:00:08. > :00:16.This is BBC World News Today with me Lucy Hockings. A nightmare
:00:16. > :00:19.scenario in Texas. The search for survivors continues in the United
:00:19. > :00:22.States as daylight reveals the incredible damage caused by a huge
:00:22. > :00:25.explosion at a fertiliser plant. Up to 15 people killed and hundreds
:00:25. > :00:27.are injured. An emotional ceremony in Boston
:00:27. > :00:33.remembers the victims of Monday's bombing as the President promises
:00:33. > :00:36.to find those responsible. Also coming up: In an exclusive
:00:36. > :00:39.interview, Israel's Prime Minister tells us that his country has a
:00:39. > :00:49.right to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands in
:00:49. > :00:49.
:00:49. > :00:54.Syria. It is clear that this is a serious challenge, not only to us,
:00:54. > :00:59.if chemical weapons fall into the hands of Al-Qaeda, that is a
:00:59. > :01:02.challenge to Britain, challenged to Europe, a challenge to the Middle
:01:02. > :01:05.East. And no more Your Majesty. The Dutch
:01:05. > :01:15.Crown Prince adopts a more informal approach ahead of his coronation as
:01:15. > :01:20.
:01:20. > :01:23.A search and rescue effort is continuing in the US state of Texas
:01:23. > :01:27.after a huge explosion at a fertiliser plant killed up to
:01:27. > :01:30.fifteen people and injured hundreds. A local sheriff said the scene in
:01:30. > :01:34.the small town of West resembled a war zone, with many buildings
:01:34. > :01:37.flattened. The blast, which is believed to have been started by a
:01:37. > :01:46.fire in the factory, produced a tremor equivalent to a small
:01:46. > :01:50.earthquake. From Texas, Alastair Leithead reports.
:01:50. > :02:00.The first sign a fire filmed on a mobile phone from what seemed to be
:02:00. > :02:01.
:02:01. > :02:07.a safe distance away. This was a huge explosions. You OK? Are I
:02:07. > :02:14.cannot hear. Let's get out of here! The blast before 8pm was felt many
:02:14. > :02:17.miles away. Voluntary fire fighters were among the dead. Stark was
:02:17. > :02:27.complicated the rescue operation as the extent of the damage became
:02:27. > :02:27.
:02:27. > :02:33.clear. Fire queues a riot. -- crews. Areas were levelled by the blast.
:02:33. > :02:38.An apartment block collapsed. was a major explosion. The windows
:02:38. > :02:43.came in on me, the reef and the ceiling came in. I worked my way
:02:43. > :02:47.out to try and get some more help. We lost all communication because
:02:47. > :02:54.the power went out. The force pushed me back and there was
:02:54. > :02:57.shrapnel flying everywhere. Many people were injured. The local
:02:57. > :03:04.sports field is used as a staging period for treating people that
:03:04. > :03:08.needed help. They picked up people to get them to hospital to treat
:03:08. > :03:12.the injured. And nursing home was within the radius of the blast.
:03:12. > :03:16.Some were trapped as the building collapsed. I saw the rest home and
:03:16. > :03:23.people were buried under the rest home, it was calm. There Wroxham
:03:23. > :03:28.top of them, we had to remove that. The ceilings were down. -- there
:03:28. > :03:34.were rocks on top of them. We evacuated one of the wings as fast
:03:34. > :03:39.as we could. The plant was in that small Texan town of West, a short
:03:39. > :03:44.distance from Waco. The blast was felt fortified miles away. On the
:03:44. > :03:49.edge of the town, there was a school, homes and a care home. It
:03:49. > :03:55.is thought there were 20 tonnes of ammonia stored in the storage
:03:55. > :03:59.facility. The damage around the area is a shocking with the
:03:59. > :04:03.explosion tearing through homes. They had been going door-to-door
:04:04. > :04:08.looking for survivors. There is nothing out of control there at the
:04:08. > :04:12.moment, meaning the fire is not that of control. There is no
:04:12. > :04:19.chemical escaping from the fertiliser plant that is held to
:04:19. > :04:27.have control. -- that is out of control. They are doing a fantastic
:04:27. > :04:32.job in harass circumstances. This is what is left of the fertiliser
:04:32. > :04:36.factory come up what is smouldering behind us first caught fire and
:04:36. > :04:41.exploded sending a fire ball across this neighbour would, destroying
:04:41. > :04:45.homes, killing and injuring many. Investigators are now looking
:04:45. > :04:52.through what is left of the factory trying to establish the cause of
:04:52. > :05:02.the fire and explosion that had such a devastating impact.
