live from london. this is bbc news. the united states puts forward a draft un resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire as soon as feasible. an appeal against extradition of wikileaks founder david hasan has begun and go in london. his wikileaks founder david hasan has begun and go in london.— begun and go in london. his wife has said that julian _ begun and go in london. his wife has said that julian sands needs - begun and go in london. his wife has said that julian sands needs his - said thatjulian sands needs his freedom. —— julian assange.

pocket and scientists in australia say they've identified say t pocket hey've identified the brightest object ever recorded a quasar more than 12 billion light years away hello, i'm anna foster. we begine with the war in gaza. the united states has proposed a draft resolution at the un security council calling for a temporary ceasefire �*as soon as feasible'. the us resolution also opposes israel's plans to attack the overcrowded city of rafah. it says the assault would harm civilians, around 1.4 million of whom have fled there and have little option to leave the area if a new offensive is launched. it's not clear when or if the text will be put to a vote. but the us has indicated it still intends to veto another measure which calls for an immediate pause to the fighting. our correspondentjenny hill, who is injerusalem gave this upsdate.

the reason that we look so hard that the us policy is that the us, of course, is israel's closest ally, and we have seen a toughening of its stance, a growing tension between the allies in recent weeks. you will recall perhaps that joe biden has described israel's military operation in gaza in response to the october 7th attacks as "over—the—top". this draft illustration illustrates a growing shift, might be putting it a bit too strongly, but a growing concern on the part of the us, when it comes to benjamin netanyahu's strategy in gaza. there is particular concern, notjust with the human cost of the entire operation but now this plan for a ground offensive in rafah, where, as this draft resolution points out, great and ongoing harm could be caused to the more than a million displaced palestinian civilians sheltering there, displace them into neighbouring countries and by that the us is referring to egypt,

many of these displaced civilians are sheltering right up against the egyptian border. it warns that such a ground offensive would threaten the peace and security of the region. it is notjust the us who are voicing concern about what is happening. in the last 2a hours, not long after israel said it would give hamas three weeks to return israeli hostages before beginning that ground offensive, we also heard from the eu, and all but one member state have signed a joint declaration calling for an immediate humanitarian pause in the fighting and again voicing their concerns about what is happening inside gaza, and specific concerns about what might happen in rafah. i should also add that it looks this morning as though the us will send its senior middle east adviser to the region, due to visit egypt and israel for talks later on this week. as we are speaking, we are seeing live pictures on the screen of the northern part

of the gaza strip as seen from israel. you can see the destruction on the skyline. it highlights starkly the position people find themselves in, in rafah, because if this offensive begins in three weeks' time, they do not have many options of places to go, options of places to go, do they? the people that you can on that footage are trying desperate to get to food deliveries. there is little access to food, clean water, medical supplies or facilities in much of the gaza strip and that is something that aid agencies are really worrying about in rafah, on the southernmost tip. they say that if people try to leave, and don't forget israel told palestinians to get out of the northern part of gaza, to get out of khan younis, as they bit by bit, carried out offensives, told them to flee for their own safety safety to the south of the gaza strip and now they are saying that in three weeks' time

if things don't change we will attack there also. for people there looking for somewhere to go, returning north is all but impossible and many will not have homes to go back to because they have been destroyed, and aid agencies are saying that beyond a few areas of what is described as open scrubland where there are no facilities, there really are not many safe places for people to now flee. there is a concern that people might try to cross the border into egypt. that border is closed. you may have seen reports recently that egypt appears to be building some kind of walled enclosure, which might serve as some kind of facility for refugees crossing, we can look at all of the international wrangling that is going on. you can hear all sorts of voices coming out of the eu, the us, but for the people on the ground in rafah, there are more than a million civilians there with food, water and

