hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. welcome back to the programme. a nationwide operation is under way here in the uk to find a man suspected of carrying out a corrosive liquid attack in london. abdul ezedi, who is 35, is still at large after the attack in clapham, in south london, on wednesday. 12 people were injured, including two young children. he also suffered a serious facial burn during the incident. it's emerged he's a convicted sex offender who was granted asylum to stay in the country, having twice been refused. here's rajini vaidyanathan. the last known sighting of abdul ezedi at a tesco shop in north london, his right eye scarred by what could be the same

chemical he's accused of using in an horrific attack. the street in clapham in south london, where a corrosive substance was thrown at a woman and her two young children on wednesday evening. this cctv footage appears to show the distressing sequence of events. a man is seen taking a child from the back of the car, before fleeing the scene as he's chased. police believe the victim was known to the attacker. we take violence against women and girls very seriously, and this was someone who, it is a vulnerable position she was in and it would have been horrific and frightening, so we will do our utmost, and we will, i am totally confident, capture the male. as the hunt for him continues, questions over abdul ezedi's past. convicted of a sex offence in 2018, he was later granted asylum here in the uk after two failed attempts.

what happened here hasn'tjust shocked this corner of south london, but an entire nation. police say the victims�* injuries weren't life—threatening, but that they could be life—changing. we can go live to our correspondence charlie rose, close to where the attack took place in clapham in south london. what more are we hearing about the operation to track down abdul ezedi? goad hearing about the operation to track down abdul ezedi?— hearing about the operation to track down abdul ezedi? good morning. as this large-scale _ down abdul ezedi? good morning. as this large-scale manhunt _ down abdul ezedi? good morning. as this large-scale manhunt is _ down abdul ezedi? good morning. as this large-scale manhunt is now- down abdul ezedi? good morning. as this large-scale manhunt is now in i this large—scale manhunt is now in full swing, some fresh questions about abdul ezedi's past. the bbc has been told he is a convicted sex offender. also that he was granted asylum in the uk after two previous failed attempts. in the past 2a

hours the metropolitan police have released a fresh picture of abdul ezedi, believed to be the last known sighting of him. it was captured at a tesco shop in north london. he is wearing a blue t—shirt and carrying a water bottle. he has also got some scarring, some injuries to the right side of his face, which may have been caused by the substance he is accused of using in the attack here in clapham a little bit earlier this week, on wednesday evening. police say that attack was a targeted attack and the public should not be concerned because it wasn't random. they say the attack was a deliberately targeted one. the woman and her two young children, who were hurt in that attack, are currently being treated in hospital. the two daughters, the youngest of the two

daughters, the youngest of the two daughters, a little three—year—old girl, and her mother, could both have sustained life changing injuries. have sustained life changing in'uries. ,., . have sustained life changing in'uries. . ., injuries. the police are telling the ublic not injuries. the police are telling the public not to _ injuries. the police are telling the public not to be _ injuries. the police are telling the public not to be scared _ injuries. the police are telling the public not to be scared because . injuries. the police are telling the| public not to be scared because of this attack, but it has highlighted concerns about violence against women and girls.— concerns about violence against women and girls. yes, yesterday the metmpolitan — women and girls. yes, yesterday the metropolitan police _ women and girls. yes, yesterday the metropolitan police superintendent l metropolitan police superintendent gabriel cameron was keen to stress to members of the press, reporters, broadcasters and the public that violence against women should not be tolerated and will not be tolerated by the metropolitan police. witnesses here on this road have told me and other members of the bbc here that they saw a man following the attack fleeing up the road towards clapham common, one of london's busiest parks, and the

attack took place at a busy time of day, at around 7:30pm in the evening. metropolitan police say lots of people, they hope, should have seen, may have seen something, and may have more information about what happened. they are also appealing for anyone who may have dashcam footage or cctv footage to come forward and help the police in their investigation as they carry out this large—scale manhunt and this large—scale investigation into what happened here. this large-scale investigation into what happened here.— this large-scale investigation into what happened here. charlie rose, our correspondent. _ what happened here. charlie rose, our correspondent. to _ what happened here. charlie rose, our correspondent. to remind - what happened here. charlie rose, our correspondent. to remind you, j what happened here. charlie rose, i our correspondent. to remind you, we are following that story closely on bbc news and you can go to our website where we have live updates throughout the day. we can turn to a developing story in kenya after hundreds of people were injured after a lorry carrying gas exploded. these are live pictures

