Some statins, drugs taken to protect the heart, may increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, according to researchers in Canada.
Their study of 1.5 million people, in the British Medical Journal, suggested powerful statins could increase the risk by 22% compared with weaker drugs.
Atorvastatin was linked to one extra case of diabetes for every 160 patients treated.
Experts said the benefits of statins still outweighed any risks.
Powerful statins increase type 2 diabetes risk by 22 percent
Statins are a group of commonly prescribed drugs that lower the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. This reduces the chances of a heart attack or stroke.
A team of researchers from hospitals in Toronto said there had been controversy around the risk of diabetes with different statins.
They looked at medical records of 1.5 million people over the age of 66 and compared the incidence of diabetes between people taking different statins.
Their report said: “We found that patients treated with atorvastatin, rosuvastatin, or simvastatin were at increased risk of new onset diabetes compared with those treated with pravastatin.
“Clinicians should consider this risk when they are contemplating statin treatment for individual patients.
“Preferential use of pravastatin… might be warranted.”
Commenting on the study, Prof. Risto Huupponen and Prof. Jorma Viikari, from the University of Turku, in Finland, said: “The overall benefit of statins still clearly outweighs the potential risk of diabetes.”
However, they said, the different statins should be targeted at the right patients.
They said: “The most potent statins, at least in higher doses, should preferably be reserved for patients who do not respond to low-potency treatment, but have a high total risk of cardiovascular disease.”
Amanda Bynes has been arrested for reckless endangerment after throwing a foot-long b**g out of the window of her 36th floor New York apartment.
The incident came after police arrived to speak to Amanda Bynes about her alleged mar***ana use on Thursday night.
Amanda Bynes, 27, was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation then to a police station for booking for criminal of possession of mar***ana, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence.
Sources told NBC News in New York that police were called by the doorman who reported Amanda Bynes was smoking mar***ana in the lobby of her building on West 47th Street.
Officers responding to the call went to Amanda Bynes’ apartment where sources said they noted a “heavy smell of mar***ana and smoke”.
The officers were allowed inside by Amanda Bynes and when they noticed a b**g – a device used to smoke mar***ana – she allegedly threw it out of the high-rise window in front of the officers.
This led to the further charges. Under New York state law, reckless endangerment occurs when a person creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person.
Nobody was injured by the falling b**g.
Amanda Bynes has been arrested for reckless endangerment after throwing a foot-long b**g out of the window of her 36th floor New York apartment
Following her treatment at Roosevelt Hospital, Amanda Bynes was taken to a Midtown police station where she is expected to spend the night before a Friday court appearance.
Amanda Bynes was photographed in police custody on Thursday night as an officer escorted her out of a police station.
The actress was wearing her platinum blonde hair extensions and a black Versace sweatshirt.
The former Nickelodeon star has been exhibiting erratic behavior of late with some eyebrow-raising public outings and online postings.
Amanda Bynes was also arrested in April 2012 in West Hollywood, California on drunken driving charges after the black BMW she was driving struck a black-and-white Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department patrol vehicle.
She has been on probation for driving on a suspended license related to an incident in Burbank, California in 2012 in which her car was impounded.
TMZ reported earlier this year Amanda Bynes was evicted from her apartment for being a “building nuisance”, as neighbors complained about smelling mar***ana smoke from her abode.
Amanda Bynes moved to the Big Apple to become a fashion designer last year, but the fruits of her labor have yet to surface.
French singer and composer Georges Moustaki, who wrote Edith Piaf’s 1958 hit song, Milord, has died aged 79.
Georges Moustaki, whose real name was Giuseppe Mustacchi, sang in several languages and penned in the region of 300 songs.
Born in Egypt on 3 May 1934, he changed his name in honor of his idol, the French singer Georges Brassens, after he moved to Paris in 1951.
French singer and composer Georges Moustaki, who wrote Edith Piaf’s 1958 hit song, Milord, has died aged 79
Among the French stars who sang Georges Moustaki’s compositions were Yves Montand, Juliette Greco and Pia Colomba.
Georges Moustaki was the son of an immigrant Jewish couple from Greece who settled in Egypt.
He was known for his romantic ballads, his repertoire included songs in French, Italian, English, Greek, Portuguese, Arabic and Spanish.
The song, Milord, was a number-one hit in Germany in 1960.
Milord has been covered by various artists over the years, including Cher, appearing on her second solo album, The Sonny Side of Cher, released in 1966.
Last night the judge declared a mistrial over the sentencing of Jodi Arias after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict over whether or not she should be executed for murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.
The jury was dismissed from the courtroom after spending five months on the case, and while they did decide that Jodi Arias was guilty of the premeditated murder of Travis Alexander, they could not decide whether she should spend life in prison or be put to death.
The next step in the lengthy trial will now come on July 18, when an entirely new jury panel is determined and tasked with delivering the final verdict in the case.
The scene in the Phoenix, Arizona courtroom on Thursday afternoon – when the jury came back to the judge with their inability to agree – was not one of relief.
Jodi Arias herself looked upset and began crying, though not necessarily tears of joy.
Travis Alexander’s siblings, who have been a constant presence throughout and have all uprooted their lives in California to focus on the trial, were all crying as well.
One female juror was at least sympathetic to them, and she was seen mouthing the word “sorry” toward the Alexanders.
Judge Sherry Stephens, who showed some tough love to the jury yesterday, was very complimentary to them today.
“This was not your typical trial. You were asked to perform some very difficult duties,” she said.
The jury began deliberating Tuesday, and on Wednesday afternoon they told the Judge that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Jodi Arias jury cannot decide on death penalty in Travis Alexander murder case and judge declares mistrial
Sherry Stephens ordered the jurors to go back and talk more until they came to a decision, but that was still not enough time as they came back later yesterday afternoon still at an impasse.
The new jury will not have any power to change Jodi Arias’ guilty conviction, and they will be solely tasked with determining how she will “pay” for the first degree murder.
The decision follows a trial that has staggered on for five months over the 2008 sl**ing of Travis Alexander, Jodi Arias’ on-again off-again boyfriend who she killed in his home in 2008. She sta**ed him nearly 30 times, s**t his throat, and shot him.
Even for the most fastidious of court followers who have developed a sense of who Jodi Arias, 32, is over the past five months of the trial, her behavior in the past week has been confusing as she gave conflicting statements about her desire thoughts on a possible death sentence.
Immediately after her guilty verdict was handed down two weeks ago, Jodi Arias granted a local news station an interview where she said that she was “in shock” and that she would rather be given the death penalty as opposed to a life sentence in prison.
Speaking to the local Fox affiliate KSAZ, Jodi Arias said that she would “prefer to die sooner than later”.
“Longevity runs in my family, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my natural life in one place. I’m pretty healthy, I don’t smoke and I’ll probably live for a long time so that’s not something that I am looking forward to.
“I believe death is the ultimate freedom and I’d rather have my freedom as soon as I can get it.”
Those comments prompted courthouse officials to order that Jodi Arias will be placed in a psychological hold and on suicide watch, which inevitably delayed the second portion of the sentencing- where jurors were forced to decide if the murder was especially aggressive.
During the ensuing testimony, called the aggravation portion of the trial, jurors heard from both sides who were able to call witnesses arguing that she should and shouldn’t be forced to die, respectively.
When Jodi Arias addressed the court in her own defense, she pledged, if allowed to live, to donate her hair to cancer patients and start a prison recycling program.
“I have made many public statements that I would prefer the death penalty to life in prison,” Jodi Arias told jurors.
“In each of those cases, I lacked perspective,” she said.
“Until very recently I could not imagine standing before you all and asking for you to give me life,” Jodi Arias said.
“But as I stand here now I cannot in good conscience ask you to sentence me to death.”
A Psy impersonator duped organizers and celebrities at Cannes Film Festival.
The Psy imposter managed to sneak into several A-list parties and other exclusive venues over the course of two days earlier this week until finally being discovered yesterday when the real Psy appeared on US talk show Live with Michael and Kelly, which is filmed in New York City.
The impersonator reportedly scammed free drinks and bottle service while lunching at the Torch Beach Club, a hotspot which has been frequented by Justin Timberlake and Mark Ronson during their time in Cannes, and was even surrounded by three security guards, according to the New York Post newspaper.
Among the celebrities duped by Psy impostor was Skyfall actress Naomie Harris
Later, the man partied at an A-list bash hosted by socialite Goga Ashkenazi at Château Garibondy, where the guest list included Trance actress Rosario Dawson and supermodel Karolina Kurkova.
