live from london. this is bbc news. police recovered a body on the river terms believed to be the clapham attacker. the world health organization repeats calls for the protection of patients, health workers and civilians as it conducts a second rescue mission to gaza's nasser hospital. illness prevents wiki leaks founderjulian assange from attending his final hearing against extradition to the united states. iam i am live outside the high court where gillian stange�*s protesters are supporting him as lawyers inside argue he should not be extradited. ——julian assange.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones, welcome to bbc news now. we start with breaking news here in the uk. just news here in the uk. in the last 30 minutes or so. detectives leading the hunt for a man wanted for a brutal attack on a mother and her children in south london believe his body has been recovered from the river thames. let's ta ke let's take a look at the map now to see where police say the body has been recovered, close to tower bridge in central london. police have found a body in the river. officers had recently said they believe abdul shokoor ezedi — a 35—year old refugee from afghanistan — went into the river, and died, hours after the attack. let's ta ke let's take a look at some of the last cctv footage. this is chelsea bridge, a bridge further up the

river in central london, these are the last pictures of him and police believe that he went into the river and they have now found a body. at about 4pm on monday, police say the crew of a passing boat, these are older pictures, reported they had seen a body in the water. the body was recovered by the met�*s marine policing unit and has been seen by detectives working on the investigation. let speak to charlie rose in our newsroom. bring is up—to—date with what we know. figs newsroom. bring is up-to-date with what we know— newsroom. bring is up-to-date with what we know-— what we know. as you said, the metr0politan — what we know. as you said, the metropolitan police _ what we know. as you said, the metropolitan police have - what we know. as you said, the i metropolitan police have released what we know. as you said, the - metropolitan police have released a statement in the last half an hour. this is a huge police investigation, ever since that brutal attack in clapham on the 31st of january. the investigation has involved the metropolitan police and british transport police and northumbria

police because abdul ezedi has links to newcastle, but the metropolitan police have now said this investigation appears to have reached the conclusion. in a statement they said around for pm on monday the 19th of february, yesterday, the crew of a passing boat reportedly had seen a body in the water at tower pier in east london, about a mile downstream from chelsea bridge where abdul ezedi was last seen on cctv at 11:30pm on the evening of the attack of wednesday the 31st of january. police say a body was recovered by the metropolitan police's marine policing unit. it has been viewed by detectives working on the investigation. commanderjohn sarel of the metropolitan police has been giving regular updates to the media over the past days and weeks as this

search for abdul shokoor ezedi has been ongoing. they say based on the distinctive clothing abdul shokoor ezedi was waiting at the time of the attack on the property found on his body, we strongly believe we have recovered the body of abdul shokoor ezedi. we have been in contact with abdul shokoor ezedi's family and to pass on this news. he goes on to say, as you may expect after a considerable period of time in the strong current of the river thames strong current of the river thames strong identification is not possible visually or from the fingerprints. we will work with the coroner on other ways to complete formal identification such as dna testing and dental records. that may take some time at they believe that this is the suspect of the attack, abdul shokoor ezedi. to give you a summary of the events, a 31—year—old

women and they two young children were doused in a corrosive alkali substance on the residential street in south clapham. a figure in dark clothing was seen fleeing the area. he was tracked on cctv throughout london and stations such as king's cross getting on the victoria line. eventually after detectives scoured hours of cctv, putting up a reward for information leading to abdul shokoor ezedi's arrest, of up to £20,000, and searching properties in east london and newcastle where abdul shokoor ezedi has links, they finally tracked his last known movements to chelsea bridge in london at 11:30pm at night, four

hours after the attack in south london just next to clapham common, four hours after the attack on wednesday the 31st, and he was seen at chelsea bridge at 11:30pm at night the same evening. he wasn't seen leaving the area and nothing to suggest he left the bridge, and according to detectives he was seen pacing up and down but nothing to suggest leaving the area which is why detectives develop this new theory that he had fallen into the river and now detectives believe the body of abdul shokoor ezedi has been found three or four miles downstream next to tower pier. so that is why police believe there investigation is now reaching a conclusion. as they were saying, formal identification has yet to take place with abdul shokoor ezedi's family informed of this latest discovery. the two young children were being

