In March, the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, announced a deal to end a nearly three-decade conflict in turkey that has killed tens of thousands of people. The deal was reached in talks between imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish government.

The refuge offer came from Iraq's Kurdish region, which enjoys limited independence from the central Iraqi government in Baghdad. Iraqi Kurds were involved in the talks with Turkey.

The prospect of additional fighters joining the Kurdish forces in Iraq's north could add tension to already souring relations with Baghdad. The two sides are in conflict over contested areas, including key oil-producing sectors.

As part of the accord, the PKK rebels agreed to a gradual retreat from Turkish territory to Iraq's Kurdish region. On Thursday, Baghdad rejected that.

"The Iraqi government welcomes any political and peaceful settlement to the Kurdish cause in Turkey to stop the bloodshed and violence between the two sides and adopt a democratic approach to end this internal struggle," said a statement issued by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

"But at the same time ... it does not accept the entry of armed groups to its territories that can be used to harm Iraq's security and stability," the ministry said.

PKK, considered a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, is believed to have between 1,500 and 2,000 fighters inside Turkey, in addition to several thousand more based in northern Iraq, which they use as a springboard for attacks in Turkey.

To ease Baghdad's concerns, PKK spokesman, Ahmet Deniz assured the Iraqi government that the plan would boost democracy and stability in the region.

"The (peace) process is not aimed against anyone, and there is no need for concerns that the struggle will take on another format and pose a threat to others," Deniz told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

"A democratic resolution will have a positive effect on the region," Deniz said. "We understand the concerns, but the process is related to the resolution of the Kurdish issue and won't cause harm to anyone."

The statement came a day after PKK rebels started withdrawing to bases in the Iraqi mountains. It was not clear if the Baghdad government would try to stop the process, expected to take several months.

Deniz confirmed that the PKK's withdrawal process began on Wednesday. He gave no details on the numbers of fighters that had begun to retreat or if any had crossed into Iraq.

Iraqi and Turkish officials were not immediately available for comment.

PKK has sought greater autonomy and more rights for Turkey's Kurds. The armed conflict between the two sides began in 1984.

In addition to the dispute over developing oil resources, the Kurds and the central government in Baghdad have been in a long-running dispute over lands claimed by the Kurds, power-sharing and rights to develop other natural resources.

Along with Sunni Arabs, the Kurds accuse Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, of amassing power in his hands and marginalizing political opponents.

Relations between Iraq and Turkey have been strained since December, when fugitive Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi took refuge in Turkey following accusations by Shiite-led government that he was running death squads. Turkish officials rejected Baghdad's request to hand over al-Hashemi, who was tried and convicted in absentia.

Turkish support for Sunni-led anti-government protests and a unilateral energy deal with Iraqi Kurds has added tension to relations between Baghdad and Ankara.

___

Associated Press writer Suzan Frazer in Ankara, Turkey contributed to this report.

During a 25-minute webcast Tuesday (May 7), members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportations Subcommittee on Science and Space asked NASA's Tom Marshburn to delve into the science, downtime and other parts of .

"I believe I'm living and working in the first Mars vehicle," Marshburn said during the event. "Everything that we've learned here is going to be used, and needs to be used, in the next generation of [space-traveling] vehicles." []

For example, understanding how to recycle resources efficiently in Earth orbit could lead to life-support systems that helpor farther out into the solar system, Marshburn said.

Life in space also changes the perspective of people living on the , Marshburn added.

"I wish every head of state around the world could come see our Earth from the cupola," Marshburn said of the Earth-observing glass structure on the bottom of the station. "It's a 360-degree view ... I've found that I've fallen in love with the Earth again. It's almost impossible to pull your eyes away from it."

Although looking out the window is one of Marshburn's favorite pastimes on the station, crewmembers are usually too busy to stare back at Earth during their work hours, he said.

Marshburn told members of the subcommittee that his days in orbit are filled with science. The astronauts are responsible for conducting more than 100 experiments on the orbiting laboratory.

"What surprised me was that how busy and vibrant life and the work here is on the space station," Marshburn said. "The space station is a hard place to go to sleep. There's a lot going on up here. There's so much going on up here that it's hard to stop."

But it isn't all work and no play for the astronauts.

The crewmembers hold informal competitions that are very specific to life on the space station, Marshburn added. Oftentimes the six residents of the station will try to float through a module without touching a wall just for fun.