:05:02. > :05:02.
:05:02. > :05:06.And we'll be speaking to a reporter at the scene in just a few minutes.
:05:06. > :05:11.Barack Obama has attended a memorial service for the victims of
:05:11. > :05:20.the Boston bomb attack today. Scores were wounded in the blast
:05:20. > :05:24.and three people died. The National Security Adviser has spoke about
:05:24. > :05:28.CCTV footage and wanting to speak to those responsible.
:05:28. > :05:32.It has been a week that Boston will never forget, from early morning,
:05:32. > :05:37.the crowds gathered at the cathedral. They were waiting to see
:05:37. > :05:41.their President. They wanted to remember the dead and wounded and
:05:42. > :05:47.share thoughts of what happened that day. It is terrifying and
:05:47. > :05:52.terribly sad. I personally know somebody that was hurt and is in a
:05:52. > :05:56.critical condition. It is terrifying and it hits close to
:05:56. > :06:02.home because you feel like it is in Harrow and backyard and Boston as
:06:02. > :06:05.that experienced anything like this before. -- it is in our own
:06:05. > :06:10.backyard. The President came to one of the victims and comfort those
:06:10. > :06:16.whose lives were never be the same again. Once again, he is having to
:06:16. > :06:21.speak for the nation in a time of mourning. You resolve is the
:06:22. > :06:27.greatest rebuked you will ever committed this he must act. --
:06:27. > :06:32.committed this devastating act. If you want to terrorise us, shake us
:06:32. > :06:36.from those values that were described, the values that make us
:06:36. > :06:43.see we are as Americans, while it should be pretty clear by now that
:06:43. > :06:51.they picked the wrong city to do it. APPLAUSE Investigators are saying
:06:51. > :06:56.they have a strong lead, a potential suspect. They have CCTV
:06:56. > :07:00.footage of a man dropping a bag off at the scene of one of the
:07:00. > :07:05.explosions. And they are analysing this, a photograph that shows a bag
:07:05. > :07:11.next to a post box close to the finish line. This is the same scene
:07:11. > :07:14.a seconds later, one of thousands of Leeds that the FBI has junior
:07:14. > :07:18.sift through. Today he is an opportunity for the people of
:07:18. > :07:22.Boston to come together to pray and reflect. It is a moment to remember
:07:22. > :07:26.those who lost their lives and the many that suffered terrible
:07:26. > :07:30.injuries and a chance to thank those who selflessly rushed to the
:07:30. > :07:34.scene. Like Natalie, a paediatrician and marathon runner
:07:34. > :07:40.who despite the dangers, dashed into treat the wounded at the
:07:41. > :07:47.finishing line, Gabriel he wrote whose emotions today are of guilt.
:07:47. > :07:52.-- a real hero. So much these people died because of me, and I
:07:52. > :07:56.mean, they were there cheering for me at the finish line and they were
:07:57. > :08:03.there to get me through, and they lost their lives and they lost
:08:03. > :08:09.their limbs and I have such sorrow. Was it my fault? Was it because of
:08:09. > :08:12.me? Had they not been there, they would be alive. In a country where
:08:12. > :08:17.people often feel immune to the dangers of the outside world, the
:08:17. > :08:27.bombings have left many people feeling less sure, at less safe, as
:08:27. > :08:28.
:08:28. > :08:32.they struggle to make sense of the attack on the Boston Marathon.
:08:32. > :08:34.Now a look at some of the day's other news. The head of the IMF,
:08:34. > :08:37.Christine Lagarde, has been summoned to appear before a French
:08:37. > :08:40.court investigating alleged abuse of office during her time as
:08:40. > :08:43.finance minister six years ago. It concerns a case where Ms Lagarde
:08:43. > :08:46.ordered a panel of judges to arbitrate in a dispute that ended
:08:46. > :08:48.with a payout of more than 350 million dollars to the businessman,
:08:48. > :08:50.Bernard Tapie. She denies any wrongdoing.
