Here is your Daily Digest for Monday, June 4:
Her majesty’s rock concert…
Queen Elizabeth II’s jubilee will be rockin’ Monday night as a concert kicks off at Buckingham Palace with a line-up of notable performers.
It is hard to predict whether the queen will enjoy the concert after she reportedly brought earplugs to a similar concert a decade ago, The Associated Press said. According to the Guardian newspaper, the only song the queen has ever requested is “Some Enchanted Evening” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific.”
Sir Cliff Richard, who is one of the performers at the palace, said though the queen has supported his music over the years, she would probably rather go and see an opera.
He will be joined on stage by Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Shirley Bassey and Sir Tom Jones as headliners.
As part of the four-day jubilee, more than 4, 200 beacons are being lit. The queen will light the final beacon following the concert.
Beacons will be lit across the Commonwealth, BBC said. Soldiers, students and citizens will all participate in lighting beacons. One beacon will be lit in Kenya at the Treetops Hotel, where Elizabeth was informed of her father’s death in 1952, making her the queen.
“We set out to have 2,012 beacons, which would have been the most ever for this type of occasion,” said Bruno Peek, pageant master of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee beacons.
“To have reached double that figure reflects the national and worldwide respects and affection for the queen and the desire to celebrate her 60-year reign.”
Canadian body parts suspect arrested in Berlin
A 29-year-old Canadian porn actor accused of videotaping a killing and mailing body parts to the country’s top political parties has been arrested in Germany, officials in both countries said.
Luka Rocco Magnotta was found Monday in an internet café in Berlin after a person recognized him and notified police, Berlin police spokeswoman Kerstin Ziesmer said.
Magnotto was wanted by Canadian authorities on first-degree murder and other charges, USA Today said. He is suspected of killing a 33-year-old Chinese university student he dated and mailing the victim’s body parts to Canadian political parties.
Magnotta, 29, fled Canada after the killing, initially heading to Paris, Fox News said.
Police suspect Magnotta filmed the murder. The video, posted online, shows a man stabbing another man with an ice pick while the victim lies naked and tied up. The first man later revealed he slashed the victim’s throat.
An online video also showed a man who looks like Magnotta committing violent acts against kittens. For nearly two years, animal-rights activists have been looking for a man who tortured and killed cats and posted videos of it online.
Police said Magnotta’s birth name is Eric Clinton Newman and he is also known by the name Vladimir Romanov. He is being questioned and will be brought before a judge behind closed-doors who will read out the international arrest warrant letter, Ziesmer said.
Canterbury Park, tribe cut deal to end racino efforts
The Canterbury Park horse-racing track and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community have reached a deal that involves donations and the end of racino legislation efforts, sources said Monday.
Owners of the track in Shakopee have agreed to join forces with the tribe, which operates the nearby Mystic Lake Casino, to block the expansion of gambling in the Twin Cities metro area, including any proposals to build casinos in downtown Minneapolis or the Mall of America, the Star Tribune said.
Tens of millions of dollars will be contributed by the tribe over a 10-year period to track purses in return for Canterbury officials dropping racino legislation efforts. The amounts will increase over the ten years.
The agreement may be signed Monday morning by track officials and tribal leaders at Mystic Lake. It does not include the Running Aces harness track in Anoka County.
Motive for the tribe making such a financial move is the realization that racino legislation would cost the Mdewakanton Sioux more money in the long run, sources said.
With larger race purses, the agreement is expected to significantly enhance the quality of horse races drawn to Canterbury from around the country, the Tribune said.