live from london — this is bbc news. a tense truce in gaza — israel and palestinian leaders agree a ceasefire that has just come into effect. a president, a prime minister and a pope — volodymyr zelensky gets a warm welcome as he visits italy. and i'm maryam moshiri, live in liverpool, where the final of the eurovision song contest is just beginning. hello. i'm lukwesa burak. let's bring you some breaking news now — a ceasefire between israel and palestinian leaders

hasjust begun. these are live pictures from gaza. this is the seen live. it is of course night—time. the agreement — brokered by egypt — follows five days of violent exchanges which have killed at least 35 people — all but one of them palestinians. there has been no comment from israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, or other officials since reports of the truce came out. we hope to be live in gaza later in the programme. but so far it is a quite night across gaza city. the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, is only one day visit to italy. he's been meeting italy's prime minister, giorgia meloni — who affirmed that italy would remain a solid ally, and provide kyiv

with all the assistance it needed. prime minister meloni also stressed that the conflict would only end when russia stopped its aggression and withdrew from all ukrainian territory, adding that any other outcome would jeopardise peace in all of europe. mr zelensky then had a private audience with pope francis. it's the first meeting between the two men since russia invaded ukraine. president zelensky says he thanked the pope for focusing "on the tragedy of millions of ukrainians". our europe regional editor paul moss has been telling us about the significance of this visit to the vatican. the context for you. pope francis has talked a lot in the past about the suffering of the ukrainian people. he's also condemned certain specific war crimes committed in ukraine. however, critics suggest that the pope has not been strong enough in making very clear that it's russia that's in the wrong and ukraine that's been invaded. they say he should come down on one side or the other. in fact, the pope has never criticised vladimir putin personally.

he once described him as a "cultu red fellow". when he was asked to visit ukraine, he's made it clear he would visit ukraine if he could also visit russia as well. for some people, again, suggesting some kind of moral equivalence. so, volodymyr zelensky went to see him today. what was he hoping for? one presumes he might have been hoping to get the pope a bit more clearly on side. if that was his hope, i think he'll be disappointed. the vatican's now issued a statement. and it's really rather remarkable that, bear in mind, we have a president from ukraine going to see the pope to talk about how his country was invaded by russia. and this statement does not mention russia once, it speaks in rather elliptic language. it says, and i'm reading here, when the vatican describing the meeting says they "discussed issues relating to the humanitarian and political situation in ukraine caused by the ongoing war. together, they agreed on the need to continue humanitarian efforts to support the population." no mention of why that population is suffering. in other words, because russia invaded.

what the pope offered instead, he said he would give mr zelensky his prayers. well, i think mr zelensky may well have been hoping for more than prayers, a little more condemnation of russia, in which case he will be disappointed. i should say, though, that mr zelensky has expressed his gratitude. he said on telegram, "i'm very grateful to the pope for his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of ukrainians." there was something else, though, that was missing from the vatican statement. the pope has said before he has a secret mission under way to bring peace to ukraine, but no details of that. what does it mean? well, perhaps we were hoping for a little idea of what the pope meant. if so, again, disappointment. no mention of that secret mission today. that was paul moss. well, because of the russian invasion, ukraine has been unable to host the eurovision song contest — despite winning the competition last year. the uk is holding the contest on ukraine's behalf. let's go live to liverpool now and my colleague maryam moshiri

who is watching all the action for us. it has kicked off. who is behind you? it has kicked off. who is behind ou? , , ., ., , it has kicked off. who is behind ou? , , ., , ., you? yes, the winners from last year who are behind _ you? yes, the winners from last year who are behind me _ you? yes, the winners from last year who are behind me on _ you? yes, the winners from last year who are behind me on stage. - you? yes, the winners from last year who are behind me on stage. they i who are behind me on stage. they have opened the ceremony as was billed to happen. ijust started a couple of minutes ago. we saw an amazing introduction with the princess of wales playing the piano, andrew lloyd webber amongst other performers, it was really inspirational. it sent shivers down my spine, to be honest with you. this is the culmination of months and months of preparation. the city of liverpool has been preparing for this for so long. the eurovision song contest, who has produced the best song? after all of those 26 countries sing their hearts out, there will be a vote, a public vote, and of course there is point in the public vote will be added to the

