While there was no official US confirmation of military assistance to Ukraine, Zelensky said afterwards that Trump had agreed to give Ukraine licences for domestic production of Patriot missiles.

“He accepted that he will give us licences,” Ukraine’s leader told Fox News, “and then I had a meeting with representatives of production, very strong military companies of the United States.

“I hope that we will do co-production.” The BBC asked the White House for comment.

Zelensky also met a bipartisan group of US lawmakers just before the Senate voted overwhelmingly to sanction buyers of Russian oil and gas.

The Ukrainian president told reporters beforehand that such sanctions are a “big signal to Europe, big signal to Ukraine, big support of our people”.

The Patriot is one of the few air defence systems able to intercept ballistic missiles, which Russia has increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities.

It can catch rockets with flight ranges of up to 1,000km (620 miles). One battery can simultaneously track up to eight targets and detect more than 100.

But it comes with a price tag – each missile for the Patriot is estimated to cost from $3m to $5m.

Zelensky and the Ukrainian army have previously said Ukraine needs 25 Patriot interceptor systems.

As well as beefing up Ukraine’s military, domestic production of Patriots would shore up Zelensky’s approval rating in the wake of recent protests over his decision to oust a popular defence minister.

The key question is where Ukraine might produce those systems away from the prying eyes of the Kremlin, and whether it could be done quickly enough to alter the balance of the conflict.

The young people are campaigning for a new role to be established, similar to the Minister for Women and Equalities at Westminster, or the Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health in Wales.

The Ballycastle-based group were drawn to the idea because, Pearse said: “A minister has a basic obligation to make legislation, and creating one could be a good step towards changing how women’s safety and healthcare is approached in government.”

Aoísha O’Neill, 18, who is Pearse’s sister said establishing a dedicated Minister for Women’s Safety and Health would bring together women’s issues “so they can be tackled in a more efficient way”.

As well as improving infrastructure, the group is calling for a Minister to shrink healthcare waiting lists and broaden the school curriculum.

She said the group wants to see is improved sex and relationship education in schools and said young people growing up must be given “enough information about their own bodies”.

Post-primary schools in NI get guidance on how to deliver classes on sex education.

“I think, currently, issues of women’s health and safety are quite low on departments’ priority lists,” added Aoísha.

There have been efforts to take action on the issue.

The first and deputy first ministers have both been involved in work to end violence against women and girls, external and the Executive Office (TEO) launched its Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in 2024.

A spokeswomen for TEO said promoting the health and safety of women, including ending violence and abuse, is a priority.

She said this was underscored by the inclusion of the strategy.

“Addressing this long-term issue requires a coordinated, whole Executive approach, with all Ministers working collectively.”

In 2022 the PSNI launched an action plan aimed at reducing violence against women and girls.

The teenagers hope a dedicated women’s minister would be a member of the Northern Ireland Executive, holding office as a minister within the Executive Office and appointed by the First and Deputy First Ministers.

Responsibility for tackling VAWG, healthcare and education sits across Stormont departments for justice, health and education.

“Women’s safety and health is such a large and pressing issue that it’s so difficult to keep up with,” Eimear said.

“With a Minister’s resources and attention it could be tackled effectively.”

Devyn says, for example, it’s “abhorrent” that women in Northern Ireland face lengthly waits for gynaecology appointments.

On Sunday night, a US official said both sides would “stand down for now”, and that vessels could “move freely” in and around the strait. Technical talks would also “continue on all areas of the MoU”, the official added.

The next day, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and lead technical negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, denied that there were plans for technical talks this week.

US President Donald Trump responded by saying that Iran had requested a meeting in Qatar’s capital on Tuesday, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Witkoff and Kushner would fly to Doha for “high-level meetings”.

On Tuesday, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman told a news conference that the two US envoys had arrived in Doha for talks with mediators but not Iranian officials.

“The talks will be around all regional issues which are of concern, including, of course, the negotiations with Iran, but also including Lebanon and other files in the region,” he said.

“So, they are not here for direct negotiations with the Iranians or related meetings.”

He added: “To the best of my knowledge, there are no direct meetings scheduled between the two parties in the coming days.”

Ansari confirmed that technical talks between lower-ranking officials were continuing and could later be elevated to senior level.

“We have a track on the nuclear side. We have a track on the economic and state performance issue. We have a track on security and the regional security,” he added.

He also said the release of $6bn (£4.5bn) of the $12bn in frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar depended on progress in talks between the US and Iran that had not yet happened.

Iran’s president said on Monday that the steps to unfreeze the funds were “under way”.

Farida Khalil is not your average teenager.

Last year, aged just 14, the Egyptian won every major world title in modern pentathlon – from three youth grades to the women’s senior championship – in the same season.

The sport’s world governing body, UIPM, described it as “unprecedented” and quickly dubbed it the ‘Farida Slam’., external

Her devotion to a sport consisting of fencing, swimming, an obstacle race, running and shooting, is most striking in the commitment to her training routine.

“I love that difference, that I’m not going to stay fixed [on one discipline],” Khalil tells BBC Arabic.

With her dad as head coach, the teenager’s sporting success has become a family endeavour.

“Raising a champion in your home, a world champion, is not easy at all,” Mohamed Abu Hashem, Khalil’s father, explains.

“It’s not about luck. It is persistence, years of effort, endurance and big sacrifices.”

