Boston: Brothers Were 'Regular American Kids'

Described as "regular American kids", Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev arrived in the US around a decade ago.

Neighbours recall the ethnic Chechen brothers riding bikes and skateboards on the street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they lived.

Former classmates expressed their surprise that the quiet, but popular and athletic brothers could be responsible for the twin bomb attack that killed three people, including an eight-year-old boy, and injured more than 180 others.

Despite having become a devout Muslim, Tamerlan married a Boston woman, Katherine Russell, from a Christian family and had a three-year-old daughter. Neighbours told the MailOnline that his 24-year-old wife had converted to Islam.

Dzhokhar, 19, attended the prestigious Cambridge Rindge & Latin school and had a place on the wrestling team.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev had ambitions to box for the US

In May 2011, his senior year, he was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the city to pursue higher education. His success was even celebrated with a reception at city hall.

He attended the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, but the school would not say what he was studying.

The father of the suspects, Anzor Tsaraev, told The Associated Press his younger son was a second-year medical student.

"My son is a true angel," he said by telephone from the Russian city of Makhachkala. "He is such an intelligent boy. We expected him to come on holidays here."

Dzhokhar with a friend at his graduation

He added: "They were set up, they were set up! I saw it on television; they killed my older son Tamerlan." He ended the call angrily, saying: "Leave me alone, my son's been killed."

Dzhokhar's page on the Russian social networking site Vkontakte says that before moving to the US, he attended a school in the capital of Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in Russia's North Caucasus. The men's uncle said they had been born in Kyrgyzstan.

Dzhokhar describes himself as speaking Chechen as well as English and Russian and says that his world view is "Islam".

Those who knew him have been stunned. The host of a Boston-based public radio programme, Robin Young, posted on Twitter a photo of her nephew with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, their arms around each other, at their graduation.

"Heartbreaking pic," Ms Young wrote.

Dzhokhar, in the white baseball cap, with brother Tamerland at the marathon

Tim Kelleher, a wrestling coach for a Boston school that competed in 2010 against Dzhokhar's team, said: "He was a tough, solid kid, just quiet."

Dzhokhar's brother, Tamerlan, 26, who died during the police shootout, was a keen participant in martial arts and boxing, even aspiring to fight on the US Olympic team.

 A local Massachusetts news article in 2004, quoted a boxer called Tamerlan as saying: "I like the USA. America has a lot of jobs. That's something Russia doesn't have. You have a chance to make money here if you are willing to work."

Tamerlan, who was identified in footage of the bombing as the suspect in the dark baseball cap, was reportedly arrested in 2009 for assaulting a girlfriend.

A young Dzhokhar: remembered as a 'regular American kid'

Despite assurances by former friends and neighbours that the brothers fitted in, Tamerlan wrote in a photo package that appeared in a Boston University student magazine in 2010: "I don't have a single American friend. I don't understand them."

He identified himself as a Muslim who was studying to become an engineer at the Bunker Hill Community College and said he did not drink or smoke, because "God said no alcohol". He said he hoped to fight for the US Olympic team and become an American.

Government officials said Tamerlan had travelled to Russia last year and spent six months there before returning to the US.

A YouTube user bearing the name Tamerlan Tsarnaev has posted a series of religious videos on the site. One extolled the prophesy of the Black Banners of Khurasan, which has been embraced by al Qaeda.

Other videos included those of the Australian Muslim preacher Feiz Mohammad, who preaches against the evils of Harry Potter.

His aunt Maret Tsarnaeva, who lives in Toronto, said he had recently become a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day.

She said: "He has a wife in Boston and from a Christian family, so you can't tie it to religion."

She said he had dropped out of university, causing his father great concern.

She said her brother had very high expectations for his sons, especially Tamerlan.

Before moving to Dagestan, the Tsarnaev family lived in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia. Leila Alieva, who went to school with Tamerlan Tsarnaev in the Kyrgyz town of Tokmok, remembered them as being an educated family.

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Boston Residents Rejoice Over 'End Of Terror'

Boston Bomb Suspect In Custody

Updated: 2:01pm UK, Saturday 20 April 2013

The second Boston bombing suspect has been captured after he was found hiding in a boat parked in a suburban backyard.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was already wounded from an earlier shootout, exchanged gunfire with police for an hour while holed up in the boat in the neighbourhood of Watertown.

The dramatic stand-off ended with the 19-year-old being given first aid on the lawn next to the boat before he was taken away in an ambulance at around 8.45pm local time.

Dzhokhar remains in "serious condition" at Beth Israel Deaconess hospital, said Boston police commissioner Ed Davis.

Swat teams surrounded the boat after a tip-off from a resident who noticed blood on it, Mr Davis said.

The man lifted the cover of the boat, saw the teenager covered in blood and alerted police.

A police helicopter then used infra-red equipment to confirm there was a human inside the boat.

Dzhokhar had been on the run since his 26-year-old brother and fellow suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev  - known as suspect number one - was killed in a shoot-out with police in the early hours of Friday.

The brothers were believed to be behind Monday's twin explosions at the Boston Marathon which left three people dead and around 180 wounded.

But their mother Zubeidat said she did not believe they were responsible.

"I am like 100% sure that this is a setup," she said. "My two sons are really innocent and I know that neither of them have never talked about whatever they're saying about now.

"My youngest one was raised from eight years in America and my oldest son he was really properly raised in my house. No-one talked about terrorism."