While the fake Psy was enjoying the luxury on offer in Cannes, the real Gangnam Style hitmaker attended the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday and later jetted to New York City to film a TV appearance.
Acknowledging his trouble-making doppelganger, Psy wrote on Twitter: “Seems like there’s another ME at Cannes…say Hi to him.”
Among the celebrities duped by the impostor were Skyfall actress Naomie Harris, who thought she had met Psy at a party thrown by Chopard on Tuesday, and tweeted a snap of them together.
Princess Charlene of Monaco boarded designer Roberto Cavalli’s yacht in Cannes on Wednesday evening as the designer invited a number of big names to let their hair down for the night.
Princess Charlene, 35, ensured she fitted in with the A list crowd by turning up in a stylish number.
She opted for a sleek black trouser suit with wide legs and a stylish blazer for the outing.
The princess even dared to flash some flesh with the plunging cut, while she wore her hair to the side in a sleek fashion.
To complete her look Princess Charlene carried a green clutch bag to give the ensemble a flash of color.
Obviously happy to be on the guest list, she grinned widely as she made her entrance on the boat
And once aboard she truly came into her own, happily mingling with the stars and even taking pictures with them.
Princess Charlene of Monaco boarded designer Roberto Cavalli’s yacht in Cannes
Princess Charlene even got the chance to chat to actress Sharon Stone, who she photographed during the evening as they chatted amongst themselves.
Throughout the rest of the night she was spotted chatting and giggling to pals at the bash as she managed to fit in with the prestigious guests.
While on board Princess Charlene would have also rubbed shoulders with the likes of Uma Thurman, Paris Hilton, Kylie Minogue and Adrien Brody, who all happily arrived at the yacht ready to party for the evening.
Earlier on in the night Princess Charlene had mingled at another event, where she posed for photographs alongside Julian Lennon.
Princess Charlene and Julian Lennon were at the exclusive LOVA World Images Exhibition, which showcased twenty photographs donated by five world class photographers, including Lennon, the Grammy Nominated Director and Wildlife/Fashion Photographer Kristian Schmidt and Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran to raise funds for The Lovaganza Foundation.
Following the LOVA World Images exhibition, a VIP beach party closed the bash at the Baoli Beach Club.
Other guests included the likes of Rick Yune, Kimberly Garner, Sid Owen and Julie Henderson.
US President Barack Obama has defended the use of drones in a “just war” of self-defense against deadly militants and a campaign that had made America safer.
In a wide-ranging speech on a programme shrouded in secrecy, Barack Obama said there must be “near certainty” that no civilians would die in such strikes.
In a renewed push to shut Guantanamo Bay, the president said he had lifted a moratorium on prisoner transfers to Yemen.
Barack Obama also defended the use of drones to kill four US citizens.
“We are at war with an organization that right now would kill as many Americans as they could if we did not stop them first,” he said in Thursday’s address at the National Defense University in Washington DC.
“So this is a just war – a war waged proportionally, in last resort, and in self-defense.”
He added: “And yet as our fight enters a new phase, America’s legitimate claim of self-defense cannot be the end of the discussion. To say a military tactic is legal, or even effective, is not to say it is wise or moral in every instance.”
Declaring America at a “crossroads” in its efforts to combat militancy, Barack Obama also said his administration would be willing to accept increased oversight of drone strikes outside war zones like Afghanistan.
Human rights groups have long condemned the use of unmanned drones to carry out killings.
Barack Obama warned that a “perpetual” US war on terror, whether through drone strikes, special forces operations or troop deployments, would be “self-defeating”.
In a Republican rebuttal later, Senator John McCain argued the US remained at war with al-Qaeda.
“Al-Qaeda will be with us for a long time,” John McCain said.
Barack Obama has defended the use of drones in a “just war” of self-defense against deadly militants and a campaign that had made America safer
As the president addressed efforts to close the detention centre at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he was interrupted by a protester shouting about the current hunger strike at the prison.
“I’m willing to cut the young lady who interrupted me some slack because it’s worth being passionate about,” he said.
Barack Obama told his audience: “Guantanamo has become a symbol around the world for an America that flouts the rule of law.”
The Democratic president made shutting the prison a top priority at the beginning of his first term, but his effort foundered amid strong bipartisan opposition in Congress.
Calling on Congress not to block his efforts to transfer the facility’s inmates to American high-security jails, he added: “No person has ever escaped from one of our super-max or military prisons in the United States.”
Barack Obama said he was appointing envoys from the defense and state departments to negotiate transfers of detainees to other countries, and said he would lift a moratorium on transfers to Yemen.
After the speech, Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss told reporters Barack Obama was wrong to lift the Yemen moratorium because Yemeni authorities could not be trusted to “handle them”.
“We’ve got 166 of the meanest nastiest killers in the world located at Guantanamo Bay today,” he said.
“If we were to transfer them to Yemen, it would be just like turning them loose. We should try those individuals at Guantanamo in the courtrooms and then make a decision about what to do with them.”
Meanwhile, Yemen welcomed the move, a spokesman at the country’s Washington embassy said.
Barack Obama’s speech coincides with the signing of new “presidential policy guidance” on when drone strikes can be used, the White House said.
The policy document curtails the circumstances in which drones can be used in places that are not overt war zones, such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.
In an outline of the new policy released to the news media, the administration said it preferred to capture terrorist suspects, with drone strikes used only amid a “continuing, imminent threat” to the US.
Beyond that, the administration listed criteria for the approval of a drone strike:
“Near certainty” the target was present and that civilians would not be injured or killed
Capture would not be feasible
Authorities of the country in question could not or would not address the threat
No other reasonable alternatives were available
On Wednesday, the US disclosed that four Americans had been killed in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan since 2011, marking the first formal public acknowledgement of the US citizen deaths in drone strikes.
In a letter to the Senate judiciary committee, US Attorney General Eric Holder defended the targeted killing in 2011 of Anwar al-Awlaki, whom he described as a “senior operational leader” of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Anwar al-Awlaki, who was born in the US state of New Mexico, was killed in a missile strike from an unmanned plane in Yemen in September 2011 along with Samir Khan, a naturalized US citizen who produced an online al-Qaeda magazine.
Anwar al-Awlaki’s 16-year-old son Abdulrahman, born in Colorado, was killed in Yemen a month later.
Eric Holder also confirmed Jude Kenan Mohammad, a North Carolina resident, had been killed in a drone strike. He is thought to have died in a strike in November 2011 in Pakistan’s South Waziristan region.
Eric Holder said only Awlaki had been “specifically targeted and killed”, and that the other men “were not specifically targeted by the United States”.
A De Grisogono necklace reportedly worth 1.9 million euros has been stolen during the Cannes film festival, in the second such theft to hit this year’s event.
The expensive piece by Swiss jeweller De Grisogono vanished after a celebrity party at a five-star hotel in the resort town of Cap d’Antibes.
The theft occurred despite “large security measures”, including 80 security guards, the jeweller said.
Last week, thieves ripped a safe with jewels from the wall of a hotel room.
The latest robbery happened after an exclusive gala held at the exclusive Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Tuesday night.
The high-profile event celebrated De Grisogono’s 20th anniversary, and was attended by international movie stars like Sharon Stone and Ornella Muti.
The expensive piece by Swiss jeweller De Grisogono vanished after a celebrity party at a five-star hotel in the resort town of Cap d’Antibes
The jeweller house regularly loans its jewels to celebrities, including Paris Hilton and Cameron Diaz.
“It is actually the first time it has happened in our 20-year history,” the company said in a statement.
It added that the theft occurred “despite the large security measures set in place: over 80 security guards plus police”.
Last Friday, thieves stole jewels by Swiss jewellers Chopard from the Novotel hotel.
The precious goods were worth more than 770,000 euros.
Chopard is an official sponsor of the festival and also makes its top award, the Palme d’Or. But the trophy was not among the stolen items.
At least two apartments rented by film executives have also been burgled during the festival, according to the AFP news agency.
Michael Adebolajo, 28, and an unnamed accomplice are believed to have knocked off duty Drummer Lee Rigby down with a Vauxhall Tigra as he walked back to the Woolwich Barracks at 2.20 p.m. yesterday, crushing his body against a road sign.
Government sources confirmed that the names of both suspects were on a list maintained by the security services, but stressed it was unclear what level of surveillance they were under.
The blood-soaked man identified as Michael Adebolajo, who was still holding a number of weapons in his red-stained hands, then ranted on camera in a clear London accent saying: “You people will never be safe” before telling a passer-by they had not fled because they were waiting to “shoot the police”.
