welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. these are our top stories: a pedestrian bridge collapses onto a highway in miami, killing four people. we'll have the latest from florida. president trump joins the uk, france and germany in blaming moscow for the poisoning of a russian spy. as russia holds its presidential election on sunday, we find out why people in the country's rust belt find mr putin so popular. and in a special report, we speak to syrian civilians who escaped the conflict in eastern ghouta. hello and welcome to the programme.

at least four people died when a newly built pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a highway in miami. emergency services are working to rescue those still trapped in vehicles under the bridge, which crosses one of the busiest roads in south florida. it was only put up last week and hadn't yet been opened to pedestrians. lebo diseko reports. it was built for safety. but as night fell, what was left of this bridge was the scene of a tragedy. emergency services say they're still in search and rescue mode for now. it's thought several people may have died, but it is not clear yet how many. we are going to continue to search this pile until we are sure there are no other survivors. we were able to remove nine victims earlier on and transport them to local hospitals. once we have completed our search and rescue operations, we will remain on—scene and help with the recovery efforts as well. it was just before 2pm local time

when the 950 ton bridge collapsed, crashing down on the road below, crushing cars and people. it was completed last saturday and was meant to get people safely across a motorway. we not hear much, but we heard sirens. we looked outside and we saw multiple cars crushed by the bridge. i was in the dorm and then my uncle told me it collapsed. i didn't believe him. i saw them put it up on saturday. it was called an "instant bridge" because of the fast construction method used. authorities will want to know how this structure, which was meant to be iconic, could have failed so catastrophically. investigators are being sent to the scene to try and establish what happened.

meanwhile, the company that put the bridge up says it is devastated at the loss of life and is doing everything it can to help. lebo diseko, bbc news. a short time ago, i got the latest from bbc mundo‘s patricia sulbaran in miami. the neighbours, right after the bridge collapsed, they were quite nervous. some of them told me that they felt it was like an explosion happening because the sound was so huge. we actually saw from the beginning of this tragedy, the rescue operators just going to the scene. i was just there and they we re scene. i was just there and they were still trying to get people out of the rubble. and how about people trapped in their cars, are they finished taking them out? what is the latest with the rescue operation? the authorities have not said how me people are trapped currently under those cars. what

they have said is that they are going to work through the night with a special operations unit, experts on this matter, trying to get out, hopefully, survivors. how about that report because it was only built a few days ago, it is incredible that it is collapsed already. yes, they call it instant construction. it was not supposed to be open to the public until 2019, and it is a technology that they put in place in order to build the bridge in six hours. they built it in six hours on saturday, but the authorities do not know what happened, why did the bridge isjust fall over know what happened, why did the bridge is just fall over like that? the us hasjoined france, germany and the uk in a joint statement demanding that russia explain the use of a military grade nerve agent in an attack on a former russian spy in england.

the us treasury department's also ordered further sanctions against a number of russians for meddling in the us presidential elections. moscow denies any involvement. the british prime minister has visited the scene of the attack in salisbury, as james landale reports. this was theresa may's first visit to salisbury since the nerve agent attack. a chance to be briefed by the police and public health experts. but also a chance to meet members of the public. she visited the scene of the attack on the former russian intelligence officer sergei skripal and his daughter 11 days ago. the restaurant where they ate. the park bench, under a tent, where they were found. the prime minister thanked some of the police officers who first responded to the call.

well, thank you. because what you did is what the police do day in and day out. you go to a routine call, as you say, you don't know what you'll find, what's there. and then, at the local hospital, she met and thanked detective sergeant nick bailey, who's still recovering from exposure to the nerve agent. russia, she said, was guilty of a brazen and despicable attack. she's expelled 23 of its diplomats, but was ready to do more. there are other measures that we will be looking at. and if we face further provocation from russia, then there are other measures that we can deploy. but what is important in the international arena, and we have taken this into nato, into the united nations, we will be taking it through into the european union, is that allies are standing alongside us. that came in a joint statement from the leaders of britain, france, germany and the us — blaming russia for what they called "an assault on uk sovereignty". i spoke with the prime minister and we are in deep discussions.