During their getaway attempt, they killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology policeman Sean Collier and severely wounded another officer, authorities said.

A crowd of residents cheered as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - known as suspect number two - was taken into custody, and the celebrations continued into the night in the city's streets.

Mayor Tom Menino said on Twitter: "We got him".

Boston Police tweeted: "CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody."

The family of eight-year-old Martin Richard, who died in the bombings, released a statement praising police.  

"Tonight, our family applauds the entire law enforcement community for a job well done, and trust that our justice system will now do its job," the family said.

Martin's mother also sustained brain injuries and his sister lost a leg in the blast.

US President Barack Obama told a news conference the suspect's capture "closed an important chapter in this tragedy".

But he said there were still many unanswered questions about the marathon bombings, including whether the two men had help from others.

As Dzhokhar was being captured, three people in New Bedford, Massachusetts, were also taken into custody for questioning over the blasts.

Lieutenant Robert Richard said two men and a woman were being questioned by the FBI "on the assumption there is an affiliation with suspect number two".

Dzhokhar's capture came at the end of a tumultuous all-day manhunt and house-to-house search by thousands of elite police officers.

As night fell, police announced that they were scaling back the hunt and they had so far come up empty-handed.

But shortly after that statement, a break came in Watertown when the homeowner - who had been indoors all day due to the manhunt - saw the blood on his boat.

The vessel had not been searched before because it was outside of the police perimeter set up during the search.

It has also been revealed that Tamerlan attracted the attention of US authorities two years ago.

The FBI said its agents interviewed him in 2011 at the request of a foreign government, but that the investigation found "no derogatory information", according to an official.

The FBI declined to identify the country involved or the nature of the probe.

The brothers moved to the US a decade ago from a Russian region near Chechnya and had been living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as legal permanent residents.

Their father, Anzor Tsarnaev, told reporters in Russia that he believed his sons had been framed and described the killing of Tamerlan as "cowardly".

Maret Tsarnaev, the men's aunt, said Tamerlan had recently become a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day.

Speaking to reporters at her home in Toronto, Canada, she also said the older brother was married and had a daughter in the US.

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China Quake: Dozens Dead, Over 2,000 Injured

By Mark Stone, China correspondent

At least 102 people are believed to have been killed and more than 2,200 injured after an earthquake struck China's province of Sichuan.

Chinese news agency Xinhua said the quake, measured at varying magnitudes between 6.6 and 7.0, struck at 8.02am local time close to the city of Ya'an in Lushan county and the epicentre had a depth of a little less than eight miles (13km).

It started landslides, destroyed buildings, and triggered a major rescue operation involving emergency services and more than 2,000 troops.

Residents take shelter in a public square in Chengdu

The rescue effort is understood to have been hampered by aftershocks and landslides. Some of the tremors which followed the main quake have been almost as strong.

According to local media reports, a vehicle carrying 17 soldiers fell off a cliff and into a river as it travelled to the epicentre. One soldier was killed and seven more injured, three seriously.

But extraordinary stories of survival are already emerging. According to one local media report, a mother managed to lift concrete weighing 50 kilogrammes to rescue her son from the rubble.

Another report described how a woman gave birth at a bike shelter just a few hours after the quake hit. 

According to the People's Daily newspaper, fire-fighters dug out a mother holding her baby in her arms from the rubble. She survived, but her baby sadly died.

Tremors have been felt in neighbouring provinces and in the provincial capital city of Chengdu. Users of Weibo, China's microblogging service, have posted images of damaged buildings and described scenes of panic as residents rushed outside.

Lushan was hit just after 8am local time

A resident in Chengdu said he was 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.

Local seismologists registered the quake at magnitude 7.0 while the US Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 6.6.

The USGS said "significant" casualties were likely and "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.

Collapsed houses on a road leading from Ya'an city to Luzhou county

A Chinese General, flying over one area in a helicopter, told local media that as many as 50 percent of buildings in one area had collapsed.

China's new Premiere Li Keqiang is flying to the region to survey the damage. The quake is the first big test for the new Chinese leadership. Their ability to respond to it is likely to be scrutinised on an ever growing social media forum.

The epicentre is close to the location of the 2008 earthquake which killed 68,000 people. That quake had a greater magnitude of 7.9 but its epicentre was further underground.

Rescuers try to remove rocks blocking a road in Lushan county

The 2008 disaster destroyed large swathes of the province along with areas of neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu. The government faced significant criticism for allowing badly constructed buildings to be erected and for covering up their failings.

International offers of assistance have already been received.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent China's President Xi Jinping a telegram expressing his condolences and offering help.

An aerial view of damaged houses Lushan county

"The Russian leader affirmed Russia's readiness in case of need to provide assistance in dealing with the consequences of this damaging natural disaster," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Twin tremors in neighbouring Yunnan province last September triggered landslides that left at least 80 people dead.

A 5.5 magnitude quake in Yunnan last June killed four people and injured more than 100.

Another 5.4 tremor the year before near the border with Burma left 25 people dead and injured 250.

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Boston Bombings: Second Suspect In Custody

The second Boston bombing suspect has been captured after he was found hiding in a boat parked in a suburban backyard.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was already wounded from an earlier shootout, exchanged gunfire with police for an hour while holed up in the boat in the neighbourhood of Watertown.

The dramatic stand-off ended with the 19-year-old being given first aid on the lawn next to the boat before he was taken away in an ambulance at around 8.45pm local time.