from nairobi where you can see destruction caused, three people have been confirmed dead, including a child. a government spokesperson said gas cylinders were being refilled when the fire broke out just before midnight on thursday. it happened in a residential area and firefighters and emergency services have been on the scene. witnesses have been on the scene. witnesses have been on the scene. witnesses have been describing what happened. witnesses have been telling the bbc that some of them heard screams and they felt the ground shake when the explosion happened. for an update from nairobi i spoke to our correspondent earlier. the energy and petroleum — correspondent earlier. the energy and petroleum relegations - correspondent earlier. the energy l and petroleum relegations authority have released a statement saying they have evidence this liquid petroleum gas station in the area where the explosion occurred had applied for a licence last year that

had been rejected. we understand one arrest has been made in the area surrounding where the explosion happened but police are still carrying out investigations and more than 200 are in hospital and a lot of people are still getting treatment. we understand the deputy president is supposed to visit the victims in two major hospitals in nairobi. i victims in two ma'or hospitals in nairobi. . , ., ., ., ., nairobi. i have been to the area of nairobi. i have been to the area of nairobi where _ nairobi. i have been to the area of nairobi where the _ nairobi. i have been to the area of nairobi where the fire _ nairobi. i have been to the area of nairobi where the fire happened, l nairobi. i have been to the area of| nairobi where the fire happened, it is a crowded area, you have informal settlements and high—rise apartments. the damage from the fire is likely to be extensive. yes. apartments. the damage from the fire is likely to be extensive.— is likely to be extensive. yes, it is. i live around _ is likely to be extensive. yes, it is. i live around the _ is likely to be extensive. yes, it is. i live around the area - is likely to be extensive. yes, it is. i live around the area and i is likely to be extensive. yes, it is. i live around the area and al is likely to be extensive. yes, it l is. i live around the area and a lot of people were sharing videos online and you could see a lot of extensive damage in the area where this happened, and also in an adjacent estate. you could see a lot of abandoned vehicles. it was reported abandoned vehicles. it was reported a car was thrown onto a roof and you could see tanks have been destroyed. when you have a densely populated

area like this with unplanned settlements, you can't imagine the sheer amount of devastation and figures. some residents say they could still be conservative and a lot is being processed at this time. watmore are you hearing from people there because a government spokesperson said a child was one of the people killed during the fire. are you hearing?— are you hearing? there is still a lot of shock _ are you hearing? there is still a lot of shock first _ are you hearing? there is still a lot of shock first of _ are you hearing? there is still a lot of shock first of all. - are you hearing? there is still a. lot of shock first of all. yesterday evening at 11:45pm, i was in my house when this happened, and we had tremors, a lot of quakes, bright light. there was a lot of screaming with people rushing out of houses. you rightfully mention children. a resident told us she doesn't know where her children are because people are being evacuated from their homes. now that this is also a police area, it is a crime scene and people are being told not to go to the actual site. people are still

looking for their loved ones and at best they have to wait for the rescue teams to give them information. let's focus on the middle east as presidentjoe biden has approved sanctions on four israeli settlers accused of attacking palestinians in the occupied west bank. the sanctions block the individuals from accessing all us property, assets and the american financial system. violence in the west bank has spiked since hamas launched an unprecedented attack on israel on october the 7th. mr biden signed a broad executive order, saying violence in the west bank had reached "intolerable levels", threatening peace and stability in the region. meanwhile, fighting in gaza is continuing today. these are the latest pictures released by the israeli defence force, said to be in khan younis. hamas's health ministry is reporting 105 people were killed overnight,

as raids and shelling continue in southern gaza's main city. our middle east correspondent nick beake is injerusalem and gave his analysis on the significance of these us sanctions. this is the first time the us administration has taken these sort of steps. that is significant but it is also symbolic and i think it reflects frustration within washington that the israeli government here hasn't done more to try to stop settler violence in the west bank. there is also frustration i think at the way the war in gaza is being played out as well. if you listen to the terminology and language being used by some white house officials, they say the sanctions being put on these four individuals actually mirror what you would see if someone was being hit with sanctions for terrorism offences, in terms of them being unable to access any american bank accounts, as well as not being able to travel to the united states and not being able to receive any funds that people in the us may be sending here to israel.

