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.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the un says once facilities sheltering thousands of people in gaza has been hit leaving nine people dead. a russian military plane crashes, with no survivors. moscow says ukrainian prisoners of war were on board and accuses kyiv of shooting it down. in the us, donald trump defeats nikki haley in the republican primary in new hampshire but she's vowing to stay in the race. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh. alexander zverev has done something he's never done before, beaten a player ranked in the top five at a grand slam. but he broke that duck with a victory over carlos alcaraz that took the german sixth seed into the australian open semi final. zverev lost only two points on his own serve in racing to a first set lead and had a break in the third to beat alcaraz in three, but the spaniard fought

back taking the thidr back taking the third on a tie break. but after exchanging breaks of serve early in the fourth, zverev won it 6—4 to complete the victory at nearly 20 past 1 in the morning in melbourne. he'll play daniil medvedev in the last four after the third seed's five set win over hubert hurkacz. earlier dayana yastremska became the first qualifer to reach the australian open semi finals since 1978 beating linda noskova in straight sets to add her name to those of two former grand slam winners that yastremska has knocked out on her historic run. the ukrainian, ranked 93 in the world, will now play 12th seed zhang qinwen in the semi finals after the chinese player came from a set down to beat anna kalinskaya. it'll be zhang's first appearance in the last four of a grand slam. england spinner shoab bashir has been granted a visa to travel to india tojoin the rest

of the test squad. the 20—year—old was born in britain but is of pakistani heritage and the visa delay meant bashir had to fly home from their training camp in abu dhabi instead of to india with his england teammates. he won't be there in time for the first test in hyderabad on thursday, as india prepare to defend their extraordinary home record. they've lost just three of their past 46 tests in their own conditions and have not lost a series since england caused an upset back in 2012. ijust think i just think any team who comes to india, it is always a tough challenge. india are a beast in home conditions, there is no doubt about that, we understand that as a team and we respect that as a team as well. but i present us with an opportunity and this team loves opportunities. meanwhile tom hartley will make his test debut in hyderabad as one of three specialist spinners in the england team. he'll play alongside jack leach and rehan ahmed in a sign the tourists think

the pitch will turn. that means there'll only be one fast bowler with mark wood preferred to james anderson. ivory coast have sacked their managerjean—louis gasset despite the hosts still having a chance of reaching the last 16 of the africa cup of nations. their 4—0 defeat to equitorial guinea on monday was the heaviest at home in the team's history. but they can still make the knockout stage as one of the best third placed teams. meanwhile chris hughton has lost his job as the ghana coach after they failed to reach the last 16 of afcon. the former newcastle and brighton manager has been in charge of ghana since last february but they failed to win any of their group games. japan havejoined iraq in qualifying for the asian cup last 16 after both won theirfinal matches in group d in qatar. japan responded to a shock defeat to iraq in their last match by beating indonesia. who can stlil qualify as one of the best third placed teams. ayase ueda got two of japan's goals in a 3—1 win. while iraq won their third straight game against vietnam after a chaotic ending. having taken the lead,

vietnam then had to come from behind to make it 2—2 with a goal from quang hai nguyen one minute into injury time. but then in the 102nd minute aymen hussain, having missed a penalty earlier in the second half, scored the winner from the spot for a 3—2 victory. there is more on our website including more reaction from the australian open. now back to our top story. russia has accused ukraine's military of shooting down an aircraft, which it says was carrying 65 ukrainian prisoners of war on their way to be exchanged — these are the latest pictures coming from the scene. you can see the explosion behind that street sign, we understand this is close to the russian ukrainian border. we have had some response from ukrainian authorities in the

last half an hour. they have not referred to this directly but talk about a increase of shelling directly in connection with an increase of military planes heading to an airfield in that region. they say ukraine will continue to take measures to destroy the terrorist threat, those of the words coming to us from ukraine. they have not referred directly to those images. our bbc verify correspondent nick eardley has the lastest on what we know so far. . .. there is claim and counterclaim. what have we been able to check out? it is the third major incident involving a russian military plane involving a russian military plane in just two weeks, we spent the day figuring out as much as possible about what happened. let's start with that video you are showing of the crash itself. you can see here the crash itself. you can see here the plane circled, it disappears out

