From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. As many as 60 people are dead and 100 hurt after a truck ploughed into a crowd of people, leaving a Bastille Day celebration Thursday night in France.

Authorities have not officially declared it act of terrorism but witnesses say they were sure it was a deliberate act.

They say the driver steered directly toward the crowd and accelerated as the vehicle began hitting people, scattering bodies over a wide area.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is visiting Moscow in an effort to secure Russian cooperation in Syria.

Kerry's two days of talks with Russians are expected to touch on a wide range of issues, but, leaked reports in the media suggest the U.S. diplomat is offering President Vladimir Putin something dramatic: a U.S.-Russian military alliance against the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups in Syria.

Meanwhile, United Nations officials are accusing the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad of denying medical aid to hundreds of thousands of civilians. Lisa Schlein reports.

A special adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, says progress, although not enough, is being made in providing food and other relief to hundreds of thousands of Syrians in besieged areas.

Egeland, however, says the United Nations and partner aid agencies have failed to provide medical care to all Syrian civilians in need in the war-torn country. He says too many people are malnourished and even starving because of lack of food. However, he notes the biggest killer is lack of medical services.

Lisa Schlein, Geneva.

And for more on these and other news stories, take a look at our website. It's voanews.com. This is VOA news.

Speaking Thursday in London, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson pledged to reshape Britain's global profile.

He said Britain's withdrawal from the European Union bloc does not mean that it is leaving Europe itself.

"There is a massive difference in leaving the EU and our relations with Europe, which if anything I think are going to be intensified."

Earlier Thursday, some European leaders expressed dismay at Johnson's appointment using terms, such as liar, coward and joker, to describe him. But in a phone call to Johnson, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry [congratulate him] congratulated him on his appointment and promised to work closely with him.

The White House says U.S. relations with Britain transcend any single personality, including Johnson, who is critical of President Obama's opposition to Britain's leaving the EU.

While the Donald Trump campaign is insisting the presumptive Republican nominee for president has yet to select his vice presidential running mate, U.S. media reports say Trump will announce Friday that Indiana Governor Mike [Pan] Pence is his choice.

Pence spent more than a decade serving in the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming the governor of Indiana in 2013.

Trump is believed to have also been considering former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also is interviewing potential vice presidential running mates. She is expected to announce her choice next week. Among the people being mentioned for the role is Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Thursday her recent critical comments about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee were "ill-advised." She said she regrets making the remarks about Donald Trump.

Ginsburg told The New York Times that she couldn't imagine what the country would be with Trump as its president and didn't want to even contemplate the possibility.

U.S. Supreme Court justices almost never voice their opinions about U.S. political campaigns.

President Barack Obama says America is nowhere close to healing the mutual mistrust between the nation's police and its black community.

Mr. Obama made that remark following a four-hour meeting Wednesday at the White House with leaders from both sides.

The president said he wanted to bring people with different perspectives together to listen to each other.

It was the second day of meetings on the subject.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has called on rival Riek Machar to meet for talks. The talks are an effort to save a peace agreement threatened by days of fighting in the capital.

Residents of Juba say the city remained calm Thursday three days after a cease-fire took effect.

On Wall Street, U.S. stock indexes were higher at the close of trade on Thursday.

In Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.