:08:50. > :08:53.A man's been arrested in Mississippi in connection with a
:08:53. > :08:57.letter sent to President Obama containing the deadly poison, Ricin.
:08:57. > :09:00.The letter was discovered at a mail screening centre before it got to
:09:00. > :09:04.the White House. The FBI says there's no indication of a
:09:04. > :09:06.connection to Monday's attack on the Boston Marathon.
:09:06. > :09:11.A leading campaigner for justice for the victims of the Hillsborough
:09:11. > :09:15.football stadium disaster, has died. Anne Williams was 60 and had been
:09:15. > :09:19.suffering from cancer. Mrs Williams fought to get the original inquest
:09:19. > :09:26.verdicts overturned for her son Kevin and the 95 others who died in
:09:26. > :09:28.the 1989 tragedy - a campaign which succeeded in December.
:09:28. > :09:32.The most successful Olympic cyclist ever, Britain's Chris Hoy, says
:09:32. > :09:35.he's retiring after 13 years at the top of the sport. Sir Chris, who's
:09:35. > :09:45.won six Olympic golds and eleven world championships, said he'd
:09:45. > :09:52.
:09:52. > :09:55.committed every last drop of effort and couldn't give any more.
:09:55. > :09:57.The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the BBC that
:09:57. > :10:01.Israel reserves the right to prevent weapons from falling into
:10:01. > :10:03.the wrong hands in Syria. In a rare sit-down interview with the BBC's
:10:03. > :10:06.Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet, he warned that the
:10:06. > :10:10.flow of arms from Syria could change balance of power in Middle
:10:10. > :10:16.East. We have Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah,
:10:16. > :10:21.remember, Hezbollah at his firing thousands of rockets into our
:10:21. > :10:25.cities and committed to our destruction, so is Al-Qaeda. There
:10:26. > :10:31.are others in addition to them, inside Syria. They have the worst
:10:31. > :10:34.radicals in the world, so we are concerned that the weapons that are
:10:34. > :10:38.ground-breaking could change the balance of power in the Middle East
:10:38. > :10:43.and fall into the hands of these terrorists, and we always reserve
:10:43. > :10:49.the right to prevent that from happening. A like when in January
:10:49. > :10:55.when Israel struck Syrian government at weapons, a convoy
:10:55. > :10:59.heading to Hezbollah in Lebanon? am not confirming the news reports.
:10:59. > :11:03.I am Ehud Barak confirms this, he said that when his real says
:11:03. > :11:08.something, they mean it. I am the Prime Minister, and I will tell you
:11:08. > :11:12.that I prefer to just stayed our policy, and that is our policy, and
:11:12. > :11:17.it is clear that this is a serious challenge not only to us. If
:11:17. > :11:20.chemical weapons fall into the hands of Al-Qaeda, that is a
:11:20. > :11:25.challenge to Britain and Europe and the challenge to every Arab country
:11:25. > :11:34.in the Middle East. Watch duty say to David Cameron, deja or urge him
:11:34. > :11:39.not to lift the arms embargo in harming the rebels? I can ensure
:11:39. > :11:43.that we see eye to eye with the British government on preventing
:11:43. > :11:49.further terror and bloodshed in Syria. It is complicated because
:11:49. > :11:55.you have got bad fighting the bad. They know you do it on to reveal a
:11:55. > :12:01.private conversation, but teacher or urge him to be cautious?
:12:01. > :12:06.arms in Syria, these chemical weapons, they are very, very
:12:06. > :12:10.dangerous weapons. I what happens next? There are reports that Israel
:12:10. > :12:17.has reached out to some rebel groups and reports you are even
:12:17. > :12:21.harming some of them? I'm not confirming that we did. If we were
:12:21. > :12:27.in touch, it would not make sense to talk about it, even on the BBC,
:12:27. > :12:31.and I am not confirming that we have done that. The arming of
:12:31. > :12:37.rebels presents a question of which rebels and which arms which is a
:12:37. > :12:41.very complicated question for every country, including my country.