treated in hospital. their injuries originally were thought to be quite serious, later it came to light that they were not as serious as first thought but their mother, a 31—year—old women had been sedated in hospital after being attacked, after being doused in that alkali substance. detectives say they are pleased to report the condition of the 31—year—old mother has improved. she remains in hospital, she is in a stable condition and no longer sedated. detectives say they still have not been able to speak to are but they do hope to speak to her as part of this investigation as soon as they possibly can. today's news is that at for pm yesterday a body was found to be in the river thames quite a distance downstream from where abdul shokoor ezedi was last seen on chelsea bridge. a body was

found and formal identification of that body is now beginning to get under way. the metropolitan police detectives believe that the body is that of their main suspect in this case, abdul shokoor ezedi, and asylum seeker who successfully claimed asylum in the uk after two failed attempts and is believed to have come to the uk from afghanistan across the channel in a lorry. thank you very much for that.— you very much for that. let's pick u . you very much for that. let's pick u- on you very much for that. let's pick up on the — you very much for that. let's pick up on the location _ you very much for that. let's pick up on the location where - you very much for that. let's pick up on the location where this - you very much for that. let's pick| up on the location where this body has been found. we can take a look at this map, the detail coming from the met police. further down the river as charlie was explaining, the crew of a boat spotted a body in the water so we now have a location where that body was found. this was

further down the river from that cctv footage. let's get more information from a former metropolitan police superintendent. what's your reaction to the news that police have found a body in the river? i that police have found a body in the river? ~ ., river? i think we need to give credit to _ river? i think we need to give credit to the _ river? i think we need to give credit to the met _ river? i think we need to give credit to the met police's - credit to the met police's underwater search unit. they have been searching for some time. it was important to find the body but to be perfectly honest i wasn't entirely sure they would because bodies that go into the thames sometimes don't get found and bizarrely when the police were searching for the body of abdul shokoor ezedi they actually found two other bodies which were unconnected, which would give you an indication of how turbulence that river is, the undercurrent, and the fact that if you go into that river with all the currents, sometimes

your body will go some significant distance as indeed has happened on this occasion. bud distance as indeed has happened on this occasion-— this occasion. and 'ust on the rocess this occasion. and 'ust on the pess of h this occasion. and 'ust on the process of what _ this occasion. and just on the process of what happens, - this occasion. and just on the process of what happens, i i this occasion. and just on the l process of what happens, i will this occasion. and just on the - process of what happens, i will read it a statement, slightly gruesome, but it says, as you may expect after a considerable period of time in the strong current of the thames, formal identification is not possible visually nor from fingerprints. we will work with the coroner to complete formal identification such as dna testing and dental records. that may take some time. could you just talk us through that about what are the options and why it may take some time?— are the options and why it may take some time? s ,, ., ., ,., , ., some time? when you have a body that has not been — some time? when you have a body that has not been found _ some time? when you have a body that has not been found for— some time? when you have a body that has not been found for some _ some time? when you have a body that has not been found for some time - some time? when you have a body that has not been found for some time or. has not been found for some time or is in water it can be significantly disfigured and totally unrecognisable even by loved ones so the police will rely on dental records and dna. we know that this person had been arrested for sexual

offences so the police would have taken dna so they are retrieving the dna from their database and then matching that for full confirmation. but they would have looked at clothing, they would have looked at height, description, and they would be fairly confident it is the person they are looking for and they will now need to confirm that with dna. so the coroner's court will take primacy over this and the police will work with the coroner's court to have a hearing where they will hopefully have dna evidence of who the body is but i don't think they would have made the comments if they were not fairly confident, so there may be clothing on this person that would identify him from the last moment he was seen on the chelsea bridge. we know he had significant disfiguring on his face from the corrosive liquid that went on his face where he attacked that women

