Iraq's Maliki Makes Rare Visit to Kurdish Area to Ease Tensions
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has made a rare visit to his country's autonomous Kurdish region to try to ease long-running disputes that have threatened national unity.
Mr. Maliki flew to Iraqi Kurdistan's regional capital of Irbil Sunday in his first trip to the autonomous area since 2010. He was greeted warmly at the airport by regional president Masoud Barzani.
The Iraqi prime minister and his Cabinet later held a meeting with Iraqi Kurdistan's prime minister Nechirvan Barzani.
Relations between Mr. Maliki's Baghdad-based central government and Iraqi Kurdistan have been tense for years, with both sides disagreeing about who should control Iraqi oil resources and territories along their internal boundary. No breakthroughs on those issues were expected in Mr. Maliki's talks with Iraqi Kurdish officials.
Iraqi Kurdistan has signed oil exploration contracts with foreign energy companies Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Total in recent years, angering Baghdad, which believes only it should authorize such agreements.
The Kurdish region has been building a pipeline that would allow it to export oil extracted from its territory to neighboring Turkey, bypassing pipelines controlled by Baghdad. The independent pipeline could help Iraqi Kurdistan to reduce its reliance on central government funds for a significant portion of its budget.
Iraqi Kurdish leaders also have long demanded the expansion of their authority to include oil-rich areas of northern Iraq adjacent to the three autonomous Kurdish provinces. Baghdad has resisted those demands.
Mr. Maliki has been under pressure to resolve sectarian tensions in Iraq, where majority Shi'ites and minority Sunnis have been increasingly attacked by militants of the opposing sect in recent months.
In the latest violence, a suicide car bomb struck a security checkpoint in Baghdad's mostly Shi'ite neighborhood of Kadhimiyah early Sunday, killing at least seven people, most of them security personnel. There was no initial claim of responsibility.
Iraqi Sunnis have held months of protests demanding the resignation of Mr. Maliki, a Shi'ite whom they accuse of monopolizing power in the hands of fellow Shi'ites and unfairly targeting Sunni leaders for arrest.
The Iraqi prime minister has been trying to lead a power-sharing government with Sunnis and Kurds for the past three years.
Gunfire Kills Anti-Hezbollah Protester in Beirut
Lebanese security sources say gunfire has erupted at a demonstration in Beirut, killing a man who was protesting against the involvement of Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah in the Syrian civil war.
It was not clear who killed the man at Sunday's small protest outside the Beirut embassy of Iran, which is a supporter of Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam.
Anti-Hezbollah activists held a second small protest in another part of the Lebanese capital. It ended without reports of violence.
Hezbollah recently acknowledged sending forces across the border into Syria to fight on behalf of President Assad against predominantly Sunni rebels waging a two-year battle to oust him.
The group's involvement in the Syrian conflict has raised sectarian tensions in Lebanon, whose fractious religious communities include Shi'ites and Alawites largely supportive of Assad and Sunnis who mainly back Syria's rebels.
Armed Lebanese supporters and opponents of Mr. Assad have fought several deadly battles in the northern city of Tripoli in recent months. The violence has raised international concerns about the spillover of the Syrian civil war into neighboring countries.
Attacks in Pakistan Kill 4
Bomb attacks in a restive tribal region of Pakistan have killed two soldiers, while gunmen in the country's south have killed two police officers.
Authorities say at least two roadside bombs exploded in North Waziristan Sunday, killing the soldiers and wounding two others.
Meanwhile, in the southern port of Karachi, officials say four gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on a police vehicle, killing two police officers.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Queen marks Coronation anniversary at Westminster Abbey
The Queen has joined 2,000 guests for a service at Westminster Abbey to mark 60 years since her Coronation.
Some of those who took part in the 1953 service were among the congregation.
Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev Justin Welby said the event honoured "60 years of commitment".
