According to leading United Nations investigator Carla del Ponte, testimony from victims of the Syrian conflict suggests rebels have used the nerve agent sarin.
Carla del Ponte told Swiss TV there were “strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof”.
However, she said her panel had not yet seen evidence of government forces using chemical weapons.
Syria has recently come under growing Western pressure over the alleged use of such weapons.
Carla del Ponte, who serves on the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said in an interview with Swiss-Italian TV: “Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals.
Carla del Ponte said there were strong suspicions that Syrian rebels used sarin
“According to their report of last week, which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated.”
Carla del Ponte, a former Swiss attorney-general and prosecutor with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, did not rule out the possibility that government troops might also have used chemical weapons, but said further investigation was needed.
She gave no details of when or where sarin may have been used.
Her commission was established in August 2011 to examine alleged violations of human rights in the Syrian conflict since March 2011 and is due to issue its latest report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June.
A separate United Nations team was established to look specifically into the issue of chemical weapons.
The team is ready to go to Syria but wants unconditional access with the right to inquire into all credible allegations.
Both the Syrian government and the rebels have in the past accused each other using chemical weapons.
Sarin, a colorless, odorless gas which can cause respiratory arrest and death, is classed as a weapon of mass destruction and is banned under international law.
Justin Bieber was attacked by a male fan during a piano performance on Dubai stage on Sunday.
Justin Bieber, 19, was performing one of his last songs, Believe, when a youth in a white shirt and jeans stormed onstage and grabbed singer from behind.
The blindsided Canadian star managed to free himself and dashed to the side of the stage.
Justin Bieber was attacked by a male fan during a piano performance on Dubai stage on Sunday
Security guards rushed the stage and lunged at the attacker, according to a report in Dubai English language newspaper The National.
The attacker pushed the piano off its hinges and it fell damaged to the stage.
A video posted by a fan online showed security guards rushing around the stage as the piano lay upturned.
An accompanying tweet said: “Whoa. Crazy fan tackled @justinbieber and knocked the piano down the stage. Mayhem.”
According to reports, Justin Bieber was rattled, but he and his eight-piece band finished the song while the offender was taken off the stage.
After a three-minute break, Justin Bieber returned for an encore and finished the concert with Boyfriend and the finale Baby.
The singer also performed on Saturday in Dubai as part of his international Believe Tour and pulled a song out of respect for the country’s Muslim culture.
Justin Bieber skipped the song One Less Lonely Girl because the state religion of Islam frowns upon men touching women who are not their relatives.
The singer typically recruits a young female fan to join him during the song to flirt with onstage.
The respectful move followed another thoughtful incident on his international Believe Tour that occurred recently in Turkey.
Justin Bieber stopped his show multiple times on Thursday to allow fans to step away for the Muslim call to prayer.
June Shannon wore a bizarre camouflage wedding dress for her nuptials with Honey Boo Boo’s father Sugar Bear in their Georgia back garden on Sunday.
Honey Boo Boo, 7, was dressed for the occasion in an outlandishly poofy pink and peach gown.
June Shannon wore a bizarre camouflage wedding dress for her nuptials with Honey Boo Boo’s father Sugar Bear in their Georgia back garden
June Shannon, 33, will be shown tying the knot with her partner of nine years Mike Thompson on the family’s television show Her Comes Honey Boo Boo.
Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson was happy to play second fiddle as she finally watched her parents exchange vows.
Her sisters Lauryn “Pumpkin”, Anna “Chickadee” and Jessica “Chubbs” Shannon were also important attendees at the event.
But despite appearances, Mama June told People magazine they had been careful not to have an extravagant ceremony, which was marked with a family barbecue.
June Shannon said: “My sister baked the cake, and we spent most of the money on barbecue.
“We stayed true to our roots and made the focus on the family and my commitment to Sugar Bear.
“You can definitely plan an event on a budget!”
Mama June also revealed getting hitched to her 41-year-old partner will be a moment that lives long in the memory.
June Shannon said: “The day was very special mostly because my girls were able to take part in it.
“I felt like it was important for them to see this moment and celebrate my love for Sugar Bear.”
Honey Boo Boo’s mother also said she has plenty of tips to pass on to her family about finding the ideal husband.
“Never settle for a man who doesn’t treat you right. If a guy doesn’t love everything about you, move on! There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
“I give this advice to my daughters because I always want them to be themselves and surround themselves with people who love them for them,” said June Shannon.
Mama June and Sugar Bear first met on an online chat room nine years ago and hit it off.
Soon the pair got together, and their now famous daughter Honey Boo Boo was born two years later.
Video cameras captured the ceremony in all its glory, though guests were reportedly told no mobile phones or cameras were allowed at the wedding.
June Shannon and her daughter Alana Thompson shot to fame after appearing on reality show Toddlers and Tiaras before landing their own programme, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, widow of Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, enjoyed a fast food lunch with her daughter on Sunday as federal officials continue to investigate whether she had any involvement in the deadly terrorist attacks.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, 24, laughed and chatted with a friend at a branch of the Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle along with her 3-year-old daughter, Zahara.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev laughed and chatted with a friend at Mexican fast-food Chipotle along with her 3-year-old daughter, Zahara
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s widow appeared relaxed and carefree as she ordered at the counter before carrying a soda and bag of food to her car from the restaurant close to her home in Warwick, Rhode Island.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev was likely trailed by undercover FBI agents in an unmarked car as officials remain suspicious about how much she knows relating to the planning and production of the pressure cooker bombs.
Her casual outing came as federal investigators revealed that they had discovered radical Islamist materials on her computer and the fact that she will not reveal what she spoke to her husband Tamerlan Tsarnaev about when they had a phone conversation on the night that his photo was released by the FBI.
PepsiCo has dropped Lil Wayne as Mountain Dew spokesman just days after pulling a racially-insensitive commercial for the soft drink featuring a goat voiced by Tyler, The Creator.
According to TMZ, PepsiCo decided to drop Lil Wayne on Friday after he “unapologetically” compared the beating of civil rights icon Emmett Till to rough sex.
The four-time Grammy winner, who’s fronted Mountain Dew since last year, came under fire in February for his verse in Odd Future’s song Karate Chop.
Lil Wayne rapped: “Pop a lot of pain pills/’bout to put rims on my skateboard wheels/beat that p***y up like Emmett Till.”
The 30-year-old New Orleans rapper, born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., deeply angered the Emmett Till’s family who rejected his apology letter for his refusal to write: “I am sorry.”
PepsiCo has dropped Lil Wayne as Mountain Dew spokesmanover Emmett Till offensive lyrics
Airickca Gordon-Taylor was Emmett Till’s cousin and serves as the executive director of the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation.
She told TMZ on Wednesday: “While it’s commendable that he has vowed to respect the legacy of Emmett Till and his memory to <<not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in his music>>, this statement falls short of an apology, as none is mentioned.”
Airickca Gordon-Taylor said the family want Lil Wayne to understand how his comparison of a sex act to the Chicago native’s torture death in Mississippi is hurtful to the black community.
“It was a heinous murder,” Airickca Gordon-Taylor said.
“He was brutally beaten and tortured, and he was shot, wrapped in barbed wire and tossed in the Tallahatchie River.