Within 20 minutes armed officers arrived and the fundamentalists charged at them wielding firearms, knives and a machete.
Police opened fire, shooting six bullets, leaving one seriously injured. The pair remain under armed guard in two separate London hospitals.
Police today defended their response to the killing after eyewitnesses claimed they took up to 20 minutes to arrive at the scene.
Assistant Commissioner Simon Byrne, said: “One point I would like to address is around some of the speculation as to how long it took the Met to respond yesterday as this incident started to unfold.
“We first received a 999 call from the public at 2.20 p.m. stating a man was being attacked, further 999 calls stated that the attackers were in possession of a gun. We had officers at the scene within nine minutes of receiving that first 999 call.
Michael Adebolajo named as suspect over Lee Rigby killing in Woolwich attack
“Once that information about a gun or guns being present was known firearms officers were assigned at 2.24 p.m. Firearms officers were there and dealing with the incident 10 minutes after they were assigned, 14 minutes after the first call to the Met.”
Police were today seen outside a detached house in a Lincolnshire village where they raided a home where Michael Adebolajo is listed as having lived in the past.
There was no answer at the address believed to be that of Michael Adebolajo’s father, named by neighbors as Anthony Adebolajo.
Michael Adebolajo was born in Lambeth, south London, in 1985 to a Christian family of Nigerian descent.
At the age of 15 or 16 he started getting involved in Islam and started to speak about Jihadi ideas.
Michael Adebolajo joined several extremist groups – including Al Muhajiroun – that were banned in Britain and in 2003 converted to Islam, calling himself Mujaheed while at Marshalls Park School.
Fearing he had become radicalized, his parents moved him away from Romford to a village in Lincolnshire.
Michael Adebolajo then went to university in Greenwich, living in Eltham while he was a student.
A former friend told the Evening Standard that Michael Adebolajo was a Christian.
The friend said: “He started getting involved with Islam aged about 15 or 16, and that is why his parents moved him away out of the area. It is utterly shocking to see what he has done. It’s unbelievable.”
The security services, including MI5, were aware of him and his accomplice, who has not been named but is believed to be from Harold Hill, close to Romford.
Drummer Lee Rigby of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is the soldier killed in the London machete attack near Woolwich Barracks.
Lee Rigby, 25, from Manchester, leaves behind a two-year-old son.
Two men are under arrest in hospital after police shot them near Woolwich Barracks on Wednesday afternoon, in the aftermath of the attack.
The suspects, believed to include Michael Adebolajo, were known to security services, sources have said.
The victim’s name was announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) pending formal police identification.
“An extremely popular and witty soldier, Drummer Rigby was a larger than life personality within the Corps of Drums and was well known, liked and respected across the Second Fusiliers,” the MoD statement said.
“He was a passionate and life-long Manchester United fan.”
Lee Rigby had joined the Army in 2006, and is described as a “loving father to his son Jack” and someone who would be “sorely missed by all who knew him”.
He had taken up a post with the Regimental Recruiting Team in London in 2011.
“An experienced and talented side drummer and machine gunner, he was a true warrior and served with distinction in Afghanistan, Germany and Cyprus,” said 2nd Fusiliers commanding officer Lt Col Jim Taylor.
“His ability, talent and personality made him a natural choice to work in the recruiting group.”
Drummer Lee Rigby of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is the soldier killed in the London machete attack near Woolwich Barracks
Capt. Alan Williamson said: “Drummer Rigby or <<Rigger>>’ as he was known within the platoon was a cheeky and humorous man, always there with a joke to brighten the mood.”
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: “This was a senseless murder of a soldier who has served the Army faithfully in a variety of roles including operational tours in Afghanistan.
“Our thoughts today are with his family and loved ones who are trying to come to terms with this terrible loss.”
Speaking earlier outside 10 Downing Street, PM David Cameron said the attacks were “solely and purely” the responsibility of the individuals involved.
Philip Hammond was asked if the attack showed how vulnerable soldiers were, whether they were in uniform or not.
He replied: “I think it reminds us how vulnerable we all are, but it also reminds us, by the response of the public, that we are not going to be cowed by this kind of terrorist action.”
Chief of Defence Staff General Sir David Richards said: “It’s always a tragedy, it’s particularly poignant that it happened on the streets of this capital city of ours.
“We’re absolutely determined not to be intimated into not doing the right thing – whether it’s here in this country or in Afghanistan or wherever we seek to serve the nation.”
Security at Woolwich Barracks and others in London has been increased, and Gen. David Richards said: “I’m confident that base security is as tight as it’s every been, and necessarily so.
“It’s a very difficult balancing act. We are very proud of the uniform we wear, we have huge support around the country, this is a completely isolated incident.”
Shortly after the killing a man, thought to be 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo, was filmed by a passer-by, saying he carried out the attack because British soldiers killed Muslims every day.
Sources said reports the men had featured in “several investigations” in recent years – but were not deemed to be planning an attack – “were not inaccurate”.
It appears that Michael Adebolajo, a Briton of Nigerian descent, comes from a devout Christian family but took up Islam after leaving college in 2001.
Since British forces intervened in Iraq and Afghanistan, they and their families have been well aware they might be targets at home.
At least two plots by Islamist extremists to kill soldiers in the UK have been foiled in recent years.
Abdul-Baki Todashev, father of a Chechen immigrant Ibragim Todashev, who was shot dead by an FBI agent while being questioned about his ties to Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, said Thursday that he regrets allowing his son to go to the U.S.
Ibragim Todashev, 27, was a mixed martial arts fighter who had trained with Tamerlan Tsarnaev in Boston, and his father said they had bonded because of their shared interests and heritage as Chechens from southern Russia.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a shootout with police days after the April 15 terrorist attack.
Ibragim Todashev was killed Wednesday after an altercation with an FBI agent during a meeting with the agent and two Massachusetts state troopers at his home in central Florida. Law enforcement officers say that during the meeting, he had implicated himself in an unsolved 2011 triple murder.
Abdul-Baki Todashev said he was worried that with his son was dead, the FBI could now pin any crime on him.
“Out of fear of the lawlessness in Chechnya, I sent him to the U.S., because it seemed like the safest country at the time,” the distraught father told the Associated Press.
“Now I’m thinking about how to bring home his body. As it turns out I sent him to his death.”
Abdul-Baki Todashev said his son Ibragim, who has a previous arrest for aggravated battery after he left a man unconscious following a fight over a park spot, is “not capable” of killing anyone.
“There is a clear picture emerging that this is all fabricated,” Abdul-Baki Todashev told the Boston Globe.
“They killed my son and then they made up a reason to explain it.”
Friends and family members of the 2011 murder victims reacted to news of Ibragim Todashev’s alleged confession on social media.
On a Facebook memorial for victim Raphael Teken, the moderator of the page wrote: “Whether we ever know exactly what happened, there is one thing we surely know and that is that Rafi deserved a much better fate.
“He was funny, kind, joyful and generous.
“All of us that knew him knew [his death] couldn’t have been about anything he did, but are now horrified by what it may have been about.”
Facebook user Tony Porter wrote: “I’m disappointed that we will never really get to experience true justice for our friend or know the reasons for what happened despite the fact that both alleged suspects are now deceased.
“I don’t know how you are supposed to feel when your friend’s killer gets killed, but I don’t feel <<relieved>> like I thought I would.”
Moderators of a Facebook memorial for victim Erik Weissman wrote: “Hoping for some closure” and posted a photo of him with the caption: “Forever young, forever beautiful, forever in our hearts.”
Ibragim Todashev was shot dead by an FBI agent while being questioned about his ties to Boston suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev
A friend who said he went to high school with Erik Weissman commented: “That playful grin is the Erik that will live on in my memory… Let’s hope [this] represents at least a small step towards some kind of <<closure>> – if that even exits – for his nearest and dearest.”
Ibragim Todashev’s estranged wife, Reniya Manukyan, denied her husband’s alleged involvement in the 2011 triple murder, but she noted that he did travel back to Boston in the summer of that year.
“He wasn’t involved. So he was not even nervous [to talk with the FBI].”
Reniya Manukyan and her husband separated in November. She said they lived in Atlanta before moving to Orlando in late 2011.
She also said that agents had questioned her several times and even stopped her at the airport when she returned from a trip to Chechnya several weeks after the Boston bombings.
Abdul-Baki Todashev said his son – the second of 12 children – was at university when he got an opportunity to go to the U.S. to study English about five or six years ago. He said he later agreed to his son’s request to remain in the U.S. “because it seemed like the safest country”.
