Despite the White House meltdown, the prime minister claims Trump and Vance are not unreliable allies of Europe

• Ukraine war: live updates

If I were Volodymyr Zelenskyy, I’d be thinking, either Keir Starmer has a fiendishly intelligent and subtle mind, or he is bananas. Starmer channelled the giants of British history (everyone we’re not embarrassed of; basically, Winston Churchill) on Sunday. He said we were at a “crossroads in history”.

He used the phrase “we are gathered here today”, which I suppose was literally true, as they were, but also had a strange church-y overtone, as if he were trying to borrow the actual authority of God, and he explicitly yoked together the peace and security of Ukraine with that of everyone – all of Europe, but also “us” – Justin Trudeau was there, so presumably Canada’s, too. Pictures of him hugging Zelenskyy ahead were almost tear-jerkingly sincere.

• Second semi-final: Gloucester-Hartpury 36-20 Bristol
• Maher refuses to rule out returning to English game

A tearful Ilona Maher signed off her time in English club rugby with a try for Bristol Bears but it was not enough to prevent a 36-20 defeat against their west country rivals Gloucester-Hartpury in the women’s Premiership semi-final.

Maher, who has more than 8m social media followers, has been a groundbreaking addition to the PWR, signing for Bristol in December and bringing record attendances and global attention to the women’s club game.

UK prime minister and a host of leaders, including Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met to discuss ending the war

Europe is “at a crossroads in history”, said Keir Starmer as he hosted 18 leaders at a Lancaster House summit in London to discuss a new plan for peace in Ukraine.

The UK, France and others will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and discuss that plan with the US, “and take it forward together”, the prime minister said.

Lithuanian ocean rower’s two-day wait to be rescued off Queensland comes to an end

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A Lithuanian rower has been rescued off the Queensland coast after he was caught in a tropical cyclone’s 130km/h winds and monster waves.

Aurimas Mockus ran into trouble about 740km east of Mackay while attempting a 12,000km Pacific Ocean crossing from San Diego to Brisbane in his solo rowing boat.

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Proposal aims to provide stability as top flight and Championship expand from 12 to 16 teams up to 2030

A radical plan to scrap relegation from the Women’s Super League as part of a major expansion of the professional game is to be voted on by clubs at the end of the season.

Under proposals developed by the Women’s Professional League Ltd and revealed on Thursday, relegation from the 12‑team WSL would stop from the 2026-27 season as part of a gradual plan to expand both the top flight and the second‑tier Championship to 16 teams.