at ten — police hunt for this man, with significant facial injuries, after a woman and two children were attacked with a corrosive substance in south london last night. we've learnt tonight that abdul ezedi, from newcastle,

is a convicted sex offender — who was granted asylum in the uk after his conviction. we'll the very latest on the manhunt — as the police warn the public not to approach him. also tonight — the united states gives the green light to a series of strikes in iraq and syria. american officials say this is a dangerous moment in the middle east but that they will take all actions they deem necessary to defend their forces in the region. these are the boys stabbed to death in bristol last weekend. tonight, two 15 and 16—year—old boys have been charged with their murders. turning his back on mercedes — sir lewis hamilton is off to ferrari next year. and the moment the missing monkey was finally recaptured, after five days on the loose in the highlands.

us as we ranjoin to the big deals of transfer day and live on the iplayer right now. good evening. police are urgently searching for a convicted sex offender after a corrosive substance was thrown at a woman and her two young children in south london last night. the bbc understands that 35—year—old abdul ezedi arrived in england in a lorry in 2016, and was granted asylum following his conviction. more on that in a moment, but first the latest on the investigation from our special correspondent lucy manning, in clapham. well, there is now a massive manhunt for abdullah ezedi. it involves police helicopters, the met police, northumbria police and the british transport police because although the attack happened here and clap in

south london he was last seen in north london on caledonia road close to king's cross station and their thoughts he could have travelled up north. he has this distinctive injury on his face. the police want the public pulse might help to catch him, but the warning as he is dangerous and people should not approach him —— they want the public�*s help to catch him. on the run and dangerous — the latest picture of abdul ezedi, last night in north london, in a tesco shop. his injury to the right eye clearly visible, red and raw from the chemical he's alleged to have thrown. the screams of a mother filled this quiet south london street. "i can't see, i can't see," she shouted, as she and her two young daughters were attacked with a chemical substance. abdul ezedi was known to the victims and it's thought previously known to police in newcastle. last night, just off clapham common, police believe abdul ezedi attacked the woman and her three and eight—year—old girls

with an alkaline substance. trying to escape, he crashed into another car. neighbours came to help. the man was saying, "i can't see, i can't see." that's when she got acid thrown in herface. so i shouted for my partner to get some water. i was holding the little girl, i think obviously it transferred onto me. it was on my face and my arm and my lips. my lips are still burning. cctv footage shows some of the attack. the suspect appears to run someone over. then he gets out of the car and takes one of the children out from the back. he then runs off, chased by others. another eyewitness who also didn't want to be identified gave chase. he pulled a two or three—year—old out of the car, and he lifted her up as high as he could, and he just body slammed her to the ground, twice. i saw red and started chasing him down the road. i saw the mother, i believe, of the child, and her face wasjust covered with something — only god knows what it was.

you could see it was obviously burning her, her lips were really black. so ijust started pouring water all over her face. yeah, it was just...crazy. police believe 35—year—old travelled down from newcastle and may be trying to return. if you see him i plea i to not to approach him. call 999. he has significant injuries . to the right side of his face. how many officers are trying to search for him? we take violence against women and girls very seriously- in the met police, and we have got a significant asset _ looking for this male. we will catch him, i am i wholeheartedly confident. police have praised the bravery of local people who rushed out here to what they describe as a terrifying situation. four members of the public came out to help the woman and her children, and three of them required hospital treatment for minor burns. five police officers who answered the 999 call also needed hospital treatment.

they have all now been released. the crashed car was removed early this morning from the quiet residential road. police have described the injuries suffered by the woman and one of her daughters as potentially life—changing. they also say the mother was vulnerable. a hotel at the top of the road is used by councils for temporary accommodation. left in the grounds, bottles used to treat chemical burns. the hotel confirmed some of the injured were staying there. a dangerous man is still on the run and a mother and her daughters left with terrible burns. lucy manning, bbc news. the suspect is from the newcastle area. our correspondent danny savage is there. yes, abdul ezedi has lived here in newcastle for the last several years since he came to this country. it's

