this is bbc news, betting on ukraine, italy's pro minister says her country will support president zelensky for as as long as necessary. reaching the final phase in turkey's presidential election, campaigning goes down to the wire. and a celebration of song, liverpool prepares for the final of eurovision. hello i'm vishala sri—pathma. the italian prime minister, giorgia meloni, has expressed her support for ukraine during a visit to the country by the ukrainian

president, volodymyr zelensky. speaking in rome, ms meloni said her country would back ukraine for as long as was necessary, calling russia's invastion "brutal and unjust. " later on, president zelensky will meet the pope in the vatican, before visiting germany. let's cross to the newsroom now and talk to our europe regional editor correspondent paul moss. hi, paul. president zelensky is initially and what is he trying to achieve there?— initially and what is he trying to achieve there? he's done a tour of lots of european _ achieve there? he's done a tour of lots of european countries - achieve there? he's done a tour of lots of european countries this - achieve there? he's done a tour of| lots of european countries this year to try and shore up support from politicians and the public. he needs their political support and also very keen to keep that aid flowing which is so necessary for ukraine's resistance of russia's invasion. italy is a special case and we have heard from georgia maloney and she said that they would support ukraine fully —— giorgia meloni. and she said that she was sure italian

society would formally but the fact is it's not really necessarily true. in italy you have quite a sizeable opinion that in some ways is sympathetic to russia. certainly more italians are against sending ukraine a banner in favour of it and what that means is that in a sense, zelensky has a challenge to turn public opinion. he also has a challenge turning round opinion of italian politicians and while giorgia meloni might say she supports what president zelensky is doing, not so her coalition partners. in her coalition we have the party forza italia which is led by silvio berlusconi and he is an old friend of vladimir putin and he was talking about how vladimir putin had sent him 20 bottles of vodka is a birthday present. also in giorgia meloni's coalition there was a party with a formal tie—up with vladimir putin is party and in case there was

any doubt were their leader stands he was photographed in red square with a t—shirt with vladimir putin's face on it. what mr zelensky has to do is what he can stand and smile with giorgia meloni, what he needs to do was work on getting support from other italians, and politicians and the general public who are not necessarily such enthusiastic backers. , ~' necessarily such enthusiastic backers. , ~ backers. sounds like he has workaround _ backers. sounds like he has workaround for _ backers. sounds like he has workaround for him. - backers. sounds like he has workaround for him. and i backers. sounds like he hasi workaround for him. and he backers. sounds like he has - workaround for him. and he has a busy day ahead and he will be meeting the pope.— meeting the pope. yes, an interesting _ meeting the pope. yes, an interesting case _ meeting the pope. yes, an interesting case and - meeting the pope. yes, an interesting case and while | meeting the pope. yes, an i interesting case and while the meeting the pope. yes, an - interesting case and while the pope may seem to be on mr zelensky�*s sign and he was roundly denounced the crimes by russia and he has also expressed sorrow for the suffering there, however, there are those who think the pope could say a bit more. he has in the past seem to suggest sometimes that nato was partly to blame and that ukraine is partly to blame and that ukraine is partly to blame for russia's invasion. i'm sure mr zelensky would make him say

things his way. i don't know how we could go out to persuade the pope to be more critical of russia, you don't tell the pope what to do or argue with the pope, but maybe i would say bending his ear rather than twisting his arm. but there is another issue with the pope and the pope has suggested he has a secret mission to bring peace to ukraine. but he can't tell anyone what it is. i think it's frustrating and any of us would be frustrated if we were in a terrible situation and someone says i can get you out of this, just knock and tell you how. i wonder if mr zelensky, when he sees the pope, when asked to get a hint of what the secret mission is. we when asked to get a hint of what the secret mission is.— secret mission is. we are all dying to find out- _ live now to christopher white, vatican correspondent with the national catholic reporter. hejoins us from rome. clearly a very significant visit for a number of reasons. can you explain a number of reasons. can you explain a little about those reasons? i