Police look around the corner as Dzhokhar was hiding in a boat nearby

Dzhokhar remains in "serious condition" at Beth Israel Deaconess hospital, said Boston police commissioner Ed Davis.

Swat teams surrounded the boat after a tip-off from a resident who noticed blood on it, Mr Davis said.

The man lifted the cover of the boat, saw the teenager covered in blood and alerted police.

A police helicopter then used infra-red equipment to confirm there was a human inside the boat.

This image appears to show the capture of Dzhokhar

Dzhokhar had been on the run since his 26-year-old brother and fellow suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev  - known as suspect number one - was killed in a shoot-out with police in the early hours of Friday.

The brothers were believed to be behind Monday's twin explosions at the Boston Marathon which left three people dead and around 180 wounded.

But their mother Zubeidat said she did not believe they were responsible.

"I am like 100% sure that this is a setup," she said. "My two sons are really innocent and I know that neither of them have never talked about whatever they're saying about now.

An FBI officer stands in front of the boat

"My youngest one was raised from eight years in America and my oldest son he was really properly raised in my house. No-one talked about terrorism."

During their getaway attempt, they killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology policeman Sean Collier and severely wounded another officer, authorities said.

A crowd of residents cheered as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - known as suspect number two - was taken into custody, and the celebrations continued into the night in the city's streets.

Mayor Tom Menino said on Twitter: "We got him".

Boston Police tweeted: "CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody."

The family of eight-year-old Martin Richard, who died in the bombings, released a statement praising police.  

"Tonight, our family applauds the entire law enforcement community for a job well done, and trust that our justice system will now do its job," the family said.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been taken to hospital with serious injuries

Martin's mother also sustained brain injuries and his sister lost a leg in the blast.

US President Barack Obama told a news conference the suspect's capture "closed an important chapter in this tragedy".

But he said there were still many unanswered questions about the marathon bombings, including whether the two men had help from others.

Residents cheered after the suspect was caught

As Dzhokhar was being captured, three people in New Bedford, Massachusetts, were also taken into custody for questioning over the blasts.

Lieutenant Robert Richard said two men and a woman were being questioned by the FBI "on the assumption there is an affiliation with suspect number two".

Dzhokhar's capture came at the end of a tumultuous all-day manhunt and house-to-house search by thousands of elite police officers.

Thousands of officers combed the streets of Boston for Dzhokhar

As night fell, police announced that they were scaling back the hunt and they had so far come up empty-handed.

But shortly after that statement, a break came in Watertown when the homeowner - who had been indoors all day due to the manhunt - saw the blood on his boat.

The vessel had not been searched before because it was outside of the police perimeter set up during the search.

It has also been revealed that Tamerlan attracted the attention of US authorities two years ago.

The FBI said its agents interviewed him in 2011 at the request of a foreign government, but that the investigation found "no derogatory information", according to an official.

The FBI declined to identify the country involved or the nature of the probe.

The brothers moved to the US a decade ago from a Russian region near Chechnya and had been living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as legal permanent residents.

Their father, Anzor Tsarnaev, told reporters in Russia that he believed his sons had been framed and described the killing of Tamerlan as "cowardly".

Maret Tsarnaev, the men's aunt, said Tamerlan had recently become a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day.

Speaking to reporters at her home in Toronto, Canada, she also said the older brother was married and had a daughter in the US.

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Boston Bomb Victim 'Helped Identify Suspect'

One of the most seriously injured victims of the Boston Marathon bombings reportedly helped investigators to identify one of their two suspects.

Chris Bauman told Bloomberg News that his brother, Jeff, had woken up in intensive care and given a description of the man.

"He woke up under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote: 'Bag, saw the guy, looked right at me,'" he said.

The 27-year-old victim told FBI agents that a man wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt looked at him and then dropped a bag at his feet.

"I've had many times alone with him, and yes, he told me every single detail," Chris Bauman told Bloomberg.

Jeff Bauman picture tweeted by football star Julian Edelman

He added that the description helped investigators narrow down their manhunt as they searched through hours of video images from Monday's marathon bombing.

Without his help, that search could have taken weeks, the brother said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was not able to verify the details of the account directly.

However, on Thursday agents released images of two suspects. The first matched the description the injured man provided.

Photographs and TV images of an ashen-faced Jeff Bauman, who lost both of his legs at the knee in the bombings, have been seen across the world.

Images of the two bombing suspects released by the FBI

His family learned of his horrific injuries the same way, according to his brother. Their sister saw it first.

"She called my mom, freaking out," he said.

Relatives and friends have set up a Facebook page to support Mr Bauman.

His best friend posted: "Baumans doing awesome, another successful surgery and he's talking, making jokes and in very good spirits."

He was visited in hospital by actor Bradley Cooper and New England Patriots star Julian Edelman, who later tweeted a picture of the young man giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

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Boston Marathon Bombing: Town In Lockdown

Residents of Watertown have been told to stay in their homes as one of the Boston marathon suspects remains on the loose.

The man - described as "armed and dangerous" - is on the run and being hunted by police.

All traffic in and out of the town, which is part of Greater Boston, has been halted.

Meanwhile, the public transport network across the entire city has been suspended, and those waiting at bus and train stations have been told to return home.

The shooting drew a massive police response

Businesses in many parts of Watertown are closed until further notice, and employees should stay at home, police say.

Massachusetts undersecretary Kurt Schwarz said those in Watertown and surrounding suburbs should stay in their homes until further notice.