a very sad situation. it certainly looks like the russians were behind it. something that should never, ever happen. and we're taking it very seriously, as i think are many others. thejoint statement is significant because it shows that the foreign office and downing street are convincing britain's allies that the salisbury attack is different, that it represents an escalation of russia's hostile behaviour. and as such, those allies are now ready to crank up the pressure on moscow. that diplomacy continued today in brussels, where british officials briefed nato allies. the head of the alliance said russia had clearly breached international agreement. first of all, i think it is important to express strong political support to the united kingdom. sending a strong message

that the united kingdom is not alone, we stand together with them. in moscow, president putin discussed the case with his ministers, who denied that russia or the soviet union had ever run a novichok nere agent programme, and promised to respond soon to the expulsion of its diplomats. the porton down military researh laboratory, which identified it will also provide a sample to the chemical watchdog. it is diplomacy not extending to russia. if you are a nation and another nation has launched a chemical attack on your people, then you have every right to tell russia to shut up and go away. meanwhile, this afternoon near salisbury, the investigation continued, with the army recovering a carfrom a village near the home of ds bailey. james landale, bbc news. so as we heard, the united states

has imposed sanctions on 19 russian individuals and five groups — accusing them of cyber attacks, and meddling in the 2016 presidential election. washington says its aim is to counter russia's "continuing destabilising activities". the sanctions come after an investigation by special counsel robert mueller charged 13 russians with electoral collusion and interference. chris buckler, our correspondent in washington, has been following developments. the 13 people that are named in the robert mueller investigation and also in these sanctions, they are accused of meddling in the 2016 presidential election. one of them is a man called yevgeniy prigozhin, he is basically an oligarch who is extremely close to vladimir putin. he's sometimes known as putin's chef. he's accused of running one of the organisations, one of these companies that was involved in spreading

misinformation during the election. a number of others have been charged in connection with cyber—attacks. america is talking about cyber—attacks on infrastructure inside america, including their electricity grids, things that they take very seriously indeed. what these sanctions mean is that it would stop people from being able to get their assets inside america. so assets would be frozen. it would stop them having any business dealings inside america. but already, moscow is starting to talk about responding to that. some retaliation, potentially, of sanctions potentially coming from moscow. and yevgeniy, he has said he is not worried and has no business dealings in america. 0n—line, he said this had happened before, and the only thing that will affect him is he will stop going to mcdonald's, the american restaurant.

things are not good between russia and america. certainly, the language from the white house is becoming more tough. president trump appears to a certain extent to be on the side of the intelligence community and the fbi on this. yeah, and i think beyond that as well, the language has become tougher from the white house. some people have kind of questioned whether or not donald trump has spoken harshly enough about russsia's activities in recent days. i think the language is becoming more tough, not just from the department, but from the white house itself. you saw that notjust from the statement of sanctions coming, but also from the joint statement we saw from the uk, germany, and others. coming from the us as well, saying this kind of activity from russia, that they are accused of, is not acceptable and they will take action to stop it. more than 12,000 people have been fleeing syria's rebel—held area of eastern ghouta, as government forces advance. men, women and children were seen leaving the town of hamouria, near damascus.

it's the first medical evacuation since a massive assault began nearly a month ago. and for many of those who've managed to flee the violence in syria, the shadow of war remains. rouaa and mustafa are two seven—year—olds, they were born in the year the conflict began. 0ur correspondent caroline hawley has been following their stories. rouaa and herfriend hoda are part of a whole generation of syrians growing up as refugees. her family fled eastern ghouta in 2013, after a chemical attack. a nappy soaked in vinegar is all her parents have to try to protect her. "this is home now", she says. 0ne room for the whole family to eat, sleep and study in. and even after nearly five years here, she still hasn't got used to the camps shared toilets.

but here, she is at least safe. her cousin, mohammed, was killed in an air strike in eastern ghouta this week. herfather‘s thighbone was shattered by a sniper‘s bullet and he can't work. her sister was hit by shrapnel. they're just one of so many families scarred inside and out by syria's war. a barrel bomb killed mustafa's parents, broke both of his hips, and lodged a piece of shrapnel in his brain. he has severe nerve damage down his left side. it's hard for him trying to keep up with his peers, but he's determined.