jury public vote will be added to the jury vote, and together we will then discover a new winner. ukraine is very much in focus for this competition. of course it is, because last year the cabbage orchestra won the competition and the winner normally gets to host. but this year, because of the war in ukraine, it means that the uk has stepped forward, stepped up and liverpool is hosting the event. in the fan village which you can see there in the shot as well, there are 15,000 people who have gathered to watch the ceremony on special screens. there are eurovision parties going on i'm sure around the world. it is the first year, actually, countries outside of europe and australia, countries like india and united states, are going to be able to vote in this competition. so it is a global song competition. so it is a global song competition. 160 million people around the world are tuning in now,

as we speak, to watch. and the whole thing will be kicked off by the austrians. their song will be the first one to play. and the last one, just before the public vote opens, will of course be the uk's very own mae miller with i wrote a song. nothing more to say, really, then this is such an exciting combination of so many months of preparation. i cannot wait to go and sit down with my popcorn and watch what is going on. we my popcorn and watch what is going on. ~ ., ., ., ., ., on. we are going to let you go and crab that on. we are going to let you go and grab that pepcorn _ on. we are going to let you go and grab that popcorn and _ on. we are going to let you go and grab that popcorn and enjoy - on. we are going to let you go and grab that popcorn and enjoy the i grab that popcorn and enjoy the show. thank you. don't forget, you can follow all the latest details and the bands that are playing on bbc news website. so follow that live from there. we have had some breaking news come to us in the last hour or so. this is coming to us

from gaza. there has been a ceasefire agreed that has now come into force between israel and the palestinian leaders. it has just begun. this is the scene live from gaza. the agreement was brokered by egypt and it follows five days of violent exchanges, which has left 35 people killed. all but one of them was palestinian. there has been no comment from the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, or other officials since the reports of a truce came out. and we hope to be able to speak to rushdi abualouf, our reporter in gaza. can able to speak to rushdi abualouf, our reporter in gaza.— able to speak to rushdi abualouf, our reporter in gaza. can you hear me? yes, — our reporter in gaza. can you hear me? yes, i _ our reporter in gaza. can you hear me? yes. i can- — our reporter in gaza. can you hear me? yes, i can. i— our reporter in gaza. can you hear me? yes, i can. i wonder- our reporter in gaza. can you hear me? yes, i can. i wonder if- our reporter in gaza. can you hear me? yes, i can. i wonder if you i our reporter in gaza. can you hear. me? yes, i can. i wonder if you can start off with the details of this truce. doesn't seem to be holding? yes, in the last ten years before the ceasefire went into effect, a

mirage towards the israeli southern city and some rockets to the southern city. the ceasefire agreement has gone into effect ten minutes ago, supported by egypt. a very difficult discussion for about three days. the first proposal was rejected by islamichhad. egypt was pushing for it. as we speak, another exclusion, another rocket was fired. so we fear that this ceasefire is fragile from the very beginning. people are hoping the ceasefire or

half of them are civilians. several injuries. 0ver1200 half of them are civilians. several injuries. over 1200 rockets half of them are civilians. several injuries. 0ver1200 rockets at least were fired from gaza and israel according to... they have targeted 1100 according to... they have targeted 400 targets for islamichhad. egypt will announce the details of the deal, according to the senior officials. they say that they managed to get it guaranteed. israel started this wave of escalation by killing three islamichhad leaders stop also, they want israel to stop targeting the houses of the islamic jihad, which we have seen in the

