from six days to either five or three — a move that could save the service up to £650 million. and a former cabinet minister calls on rishi sunak to stand down, or face a "massacre" at the next general election. i want to bring you some breaking news from russia. it is the defence ministry being quoted by the ria news agency that an military transport plane has crashed in the belogrod region and 65 prisoners of war, six crew members and three other people were on board. we don't know whether anybody has survived that or if they have, as i say it is

just the briefest of details from the ria news agency. they say a transport plane has crashed in the belogrod region. we will keep you across that and if any more developments happen, we will bring you them here on bbc news. thailand's constitutional court has ruled that the progressive former prime ministerial hopeful pita limjaroenrat was not guilty of violating election law. he was accused of holding shares in a media company — an act prohibited by the thai election law — but argued the outlet has become defunct years ago. his move forward party won the most seats in last year s election but failed to form a government coalition. he will now retain his seat in parliament. for more on this, i'm joined now by our south—east asia correspondent, jonathan head.

come my kated story —— complicated story, can you explain the background.— story, can you explain the background. story, can you explain the backuround. , , , ., background. the cases were brought auainst pita background. the cases were brought against pita limjaroenrat _ background. the cases were brought against pita limjaroenrat and - background. the cases were brought against pita limjaroenrat and there i against pita limjaroenrat and there are other cases against him and his party after that shocking election victory. nobody thought his party would do that well in last year's election, because in its previous incarnation it was banned. it ran on a reformist ticket, arguing for sweeping changes to the way thailand is run and changes to the military that launched a coup ten years ago and changes to laws relating to the monarchy. the cases were filed after and of course there was the move, once his party got this astonishing victory, where they seemed poised to form a coalition government, the

senate moved in and barred him, because of the reformist proposals. this case is in the same category as those. many viewed the case against him as a very technical one, because as he pointed out, the company, the media company in which he owns shares, the shares were passed down to him by his father and hadn't been operating since 2007. usually the court rules harshly against reformist. many thought it would do the same and strip him of his seat in parliament. it didn't. it actually accepted his argument that it wasn't a functioning media company and he can go back to parliament and lead his party. but there are other cases pending, viewed by many as political cases. 0ne next week, his party is accused of trying to overthrow the political order. so we may still see him barred from politics. this has

happened before and many think it will happen again. hesse happened before and many think it will happen again.— happened before and many think it will happen again. have we had any reaction from _ will happen again. have we had any reaction from him _ will happen again. have we had any reaction from him and _ will happen again. have we had any reaction from him and his _ will happen again. have we had any reaction from him and his party - will happen again. have we had any reaction from him and his party to i reaction from him and his party to this ruling? i reaction from him and his party to this ruling?— this ruling? i think they're delighted- _ this ruling? i think they're delighted. their— this ruling? i think they're delighted. their official i this ruling? i think they're i delighted. their official view this ruling? i think they're - delighted. their official view is they were confident that they would win the case. he said he is keen to get back into party and start his political role again. i think they know it is too soon to celebrate. you have to understand behind the democratic proceedings in thailand, the existence of the parliament of competitive elections, there are powerful forces that do not like this reformist party being successful. they managed to block it forming a government last year, but they're worried in the past when they're worried in the past when they have tried to block it, people have just voted for it more and they're worried at the the next election they may do better. people expect perhaps through the corporates a way will be —— courts a

way will be found to weaken the party. way will be found to weaken the .a . ., ~' way will be found to weaken the la . ., " , ., now to uganda, where the country has officially launched its first oil drilling programme, with the anticipation to pump oil as early as next year. despite discovering commercial petroleum reserves nearly two decades ago in one of the world's most biodiverse regions, delays in production have persisted due to a lack of essential infrastructure. president yoweri museveni has however hailed the development as a milestone. live now to kampala where we can speak with ruth nankabirwa, minister of energy and mineral development. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. can you explain what this deal is that you have signed?— is that you have signed? thank you so much.

i want to say we have now reached a time when we have the ministry of culture and as i speak, total has drilled 55 wells and another company has reached about five wells. 11 wells. we started with a consortium, which expired injune. we had to call for other expressions of interest. we selected one which is going to develop the refinery. we have right now negotiated with them and the implementation of it. they are coming back to us in three

months and we shall be seeing them on the ground. we know that we have time, but we are trying to make sure that construction starts. we have paid all the people. in both areas, 116 people, we are going to use the constitutional power that are given to us to acquire this land and some of people are away, they're absentee landlords. some still have landlords. some still have landlords. we wait them or the to finish first. but landlords. we wait them or the to finish first-— finish first. but there has been opposition. — finish first. but there has been opposition, from _ finish first. but there has been opposition, from some - finish first. but there has been - opposition, from some environmental groups to this and around the rest