“The images that we’re fortunate to have [of his open casket], they demonstrate the ugliness of racism.
“So to compare a woman’s anatomy – the gateway of life – to the ugly face of death, it just destroyed me. And then I had to call the elders in my family and explain to them before they heard it from some another source.”
Emmett Till’s death became a symbol of the inequalities faced by the African-American population in society and the legal system.
He was just 14 when he went to Mississippi to visiting family when he was killed for flirting with a white woman in 1955.
Emmett Till was beaten, had his eyes gouged out and was shot in the head before his assailants tied a cotton gin fan to his body with barbed wire and tossed his body into a river.
Two white men, including the woman’s husband, were acquitted of the killing by an all-white jury.
Only months later, protected from being re-tried due to double jeopardy, the killers admitted in a magazine article that they had indeed murdered the teen.
Emmett Till’s body was recovered and returned to Chicago where his mother, Mamie Till, insisted on having an open casket at his funeral.
The pictures of his battered body and the trial were early flashpoints in the civil rights movement.
Bob Dylan even wrote a song about it, The Death of Emmett Till.
Malaysia’s ruling National Front coalition has won a simple majority in the country’s parliamentary election, extending its 56-year rule, with two-thirds of seats confirmed.
PM Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional coalition had passed the threshold of 112 seats in the 222-seat parliament, the Election Commission said.
Defeated opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim accused the party of widespread fraud before and during the polls.
Some 80% of registered voters cast ballots, said election officials.
Voters had been faced with returning the ruling party, or choosing Anwar Ibrahim’s untested three-party alliance, Pakatan Rakyat.
As the result was confirmed, Najib Razak, 59, urged all Malaysians to accept his coalition’s victory.
Malaysia’s ruling National Front coalition has won a simple majority in the country’s parliamentary election, extending its 56-year rule
“The results show a trend of polarization which worries the government. If it is not addressed, it can create tension or division in the country,” he said.
“We have to show to the world that we are a mature democracy.”
With results trickling in overnight, Barisan Nasional had won 127 seats to Pakatan Rakyat’s 77 by 03:30, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier, Najib Razak had said he was confident Malaysians would retain his coalition and even return the two-thirds parliamentary majority it lost in the 2008 polls.
Barisan Nasional, while credited with bringing economic development and political stability, has also been tainted by allegations of corruption.
In what was considered a tight race, it had campaigned hard to shore up its base among poorer ethnic Malay neighborhoods and in rural areas.
But Anwar Ibrahim refused to concede defeat, accusing the authorities of widespread abuses which he said had distorted the result of the election.
“It is an election that we consider fraudulent and the Electoral Commission has failed,” he told a news conference after midnight on Monday.
Allegations of election fraud surfaced before the election. Some of those who voted in advance said that indelible ink on their hands – supposed to last for days and show they had already voted – had easily washed off.
The opposition also accused the government of funding flights for supporters to key states, which the government denied.
Independent pollster Merdeka Center also cited unconfirmed reports of foreign nationals being given ID documents and being allowed to vote.
The international organization Human Rights Watch also said there had been well-planned attacks against the country’s independent media ahead of the polls.
Most traditional media in Malaysia are linked to the governing parties so their opponents rely almost exclusively on the internet to get their message out, correspondents say.
Researchers have been able to regrow hair on bald patches by injecting the heads of follicular-challenged volunteers with a solution from their own blood.
The new treatment stimulates new stem cells below the skin which can assist regrowth, say specialists.
Injections of “platelet-rich plasma” (PRP) which have been extracted from the blood, are already used to combat ageing on the face and hands, reported the Sunday Telegraph.
In the latest research by scientists at the International Hair Research Foundation, the University of Brescia in Italy and the Hebrew University Medical Centre in Israel, used 45 volunteers with alopecia areata, affecting 2% of the population.
PRP injection stimulates new stem cells below the skin which can assist hair regrowth
The patients had injections on one half of their head. Some were given the PRP, some traditional steroid cream, while others received a placebo.
Three treatments were given every month. Hair growth was checked by measuring the area where new hairs grew on the bald scalp.
Results showed the plasma injections led to significant hair regrowth in the bald patches, compared with the placebo and the steroid treatment.
Following the publication of the study in the British Journal of Dermatology, the scientists are hoping to develop a cream, so needles won’t need to be used.
Dr. Fabio Rinaldi told the Sunday Telegraph the new treatment could also help those suffering more common hair problems like male-pattern baldness.
He said: “We think it can help to regrow hair on people with androgenic alopecia. We believe it is the best treatment available, apart from surgery.”
British actor Mark Lester, godfather to all Michael Jackson’s kids, has vowed to have DNA tests to prove he is the father of Jacko’s three children, the Sunday People reported.
Mark Lester, 54, believes there is a “good possibility” he is their biological dad.
The former child star, who was Michael Jackson’s best pal for 30 years, donated sperm to the superstar a year before the singer’s first child, Prince Michael, was born.
Now Mark Lester, who has not been allowed to see Prince Michael, 16, Paris, 15, and Blanket, 11, since Michael Jackson’s death in June 2009, has sent them a message: “I’m here, come and visit England, we’ll look after you.”
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday People, Mark Lester said: “After Michael asked me to donate sperm for him I completely forgot about it.
“He was a great dad to them, brought them up and was brilliant with the kids so I just didn’t go there but there is obviously a good possibility (that I could be the biological father).
“I wouldn’t have a DNA test without the children’s permission but when the children come of age, and it’s not far away, and they decide they want me to do it then I will. It is up to them.
“I don’t want to tell them what to do. I just want to reconnect and be the godfather that Michael made me.”
In his first interview for almost four years, father-of-four Mark Lester says the resemblance between his 18-year-old daughter Olivia and Michael Jackson’s girl Paris is striking.
And young Prince Michael had an astonishing similarity to Mark Lester when he was a child star. But the actor now feels “locked out” by the Jackson family following claims he is the dad. Dozens of his calls have gone unanswered.
Last month Mark Lester was invited to Los Angeles by Michael Jackson’s former manager Dieter Weisner only to discover it would not be possible to see the children. The kids are set to take the stand as witnesses in a $40 billion lawsuit brought against concert promoter AEG Live.
Michael Jackson’s family claim AEG, which organized his 50 farewell gigs planned for London’s O2 Arena, ignored health fears about the singer.
Mark Lester says he would happily give evidence to defend his friend of 30 years. He said: “Michael was a great friend to me and I would defend his name in the court case if I have to.”
He first met Michael Jackson in 1978 at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park, North London, where the singer was performing with the Jackson 5.
The pair, then both 20, immediately hit it off, sharing burgers and soft drinks and chatting for over three hours.
Mark Lester, godfather to all Michael Jackson’s kids, has vowed to have DNA tests to prove he is the father of Jacko’s three children
When Michael Jackson flew back to America, they kept a long-distance friendship. The singer often phoned Mark Lester at 3 a.m. for a chat because he couldn’t grasp the different time zones.
Mark Lester, who shot to fame at the age of 8 when he starred in the Lionel Bart film Oliver!, said: “We ended up great friends. Michael had so many people and security around him but had very few people that knew him really closely. I became one of those lucky few.
