BBC News with Neil Nunes
President Obama has paid tribute to the people of Boston at a memorial service for victims of the bomb attacks at the city's marathon on Monday. At an interfaith gathering at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Mr. Obama said the bombs could not beat Boston or America. To applause, he warned the perpetrators: "We will find you, and you will face justice." And he had this message for those who had been injured. "As you begin this long journey of recovery, your city is with you. Your commonwealth is with you. Your country is with you. We will all be with you as you learn to stand, and walk, and yes run again. Of that I have no doubt. You will run again." Three people died and more than 170 were wounded in the blasts.
Prosecutors in the United States have charged a man suspected of sending letters believed to contain the deadly poison ricin to President Obama. Paul Kevin Curtis from Mississippi is accused of threatening the President and the senator. He denies the charges.
A search and rescue effort is continuing in the American state of Texas after a huge explosion at a fertilizer plant on Wednesday night, killed up to 15 people and injured hundreds. Many buildings in the town of West were flattened by the blast which('s) registered as a small earthquake. The governor of Texas Rick Perry welcomed the offer of the federal government's full support.
"President Obama called from Air Force I as he was en route to Boston and we greatly appreciated his call and his gracious offer of support, of course. And also spoken to local officials to make sure they have all the support and assistance that they need from the state. To that end, I am declaring the Mclellan County a disaster, will request an emergency declaration from the President." The police say there is no indication that the fire that caused the blast was started deliberately.
A former military ruler of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf has dismissed an order for his arrest as unwarranted judicial activism. Earlier Mr. Musharraf had hurriedly left the court in Islamabad after it'd ordered his arrest over the sacking of judges when he was in power. Orla Guerin reports from Islamabad.
Near his fortified farm house, chants from supporters, the former military ruler disappeared inside behind the high walls. His lawyer told us Mr. Musharraf was unconcerned by the warrant for his arrest. Traditionally the army is untouchable here. Now a former army chief is at the mercy of judges he himself detained. Mr. Musharraf 's lawyers will be seeking house arrest rather than a trip to jail.
World news from the BBC
Police in the Iraqi capital Bagdad said at least 27 people have been killed in a bombing in the west of the city. A suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a coffee shop late in the evening in the mostly Sunni neighborhood of Amariyah. At least two children are among the dead. Dozens of people have been wounded.
South American leaders are meeting in Peru to discuss Sunday's disputed presidential elections in Venezuela. The regional group, UNASUR, is expected to give its backing to results which awarded a narrow victory to make Nicolas Maduro the chosen successor of the late president Hugo Chavez. His challenger Henrique Capriles says he won't accept the results until the votes are recounted.
Astronomers using NASA's powerful Kepler space telescope say they've identified two planets that appear capable of supporting life. The planets orbit a sun-like star 1200 light years away that has been named Kepler 62. Paul Heads is NASA's director of astrophysics.
"Today's announcement is about a Kepler discovery, one which takes us on the path towards understanding how many planets are around other stars and whether they are small enough to be rocky, and whether any of them might be habitable, and have liquid water on them. This is a gradual path that Kepler has been taking us down. And today's exciting announcement takes us even closer to that goal of finding habitable planets around other stars."
The British artist Storm Thorgerson famous for designing album covers for the rock band Pink Floyd has died. He was 69. A childhood friend of the band, his art work graced their most famous records from flying pigs over Battersea Power Station on the album cover of Animals to the rainbow prisms for the Dark Side of the Moon. The Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour said the artwork of Storm Thorgerson had been an inseparable part of the band's work.