The sun has barely risen over Cairo by the time Khalil starts her day at 5am, with her morning schedule a gruelling endurance test all of its own.

“Swimming is from five to seven, running starts from eight thirty to around ten thirty and we keep going like that,” she says.

Khalil, who turned 15 in February, can spend up to 14 hours a day training, with a break for lunch and tutoring.

Her school is in a neighbourhood just north of the capital but, with such a tight schedule, she does not attend every day.

When she does go to class, her fame often precedes her.

“My friends at school are always proud that they are walking around with a world champion – walking with the youngest girl to become world number one.”

US President Donald Trump will turn his focus to the Middle East on Monday, as he hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida for talks that are expected to cover Gaza and a range of other pressing issues.

Any decisions made could have a potentially momentous impact on questions that determine the future of the region.

The US has been Israel’s strongest military and political backer throughout two years of war in Gaza and many are now looking to the meeting as a test of the leaders’ relationship and how aligned they are on key topics.

It will be their sixth meeting since Trump’s return to office 11 months ago.

Among the expected points of discussion is the future of relations with Syria’s new government, Iranian rearmament, and Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon.

Perhaps most critically, they will discuss progress of the Gaza ceasefire deal, where Israel’s government has taken several positions diverging from those of the US government.

The talks will take place as storms continue to lash Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians remain living in basic tents that offer little protection from the cold and flooding.

On Monday, the death of a two-month-old baby due to the severe cold was reported by the Hamas-run health ministry, bringing the total killed by the wintry weather since 10 December to three, while another 17 people have been killed by damaged buildings collapsing in the storms.

The UN and numerous aid agencies have accused Israel of not meeting its ceasefire obligations by continuing to restrict full access to basic supplies and equipment. Israel has said it is meeting its obligations in facilitating an increase in aid deliveries.

The Trump administration wants to see the ceasefire progress to its second phase in January, whereby a Palestinian technocratic government would be established alongside the deployment of an international security force, Hamas would disarm, Israeli troops would withdraw, and the reconstruction of the devastated territory would begin.

Critics have suggested that Netanyahu may instead seek to delay the progress of the ceasefire, saying he does not want to engage seriously with questions of a political future for Palestinians and will instead push for Hamas to fully disarm before Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. Hamas officials have repeatedly said that its full disarmament should take place alongside progress towards an independent Palestinian state.

The 20-point peace plan promoted by Trump and signed by both Israel and Hamas recognises Palestinian aspirations to a sovereign state, however Netanyahu and his ministers have consistently rejected Palestinian statehood since the ceasefire came into effect in October.

Last week, Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country would build settlements in Gaza and would “never fully withdraw” from the territory even if Hamas disarms, despite this being a key tenet of the ceasefire deal.

Breaking out of the current impasse is seen as crucial by many in the region as near-daily deadly attacks by the Israeli military continue to take place in Gaza despite the declared ceasefire.

In the 80 days since it came into effect, at least 414 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in the territory, according to its health ministry.

The Israeli military, which controls more than half of Gaza, has said it has only opened fire in response to ceasefire violations.

Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in attacks that the military has blamed on Hamas over the same period.

Israel also continues to wait for Hamas to return of the body of Ran Gvili, the last remaining dead hostage in Gaza. All living and decease hostages taken during the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, which sparked the war, should have been returned three days after the ceasefire came into effect.

Trump’s intervention and US mediation could be brought upon the fraught and unresolved sticking points, pushing Netanyahu to take a softer line on certain positions.

For instance, the Israeli government has opposed Turkey taking part in the International Stabilisation Force to be deployed in Gaza. However, few other countries have been willing to take part.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is seen as supportive of the positions of the Israeli government.

Last week, Israeli media reported that there may be an attempt by the prime minister to rediscuss Israel annexing the occupied West Bank – something President Trump has spoken against.

Israeli ministers have recently described their expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a de facto annexation of the territory aimed at burying the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.

Both the settlements and annexation are illegal under international law.

It is also expected that Netanyahu may use his meeting with Trump on Monday to seek US permission for further military strikes on Iran.

The Israeli government is said to believe Iran is rearming its missile capabilities after their 12-day war this summer, which saw Iran’s nuclear facilities bombed by both Israeli and US fighter jets.

The Iranian president said this weekend that said his country was in “all-out war” with Israel, the US and Europe. “They don’t want our country to remain stable,” Masoud Pezeshkian said.

As reports of mass atrocities in and around the newly-captured city of El Fasher in Darfur mark a new low in Sudan’s brutal civil war, the Security Council is meeting in emergency session to address the rapidly deteriorating situation. Civilians are facing starvation and mass displacement as the UN continues providing lifesaving aid throughout the country. Hospitals, schools and IDP camps are under attack, with entire neighborhoods emptied as families flee the RSF militia. Follow our in-depth live coverage; UN News app users can go here.

The UN Security Council meets at the top of the hour in New York to debate the Middle East, with Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the region expected to brief. The session comes amid faltering progress on the fragile Gaza ceasefire and mounting humanitarian needs after two years of war, with famine still looming in parts of the territory. Ambassadors will likely discuss yesterday’s ICJ advisory opinion affirming Israel’s obligation to allow agencies aid access under international law. Follow our in-depth live coverage from 10am; UN News app users can go here.