understood as a refugee. we've talked to people here who know him today. he has moved from address to address, he had a transient lifestyle, worked in takeaways, and there are people who know him and he known particular in the byker area of newcastle. at the moment there is a high police presence from northumbria police in that part of the city. you can see patrol cars waiting around, but this is just one place where he could have come. it's where he is familiar with and it's somewhere the metropolitan police believe he could be heading for, so they are on particularly alert here but of course until there is a sighting of him, until he is found, police across the country are on alert for finding police across the country are on alert forfinding him. british alert for finding him. british transport alert forfinding him. british transport police, they don't believe he has a car, he could be travelling by coach or train or anything like that, other public transport, so there is a very high police presence here in newcastle but also a high alert across the country to find any trace of this man with his very distinct roof injuries that he has at the moment, but there is a focus on newcastle because he is so

familiar with it and they believe he might be coming here.— familiar with it and they believe he might be coming here. danny savage, thank ou. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford is here. we are starting to piece together the life of abdul ezedi in the uk, he seems to have arrived in 2016 having travelled from afghanistan. he was twice turned down for asylum but granted it on the third occasion having ct claimed he converted to christianity but that was after he'd been convicted at newcastle crown court for what it is recorded in the record as sexual assault slash exposure, in 2018, and he was given a suspended sentence and this case it's been pointed to by some in the home office as an example of the frustration they have with the asylum tribunal system granting asylum tribunal system granting asylum to people who have got convictions in the uk, though of course those who work with asylum seekers do point out that whether or not you have a conviction in the uk,

you still can be at risk if you are a genuine refugee if you are sent back to the country you are fleeing from. ., ., ~ i. the us has given the green light to a series of strikes on iranian targets in syria and iraq — after a drone attack killed three us soldiers injordan, near the syria border, on sunday. the attack injured 41 other us troops at this military base, known as tower 22. the us defence secretary lloyd austin said the united states "would not tolerate" attacks on american troops. this was a dangerous moment in the middle east. we will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region, but we will take all necessary actions to defend the united states, our interest and our people. and we will respond when we choose, where we choose and how we choose. 0ur north america editor sarah smithjoin us now. sarah, what more do we know?

well, we know that plans have been approved for a series of strikes over a number of days, so this action will take a while, targeting iranian personnel and facilities, but not inside iran, in iraq and in syria. that's where the iranian—backed militia who have been attacking us forces have been operating from, that's where they were operating from when they killed three us soldiers at the weekend, and that distinction is very, very important, because if america was actually to strike targets inside iran itself, that would risk dangerously escalating tensions in the region and this is the really delicate balance america is trying to come up with. they need decisive retaliation that is dramatic enough they hope to deter further attacks on their forces, they hope to deter further attacks on theirforces, but they hope to deter further attacks on their forces, but at the same time they don't want to do anything that could cause the conflict to spread. that is the very thing they've been trying to avoid

happening. they've been trying to avoid happening-— they've been trying to avoid haueninu. ~ �* ., ., they've been trying to avoid ha eninu. ~ �* ., ., ., happening. we've learnt tonight that president biden _ happening. we've learnt tonight that president biden is _ happening. we've learnt tonight that president biden is taking _ happening. we've learnt tonight that president biden is taking action - president biden is taking action against a number of israeli settlers who have been accused of attacking palestinians in the occupied west bank. . , , palestinians in the occupied west bank. ., , , ., , , ., bank. yeah, this is really unusual. he's signed _ bank. yeah, this is really unusual. he's signed an _ bank. yeah, this is really unusual. he's signed an executive - bank. yeah, this is really unusual. he's signed an executive order- bank. yeah, this is really unusual. he's signed an executive order so| he's signed an executive order so that means the president can do this by himself to impose sanctions on just four for now israeli settlers and there's been an uptick in violence, some of it deadly, against palestinians in the west bank. america has been growing increasingly frustrated by that so they are applying the same sanctions against some israeli settlers that they apply to terrorist organisations and that's clearly infuriated the israeli government who say they are the ones who will take action against lawbreakers in their country and these measures are unnecessary and i think this gives a glimpse of something wider and important that's been going on and thatis important that's been going on and that is america and president biden himself�*s frustrations with the israeli government. they are having constant conversations not just about this but about the conduct of