think for an entire year now, zelensky has played with pope francis to come to ukraine and bring peace. it has been a43 days francis to come to ukraine and bring peace. it has been 443 days of war are now zelensky is coming to the pope and part of it is about the strange secret mission of the pope has said he is on to bring peace to ukraine, but he hasn't provided specifics of that and so i suspect zelensky himself will look to the pope to find out what is a play, as many of us who follow the vatican are wanting to know what the vatican and the team is up to. late: are wanting to know what the vatican and the team is up to.— and the team is up to. lots of --eole and the team is up to. lots of peeple have _ and the team is up to. lots of people have been _ and the team is up to. lots of people have been talking - and the team is up to. lots of i people have been talking about and the team is up to. lots of - people have been talking about how the pulp stands on the invasion and clearly he is a leaderfor all and how russians will interpret his message. i how russians will interpret his messa . e. ~' how russians will interpret his messa . e. ~ ., , message. i think the pope will robabl message. i think the pope will probably be — message. i think the pope will probably be a _ message. i think the pope will probably be a pastor _ message. i think the pope will probably be a pastor more - message. i think the pope will| probably be a pastor more than anything and will listen to zelensky more than preach to him and the pope has time and time again said he stands with ukrainian people and when the pope meets the public he asks them to pray for ukraine, one

of the same time he has also made statements of the upset ukraine saying there are no goodbyes r rate quys saying there are no goodbyes r rate guys and bad guys in this. and this is where mr zelensky will make his case and took off the number of russian atrocities to show the pope and perhaps gain more of the pope �*s support is that the pope sharpened his rhetoric. in support is that the pope sharpened his rhetoric— his rhetoric. in the secret mission that we alluded _ his rhetoric. in the secret mission that we alluded to _ his rhetoric. in the secret mission that we alluded to earlier- his rhetoric. in the secret mission that we alluded to earlier on, - his rhetoric. in the secret mission that we alluded to earlier on, we | that we alluded to earlier on, we have heard that the vatican and the pope perhaps has a proposal in store to try and achieve peace. do we know anything about this?— anything about this? well, when the .er. anything about this? well, when the -er- r anything about this? well, when the perp r pepe — anything about this? well, when the perp r pepe first _ anything about this? well, when the perp r pope first said _ anything about this? well, when the perp r pope first said this _ anything about this? well, when the perp r pope first said this or- anything about this? well, when the perp r pope first said this or -- - anything about this? well, when the perp r pope first said this or -- i - perp r pope first said this or —— i think most people find it a bit puzzling or puzzling that the vatican and catholic church could have a real role into 0rthodox countries and so we have been left with very few specifics as to what the pope has in mind here, perhaps

we will see some that emerge after the meeting, but so far i have been vague and opaque. i the meeting, but so fari have been vague and opaque-— vague and opaque. i suspect a busy day reporting _ vague and opaque. i suspect a busy day reporting ahead _ vague and opaque. i suspect a busy day reporting ahead for— vague and opaque. i suspect a busy day reporting ahead for you - vague and opaque. i suspect a busy day reporting ahead for you and - day reporting ahead for you and thank you forjoining us. christopher white joined us there from rome. mr zelensky�*s visit to italy comes as russia has carried out a new wave of air strikes on kyiv and other cities overnight. the authorities say the military intercepted all drones directed at the capital. but in the southern city of mykolaiv, three people were injured in attacks. and in the western city of khmelnytsky, critical infrastructure as well as residential and government buildings were hit. the latest russian strikes come as ukrainian forces say they have made progress near the eastern city of bakhmut. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega is in kyiv. russia carried out another wave of air strikes on ukrainian cities overnight. and the ukrainian military says that 21 drones were fired by russia. iranian—made drones that

russia has been using to attack ukrainian towns and cities. 0ne to attack ukrainian towns and cities. one of the target was the reason of khmelnytsky were 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 mykolaiv was also hit and at least three people were injured. these latest attacks happen as ukraine says it has made 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 bachega with the latest there from kyiv. 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. hello from liverpool where after months of build up, the city is preparing to host the final of the eurovision song contest tonight. more than i60—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 — hoping to claim