and children. i think they will be looking at that. they may have gone to premises to collect dna, got a toothbrush from where he was being, but certainly they will have it on the criminal record in terms of items of clothing.— the criminal record in terms of items of clothing. thank you for talkin: us items of clothing. thank you for talking us through _ items of clothing. thank you for talking us through that. - items of clothing. thank you for talking us through that. could i items of clothing. thank you for l talking us through that. could you talking us through that. could you talk us through another line of the police statement as well? you mention the condition of the patients still in hospital. inquiries continue into the attack and i am pleased to say the condition of the 31—year—old woman has improved. she remains in hospital but is still in a stable condition, no longer sedated. we have still not been able to speak to her but hope to as soon as she is well enough. can you talk about the significance of that because this is quite a significant length of time now since the attack and police still haven't spoken to the person involved. 50

still haven't spoken to the person involved. p still haven't spoken to the person involved. . ., , involved. so the victim of this horrific corrosive _ involved. so the victim of this horrific corrosive attack - involved. so the victim of this horrific corrosive attack was i horrific corrosive attack was sedated for some time. they have come out of sedation so that may have been to try and support her well—being and recovery. it is a horrific attack, as the corrosive substance was thrown on her. the victim was heard to say, i can't see, i can't see, so there may be significant injuries and police have not gone into any detail. it is also sadly not unusual when predominantly men attack women wary relationship has ended and there is a suggestion of a relationship going on that they will do this horrific damage with a substance so the medical care of the woman would have been of primacy for the police and they would have worked with different agencies. thank you very much for coming on the programme and talking us through

those finer points of the police statement. we appreciate your time and your expertise. we will have continuing coverage of this story in the hours ahead. this is bbc news. some other stories making the news now. birmingham city council has said it will raise council tax by 21%. st lights to be dimmed and waste collections to go fortnightly. the labour run council has stated plans after declaring itself effectively bankrupt last year. the market for the uk's competition regulator has begun investigating the market for baby formula —— after a report found that prices had risen by 25% over the past two years. the cma will have the power to force companies to hand over information.

almost all of the baby formula sold in britain is made by two companies — danone, and nestle. a huge meteor�*s been seen in the skies over lincolnshire and other parts of the midlands, northern and eastern england. the fireball was captured by several cameras as it passed overhead just after 5.30 on monday afternoon. a meteor is space debris that burns up as it enters the earth's atmosphere creating a "shooting star". you're live with bbc news. julian sands, the founder of wikileaks who leaked classified military documents. the us wanted him extradited and in london the final appeal against that. we just heard on the last hour or so he might not actually be at court because of illness. what do we know about his location first off? for the last five years julian assange has been held in

belmarsh prison and we had thought he might come to the high court for this extradition hearing but we are told by his lawyers that he is too unwell to attend either here or by video link from belmarsh prison, so he is not here but you can see behind me has supporters definitely are. they have been here from early this morning and chanting and holding placards saying threejulian assange. his lawyers are inside arguing his case to the two judges that are hearing this case. my colleague is on the side and has been live blogging on the bbc news website and they started off by saying julian assange was subject to an unjustified interference of freedom of speech and that he was being prosecuted for political offences and this is one of their big arguments. they say that it is an abuse of the process to go for extradition for political offences

so that is one of the big key points that they are putting to the judges over the next two days. his wife is also here and they spoke before they went into court in the case started. let's listen to what she had to say. there is no possibility of a fair trial ifjulian is extradited to the united states. he should never be extradited to the united states, he would never be safe. the united states 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. it is an attack on all journalists all over the world, it is an attack on the truth and it is an attack on the public�*s right to know. gillian is a political prisoner and his life is at risk. what happened to navalny can happen