Marshburn launched into space with Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield in December 2012. The three spaceflyers are scheduled to fly back to Earth next week on May 13

Follow Miriam Kramer onand . Follow us on , and . Original article on.

James received 120 first-place votes from the panel of 121 sports writers and broadcasters selected to choose the award. Oklahoma's Kevin Durant finished second overall and the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony, who received the other first-place vote, placed third.

It was the fourth time in five years that the 28-year-old James had won the game's most prestigious individual award, elevating him among the sport's greatest players.

"When people ask me, I tell them I just try to be the best player on the court every night I step on the floor," James said.

Only four other players - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain - have won the trophy at least four times.

Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for six MVP wins, one ahead of Jordan and Russell and two in front of Chamberlain and now James.

James, who twice won the award with the Cleveland Cavaliers before moving to Miami, averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists during the 2012-13 regular season, where the Heat finished with the best record in the NBA.

James was the only player in the NBA to lead his team in all three categories during the season.

He shot a career-high from the field (.565) and from three-point range (.406). He produced a record streak of six straight games with at least 30 points and a .600-or-better field goal percentage.

He received his award at a special presentation on Sunday, attended by his team mates, family and friends, and broadcast live on national television.

In an emotional and heartfelt acceptance speech, James extended his thanks to everyone who had supported him both as a person and as a player.

He turned to his team mates, who were wearing shorts and t-shirts, and said they deserved the award as much as he did,

"Nothing I receive individually is possible without those 14 guys, and the sacrifices they make," he said.

"This really doesn't mean much to me. I'm humbled and I'm happy about it but I wish it was 15 of these up here because what a great group of guys that allows me to be the MVP."

(Reporting by Julian Linden in New York; Editing by Gene Cherry)

LONDON (Reuters) - Copper hit a three-week high on Tuesday as last week's strong U.S. report helped fuel hopes that the world's largest economy will spur global growth, and as copper stocks trended lower.

The better-than-forecast increase in U.S. job hirings in April, which pushed the unemployment rate to a four-year low, has come as copper stocks fall in both Shanghai and on the London Metal Exchange.

Latest data showed Shanghai stocks at 213,782 tonnes, their lowest since late February, while LME stocks are at 604,600, their lowest since early April, having hit their highest in nearly a decade in late April.

"We can see continued recovery closer to $8,000 a tonne this quarter. There's a lack of scrap especially in China, premiums have increased, there's a backwardation on Shanghai markets, things have tightened up because prices have been so low," said Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar.

He added, however: "This is certainly not the start of a new bull run, it's just a corrective bounce."

Three-month LME copper was up 0.56 percent at $7,305.75 a tonne by 0917 GMT. It hit a session high of $7,374, its loftiest since April 15. Copper rose more than 6 percent on Friday when the U.S. jobs numbers were released.

In other markets, world shares rose near a 5-year high on growth optimism spurred by the U.S. jobs report, and helped also by the European Central Bank's readiness to push its key deposit rate into negative territory if needed.

LME copper has risen by 7 percent in the last two trading sessions, but remains down nearly 8 percent for the year. Last month it hit its lowest in a year and a half last month following weak growth data from China.

Despite copper's recent price gains, ANZ analysts said they expect commodity markets to consolidate in May, notwithstanding the expectation of stronger seasonal demand.

"The first quarter underperformance of Chinese growth has put many investors on the sidelines. (Meanwhile) the new government is looking for long-term rather than short-term solutions. While we do expect Chinese demand to improve, the stronger seasonal demand profile may end up being lukewarm."

China is the world's top copper consumer, accounting for some 40 percent of overall consumption.

Its refined copper imports fell 36.7 percent from a year ago to 218,823 tonnes in March, but the steep fall in London copper prices in mid-April has opened the window for Chinese imports, with benchmark LME copper currently trading at a discount of about $39 to its Shanghai counterpart.

"Chinese metals apparent demand has outperformed expectations year to date. The near term could thus see bouts of short covering, (but there are) growing expectations that Chinese demand will weaken into the second half," said Macquarie in a note.

Investors are now waiting for a batch of April data from China, for more clues on global growth. Chinese trade data will be released on Wednesday, inflation on Thursday and money supply and loan growth expected from Friday.

