| | | | | | | Hello. Questions remain surrounding the circumstances of a Russian military plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine. Kyiv-based correspondent Sarah Rainsford reads between the lines of Ukraine’s statement on the incident. In New Hampshire, Phil McCausland observes awkward scenes at Donald Trump’s victory party. And in a breakthrough that might save a species from extinction, scientists have successfully achieved the world’s first IVF rhino pregnancy. |
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| | | | | | Questions Answered | | Ukraine’s statement on Russia’s Il-76 crash | | | | Verified video shows a plane going down near the village of Yablonovo, 70km (44 miles) to the north-east of the Russian city of Belgorod. Credit: Russian Telegram |
| | Russia has blamed Ukraine for the crash of a military plane that was reportedly carrying 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, who were due to be part of a prisoner swap. No evidence was provided and the BBC has not yet verified who was on board, or what caused the plane to crash. Ukraine’s statement in response to Russia’s accusations, however, did not offer a strong rebuttal. | | | | Sarah Rainsford, Eastern Europe correspondent |
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| | What has Ukraine said about the crash? | | The statement is implicit acknowledgement from Ukraine that it did shoot down the Russian military transport plane. Crucially, it says it has no verified information on who was on board. The intelligence service confirmed that a prisoner swap was planned today. It says it would normally get advance information on the routes and transport Russia planned to use. This time, Ukraine says, it was not told to keep the skies over Belgorod clear. It suggests that may have been deliberate. | | Why would Ukraine target a Russian cargo plane? | | There’s been a big increase in missile attacks from the Belgorod region, especially on Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv, hitting residential buildings there and killing civilians. Planes like the Il-76 deliver the missiles which are then fired across the border by other planes. | | What happens now? | | There are still many questions about this crash, especially for the families of the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers captured and currently held in Russia. They want to know for sure if there were prisoners of war on board that plane. And whether their relatives were among them. | | | | | | |
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| AT THE SCENE | Manchester, New Hampshire | | Trump’s rivals bury the hatchet | | | | Senator Tim Scott is a critic turned supporter of Donald Trump. Credit: Getty Images | | As Donald Trump celebrated his victory at the New Hampshire primaries, two former rivals shared the stage with him. Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran against Mr Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, both endorsed the former president. | | | | Phil McCausland, BBC News |
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| Mr Trump introduced the men by taking a couple of jabs at them. He introduced Mr Ramaswamy and said he would only allow him to speak "if he promised to do it in a minute or less". This was likely a dig at the biotech entrepreneur's numerous loquacious moments on the Republican debate stage.
In a moment that drew more attention and a slightly awkward silence at the watch party, Mr Trump suggested that Mr Scott "must really hate" Nikki Haley, since the former South Carolina governor appointed him to his Senate seat in 2013. Mr Scott moved quickly in a bid to salvage the moment by stepping to the lectern, grinning widely and shouting: "I just love you!" Though their presence appeared to re-emphasise their endorsement of him and illustrate a united Republican front, the former president's comments towards his colleagues attracted attention online. |
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| | The big picture | | Six Oscars talking points | | | | The Academy tends to go for serious performances over comedic, something that has often been noted by leading comedy figures. Credit: Reuters |
| | The Barbie movie's absence in some of the major categories prompted the most discussion following the Oscars nominations 2024 - but it wasn’t the only remarkable aspect of the announcements. | | | | |
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| | | For your downtime | | TikTok English | | Users of the social media app have developed a specific accent. | | |
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| | And finally... in Kenya | | Najin and her daughter are the last two northern white rhinos on Earth, meaning the species is technically extinct. But a scientific breakthrough might change that. Scientists have recently achieved the world's first IVF rhino pregnancy on a sub-species closely related to northern whites. Read about the many issues faced by researchers to get to this promising result. |
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| | | | | | | | US Election Unspun newsletter | | Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday to your inbox. | | |
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