to gillian. he has to be released, this virus has to end. talk to gillian. he has to be released, this virus has to end.— this virus has to end. talk about the geography _ this virus has to end. talk about the geography of— this virus has to end. talk about the geography of where - this virus has to end. talk about the geography of where you - this virus has to end. talk about the geography of where you are| this virus has to end. talk about - the geography of where you are and the geography of where you are and the protesters and where they are in relation to what is happening and what do we expect to happen today and tomorrow? it is what do we expect to happen today and tomorrow?— what do we expect to happen today and tomorrow? it is the royal courts of justice, and tomorrow? it is the royal courts ofjustice. the _ and tomorrow? it is the royal courts ofjustice, the high _ and tomorrow? it is the royal courts ofjustice, the high court, _ and tomorrow? it is the royal courts ofjustice, the high court, and - and tomorrow? it is the royal courts ofjustice, the high court, and the i ofjustice, the high court, and the protesters outside the front of those gates, the famous gates where you will often see people walk out. they have been tying yellow ribbons around the gates of the high court and holding their placards. the other side of me is also where all of the world's media are gathering and i can tell you, there are reporters here from all around the world, i have seen spain and germany and france, they are doing live reports on this case because of course it is a global attention. you will rememberjulian assange for many years was inside the ecuadorian embassy in london where he had

claimed political asylum before he was arrested in 2019 and taken to belmarsh prison which is where he has been hurt, so over the next couple of days we expect these protesters to be here. they were here rarely in the morning and we had a lot of speeches from various supporters ofjulian assange including the former labour leader jeremy corbyn, and a lot of them were emphasising what you heard stella say, that this is also about the freedom of the press and if he is extradited then journalists around the world will be concerned about publishing material that is given to them by whistle—blowers. let's speak to anna bradshaw, who is an extradition lawyer and member of the law society's eu committee. thank you for coming on the programme. what are the arguments they are going to be hearing and that courtroom?—

they are going to be hearing and that courtroom? first of all it is a hiehl that courtroom? first of all it is a highly unusual — that courtroom? first of all it is a highly unusual application - that courtroom? first of all it is a highly unusual application in - that courtroom? first of all it is a highly unusual application in the l highly unusual application in the sense that it is truly exhausting the appeals mechanism available under the extradition act and it is important to remember that the hearing now is purely about whether or not an appeal should be permitted to be heard. it is an application for permission to bring an appeal and it is an application that has been renewed having been refused already back injune. which is why it has to be heard this time, it is a renewed application in public at a hearing. fiend a renewed application in public at a hearinu. �* , ., a renewed application in public at a hearina.�* , ., , u ,, hearing. and if it is not successful then what are _ hearing. and if it is not successful then what are the _ hearing. and if it is not successful then what are the options - hearing. and if it is not successful then what are the options from i then what are the options from julian assange and the legal team? if it is not successful then that is the end of the line as far as the uk is concerned. however, the uk continues to be a signatory to the

european convention on human rights which is a separate mechanism from the eu human rights mechanism and therefore there is a possibility of bringing an application or a petition to the european court of human rights in strasbourg. those petitions take a long time to be heard but you can apply in emergency situations like where someone is about to be extradited for provisional measures, and if the court were to agree to such an application and to grant provisional measures, then in theory they could suspend the uk's decision to extradite julian assange, suspend the uk's decision to extraditejulian assange, but suspend the uk's decision to extradite julian assange, but those types of applications are very rarely successful. i think the last figures i looked at, less than 12% are granted.

figures i looked at, less than 12% are granted-— are granted. that is really interesting, _ are granted. that is really interesting, a _ are granted. that is really interesting, a potential. are granted. that is really i interesting, a potential next are granted. that is really - interesting, a potential next step. let's come back to these proceedings. two days long, when are we expecting to hear an actual decision either way? tomorrow we would hope _ decision either way? tomorrow we would hope to _ decision either way? tomorrow we would hope to hear— decision either way? tomorrow we would hope to hear a _ decision either way? tomorrow we would hope to hear a decision - decision either way? tomorrow we would hope to hear a decision and | would hope to hear a decision and that would be expected to be announced in due course. it is obviously a decision that the media is following quite closely but also one lawyers will be looking at in particular because the arguments raised have included novel points such as at what point is it permissible to consider assurances granted by the country requesting extradition, which here the us put forward after the decision of the

