hello you're watching bbc world news. i'm james menendez. our top story this hour: german police say attackers deliberately targeted the borussia dortmund football team. a bus carrying the squad to a champions league game was hit by three explosions. one player was injured — officials say a letter was found near the scene. welcome to the programme — our other main stories this hour: tough talking on syria: the us secretary of state prepares for crucial meetings in moscow — as russia appears to be hardening its support for the assad regime. he told a press briefing adolf hitler didn't use chemical weapons. the backlash forces sean spicer into an apology — and yet more misstatements. i'm aaron heslehurst. in business: what does junk status do to you? south africas battered economy tries to recover from a double downgrade,

but it won't be easy — especially trying to borrow money from its internationalfriends. and — all on board. yep how a group of enterprising berliners, fed up with paying ever more for their daily train tickets clubbed together to crowd—fund their own train line. we're going to take a ride with them. hello. police in germany believe the three explosions that hit a bus carrying the borussia dortmund football team, were directly targeting the club. they were planted at the roadside in the district of hoechsten, about ten kilometres from the stadium. the team was on its way to its champions league match against monaco. one player — marc bartra — suffered a hand injury and needed surgery. jane frances kelly reports. forensic teams have spent the night examining the blast site.

three devices in what police described as a targeted attack exploded as the players‘ bus left their hotel shortly after 7pm. it's believed the explosives were hidden in a hedge and were detonated as the bus passed. the vehicle had reinforced glass. but two panes at the back shattered, injuring spanish international marc bartra, who's undergone surgery. other team members were unharmed. at a press conference held soon afterwards, a spokesman for the team gave an update on his condition. translation: marc bartra is being operated on right now for a broken bone in his right hand and he's got various glass shards that have been blasted in this arm. the team, through captain marcel schmelzer, just rang me. they're still very shocked and thinking about marc. we hope he recovers quickly. the police are still trying to establish who was behind the attack and why. an official from the state prosecutor revealed that a letter had been found close to the scene. translation: i can say a letter

was found near the blast scene. at the moment, due to the ongoing investigation, i can't give more information about the content. the authenticity is being investigated. the devices exploded about ten kilometres from germany's largest stadium. the match has been postponed until later today. the world of football has come together in wishing bartra a full recovery and condemning the attack, which has unsettled players and fans alike. jane—frances kelly, bbc news. for for all the latest on that attack in dortmund just go to our website. that's bbc.com/news. you can also download the bbc news smartphone app for all the latest stories. in a few hours time the us secretary of state rex tillerson meets his russian counterpart in moscow. on tuesday, vladimir putin appeared to harden his support for the assad regime, and accused syrian rebels of planning fake chemical attacks —

"provocations" — to draw the us into further missile strikes. president putin is still disputing the syrian government's responsibility for this month's gas attack on a rebel—held area in idlib. sarah corker reports. are likely to the frosty affair as washington's top diplomat rex tillerson meet his russian counterpart sergei lavrov to challenge the kremlin o'bree support for the assad regime. as a former oil executive, rex tillerson is more used to arriving in moscow for business deals. this political mission may prove more difficult. russia, he said on tuesday, there is a heavy responsibility after last week's chemical attack. it is unclear whether russia failed to ta ke unclear whether russia failed to take this obligation seriously or russia has been in competent. but this distinction doesn't much matter to the dead. the chemical strike

killed at least 89 people including many children. the west blames the syrian government. the us fired 59 missiles at a syrian air base in rear “— missiles at a syrian air base in rear —— retaliation. an act condemned by russia. the us defence secretary said it is in moscow's best interest to prevent relations deteriorating. it will not spiral out of control. as you know, rex tillerson is in moscow. we maintain diplomatic channels. but vladimir putin appeared to harden his stand, accusing opposition forces are planning further attacks. ledger we have information from various sources that similar provocations, i can't call them any differently, are being prepared in other parts of

syria, too. including the southern suburbs of damascus where they are preparing to release some sort of substance again. —— translation:. substance again. —— translation: . induced substance again. —— translation:. induced in italy, g7 ministers rejected further sanctions on syria and russia. theyjoined a call to abandon assad but it seems that message may fall on deaf ears. sarah corker, bbc news. donald trump's spokesman has admitted making insensitive and inappropriate remarks after asserting that hitler did not use chemical weapons during the second world war. sean spicer made the comments during a white house press briefing, comparing president assad of syria to hitler and criticising russia for supporting the syrian government, which he said had used chemical munitions. david willis reports asked about the syrian government's use of chemical weapons, the president's press secretary used this surprising assertion. we didn't use chemical weapons in world war two. you know, you had a... you know, someone as despicable as hitler who didn't even

