BBC News with Jonathan Izard.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Washington will suspend all contacts with Moscow over Syria if Russia does not take immediate action to end the assault on Aleppo. In a phone call with Mr. Lavrov, Mr. Kerry said the US held Russia responsible for the situation there including use of incendiary and bunker bombs.

The US congress has voted overwhelmingly to reject President Obama’s veto of a bill that allows relatives of victims of the September 11attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. It's the first time in his ten years that Mr. Obama’s veto has been overwritten. Relatives of the victims of 9.11 want to sue Saudi Arabia over its alleged backing of the hijackers. Mr. Obama had argued that it would damage relations with Saudi Arabia.

Chinese police have been ordered to video tape all interactions with criminal suspects and witnesses in a bid to prevent forced confessions. The new regulations also make law enforcement officers personally accountable throughout their lifetimes for the cases they handle.

The leader of Spain's main opposition Socialist Party Pedro Sanchez has lost the support of its executive with 17 of them resigning over his refusal to end more than nine months of political stalemate. It leaves him without an eternal majority.

A 16-year-old school girl from South Africa has won the Grand Prize at Google’s Science Fair for making a super absorbent material from orange peels. Kiara Nirghin's invention helps soil retain water. She said she was motivated by a desire to help farmers who have been hit hard by South Africa’s worst drought in decades.

The head of the regional government in Catalonia says he will call a referendum on the province's independence from Spain in September next year with or without the central government's consent.

And global trade in a highly endangered species of mammal, the Pangolin, has been banned by the United Nations amid fears it’s about to become extinct. Pangolins, found in both Africa and Asia, are prized for their scales which are used in Chinese medicine. BBC News.