Rapper jailed for tax claims

THE rapper and actor Ja Rule has been jailed for more than two years by a court in New Jersey for failing to file income tax returns.

The platinum-selling rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, turned to look at his wife after a judge read the sentence in a Newark federal court.

He admitted in March he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million (€2.1m) he earned between 2004 and 2006 while he lived in Saddle River.