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 ukraine. russian news agencies are quoting the russian defence ministry as saying that on board were 65 ukrainian prisoners of war on their way to a prisoner exchange. the russian military said six crew members and three others accompanying the group were also on board. a russian lawmaker says the plane was shot down by three missiles, according to the reuters news agency. this is a video that has been posted on social media and our bbc verify team have verified that this does soothe the moment that a russian aircraft crashed. it was filmed in the village of renewable of indie belgorod region. they match the distinctive details in this video, the blue building, and a church in the blue building, and a church in

the background, and it meant they could identify it did happen in the belgorod region of that area near the border. if you are just belgorod region of that area near the border. if you arejustjoining us let's recap on what we know. these are the pictures of what is the moment of a russian aircraft crashing in the belgorod region. the russian ministry of defence say at least 65 prisoners of war, ukrainian ones, were killed. you can see that big explosion. from an explosion that size you would imagine it would be unlikely anyone would survive. the russian defence ministry saying 65 people have been killed and another nine people were on board, including six crew. it happened in belgorod. you can see it is near the border. the regional governor said he was aware of the incident. the

russian presidential spokesman dmitry peskov has said the kremlin was aware of the crash but refused to go into details. as i mentioned, the reuters news agency are quoting a russian lawmaker saying that military transport plane was shot down by three missiles. that we cannot confirm. our teams are working to verify what we do know. we know those pictures we are showing you, the bbc verify team have verified from the other things you can see in that video that that is the area that military transport plane came down. the russians are saying 65 ukrainian prisoners of war were killed, according to the russian ministry of defence. another nine people were on board, including six crew. the military spokesman, the russian presidential spokesperson dmitry peskov said the kremlin were aware of the crash but

refused to go into details. let's see if we can show you those pictures again. let's show you the map to start with, where the area was, the belgorod region we are talking about. here are the pictures again. just keep an eye on those pictures, posted on social media, verified by the bbc verify team, you can see they are in the centre of the picture, that massive explosion where you can see that fireball that has come up from the ground. our team at bbc verify have confirmed thatis team at bbc verify have confirmed that is the area that this transport plane came down. the russians saying it was carrying 65 ukrainian prisoners of war and that all of those were killed. certainly when you look at that video and that huge fire boat you can't really imagine anyone surviving something like that. details surrounding those on

board can't be independently confirmed at the moment. but we are saying that the russian defence ministry says that the transport aircraft carrying 65 ukrainian prisoners of war has crashed in the belgorod region. the ministry of defence 86 crew members and three attendants were also on board. —— six crew members. there is more on the bbc news website. you will be able to see that will be updated throughout the day as we get more information. the regional governor reported an incident before the ministry stated, and local channel posted that footage. you can see there that is a picture of what the aircraft we are talking about looks like. that was taken in 2021 during an international army games in russia. you can see the size of the

transport plane that we are talking about that has crashed in the belgorod region with 65 ukrainian prisoners of war on board. the russians are saying all of those were killed. here is this video that was posted on social media, that bbc verify have confirmed this in the belgorod region. we can see that fireball coming up. you can't imagine with the size of explosion that big that anyone would have survived. the russians are saying 65 ukrainian prisoners of war were on board and that they were killed. the ministry of defence says six crew members and three attendance were also on board. we are working to verify who was on board. these are all coming from the russians saying that there were those prisoners of war, the ukrainian prisoners of war on board that plane and that i have all been killed. we are working to

verify and try and confirm who is on board that plane. there were 65 people in terms of ukrainian prisoners of war that the russians were saying, along with six crew members and three attendance. the area it happened, the belgorod area of southern russia. we will keep you updated on that. the bbc news website and app has that live page “p website and app has that live page up and running and we will put any information as we get it into that live page so if you do want to keep up—to—date you can also get the latest details. 0r up—to—date you can also get the latest details. or if you have the bbc news app on your mobile device. to the us, where donald trump has won a key victory in the race to be the republican party's presidential nominee. the former president won the new hampshire primary. more than 50% of the vote. —— 54%.