that has been put forward. the israeli government led by prime minister netanyahu says these actions are not necessary because they are taking strong action against settler violence and within the settler community they say this is not what they would expect from an ally, not what they would expect from the americans. in the meantime, ongoing reporting in israel about a possible deal to reach a ceasefire between israel and hamas and the release of hostages held in gaza. what more can you tell us? that's on the front page of all the newspapers here today, and it's the lead story on the news website. there is nothing concrete at the moment but the latest thing which has given some optimism has been the comments that have come from the foreign ministry in qatar. you will remember qatar in november took a leading role in the release of some hostages in the first deal that was agreed. what we are hearing is that hamas

have looked at a proposal that has been put forward and they are broadly accepting of it. basically, rewinding just a little bit, at the weekend there was a meeting in france of israeli, american, egyptian and qatari spy chiefs and officials, and they were working on some sort of deal. we don't know the details of it but basically some of the hostages taken by hamas on october the 7th would be released, at the same time that some palestinian prisoners would be freed from israeli jails. that's the broad sense of what a deal may be. we don't know if they are very advanced in terms of getting agreement, but certainly in israel there is some optimism, and of course for the families of hostages who were taken, as well as the people of gaza, there is a great hope that there will be an end to the fighting at some point soon. but as i say, nothing concrete yet, but we will monitor these events, a lot of which is taking place behind closed doors. nick beake in jerusalem.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. water companies are forecasting an above—inflation rise in average household bills in april — drawing criticism from campaigners. the average annual water and sewerage bill is expected to rise by 6% in england and wales — up to £473 — says the suppliers' trade body water uk. in scotland water and waste charges will go up by nearly 9%. the rate of improvement in the number of people who survive cancer has slowed significantly — a study says. a report by cancer research uk says the rate of progress was five times faster back in the 2000s than in the 2010s.

it says lack of sufficient funding for research is largely to blame. early years charities say a new government recruitment programme for childcare workers in england has come far too late to meet the demand created by the expansion of funded places for pre—school children. you're live with bbc news. it's now almost two years since russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine and one of the city's to suffer the most has been kharkiv in the north—east. many residents have already fled, and those who remain have had to take drastic measures to keep some sense of normality, including the creation of underground schools. for more, here's our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford. at the beginning of this war, kharkiv was one of the cities i visited when it was being shelled very heavily. there were tens of thousands of people living underground at the time, the metro was a shelter for many people and we saw

old people living on train carriages and children sleeping on platforms. some months later, russian forces were forced back from kharkiv, unable to take the city, and ukraine was in control of the region again. life began to be easier and people began to breathe there again. but in recent days there has been an intensification of missile attacks on kharkiv and around ten days ago there was a huge wave of attacks in which 11 people were killed in their homes. because kharkiv is so close to the russian border, it's extremely difficult for any kind of air defences to operate there. they only have seconds to try to intercept missiles before they hit the city. so if russian missiles are aimed at kharkiv itself, they will almost inevitably hit and that makes life extremely nervous for all its residents. we went out there recently to find how people were adapting to that, and one of the ways is moving parts of life back underground. russia's war has transformed

everything in kharkiv, including childhood. nika hasn't been to kindergarten for two years because of the missile threats. her own neighborhood is shattered. so parts of life in her city are moving underground. alongside the metro platform, there are now classrooms full of children, safe here from any explosions. the staff work hard to make it seem normal. and nika loves every minute. it's the first chance many have had for months just to play together and be children again. 0lha talks a lot about kharkiv�*s strength and resilience. but that doesn't stop her being scared for her daughters. translation: it's | better underground. it's safe.