of the world we have trying to move away from oil, because of climate change, how are you going to protect the environment? first change, how are you going to protect the environment?— the environment? first of all we decided to _ the environment? first of all we decided to do, _ the environment? first of all we decided to do, to _ the environment? first of all we decided to do, to move - the environment? first of all we decided to do, to move in - the environment? first of all we decided to do, to move in a - the environment? first of all we j decided to do, to move in a very organised transparent manner. we want people to see what we are doing on the ground. we have been facing so many ngos on the ground for them to appreciate that we are taking care of the environmental issues. we have followed international standards. we have put in place regulations so that they can reduce emissions. foryour regulations so that they can reduce emissions. for your information, uganda's emissions is contributed 30% from transport, the trucks that

ferry imported products, 42% of uganda's emissions. uganda is a big country, even to get electricity, affordable electricity, it is a challenge. we will continue first of all petrol and thereby creating that emission. but the criticism is welcome. it is putting us in check to make sure that we do notjust any requirement that follows environmental standards are concerned. after this we will have the national environment agency and we are working with the international oil companies. they're

the ones that are on the ground. we are also planting trees, because we agree that we cover uganda with trees, we will be creating carbon sinks that will be able to capture the emissions that are coming from all over the world by the way. the national company is engaged in a campaign to plant millions of trees and other ngos are also following. we are confident of the fact that climate change is real and we have to abide by the requirements. but there are also concerns, the fact that when you leave people in poverty, they will not be able to access any of the savings, because they cannot afford. poverty is key to the fight and we have to fight it

together. so that we can transfer to clean energy that is required globally. clean energy that is required aloball . ., ~ clean energy that is required uloball. ., ~' clean energy that is required uloball. ., ~ , clean energy that is required aloball . ., ~ , . just want to return to our breaking news this half hour — the russian defence ministry says that an il—76 military transport aircraft carrying 65 ukrainian prisoners—of—war has crashed in belgorod region. in a statement quoted by state news agency ria novosti's telegram channel the ministry said that six crew members and three attendants were also on board. the regional governor earlier confirmed on his telegram channel that an "incident" had occurred in sorochansky district, but provided no other details. a local channel bletgorod posted footage

purporting to show the aircraft rapidly losing altitude before hitting the ground and catching fire. that only purports to show that aircraft catching fire and hitting the ground. a team here in the russia and the uk is checking that out and we will bring you more as we get it. storm jocelyn is moving across the uk — days after storm isha wreaked havoc and left at least two people dead. flights have been cancelled and trains suspended as wind gusts of more than 75 miles per hour were recorded. meanwhile, thousands of homes have been affected by power cuts. mairead smyth reports. storm jocelyn picked up where isha left off. the strongest wind speeds so far, 76mph was recorded in wales.

winds are expected to reach speeds of up to 80mph in exposed parts of northern and western scotland. the clean up of one storm made more difficult by the arrival of another. as strong winds brought down power landed. electricity north—west had to stop work as conditions were so bad. more than 70,000 properties had their power restored, but some are still without. in northern ireland 3,000 properties were without power last night. community centres will open to help those affected. trees down and 30 flood warnings were in place and 20 in england in the early hours of this morning. early planning had been put in place to help ensure safe train travel too and within scotland. trains stopped

at 7 o'clock last night and won't run today until the lines are clear. scotrail say each route will have to undergo a safety inspection before trains can operate. people who had disrupted journeys can travel up to two days after their ticket or apply for a refund. the windy wet weather is set to ease, but the clean up could continue for some time. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. every morning i walk down here to record the rain fall about 9 o'clock. ,, . ., , ., ., , o'clock. since he was ten, tom has made the same — o'clock. since he was ten, tom has made the same journey _ o'clock. since he was ten, tom has made the same journey to - o'clock. since he was ten, tom has made the same journey to the - o'clock. since he was ten, tom has i made the same journey to the bottom of his guaranteed every day. take the funnel out, _ of his guaranteed every day. take the funnel out, which _ of his guaranteed every day. take the funnel out, which collects the

rain fall. the bottle underneath which collects the water. it is then put into a calibrated gauge and that is one millimetre. the put into a calibrated gauge and that is one millimetre.— is one millimetre. the information is one millimetre. the information is assed is one millimetre. the information is passed on _ is one millimetre. the information is passed on to — is one millimetre. the information is passed on to national _ is one millimetre. the information is passed on to national resources| is passed on to national resources wales. it is passed on to national resources wales. , , ., u, , wales. it helps with forecasting, modellin: wales. it helps with forecasting, modelling and _ wales. it helps with forecasting, modelling and water _ wales. it helps with forecasting, modelling and water resources. | wales. it helps with forecasting, i modelling and water resources. the weather modelling and water resources. tue: weather station modelling and water resources. tte: weather station was modelling and water resources. tt2 weather station was built by his grandfather and tom took over the responsibility of measuring it in 1948. how long do you think that you will keep going. figs 1948. how long do you think that you will keep going-— will keep going. as long as i can, as lona will keep going. as long as i can, as long as _ will keep going. as long as i can, as long as can — will keep going. as long as i can, as long as can i _ will keep going. as long as i can, as long as can i walk! _ you're live with bbc news. another line of breaking news from the czech republic and our correspondent filed some information saying a train driver has been killed and 18 passengers have been