the result puts him in a commanding position. presidentjoe biden, who's standing for re—election for the democrats, says it's clear mr trump will be the candidate. mr trump's last remaining rival nikki haley conceded defeat but has vowed to fight on. we start with this report from north america correspondent, nomia iqbal. it was an election result donald trump accepted. well, i want to thank everybody. this is a fantastic state. this is a great, great state. new hampshire gave him a big win, but not a blowout, leaving his rival, nikki haley, still on for the fight to secure the republican party's presidential nomination. well, i'm a fighter... cheering. and i'm scrappy. and now we're the last ones standing next to donald trump. that was a comment that trump really didn't like. and she was up and i said, "wow, she's doing like

a speech like she won." she didn't win, she lost. the race to win new hampshire was seen as a real test for donald trump's strength. nearly 40% of people here are independent voters. at this polling station, voters were greeted by others, making their points loud and clear. amongst them, glenn, who arrived early. nikki haley, who i support, is a good person, who, while i don't agree with all of her — her conservative views — i'm sort of half liberal, half conservative. she's a strong person. but sue is no fan of nikki haley. she thinks she'd be nowhere without trump, who once appointed her un ambassador. there is something to be said for loyalty. you don't see nikki haley as loyal. i don't. give him a shot. give him the the second term that he deserved, frankly. it's interesting you're both here and getting on very well.

very well. i even made him hot chocolate. two different opinions, two very different votes, but friendly neighbours in the snow. voters in new hampshire here play an outsized role in deciding presidential nominees. that's despite it being one of the smallest states in the country. mark is a registered republican, who is voting for nikki haley. if trump were to win, i would be worried for the future of the nation. we'll see you on the trail. donald trump's path to the republican presidential nomination may be clearer, but to return to the white house, he'll likely facejoe biden, the man who beat him at the ballot box four years ago. nomir iqbal, bbc news, new hampshire. sean spicer, former white house press secretary under trump, reacted to his victory in new hampshire. this is what he had to say to sarah smith on the latest americast podcast. people that were dropping out of the race, vivek ramaswamy, senator tim scott, who had previously run, ron desantis, were all backing trump.

he had the support going into today. and i think that matters. look, this is the first time, by the way, that a candidate has won both iowa and new hampshire since 1976. so there's ways that you can feel good about yourself if you're the candidate and the team. but i think there is an element of "you were supposed to win," but they haven't let it down yet. there's nothing where someone is saying, "wow, that was really close." they've continued to meet the expectations bar that was set. you can hear more of that interview with sean spicer on the latest episode of americast, available on bbc sounds. earlier, natasha lindstaedt, a professor at the department of government at the university of essex, spoke about the significance of this result.

he is going to be the candidate, for sure. this was a closer win by only 11 points in new hampshire. he won by over 30 points in iowa and there has never been any republican candidate that has lost both iowa and new hampshire and then went on to get the nomination. he has an overwhelming support from evangelical voters, some 74% or something like that, and his base just always shows up to vote which is important in the primary is because it is usually lower voter turnout in the primaries and more extreme and passionate voters that come out to vote, so with this victory in new hampshire it was probably closer than he would have liked, but he is the nominee and he has been acting like it and he seems almost annoyed that nikki haley is still in the race. in his speech he really seemed annoyed that nikki haley had vowed to fight on. definitely. that has to do with the fact that he really demands personal loyalty to him.

traditionally in some sort of speech after you win a primary you would thank the voters of new hampshire but instead he went on to attack her, to call her delusional, he said she was an impostor and he seemed really irritated by this and this is also something nikki haley is relishing and she is hoping she can get under his nerves and under his skin and maybe he will make some sort of gaffe and maybe she will pull out some kind of victory in her home state of carolina but she is 30 points down. how realistic is it for her to go on, what is her strategy? good question. she did well with moderate voters in new hampshire, won 73% of moderate republicans there, she does well with independents, some states people can register to vote on the primary even if they may not be republican. she will have to hope that moderates and the more affluent, educated republicans and people who don't

like donald trump will come to vote in these primaries. thus far she made a good showing in new hampshire but it was the perfect state for her. it had the most independent and libertarian and well educated republicans there and she didn't win there, so she will have to pull out a miracle if she is able to somehow change the momentum here. a russian military transport plane has crashed in the country. 65 ukrainian prisoners of war were not on board according to the russians. —— they were on board. we cannot verify this ourselves. bbc verify has verified this is footage of a plane that crashed, a fireball in the ground in a village in the belgorod region. vitaly shevchenko joins me now. we have already been talking about crime and counterclaim as to who is on board, missiles

being shot, what can you tell us that we know about this dramatic incident? in that we know about this dramatic incident? ., ., ., incident? in the video that are circulating _ incident? in the video that are circulating online _ incident? in the video that are circulating online and - incident? in the video that are circulating online and was - circulating online and was apparently shot by an eyewitness, it is possible to see a puff of smoke in the sky, which may suggest that the plane was shot down by a missile. this is what russian officials are in fact claiming now, they are saying it is ukraine who shot the plane down and the plane was carrying 65 ukrainian prisoners of war that were meant to be exchanged later. six members of crew and three people accompanying the prisoners of war. in ukrainian media there are unsourced claims, which means claims that you do not come from a named source, saying that the