:12:41. > :12:46.Israel planning a more aggressive military operation in Syria? We are
:12:46. > :12:51.not aggressive, we do not seek military confrontation but we will
:12:51. > :12:58.defend ourselves if the need arises. It would be both measured and
:12:58. > :13:03.serious. What does that mean?It means we are measured and serious.
:13:03. > :13:10.A have a new plan? Be constant plan to defend our country.
:13:10. > :13:14.Lyse Doucet is here with me. What to see me when he will defend
:13:14. > :13:19.against Syria? They mean they will have to have an interventionist
:13:19. > :13:22.approach because it is right on their doorstep. In recent weeks
:13:22. > :13:27.there were more incidents of gunfire, mortars landing on the
:13:27. > :13:32.Israeli side of the border, some from the Syrian government, some
:13:32. > :13:37.from the brambles. Israel feels threatened from the growing
:13:37. > :13:43.strength of Islamist groups linked to Al-Qaeda. We know from his radio
:13:43. > :13:48.officials that it was an Israeli airstrike on weapons had for
:13:48. > :13:53.Hezbollah. He said that the terrorists had to understand that
:13:53. > :13:57.if this happened with them, they would not hesitate to act. There
:13:57. > :14:02.are reports that they are considering arming rebels, he was
:14:02. > :14:05.quite careful about that. recognises and he discussed with
:14:05. > :14:11.David Cameron that there are growing calls for the arms embargo
:14:11. > :14:17.to be lifted and to harm the rebels. He said if we are going to do that,
:14:17. > :14:22.it is very complicated. Which weapons and which groups? The
:14:22. > :14:27.problem is, Syria is falling apart and in this chaos, how can you
:14:27. > :14:33.control them. The message is, they will do everything possible because
:14:33. > :14:39.the risks are too dangerous. worried are Israelis? They are not
:14:39. > :14:45.as focused on what is happening in Syria, because it is far away, in
:14:45. > :14:49.the Golan Heights. They have a Prime Minister talking about an
:14:49. > :14:53.existential issues. There talking about Israel and the dangers that
:14:53. > :14:57.they pose, so it has not really registered. There have been
:14:57. > :15:02.comments by the Israeli chief of staff painting that this is the
:15:02. > :15:07.most pressing concern. It is right on Israel's doorstep. Did you press
:15:07. > :15:12.him on what is happening in Iran? He seemed a bit more relaxed about
:15:12. > :15:17.that. Last September he true world attention when there was this
:15:17. > :15:22.cartoon bomb and said its Iran across as this, if it him riches
:15:22. > :15:28.enough uranium two rapidly acquire a bomb, that Israel would strike.
:15:28. > :15:32.After the visit by Barack Obama last month, at the feels that they
:15:32. > :15:37.have Israel's back and there has been unprecedented co-operation on
:15:37. > :15:47.this issue. But the international community is clear that Iran is
:15:47. > :16:01.
:16:01. > :16:05.arrest on a group of judges. Rather than accept the court order, the
:16:05. > :16:15.former president swiftly returned to his heavily guarded farmhouse on the
:16:15. > :16:15.
:16:15. > :16:21.outskirts of Islamabad. And among the throng, she left the
:16:21. > :16:25.High Court moments after the order for his arrest. The former military
:16:25. > :16:31.ruler managed to beat his bullet-proof car and get away. One
:16:31. > :16:38.of his bodyguards clung to the side. There were cheers from lawyers who
:16:38. > :16:41.called him a traitor but there was no move by police. It is a far cry
:16:41. > :16:45.from his glory days as army chief Watson says return from exile last
:16:45. > :16:51.month, she has been barred from running for office and looks like a
:16:51. > :17:01.spent force. A party official told us he is a little upset but not
:17:01. > :17:05.
