and — british singer—songwriter raye makes brit awards history — getting a record seven nominations in one year. returning to our top story now and russia has accused kyiv of shooting down a plane carrying ukrainian prisoners of war on their way to an exchange. all 7a people on board were killed. russia's foreign minister called it a "criminal" act by ukraine. kyiv says it had not been asked to ensure air space security around belgorod, as happened during previous swaps. a major incident involving a russian military plane in the past fortnight. we spent the day figuring out as much as we can about what happened.

let's start with this video which shows the incident. you can see the plane here circled. it disappears out of view for a few seconds and then you can see the impact. now, we have verified this. everything in the video is consistent with what we know about the area and the weather this morning in the belgorod region. that was the moment the plane going down about 20 seconds into the video. we see this this smoke plume. could this be a sign that the plane was hit by a missile? well, experts we've spoken to think, yes, it could be. the open source defence intelligence company believes that this smoke cloud may hint at the use of surface to air missiles. they also told us it could be a warhead detonating near the plane. another expert, mark hansen from the centre for strategic and international studies, has said that this is consistent with an aircraft being shot down.

this smoke plume, he says, is consistent with an explosion. so there's that. the governor of belgorod said that everyone who was on the plane died. and the defence ministry in russia says there were 65 ukrainian prisoners of war on board, as well as six crew and three others. earlier i spoke to lesia vasylenko , who is a member of the ukrainian parliament. i asked her — what does she know about what happened with the russian plane. at the moment, there is not much information that is available officially or unofficial unofficially, just as the previous speakers have said. we are still waiting for any details about who or what was on that plane and where it was shot down from and what actually happened. would you get any of this information as a member of the ukrainian parliament? would you be exposed to it, be made aware of it? there is the sitting of the ukrainian special security council that is looking into the facts, that is receiving the facts from the military of ukraine on the ground and close

to the ukraine russia border in the area. but there is no facts that have been circulated or made public as of yet. if those prisoners were on board and have been killed and we don't know if it was a ukrainian missile or not, but what will happen now to the russian prisoners who were supposed to be part of that prisoner exchange, do you know? ukraine adheres to the international law and especially to the international humanitarian law and the geneva conventions, and has always done so. so the russian prisoners of war will be treated in accordance with international law rules. that is for sure. however, it is very risky now to stipulate all the different theories and insinuations about what happened or what did not happen. as we can see, russian propaganda channels such as margarita simonyan

and the others like are circulating alleged lists of ukrainian prisoners of war. this has a massive impact on destabilising the situation inside of ukraine, causing extra worry, as if we haven't had enough of the worry with russia's aggression going on for the last two years. so my appeal to the media, to the international media included, is to be very careful with with what is being given as facts and also what is being given in the public space as possible series of what has happened. until we actually have verified facts and verified statements from the ukrainian government. initially when this plane came down, some ukrainian media did suggest that it may have been done by ukrainian forces and those reports were quickly deleted. how confident are you that the ukrainian security forces will reveal the truth,

whatever that may be? i have complete trust in the ukrainian security forces. they are the ones who have kept me alive and many of the members of my family alive. so i have no reason to state any kind of distrust towards them. that's on the one hand. on the other hand, the media reports, which came out within the hour of the plane crash, they had no way of verifying the facts and where they got that information from. again, unverified facts play a very dangerous role in this kind of warfare that is being waged against ukraine. wa nt to want to bring you some breaking news concerning the deaths of four people at a house in norfolk on friday. you remember we reported on their debts. detectives are saying they are treating the deaths of the woman and two children at a house in norwich as a murderer according to norfolk police they said that that's of the teacher, who is 36, a 12—year—old

and an eight—year—old are being treated as murder after they were discovered with stab wounds to their necks on friday. the death was also found with a stab wound to his neck is not being treated as suspicious an officer say they are not looking for anyone in connection with the killings. joe lewis, the former tottenham hotspurs owner, has pleaded guilty to insider trading and conspiracy in a manhattan courtroom today. the 86—year—old billionaire businessman and investor was accused injuly of passing on confidential information he had gathered in corporate boardrooms to friends, pilots and former love interests. this information enabled them to make millions of dollars in profits. joe lewis apologised and said he was �*so embarassed' and knew what he was doing was wrong. live now to our business correspondent michelle fleury. tell us a bit more about who he is and what he has admitted to doing. so he owns the tavistock group, an

