world leaders and veterans of the normandy landing are in france to mark the 70th anniversary of what was to become the beginning of the operation that in 11 months had rid europe of the nancy's -- na zis. these are live pictures coming to us from where francois hollande is preparing to host a lunch for some of the world leaders gathered here in france.

among them, the british queen, the american and russian presidents also arriving for that much -- lunch. all eyes will be on any interaction between the american and russian presidents. it will be the first time they have come face-to-face since the annexation of crimea by russia. the tension that has followed ever since. france,s arrival in vladimir putin has come face-to-face with a number of western leaders for the first time. yesterday as he arrived in paris, he met with the british prime minister. he then had dinner with francois hollande. this morning, the russian president met with the german chancellor angela merkel for their first meeting since the crisis began. angela merkel is said to have reminded vladimir putin of his

in beingponsibility able to help ring piece t -- bring peace to ukraine. she urged the russian president to recognize the presidential elections in ukraine. that is for the meeting between angela merkel and vladimir putin which took place earlier today. right now, francois hollande is continuing to welcome leaders to that lunch at the château. the main eventh, of the day will take place on the beach. start.nts got an early barack obama with the american ceremony that overlooks omaha beach.

he and francois hollande held a joint ceremony in remembering -- in memory of the american soldiers who died in such great numbers on omaha beach 70 years ago. barack obama spoke of the courage of those who had taken part in the battle that was to turn the tide in a common struggle for freedom. called the site, the american cemetery, democracy's beachhead. he also paid tribute not only to those who died but those last few remaining american veterans who made the trip, many of who gathered behind him. commitment to human freedom and the site of wave after wave of young men boarding the boats to liberate people they had never met. we claimedr was won, no spoilers of victory. we helped europe rebuild.

ourcommitment to liberty, claim to equality, our claim to freedom and to the inherent dignity of every human being, that claim is written in the blood on these beaches and it will endure fraternity -- for eternity. >> that was the american president speaking about an hour ago at the american cemetery that overlooks omaha beach. back now to the live pictures coming to us from normandy. the french president is welcoming foreign heads of state . at which he will be hosting the visiting heads of state. no fewer than 18 made the trip to france for the 70th commemoration of the d-day landing. for many of the 1800 veterans that made the trip, probably one of the last events they will attend that remembers their

extraordinary contribution to everything barack obama speech.d in his francois hollande earlier today annesd off proceedings in c where he laid a wreath at the memorial and paid particular tribute to the civilian populations that suffered so during the d-day landing. quickly on these pictures coming to us, you see the heads of state. all eyes very much on this man, vladimir putin, as he arrives for this lunch. met for the first time since the start of the ukrainian crisis with david cameron, angela merkel, and francois hollande.

lunch, we expect him to come face-to-face for the first time with barack obama tensions arose between east and west over russia's annexation of crimea. many of the leaders at the lunch were in brussels yesterday for the g7 meeting, the first time it has met since its expulsion of russia from the g-8, a summit that was to be held in sochi, but instead was held in brussels . there is france's prime minister waiting to greet the rest of the guests after francois hollande made his way in with vladimir putin. francois hollande began the day in cannes where he laid a wreath in memory of the civilian victims of world war ii. some 20,000 civilians lost their significantlyndy, more than the number of british and canadian soldiers killed and equivalent to american losses.

many were killed during allied aerial bombardments intended to destroy road junctions and delay the arrival of german forces after the d-day landings began. here's what the french president had to say. >> the liberated normandy was devastated. 20,000 civilians were killed. 300,000 remained homeless --were made homeless. in000 civilian victims, addition to 40,000 soldiers killed. from america, britain, and other allied countries. the sacrifice of normandy's population has been eclipsed by the relics of the soldiers who landed here. today, this sacrifice is wholeheartedly recognized. >> that was francois hollande kicking off today's proceedings from his point of view with the tribute to the civilians who

lost their lives during the d-day landing. veterans from britain, the united states, france, and canada, and russia and poland have made the trip to honor the sacrifice of their fallen comrades, many were at a sunrise the time 70t marks years ago when allied troops first waited a short. 50,000 troops made their way across the french ages. by the end of the day 70 years ago, nearly 4500 would be dead. here's what one of the veterans on the beach had to say this morning. i am filled with joy right now. it is hard to control myself.

