BBC News with Julie Candler
The American ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power has accused Russia of holding the organization hostage and blocking action against Syria over the apparent use of chemical weapons. The statement came as world leaders, among them President Obama and Putin, held a summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, where the conflict in Syria was discussed over dinner. Our correspondent Daniel Sandford was watching the leaders assemble ahead of the dinner.
“There was a big photo opportunity as the leaders went into dinners tonight. President Putin led all the other leaders through the gardens and into dinner. But President Obama was not among the leaders during that photocall, and he came along and took that same route, walked past all the cameras, that's part of an hour later. So this idea of them all sitting down together over dinners to discuss Syria, certainly it didn't happen in its fullest extends(extension), and President Obama either choose not to walk with President Putin into a palace dinner, or yet other better things to do.”
The speaker of the Syrian parliament has written to his counterpart at the US House of Representatives, urging American Congress men and women not to rush into what he called irresponsible reckless action.
Parliament in Kenya has voted in favour of a motion to begin the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court. The move comes less than a week before the trial at the ICC of the Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto on charges of crimes against humanity. President Uhuru Kenyatta is due to face trial there in November. Both have been prosecuted in relation to violence that followed elections at the end of 2007. The ICC's spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said both cases will continue.
“As it is a sovereign decision to join, it is also a sovereign decision to withdraw, but withdrawal has to follow certain rules. So it can be effective only one year after the deposition offer withdrawing certification with the scrutiny general, and it will have an impact only for the future, and no impact whatsofever on the proceedings and cases that have already been initiated.”
The son of the sport director of one of Europe's biggest football teams has become the 15th victim of gangland shootings in Marseille this year. Adrien Anigo, whose father Jose is a key official at the French club Olympique Marseille, was shot and killed by a gunman riding on a motorbike. Chris Bockman reports.
Jose Anigo, with a shaved head and tough bodyguard looks, is one of the most well known figures in French football management. His son, Adrien had been in jail accused of taking part in a series of armed robberies and he was freed by accident in a judicial mix-up. His killers on a motorbike shot him at close range in broad daylight. Marseille football club is one of the most successful and controversial football clubs in France, and previous presidents of the club have admitted the club has had ties with Marseille underworld.
World News from the BBC.
The Egyptian interior minister has warned of a wave of terrorism by opponents of the military-backed government after surviving unhurt in assassination attempt in Cairo. A car bomb exploded mid-morning as Mohammed Ibrahim's convoy was passing by, with gunmen then firing at his car. It was the first attack on a high-level government official in the two months of violence since the army ousted the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
The President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto says the US has promised to investigate allegations that he was spied on by the American National Security Agency. Mr. Pena Nieto said action should be taken if American agencies broke international agreements and acted outside the law. The allegations came from documents leaked by a former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.
Officials in California say the massive wildfire in and around Yosemite National Park was caused by a small illegal fire set by a hunter. Peter Bowes has the details.
“According to the US Forest Service, the wildfire spread when a hunter lost control of a fire in an isolated area. No arrests have been made and the hunter's named has been withheld pending further investigation. The fire is now 80% contained. More than 100 structures, including 11 homes, have been destroyed. Despite earlier speculation by a local fire chief that the blaze may have been linked to an illicit drug operation, Officials say no marijuana cultivation sites were found near the origin of the fire.”
Police in Germany have raided premises belonging to a Christian's sect and taken 40 children into care. Local reports said the police operation in the southern state of Bavaria followed new evidence of child abuse by members of the Twelve Tribes community. In a statement, the group, which follows teachings in the Old and New Testaments as God's direct word, said it was an open and transparent community that did not tolerate any form of child abuse.