investment firm which forbes estimates is worth about $6 billion. in the uk, people perhaps know him best as the former owner of the football club tottenham hot spares. but as of last october, he no longer directly controls the club and it's a family trust that now runs it. so, the outcome for today does not have any impact on the football club but for mr lewis himself, he state faces sentencing after pleading guilty to insider trading and conspiracy on march 28. this was part of a kind of plea deal to settle charges that were brought by the us attorney here in new york last summer, which really are sort of something of a black mark on the record and remarkable career of mr lewis, who rose from being boring and raised in a pub in the east end of london to becoming the sort of billionaire and well—known investor. what becoming the sort of billionaire and well-known investor.— becoming the sort of billionaire and well-known investor. what more do we know about those _ well-known investor. what more do we know about those he _ well-known investor. what more do we know about those he gave _ well-known investor. what more do we know about those he gave the - know about those he gave the information to?—

know about those he gave the information to? ~ , ., information to? well, he shared the information — information to? well, he shared the information that _ information to? well, he shared the information that he _ information to? well, he shared the information that he gleaned - information to? well, he shared the information that he gleaned from i information that he gleaned from being on various boards with friends, we understand, the employees and with former romantic partners, two of those employees were in fact the pilots of his private jet and they also suspect that separately face charges. so that separately face charges. so thatis that separately face charges. so that is kind of a separate case to what we are seeing here, but as for mr lewis, of course, this is trying to settle what could potentially have been a far worse outcome because whilst he has pleaded guilty to three counts, initially there were 16 brought against him. the judge kind of wanted to take note of this today and basically said she may take that under consideration that there were these other charges when she decides on sentencing. but as part of the agreement, mr lewis has a deal in which if he does end “p has a deal in which if he does end up serving jail time, we don't know yet, what will be the outcome of this. he has the right to appeal this. he has the right to appeal this. so that is written, baked into

the plea agreement.— this. so that is written, baked into the plea agreement. thank you for the plea agreement. thank you for the from new _ the plea agreement. thank you for the from new york. _ around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news— bringing the different stories_ bbc news— bringing the different stories from _ bbc news— bringing the different stories from across _ bbc news— bringing the different stories from across the _ bbc news— bringing the different stories from across the uk. - bbc news- bringing the different stories from across the uk. usually sortin: a stories from across the uk. usually sorting a day _ stories from across the uk. usually sorting a day out — stories from across the uk. usually sorting a day out takes _ stories from across the uk. usually sorting a day out takes gary - stories from across the uk. usually sorting a day out takes gary flynt l stories from across the uk. usually sorting a day out takes gary flynt aj sorting a day out takes gary flynt a lot of planning. but he has not had nearly as much work to do in castleton. nearly as much work to do in castleton— nearly as much work to do in castleton. ., ., , ., ., ., castleton. normally i would have to do a bit of research online, - castleton. normally i would have to do a bit of research online, quite i do a bit of research online, quite extensive research online to actually make that day pleasurable for myself and any family member that i will be with. it’s for myself and any family member that i will be with.— that i will be with. it's because a new map has — that i will be with. it's because a new map has been _ that i will be with. it's because a new map has been produced. . that i will be with. it's because a j new map has been produced. on that i will be with. it's because a i new map has been produced. on it that i will be with. it's because a - new map has been produced. on it is clearly marked where facilities are for disabled people, like accessible toilets, special parking and where wheelchair higher are. the park authorities teamed up with accessible uk to produce this map. it's not rocket science. that's the big thing that we need to get across, this is quite basic

information.— across, this is quite basic information. , ., information. there is hope that castleton can — information. there is hope that castleton can become - information. there is hope that castleton can become an - information. there is hope that i castleton can become an example information. there is hope that - castleton can become an example to other places. far castleton can become an example to other places-— other places. far more stories from across the uk. _ other places. far more stories from across the uk, head _ other places. far more stories from across the uk, head to _ other places. far more stories from across the uk, head to the - other places. far more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc- other places. far more stories from i across the uk, head to the bbc news website _ across the uk, head to the bbc news website -- _ across the uk, head to the bbc news website -- for— across the uk, head to the bbc news website. —— for more _ across the uk, head to the bbc news website. —— for more stories... - you're live with bbc news. hundreds of thousands of workers have gone on strike in argentina — in protest at the new president's radical economic reforms. the industrial action is being led by the country's biggest union, which has vowed a mass mobilization againstjavier milei's campaign of deregulation and public spending cuts. mr milei took office in december after a campaign in which he vowed to introduce sweeping reforms aimed at tackling soaring inflation and a struggling economy. my colleague sofia betizza explains the background to today's action. this strike is a significant test for the president of argentina. it only comes 45 days after he took over as the president. now, that's