past two days or so. they have completely destroyed four or five houses. i completely destroyed four or five houses. ., , ., _, completely destroyed four or five houses. ., , ., u, , houses. i wonder if you could 'ust remind us — houses. i wonder if you could 'ust remind us mi houses. i wonder if you could 'ust remind us why this i houses. i wonder if you could 'ust remind us why this spate �* houses. i wonder if you could 'ust remind us why this spate of h houses. i wonder if you could just i remind us why this spate of violence kicked off. we have had five days of it. what kicked it off?— it. what kicked it off? well, both sides traded _ it. what kicked it off? well, both sides traded accusations - it. what kicked it off? well, both sides traded accusations about i it. what kicked it off? well, both | sides traded accusations about who started this. but last thursday at two o'clock in the morning israel killed three senior islamichhad commanders. members of the military council. the next day, rockets, hundreds of rockets towards israel. and then escalation was mounting for a couple of days until they reach today a ceasefire. egypt was there from the beginning pushing for this ceasefire to try to de—escalate the situation. they offered three

drafts. the first was rejected by israel, the second was rejected by islamichhad and the third one tonight egypt succeeded to hopefully and this round of fighting. until now, still the fighting has gone on. but we have seen it in the pass there many times. this is the fifth escalation in the last 16 years. always the first few hours is difficult, but egypt has a team that will come to gaza maybe tomorrow to try and put an end to the fighting and make this ceasefire holds. and and make this ceasefire holds. and finall , and make this ceasefire holds. and finally. this — and make this ceasefire holds. and finally, this was _ and make this ceasefire holds. and finally, this was between islamic jihad and the israeli authorities, if i understood this correctly. and yet gaza is controlled by hamas. yes, hamas also controlling gaza was

saying all the time to micro—hammers is part of it. so islamichhad firing rockets in retaliation for the killing of their leaders. hamas are the authority running 2.3 million people and they have more duties. they were a bit cautious about being in this fighting. hamas was repeating, "we support islamic jihad" in their response but they are not willing to be part of this. 0k, are not willing to be part of this. ok, i'm going to leave it there. but just to let viewers know that, you probably heard sounds of sirens there as rushdi abualouf was speaking to us. you can clearly see

the emergency response vehicles still on the streets in gaza city. and rushdi abualouf did point out that as he was speaking to us he did pick up the sound of a rocket being fired despite the ceasefire that has been mediated by egypt, coming into force on 14 minutes ago. a ceasefire between israeli authorities and militants, namely islamichhad in gaza. we will monitor the situation closely and bring it to you. there's been five days of fighting, over 30 people killed. now it's time for a look at today's sport with lizzie greenwood—hughes. hello, we're starting with football and a big weekend in the premier league — southampton were relegated today after 11 years in the top flight. bottom of the table southampton — needed to win to stand

any chance of survival, instead they lost 2—0 to fulham. the uk prime minister — rishi sunak was amongst the disappointed saints fans. his side have been mostly last in the league since christmas. it's a very tough day for me, for everybody in the dressing room, for the city and the fans. it has been a tough season for all of us. we have been fighting for not be relegated from the very beginning. and the day came today. i just want to say thank you to everybody for the support that we feel from the very first day. it is a tough situation for the fans that have been supporting us their entire life. this club has quality enough to bounce back immediately, with or without me. and i think what we feel now is very deep on us, a very big disappointment. another three points, a clean sheet. a great feeling for us, and for our fans. fantastic away. lots of support from them. sold it out away, and the support

from the first to the last minute. that is to be able to give this feeling for them, to come here win the match with a clean sheet is really important. leeds united remain in the premier league relegation zone despite rescuing a point against newcastle. it was sam allardyce's first home game as he tries to perform a miracle at leeds — who went 1—0 up and were flying until patrick bamford's penalty was saved, then newcastle fought back with two of their own — both successfully converted. but leeds scored again to seal the draw and take what could be a vital point in their survival battle. crazy is an understatement. i don't believe what has happened, what we have actually done to ourselves today. on such a spirited and gritty and determined fight, and a little bit of quality in there. it is a tremendous point considering the circumstances that we have left ourselves in that we really