“Michael lived in a bubble. He barely knew any famous person outside the music world.
“He was once introduced to tennis player Boris Becker in Germany and had no idea who he was.”
In 1991 Mark Lester fathered his first child to first wife Jane. Just two years later another daughter, Harriet, was born and in 1995 he fathered his third daughter, Olivia.
Just months later, Michael Jackson called Mark Lester with an unusual request.
The actor said: “I remember Michael ringing and saying, <<Oh, you don’t have any fertility difficulties do you?>>. He was half joking so I joked, <<Oh, I just look at her and she gets pregnant>>.
“So then in a light-hearted way he said, <<Will you help me out?>>. Initially I thought he wanted me to do something with his ex-wife Debbie Rowe and I was thinking, <<I don’t think so>>.
“Then out of the blue about a year later, he mentioned sperm donation and I agreed.
“Michael set it up for me to turn up to a clinic in Harley Street, London to do it. It was weird.
“I went in a couple of times to donate but we never talked about it ever again.
“It was a really strange request but while Michael was alive I never gave it another thought. I didn’t donate to get something out of it.”
In February 1997, Michael Jackson announced the birth of his first son with Debbie Rowe, Prince Michael.
Paris followed in 1998 and Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket, arrived in 2002.
As the children grew up, a paternity puzzle arose amid speculation Michael Jackson looked different to his three kids.
He and his family vehemently denied claims the children were not his.
Mark Lester, who was made godfather by the superstar to all three kids in 2001, said: “While he was alive, I never ever thought the children were anyone else’s but Michael’s.”
Mark Lester’s children, including son Felix, now 13, became close friends with Michael Jackson’s kids and the two families became almost inseparable, spending school holidays and weekends together. Mark Lester, now a trained osteopath living in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said: “Every time Michael came to the UK, which was at least six times a year, I used to take my children to see his.
“They always got on really well. Olivia and Harriet would play with Paris.
“We always used to stay at an isolated cottage at the Cliveden House hotel in Berkshire. I even took the kids to his home in the US. We were like one big happy family.”
Just three months after announcing the AEG Live tour at the O2, Michael Jackson, who was reported to be $150 million in debt, was found dead at the age of 50 after overdosing on painkillers and tranquillizers.
His doctor Conrad Murray was later convicted of manslaughter and jailed for four years.
Mark Lester said: “When I heard the news I was devastated. I never saw him take any drugs. I managed to get to America for his memorial service and that was the last time I saw the children.”
Two months after Michael Jackson’s death, his friend Uri Geller mentioned to Mark Lester that he could be the dad.
Mark Lester, who claims he had never previously thought about it, said: “Then I noticed the likenesses in my own children and his.
“My daughter Olivia looks like Paris. People have also pointed out similarities between myself when I was younger and Prince.”
But after hearing the claims, the Jackson family stopped answering Mark Lester’s calls.
Mark Lester said: “I just feel it is really cruel that our relationship has just been cut off. It is not what Michael would have wanted.”
A photo of dead Boston bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev at the morgue emerged on the Internet via the popular social sharing site Reddit just hours after he passed away on April 19.
The extremely graphic image was posted by user nfieldflyer on Friday, under the title “Suspect #1 … in the morgue. NSFW.”
The user claims the photo was obtained by a “friend” who works downtown. Typical for images posted to Reddit, the photo itself is being hosted on Imgur.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police in Watertown, Massachusetts on April 19
As far as the photo’s authenticity, law enforcement sources have confirmed to TMZ that the image is real. One source told the website that authorities are investigating to determine who leaked the photo.
At one point, the image even managed to break through and reach the front page of Reddit, but apparently was pushed off.
For those who want details, but do not want to view the image, the picture shows the corpse of the 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev lying on what appears to be a morgue table.
Multiple bullet wounds can be seen, as well as a large gash along the left side of his chest in the area of his rib cage. According to specialists, the large wound is a thoracotomy, an evidence of an emergency procedure to restart his heart. Iodine traces being evident around the wound’s perimeter .
The body is covered in blood, particularly on his face. His mouth and both eyes are wide open.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police in Watertown, Massachusetts on April 19.
Chris Brown sparked rumors of splitting from Rihanna when he was joined by his ex Karrueche Tran at his birthday party on Friday, with his girlfriend nowhere in sight.
Chris Brown celebrated his 24th birthday – which is actually on May 5th – at the Emerson nightclub in Los Angeles.
Rumors have been circulating that there may be trouble in paradise once again for Chris Brown and Rihanna, which was only made worse by Karrueche Tran’s attendance.
However, source told HollywoodLife.com that Chris Brown and Karrueche Tran are “cool friends” and Rihanna is OK with them hanging out from time to time.
It appears Chris Brown and Karrueche Tran are cool friends and Rihanna is OK with them hanging out from time to time
The insider added that Chris Brown and Rihanna are “into each other way too f***ing much” to let his friendship with Karrueche Tran come between them.
Chris Brown, who is still on probation for violently beating Rihanna in 2009, previously revealed he would always have a soft spot for his former flame Karrueche Tran – who was recently said to have moved on with NBA star John Wall – because she supported him during the worst time in his life.
The singer said: “She was my friend through it all. It was a friendship more than a relationship. I still love her, but at the end of the day, it’s like I got love for her. She gone always be my homie!”
Chris Brown also said he wishes “all the best to her. We still have a clothing line. I only want her to progress. I don’t want to stop her blessings”.
He is set to host a huge birthday bash in 1 Oak nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday and is trying to convince Rihanna to join him for the night after she was forced to postpone her concert in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday because the Brooklyn Nets need the venue to compete in the playoffs.
A source said: “That’s his number one and he wishes she could be with him on his birthday just like he was with her.
“But that’s just how it goes sometime. They can’t be together every second.”
Rihanna is currently in New York for her Diamonds World Tour, and sources have revealed that work commitments are preventing the couple from finding much time to spend together.
A source told HollywoodLife: “It’s up and down sometimes, the s**t is even sideways. Every time some s**t pops off between them, they blast that s**t all over social media, and they shouldn’t.
“But when they’re far apart, that’s how they act out towards each other when one of them doesn’t get their own way. It’s crazy as f**k, but it’s how they get down.”
Chris Brown hit LA to celebrate his upcoming birthday with some famous friends and tasty treats.
He was joined by Christina Milian, David Hasslehoff, Chloe Green and ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran as he partied the night away at indulged in delicious cupcakes.
Honey Boo Boo’s mom, June Shannon, is wedding her beau Sugar Bear in a ceremony in Georgia, on Sunday, according to TMZ.com.
Mama June and Sugar Bear, whose real name is Mike Thompson, met on an online chat room nine years ago and hit it off.
Honey Boo Boo’s mom, June Shannon, is wedding her beau Sugar Bear in a ceremony in Georgia, on Sunday
They got together and Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo, was born two years later.
According to TMZ, cameras will capture the ceremony for the reality TV show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and guests have reportedly been told that no cell phones or cameras will be allowed at the wedding.