of view and then you can see the impact of the year. this is consistent with what we know about the area and the weather in the region this morning, so it has been verified. something interesting happens about 20 seconds into this video, you can see it up here. this smoke plume and the question is, could that be a sign the plane was hit by a missile? experts we have spoken to think it could. the open source defence intelligence company believes this smoke cloud may hint at the use of surface to air missiles, they also told us it could be a warhead detonating you the plane. another expert from the centre for strategic and international studies has said this is consistent with an aircraft being shut down. this book plume is consistent, he says, with an explosion. there is that element of things, there is also the element of who was on board. the governor of

bela grant said everyone he was on the plane died and the russian defence ministry said there were 65 ukrainian prisoners of war on board as well as six crew and three others, but can we take that statement at face value? how sure can we be? i'm going to bring in an expert in all things to do with the ukraine conflict, what do we know? so far we do not have any visual evidence — so far we do not have any visual evidence to _ so far we do not have any visual evidence to impending confirm. there is a list _ evidence to impending confirm. there is a list of— evidence to impending confirm. there is a list of prisoners of war that were _ is a list of prisoners of war that were allegedly aboard the plane that is circulating on russian social media — is circulating on russian social media and _ is circulating on russian social media and one has been shared by a prominent _ media and one has been shared by a prominent media figure, but some sociai— prominent media figure, but some social media users are casting doubt on the _ social media users are casting doubt on the veracity of that list because details _ on the veracity of that list because details of— on the veracity of that list because details of at least one person on it appear— details of at least one person on it appear to — details of at least one person on it appear to match the details of somebody who has previously been exchanged, so that is something we

are stiii— exchanged, so that is something we are still investigating. we exchanged, so that is something we are still investigating.— are still investigating. we will kee - are still investigating. we will keep everyone _ are still investigating. we will keep everyone updated, - are still investigating. we will keep everyone updated, i- are still investigating. we will keep everyone updated, i willj are still investigating. we will - keep everyone updated, i will come back to you in a second. i want to show you where this all happened. let me get the map up here. the plane went down not far from the border between russia and ukraine. this isn't far from border between russia and ukraine. this isn't farfrom her border between russia and ukraine. this isn't far from her kharkiv. russian has claimed a missile system from kharkiv brought down the plane. we have got some details here. it is an eye out 76. it is big, enough to carry dozens of passengers. russia has a huge —— accused ukraine of neglecting the lives of citizens because they say it was a planned prisoner swap. because they say it was a planned prisonerswap. russia because they say it was a planned prisoner swap. russia claims the military would have known this was coming. you read that statement we

had from the ukrainian government, they have not directly answered that question about whether it was one of the anti aircraft missiles. i want to bring in all gap because i know you have been looking at a lot of the information and disinformation out there in social media. what is yoursense out there in social media. what is your sense of who is behind this? irate your sense of who is behind this? we still do not know independently, we cannot— still do not know independently, we cannot confirm who is exactly behind us. cannot confirm who is exactly behind us as_ cannot confirm who is exactly behind us as you _ cannot confirm who is exactly behind us. as you mentioned before, we have spoken— us. as you mentioned before, we have spoken to _ us. as you mentioned before, we have spoken to one of the experts and he suggests— spoken to one of the experts and he suggests that from visual evidence, from the _ suggests that from visual evidence, from the plume of smoke, we can conclude — from the plume of smoke, we can conclude it — from the plume of smoke, we can conclude it possibly could have been a missile _ conclude it possibly could have been a missile but he couldn't provide any further— a missile but he couldn't provide any further details about the exact identification of it, and crucially if it was— identification of it, and crucially if it was a — identification of it, and crucially if it was a missile we still do not know— if it was a missile we still do not know independently who launched it and from _ know independently who launched it and from where.— know independently who launched it and from where. thank you very much. we are going — and from where. thank you very much. we are going to — and from where. thank you very much. we are going to keep _ and from where. thank you very much. we are going to keep digging _ and from where. thank you very much. we are going to keep digging on - we are going to keep digging on this. there is a lot of information out there we are digging through at the moment, a lot more images and videos to look at. as soon as we get

