How Middle East war is driving up shipping costs

The US economy posted unexpectedly strong job gains in March, government data showed Friday, in a shift that could ease labor market concerns and boost President Donald Trump's economic agenda.

The world's largest economy gained 178,000 jobs in March, after losing 133,000 in February, and the unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 percentage-point to 4.3 percent, the Labor Department said.

Friday's data significantly beat analyst expectations, with economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal expecting an increase of 59,000 jobs.

Much of the recovery was fueled by jobs in the health care sector, which has remained resilient even as labor demand has dropped across many sectors of the US economy.

Health care added 76,000 jobs in March, after having lost jobs the month before, in part due to strike actions.

Employment in construction also grew by 26,000 in March, although the Labor Department flagged that it had changed little over its level from a year ago.

Federal government employment continued to decline.

Trump has taken a hatchet to the sector in a drive aimed at cost-cutting and reducing the size of government. Employment in the sector was down 11.8 percent since October 2024, the data showed.

The new data reflected a revision in the figures for January and February, showing employment for those two months combined was 7,000 lower than previously reported.

The White House on Friday touted the numbers as a major success.

"Americans can rest assured that after the short-term disruptions of Operation Epic Fury are behind us, America's economic resurgence is set to only accelerate," said deputy press secretary Kush Desai, referring to the US-Israel war on Iran.

- Low-hire, low-fire -

The war has engulfed the Middle East, sent oil prices surging and snarled supply chains, leading to fears of economic slowdown around the world, including in the United States.

Analysts hailed the strong jobs figures, but signaled caution as the economic impact of the war begins to hit Americans.

Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic said the March report showed the US labor market was in "good standing," with "broad-based gains in the private sector."

"Looking ahead, we expect the spike in gasoline prices will dampen consumers' spending on discretionary items," which would slow second-quarter economic growth to below one percent (annualized), "and raise the cost of energy and some commodity inputs for businesses."

Higher production costs are expected to mean that businesses will continue the current "low-hire, low-fire" trend.

- Fed fallout -

Uncertainty about the duration and intensity of the war's economic shock has so far led policymakers at the Federal Reserve to adopt a wait-and-see approach on interest rate moves, as they balance managing stubbornly high inflation with managing unemployment.

Unemployment rates have remained relatively steady in the United States -- but the figure has hidden churn under the surface, analysts warn, as weak jobs growth has been matched by a drop in labor supply.

That drop in supply is largely attributed to Trump's crackdown on immigration and widespread deportation efforts.

For Fed policymakers, however, inflation currently appears to be a bigger risk than unemployment.

"The labor market is roughly in balance but susceptible to adverse shocks," said Fed Governor Philip Jefferson last week.

With labor supply decreasing, the break-even rate for jobs growth -- the rate at which the unemployment rate remains steady -- is roughly zero, a situation that policymakers have flagged as particularly unusual for the US economy.

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A US judge has dismissed sexual harassment claims brought by actor Blake Lively against co-star Justin Baldoni that were at the heart of explosive public row between the two, a court filing showed.

Manhattan federal judge Lewis Liman also dismissed Thursday defamation and conspiracy claims brought by Lively -- but her claims of retaliation and breach of contract against Baldoni still stand as their May 18 civil trial approaches.

Lively had filed a complaint against Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath for allegedly inappropriate behavior and comments during the shooting of the romantic drama "It Ends with Us."

The complaint said Baldoni -- who also directed the film -- had spoken inappropriately about his sex life and sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script and had not been agreed to.

It also said Heath had watched Lively while she was topless, despite having been asked to turn away. It further said Baldoni waged a PR campaign to wreck Lively's reputation.

Baldoni and the studio Wayfarer countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds with claims of extortion and defamation -- but judge Liman dismissed those claims last year.

Wayfarer previously insisted that neither the studio, its executives, nor its PR team did anything to retaliate against Lively.

Based on a best-selling novel by the US writer Colleen Hoover, "It Ends with Us" that made more than $350 million at the box office in 2024, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.

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The White House sent a spending proposal to lawmakers Friday calling for a massive $1.5 trillion US defense budget next year as it faces increased costs due to the war in Iran.

The total year-on-year increase in Pentagon spending would be the largest since World War II, US media reported, although presidential budgets are wish lists that have to be approved by Congress, rather than binding orders.

The request would represent a 42 percent hike in the Pentagon topline for 2026.

It is part of a proposal that asks Congress to slash non-defense spending by some $73 billion, or 10 percent, by "reducing or eliminating woke, weaponized and wasteful programs, and by returning state and local responsibilities to their respective governments."

