sheltering many m sheltering many --eole has been hit in _ sheltering many people has been hit in gaza . _ sheltering many| people has been hit in gaza and there are many casualties. a russian military plane crashes with no survivors. moscow says ukrainian prisoners of war were on board and accuses kyiv of shooting it down. we have been looking at what was behind the downing of that is plainly russia's border with ukraine, and who was responsible —— the downing of that aeroplane near russia's border with ukraine. here in the uk, a shake—up of the royal mail which could see deliveries reduced to as few as three days a week. donald trump defeats nikki haley in the republican primary in new hampshire — but she's vowing to stay in the race. and scientists successfully implant an embryo into a southern white rhino for the first time, offering hopes of saving the northern white rhino from extinction. hello, i'm ben thompson. welcome to the programme. we begin with developments in the war between israel and gaza.

the un refugee agency unrwa says a training centre sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people has been hit, causing mass casualties. israel has been pressing ahead with its offensive on southern gaza's main city, khan younis, cutting off hospitals and killing more than 200 people in the last day. our middle east correspondent mark lowen is injerusalem. what do we know so far? this developing — what do we know so far? this developing in _ what do we know so far? this developing in the _ what do we know so far? “in 3 developing in the last hour? yes, we have just heard from the un agency for palestine refugees which had tweeted that a training centre in khan younis sheltering tens of thousands was hit with buildings ablaze and mass casualties. we have update from the head of that agency, tom waits, who says it was attacked

this afternoon with two tank rounds hitting a building that shelters 800 people, reporting now nine dead and 75 injured —— the head agency, tom white. un teams are trying to reach that centre with an agreed—upon route with the israeli army who have blocked access. this is a un building in khan younis which is the centre of the fighting in southern gaza, it is the southern part of the strips largest city and it is strip's largest city and it is clearly the centre of the israeli offensive at the moment because it is the top hamas commanders are holed up there. just is the top hamas commanders are holed up there.— holed up there. just explain the significance _ holed up there. just explain the significance of _ holed up there. just explain the significance of khan _ holed up there. just explain the significance of khan younis, - holed up there. just explain the i significance of khan younis, many people watching it will remember the israeli warnings from people to move from the north of gaza to people like khan younis but now that is the centre of cynthia's fighting? the? centre of cynthia's fighting? they never specified _ centre of cynthia's fighting? they never specified khan _ centre of cynthia's fighting? tue: never specified khan younis as centre of cynthia's fighting? tus1: never specified khan younis as a safe area because that is the home

city of some of the top hamas commanders including the hamas leader in gaza who the israelis are actively looking for. at an area just west of khan younis which was designated a safe area has also seen fighting recently, so as many people have said, there is no safe area in gaza any more. khan is also a place where there are three hospitals which are still partly functioning. two thirds of the hospitals in gaza are completely out of operation, only a third are still partly functioning about has also been intense fighting. the largest hospital remaining in the south has been completely blockaded. the aid agency medecins sans frontiers is 850 patients and staff, along with thousands of people sheltering in the grounds of that hospital, are blockaded and unable to leave at the israeli army has ordered the

evacuation of at least half a million people, has ordered them to move said —— further south, so intense fighting as the israelis try to push on with the offensive. really great to have that latest update, thank you. we will be back as soon as there are any further developments. mark lowen in jerusalem. that is the latest on the conflict between israel and gaza. russia has accused ukraine of shooting down a russian military transport plane carrying 65 captured ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange. the bbc has verified this mobile phone video which shows the aircraft falling through the sky in the distance and exploding on the ground. 7a people were on board the plane altogether. no—one is reported to have survived. russia says its radars detected the launch of two ukrainian missiles and called it a barbaric act of terrorism. our russia editor steve rosenberg

gave us the latest from moscow. we do know that earlier this morning, around ”am local time, a russian military transport plane, an ilyushin—76, crashed in russia's belgorod region. belgorod is one of those regions that borders ukraine. soon after, some mobile phone footage emerged, showing the plane falling from the sky and then seconds later this giant fireball rising from the crash site. then the russian defence ministry said that on board the plane had been the 7a people, including 65 ukrainian prisoners of war, who moscow says were due to have been part of a prisoner swap later today. we can't independently confirm that. interestingly, later this morning, the head of the russian parliament's defence committee made a statement claiming that a second plane had been in the air at the time, carrying another 80 ukrainian prisoners of war but that plane turned around.