back at home, his grandmother brings out a photograph of his father, ibrahim. but mustafa is now losing the memory of what his parents were actually like. once a week, mustafa comes for physiotherapy. beside him is benin. she lost her father, two brothers and a sister when a shell landed on her home. syrian children have paid a catastrophic price for the war. and yet, in art therapy,

mustafa draws himself smiling. despite everything he's been through, everything he's up against, i've never once seen him complain. caroline hawley, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: thousands of brazilians attend the funeral of a politician in rio de janeiro, who campaigned against police brutality. today we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, fainting, headaches and the dimming of vision, all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal

in the middle of the cabinet here. it was an international trophy and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a pedestrian bridge has collapsed onto a busy motorway in the american city of miami, killing four people. emergency crews are working to reach those still trapped under the rubble. president trump hasjoined france, germany and the united kingdom in issuing a joint statement laying the blame for the nerve agent attack

in the english city of salisbury firmly on russia. thousands of brazilians have attended the funeral of a politician in rio dejaneiro who had campaigned against police brutality. marielle franco was killed by a gunman who pulled up next to her car and shot her several times before escaping. vigils and rallies have been held in several cities. julia carneiro followed the tribute held outside rio's city council. hundreds of thousands of people have gathered here in central we are to pay tribute to marielle franco, a council woman but was murdered brutally on wednesday night here in rio with four shots and they had. people i gathered on the staircase where her body was brought earlier on today. there was a vigil around her coughing and now she has already been buried. this protest has been going on for hours. rio was really

shocked by what happened and the whole country as well. marielle franco was a young politician, only 38 years old and she had quite a unique trajectory. she came from the sha nty unique trajectory. she came from the s ha nty towns unique trajectory. she came from the shanty towns of rio and was born and bred in poverty and advocated for human rights, the rights of women, whites of black people and was a resident of rio's favelas. she was also outspoken against police violence and a critic of the federal intervention that is going on in rio in the security arena to try to contain a wave of violence going on in the city. people here are calling the justice and in the city. people here are calling thejustice and the ones who committed this murder to be found. they are asking, who killed marielle franco? the bbc has called on the iranian authorities to discuss with it any grievances they may have about the bbc persian service whose staff and theirfamilies in iran have come under a sustained government campaign of harassment and persecution. the director of the bbc world service, jamie angus told the un's human rights council that he invited iranian authorities

to speak to them at anytime and any place. speaking at the same meeting, bbc persian‘s rana rahimpour described the harassment faced by staff. some families have received death threats. 0thers some families have received death threats. others have beenjailed. we can't return to iran for fear of arrest. we simply, iran announced we are being investigated on charges of conspiracy against national security. butjournalism is not a crime. this is notjust about us. it's about the right to freedom of speech and the right of iranian citizens to receive objective impartial information about events in iranfree impartial information about events in iran free from the influence of the authorities. we urge the council to call upon iran to engage with our appeal and to end the persecution of

bbc persian staff and our families. iran has denied allegations of harassment, and accuses the bbc‘s persian service of spreading false information. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: the former zimbabwean president, robert mugabe, has broken his silence to say that that his successor, emmerson mnangagwa, could never have assumed power without the army's backing. the 94—year—old mr mugabe said he had been the victim of a coup. a law has come into effect in indonesia making it illegal to criticise the country's parliament or the politicians who work there. the indonesian president, joko widodo, refused to sign the legislation, but was unable to veto it. hsbc says its female staff in the uk earned nearly 60 per cent less last year than their male colleagues. the gender pay gap is the largest reported by a british bank. hsbc says there's a high percentage of women injunior or part—time positions while under a quarter of senior roles are filled by females.

russians go to the polls on sunday to vote in the country's presidential election. vladimir putin is hoping to win his fourth term in office and opinion polls make him the clear favourite. polls show in on nearly 70% of the vote, his next nearest rival is on seven. why is mr putin so popular? 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg travelled to the russian rust belt to find out. the west fears the kremlin is spreading disorder. but at home, many see vladimir putin as the cog that keeps russia's moving. this is karabash, rustbelt russia. it overwhelms the senses. from the smoke of the copper works to the biting cold. this is russian fire and fury.