the war in gaza. they are having disagreements and they feel that benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister, is not listening to them, not doing what they ask and this just shows us a rare sight in public of what is an increasing rift between america and israel. sarah smith, thank— between america and israel. sarah smith, thank you. _ iran—backed houthi fighters in yemen continue to launch attacks on commercial shipping in the red sea. last night the united states launched further limited strikes on houthi positions there. bbc verify has been looking at where the attacks have taken place — to see what impact they have been having. nick eardley reports. there have been 11 sets of strikes in yemen in the past three weeks. many have been limited. the most recent were last night, focused on houthi military targets. the uk has been involved in two sets of the strikes so far. but are they working? let's start off back in november, in this area off the coast of yemen. this is where houthis — backed by iran — have been launching attacks on ships.

the first few are mostly here, in the red sea. many are near a pinch point, the bab al—mandab strait. here's an example, when houthis seized a part—israeli—owned cargo ship, the galaxy leader, and released this footage. after the initial attacks, the us and uk launched air strikes on the houthis on the 11th of january. there were more joint strikes 11 days later, too. the us has also launched several attacks on its own and intercepted this vessel, which it says was transporting iranian weapons to the houthis. all the while, though, houthi attacks continue. they're starting to move south, into the gulf of aden. one example — the marlin luanda, a tanker with links to the uk. it was set on fire after being hit by a missile. the frequency of houthi attacks, though, hasn't fallen. in the three weeks before the first us and uk strikes, there were six. in the three weeks since the us and uk action, there have been nine. and here's the impact — there's a lot less traffic going through the red sea now. instead, vessels are sailing around

africa, which takes a lot longer. and it costs a lot more too. this is the increased cost for transporting freight — it's shot up. those growing costs will have an impact here. it'll take longer for some goods to get to the uk, and it could mean higher costs for customers. nick eardley there. four more people have been charged in connection with the deaths of two teenage boys in bristol. 15—year—old mason rist and 16—year—old max dixon were attacked by a group of people in the knowle west area of the city last saturday. 0ur correspondent danjohnson is in bristol for us. yes, this investigation is growing. it's moving, it's getting more complex and tonight we had the news that two teenagers have been charged with murder. it means now that there is a 15 and a 16—year—old accused of

murdering a 15 and a 16—year—old. the names of that pair have not been released because they are under 18 but they are due to appear at bristol youth court tomorrow for the next stage of the process. there has been a huge amount of concern on this estate since the attack on saturday night that left max dixon, who was 16, and his friend mason rist, who was 15, dead. there's been concern in this community about the level of knife crime. there's been a huge amount of support and love for the family. these are some of the tributes, the messages, the flowers, that have been left in memory of them and last night there was a balloon release here. hundreds of people gathered to mark the passing of max and mason and others are now caught up in this investigation and have been charged. tonight, bailey westcott, who is 22, and jamie 0gbourne, 26, were both charged with assisting an offender in relation to the deaths. they will both appear at bristol magistrates�* court tomorrow.

and earlier today a 44—year—old man named antony snook was in bristol magistrates�* court, he is charged with murder. we forgot a first glimpse of him, we were told he would be on remand in prison and is expected to appear at the city�*s crown court tomorrow, so this is a huge investigation now taking in more than 100 detectives and police have once again appealed for people in the area not to speculate about the circumstances of this attack and not to circulate any pictures or video out of respect for the deceased�*s families. farmers from across the european union have taken their protest to brussels today, blockading roads and burning tyres as eu leaders met for a summit there. eu farmers have been protesting for weeks against costly regulation and cheaper imports, from countries like canada, morocco and ukraine. 0ur paris correspondent andrew harding reports. from early this morning, farmers from across europe

gathered in the belgian capital. their target — the european union�*s headquarters. the farmers are, as you can see, angry and increasingly united by concerns about cheaper imports, rising prices and new eu regulations designed to help tackle climate change. without agriculture, without farmers, there is not life. we produce food, the food is life. in france today, more signs of anger. motorways blocked by farmers insisting their way of life is becoming unviable. some here huddled around a television to hear the french prime minister promise more reforms to support local farmers. but would it be enough to prompt an end to these protests? the police here are treading very softly. they know that what these farmers are doing is overwhelmingly supported by the french public, that these protests reflect broader frustrations here with the rising cost of living. in a medieval town outside paris,

