Pictures of the Week: Best Photos of Past Seven Days

A man carries a young girl who was injured in a reported barrel-bomb attack by Syrian government forces in AleppoAFP

A mosque is damaged after being hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at Qadi Askar district in AleppoReuters

A boy stands near a destroyed armoured vehicle on a road in the northwestern Yemeni province of Omran, where nearly 140 people have died in three days of fightingReuters

Sikhs wield swords during a clash at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on the 30th anniversary of a controversial raid by Indian security forces that flushed out separatist militants holed up in the templeReuters

Thai soldiers dance with residents at a military event organised to 'return happiness to the people' at Victory Monument, the site of recent anti-coup rallies in BangkokAFP

Egyptians celebrate in Cairo's Tahrir Square after ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won 96.9% of the vote in Egypt's presidential electionAFP

Tens of thousands of people participate in a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong's Victoria Park to mark the 25th anniversary of the military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989Reuters

Israeli soldiers and border police detain a Palestinian during a protest in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike, at Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of RamallahReuters

History enthusiasts wearing World War Two US military uniforms re-enact a D-Day landing on Omaha Beach in Vierville sur Mer, on the coast of NormandyReuters

A piper plays a lament on Gold Beach as landing craft from the Royal Marines arrive at Arromanche, Normandy, at dawnGetty

US World War II veteran Jack W Schlegel, 91, who served with the 508 PIR, 82nd Airborne, speaks to history enthusiasts in Sainte-Marie-du- Mont, France. Schlegel parachuted onto the Normandy coast in the early hours of June 6, 1944Reuters

Britain's Red Arrows aerobatic display team perform during D-Day commemorations in PortsmouthAFP

An aerial view of the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, near Omaha beach ahead of D-Day commemoration events on June 6AFP

Photos by French photographer JR are displayed on the floor of the Pantheon in Paris, a secular temple which contains the remains of distinguished French citizensAFP

A woman poses for a photo on a grand piano that has been left beside the East River, during a fashion shoot underneath the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. The piano has been there for about a week, puzzling locals as to how it got thereReuters

A giant rubber duck designed by Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman floats at the Xixi National Wetland Park in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, ChinaGetty

A visitor poses on a 3D installation at the Trick Eye Museum at the Resorts World Sentosa in SingaporeReuters

A black bear lies on a hammock in a residential back yard in Daytona Beach, Florida. The bear lay in the hammock for more than 15 minutes before being startled when the back yard lights were turned onReuters

Two eight-week old white lion cubs, Mombasa and Nala, settle into their new home, a private zoo in Abony, HungaryAFP

Phil and Mitchell, two chimpanzee brothers at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, celebrate their 18th birthday with another chimpZSL Whipsnade Zoo

A Greater Adjutant Stork watches as a rag-picker collects recyclables at a huge rubbish dump in the northeastern Indian state of AssamAFP

Cardboard cut outs of Argentinian player Lionel Messi are seen at a rubbish recycling centre in Managua, NicaraguaReuters

Frank Lampard and Rickie Lambert of England check on injured Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during the international friendly match against Ecuador in Miami Gardens, FloridaGetty

Rafael Nadal stretches to hit a return to Dominic Thiem during their men's singles match at the French Open tennis tournamentReuters

Prince attends the French Open match between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Serbia's Dusan Lajovic at the Roland Garros stadium in ParisAFP

Rihanna arrives for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards at Lincoln Centre in New YorkReuters/Getty

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip leave the House of Lords after the Queen's SpeechGetty

Italy Warns Firms Against Buying Kurd Oil After Iraq Threat

A worker walks on top of an oil tank at Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan(Reuters)

Italy has told oil traders they could face a legal dispute with the Iraqi government if they purchase crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan, as the dispute with Iraq's central government and the autonomous region took another twist.

The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has transported crude oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, where it was loaded onto the United Leadership tanker which set sail across the Atlantic.

However, the KRG has not been able to find a buyer, as an increasingly hostile Baghdad filed an arbitration case against Turkey and threatened legal action against anyone who bought the oil.

A letter from the Italian Industry Ministry warned traders and refineries that the Iraqi government had notified its embassy in Baghdad that such sales were illegal and could result in action from its oil marketing arm, SOMO.

"SOMO reserves the right to take legal action against the buyer of such a cargo," the letter said, as reported by Reuters.

