Queen's Birthday Party Tickets Will Cost £150

The Queen's grandson Peter Phillips announced the ticket price and more details about the Patron's Lunch event on 12 June he is helping to organise, saying it will have a "carnival atmosphere".

The 10,000 guests, the vast majority of whom will be representatives from the Queen's patronages, will enjoy hampers of food at tables set up in the famous thoroughfare, Mr Phillips said.

A carnival parade will make its way along the Mall entertaining revellers.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will take to the stage to listen to speeches marking the occasion.

They will then be joined in a royal box by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, joint presidents of the event.

Mr Phillips is helping to put on the event in his role as director of Sports and Entertainment Ltd (SEL), an events agency which came up with the idea.

He stressed it was a not-for-profit event.

Mr Phillips said: "It's not exactly a cheap exercise.

"Fortunately our corporate partners have provided the funding for the majority of the costs."

Trooping the colour on the Queen's official birthday

Mr Phillips added: "This is a not-for-profit event. SEL is being paid a set fee basically to take this from sign-off from the palace through to delivery of the event."

The majority of the tickets have been allocated to hundreds of organisations and charities associated with the Queen.

They will be allowed to raise money with 40% of their tickets.

Next month a public ballot for a minimum of 1,000 tickets will open, with the winners able to buy them from the event's website.

A spokeswoman for the Patron's Lunch defended the ticket price: "The Patron's Lunch is a non-for-profit event, and whilst we have the generous support from our partners, it does not cover the full cost.

"In addition to our partners' financial contribution, the costs will be met through a variety of ways including the sale of merchandise and tickets."

She added: "Whilst the cost of the ticket goes towards the cost of delivering the event, it also provides a genuine value to that ticket.

"This gives each organisation greater leverage and a unique platform to use the agreed 40% of their allocation to raise funds for their own charity."

Any surplus from the event will be allocated to a newly created Patron's Fund, which will be used to support initiatives and projects run by the Queen's charities.

The organisers also hope people around the country will be inspired to put on their own Patron's Lunches and raise money for projects in their area.

The event will be the culmination of a weekend of national events to mark the Queen's official birthday.

On Friday 10 June a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral will be attended by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

The next day the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony, also known as the Queen's Birthday Parade, will take place in Horse Guards Parade, followed by the street party on the Sunday.

The carnival parade will make two laps of a circuit around St James's Park that includes the Mall.

Members of the public will be able to take part in the festivities at live sites in Green Park and St James's Park.

Two Palestinians killed after alleged stabbing attacks

The escalation in violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem began last October [Mussa Qawasma/Reuters]

Israeli forces have killed two Palestinians during two alleged stabbing attacks, bringing the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire over the past three months to 157.

On Thursday, an Israeli soldier killed a Palestinian in Beit Einun, northeast of Hebron, because of an attempted stabbing attack, according to the military. The officer was reportedly lightly wounded.

Reports named the Palestinian as 21-year-old Mo'yad Jabareen, and said his funeral is expected to take place on Friday in his hometown of Sair.

Later on Thursday, Israeli forces near Asira ash-Shamaliya, north of the West Bank city of Nablus, killed another Palestinian - yet to be identified - who was also accused of an attempted stabbing attack.

According to Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) sources, medics were allowed only to assess the condition of the Palestinian near Asira ash-Shamaliya, but not provide aid to the injured man.

The PRCS sources said the man had shown weak vital signs after being critically wounded by several gunshots in the back and legs.

The escalation in violence in occupied West Bank and Jerusalem began last October. 

An outbreak of mass demonstrations took place across Israel and the occupied territories by Palestinians in protest at Israeli raids into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the continued settlement expansion.

Since October 1, at least 157 Palestinians and 23 Israelis have been killed in the violence.

Overall in 2015, Israeli soldiers or settlers shot and killed 179 Palestinians, including unarmed protesters, bystanders and alleged attackers.

