... and just doctors about what those problems are _ a peaceful... and just doctors about what those problems are because i what those problems are because you're describing here polar opposite of —— and just described to us what those problems are. it seems the country is equally divided between them, but what are the issues people are deciding on? the econom issues people are deciding on? tue: economy has issues people are deciding on? tte: economy has been the major issue and thatis economy has been the major issue and that is why all of the candidates have been pledging increasing wages, increasing pensions, better prospects for the young, especially. the economy, the inflation rates had hit a record high last year, especially. the inflation rate saw over 80%, unprecedented in 2a years. now the inflation rate stands at

44%, but still people across turkey feel there is a cost of living crisis, so the economy is at the major issue. the second issue could be the earthquake. there was actually a reaction towards the government and president erdogan because many felt that there was a lack in response, the aid response. however, the polls suggest the earthquake, the response to the earthquake, the response to the earthquake or the shortcomings of the government in reaction to the earthquake have not had a necessarily an impact, will not necessarily an impact, will not necessarily have an impact on how people will be voting tomorrow. of course, other major issues our freedoms. human rights. and as kemal kilicdaroglu says he will bring more freedoms, especially to the young and he promises to bring democracy, and he promises to bring democracy, and he promises to bring democracy, and he calls mr erdogan, he accuses mr erdogan of becoming more and more

autocratic. we mr erdogan of becoming more and more autocratic. ~ ., autocratic. we will leave it there, silin girit- — autocratic. we will leave it there, silin girit. we — autocratic. we will leave it there, silin girit. we will _ autocratic. we will leave it there, silin girit. we will bring - autocratic. we will leave it there, silin girit. we will bring some - silin girit. we will bring some braking is now. germany has announced a billion—dollar aid package, its biggest yet, showing that it will remain serious about supporting kyiv in the wake of russia's invasion. —— a 3,000,000,000-dollar russia's invasion. —— a 3,000,000,000—dollar military aid package to ukraine in that breaking news line just now. this comes the last hour we have heard that president zelensky is visiting rome, where he will meet italian leaders and have an audience with the pope. he tweeted it was an important visit for what he said was the approaching victory against russia. let's show you the first pictures of mr zelensky�*s convoy in rome. italy's prime minister,

giorgia meloni, has been one of ukraine's more vocal backers, although telling people overall are opposed to signing ukraine more weapons. those are the first pictures there of a president zelensky arriving live now to the bbc�*s sofia bettiza in rome. what more can you tell us about this visit? , , ., , , visit? president zelensky has 'ust landed at ciampino airport. he has visited other european countries, but this is his first visit to italy, he has visited london, paris. the details of his agenda today have not been released because of security concerns, but we know that there are more than 1000 security officers deployed in rome today. because of his visit. as you just mentioned, he's going to meet his counterpart,

italian president sergio mattarella, then a meeting italian prime minister giorgia meloni. it is not the first time the two leaders meet, giorgia meloni went to kyiv back in february to show italy's continued support of ukraine. after those two political meetings, zelensky is expected to meet pope francis. this is significant because it will be the first time that president zelensky will meet the leader of the catholic church since russia invaded ukraine last year. tell catholic church since russia invaded ukraine last year.— ukraine last year. tell us more about that- _ ukraine last year. tell us more about that. what _ ukraine last year. tell us more about that. what role - ukraine last year. tell us more about that. what role the - ukraine last year. tell us more l about that. what role the puppet plays in mediation efforts in this war question marks because there had been hints —— what role does the pope play in mediation? tote been hints -- what role does the pope play in mediation?- been hints -- what role does the pope play in mediation? we do not know much — pope play in mediation? we do not know much about _ pope play in mediation? we do not know much about that _ pope play in mediation? we do not know much about that meeting - pope play in mediation? we do not| know much about that meeting yet. pope play in mediation? we do not. know much about that meeting yet. it will probably be a private audience. but the pope has called for peace in ukraine many times. he says he prays for the victims of the conflict every week. he has been invited to

