two bodies are recovered from a maryland river where a major bridge collapsed. us investigators have also revealed more about the cargo ship that struck the bridge and the dangerous material onboard. that is 764 tonnes of hazardous materials, mostly corrosives, flammables. haiti inches towards the formation of a transitional government. the bbc speaks to haitians about what's at stake in the future of their country. the white house says israel wants to reschedule a cancelled meeting in washington to discuss its plans for a major southern gaza ground offensive. hello. i'm caitriona perry. you are very welcome. authorities in the us city

of baltimore say the bodies of two construction workers have been recovered following the collapse of the francis scott key bridge when it was struck by a cargo ship. four workers remain missing and divers are unable to safely reach the area where it is believed they may be located. the search for the men has been suspended due to bad weather conditions. the workers were from mexico and central america. the collapse of the bridge has drawn attention to the us's reliance on migrant workers who often hold some of the most dangerous jobs in the country. the superintendent of the maryland state police gave the identities of the two bodies recovered. divers located a red pick—up truck submerged in approximately 25 feet of water in the area of the middle span of the bridge. divers recovered two victims of this tragedy, trapped within the vehicle. the victims were identified as alejandro hernandez fuentes,

35 years old, of baltimore, and dorlian ronial castillo cabrera, 26 years old, of dundalk. their families were notified just over an hour ago, in person. let's take a look at the events leading up to the bridge collapse as the national trasportation safety board has outlined. at 12:39am eastern time the ship departed from the terminal in the port of baltimore. then at 1:07am it entered the fort mchenry channel. at 1:24:59am numerous audible alarms were heard on board the ship. at 1:26:39am the ship's pilot made a general call for tugs in the vicinity to assist, and a call was placed to the maryland transportation authority duty officer. at 1:27:01iam the pilot ordered the port anchor be dropped and issued some other steering commands. at 1:27:25am the pilot issued a radio call reporting that the dali had lost all power and was approaching the bridge. at the same time the mdta duty officer radioed the officers

who were already on the bridge, because of the construction, and they closed all lanes to traffic. less than two minutes later, sounds of the collision with the bridge were recorded on board the dali. six seconds later at 1:29:39am the pilot reported that the bridge was down. as the investigation continues, in the last hour, the ntsb has also released these pictures of investigators aboard the ship dali. its chair, jennifer homendy, gave this update on the day's latest developments, also confirming that the investigation team has identified hazardous materials in the ship. one of ntpc�*s senior hazmat investigators began to look at the cargo and the cargo manifest today. he was able to identify 56 containers of hazardous materials, that's 764 tonnes

of hazardous materials, mostly corrosives, flammables and some miscellaneous class nine hazardous materials, which would include lithium ion batteries. some of the hazmat containers were breached. we have seen sheen on the waterway. the federal, state and local authorities are aware of that, and they will be in charge of addressing those issues. marine traffic has been temporarily halted in and out of the port of baltimore. authorities say that opening shipping lanes is a priority but the timeframe for that remains unclear. maryland governor wes moore is also calling for support to fix the bridge and get one of the busiest ports in the us up and running again. the collapse of the key bridge is notjust a maryland crisis. the collapse of the key bridge is a global crisis. the national economy and the world's economy depends

on the port of baltimore. the port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in the country. last year alone, the port handled $80 billion of foreign cargo, the largest in the country. the 21 crew members and two pilots are still on board the ship. i've been speaking to andrew middleton, the director of the apostleship of the sea in baltimore who is in touch with some of the crew. andrew middleton, thank you for joining us on bbc news. you had been speaking to some of these crewmembers while the ship was in port before it left and the treasury followed. what he tells the crewmembers? they oriainall tells the crewmembers? they originally reached _ tells the crewmembers? they originally reached out - tells the crewmembers? they originally reached out to - tells the crewmembers? they originally reached out to us i originally reached out to us sunday morning asking if we could take them shopping. they wanted to make purchases of

personal items and sway long voyage that they were getting ready to embark on, so one of the volunteers could take them shopping for about six hours, bring them back into the seafarer centre, that the relax your little bit, they were able to go into our library and takes some books and magazines with them when they left and ultimately went back to the vessel. monday morning they reached out again saying that they had a few more gentleman that would like to go shopping and since i was visiting ships that day i was able to take them shopping. one of the gentleman was the captain of the vessel and during the drive i could have a conversation with him and said that they were sailing to sri lanka and due to the violence of the yemeni coast and the houthi attacks that they were going to go down around the southern tip of south africa and that would

