BBC News with Stewart Macintosh.
The leaders of Britain and France have met President Putin face to face for the first time since the annexation of Crimea to convey their concern about Russia's actions in Ukraine. The British Prime Minister David Cameron says he's delivered an unequivocal message to Mr. Putin that Russian aggression must stop. Both leaders are in France for commemorations of the D-Day landings 70 years ago.
“These are the first face to face meetings between Vladimir Putin and western leaders since the crisis in Ukraine began. Mr Cameron said he told the Russian President in a short meeting at the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport that unless Russia accepted the sovereignty of Ukraine and began direct negotiations with its new President, then further sanctions and isolation would result. For Mr. Holland who is hosting 19 heads of state this week, it's a diplomatic tight rope keeping the American and Russian presidents apart. First night, he met President Obama for dinner at a Paris restaurant, then hurried back to the Elysee Palace to have supper with President Putin.”
Veterans of the Second World War have travelled to beaches of Normandy where thousands of allied troops died on D-Day as they began the liberation of France from Nazi rule. They've been paying their respect to fallen comrades at the cemeteries inland.
The heir to the British throne Prince Charles watched a parachute drop by soldiers from the allied nations. Queen Elizabeth,President Obama and other world leaders will attend further ceremonies on Friday. An estimated 200,000 visitors are taking part in the commemorations.
The series attacks in northeastern Nigeria, apparently by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has left many people dead.Aid agencies say more than 3,000 people have been killed this year. Will Ross is in Abuja.
“48 hours after Boko Haram attacked, dead bodies still litter the streets of several villages in Gwoza, close to Nigeria's border with Cameroon. The member of Parliament for the area says he fears at least 200 people were killed, but it's impossible to know exactly how many, because there is no one there to count the bodies. The MP says despite requests Nigerian soldiers are still not deployed there. Gwoza has been turned into a Boko Haram stronghold, and there're reports that jihadist flags are flying in some of the villages. Overnight, 45 people were killed on the outskirts of Maiduguri city. The attacks are relentless.”
President Obama has said he would prefer Britain to stay in the European Union, and Scotland to remain in the United Kingdom. Replying to a question at a news conference after the G7 Summit in Brussels, Mr. Obama said that it was encouraging for Washington to know that one of its closest allies had a seat to the European table. On Scotland he said that the US had a deep interest in Britain remaining a united and effected partner. The Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond said that decision on independence was up to the people of Scotland. Last year, the US Ambassador in London said America would remain neutral.
World News from the BBC.
White House officials are reported to have explained to US Senators in a closed door briefing why Congress was not notified beforehand of the prisoners swap involving the US soldier sergeant Bowe Bergdahl and five Taliban commanders. The reason reportedly given was that the Taliban had threatened to kill the soldier if the deal was made public in advance. Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who has been treated at a US military hospital in Germany, has still not spoken to his mother or father five days after his release.
Police in Canada hunting a gun man suspected of killing three police officers and wounding two others say he has since been spotted three times near the crime scene. The suspect has been named as a 24 year-old local resident Justin Bourque. Rajini Vaildyanathan has more.
“The small city of Moncton on Canada's east coast is now the centre of a large police manhunt. The last confirmed sighting of the suspect Justin Bourque was on Thursday morning. He's thought to have slipped into the woods shortly after, making efforts to find him much harder. Officers say he is carrying high powered fire arms. They've cordoned off a large area in the northwest of the city and have urged residents to stay indoors.”
A manhunt is underway in the eastern democratic Republic of Congo after some 300 prisoners broke out of a jail in the city of Bukavu. A government spokesman told the BBC that 46 inmates had been recaptured, but two had been killed in the process, as well as two soldiers. Residents said they heard gun shots, shortly before the prisoners managed to force their way through the main gate. An investigation is underway.
China has said it hopes to cap its green house gas emissions as soon as possible, has set no firm date thus far. A senior official, Xie zhenhua, told journalists his country was trying to identify when emissions would peak, but it was a complex issue related to economic and social development.