again, we can't confirm that. russian officials say that no—one survived the crash and an investigation has begun at the site of the crash. russia is making clear that it believes that ukraine shot the plane down. the russian defence ministry says it observed the launch of two ukrainian missiles. now, sitting here, it's impossible for us to confirm this. this is what russian officials are saying. but, as i say, making it clear that they believe that ukraine shot the plane down. steve rosenberg with the latest from moscow. a reminder that you can keep up moscow. a reminder that you can keep up to date with all of the developments, significant developments, significant developments, throughout the day, you can see the bbc live page with all the details you need to know, claims and counter claims on both sides. donald trump has won the new hampshire primary — the second contest to decide who will be the republican nominee in this november's us

presidential election. he beat his last remaining rival, former us ambassador to the un nikki haley, securing 5a percent of the vote. but she has vowed to fight on, despite the defeat. nomia iqbal sent this report. 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 blow out. leaving his rival, nikki haley, still on for the fight to secure the republican party's presidential nomination. well, i'm a fighter. and i'm scrappy. and now we're the last one 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, glen, who arrived early. nikki haley, who i support, is a good person who, while i don't agree with all of her conservative views, i'm sort of half liberal, half conservative, she is a strong person. but sue is no fan of nikki haley. she thinks she would 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 second term that he deserved, frankly.

but it is interesting that you are 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 face joe biden, the man who beat him at the ballot box four years ago. nomia iqbal, bbc news, new hampshire. live now to our north america correspondent emma vardy in new hampshire. that last line of nomia iqbal�*s report says the scourge, it is increasingly looking likely, could

be another showdown between trump and biden. —— says this could, it is increasingly looking likely. our people frustrated about the lack of new blood, new ideas? this is a repeat of four years ago. if new blood, new ideas? this is a repeat of four years ago.- repeat of four years ago. if you seak to repeat of four years ago. if you speak to trump _ repeat of four years ago. if you speak to trump supporters - repeat of four years ago. if you | speak to trump supporters they repeat of four years ago. if you - speak to trump supporters they are ecstatic, they love to see him winning again i don't care about the legal dramas they are facing. they believe he has been politically persecuted and they want to see him run again, they are really excited by that. that is not representative of all of america. polling indicates that voters are frustrated, a biden trump rematch is not the one they wish to see and it is frustrating for democratic supporters who feel biden is not a strong candidate, there are lots of worries about his age and capability and that the alternative being trump, which for the anti—trump supporters, they feel

he brings chaos and does nothing to bring people together. for some people it is two bad options for those who are not fans of either candidate particularly. but in terms of trump's results, his republican base, though supporters are still strongly with him, they don't mind about legal battles, they love his confidence and style, when you go to a trump rally you can see the enthusiasm and joy most devotion he inspires people and they want to see him do it over again. ask many of them and they believe he never lost any way, they believe the election was stolen, there was voter fraud is going on and they believe donald trump is the rightful incumbent anyway. he sold back to his supporters, many of whom believe it. what will be the key battlegrounds in terms of the issues this november? many will say there is a

cost of living crisis, jobs, the economy. i wonder whether either by or trump has any grip on those issues and they might be forgiven for thinking this is a bunch of political infighting? {iii for thinking this is a bunch of political infighting? of course it is about the _ political infighting? of course it is about the economy, - political infighting? of course it is about the economy, the - political infighting? of course it is about the economy, the cost| political infighting? of course it l is about the economy, the cost of living, and then the border is another big issue. trump has made this a very key issue, how many immigrants are coming in, he constantly talks about wanting to close the border and he will be very strong on that. the economy has got better butjoe biden has not got credit during his presidency, but the border with mexico, there are record numbers of people coming across and illegal immigration is a very hot topic, even for states not affected by it, thousands of miles away from the border. donald trump knows how to press those buttons so those will be the key issues you will hear him talking about again and at rallies. it looks like a