high court originally. we forward after the decision of the high court originally.— forward after the decision of the high court originally. we must leave it there, thank _ high court originally. we must leave it there, thank you _ high court originally. we must leave it there, thank you for _ high court originally. we must leave it there, thank you for coming - high court originally. we must leave it there, thank you for coming on - it there, thank you for coming on and talking us through the technicalities, thank you. we are going to head to the middle east now. the world health organization has carried out its 0rganization has carried out its second mission to evacuate patients from the nasser hospital, it was rated last week by idf, the israeli forces. the footage filmed by the world health organization, this is not our own independent footage, this is filmed by the who. you can see, they were allowed to access a couple of days after israeli forces within the area. they are evacuating patients in the dark. israel said they were acting on intelligence that hostages were being held and

they say no one died as a result of its actions and its have been told to keep the hospital running. the world health organization says 32 critical patients including children have been evacuated and efforts to transfer the remaining patients are ongoing. also the us is calling for a temporary ceasefire in gaza. it's part of a draft resolution at the un security council. similar comments made by president biden in recent weeks. until now, the united states has avoided using the word "ceasefire" during un votes on the war. the american resolution also opposes israel's plans to invade the overcrowded city of rafah. it says the assault would harm civilians and push them into neighbouring countries. it's not clear when or if the text will be put to a vote. 0ur correspondent in jerusalem, jenny hill, gave us this upsdate. the reason that we look so hard at the us policy is that the us,

the us is israel's toughest ally and we have seen it growing tension between the allies in recent weeks. you will recall thatjoe biden has described as real�*s military in gaza as over the top. this draft resolution does illustrate it, a growing shift might be putting it too strongly, but certainly a growing concern of the us when it comes to benjamin netanyahu's strategy in gaza. there is particular concern notjust for the human cost of the entire operation but now this plan for a ground offensive flair as this draft resolution points out, great harm, ongoing harm, could be caused to the more than1 million ongoing harm, could be caused to the more than 1 million displaced palestinian civilians sheltering in

the city of rafah but that it might also displace people into neighbouring countries such as egypt. it also warns such a ground offensive would threaten the peace and security of the region. it is notjust and security of the region. it is not just the 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 that it would give hamas three weeks to return hostages before the ground offensive began, we also heard from the eu with all but one member state signing a joint declaration calling for an immediate humanitarian pause in the fighting and again voicing their concerns about what is happening inside gaza and their specific concerns about what might happen in the 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.

plenty more coming up, this is bbc news. hello again. 0ver hello again. over the next few days you will notice a difference in the feel of the weather. today and tomorrow to still want to remain mild. rain at times and it is going to be windier than it has been particularly tomorrow, but by the end of the week it will feel cooler as the temperature returns closer to the seasonal norm and also wintry showers, mostly higher ground. today we have this weather front continuing to push south, it weakens but look at the tail end 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 and as it sinks south more cloud will build ahead of it and i returned to sunny intervals and showers and in scotland in the showers and in scotland in the showers are likely to be heavy with

some hail and thunder and wintry on higher ground. a mile today across the board and breezy. 0vernight the weather front sinks south but as you remember it curls around and then returns back north and east words bringing heavy rain with it particularly in the north and west. strengthening winds with gales developing through the irish sea but for most it is going to be mild except for where we have the clear skies in the northeast where it will be colder. tomorrow the heavy rain continues to push northwards and eastwards. it is going to be a windy day wherever you are gusting widely at 40 day wherever you are gusting widely at a0 mph or in excess with gales across the very far north of scotland and 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 will be eight mild today, seven in lerwick to about 13 further south. it changes from thursday as we start to change

the wind direction for westerly are north—westerly bringing in cooler atlantic air. this weather front is going to continue to push steadily eastwards as we go through the course of the day. quite slow and the rain will be heavy and then we see wintry showers coming into the west. for most it is above a00 metres, 500 in the south—west, and in between we are looking at the brighter skies but note the cooler weather sinking south. we continue with the cool theme as we head through the weekend, close to average temperature, wet and windy at times.