Chechnya has been ravaged by two wars between separatist fighters and Russian federal troops since 1994, and remains troubled by periodic outbreaks of violence. The family’s red-brick house on the outskirts of Grozny, the Chechen capital, still bears the marks of shrapnel.
Abdul-Baki Todashev said his son gave up martial arts because of an injury and later held a number of jobs, including as a driver at a retirement home, before moving to Florida within the last year. The father said Ibragim had planned to come to Chechnya this week to visit his extended family, but was asked by the FBI to delay his trip.
Abdul-Baki Todashev said he had learned of his son’s death from a phone call from one of his son’s friends, who also had been questioned by the FBI. He said the friend, whom he didn’t name, told him that both of them had been pressured to confess to the murders, but that they were innocent.
The FBI gave no details on why it was interested in Ibragim Todashev except to say that he was being questioned as part of the Boston investigation. However, two officials briefed on the investigation said he had implicated himself as having been involved in a 2011 triple murder in a Boston suburb; investigators now suspect that Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have been involved in the unsolved crime.
Law enforcement officials believe, partly based on Ibragim Todashev’s alleged confession, that Todashev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev carried out the 2011 killings after a drug deal turned violent. The suspects didn’t want the three victims to be able to identify them, so they s**t their throats, sources told NBC.
Authorities had gone to Ibragim Todashev’s home late Tuesday with evidence suggesting that Todashev, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and Tsarnaev’s younger brother, Dzhokhar, were involved in the 2011 killings, according to reports.
No suspects had been arrested in that case, in which three men were found in an apartment in Waltham, Massachusetts on the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks with their throats cut and marijuana covering their bodies.
Massachusetts investigators had reported earlier this month that they were uncovering “mounting evidence” that Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, were involved in the sl**ing. One of the victims, Brendan Mess, was a close friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s.
Authorities said they have no reason to believe that Ibragim Todashev had any involvement in the Boston Marathon bombings.
The FBI has been investigating Ibragim Todashev for the last month, questioning him several times regarding his ties to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed by police in a shootout following the deadly April 15 marathon bombings. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, has been charged in connection with the bombings and is being held at a prison medical center outside Boston.
Khusen Taramov, a friend of Ibragim Todashev’s, confirmed that Todashev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev knew each other. He said they had been in contact via phone or Skype about a week before the bombings.
Ibragim Todashev was arrested in an unrelated incident on May 4 for aggravated battery after he left a man unconscious in the parking lot of a shopping mall.
Troubled starlet Amanda Bynes was stopped from boarding a private jet this weekend for not having the correct identification.
Amanda Bynes’ driving license had been suspended and she had no other form of ID so she told the pilot to search her name on Google to prove who she was.
Witnesses at Teterboro Airport where the incident that took place said it occurred on Sunday for a flight to Los Angeles from New Jersey.
According toTMZ, the pilot had to check every passenger’s IDs but Amanda Bynes had no official government identification on her.
Amanda Bynes was then informed that per TSA regulations she would not be able to fly without it, at which point the actress directed the Google, with sources reporting that she screamed: “I’m Amanda Bynes!”
Amanda Bynes was stopped from boarding a private jet this weekend for not having the correct identification
The pilot then reportedly called a representative from the airline to see if they could allow the faded starlet onto the flight, but the jet company was adamant that no special treatment was to be given.
This latest incident comes off the back of reports that she was spotted smoking what appeared to be ma***uana as she strolled around New York City last month.
And, two men, including a photographer by the name of Giovanni Arnold and another who would go only go by the name of “Joe”, claim to In Touch magazine that they witnessed the actress smoke mar**uana as she sat on top of a bare mattress in her bedroom.
But Amanda Bynes has jumped to her own defense, tweeting on Wednesday night: “That’s not my bed! Those aren’t my toes! My toes are pedicured!”
Kim Kardashian revealed in a recent interview that she has struggled to maintain her body confidence throughout her pregnancy, but one thing she doesn’t want to lose when she gives birth is her boosted pout.
Kim Kardashian, 32, shared a picture of her plumped up lips on Twitter on Tuesday, writing: “My pregnancy lips are outta control #IGuessNotABadProblemToHave.”
The image showed Kim Kardashian pouting her lipgloss covered lips at the camera.
It’s not the first time Kim Kardashian’s enhanced pout has been noticed by her fans. In March, the reality star shared a video on her Keek page which immediately sparked speculation among her fanbase.
One viewer wrote: “Why do your lips look 10x bigger than usual?”
Another added: “Not trying to be mean just worried about her. She looked swollen in this keek.sry if I hurt ur feelings.!!”
However, a further viewer contended: “The reason she’s so swollen is because she’s pregnant. She is one of the most beautiful women in the world.”
Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian has once again spoken about her pregnancy curves, insisting that she chooses outfits for comfort rather than style.
Kim Kardashian shares a picture of her plumped-up pout
The reality star said: “It’s funny because people comment saying, <<Don’t wear tight things>>, but anyone who has been pregnant knows it feels so secure being held in, and wearing something tight and supportive.”
Kim Kardashian is currently in Paris, France, visiting her boyfriend Kanye West alongside her mother Kris Jenner.
While jetsetting has been a regular part of Kim Kardashian’s schedule throughout her pregnancy, she revealed that the trip to France will be her last flight before she welcomes her child into the world.
Kim Kardashian wrote on her blog: “My final trip before I can’t fly anymore! My mom and I flew to Paris to soak in the amazingness Paris has to offer before I can’t travel anymore!
“We were doing some baby shopping and checking on our place here before heading to LA for a while.”
Members of jury for the Jodi Arias court case were sent home at 4.30 p.m. local time after spending the entire day deliberating whether or not they should sentence the convicted murderer to death or to spend her life in prison.
Earlier in the day on Wednesday the jury returned to the courtroom after deliberating for two and a half hours saying that they were unable to reach a unanimous decision, but that did not sit well with Judge Sherry Stephens.
Sherry Stephens ordered the jurors to go back and talk more until they came to a decision.
The rest of the afternoon was not enough, however, as they were sent home and ordered to return at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
There are three options going forward: they will either decide to sentence 32-year-old Jodi Arias to death, or to sentence her to spend her life in prison with the prospect of parole after 25 years. The third option would be if they fail to unanimously agree on those two sentences, making them a hung jury.
In that case, the judge will be forced to declare a mistrial and a new jury will be picked.
The new jury will not have any power to change her guilty conviction, and they will be solely tasked with determining how Jodi Arias will “pay” for the first degree murder.
The decision follows a trial that has staggered on for five months over the 2008 slaying of Travis Alexander, Jodi Arias’ on-again off-again boyfriend who she killed in his home in 2008. She sta**ed him nearly 30 times, s**t his throat, and shot him.
Even for the most fastidious of court followers who have developed a sense of who Jodi Arias is over the past five months of the trial, her behavior in the past week has been confusing as she gave conflicting statements about her desire thoughts on a possible death sentence.
Immediately after her guilty verdict was handed down two weeks ago, Jodi Arias granted a local news station an interview where she said that she was “in shock” and that she would rather be given the death penalty as opposed to a life sentence in prison.
Members of jury for the Jodi Arias court case were sent home after spending the entire day deliberating whether or not they should sentence her to death or to spend her life in prison
Speaking to the local Fox affiliate KSAZ, Jodi Arias said that she would “prefer to die sooner than later”.
“Longevity runs in my family, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my natural life in one place. I’m pretty healthy, I don’t smoke and I’ll probably live for a long time so that’s not something that I am looking forward to.
“I believe death is the ultimate freedom and I’d rather have my freedom as soon as I can get it.”
Those comments prompted courthouse officials to order that Jodi Arias be placed in a psychological hold and on suicide watch, which inevitably delayed the second portion of the sentencing- where jurors were forced to decide if the murder was especially aggressive.
During the ensuing testimony, called the aggravation portion of the trial, jurors heard from both sides who were able to call witnesses arguing that she should and shouldn’t be forced to die, respectively.
When she addressed the court in her own defense, Jodi Arias pledged, if allowed to live, to donate her hair to cancer patients and start a prison recycling program.
“I have made many public statements that I would prefer the death penalty to life in prison,” Jodi Arias told jurors.
“In each of those cases, I lacked perspective,” she said.
“Until very recently I could not imagine standing before you all and asking for you to give me life,” she said.
“But as I stand here now I cannot in good conscience ask you to sentence me to death.”
Jodi Arias made the statements as she tried desperately to humanize herself to jurors by sharing childhood photographs, talking about her “red-headed stage” and displaying the drawings she has created while in prison.
She followed up her case with a surprise jailhouse interview on Tuesday where she placed blame on her legal team.