Aluminium edged up 0.03 percent to $1,890.75 a tonne, while stainless-steel ingredient nickel fell 0.76 percent to $15,085 a tonne.

"We think the aluminium and nickel markets look best placed for relief rallies. A substantial 45 percent of global nickel producers and an astonishing 64 percent of global aluminium producers are not making money at current spot prices," said ANZ.

In other metals, tin fell 0.49 percent to $20,350 a tonne, zinc, edged up 0.03 percent to $1,885.50, while lead rose 0.38 percent to $2,045.75.

"We had a good start, very active with a lot of chances," the much-travelled former NHL player told reporters. "In the second period, we got some more goals and I think from that point on we controlled the game."

The Slovaks registered 24 of their 37 shots in the first two periods, scoring three goals in the process to take command.

Beaten finalists in 2012, Satan's side scored a further two goals to go 5-0 up in the third. The French pulled two back but never really threatened before Libor Hudacek finished the scoring late on.

With the tournament once again being co-hosted by Finland and Sweden, the Finns had a narrow escape as they overcame Germany 4-3 after overtime. Their co-hosts were not as fortunate, slumping to shock 3-2 defeat by Switzerland in Stockholm.

"That's not how we wanted to start the tournament," Sweden's goaltender Jacob Markstrom told reporters. "It's too bad. It didn't hold up today. We weren't good enough."

In the other game in Stockholm, the Czech Republic beat Belarus 2-0 as Czech goaltender Alexander Salak, who plays in the Sweden's Elitserien for Farjestad, kept a clean sheet on his world championship debut.

Defending champions Russia make their bow on Saturday when they play Latvia, with the United States facing Austria and Canada taking on Denmark.(Reporting by Phil O'Connor; Editing by Mark Meadows; mark.meadows@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 7933; Reuters Messaging:; mark.meadows.reuters.com@reuters.net)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best Buy'smove to exit Europe has many on Wall Street hoping the big box retailer does the same in China.

The company sold its stake in a European joint venture to Carphone Warehouse Groupthis week for less than half of what it paid five years ago. Despite the loss, investors welcomed the news and sent shares up to their highest level in a year.

Many are betting that the next move for the world's largest consumer electronics chain will be out of China, where it has struggled to fend off local rivals and failed to carve a niche in a cluttered market. That unit has also been without a leader for more than a month.

"They are really struggling in China, much more so than they were in Europe," said BB&T Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba, who predicted the company could divest its assets there later this year. "There are no strategic benefits to them being in China."

Chief Executive Officer Hubert Joly said in a statement on Tuesday that the European deal "should not suggest any similar action" in other overseas markets, but he has emphasized since starting last fall that he wants to focus on the United States.

Best Buy declined to comment on whether it eventually would sell its Chinese operations, which accounted for only 3.5 percent of its sales in the most recent financial year. China contributed to 4.1 percent of annual sales in the prior year. Best Buy would not break out China's contributions to the bottom line.

The company told Reuters on Wednesday that it has hired a Chinese national to replace Nicolas Wang, who had been CEO of Best Buy's Five Star business but left in March. It plans to make the formal announcement soon. But the appointment may not be enough to win over support of the overseas business.

"I think that they would still be better off getting out of China," said Janney Capital Markets analyst David Strasser. "The less distraction they have in turning around the U.S. business, the better off they are."

Pulling out of China would leave Best Buy without access to one of the world's premiere growth opportunities.

But it would enable Best Buy to focus on the United States, something for which investors have lobbied. The move also could give the retailer more cash to invest in businesses with better growth prospects such as mobile and e-commerce.

"China has never been particularly profitable for them, and if they feel they can't make that happen, then of course it would be better to try to monetize that holding rather than for them to continue to lose money," said Jerry Bruni, portfolio manager of JV Bruni & Co, which owns Best Buy shares.

In 2012, Best Buy had 1.8 percent of the Chinese market, while local rivals Suningand Gomehad 10.6 percent and 10.3 percent respectively, according to Euromonitor International.

STUGGLING IN CHINA

Best Buy went into China in 2006 by taking a majority stake in Nanjing-based retailer Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co for $180 million (115 million pounds). A few years later, it bought out the local company, and opened its own brand stores too.

The operation struggled from the beginning. During the U.S. recession, Best Buy's former management did not invest enough time integrating Five Star into Best Buy "primarily because the U.S. started to fall off a log" said Robert Willett, a former CEO of Best Buy International.

