Almost 40,000 people in the Netherlands have objected to the new official King’s Song marking the investiture of Willem-Alexander on April 30.
The King’s Song, composed by Dutch-British producer John Ewbank and performed by 51 Dutch artists, was released on Friday morning.
By Saturday, an online petition entitled No to the King’s Song had attracted 37,000 signatures.
Many objected to the lyrics as well as the mix of rap with traditional music.
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, 45, and his Argentine-born wife Princess Maxima will become king and queen when his mother, Queen Beatrix, 75, abdicates on April 30.
Almost 40,000 people in the Netherlands have objected to the new official King’s Song marking the investiture of Willem-Alexander on April 30
In an interview broadcast on Thursday, Prince Willem-Alexander promised to be a “traditional king” but declared he would not be a “protocol fetishist”.
The five-minute song – Koningslied in Dutch – is due to be performed in the presence of the new king and queen on the day of Willem-Alexander’s swearing-in at 19:30.
The performance, via video-link from the Ahoy sports arena in Rotterdam, is to feature some of the Netherlands’ best-known stars including Marco Borsato and Trijntje Oosterhuis.
But both music and lyrics have met with disdain following the song’s launch at 08:30 on Friday by the national enthronement committee.
John Ewbank’s music, which starts gently and at one point bursts into rap, was labeled “overproduced” by one critic who condemned the rap segment as “dreadful”.
As soon as the much-hyped song hit the airwaves a petition against it went online.
“In protest at this imbecilic <<King’s Song>>, I hereby resign as a citizen of the Netherlands,” the petition reads.
John Ewbank said the response was entirely expected because the song had been put under an “enormous magnifying glass”.
While the lyrics were based on words submitted by Dutch citizens, they were put together by four writers.
Some critics complained about lines such as: “I build a dyke with my bare hands and keep the water away” and “through wind and rain I’ll stand beside you… I’ll keep you safe as long as I live”.
One signatory to the petition said the song “spontaneously turns you into a republican, if you weren’t one already”.
Despite the outcry, the song has gone straight to the top of the Dutch iTunes chart.
Just hours after Boston Marathon bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured in Watertown Friday night, the FBI took into custody three others in connection with their investigation.
Two women – one of them thought to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s girlfriend – and one man, both of whom appeared to be college-aged, were apprehended from the Hidden Brook Apartments on Carriage Drive in New Bedford.
The FBI said they were all questioned and later released and that they were never booked into jail.
Two women, one of them thought to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s girlfriend, and one man, were apprehended from the Hidden Brook Apartments on Carriage Drive in New Bedford
New Bedford Police Dept. Lt. Robert Richard said they were not under arrest, though pictures from the scene showed them being led away in handcuffs.
The Massachusetts State Police Department has not responded to an inquiry on the arrests.
The three were apprehended after the FBI conducted a search warrant on an apartment at the complex, which is about 10 minutes from the Dartmouth campus, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was a student.
Neighbors told the local ABC affiliate that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s girlfriend may have lived in the apartment complex and some reported seeing him in the area following the bombings at the marathon, which killed three people and injured more than 170.
David Henneberry from Boston suburb Watertown, who discovered 19-year-old marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev cowering, bloodied, in his beloved boat “didn’t try to be a hero”, his stepson Robert Duffy revealed today.
David Henneberry, who is in his mid sixties, had stepped outside with his wife for some fresh air at around 5:45 p.m. yesterday afternoon when he noticed that a tarp had lifted off his boat and a strap had been cut.
The man climbed in for a closer look, which is when he saw a pool of blood and what he thought was a crumpled body.
“He saw something hunched down toward the forward of the boat, and his mind instantly did the right thing,” Robert Duffy said.
“He didn’t try to be a hero, he didn’t yell.”
Instead, David Henneberry dropped off his stepladder, ran inside his house and called 911, Robert Duffy told the Today show.
Having followed the rolling news coverage of the manhunt, and with SWAT teams already in his street, David Henneberry knew almost instantly what, or who, he had uncovered in the boat – and the danger that entailed, Robert Duffy said.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in the back of David Henneberry’s boat in Watertown
“He probably just peeked his head up into his boat, his beloved prize, and saw the pool of blood and with what has taken place all day via the media 24 hours of non-stop it was just probably was one, two, three – he knew exactly what was going on,” Robert Duffy told Fox News.
“He dropped out of the boat and his first instinct was 911. Knowing gunshots had been fired, he probably just dropped off the ladder and walked away for 911.”
According to CBS, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was forced out of the boat by “flash-bangs”, had been shot in the neck and in the leg.
Based on the amount of blood David Henneberry saw in the boat, investigators believe Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was probably wounded as long as 20 hours before he was discovered, in the Thursday morning battle that left the other bombing suspect, his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, dead.
The nightmarish 24 hours came to an end in Boston at around 8:45 p.m. yesterday as the 19-year-old suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev was taken into custody alive but injured after a gun battle with police and federal agents.
The final chapter in the drama began shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday, when Boston police told the nation that the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was still on the loose. Authorities had leads, but they didn’t know where he was.
Three hours and 45 minutes later, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev was found and captured alive after David Henneberry went outside for a breath of fresh air and to check on his boat.
About 5.45 p.m., David Henneberry stepped outside his house on Franklin Street in Watertown, less than three quarters of a mile from the center of police search in the town.
Neighbor George Pizzuto told ABC News that David Henneberry found the canvass tarp that covered his 25-foot plasure boat appeared to be askew.
“He looked and noticed something was off about his boat, so he got his ladder, and he put his ladder up on the side of the boat and climbed up, and then he saw blood on it,” George Pizzuto said.
David Henneberry fled to the home of his neighbor, George Pizzuto with his ill wife, while officers fired on his beloved boat.
“That boat’s his baby. He takes care of it like you wouldn’t believe. And they told him it’s all shot up,” George Pizzuto said.
“He’s going to be heartbroken.”
“He got out of the boat fast and called police,” the neighbor said.
By 6 p.m. cavalcades of police began arriving at David Henneberry’s house.
Authorities re-issued their orders for residents to stay inside as dozens of heavily-armed Boston police and federal agents surrounded the house.
Neighbors reported hearing dozens of rounds of automatic weapons fire as police closed on the house.
Officers said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev fired at them and that they returned fire.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a 19-year-old American citizen from Chechnya, was wounded by police at some point during a gun battle on Thursday night, authorities say.
Officers then backed off, hoping to take the suspect alive. Orders went out on Boston police radio that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was to be taken alive and that officers should not fire first and not return fire.
A robot was sent into the scene and pulled away the tarp with its mechanical arm.
