From washington had sent pulses racing among some people, hoping that there may be an imminent agreement for a cease fire, however temporary, between hamas and israel. And the hamas delegation arriving in cairo today for the talks also expressed hope that a deal could be reached. And again, Optimism Sort of grew, but there were significant obstacles. And anybody covering this story over the last few months will know that often hopes of a ceasefire are dashed by realities on the ground. And one of israels obstacles and demands that was that hamas should present a detailed list of the hostages who would be released under the terms of any future agreement, of course, in exchange for palestinian prisoners in israeli jails. That list hasnt been provided by hamas. There are thought to be at about 134 hostages held by hamas and other groups in gaza. About 30 of those may actually be dead. And israel wanted to know who was still alive, who was going to be released. That hasnt been forthcoming.
For israeli hostages. President joe biden had said a pause in fighting could begin as soon as monday. The talks will try to reach a Ceasefire Agreement that can be implemented before the start of ramadan, on the 10th of march. The draft framework would include a 40 day pause in all military operations. Reports suggest 400 Palestinian Prisoners which israel says are serving sentences for terror related crimes could be exchanged for forty female and elderly israeli hostages. Under the proposed ceasefire, hospitals in gaza would be repaired, while 500 aid trucks would enter gaza each day. But the israeli Prime Minister, benjamin netanyahu, has vowed to go ahead with an assault on gazas southernmost city, rafah, regardless of any agreement. 0ur middle east correspondent Yolande Knell sent the latest from jerusalem. The scramble to survive. Hungry crowds gathering on the beachfront in gaza city after Hearing Aid Lorries were heading there, loaded with flour. Translation there is no food fo
let s have a closer look at some of the recommendations. police officers have been offered 7%. consultants, dentists and gp s 6%. junior doctors 6%. prison officers 7%. the armed forces 5%. teachers 6.5%. what do we want? fair pay! when do we want it? now! teachers protesting, education disrupted, classrooms empty. for months, pupils and parents in england have been caught up in an angry row between teaching unions and the government. but could a 6.5% pay rise, alongside this promise from the prime minister, bring an end to it? there will be more money going into the schools budget to help schools pay for these new pay awards. so they will not have to make cuts, and that was something that was rightly important to the unions and we have worked with them to ensure that the funding is there for schools. given the scale of disruption caused by industrial action this year, and notjust in schools, there is one question for trades unions tonight. will this mean the end of the
of 3.3% in the last three months of 2023 much stronger than expected. that s raised hopes that the us federal reserve might have achieved a soft landing getting inflation under control by raising borrowing costs without crashing the economy. the strong economic numbers helped stoke an ongoing rally on us stock markets. both the dowjones industrial average and s&p 500 closed at new record highs on thursday. and traders weren t the only ones celebrating. the gdp figures have been seized upon by president biden, who is battling for re election. he s been suffering poor approval ratings for his handling of the economy, as american households feel the impact of higher prices on their finances. from new york, here s michelle fleury. for an economy many said was headed for recession, the us continues to defy expectations. in the final three months of last year, the american economy grew faster than expected, expanding at an annual rate of 3.3% while inflation fell. growth for th