It is the first sign that a European government is responding to diplomatic pressure from Baghdad.

The Iraq government has previously referred to the oil on board as "stolen and smuggled" while the Ministry of Oil released a statement in June warning private firms against buying the crude.

"The Ministry of Oil confirms its warning to the world companies and markets not to buy the oil cargo on the vessel (United Leadership) which is loaded with crude oil extracted from the oil fields of the Kurdistan region," the statement read.

The tanker carrying the Kurdish oil has travelled in a series of different directions since it left Ceyhan. News agency Reuters tracked the ship from the Mediterranean Sea, when it appeared to head for the US Gulf Coast before turning away.

It was turned away from Morocco on Thursday after authorities refused to allow it to unload its cargo at the Mohammeddia refinery. According to Reuters, the tanker was stationed around 30 miles off the coast of Morocco on Friday.

The KRG has previously said the oil would be sold to Italy or Germany, although Reuters said the ship has not made any moves towards either of those countries as of yet.

The Kurds have been exporting oil to Turkey via a pipeline since December but Turkey had refrained from selling the oil on, saying it would wait for the KRG and Baghdad to reach an agreement on oil exports. However, Turkey switched its position in May, allowing the Kurds to load the United Leadership tanker with 1 million barrels of oil.

Iraq and Kurdistan have been locked for months in a dispute over rights to sell Kurdish oil on export markets.

India: Credit Suisse May Face Sebi Probe in Insider Trading Case

India: Market regulator SEBI may probe Credit Suisse in insider trading case.Reuters

India's market regulator could probe Credit Suisse's domestic unit to determine whether traders at the investment bank leaked price sensitive information about an Indian share deal the authority is investigating for alleged insider trading.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has accused Hong Kong-based hedge fund manager Factorial Capital Management of shorting L&T Finance Holdings prior to the announcement of a share sale in mid-March.

Sebi said it could probe whether staffers at Credit Suisse, which managed the Indian share sale, had revealed to Factorial that the L&T Finance deal would be done at a discount.

Sebi has so far not accused Credit Suisse of any wrongdoing.

The hedge fund, Factorial Master Fund, has been barred from dealing in Indian securities pending the investigation and has 21 days to respond, according to Rajeev Kumar Agarwal, a director at Sebi.

In a statement to Reuters, Factorial said the Sebi allegations were "without merit" and that it will fully cooperate with the investigation.

Pursued by the news agency, a Credit Suisse spokeswoman in Hong Kong refused to comment.

Sebi Order

In a seven-page interim order dated 5 June, Sebi said Credit Suisse approached Factorial about their interest in a likely share sale of L&T Finance, by its majority owner Larsen & Toubro, India's largest engineering firm. Such an approach is part of the process of any deal.

Factorial Master Fund locked in a profit of about 200 million rupees ($3.4m) by taking an "unusual and aggressive" short position in the futures and options segment ahead of the planned share sale, while in possession of the likely floor price of the offer, Sebi added.

"On examination of Bloomberg chat transcripts provided by CS, it is observed that on March 13, 2014, information like 'likely to come in at a steep discount about 70 types' was being circulated amongst the members of Equity team of CS. It is noted that this message from one CS employee to another in the Equity team was sent at 09:21:24 much before the formal announcement of OFS and the floor price at 21:22:00 on the same day.

"At this stage, however the channel of communication of the unpublished price sensitive information is not ascertainable as various stakeholders such as seller, Seller Broker, their employees, potential investors, etc are involved in the whole process. In my view, this aspect needs thorough investigation so as to come to a definite conclusion," Agarwal wrote in the order.

Claudia Ochoa Felix: Meet the Mexican Kim Kardashian Who Heads Drug Cartel Hit Squad

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Mexican press reports 27-year-old Claudia Ochoa Felix is the leader of 'Los Antrax' a gang affiliated to Sinaloa CartelTwitter/@ClaUdiaaFelixx

Claudia Ochoa Felix in a photo posted on twitterTwitter/@ClaUdiaaFelixx

Claudia Ochoa Felix is nicknamed The Empress of Anthrax, or Mexico's Kim KardashianTwitter/@ClaUdiaaFelixx

Claudia Ochoa Felix has become an internet sensation after Mexican press alleged she is the leader of a violent hit squadTwitter/@ClaUdiaaFelixx

The alleged head of an infamous Mexican hit squad has become an internet sensation thanks to her looks and risqué social media selfies.