i said get me on the beach. they brought me here today. >> those men very much part of today's events, as are the battles in which they took part, battles that helped bring europe the peace and europe the continent still enjoys today. the d-day invasions were a turning point in world war ii cracking hitler's western front as the soviets troops made advances in the east. here's is a look at how they planned and executed the operation. >> became in the tens of thousands. the d-day landings were a massive undertaking in the number of troops in the equipment deployed. >> the significance of the battle is it was the first example of american-style warfare where equipment and the economy played a decisive role. >> 10,000 aircraft, 7000 mostls, 200,000 vehicles,

had been stationed in england since 1943 in preparation for the assault. the key to successfully infiltrating the coast of normandy were the two artificial harbors built by the british that facilitated the unloading of supply ships. the alliedbig ports forces did not want to type because they were heavily guarded and when they took at the end of june. they needed to supply their own ports. >> dramatic assault from the scene needed to be backed by air troops. it was preceded by aerial assaults on the north of france. by spring of 1944, these bombers had been all but wiped out. >> the loop waffle was completely destroyed between the start of 1944 and the date. it lost all of its pilots and 3000 aircraft. it would never recover.

the allied victory in the west of france would not have been possible without the help of russians fighting in east. the russian offensive that 22, 1944, was one of the fiercest battles in world war ii. 180,000 soviet soldiers died in the operation. three times more than the allied casualties during the battle of normandy. us,s that report reminded it was the alliance between east and west that allowed the defeat of not see germany -- mazzy germany -- nazi germany. d-day commemorating the landings of june 6, this crucial event that allowed allied forces a foothold in france with the help of the russian troops in the east to lead to the downfall of nazi germany. it is not without some irony that one considers what is happening inside this building

leaders haveeign come to pay tribute to the veterans of the d-day landings. they are having a lunch with the french resident. barack be the first time obama comes face to face with vladimir putin since what has proved to be the most tense moment in east-west relations since the fall of the berlin wall. they were tensions stoked by the events in ukraine of the last few months, in particular' russia's annexation of crimea. he met with angela merkel who told him russia must live up to its response ponied to stabilize ukraine. we will continue to follow events where the lunch is just getting underway.

are the story of the thousands of men and women who took art -- part in world war ii. our reporters have been going to meet some of them. noreen riles was a member of winston churchill's school for spies drew more to. of 18, her job was to train new agents in the art of espionage. the secret job she was only able to speak about 60 years after they were. here is this report. in a small cottage in the village on the outskirts of harris listening was woman with a remarkable story. administered -- number of winston churchill's school for spies during the second cold war. the 18-year-old caught the eye of superiors thanks to her

french. she was sworn to complete secrecy. >> i did not know what i was getting myself into. it was only at that point when i was told by somebody else who turned round and said don't talk outside to anyone about what happens here, and don't ask questions. >> her job was to help train new agents in the difficult art of espionage, dispatching them on mentioned the rush missions -- on missions while debriefing them when they returned. they supported the french resistance. >> i remember a young radio operator piloted in at 20. had to tryme, if you it over again, would you do it? i said, would you? he said, i don't think so. we were so young we did not realize the danger. when you're young, you are

immortal. >> when the war ended, he would not be for another 60 years before she was allowed to reveal what she did during that time. her mother died still believing her daughter had worked for the ministry of agriculture and fisheries. she went on to marry a frenchman and raise a family in paris, remaining silent for decades about her war work. >> i did not want to have anything to do with any of it. i wanted to turn the page and try and remake my life. it is not easy. six years of war does not go away from you like that. >> she has written a riveting account that has made it to the london times bestseller list. it is soon to be published in france -- in french. >> young men wandering about with a case like that was suspicious. they risked being stopped and searched. as a woman, that was different.

the replant if women wandering around. nobody bothered to search or stop them. messengerssent in as , the organizers of the circuit. do women make better spies? >> i can't answer that question. i think they were all equally brave. >> it is 16 minutes past 1:00 in paris. our headline this afternoon, barack obama paid tribute to the veterans of d-day 70 years on. remaininge last survivors of the operation that the american commitment to freedom is written in blood on the beaches of normandy. france's president is hosting a lunch for the foreign heads of state that had made the trip to pay their respects to those who fought for your's freedom -- europe's freedom. we are going to have a look at

what the international press is making of today's d-day celebrations. >> we are going to start by looking at the emotion in the french press. they talk about the longest day remembered. this sums up what a lot of papers are feeling. that is that the world is celebrating freedom today. lots of papers are focusing on world war ii veterans who participated in the normandy invasion. a local paper in normandy says europe owes them it's freedom. if we take a look at the "new it has incredible first-hand accounts from veterans who are remembering their experience of operation overlord. this article has the memories of four veterans who took part in what is the largest amphibious