Judge grants release of 2013 Chicago police shooting video

A federal judge on Thursday granted the release of 2013 surveillance video showing a white Chicago police officer fatally shooting a 17-year-old black carjacking suspect after the city withdrew its objection to it being made public.

The city could release the video of 17-year-old Cedrick Chatman's death within hours, but a spokesman for the city's Law Department didn't immediately respond to an email asking when it would do so.

Questions about the Chatman video follow the Nov. 24 release of another video that made headlines. That video shows white officer Jason Van Dyke fatally shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014. The city fought its release for more than a year, making it public only after a state court ordered it to do so. The video and the delay in releasing it led to protests, calls for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign and a federal civil-rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department.

An officer killed Chatman on Jan. 7, 2013, during a foot chase. Court documents say several surveillance cameras recorded police running after the 17-year-old in a South Shore neighborhood during daylight hours and recorded one officer fatally shooting him.

His family had asked that the video be made public as it sued the city over the shooting, arguing it would counter the city's narrative that Chatman posed a danger to police.

The officer says he fired after seeing Chatman turn toward officers with a dark object in his hand. Investigators later found the object was an iPhone box.

A lawyer for Chatman's family says the video will show he never turned toward officers and posed no threat.

City attorneys, until Wednesday, fought to keep it under seal on grounds its release could taint any jury pool should the civil case go to trial. They said in a Wednesday court filing that the city was dropping its opposition in an effort to be more transparent while it waits for a recently created special task force to review policies regarding the release of videos showing disputed police shootings.

Steve Patton, Emanuel's top legal adviser said in a statement that "we are working to be as transparent as possible."

Chatman family lawyer Brian Coffman said he was pleasantly surprised at the change of heart but that he believes Chicago officials knew U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman was poised to rule against them at Thursday's previously scheduled hearing.

"It is a political move to save face," Coffman said.

The cameras that caught the incident were at a distance, and the footage is of low quality, court filings say. But Chatman family lawyers have said it is clear enough to show the teenager didn't turn.

Andrew Hale, a lawyer for two officers named as defendants in the lawsuit, said in an email Wednesday that the video will show his clients acted properly. Minutes before the shooting, he said, Chatman refused officers' orders and jumped out of a car after grabbing the item that turned out to be the box.

"As he was fleeing, the suspect turned toward the officers, with the dark object in his right hand, causing one officer to open fire," Hale's email said.

The Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates police shootings, cleared the officer who shot Chatman of any wrongdoing. However, court filings allege that the agency cleared the officer only after an investigator who opposed that finding, Lorenzo Davis, was fired. Davis has filed a separate lawsuit about his dismissal. The police review authority has declined to comment on Davis' case because the litigation is ongoing.

Iraqi Kurds 'should not take sides' in Iran-Saudi row

Both Riyadh and Ankara received Barzani recently in a manner normally reserved for visiting heads of states [EPA]

Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan - As rivalries between Saudi Arabia and Iran reach new heights following the execution of Shia religious leader Nimr al-Nimr on January 2, Iraqi Kurds see opportunities and threats arising from the sectarian turmoil and the tectonic geopolitical changes in the region.

"Kurdistan should warm up to those who accept Kurdistan's future and its efforts for statehood," said Khasro Goran, a Kurdish member of Iraqi parliament from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the dominant faction in the Kurdish autonomous government in northern Iraq.

Massoud Barzani, KDP's leader, who serves as the Kurdistan region's president despite some internal opposition regarding the legality of his tenure, made a diplomatic splash in December by visiting Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Both Riyadh and Ankara received Barzani in a manner normally reserved for visiting heads of states. Saudi Arabia's King Salman held talks with Barzani in the presence of the senior members of the Saudi royal family.

And in a first act of its kind in the country's history, Turkish authorities raised Iraqi Kurdistan's flag during Barzani's visit to Ankara.

Goran praised the dramatic shift in the Arab states' stance towards the Kurds in Iraq, countries that had for decades opposed the emergence of a  Kurdish entity in northern Iraq. 