plane was actually carrying missiles. again we cannot confirm that. one prominent ukrainian website that initially quoted ukrainian military source as confirming that ukraine shot the russian transport plane down, but later that claim was removed. so it is a fast—moving story and all we know is plane, a pretty huge plane, crashed in belgorod region, right next to the border with ukraine. the russian defence ministry i have to say, it was unusually quick to come up say, it was unusually quick to come up with the statement about the crash. literally hours later, normally they take time to comment on incidents that can be seen as embarrassing for the russian military, but this time they were really quick to cite it was carrying russian prisoners of war. officially russian prisoners of war. officially

russia doesn't really say that it was ukraine that shut down the plane, its members of parliament for example making the claim that as much as... example making the claim that as much as- - -— much as... while you have been talkin: much as... while you have been talking the _ much as... while you have been talking the afp _ much as... while you have been talking the afp news _ much as... while you have been talking the afp news agency - much as... while you have been| talking the afp news agency has much as... while you have been - talking the afp news agency hasjust talking the afp news agency has just put out something saying the russian parliament speaker has also accused kyiv of shooting down the plane carrying prisoners of war. how usual or unusual would it be for a transport plane that size to be flying, carrying, if the russian crime is correct, prisoners of war? this is the kind of plane that russia does use to carry heavy loads. sometimes it carries personnel as well. recently a modified version of the l 76, basically a flying radio with a huge

circular edition on top, it also crashed, so this is the second recent crash of a plane of that size in russia, and as you say, the bbc has been able to verify the location of the crash, there are pictures circulating apparently showing debris on the ground, strewn for hundreds of metres, so that much we cannot doubt, the plane did come down, but we are looking to establish is what exactly it was carrying and what brought it down. but as i say, video circulating online, it is possible to see a plume of smoke in the sky which suggests that it could have been a missile. . ~ suggests that it could have been a missile. ., ~ , ., ., suggests that it could have been a missile. . ~' , ., . , missile. thank you. i am sure will be back to — missile. thank you. i am sure will be back to you — missile. thank you. i am sure will be back to you as _ missile. thank you. i am sure will be back to you as we _ missile. thank you. i am sure will be back to you as we get - missile. thank you. i am sure will be back to you as we get more i be back to you as we get more information on that crash. there is a special live page up and running

with the very latest on the bbc news website or app. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the body that looks into potential wrongful convictions was warned it could have missed important dna evidence in rape cases a year after first rejecting andy malkinson�*s appeal. mr malkinson�*s conviction wasn't overturned until a decade later and his lawyers say the criminal cases review commission report means he could have been exonerated earlier. police have shot a dog dead after reports of it attacking a man in hamilton in scotland. officers were called to the tinto view area of the town on tuesday to deal with the "dangerously out—of—control" animal. the man was taken to hospital with "serious injuries" following the incident, which involved a "large bulldog—type dog". almost 10 million people in england now can't access free earwax removal services on the nhs. the hearing loss charity rnid warned that some people are resorting to "dangerous self—removal methods" if they can't afford to go private.

the government says patients can still be referred by their gp if the problem is linked to hearing loss. a former cabinet minister has called on rishi sunak to be replaced as prime minister. sir simon clarke — a close ally of the former prime minister liz truss — wrote in the telegraph newspaper that unless the conservatives found a new leader they will be "massacred" at the general election. live now to our political correspondent iain watson. quite explosive comments. what is the latest? he quite explosive comments. what is the latest? ., ,., quite explosive comments. what is the latest? ., ., . , the latest? he also denounced rishi sunak, the prime _ the latest? he also denounced rishi sunak, the prime minister's - the latest? he also denounced rishi sunak, the prime minister's on - sunak, the prime minister's on inspiring leadership, talked about a growing gap between the party leadership and the electorate as well. he said now was a time to act. the question is will anyone act? it will be uncomfortable for rishi

sunak because in a couple of hours he will be facing leader of the opposition at prime minister's questions and certainly there is, bytes simon clarke will be a gift to sir keir starmer, the labour leader. also he attacks the policy agenda of rishi sunak. he says, where is welfare reform, tax reform, a plan for housing? again a gift to the opposition. it takes 53 conservative mps to decide they want to have a vote of confidence in the prime minister. simon clarke is one voice, another conservative mp andrea jenkyns has already said mr sunak should go as well. that seems to be some way short of that magical figure. during the rwanda debate and about on the rwanda bill, sir simon clarke and some others wanted the government to go further, they weren't convinced that piece of legislation would work and would be effective but only 11 conservative mps in the end of the guest it, so if they wanted rishi sunak to go