The most emotional portions of the entire trial came last week, when Travis Alexander’s siblings told the court how their lives have been wrecked in the wake of their brother’s brutal murder.
The victim’s brother Stephen Alexander told how he has since been put on several different antidepressants, had to have several hospitalizations for his ulcers, and frequently wakes up in the middle of the night with vivid nightmares.
His sister Samantha told the court that even though she has been a police officer in California for 11 years, the photos of her brother’s crime scene were by far the most gra**ic she has ever seen.
They both said how difficult it was for them to see his murderer in court and on her many television appearances, so the judges’ move to force the jury to a decision deadline may be in light of the victim’s family’s wishes.
Jodi Arias tearfully pleaded with jurors to spare her from a death sentence in Travis Alexander murder case on Tuesday during a bizarre 25-minute testimony in which she pledged, if allowed to live, to donate her hair to cancer patients and start a prison recycling program.
“I have made many public statements that I would prefer the death penalty to life in prison,” Jodi Arias told jurors.
“In each of those cases, I lacked perspective,” she said.
“Until very recently I could not imagine standing before you all and asking for you to give me life,” she said.
“But as I stand here now I cannot in good conscience ask you to sentence me to death.”
Jodi Arias, 32, made the statements as she tried desperately to humanize herself to jurors by sharing childhood photographs, talking about her “red-headed stage” and displaying the drawings she has created while in prison.
Jodi Arias was found guilty earlier this month in the premeditated murder of Travis Alexander, whose body was found slumped in the shower of his Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He had been st**bed multiple times, had his throat sla**ed and been shot in the face.
“This is the worst mistake of my life,” Jodi Arias said.
“It’s the worst thing I have ever done…Before that day I wouldn’t even want to harm a spider.”
Listing ways that she could contribute positively from prison, Jodi Arias promised to teach women how to speak Spanish and to help improve literacy among inmates, as well as start a book club.
Jodi Arias also noted that she has avoided looking at Travis Alexander’s family during the trial.
“It’s never been my intention to throw mud on Travis’s name,” she said.
Jodi Arias tearfully pleaded with jurors to spare her from a death sentence in Travis Alexander murder case during a bizarre 25-minute testimony
“I loved Travis and I looked up to him. At one point, he was the world to me.”
Jodi Arias choked up as she spoke about the impact of her crime on her own family, saying they would be destroyed if she was sentenced to death.
“I want everyone’s healing to begin and everyone’s pain to stop,” she said. She also grew emotional while talking about her the fact that she will never be able to have children as a result of her actions.
“I’m not going to have children of my own,” she said.
“I’m not going to become a mother. Because of my own terrible choices, I’ve had to lay that dream to rest.”
In closing statements later Tuesday, Defense attorney Jennifer Willmott asked the jury to consider that “people are far better than their very worst deed”.
Jennifer Willmott claimed that Jodi Arias’ personality disorder and alleged emotional abuse that she observed between her mother and father “is in no way an excuse for killing [Travis Alexander]”, but they could have contributed to her crime and should therefore be considered when weighing the death penalty.
“While what she did was absolutely horrible, you have convicted her of that,” Jennifer Willmott said.
“Two wrongs do not make a right.”
“Jodi can still contribute to this world. Her life still has value,” she continued.
“We are asking you to find that Jodi’s life is worth saving.”
Prosecutor Juan Martinez followed up Jennifer Willmott by showing jurors a photograph of Travis Alexander’s bl***ied body from the scene of the murder.
The image caused a physical reaction among members of Travis Alexander’s family who were present, with several turning their heads, shielding their eyes and letting out sobs.
“Travis Alexander was 30 years old [when he was murdered],” Juan Martinez said.
“He’s still today 30 years old, because of her.”
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens had on Monday denied requests by the defense for a mistrial and to withdraw from the case. She also denied a motion for a stay to give the defense time to appeal her decisions to the Arizona Supreme Court. The defense said it would not call any more witnesses.
The jury that convicted Jodi Arias of murder found last week she had acted with extreme cruelty and ruled her eligible for the death penalty.
The murder trial has featured testimony and photographs as well as a s** tape and became a sensation on cable television news with the tale of an attractive, young woman charged with an unthinkable crime.
Jodi Arias has said she shot Travis Alexander with his own pistol when he attacked her in a rage because she dropped his camera while taking snapshots of him in the shower. She said she did not remember sta**ing him.
Juan Martinez said Jodi Arias had repeatedly sta**ed Travis Alexander for two minutes as he tried to escape from the bathroom. She then followed the bleeding victim down a hallway and sla**ed his throat when he was too weak to get away.
Travis Alexander, a 30-year-old businessman and motivational speaker with whom Jodi Arias said she was having an on-again, off-again affair, knew he was going to die and was unable to resist his attacker at that point, Juan Martinez said.
Michelle Robinson, the future first lady of the United States, may have dated Treasury Department Inspector General J. Russell George at Harvard Law School, a new report claims.
J. Russell George, 49, has testified in two congressional hearings about the IRS’s unethical targeting of conservative organizations with special scrutiny after they applied for tax-exempt status.
The revelation of a previous link to Michelle Obama came in a lengthy interview with J. Russell George – published a week after the IRS scandal was brought to light.
Michelle Obama has never spoken publicly about her boyfriends during the years before she met Barack Obama – the future president – at a Chicago law firm where they were both associates.
J. Russell George and Michelle Obama, then Michelle Robinson, graduated together from the university in 1988.
He told the National Journal that the two shared social circles at Harvard, and were both active in the Black Law Students Association.
But Virginia Republican Rep Tom Davis, who worked with J. Russell George as staff director of the House Oversight committee in the late 1990s and early 200s – the same committee that questioned George on Wednesday, said the relationship was more than just friendly.
“I think he actually dated Michelle at one point,” Tom Davis told National Journal.
Pressed about his purported love interest from a quarter-century ago, J. Russell George said that conclusion “is overstating it”.
“Michelle was a lovely person, and down to earth,” he said, recalling times when Black Law Student Association members “went out for pizza; we would go out together”.
Michelle Robinson, the future first lady of the US, may have dated Treasury Department Inspector General J. Russell George at Harvard Law School
“Don’t get me in trouble,” J. Russell George told the Washington newspaper, after “pausing for a beat”.
From Harvard, the future Michelle Obama got a job at a law firm in Chicago, one of just 14 black lawyers in an office of hundreds.
It is at that firm of Sidley & Austin that she met Barack Obama, who arrived as a summer associate in 1988.
For their first date in 1989, Barack Obama took her to the Art Institute of Chicago and to see the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing.
After stopping for ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, the two shared their first kiss. A plaque now marks the location.
Barack and Michelle Obama married in 1992 at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
J. Russell George, who was born in New York City, attended Harvard Law in between stints working for then-Senator Bob Dole of Kansas and serving in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, both Republicans.
In 1995, he returned to Washington for good after he took a job at Committee on Government Reform, among other high-profile positions in government.
J. Russell George was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service before moving on to his current post in 2004.
Michelle Obama’s time at the prestigious Cambridge, Massachusetts law school put her squarely in the middle of the nationwide debates raging about race politics in the 1980s.
During her final year at Harvard, Michelle Robinson wrote an article for the Black Law Students Association’s newsletter in which she argued that the school was perpetuating “racist and sexist stereotypes” because it wasn’t hiring enough minority law professors based on the color of their skin.
The Daily Caller first reported on the essay, in which Michelle Robinson wrote that hiring on the sole basis of merit, instead of recruiting according to affirmative-action principles, “serve[d] to legitimize students” tendencies to distrust certain types of teaching that do not resemble the traditional images’ of law school.
The future first lady lauded the teaching styles of liberal academics Martha Minow and Charles Ogletree, who ignored the traditional question-and-answer “Socratic method” in favor of other habits.
She also praised critical race theory, the idea that powerful groups of people – including Caucasians – use the law as an instrument to oppress the powerless, including blacks.
Michelle Obama also wrote a message for the Harvard Law School’s yearbook in which she called for greater civility in American society.
“After three years,” wrote the graduating lawyer-to-be.
“I continue to be struck by the tremendous talent and energy among HLS students and faculty.
“The diversity of campus life challenges all of us to question our assumptions, listen to other viewpoints, and articulate our values in a spirit of mutual respect and tolerance.”
Thousands of mourners are attending the funeral of renowned author Chinua Achebe in his Nigerian home town of Ogidi in Anambra state.
Chinua Achebe’s body arrived back in Nigeria on Wednesday from the US, where he died in March at the age of 82.