invasion in history. to quote one of them, a canadian veteran who described landing on the beach, he said seeing so many of my comrades who gave up their lives or wanted left me with a feeling of how costly liberty is. british pressthe paying to retreats veterans per >> this is the front page of the "independent" today. you can see several veterans on the beaches. the guardian has photos of veterans on the beaches. "d-day heroes return for their final parade." a lot of papers are saying it is most likely the final collective commemoration, simply because a lot of these veterans are in their 90's. the youngest is 85. let's take a look at the front page of "the daily telegraph please stand by -- "the daily

telegraph." the flags are thank you messages. it is very emotional in its editorial. it talks about the debt we owe to those forever young. it points out d-day was the decisive moment in the destruction of naziism. and the subsequent peace in europe is the greatest legacy of d-day. germanauds the fact that chancellor angela merkel is participating in the official commemoration. ispoints out that what ironic is there have been objections raised, not to her presence, but to the presence of russian president vladimir putin given the tensions of ukraine. this editorial says in the memory -- if the memory of d-day means anything, it reminds us of the danger of turning a blind eye to territorial incursions masquerading as national self-determination. a clear reference to russia's

annexation of crimea. >> other papers have focused on the complicated diplomatic context in which these commemorations are being held. >> a different type of invasion is taking place in normandy, the invasion of the heads of state. there is a shadow on the horizon, it says. that is the situation in ukraine. it says that d-day beaches are a diplomatic minefield for vladimir putin. this is the first time he's meeting his european and american counterparts since russia annexed crimea in march. he is going to house mcsweeney's to do, -- according to this he's going to have some explaining to do, according to this. this says we are clearly facing a d-day, a d-day for peace. the piece we know is fragile, according to this. it calls on diplomats to learn their history lessons. it would be hypocritical if the heads of states gathered to remember the past and did not

take advantage of this opportunity to build a peaceful future. >> the french media in particular has been paying a lot of attention to one head of state. >> that is right. that is queen elizabeth. the french media love to poke fun at the british royal family, but they have a lot of respect for the queen. she is the star of d-day, according to this. she is the only head of state that participated in the war that is still alive. they remind us she enlisted in the women's branch of the british army where she learned how to drive and fix motors. >> papers also taking a look at the lighter side of the normandy invasion. >> that is right. they are looking at other things the g.i.'s brought us other than freedom. they point out that perhaps the one thing that symbolizes the american way of life g.i.'s brought to france is coca cola. if there is one object that incarnates the d-day invasion,

it is a bottle of coke, according to this. they point out other treats the liberators brought along with them. mars bars, nylon stockings, zippo lighters, jazz music, and a rare thing at a time, chewing gum. >> france has never quite recovered. thank you for a look at what the international press had to say about the d-day commemorations we have been covering live for much of the day. we will have a quick look at the latest sports headlines. halep is in her first grand slam final at the french open. she was world number 57 when she lost in the first round last year. her emergence has been remarkable and she stands on the cusp of a major title after beating the german in straight sets. her final opponent will be maria sharapova. russian came from a set down to when.

the brazilian defender is on his milan.m paris to he has reached the end of his contract in the french capital. the signed data from chelsea earlier this summer. he is expected to form a partnership with teammate silva. one team you cannot underestimate the world cup is germany, who is prone -- currently preparing to come up against portugal and the united states. they will be expecting to reap the -- reach the latter stages. solid,ink we have a competitive team. i am convinced we will have a very good tournament. for me, it is important to play

well and represent the country in a positive way. for all of our ambition, it is also important to enjoy the football we play. hopefully, we will give everybody plenty of reasons to celebrate. first.t things they have to get out of the group stages. the opening game is a mouthwatering clash against portugal. know if cristiano will play, but portugal is a strong side. they are on equal footing with us. they're always in the top 10 in world rankings and perform well in tournaments. in 2012, they went out on penalties to the eventual champion spain, who were also the world champions. they have a strong team with

players in top clubs. it should be very even game. if he plays, we will have to find ways to contain him. that will be very important. but we know him well. we know what he is capable of and have the means to stop him. one concern for the germans is the goalkeeper who has not trained since injuring his shoulder last month. he will miss the final warm-up game on friday. they face portugal, germany, and in the u.s. opponents iny's the world cup, portugal, are in gearing up for a friendly against mexico and boston and ireland. they are in a tough group at the world cup. he isgg99ññwççñmwc

>> hello, and welcome to "the health show." today, it's all about india. the world's second most populous country, with its billion plus population, is facing some of the most serious health challenges on our planet. coming up, india's growing epidemic of diabetes, and the steps being taken to reduce it, both hi-tech and traditna