Although the regional settings appear to be shifting in the Kurds' favour, domestically, Iraqi Kurds have failed to formulate a united position towards these developments.

Kurdistan must not join one side of this conflict against another side ... If we take sides, Kurdistan will turn into another arena of the conflict in the region and we will have much to lose from that. Farid Assasard, member of PUK's leadership council

Whereas the KDP has tilted more towards the so-called 'Sunni Arab powers' in the region, its key domestic rivals, such as the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have grown closer to the opposing Iranian-led camp, while some have refrained from articulating a clear preference.

"Saudi Arabia and Turkey want to redefine the Kurds' role from a Sunni perspective and not as Kurds,"  said Sardar Aziz, a parliamentary adviser for Gorran Movement, a major Kurdish political faction in rivalry with the KDP. "And we see the KDP wanting to play along with that discourse." The majority of Iraq's Kurds are Sunnis but there are also Shia and Yazidi Kurds.

After returning from his visits to Riyadh and Ankara, Barzani instructed his party officials in late December to work with other Kurdish parties to create a mechanism for holding a referendum on whether Iraqi Kurdistan should become an independent state.

As Iraqi Kurds ponder what they can gain from the expanding regional conflict, some prescribe caution. Being smaller actors in a great game of major regional powers means that there will be limits to Kurdish ambitions and their ability to capitalise on the changes, analysts say.

"Kurdistan is internally fragmented," Farid Assasard, a member of PUK's leadership council, told Al Jazeera. "Kurdistan must not join one side of this conflict against another side ... If we take sides Kurdistan will turn into another arena of the conflict in the region and we will have much to lose from that."

Another major consideration for Iraqi Kurds is how the rising tide of regional sectarian tensions might affect their ongoing war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Despite initial setbacks in the face of ISIL attacks in summer of 2014, Kurds have now pushed ISIL fighters from the bulk of Kurdish-controlled areas seized by the group. However, ISIL is still uncomfortably close to major Kurdish-controlled urban areas such as Erbil and Kirkuk.

Given the ability of Kurdish Peshmerga forces to stand up to ISIL, some believe sectarian-motivated geopolitical competitions in the region will not have a bearing on the Kurds' fight against ISIL.

"I don't think the sectarian escalation will affect the war against [ISIL] because Kurdistan enjoys the backing of Western and regional nations," said Goran, who leads KDP's bloc in Iraqi parliament.

"The war is essentially being fought on the ground by the Peshmerga forces with air support from the Western coalition."

Assasard said that the last time Iraqi Kurds picked sides in a regional conflict was in the 1970s when they sought assistance from the governments of Iran and United States to force the then Iraqi government into conceding political and cultural rights to them.

But when Iran and Iraq reached a deal on redrawing certain parts of their disputed border areas, Iran and the US cut off their support leading to the ending of the brief experiment in Kurdish self-rule agreed between the Kurds and Baghdad.

Amid the sectarian maelstrom gripping the region, some believe the Kurds will ultimately opt to stay on the sidelines, since historically their ethnic identity has been the primary consideration rather than religious or sectarian affiliations.

Kurds make around 20 percent of Iraq's population while the remainder are mostly Shia and Sunni Arabs.

"[Kurds] are pragmatic enough to understand that picking sides for certain short-term gains - be it economic or military - will not serve political unity inside Kurdistan in medium to long term," said Athanasios Manis, a senior research fellow at Middle East Research Institute, a think-tank based in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region.

"And it might complicate further Erbil's relations with the Iraq's Arabs [both Shia and Sunnis]."

UN chief warns Syrian starvation a war crime

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that the use of starvation as a weapon in Syria amounts to a war crime after the second international convoy arrived to the famine-struck town of Madaya to deliver humanitarian aid.

Ban said on Thursday residents in the rebel-held town, which has been under siege by government troops for several months, were in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

"Let me be clear," Ban told reporters, "the use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime.

"All sides, including the Syrian government which has the primary responsibility to protect Syrians, are committing this and other atrocious acts prohibited under international humanitarian law," he added.

