welcome to the programme. we start in the middle east. iran s supreme leader says there ll be a harsh response, after at least 95 people were killed, by two explosions in the southeastern city of kerman. the blasts were near the saheb al zaman mosque, where thousands of people had gathered to mark the anniversary of the death of a senior general, who was killed in a us drone strike in 2020. caroline hawley reports. the roads leading to the cemetery were packed with people who had gone to qasem soleimani. officials say the bombs had been planted in bags and were apparently set off by remote control. whoever did this was clearly aiming to cause mass casualties. the iranian red crescent said their efforts to evacuate the injured were complicated by the size of the crowds. and a first bomb was followed swiftly by a second, more deadly explosion. it comes four years to the day since qasem soleimani was killed himself in an american drone attack while on a visit to iraq. general so
correspondence sent this report. the december note on the us central banks asked meeting showed policymakers are feeling better about inflation. they agreed with investors that interest rates are at or near the peak of the cycle. they also agree it will come down this year. they offered no clues as to how or when that will happen. to remind viewers come at the federal reserve started raising rates in march 2022 to tame inflation. it is so 11 times, taking the benchmark rate to 5.5%. inflation by the time of the last meeting had dropped to 3.2% from a peak of 9.1%. meanwhile, new data out on wednesday showed the number of job openings in the united states fell to 8.79 million in november. this points to weaker demand for labour but is still well above pre covid levels. that is consistent with the fed s goal. to slow the economy without triggering a nasty recession. the feds first ratesetting meeting this year starting january 30. that disappointment is reflected in how us stoc