shouldn't have done. in the day's other games — aston villa beat tottenham, nottingham forest earned a valuable point at chelsea, crystal palace beat bournemouth and manchester united — are now only behind third—placed newcastle on goal difference — after winning against wolves. the fight for the bundesliga title looks set to go all the way — bayern munich cruised past schalke 6—0. but second placed borussia dortmund beat borussia monchengladbach 5—2 in the later match — jude bellingham on the scoresheet. that means just a point separates the sides with two matches left to play. dortmund traditionally push them the closest and have won the title five times. bayern play leipzig and cologne, while dortmund play augsburg and mainz in their last games. in scotland, celtic have already secured the title — but glasgow rivals rangers won the last old firm derby of the season 3—0 at ibrox. goals from todd cantwell, john souttar and a defensive mix—up allowed fashion sakala to seal

a comfortable victory. it's the first time rangers have beaten celtic this season and it ends celtic�*s 34 match domestic unbeaten run. a record breaking sale is on the cards, in the nfl. the washington commanders co—owner dan snyder, has agreed to sell the nfl franchise to a group headed up by american investor josh harris in a record deal. it's reported to be worth about $6 billion, making it the world's most expensive sports team purchase. and basketball star — brittney griner — has played her first game since being released from a russian prison. the american, who spent 10 months in custody for possessing cannabis oil before being released in december, played in a preseason match for phoenix mercury. she was cheered onto the court and scored in the first minute. and that's all the sport for now.

the presidential candidates in turkey are completing a final day of campaigning — before sunday's crucial election. president erdogan held a rally in istanbul earlier, a city where he built his popular support as mayor more than 20 years ago. and his secular challenger, kemal kilicdaroglu, has also been campaigning — pledging to restore democracy and improve relations with the west. from ankara, our international correspondent, 0rla guerin, has more on what's at stake in this election. there is now an alternative on offer, and that is the candidate kemal kilicdaroglu, the leader of the main opposition party here today. on this election, he is standing on a coalition of six

opposition parties, which really is a broad church. even former allies of president erdogan are in this coalition. and have come together with one aim only, which is to unseat him. we saw today that president erdogan was campaigning up to the last minute without rally in istanbul which you mentioned. he has been hitting hard against his opponent once again today, claiming without any proof that kemal kilicdaroglu and his party are linked to the band pkk, the credit scan workers party, which is classed here as a terrorist group. that is an accusation he makes pretty regularly during the campaign. kemal kilicdaroglu is very different in style and tone. he has been emphasising his desire to bring people together and appealing particularly to young turks. and there are million voters here who will go to the polls tomorrow for the very first time.

lets get you an update from pakistan now — following those dramatic events there on friday, after the country's former prime minister, imran khan, finally left the high court in islamabad, a day after the supreme court ruled his arrest on corruption charges was illegal. mr khan's detention on tuesday sparked days of violent protests, in which a number of people died. a short time ago, mr khan released a video statement. bbc urdu's saher baloch has been analyzing imran khan's speech. he spoke about three things. he spoke about how he is still in disbelief over the fact that his supporters are being accused of perpetrating violence and damaging public property. this is something very new from him because he spoke about it in a roundabout way as you may be aware after his

arrest. his supporters allegedly went out and damaged public property and went into military houses in lahore. he was addressing his supporters and saying how he is still in disbelief over the fact that his supporters chose violence. he didn't apologise or condemn it but said his supporters cannot do this. some of his address was still a repetition of what he has been saying so far, but in this case it was a huge thing that he still spoke about the fact that military is misunderstanding his intentions. back in his lahore residents. since then, there is a lot of quiet. i came from lahore to islamabad and i saw how most of the container is used as roadblocks were removed from the area after media supporters were dispersed by the police. there is already

a section imposed on islamabad which means there is a ban on public gatherings. so former prime minister imran khan could not address his supporters in that point of time. there was lots of clarity and it's thought he is still going to ask his supporters to come out tomorrow apparently. it will be seen how they go about it but so far, it's far more peaceful than it was two days before. around half a million people are being evacuated to safer areas in south east bangladesh, ahead of a cyclone forecasters say could be extremely dangerous. cyclone mocha is predicted to make landfall on sunday, with speeds of up to 170kph, and storm surges of to 12 feet. there are concerns the cyclone could impact the world's largest refugee camp, where close to a million people live in makeshift homes. from cox's bazar, our south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports.