Relatives and officials were at Enugu airport in southern Nigeria as the coffin was lowered from the plane.
Chinua Achebe is widely regarded as the founding father of African literature in English.
His 1958 debut novel, Things Fall Apart, which dealt with the impact of colonialism in Africa, has sold more than 10 million copies.
Writer and academic Chinua Achebe went on to write more than 20 works – some fiercely critical of politicians and what he described as a failure of leadership in Nigeria.
He had been living in the US since 1990 after a car crash left him partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair, returning to Nigeria infrequently.
Thousands of mourners are attending the funeral of renowned author Chinua Achebe in his Nigerian home town of Ogidi in Anambra state
Chinua Achebe is being given a colorful, grand send off in his home town of Ogidi.
Much of what he abhorred is on full display at the service – political patronage and the trappings of power, he says.
Local politicians were escorted into the church by men from the State Security Service wielding sophisticated weapons while a large number of men and women came dressed head to toe in political party outfits.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan and Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama flew in by helicopter to attend the service at the packed Anglican church in Ogidi.
Thousands of mourners are following proceedings from huge marquees erected outside.
Although people are mourning, the life of the influential Nigerian writer is also being celebrated, our reporter says.
“I left my house in Asaba [a nearby city] at 05:00 this morning in order to pay my last respects for this illustrious son of Nigeria who has done his people proud,” said Sylvanus John, a 31-year-old engineer, AFP news agency reports.
Chinua Achebe’s body will be buried near his family’s home in Ogidi, a small town in the hills of Anambra state, later on Thursday.
Christine Lagarde has arrived at a court in Paris for questioning over a payout to controversial tycoon Bernard Tapie during her time as finance minister.
The IMF chief is being asked to explain her handling of a row in 2007 which resulted in some 400 million euros ($516 million) being paid to Bernard Tapie.
She is appearing before the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), which investigates ministerial misconduct.
Christine Lagarde insists the award was the best solution at the time.
“It’s a pleasure to see you,” a smiling she told reporters upon arrival.
Christine Lagarde could be placed under formal investigation for the decision to use arbitration, against advice from senior advisers, to settle a long-running court battle between the state and Bernard Tapie, a supporter of the then French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Christine Lagarde has arrived at a court in Paris for questioning over a payout to controversial tycoon Bernard Tapie during her time as finance minister
The case stretches back to 1993 when Bernard Tapie, a colorful, controversial character in the French business world, sold his stake in sports company Adidas to Credit Lyonnais.
Soon after the bank sold on that stake for a much bigger profit, Bernard Tapie claimed they had defrauded him.
In 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested the finance ministry – which had been overseeing the dispute and was led by Christine Lagarde – should move the case to arbitration.
Bernard Tapie won a much bigger payout than he might have expected in court.
Christine Lagarde is not accused of profiting from the payout, but she is being questioned over the misuse of public funds.
If she is placed under formal investigation it is of course embarrassing. It is a step closer to trial but it does not necessarily mean the case will end up in court.
Christine Lagarde is still one of the most popular politicians on the right in France. And after the disgrace that was heaped on the last IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, few in France want to see another prominent French politician embarrassed on the world stage.
Some on the right wonder whether she could be a future candidate for first female French president, notably because she has stayed outside the conservative UMP party’s vicious in-fighting.
Christine Lagarde, a perfect English speaker, has never expressed a desire to run for president. But her five-year term at the IMF is due to finish in 2016 – a year before the next presidential election. With her acumen she may be a dangerous opponent for President Francois Hollande.
The founder of Hasidic Belz dynasty was Rabbi Shalom Rokeach, also known as the Sar Shalom, who was inducted as the rabbi of Belz in 1817. He personally helped build the city’s large and imposing synagogue which stood until the Nazis invaded Belz in late 1939.
When Rabbi Shalom died in 1855, his youngest son, Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach, became the next Rebbe. The Belzer Hasidism sect grew in size during Rebbe Yehoshua’s tenure and the tenure of his son and successor, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach.
Unlike other groups which formed yeshivas in pre-war Poland, Belz maintained a unique yoshvim program, developed by Rabbi Yissachar Dov, which produced many outstanding Torah scholars. The yoshvim were married and unmarried men who remained in the synagogue all day to study the Talmud, pray, and derive inspiration from their Rebbe.
With the outbreak of World War II and the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, the town of Belz was thrown into turmoil. From 1939 to 1944 it was occupied by Nazi Germany as a part of the General Government.
Though the Germans attempted to destroy the Belz synagogue first by fire and then by dynamite, they were unsuccessful. Finally they conscripted Jewish men to take the building apart, brick by brick.
The Belz leader Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, known as the “Wonder Rebbe” was at the top of the Gestapo’s “wanted list” of rabbis targeted for extradition and extermination during the Nazi occupation of Poland.
With cash inflow from Belzer Hasidim in Palestine, England and the United States, the Rebbe and his half-brother, Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgoray, managed to stay one step ahead of the Nazis in one miraculous escape attempt after another. The brothers were driven out of occupied Poland and into Hungary by a Hungarian counter-intelligence agent who was friendly to Jews.
Shalom Rokeach is the grandson of the head of one of the largest Hasidic communities in Jerusalem, Belz Rebbe, and is expected to take his place as leader of the sect one day
Although he had lost his entire family – including his wife, children, grandchildren and in-laws and their families – to the Nazis, Rebbe Aharon re-established his Hasidic court in Tel Aviv, where there was a small Hasidic community.
Both he and Rabbi Mordechai (who had lost his wife and daughter) remarried, but only Rabbi Mordechai had a child, Yissachar Dov Rokeach (II), in 1948. Rabbi Mordechai suddenly died a year later at the age of 47. Rebbe Aharon took his brother’s son under his wing to groom him as the future successor to the Belz dynasty.
Like nearly all of the other groups originating in Poland, Belzer Hasdism was nearly wiped out by the Holocaust. Some Hasidic followers from other communities joined Belz after the war and following the deaths of their rebbes. Belz, like Ger and Satmar, was comparatively fortunate in that its leadership remained intact and survived the war, as opposed to many other Hasidic groups which suffered losses both in terms of rank-and-file supporters, as well as the physical decapitation of their leaders.
Rebbe Aharon became an acknowledged leader of Haredi Judaism in Israel. He laid the groundwork for the spread of Belzer Hasidism through the establishment of schools and yeshivas in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak and Jerusalem.
Since 1966, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach has presided over both the expansion of Belz educational institutions and the growth of Hasidic populations in Israel, the United States, and Europe. Under the Rebbe’s leadership, the Belz Hasidut has grown from a few hundred families at the time of his accession to leadership in 1966, to over 7,000 families as of 2011.
The largest number of Belzer Hasidim outside of Israel are living in the USA, mostly in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, which has eight Belzer synagogues and ten dayanim. Belz is the largest Hasidic community in Borough Park, followed by Bobov, Satmar, Munkatch, and Ger. Belz in the USA & Canada counts over 2000 families.
Traditional Jewish weddings consist of two separate parts, the betrothal ceremony, known as erusin or kiddushin, and the actual wedding ceremony, known as nisuin.
The first betrothal ceremony sees the groom give a wedding ring to the bride. During this part of the service, the bride is prohibited from talking to all other men.
The wedding ceremony then takes place underneath a large four-poled stand with a canopy overhead known as a chuppah so the groom and his veiled bride can be married underneath the sky.
The bride’s wedding veil takes various forms among the different Jewish communities. Some Hasidic brides wear a heavy cloth veil that, Hasidic Jews believe, protect the bride’s modesty by allowing her to avoid guests’ gazes while she stands under the wedding canopy.
The veil also recalls the Matriarch Leah, whose face was covered so heavily that Jacob did not know she was not Rachel at the wedding ceremony. The bride only has to wear the veil during the ceremony.
After the ceremony the bride and groom spend an hour together before the bride re-enters the chuppah and, after gaining her permission, the groom joins her. The couple is then blessed over a cup of wine at the conclusion of the ceremony.
All the male guests dressed in black and wore traditional shtreimel hats for the occasion, which traditionally separates the men from the women.
After the wedding ceremony, the bride takes part in the Mitzvah tantz ritual – where members of the family and honored rabbis dance in front of her and then with the groom.
Tens of thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Belz Hasidic Dynasty watch the wedding ceremony of Rabbi Shalom Rokach
The bride stands perfectly still, holding one end of a long sash while rabbis, the groom’s father, her own father or her grandfather holds the other end and dances with her.
According to the Talmud, it’s considered a great honor to entertain a new bride and to dance for her during her wedding.
