that is the for today. on behalf of "real money", thanks for watching. pieces of a neighbor is illegal and violates the sacrifices they made 70 years ago. veterans of the d-day landing return to nomady. ♪ ♪ world leaders and dignitaries are joining them on the beach to his pay tribute to the dead. hello there, you are watching al jazerra live from london. also coming up, women and children are evacuated as the situation continues to deteriorate in eastern ukraine. see staff at the seattle university stop a gunman as he embarks on a shooting spree.

and we talk to one of the hundreds of people detained in thailand since the military seized power. hello, 70 years ago allied troops landed on the beaches of northern france and turned the tide of world war ii. thousands of soldiers died, now those who survived have once again returned to the landing sites. they have been joined by world leaders to remember the sacrifice that was made. let's show you the scene right now. this is at the airport in nomady. that is where a ceremony is about to begin to remember the thousands of french civilians who died. the french president is due to arrive shortly with other dignitaries and they will pay tribute to those who died. let's speak now to historian max arthur, thanks for being with us here in the studio in london

waiting for this ceremony to get underway, of course. the french president paying a national tribute to those who died. and this is the first air money of its kind to remember what something like 20,000 french civilians who died with the allied troops bombed that area of northern france. people forget that, don't they in. >> they do. we had to blitz the area from the reaches upwards. but the germans, in the french population and you know, 20,000 people being killed in their own homes sheltering perhaps is welcoming some ways as one expected really. >> you can understand that, i think for many years afterwards people in that northern part of france actually didn't feel kindly towards the allied troops who obviously lit rated france eventually. but at the time caused so much damage. it was a decision i guess that the commander had his to take. >> had to take on board, plus

the fact that the fighting was not easy, just up from the coast. a lot of rear guard action bite germans and strong attacks from the germans. so obviously involving casualties to the population at the same time. they had gone from a reasonable time of peacefulness in northern france with the german occupation. but they weren't being killed. suddenly the british and then advanced on by the british and quite difficult perhaps to come to terms with that. >> how long has that area of france, everyone the whole of france how long had it been under nazi control. as you say i guess in some senses they had gone through a period of stability. those who weren't fighting against the germans, obviously the resistence fighters fighting against the germans. but for ordinary people i guess they had felt their stable lives came to an end with this may have of troops arrived. >> may 9040 was don dunkirk so m then on until june 1944 it was the german occupation.

you know, reasonably peaceful, they rubbed along somehow. and suddenly war is right on their front doorstep. unwe known to them, of course, as it was to us. then you know more about d-day than most of the people in our country rich. it was a sudden and unexpected. we couldn't warn them that would mean shift the german defenses in various areas. i do think they really -- the deception rates worked very well towards the shortest journey everyone thought that's where it would be. suddenly they are being bombed which was a great surprise i thought. >> max stay with us, but for the moment i want to go to our correspondent james bays he is live from the beach, also further along on the nomady coast. joins us live now. james, this national ceremony of

remembrance that's going to be led by the french president will be taking place shortly. but it's one of many events remembering the day. >> reporter: many event. there are many world leaders. there are by my count eight prime ministers, eight presidents. what a beautiful scene now. remember 70 years ago there was a huge battle going on here. this one of five beaches on which the allied forces landed. one of the most, or probably the most audacious assault of its type in military history starting around dawn. and as max has said, this wasn't just an easy walk onto the beaches and then head towards paris. this was a brutal battle. there aren't any real proper figures of how many died on the first day. some estimates about 4,500 allied troops, 9,000 germans, 3,000 as max was mentioning,

saville wednesday juscivilians y estimate. that's a huge civilian casually death toll. something that would never be tolerated in modern warfare. 70 years ago in the heat of the bat on this beach. >> thanks very much indeed. well, as those world leaders meet to mark the anniversary of d-day. behind the scenes crucial diplomatic meetings are taking place to discuss the current cries let ukraine. germany's chancellor angela merkel is set to meet vladimir putin. those two heads of state from paris and american, joined by i don't know carey and the french prime minister, later on monday, the french president met putin. the two meals were held separately to avoid a direct meeting between the american and russian leaders. well, in ukraine the

fighting continues and the situation is rapidly deteriorating. there are reports of a border guard post coming under attack from pro-russia separatists. many people have fled their homes fighting there between ukraine's military and pro russian separatists continues. locals now say there is no running water and many shops are rapidly running out of supplies. in luhansk women and children have been boarding buss and trains out of the city. vladimir putin has paid for a train to help people escape. al jazerra's david chater sent this report. >> reporter: the traina rifing at platform 1 white sox sent by moscow. a way out for the children of luhansk as the war closes in on their city. president putin has given the separatist fighters here nearly $2 million to oregano a safe way out through the front lines.