According to the Mexican press, Claudia Ochoa Felix is the leader of 'Los Antrax', a violent gang named after the deadly disease and affiliated to the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel.

The group is believed to be responsible for numerous murders and criminal acts, but the allegation doesn't seem to bother the voluptuous 27-year-old too much.

Instead of flying low, out of police's radar, Felix regularly floods her followers with pictures in which she shows off her lavish lifestyle and passion for firearms.

Nicknamed The Empress of Anthrax, or Mexico's Kim Kardashian by her fans, in her posts she alternates classing 'duck face' selfies to shots in which she can be seen posing with an AK-47 or holding a golden automatic rifle while wearing an evening dress.

In other pictures sent out to her more than 88,000 Twitter followers, Felix is depicted driving sport cars, taking a swim or shopping in luxury stores.

The mother of three was reportedly married to a Sinaloa drug trafficker known as 'El Chavo'.

Mexican newspapers say she took over the reins of Los Antrax after the gang leader, Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, otherwise known as El Chino Antrax, was arrested in Amsterdam in January.

The Excelsior newspaper claimed Felix escaped a murder attempt in May, when hitmen kidnapped and killed El Chino Antrax's girlfriend, Yuriana Castillo Torres, mistaking the 23-year-old for her.

After the story was published Felix denied having any connection to any criminal organisation in a tweet, saying she was the victim of press sensationalism and describing claims about her as 'cowardly lies and slander'.

China Lambasts Japan for 'Irresponsibly Hyping China Threat Theory'

Japan accused China aircraft of flying too close to Japanese airplanes(Reuters)

China has condemned the decision by the Lower House of Japan's Diet, or parliament, to pass a resolution against Chinese aircraft which allegedly flew too close to Japanese airplanes above the East China Sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted by China.org as saying it was highly irresponsible for Japan to use the incident to hype up the "China threat" and defame the country.

Hong said China has already stated its position on the incident, adding that the decision of Japan's Diet will mislead the public and exacerbate tensions between the two countries.

"We urge the Japanese side to respect facts, self-reflect and cease provocations" he said.

The critique aimed at Japan comes a few days after the Chinese Defence Ministry said China has evidence that Japanese warplanes disrupted its military jets' flight routines.

Two Japanese airplanes allegedly intruded into the East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone on 24 May to scout and interfere with Sino-Russian naval drills, the ministry said.

Retired state councillor Tang Jiaxuan urged both China and Japan to "reaffirm their understanding of each other" and "urgently" resolve historical and territorial disputes, South China Morning Post reported.

"It is regrettable that there are fewer people in Japan taking China as an opportunity, but rather spreading noise of a 'China threat' and demonising China," he said. "Whether this is in line with objective conditions and the interests of Japan is worth deep introspection by the Japanese.

"Hyping the threat theory and even saying China is attempting to change the status quo by strength, and intentionally creating tensions is an irresponsible act of playing with fire."

Professor Lian Degui, of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said "there are more Japanese believing China is a threat, and it will be a serious problem for bilateral ties if Tokyo shifts its strategic perception of China."

Earlier this month a delegation of Japanese lawmakers held meetings with senior officials from the Chinese Communist Party, aimed at containing the rising tensions between the two countries.

Beijing Demands Vietnam Pay Compensation for Anti-China Attacks

A Vietnamese sinking boat (L) which was rammed and then sunk by Chinese vessels near disputed Paracels Islands(Reuters)

China has demanded that Vietnam pay compensation for damage inflicted during anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam in May.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China is yet to receive any payments after protesters rampaged, looted and set fire to Chinese-owned factories and other businesses that they mistook for Chinese firms.

Four people were killed in the violence and thousands of Chinese workers were evacuated.

"As of today, Vietnam has not provided any compensation at all," said Hong Lei.

"We demand that Vietnam take earnest steps to guarantee the safety of Chinese bodies and personnel in Vietnam, severely punish the assailants who created the disturbances and fully compensate the losses of Chinese companies and individuals," he added.

The riots were triggered by a territorial dispute between the two countries in the South China Sea. China deployed a massive oil rig in waters also claimed by Vietnam, leading to clashes at sea and huge anti-China riots that spread throughout Vietnam.