June Shannon and her daughter Alana Thompson shot to fame after appearing on reality show Toddlers and Tiaras before landing their own programme, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
Honey Boo Boo will be making her UK debut soon, as her successful reality show will air on TLC’s new channel in the country.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is one of many of the American broadcaster’s shows to screen in the UK when it launches next month.
While Peter Stefan’s funeral home in Worcester, Massachusetts, is being protested, the owner says he is desperate for a gravesite as cemeteries all refuse to take Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s body.
However, a determined funeral director charged with burying the body of the Boston bomber says everyone deserves a dignified burial regardless of the circumstances of their death.
Peter Stefan said dozens of protesters have gathered outside the Graham, Putnam& Mahoney Funeral Parlors, upset with his decision to handle the service.
“My problem here is trying to find a gravesite. A lot of people don’t want to do it. They don’t want to be involved with this,” Peter Stefan said.
“I keep bringing up the point of Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh or Ted Bundy. Somebody had to do those, too.”
Every cemetery in Massachusetts has turned down the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Peter Stefan told Fox News, but he remains insistent that this death be handled like any other. It is also understood that Peter Stefan has reached out unsuccessfully to cemeteries in New Jersey and Connecticut.
Peter Stefan firmly intended to provide Tamerlan Tsarnaev with tradition Muslim funeral rites, which some protestors take issue with.
It was unclear who, if any, among the deceased’s family would step in to ensure the rites – such as the ritual bathing and shrouding of the body – were undertaken according to the religion’s traditions.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, arrived in Worcester from his Maryland home to take care of the burial arrangements
Then, on Sunday, Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, arrived in Worcester from his Maryland home to take care of the arrangements.
Ruslan Tsarni chose to step in, he said, because “no one wants to associate their names with such evil events” and because religion and tradition call for his nephew to be buried.
“I’m dealing with logistics,” he said.
“A dead person must be buried.”
Ruslan Tsarni and three of his friends met with Peter Stefan Sunday afternoon.
Some picketers believe Tamerlan Tsarnaev should be buried at sea, similar to what was done with the body of Osama bin Laden.
Other protestors simply did not want Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s remains in their town, like retired firefighter Ronald Wahlers.
“It’s going to give this neighborhood a bad name,” Ronald Wahlers, who has lived in Worcester for a year and a half, told the Boston Globe.
“This guy doesn’t belong here.”
Peter Stefan disagrees: “I can’t control the circumstances of somebody’s death, or what they’ve done, or how they’ve died.
At least three people died and other 60 have been injured during clashes between police and Islamist protesters of Hefajat-e-Islam in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
Up to half a million protesters gathered in Dhaka, where rioters set fire to shops and vehicles as police fought to contain them.
Thousands of activists from Hefajat-e-Islam blocked highways, isolating Dhaka from other parts of the country.
They are calling for those who insult Islam to face the death penalty.
Up to half a million protesters gathered in Dhaka, where rioters set fire to shops and vehicles as police fought to contain them
They also want greater segregation of men and women, as well as the imposition of stricter Islamic education.
Hefajat-e-Islam’s opposition to a national development policy for women has angered women’s groups.
The group draws its strength from the country’s madrassahs, or religious schools.
But the government, which describes Bangladesh as a secular democracy, has rejected the group’s demand for a new law on blasphemy.
PM Sheikh Hasina said current legislation was adequate.
Chanting “Allahu Akbar!” (“God is greatest!”) and “One point! One demand! Atheists must be hanged”, the activists marched down at least six main roads, AFP news agency reported.
They headed for Motijheel, Dhaka’s main commercial district.
The area around the city centre’s largest mosque turned into a battleground as police reacted to stone-throwing rioters with tear gas, rubber bullets and truncheons.
Three people were killed with at least one dying of gunshot wounds.
Reports spoke of some 60 people being injured, including two local TV journalists.
A Hefajat-e-Islam activist, Hossain Soliman Abdullah, said the main aim of the protest was to press for the implementation of a 13-point demand inspired by the Koran.
Dhaka’s Daily Star newspaper reports that the group hired at least 3,000 vehicles, including buses, lorries and minibuses to bring demonstrators into the capital, while others travelled there by train.
On Friday, PM Sheikh Hasina said the government had already met many of the group’s demands.
“Many of these have already been implemented while some are in the process,” she was quoted as telling the Daily Star.
Sheikh Hasina said the government had already arrested four bloggers for making “derogatory comments” against the Prophet Muhammad and they would be prosecuted if found guilty.
Muslims make up nearly 90% of Bangladesh’s population with the rest mostly Hindus.
Five women died and four were injured when a stretch limo caught fire on the San Mateo bridge near San Francisco on Saturday night.
Only the male driver escaped unhurt during the incident at 20 miles south-east of San Francisco, a police spokesman said.
The victims, said to be in their 30s, were trapped as fire engulfed the back of the car, which had stopped.
Amateur video footage showed the white car ablaze in the darkness.
No other vehicle appears to have been involved in the incident and police are still trying to determine the cause.
The fire was reported around 10 p.m. on Saturday on the bridge which connects San Mateo and Alemada counties at Foster City.
Five women died and four were injured when a stretch limo caught fire on the San Mateo bridge near San Francisco on Saturday night
When smoke began to pour from back of the limo, the driver quickly pulled over but fire spread rapidly.
Four women managed to get out but one had severe burns while the others suffered minor injuries including smoke inhalation, according to local broadcaster KTVU. They were taken to local hospitals.
The westbound lanes of the bridge were closed as police investigated, but one lane of traffic re-opened early on Sunday.
Details of the victims were not released as the authorities sought to notify their families.
“We have no idea right now where they were going or where they were coming from,” California Highway Patrol officer Amelia Jack told KGO-TV.
Stretch limousines, usually designed to carry groups of six adults or more, are typically hired for celebrations such as school proms or pre-wedding parties.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, the mother of Boston bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, appeared in photos of her as a younger woman wearing a low-cut blouse and having her hair teased like a 1980s rock star.
After she arrived in the U.S. from Russia in 2002, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva went to beauty school and did facials at a suburban day spa.
But in recent years, people noticed a change. The Boston bombers’ mother began wearing a hijab and cited conspiracy theories about 9/11 being a plot against Muslims.
Now known as the angry and grieving mother of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva is drawing increased attention after federal officials say Russian authorities intercepted her phone calls, including one in which she vaguely discussed jihad with her elder son, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
In another, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva was recorded talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case, U.S. officials said.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, 45, insists there is no mystery. She’s no terrorist, just someone who found a deeper spirituality. She insists her sons – Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a gunfight with police, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was wounded and captured – are innocent.
“It’s all lies and hypocrisy,” she told The Associated Press in Dagestan.
“I’m sick and tired of all this nonsense that they make up about me and my children. People know me as a regular person, and I’ve never been mixed up in any criminal intentions, especially any linked to terrorism.”
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva arrived in the U.S. in 2002, settling in a working-class section of Cambridge, Massachusetts. With four children, Anzor Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva qualified for food stamps and were on and off public assistance benefits for years. The large family squeezed itself into a third-floor apartment.
She took classes at the Catherine Hinds Institute of Esthetics, before becoming a state-licensed aesthetician. Anzor Tsarnaev, who had studied law, fixed cars.
