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BBC news 2016-07-02

Hello, this is David Austin with the BBC News.

Commemorations are being held to mark the 100th anniversary of the battle of the Somme. It was one of the bloodiest of the World War I with more than a million casualties over the course of the five-month offensive. Almost 20,000 British soldiers died on the first day alone. From the Somme Valley here is Lucy Williamson.

People are gathering here today - leaders of the nations who fought in that war on both sides, ordinary people, descendants of those who fought in the war - because this, of course, is symbolic of so much, symbolic of a loss of innocents, a loss of men, in some ways, a failure of planning, a fast learning curve really for the Allied troops at the stage in the war.

The International Athletics Federations has approved a bid by the Russian whistle-blower Yuliya Stepanova to compete as a neutral athlete at next month's Olympic games in Rio. More from our sports news reporter Alex Capstick.

Russia is currently banned by the IWF from attending international competitions, but individuals can apply to compete as neutral athletes. Yuliya Stepanova is the first to be accepted. It was her and her husband's evidence which helped reveal the scare of the country's systematic doping programme. Before the scandal she was one of the world's best 800-metre runners. Fearing her safety, she fled Russia, and now lives with her family at a secret location in North America. The decision is unlikely to go down well in Russia, where leading officials have previously said they would object to her selection.

At least six people have been killed in Kenya in a gun attack near the border with Somalia. Reports say suspected al-Shabab militants opened fire on two buses near the town of Elwak in Mandera county.

One of Myanmar's most famous Buddhist monks, U Gambira, has been released unexpectedly from prison. Jonah Fisher reports.

Back in 2007, U Gambira helped organise the monks uprising against Myanmar's military rulers. He made powerful enemies, and when Gambira returned from exile last year, he was stopped being a monk, he was arrested, charged with immigration offences, and given a six-month jail sentence. As the end of that sentence approached this week, fresh charges were laid. His supporters were outraged. Having been tortured during a previous spell in prison, Gambira suffers from serious mental health problems. Gambira's release comes after his case was reviewed at the request of Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Police in Bangladesh say a Hindu priest has been hacked to death, the latest in a series of attacks on religious minorities and secular writers by suspected Islamist militants. An official said the priest was preparing for morning prayers in a temple in the southwestern district of Jhinaidah when three men who came on a motorcycle attacked him with machetes and then fled away. The motive behind the killing is not clear.

World News from the BBC

Officials in India have marked the induction of the country's first domestically designed and manufactured fighter jet, the Tejas. The India Prime Minster Narendra Modi said the event filled hearts with unparalleled pride and happiness. The Tejas, which means radiant, was first conceived more than 30 years ago, but its development was delayed partly by technical problems.

Taiwan's navy says it's mistakenly fired a supersonic anti-ship missile, killing one Taiwanese fisherman and injuring three others. The missile was fired towards Taiwan's political rival, Mainland China, during a military base inspection. It travelled about 75km towards China before landing near a fishing boat in the waters of the Taiwan Strait.

An Indian official has resigned after being widely criticised for taking selfies with an alleged victim of a gang rape. Somya Gurjar, a member of Rajasthan women's commission, said she took the pictures at the woman's request. More from Jill McGivering.

The pictures show Ms Gurjar smiling as she holds up a tablet computer and takes a photograph of herself with the alleged rape victim. The images were uploaded to social media sites and circulated rapidly. Ms Gurjar was criticised both for being insensitive and for violating the woman's right of anonymity. She said she did nothing wrong. The alleged victim had gone to the police, saying she was raped by her husband and two of his relatives, and tattooed with expletives because they were angry that she hadn't provided a larger dowry. The incident has sparked debate about the use of social media by India officials and politicians.

Jill McGivering reporting

Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May has won the backing of more of her cabinet colleagues in the race to become the leader of the governing Conservative Party and the next prime minister. She is supported by more than 70 members of parliament and is now seen as the favourite in the contest. Mrs May's chief rival is Michael Gove.

That is the latest BBC News.