The Queen was accompanied by more than 20 members of her family, including the Duke of Edinburgh, who pulled out of an engagement on Monday night because he was feeling unwell.
Several key items from the Coronation were placed in Westminster Abbey for the service.
They included the heavy, solid gold St Edward's Crown, displayed on the High Altar - the first time it has left the Tower of London since 1953.
Beside it was the Ampulla, the gold, eagle-shaped bottle from which the holy oil was poured for the Queen's anointing.
The Coronation Chair, one of the oldest pieces of English furniture still in use, was also on show.
The Queen and Prince Philip entered Westminster Abbey to the same music that greeted her in 1953.
Back then, aged 27, she was the 38th sovereign to be crowned in an abbey that has been the scene of such ceremonies since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066.
The Archbishop of Canterbury told those gathered in the abbey that the Coronation had been "an ordination, a setting aside of a person for service".
Dr Welby said that during the ceremony the Queen knelt at the abbey's altar and prayed.
"We do not know what was prayed. Her Majesty knelt at the beginning of a path of demanding devotion and utter self-sacrifice, a path she did not choose, yet to which she was called by God.
"Today we celebrate 60 years since that moment, 60 years of commitment."
'Duty done'
At the time the Coronation was a major television spectacle, with an estimated 27 million Britons tuning in.
The weather was dull and wet, but warm sunshine greeted those gathering in London for the anniversary on Tuesday.
The Archbishop said the Coronation had been "the first time the whole nation had watched anything as it happened".
He called it "pomp and ceremony on a rainy June day, all so very British, wrapped in time and custom".
Her Majesty wore an Angela Kelly dress, hat and coat - made from oyster-coloured silk-satin brocade - for the anniversary service.
She was joined at the abbey by the Prince of Wales - who was just four in 1953 - and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Duke of Cambridge and the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge.
NBA BASKETBALL: Roy Hibbert fined $75,000
The NBA has fined Jamaican center Roy Hibbert $75,000 for using vulgar and homophobic slur during his postgame interview Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Hibbert issued an apology through the team.
He also reached out to openly gay NBA veteran Jason Collins via Twitter.
Hibbert says his comments were disrespectful and offensive and not a reflection of his personal views.
Hibbert says he used a slang term that is not appropriate in any setting, private or public, and the language definitely has no place in a public forum, especially over live television.
NBA Commissioner David Stern says while Roy has issued an apology, which is no doubt sincere, a fine is necessary to reinforce that such offensive comments will not be tolerated by the NBA.
The NBA fined Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant $100,000 and Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah $50,000 two seasons ago for homophobic comments.
New York Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire was fined $50,000 for a similar remark last year.
Fast & Furious 6 holds US box office
Fast & Furious 6 has fought off competition to stay atop the North American box office.
The action movie starring Vin Diesel earned $34.5m (£22.6m) ahead of Now You See Me with Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine which debuted with $28.1m (£18m).
Will Smith's sci-fi After Earth was a close third, opening with $27m (£17.6m).
The Hangover Part III fell from second to fifth place with $15.9m (£10.4m) - a drop from $52m (£34.3m) last week.
The final film in the comedy series, starring Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis, faired better internationally, taking $82.3m (£54m).
Original versus sequel
In a season of sequels, three original films were among the most popular with cinema-goers at the weekend.
"Ordinarily, summer and sequel go together," said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst at box officer tracker Hollywood.com.
"This is a step in the direction of originality," he said.
Now You See Me, which follows illusionists who rob banks and share the spoils with their audience, exceeded expectations to land in second place.
"It certainly has been magic for us to watch the numbers this weekend," said Richie Fay, president of Lionsgate's US distribution.
Elsewhere in the chart Star Trek Into Darkness and the computer animated fantasy adventure Epic both earned $16.4m (£10.7m) to share fourth place.
Iron Man 3 added another $8m (£5.2m) to its tally to take the sixth spot followed by Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby, which earned $6.3m (£4.1m).