the putin express as the children christened it taking them on a 20-hour journey to the shores of the black sea and the port of odessa. a sense of excitement, mixed with fear about what the future may hold. they are leaving behind the sound of machine guns and mortars. the air raid sirens and jet fighters in the sky. out gunned, out numbered, and overwhelmed, the scene of yet another setback for the ukrainian army. the border guard base in luhansk. the separatist fighters were methodically taking everything they left behind. not just thousands of rounds of ammunition, but body armor and the very latest night vision equipment. even the fuel left in the tank of a burnt out truck wag being zioned out. this is not just a humiliating defeat for kiev, it also means

that they no longer have eyes or ears on a large section of the russian border. in the communications room, evidence of the fierceness of the fighting here. the soviet-era equipment was still humming and running. this map shows the border posts that were controlled by this headquarters, one by one they are being deserted. they have lost contact with the chain of command. among the separatist fighters we found a former teacher. >> translator: if they defend themselves we will have battles and we will smoke them oil of our regis. we want to live a normal life without war. >> reporter: in the regional headquarters of the city, that was hit by ukrainian air force jets earlier this week, an emotional education minister from the self-declared republic announced they were evacuating all the children left in luhan luhansk. >> translator: first of all, i am a woman and a mother. i want to see my children grow up in peace.

i only want peace. >> reporter: this young couple are posing for their wedding album. despite the happiness of their day like everybody else here, they are asking one question, what sort of future will their children face? david chater, al jazerra luhansk. wounded in a shooting at a university campus in see at. of the gunman opened fire and shot four people before attempting to reload his gun. he was then subdued by university personnel with helper spray. police said the 26-year-old suspect appeared to act alone. but had it not been for university staff, it could have been much worse. >> during the incident itself, the subject was armed with a shotgun and a knife. he also had additional round on his person. and but for the great response by the people at seattle pacific university, this incident might have been much more tragic.

canadian police have arrested a 24-year-old man they believe killed three police officers. a manhunt has been underway since wednesday night in the city of new bankruptcy quick. people had been advise today stay indoors while the gunman was still on the run. egyptian prosecutors in the trials of three al jazerra journalists have demanded the maximum penalty. they are accused of supporting the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they want seven years in jail for peter and 15 for the other two. they have now been held for 160 days. al jazerra denies the allegations and is demanding their immediate release. the trial has been adjourned, they are due back in court on june 16th. peter's father says his son hasn't done anything wrong. >> what peter did, what peter reported, what he wrote, for his

current agency would not be any different if he had been reporting for the bbc, or the abc, or the cnn or any other news organization. his bad fortunate, if you like, was that he simply found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> another al jazerra journalist, abdullah has had his latest court hearing postponed until june 11th he's been held without charge since august of last year and been on hunger strike for more than four months. he insists he won't break his fast until he's released. there is plenty mere still to come on al jazerra. including. >> i. >> reporter: i am tom ackerman they belmont racetrack in new york, where a horse named california chrome could win the coveted triple crown and hopefully revive a flagging industry. that story coming up. ♪ ♪

and resilient economies. do i expect it to be unanimous among the european members? i've learned about the european union, commission, council, sometimes i get them mixed up. >> welcome to the club.