add extra days to the voyage which would ultimately end up being about 28 days.— which would ultimately end up being about 28 days. there were 'ust a being about 28 days. there were just a coume _ being about 28 days. there were just a coume of— being about 28 days. there were just a couple of days _ being about 28 days. there were just a couple of days in - just a couple of days in baltimore than, having come from somewhere else and moving on, as you say. from somewhere else and moving on. as you say-— on, as you say. yes, i believe the vessel — on, as you say. yes, i believe the vessel came _ on, as you say. yes, i believe the vessel came in _ on, as you say. yes, i believe the vessel came in on - on, as you say. yes, i believe. the vessel came in on saturday at some point so a part of saturday, sunday and monday. the crew have remained on board after the collision. can you tell us, given your experience of working with crewmembers, what are conditions like generally on board? fire generally on board? are generally _ generally on board? are generally pretty - generally on board? fife: generally pretty good. they generally on board? 22 generally pretty good. they are sparse, given what a merchant vessel is, they are not by any means extravagant, but they are comfortable. i have out a few crewmembers via whatsapp since yesterday morning and they said that everyone is well and doing good so far. that is a small blessing. it good so far. that is a small blessing-— good so far. that is a small blessinu. , �* .., .,, good so far. that is a small blessinu. , �* .,, ., blessing. it must've come as a terrible shock _ blessing. it must've come as a terrible shock to _ blessing. it must've come as a terrible shock to them - blessing. it must've come as a terrible shock to them as - blessing. it must've come as a terrible shock to them as it. terrible shock to them as it has to everyone else? i’m terrible shock to them as it has to everyone else? i'm sure

that it was _ has to everyone else? i'm sure that it was and _ has to everyone else? i'm sure that it was and i'm _ has to everyone else? i'm sure that it was and i'm sure - has to everyone else? i'm sure that it was and i'm sure that i that it was and i'm sure that they are still trying to process what exactly happened and figure out in their own minds what happened. have they said to you _ minds what happened. have they said to you what _ minds what happened. have they said to you what will— minds what happened. have they said to you what will happen - minds what happened. have they said to you what will happen to l said to you what will happen to them now, what they will move onto? , ., ., onto? they will remain on the vessel for— onto? they will remain on the vessel for the _ onto? they will remain on the vessel for the foreseeable - vessel for the foreseeable future. once the investigation is completed and they began salvage of the material, the vessel can be turned back into birth is when we can unload some of the cargo and regular survey of the ship itself to assess it for any damage to the hole and repairs that may be needed to make it seaworthy again. needed to make it seaworthy a . ain. . , needed to make it seaworthy aaain. ., , ., again. -- hull. have they told ou again. -- hull. have they told you they _ again. -- hull. have they told you they have _ again. -- hull. have they told you they have enough - again. -- hull. have they told | you they have enough supplies to stay on board until that point? to stay on board until that oint? , , ., point? they were prepared to sell for 28 — point? they were prepared to sell for 28 days, _ point? they were prepared to sell for 28 days, so _ point? they were prepared to sell for 28 days, so they - sell for 28 days, so they should have enough food, fresh water and those kinds of things for at least 28 days, so god

willing they will be able to move from the collision scene in that period. if not, i'm sure arrangements will be made to get them things that they need while they are still in the river. need while they are still in the riyer-— need while they are still in the river. �* , , the river. are they permitted to disembark, _ the river. are they permitted to disembark, do _ the river. are they permitted to disembark, do you - the river. are they permitted to disembark, do you know, | the river. are they permitted . to disembark, do you know, and is traditionally the way when chris committed port? figs is traditionally the way when chris committed port? as long as they are _ chris committed port? as long as they are on _ chris committed port? as long as they are on the _ chris committed port? as long as they are on the river, - chris committed port? as long as they are on the river, it - as they are on the river, it would be very difficult for them to disembark for any reason other than an emergency. once they are back into port the crew that had short passes when they were here for this day will be able to go to sure. 0k, day will be able to go to sure. ok, thanks so much for speaking to us, andrew middleton, director of the apostleship of the sea in baltimore. we appreciate your time. you are very welcome. _ eight people expected to be part of a transitional presidential council in haiti issued an official statement on wednesday, pledging to restore order. once the council is fully formed, it will be responsible