kyiv on several occasions, but has always said he will only travel to kyiv on the condition that he can also travel to moscow, although he has not had a response from the kremlin about that. as you mentioned, the pope cannot enforce a piece, but he can have a very important role when it comes to... you can be very influential and facilitate dialogue between leaders who do not often see eye to eye and throughout history many pups have done that. an example is popejohn paul ii —— many popes have done that. popejohn paul ii had a vital role before the fall of the berlin wall. if you weeks ago, ukraine's prime minister was in rome. he met pope francis and asked for his help when it comes to repay treating ukrainian children who had been forcibly deported to russia. a few days after that, pope francis has said he was willing to do everything that he could to help. he also

mentioned that there is a mission under way, mentioned that there is a mission underway, but mentioned that there is a mission under way, but could not give details. there is a lot of speculation here that when president zelensky meets pope francis later today, it will be a discussion of this mission.— today, it will be a discussion of this mission. ., ~ , ., , . this mission. thank you very much for aaivin this mission. thank you very much for giving us _ this mission. thank you very much for giving us that _ this mission. thank you very much for giving us that analysis. - russia carried out a new wave of air strikes on kyiv and other ukrainian cities overnight. the latest russian strikes come as ukrainian forces say — they've have made progress near the eastern city of bakhmut. 0ur ukraine correspondent hugo bachega has the latest from kyiv. russia carried out another wave of air strikes on ukrainian cities overnight. and at the ukrainian military says that 21 drones were fired by russia. there was a rainy and it made a drones that russia has been using to attack russian towns and cities at —— iranian made drones. 0ne and cities at —— iranian made drones. one of the targets was the

region in the west of the country where civilian infrastructure was hit. this is a transport hub in the west of ukraine. the authorities say at least 11 people were injured in that part of the country. the city of mick and i also hit and at least three people were injured —— the city of mykolaiv. ukraine says it has made some gains around the city of bakhmut, a key target for russian forces in the east of the country. yesterday, the russian defence ministry seemed to acknowledge that ukrainian forces have made some gains around bakhmut. and it also said that russian forces had abandoned some positions. there was some criticism from the head of the wagner group, yevgeny prigozhin, whose group has been leading the russian efforts to seize bakhmut. he said that what had happened near bakhmut was actually a rout. hugo

bacheaa bakhmut was actually a rout. hugo bachega with _ bakhmut was actually a rout. hugo bachega with the _ bakhmut was actually a rout. hugo bachega with the latest _ bakhmut was actually a rout. hugo bachega with the latest there from kyiv. because of that russian invasion he is reporting on, ukraine has been unable to host the eurovision song contest, despite winning the contest last year. the uk is holding the contest on ukraine's behalf. and after months of build up, liverpool is preparing for the final tonight. more than 100 million people across the continent are expected to watch. among the favourites to win — sweden. eurovision legend loreen first won the competition in 2012. now she's back for a second shot at the title. 0ur media and arts correspondent david sillito has been soaking up the atmosphere ahead of tonight's long awaited grand finale. liverpool has become a carnival... ..of eurovision.

everywhere you look, there's a reminder ofjust what has arrived. the city is awash with glitter. and, well, there's only one word for it — rammed. just look at the queue for the eurovision village. and this isjust the buildup. the main event is going to be even busier. and among it all today was one very excited fan, josh. wow. wow, wow, wow. are we going in there, then? oh, my gosh! when tickets went on sale in march... oh, my god, ithink i'm going to cry! ..we were with him when he thought he had managed to get into the final. yeah, i got a vip package! we actually — oh, my god, i'm going to have a heart attack. and then was crushed when it didn't go through. tickets for the grand final have now sold out. it's what says. he sighs what can you do? but perseverance pays off. something might happen, you never know. he and his mum finally did get tickets.

