Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this item from our news desk on the G7 summit in Germany, where Ukraine is expected to loom large over proceedings:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to open a two-day meeting of leaders from the world's leading industrial economies on June 7.
The Group of Seven (G7) summit is being held in the Bavarian Alps in Germany.
The meeting is expected to be dominated by discussions of the West's response to flaring violence in eastern Ukraine.
Last year, Russia was excluded from the group – previously known as the G8 -- following Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
Also high on the agenda are Greece's debt crisis, the global economy, and terrorism.
U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in southern Germany early on June 7. Obama and Merkel are expected to hold a meeting before joining the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Canada, and Japan.
Ahead of the summit, thousands of protesters rallied in the nearby town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, sparking sporadic clashes with police.
Several people were taken to hospital with injuries.
(dpa, AFP, AP, BBC)