That allowed a state police helicopter used an infrared camera to locate Dzhokhar Tsarnaev laying on his back in the back of the boat.
At 7.05 p.m. witnesses reported hearing police lob flash grenades, meant to stun the suspect, into the boat.
Police shouted at Dzhokhar Tsarnaev through bullhorns: “Come out with your hands up!” and “Come out on your own terms”.
By 8.43 p.m. it was over. A bloodied Dzhokhar Tsarnaev emerged from the boat and was taken into custody, loaded into an ambulance and rushed to the hospital.
General Electric has reported a 16% rise in its profits for the first quarter of 2013, helped by a one-off gain from the sale of its stake in NBC Universal.
GE made a profit of $3.53 billion in Q1 2013, up from $3.03 billion last year. Revenue was flat at $35 billion.
The conglomerate has been trying to put its focus back on core industrial businesses, which include aviation and energy infrastructure.
General Electric said orders for its aviation equipment jumped 47%.
Orders for oil and gas equipment and services, such as turbines and plant maintenance, rose 24%, said GE chairman and chief executive Jeff Immelt.
GE made a profit of $3.53 billion in Q1 2013, up from $3.03 billion last year
“In growth markets, equipment and service orders grew 17%. We ended the quarter with our biggest backlog in history,” he said.
Orders grew to $216 billion in the first quarter from $210 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012.
In the first three months of 2013 GE was awarded a $620 million maintenance contract for QGC’s Queensland Curtis liquified natural gas plant off the east coast of Australia.
It also won a contract to provide power equipment for the Emirates Aluminum smelter complex in Abu Dhabi, and another maintenance contract for a LNG project in Russia.
But the company said it had been affected by weaker-than-expected sales in Europe, especially in sales of power and water equipment.
“GE’s markets were mixed. The US and growth markets were in line with expectations. We planned for a continued challenging environment in Europe, but conditions weakened further with Industrial segment revenues in the region down 17%,” said Jeff Immelt.
“We always anticipated that the first half of 2013 would be our toughest comparison,” he added.
During the first quarter of 2013, GE sold its 49% stake in NBC Universal to Comcast for $18.1 billion.
Fox has renewed Glee for two more seasons, meaning the TV series will air at least six in total, through May 2015.
“Glee debuted as the first and only successful musical comedy series on television, and more than four years later, it continues to defy genres, break new ground and have a significant impact on popular culture,” said Fox chairman Kevin Reilly in a statement.
Fox has renewed Glee for two more seasons, meaning the TV series will air at least six in total
“Week in and week out … the entire Glee team deliver a series that not only delights and surprises fans, but also inspires them to talk about, share, debate and engage with the show – and I’m absolutely thrilled to have them on board for another two seasons.”
The current season features some of the school’s graduated seniors, played by Lea Michele and Chris Colfer, scattering from Ohio to New York City.
Glee is averaging 8.7 million viewers this season, including viewing delayed up to 7 days. That’s down from last season but the show remains one of Fox’s most popular as it weathers a steep decline by American Idol.
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s nonchalant attitude in the wake of Monday’s attack was witnessed on his Twitter page.
At 5 p.m. on Monday – just hours after he and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were caught on surveillance footage coolly walking away from the bomb site – he tweeted: “Ain’t no love in the heart of the city, stay safe people.”
“Fake story” he wrote on the social media website.
The same day the suspect added: “I’m a stress free kind of guy.”
According to the page, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a 9/11 denier and in a chilling post in August wrote: “Boston marathon isn’t a good place to smoke tho.”
The account, confirmed to friends to belong to the terror suspect, makes for haunting reading.
Just months before the tweet Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said he was changing majors to try and become a nurse and talked about his work “saving lives” as a Harvard lifeguard.
“I didn’t become a lifeguard just to chill and get paid, I do it for the people, saving brings me joy,” he wrote on May 29.
However, it has emerged Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sacked last summer after he suddenly stopped turning up for shifts, according to a Buzzfeed report.
The Chechen has been described by friends as a “careful and jovial” student, who has lived in the US for a decade and partied “like a normal American kid” – painting a conflicting picture of a man now accused of terrorism.
It appears Dzhokhar Tsarnaev became increasingly radicalized by his older brother Tamerlan with whom he is said to have carried out the deadly attack at Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 180.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s cousin, Zaur, told the Boston Globe that he “used to warn Dzhokhar that Tamerlan was up to no good” while Tamerlan’s boxing coach said the younger brother would watch him train, “he idolized him”, according to the Boston Herald.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Twitter account portrays two contrasting pictures and hints at a man who suddenly changed sometime last year.
Many of his posts are innocuous references to pop culture, college and women.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev posts hip hop lyrics, talks about his love for TV show Breaking Bad and chats to college friends.
But others are serious and appear to suggests of events to come.
In 2012, April 21, he wrote in Russian: “I will perish young.”
Last month Dzhokhar Tsarnaev tweeted: “Never underestimate the rebel with a cause.”
Last year, in a July 17 post at 10.45 a.m., he wrote: “3rd zombie apocalypse dream in a span of like 2 weeks, I’m no golden boy but maybe, just maybe we should be expecting something soon, tbc..”
This was the same day his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is believed to have returned to the US after a mysterious six month absence.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also made plain his feelings on 9/11.
Family and friends said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared to be a party-loving guy, who was never a troublemaker
He also posted: “Idk [I don’t know] why it’s hard for many of you to accept that 9/11 was an inside job, I mean I guess f*** the facts y’all are some real #patriots #gethip.”
Other post reads: “September 10th baby, you know what tomorrow is. Party at my house! #thingsyoudontyellwhenenteringaroom.”
Reports yesterday suggested Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had convinced his mother too.
A former client of Zubeidat Tsarnaeva told the Huffington Postthe mother of the bombers was also a denier.
Alyssa Kilzner said: “It’s real. She said, <<My son knows all about it. You can read on the Internet>>.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also posted pictures of himself in Times Square and wrote about visiting New York in November.
Another particularly hateful comment reads: “You guys know that the suicide rate for active duty american soldiers is at an all time high for 2012, a suicide a day, whats the #problem?”
The terror suspect also wrote: “A decade in America already, I want out.”
The context of the Boston Marathon message is not known as the recipient’s account and responses are locked and therefore private.
But half the conversation can be seen on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ‘s site.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was attending the University of Massachusetts after graduating from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, former high school of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
Up until Monday, family and friends said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared to be a party-loving guy, who was never a troublemaker and appeared grateful to America for taking in his family.
His father described him as a “true angel” yesterday as news emerged his two sons were terror suspects wanted for the atrocious attack on Boston on Monday.
Anzor Tsarnaev spoke with The Associated Press by telephone from the Russian city of Makhachkala.