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>> the stream, saturday 5:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. pieces of a neighbor is illegal and violates ♪ ♪ hello again, welcome back, a. a reminder of the top stories here on al jazerra. veterans have returned to the beaches of nomady to mark 70 years since the allied invasion. in ukraine, residents of cities in the east are fleeing as the situation shows no signs of improving. in luhansk women and children have been evacuate odd a train that was paid for by the russian president vladimir putin. one person has been killed and three wounded in a shooting at a university campus in seattle. the gunman subsued by university

personnel. i want to take you right now to northern france and show you the scene. this is in northern france where a ceremony is currently taking place for remember the thousands of french civilian who his died when the bombing began on d-day. let's listen in to see what the president is saying. >> also having a few problems with our link there and listening to what the president is saying. basically he's leading sa a ceremony as a tribute to the civilian casualties think i would the first time to remember nationally 15 to 20,000 french civilians who died during the d-day invasion, mostly as a result of allied bombing. wreaths are being laid to remember those who died. the president leading the

tributes. let's speak to our correspondent james bays who is also in nomady not ofoegbu a beach not too far away. an important moment in france, isn't it, james? because very often the french casualties, the french is quills are forgotten when remember d-day being the moment that turned the tide of world war ii against the nazis. >> reporter: and it was a horrifying toll of civilians. on this day alone, 70 years ago, they reckon that there were 3,000 killed. as you say there are no real accurate figures, but i can tell you would that shortly the president will unveil a monument on that monument it says, and these are the exact words, almost 20,000 men, women and children lost their lives during the fighting in the summer of 1944. so that's the effort mat. but no one really was keeping count in those days.

very, very heavy fighting not just on d-day, on the days after as the troops that landed here on the beaches, five different beaches, spread across an area of coastline, about 80-kilometers long, then made their way in land, of course some of the troops were already in land of the beaches because some of them were dropped, paira troops dropped further inside france to try to secure positions there that the large scale forces coming on the beach could immediate up with, an audacious plan, probably the most audacious assault of its sort in military history. >> indeed. james, for the moment, thank you. an important moment from france, i think we can now hear from the president. >> translator: this battle was also that of civilians the first victims were the resistence fighters on the 5th of june in

the evening the signal signal had been given and a long night was followed by the day, everywhere resistence network arose. explosives were put in place. the railways were blown up. the fighters at the shadows ross and facilitate the landings. throughout the battle. they did not seize to welcome the allies. and delayed the arrival of the german troops.

it was in came, the fighting, it was ferocious, 90 people were shot after being held by the goo stop owe. robert choir was among them. he was responsible for the alliance network. he helped to restore the works of the churches. and at night he sent messages to london. and gave information on german fortifications.

his son remy accompanied his on a few missions. i was with him a few moments ago. and i wish -- the french president francois holl actuaande. he's speaking in the village of calm, a village that suffered huge air attacks when the allied forces invaded france too liberate france from nazi germany. let's go back to our correspondent james bays. he's also in northern france on a beach in nomady. this an important moment for the french to remember their casualties. but most of the rest of the day, james, will be about remembering the veterans, those who stormed the beaches back in 1944.

>> reporter: that's right, felicity. in a series of events coming up, commemorations in the coming hours. about two hours from now, the main american ceremony, president obama will be on the beaches there at a same terry beside the beach at omaha where the americans suffered most of their casualties where there really was a very, very heavy fight on d-day 70 years ago. they'll also then be a event for the british commemorating the british who died on that day and during the battle attended by her majesty the queen, queen elizabeth of the u.k. and then later on in a few hours time, there will be the main international the ceremony taking place. now, by my count, we have 23 different world leaders who are going to be there. we have monarchs, presidents,

and prime ministers attending what will be a very big event, felicity. >> james bays live for us from one of those beaches in nomady. we'll be dipping back in to those commen commemorations thrt the day. a for the moment, thanks very much, james. to other news now. police say they have uncovered a major drug operating out of peru's airport. they were switching traveler's suit indicates and replaces them with identical luggage filled with cocaine. some of the suspects worked at the airport. [ screaming ] riot police who fired tear gas to disburse crowds marching to the haitian capitol port-au-prince. thousands demonstrated outside the presidential palace calling for the resignation of the president. striking bus drivers have been fighting riot police in the bolivian city.

the private bus drivers are angry about government plans to overhaul the public transport system. the new scheme includes a cable car services that will link the mountain cities of los angeles pass and el alto. the bus drivers say that service will leave them without work. hundreds of people have been detained by thailand's army since its seized power from the government in may. human rights groups say they are worried because it's not clear who is being held on where. scott spoke to one journalist in bank cock who has just been released by the army. >> reporter: detaining people was one of the first things the military rulers did when they seized power last month. people from all walks of life from the former prime minister to business peoples with political ties to academics. just before the military ordered him to report he was outspoken against the coup. they kept him for six days.