any more information, including any confirmation of who was on board, we will bring it to you.— will bring it to you. really useful to have that _ will bring it to you. really useful to have that analysis. _ will bring it to you. really useful to have that analysis. we - will bring it to you. really useful to have that analysis. we will. will bring it to you. really useful i to have that analysis. we will come back to that story in just a second. i want to take you to the house of commons, this is the defence secretary grant shapps on his feet responding to the latest attacks on the bed c. shipping there has been disrupted of late. we are getting a line telling us that the shipping company that two of its us flagged vessels have turned around after reporting seeing explosion is nearby. they say the vessels and the crew are unharmed and they are being escorted back to the gulf of even by the us navy. this follows previous reports earlier in the day suggesting that there have been further explosions. 0ne ship they're reporting an exploiting just 100 metres from the decile saying its

crew were safe and there were no injuries reported —— vessel. it gives us a sense of quite have brought how tensions are escalating once again in that region —— it gives us a sense of how fraught it is. these are migratory rebels who have launched attacks on ships in the red sea, it is top trade route around the world. they are doing that in response to the conflict that in response to the conflict thatis that in response to the conflict that is happening between israel and gaza. many migratory rebels have the support of iran. gives us a sense of how all the key players in this conflict related. they defence secretary in the uk talking about the response because the us and uk have launched a number of strikes, five or six rounds of strikes at houthi positions in yemen. those positions that are being used to attack ships offshore in the bed c, in that region of the middle east, in that region of the middle east, in relation to what is happening in israel and gaza. we will listen across that and if there are any

further developments from the defence secretary, we will take you back there life. i want to pretend that story of the downing of a plane carrying prisoners of war or reports. well, for more on this i am joined by dr patrick bury, former nato analyst and senior lecturer in security at the university of bath. thank you for being with us, talk to us about what we know so far because our team are able to verify that footage that suggests there was something in the sky before that plane came down, whether it was a missile or something else. we have had a sort of response from the ukrainian authorities saying there is an intensity or growing intensity of missile strikes in that area. what is your understanding right now of what happened today? it paras of what happened today? it was interesting _ of what happened today? it was interesting to _ of what happened today? it was interesting to hear— of what happened today? it was interesting to hear nick- of what happened today? it was interesting to hear nick give - of what happened today? it was | interesting to hear nick give that evidence, i didn't have a busy busy and didn't slow down footage but i take the word of james very

seriously. they have seen there is indicating it had been shut down, that moves things on a little bit, we will just that moves things on a little bit, we willjust have to wait and see. but i will tell you what is really important, there are two things you can talk about, context and motive. the context of this is on the 22nd, i believe, sorry, the 15th of january there was a russian spy plane, which is basically like this aircraft which has been shut down, which was basically ambushed by ukrainian air defence are badly damaged. it did manage to land, it turned out it wasn't badly damaged. there has been a number of other area ambushes, we have had russian jet fighters shut down. in the context of this happening, the area ambushes going on, the ukrainians are trying to to shout air defences and catch the russian air force off guard when they think they are safe.

then you have the context of the prisoner swap which has been going on. usually in the low hundreds or whatever, and has been one recently enough and the ukrainians have admitted there was one work today. they also admitted by checking the data on that shoot down, they indicate they do not have full immediate oversight of what is going on. but they have said there was meant to be a prisoner swap today. in that context, and if you imagine you are russia and you are flying in a jet, which you either think it's safe or not safe, but sick of these ambushes, you may not say to the ukrainians need to stay away because we are flying in. for those reasons, maybe intentionally, maybe accidentally something could have gone badly wrong here. we'll have to wait and see. there is of course the russian disinformation spin which we are familiar with. what is their

intent? what are the actual gain from saying this jet was shot down with 65 ukrainian passengers. that is what i wanted _ with 65 ukrainian passengers. that is what i wanted to _ with 65 ukrainian passengers. that is what i wanted to ask, that is a very important point. much as this is a military war, it is also an information war injuries that point, he stands to gain from which narrative there?— he stands to gain from which narrative there? really, first of all, the russians _ narrative there? really, first of all, the russians do _ narrative there? really, first of all, the russians do not - narrative there? really, first of all, the russians do not want i narrative there? really, first of| all, the russians do not want to show weakness. if another one of their planes has been shut down, it make sense to say it was full of ukrainians. it is still our training crew that was shut down, so it is not a massive win, that is my reading of it. it is a win for them if they have not told the ukrainians and they have done this intentionally, and it makes the ukrainians think twice about what they are engaging. 0r ukrainians think twice about what they are engaging. or it is an accident. in the fog of war, they should have d conflicted with the ukrainians that have been targeting

