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The US and Russia are holding talks in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine.

It's the first in-person meeting since Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago.

The American side has emphasised that Tuesday's meeting is not about starting negotiations, but to work out if Russia is "serious" about to end the Ukraine war.

Russia said its priority is to begin normalising relations with the US.

Neither Ukraine nor Europe were invited.

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Two sets of talks about the war in Ukraine are taking place in Paris and Riyadh.

European leaders are meeting in France as they look for a response to Donald Trump's plan to open negotiations with Vladimir Putin for an end to the conflict.

On Tuesday, Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are due to meet in the Saudi capital.

Ukraine is not attending either set of talks.

BBC correspondents analyse what key powers hope to gain from two days of intense diplomacy.

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We ask what a peace deal for Ukraine might look like, as European leaders gather in Paris for an emergency summit.

The UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK was "ready and willing to put troops on the ground", while President Trump is expected to be meeting President Putin in Saudi Arabia “very soon”.

Adam is joined by our Europe editor, Katya Adler and Lord Kim Darroch, former UK Ambassador to Washington. We also speak to Joe Pike, political investigations correspondent and James Landale, diplomatic correspondent.

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Police in South Africa are "hot on the heels" of the suspects behind the killing of Muhsin Hendricks, dubbed the world's first openly gay imam, Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel said.

The 57-year-old was in a car when he was shot dead in broad daylight in the coastal city of Gqeberha on Saturday.

The imam was well known for his work in creating a safe haven for gay and other marginalised Muslims and his killing shocked the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposal to give the US access to $500bn of Ukraine’s vast reserves of critical minerals.

Ukraine holds huge deposits of rare earth minerals and natural resources; including lithium, titanium, coal, gas, oil and uranium.

Many of the minerals, however, are in areas now controlled by Russian troops.

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Pope Francis is being treated for a "complex clinical situation" and will remain in hospital for as long as necessary, the Vatican has said.

The 88-year-old was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday to undergo treatment and tests for bronchitis.

The Vatican said the pontiff has a "polymicrobial infection" of his respiratory tract, which has required a change in his treatment, but the Pope was in good spirits.

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Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have entered the second-largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Bukavu, after previously capturing Goma in January.

Some people were seen lining the streets to clap and cheer the fighters as they marched and drove into the city centre without resistance - seizing the regional governor's office.

The Congolese government has acknowledged its fall and urged residents to stay at home "to avoid being targeted by the occupying forces".

The UN and European countries have warned that the latest offensive, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes, could spark a wider regional war.

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An Israeli negotiating team is travelling to Cairo on Monday to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

On Monday demonstrations are taking place in Israel by relatives to mark the 500th day Israeli hostages have spent in captivity in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel's prime minister said he was cooperating with the US on a "common strategy" for the Palestinian territory after a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on Sunday.

Netanyahu has said he is working to make US President Donald Trump's plan to remove and resettle Gaza's population "a reality”.

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Zakaria has spent most of the last year volunteering at Gaza's al-Aqsa hospital.

As war raged across the strip, he could be found carrying wounded and traumatised victims into the emergency ward for treatment.

He says he hopes the ceasefire will hold and he can go back to school.

The BBC followed him and three other young people over nine months to learn how they spent their days surviving the war between Israel and Hamas.

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Leaders from France, the UK, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and Denmark are gathering in Paris on Monday to discuss their defence policy, the Ukraine war, and how a ceasefire might look.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was prepared to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine if and when the war ends.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his way to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russian officials, while US President Donald Trump said he himself could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia "very soon" to discuss the Ukraine war.

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