By some accounts, the family was tolerant.
Bethany Smith, a New Yorker who befriended Zubeidat Tsarnaeva’s two daughters, said in an interview with Newsday that when she stayed with the family for a month in 2008 while she looked at colleges, she was welcomed even though she was Christian and had tattoos.
“I had nothing but love over there. They accepted me for who I was,” Bethany Smith told the newspaper.
“Their mother, Zubeidat, she considered me to be a part of the family. She called me her third daughter.”
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva is drawing increased attention after federal officials say Russian authorities intercepted her phone calls, including one in which she vaguely discussed jihad with her elder son, Tamerlan Tsarnaev
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva said she and her son Tamerlan began to turn more deeply into their Muslim faith about five years ago after being influenced by a family friend, named “Misha”.
The man, whose full name she didn’t reveal but later was identified as Mikhail Allakhverdov, impressed her with a religious devotion that was far greater than her own, even though he was an ethnic Armenian who converted to Islam.
“I wasn’t praying until he prayed in our house, so I just got really ashamed that I am not praying, being a Muslim, being born Muslim. I am not praying. Misha, who converted, was praying,” Zubeidat Tsarnaeva said.
By then, she had left her job at the day spa and was giving facials in her apartment. One client, Alyssa Kilzer, noticed the change when Zubeidat Tsarnaeva put on a head scarf before leaving the apartment.
“She had never worn a hijab while working at the spa previously, or inside the house, and I was really surprised,” Alyssa Kilzer wrote in a post on her blog.
“She started to refuse to see boys that had gone through puberty, as she had consulted a religious figure and he had told her it was sacrilegious. She was often fasting.”
Alyssa Kilzer wrote that Zubeidat Tsarnaeva was a loving and supportive mother, and she felt sympathy for her plight after the April 15 bombings.
But the woman stopped visiting the family’s home for spa treatments in late 2011 or early 2012 when, during one session, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva “started quoting a conspiracy theory, telling me that she thought 9/11 was purposefully created by the American government to make America hate Muslims”.
“It’s real,” Zubeidat Tsarnaeva said, according to Alyssa Kilzer.
“My son knows all about it. You can read on the Internet.”
In the spring of 2010, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva’s eldest son, Tamerlan, got married in a ceremony at a Boston mosque that no one in the family had previously attended. Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his wife, Katherine Russell, a Rhode Island native and convert from Christianity, now have a three-year-old daughter, Zahara.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva married into a Chechen family but was an outsider. She is an Avar, from one of the dozens of ethnic groups in Dagestan. Her native village is now a hotbed of an ultraconservative strain of Islam known as Salafism or Wahabbism.
It is unclear whether religious differences fueled tension in their family. Anzor Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva divorced in 2011.
About the same time, there was a brief FBI investigation into Tamerlan Tsarnaev, prompted by a tip from Russia’s security service.
The vague warning from the Russians was that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, an amateur boxer in the U.S., was a follower of radical Islam who had changed drastically since 2010.
That led the FBI to interview Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 at the family’s home in Cambridge. Officials ultimately placed his name, and his mother’s name, on various watch lists, but the inquiry was closed in late spring of 2011.
After the bombings, Russian authorities told U.S. investigators they had secretly recorded a phone conversation in which Zubeidat Tsarnaeva had vaguely discussed jihad with Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
The Russians also recorded Zubeidat Tsarnaeva talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with reporters.
Anzor Tsarnaev’s brother, Ruslan Tsarni, told the AP from his home in Maryland that he believed his former sister-in-law had a “big-time influence” on her older son’s growing embrace of his Muslim faith and decision to quit boxing and school.
While Tamerlan Tsarnaev was living in Russia for six months in 2012, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, who had remained in the U.S., was arrested at a shopping mall in the suburb of Natick, Massachusetts, and accused of trying to shoplift $1,624 worth of women’s clothing from a department store.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva failed to appear in court to answer the charges that fall, and instead left the country.
According to criminal complaint, when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s college friend Dias Kadyrbayev sent a text warning him that his fast was all over the news, the Boston bomber responded with “lol” (universal text message-speak for a joke).
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, then told his pal Dias Kadyrbayev: “You better not text me.”
Dias Kadyrbayev, 19, is one of three of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s college friends arrested on Wednesday by federal authorities and accused of trying to cover the suspected terrorist’s tracks by throwing away his computer and a backpack full of firearms.
He and Azamat Tazhayakov, both Kazakh nationals, were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice by destroying evidence. American citizen Robel Phillipos is charged with knowingly and willfully making false statements to investigators.
The three young men were friends of Dzhokhar Tsarneav at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where the bomb suspect was a promising student.
According to the criminal complaint from federal authorities, Dias Kadyrbayev sent a text message to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on April 18 after the FBI released surveillance images of him at the Boston Marathon with his brother Tamerlan.
Dias Kadyrbayev warned his friend that that he was plastered across TV News.
“Tsarnaev’s return texts contained <<lol>> and other things KADYRBAYEV interpreted as jokes,” documents say.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also wrote: “You better not text me” and “Come to my room and take whatever you want”.
Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov were identified as the two friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who have been arrested on April 20
Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov had already been in police custody for more than a week at the time of their arrest because they were previously questioned about their license plate that reads “TERRORISTA#1”. Authorities then held them on immigration issues because they are in the country illegally after their academic visas expired.
The nature of these charges suggests that none of these young men helped plan the fatal Marathon bombing, which left three dead and more than 260 injured, but they did work to cover Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s tracks from investigators and evade capture.
The detailed criminal complaint goes through the timeline of events according to each of the 19-year-olds, all of whom met Dzhokhar Tsarnaev when they started school at UMASS-Dartmouth in the same semester in the fall of 2011.
Like many throughout Boston, none of the three boys had any inkling that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was involved until the FBI released pictures of the two suspects.
On the same day that the FBI released pictures and video clips of the Tsarnaev brothers at the bomb scene, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov removed items from the younger bomber’s dorm room.
That was just two days before the FBI searched the room.
The criminal complaint lists that they removed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s backpack from his room and “agreed to get rid of it after concluding from news reports that Tsarnaev was one of the Boston Marathon bombers”.
The three friends- Dias Kadyrbayev, Azamat Tazhayakov and Robel Phillipos- went over to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s on-campus dormitory after seeing the news reports.
When the group arrived at the dorm, Dias Kadyrbayev showed Azamat Tazhayakov a text from the bomber that said: “I’m about to leave if you need something in my room take it.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did not specify where he was going, but Azamat Tazhayakov told investigators that he felt that this meant he would never see Tsarnaev alive again.
They were let in the room by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s roommate, who said that Dzhokhar had been there just a few hours earlier.
The criminal complaint says that when there, the three friends watched a movie.
Dias Kadyrbayev “knew when he saw the empty fireworks that Tsarnaev was involved in the Marathon bombing”.
Azamat Tazhayakov was more alarmed because the tubes had been emptied but not destroyed, meaning that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could have either used the explosives or planned to use them.
Kadyrbayev found Vaseline in the room, which he told the others Tsarnaev used to make bombs.
At one point in the police interviews, Azamat Tazhayakev said that during a meal a month before the attack, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told he and Dias Kadyrbayev that he knew how to make a bomb.