"We are asking you to stay indoors, to stay in your homes, for the time being," he said.

Announcing the suspension of public transport, he added: "People who are at subway stations or bus stops, we are asking them to go home."

Sky's foreign editor Tim Marshall said that by keeping the streets relatively empty, it would be easier to spot the suspect if he fled.

He also said that police may fear that large crowds would be at risk of being attacked with an improvised explosive device (IED) by the suspect.

"On his way out, to escape or go out in a blaze of bloody glory, it's possible the police think their suspect would have tried to carry out another multiple-casualty attack."

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Boston Marathon Bombings 'Terror' Suspect Hunt

One Boston marathon bombing suspect has been shot dead and another is on the loose believed to be "armed and dangerous", police have said.

The suspects - named as Dzhokhar A Tsarnaev, 19, who is on the run, and his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who is now dead - moved to the US a decade ago from a Russian region near Chechnya.

They had been living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as legal permanent residents.

The suspect being hunted by police

The younger brother was said to have posted links to Islamic websites and others calling for Chechen independence on a Russian-language social networking site.

All public transport remains suspended in Boston - and all streets and businesses also in Watertown locked down - while a major manhunt continues for the suspect who got away.

It follows a shootout in the residential suburb of Watertown between both suspects and dozens of armed officers after a policeman was shot dead at Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, nine miles from Boston city centre.

The suspect at the marathon among the bombing victims (Pic: Kevin O'Keefe)

Boston Police commissioner Ed Davis said: "What we are looking for right now is a suspect consistent with the description of suspect number two - the white-capped individual who was involved in Monday's bombing of the Boston Marathon."

He was described as light-skinned with brown wavy hair and dressed in a grey hooded top.

"You have seen the picture. You all have it. That's the individual we are looking for at this moment.

"We believe this to be a terrorist. We believe this to be a man who came here to kill people."

The dead suspect, who ran at officers during the stand-off

He added: "We believe these to be the same individuals who are responsible for the bombing on Monday at the Boston Marathon."

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said a "massive manhunt" was under way.

"This is a serious situation, we are taking it seriously and we are asking the public to take it seriously," he added.

Officials said the operation could take "hours" and asked the public to be patient.

The suspects, who are believed to be responsible for the death of the MIT campus policeman, carjacked a black Mercedes SUV, taking its owner hostage before driving off towards Watertown with police in pursuit.

A Swat team on a roof in Watertown (Pic: Samantha England)

On their way, the hostage was dumped at a petrol station after about 30 minutes, before a dramatic shootout ensued in Watertown.

The New York Times quoted local resident Andrew Kitzenberg, who said he saw the pair, wearing backpacks, shooting at dozens of police officers from behind a black Mercedes SUV.

The 29-year-old said the officers and the men were 70 yards apart and engaged in "constant gunfire".

He said an explosive device was also thrown at the police and went off some 20 yards from where they were shooting.

Boston Police commissioner Ed Davis holding a press conference in Watertown

One suspect ran at police and was shot at and apprehended. He later died in hospital despite attempts to resuscitate him.

According to NBC, police ran over the suspect because he was wearing an IED (improvised explosive device). However this has not been confirmed by police or other officials.

He arrived at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre with multiple injuries mainly around his torso including gunshot wounds, burns consistent with a blast and pieces of shrapnel all over his body.

The other, who is said to be badly injured, managed to get away from the stand-off - in which a police officer was also shot and is undergoing surgery at a Boston hospital.

Watertown Residents heard the gun battle and an explosion

Some 12 victims from the Boston Marathon blasts remain at the same hospital, one in a critical condition. Around 24 others who suffered injuries have been discharged.

A spokesman said though the hospital was open as normal, it was restricting access to "ensure the safety of patients, families and visitors", and urged people to show patience when arriving at the site.

One medic, who lives in Watertown, heard the shootout from his home and alerted the hospital before rushing to work.

Residents in the area have been told to stay indoors and remain vigilant until further notice.

Several homes suffered extensive damage from the bomb blast and were caught in the crossfire in the shootout.

Police officers arriving at the scene in the neighbourhood

Police have sealed off the area and are conducting door-to-door searches and enquiries.

Sky's US correspondent Dominic Waghorn in Watertown, said: "It has been a terrifying night for the people of Watertown, and it remains so until this man is found."

Meanwhile, police converged on what is believed to be the suspects' apartment in Cambridge and a woman was reportedly dragged from the block of flats and handcuffed before she was led away.

The development comes just days after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 180 others.

Bullet holes through the wall and chair of one home caught in the crossfire

The FBI have released pictures and video of two suspects in the deadly Boston marathon bombings.

A message on the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT) website earlier described the incident as "active and extremely dangerous" as police swept the campus in Cambridge.

Cambridge Police Department said in a statement that six gunshots were heard at 10.50pm local time.

The officer killed was responding to a report of a disturbance on Thursday night when he was shot multiple times.

The officer, who was not immediately identified, was taken to a hospital where he later died from his multiple gunshot wounds.

The shootout took place in the Watertown neighbourhood near Boston

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Boston Bombing: Suspect Pictured Near Victims

A photograph of one of the Boston bombing suspects has emerged showing him standing close to a family devastated by the blast.

The Associated Press has named one suspect as 19-year-old Dzhokhar A Tsarnaev, who is still at large. He is believed to be the man in the photograph.

Images of the two suspects were released by the FBI

Standing close to him are the Richard family; eight-year-old Martin Richard was killed in the blast, his mother suffered brain injuries, and his sister lost a leg.

