British Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed that Islamist terrorists “will not prevail” in the wake of Tuesday’s murder of a Catholic priest in northern France.

Pope Francis has expressed “sorrow and horror” over the suspected terror attack in a French church.

One of the men who attacked a Normandy church, killing an 85-year-old priest, twice used relatives' ID cards in attempts to reach Syria, France's anti-terrorism prosecutor has said.

The leaders of Russia and Ukraine have held their first talks since Moscow annexed Crimea, discussing ways to end their four-month conflict in a brief encounter during commemorations in France of the World War Two D-Day landings.

The past spoke loudly this week reminding us all that we are no more than a culmination of circumstances, some noble others less so, some fortuitous others contrived.