this airfield, there have been an intensity of strikes happening in this airfield unfortunately that was the result. maybe it was intentional or not and this is what has happened. this isjust the or not and this is what has happened. this is just the context and the intent behind what is going on, which isn't verified. the context of what is going on, the game of cat and mouse, trying to catch valuable aircraft off—guard and shoot them down is important. really good to get your insight into this. gratefulfor it you being with us. it is worth saying we are expecting to hear from the russian foreign minister. he is due to speak within the hour, so as soon as we hear from him, due to speak within the hour, so as soon as we hearfrom him, one due to speak within the hour, so as soon as we hear from him, one seems he will refer to what we were just discussing, the downing of that plane that russia reports had prisoners of war on board. we have

heard from ukrainian defence ministry not referring to this directly, but we are are also expecting to hear from the russian side, from the russian foreign minister within the hour. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.— world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news. every morning i woke down here _ watching bbc news. every morning i woke down here to _ watching bbc news. every morning i woke down here to record _ watching bbc news. every morning i woke down here to record the - woke down here to record the rainfall about nine o'clock. since he was ten _ rainfall about nine o'clock. since he was ten years _ rainfall about nine o'clock. since he was ten years old _ rainfall about nine o'clock. since he was ten years old tom - rainfall about nine o'clock. since he was ten years old tom bon i rainfall about nine o'clock. since i he was ten years old tom bon has made the same journey to the bottom of his garden every day without fail. ., . ~ of his garden every day without fail. ., ., ~ ., ., . fail. you take the final out which collect the _ fail. you take the final out which collect the rainfall, _ fail. you take the final out which collect the rainfall, there - fail. you take the final out which collect the rainfall, there is - fail. you take the final out which collect the rainfall, there is a . collect the rainfall, there is a bottle underneath, which collect the water. it is then put into a calibrated gauge and that is more or less one millilitre. the calibrated gauge and that is more or less one millilitre.— less one millilitre. the rainfall measurements _ less one millilitre. the rainfall measurements are _ less one millilitre. the rainfall measurements are taken - less one millilitre. the rainfall measurements are taken ontoj less one millilitre. the rainfall - measurements are taken onto natural resources wales. it measurements are taken onto natural resources wales-— resources wales. it helps us with

forecasting. _ resources wales. it helps us with forecasting, modelling _ resources wales. it helps us with forecasting, modelling and - resources wales. it helps us with forecasting, modelling and with l forecasting, modelling and with water— forecasting, modelling and with water resources. the forecasting, modelling and with water resources.— forecasting, modelling and with water resources. ., , ., ., water resources. the weather station he uses was — water resources. the weather station he uses was built _ water resources. the weather station he uses was built by _ water resources. the weather station he uses was built by his _ water resources. the weather station he uses was built by his grandfatherl he uses was built by his grandfather at the end of the 19th century. time to cover the responsible tea of measuring the rain fell in 1948. how do you think you will keep going? this do you think you will keep going? is long as i can. as long as i can walk hopefully. your life with news. now, back to the us, where donald trump has won a key victory in the race to be the republican party's presidential nominee. it was just the second contest to decide who will be on the republican ticket in this november's presidential election. and mr trump has defeated his last remaining rival, former us ambassador to the un nikki haley with an 11—point lead. she has vowed to fight on, but presidentjoe biden who's standing for re—election for the democrats says it's clear mr trump will be the candidate.

live now to republican strategists rina shah in washington dc. she has also served as advisor to two republican members of the congress. welcome to bbc news, rina. president biden is squaring up for a rematch with donald trump. i wonder what is different this time around, four years later. hat what is different this time around, four years later.— four years later. not much is different _ four years later. not much is different except _ four years later. not much is different except for - four years later. not much is different except for the - four years later. not much is different except for the fact. four years later. not much is . different except for the fact that our society has opened up, we are living in a post covid era and that is for many people the very difference here, is the fact that so many folks looked at the trump administration and said he didn't handle the pandemic well. that was highlighted by governor ron desantis who name checked trump on that debt, that was the one bit where governor ron desantis who dropped out this past week, that is place where he said he differed from the former president. back to biden and trump, you are looking at the situation in which many republicans are feeling must nostalgic for what the country