medical supplies in short supply, they are watching and waiting while the world argues about what happens to them. jenny hill in jerusalem. staying in the middle east, the houthis in yemen have carried out one of the most damaging attacks so far in the conflict in the red sea. the houthis — who are backed by iran — claim that a british—registered ship which they attacked in the gulf of aden on sunday has sunk. there's been no independent verification of the sinking, but earlier, the uk government said the rubymar had been abandoned after it was hit by missiles and was taking on water. 2a crew members were rescued. the houthis have also claimed further attacks on two us—owned cargo vessels — the sea champion and the navis fortuna — in the region. they say the weeks of attacks on shipping in the red sea is to show solidarity with palestinians in gaza. british and american forces have responded by striking houthi bases in yemen. hisham al ohmeisy is a senior advisor at the european institute of peace, and he gave us his take on the escalation in the red sea.

houthis, in relation to the ships that they have attacked, they have also downed a us drone. and they did that also back in november, when they did the same thing. but what we are seeing right now is a houthi escalation. we know that they have had these unmanned surface and subsurface drones for a while. but they haven't used them. this is only the tip of the iceberg. the houthis also have a lot more weapons provided by iran. but the fact that they are actually using it now indicates that they are willing to escalate, that they are under a lot of pressure, locally, to deliver on their promises of damaging the coalition forces in the gulf of aden and the red sea and the arabian sea and now they are trying to make good on their word that they have actually managed to put a dent to that coalition in the red sea.

the russian security service, the fsb, says it has arrested a russian—american dual citizen, suspected of treason and raising funds for ukraine. these are pictures from russian tv. the 33—year—old woman was detained in the remote ural region's central city yekaterinburg. she is understood to be a resident of los angeles and stands accused of "proactively collecting funds" ukrainian officials say a russian pilot who defected to ukraine last year has been found dead in spain. maxim kuzminov�*s body was discovered maxim kuzminov�*s body was discovered. with more on this is

vitalii shevchenko drom bbc russian monitoring.qi what happened here? what does this mean? the woman arrested this morning was originally from yekaterinburg, a city in siberia, then got married to an american. according to independent russian media reports. the russian federal security service which released a video of her being arrested did not identify the woman, but said that she had been collecting funds for the ukrainian army, which were spent on medicines and armaments, according to the russian security service, which also said that she had taken part in

prayer ukrainian rallies, presumably in the united states because they are all but impossible within russia. —— pro ukrainian. this is one of a number of american nationals being held in prison in russia, perhaps the most high—profile of them is the wall streetjournal journalist high—profile of them is the wall streetjournaljournalist being held street journal journalist being held on streetjournaljournalist being held on suspicion of spying, and his pre—trial detention has again been extended. president putin, in an interview earlier this month, hinted that evan gershkovich could be exchanged for a russian security services assassin currently in jail in germany. services assassin currently in “ail in germanyfi services assassin currently in “ail in germany. and a little bit more about that _ in germany. and a little bit more about that story _ in germany. and a little bit more about that story about _ in germany. and a little bit more about that story about the -

in germany. and a little bit more i about that story about the ukrainian pilot maksim kuzminov, who has been found dead in spain.— pilot maksim kuzminov, who has been found dead in spain. maksim kuzminov was a russian — found dead in spain. maksim kuzminov was a russian military _ found dead in spain. maksim kuzminov was a russian military pilot _ found dead in spain. maksim kuzminov was a russian military pilot who - was a russian military pilot who defected to spain last year, together with his helicopter under a ukrainian government scheme which encourages russian military to defect. as far as we know he was paid about $1 million for his act, and now reports say that he had been shot dead in spain. there is some uncertainty surrounding the identity of the victim discovered in spain, but as far as we can gather it is him, his death has been confirmed by ukrainian military intelligence, and interestingly, last october, russian state tv broadcast a report saying that russian intelligence services had been fast with eliminating

