Hello there, you’re watching BBC News. I’m Adnan Nawaz with the latest headlines.
Richard Attenborough, widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest actors and film directors has died at the age of 90. In front of the camera he starred in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, and Jurassic Park but was perhaps best known for directing Gandhi, which won eight Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.
An American journalist kidnapped nearly two years ago has been freed in Syria and handed over to the United Nations. Peter Theo Curtis was reportedly abducted in Turkey in 2012 by the al-Nusra Front while he was preparing to travel to Syria. The US says it worked with two dozen countries to secure his release.
A state of emergency has been declared in Northern California after the strongest earthquake to hit the area in 25 years. 90 people were injured, some of them seriously, in the magnitude 6 tremor. It struck near the wine growing area of Napa Valley, setting gas mains alight and damaging historic buildings.