employers are growing more cautious, putting off hiring. employees are sticking around longer. one caveat we could see some distortion to the numbers. the auto and actor strikes both ended in november with many returning to work that same month. plus, the end of the year is when many seasonal workers get taken on. now, america s central bank, the federal reserve, will be watching closely. that s because slowerjob growth and wage gains will fuel expectations that the fed will leave rates on hold. rates have risen to above 5% from nearly zero since march of last year as it wrestles to bring down inflation. the jobs report is the last significant piece of economic data before the us central bank s rate setting meeting next week. now, we should note that despite expectations for a slowdown, america s labour market remains strong by historical standards. still, if economists frequently use the word resilience to talk about the economy in 2023, they may be looking for a new word
the head of humanitarian affairs for the united nations says there is no longer any humanitarian operation worthy of that name in the south of gaza. from jerusalem, here s our international editor, jeremy bowen. a warning you may find some of the images upsetting. video emerged this afternoon of palestinian men taken for interrogation. bbc staff recognised the town in northern gaza and we have geolocated the video there, too. palestinian diplomats said these were savage images evoking humanity s darkest times. the israeli army said only that suspects were being interrogated. posts on social media said the men had been sheltering with their families at a un school and that others were killed during the israeli raid. in this photo, the men had been moved to another location which we have not been able to verify. one of the captives is a journalist. he was forced to leave his disabled daughter, according to the newspaper he works for in london. earlier, in israel s parliament,
the full effect of higher rates has yet to be felt but households and businesses are coping. for now. plus ripe for transformation. how developments in al are starting to bear fruit in the push for more sustainable agriculture. we are looking at the top business stories. we start in beijing where china s president, xijinping is hosting european union leaders for their first in person summit meeting since 2019. and there is one huge number that is looming over the talks. 400 billion euros. that s roughly the size of china s trade surplus with the eu the difference between what they sell to europe, and what europe sells to china. european commission president ursula von der leyen says it s because of china s unfair support for its industries which means its products are flooding global markets and threaten to undermine europe s industrial base. china says the complaint doesn t make sense when the eu stops it from buying certain sensitive technology such as advanced ch
israel gaza conflict. and the developments over the last few hours now. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has returned to tel aviv. this is his fourth the that make third trip there since the conflict broke out on october a temporary deal for paul s infighting is due to expire in the next few hours but talks have been ongoing in an effort to extend that temporary truce. senior israeli advisor told the bbc earlier that israel would agree to an extension as long as hamas continues to release hostages. earlier on, ten israeli and four thai hostages held by hamas in the gaza strip arrived in israel after being handed over to the red cross. two russian israeli women were also freed earlier. in exchange, israel announced 30 palace indian women and teenage boys have been freed from israeli prisons in return for the latest round of releases that we are seeing. meanwhile israel are still trying to confirm a claim by hamas that a ten month old baby, the youngest hostage being
is clear and it is unwavering. hello, i am is clear and it is unwavering. hello, iam lucy is clear and it is unwavering. hello, i am lucy gray. is clear and it is unwavering. hello, iam lucy gray. lockim hello, i am lucy gray. lockim to verify live welcome to verify live. the armed wing of the palestinian group hamas says the youngest israeli hostage in gaza, ten month old baby, kfir bibas, as well as his four year old brother, ariel, and their mother, shiri, were killed in an israeli air strike on the gaza strip. israel said it is checking the claim, which the bbc has not yet been able to verify. the family are among the highest profile civilian hostages yet to be freed. relatives had issued a special appeal for the family s freedom after the children and their parents were not included in the group freed on tuesday. a statement from the missing family form say the family have been informed of the claims and are waiting for the information to be confirmed and hopefully re