maksim kuzminov. —— tasked with. and this morning the head of the russian foreign intelligence service said that mr kuzminov had become a moral corpse, when he was planning his defection to ukraine.— defection to ukraine. thank you, vitalii shevchenko, _ defection to ukraine. thank you, vitalii shevchenko, from - defection to ukraine. thank you, vitalii shevchenko, from bbc - defection to ukraine. thank you, - vitalii shevchenko, from bbc russian monitoring. bbc news has learned that david cameron's government knew the post office had dropped a secret investigation into its horizon it system that might have helped postmasters who were wrongly prosecuted to prove their innocence. it comes as a row has deepened between the uk business secretary, kemi badenoch, and the former post office chair, henry staunton, whom she sacked. he'd claimed in a sunday times interview that he'd been told to stall compensation payments to victims

of the horizon it scandal. ms badenoch said the claims were completely false — mr staunton says he's standing by his statements. aru na iyenga reports. it is another instalment in the post office drama starring henry staunton, and kemi badenoch, the secretary. he's been questioned by mps. he became chair of the post office at the end of 2022 but was sacked by kemi badenoch last month in the aftermath of the horizon scandal. he is not going down without a fight. he said that ms badenoch told him somebody had to take the rap for the post office scandal. he gave an interview saying... yesterday kemi badenoch hit back hard. i would hope that most people reading the interview in yesterday's

sunday times would see it for what it was, a blatant attempt to seek revenge following dismissal. and there was a follow—up punch from the business secretary. i should also inform the house that while he was in post, a formal investigation was launched into allegations made regarding mr staunton�*s conduct. this included serious matters such as bullying. the former chairman was floored. a statement released last night on his behalf said... post office sub—postmasters and sub—postmistresses were wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015

after a faulty computer system, horizon, made it look like money was missing from their accounts. they want to know why so many still haven't been compensated. part of what mr staunton says kind of rings true. is that why they extended the deadline? you know, yeah, but at the end of the day, they're still not paying the postmasters. you know, they can shout at each other all they like, but they've still not, they're still not paying people. there could be a few more rounds to go. you can also find this related story on our website. david cameron's government knew the post office had ditched a secret investigation that might have helped wrongly accused postmasters prove their innocence. this was uncovered through a bbc analysis of confidential government

documents. find all the detals at bbc.com/news or the bbc news app. around the world and across the uk, let's look at some other stories making news. birmingham city council raise council tax by 21%, as part of £300 million worth of budget savings, street lights will be dimmed, waste collections will become fortnightly, burial costs will increase. the labour run authority has been revealing details of it cuts has had to make after declaring itself effectively bankrupt, last year. the uk infant formula market is under investigation after regulator said parents could be saving £500 in the baby's first year. a report in november found the price of formulae had risen 25% over two years. regulators say the market was not functioning in a way that would prompt suppliers to offer lower

prices. the national trust is opening the farne islands to visitors. it is home to 200,000 seabirds, including puffins, and arctic terns. you're live with bbc news. the high court in london will hear today what could be the final bid by the wikileaks founder, julian assange, to avoid extradition to the united states. mr assange — an australian citizen — is wanted in the us for leaking secret military files over a decade ago. he's been fighting extradition on espionage charges for five years. in the last half an hour, we have heard from his wife, stella, who spoke outside court.— spoke outside court. there is no possibility _ spoke outside court. there is no possibility of _ spoke outside court. there is no possibility of a _ spoke outside court. there is no possibility of a fair _ spoke outside court. there is no possibility of a fair trial - spoke outside court. there is no possibility of a fair trial if - possibility of a fair trial if julian is extradited to the us. he should never be extradited to the us, he would never be safe. the us plotted to murder my husband. he is