that was a bad day for you, wasn't it? yes, i was devastated, but i'm now going to the final. twice, twice. twice? yeah, i'm going to the vip in the morning, hospitality, to the preview, then i'm going to the live final in the evening. perseverance! this is what dreams are made of. the performers have also been out and about. here, finland. did you have to be convinced to wear this? no. no, no, no. i love it, first time when i see that, i went "give me that!" because when i put it on, i feel so superhero. so the fans are here in force, and the blue and yellow of ukraine is everywhere. and there will be a lot of attention on how the country is represented in tonight's show. eurovision�*s "no politics" rule means there'll be no video address

from volodymyr zelensky, but rehearsals are being watched closely to see how far a contest staged in the uk can reflect ukraine. david sillito, bbc news, liverpool. live now to the bbc�*s culture reporter, sophie van brugen, who is in the eurovision fanzone in liverpool. i'm right next to it, it is to my left, but we have this beautiful view of at the mercy here with the ferry just crossing. view of at the mercy here with the ferryjust crossing. the fans are actually starting to gather around and the city has really come alive. you can feel the energy in the air ahead of tonight's final competition. as you can probably see there is a few people in the background, lots of people dressing in colour and glitter. the atmosphere is electric and the city has been at its absolute finest. you get a real sense of it here, the

energy and excitement because the last time the uk hosted was in 1998 after katrina and the waves are one in 97. it is a chance for the uk to put its best foot forward and liverpool certainly has not disappointed. it has been an incredible week and at the culmination of all those efforts will come of course, be in the grand final this evening. all eyes will be on which country is going to win. as you said, we heard in david sillito's report, the hot favourite is loreen from sweden, who won back in 2012, with the hit song euphoria. her son tattoo, is deemed to be one of the favourites by critics —— her son. she will hopefully see if the public also agree. you may have also seen there that finland's cha—cha song has captured the attention of the public. where else would you find a competition that has such an

eclectic mix of musical genres? we will wait with baited breath to see who might be hosting eurovision 2024, but as i say, the fans, the acts, the delegations, everybody here has said that this has been one of the best competitions that they have seen yet. tt is of the best competitions that they have seen yet-— have seen yet. it is that eclectic mix, have seen yet. it is that eclectic mix. isn't _ have seen yet. it is that eclectic mix. isn't it. — have seen yet. it is that eclectic mix, isn't it, that _ have seen yet. it is that eclectic mix, isn't it, that makes - have seen yet. it is that eclectic mix, isn't it, that makes people have seen yet. it is that eclectic i mix, isn't it, that makes people so excited about the competition question because you said, this is huge for liverpool. because the uk is hosting a behalf of ukraine, we are going to see a lot of that reflected in the performances tonight. do you get the sense that even with the fans, the fan zone, that sense of this being a tribute to ukraine is reflected there as well? , , ~ ~ ., , well? definitely. and i think it has been seamlessly _ well? definitely. and i think it has been seamlessly interwoven - well? definitely. and i think it has been seamlessly interwoven into i well? definitely. and i think it has i been seamlessly interwoven into all the performances, obviously with the presenter line—up and the welcoming nature of the people of liverpool.

they have seamlessly brought on ukrainian culture, so there have been quire singing, there have been all sorts of artists and acts and events going on to reflect ukrainian culture because, obviously, we are very much a weight of the fact we are hosting on their behalf. but it has been a real sense of friendship between the countries and people wearing blue and yellow in support, the ukrainian flag is up next to our flag. and i think there is a real sense that we stand side by side, and you will see some great surprises tonight. you know, the cultural history of ukrainian music is also interwoven into tonight's ceremony, so you will see a lot of that there. i think there is very much a sense amongst the fans and fans on that this is a real honour to be hosting on behalf of ukraine and a sense of positivity and looking forward that very much what you'd imagine stands for is everybody is united by music, which is essentially why the competition was set up in 1956 in the first