over as the president. now, that's over here is just outside the national congress in the capital, buenos aires, but it's notjust plain srs, it is thousands of people that are merging all over the country today. so what do they want to? while, they are very worried about the president, they say that he has put forward drastic measures to fix the economy and their concern is that they will make it easier to sack people, and it also means that a lot of people will lose their government benefits. now, the reason why people are so worried is that argentina is facing a profound economic crisis. this is footage that we found in the south of the country, and i think itjust gives you an idea of how much people are struggling more and more and the consequence of all that. let me just give you some numbers. the poverty

rate in argentina is not more than 40%. rate in argentina is not more than a0%. inflation rate is at 221%. that is a staggering number. it's one of the highest in the world. and the consequences of all of this is that two in five people now live in poverty. now, back to the strike thatis poverty. now, back to the strike that is going on today. in the past, in argentina, action like this has been quite successful in stopping government reform. but he says he won't budge, he's got a lot of support and he says that his shock therapy as he because it is the only way to lift argentina out of poverty. way to lift argentina out of ove . . i spoke to luis ignacio aguero , professor of economics at the university of belgrano in buenos aires. he started his administration last december. he has been 45 days in office _ december. he has been 45 days in office and — december. he has been 45 days in office and he proposed a lot of changes — office and he proposed a lot of changes to the argentine system.

among _ changes to the argentine system. among them is a law that contains changes— among them is a law that contains changes on— among them is a law that contains changes on many laws that exist today— changes on many laws that exist today in— changes on many laws that exist today in argentina. congress is analysing — today in argentina. congress is analysing them, and this includes a lot of— analysing them, and this includes a lot of changes for the labour market in the _ lot of changes for the labour market in the social— lot of changes for the labour market in the social security, and health issues, — in the social security, and health issues, etc, _ in the social security, and health issues, etc, so they present strong changes— issues, etc, so they present strong changes from the previous rules that we hae _ changes from the previous rules that we hae this — changes from the previous rules that we had. this has obviously led to a lot of— we had. this has obviously led to a lot of people and organisations who are not— lot of people and organisations who are not happy with this idea of change — are not happy with this idea of change. the truth is that the argentine economy has been growing for the _ argentine economy has been growing for the last— argentine economy has been growing for the last 12 years. it hasn't created — for the last 12 years. it hasn't created formal private jobs in the last 12 _ created formal private jobs in the last 12 years, and last november, the elections with over 11 million votes _ the elections with over 11 million votes of— the elections with over 11 million votes of people who have heard him say many _ votes of people who have heard him say many times he was going to implement changes in the argentine economy, _ implement changes in the argentine economy, that he was going to implement many cuts and the fiscal

side _ implement many cuts and the fiscal side. argentina has a very strong fiscal— side. argentina has a very strong fiscal deficit last year, was of a e%, _ fiscal deficit last year, was of a 6%, and — fiscal deficit last year, was of a 6%, and we had over 200% of inflation — 6%, and we had over 200% of inflation in _ 6%, and we had over 200% of inflation in 2023, so strong measures where needed and how the air is trying _ measures where needed and how the air is trying to implement them. obviously— air is trying to implement them. obviously this led to these kinds of protests— obviously this led to these kinds of protests by workers unions. she said stron: protests by workers unions. she said strong member— protests by workers unions. she said strong member measures _ protests by workers unions. she said strong member measures are - protests by workers unions. she said i strong member measures are needed. this crippling debt, as you mentioned there, and he does have a strong mandate. is there an acceptance that change does need to happen to get the economy on some kind of track?— happen to get the economy on some kind of track? well, what we know is that as he just _ kind of track? well, what we know is that as he just started _ kind of track? well, what we know is that as he just started his _ kind of track? well, what we know is that as he just started his mandate, | that as he just started his mandate, he was, _ that as he just started his mandate, he was, i_ that as he just started his mandate, he was, i would say, quite smart, and proposing the main changes in the first— and proposing the main changes in the first days of his administration. that is when he has the highest — administration. that is when he has the highest level of support, still he has _ the highest level of support, still he has a — the highest level of support, still he has a very high level of support by the _ he has a very high level of support by the people who voted him and have

