NewsHour

President Zelensky has arrived in Turkey for peace talks with Russia but Vladimir Putin isn't there - and the Ukrainian leader has accused the Kremlin of sending “stand-in props” instead.

Also on the programme: how the expansion of renewable energy sources is now driving down China's emissions of greenhouse gases; and the surprise discovery of an original version of one of the earliest and most important bills of rights in history – the Magna Carta.

(Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint media statement with Malaysia's prime minister following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 14 May 2025. Credit: EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Health officials in Gaza say Israel has killed more than eighty people on Wednesday as its bombardment of Gaza intensifies. We hear from Tomo Potokar, a surgeon at a hospital that's come under fire. The former head of Mossad, Danny Yatom, tells us why Israeli reservists are speaking out against the war in Gaza.

Also, evidence from Uganda that chimps practice first aid with medicinal herbs.

And the changing mood in Poland towards refugees from neighbouring Ukraine.

(Photo: Gazans inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in the north of the Gaza strip on May 14, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa)

Donald Trump has met the interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa -- a day after Washington announced it would lift all US sanctions placed on Syria. The meeting, which took place in Saudi Arabia, is seen as a significant moment for the new Syrian leader, who is a former jihadist, once linked to al-Qaeda. Newshour hears from US businessman Jonathan Bass, who led a US delegation earlier this month to Damascus, and from Syria's minister for social affairs and labour, Hind Kabawat.

Also in the programme: chimps using first aid; and an interview with author Isabel Allende.

(Picture: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Credit: Saudi Press Agency)

The US and Saudi Arabia say they have signed commercial deals worth $142bn during Donald Trump's ongoing trip in the Middle East. Also on the programme, the head of the UN agency for Palestinians has told the BBC that Israel's blockade of food deliveries to Palestinians inside Gaza constitutes a war crime; and, a self-declared "king" of Germany and three of his senior "subjects" have been arrested and their group banned for attempting to overthrow the state.

(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman exchange a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during a ceremony at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

US president Donald Trump has arrived in Saudi Arabia on his first major overseas tour of his second term. He attended a lavish lunch with some of America’s most prominent economic and tech leaders He will then fly on to Qatar - which has controversially gifted him an airliner to replace Air Force One - and then the United Arab Emirates.

Also in the programme: the head of the main UN agency for Palestinians has told the BBC that Israel's blockade of food deliveries to Palestinians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, a claim that Israel denies; and we speak to the British adventurer who climbed Mount Everest to complete the world's longest triathlon.

(Picture: US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman after arriving in Saudi Arabia. Credit: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court)

The Israeli military says Edan Alexander, the last living hostage in Gaza with US citizenship, has returned to Israel after being released by Hamas. Also on the programme, global stocks have risen after the United States and China agreed to reduce tariffs on each other's goods, pausing a trade war that's caused huge economic disruption; and, how Britain's prime minister is making a risky move on immigration.

(Photo: A woman touches a picture of the Israeli-American hostage, Edan Alexander, who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack, on the day Edan Alexander is expected to be released from captivity by Hamas in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel May 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

China and the United States have agreed to major tariff cuts during talks in Geneva. US tariffs on most Chinese goods will drop to 30%, while China will charge US products 10%. We hear from economist Alicia Garcia Herrero.

Also in the programme: Kurdish militants PKK to disarm; Afrikaner refugees arrive in the US.

(Picture: US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference after two days of closed-door discussions on trade between the United States and China, in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit: Photo by EPA)

After pressure from President Trump, President Zelensky has dropped his previous insistence on a ceasefire before negotiations. He says he is prepared to meet President Putin face-to-face in Istanbul on Thursday.

Also in the programme: The US government is "actively looking at" suspending 'habeas corpus' - the right of a person to challenge their detention in court - according to one of President Trump's top aides; and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria at the end of the Second World War..

(Photo: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky gestures as he addresses a joint press conference following a meeting of the 'Coalition of the willing' at the Mariinskyi Palace, the official residence of the president of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, 10 May 2025, amid the ongoing Russian invasion.

'Coalition of the willing' leaders meet in Kyiv, Ukraine - 10 May 2025. Credit: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has given a cautious response to Vladimir Putin's offer of direct peace talks. Mr Zelensky said it was a positive sign that Russia was beginning to consider an end to the war - but again called on Moscow to commit to a ceasefire, starting on Monday. In a surprise late night statement, President Putin proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday. He said the talks would address what he described as "the root causes of the conflict."

Also in the programme: As Pope Leo gives his first Sunday address at the Vatican, we speak to two young Catholics; and the South African jazz musician paying homage to a Zulu rain goddess.

(Photo: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Credit: Getty Images)

Pakistan and India have accused each other of violating the ceasefire brokered after four days of cross-border attacks. Explosions have been heard in the disputed region of Kashmir an hour after the ceasefire came into effect. We get the latest updates from the region and speak to a former US diplomat about the role played by the United States in mediating the deal.

Also in our programme: European leaders meet in Kyiv in a show of solidarity for Ukraine; and the chimpanzees who have found peace after a life of being experimented on.

(Photo: Flashes are seen in the sky over Indian-administered Kashmir after India-Pakistan ceasefire announcement. Credit: Reuters).