Dias Kadyrbayev was reportedly the one who “decided to remove the backpack from the room in order to help his friend Tsarnaev avoid trouble”.
In a slightly unexpected explanation, Dias Kadyrbayev says that he took Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s laptop because he did not want to the roommate to think that he was “stealing or behaving suspiciously by just taking the backpack”.
Though the release of the photos is the first time that alarm bells went off in the students’ minds, it is not the first time that they interacted with the bomber since Monday April 15.
Both Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov- who shared an apartment in New Bedford- spent time with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev two days after the bombing.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev met with Dias Kadyrbayev briefly, where Kadyrbayev noted that Dzhokhar “appeared to have given himself a short haircut”.
Azamat Tazahayakov told police that he spent more time with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev earlier that same day, when Tsarnaev drove him to his off-campus apartment after class and then they spent time hanging out in the apartment.
During multiple interviews, American Robel Phillipos lied about various parts of the story- at first saying that he never went to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s dorm room, then saying that they didn’t remove anything, then saying that they went to the dorm but it was locked and they never entered.
After repeating false versions of the same story, Robel Phillipos recanted his previous testimony in the fourth interview on April 26.
The gravity of the situation did not appear to hit Robel Phillipos until after the trio returned to the off-campus apartment and they “started to freak out, because it became clear from a CNN report that we were watching that Jahar [Dzhokhar Tsarnaev] was one of the Boston Marathon bombers”.
The Boston police were the first to announce the arrests via Twitter, and they followed up their initial tweet by confirming that there is no threat to public safety.
Buckwild star Salwa Amin was jailed in March without bail after getting busted for Oxycodone and heroin possession.
Now Salwa Amin is being released from prison temporarily to undergo treatment in a rehabilitation centre.
According toTMZ, Salwa Amin will temporarily leave Central Regional Jail in West Virginia jail to enter a impatient rehab to undergo treatment for opiate use.
On Monday the decision was made in a West Virginia courtroom.
Salwa Amin is being released from prison temporarily to undergo treatment in a rehabilitation centre
Once Salwa Amin, 24, completes her rehab stint, she will head right back to jail until a hearing is set for her original drug possession charges.
Back in February, Salwa Amin was arraigned in Nicholas County Magistrate Court on felony charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
State police said at the time that a multi-agency task force arrested Salwa Amin and two others at a home in Summersville after receiving a tip from an informant.
Officers said they found oxycodone pills and heroin.
Jail Administrative Sgt. Rick Drake said at the time that Salwa Amin didn’t want to talk to the media.
Amanda Bynes is reportedly back in contact with her parents after revealing on Twitter several week ago that she was estranged from her family.
A source told RadarOnline.com on Friday that Amanda Bynes “reconnected with her parents this week and it was a really positive talk on both ends”.
The insider elaborated: “Her parents are good people who are genuinely concerned for her. And Amanda misses them, so she finally called them up.”
The successful conversation may even lead to an East Coast physical reunion between New York City-based Amanda Bynes and her parents, who have remained in Los Angeles throughout her myriad antics.
Amanda Bynes is reportedly back in contact with her parents after revealing on Twitter several week ago that she was estranged from her family
“Amanda’s parents really want to see her so they’re thinking of flying out to New York as early as next week.
“The last place Amanda wants to be is Los Angeles. She likes New York and doesn’t want to leave,” the source added.
Earlier in April, Amanda Bynes alarmed followers on Twitter when she confessed she’d severed communication with her parents, Rick and Lynn: “I don’t speak to my parents anymore, they don’t talk to reporters on my behalf.
“Don’t believe anything you read about me unless I tweet it.”
Amanda Bynes’ recent bizarre behavior, which includes posting a collection of increasingly lascivious self-portraits from her bathroom, shaving one side of her head and publicly smoking marijuana, has prompted widespread concern from fans and family members alike.
The actress appears to be spending most of her time alone with the majority of her social interactions occurring on Twitter, where she’s accrued nearly one million followers.
On Thursday, Amanda Bynes, 27, added to the online portfolio by posting two snaps of herself wearing a blonde wig with a thick fringe and green streaks.
Malaysia is voting in what is widely expected to be the most closely contested general election in the country’s history.
PM Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition is up against Pakatan Rakyat, a three-party alliance headed by Anwar Ibrahim.
Malaysian PM Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional coalition is up against Pakatan Rakyat, a three-party alliance headed by Anwar Ibrahim
Voters are faced with returning the ruling party, in power for 56 years, or choosing an untested opposition.
Ahead of the polls, allegations of various forms of fraud emerged.
At polling station in the capital Kuala Lumpur queues had formed well before voting began.
Analysts say that for the first time since Malaysia’s independence in 1957, there is a real possibility that the opposition may be able to unseat the ruling party. Opinion polls suggest support for the two sides is evenly matched.
The possibility of an end to more than half a century of one-party rule has made this the hardest-fought election anyone can remember.
The hunger for change, especially among younger Malaysians, has given the opposition real momentum during the campaign.
But the ruling party has significant advantages in the cash it has spent on crowd-pleasing hand-outs, and in the way Malaysia’s parliamentary system over-represents rural areas, where the government’s support is strongest.
Nearly eight million people cast ballots in the first four hours of voting, comprising almost 60% of the 13.3 million registered voters, the election commission said.
Barisan Nasional, while credited with bringing economic development and political stability, has also been tainted by allegations of corruption.
But it remains to be seen whether Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition, comprising parties of different ethnicities and religions, can persuade voters to choose an alternative government.
Najib Razak, 59, said he was confident that Malaysians would retain his coalition and even return the two-thirds parliamentary majority Barisan Nasional lost in the 2008 polls.
During the last four years, Najib Razak said during a campaign rally on Thursday, the coalition had proved it could “protect and benefit all Malaysians”.
“The task of transformation is not over yet,” he told supporters in his home state of Pahang on Saturday.
Mohamed Rafiq Idris, a car business owner waiting to vote in the central state of Selangor, told the Associated Press news agency the ruling coalition had made “some mistakes” but he believed it would do its best to take care of the people’s welfare.
But first-time voter Bernie Lim, a banker, said: “I grew up recognizing that my parents voted for the present coalition at almost every general election. This time, they voted for the opposition. People do change.”
Anwar Ibrahim, 65, has said people’s clamor for change means that Pakatan Rakyat will emerge victorious.
“People have enough of this semi-authoritarian rule, of complete [government] control of the media, of strong arrogance, of power and endemic corruption,” he told AP in an interview.
He advised supporters “to remain calm, not to be provoked, not to take the law into their own hands, support the process”.
“Unless there’s a major massive fraud tomorrow – that is our nightmare – we will win,” he told AFP news agency.
Allegations of election fraud surfaced before the election. Some of those who voted in advance complained that indelible ink – supposed to last for days – easily washed off.
The opposition has also accused the government of funding flights for supporters to key states, which the government denies.
Independent pollster Merdeka Center has received unconfirmed reports of foreign nationals being given IDs and allowed to vote.
The international organization Human Rights Watch said there had been well-planned attacks against the country’s independent media ahead of the polls.