“My son is a true angel,” he said.
“Dzhokhar is a second-year medical student in the US. He is such an intelligent boy.”
Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were legal permanent residents of the US who hailed from Chechnya, which has been plagued by an Islamic insurgency stemming from separatist wars.
But the two brothers took to their adoptive country very differently.
It appears Tamerlan Tsarnaev became radicalized in recent months. Despite his many years here, he said he had “one single American friend”.
Five months ago, Tamerlan Tsarnaev created a YouTube playlist dedicated to terrorism. Named simply “Terrorists”, it included a pair of videos, which are now no longer available.
Among the songs was one called I will dedicate my life to Jihad.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev also featured videos recorded by recent converts to Islam.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the other hand, who grew up in the US from a much younger age, seemed to have entirely immersed himself in American life.
High school friends expressed their shock that he would have anything to do with terrorism.
One friend told CNN: “He is a normal kid, he parties, he sometimes smokes – if you know what I mean. He was as American as I am – he was born and raised here. This kid was a walking angel.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was born in Kyrgyzstan after the family fled Chechnya. The family, which also included two daughters, Bella and Amina, had refugee status.
Both sons had immense pride in their “home country” with Dzhokhar describing himself as Chechen and speaking the language.
The family moved around Eastern Europe with their young family.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to a school in Makhachkala, the capital city of the Republic of Dagestan, between 1999-2001.
His former teachers at his first school described him as a “normal child” yesterday.
“He arrived at our school in the first form and departed in the second,” Irina Bandurina, the secretary at Makhachkala’s School No.1, told RT.
“They arrived from Kyrgyzstan and departed to the US. I’m telling you they lived here for a year. Not the whole year. They arrived at the school in 2001 and departed in March 2002 … There were four of them – two sisters and two brothers… It’s written here that they are from Kyrgyzstan.”
In high school Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a young wrestling star – a member of the team for three years and captain for two.
Sanjaya Lamichhame, a team-mate, refused to speak against his friend and said: “He always motivated me. He was a very nice guy. I knew him for four or five years.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also showed intellectual promise – winning a scholarship of $2,500 from the city of Cambridge.
His page on Vkontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, shows pictures of him with friends and posing for the camera.
On that site Dzhokhar Tsarnaev mentions his interest in Islam but makes no suggestion he was radicalized.
It has now been overrun with people asking him how he could have committed the bombing, and wishing him dead.
The first brush with police for the family appears to been have made in June 2012, when the boys’ mother Zubeidat Tsarnaeva was arrested for stealing $1,624 in clothes from Lord and Taylor.
His high school friend Eric Mercado said there was only one time he remembered Dzhokhar Tsarnaev discussing terrorism.
“A friend of mine remembered a conversation he had had with Dzhokhar. It was along the lines of when justified, terrorism is not necessarily a bad thing.”
“It was a red flag but people say things all the time and you don’t take it out of context. You don’t believe someone’s going to be a terrorist because of these conversations,” he said.
Eric Mercado said friends were in disbelief when they identified Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from FBI pictures by his trademark backwards white cap.
Dexter’s producers have confirmed drama series Season 8 will be its last.
In a post on the show’s Facebook page, producers said they wanted fans to be the “first to know” that the upcoming series will be the finale.
Dexter, about a forensics expert who moonlights as a serial killer, began in 2006.
In 2010, Dexter‘s star, Michael C. Hall, won the Golden Globe for best actor in a Drama.
Dexter’s producers have confirmed drama series Season 8 will be its last
The show, which airs on cable network Showtime, has been one of its most successful programmes, with steady ratings throughout its run.
Dexter Season 8 will debut on June 30.
The new season will feature British actress Charlotte Rampling as a neuropsychiatrist specialising in serial killers.
Speaking before the announcement, Michael C. Hall told Entertainment Weekly: “I don’t imagine I’ll jump right back into something, but such amazing things are happening on television, to rule it out entirely would be silly.
“I look forward to finding out what life feels like without Dexter.”
Biffy Clyro have been forced to cancel their US tour dates as the band’s lead singer, Simon Neil, has been rushed back to the UK after suffering serious respiratory problems while on tour.
The band has released a statement which said doctors had advised Simon Neil “he was endangering his long term health if he chose to continue performing on this run.”
Biffy Clyro also confirmed they will no longer be performing at Coachella or continuing to support Muse across America and Canada.
The Scottish rockers do hope to continue with UK and European dates in the summer.
Biffy Clyro canceled their US tour dates due to Simon Neil’s respiratory problems
The band’s statement said: “Biffy Clyro have today been forced to cut short their North American tour and return to the UK immediately.
“Simon Neil has been struggling with a serious respiratory problem on the shows, including two nights supporting Muse at Madison Square Garden on Monday and Tuesday of this week, and was advised by doctors that he was endangering his long term health if he chose to continue performing on this run.
“Thus, further dates with Muse across the US and Canada, plus a second weekend performance at the Coachella Festival this coming Saturday, have now been cancelled.”
The statement, which was also posted on Biffy Clyro’s website, continued: “The band wish to express how sorry they are that they aren’t able to carry out the full run of shows, and hope to confirm a new run of North American shows shortly.
“All UK and European dates this summer should, however, remain unaffected.”
Biffy Clyro are due to headline this year’s Reading and Leeds Festivals. They have been touring their number one album Opposites since February.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the UK’s credit rating from AAA to AA+, owing to a weakened economic outlook.
The move, after Moody’s downgrade in February, came as British Chancellor George Osborne defended the government’s austerity plan.
Fitch said its downgrade primarily reflected a weaker economic and fiscal outlook.
George Osborne has said his was the “right plan” and that the economy was “healing”.
The credit ratings agency said its downgrade “primarily reflects a weaker economic and fiscal outlook” but returned its outlook to “stable”, removing the threat of further rate action in the near term.
In its twice-yearly World Economic Outlook published on Wednesday, the IMF slashed its forecast for growth to 0.7% in 2013 after saying in January that the country’s economy could expect 1% growth.
Moody’s became the first major agency to downgrade the UK’s sovereign debt rating in February, although Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed its AAA rating earlier this month.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the UK’s credit rating from AAA to AA+, owing to a weakened economic outlook
Regarding the latest downgrade from Fitch, the UK Treasury said: “This is a stark reminder that the UK cannot simply run away from its problems, or refuse to deal with a legacy of debt built up over a decade.
“Fitch themselves say the government’s ‘continued policy commitment to reducing the underlying budget deficit’ is one of the main reasons UK debt now has a <<stable>> outlook.
“Though it is taking time, we are fixing this country’s economic problems. The deficit is down by a third (since 2010), a million and a quarter new private sector jobs have been created and the credibility we have earned means households and businesses are benefitting from near record low interest rates.”