The New York Times cited unnamed law enforcement officials in naming the other suspect - now deceased - as Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

A photo of the second suspect was released by police in Boston

It has been reported that the two are brothers from Chechnya or Dagestan and had lived in the US for at least one year.

Sky's Moscow correspondent Katie Stallard said that a social network profile under Dzhokhar's name says he is from a region associated with insurgents.

An image showing one suspect leaving the scene (David Green/LetsRun.com)

"On that page he describes himself as having studied in Makhachkala, that's the capital of Dagestan, and that's very much at the heart of the regional insurgency at the moment.

"It used to be that it was Chechnya that was the heart of this insurgency, but a crackdown has forced much of that insurgency into neighbouring regions."

A major manhunt is under way for the remaining suspect

Earlier, the FBI and Boston police released new pictures of the two suspects, who investigators had described as "armed and dangerous".

The images released on Friday morning show one suspect wearing dark clothes, a dark cap and sunglasses. He is understood to have been shot dead.

The second suspect - still on the loose - is seen wearing a white baseball cap, which is reversed allowing a clearer view of his face.

Police say he is armed and should not be approached by the public.

CCTV footage was released of the pair on Thursday, in which they are seen carrying bulky backpacks as they walk the route of Monday's race in the heart of the city.

The men were filmed heading in the direction of the finishing line, moments before both bombs went off seconds apart.

Three people were killed and more than 180 others injured in the explosions.

Earlier at a moving inter-faith memorial service, Barack Obama joined 1,700 people at Boston's Holy Cross Cathedral to honour the victims - the youngest of whom was eight-year-old Martin Richard, from Boston.

The president promised the killers would be brought to justice, saying: "We will find you.

"We will hold you accountable. But more than that, our fidelity to our way of life - to our free and open society - will only grow stronger."

The bombs were crudely made with explosives, nails and ball bearings packed into pressure cookers, investigators close to the case have said.

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North Korea States Conditions For Nuclear Talks

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

North Korea has announced conditions it says would lead to negotiations with America and the subsequent denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Just a week after it threatened 'all out war' with its southern neighbour, the regime in North Korea said that talks about de-nuclearisation could begin if the United States first removed its nuclear weapons from the region.

Standing firm: Kim Jong Un says sanctions must also be removed

Listing their conditions, the statement from the country's National Defence Commission said: "First, [the Americans and South Koreans] should immediately stop all their provocative acts against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and apologise for all of them."

"Second, they should give formal assurances before the world that they would not stage again such nuclear war drills to threaten or blackmail the DPRK.

"Third, they should make a decision to withdraw all nuclear war means from South Korea and its vicinity and give up their attempt to reintroduce them as their immediate duty.

"If the US and the southern enemies genuinely want dialogue and negotiation, they should take these steps," the statement added.

The United States and South Korea are yet to respond to the conditions. Even if they are considered to be unacceptable, they at least suggest a willingness to negotiate on the behalf of the North.

North Korea had previously repeatedly said that any talks would only begin once it had been accepted by America as a nuclear state. The latest statement hints at a softening of that stance.

"The de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula can begin with the removal of the nuclear war tools dragged in by the US and it can lead to global nuclear disarmament," the North's National Defence Commission said in the statement released by the official KCNA news agency.

"Dialogue and war cannot co-exist. If the United States and the puppet South have the slightest desire to avoid the sledge-hammer blow of our army and the people ... and truly wish dialogue and negotiations, they must make the resolute decision," the statement said.

Crucially, the statement also called for the removal of United Nations sanctions against the country.

John Kerry has offered talks, but with conditions the North has rejected

"The sanctions resolutions by the UN Security Council that were fabricated with unjust reasons must be withdrawn," the North's top military body said in its statement.

The American Secretary of State, John Kerry, was in the region last weekend. He offered talks with the North but only on the pre-condition they abandon their nuclear weapon ambitions.

An anticipated missile test by North Korea has not yet materialised though it is believed that at least two medium to long range missiles remain primed and fuelled on launch pads in the country's North East.

The threat of a missile test was the culmination of weeks of alarming rhetoric from the North, robust military posturing from America and a genuine fear of a military clash between the two.

Joint South Korean and American military exercises on the peninsula are due to end this month which is likely to reduce the tensions.

The latest round of United Nations sanctions were imposed on North Korea following its successful rocket launch in December and subsequent nuclear test in February.

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Bomb Plot: Four Jailed For Planning TA Attack

Four men have been sentenced for their part in a plot to detonate a bomb at a Territorial Army (TA) base.

Zahid Iqbal, 31, and Mohammed Sharfaraz Ahmed, 25, who wanted to guide a bomb mounted onto a remote-controlled toy car into the base, have been sentenced to life in prison. 

Security services heard the pair discussing the plot on the telephone between January, 2011 and April, 2012. 

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Wilkie QC said the pair posed "a significant risk of serious harm to the public".

He imposed a custodial sentence of least 11 years and three months, with a five-year extension period subject to licence.

Umar Arshad, 24, and Syed Farhan Hussain, 22, were jailed for six years and nine months and five years and three months respectively for their roles in preparing a terrorist attack.

Security services had heard the four men discussing methods, materials and targets for a terrorist attack, the court heard.

Iqbal and Ahmed talked about making an improvised explosive device (IED) based on instructions in online al Qaeda manual "How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom - by the al Qaeda chef", the court was told.