a child can continue with a more or less normal life in these conditions. the parents won't worry and the enemy won't get us here. that's why life beneath the city surface is expanding. they're building a whole underground school here with plans for several more. it's been dug out of an old sports field. as kharkiv adapts to a war it once thought impossible and now shows no sign of ending. the russian strikes on this city are intensifying. this family can't quite believe they're alive. we met marina and her mum a few days after a missile destroyed their home. they'd just stepped round the corner when it hit. eight of their neighbours were killed here. ijust found my birth certificate.

there are fragments of marina's life scattered among the wreckage. only one document of me and one document which says that i am who i am. the day after the missile strike, her father put a flag on top of the ruins. no matter what russia do with us, they can kill us, murder, but we stand and we go on. they call this an unbreakable city. but the difference between life and death can be a matter of moments or metres. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kharkiv. they talk a lot of the time about resilience in kharkiv, talk about it as a resilient city, but the risk is very real, so life is adapting. talking to people there, you ask them, what do you think

about the fact that life is moving underground, it seems extraordinary and wrong, but they say we have no choice. if we need to live with this war and we don't see an end to it and we don't how it will end, we want people to stay in ukraine and stay in their homes, we need to adapt. this is one of the ways people are doing that. it's notjust schools, other aspects of life are also opening up underground including theatres. we went to an opera theatre, rehearsing to open up for performances in a bunker under the theatre. it's an extraordinary change in life and it happens in a very nervous city at a very nervous time. sarah rainsford with that report from kharkiv. here in the uk, two teenagers will be sentenced shortly for the murder of brianna ghey who was fatally stabbed in a vicious and carefully planned attack in the northwest of england just under a year ago. the judge will also allow the pair —

a boy and girl now aged 16 — to be named publicly for the first time. 0ur correspondent mairead smyth is monitoring events for us in manchester. this is manchester crown court and this is where the two teenagers were convicted of brianna ghey�*s murder. that happened last december, but today they will be sentenced. and in december, thejudge in this case, mrsjustice yip, decided that they would be named today when she passes her sentence. she said that she wanted to allow time for that to happen, for their legal teams to be able to prepare them, to support the teenagers, because this will of course have a significant impact on them. they were 15 when they carried out what was a planned and frenzied attack on 16—year—old brianna ghey. it was almost a year ago that she was stabbed 28 times in culcheth park near warrington. and today her family will gather to hear what sentence the two teenagers will be given. now, during the trial,

they were referred to as girl x and boy y because of their ages. but mrsjustice yip ruled that to have a full understanding of perhaps how two children could do something so horrific and for full and fair reporting of the case, it is necessary for the teenagers to be named. now, the legal team opposed that media application. they were concerned about the children's welfare. the howard league for penal reform has also questioned if it will have an impact on their rehabilitation. but the two teenagers have been told to expect a very lengthy sentence for this murder and that sentence will be passed today and their names will be made public. and just remind us about this case. this is a case that shocked the country. it really was something so unbelievable, really, that two teenagers so carefully planned this, there was such communication between the pair. and during the trial they tried to blame each other for the attack. but it was clear they were both culpable, they were both

found guilty of murder. today they will find out what sentence they will receive and as i have explained, thejudge has said this needs to be part of a full understanding of the story surrounding this matter. and a very difficult time for brianna's family who will hear what sentence the two teenagers will be given today. but of course nothing will bring back their daughter. almost a year, the 11th of february will mark a year since she was killed, when she thought she was going to meet two friends in a park and that was when she was sadly attacked in such a horrific and unbelievable manner. in northeast spain a state of emergency has been declared because of a worsening drought after three years without significant rainfall in catalonia. you can see what this reservoir near barcelona looked like two years ago and what it looks like now. water restrictions are being imposed

on six million people — those in catalonia will be limited to 200 litres per person per day. extraordinary pictures from catalonia there. the mother of a boy who killed four pupils at his high school in the us state of michigan in 2021 has sought to put the blame on her husband. jennifer crumbley is the first parent in the us to face a manslaughter trial for a mass shooting carried out by a child. ethan crumbley was 15 at the time of the shooting and is serving life in prison. 0ur north america correspondent will vernon sent this update. back in november 2021, ethan crumbley was just 15 years old when he shot dead four of his fellow students and wounded seven others. just four days before the shooting he had been given a handgun by his parents as a present, a nine millimetre weapon, which became the murder weapon. testifying in court,