sink to the... to using chemical weapons. asked to clarify those remarks, mr spicer dug himself in even deeper. in the, in the, he brought them into, um... to the holocaust center, i understand that. what i'm saying, in the way that assad used them where he went into towns, dropped them down to innocent... into the middle of towns, it was brought. so the use of it, i appreciate the clarification. that was not the intent. ina in a statement, the anne frank centre for mutual respect accused him of engaging in... calls mounting for his dismissal, the spokesman went back into the cameras to offer this apology. bello i was obviously tried to make a point about the heinous acts, using chemical weapons and gas. --i was obviously trying

to. i used an inappropriate comparison and for that, i apologise. on monday, mr spicer suggested the use of barrel bombs by the syrian regime could merit renewed military action on the part of the united states. only for the white house to deny its policy had changed. now the trump administration is facing further unflattering headlines and need suggestions that this man's days at the lectin may be numbered. and aaron is here with all the business news. more now on our top story. south africa's economic woes. as south africa's president jacob zuma celebrates his 75th birthday, festivities may be rather more low key than usual. in less than a week, the country's members of parliament are scheduled to hold a vote of no confidence against the president... why? well it comes after he ousted some of his key political opponents in a recent cabinet reshuffle.

today, members of the public are expected to take to the streets in protest of the move, but mr zuma's decision also has implications for the economy. south africa has been downgraded to "junk status" by two of the leading debt ratings agencies — fitch and s&p. they argue that the reshuffle will hamper the country's efforts to manage its finances. the government's debt pile continues to grow and the loss of its "investment grade" status could have a significant impact on south africa's ability to borrow money on international markets. it means that major institutions such as pension funds and hedge funds may be prevented from buying the country's debt. we will have a lot more of this

coming up. i bet you can't wait. in about 20 minutes time. here is something that can make your daily commute a bit more interesting. for decades, deutsche ban has been dominating. but this guy has been raising funds through at crowd fuzzing campaign to take them on. —— crowd funding. follow me on twitter. i will see you very shortly. in other news: the united nations says the west african islamist group, boko haram, has increased the use of children as suicide bombers. a un report says twenty—seven attacks have been carried out by children in the first three months of this year

against education reform. legislation proposed by president michelle bachelet would expand free access to university but the students say it doesn't go far enough — they're seeking free tuition for all. musicianj.geils, whose real name wasjohn warren geils, has died at his home in massachusetts. he was 71. thej.geils band was launched as a blues trio in the 1960's. they went on to have a string of hits in the late 1970's and early 1980's including "freeze frame", "love stinks," and ‘centrefold' which stayed at number one for six weeks. charity workers say they are struggling to find dozens of children who were evacuated aftera migrant camp in northern france caught fire. migrants who were left homeless faced a night outdoors or in emergency shelters. french authorities say the fire at the grande synthe camp,

near dunkirk, was started after a fight between people in the camp. gavin lee has been there. in flames, the last substantial migrant camp in northern france, destroyed by those living here. french authorities had warned of trouble, with reports of violence and rape inside, and increasing arrivals after the closure of the calaisjungle camp. eyewitnesses say the fire started after fighting broke out between groups of afghanis and iraqi kurds, blamed on competition for space. so here, this is one of the community kitchens were afghans were sleeping, completely packed, one against the others, while the kurdish people had shelters. and, as more and more afghans arrived, they become more and more packed, and felt the injustice of having to sleep like this. the police are moving the last few migrants away from here. the site is completely empty now. i'd say about 50% is completely burned down. they've been told to go

to emergency shelters. i'm told there's about room for 900. there are 1,500 people here. and many migrants have said they willjust keep trying to get to the uk, they will set up other makeshift camps. 17—year—old mohammed from syria was evacuated. he says he's trying to reach his sister in london. i need go england now. today after all them that i need to go on the back of a truck or inside or on the side. you need to get on a truck? yes, back or the side. he's one of 60 children between 12 and i7 alone in dunkirk with family links to the uk. charity workers say they've lost track of more than half. a lot of them are missing so we're trying to reach them, but it's really hard, of course, because they don't have battery on their phones, so we're trying to reach them and figure out what is the situation, where they are, if they are ok. in the street, talk of a narrow escape, but still, determination to get to england.

i don't have shoes, only running, not telephone, my telephone, my charger, everything, my clothes, everything is burning. with french elections weeks away, front—runners, emmanuel macron and marine le pen, are both talking of a need to renegotiate the border agreement. with warmer weather, more arrivals, and the talk of more makeshift camps appearing, it's a recurrent issue that has dogged anglo—french relations for over a decade, one that, with brexit talks, could get more complicated. gavin lee, bbc news, grande synthe in northern france. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: deep under the atlantic ocean — the richest deposits of rare minerals anywhere on earth. scientists marvel at the wonders inside an undersea mountain. pol pot, one of the century's

greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock, and as for a sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world best time for years to come. quite quietly but quicker and quicker, she seemed just to slide away under the surface and disappear. this is bbc world news.