for selecting a new prime minister to replace ariel henry, who agreed to resign two weeks ago amid rising gang violence in the country's capital. our north america correspondent, nomia iqbal, has been talking to haitians about their country's crisis, and future. parts of this volatile nation are now a war zone, flooded with guns and gangs. haiti is a country that doesn't manufacture weapons, yet its people are living in a state of terror, perpetuated by hundreds of armed gangs. juliet points to where she was shot. gangs and an event she was working at in port—au—prince. translation: | said | to everyone, run, run, run, because they are shooting, and then i was shot twice. ten people were killed, including her business partner. she struggles to talk about what happened.

juliet fled to cap haitien, carrying her belongings and bullet scars. this shared space is all she has. gangs have taken over the home she owns in port—au—prince. at the beginning, our political leaders didn't do anything to stop these gangs. they let them go and go and go and now it is too complicated to stop them. the gangs are everywhere. more than 30,000 people have fled the capital, paying high prices to take the bus to cap haitien. there is a moment of relief as this father sees his 14—year—old son has made it safely. translation: the journey was very long, more - than six hours. i was praying the whole way. there were a lot of gunshots in one area. our bus just missed them. another passenger has a message for america. translation: all the guns here are from the us. - if the us wants to stop this,

they could do it in one month. there is no exact number for how many trafficked firearms are currently in haiti. a un report injanuary said some estimates put it at half a million weapons here as of 2020. weapons are being smuggled into haiti by air, land and sea. there have been seizures in the country's main ports, including here in cap haitien, where guns and ammunition are hidden in shipping containers. they then end up in the hands of violent gangs, who are becoming haiti's de facto rulers. the chief prosecutor here says he has never seen it so bad in haiti. for me it isjust like a nightmare. with guns being so prolific, is there a fear the violence could spread beyond the capital? are they scared of coming here? of course, yes, because we're not playing with them. anything could happen, because if this is a gangster

that comes, he's not coming to play, so we're not playing with them either. the us state department announced a plan last year to work with haitian police to work with gun trafficking. but with no head of state and effectively no government, gun violence is yet another vicious circle haiti is trapped in, with no clear way out. nomia iqbal, bbc news, haiti. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. childrens' services in derbyshire have apologised after a safeguarding review found that they had missed opportunities to help io—month—old finlay boden who was murdered by his parents. stephen boden and shannon marsden were convicted of his murder and sentenced to life in prison after killing their child on christmas day in 2020, just weeks after children's services return the at—risk child to his parents.

rowers in this weekend's university boat race in london have been warned not to go into the thames. high levels of e coli were detected in the river. the crew teams from oxford and cambridge have also been told to cover up blisters and open wounds. the environmental advocacy group river action said tests indicate that the e coli comes from sewage discharge. cambridge city council has ordered a sculpture of the late duke of edinburgh to be taken down. officials say the bronze artwork was erected last year without planning permission. it had already been removed from a previous site, where it was put up in 2014. you're live with bbc news. the white house says it is working to reschedule a meeting with an israeli delegation to discuss its plans for rafah in gaza. earlier this week prime minister benjamin netanyahu abruptly cancelled his delegation�*s visit to washington when the us abstained during a un security council vote on a resolution that called for a ceasefire in gaza. meanwhile, the un high commissionerfor human rights

has told the bbc that israel is significantly to blame for the appalling humanitarian situation in gaza, where famine is looming. these are images of destruction in gaza in the past 2a hours. volker turk said israel had obligations as the occupying power, and was placing unreasonable demands on the delivery of aid. he's been speaking to our international editor, jeremy bowen. and a warning — his report contains images that some viewers may find distressing. gaza is no place to be ill. noura mohammed had lung and liver problems before the war. now, after months of starvation and without the right medical care, she is deteriorating fast. "my daughter can't move," says her mother. "she's anaemic, always sleeping and there's nothing "nutritious to eat." there is plenty to eat, only a few miles away, in the lorries that are backed up on the egyptian side

of the border, and much more that could come from israel — if the israelis let it into gaza. from geneva, volker turk, the un's most senior human rights official, told me there is plausible evidence that israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. look, when it comes to humanitarian assistance, let's be clear — israel is an occupying power and has an obligation to provide humanitarian assistance, and if that humanitarian assistance does not come in, in the scale, speed and predictability that is required, yes, very serious questions are raised. so let's get it very clear — israel's to blame? israel is to blame in a significant way, yes. you're aware, of course, that israel says they're not to blame at all, that they give as much aid as is possible, that if anyone's to blame, it's the un and it's particularly hamas?