Covert recordings of the pair heard Iqbal suggesting attaching the bomb to a remote controlled toy car and sending it under the gap of an entrance gate at a TA centre in Luton.

Iqbal was recorded telling Ahmed: "I was looking and drove past like the TA centre, Marsh Road. At the bottom of their gate there's quite a big gap.

"If you had a little toy car, it drives underneath one of their vehicles or something."

The men were arrested following a series of raids at their homes in April last year after a joint operation by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command and the British Security Service (BSS).

The court heard that Iqbal acted as a facilitator for people who wanted to travel for "extremist purposes" and had helped Ahmed travel to Pakistan in March, 2011 for military training.

Mr Wilkie said a further 13 counts relating to the possession of information contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000 should be left on the file.

Addressing Iqbal and Ahmed, Mr Wilkie said: "In each of their cases, their persistent commitment to terrorist activity, in a number of different ways, over a significant period of time and, in each case, their willingness to take practical steps to obtain terrorist training abroad, marks them as particularly dangerous."

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Teenager Convicted Of Raping 11-Year-Old Girl

A teenager has been found guilty of raping an 11-year-old girl as she made her way home from school in a "vicious and horrific" attack.

Opemipo Jaji, 18, subjected his victim to a three-hour ordeal and threatened to stab her when she tried to escape.

He followed the youngster from a bus stop in November 2012 and first forced her into a housing estate before sexually assaulting her.

The court heard he stuffed a school tie and gloves into her mouth to stop her screaming.

The trainee chef later took the girl to Jubilee Park in Enfield, where he repeatedly raped her, at one point telling her he was close to killing her.

The girl was taken to Jubilee Park where she was repeatedly raped

During his trial at the Old Bailey, Jaji denied the offence, telling police he had seen the girl on the bus but nothing had happened.

He claimed he had visited the park later that evening on his own and sat on the grass, which was why he had her blood on his clothes.

"I am just not capable of doing something as despicable and heartless as this," he told the court.

The attack was described as "vicious and horrific" by the Crown Prosecution Service.

CCTV pictures showed Jaji boarding the bus before he raped his victim

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Lowe said: "Jaji posed a great danger to young girls and, despite the great weight of evidence against him, refused to accept his guilt and forced the victim to give evidence in court.

"This was a particularly brutal but unusual attack on an innocent 11-year-old schoolgirl who will, no doubt, continue to suffer the emotional scars of what happened to her for a very long time."

At the time of his arrest, Jaji had two previous convictions, one involving an attack on a 12-year-old and another for making an indecent picture of a child.

He will be sentenced in two weeks' time.

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Texas Explosion: Looters Target Town

Between five and 15 people are believed to have been killed after an explosion ripped through a fertiliser plant in Texas.

More than half of the town has been evacuated and people are still being pulled from damaged buildings following the blast in West, near Waco.

It comes as looters began targeting parts of the town, and police warned those with no need to be in the area to stay away.

A victim from the West fertilizer plant explosion is wheeled into hospital

The explosion - which the US geological survey said had a 2.1 magnitude - was so powerful that a nearby block of flats was destroyed and 130 residents of a local nursing home were injured.

Sergeant William Swanton, from Waco Police Department, said there were scenes of "extreme devastation".

"We're going house to house, business to business, and we're seeing quite a bit of devastation in the area of the plant.

An elderly woman is taken into a hospital in Waco, Texas

"They're still pulling victims out, still bringing victims to triage.

"There may be firefighters that are unaccounted for and potentially a law enforcement officer as well."

He added that locals "are going to be in a state of recovery for a very long time".

Hundreds of people were injured by the explosion

He also said that a helicopter which was helping with the rescue operation was damaged.

The blast damaged as many as 75 homes, as well as a local school.

A number of people are also suffering from "respiratory distress due to chemical inhalation".

Firefighters check a destroyed apartment complex near the plant

The explosion happened shortly before 8pm local time on Wednesday and could be heard as far away as 45 miles.

A man filmed the initial fire, and captured the moment of the explosion on camera.

His child is heard shouting: "Dad, I can't hear, let's get out of here. I can't hear anything."

Smoke rises as water is sprayed on the remains of the plant

The dad says simply: "Oh my god."

Anhydrous ammonia is widely used as a fertiliser, but it is also a key component of many explosive devices.

West's mayor Tommy Muska, who is part of the team of local volunteer firefighters, said a number of his colleagues are unaccounted for.

This image shows the initial blast Pic: KWTX-TV

He told CNN: "It's like a nuclear bomb went off."

Texas Governor Rick Perry said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene."

Debby Marak told The Associated Press she noticed a lot of smoke coming from the area across town near the plant, which is near a nursing home.

She said she drove over to see what was happening, and when she got out of her car two boys ran towards her screaming that officials told them to leave because the plant was going to explode.

Moments later the blast happened.

"It was like being in a tornado," the 58-year-old said. "Stuff was flying everywhere. It blew out my windshield.

The injured are treated at a nearby sports field

"It was like the whole earth shook."

Police officers have reportedly been transporting the injured to local hospitals in their patrol cars.

As many as a dozen helicopters have been sent to the West High School stadium where ambulances are waiting to transport victims to hospitals.

A photo from Twitter user @TitansHomer shows a destroyed apartment complex

Glenn Robinson, chief executive of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Centre, in Waco, told CNN his hospital had received 66 injured people for treatment, including 38 who were seriously hurt.

He said the injuries included blast injuries, orthopedic injuries, large wounds and a lot of lacerations and cuts.

American Red Cross crews from across Texas are being sent to the site.

The number of people arriving in the town offering assistance has become a logistical problem in itself, emergency workers say.

They are also anticipating further disruption later, with heavy thunderstorms and potential tornadoes forecast in the area.

The explosion comes on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Waco siege - a deadly confrontation between federal authorities and heavily armed locals.

The Dallas Morning News said that the fertiliser company previously reported to the US Environmental Protection Agency and local public safety officials that there was no risk of fire or explosion at the plant.

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Boston Bombs: First Pictures Of Devices

US authorities have released the first pictures of the explosive devices used in the twin blasts which hit the Boston Marathon on Monday.

The images show twisted pieces of a metal container, wires, a battery and a small circuit board which exploded close to the finish line at the race.

In another, a piece of charred wire can be seen attached to a small box and a twisted metal lid with bolts.

The FBI said on Tuesday that a pressure cooker may have been used to build the bombs, with nails, ball bearings and other metal packed around the explosive.

The device may also have been hidden inside rucksacks placed on the ground near the finish line.

Richard DesLauriers, FBI agent in charge said the investigation to find those responsible would be worldwide.

He vowed: "We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime."

More than 1,000 officers are working on the investigation which agents have said in the largest the Boston bureau has ever worked on. 

Pressure cooker bombs have been used in attacks in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to a July 2010 FBI report.

But the techniques of making them is understood to be known to domestic US extremists.

Officials said that there was no indication that al Qaeda or other foreign extremist organisations were behind the attack, but they added the investigation was still at an early stage.

It is not yet known what was used to set off the devices.

The damage caused by one of the blasts in Boston

Special agent DesLauriers said experts would reconstruct the devices at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

The FBI also appealed for anyone who was in the area of the marathon or Boston airport in the last few days to send in any pictures they may have taken.

Investigators are already understood to be examining 6,000 movies-worth of CCTV footage from cameras in the area.

Websites and newspapers were already featuring images which they claimed showed people suspected of carrying out the attacks or the devices.

The FBI said it was looking at one sent to a local TV station which appeared to show a bag next to a mailbox in the area where one of the bombs went off.

Jason Pack, FBI spokesman in Boston, said: "We're taking a look at hundreds of photos and that's one of them." 

Three people were killed and more than 170 others injured after the two explosions around four hours into the famous marathon.

Two of those killed were Krystle Campbell, 29, and eight-year-old Martin Richard.

The third is understood to be a Chinese graduate student who has been named locally and in China, but not named officially.

Nine children were among the injured, which were aged between two and 71.

Doctors have revealed the extent of the injuries suffered by those caught in the blasts, including details of a nine-year-old girl who lost her leg and a 10-year-old boy who suffered deep shrapnel wounds.

George Velmahos, of Massachusetts General Hospital, said: "These bombs contained small metallic fragments more consistent with pellets and other small pieces of metal, but also spiked points that resembled nails without heads."

A total of 13 people have had to have limbs amputated and others are at risk of losing legs following the blasts. Seventeen remain in a critical condition.

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Baroness Thatcher's Funeral At St Paul's

Baroness Thatcher has been given a ceremonial funeral at St Paul's Cathedral as Britain remembers a famous but divisive prime minister.

The Queen, her presence effectively raising it to a state event, joined dignitaries from around the world and all Lady Thatcher's successors as prime minister.

It was the first time the monarch had attended the funeral service of a former prime minister since Sir Winston Churchill's state ceremony in 1965.

The UK's first female prime minister was given full military honours, her coffin brought to St Paul's on a gun carriage drawn by six black horses.

Lady Thatcher's family on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral

Security across the capital was tight but there appeared to be far smaller crowds than expected, with some areas where barriers were erected almost empty.

Scotland Yard said no arrests were made in London during the morning, although many onlookers were furious that taxpayers were paying most of the funeral bill.

Inside the famous church, more than 2,300 guests paid tribute, led by the former politician's children Mark and Carol and her two grandchildren Michael and Amanda.

Sitting a few rows behind them among today's parliamentarians was Chancellor George Osborne, who had tears running down his face.

An aerial view of St Paul's as the coffin arrived

Aides to the Cabinet minister declined to elaborate on his emotional response, saying it "speaks for itself".

More than 30 members of the Iron Lady's cabinets, including Lord Heseltine and Lord Howe who played a key role in her downfall, were at the service.

Alongside them were dignitaries from around 170 countries, including two heads of state and 11 serving prime ministers.

No one from the White House was there, but former US vice-president Dick Cheney and ex-secretary of state Henry Kissinger attended in a private capacity.

More than 50 guests were associated with the Falklands, including one of the conflict's most well-known veterans Simon Weston.

Chancellor George Osborne shedding a tear during the service

Figures from the entertainment world included Sir Terry Wogan, Jeremy Clarkson, Katherine Jenkins, Joan Collins and Lord Lloyd-Webber.

The main service was conducted with more pomp and ceremony than any funeral seen in London since the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.

Lady Thatcher had planned it to the last detail and at her express wish, her granddaughter Amanda read the first lesson.

David Cameron read from the Gospel and the Bishop of London gave an address which deliberately steered clear of talking about her political legacy.

He said: "The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure - even an "ism".

"Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service. Lying here, she is one of us, subject to the common destiny of all human beings.

"There is an important place for debating policies and legacy; for assessing the impact of political decisions on the everyday lives of individuals and communities.