the latest headlines: one of germany's top football teams is deliberately targeted by three explosions. one player is injured. police say they found a letter at the scene. the head of united airlines has given a fuller apology for what he described as the "truly horrific" removal of a passenger from an overbooked flight. the chief executive, oscar munoz, initially said that staff had followed established procedures. laura trevelyan reports. oh my god. no! a shocking scene — a man is dragged from a plane in chicago after he refuses to obey officials who have told him they need his seat. screaming

oh my god. other passengers have apparently left the aircraft when asked because united insisted it needed four seats for crew members. those onboard watch aghast as the man, named locally as david dao, is forcibly ejected from the plane. oh my god! look at what you're doing to him! they drag him out of his seat, banging his head on an armrest, and then pulled him out of the plane, as if he was less than human. in a further twist, the passenger somehow returns to the aircraft looking bewildered, bloody and dazed, as the horrified passengers carry on recording. tonight he is reported to be in hospital in chicago. on social media there has been an outcry as united airlines is mocked for its ‘fly the friendly skies' motto. ‘not enough seating? time for a beating!‘ said one particularly pointed tweet. for united airlines, it's a communications catastrophe. the airline initially described the passenger as disruptive and belligerent before

abruptly changing tone. tonight, chief executive oscar munoz said: as if flying in america wasn't overcrowded and stressful enough, on top of all that it seems you can be dragged from your seat on an overbooked flight. now the federal transportation department is investigating whether united followed the rules on overbooking. for the long—suffering flying public, this is a new low. yeah, i thought it was pretty horrifying, you know. do you think airlines should be able to drag people off planes? no, no. not because they were overbooked, that's their issue, not the issue of the passengers who are already seated. tonight united insisted they did not remove doctor dao because the flight was oversold, rather it was to accommodate four crewmembers needing seats, a distinction which may be lost on many.

performing together with a single united purpose... slick commercials couldn't stop united's shares closing down a little over i% and the airline faces bumpy skies ahead as it tries to ride this one out. laura trevelyan, bbc news, new york. sport now, and in football, juventus made full use of their home advantage in the first leg of their champions league quarter final against barcelona. they won the match 3—0, giving the spanish side plenty to do in the return leg at the camp nou next wednesday. conor mcnamara was watching for us. this is a victory that will be long remembered around these parts at the foot of the alps. juventus have a proud record, have and never lost to barcelona here in touring in the past. they really put the catalans to the sword. two early goals from paolo did balogh, this exciting young argentine player. the first a

smart turn in the penalty area and a very good finish to the bottom corner. his second shot required more power but just corner. his second shot required more power butjust as accurate, and with just 32 minutes on the clock at that stage, barcelona were in big trouble. into the second half and vetera n trouble. into the second half and veteran defender kia lingy who had only ever scored once in the champions league before, a brilliant headerfrom him, in off the post, and barcelona at this stage you they we re and barcelona at this stage you they were in big trouble. they lost 4—0 in the first leg of the last round against paris st—germain and still came back to win, but this is different now, against juventus, came back to win, but this is different now, againstjuventus, and barcelona have a very big challenge awaiting them when these two teams meet again at the now camp. —— nou camp. leicester city play their champions league quarterfinal against atletico madrid on wednesday. the focus there has been on former manager claudio ranieri's comments about his dismissal. he said someone in the backroom staff may have been responsible. many took that to mean the current manager craig shakespeare. joe wilson has more from madrid. craig shakespeare was taking lessons at his training session, and questions from the media as well. you would expect this from a champions league quarter—final. one thing in particular was hanging

over today's media conference, comments from claudio ranieri on monday evening. he alluded to somebody who was perhaps influencing his dismissal, his sacking, from leicester city. who was it, claudio ranieri would not say. so we have been left to fill in that gap. you could infer that perhaps craig shakespeare himself. he was directly in the background during claudio ranieri's time at the club to be that was a point upward to craig shakespeare today. my stance is, from my first interview, coming into the packed room, i remember saying i spoke to claudio ranieri denied he was relieved, and he thanked me for my time, i thanked him. he said there were never any hard feelings. and that is my side of it in terms of the significance of this match, would leicester city and the fans and players, it is best summed up by the keeper. he said it is the kind of thing you play for and the kind of thing

you live for. british scientists have found some of the richest deposits of rare minerals anywhere on earth. they made the discovery in an underwater mountain in the atlantic ocean, near the ca nary islands. the natural treasure trove contains elements that are vital for everything from solar panels to electronics. with this exclusive report, here's our science editor, david shukman. deep in the atlantic, a remotely controlled arm grabs a chunk of the seabed. the rocks look pretty ordinary, but in a surprising revelation, it turns out they're laden with some of the most precious minerals on the planet. working from a british research ship, the james cook, scientists deployed robot submarines and they discovered that an underwater mountain, not far from tenerife, is entirely covered in a highly unusual crust. it's made up of rocks that are unlike anything seen on dry land because they hold exceptional quantities of important elements. what's astonishing about these