injured in a collision with with a lorry in the north—east of the country. the czech intercity train was heading near the polish border and collided with a lorry after it got stuck on a level crossing. there were some 60 passengers on board. 18 of whom were injured. the lorry driver was injured and has been taken to hospital. police have begun a criminal investigation. according to reports, the lorry was on the crossing before the gates had lowered. we will keep across that news from the czech republic of a train crash which has killed the train crash which has killed the train driver and injured 18 passengers. one of the uk's best known rappers and grime mcs, skepta, is swapping beats for the big screen. tonight in london he will debut

a short film about a nigerian immigrant turned hitman, which features a 90% ethnic minority cast. yasmin rufo reports. everyone has to suffer a little in life. don't you? meet tribal mark... pain... ..the anti—hero of a new universe that centres around the nigerian immigrant moving to london, who ends up as a top secret service agent. the man behind it is rapper skepta, a pioneer of grime music. when it shut down, that's not me. and it shut down. the mercury prize—winning artist has turned his hand to filmmaking, drawing on experiences from his own youth and creating a character he feels is missing from the big screen. there was always talks of who's going to be the blackjames bond, and after a while ijust kind of got bored of that narrative. and, you know, james bond is white, so i wanted to make a character a superhero for black actors.

i feel like this one now that we've made is that story. why is tribal mark tribal mark? and in the feature length film, i think we're just going to go straightjames bond with it. i'm interested in understanding to what extent you resonate with some of mark's experiences as a young boy and then as a young adult. i've always had an element of dissociation, because of how i grew up in my house. it was like everything in my house is nigerian. but then when i stepped out my front door, i was in, i was in the uk. but it's not it's not a skepta biopic though, because i'm not a hit man. i stayed down till i came up. the movie also unusually features a 90% ethnic minority cast and production team. after the black lives matter movement, major studios committed to creating more diverse films. but three years on, industry reports have found they're still failing to do so. that was one of skepta's motivations behind this film. the task here was to try and tell a story, but to try and get as much

as the real emotion into it, told through cinema. skepta! as he looks towards hollywood, skepta will be hoping his film franchise can reach the same heights as his music career. yasmin ruffo, bbc news. now we turn to the fallout from tuesday's 0scars' nominations. actor ryan gosling has said he is "disappointed" that barbie's greta gerwig and margot robbie were snubbed in major oscar nomination categories. overall, the barbie film received eight nominations, including for best picture. many had expected gerwig and robbie to be nominated in the best director and best actress categories respectively. mr gosling — who also received a nomination for his supporting role as ken — released a statement in which he said:

however, gosling added that he was "so happy" for actor america ferrera — who was nominated for best supporting actress — as well as the other "incredible artists who contributed their talents to making this such a groundbreaking film." 0ur breaking news, a russian 76 military transport plane has crashed in the belogrod region neighbouring ukraine, at least 65 prisoners of war were killed. you're watching bbc news. theatres, public toilets and even cctv — these are just a few of the services that could be cut in a bid to prevent some local councils

from going bankrupt. it comes as research revealed that councils in the uk are facing a combined debt of nearly £100 billion. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has been to somerset, where a "financial emergency" was declared in november. it is early on a freezing morning and protesters are gathered outside somerset council's offices. they are hoping to save the recreation centre, which is threatened with closure. i don't understand it. why would they want to get rid of something that is so important to everyone? 0utside they met the council leader, who said with funding so tight, they are looking at every option to avoid going bust. that does mean cuts. anything that we will do, we will do it. it is tough times ahead. the council allowed us to film as they discussed the budget, which will kick in from april. they say they have to save £100 million, and it is notjust here. right now councils around the country are going through a similar process. these are not things we would ever

wish to be considering. _ here, they are asking the government to increase council tax by 11%. they have been upfront about what might go, including funding for the recreation centre, which has caused such concern. it would be another nail i in the coffin of the area of south somerset, which is recognised as one of the most prime _ areas in the south—west. south somerset, which is recognised as one of the most deprived - areas in the south—west. later on we went to yeovil to see the sports facility. this is the only facility we have around here which everybody can play. it is used by hockey, football, athletics. everybody just loves it. what did you think when you heard it might lose its funding and therefore would be at risk? i wanted to cry, i can't lie. this is my second home. i love this place. it is where i get to relax, escape reality for a bit. the strength of feeling is obvious. these are just the hockey players. there is also the athletics club and the football club. they have mounted a huge campaign to try and save this. but this is not the