felt like under trump, whether it was talking about the economy, particularly the cost of living, delete commodities and also the geopolitical tensions that america is embroiled in across the globe. are they really feel a nostalgia for a former president that faces 91 criminal charges in four separate trials, all of which are due to take place while he is on the presidential campaign trail? it depends on who we are talking about and that is where i urge a great deal of caution in painting with a broad brush. 0f deal of caution in painting with a broad brush. of course have we got the results from new hampshire last night there were many pundits who said this is the time that this primary is over and nikki haley must drop out, i know it is a question of when she will drop out. this is trump plaza partick now, the stakes have been nauseating because they were taking place before last night,

right in the aftermath of iowa. about 56,000 votes for trump in iowa and about hundred and 68,004 trump in new hampshire last night, compared to hundred and 34,004 nikki haley. it is clear that there still is an appetite for someone else despite saying that trump took this thing away in two states. it should be noted that a modern political history no republican nominee has lost both iowa and new hampshire, so the fact that donald trump wanted both of them, he can lock up the nomination if we are looking at history. nomination if we are looking at histo . . , . nomination if we are looking at histo . ., ., , ., history. that is an important bit of trivia. history. that is an important bit of trivia- and — history. that is an important bit of trivia. and the _ history. that is an important bit of trivia. and the other _ history. that is an important bit of trivia. and the other thing - history. that is an important bit of trivia. and the other thing that - history. that is an important bit of trivia. and the other thing that a l trivia. and the other thing that a lot of voters will look at here as they are both old men. 0n inauguration day next year, president biden will be 82, trump will be 78. they are both old men but white men, and men. where is thy

diversity in this line—up? this but white men, and men. where is thy diversity in this line-up?— diversity in this line-up? this is something _ diversity in this line-up? this is something i— diversity in this line-up? this is something i have _ diversity in this line-up? this is something i have been - diversity in this line-up? this is something i have been working| something i have been working towards in the republican party for some time, i have been trying to get more women elected in all levels of us government. we are not well represented at a levels, and we do not support quarters to get more women into office but we support other systemic reforms that could help battle the system that is when it takes all, whether you are looking at congressional races or the race for the presidency. there are a lot of things in place that protect the american incumbent and we do see that advantage, that trump is gaining from here. but i must say i would be remiss if i didn't talk about the many supporters of both biden and trump who rushed to accusations of ageism when we talk about the age of both these men. trump is just about the age of both these men. trump isjust biden plasma junior by three years, that doesn't get talked about enough and one very notable

fact is within these united states, the average retirement age coast—to—coast is somewhere between... coast-to-coast is somewhere between- - -— between... but it is about perception _ between... but it is about perception and _ between... but it is about perception and who - between... but it is about perception and who looks| between... but it is about - perception and who looks older. it is fair to say president biden older. ~ ., .., , older. within of course the olitical older. within of course the political insider _ older. within of course the political insider class - older. within of course the political insider class you l older. within of course the - political insider class you have people saying, admitting even that trump has this trend and it seems like nothing has changed after he left office after losing in 2020. but you have a lot of americans out there who are pathetic and do not participate, and the are worried by the age of both of these men. goad the age of both of these men. good to have you — the age of both of these men. good to have you with _ the age of both of these men. good to have you with us. _ stay with us, headlines coming up on bbc news. 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 14 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.

live from london, this is bbc news. a un facility sheltering thousands of people is hit in gaza — leaving at least nine dead. a russian military plane crashes, with no survivors.

moscow says ukrainian prisoners of war were on board and accuses kyiv of shooting it down. in the us, donald trump defeats nikki haley in the republican primary in new hampshire — but she's vowing to stay in the race. in the uk, a shake—up of the royal mail could see delivery is reduced to as few as three days a week. and the brit awards nominations for this year will be announced shortly. it is a uk's biggest music awards ceremony. —— it is the uk's. hello, i'm ben thompson, welcome to the programme. we begin with developments in the war between israel and gaza; and the un refugee agency unrwa says a training centre sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people has been hit — report say at least nine people have

been killed and 75 injured. israel has been pressing ahead with its offensive