China claims nearly all of the resource-rich South China Sea, rejecting claims to parts of the sea from the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Beijing has repeatedly called on Hanoi to compensate Chinese businesses since the riots took place.

Gold Prices Hold Above $1,250 Ahead of US Labour Market Report

Gold prices hold above $1,250 ahead of US labour market report.Reuters

Gold prices steadied above $1,250 an ounce, ahead of a widely tracked US labour market report, following the near 1% rally in the preceding session after the European Central Bank announced measures to boost the eurozone economy.

Spot gold hovered at $1,253.70 an ounce at 10:17 BST, little changed from $1,253.29 on 5 June.

US gold futures for delivery in August added 90 cents to $1,254.20 per ounce.

The US nonfarm payrolls data for May, due out at 13:30 GMT, will throw more light on the health of the American economy, the world's largest.

A Reuters poll of economists has forecast American job creation to hover at 218,000 for May, which will be below April's 288,000 nonfarm jobs.

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets said in a 6 June note: "...While the news from the ECB prompted significant fluctuations in the EUR-USD exchange rate, gold closed trading up 0.8% [on 5 June] and for a time achieved a weekly high of just shy of $1,260 per troy ounce. Silver made disproportionate gains in gold's slipstream, climbing above the $19 per troy ounce mark again. In principle, the further easing of ECB monetary policy points to higher gold and silver prices."

SocGen Very Bearish

Societe Generale on 4 June raised its short-term gold forecast, but said it remained bearish over the medium to long term. The bank said it continues to recommend selling gold rallies.

SocGen on 4 June raised its 2014 average gold price forecast to $1,272 an ounce, ascribing the increase to support from the Ukraine crisis.

However, SocGen said gold could trade well below $1,200 in 2015 and below $1,000 in 2016 when the US Federal Reserve is "likely to hike rates at a much faster pace than currently discounted by the market".

Overall, the determination of the US central bank to "maintain the US monetary policy towards tapering and gradual but protracted policy normalisation, including rising interest rates as the economic outlook continues to improve, underpin our bearish view about the gold price in the medium term," the French bank said.

As a result, SocGen forecast gold prices to average at $825 between 2017 and 2019.

Hot Shots Photos of the Day: D-Day Anniversary, Mount Everest, Nancy Reagan

A piper plays a lament on Gold Beach as landing craft from the Royal Marines arrive at Arromanche, Normandy, at dawnGetty

WW2 veteran Fred Holborn, from the Fleet Air Arm, salutes as he looks at British Legion Union flags carrying thank you messages planted in the sand on Gold Beach, NormandyGetty

Relatives watch as D-Day veteran, Gordon Smith, 90, from Wiltshire, walks on Sword Beach at Hermanville-sur-Mer on the Normandy coastReuters

Raymond Shuck, who was a paratrooper on D-Day, kisses the hand of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall as she meets veterans near Pegasus Bridge in Ranville, near Caen in NormandyGetty

The Red Arrows display team perform over Southsea Common in Portsmouth at the end of a D-Day commemoration serviceGetty

History enthusiasts wearing World War Two US military uniforms re-enact a D-Day landing on Omaha Beach in Vierville sur Mer, on the coast of NormandyReuters

Israeli soldiers and border police detain a Palestinian during a protest in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike, at Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of RamallahReuters

A mosque is damaged after being hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at Qadi Askar district in AleppoReuters

A man carries timber away from burning warehouses in Benghazi. Local media reports said they were targeted by Grad rockets fired by irregular forces loyal to former Libyan army general Khalifa HaftarReuters

Fire engines are parked near The Shard in London after reports of a fireReuters

A boy hugs a tree in Kathmandu during an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people hugging trees for two minutesReuters

A porter carries mattresses back from Everest base camp, approximately 5,300 metres above sea levelReuters

Indigenous rights activist and chief of the Amazonian Kayapo tribe Raoni Metuktire takes part in a press conference at the Quai Branly museum in ParisAFP

Fifa President Sepp Blatter gestures next to the World Cup trophy after a media conference in Sao PauloReuters

Couples pose for photos in front of the Christ the Redeemer statue, after their group wedding at the Corcovado mountain in Rio de JaneiroReuters

Nancy Reagan visits the grave site of her husband, former United States President Ronald Wilson Reagan, on the 10th anniversary of his passing, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CaliforniaReuters