BBC News with Julie Candler.

President Obama has described Monday’s deadly bomb attack on the Boston Marathon as a cowardly act of terror. But he said it remained unclear whether those responsible were foreign, domestic or if it was the work of malevolent individual. The two bombs are reported to have been relatively small, but they killed three people and injured more than 170. Paul Adams reports from Boston.

The centre of Boston is still a crime scene: streets closed off, large numbers of police and National Guard on duty. The city’s flags are flying at half mast as they are across the country. The authorities have appealed to the public to come forward with information and photographs and it’s clear that many people already have. What’s less clear is how much of a picture investigators have already built up. It’s been reported that the two bombs were made from pressure cookers packed with ball bearings, nails and metal shards. But this hasn’t been confirmed.

A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake has shaken southeastern Iran. The quake was centered on the sparsely populated province of Sistan and Baluchestan. Officials there say no death have been reported so far. But across the border, Pakistani army officers say more than 30 people were killed. Caroline Hawley reports.

This was a

massive

earthquake, stronger than the one that struck Haiti in 2010. But its epicenter was in a