rocks, brought up from deep underwater, is how incredibly rich they are in valuable minerals, especially the kind of things needed for renewable energy, which raises a really difficult question, if the world's going to go green, we may have to start mining rocks like these from the deep ocean. analysis reveals what are called "rare earth elements," which are used in wind turbines, and a substance called "tellurium." tellurim is used in a type of highly efficient solar panel. the element is hard to extract on land, but far greater concentrations of it have been found in rocks underwater. nothing comes without a cost. so if we need these green energy supplies, then we need the raw materials to make the devices that will produce the energy. so, yes, the raw materials have to come from somewhere.

we either dig them up for the ground, and make a very large hole, or we dig them from the seabed and make a comparatively smaller hole. one mining company has already built giant robotic machines ready to advance over the seabed, breaking it up to get at the rocks. we're on the brink of mines opening deep underwater. it's part of a new goldrush, searching for minerals. each of the coloured dots represents an area being explored. the pacific is attracting most attention with exploration of the seabed stretching over nearly 3,000 miles. more than a dozen different countries, including britain, are involved in this process. so, how damaging will this underwater mining be? the british expedition did an experiment, pumping out huge volumes of dust to mimick the effects of mining. one fear is that plumes of dust could kill sealife for miles around. it's difficult to predict and, you know, like everything in the deep sea, everything connected with the effects

of mining, we need to learn more. we still know so little about what's going on down there. we're discovering how there's more life in the deep than anyone thought, but also how there's a treasure trove of critically important elements and the more valuable they are, the more likely it is the first mines will open on the ocean floor. david shukman, bbc news. while we're looking under the surface, a newly discovered shrimp that's making a big noise in the ocean... this is the synalpheus pinkfloydee — named after the rock band pink floyd. it has a distinctive pink claw and a snap loud enough to kill nearby fish — so one of the discoverers thought the name fitting to honour his favourite band. and the name has inspired some album coverfan art — this is one fan's mock—up of another shrimp in the wall. hello there. with easterjust around

the corner it looks like we're set for cool sort of weather. earlier on, the thickness of the crowd was more across the northern half of the uk where we saw some rain. sunshine to the south of the earlier. this westerly breezes picking up and blowing and a lot of cloud. it will not be as cold as it was last night across england and wales. into the morning this area of rain is running through the central belt of scotland, wetter in glasgow than edinburgh. rain in northern ireland and heavy rain over the hills of cumbria and into lancashire, and by about nine o'clock there will be a bit of rain towards liverpool and manchester. that rain is part of a weather front that will move south slowly through the day. yet again for many subareas it will be dry, no more than a passing shower. some brighter skies, but more in the way of card in the afternoon. behind the weather front we get some sunshine. a few showers around, most of those in northern scotland. cool in the

breeze and in those showers. the best temperatures around the london area, 16 degrees, not farfrom best temperatures around the london area, 16 degrees, not far from what we had on tuesday. that weather front again, nothing on it, no rain for the gardens to speak of at all. that is clearing away. behind that we get a cooler north—westerly afloat. quite actually start for the eastern side of you count thursday morning. some sunshine for a while, but the tendency is for things to cloud over more and more from the west. we will see a few showers here and there are, but very hit and miss. lots of places will be dry. a gentle north—westerly breeze and temperatures 10— 14 degrees. on good friday, brighter skies and sunshine and showers, likely in scotland. sunny and dry towards the south—east. in between, and zone of cloud, and it is here we are more likely to get some showers from time to time. that really sums up the easter weekend. not a washout by any means. when the sun does come out, as it will from time to time, it should feel quite warm. easter saturday, it looks like we are in

for some sunshine and a few showers. we have this area of low pressure to bring some rain across more northern parts of the uk, perhaps on easter day. in between two low pressure systems, easter monday should the air rich of high pressure, so the prospect of some sunshine. worth looking at these temperatures. 10— 15 is average for this time of year. i will leave you with the comparison of what we had on christmas day. this is bbc world news, the headlines: german police say a bus carrying the football team borussia dortmund to a champions league game was deliberately targeted. it was hit by three explosions. officials say a letter was found near the scene. the white house press secretary, sam spicer has apologised for comments suggesting adolf hitler didn't use chemical weapons. mr spicer made the remarks during a press briefing about the recent sarin gas attack in idlib. russia is hardening its support for the assad regime — even with the us secretary of state in moscow for crisis talks. president putin has accused syrian rebels of setting up fake attacks to justify more american missile strikes. over 48 hours after the incident —

the boss of united airlines has