David Cameron doing a reading in front of the coffin

"Parliament held a frank debate last week - but here and today is neither the time nor the place."

Music by British composers was played at the beginning and end of the service, and the hymns reflected aspects of Lady Thatcher's life.

They included He Who Would Valiant Be, Love Divine All Loves Excelling to mark the influence of her Methodist upbringing and I Vow To Thee My Country because of her love for the nation.

At the end, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave the blessing before the coffin was removed by bearers from units linked to the Falklands War.

The Queen greeting Mark and Carol Thatcher outside the church

The waiting crowd gave three cheers as it emerged, after which the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh joined Lady Thatcher's family on the Cathedral steps.

The ceremony followed a sombre procession through central London, which was on lockdown with 4,000 police officers on duty in case of any unrest.

Many among those lining the streets appeared to be Thatcher supporters, although others booed or performed a silent protest as the coffin passed.

The honours had started at dawn with the lowering of flags over government buildings all around the country, where they will remain until dusk.

Big Ben then fell silent at 9.45am and did not chime again until 1pm, in a mark of respect from the institution that made Lady Thatcher's name.

Her coffin, which had rested in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in Westminster overnight, was removed from Parliament at 10am.

The Blairs and the Camerons were in the congregation

People applauded as the hearse made its way up Whitehall past Downing Street - the politician's home for more than a decade.

A hand-written card from her two children placed in a single large white flower arrangement resting on the coffin read: "Beloved mother, always in our hearts".

Transferred to a gun carriage outside St Clement Danes church, it was then escorted by hundreds of troops to St Paul's for the service.

The 1.5 ton carriage travelled at 70 steps per minute - its wheels changed from steel to rubber so that it ran more quietly along the road.

During the procession, a gun salute was fired at one-minute intervals from the Tower of London.

Among the three 105mm light guns operated by the Honourable Artillery Company were two used in the Falklands and last fired in anger at Goose Green and the final assault on Port Stanley.

(L-R) Lords Tebbit, Howe and Heseltine outside St Paul's

At St Paul's, the cortege was met by a guard of honour from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards on the steps which were lined by members of all three services and 16 Chelsea pensioners.

As crowds packing the pavements applauded warmly, a single half-muffled bell tolled before the 55-minute service began.

After the ceremony, Lady Thatcher's family and guests went to a reception in the City of London ahead of a private cremation in Mortlake, south-west London.

Ahead of the service, David Cameron insisted that his predecessor had settled divisions by winning the big arguments - declaring: "In a way, we are all Thatcherites now."

He added: "She was the first woman prime minister, she served for longer in the job that anyone for 150 years, she achieved some extraordinary things in her life."

Outside St Paul's supporter John Loughrey, from Wandsworth, said: "She saved Britain. She gave my father the opportunity to buy his council house.

"We had all sorts of problems and Mrs Thatcher put it all back together again. We needed the Iron Lady."

The gun carriage entering Fleet Street

Margaret Kittle, 79, had travelled all the way from Canada to pay her respects and was in place on Tuesday to ensure a good view.

She said: "My family came to Churchill's and I wanted to come to Maggie's because they are the two greats of history. We will never see the likes of Mrs Thatcher again."

But student David Winslow, 22, was among the critics in the crowd.

"The message is that spending £10m on such a divisive figure in times of austerity, especially when austerity is being imposed on the poor, is wrong, especially when harm is being caused to the disabled and the NHS," he said.

There was also tension between supporters and protesters near the Royal Courts of Justice, where pensioner Phil Williams held a banner saying "Rest in Shame".

A 45-year-old protester called Helen, who was wearing a mask of Lady Thatcher's face, said: "I think it's really scandalous that we've spent all this money and time on her funeral. It just adds insult to injury.

"I think she ruined Britain's manufacturing industry, which is something the current Government are always harping on about.

"I think she started the culture of vilifying the poor and the disabled and I just think the current Government are following Thatcher's policies."

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the cost of the funeral to the taxpayer would be "much, much less" than the £10m reported.

Protesters angry that taxpayers' paid for most of the funeral

Many mining towns ignored the funeral but in Goldthorpe, an effigy of the former prime minister in a noose was paraded and residents plan to burn a coffin later.

One home in the town displayed a huge sign saying: "The Lady's not for turning but tonight she'll be for burning."

Meanwhile in Glasgow, a rally was being held to remember the "industries and communities who suffered" during her premiership.

Prominent left-winger Tommy Sheridan, who helped lead the protests against the poll tax in Scotland, will speak at the event.

However, in Lady Thatcher's hometown of Grantham, dozens gathered to watch the funeral and to pay their respects.

Christine Taylor, 66, said: "I think people forget the way Britain was before she came to power. They forget the winter of discontent."

"I felt Mrs Thatcher was somebody who was going to stand up for people. I know she has been divisive but I think she was a great leader."

The hearse passing by the gates of Downing Street

In Belfast, Unionists marked the funeral in the traditional fashion by flying the Union Flag at half-mast on the City Hall despite recent tensions over a vote to reduce the number of days it is flown.

But Sky's Ireland correspondent David Blevins said Republicans were preparing for evening protests.

On Falls Road in west Belfast, they will honour 14 IRA hunger strikers who died when Lady Thatcher refused to grant them political prisoner status in 1981.

By mid-afternoon, a small group of Republicans - around 50-75 people - had already started protesting at Free Derry Corner in Londonderry.

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