Hello, I'm Stewart Macintosh with the BBC News.

President Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have met in New York opening their discussions on Syria and Ukraine with a stony face handshake. US officials said they agreed to explore a political solution to the crisis in Syria. President Putin said the meeting had been surprisingly frank. From New York, Barbara Plett Usher has more details. Mr. Putin said Russia was thinking about how to further strengthen the Syrian army. He ruled out Russian ground forces, but not airstrikes, as long as they respected international norms, such as the request from the country's government, he said, unlike the strikes carried out by the US-led coalition. A US official said the two men decided to direct the militaries to talk about how to avoid conflicts between potential operations in Syria. They also agreed to explore options for a political solution, said the official, but still disagreed on the main sticking point,the future of the president Bashar al-Assad.

Four British citizens who have gone to Syria to join the Islamic State group are to face international sanctions up to a request of their own government. The four described as notorious foreign fighters will subject to global travel bans and asset freezes. Here is Carole Walker. The list includes Sally-Annes Jones from Chatham in Kent, who left her two young sons to travel to Syria with her husband. And Aqsa Mahmood, a former Glasgow University student who is believed to have recruited other women to the IS cause. The other two are Abu-Saidal-Britani and Nasser Muthana. A government official said the Prime Minister believes the sanctions were a powerful tool sending a clear message to those thinking of going to join IS extremists.

NASA has obtained the clearest evidence that water flows on Mars raising the possibility that the planet could be home to primitive life. Images captured by the Mars reconnaissance orbiter suggested gullies on its surface were formed by salty water. Doctor Robert Zubin is president of the international Mars Society. It’s liquid water, not fresh water or salt water, but not a little bit of it in one place, and their discovering this is a widespread phenomenon that it has presence of liquid water on the surface of Mars and undoubtedly a large aquifer underground as well. So this greatly supports the motivation for the scientific exploration of Mars because everywhere on earth with this liquid water, we found life.

Christian militia men have attacked the main jail in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Public, freeing hundreds of prisoners. The breakout came during an upsurge in violence between Christians and Muslims. French and UN peace keeping troops are trying to restore order.

The military in Burkina Faso say members of the presidential guard that staged a short live coup earlier this month are refusing to lay down their weapons.Under a peace deal brokered last week, the army agreed to withdraw from the capital while the presidential guards were supposed to be disarmed.

World news from the BBC.

The Taliban in Afghanistan have captured a major city for the first time since the US-led invasion in 2001. Hundreds of fighters stormed Konduz in the multi pronged assault. Jonny Dymond reports. Taliban fighters attacked Konduz from three directions. After the initial assault, one resident says that they were told the battle was over. But by later afternoon, the Taliban banner was flying in the city’s main square. A spokesman said that they had taken the governor’s house and were marching on the airport. The Afghan government is sending reinforcements. But if Taliban dig in, they will be difficult to dislodge.

The Cuban leader Raul Castro and president Obama have both called for an end to US economic sanctions on Havana. Speaking at the United Nations, President Castro said a full normalization of relations with the United States could only be achieved if, what he called, the economic blockade against Cuba was lifted. Speaking to the same gathering just hours before, President Obama expressed the confidence the US congress would lift the embargo.

The Japanese firm Hitachi has agreed to pay 19 million dollars to settle charges by US regulators that it made improper payments to South Africa's governing party, the African national Congress. The US Security and Exchange Commission says Hitachi paid millions of dollars to a front company for the ANC to secure contracts to build two power plants. Hitachi has refused to admit or deny the allegations, but power station contracts became a huge scandal in South Africa five years ago.

Surgeons in London have used human embryonic stem cells in a pioneering attempt to cure blindness. Cells derived from a donated early embryo were implanted into the retainer of the 60 year-old woman with age related macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in the UK. Initial results on whether any vision has been restored should be available by the end of the year.

BBC news.