jennifer crumbley said it was her husband that purchased the handgun and it was intended for use at a local shooting range. prosecutors allege that jennifer crumbley ignored her son's downhill spiral into serious mental health problems. 0n the morning of the shooting her and her husband got called into the school after some concerning drawings were discovered. there they were told that their son required counselling, but they didn't take him home and they took no action. of course, he went on to carry out that mass killing. prosecutors also say that jennifer crumbley did nothing when her son asked for help with his mental health problems. he told her that he saw demons in the house. she said in court that she thought he was just messing around. jennifer crumbley denies all allegations of involuntary manslaughter. she says she couldn't possibly have foreseen what her son was about to do. her husband james crumbley

will be tried separately. and as for ethan crumbley, well, he pleaded guilty to first—degree murder and last month was sentenced to life in prison without parole. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. for many of you the next few days will be incredibly mild for early february. a little bit blustery at times, not a huge amount of sunshine. that's the case certainly today. the rest of this afternoon, cloud dominates for many but eastern scotland, northeast england, to the east of wales, there will be some brighter breaks here and there, and with those wind coming in from the west, it's here where we could see a brief boost in temperature, foehn effect, lifting temperatures to around 15 or 16, well above the uk average of 5—8 celsius. the wind is quite strong and blustery particularly over the hills of northern england and parts of north—west scotland. the cloud thick enough for rain or drizzle in the west too. through tonight, clearer skies developing through scotland, northern ireland in particualr

and temperatures drop further northern ireland in particualr and temperatures drop further than they did last night. still above where they should be, temperatures in england and wales this at the start of the weekend still sitting in double figures. for the start of the weekend, saturday, a weak weather front straddling the uk separating the milder air in the south from something a little less mild further north but still above where we should be for this stage in february. also brighter compared to today, scotland, northern ireland, a greater chance of sunshine, a few showers. wales, central southern england, cloudy with outbreaks of rain or drizzle, heaviest in west. but, northern england, almost in between the two, will see some sunny breaks but the cloud will thicken up at times, especially for the further south you are, to produce some rain later in the day. temperatures are still above average, highest in the south—east corner, 14 or 15. a mild day in cardiff for the six nations match between wales and scotland but the cloud could be thick enough for some drizzle. england fans treated to blue skies and sunshine in rome and highs of around 17 as the tournament starts there. for us, temperatures may be not far off 17 in the south—east corner later.

could see some sunny breaks but for many a cloudy day again with outbreaks of rain in northern england, central southern scotland and northern ireland. the far north—east of scotland, much brighter but still on the chilly side here. in shetland some showers could be on the wintry side. this warm, mild air surges back north into northern scotland on monday but with it this area of low pressure passing by will produce some heavier rain, could see some minor flooding across the highlands as we go through monday. strong to gale force winds, 60 mile an hour gusts possible. blustery elsewhere, plenty of cloud and brighter breaks in central and eastern england, again, 13—15 degrees possible.

this is bbc news, the headlines... a nationwide hunt is underway to find a man suspected of carrying out a corrosive liquid attack in london. nearly 300 people are injured in a gas explosion in kenya. witnesses say they felt the ground shake after the blast. farmers block highways in france despite unions calling for the roadblocks to end after the government promises more financial assistance. and party leaders in northern ireland are meeting today to discuss the return of devolved government.

party leaders and officials are meeting today in belfast to discuss the key issues for an incoming stormont executive. the northern ireland assembly will sit on saturday to elect a government for the first time in two years after the british parliament agreed to revamp post—brexit trade rules to break a political stalemate. the country has been without devolved government since the pro—british democratic unionist party walked out in protest over the post—brexit trade rules, which it said created barriers with the rest of the united kingdom and undermined northern ireland's place in it. but dup leader sirjeffrey donaldson said his party would end its boycott. mark devenport is the former bbc northern ireland political editor — he told me more about today's events.

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