that would have been a perfect opportunity to stop it fell some way short of 53 and i think looking at previous conservative prime minister who have been ousted, including borisjohnson, that who have been ousted, including boris johnson, that took who have been ousted, including borisjohnson, that took cabinet level resignations were people inside the cabinet to come out and call for him to resign. we haven't had that yet so certainly sir simon clarke is very worried about the conservatives' prospects, finds mr sunak�*s leadership uninspiring, but so far we haven't had a sense that he will be joined by enough mps to cause a leadership crisis and a vote of confidence in the prime minister. thank you. i will show you the live pictures from downing street. there is number 10 downing street. there is number 10 downing street. there is number 10 downing street home of the prime minister. of course, he will face his weekly prime minister's questions in the house of commons a little later. will it be brought up by the labour leader keir starmer? we wait to see. if you are watching in the uk you can of course follow by ministers questions live here in just over 90 minutes on bbc news.

here in the uk, royal mail could reduce the number of days it delivers letters from six a week to five, or even three, under proposals to reform the service. the regulator, ofcom, has set out the options. at the moment royal mail is legally obliged to deliver letters six days a week — something its owners say is unaffordable and unsustainable. let's talk to our business reporter peter ruddick. what have we actually heard from the regulator today? the what have we actually heard from the regulator today?— regulator today? the communication reuulator regulator today? the communication regulator ofcom _ regulator today? the communication regulator ofcom here _ regulator today? the communication regulator ofcom here in _ regulator today? the communication regulator ofcom here in the - regulator today? the communication regulator ofcom here in the uk - regulator today? the communication regulator ofcom here in the uk say, | regulator ofcom here in the uk say, royal mail, when the legal obligation was put in place, they were delivering about 20 billion letters a year. now they are delivering 7 billion. something has to give. essentially they have come up to give. essentially they have come up with a couple of possible solutions. both of which would be pretty controversial. one of them would be to change that legal obligation you mentioned, instead of having to deliver six days a week they would take that down to five or

three. the other option is essentially to change the first and second class and business class service that is currently in operation, all letters would take three days to deliver or a bit longer unless he paid for a premium next—day service. both of those options likely to be pretty controversial. there is no public consultation. open until april. controversial. there is no public consultation. open untilapril. in controversial. there is no public consultation. open until april. in a summer at some point the regulator would lay out the next steps. unfortunately for the regulator the government has already said that one of those two options, moving to five or three days a week, is just not palatable. the postal affairs minister this morning essentially said the royal mail can build a sustainable model for the future but it must be based on a six—day service. suggesting there perhaps only one of those two options will be on the table. interesting as well that the regulator today was talking about the international comparisons, essentially saying the same

conversation is happening in other countries across europe and really we need to face up to a very important decision, we have a declining letters business, can it really be sustained without possibly changes to the service where the government putting in extra money? what of the government been saying? they are rolling out going down to a five day or three day option —— ruling out. they say it is up to the regulator to put forward the proposals. interestingly the regulator could have chosen some other things, to suggest putting up stock prices or even for the government to subsidise the letters business, which happens for example in france. the regulator says those options just aren't viable, either for members of the public were for the public service taxpayer if you like, for the government to subsidise things, only a couple of options left and one of them, the government appears to have ruled out. like thank you. we will go back

to our breaking news in the last hour russia says a military plane has crashed with dozens of people on board. , ., ., , has crashed with dozens of people on board. , ., .,, , board. this video has been verified board. this video has been verified b bbc board. this video has been verified by bbc verify _ board. this video has been verified by bbc verify showing _ board. this video has been verified by bbc verify showing the - board. this video has been verifiedj by bbc verify showing the moment board. this video has been verified - by bbc verify showing the moment the russian aircraft crashed near belgorod. we should say we do not know what caused the crash. russia says it was carrying 65 ukrainian prisoners of war who were about to be exchanged for russians but we as the bbc cannot confirm that. also a number of russian mps say the plane was shot down by ukraine but again we are unable to confirm that. we will keep you updated. there is a special live page on the bbc news website or app. stay with us. 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, 7a miles an hour, and northolt in southern england, 5a 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. this is bbc news, the headlines: breaking news this hour — a russian military plane has crashed close to the border with ukraine. russia's military says 65 ukrainian

prisoners of war were on board. they were due to be exchanged for russians. victory for donald trump. the former us president wins the republican primary in new hampshire — beating his last remaining rival nikki haley. she has vowed to fight on. 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. 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 ukraine. russian news agencies are quoting the russian defence ministry as saying that on board were 65 ukrainian prisoners of war on their way to a prisoner exchange. the russian military said 6 crew members and 3 others accompanying the group were also on board.

according to the reuters news agency, a russian lawmaker has said