welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. 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. 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 are still in search and rescue mode for now. it is thought several have died, but it is not clear yet how many. we will continue to search this pile until we are sure there are no other survivors. we removed nine victims earlier on and transported them to local hospitals. once we have completed our search and rescue operations, we will remain on—scene and help with 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 across a six—lane motorway from the city to the university. we not hear much, but we heard sirens, then multiple cars crushed by the bridge. i was in the dorm and then my uncle told me it collapsed. i didn't believe him. 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 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 many people are trapped currently under those cars. what they have said is that they are going to work throughout 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 has 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 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 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 keith doyle reports. russia may be diplomatically isolated as world power was falling behind britain. but vladimir putin was showing no signs of that at a rally before the election the sunday. with 23 russian diplomats considered to be spies in exile from the uk, the next move is this. moscow has continued its salver of defined attacks saying that britain has a boorish attitude and cannot be trusted. according to the russian foreign minister, they are even trying to distract attention from brexit. britain's defence secretary was equally want to. another nation

has launched a nerve agent attack on your people, then we have every right to tell russia to shut up and go away. nato agrees with britain's assessment that russia was responsible for the nerve agent attack in salisbury. the prime minister's public visit there has assured that this attack and all of its ramifications remain very much in the limelight. here behind cupboards and screens, the investigation continues. in london and moscow and in other world capitals, a diplomatic war is on the way. so as we mentioned just earlier, 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 i3 russians with electoral collusion and interference. chris buckler, our correspondent

in washington has been following developments. the 13 people 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 yevgeniy prigozhin, an oligarch who is extremely close to vladimir putin. he is sometimes known as putin's chef. he is accused of running one of these organisations, companies, involved in spreading misinformation during the election. a number of others have been charged in relation to cyber—attacks. america is talking about cyber—attacks on infrastructure inside america, including electricity grids, things they take very seriously. what these sanctions mean is it would stop people from being able to get assets inside america.

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. yevgeniy says he is not worried and has no dealings in america. on—line, he said this had happened before, and the only thing that will change as he will stop going to mcdonald's, the american restaurant. things are not good between russia and america. 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 more tough from the white house. some people have questioned whether or not donald trump has spoken harshly enough about the activities of russia

in recent days. i think the language is becoming tougher, not just from the department, but from the white house itself. you saw that notjust from the statement of sanctions coming, but also the joint statement we saw from the uk, germany, and others. coming from the us as well now, saying this kind of activity from russia, that they are accused of, is not acceptable and they will take actions to stop that. 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% 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. 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 — two 7—year—olds — 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 was all her parents had 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, amman. 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.

more than 3000 subway passengers we re more than 3000 subway passengers were affected. leading, headaches and the dim in a vision. me 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 rio to pay tribute to marielle franco, a councilwoman that was murdered brutally on wednesday night here in rio with four shots in the head. people are gathered on the staircase there where her body was brought earlier on today. there was a vigil around her coffin 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 rio's favelas, or sha ntytowns — she was born and bred in poverty and she advocated for human rights, the rights of women, the rights of black people and residents of rio's favelas. she was also outspoken against police violence and a critic of the federal intervention

that is currently going on in rio in the security arena to try and contain a wave of violence going on in the city. people here are calling forjustice and for 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.

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. 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. karabash overwhelms the senses. from the smoke of the copper works to the biting cold. 0utside, it's 20 below. inside, the heat hits you. 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. "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. the economy, stagnating. 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. 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 to the same path. in hungary, large pro and anti—government rallies have

been held to mark hungary's national day, the anniversary of the 18118 revolution. just weeks before the general election, viktor 0rban‘s fidesz party is determined to win its 3rd term in a row. but the opposition have begun to believe they can stop him. they marched across the country in their tens of thousands. much more is at stake in the coming election, viktor 0rban said, than his own rule. europe and hungary is at a turning point in world history. 0n the one hand, stan the nationals millions, on the other, the global

elite. and that global elite support immigration in order to dial it is the nations of europe. we feel safe year, there isn't a single refugee running around the streets. you can go out on the streets not like paris, berlin, sweden and neighbouring countries. long live viktor 0rban. just a few streets away, opposition parties held their own rallies. 0ne away, opposition parties held their own rallies. one of the main demands of the hungarian revolution of 18118 was freedom of speech. the opposition say that is under attack in viktor 0rban‘s hungary. in viktor orban‘s hungary. translation: today, freedom is not in danger because of foreign powers. tyranny is coming not from the east 01’ tyranny is coming not from the east or the west but from the hometown of the prime minister. while the prime

minister was big on natural rhetoric, speakers of the many opposition parties today focused on concrete issues. at this student rally, they've blamed the government for what is the terrible state of hungarian education and also to the exodus of young hungarians to western europe. new yorkers were stopped in their tracks by —— new yorkers were stopped in their tracks by a new work by a new work by the anonymous british street artist, banksy. it depicts a rat on the inside of a clock face. the stencil of the rat, on the clock perched atop a boarded up bank building, is being interpreted by banksy fans as "going against the rat race." banksy — who is presumed to be a man but has kept his identity secret — is known for creating works on buildings displaying ironic 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. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. 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. president assad's forces have now retaken large parts of eastern ghouta now on bbc news, hardtalk.