Also edging into the top 10 was the Indian film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. It made $1.6m (£1m) from 162 cinemas to land at number eight.
"It's very unusual, but Bollywood films sometimes do crack into the top 20 or top 15 (domestically)," Dergarabedian said.
"They're usually not in that many theatres, but they make a big splash," he added.
North American box office top 5
1. Fast & Furious 6 - $34.5m
2. Now You See Me - $28.05m
3. After Earth - $27m
4= Epic - $16.4m
4= Star Trek Into Darkness - $16.4m
5. The Hangover Part III - $15.9m
Source: Hollywood.com
Robin Thicke scores his first UK number one single
US singer Robin Thicke has scored his first UK number one with the fastest-selling single of the year so far.
Blurred Lines, featuring rapper TI and Pharrell Williams, sold 190,000 copies in its first week to claim top spot.
"It's an honour and a pleasure to be number one in the UK," said R&B star Thicke, calling it a "dream come true".
In the album chart, Leanne Mitchell - winner of last year's series of BBC One's the Voice - failed to break into the Top 100 with her debut disc.
The 29-year-old's self-titled record is ranked at number 134 in this week's countdown following reports of dismal sales.
Thicke's song overtook last week's number one, La La La by Naughty Boy, which had been the year's first-week bestseller.
Pharrell, who produced Blurred Lines, also sings on this week's number three single, Daft Punk's former chart-topper Get Lucky, which comes one place ahead of Passenger's Let Her Go.
Jessie J, who appears on the Voice as a mentor, completes this week's top five with Wild - the first single from her as-yet untitled second studio album.
The song, which features the rappers Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal, is the seventh track from the British singer to reach the Top 10.
Daft Punk remain top of the album chart with Random Access Memories, with Rod Stewart also holding steady at two.
At three, Laura Marling has the week's highest new entry with Once I Was An Eagle, the English folk musician's highest-charting album to date.
Girl trio Stooshe are also newcomers in this week's Top 10, claiming eighth place with their debut album, London with the Lights On.
CARICOM SG welcomes ruling on CCJ in St Lucia
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Irwin LaRocque has welcomed the ruling by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal that St Lucia does not require to stage a referendum before it joins the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
LaRocque said that in confirming the procedure to be followed by St. Lucia to have the CCJ as its final court replacing the London-based Privy Council, the sub-regional court has set the course for the continuation of St. Lucia’s road to judicial independence as well as point the way for other countries with similar provisions in their constitutions.
LaRocque said this judgment was a seminal one in the progress towards more countries accepting the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ.
A number of eminent jurists and the St Lucia government had sought the advice of the court to determine whether there was an error in the Constitution that would allow for certain amendments to proceed with before joining the CCJ.
“To put it simply, the question to be settled was whether governments could proceed with becoming a part of the CCJ simply by obtaining a two thirds House support or that matter should be brought to a referendum where the people could decide for themselves,” Senior Council Anthony Astaphan told reporters.
This proposal originally came before Cabinet in 2010 under the former administration following a document prepared by the Attorney General’s Chambers.
But the Kenny Anthony administration conceded most of the findings after which ministers were asked to consider whether St Lucia should accede to the CCJ as the island’s final adjudicator in both civil and criminal matters.
The Cabinet was also required to consider the constitutional and administrative arrangements for doing so.
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal said that the Constitution clearly “contemplates and provides the freedom to St. Lucia to establish a court in common with other states or countries”.
Further, the court ruled that St. Lucia was empowered to enter into such an agreement on its own and the relevant Bill would not be subject to a referendum.
The Secretary-General noted that last week, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt said that his country was proceeding to accept the appellate jurisdiction of the Court after having held national consultations on issue.
Prime Minister Skerritt said that Dominica would send a letter to the British government seeking permission to recognise the CCJ as its final court.
The Prime Minister said that the government’s resolve was to move in recognising the CCJ as the final court and “certainly this year we should see Dominica recognising the CCJ” Skerrit said.