hi-h by the people who voted him and have high expectations of his administration to implement these changes— administration to implement these changes that he promised, right? obviously— changes that he promised, right? obviously this would lead to a very, i obviously this would lead to a very, iwouid _ obviously this would lead to a very, iwouid say, — obviously this would lead to a very, i would say, a recession in the short— i would say, a recession in the short run. _ i would say, a recession in the short run, argentina is going to go through— short run, argentina is going to go through very hard times in the coming — through very hard times in the coming months, probably inflation is going _ coming months, probably inflation is going to _ coming months, probably inflation is going to continue to be very high in the coming — going to continue to be very high in the coming months. there will be a recession— the coming months. there will be a recession probably a depression in the economy, but the last part of the economy, but the last part of the year— the economy, but the last part of the year we will probably start seeing — the year we will probably start seeing some growth. so these very strong _ seeing some growth. so these very strong measures, as i say, include shaking _ strong measures, as i say, include shaking a — strong measures, as i say, include shaking a little bit the status quo, and that— shaking a little bit the status quo, and that would certainly hurt the pockets — and that would certainly hurt the pockets and the interests of many organisations. an international team of scientists has successfully implanted a southern white rhino embryo into a rhino for the first time. it's proof 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 neither of them is able to 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 in10, 15 years. but the ivf 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 morelle, bbc news. earlier i spoke with professor thomas hildebrandt, i asked him about some of the challenges they've come across along the way. working with such a big specie such

as a rino, you have ups and downs and you always have to enter new ground, and we are extremely happy that our international team achieved this major milestone, that means in the beginning ofjune, we well start with the transplantation of northern white rhino embryos and we will hopefully have another white rhino calf born into and a half years from now. 50 calf born into and a half years from now. , ., ,., calf born into and a half years from now. , ., ,, now. so tell us about your expectations _ now. so tell us about your expectations about - now. so tell us about your. expectations about whether now. so tell us about your- expectations about whether or not that might be a success because this is what you have been working towards, isn't it?— towards, isn't it? yes. it's actually — towards, isn't it? yes. it's actually the _ towards, isn't it? yes. it's actually the mission - towards, isn't it? yes. it's actually the mission of. towards, isn't it? yes. it's actually the mission of my towards, isn't it? yes. it's - actually the mission of my life and the mission of the life of all my colleagues. we have a very big international consortium, and everyone is doing their best to make that a success story. it is a race, a sad starting point, to infertile females, and this individual didn't

fail evolution, they individual from the northern white rhinos except this two remaining ones were killed by a poacher, and that is actually a very dumb thing because we disturb a very dumb thing because we disturb a very complex ecosystem in africa. the northern white rhino is a keystone species, which is a very important ecosystem architect, and thousands of other species are directly or indirectly dependent on his keystone species. and what we want to try is to this damage and is complex ecosystem by using extremely advanced systems of protection technologies combined with stem cell techniques and gene editing. more on that remarkable _ techniques and gene editing. more on that remarkable story _ techniques and gene editing. more on that remarkable story on _ techniques and gene editing. more on that remarkable story on the - techniques and gene editing. more on that remarkable story on the bbc- that remarkable story on the bbc news website. you are alive with bbc

news. a police chief said march should've been done to arrest a man who went on to kill three people. a warrant had been issued in september 2022 after an alleged assault on a police officer. he was never arrested. nine months later, he fatally stabbed a school caretaker and a student, the 32—year—old is expected to be sentenced tomorrow. the hearing loss charity rnid is warning today of the impact of ear wax removal on the nhs being withdrawn in many areas of england. wax build—up can have a significant effect on hearing, communication, and quality of life — and the charity says guidelines on access to nhs services that can help are often being neglected. our health correspondent jim reed reports. let's have a look in those ears and see what's going on. more than two million people need this kind of treatment each year. a build up of earwax can be extremely painful, leading to tinnitus, earache and hearing loss.

it's more common in the elderly, those with hearing aids and people with learning disabilities. at a private clinic like this, treatment can cost up to £100. it used to be widely available on the nhs, but this new research found one in six people in england are now living in areas with no free provision whatsoever and treatment in other areas of the country is patchy at best. helen kendall from somerset says she has to pay out hundreds of pounds a year because her gp has stopped its free service. i was very, very deaf and i was desperate actually, and i had to ask a friend to find somewhere and to ring them for me. i literally couldn't hear on the phone and i was quoted £80 for it, which was a bit of a shock because that's a lot of money. and campaigners are worried those who can't afford to go private are left trying to remove the wax themselves.

