democracy and suppression of freedom of speech. you played the video and we heard those two gunshots ring out. earlier today around 11:30 a.m. local time, nhk reported that shinzo abe had been shot twice, once in the chest and according to the fire and disaster management agency, once in the neck. it happened while delivering a speech, a stump speech around 11:30 this morning local time in western japan about an hour and a half, two hours ago the current prime minister held a press conference and addressed abe s current condition. take a listen. translator: first of all in the morning today in noara, i received the news that shinzo abe is shot and in critical condition. i pray that he pulls through. reporter: he went on to call the shooting an unforgiveable act. nhk says the former prime minister was bleeding from his chest and in a state of cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital. witnesses say he was shot from behind, he didn t collapse after the first sh
at least 50 hostages women and children will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held. the release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause . the deal was approved by israel s cabinet after a lengthy meeting that ran into the early hours. ahead of the meeting, prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the war effort would continue even if a hostage agreement was struck. the deal has been welcomed by president biden, who says it should bring home additional american hostages. in its own statement, hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by many western governments, says the 50 hostages will be released in exchange for 150 palestinian women and children being held in israeli jails. in the past few minutes, qatar, which helped broker the deal, has said the starting time of the pause will be anounced within 2a hours. our senior international correspondent orla guerin has more on the hostages who
we have a special report on a yazidi family suing an islamic state leader s widow for abuse and sex trafficking. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in new york, where the united nations security council has voted in favour of an american resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire by israel and hamas in gaza. 1a countries voted in favour, with russia abstaining. speaking after the vote, the us ambassador to the un, linda thomas greenfield, said the fighting could end now if hamas accepted the three phase plan. our north america correspondent nada tawfik is monitoring events for us, and sent us this update. the united states, i think, it s no surprise that this resolution, the vote, coincided with antony blinken s trip to the region. and what we heard from the united states was that this was the best possible way to secure a durable end to the war, saying that it really is a deal that was israel s initiative, it outlined thr
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian has come out in favour of easing tensions in the Middle East in remarks to Iranian media in New York on Saturday, following tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran. "War and military tensions are of no benefit to any party in the region, and so fundamental solutions must be found," Amirabdollahian said. All sides needed to focus on a political solution, he said. Israel had to cease "its war crimes" in the region, Amirabdollahian said. Humanita
South Korea launches its second military spy satellite following North Korea s reaffirmed plans for multiple reconnaissance satellite launches this year. The satellite, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, aims to enhance monitoring capabilities. South Korea plans to launch five spy satellites by 2025 under a contract with SpaceX. Meanwhile, North Korea, which launched its first spy satellite in November, seeks its own space-based surveillance network to counter perceived military threats. The U.N. prohibits North Korea s satellite launches, viewing them as disguised tests of long-range missile technology, escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.