LaRocque said “these are wonderful signs for our Community as we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas”.
“The stature of our Court internationally is high and its considered judgements have gained it great respect,” he said, adding that the CCJ is recognised internationally.
“The systems for financing and appointment of judges were a milestone in the development of our Community, and a symbol of CARICOM Governments’ commitment to judicial independence and excellence.
“I have every confidence that the CCJ is well equipped to meet the needs of Saint Lucia and Dominica as they take these important milestone steps. The expansion of the Appellate Jurisdiction of the Court will only reinforce the sense of Community as it contributes to the development of true Caribbean jurisprudence,” he added.
The CCJ, established in 2001, serves also as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the 15-member regional integration grouping.
It has both an original and appellate jurisdiction but while most of the CARICOM member countries are signatories to the original jurisdiction, only Barbados, Belize and Guyana as signatories to the appellate jurisdiction.
Source-CMC
Angelina Jolie 'moved' by support over surgery
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie says she feels "moved" by the support she has received from fans since announcing she had had a double mastectomy.
Speaking at the London premiere of fiance Brad Pitt's film World War Z - her first red carpet event since the announcement - Jolie, 37, said she felt "wonderful" and "very grateful".
Pitt said the experience had "certainly brought our family tighter together".
The mother-of-six had surgery to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer.
'Wonderful father'
"I get moved to talk about it," she told reporters.
She said she had been "very happy just to see the discussion about women's health expanded and that means the world to me".
"After losing my mum to these issues, I'm very grateful for it and I've been very moved by the kind support from people."
She said Pitt had been "just extraordinary" and praised him as "a wonderful man and a wonderful father and I'm very, very lucky".
Pitt, meanwhile, said: "I mean the beautiful thing is that, for us, life will go on."
He said it had been a "very moving experience" and he tended to "get a little emotional about it".
Of his fiancee's decision to go public, he said: "It's something she felt she wanted to share and it's important for her that other people know that this is available."
BBC entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba said some fans had been waiting in Leicester Square since early in the morning for Jolie and Pitt.
The couple arrived together and were greeted with a huge amount of warmth and affection by members of the crowd, he said.
They posed for photographs together before signing autographs separately and left together shortly after the film started.
In May, Jolie explained her reasons for having the surgery in an article for the New York Times.
She said her doctors estimated she had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer. "I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could," she wrote.
Jolie, who said the process began in February and was completed by the end of April, explained that her mother fought cancer for nearly a decade and died at the age of 56.
Last week, her aunt, Debbie Martin, died of breast cancer,
Jolie missed her funeral to be at Sunday's premiere.
Source-BBC
Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj Heat Up Hot 97 Summer Jam XX
Wayne came out for "Pop That", closing the five-hour music extravaganza along with fellow featured artist on the track Rick Ross, in support of French Montana. Wayne got the biggest welcome from the crowd, who roared in excitement as the rap superstar walked onstage.
Similar to Cash Money records label mate, Minaj also came to surprise the audience, popping up for a performance of "I Luv Dem Strippers" and "Beez in the Trap" with 2 Chainz. Minaj's appearance at this year's Summer Jam finally put to rest the feud she had with the New York radio station's host Peter Rosenberg over her track "Starships", as she practically accepted the radio show host's invitation to come to Summer Jam XX by showing up to the event.
The successful concert was a night of duets and collaborations, with Fabolous bringing out Lil Kim and Mariah Carey singing "#Beautiful" with Miguel. Hip-hop's finest artists also filled up the line-up, with Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky leading the list.
After they put on a scorching "High School" performance at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards two weeks ago, hip-hop royalty Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj brought the heat again, this time to the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, June 2 for the Hot 97 Summer Jam XX. Wayne and Minaj pumped energy into the annual concert, but they did so separately, having different partners for their performances.
Soure-ACE.SHOW