Only a few women take part in this section of the celebrations.
Members of the congregation held hands and danced during the ceremony and sweets were handed out to children before the wedding party enjoyed a traditional meal.
Hasidic Jews wear clothes similar to that worn by their ancestors in 18th and 19th century Europe – and this style of attire also helps them to focus on their sense of tradition and spirituality.
The biggest Hasidic communities are found in Israel and the U.S. There also smaller groups in Canada, England, Belgium and Australia.
Their lives revolve around religious study, prayer and family – and theirs is a world without television, films, the internet or secular publications.
The men generally have beards and sidelocks (peyot).
Women tend to wear long skirts and shirts with long sleeves and high necklines as they adhere to strict guidelines of modesty.
After the women get married, they cover their heads with either scarves, hats or wigs (known as “sheitels”).
More than 25,000 Jews from around the world attended an Ultra Orthodox Jewish wedding to witness the marriage of the grandson of Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the leader of the Hasidic dynasty Belz Rebbe.
Steeped in tradition, the ceremony of 18-year-old Shalom Rokeach and his 19-year-old bride Hannah Batya Penet was held in Jerusalem, Israel.
Shalom Rokeach is the eldest and only male grandchild of the Belz Rebbe, who heads one of the largest Hasidic communities in the world. Being the only male, the newlywed is assumed to be the Rebbe’s future heir in leading the community.
Belz Rebbe is an ancient Polish-Jewish dynasty which has its roots in the 14th Century in the Polish town of the same name. The marriage of one of its descendants, who is considered aristocracy among Orthodox Jews, is big occasion and all members of the sect from all over the world are invited.
The wedding is a rare meet-and-greet opportunity for leaders of various Hasidic sects. Thousands of Belz Hasids from the United States and Europe attended the celebration, which lasted until dawn. A number of Jerusalem streets were shut down because of the size of the celebrations.
Traditional Jewish weddings consist of two separate parts, the betrothal ceremony, known as erusin or kiddushin, and the actual wedding ceremony, known as nisuin.
The first betrothal ceremony sees the groom give a wedding ring to the bride. During this part of the service, the bride is prohibited from talking to all other men.
The wedding ceremony then takes place underneath a large four-poled stand with a canopy overhead known as a chuppah so the groom and his veiled bride can be married underneath the sky.
The bride’s wedding veil takes various forms among the different Jewish communities. Some Hasidic brides wear a heavy cloth veil that, Hasidic Jews believe, protect the bride’s modesty by allowing her to avoid guests’ gazes while she stands under the wedding canopy.
Shalom Rokeach and Hannah Batya Penet wedding in Jerusalem was attended by 25,000 Ultra Orthodox Jews of Hasidic dynasty Belz Rebbe
The veil also recalls the Matriarch Leah, whose face was covered so heavily that Jacob did not know she was not Rachel at the wedding ceremony. The bride only has to wear the veil during the ceremony.
After the ceremony the bride and groom spend an hour together before the bride re-enters the chuppah and, after gaining her permission, the groom joins her. The couple is then blessed over a cup of wine at the conclusion of the ceremony.
All the male guests dressed in black and wore traditional shtreimel hats for the occasion, which traditionally separates the men from the women.
It was so full that some guests were forced to use binoculars to catch a glimpse of the service.
After the wedding ceremony, the bride took part in the Mitzvah tantz ritual – where members of the family and honored rabbis dance in front of her and then with the groom.
The bride stands perfectly still, holding one end of a long sash while rabbis, the groom’s father, her own father or her grandfather holds the other end and dances with her.
According to the Talmud, it’s considered a great honor to entertain a new bride and to dance for her during her wedding.
Only a few women take part in this section of the celebrations.
Members of the congregation held hands and danced during the ceremony and sweets were handed out to children before the wedding party enjoyed a traditional meal.
Hasidic Jews wear clothes similar to that worn by their ancestors in 18th and 19th century Europe – and this style of attire also helps them to focus on their sense of tradition and spirituality.
The biggest Hasidic communities are found in Israel and the U.S. There also smaller groups in Canada, England, Belgium and Australia.
Their lives revolve around religious study, prayer and family – and theirs is a world without television, films, the internet or secular publications.
The men generally have beards and sidelocks (peyot).
Women tend to wear long skirts and shirts with long sleeves and high necklines as they adhere to strict guidelines of modesty.
After the women get married, they cover their heads with either scarves, hats or wigs (known as “sheitels”).
Johnny Berry, Amanda Berry’s father, has revealed how his daughter is struggling to recover after ten years in captivity in Cleveland and is petrified that her accused kidnapper Ariel Castro is coming back for her.
Johnny Berry, 52, who is dying from a deadly pulmonary disease, told the National Enquirer that: “Amanda’s having a terrible time. She’s having nightmares every night, waking up screaming and crying, terrified that Castro is coming after her, or that she’s still a prisoner.
“She’s told me she’s afraid her freedom is a dream and she’s going to wake up to the horror of finding out she is still a prisoner.”
As Amanda Berry recovers from her decade-long prison ordeal, her father has spoken of his anger to declare that he would like to kill her accused kidnapper Ariel Castro.
“If I could get my hands on that monster Castro, I’d kill him myself!” said Johnny Berry from his death bed in Elizabethton, Tennessee.
Near paralyzed from recent back surgery, Johnny Berry, who is covered in tattoos and wears an uncomfortable neck brace, explained that if he can’t kill Ariel Castro, then he wants him to rot in jail for the rest of his life.
“If I can’t kill him, I don’t want the state to execute him,” said Johnny Berry to the National Enquirer.
“That would be too easy for him.”
“I want him in prison for the rest of his life. I know people in there who can make his life a living hell for what he did to Amanda. I want them to beat the s**t out of him every single day.”
Johnny Berry, Amanda Berry’s father, has revealed how his daughter is struggling to recover after ten years in captivity in Cleveland
Amanda Berry was dramatically rescued from Ariel Castro’s Cleveland, Ohio, home along with Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight and her own six year old child by Castro, Jocelyn on May 6th.
The three women had been kept prisoner by Ariel Castro for almost ten years and suffered systematic rapes, beatings and induced abortions at the hands of the 52-year-old former school bus driver.
It has been claimed that the three dogs who lived in the home with the girls were kept in better condition that they were – and the girls still have to decide whether they want to take them back.
The last time that Johnny Berry saw his daughter, she was working as a 16-year-old in the local Burger King, enjoying her time at school where she was doing well.
Now, Johnny Berry, who has served time himself in jail for s**ual battery and aggravated assault, has expressed his fears that he may never see his daughter again or the grand-daughter he has never met.
However, he told the National Enquirer that he has at least spoken to Amanda twice since her lucky escape earlier this month.
“When she called me, her voice was the most beautiful sound I ever heard,” said Johnny Berry.
“She said, <<Hi daddy. I’m still alive. I love you, love you, love you!>> We were both crying…it was the happiest day of my life.”
Amanda Berry, who is now 27 is living currently with her sister Beth Serrano in Cleveland and is said to be suffering from the horrifying memories of her ordeal at the hands of Ariel Castro.
Johnny Berry was married to Amanda’s mother, Louwana Miller up until one month before Amanda’s disappearance. Louwana Miller died in 2005.
“I can’t say I was the best dad in the world,” admitted Johnny Berry.
“I feel a lot of guilt that I wasn’t there for Amanda when she needed me.
“If I had known where she was, I would have gotten a gun and gone over there and gotten her out myself, but we had no idea. It was like she just disappeared off the face of the earth.”
Despite his confirmation that his daughter is struggling, the three women rescued after being held captive in a Cleveland house for about a decade want the community to know they are doing fine and appreciate offers of help.
The message was relayed in a letter released Tuesday by their attorneys.
The letter said Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight are happy and safe. A charity fund to help the women has raised more than $650,000 from more than 6,800 donors.
Amanda Berry broke through a locked door on May 6, yelled to neighbors for help and enabled Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus to escape.
Ariel Castro, a 52-year-old former school bus driver, has been charged with three counts of rape and four counts of kidnapping, one for each of the three women and one for Amanda Berry’s 6-year-old daughter fathered by Castro.
His defense team says he will plead not guilty. The case is pending before a Cuyahoga County grand jury.
Kendall Jenner’s tweet on Tuesday night in which she wished “things could be easier” set the Twittersphere alight, with followers blasting the 17-year-old for being ungrateful for all her good fortune.
Chief among the detractors was Frances Bean Cobain, 20, who sounded off with a series of tweets lambasting Kendall Jenner, calling her a “f***ing idiot” for being so “self-involved”.