it is absolutely clear what happened on the 7th and the 8th of october by hamas and some of the other armed groups is unconscionable. these are flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights. at the same time, the brutality of the attack by israel, and the method of warfare, it begs the question of the proportionality of the response. you're saying "questions". you say there is no doubt about hamas. are there any doubts about israel? you always have to prove the intent. but, as i said, collective punishment, the collective punishment that was declared with the siege indeed amounts to a war crime, and it needs to be dealt as such. on social media, false claims circulate that famine in gaza is a lie. the hebrew caption says there's more shawarma in gaza than in israeli haifa, and israel's government dismisses the un's accusations. total nonsense, totally

irresponsible thing to say. israel is accepting all the aid that the us and the world is giving to gazan innocent people, which a lot of it goes to extend the war. how many innocent people are in gaza, in your opinion? that's not. . .. i'm not going to quote any number. i'm basically saying that over 70% of gazans support october 7 massacre. so they're not innocent? people that are supporting hamas, they have a different thought. they're an enemy. i thank our friends around the world for supporting our strategic goal, and i'm telling you... but they don't like the way you're doing it, do they? that's tough. we're going to finish the war. we'll do everything we can to kill the hamas terrorists and to minimise collateral damage as much as we can. the evidence of gaza's humanitarian catastrophe is overwhelming, and it is deepening international pressure on israel. swollenjoints, wasted limbs and dermatitis are classic symptoms of acute malnutrition.

these children reached hospital. most ofjust overi million gazans considered to be in acute need will not have that option. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. i spoke about efforts to agree to a ceasefire and get aid into gaza with former white house deputy national security advisor ambassadorjames jeffery. jamesjeffrey, thank you forjoining us again on bbc news. what's your reading of the situation? prime minister netanyahu has said he will now allow his representatives to come to the white house to discuss what is to happen in rafah. will anything come of those discussions? thank you for having me on. absolutely. we had a near breakdown of american and israeli relations earlier this week over the un vote in the security council for an immediate ceasefire, and the israeli reaction.

what's behind this is the united states is very unhappy with a number of things israel is doing. one is not putting enough effort into humanitarian relief, secondly, not planning for the day after. israel, frankly, has a lot to explain on that account. it is not a war crime, it's not genocide but it certainly could be better. the problem is, by calling for a halt, which is a must what the administration was doing, basically said israel can't finish the fight against hamas, and that is something that in the end of the united states and frankly the international community doesn't want to see. we have to square the circle. how do you finish off hamas in rafah along the egyptian border without another large loss of palestinian civilian lives? that's what they could talk about in washington, once the two groups get together, and they have talked about with mr gallant

here this week. despite the extra pressure, though, that the us has been applying to israel, does it appear that benjamin netanyahu has any notion of deviating from his course? i have negotiated with him on syria and other issues. he is a tough negotiator. he has taken various steps in response on american pressure. there shouldn't be american pressure but the point is he has. there are some 200 trucks going in now. there are various israeli procedures searching the trucks and such that i think should be looked at to speed things up. but nonetheless, what we forget at the end of the day, my friend volka turk earlier talked about hamas's war crimes on the 7th of october, it is a war crime to build up military fortifications in a civilian area. that is what hamas did. israel is within its rights going after those people.

that is why the international court ofjustice did not find israel guilty of genocide in theirfindings based on south africa. we have to look at the legal basis for this as well as the very important humanitarian and political side. all the while though, there is a desperate situation underway in gaza, desperate humanitarian crisis, the entire population at risk of famine, people starving to death in the north of the country, awaiting an invasion in the south of the country and those hostages are still in gaza as well. what do you see can happen next, and crucially, when? first of all we have to up the humanitarian effort. that is something that is being done independent of the israelis, the air drops and the president biden plan for an offshore unloading, and that's important. the second thing we have to do, after ramadan, because it's clear there will be nothing after ramadan, find some way

to put hamas under pressure in the rafah area to end this conflict. we have to remember, it is also a terrible human rights tragedy for the 2.4 million gazans if they are left in the rubble of gaza under the control of hamas. who wants to see that situation? the first one who wants to see that situation, raise his or her hand. so when you see any possible resolution to this? i think there will be a military situation worked out between the us and israel. i think at some point, once it is clear to hamas' leadership that they are not going to be spared a military operation, that is when they will negotiate seriously about the hostages, about a ceasefire and about a resolution to this thing. sorry for interrupting you but how do you do that in rafah in particular when you have 1.5 million people there in a very small area?