well, this school has now become a cyclone shelter. and throughout the afternoon, we've seen families arrive with young children, carrying bags full of whatever they want to get them through the next few days of this terrible weather, even some people turning up with their livestock as well, with chickens and with cattle. now, the government has been telling people that they should come to one of these shelters to seek sanctuary. although away from here, we've seen a lot of people who are carrying on with their normal lives, unaware of what might actually happen. now, as you can see here, this is one of the classrooms. lots of families here. the government in bangladesh is hoping that around half a million people will eventually be moved to the shelters to stay safe during cyclone mocha, which some forecasters say could be

the worst such storm to hit this area in more than a decade. one thing is important to note — is that while people here do have a safe place to see this storm out, there are close to a million rohingya refugees not too far from where we are who are living in the world's largest refugee camp in very flimsy, makeshift shelters made of bamboo and tarpaulin. and the bangladesh government doesn't allow them to leave those refugee camps. and there are real concerns in the camps about how safe people will be. and here and in the camps, another concern isn'tjust that the storm may pass through this area, but it's also the aftermath, flash flooding and also landslides. and many aid agencies have already been preparing for what they fear could be a humanitarian crisis as well in the aftermath. ijust want i just want to take you live now to liverpool. 0n the stage of your

vision 2023 is the portuguese contestant. and a short while ago austria also kicked off the show. all of it on the bbc news website. pa rt part two of the weekend looks quite mixed. there will be some sunshine around, particularly england and wales. scotland and northern ireland will start to see this weather front with rain and cloud. high pressure will bring a evening and night. that low cloud across the east... western scotland, northern ireland will be turning wetter, breezy as that weather front pushes.

turning wetter, breezy as that weatherfront pushes. quite turning wetter, breezy as that weather front pushes. quite a mix of temperatures. quite cool under clear skies. 6—8 . sunday, we start off with some sun shine around. that great weather across the east of england should tend to improve, cloud burning back to the coast. but are two showers in the afternoon in the midlands. it brightens up in scotland and northern ireland later in the day, much cooler in scotland and northern ireland. sunny spells across parts of england and wales, up across parts of england and wales, up to 20—21 . sunday night, that weather front weakens, continues to put eastwards, bringing cloud and some patchy rain. clearer skies, what are two blustery showers across the north west of scotland. with this cooler air mass it is going to be quite a chilly night to come here. but for south—eastern areas where we have the cloud and the rain, generally 7—10. where we have the cloud and the rain, generally 7—10 . that weather front clears away eventually, we do see further showers around the edge of this area of high pressure which

will bring us north have north—westerly winds. showers for northern and eastern england. the best of the sunshine towards the south and the west. we could be up to 15 degrees here, but you will see it as a much cooler day across the board, ranging from ten — 13 celsius for most of us. below par for this time of may. the low cloud hangs around in tuesday and into wednesday, but very slowly we will start to see those yellow and orange colour is returning. temperatures will recover towards the end of the week and because it is high pressure nearby we should stay mostly dry.

this is bbc news — the headlines. a ceasefire's supposed to have come into effect in the gaza strip. it follows five days of violent exchanges which have killed at least 35 people, all but one of them palestinians. a series of air strikes from israel aimed at islamichhad militants in gaza began on tuesday. pope francis and president zelensky have held talks at the vatican — with both men agreeing on the need for continuing humanitarian efforts to support ukraine's population. while failing to directly condemn russia — the pope stressed the urgent need for "human gestures" towards the most fragile people. the eurovision song contest grand final has got under way

in the english city of liverpool.