A senior U.S. intelligence official says two more explosive devices have been found near the scene of the Boston marathon where two bombs detonated earlier. The official said the new devices were being dismantled. It was not immediately clear what kind of devices had been found Monday. The official said the first two did appear to be bombs. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the findings publicly. The official said it was not clear what the motive was or who may have launched the attack. More»

Two explosions hit the Boston Marathon as runners crossed the finish line on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring 110 on a day when tens of thousands of people pack the streets to watch one of the world's best known marathons. Pictures from the scene showed blood stains on the ground and several people knocked down. Massachusetts General Hospital was treating victims of the explosion in its emergency room but information about their condition was not immediately available, a spokeswoman said. Police reported at least one explosion and witnesses said there were two, which hit as spectators were cheering on people finishing the Boston Marathon, which was first run in 1897. Reporters in the media center heard two blasts. More»

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has said Washington is willing to engage with North Korea as long as it takes steps to give up nuclear weapons. Kerry said during a meeting with Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan, that the on burden is on Pyongyang to follow "to observe laws and the norms of international behaviour". "The burden is on Pyongyang," he said. "North Korea must take meaningful steps to show that it will honour commitments that it has already made". At a separate meeting with Japanese students, Kerry also said that the US and Japan are united in addressing the North Korean crisis. "One thing is certain, we are united. There can be no confusion on this point. The North's dangerous missile programme threatens not only North Korea's neighbours but it threatens its own people," he said. More»

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Japan on Sunday, the last stop on an Asian tour aimed at solidifying support for curbing North Korea’s nuclear programme and reassuring U.S. allies after weeks of threats of war from Pyongyang. Kerry’s talks with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, coincide with preparations for the North’s biggest holiday of the year on Monday, the Day of the Sun, the birth date of state founder Kim Il-Sung - an occasion for pomp and perhaps a military display, reported Reuters. The North’s state media, one of the few ways of glimpsing what is happening in the reclusive country, have so far ignored Kerry’s talks in Beijing and Seoul. But in addition to reports on the festivities, they have issued new denunciations of U.S. policy and made it plain North Korea has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons, described as the “treasured” guarantor of the North’s security, said Reuters. More»

Two people in the central Chinese province of Henan have been infected by a new strain of avian influenza, the first cases found in the region, while another four cases in eastern Zhejiang province brought the total number nationwide to 55. One of the Henan victims, a 34-year old man in the city of Kaifeng, is now critically ill in hospital, while the other, a 65-year old farmer from Zhoukou, is stable. The two cases do not appear to be connected. A total of 19 people in close contact with the two new victims were under observation but had shown no signs of infection, Xinhua said. Another four cases had been confirmed in eastern Zhejiang, state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday, bringing the total number in the province to 15. Xinhua said none of the 483 people in close contact with the victims has presented any symptoms. More»

Venezuelans decide on Sunday whether to honor Hugo Chavez's dying wish for a longtime loyalist to continue his hardline socialism or hand power to a young challenger vowing business-friendly changes. Acting President Nicolas Maduro had a double-digit lead in most polls, largely thanks to his former boss's public blessing before he died from cancer last month. But the gap has narrowed in the final days, with one survey putting it at 7 percentage points. His opposition rival, Miranda state Governor Henrique Capriles, says Venezuelans are tired of divisive "Chavista" politics and that his support has surged enough for him to pull off a surprise win. Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver who has trumpeted his working-class roots at every rally, is promising to push forward Chavez's "21st century socialism" if he triumphs. More»

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets China's top leaders on Saturday in an effort to persuade them to exert pressure on North Korea to scale back its belligerent rhetoric and, eventually, return to nuclear talks. Travelling to Beijing for the first time as secretary of state, Kerry made no secret of his desire to see China take a more activist stance toward North Korea, which in recent weeks has threatened nuclear war against the United States. As the North's main trading partner, financial backer and the closest thing it has to a diplomatic ally, China has a unique ability to use its leverage against the impoverished, isolated state, Kerry said in the South Korean capital Seoul late on Friday. More»

Nigerian soldiers killed six suspected Islamist insurgents during a raid on a house in the main northern city of Kano on Friday but lost one soldier in the gunbattle, the military said. Radical sect Boko Haram and other Islamist groups have become the main threat to stability in Africa's top oil-producer and a growing menace to neighbours like Cameroon. Boko Haram has killed many hundreds in gun and bomb attacks, including 25 in Kano last month, since it intensified an insurgency two years ago, with the aim of carving an Islamic state out of religiously mixed Nigeria. "During the operation this morning a soldier and six terrorists were killed," military task force spokesman Ikedichi Iweha told reporters. Nigeria's military rarely admits significant casualties amongst its own ranks or civilian deaths in shootouts. More»

The US is ready to defend itself against anything North Korea might launch, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said, as its ally South Korea confirmed its ability to intercept the North's missiles. At a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, Hagel told reporters that the US "is fully prepared to deal with any contingency, any action that North Korea may take or any provocation that they may instigate," Hagel added. He said that the North was "skating close to a very dangerous line" with its bellicose rhetoric and was adding to a "combustible" situation. "What the US would call crossing a 'dangerous line' would be launching a missile without any kind of pre-warning to shipping and to air traffic that it was about to do so," said Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Seoul. "In the past, North Korea has, in advance of its rocket launches, given a warning and an idea of the trajectory that its missiles would take. More»

Fifteen militants and one soldier were killed on Thursday when the Pakistani military mounted another operation in a week of fighting designed to seize control of a remote but strategic valley in the northwest, the army said. The military has faced fierce resistance from the Taliban and its allies in the Tirah Valley in the Khyber region since troops set out to dislodge insurgents from strategically important heights above the valley six days ago. Pakistani military officials say insurgents use the valley as a base camp that enables them to carry out raids in other semi-autonomous tribal areas near the Afghan border. More»