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ByDanicaKirka The Associated Press LONDON Government snooping into phone net- works is extensive world- wide, one of the world's larg- est cellphone companies re- vealed Friday, saying that several countries demand direct access to its networks without warrant or prior no- tice. The detailed report from Vodafone, which covers the 29 countries in which it op- erates in Europe, Africa and Asia, provides the most comprehensive look to date at how governments mon- itor mobile phone commu- nications. It amounts to a call for a debate on the issue as businesses increasingly worry about being seen as worthy of trust. The most explosive reve- lation was that in six coun- tries, authorities require im- mediate access to an opera- tor's network — bypassing legal niceties like warrants. It did not name the countries for legal reasons and to safe- guard employees working there. "In those countries, Vo- dafone will not receive any form of demand for lawful in- terception access as the rel- evant agencies and authori- ties already have permanent access to customer commu- nications via their own di- rect link," the report said. Vodafone's report comes one year after former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden revealed that U.S. and other countries' intel- ligence agencies routinely gathered huge amounts of private data belonging to millions of innocent people in America and across the globe. The revelations have fo- cused particular attention on the role of Western tech- nology and telecommuni- cations firms, which stand accused of facilitating the mass surveillance by giving spies unrestricted access to their networks. Several Sil- icon Valley companies have since attempted to restore consumers' trust by publish- ing data on government sur- veillance. But telecoms companies found themselves in an even more uncomfortable posi- tion. Historically closer to governments since many were once state-owned, telecoms companies are much more heavily regu- lated and have employees on the ground — making them more sensitive to gov- ernment demands for data. By making its report pub- lic, together with a break- down on requests for in- formation, Vodafone took the unusual step of enter- ing the international debate about balancing the rights of privacy against security. Rather than being stuck with responsibility and con- sumer backlash when con- sumers realize their data has been scooped up with- out their knowledge, compa- nies like Vodafone have de- cided it is time to push for a debate. "Companies are recogniz- ing they have a responsibility to disclose government ac- cess," Daniel Castro, senior analyst for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C. "This is new." The study comes at a time when other businesses are also calling for a revamp of laws too outdated to stand up to the quickly changing telecommunications uni- verse. Executives in Silicon Valley, for example, have stepped up pressure on President Barack Obama to curb the U.S. government surveillance programs that collect information off the In- ternet. SURVEILLANCE Ce ll ph one o pe ra to r reveals scale of government snooping By Greg Keller The Associated Press C O L L E V I L L E - S U R - M E R , FRANCE It was a day of pride, remembrance and honors for those who waded through blood-tinged waves, climbed razor-sharp cliffs or fell from the skies, staring down death or dy- ing in an invasion that por- tended the fall of the Third Reich and the end of World War II. It was also a day of high diplomacy for a Europe not completely at peace. After 70 years, a dwin- dling number of veterans, civilian survivors of the bru- tal battle for Normandy, and 19 world leaders and mon- archs celebrated on Friday the sacrifices of D-Day, an assault never matched for its size, planning and der- ring-do. The events spread across the beaches and lush farm- lands of Normandy, in west- ern France, had an added sense of urgency this year: It would be the last grand com- memoration for many of the veterans, whether they re- livedtheanniversaryathome in silence or were among the some 1,000 who crossed con- tinents to be present despite their frail age. For President Barack Obama, transmitting the memory of their "longest day" means keeping intact the values that veterans fought and died for. "When the war was won, we claimed no spoils of vic- tory — we helped Europe rebuild," Obama said in a speech at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. It is the site where 9,387 fallen soldiers rest under white mar- ble tombstones on a bluff above Omaha Beach, the bloodiest among five beach landings by U.S. and Brit- ish troops. "This was democracy's beachhead," he said, assur- ing veterans that "your leg- acy is in good hands." F-15 jets flew over the cemetery in missing-man formation, a 21 gun salute boomed and taps sounded. The day of gratitude drew royals including Queen Eliz- abeth II of England, who dined at the French pres- idential palace in the eve- ning, and the king of the Netherlands, Willem-Alex- ander, as well as political leaders from across Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also joined in, along with a small group of Ger- man soldiers, as a sign of European unity. Dancers re-enacted the drama of the Nazi takeover and battles across Europe against Hitler's forces on a stage at Sword Beach, one of the landing points near Ouistreham, a small port where British troops landed and fought their way to Peg- asus Bridge, a key route. Ouistreham was the site of the main international cer- emony. It was 6:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944, when soldiers started wading ashore. Operation Overlord, as the invasion by U.S., British, Canadian and Polish forces was code- named, was the first step in breaching Hitler's stran- glehold on France and Eu- rope. Besides Sword