:17:05. > :17:13.giving up yet. We will fight it and he is a brave man. She will prove to
:17:13. > :17:16.people that he is not guilty. remains inside his heavily security
:17:16. > :17:20.farmhouse. There are police raid outside the door but they are there
:17:20. > :17:24.to protect them, not to take him into custody. There has been no
:17:24. > :17:31.attempt by the authorities to place him under arrest. Pakistan once
:17:31. > :17:36.all-powerful military dictator is now a wanted man. Judges might agree
:17:36. > :17:41.that he remained there under house arrest but this is new territory for
:17:41. > :17:51.Pakistan. The military has been untouchable, now a former army chief
:17:51. > :17:56.is at the mercy of the courts. Let's return to our top story. The
:17:56. > :18:01.explosion at a fertiliser plant in Texas. We are joined by our
:18:01. > :18:11.reporter. We have seen some incredibly dramatic pictures as
:18:11. > :18:12.
:18:12. > :18:20.daylight has come to the town of West. Can you describe the scene?
:18:20. > :18:23.Very dramatic. Unbelievable when you look at close. Were being kept about
:18:23. > :18:28.a mile away because investigators say it is still not safe for us to
:18:28. > :18:30.go and and gets the kind of respect that we are seeing now. They
:18:30. > :18:34.continue to search for people trapped in the rubble. The
:18:34. > :18:39.explosions went off overnight in Texas and firefighters first
:18:39. > :18:42.responded to the scene because there was a report of a fire. They were
:18:42. > :18:45.trying to evacuate the area at this fertiliser plant and they had no
:18:46. > :18:49.idea that minutes later there was going to be a massive explosion.
:18:49. > :18:54.Several people are still missing right now. Authorities do not have a
:18:54. > :19:00.death toll just yet. They believe from five to 15 people were likely
:19:00. > :19:05.killed. More than 160 injured and taken to hospitals. There are still
:19:05. > :19:09.a number of people missing. Homes were completely levelled in this
:19:09. > :19:18.explosion. We saw a video of a little girl with her father. The
:19:19. > :19:22.work recording it on their phone. -- they were to recording it. Her
:19:22. > :19:25.father believes she likely suffered some sort of ear damage from the
:19:25. > :19:34.magnitude of this explosion. Our investigators seeing what caused
:19:34. > :19:42.the explosion? No they aren't. They lead
:19:42. > :19:46.investigators on the scene are federal agents who are coming in to
:19:46. > :19:51.see if a crime may have taken place. Right now they are treating it as a
:19:51. > :19:58.crime scene even though they have no evidence that it was a crime. Until
:19:58. > :20:00.they go through, they do not want to deem it as an industrial accident.
:20:00. > :20:07.They are treating it as a crime rate they as they sift through the
:20:07. > :20:11.evidence. We are not even 24 hours since the explosion took place and
:20:12. > :20:18.are still smoke and fire in different areas. They are being very
:20:18. > :20:22.cautious as they go in. Five blocks and radius around this plant. It is
:20:22. > :20:25.going to take them quite some time to get to the bottom of it.
:20:25. > :20:30.I can only imagine the shock that people are experiencing. Most
:20:30. > :20:37.families must know someone affected by it. You seen the community coming
:20:37. > :20:42.together? -- are you seeing the community coming together?
:20:42. > :20:48.Unbelievable amount of support. President Obama set out a message
:20:48. > :20:56.saying that his thoughts and prayers were with the community. These
:20:56. > :21:03.people have rallied around each other. We had people who were making
:21:03. > :21:11.fit and bringing it to help feed these people. When we spoke to some
:21:11. > :21:15.people here on Main Street, they were very sad but they also said
:21:15. > :21:22.that this town rallies around each other like no other town in Texas.
:21:22. > :21:28.They believe they can help each other get through this.
