Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is reportedly planning on making a state visit to North Korea. It would be the first time North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hosted a head of state since assuming power in 2011. He has undertaken a flurry of diplomatic activity recently, meeting China’s president in May, and is expected to attend a summit with Donald Trump this month.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi court on Sunday jailed a French woman for 20 years for belonging to the Islamic State group, as her lawyers accused authorities in Paris of “interference” to prevent her returning to France. Melina Boughedir, a mother of four, was sentenced last February to seven months in prison for “illegal” entry into the country, and was set to be deported back to France. But another court ordered the re-trial of the 27-year-old French citizen under Iraq’s anti-terror law where she was found guilty of belonging to ISIS and handed a life sentence.
Lastly, Kanye West’s new album dropped Friday and the rapper held a star-studded listening party in Wyoming on Thursday, where he invited friends and select members of the media to preview “Ye,” his eighth studio album. His wife Kim Kardashian West tweeted that the album cover for “Ye” was from a photo taken by West on their way to the listening party. The cover shows the Wyoming landscape and the words: “I hate being Bi-Polar its awesome.” With its themes of mental health and media controversies, the album feels simultaneously personal and public.