victory for a second time. finland's entry — cha cha cha — is also considered a strong contender for first place. and reigning champions ukraine are defending their title — with electronic duo tvorchi putting forward the dance number �*heart of steel.�* with me now is one of the people who brought eurovision to liverpool, harry doyle, who is liverpool's cabinet memberfor culture. welcome. i love the purple jacket welcome. i love the purple 'acket and the praying * welcome. i love the purple 'acket and the playing is i welcome. i love the purple 'acket and the playing is so i welcome. i love the purple 'acket and the playing is so ofh welcome. i love the purple 'acket and the playing is so of the h welcome. i love the purple jacket i and the playing is so of the moment. if you haven't litter or sequence for eurovision you your natural stride. ., ., , . , stride. now glitter or sequence but less roll-on- _ stride. now glitter or sequence but less roll-on. moving _ stride. now glitter or sequence but less roll-on. moving swiftly - stride. now glitter or sequence but less roll-on. moving swiftly on, i stride. now glitter or sequence but| less roll-on. moving swiftly on, the less roll—on. moving swiftly on, the story of how this whole idea of coming to liverpool was amazing and it started with samurai that was

near the top of the leaderboard. talk me through it.— near the top of the leaderboard. talk me through it. when sam was top ofthe talk me through it. when sam was top of the leaderboard, _ talk me through it. when sam was top of the leaderboard, our _ talk me through it. when sam was top of the leaderboard, our director - talk me through it. when sam was top of the leaderboard, our director of i of the leaderboard, our director of culture sent me a text and she said, get ready to host your 2023 and i said, 0mg, yes. i gave a caveat to say wait for the... said, 0mg, yes. i gave a caveat to say wait for the. . ._ say wait for the. .. even at that oint say wait for the. .. even at that point you _ say wait for the. .. even at that point you thought _ say wait for the. .. even at that point you thought liverpool- say wait for the. .. even at that | point you thought liverpool will say wait for the. .. even at that i point you thought liverpool will be the place for it. i point you thought liverpool will be the place for it.— the place for it. i had a caveat to sa that the place for it. i had a caveat to say that we _ the place for it. i had a caveat to say that we have _ the place for it. i had a caveat to say that we have to _ the place for it. i had a caveat to say that we have to wait - the place for it. i had a caveat to say that we have to wait but i the place for it. i had a caveat to say that we have to wait but if i the place for it. i had a caveat to| say that we have to wait but if uk did win, liverpool 100%, why not? why do that liverpool is the best house? you bruise it is. liverpool is a city of — house? you bruise it is. liverpool is a city of music— house? you bruise it is. liverpool is a city of music -- _ house? you bruise it is. liverpool is a city of music -- we _ house? you bruise it is. liverpool is a city of music -- we have i house? you bruise it is. liverpool is a city of music -- we have so i is a city of music —— we have so many and many things in places for people to go to but for most of all, we have heart and when we went to that bidding process, we will want to be able to say that we had the most heart. from the very beginning we said this is the further —— is

for ukraine and i hope we have pull that off. and i hope i have done my job but certainly, the heart was there, the ambition was there and it came through the campaign. i spoke to a bi uk came through the campaign. i spoke to a big uk fan _ came through the campaign. i spoke to a big uk fan club _ came through the campaign. i spoke to a big uk fan club and _ came through the campaign. i spoke to a big uk fan club and of all - came through the campaign. i spoke to a big uk fan club and of all the i to a big uk fan club and of all the cities that this genome is phantom for eurovision contacted, liverpool was the only one who engage properly. was the only one who engage ro erl . ., was the only one who engage --roerl. ., was the only one who engage --roerl . ., y . was the only one who engage ro erl . ., .,' . ., properly. from the off, we wanted to encuae properly. from the off, we wanted to engage with — properly. from the off, we wanted to engage with as _ properly. from the off, we wanted to engage with as many _ properly. from the off, we wanted to engage with as many people - properly. from the off, we wanted to engage with as many people as i engage with as many people as possible so in the office, we have an amazing cultural team and we know how to deliver large—scale events like this by the back of her hands. i am a massive eurovision fan and that's where i came in and i said its use on its engage with as possible, and our partners in ukraine, people in 0desa, all of the businesses in the region have been

involved and it's been fantastic. you're watching it tonight in the arena. i am. you're watching it tonight in the arena- i am-_ you're watching it tonight in the arena. i am. this is my first and i have been _ arena. i am. this is my first and i have been watching _ arena. i am. this is my first and i have been watching this - arena. i am. this is my first and i have been watching this since i l have been watching this since i was small i will start singing... you can start _ small i will start singing... you can start singing, _ small i will start singing... you can start singing, the - small i will start singing... you can start singing, the former therefore. can start singing, the former therefore-— can start singing, the former therefore. ., ., ., therefore. no, i will have a ball in therefore. no, i will have a ball in the city is — therefore. no, i will have a ball in the city is buzzing _ therefore. no, i will have a ball in the city is buzzing and _ therefore. no, i will have a ball in the city is buzzing and i _ therefore. no, i will have a ball in the city is buzzing and i have i therefore. no, i will have a ball in the city is buzzing and i have not. the city is buzzing and i have not seen the city like this for years. you are right, it's amazing. who are you supporting? i do you are right, it's amazing. who are you sopporting?_ you are right, it's amazing. who are you supporting?— you supporting? i do think it's between sweden _ you supporting? i do think it's between sweden and - you supporting? i do think it's between sweden and finland, you supporting? i do think it's i between sweden and finland, but i must say i love israel, austria and estonia as well, but i am all for sweden. i estonia as well, but i am all for sweden. ., ., ~ , ., ., sweden. i do love austria, and i love sweden _ sweden. i do love austria, and i love sweden and _ sweden. i do love austria, and i love sweden and finland - sweden. i do love austria, and i love sweden and finland as i sweden. i do love austria, and i| love sweden and finland as well. sweden. i do love austria, and i i love sweden and finland as well. it is amazing to talk to you and congratulations on getting eurovision here and making it such an amazing event. so lots to celebrate today, but not everyone is finding it easy to get to where the party is. train strikes are continuing across the country. let's go now and find out how they are affecting eurovision

and everyone else in the uk. we're joined from euston station in london by our news correspondent yetunde yusuf. give us an update on what is happening with the strikes and what impact they are having on people plasma travel plans.— plasma travel plans. yes, more strike action _ plasma travel plans. yes, more strike action today. _ plasma travel plans. yes, more strike action today. there i plasma travel plans. yes, more strike action today. there have | plasma travel plans. yes, more i strike action today. there have been some trains running out of london euston station today. i looked inside a few minutes ago earlier and it was quite busy, busier than yesterday, but the rail operators have warned that there could be disruption, littleton of services running across large parts of the network, but there have been some trains available today, about one every hour, but people and asked to check before they travel especially tomorrow they could be trains on the wrong places so there might be delays and people who are heading to liverpool, there has been some

disruption and some people have had to take coaches up to liverpool, but this has all been rumbling on for two years and it's all over pay and conditions. the rmt union have been offered a pay deal of 5% pay rise, which will be backdated to 2022, but may clench has written to the transport secretary calling for an industrywide summit to end what he said is that... we have had a response from the government and they said that there is no doubt that or the government has said that since coming into office, ministers have met with warranty readership four times and helped to facilitate three fair pay officers from employers but it doesn't look that is going to be a summit any time soon. but two more strike days have been announced by the aslef union, one of the 31st of may and in one of the 3rd ofjune which is the day of

the 3rd ofjune which is the day of the fa cup final and in the rmt union, they have had another six—month mandate so they could potentially be announcing more strikes but we don't know yet that could be perhaps as early as next week. it seems like this is all set to rumble on for some time. thank ou ve to rumble on for some time. thank you very much _ to rumble on for some time. thank you very much indeed. _ to rumble on for some time. thank you very much indeed. there i to rumble on for some time. thank you very much indeed. there are i you very much indeed. there are those who have had trouble making it here to liverpool but i can tell you that thousands upon thousands have not. they are here and many have been here for days and the fans all behind me is open and it has been open since 2pm and 15,000 lucky ticket holders could enter into the fan zone where there will be entertained by live music throughout the day and then of course at 8pm british summertime the event itself begins and it will be shown at those big screens behind me. it will all be kicked off by the kalush 0rchestra which were last year's winners when the event was held in turing. the last act to play, that

