Boston bombing suspect arrested

Police have arrested a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing.

Law enforcement officials told CNN that authorities have confirmed the man in custody is 19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev, who escaped an overnight shootout with police that left his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev — the other man wanted in the bombings — dead.

The younger Tsarnaev was in need of undisclosed medical care, the officials said. . .

Boston bombing UPDATE: suspect arrested

Tragedy has struck at the Boston Marathon.

Two people were killed and dozens were injured this afternoon as two powerful explosions detonated in quick succession near the Boston Marathon finish line in Boston’s Back Bay section, turning a scene of athletic celebration into bloody chaos.

Two more explosive devices were found and dismantled, The Associated Press reported this afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration announced a ground stop for Logan International Airport until further notice.

Blood and broken glass covered sidewalks in the area where the blasts occurred just before 3 p.m. in the city’s Back Bay section. Immediately after the explosions, some of the wounded could be seen to have lost limbs; others lay unconscious. . .

No-one has claimed responsibility yet.

When we were in New York a couple of years ago we got used to going through security checks.

At the time it seemed to be overkill.

These explosions in Boston show that it wasn’t.

UPDATE – The New York post reports a suspect has been arrested.

Terror or terrorism?

Norway has suffered the worst violence since World War II with at least seven people killed in an explosion at a government building and many more shot dead at a youth camp.

These are acts of terror although it is not yet known if they were acts of terrorism.

Regardless of who was responsible, it is a reminder of how vulnerable we all are.

When we were in New York earlier this month we had to pass through x-rays at the entrance to places like the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. But there were many other places with no obvious signs of security where someone determined to unleash terror could have done so.

Today’s attacks in Norway show it is impossible to guard everyone everywhere and no-one should  try to. Just as the British people learned to live with the threat of IRA bombings in the 1970s and 80s, we must accept sensible precautions but not let them curtail our freedom.