Palestinians agree on centre-ground PM

The rival Fatah and Hamas movements have agreed on a candidate for prime minister of their emerging coalition government, turning to a US-educated professor to end months of infighting and help lift a painful international aid boycott.

The agreement was the strongest sign of progress in the negotiations, which have dragged on for months but it remained unclear if the new government, which negotiators said could be named within a week, would be acceptable to the West - especially if it kept baulking at the key issue of recognising Israel.