:21:28. > :21:35.The Dutch Crown Prince has set the tone for what could be a hands off
:21:35. > :21:43.monarchy. King Willem-Alexander says that his subjects will not have to
:21:43. > :21:49.address him as "Your Majesty". A man soon to be king but this
:21:49. > :21:53.future monarch is proper thing a more laid-back style. In an
:21:53. > :22:00.interview ahead of his inauguration to the Dutch throne, he said that it
:22:00. > :22:08.begins with what will he will be called. Firstly my name is William
:22:08. > :22:14.Alexander. I would find it strange to have to abandon that because I am
:22:14. > :22:16.King. His mother is abdicating after more than 30 years on the throne and
:22:16. > :22:25.there have been calls in the Netherlands for the future monarch
:22:25. > :22:27.to strike to ceremonial duties. the lawmaking process is democratic
:22:28. > :22:35.and constitutional, I will accept everything. I have no problems with
:22:35. > :22:42.that. If my signature is needed, I will sign. With the new King will
:22:42. > :22:47.come a new queen. His glamorous Argentinian born wife is the most
:22:47. > :22:54.popular Royal in the Netherlands. Her popularity comes in spite of her
:22:54. > :22:58.family background. When she married him, her father was not on the guest
:22:58. > :23:03.list. That was because of his links to the military dictatorship of old
:23:04. > :23:10.Argentina in the late 1970s. He served as an agriculture minister
:23:10. > :23:20.and he hasn't been invited to this month's inauguration either. She is
:23:20. > :23:24.fluent in Dutch and said becoming Queen will not change her. I will
:23:24. > :23:29.not act differently. My background is Argentinian. I love to dance, I
:23:30. > :23:33.love music and I will keep on doing that. I will stay the same. King
:23:33. > :23:39.Willem-Alexander says he is ready to take on the role he has been blamed
:23:39. > :23:42.for. An American women will make history
:23:42. > :23:50.at the world's largest and longest-running music festival that
:23:50. > :23:56.the BBC Proms. Marin Alsop is to be the first conductor of the "Last
:23:56. > :24:01.night of the Proms" concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
:24:01. > :24:10.The mass celebration of classical music that is the "Last night of the
:24:10. > :24:15.Proms". This year, for the first time, it will be a women holding the
:24:15. > :24:21.baktun and leading the orchestra. The American conductor Marin Alsop.
:24:21. > :24:28.I am very proud to be the first women to conduct but I am also sad
:24:28. > :24:32.that it is 2013 and there still can be firsts for women. I think we have
:24:32. > :24:42.to create more opportunities for women to be seen in these types of
:24:42. > :24:46.
:24:46. > :24:52.leadership roles. It is here at the Royal porthole in London were later
:24:52. > :24:55.this year, Marin Alsop will take to the stage. She will once again be an
:24:56. > :25:05.exception that proves the rule. When it comes to professional conducting,
:25:06. > :25:09.
:25:09. > :25:15.it is a man's world. Almost all the great orchestras at led by men. Why?
:25:15. > :25:19.There are lots of reasons why composers and conductors who are
:25:19. > :25:24.women have been slow to come through. You can only work with what
:25:24. > :25:33.you got. What is encouraging is that there are so many women composers
:25:33. > :25:37.and conductors beginning to come through. She thinks that education
:25:37. > :25:43.is partly to blame for the lack of female representation. In the
:25:43. > :25:52.institutions, we don't have very many women who are teachers,
:25:52. > :26:02.professors and so on. I think if that changed, it may help to inspire
:26:02. > :26:07.
:26:07. > :26:16.women composers. Highlights include the return of Nigel Kennedy, Marin
:26:16. > :26:26.Alsop's first last night at the Proms.
:26:26. > :26:27.
:26:28. > :26:30.I met to look forward to. A reminder of our main news stories: Up to 15
:26:30. > :26:36.people are thought to have died although police have so far been
:26:36. > :26:39.unable to release exact casualties figures. A local sheriff said the
:26:39. > :26:46.scene in West resembled a Warsaw and with many buildings flattened. The
:26:46. > :26:56.blast is believed to have been caused by a fire in the factory.
:26:56. > :27:04.
:27:04. > :27:11.classic mixed bag. We had thunder and lightning in some places.
:27:11. > :27:21.Tomorrow, lighter winds it still 12 showers around. This evening and
:27:21. > :27:25.overnight, there will be some rain around across the country. First
:27:25. > :27:32.thing in the morning there will be some rain across the South East and
:27:32. > :27:35.a story of sunshine and showers tomorrow. I think the showers during
:27:35. > :27:45.the course of Freddie will be much lighter compared to what we had
:27:45. > :27:52.
:27:52. > :27:57.through Thursday. -- through the course of Friday. 12 to 13 degrees.
:27:57. > :28:02.It will take that chill away. One April showers around. Good sunny
:28:02. > :28:12.spells from time to time. Across Scotland, some lovely weather across
:28:12. > :28:12.