IMF delegates visit the UK next month for annual consultations that allow it to monitor member countries and issue recommendations about economic policy.
Some IMF officials have recently raised doubts over George Osborne’s strategy.
IMF’s managing director Christine Lagarde said: “With this medium-term strong anchoring of fiscal consolidation, the pace has to be adjusted depending on the circumstances and given the weak growth that we have observed lately because of reduced demand addressed to the economy, now might be the time to consider.
“But we want to have the dialogue. I don’t think it’s fair on any of our members… to actually pass a final judgement, and the words used matter and the grammar that is applied to words matters so when we say <<may consider>>, we are opening the door.”
“But now is the dialogue,” she said, referring to the IMF’s upcoming visit to the UK.
Christine Lagarde’s comments were in line with those made by IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard earlier in the week, when he warned that George Osborne was “playing with fire” if he continued his current strategy.
But the chancellor is sticking to his plan, saying he would defend his case when the IMF officials visit.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old Chechen terror suspect in Boston Marathon bombings, partied with college friends on Wednesday night and was said to “look relaxed” just two days after the horrific attack.
Hours before the deadly shootout which claimed his brother Tamerlan’s life Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev was seen on a night out on campus.
A fellow University of Massachusetts student told the Boston Globe: “He was just relaxed.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev partied with college friends just two days after Boston Marathon terror attack
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s nonchalant attitude – a possible attempt to cover his tracks – in the wake of Monday’s Boston Marathon attack was also witnessed on his Twitter page.
At 5 p.m. on Monday – just hours after he and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were caught on surveillance footage coolly walking away from the bomb site – he tweeted: “Ain’t no love in the heart of the city, stay safe people.”
Muslim militants from Chechnya have a long history of unleashing separatist terror attacks on Russia – but the allegations of Chechen origin brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s involvement in the Boston Marathon explosions would mark the first time they have targeted the West.
Buried in the heart of Russia’s Northern Caucasus, the Islamic state has fought against Russian rule for centuries.
But it culminated in a bloody and chaotic civil war with the Russian government in 1994 that left tens of thousands dead and the region in ruins.
As a result, the area became a hotbed for extremism, and was soon infiltrated by foreign Islamic militants, including those with ties to al-Qaeda.
Terrorists have since unleashed a string of attacks on Russian soil and, more recently, abroad.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old Chechen terror suspect in Boston Marathon bombings
Russian troops withdrew from Chechnya in 1996 after the first Chechen war, leaving it de-facto independent and largely lawless, but then rolled back three years later following apartment building explosions in Moscow and other cities blamed on the rebels.
Chechnya has stabilized under the steely grip of Kremlin-backed local strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, a former rebel whose forces were accused of massive rights abuses.
However, the Islamic insurgency has spread to neighboring provinces, with Dagestan, sandwiched between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea, becoming the epicenter of violence with militants launching daily attacks against police and other authorities.
Militants from Chechnya and neighboring provinces have launched a long series of terror attacks in Russia.
On October 23, 2002, over 40, mostly female, terrorists took more than 700 hostages prisoner at a Moscow theater, demanding an end to the Russian presence in Chechnya. Dressed from head to toe in black hijabs, they became known as The Black Widows.
But when Russian security forces stormed the theater, guns blazing, the hostage takers responded by detonating homemade bombs strapped to their bodies, killing more than 100 innocent theater goers.
Then on September 1, 2004, a group of 32 heavily-armed, masked men seized control of Middle School Number One and more than 1,000 hostages in Beslan, North Ossetia.
Most of the hostages were children aged from 6 to 16 years old.
After a tense two-day standoff, that was beamed around the world, Russian forces raided the building.
A violent, two-hour gunfight followed bringing an end to a siege that ultimately claimed the lives of 331 civilians, 11 commandos and 31 hostage-takers.
The rebels have since claimed responsibility for an array of terrorist attacks, including last year’s double suicide bombing of the Moscow subway system that killed 40 people.
In March 2010, two women suicide bombers killed 40 commuters when they blew themselves up on two packed tube trains during the busy rush hour.
In January 2011, a Chechen suicide bomber unleashed terror on Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport when they blew themselves up killing 36 people.
In recent years, however, militants in Chechnya, Dagestan and other neighboring provinces have largely refrained from attacks outside the Caucasus.
The allegations of Chechen brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s role in the Boston’s explosions would reinforce long-held claims by Russian officials that insurgents in the Caucasus have been linked to al-Qaeda.
Mariah Carey shared a series of intimate snaps of herself joined by her daughter Monroe for a stroll down a stone walkway in complementary pink dresses.
Monroe, 23-month-old, joined Mariah Carey as the singer left for a taping of American Idol on Thursday afternoon.
Mariah Carey, 43, showed off a set of toned legs in a salmon mini dress with a fluttered hem, a khaki trench coat and metallic heeled sandals.
Monroe, 23-month-old, joined Mariah Carey as the singer left for a taping of American Idol
Monroe matched mum in a pink floral frock worn over a pair of blue jeans and accessorized with trainers, a hair bow and glasses in the same shade of pale bubblegum.
Mariah Carey wrote of her photogenic daughter: “Ms. Monroe walking me out #divaintraining.”
The singer added: “Hate leaving dembabies, be back soon!!!”
Earlier this year, Mariah Carey told Barbara Walters of her daughter: “I call her Miss Monroe, and that kind of dictated her personality. She’s a total diva. She’s into jewelry. She’s fascinated by jewelry.”
Later, the singer posted a photograph of herself reclining against a shelf, captioning it: “Off to mix my new single. #music=life (that’s not the song title ha ha).”
Though reportedly in the studio, Mariah Carey has not released an album since 2010.
Mariah Carey told Billboard of her latest effort: “It’s about making sure I have tons of good music, because at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.
“Wherever we go with this project, I’ve tried to keep the soul and heart in it, with me obviously as the through-line.”
Snooki shows off her sleek new look and posts a triple image of herself on Twitter after she managed to lose 40 lbs since giving birth last August.
Jersey Shore star spent some time stitching the striking photographs together, featuring herself in a lumberjack shirt, black vest, leggings and boots.
Snooki shows off her sleek new look and posts a triple image of herself on Twitter after she managed to lose 40 lbs since giving birth last August
She said the latter had teased her about her look, saying: “Jionni called me a cowgirl.”
Snooki later posted an image of herself with a frozen dinner on her leg, saying: “Icing battle wounds from the gym.”
But Snooki, real name Nicole Polizzi, has not only been boasting about herself on the social networking website. She also gave her fans a thrilling update on her boy’s progress yesterday.