being accused ofjournalism. this case is an admission by the united states that they now criminalise investigative journalism. states that they now criminalise investigativejournalism. it is states that they now criminalise investigative journalism. it is an attack on all journalists, investigative journalism. it is an attack on alljournalists, all over the world. it is an attack on the truth, and on the public�*s right to know. julian is a political prisoner and what happened to alexei navalny could happen tojulian. he has to be released. this pass has to end. —— farce has to end. our reporter nicky schiller who is at the high court. what exactly is happening there over the next two days? it is what exactly is happening there over the next two days?— the next two days? it is a two day extradition _ the next two days? it is a two day extradition hearing _ the next two days? it is a two day extradition hearing and _ the next two days? it is a two day extradition hearing and it - the next two days? it is a two day extradition hearing and it hingesl the next two days? it is a two day i extradition hearing and it hinges on a decision made by the high court in 2021, when it said extradition could take place. up until that point,

julian assange's lawyers argued that he risked taking his own life if he was the —— sent united states because of the mental health stress on him. in 2022, the supreme court upheld a ruling that he could be extradited and the then home secretary priti patel signed that extradition order. what is happening over the next two days is that the lawyers for mr assange will see if they can challenge that ruling. they say that he shouldn't be extradited to the united states. they say that this case is politically motivated, and that his mental health has deteriorated in the five years that he has been in prison, and his wife, stella, you heard from there, said that this is a life and death situation now forjulian assange, and that he would not survive if he was extradited to the united states. a decision we are expecting one way

or the other. if the appeal is rejected then there is a possibility that lawyers forjulian assange that lawyers for julian assange could that lawyers forjulian assange could go to the european court of human rights, to see if they could actually stop the plane from taking off, but we wait to see what the decision is over the next couple of days. decision is over the next couple of da s. ., . m days. you are in the thick of thins. days. you are in the thick of things- we _ days. you are in the thick of things. we are _ days. you are in the thick of things. we are watching - days. you are in the thick ofj things. we are watching live pictures of the scene around you, the demonstrators and supporters. what has been happening there? i arrived at around 8am. there are a dozen or so people here with lots of placards, and they tied yellow ribbons around the outside of the high court. now that number has swelled to hundreds as you can see. and they are still outside the court, holding placards saying that julian assange should be free, and shouting free julian julian assange should be free, and shouting freejulian assange now, stop the extradition. a number of speakers have addressed the crowd,

including the wife ofjulian assange, and when she said free julian assange, the crowd started chanting that after her. she said she did not know what to expect over the next couple of days but she said that the world was watching, and they have to do note that they cannot get away with this and that julian needs his freedom and we all need the truth. we have heard from the former union leader len mccluskey, former labour leader jeremy corbyn, all addressing the crowd and using the argument mentioned that it is about press freedom, and a number of organisations have said that if julian assange is extradited, then journalists around the world will think twice before publishing whistle—blower information, which is whatjulian assange did, back in 2010, which is what has led to this case. you may remember back in 2010, wikileaks published a tranche of us

government secrets about the war in iraq and afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of pieces of information the us government said that that put lives at risk, which is why they have charged him with 18 charges under the espionage act, and they want him extradited to the us, to face those charges.— want him extradited to the us, to face those charges. thank you, nicky schiller outside _ face those charges. thank you, nicky schiller outside the _ face those charges. thank you, nicky schiller outside the high _ face those charges. thank you, nicky schiller outside the high court - face those charges. thank you, nicky schiller outside the high court in - schiller outside the high court in london. alexei navalny s family now openly accuse the authorities in russia of deliberately keeping his body from them. the russian opposition leader died suddenly in a prison camp in the arctic circle on friday. his family have been told they won't get access for another two weeks, as more tests are needed. his widow has been meeting european union officials in brussels. she has

accused vladimir putin in a video message released yesterday of killing her husband. she has promised to carry on her husband's legacy. yulia navalny says there is no reason to keep his body other than to let traces of the nerve agent novichok disappear, which she says was used to poison him. the kremlin has called such accusations unacceptable. earlier i spoke to cbs correspondent jared hill in new york. i began by asking him about the extent of the sanctions president biden maybe considering. what we know at this point is that president biden has said that he is considering what he calls a whole number of options, but we don't know the specifics. since russia's invasion of ukraine nearly two years ago, the us has already imposed several rounds of sanctions against russian officials, institutions and businesses.