Courtney Love’s daughter didn’t hold back with her harsh words, declaring: “I’d rather be a scumbag than a f***ing idiot. Praise high IQ’s, good taste & awareness about the state of the world.”
“Oh ya, not to mention, CANCER, famine, poverty, draught, disease, natural disasters, Death. F**k, Humans are so self involved,” Frances Bean Cobain added.
Frances Bean Cobain slams Kendall Jenner for self-pitying tweet
Not content to stop at that, Frances Bean Cobain wrote: “Oh shh. There are kids on earth abandoned&homeless who forcibly drink contaminated water because clean water isn’t accessible.”
The artist was obviously still stewing about the tweet, as she later wrote: “I’d like to thank my parents for providing me with a high IQ & I’d like to thank my grams for encouraging me not to be a self absorbed idiot.”
Kendall Jenner’s tweet received a slew of criticism from her followers, but she chose not to respond.
“Yeah I hate when I get lost in my closet too,” wrote someone.
Another wrote: “Did no one buy you your starbucks?”
“Just buy another range rover babes you’ll be fine x.”
The full extent of Amanda Bynes’s troubled world has been revealed after the child star opened up the doors to her Manhattan apartment for an impromptu house party last month.
Two men, including a photographer by the name of Giovanni Arnold and another who would go only go by the name of “Joe”, claim to In Touch magazine that they witnessed Amanda Bynes smoking marijuana as she sat on top of a bare mattress in her bedroom.
The action took place inside Amanda Bynes’ New York abode, which they describe as “filthy”, littered with rubbish and take-out containers and with windows that have been blacked out with spray paint.
They also claim and presented photographs of what appeared to be empty baggies strewn on the floor.
“W**d was everywhere,” Giovanni Arnold told the magazine.
“On the bed, all over the floor.”
“She probably gets so high that sometimes she won’t even leave her house,” he added.
“One minute she’s cool and down-to-earth,” Joe added to the magazine.
“The next, she’s totally different – indecisive and she can’t hold a conversation. Mentally, she is all over the place.”
The full extent of Amanda Bynes’s troubled world has been revealed after she opened up the doors to her Manhattan apartment for an impromptu house party last month
In the photographs from In Touch, Amanda Bynes is seen sprawled out on her bed, seemingly out of it with a pair of sunglasses covering her eyes.
In one snap she has a half burnt roll up in her mouth and her bare feet are covered in nasty cuts and bruises.
In the same image an empty plastic baggie sits in the corner next to her spiked Christian Louboutin shoes.
“She’ll smoke a j**nt halfway and then put it out and light a new one. Then she’ll relight the half,” Joe told the magazine.
The two men said they witnessed Amanda Bynes on several outings with the pre-rolled j***ts and claimed that she had a stockpile of the drug in her apartment.
The pair also claimed that they saw her do cocaine during their time in the apartment.
But when questioned by In Touch about the alleged d**g use, Amanda Bynes strenuously denied their story.
“They’re the ones into d**gs, so they bring drugs, but I don’t do them,” she said.
Giovanni Arnold and Joe told the magazine that Amanda Bynes’ living conditions were poor, with her house virtually unfurnished.
“Her living room is basically empty: She has two big purple chairs and a little dining room table, that’s it,” Joe said.
The photographer said that while there is one blind on the window, the rest are half spray painted black.
“It’s almost like she couldn’t bother to get more blinds,” Giovanni Arnold said.
During their night at Amanda Bynes’, the actress also reportedly obsessed about her weight.
“You can tell that she craves attention, but at the same time, it makes her feel uncomfortable because she is so uncomfortable about her appearance,” Joe told the magazine.
“She talks about losing weight constantly – she’s fixated. As weird as she is, she’s still very Hollywood: demanding and obsessed with how she looks.”
According to several past reports, Amanda Bynes’ parents have tried desperately to reach out to their daughter but to no avail.
Close friends say that they fear for the actress who has completely lost touch with the outside world.
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who knew Amanda Bynes before she started with her erratic behavior last year, described the situation as “frightening”.
“She is a totally different person now,” he told the magazine.
“She’s effectively isolated herself from her family, friends and loved ones. Her life must be incredibly lonely, confusing and frightening right now.”
Ibragim Todashev, friend of Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, implicated himself and Tamerlan in a 2011 triple slaying just before he was killed by an FBI agent early Wednesday, NBC and CBS News are reporting.
Authorities were pressuring Chechan immigrant Ibragim Todashev, 27, to make a full confession to the murders when he suddenly turned violent, according to CBS. An FBI agent responded by firing his weapon and killing Ibragim Todashev.
The incident happened at Ibragim Todashev’s Orlando apartment, not far from Universal Studios. Initially, authorities claimed that Ibragim Todashev had lunged at the agent with a knife, but they later backtracked, saying it was no longer clear whether he was armed.
Law enforcement sources tellNBC that Ibragim Todashev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev carried out the 2011 killings when a drug deal that turned violent. The suspects didn’t want the three victims to be able to identify them, so they slit their throats, according to the network.
Authorities had gone to Ibragim Todashev’s home late Tuesday with evidence suggesting that Todashev, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and Tsarnaev’s younger brother, Dzhokhar, were involved in the 2011 killings.
No suspects had been arrested in that case, in which three men were found in an apartment in Waltham, Massachusetts on the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks with their throats cut and marijuana covering their bodies.
Massachusetts investigators had reported earlier this month that they were uncovering “mounting evidence” that Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, were involved in the slaying. One of the victims, Brendan Mess, was a close friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s.
Authorities said they have no reason to believe that Ibragim Todashev had any involvement in the marathon bombings.
Friends and family members of the 2011 murder victims reacted to news of the alleged confession on social media.
On a Facebook page dedicated to victim Raphael Teken, someone wrote: “Whether we ever know exactly what happened, there is one thing we surely know and that is that Rafi deserved a much better fate.”
Ibragim Todashev implicated himself and Tamerlan Tsaranaev in a 2011 triple slaying just before he was killed by an FBI
“He was funny, kind, joyful and generous,” the message continued.
“All of us that knew him knew [his death] couldn’t have been about anything he did, but are now horrified by what it may have been about.”
Facebook user Tony Porter wrote: “I’m disappointed that we will never really get to experience true justice for our friend or know the reasons for what happened despite the fact that both alleged suspects are now deceased.
“I don’t know how you are supposed to feel when your friend’s killer gets killed, but I don’t feel <<relieved>> like I thought I would.”
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, confirmed to the New York Timeson Wednesday that her older son knew Ibragim Todashev.
In a telephone interview from Dagestan, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva said Ibragim Todashev moved from Boston to Florida about two years ago. She said she is devastated to learn that he has been killed.
“Now another boy has left this life,” she told the newspaper.
“Why are they killing these children without any trial or investigation?”
The FBI has been investigating Ibragim Todashev for the last month, questioning him several times regarding his ties to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed by police in a shootout following the deadly April 15 marathon bombings. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, has been charged in connection with the bombings and is being held at a prison medical center outside Boston.
Khusen Taramov, a friend of Ibragim Todashev’s, confirmed that Todashev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev knew each other. He said they had been in contact via phone or Skype about a week before the bombings.
In an interview with Orlando television station WESH, Khusen Taramov said that the two met while Ibragim Todashev was living in Boston because they were both involved in mixed martial arts and boxing.
Ibragim Todashev “wasn’t like real close friends [with Tamerlan Tsarnaev], but he just happened to know him”, Khusen Taramov said.
“But he had no idea that they were up to something like that, like bombings and everything, you know what I mean?”
Khusen Taramov says the FBI has been following him and Ibragim Todashev since the bombings. He said that they were both being interviewed by agents late Tuesday before Ibragim Todashev was killed.
Ibragim Todashev was arrested in an unrelated incident on May 4 for aggravated battery after he left a man unconscious in the parking lot of a shopping mall.
According to the arrest affidavit, Ibragim Todashev had gotten into an altercation with a man and his son over parking space.
Ibragim Todashev told police that the man “got into his face” so he pushed him and then the man’s son “got involved” and Todashev began fighting him.
“Todashev said he was only fighting to protect his knee because he had surgery in March,” the affidavit states.
A mall security officer arrived on scene to find the son unconscious and lying in a pool of blood on the ground just as Ibragim Todashev was pulling away in a white Mercedes.
The officer chased down the Mercedes, ordered Ibragim Todashev out at gunpoint and arrested him.
The son was later treated at a hospital with a split upper lip, several teeth knocked out and head injuries.