place. was set up in 1956 in the first lace. ., , ., was set up in 1956 in the first lace, ., , ., was set up in 1956 in the first lace. ., ., ., ., place. lots to look forward to, then. sophie, _ place. lots to look forward to, then. sophie, thank _ place. lots to look forward to, then. sophie, thank you - place. lots to look forward to, then. sophie, thank you so - place. lots to look forward to, - then. sophie, thank you so much, we look forward to chatting with you. it isa it is a good thing sophie is already there. because people trying to get to eurovision in liverpool face another frustrating day as a second day of rail strikes take place in the uk. this time it's members of the rmt union tsaking action, following industrial action by aslef train drivers yesterday. our business correspondent marc ashdown reports. eurovision fans are flocking to liverpool from all over the world to see the grand final. but the rail strikes are making travel plans complicated. i'm a little worried because of the train strike. i have to go to new york tomorrow afternoon, so i'm worried there might not be a train to london from liverpool. you're not alone, we have train strikes in germany, where i'm from, too,

and it's going to affect me heavily when i come back from the airport on monday evening in munich so i'll be stranded then, so you're not alone. after train drivers at the aslef union walked out yesterday, today members of the rmt union are staging a 24—hour walkout. network rails says 19 rail operators will be effected with disruption felt far and wide. the rail delivery group represents the train companies. it has offered workers a backdated pay rise of 5% for 2022, and would then negotiate reforms ahead of a second year's pay rise with individual operators. union leaders say the situation is complicated. the tories don't know anything about the railway. it's run on overtime since the time of stephenson's rocket. we haven't got enough people and our members, and aslef members, are having to work extended shifts, extra days, six and seven days out of the week when they �*re sick and tired of it. they should be able to earn a living within the working week that's in their contract.

these are the first strikes for some months. after aslef walked out yesterday, the rmt is out for 24 hours today, coinciding with the eurovision grand final. aslef have two more strike dates set — for may 31st and june 3rd, the day of the fa cup final at wembley. the rail delivery group said it was blind sided when the rmt rejected what it believes is a fair and reasonable offer, delivering a fair pay rise but also value to tax payers, and the department for transport has been urging rmt leaders to put the offer to members for a vote. but the rmt now has a mandate for another six months of strikes and, at present, it is hard to see a swift resolution to this long—running dispute. marc ashdown, bbc news. palestinian rockets have been fired at southern israel this morning and israel has carried out new air strikes in gaza as the worst fighting between the two sides in months continues for a fifth day. black smoke has been rising over buildings in gaza.

at least 33 people have been killed in gaza since tuesday, including six islamichhad leaders and a number of civilians. a woman has been killed in israel. there had been a few hours of relative quiet after egypt, which is acting as a mediator, presented its latest ceasefire proposal. the un has raised concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in gaza. in pakistan, the opposition leader, imran khan, has been greeted back at his home in lahore by thousands of supporters after his release on bail by the islamabad high court on corruption charges. rejoicing followers set off fireworks and showered his car with rose petals. it caps a week of high drama for mr khan in which pakistan has seen violent unrest triggered by the latest attempt to have the former prime minister arrested. mexico has said it will limit the number of deportees it accepts from the united states, after the us brought in new rules for migrants trying to cross its southern border.

a law known as title 42, which was brought in during the pandemic, expired yesterday. 0ur west coast correspondent, sophie long, sent this report from the southern border city of el paso. ——the tiny swiss village of brienz is now empty after its residents were ordered to evacuate by friday evening because of the risk of an imminent rockslide. they'd been given just 48 hours to abandon their homes, following warnings by geologists that days of heavy rain could bring two million cubic metres of loosened rock crashing down the mountainside onto the village. louisa pilbeam reports. packing up and leaving a life behind. this woman is one of the villagers in brienz, in switzerland, getting out before the mountain comes down. "you have to save your life" she says. "you can't stay here — one day it will all come down". the mountain is coming down. boulders have fallen into people's gardens. just watch this time—lapse video