and Omaha, Allied forces landed on Utah, Juno and Gold beaches — all codenames. Ahead of the landing, the U.S. Army's 2nd Ranger Battalion went in with the 5th Battalion Rangers, scal- ing the craggy cliffs of Point du Hoc to put out of action six 155mm Nazi howitzers that could target landing areas. Paratroopers from the 101st Airborne division jumped into dark skies, some getting lost in hedge- rows, shot down or caught in trees. At least 4,400 Allied troops were killed the first day, and many thousands more in the ensuing Battle of Normandy that opened the Allied march to Paris to liberate the Nazi-occupied French capital in August. Another August assault was launched by forces from North Africa into southern France. "They left home barely more than boys. They came home heroes," Obama said at an observation deck in Colleville, overlooking Omaha Beach. WORLD WAR II D-Day's fallen honored, 70 years on ABOVE:WorldWarII military vehicles are displayed on the beach of Arromanches, France, on Friday as part of D-Day commemorations. CLAUDEPARIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS LEFT: People stand during the National Anthem during a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Friday at the World War II Memorial in Washington. EVANVUCCI —THE ASSOCIATED PRESS By Lori Hinnant The Associated Press OUISTREHAM,FRANCE Rus- sian President Vladimir Pu- tin spoke face-to-face with Ukraine's incoming presi- dent about ending the vio- lence in the former Soviet state, and Kiev's new leader said talks could begin in ear- nest as soon as Sunday — a diplomatic breakthrough playing out along the battle- field beaches of Normandy. Friday's 15-minute meet- ing was followed by a brief exchange between Putin and President Barack Obama, who had been keeping the Russian at arm's length over the Ukrainian crisis. Tensions between the two were played out on giant televisions on Ouistreham's Sword Beach, with Putin and Obama shown divided by a split screens as they com- memorated the 70th anni- versary of D-Day. Speaking after his meet- ing with Petro Poroshenko — who is to be sworn in Sat- urday as Ukraine's president — Putin called for an imme- diate cease-fire in eastern Ukraine before any further talks, and said he expected Poroshenko to show "state wisdom" and "good will." Poroshenko later said talks could begin in earnest on his first full day in office. "All the questions were difficult," Poroshenko said in a statement to The Asso- ciated Press before return- ing to Ukraine, "but we will make every effort to achieve the goals we have set our- selves and begin negotia- tions on Sunday." Putin said he welcomed Poroshenko's call for an end to the bloodshed and liked his approach to settling the crisis but wanted to wait until the Ukrainian leader could deliver it in detail to the nation. "If it continues like that, then conditions will be cre- ated for developing our rela- tions in other areas, includ- ing the economy," Putin said. He specified that Moscow is ready to lower gas price for Ukraine if it pays off its debt for previous supplies, easing fears of a gas shutdown to Europe dependent upon gas pipelines that cross Ukraine. French President Fran- cois Hollande, who orches- trated the meeting along with German Chancellor An- gela Merkel, said Putin and Poroshenko also discussed how Russia could recognize the Ukrainian elections as well as measures to de-es- calate the fighting. "It didn't last a long time but long enough for the mes- sage to be passed on," Hol- lande told the French net- work TF1. Putin's spokesman Dmi- try Peskov said that Putin and Poroshenko also "con- firmed that there is no al- ternative to settling the sit- uation by peaceful political means." Frozen out of G-7 talks Thursday in Brussels, Pu- tin appeared to be moving incrementally back into the fold of the West following his first direct talks with Poro- shenko since the billionaire was elected to lead Ukraine. The previous pro-Krem- lin president, Viktor Yanu- kovych, was ousted in what Putin said was a coup. Russia, which had re- called its ambassador from Ukraine, said he will return to Kiev to attend Poroshen- ko's inauguration. That ap- peared to be a recognition of Ukraine's election, Hol- lande said. Outside the building where world leaders met for lunch, reporters saw an- other animated conversa- tion between Putin and Po- roshenko lasting about a minute. That conversation also included Merkel, who at a much more public com- memoration at Sword Beach appeared to shuttle between the men. A senior U.S. adminis- tration official, who was not authorized to discuss the meeting on the record, said the possibility of arranging a meeting between the Rus- sian and Ukrainian leaders gained traction at the G-7 meetingwiththeobjectivefor Russia to hear the same mes- sage from "all of the allies." The official said Russia also bore responsibilities in any cease-fire. "It would have to be mu- tual. It's not on one party to have a cease-fire. It takes not just Ukraine, but also Rus- sia," the official said. In recent weeks, Ukrai- nian officials say more than 200 people have died — a figure that could not be in- dependently confirmed — in fighting between Ukrainian government troops and pro- Russian separatists in east- ern Ukraine. EUROPE Ru ss ia n, U kr ai ni an l ea de rs come face-to-face amid D-Day pomp CHARLES DHARAPAK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Ukrainian president-elect Petro Poroshenko, le , talk during the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Benouville in Normandy, France, on Friday. Select"Subscribe"tabinlowerrightcorner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! This FREE service made possible by the advertisers in TV Select Magazine Kindly patronize and thank them. Click on their ads online to access their websites! 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