first of all, israel is under a commitment which they say they will meet to find a plan to meet these refugees out of the way, that is a requirement for american support and we have made it clear again this week. secondly, israel in the khan younis battle, that is finishing up now, did put a whole lot more effort into carefully selected areas and moving the civilian population from one area to another. i suspect they will try to do a far more extensive version of that. ok, we will wait to see what happens there. thanks, as always, forjoining us on bbc news, former deputy national security advisor, james jeffrey. or so of course a previous us ambassador to multiple countries. thank you. let's turn to some important news around the world. former us senator and democratic party vice presidential nominee joe lieberman has died at the age of 82. he was best known for being

al gore's running mate during the presidential election in 2000. his family say he died after suffering complications from a fall. he was the firstjewish candidate on the national ticket of a major party. in spain, prosecutors say they want the former president of the football federation, luis rubiales, jailed for 2.5 years for kissing a female footballer against her will at spain's world cup victory. mr rubiales is facing charges of sexual assault and coercion after he kissed jenni hermoso on the mouth. he denies any wrongdoing. and before we go — a new image has been released of king charles taken during the recording of his audio message for his royal maundy service, which is due to take place on thursday before easter. the undated image was taken at buckingham palace and was released by the royal household. stay with us here on bbc news. keep up at bbc.com/news. i am caitriona perry. thanks for watching. take care.

hello. well, let's see how the weather is looking. and yes, more rain on the way. it's been raining for such a long time now — i know some of us are starting to complain. it's so soggy out there and further rain clouds heading away. in fact, the north atlantic and much of europe, dominated by a huge area of low pressure with smaller area of low pressures embedded within it. and look at all these weather fronts circling this big low, which is approaching us right now. and in fact, some very strong winds on the way for a time on thursday, particularly across southern areas of the uk. so through the early hours we will have had some rain from southern parts of the uk through merseyside, the irish sea into northern ireland. temperatures early in the morning, three, four, five degrees celsuis, maybe colder in some spots where skies will have cleared. but on those winds in the south — exposed areas could see 60—65 mile an hour gusts at times. inland, central southern counties there, 50 miles an hour. very windy in london, very windy in the midlands, east anglia, too, so a very blustery day.

so through the morning, one where the front moves northwards. so outbreaks of rain through yorkshire into northern ireland and then this circulation here with those very strong winds buffeting the south and the southwest and those heavy showers that have sunshine in between, but also thunderstorms and hail. a really turbulent day. the temperatures quite disappointing, nine to 10 degrees celsius. now into friday then, so the area of low pressure is still very much with us. look how big it is. it's absolutely huge. it's dominating a really large chunk of the planet really here. and we'll see further showers sweeping across the uk. i don't think the winds are going to be quite as strong on friday, but still enough of a breeze out there and certainly pushing those showers along. again, hail and thunder possible, but some sunshine, too. so that's good friday. also a little milder, maybe 10—13 degrees celsius. if you're wondering where the warmth is, it's actually across more eastern parts of europe in excess of 20 degrees celsius. are we going to get any of that? well, it does look as though

with this area of low pressure, we are going to see some changes in the wind direction as we head into sunday. more of a southerly breeze developing — still very changeable on the weather front — but that southerly breeze will mean that those temperatures will recover at least somewhat. so perhaps the mid—teens, but changeable weather across the south. still disappointing in the north, closer to nine degrees celsius. that's it from me. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur and today i am in guyana, south america, a country of some 800,000 people which right now can claim to have the fastest growing economy in the world. the reason — oil, vast reserves of the stuff located offshore. my guest today is guyana's president, irfaan ali. his country's new—found oil riches have stoked tensions with neighbouring venezuela. they've also raised questions about this country's vulnerability to climate change. so is oil really a blessing or a curse?