this couple summed up the mood. "it�*s not just about farmers," said louise herzog, "it�*s about the fact that we�*re all having problems right now." "we french like our food," alain added, "so we need to stand by those who make our wine, who produce our meat." across the nearby river, yves showed me his grain store. new eu environment rules mean he now has to set aside 4% of his land. he�*s not happy. "as a result," he says, "i lose 100 tonnes of wheat. that�*s the equivalent of 300,000 baguettes that never get made. "it�*s the same for all my neighbours." this afternoon, though,

a breakthrough. french farmers unions agreeing to halt their protests, at least for now. andrew harding, bbc news, paris. meanwhile, at that summit in brussels today, eu leaders unanimously agreed on a £113 billion aid package for ukraine. the deal follows weeks of wrangling with the hungarian prime minister, viktor 0rban, who vetoed the package in december. mr 0rban is known for his ties to the russian president, vladimir putin, and it was feared he would block the deal again. ukraine says it�*s running short of funds and munitions. labour has promised not to put up corporation tax if it wins the general election. the party leader, keir starmer, also repeated labour�*s promise to spend £28 billion a year on what it calls green investment in the second half of a first labour term, if theyjudge they can afford it. but the shadow chancellor, rachel reeves, repeatedly refused to use that figure.

the bank of england has held interest rates at 5.25%, the highest level for nearly 16 years. but it�*s indicated rates could fall later this year — if inflation, the rise in prices, eases. inflation currently sits at 4%, higher than the bank�*s 2% target. here�*s our economics editor, faisal islam. light at the end of the rate rise tunnel. the bank of england is brewing some rate cuts, which can�*t come soon enough for many business owners, such as stephen, who runs a distillery and restaurant in chatham in kent. successive, rapid rate rises is something that, for the business community, you really see very quickly, reductions in investment, which are then filtering through. i mean, definitely seen that. rates were held again today, but respite came from the bank�*s new forecast —

inflation should fall to its target of 2% as early as spring, as energy bills fall, changing thinking at the bank. the question for us has changed from how prescriptive and how high we need to be, to how long you need to maintain them before you cut them. and that's a very good move forwards. many householders, many businesses who have been squeezed tight as part of your policy will be wondering, well, hang on a minute, inflation is going to hit its target of 2%, is it now time to take your foot off the pedal? inflation is going to be around the target in the spring, so april, may, june time. unfortunately, we don't think it's going to stay there. the tanker is now turning on rate cuts at the bank of england, they are discussing them, but when tankers turn, things get choppy, so there is a big split here on when the cuts will come, and there�*s a presentational problem — the public, businesses, the government might think

when inflation falls to target in the next couple of months, that the rate cuts will come very quickly. this is one of 2 million homeowners whose mortgages will have to jump this year. she�*s had to curtail her maternity leave by several months to help pay for mortgage and grocery hikes. 0ur mortgage would raise by 30, almost a0%, which is really significant. on top of that, adding almost 30% increase in the groceries meant that the money that we saved for the maternity leave, now they will have to go to the mortgage repayment for the next two years or even longer. rate cuts will not prevent the ongoing squeeze, but they are on the way at some point for those who can wait. faisal islam, bbc news. the seven—time formula 1 world champion sir lewis hamilton is turning his back on mercedes, switching teams to drive for ferrari next year.

hamilton, widely considered one of the greatest drivers of all time, has been with mercedes for the past 12 years. his decision has shocked the world of formula 1. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks reports. mercedes is the team where hamilton has enjoyed his greatest success. but now he�*s ready for another chapter in his story, only this time in red. he�*s called leaving mercedes one of the hardest decisions he�*s ever had to make and added, "the time is right for me to take this step, and i�*m excited to be taking on a new challenge." "i want to finish on a high, i�*m 100% committed to delivering the best performance i can this season, making my last year with the silver arrows one to remember." as the longest—serving formula 1 team, ferrari holds allure and romance, but they haven�*t had a championship winning driver since 2007. but this could be