will be the uk's mae muller with kherson, i wrote a song." . i am here throughout the day with all the very latest super fans and from event organisers and the axe ahead of the grand final later. just a few hours to get your sequence ready. now it's time for a look at today's sport. no sequence here thankfully. leeds united remain in the premier league relegation zone, despite coming from behind to take a point against newcastle united. sam allardyce's side went ahead through luke ayling and might have led 2—0. nick pope, in the newcastle goal, saved patrick bamford's penalty. callum wilson scored twice from the spot

for third place newcastle. but rasmus kristensen's deflected shot rescued a 2—2 draw for leeds, who held on despitejunior firpo being sent off in the final minutes. crazy is an understatement. i don't believe what happened out there, what we have actually done to ourselves today. as such a spirited and greasy and determined and fight and greasy and determined and fight and a bit of quality here and there. it's a tremendous point considering the circumstances that we've left ourselves in, that we shouldn't have done. there are five other premier league matches under way now, with interest at both ends of the table. southampton could be relegated today. they have to beat fulham, to be in with a chance of survival from their remaining matches two at st marys. a huge game for nottingham forest, down towards the bottom too, they're at chelsea. elsewhere, villa 1—0 tottenham.

man united 0—0 wolves. crystal palace 0—0 bournemouth. the title race in germany is going to the wire. top of the table bayern munich are currently one of the teams in action. they're playing schalke, who have relegation worries themselves. there's a big game in the race for a place in next season's champoons league— union berlin are 3—1 against freiburg. elsewhere, frankfurt, bochum, wolfsburg games. second place borussia dortmund face borussia monchengladbach later. 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. todd cantwell put second place rangers ahead in just the fifth minute of the match, beforejohn souttar headed in a second later in the first half. a defensive mix—up allowed zambian striker fashion sakala to round celtic keeperjoe hart to seal a comfortable victory. in basketball, lebronjames inspired the la lakers to seal their spot into the western conference finals and eliminated last year's nba winners, the golden state warriors. 38—year—old james scored 30 points as the lakers won 122—101 in los angeles to clinch the best—of—seven series 4—2.

the lakers, who finished seventh in the regular season, will play top seeds the denver nuggets in the series to decide who plays in the nba finals. elsewhere, the miami heat beat the new york knicks to reach the eastern conference finals. 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. now the former 0ne direction singer, niall horan, has been credited for helping ireland's brendan lawlor win the first ga—d 0pen, for golfers with disability. it's a major event, launched by the r and a, and lawlor beat the world number one kip popert, by two shots at woburn. lawlor is second in the rankings and he's been managed by horan's agency forfour years. he said he'd never been treated any differently by the team and that disability golf was definitely on the way up. and that's all the sport for now.

it's a shame about the sequence. you should invest in some. the presidential candidates in turkey are completing a final day of campaigning before sunday's crucial election. president recep tayyip erdogan held a rally in istanbul, where he built his popular support as mayor more than 20 years ago. his secular challenger, kemal kilicdaroglu, has been appealing to the young, promising to restore democracy and improve relations with the west. 0ur correspondent in istanbul silin girit is following the election. this is one of the most important elections in modern turkey's history. forthe elections in modern turkey's history. for the very first time in decades, there is a real possibility that president kerrigan's rule could

come to an end. he has won five parliamentary elections, two presidential elections, three referendums —— president ed gauguin. but now the politicaljack —— bullet —— president erdogan. the president could lose his seat in the main opposition bloc�*s candidate kemal kilicdaroglu. he is short of securing the presidency in the first round. kemal kilicdaroglu is a soft—spoken person and described as an exact opposite of president erdogan. he pledges to reverse president erdogan's policies and to restore the independence of the central bank and to bring back the parliamentary system. the economy has been a major subject in the run—up to the selection, especially because last year, the inflation hit

