elections this weekend, we take a snap—shot of the country's economy today and how it could look and sustainability on the runway at london fashion week — how the next generation of designers have been given while the future of the israel—gaza ceasefire the process.

of the war is unclear. the cost will be staggering — estimated to be $53 billion over the next ten years, and $20 billion needed in the first three. in the region, it's all a delicate balancing act. gregg carlstrom is he middle east correspondent we expect them to come up with. the meeting will bring together all of the countries that have real influence when it comes to the palestinians — so egypt, jordan, the gulf states, and then the palestinian authority

gaza after the war — it would start in the south of gaza and sort of work so that is what they will discuss today, and the idea presented to the full arab league indeed. and their homes at question here, but president trump sees the redevelopment of gaza as a business opportunity. if a plan is to be put togetherfor a more humane redevelopment, do you think

there will be interest i think there is a profit motive but i don't think it will be on the part of investors. impoverished, was almost entirely reliant on foreign aid to survive. i don't think anyone is expecting their contributions exercise, as you say. is on the part of the companies that will actually do the work to rebuild gaza. you look at egypt, which borders gaza — it has a big construction sector. it has lots of overcapacity not only in building but related sectors.

cement than it could possibly use. there is, when you talk to businessmen in egypt, an expectation that they are going to make a lot of money out of reconstruction of gaza. months, where the stock prices of construction firms in turkey post—war in syria. ca rlstrom of carlstrom of economist in we will economist in riyadh. we will bring you meeting of the s.“ s of uae, tv 77 of uae, jordavn, 77 of uae, jordaén, egypt leaders of uae, jordan, egypt and others through the day on germany could have a new leader by monday as voters make their choice in a general election this weekend. the centre—right christian democratic union has been leading the polls, with the far—right afd in second spot. and stiff competition from

china. we had a couple of assassinations, murders. it has made immigration topic number one. but i think the main problem is, like you mentioned, assuming the next government is at least led by the cdu

very clear in proposals. they would like to open up options to return to nuclear power and on the investment side what they would like to do the big question is how to pay for it, and the cdu the main parties have said they will not work with them. i wonder, is there a risk of prolonged political stalemate after this election? party coalition?

means we have this 5% threshold to get into parliament. four or up to eight parties may make it into parliament. coalition anytime soon, so i expect it to come the current government would stay on as a minority government, for investments to come, to unleash also private

lots of a hea d lots of ahead in germany. the price of gold has been surging, heading towards the milestone of $3000 an ounce. often seen as a safe—haven asset in times of turbulence, and its partners. could be subject to tariffs and investors have been trying come into effect. heavy gold bars from those vaults for transport across the atlantic. dollar milestone is. the price of gold has been bouncing but it really started to take off last year.

the price last year was up about 25% and this year it is up around 12% so it is quite significant. as you say, there are a number of that you had a lot of buying by other central banks. as you say, you have these people in the bank of england scrambling around trying to get these gold bars ready for delivery to new york, ready for delivery to new york, so it is all a little bit so it is all a little bit archaic. just to be clear, we are talking about a speculative play here, the idea play here, the idea that you can buy a gold that you can buy a gold bar in london today bar in london today and the futures market in the us and suggests you will get much more for it in a week or a month. so we are putting it so we are putting it on a plane. on a plane. absolutely. there's a further quirk. there's a further quirk.

rather than having the right to any bar in the bank of england vault, holders must take delivery of a specific bar. so you can imagine all the staff running around, trying to locate and shifting stacks of thousands of pallets of gold, trying to find the exact ones. and furthermore you have a situation where the bar is a situation where the bars stored in london are typically around 400 troy ounces, approximately 12.5kg.

trade tariffs as somewhat archaic, so how much of it talking about — that donald trump will put a tariff on gold is a safe—haven asset in general times of turbulence? i think it is a bit of a mixture last year it was one of the best—performing commodities. and last year the main thrust of around geopolitical risks. a lot of central banks buying gold. this year it has shifted slightly, and certainly the that people want the gold out of london and delivered to the states.