a marriage made in heaven. it�*s like a dream come true for him, i should imagine, because going to ferrari is everything. it�*s so romantic, driving for them, the atmosphere. the fans, the tifosi there in italy, they willjust embrace lewis. he�*s got a a fantastic opportunity to bow out with an eighth world title, which would be incredible. hi, i'm lewis hamilton, and welcome to my first day at mercedes—amg petronas. hejoined mercedes in 2013 and always said it�*s felt like home. so much so, he signed a new £100 million contract last year to stay till 2025. but now he�*ll only race for one more season beforejoining ferrari on a multi—year contract. the italians have been long—term admirers. it�*s no surprise why. lewis hamilton has won a joint record seven world drivers�* championship titles — an achievement he shares with michael schumacher. six of them have been with mercedes, and all came inside an astonishing seven—year spell of dominance. hamilton also holds the record for the most wins, the most pole positions,

and the most podium finishes in the sport. things didn�*t go brilliantly last season. in fact, hamilton hasn�*t won a race since 2021. leaving the loving arms of the family at a0 years old for one more shot at history is a script straight out of hollywood. one might call this his very own italian job. natalie pirks, bbc news. death threats and an arson attack on his office have prompted a government minister, mike freer, to announce he�*ll be standing down at the general election. downing street described it as an attack on british democracy. here�*s our political editor, chris mason. burnt out. mike freer�*s office after a suspected arson on christmas eve. after years of threats and intimidation, he�*s had enough. it was a really tough decision and a very emotional decision, because i love thejob

and my constituency. but after, you know, a long line of incidents, some of them low level that every mp has to deal with, but two or three very serious incidents, two of which were threats to life and then the arson attack was the final straw. in october 2021, the conservative mp sir david amess was murdered, stabbed to death. the man who killed sir david had previously turned up armed at mr freer�*s office — another contributor to his decision to walk away. i think this is an incredibly sad situation, that we have a brilliant mp, a minister who is essentially being hounded out of office because of the intimidation he faces. it�*s completely unacceptable and is a huge loss to uk politics. mps expect scrutiny, they relish argument, but many are increasingly frightened — frightened for themselves, frightened for their families. frightened at home, installing panic buttons,

frightened in the streets and on public transport. in 2016, another mp was murdered — labour�*sjo cox. her sister kim leadbeater is now the mp for the same seat, batley and spen in west yorkshire. i heard someone on the radio today describe this as a turning point, but when my sister was murdered, everyone said that was a turning point and we had to do politics differently, and when sir david amess was murdered, people said the same again. and there have been various other incidents when people have said that. i think somewhere along the line our politics has got pretty messed up. who on earth would want to be an mp, with all of this happening? yeah, it is a tough gig, isn�*t it? i ask myself that most days, if i�*m honest, i think many mps do. it�*s a really privileged job, it�*s a really importantjob. it�*s a job where you can really help people. why would you? we do it because we think

we can make a difference. you have to think long and hard whether you want to put yourself and your family through the level of risk that comes with the job these days. the prime minister�*s spokesperson said the decision to quit politics by mike freer was deeply depressing — notjust an attack on him but on british democracy. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. in spain, a state of emergency has been declared because of a worsening drought after three years without significant rainfall in catalonia. water restrictions are being imposed on six million people, including those in spain�*s second city, barcelona. you get a sense ofjust how bad the drought is from these images. this is the sau reservoir near barcelona two years ago, created by flooding a village in 1962. and this is what it looks like now — the ruins of that church completely exposed now. locals say this is the first time they have been able to go inside church on foot

since the village was flooded. the state of emergency in catalonia means people will be limited to 200 litres per person per day. arable farmers will have to reduce their water use by 80%, and industry by a quarter. after five days roaming the highlands, eating nuts from bird feeders, a missing japanese macaque has been recaptured. tonight he�*s back at the highland wildlife park near aviemore. here�*s iain macinnes. this was the moment honshu�*s highland adventure came to an end. the mischievous macaque had been on the run for five days. relieved, very relieved, really proud of the team that were able to go and get them. he�*d been spotted in this garden, just a few miles from the park. the macaque was just right at the window, looking in at me. and what did he look like, did he look happy? he looked a little bit sad. he wasn�*t worried, i don�*t think, but he looked a little bit sad.