The reality star said: “My son’s officially crawling! Yay.”
Last weekend Snooki showed off her fabulous new figure in a metallic dress split to the thigh at the MTV Movie Awards.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombing, was captured wounded but alive after hiding out in a boat parked in David Henneberry’s backyard in Watertown on Friday evening.
The arrest of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev signaled the end of five days of terror set-off by the double bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line.
His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, lay dead in a furious 24-hour drama that transfixed the nation and paralyzed the Boston area with fear.
Relieved law enforcement officers began cheering and clapping after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was arrested and is now in a serious condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is reported to have lost a great deal of blood.
David Henneberry, an avid boater who is a member of the Watertown Yacht Club, found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev inside his boat covered in blood
Police cornered Dzhokhar Tsarnaev around 7 p.m., less than an hour after police lifted a stay-indoors order for the city and its suburbs.
A resident in his 60s, believed to be called David Henneberry, reportedly went outside to smoke and saw the tarpaulin cover of his 22-foot pleasure boat was disturbed off the top.
Checking to see what was wrong, David Henneberry, an avid boater who is a member of the Watertown Yacht Club, investigated and saw Dzhokhar Tsarnaev curled-up inside covered in blood.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured wounded but alive after hiding out in a boat parked in David Henneberry’s backyard in Watertown
David Hanneberry then “freaked out” and ran inside to call police – who dispatched a helicopter which used thermal imaging to confirm there was a person inside the boat.
“He looked and noticed something was off about his boat, so he got his ladder, and he put his ladder up on the side of the boat and climbed up, and then he saw blood on it, and he thought he saw what was a body laying in the boat,” David Henneberry’s neighbor, George Pizzuto said to ABC News.
“So he got out of the boat fast and called police.”
“That boat’s his baby. He takes care of it like you wouldn’t believe. And they told him it’s all shot up,” George Pizzuto said.
“He’s going to be heartbroken.”
Within minutes police, ATF, SWAT and K-9 units had descended upon 67 Franklin Street and engaged Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a vicious gun battle – over 40 shots rang out in the quiet suburban neighborhood.
“There was an exchange of gunfire,” confirmed Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis at a news conference.
Authorities, using a bullhorn, had called on the suspect to surrender: “Come out with your hands up.”
“We used a robot to pull the tarp off the boat,” David Procopio of the Massachusetts State Police said to CNN.
“We were also watching him with a thermal imaging camera in our helicopter. He was weakened by blood loss – injured last night most likely.”
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot twice by law enforcement in the terrific gun battle which raged until his capture at approximately 8.45 p.m.
Law enforcement sources have suggested that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev gave himself up voluntarily after realizing continuing resistance was fruitless.
The standoff and subsequent arrest came only minutes after authorities said during a news conference that the manhunt for the suspect appeared to come up empty.
A powerful earthquake hit China’s south-western province of Sichuan killing at least 46 people and injuring at least 400, state TV reports.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which had a 6.6 magnitude, was centred 31 miles west of the town of Linqiong.
The tremor occurred at a depth of 7.4 miles.
There are fears the death toll could rise further.
An 8.0 magnitude quake in Sichuan in May 2008 killed nearly 90,000 people.
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan in May 2008 killed nearly 90,000 people
The latest quake – initially reported as a 7.0 magnitude, and then at 6.9 – struck at 08:02 local time, the USGS said.
The earthquake was felt 71 miles away in the provincial capital, Chengdu, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
People ran into the streets wrapped in blankets, according to photos posted online. Other pictures showed buildings that had collapsed.
A resident in Chengdu told Xinhua he had been on the 13th floor of a building when he felt the quake. The building shook for about 20 seconds and he saw tiles fall from nearby buildings.
Electrical and water supplies have reportedly been cut to the affected area.
Telephone lines are also believed to be down.
Xinhua said 2,000 soldiers had been dispatched to the area to help with rescue efforts.
The city of Ya’an, close to the epicentre, has a population of 1.5 million.
The USGS noted that “significant” casualties were likely and that “extensive damage is probable and disaster is likely widespread”.
“Past events with this alert level have required a national or international level response,” it added.
The 2008 disaster in Sichuan left 5 million people homeless.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombing, was captured wounded but alive after hiding out in a boat parked in a backyard in Watertown on Friday evening.
The arrest of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev signaled the end of five days of terror set-off by the double bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombing, was captured wounded but alive after hiding out in a boat parked in a backyard in Watertown
The bloody endgame came four days after the bombing and just a day after the FBI released surveillance-camera images of two young men suspected of planting the pressure-cooker explosives that ripped through the crowd at the marathon finish line, killing three people and wounding more than 180.
His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, lay dead in a furious 24-hour drama that transfixed the nation and paralyzed the Boston area with fear.
Relieved law enforcement officers began cheering and clapping after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was arrested and is now in a serious condition at
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is reported to have lost a great deal of blood.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Suspect 2 in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been captured alive in Watertown and taken into custody, police have said.
Gunfire was heard as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was reportedly found hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, had escaped on foot early on Friday after a police shootout that claimed the life of his elder brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Three people died and more than 180 were hurt in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings.
Boston Police Department tweeted: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.”
A law enforcement official told the Associated Press news agency that suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was covered in blood.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Suspect 2 in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been captured alive in Watertown and taken into custody
Police helicopters buzzed overhead, and bomb squad vans and ambulances were in position around the house in Franklin Street in Watertown on Friday night.
CNN reported that a family of ten were removed from the scene and officers were seen carrying children.
The home reportedly belongs to Mr. Henneberry and Elizabeth Henneberry, a couple in their mid-sixties.
At one stage a series of about 15 explosions erupted, which local television channels speculated could have been flash-bang grenades used by the authorities.
A local resident, Anna Bedirian, told Reuters news agency: “There’s about 50 guys there with machine guns and they all got bulletproof vests on, some of them are holding shields.
“There are a couple of armored cars and they’re all standing around.”
Friday night’s breakthrough came less than an hour after authorities lifted a city-wide order for residents to stay indoors, and reopened the transport system, as the trail appeared to have gone cold.
Thousands of SWAT team officers scoured the streets all day in a manhunt that virtually shut down the city.
Officials had shut down all mass transit and warned close to one million people in Boston and some of its suburbs not to leave their homes.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a college student, had fled on foot following a gun battle that left 200 spent rounds and a car chase in which he and his brother hurled explosives at police, authorities said.
Brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev also shot and killed an MIT policeman and severely wounded another officer late on Thursday, authorities said, hours after the FBI released images of marathon-bombing suspects.
Law enforcement officials and family members have identified Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev as ethnic Chechens who had been living in America for about a decade.
The FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 after a request from a foreign government, US law enforcements officials have confirmed. But agents closed the case after finding no reason for concern.
Boston Marathon attack killed Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lu Lingzi, 23, a postgraduate student from China.
Authorities have taken three people into custody in connection with the Boston bombings in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 65 miles south of the city, the Boston Globe reports. It is unknown how they were connected to the case.
Kate Middleton has been voted the world’s best-dressed pregnant star in Vanity Fair‘s annual Top 10 Best-Dressed Pregnant Ladies.
Ranking the world’s most stylish expectant mothers, Vanity Fair placed Alec Hilaria Baldwin, second, and Peaches Geldof third.
Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz and Lara Stone, with their closets full of figure-hugging dresses and numerous expertly-layered red carpet outfits, were not far behind.
While many pregnant women avoid belly-hugging clothing, bright colors, and luxurious fabrics – instead opting for elastic waists, and materials synonymous with comfort, like Lycra, jersey, and cotton – these stars have no lack of style inspiration.
The Duchess of Cambridge, for example, has set the maternity-fashion bar high.
Kate Middleton’s classic pieces have inspired and influenced the wardrobes of countless mothers-to-be, concealing her relatively small bump with three-quarter-length coats and knee-grazing skirts that draw attention to her toned legs.
Meanwhile Hilaria Baldwin, 28, has become famous for her simple, low-maintenance pregnancy style.
Kate Middleton has been voted the world’s best-dressed pregnant star in Vanity Fair’s annual Top 10 Best-Dressed Pregnant Ladies
She favors body-hugging, sleeveless dresses that highlight her strong limbs.
Peaches Geldof, 24, has taken a cue from old-world Hollywood glamour, showing off her baby bump in sophisticated gowns – “considerably more maternal than her (occasionally barely clothed) wild-child days of yore,” wrote Vanity Fair.
Penelope Cruz, who is expecting her second child, has style with signature styles she favored pre-pregnancy – like a belted waist.
Favoring tight, floor-skimming black-tie outfits in eye-popping colors in Lara Stone, who plays down her seductive style with off-duty hair and lips.
Ranked ninth is Margherita Missoni, pregnant with her first child, while model Eva Herzigová follows for tenth place thanks to her downtown and “decidedly un-dowdy” maternity wear.
Vanity Fair’s Top 10 Best-Dressed Pregnant Ladies 2013:
Amazon and its UK-based subsidiary LoveFilm are to put to the public vote on their websites 14 pilot shows, including Alpha House and Zombieland.
Viewers can submit feedback influencing which shows get made into full series.
The 14 shows are made by independent production companies and produced by Amazon Studios, the film and series production arm of Amazon.
“This is the first time Amazon Studios has done this,” said Simon Morris, LoveFilm’s chief marketing officer.
Eight adult comedies and six children’s animation series will be put to the public vote.
The shows will be aired on Amazon’s pay subscription services – Amazon Prime in the US, and LoveFilm in the UK.
Amazon and LoveFilm are to put to the public vote on their websites 14 pilot shows, including Alpha House and Zombieland
Simon Morris said shows would be available to everyone and not just subscribers.
The adult pilot shows include Alpha House, about four senators who live together in a rented house in Washington DC and stars John Goodman, who was recently in Oscar-winning film Argo.
“Bill Murray has got a cameo in Alpha House, looking a bit older, a little bit more bedraggled, but definitely Bill Murray,” Simon Morris added.
Onion News Empire is set behind the scenes of the Onion News Network, a satirical daily news service, and “shows just how far journalists will go to stay at the top of their game”, according to Amazon Studios.
It stars Arrested Development‘s Jeffrey Tambor as the “egomaniacal lead anchor”.
Musical comedy Browsers stars Cheers and Frasier actress Bebe Neuwirth as the “terrifying” boss of a news website in Manhattan.
Other pilot shows include Zombieland – based on the film of the same name – featuring four survivors attempting to outwit zombies, while animated comedy Dark Minions, written by Big Bang Theory’s Kevin Sussman and John Ross Bowie, is about two “slackers” working on an intergalactic warship.
The children’s shows include animations Sara Solves It, where Sara and Sam solve maths-based mysteries, and Creative Galaxy, an interactive art adventure series.
Ruslan Tsarni, uncle of two Boston Marathon bombing suspects Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has said he wishes his nephews “never existed” and called them both “losers”.
Ruslan Tsarni held a press conference outside of his home in Montgomery Village, Maryland, where he said that they had brought “shame” on both their family and their country.
He described the older brother, Tamerlan, as a “loser” and said the pair were “barbarians”.
“I’ve been watching it and reading it. The people who did this, they don’t deserve to even exist on this Earth, that is what I think,” Ruslan Tsarni said.
“I just wish they never existed. I’m wordless. I’m shocked.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, went on the run after his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan was killed in a shoot-out with police in Massachusetts.
Ruslan Tsarni held a press conference outside of his home in Montgomery Village, Maryland
Ruslan Tsarni is a US citizen and worked in oil and gas legislation for more than a decade.
In 2005 he was hired as the vice president of business development and corporate secretary of Big Sky Energy Corporation in Canada but now he lives in Maryland.
Ruslan Tsarni said that the brothers had lived in America for nearly decade since traveling from Chechnya in Russia.
He had not spoken to the boys since 2009 and said that he did not recognize them when he saw the photos released by the FBI on Thursday evening.
Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev lived together near Boston, having moved to the US around a decade ago after growing up in an area of Russia near Chechnya.
When he was told that Tamerlan Tsarnaev had died, Ruslan Tsarni replied: “He deserved it. He absolutely deserved his it.”
Ruslan Tsarni tried to make it clear that he was ashamed of his nephews actions and urged viewers not to build a connection between their Muslim faith or their ethnicity.
“Anything else to do with religion with Islam is a fraud, is a fake. We’re Muslims, we’re Chechens, we’re ethnic Chechens,” he said.
Because it has been some time since he spoke to either of the boys, Ruslan Tsarni did not know what prompted their terrorist attack, saying that perhaps “somebody radicalized them but it’s not my brother”.
“[It’s] a shame on the entire Chechen ethnicity.”
Ruslan Tsarni said that the only possible reason for the bombings was because Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were “being losers and not being able to settle themselves and hating everyone else who did”.
Though Ruslan Tsarni had not spoken to either of the suspected bombers in years, his brother- their father- said that he had been in touch with them just yesterday.
The suspects’ uncle added: “I’m wordless… shocked.
“They do not deserve to exist on this earth.”
Ruslan Tsarni called Tamerlan Tsarnaev a “loser” and described his younger nephew, Dzhokhar, as a quiet kid.