It said on Thursday that readers were unable to access several online news sites providing coverage of opposition candidates.
Officially, just 18 foreign electoral observers are in Malaysia. They are joined by 1,200 local observers from 17 non-governmental organizations.
The electoral commission said on Saturday that the foreign observers comprised six each from Indonesia and Thailand, and two each from Burma, Cambodia and the ASEAN secretariat.
Syrian state television has reported that Israeli rockets have hit Jamraya army research centre near Damascus.
Witnesses heard huge explosions near the Jamraya facility, and residents said nearby military positions were also hit.
The Jamraya site was the target of an Israeli strike in January.
Earlier, unnamed Israeli officials said that on Friday Israeli aircraft had attacked a shipment of missiles inside Syria.
Israeli rockets have hit Jamraya army research centre near Damascus
The missiles were believed to be destined for Hezbollah militants in neighboring Lebanon.
The latest attacks come amid reports of massacres in a campaign of sectarian cleansing near the coastal region of central Syria.
Heavy explosions shook Damascus overnight. Amateur footage posted online claimed to show the blasts at the Jamraya research centre, on Mount Qassioun overlooking Damascus.
Residents said military bases in the area had also been hit.
Syrian state media said the attack showed that there was an organic link between Israel and the rebels.
“The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups, which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army,” state TV said, referring to recent offensives by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted eyewitnesses in the area as saying they saw jets in the sky at the time of the explosions.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials on the latest explosions.
Israeli officials have confirmed their forces have carried out two air strikes on Syrian targets this year.
The first attack, in January, apparently targeted the Jamraya facility.
The second, two days ago, targeted a consignment of missiles bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
In a separate development, hundreds of Syrian families have fled the coastal area of central Syria amid reports of massacres.
Activists said that more than 100 people, including women and children, were killed in the Sunni village of al-Bayda and the nearby coastal town of Baniyas.
More than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2011.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, the widow of Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has stopped co-operating with authorities as it emerged female DNA found on one of the detonated bombs does not belong to her.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who was later killed in a gunfight with authorities, called his wife in the hours after the FBI released surveillance images of him and his younger brother, Dzhokhar.
But only Katherine Russell, 24, knows what was said in the conversation, as she has stopped cooperating with authorities over recent days, the New York Times reported.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, the widow of Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has stopped co-operating with authorities as it emerged female DNA found on one of the detonated bombs does not belong to her
Authorities are skeptical of Katherine Russell’s insistence that she played no role in the Boston attack or in helping the Tsarnaev brothers escape the authorities following the release of the photographs, the Times reported.
A source told CNN that the bombs were built in the apartment that Tamerlan Tsarnaev shared with Katherine Russell and their 3-year-old daughter, Zahara. Residue samples were found on the kitchen table, the kitchen sink, and the bathtub, the source said.
Katherine Russell’s silence comes as sources told the newspaper that the fingerprints and female DNA found on at least one of the bombs did not belong to her. Authorities had taken a sample from her this week.
Spokesman Jason Pack confirmed that agents investigating the Boston bombings visited the North Kingstown home of Katherine Russell’s parents, where Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s widow has been staying since the Boston Marathon attacks.
Following Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbaev arrest in the Boston Marathon bombings for obstructing justice, the Homeland Security Department ordered border agents “effective immediately” to verify that every international student who arrives in the U.S. has a valid student visa.
Azamat Tazhayakov, one of the three college students who were arrested on Wednesday, was able to get into the U.S. illegally on expired student visas, prompting the government’s first formal security change directly related to the April 15 attack.
The student visa for Azamat Tazhayakov had been terminated when he arrived in New York on January 20 but the border agent in the airport did not have access to the information about it in the Homeland Security Department’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, called SEVIS.
Kazakh Azamat Tazhayakov, 19, was a friend and classmate of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
He left the U.S. in December and returned January 20, but earlier that month his student-visa status was terminated because he was academically dismissed from the university.
Azamat Tazhayakov and a second Kazakh student were arrested this week on federal charges of obstruction of justice. They were accused of helping to get rid of a backpack containing fireworks linked to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. A third student, American citizen Robel Phillipos, was also arrested and accused of lying to authorities.
Azamat Tazhayakov was able to get into the U.S. illegally on expired student visa, prompting the government’s first formal security change directly related to the Boston attack
Dias Kadyrbaev, 19, called his dad and described their arrest as something out of a Hollywood blockbuster.
“He told me on the phone: <<Dad, we have been arrested just like in an American movie. They came over in armored vehicles with a platoon of officers, with guns and laser lights. They undressed us. It started snowing. But we were standing like that until the search of our apartment ended. I am home now, we have been released, everything is all right, don’t worry Dad>>,” the father Murat Kadyrbaev told a Russian television station.
A spokesman for the Homeland Security Department, Peter Boogaard, said earlier this week that the government was working to fix the problem, which allowed Azamat Tazhayakov to be admitted into the country when he returned to the U.S.
Under existing procedures, border agents could verify a student’s status in SEVIS only when the person was referred to a second officer for additional inspection or questioning.
Azamat Tazhayakov was not sent to a second officer when he arrived. Under the new procedures, all border agents were expected to be able to access SEVIS by next week.
The U.S. government for years has recognized as a problem the inability of border agents at primary inspection stations to directly review student-visa information.
The Homeland Security Department was working before the Boston bombings to resolve the problem, but the new memo outlined interim procedures until the situation was corrected.
Under the new procedures, border agents will verify a student’s visa status before the person arrives in the U.S. using information provided in flight manifests.
If that information is unavailable, border agents will check the visa status manually with the agency’s national targeting data center.
The Obama administration announced an internal review earlier this week of how U.S. intelligence agencies shared sensitive information before the bombings and whether the government could have prevented the attack.
Republicans in Congress have promised oversight hearings, which begin Thursday next week.
Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday for details from the student visa applications of Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, including information about how Tazhayakov re-entered the United States.
Lawmakers and others have long been concerned about terrorists exploiting the student visa system to travel to the U.S.
A 20-year-old college student from Saudi Arabia was arrested in Texas in 2011 on federal charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
Authorities accused him of plotting to blow up dams, nuclear plants or the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush. He was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
The FBI is now focusing on Katherine Russell Tsarnaev after federal officials investigating the Boston bombings have discovered radical Islamist materials on a computer belonging to the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, 24, has repeatedly claimed through her attorney that she knew nothing about the deadly April 15 bombings allegedly set off by her late husband, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and his younger brother, Dzhokhar.
The FBI is now focusing on Katherine Russell Tsarnaev after agents have discovered radical Islamist materials on her computer
However, the discovery of al-Qaeda’s Inspire magazine on Katherine Russell’s computer, along with the presence of explosive residue throughout their home, have raised new questions about her possible involvement in the act of terror.
According to a government document obtained by NBC News, an analysis of the bombs used at the Boston Marathon and pipe bombs that the Tsarnaevs had allegedly thrown at police may have been built following instructions that appeared in an Inspire article titled: Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.
Officials have yet to determine whether the Islamist files found in Katherine Russell’s possession belonged to the 24-year-old mother, her late 26-year-old husband or a third party, a source told The Washington Post.