Best Buy and Five Star initially had higher costs because they had separate IT, finance and sourcing, said Willett, who retired from Best Buy in 2009.

Another problem was that the retailer's own-brand stores never adapted to the local market or succeeded in wooing the Chinese customer, who often shops on e-commerce sites like 360buy.com.

Chinese customers "are either going to get the best price online" or use that price to negotiate the best price in stores, said Franklin Yao, managing partner of Shanghai-based consulting firm SmithStreetSolutions.

The company also failed to customize its stores to the local market. For example, Best Buy had an equal number of washers and dryers on display, but many Chinese consumers consider dryers harmful to clothing and don't use them, making that a waste of floor space, said James Roy, a senior analyst with consulting firm China Market Research Group.

Two years ago, Best Buy shuttered its own-brand megastores to focus on Five Star, which is an established name and has smaller stores in cities where the Chinese middle class is emerging.

But its market share continued to fall, dropping 14.3 percent during the last five years, according to data from Euromonitor International, while local rival Suning boosted its share by 29.3 percent.

Best Buy would not be the first to leave China. Europe's largest electronics chain, Media Markt , closed its Chinese stores in March because of pricing pressures.

Last year, U.S. retailer Home Depotabandoned its big boxes in China and decided to focus on selling goods online in the world's most populous country.

Foreign retailers who have managed to stay have not had it easy in China, with some such as Britain's Tescoand Germany's Metro AGapplying brakes to their Chinese expansion.

Some believe pulling out of China would enable Best Buy to focus on competing more effectively with Wal-Mart Stores Incand Amazon.com Incin the United States.

"If you don't control your core market, you don't control anything," said former Best Buy executive Willett.

(Reporting By Dhanya Skariachan in New York; Editing by Jilian Mincer and Leslie Gevirtz)

The Beer Visor will provide a BeerHat option to golfers, boaters, beach goers, etc. BeerHats products are made from brand new beer cases, purchased directly through beer companies. This is made possible through existing licensing contracts with the MillerCoors Brewing Company, The Pabst Family of Breweries, and Molson Canada. All BeerHats products are protected by a patent through the US Patent and Trademark Office.

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Take a 15th century Italian genius, invent his mysterious youth, throw in some superhero action and you've got "Da Vinci's Demons" - a new TV series that portrays the man who painted the "Mona Lisa" like he's never been seen before.

Forget the artist seen in his own self-portrait as a wizened, bearded old man.

The Leonardo of "Da Vinci's Demons" is a fearless, reckless, swashbuckling 25-year-old, who sports 21st century hair gel and an impressive six-pack.

The eight-episode drama, premiering on U.S. cable channel Starz on Friday and around the world later this month, follows the "untold story" of the original Renaissance Man through the eyes of David Goyer, one of the developers of the "Call of Duty" hit videogame franchise.

"I had always had a fascination with da Vinci and I was amazed there had never been a movie specifically about him or a TV show, which strikes me as kind of crazy," Goyer told Reuters.

"I don't know anyone who has ever achieved or mastered all the things that he did. And he was a colorful character. His life was filled with a lot of controversy, which is always good," Goyer said.

And, in a gift for any creative mind, there are few records of what da Vinci was doing, or where he was, between the ages of 28 and 32.

"Those gaps give a creator more permission to invent things. It's a historical fantasy that has a certain element of magical realism to it.

"I also wanted a very modern graphic novel approach, and that extends into costumes, music, visual effects and the way we photographed it," added Goyer, who also co-wrote the stories for Batman movies "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises."

British actor Tom Riley plays da Vinci as a rising artist in 15th century Florence, already designing flying machines, military equipment, flirting with his models, bedding a mistress of the powerful Medici family and embarking on a quest for the mythical "Book of Leaves."

His adventures are played out against intrigue and tension between the ruling Medicis in Florence and Pope Sixtus IV in Rome, with plenty of male and female nudity, sex, murder, plotting and sword-fighting.

The TV series, co-produced with a unit of BBC Worldwide Productions and filmed mostly among the ancient castles of Wales, will be shown on pay channels in 120 nations in April.

It is also expected to become one of the most successful ventures by Starz into original programming after the channel's historical gladiator action franchise, "Spartacus," that began in 2011.

Despite the creative license, Goyer said that many of the events in "Da Vinci's Demons" are based on historical records and that most of the characters really existed.