Anzor Tsarnaev, the father of suspected marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was screaming and yelling while talking about how he could not believe the charges against his sons.
“They never could have done this. Never, ever, ever!” said the father, who lives in an area of Russia called Makhachkala.
Anzor Tsarnaev also said that he believes that his sons were set up, and without going into specifics, he said that if his younger son was killed once he is found, then he would see it as proof that there was a conspiracy afoot.
“If they killed him, then all hell would break loose,” Anzor Tsarnaev told ABC News.
“If they kill my second child, I will know that it is an inside job, a hit job. The police are to blame.”
In a surprising twist, Anzor Tsarnaev said that he spoke to both of his sons just Thursday, days after the two bombs killed three and injured more than 180 people at the Boston marathon on Monday.
The boys told him: “Everything is good, Daddy. Everything is very good.”
When asked what he would say to his living son, Dzhokhar, he said: “Give up. Give up. You have a bright future ahead of you. Come home to Russia.”
The ABC reporter said that Anzor Tsarnaev was rather calm during their conversation, but that wasn’t the case when he spoke to People magazine earlier, as he was described as screaming and yelling.
“I feel terrible! Why they kill my son? Something wrong! My sons never do bombing. They hated guns – how they do bombs?” the father told People.
“I talked to my sons yesterday, both of them. We talked about the bombing. I was worried about them, they said they were okay.”
The first suspect- identified by officials as 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev- was shot and killed during a firefight with police but his younger brother Dzhokhar was able to escape and remains on the run.
He went on to say that they were good kids with “big dreams”.
Anzor Tsarnaev believes that his sons were set up and if his younger son was killed once he is found, then he would see it as proof that there was a conspiracy afoot
“I am very depressed. How am I going to live? Never I think in my mind this happen. My sons hate people who do bombs, they hate terrorists. Why they kill my son? And where is my other son? They have time to catch my other son, not kill,” Anzor Tsarnaev said.
Earlier on Friday, Anzor Tsarnaev talked to the Associated Press, calling Dzhokhar “a true angel”.
“Dzhokhar is a second-year medical student in the U.S. He is such an intelligent boy. We expected him to come on holidays here.”
The siblings’ mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, gave an interview to the English-language Russian news channel RT America, insisting that her sons are “100 per cent innocent”, and that they have been framed.
“This is a set up, my son would never ever carry out such terror attack,” Zubeidat Tsarnaeva said Friday.
The mother went on to say: “FBI knew everything what my son was doing, told me he was serious leader, that they were afraid of him.”
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva went on to say that Dzhokhar was raised in the US and insisted that “no one ever talked about terror” in their house.
That favorable picture of Dzhokhar, 19, and Tamerlan, 26, comes in stark contrast to what one of their uncles recalled.
Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the Boston bombing suspect who died early Friday morning, said that he was a “loser”.
Rather than being upset about his nephew’s death, Ruslan Tsarni, who lives in Maryland, called Tamerlan a “loser” and said that he “deserved” his death this morning.
The boys’ aunt, Maret Tsarnaeva, is a surgeon who lives in Canada. She used to be in Chechnya and her acts as a battlefield surgeon are described in a book.
“This is a huge tragedy for the family. My brother’s two boys, they are growing up so fast,” she told The Toronto Sun.
“My first reaction is, <<Why the hell would they do this?>> But when I go through all the material, it’s not giving anything… the whole world is now making a decision (on them) now by just seeing these pictures and not having anything else.”
Maret Tsarnaeva told how her older brother Anzor had high expectations for his children, especially his older son Tamerlan.
Anzor Tsarnaev was disappointed when he heard that Tamerlan, who was killed in a shoot out early Friday morning, had dropped out of college, but she thought that he had a happy life.
“Within the family, everything was perfect,” she said.
One hint of tension that she did reveal, however, was that Tamerlan Tsarnaev “seemingly did not find himself yet in America, because it’s not easy”.
She said that the 26-year-old became a devout Muslim “but just recently, maybe two years ago, he started praying five times a day’.
“He has a wife in Boston and from a Christian family, so you can’t tie it to religion,” Maret Tsarnaeva told reporters.
The FBI has cordoned off the three-story brick building where the bombers’ sister lives in West New York, near Union city in New Jersey.
The New Jersey Star Ledger spoke to her earlier in the day and she said that she has not been in frequent contact with either of them.
“They were great people. I never would have expected it. They are smart – I don’t know what’s gotten into them,” she said.
When asked if she was okay, she said: “No I’m not okay– no one is okay right now. I’m hurt for everyone who has been hurt. I’m sorry for all the people who are hurt and for all the people who lost their lives.”
Several former classmates described Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a friendly, smart kid, and they said they were shocked that he was part of the pair who killed three and injured more than 180 in the marathon bombings on Monday.
An unidentified friend told CNN that he “hung out, went to parties, smoked some weed… it’s not like he’s some foreign dude”.
A different uncle, Alvi Tsarni, who lives close by in Boston was visibly upset when he spoke about his nephews.
“I don’t believe any of my nephews are involved in this horrible incident,” Alvi Tsarni told the Boston CBS affiliate WBZ.
“If he did this I’m sorry too. It’s crazy, it’s not possible. I can’t believe it. Who can do this stuff?”
Kris Humphries has finally decided to settle with Kim Kardashian in their divorce case after battling for 536 days, which is over five times as long as the marriage itself lasted.
According to sources, Kris Humphries backed down after no evidence of fraud perpetrated by Kim Kardashian emerged.
Kris Humphries, 27, Â was then forced to consider mounting legal costs and the prospect of losing any pay-out from his estranged wife – a pre-nup would be invoked if the trial got to court.
Kris Humphries has finally decided to settle with Kim Kardashian in their divorce case after battling for 536 days
This means that the NBA player has most likely agreed to a divorce – as Kim Kardashian wished – and dropped his pleas for an annulment based on fraud, and sources are saying the judge has signed off divorce papers and dissolved the marriage.
Kris Humphries, who was ordered by the judge to attend Friday’s hearing so he could face fines for last no show, skipped the appointment.
Kim Kardashian acquitted herself well by refusing to revel in getting the verdict she wanted, and looked stunning in a beautiful, suitably black fitted dress.
Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in as Venezuela’s new president, succeeding the late Hugo Chavez who died of cancer last month.
Thousands gathered on the streets of Caracas to show their support for Nicolas Maduro and to celebrate independence.
The inauguration ceremony follows a decision by the electoral body to carry out a full audit on all of the votes cast in Sunday’s disputed presidential poll.
Nicolas Maduro beat opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski by 1.5% of the vote.
Henrique Capriles, who believed there were voting irregularities, says he accepts the electoral audit.