Tamerlan Tsranaev was shot dead in a gun battle with police four days after the marathon bombings when he and his brother allegedly carjacked a vehicle in a Boston suburb.
His younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, had fled, setting off a massive manhunt that ended when he was discovered gravely wounded hiding in a boat.
Katherine Russell’s attorney, Amato DeLuca, had previously said his client was kept in the dark about the deadly plot, and she was shocked to learn that her husband and brother-in-law were allegedly responsible for the attacks.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that investigators inspecting Katherine Russell and Tamerlan Tsranaev’s home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, found traces of explosive residue in the kitchen sink, the bathtub and on a table.
Following his arrest, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told police that he and his older brother built the pressure cooker bombs in the basement of the Cambridge residence.
However, it was established earlier this week that female DNA found one a piece of an explosive device used in the attacks did not match Katherine Russell’s, but rather belonged to a department store clerk where the Tsarnaev brothers had purchased the pressure cookers.
In another development in the case, federal and state law enforcement officials accompanied by bomb-sniffing dogs scoured a wooded area near Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev attended college, in search of new evidence possibly related to the attacks.
According to witness accounts, the brothers may have tested explosives in the woods two weeks before the bombings.
It was revealed earlier this week that Tamerlan Tsarnaev called his wife in the hours after the FBI released surveillance images of him and his younger brother.
But only Katherine Russell knows what was said in the conversation, as she has stopped cooperating with authorities over recent days, the New York Timesreported.
Authorities are skeptical of her insistence that she played no role in the attack or in helping the Tsarnaev brothers escape the authorities following the release of the photographs, the Times reported.
A source told CNN that the bombs were built in the apartment that Tamerlan Tsarnaev shared with Katherine Russell and their 3-year-old daughter, Zahara. Residue samples were found on the kitchen table, the kitchen sink, and the bathtub, the source said.
Katherine Russell’s silence comes as sources told the newspaper that the fingerprints and female DNA found on at least one of the bombs did not belong to her. Authorities had taken a sample from her this week.
Spokesman Jason Pack confirmed that agents investigating the Boston bombings visited the North Kingstown home of Katherine Russell’s parents, where Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s widow has been staying since the attacks.
An official had revealed that female DNA was found on at least one of the bombs, although investigators haven’t determined whose it is or whether it means a woman helped the two suspects.
Her lawyer says Katherine Russell denies any involvement in the bombings, but authorities are still working to establish what exactly she knew – if anything – before or after the April 15 attacks.
On Wednesday, attorney Amato DeLuca insisted Katherine Russell “will continue to meet with law enforcement, as she has done for many hours over the past week, and provide as much assistance to the investigation as she can”.
Katherine Russell met Tamerlan Tamerlan while she was a student at Suffolk University, according to her lawyer. She converted to Islam and they married in 2010 before having a daughter.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev died on April 19 following a shoot out with police in Watertown. Investigators say his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, hit him with a car as he fled the scene.
Solar Impulse plane, which is powered only by the Sun, has completed the first leg of a journey that aims to cross the US after landing in Arizona.
Solar Impulse took off at dawn from San Francisco, California, on Friday and landed in Phoenix, Arizona, some 18 hours later.
The craft will stop over in Dallas, St Louis, Washington DC and New York in the coming weeks.
Solar Impulse plane has the same wingspan as an Airbus A340 but it weighs just 1.6 tonnes.
It has already made a day-and-night flight lasting more than 26 hours, and the team aims to eventually circumnavigate the globe in 2015.
Solar Impulse plane, which is powered only by the Sun, has completed the first leg of a journey that aims to cross the US after landing in Arizona
The plane took off from Moffett Field on the edge of San Francisco Bay at 06:12 local time on Friday, and landed at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport at 00:30 local time on Saturday.
This meant Solar Impulse spent several hours flying in darkness, relying solely on the energy stored in an array of lithium-ion batteries to drive its propellers.
In daylight hours, these are charged by nearly 12,000 solar cells that cover the craft’s wings and stabilizer.
The HB-SIA craft was piloted by Bertrand Piccard, a co-founder of the effort, who is perhaps best known for being the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a hot-air balloon, in 1999.
The trans-America bid is the first attempt of its kind with a zero-fuel aircraft.
Together with co-founder and entrepreneur Andre Borschberg, the pair of Swiss pilots have racked up a number of world records and milestones in recent years.
The first night flight of a solar-powered craft in 2010 was followed by a first international flight in 2011, and first inter-continental flight in 2012.
The two will share the job of flying the plane between each of the stops of the tour.
“We’ve been preparing for this flight since last summer, so we are all very excited,” Andre Borschberg said.
The current aircraft HB-SIA is effectively the prototype for the craft that will eventually be used for transoceanic flights and the round-the-world trip. The HB-SIB should be completed by the end of 2013.
“You should see this like being in 1915 when the pioneers were trying to do these first cross-country flights – still unable to cross the ocean, but an important step for the development of aviation,” Andre Borschberg said.
The launch on Friday served as the start of the pair’s Clean Generation Initiative, an effort to encourage policy-makers and businesses to develop and adopt sustainable energy technologies.
“We want to show that with clean technologies, a passionate team and a far-reaching pioneering vision, one can achieve the impossible,” Dr. Bertrand Piccard said at the announcement of the mission in March.
Vanilla Chamu is a Japanese model who has undergone a startling physical transformation that has so far involved more than 30 cosmetic procedures at a cost of 10 million yen ($102,000) just to look like a French doll.
Vanilla Chamu has said she intends to keep having surgeries until she has achieved her lifelong goal.
Photos of Vanilla Chamu prior to her first procedures reveal a rather mousy Japanese teenager whose facial features are virtually unrecognizable from the bizarre and undoubtedly more “western-looking” appearance that she now possesses.
Vanilla Chamu has undergone a startling physical transformation that has so far involved more than 30 cosmetic procedures at a cost of $102,000 just to look like a French doll
Certain plastic surgery treatments, including double-eyelid surgery and nose jobs, are increasingly popular amongst Asian woman wishing to look more western.
Vanilla Chamu has unquestionably had those treatments, but her long list of procedures also includes liposuction, eyelash implants, dimple creation, and breast implants, reportsBuzzFeed.
Still her current look isn’t enough for Vanilla Chamu in her quest to become a “perfect living French doll”.
The model has recently had even larger breast implants fitted and her next procedure promises to be her most extreme yet as she plans to undergo height lengthening surgery.
Vanilla Chamu underwent her first plastic surgery when she was 19 years old and keeps her current age a well-guarded secret.
She has become something of a cause célèbre in her native land, making countless television appearances and launching a pop career.
Her unusual appearance undoubtedly makes her guaranteed to stand out in any crowd, but she does possess a very unusual view of what a French doll should look like.
A French doll can also be known as a porcelain doll, bisque doll or china doll and means a doll partially or wholly out of bisque porcelain.
Traditionally French dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish and were at the peak of their popularity between 1860 and 1900. Such dolls are now highly collectible and worth thousands of US dollars.
With her inflated pout and fake breasts, Vanilla Chamu certainly doesn’t resemble a classic children’s toy, but she is undoubtedly her own creation.