of huge rocks rolling off the mountain, one after the other, and they're heading towards this picturesque village below in the swiss alps. two million cubic metres of rock could break loose within days, and could destroy the homes and farms below. this is why the entire population of brienz — 84 residents and their livestock — have been evacuated, and authorities have barricaded off the village. translation: we cannot completely rule out the possibility _ of a large landslide, which is less likely but still possible, which would then break off almost suddenly in a very fast process and would then also have a very large range, and would also drive into the village here and cause great damage. just look at the church spire — the subsiding land has caused it to lean. cracks have appeared in buildings for years, with heavier rainfall linked to global warming.

villagers are taking what they can and most will stay in a neighbouring village, awaiting news of one day returning. experts say that could be weeks or several months. so the question is how much of this beautiful village will be left when they return? louisa pilbeam, bbc news. in england, the nhs will offerfree home test kits for hepatitis c from today. it is an attempt to reach thousands of people who are infected with the virus, but may not know that they need treatment. time just before we go to show you some royal photographs. king charles has marked his coronation with a photograph of himself and his two heirs. king charles has marked his coronation with a photograph the picture of charles, alongside the prince of wales and prince george, was taken in buckingham palace's throne room on the day he was crowned. the king is seen wearing the imperial state crown and coronation robes, and is carrying an orb and sceptre. a second picture shows

the king with queen camilla, and members of herfamily. that is it, but to stay with us here on bbc news. i'm nancy can dig we had big contrasting weather on friday, west was best in terms of sunshine, but blue skies like these are pretty widespread. in cardiff, we had the warmest weather in the uk with temperatures reaching 20 celsius. if scotland and most of england were stuck under this area full cloud. a blanket of cloud. around the north york moors, temperature only got to eight celsius and with a north—east, i'm sure it felt more like wintertime. where we did get those temperatures struggling across eastern areas, eventually over the weekend we should see some sunshine breaking at lifting temperatures quite widely into the high teens and 20s. eventually it will get warmer. before we get there, pesky low cloud with us again, most of england, west

wales, eastern... a spot of rain. temperatures if you're up early in the day... a high pressure is in charge of the weather on saturday so we are looking at dry weather conditions, the best of the early morning sunshine likely to be across west scotland, northern ireland and wales. cloudy elsewhere, that managed to be by the may sunshine. 0ne managed to be by the may sunshine. one or two areas keep the cloud across eastern areas of england, round the east coast, same for eastern scotland, but for the majority it is dry, sunny, and getting warmer, temperatures high teens to low 20s. perhaps reaching 22 in northern ireland. if it happens, it will be the warmest day of the year so far. not that 22 is that impressive. by this stage of the year, more often than not, we have already had warm spells with temperatures into the mid or high 20s, so 22 the stage of may, pah! a cold front coming dropping rain and temperatures. a cooler day for

scotland and northern ireland, rain here. it will reach england and wales as well. i cannot relate and a showery stop that, but there will be his is of sunshine could stay quite warm, temperatures high teens to late 20s, colour in the north—west. that is our weather this weekend. i want to tell you that a serious cyclone heading towards the bangladesh myanmar border region. it is home to many hundreds of thousands of range of effigies and it looks horrendous. damaging winds, huge falls of rain —— rohingya refugees.

this is bbc news, the headlines: turkey's election candidates are taking part in the last few hours of campaigning, before the country goes to the polls. president erdogan is fighting for his political survival against opponents promising what they're calling "a return to democracy." ukraine's president zelensky is visiting rome, where he'll have an audience with the pope and meet italian political leaders. the prime minister, giorgia meloni has been one of kyiv�*s more vocal backers. rail passengers across england are facing further disruption as members of the rmt union walk out on strike. the latest indutrial acton is part of a long—running dispute about pay and conditions. the excitement is building in liverpool as last minute preparations are made

for the eurovision song contest final.