a record high of over 80%, currently stands at aa% officially, but still, there is a cost of living crisis. that is why all of the candidates are pledging better wages, better pensions, higher living standards and better prospects, betterjob prospects for the young. nearly 5,000,0015t-time prospects for the young. nearly 5,000,001st—time voters will be casting their votes on sunday and they choose to support may determine they choose to support may determine the outcome. 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. 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 this school has become a cyclone shelter and throughout the afternoon we have seen families arrived, young children, carrying bags full of whatever they want to get them through the next few days of this terrible weather and even some people turning up with their livestock as well, with chickens and with cattle. the government has been telling people that they should come to one of these shutters to seek sanctuary, although away from here we have seen a lot of people who are carrying on with their normal lives, unaware of what might actually happen. as you can see here, this is one of the classrooms. there are lots of families here. the government in bangladesh is hoping that around half a million people will eventually be moved to the shutters to stay safe during cyclone mocha, which some forecasters say will be the worst such storm to hit

this area in more than a decade. 0ne this area in more than a decade. one thing is important to note that while people here do have a safe place to see this turnout, there are close to 1 million place to see this turnout, there are close to1 million raphinha boy girl dog cat who are living in the largest dry refugee camp made of bad winter pollen and bangladesh government does not allow them to those refugee camps and there are real concerns in the camps about how safe people will be. here and in the camps and a concern is in the storm may pass to the area but there is also the aftermath. that will be flash flooding and landslides. many aid agencies have already been preparing for what they fear could be a humanitarian crisis in the aftermath. be a humanitarian crisis in the aftermath-— be a humanitarian crisis in the aftermath. _, ., aftermath. report there from the bangladesh _ aftermath. report there from the bangladesh border. _ aftermath. report there from the bangladesh border. a _ aftermath. report there from the bangladesh border. a reminder l aftermath. report there from the i bangladesh border. a reminder before you go you can head to our website

from all the latest in eurovision and we have all the details leading up and we have all the details leading up to the final later tonight. for much of the uk it's been a lovely start of the week and plenty of sunshine around those eastern and south—eastern parts of england that remain grey and cool and breezy. but for most, it will stay sunny under this area of high pressure, with light winds. the winds are a feature in the south—east. this approaching cold front will decrease clouded outbreaks of rain to western scotland and parts of northern ireland within the end the life and cooler air behind it and then headed most places stay dry under the high pressure but that low cloud rolls backin pressure but that low cloud rolls back in westwards across much of the midlands and eastern england. some clearer slots in between the grey clouds of eastern england and this one different bringing outbreaks of

rain to the north—west of the uk. a different picture for sunday and we start off grey and chilly across eastern england and that cloud should melt away back to the coast of scotland and northern ireland stars cloudy rain advances south east was entering in wales and into the afternoon ahead of it and it could set off a few showers. another warm day to come across and in a way as we have the sunshine and maybe 20 or 21 degrees but surely across scotland and northern ireland behind this was different, despite there being afternoon sunshine and a few scattered showers. 0n being afternoon sunshine and a few scattered showers. on sunday night, a few blustery showers continue in the north—west of scotland but otherwise much of the north—west of the uk will be quite chilly behind the cold front, whereas i had a bit across the east and south—east of england and other mileage not to come. but that weather front clears away and takes the cloud and rain with it and leaves a legacy of northerly winds and also further showers for monday. and that will be particularly in northern scotland and also showers affecting eastern

parts of england. probably the best of the sunshine in central, southern and western areas and closer to the centre of high pressure we will all notice on monday that it will feel a lot cooler with temperatures below the seasonal norm ranging from 10-14 . and the seasonal norm ranging from 10—14. and you can see the blue hue of cool air 10—14. and you can see the blue hue of coolair hanging 10—14. and you can see the blue hue of cool air hanging around on tuesday and on wednesday, particularly across the north and east of the country, but milder air will start to push back into war the end of the week. itjust chilly for the upcoming and mostly dry thanks to high pressure in a few showers towards the end of week push slowly recovering. —— but temperatures slowly recovering.

this is bbc news — the headlines: italy's prime minister says her country will support ukraine — in its war with russia — for as long as necessary. giorgia meloni made the comments at a joint news conference with president zelensky. he's already met the italian president and will later have an audience with the pope. turkey's leader — recep tayyip erdogan — has addressed supporters on the last day of campaigning before sunday's presidential election. he accused his secularist opponent — kamel kilicdaroglu — of planning to sanction russia on the orders of america. his party has been in power for more than 20 years. final preparations are taking place in the english city of liverpool for the eurovision song contest�*s grand final. the event is being held in britain on behalf of ukraine —