BBC News with Jonathan Izard.
Police say at least two people have been killed and 23 injured in two powerful explosions right by the finishing line of the Boston Marathon. The blasts took place within seconds with each other as hundreds of runners were ending the race in the US city cheered on by a large crowd. Paul Adams reports from Washington.
The explosions occurred within seconds of each other close to the finish line on Boylston’s street in the center of Boston. Four hours into the race there were still plenty runners on the street, and the crowds were dense. Television picture showed smoke billowing up from among the flags lining the route. One runner collapsed apparently struck by an object seconds later as terrified onlookers tried to get away. Picture showed another plume of smoke rising from the second blast down the road. Emergency workers immediately began tearing at the pavement barriers and flag poles to get the wounded behind. There were clearly many injured people. Injured spectators were carried to the nearby medical tents set up to look after exhausted runners.
Some news just in. Boston police said the explosions at the finishing line of the city's marathon were almost simultaneous. They say no further explosive devices have been found so far near the finish line, but the investigation is ongoing. The Boston police commissioner Edward Davis told the news conference that there had been a third explosion. "We have, at this point of time, determined that there has been a third incident that has occurred. There was an explosion that occurred at the JFK library. So this is very much an ongoing event of this point time. We are not certain that these incidents are related, but we are treating them as if they are." Police in Boston have urged the residents of the city to stay indoors and not to congregate in large groups.
The opposition leader in Venezuela Henrique Capriles has called on the national electoral council not to proclaim the victory of acting president Nicolas Maduro until all votes have been recounted. Mr. Capriles said even Mr. Maduro had agreed to a recount on Sunday. From Caracas here's Will Grant.
The fallout from Venezuela's disputed presidential election continues apace. On state television, the government is pushing their arguments hard that Nicolas Maduro is the legitimate president of Venezuela, having won by a narrow but significant margin. While they've agreed to an audit of the electronic counting system, the government is rejecting calls that ballot boxes be opened for a manual recount. Meanwhile, the temperature is rising by the hour. Opposition groups are also due to march possibly on the national electoral council itself, while the government has called on its supporters to turn out in the central square in Caracas to celebrate Mr. Maduro’s win.
And some news just in. The election board in Venezuela has formally proclaimed Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the presidential vote despite the calls by the opposition for a recount to be held.
Series car bomb attacks during the morning of rush hour in several Iraqi cities has killed more than 55 people and injured over 270.
World news from the BBC.
The French government has published detailed lists with ministers' personal assets online in order to try to restore confidence in the socialist administration after series financial scandals. Analysts say most of them did not appear to be especially wealthy, although some ministers have assets worth more than $7m, mostly in the form of their homes.
Police in Senegal have arrested Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, on suspicion of illegally amassing around $1.4bn during his father's 12 years in office. Karim Wade acted as the right-hand man to his father during the presidency. Thomas Fessy reports.
Karim Wade presented detailed documents of his assets to a Senegalese special court tasked with investigating cases of corruption. He'd been given one month to prove that he legally acquired over $1bn while his father was in power. CW was nicknamed the minister of the sky and the earth, as he held the infrastructure, urban planning, air transportation and international cooperation government portfolios at the same time. He was then in charge of 1/3 of the state expenditure. The Senegalese court has yet to announce the reason behind this detention as CW's lawyers claimed he's been forcibly taken away.
There's been an outpouring of anger and shame in India after the broadcast footage showing motorists ignoring the victims of a road accident in the northern city of Jodhpur. The CCTV footage shows a man holding the hand of his five-year-old son and pleading for help, next to the bodies of his wife and infant daughter.
Judges in the United States Supreme Court have been debating tough legal and scientific questions on whether human genes should continue to be patented. Their decision which's expected in the summer could have enormous implications for research. The nine justices are looking at the right of one company Myriad Genetics to hold the patent on a genetic test for breast and ovarian cancer. Opponents say these patents prevent research by other companies and denied patients' access to the test which cost more than $3000.