News

Japan is working closely with Jordan in a bid to release journalist Kenji Goto and Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh who are being held by Islamic State, the Japanese foreign minister has said.

The comments come after an online video appeared to show Goto saying he has just 24 hours to live unless Jordan release Sajida al-Rishawi, a would-be suicide bomber sentenced to death.

Fumio Kishida said the Japanese government had confirmed the authenticity of the video.

Surplus airfields, barracks and military vehicles must be sold to ensure front-line forces are properly resourced, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon is to warn.

Mr Fallon will say today that despite efficiencies made over the past five years the job "is far from over", and the Government has to keep "sweating our buildings and lands" to make savings.

The Defence Secretary will insist that Britain needs to go further in "rationalising our defence estate".

"With continuing demands on our resources, with the cost of manpower and equipment rising, and with competition from emerging nations increasing efficiency in defence cannot be a one-off," he will say in a speech to the Institute for Government (IfG).

"Every year we should be looking to take out unnecessary cost, to improve productivity, and to sweat our buildings and land so we can better support the front line."

In the last two days, we have heard from a few of those who survived life in Auschwitz, but of course there were more than a million who disappeared through its gates never to leave.

At the end of tonight's News at Ten we remembered some of those:

The two leaders most likely to be prime minister after the general election, David Cameron and Ed Miliband, have been struggling to get their message across, party insiders have told our Political Editor Tom Bradby.

There are even media reports tonight that Labour has been in behind-the-scenes talks with Sinn Fein to lay the groundwork for a potential coalition agreement.

Apple has seen its quarterly revenue rise by 29.5%, thanks to extremely strong sales of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in the quarter ending 27th December.

That helped push up revenue from $57.6 billion in the same period last year to $74.6 billion.

The rise was much higher than expected, with analysts predicting a revenue of $67.69 billion.

The company's performance in China has had a big impact, with revenue in the country up a staggering 70% this quarter.

It is thought the larger screen size of the new phone has particularly appealed to the market in Asia.

There had been fears that China's slipping economic growth would cause Apple problems, but Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri says the company 'feels good' about its position in China, and added that it has not 'seen a slow down'.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro appears approve his nation's talks with the US in a letter published on the website of Cuba's Communist Party newspaper Granma.

The 88-year-old is quoted as saying: "I don't trust the policy of the United States nor have I had an exchange with them, but this does not mean ... a rejection of a peaceful solution to conflicts or the dangers of war."

Cuba's current president Raul Castro has been holding high-level talks with the US government since the two countries announced a rapprochement on 17th December.

Fidel Castro was forced into retirement in 2008 by poor health and was succeeded by his brother Raul, who is now 83.

Astronauts orbiting the International Space Station witnessed the awesome sight of a raging lighting storm on earth.

This timelapse was made from 49 images taken 400 km above Earth by an astronaut travelling at 28,800 km per hour.

The European Space Agency's Nightpod camera made it possible to capture near perfect, crystal-clear images.

They were taken back in 2012, but have only just been released by ESA.

British Geographical Survey site shows earth tremor spike around 6.30pm this evening.