many here support vladimir putin, not because they think he has forged a great country, but at least one that feels more stable then in 1990s russia, after the fall of communism. in other words, things could be worse. translation: stability will continue under putin, copper worker sergei says. "there is no one else worth voting for." and yet real incomes in russia are falling. so the government appeals to patriotism — it tells the people that russia is a major player on the world stage. that's little comfort to nina vasilievna. her biggest concern is making it home because nobody clears the ice outside her apartment block.

nina complains to me about the cost of heating and electricity. the bills keep getting bigger, but nina doesn't want a new president. for the retired maths teacher, it's a simple equation. no change equals no risk. "i will vote for putin," nina says, "so that life "doesn't get any worse. "as long as we have no war here, that is what matters." undeeradimir putin, you see two very different russias. there is russia, the military and cyber superpower, flexing its muscles on the international stage. and there is another russia, where the soviet legacy hangs in the air, where more than 20 million people live below the poverty line and where life is a daily struggle. tatiana can afford to buy the basics, like milk, but not much else. by the time she has paid all her bills, she has the equivalent of £2 left

for her monthly pension. she has to borrow to get by. when i visit tatiana at home, i meet her daughter natalia. she has been unemployed now forfour years, but she still has faith in the kremlin. "i am for putin," says natalia. "at least putin tries his best." however bleak life maybe, many russians fear change. they worry that change can bring greater instability and those in power exploit that fear. that benefits vladimir putin. it allows the kremlin to argue that it's much safer to stick the same path.

the coverage of those selections as they happen on sunday. on his latest attempt in paris, the spider—man alain robert was captured by security guards are proving you can't keep a good man down at, after being released, he popped around the corner and scaled another building. he claimed the summit of the 170 —— 187- he claimed the summit of the 170 —— 187— metre building. he said as long as he was capable, he wouldn't stop. spider—man, spider—man, does whatever a spider can. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @nkem ifejika. some of us will escape with a fine

friday, even mild in some places but by the weekend it's much colder. you won't have a fine friday close to this weather front, north—east england into eastern scotland, cloudy, wet, outbreaks of rain, some snow in the scottish hills and that snow level lowering later in the day. this is your cloudy, wet zone throughout the day. also got this area of cloud and rain nudging northwards from the midlands, wales, into parts of north—west england and fringing into northern ireland. to the south of that we see some sunshine coming through, but you may catch a shower, could be heavy and possibly thundery, not everybody will. it's here you have temperatures in double figures but it is a turning colder day through eastern scotland and north—east england, going into the evening and night, that snow level lowering and maybe into lower levels you could see a light covering into places going into saturday morning and a few of these wintry showers drifting westwards overnight and a developing and getting

stronger eastern wind. a much colder start on saturday morning and temperatures are not going up very far on saturday. throughout the weekend, we have got high pressure in scandinavia pumping bitterly cold air our way and a strong wind too, so wind chill will be a factor and on that flow of air, some snow around too. some snow scattered about eastern parts of the uk through saturday, there will be some accumulations in places. many north and western areas could avoid them and stay dry, some with sunny spells. it is all about the feel of the weather, though. significantly colder compared with friday and i have mentioned the strength of the wind, making it feel like it is well below freezing for many of us on saturday into sunday. it's going to be a bit of a shock to the system after what we have had in recent days. watching saturday night, we could see a longer spell of snow into sunday morning and again that risk of disruption,

ice in places with a frosty start on sunday. that gradually edges away westwards, we see a risk of further snow showers coming into eastern parts, not everybody will see those and still, that brisk and very cold easterly wind making for a significant wind chill as well. so winter is roaring back this weekend. gradually turning milder again next week. but for the weekend, much colder, that bitter wind with a significant wind chill and yes, some of us will see some snow and there will be some disruption in places because of it too. this is bbc news. these are the headlines: rescue efforts are continuing at the florida international university in miami, where a recently installed pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a busy highway. emergency crews have been working to free people from cars buried in the rubble. officials say four people have died. the us hasjoined france, germany and the uk in a joint

statement demanding that russia explain the use of a military grade nerve agent in an attack on a former russian spy in england. moscow denies any involvement. president vladimir putin is said to be considering options in response to us and uk sanctions. in syria, thousands of people are fleeing the rebel—held enclave of eastern ghouta, as government forces intensify their offensive. it's the first medical evacuation since a massive assault began nearly a month ago.