central message ofjoe biden's campaign will be all about donald trump, protecting democracy, saying we want to save america from donald trump's chaos. those are the messages you will hear again and again. those are the hot button issues that matter to the voters at polling. donald trump is very used to his refrains where he lashes out at his opponents and attacks them fiercely, he is always talking about crooked joe biden, really harshly coming up with these nicknames for his opponents and boiling things down to very simplistic messages, but his supporters love it.- but his supporters love it. thank ou ve but his supporters love it. thank you very much. _ but his supporters love it. thank you very much, emma _ but his supporters love it. thank you very much, emma vardy - but his supporters love it. thank| you very much, emma vardy with but his supporters love it. thank- you very much, emma vardy with the very latest from new hampshire. thank you. a reminder of the breaking news within the last hour of an air strike attack on a facility that was

housing refugees in khan younis. you will know that is in the south of gaza. updates to bring you, a little bit more detail about the number of casualties we were reporting with our correspondents injerusalem, bringing us the latest, suggesting ninejudge, 75 injured in that attack —— suggesting ninejudge. these are the figures from unrwa, the un agency working with palestinian refugees. this was an attack on a facility shall treat those trying to get to safety, those who have been displaced from right across gaza and were told to make anotherjourney across gaza and were told to make another journey further south. across gaza and were told to make anotherjourney further south. there another journey further south. there are anotherjourney further south. there are numbers coming from the un relief agency working with palestinian refugees, ninejudge, 75 injured, and we will get the latest for you in a moment. injured, and we will get the latest foryou in a moment. —— nine dead.

let's look at some other stories making news 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". 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 an appeal by andrew malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. his conviction wasn't overturned until a decade later. his lawyers say the criminal cases review commission report means he could have been exonerated earlier. almost ten million people in england can no longer access free earwax removal services on the nhs. the hearing loss charity rnid warned that some people are resorting to "dangerous self—removal methods" because 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. you're live with bbc news. uk prime minister rishi sunak has sought to bat away suggestions he �*doesn't get�* britain. at prime minister's questions, the labour leader, sir keir starmer asked whether mr sunak was surprised one of his own mps said he wasn't listening to what people want. in a newspaper article, the former levelling up secretary, sir simon clarke, accused the prime minister of not �*getting' the country and called for him to be replaced. iain watson is in westminster and we are getting a sense of the battle lines being drawn, and there is a lot of tit—for—tat. lines being drawn, and there is a lot of tit-for-tat._ lines being drawn, and there is a lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of _ lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of friendly _ lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of friendly fire _ lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of friendly fire going - lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of friendly fire going on. | be a lot of friendly fire going on. we are now getting more public criticism from the conservative bunches of rishi sunak. apparently two conservative mps have called for him to go, andrea jenkyns and simon clarke, but behind the scenes there is a lot of murmuring and

discontent, especially over the direction of the government and simon clarke in it. as well as using very dramatic language about electoral massacre and avoidable annihilation as he puts it,... puts it, . .. they puts it,... they were very much vocally supporting the prime minister at pmqs but when you talk about tit—for—tat it was interesting that rishi sunak tried to turn the tables by suggesting discontent in the labour party about sir keir starmer. he quoted one labour mpjon cruddas who has written a tome about 100 years of the labour party and was questioning the definition at the point of keir starmer�*s leadership. we are seeing some of

the battle lines for the election... this election will be quite nasty and quite personal but when it becomes more dangerous for the leading politicians and for rishi sunak today is when he has been criticised very much from his own side. �* ., , criticised very much from his own side. �* , ., ., criticised very much from his own side. �* ., ., ., side. always good to have you to translate prime _ side. always good to have you to translate prime minister's - translate prime minister's questions, iain watson live in westminster for us. royal mail could be allowed to reduce letter deliveries to five or even three days a week. these are amongst the options being considered by the communications watchdog, ofcom. it says a universal postal service risks becoming unsustainable following a large fall in the numbers of letters we send. there has been a big rise in the number of parcels. the prime minister has said that he's opposed to any cuts in key services provided by the royal mail. here's our business correspondent, theo leggett. it's been the same for generations. every day from monday to saturday, postal workers have been out and about delivering letters. it is a service royal mail is still obliged to offer by law, but it is struggling to maintain it.