Opposition supporters were expected to protest against Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration by banging on pots and pans, and playing salsa music.
Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in as Venezuela’s new president, succeeding the late Hugo Chavez who died of cancer last month
Dozens of leaders from across the region (including Brazil, Cuba and Colombia), Iran and some Arab countries attended the ceremony.
Henrique Capriles made an appeal for peaceful protests in a bid to avoid further violence after clashes left seven people dead on Monday.
The National Electoral Council’s decision to audit all the paper receipts of electronic votes is seen as a major concession to the opposition.
The council had earlier audited 54% of the vote and said this showed that Nicolas Maduro, the chosen successor of the late President Hugo Chavez, had won a slim majority.
The official count indicates Nicolas Maduro won 50.8% of votes to Henrique Capriles’s 49.0%.
Henrique Capriles said he believed the crucial votes that cost him the presidency are among the unaudited 46% of the vote.
He said there were more than 3,000 incidents from Sunday’s poll that needed to be examined.
Correspondents say the announcement comes as a surprise to many after the electoral body initially said the results, which it announced on Sunday night, were “irreversible”.
The council’s president, Tibisay Lucena, told AFP news agency that the expanded audit was not a recount but would cover all ballot boxes not audited on election day by reviewing a sample two-thirds of them over the next month.
Venezuela uses electronic voting machines which register an elector’s decision and then emit a printed receipt for the voter to deposit into a sealed ballot box. For the audit, the receipts will be compared with the electronic tallies, to check for any irregularities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Cuban leader Raul Castro were among the first heads of state to congratulate Nicolas Maduro on his win.
The governments of Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Argentina, among others, have also voiced their backing for Nicolas Maduro’s victory.
But the US has so far refused to recognize Nicolas Maduro’s win, calling for an audit of the results.
Secretary of State John Kerry said the US was not yet ready to validate the results of Sunday’s poll.
Several opposition-led protests erupted across the country after the official results were announced on Sunday.
Texas officials have announced that 12 bodies have been recovered from the site of Wednesday’s deadly blast at West Fertilizer plant.
About 200 people are now thought to have been injured in the blast.
Earlier, the town’s mayor said he believed four firefighters who attended the original fire were among the dead, though this has not been confirmed.
Dozens of buildings were destroyed by the blast in the town of West, near Waco.
Jason Reyes of the Texas Department of Public Safety said search and rescue efforts were ongoing.
Twelve bodies have been recovered from the site of deadly blast at West Fertilizer plant in Texas
The explosion produced a tremor similar to a small earthquake.
There is no indication that the blast and a fire which preceded it were anything other than industrial accidents, according to police.
However, they have said that the site is being treated as a crime scene.
Texas Governor Rick Perry earlier said he was declaring the area a disaster and would request an emergency declaration for federal aid from President Barack Obama, who has offered any help needed.
Air quality and gas pipelines are being monitored for safety, and gas supplies have also been disconnected until any risk has passed.
Emergency services officials earlier said the explosion may have been caused by the chemical ammonia.
The explosion devastated the West Fertilizer Company, about 20 miles north of Waco, in central Texas.
Dozens of homes were levelled and other buildings – including a school and nursing home a few hundred metres from the plant – were badly damaged.
Large parts of the city of Boston remain in virtual lockdown amid a major manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of two brothers suspected of bombing the city’s marathon on Monday.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, remains at large after he escaped a shoot-out in which another suspect, his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died.
Police said they had searched 60-70% of a locked-down area of a Boston suburb.
Three people died and more than 180 were hurt when two bombs exploded near the finish line of Monday’s Boston Marathon.
On Friday afternoon, Col. Timothy Alben of the Massachusetts State Police said officers in Watertown were searching “door to door, street to street” for the suspect, but there was as yet no word on his whereabouts.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said there were “continuing developments” in the investigation, and that an order to stay indoors remained in place across the whole of Boston and surrounding suburbs.
Earlier the FBI released images of the two men they were hunting in relation to the bombing.
Police said one suspect – widely named in the US media as Tamerlan Tsarnaev – had been killed early on Friday, and they were looking for another suspect, later named as the dead man’s younger brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Both are said to be of Chechen origin, and are reported to have moved to the US about 10 years ago.
The manhunt began late on Thursday when university police officer Sean Collier, 26, was killed on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus.
Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev carjacked a driver at gunpoint and drove away with the driver still in the car. They later released the man unharmed.
Police chased the suspects, who threw bombs and exchanged gunfire with police, seriously wounding one officer.
Large parts of the city of Boston remain in virtual lockdown amid a major manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
In the Boston suburb of Watertown, officers and the men were involved in a gun battle lasting 10 minutes, according to witnesses.
The authorities in Massachusetts Bay have suspended the transport system and no vehicles are being allowed in or out of the Watertown area.
The warning to stay indoors was later extended to the whole of Boston, in what correspondents said was an unprecedented move.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama was briefed on developments in the manhunt and investigation for about an hour in the White House Situation Room.
Secretary of State John Kerry, also at the briefing on video link, said the authorities were “part of the way there” in bringing the Boston terror suspects to justice, AP reported.
Overnight, video footage emerged showing a fully-clothed suspect lying on the floor, surrounded by police. More video was shown by US media of a suspect being led into a police car after being stripped of his clothes.
But it is not clear who the men were, or what happened after their apparent arrests.
Dr. Richard Wolfe, of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said an individual was brought in with multiple blast and gunshot wounds to his upper body.
He was in cardiac arrest when he arrived at hospital and despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at 01:35 a.m., Dr Wolfe said.
The authorities were investigating whether the dead man had a home-made bomb strapped to his body when he was killed, reports said.
Boston police Commissioner Ed Davis said he believed the man being hunted in the Watertown area was a “terrorist”.
“We believe this to be a man who came here to kill people,” he said.
A grey Honda CRV vehicle, which reports said had been sought in connection with the suspects, was found on Friday morning in the Boston area, Connecticut police said.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s father, Anzor Tsarnaev, said his son was a second year medical student in the US and was hoping to be a brain surgeon.
He also said that he believed the secret services had framed his sons.
“It was a terrorist attack carefully organized by secret services – I don’t know which ones. My son used to go to a mosque, so they once paid us a visit to ask why he is doing that.
“Yes, there was such an episode. So they put all the blame on him and shot him. That’s it.”
Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the suspects who lives in Maryland, said he was “ashamed” of their alleged involvement in the bombings.
“Yes of course we’re ashamed, they’re the children of my brother,” he said.
Asked what the bombers’ motives may have been, Ruslan Tsarni replied: “Being losers, hating everyone around them.”
Monday’s attack on the Boston Marathon killed Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lu Lingzi, 23, a postgraduate student from China.