the bank of japan is expected to hike interest rates again to counter those rising costs. survey. the chinese tech giant reported revenues for the last by strong year—end sales. the latest financial report comes days after a widely bosses, including alibaba founderjack ma. mr ma gave up control of alibaba and kept

and profits in the coming year. the boss of the retail giant said it was an uncertain time because of high interest rates, persistent inflation and potential tariffs on imports into the us. despite the measured outlook, it wasn't all bad news — of any company worldwide. sustainability on the runway at london fashion week. a brief to reduce pollution. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

welcome back. its policies promoting a more diverse and inclusive

workforce. goals put in place only a few years ago. with from new york, here's ritika gupta. citigroup is reportedly rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, citing pressure from the trump administration. the bank will no longer have aspirational representation candidates from diverse backgrounds. the ceo, jane fraser. the bank will rename its diversity, equity to the administration's

scrutiny. large companies like walmart, target and mcdonald's have already retracted their diversity programmes, while the president can't actually compel private and some companies have cited those political shifts when scrapping dei programs. of the "big four" such events to adopt a sustainability policy. talent incubation programme have to describe how their collections fit in with minimum sustainability standards. a ban has also been introduced on wild animal skins and furs. london. earlier i asked him how important sustainablillty

was to his practice. sustainability and fashion are really critical topics. the industry has the potential to be very impactful, in fashion is now it more sustainable. with sustainability as part of their training, whether it is through work with sustainable materials understanding provenance and we have also at london

college of fashion our centre award—winning research and knowledge exchange for advocacy in the sector. so sustainability is really embedded in the practice in the industry because it needs those skills. what do you make of the scale of the ambition that they have why only them? why not the other more established designers — fashion council driving the fashion industry minimum sustainability standards, and it's great that london fashion week is the first of the big four

in copenhagen in 2023. needs to be thinking about these sustainability objectives. both in the fashion education that we offer, and in the kinds of initiatives that the british fashion council is leading — is critical. high—street chains that are the biggest offenders. do you think the big players in that sector are doing enough?

so i think raising the profile of the need for sustainability through london fashion week and through the work of the british fashion council is a really important way the need for change. plenty more from london fashion week throughout the weekend plenty more from london fashion week throug is >ut the weekend plenty more from london fashion week throug is business eekend plenty more from london fashion week throug is business today. ahead. that is business today. plenty more stories through the on bbc tv

donald trump thinks ukraine owes the us the bbc�*s analysis editor ros atkins looks at what the us president wants — and whether he's likely to get it. president trump has a demand for ukraine. billion worth of rare earth. and they've essentially agreed to do that. resources, in return for past military aid and future security guarantees. spent $350 billion. available data suggests the figure is actually 120 billion. last year, president zelensky did say foreign firms may get access to some of ukraine's natural resources

after the war. this month, he said the americans helped the most translation: you will write down some guarantees - i was told only 50%. to trump, it's simply what is owed. everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas. the first world war. and there are reasons why the us would want ukraine's resources. and metals to the us — ukraine could be an alternative source.

0ne assessment says it has great potential that includes graphite — used in batteries and nuclear and national security. and clean energy. but accessing these resources is not straightforward — are close to the front line. and across ukraine, there are challenges. roads, it's ports, it's rail. or risk being left to fight russia without us help.

more than 2,000 years ago. was holding a secret — a secret it kept for is in fact a woman. they found evidence of wounds. this is an incredible discovery, and really important to us at the museum. it's a young woman. and we're delighted to be the custodian of these remains for them, and ultimately sharing the findings with the public.

the remains date approximately between 3a3 and i bc, they were found. there's currently less evidence about what life of history, so artefacts like these and the discovery of those human remains are vital pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, piecing together a picture of how people i always think it's very important to retain the humanity of the past people we study. secrets to reveal.

now it's time for a look at the weather. hello, there. the weather story across the uk has changed significantly we've lost that cold, crisp winterfeel and it's been in fact, we've got gale—force gusts of winds arriving from the west associated with these weather fronts and heavy rain to come as well. where we've got the mildest of the air with that southerly wind. start for all of us. it will be windy. we could see gusts of winds 55, possibly 60 miles an hour across eastern england.

celsius, and we haven't seen highs like that since the end of november. it will be tempered a little bit by the strength the latter stages of friday. some early morning rain still lingering first thing in the south—east for the start of the weekend. so saturday, a grey and wet start across east anglia and kent. skies out to the west. now, saturday is likely to be the better of the two days and this is going to bring

further gale—force gusts a spell of heavy rain across the far north and west of the uk, perhaps not arriving in the south—east until the end of the day. top temperatures on sunday afternoon, between 8 and 13 degrees. now, looking a little bit further ahead, we keep still see double figures.

live from london. this is bbc news.

as we go on air, prime benjamin netanyahu is on air hamas will pay the full foramas will pay the full for breaching )ay the full for breaching the :he full for agreement. ezhe full the war with russia. of "insulting" president trump. there needs to be a deep appreciation for what the american people, what the american taxpayer, to the polls on sunday. how to rebuild gaza, in a counter—move to president trump's redevelopment plan.

hello, i'm lauren taylor.