and that leaves people like peter from ormskirk feeling frustrated. years ago you would know your postman or postwoman because it would be the same person week in, week out for quite a long time. now we find every time we have a delivery it is a different person. so you get wrong deliveries, you get no deliveries, i don't think they know the rounds quite so well. now ofcom says the six day service could be reduced to five or even three days a week. and deliveries could be slowed down, with most letters taking three days to arrive, although urgent post could still be delivered next day. what we are saying today is the number of letters we are sending since 2011 has halved. so something has got to give or the service willjust be too costly, and either stamp prices will go up, or it will become unsustainable. so we are opening up a debate on this today, we are not proposing a specific answer. what we want to do is hear people's views about something that remains incredibly important to us and will do in the future.

the problem is too few people are sending letters these days with more and more of us relying on digital communication. that makes the service very expensive to run and royal mail is losing a lot of money. the postal operator says change is badly needed. letters volumes have dropped from 20 billion a year to seven billion a year as consumer behaviour has changed. that means we are only delivering about four letters per week, per address. and what we need, given the fact that royal mail lost about £419 million last year, is a sustainable universal service that protects the "one price goes anywhere" service that people really need. ofcom says the changes it's suggesting could save hundreds of millions of pounds for royal mail. but they would need government approval and ministers don't seem enthusiastic. i do understand letter volumes have decreased significantly, but nevertheless a six—day service is really important for our citizens, but also for businesses that rely on saturday deliveries. not least the magazine sector and the greeting cards sector.

last year royal mail settled a bitter iii month dispute with employees represented by the communication workers union over pay and conditions. but now the union is angry once again. it said... with fewer and fewer people sending letters, changes to postal services are widely seen as inevitable. delivering a solution that suits royal mail, its employees, its customers and politicians is likely to be an uphill challenge. theo leggett, bbc news. just an update to the story we were bringing you a little earlier, the news that the russian defence ministry says a military plane has

crashed in belgorod near the ukrainian border. we understand 65 captured ukrainian army servicemen were on board and there were six crew members. this is a video of the bbc has been able to verify earlier, you can see the plane and the subsequent explosion. our eastern europe correspondence will be bringing us more detail, it is worth being very clear on the claim and counterclaim on both sides. there is a high degree of suspicion in ukraine over russia's claims about what exactly happens in this crash. our eastern europe correspondence pointing out it is very possible there is a different narrative that could unfold here. russia claims the plane had dozens of ukrainian prisoners on board but this report is coming from the ukrainian defence ministry who have been talking about the need to reduce the threat of missile fired from russia, they said

there has been recorded of shelling directly related to the increase in number of military transport planes heading to an airfield in belgorod. not directly referring to this plane that has gone down near to the border, but nonetheless there has been a talk of the increase in shelling in that region. we should also be really clear, russia has a proven track record of spreading disinformation and lies, particularly around issues like this. the bbc has verified that the jiahui just showed you, we know 65 prisoners of war were on board alongside a number of crewjudge has verified the video we just showed you. six crew and three exports also died, we are hearing there are no survivors but as you would expect,

there is a claim and counterclaim on both sides and the teams in the region are working to determine exactly what went on. within the last few minutes, ukraine's defence ministry saying there is an increase in the intensity of shelling in that area related to an increase in the number of military transport planes, so suggesting they are taking action to defend themselves. but we do not know yet and it does not refer specifically to whether it is a ukrainian strike on that plane. our team is following that for you and me will bring you any further developments. an international team of scientists has successfully implanted a southern white rhino embryo into a rhino for the first time. it is proof that ivf is possible in this species. they hope the technique can be used to save the northern white rhino, which is technically "extinct" as there are only two left on the planet and they can