Al Jazeera's diplomatic editor James Bays, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said that even though Ban's comments represented some of his strongest language yet after almost five years of war in Syria, this did not mean that any action was going to be taken.

"The UN Security Council will be meeting to discuss the besieged areas in Syria in an open session on Friday, and despite the fact that Ban Ki-moon has described these as war crimes, the Council won't be taking any action on that," he said.

"A referral to the International Criminal Court requires a vote by the Security Council and it's certain on an issue like this that Russia and China would use their veto," Bays added.

Trucks loaded with food, medicine, blankets and other materials head to the besieged town of Madaya on Thursday [Youssef Badawi/EPA]

Humanitarian aid

Ban spoke after a second convoy carrying food and other necessities entered Madaya for the second time this week following reports of starvation and illness.

"We would go for three days without food, then we would go and gather grass to just boil and eat it," Mubarak Aloush, a Madaya resident who managed to escape to Lebanon told Al Jazeera.

On Monday, a first convoy reached Madaya and truckloads of aid also entered two other towns blockaded by rebel groups.

The UN is struggling to deliver aid to about 4.5 million Syrians who live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in besieged areas.

Peace talks

Ban said Syrians living under siege were "being held hostage", but added that their plight was even worse.

"Hostages get fed," Ban said. "These children and women and men are struggling to survive without food or medicine." 

Humanitarian aid access is seen as a key confidence-building measure ahead of new round of Syrian peace talks on January 25.

Diplomats suggested that the talks would have no chance of success if the humanitarian crisis remains desperate.

"It will be difficult for them to negotiate while their children and close ones are threatened with famine or death," said a Security Council diplomat.

Celine Dion's Husband And Manager Dies

Angelil and Dion together in 2011. The couple had three children

A post on Dion's Facebook page confirmed the news.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce that Rene Angelil, aged 73, died this morning at her residence in Las Vegas after a long and courageous fight against cancer," the post said.

"The family wishes to live the mourning in privacy."

Angelil died of natural causes and under the care of a doctor, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said.

Mr Fudenberg said no further investigation into the death is expected.

Dion and Angelil had three children together - Rene-Charles, who was born in 2001 and twins Nelson and Eddy, who were born in 2010.

He also has a son and daughter from two previous marriages.

The couple, who were 26 years apart in age, got married in an elaborate ceremony in 1994 at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal.

She resumed her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in August after taking a year off to care for her husband.

Angelil stepped down as his wife's manager in 2014, turning her career over to a friend of the couple.

However, he remained involved in business decisions.

Angelil was born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and a Syrian father.

He was a part of the group Les Baronnets until 1972, when he decided to manage the careers of several singers in Quebec.

Dion's mother sent him a tape in the post and encouraged him to listen to her daughter, who was then 12 years old.

Angelil took on her career and launched her first English-language album in 1990.

Dion has won a number of Grammy awards during her successful career, including for the Titanic theme My Heart Will Go On.

David Bowie Breaks Vevo Records—and Beats Adele

Even after David Bowie’s death on Sunday, the iconic artist is still breaking down barriers.

According to Vevo, Bowie’s catalog was viewed more than 51 million times in a 24-hour period on Jan. 11, beating the record previously held by Adele. Her videos were seen more than 36 million times after “Hello” came out in October.

Vevo hosts more than 60 Bowie videos, including “Space Oddity,” “The Jean Genie,” and “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson,” which EW called the second-best Bowie video of all time. (“Underground” landed at No. 1.)

“Lazarus,” his most recent music video from his final album Blackstar, was the most watched video and had been seen 11.1 million times in a day. The clip is full of dark imagery and pictures Bowie in a hospital bed with bandages over his face and buttons for eyes. The song has the lyrics, “Look up here, I’m in heaven.”

Blackstar, which debuted on Jan. 8, Bowie’s 69th birthday, is currently on track to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It would be Bowie’s first No. 1 album in the U.S.