>> even tell us that actually we were here as a gesture of being warned as if -- he used to work that we were handed a yellow card as in the football terminology. some of them even start criticizing the coup. probably to see how we would react. >> reporter: he said he was well treated and when released he had to sign an agreement stating that he would not participate in an truanti coup protests. there are no official number of detainees, several categories and many people are held for just a few days, a human rights group estimates there are about 200 being held. but not knowing the exact number is part of the problem. >> we would like the government to actually have a delegate tell us how many people that they have detained. how many people have been released, on which day and also the procedures of how do they

list people. we wish to also know that they are safe. back to the family. >> reporter: as these detentions continue, they are holding events they say is going to help bring happiness back to thailand. like this one here at victory monument. the spot of one of the first and biggest anti coup protests. the men rolling the country, has said happiness is one of his top priorities. and those who support him, feel that some of their fellow thais need to be detain today mover the country forward. >> those that have been detained have to be part of the reconciliation process. the army would not have detained them if they are not wrong. >> reporter: a formal recognize reconciliation process is in the works by the army. including the setup of centers designed to bring both sides of the deep political divide together. but what is unclear, just how that will be done and if free mood foote and music will be enough to mend those divisions. al jazerra, bangkok.

ray woman in pakistan has survived after being shot and then drone thrown in to a canal inside a sack by her family. police say 18-year-old was attacked and shot by her father, uncle, brother and aunt. the attempted honor killing came five days after she married her neighbor out of love. last month a pregnant woman was killed by her family in broad daylight outside of court drawing international condemnation. now horse racing in the u.s. is under pressure as more people are gambling online, but the story of the stallion california chrome is attacking attention, he may become the first horse to win all three major races for the first time in 35 years. tom ackerman reports on the triple crown hopeful. california chrome shined bright in the kentucky debbie! >> reporter: since he eased across the finish line at the kentucky derby and followed through at the preakness stakes, this three-year-old colt has

captured the attention and won the hearts of horse race lovers. if he wins again at new york's belmont park on saturday. california chrome would be the first triple crown champion in 36 years. >> i am learn to go bet, but i am not a better. i am not actually going to bet. i don't know if i will even bet on him. but i am hoping he wins. >> reporter: california chrome's co own are, steve coburn, has gambled his own mon out course back before the derby when he defied odds of 200-1. now his colt is the heavy favorite to repeat at belmont. >> he loves people. and we have all of america on our side other than the people that have the horses running against us. >> reporter: coburn and his business partner are rare breeds in the expensive thoroughbred game known as the expense of kings, without much personal wealth they bought california chrome's mother and paired her with a pedigreed stallion for less than $11,000. as a triple crown champion,

california chrom chrome chrome h more than $10 million. but as a betting propositions are horses are suffering from some serious competition. as americans find more legal ways to gamble as casinos and even online, betting at the tracks has fallen by more than one-third in the past 10 years. attendance is down just as much, and without enough revenue from wagering, the racing industry is seeing more tracks shutting do down. this race in the story behind california chrome is tempting more people to take a chance and lay a bet. >> you have this big facility and it's pretty sad to see some days you come here and there is six, 700 people, so it's -- next saturday there won't be, at least it will be packed to the rafters. >> reporter: california chrome's long-term racing future may be hard to predict but. if he wins on saturday, he'll join just 11 other triple crown

champions in the history books. tom ackerman, al jazerra, new york. and a quick reminder that you can always watch al jazerra online, the usual address for you to click onto is aljazerra.com. aljazerra.com. best place to keep up-to-date with international news. are allies and that this comes in the context of the 70t 70th anniversary of d-day landings. questioned with quite strong even in the teeth since the worst recession. college tuition and fees public and private kept raising faster than the cost of everything else. as undergraduating high schoolers have been picking colleges education change lives but so does college debt. it is the inside story.