no longer reproduce. this report from our science editor, rebecca morelle. the last two northern white rhinos left on the planet. najin and fatu, a mother and daughter, living in a reserve in kenya. the species is all but extinct. now, a fertility breakthrough has offered some hope. in a world first, scientists have successfully carried out rhino ivf. but in a less endangered southern white rhino, a close cousin to the northern white. a southern white rhino embryo created in a lab from sperm and an egg was implanted into a surrogate mum. it's taken years and 13 attempts for a rhino to fall pregnant. it is really a great milestone to achieve the first successful embryo transfer in the rhino. it's very challenging in terms of placing an embryo inside of the reproductive tract, which is almost two metres inside of the animal.

with this achievement, we are very confident that we will be able to create northern white rhinos in the same manner. the material they need is held in a lab in berlin. this is a frozen ark. tissues from hundreds of different animals are perfectly preserved in liquid nitrogen inside these tanks. but the most precious samples are stored inside here. a small number of northern white rhino embryos, created by the scientists here. and they're the last chance of saving this species. there are just 30 of these lab made northern white embryos, but there's a complication. najin and fatu, the last northern whites, can't carry a pregnancy. so instead the embryos have to be implanted into a southern white rhino surrogate mother. ivf across two subspecies has never been attempted before, but the team is confident it will work. the speed of progress we did, we will see relatively soon

the first calf on the ground, and then i may retire before the first reintroduction into the wild will take place, but i think it is not too far away. it might be in ten, 15 years. but the nf success with the southern white rhino was struck by tragedy. two months into the pregnancy, the rhino died of an unrelated bacterial infection. a postmortem found the foetus had a 95% chance of being born, proof that the technique works. the team's attention is now turning to the northern white rhinos, so the first calf will be born while najin and fatu are still around. it's a race against time for this species. rebecca morrelle, bbc news. headlines up for you very shortly. see you soon.

hello there, rightly so, the weather story has been dominated by the storms across the uk this week, but something that's been a little bit overshadowed is the feel of the weather. cast your mind back to last week, we had lying snow in highland scotland and an overnight low of —15. this morning, yes, it was windy, but with a lot of cloud around noticeably milder, 5 degrees. now, one of the reasons for this, storm jocelyn pulls away to the near continent is a change of wind direction to a south—westerly, a milder source. that's pushing this milder air right across the country as we go through the remainder of today and into tomorrow. there's still some showers around, some of them quite frequent as well, accompanied by gusty winds across the far north of scotland. but some of these showers should thin out for the remainder of the afternoon and one or two perhaps into northern ireland. there will be some hazy sunshine clouding over from the far southwest later on in the afternoon. and still a windy day for all of us,

gusts in excess of 35—65mph. but because of the direction, yes, it's mild with those temperatures above average for the time of year for all of us, generally ranging from 8—12 celsius. now, as we go through the night tonight, we'll continue to see this cloud spilling in from the southwest. so acting like a blanket, preventing those temperatures from falling too far at all, maybe low single figures with some clearer skies in the far north and east of scotland. but it will be a cloudy, mild start to thursday. but sandwiched in between these two weather fronts, a lot of cloud, and it's going to be a quite murky, gray, disappointing day. there will be outbreaks of rain from time to time, heaviest of which certainly across scotland, pushing its way steadily northwards. generally there'll be a lot of low grey cloud, drizzle and poor visibility along west—facing coasts. but again, that mild theme stays with us. we could see temperatures peaking at 13, possibly iii degrees, average in the southeast at this time of year, around 7 or 8. friday, a brief ridge of high pressure builds and quieten things down.

there'll be greater chance of seeing some sunshine. but yes, a few scattered showers. with the sunshine and the clearer skies at times, not quite as mild. but the mild, quiet and calmer theme looks set to stay with us. there will be outbreaks of rain continuing in the far northwest.