that is to try to persuade the general people of russia to push back against the war as well as trying to stop money flowing into some of the coffers that putin and the kremlin used to continue the war. but what the exact sanctions would look like, that is yet to be seen. the white house are keeping that close to the vest. how is this likely to play out on capitol hill? again, this will be a big question, to see whether this makes any sort of movement on capitol hill, in particular when it comes to a bill currently making its way through the house in washington, that would provide more aid for ukraine. the house speaker, speakerjohnson, has said he will not be rushed to bring this up for a vote in his chamber, despite that bill having support from most democrats and almost half of republicans in the senate but again the question will be, can the chamber that holds the purse strings, the house, push this through? the death of alexei navalny has dominated headlines in recent days. will that help president biden secured backing from republicans in delivering extra funding for ukraine? this is something

president biden said he is willing to speak directly with the republican house leader speakerjohnson about, to try to find some way there. he says he hopes that the death of alexei navalny will nudge house republicans in that direction but he's not sure. again, all of this ends up being a numbers game. will there be the numbers to move this in that direction? the house speaker, speakerjohnson, yesterday spent yesterday, presidents day holiday, speaking to former president trump, who has been pretty outspoken against the most recent bill, that would have provided aid for ukraine. so there are a lot of questions around whether former president trump stance on this will have a big impact on when the current gop in the house and any aid that goes to ukraine.

cbs correspondent jarred hill there. stay with us, here on bbc news. hello again. over the next few days, you will notice a feeling of the difference in the weather. today and tomorrow will remain mild, rain at times and it will be more windy than it has been, particularly tomorrow. but by the end of the week it will feel cooler as temperatures return closer to the seasonal norm and also some wintry showers, mostly on higher ground. today what we have is this weather front continuing to push south. it weakens but look at the tail end of it coming back and taking another swipe at us through the course of the overnight period and into tomorrow. this is the weather front producing the rain. as it sinks south, more cloud will build ahead of it and behind it, return to brighter sunny intervals with some showers. in scotland, the showers are likely to be heavy with some hail

and thunder and wintry on higher ground. it will be a mild day across the board and also a breezy one. as we head through the evening and overnight, the weatherfront sinks south as a weakening feature but if you remember it curls round and returns back northwards and eastwards, bringing some heavy rain with it, particularly in the north and the west. here there will be strengthening winds with gales developing through the irish sea. but for most, it will be mild, except where we have the clearest skies in the north—east, where it will be colder. tomorrow, this heavy rain continues to push northwards and eastwards. it will be a windy day wherever you are, gusting widely a0 mph or in excess of that, with gales across the very far north of scotland. you can see the weather front comes back once again into the south—west. these black circles represent the strength of the wind gusts. but still, it is going to be a mild day. seven in lerwick, about 13 as we push further south. it changes from thursday as we start

to change the wind direction to more of a westerly or north—westerly, pulling in the cooler atlantic air. this weather front here is going to continue to push steadily eastwards as we go through the course of the day. it will be quite slow and the rain will be heavy. then we see wintry showers coming into the west. for most, it will be above 400 metres, 500 metres in the south—west and in between we are looking at some brighter skies but note the cooler weather sinking south. we continue with the cool theme as we head on through the weekend, closer to average temperatures and it will be wet and windy at times.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the united states puts forward a draft un resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in gaza as soon as feasible. the dispute deepens between the business secretary and the former post office chair over the timing of compensation to victims of the horizon scandal. former strictly come dancing star, robin windsor, has died at the age of 1m. lets get more on that story. the former strictly come dancing star robin windsor has died at the age of 1m. the professional dancer appeared on the tv show between 2010 and 2015. his managment announced his death and described him

as the embodiment of passion, grace, and sheer talent.