More than 50 US State Department officials are reported to have signed an internal memo, sharply criticizing the Obama administration's policy in Syria.The memo seen by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal says the United States should take military action against the government of President Asad to stop its precedent ceasefire violations. The New York Times White House correspondent is Mark Landler. They are basically mid-level State Department employees. These are career diplomats, policy makers and other staff people that work on the Syria desk. They are people who worked in the American Embassy in Damascus. They are people who worked on Syria related projects, all around the State Department. So they are not, you know, household names or senior level officials. But these are the people who are really daunted on the trenches working on Syria policy over the past five years.
A court India has sentenced 11 people to life in prison for their involvement in communal riots in the state of Gujarat in 2002. Twelve other defendants were given seven-year terms. Sanjoy Majumder has the details. This is one of several Gujarat's riot cases being heard by special court set up by India Supreme Court. Sixty nine Muslims, including a prominent politician and former member of parliament, were hacked and burned to death. Among those sentenced is a local leader of a hardline Hindu nationalist group with ties to the country’s governing PJP party. India’s current Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat's minister the time of the riots, and he's often been criticized for doing little to prevent the violence.
British police are investigating the motive behind the murder of the opposition Labor MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed on Thursday as she met her constituencies in West Yorkshire. The killing has caused a nationwide shock and campaign for next week’s EU referendum has been suspended until Saturday. An eyewitness said the attacker shouted “Britain first” as he attacked Ms. Cox who backed the Remain campaign. A 52-year old local man was arrested nearby. There are reports that the suspect had far right political sympathies.
A court in Germany is due to announce its verdict today in the trial of a former guard at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi occupied Poland. Reinhold Hanning, who's 94, is accused of being an accessory to the murder of 170,000 people. Jane Hill reports. Prosecutors claim Hanning met Jewish prisoners as they arrived at Auschwitz and may have escorted some of them to the gas chamber. There's no evidence that he killed anyone. But lawyers say he was part of the Nazi machine and as such facilitated genocide. Mr. Hanning has said he's ashamed he saw injustice and did nothing to stop it. If he's found guilty, he's unlikely to serve a prison sentence because of his age and frailty. Jane Hill reporting. You are listening to the world news from the BBC.
The governing body for world athletics the IAAF will meet today to decide whether to allow Russian athletes to compete the Rio Olympics in August. Russia was suspended last November after a report accused it of state sponsor doping. Moscow says it's cleaned up its anti-doping program. The IAAF will decide if enough has been done.
Bernie Sanders, the runner-up in the contest for the US Democratic Party's presidential nomination, has promised to work with the presumptive candidate Hilary Clinton. He said it was vital to stop the Republican candidate Donald Trump from winning the White House. After centuries of racism, sexism and discrimination of all forms in our country, we do not need a major party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign. We cannot have a president who insults Mexicans, Latinos, Muslims,women and African Americans. Mr. Sanders urges his supporters to carry on his liberal agenda to transform the Democratic Party.
Scientists have launched an international mission to review the secrets of the deep North Atlantic Ocean. The Atlas project involving research institutions around Europe and North America will spend four years exploring unknown ecosystems and measuring the changing ocean currents that affect world climate. Researchers say they also want to understand what impact deep sea fishing, gas and mineral extraction could have on the deep ocean, one of the least understood regions of the planet.
The American singer and musician Meat Loaf has collapsed on stage during a concert in the city of Edmonton in Canada. Video footage shows Meat Loaf, whose real name is Michael Lee Aday, falling slowly to the floor as the music plays on. The 68-year-old rock star whose hits include Bat Out Of Hell canceled shows recently due to illness. BBC News.