so as audiologists, we always say, never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow. we hear of people sticking cotton buds in their ears. they're not cotton earbuds, they're not for ears. we hear of people sticking hair grips in their ears and pins and all kinds of things. if you do that, there's a real risk to your eardrums and to your ear canals. so that looks good. the government says it's up to local health boards in england to commission services in their areas, and gps can still refer those with hearing loss to a specialist audiology unit for treatment. jim reed, bbc news. nominations for the brit awards were announced this afternoon. singer—songwriter raye has a record—breaking total of seven, including british artist of the year. this new category was introduced last year — replacing female and male artist — but was criticised when all five nominees were men. it's a different story this year, as our entertainment correspondent colin paterson reports. # i don't want to feel...#. no one in the history

of the brit awards has been nominated as many times in one year as raye. # you've done to me, you've done to me #. her haul of seven includes album of the year and best new act... eight years after her first top 20 single. it took raye so long to release her debut album because she had to free herself from a major record label, which she felt didn't know what to do with her. as far as the industry was concerned i was down and out. never in my wildest dreams would i think like trying again would mean seven brit nominations! the artist of the year category has been expanded from five to 10 nominees, after a heavily criticised all male list in 2023. this time there are six women on there, including jessie ware. it's representative of the year that british music has had.

you know, seven out of ten of the biggest songs this year were by women. and it's lovely to see that that is echoed in our nominations. # watch me...#. the brits will take place on the 2nd of march. colin paterson, bbc news. some great glam there. plenty on the bricked awards when they are announced. do stay with us here on bbc news. plenty more on all the day's top stories coming up for you very shortly. but from me, goodbye, thanks for watching. hello there. as storm jocelyn cleared our shores, wednesday has been a day for assessing the damage that was left. but it was a slightly quieter story with the winds gradually easing down. we did actually see some brief glimpses of sunshine, not a bad afternoon in hexham,

northumberland. and as we go through the evening and overnight, the winds will continue to ease. we've got these weather fronts starting to slowly drift in from the west. they'll bring outbreaks of rain, but they will also introduce this south—westerly flow, which is driving milder air right across the country. so there'll be a lot of clouds to start the day on thursday. outbreaks of drizzle, misty conditions along west coasts and some rain moving out of northern ireland into northern scotland. but by the afternoon, most of the persistent rain will have eased away. it will stay damp and drizzly with a few showers out to the west. but an incredibly mild story for all of us. 13 celsius in london — at this time of year, we should be seeing temperatures around 7—8 celsius. there will be some showery outbreaks of rain into northern england. hopefully a brighter story into the afternoon for northern ireland. mild here, and still very mild particularly in comparison to where we were just over a week ago in scotland, highs of 10—12 celsius.

now, through thursday night into the early hours of friday morning, there'll be a spell of heavier, more persistent rain, as the cold front starts to push its way steadily eastwards. hopefully that will clear away from east anglia. here, it will be a mild start on friday morning. clearer skies, fresher conditions, 4—5 celsius in the far north and west. but that's where we'll have the best of the sunshine. and on the whole, a ridge of high pressure will build on friday, keeping things largely fine and quiet. a few scattered showers along north and west—facing coasts of scotland and northern ireland. a little bit fresher here, but generally those temperatures above where they should be for the time of year still, at around 6—12 celisus. into the start of the weekend, england and wales still under this influence of high pressure, quiet and dry. toppling across the high, we'll see weather fronts. so as we look further ahead, there's always the risk of some wetter and windier weather into the far north and west, nowhere near as severe as it has been. and on the whole, that mild trend is going to stay with us. the best of any sunshine certainly across central and southern areas, but not a bad weekend

ahead for most.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. ukrainian prisoners of war were tranpsorted to the belgorod region for the next exchange agreed upon between moscow and kyiv.

on board the plane, there were six crew members, 65 ukrainian servicemen for a prisoner swap, and three russian military personnel escorting them. the crew and all the passengers of the plane were killed. on verify today, we've been looking at what was behind the downing of that plane near russia's border with ukraine, and who's responsible. a plane crash in russia — was it shot down? and who or what was on board? was it prisoners to be swapped, or missiles for the front? the un security council will hold an emergency session tomorrow at the request of the russians and we will get response from washington and give. also on the programme... it might not be conscription — but the head of the army suggests

britain needs to mobilize a citizens army to face the threat from russia.