But he also wanted to inject enjoyment into the story of the sculptor, architect, inventor and anatomist who gave the world iconic masterpieces like "The Last Supper," "Vitruvian Man" and the "Virgin of the Rocks."

"I wanted to make sure it is fun. I hope audiences have a good time. If they decide to learn more about history because of it, that is great as well. I just want TV to be challenging and fun and different," he said.

Starz is a unit of Starz Entertainment.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Marine Police Sgt. Finley Leonce told The Associated Press that the captain and first mate were rescued on Monday around noon by a private boat owner who was helping with the search.

"They were waving their arms," he said. "They were still swimming to shore."

The two men are employees of a local company called "Reel Irie", which owns the 31-foot (9-meter) boat that sank on Sunday off the north coast of St. Lucia while on a fishing trip. Also aboard the boat were Dan Suski, a 30-year-old business owner and information technology expert from San Francisco, and his sister, Kate Suski, a 39-year-old architect from Seattle.

Leonce said authorities picked up the Suskis on Monday near Dauphin Beach on the island's northeast coast. The Suskis told the AP that they swam for nearly 14 hours, reached shore, and then hiked for about three hours the next day until they found a farm worker who called police for help.

All four of the survivors, who had been wearing life jackets, were hospitalized and treated for dehydration and various injuries.

An unidentified man who answered the phone at the "Reel Irie" company on Friday declined to comment. He only said that captain Griffith Frederick and mate Tim Cooper are doing well and that they are not providing interviews.

The boat's make and model were not available. Leonce said police did not have those details.

Leonce said the local weather service had issued a small craft advisory the day the boat sank, meaning that all small boats should remain close to shore.

"The sea conditions were very deplorable," he said.

About four hours into Sunday's fishing trip, the boat began taking on water amid heavy swells.

When authorities received the captain's distress call, they dispatched a boat immediately, but it took 30 minutes to reach their location, Leonce said.

Police also dispatched a helicopter and a small plane, and about nine private boat owners helped in the search, which was called off Sunday night and resumed early Monday, he said.

"Visibility was very poor on Sunday," he said. "The weather conditions were not the best. It was raining intermittently, with sometimes very heavy showers."

A preliminary investigation shows that the boat's bilge system could not handle the amount of water coming in, Leonce said.

"It's a little too early for me to say definitively what happened," said Leonce, adding that foul play has been ruled out.

The retired NASA orbiter, which is set to go on public display June 29 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, was fully revealed Friday (April 26) after workers spent two daysof the past five months.

"It looks fantastic," Tim Macy, director of project development and construction for Delaware North Parks and Resorts, which runs the visitor complex for NASA, said after seeing . "It looks better than I thought it was going to look." []

"It looks completely different with the plastic on it than the plastic off," Macy told collectSPACE.com. "But this is the way it is supposed to look. It looks so much like the [exhibit's conceptual] drawings."

On Thursday,the 16,000 square feet (1,486 square meters) of shrink wrap that protected Atlantis as its $100 million exhibition building was completed around it. By the end of the first day, the shuttle's nose, tail, aft engines and left wing were exposed.

On Friday, the workers completed the process, revealing Atlantis' right wing and its 60-foot-long (18 meter) payload bay.

"I cannot wait to get the covers off the windows and get the doors open to see the final configuration," Macy said.

Opening the payload bay is the last major challenge to ready Atlantis for display, Macy said. That process, which is set to begin in May, will take about two weeks, as the doors are very slowly hoisted open, one by one.

NASA designed the cargo bay to open in the microgravity environment of space. Here on Earth, the hinges cannot support the doors' weight, so lines dropped from the five-story building's roof will be used to hold the doors in place.

Once open, visitors will be able to easily see into the payload bay, given the way that Atlantis has been mounted. Thirty feet (9 meters) in the air, the space shuttle has been tilted 43.21 degrees, such that its left wing extends toward the ground.

The end result is that Atlantis will appear to be back in space an effect that will be enhanced by lighting and a mural-size digital screen that will project the Earth's horizon behind the shuttle.

"It looks great even in the work lights," Macy commented. "Wait until we get the theatrical lights on it and light it the way we're supposed to, have that big screen going on behind it, it's going to be awesome."

to see photo galleries from the two-day process to unwrap space shuttle Atlantis.

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