One of the most graphic images to emerge from the Boston Marathon bombings was of a young man who appeared to have lost both his legs.

The Boston bombings have reaffirmed Australia's commitment to its burgeoning counter-intelligence agency, which is preparing to move.

British police are reviewing security plans for Sunday's London Marathon, the next major international marathon, because of the Boston bombings.

"You're meant to do three things while at Harvard," expat and ivy-league graduate Lara Markstein tells me. "One is to pee on John Harvard's foot."