only thing at risk. the council is also looking at turning off all cctv cameras, closing public toilets, withdrawing funding for some support services like citizens advice, and there are some people really worried about the impact on the community. how long have you lived in taunton? 0h, about 55 years. in taunton, i met a local resident sue. she has ms, which affects her mobility. she is concerned about feeling safe without cctv in the town. it would make me feel vulnerable. if you have got a disability — i walk with a stake, i walk with a stick, it makes me nervous. if you turn off cctv, then nobody can see what is going on. i think the first thing they should look at is their own in—house savings. where are the savings we can make before we hit the public? it is notjust here in somerset. councils around the country are trying to balance their budgets. the government is increasing the amount of funding they will get from april, with a total of £64 billion for councils in england,

but many are still facing shortfalls. a lot of it is down to particular pressure on housing services and support for children and vulnerable adults. in glastonbury, most of the residents at this care home are paid for by somerset council, including peter's mum. he says it has been essential, after she had a fall two years ago. i don't think we had a plan b. i don't know what the other option was. we considered living at home, but there would have been so much re—engineering needed, full—time care. it wouldn't work. yes, it is a comfort to know she is safe and secure and comfortable here. i don't know what the other option is, if i am honest. for many councils the rising cost of funding care like this means they are having to cut elsewhere. back at the council offices they are looking at all the options before final decisions are made, but the leader says their choices are limited. there might be some people that go, councils have just made bad decisions?

the reality is the vast majority of councils are well managed, well run by people who care desperately about their local community. there is no alternative we can take. we are effectively delivering what the system failure in local government across the country. it is clear local government is under pressure. and it could be communities that pay the price. grassroots music venues across the uk are under threat of closure, and the charity, the music venue trust, say it's because of rising bills and rent increases. according to the charity's research, 125 locations were forced to stop providing music performances last year, and more than half shut entirely. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. storm jocelyn fairly packed a punch as it moved across our shores through the course of last night and this morning. to give you an idea of some

of the gusts of wind that we had, in capel curig, a gust of 97 miles an hour was recorded, south uist, 74 miles an hour, and northolt in southern england, 54 mile an hour gusts. now, this is storm jocelyn here. this area of low pressure is pulling away. and as it does so, look at the isobars, they are still squeezed across the north and the east, but they open out across the south and the west. so basically that means the wind will ease from the south and the west. and it's still going to be pretty windy through the course of the day across the north and the east in particular. a lot of dry weather around today as well, some hazy sunshine. but later on, what you'll find is a new weather front will bring in some cloud and some patchy rain and drizzle and temperatures down a touch on yesterday. as we head on through the evening and overnight period, under clear skies in the north, we'll have a touch of frost, the risk of ice, some mist and fog for a time. but a weather front pushing steadily northwards is going to introduce more cloud and also this rain and drizzle and murky conditions following behind in the south—west.

but here we're importing milder air and that milder air is coming in on the south—westerly wind behind this warm front, which is pushing northwards. so the south—westerly wind's a mild direction. and you can see how the milder conditions push across the whole of the british isles as we go through the course of tomorrow as represented by the yellows. as well as that, it's going to be a fairly cloudy day tomorrow for most, with the rain continuing to advance northwards. still hanging on to the murky low cloud, hill fog, for example, coastal fog in the south—west with some showers around as well, but much milder than we're looking at today. we've got temperatures ranging largely from 10 to 13 degrees. then as we head on into friday, the wintry showers to start with in the west peter out as a ridge of high pressure starts to build in. but for many of us, it's going to be a sunny day, a fine day and settled, and it will also feel fresher, the temperatures slipping down once again. then as we move on into the weekend, a slight change in the forecast in that it's looking drier and a bit

more settled now. however, we are expecting further wet and windy weather at times across the north and the west.

live from london. this is bbc news. breaking news this hour — a russian military plane crashes close to the border with ukraine. local reports suggest 65 ukrainian prisoners of war were on board.

another major victory for donald trump. the former us president wins the republican primary in new hampshire, beating his last remaining rival nikki haley. this race is farfrom over. there are dozens of states left to go. and just a little note to nikki. she's not going to win. and a senior tory minister has called for his party to replace rishi sunak as prime minister, orface a "massacre" in the next general election. hello, i'm nicky schiller. let's start with some breaking news this hour. a russian military transport plane has crashed in belgorod region of southern russia, close

to the border with