The Pentagon isn't expected to release a detailed breakdown of the budget request until later this month, but the plan could form a fiscal framework that adds trillions to the already growing federal debt over the next decade, assuming Congress adopts the president's proposals.

Trump called on lawmakers to approve the bulk of the increase through the standard annual government funding process, while passing the remaining $350 billion via the same party-line legislative maneuver that allowed Republicans to secure tax cuts without Democratic support last year. 

In the lead-up to releasing the proposal, the president and his advisors have emphasized the urgency of boosting defense spending, pointing to the need to replenish weapons stockpiles and other military resources during the ongoing conflict with Iran. 

At a private lunch, Trump stressed that defense funding should take precedence over other federal expenditures, even if it meant scaling back social safety-net programs and other assistance.

"It's not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things, they can do it on a state basis," he said, adding that the priority had to be "military protection."

The White House posted a video of Trump's remarks on its YouTube page and then deleted it.

Democrats and Republicans have recently voiced concern about increasing military spending to the levels Trump has proposed, noting that the administration has not provided sufficient updates on the five-week-long war with Iran.

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The new mayor of the French capital pledged Friday to stop sexual violence in schools and pre-schools, saying Paris had suspended more than 30 school monitors suspected of sexual abuse since January.

School monitors recruited and trained by the city help look after children outside the classroom, including in the evening before their parents can pick them up.

City hall is under intense scrutiny after allegations that abusers slipped through the net and were even looking after nursery school pupils.

Claims of sexual abuse in schools were a central issue in the campaign leading up to last month's Paris mayoral election.

"Since the beginning of 2026, 78 staff members have been suspended, including 31 on suspicion of sexual violence," mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told reporters.

"These figures must lead us to a profound, thorough reappraisal," he added.

"Everything has to be reviewed from the ground up with one objective: zero tolerance."

He said he wanted to establish an independent commission to carry out a full examination of recruitment, reporting and monitoring procedures.

"We will give it access to everything and its freedom of speech will be absolute," he said.

- 'Code of silence' -

Gregoire himself has spoken publicly about being a victim of sexual abuse in an after-school swimming programme for several months when he was in primary school.

The mayor on Friday promised to spend 20 million euros ($23 million) on his action plan.

Last year 30 monitors were suspended in the capital, including 16 on suspicion of sexual abuse, according to city hall.

Of those suspended this year for physical or sexual violence, nine were working at the same Paris nursery school.

Parents of pupils have accused school management of failing to inform them about their suspicions.

"If there was a collective mistake, it was treating these cases as isolated incidents when in fact they reflect a systemic risk, and perhaps even a systemic code of silence," Gregoire told newspaper Le Monde Friday.

Kindergarten pupils were especially vulnerable, and almost all alleged perpetrators were men, he said.

He said most cases of alleged sexual abuse were from 2024 and 2025.

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Gennaro Gattuso quit as Italy coach on Friday, as the Azzurri's failure to reach a third straight World Cup continued to send shockwaves through Italian football.

A World Cup winner in 2006, Gattuso leaves after less than a year in charge of Italy, a team which has fallen far behind historic rivals like France and Spain in the last two decades.

Defeat on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tuesday's qualification play-off final ended up costing Gattuso his job, as the man who hired him also stepped down as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

"With a heavy heart, and having fallen short of the goal we set ourselves, I feel my time as head coach of the national team has come to an end," Gattuso said in a statement.

"The Azzurri shirt is the most precious thing in football, and for that reason it's only right to make way immediately for the federation's future decisions.

"It has been an honour to lead the national team, especially with a group of players who have shown such commitment and dedication."

Gabriele Gravina had asked Gattuso to stay on immediately after elimination in Zenica but his departure, and that of national team general manager Gianluigi Buffon, paved the way for the 48-year-old's exit after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Gattuso took charge of Italy in June last year following the sacking of Luciano Spalletti, himself a victim of a dismal title defence at Euro 2024 and a 3-0 hammering at the hands of Erling Haaland's Norway in their first World Cup qualifier.

His record is impressive on paper, with six wins, one defeat and one draw in eight matches with 22 goals scored and 10 conceded.

But that draw was the 1-1 with Bosnia which preceded a penalty shoot-out in which Italy missed twice, while the loss was another humiliating one to Norway, this time 4-1 at the San Siro.

- Strange choice -

Gattuso was considered by many a strange choice to replace Spalletti due to his spotty club coaching record, and he was heavily criticised after Tuesday's elimination.

Italy were second best nearly the whole game, and completely conceded the initiative when Alessandro Bastoni was sent off not long before half-time.

Bosnia could easily have won the game in normal time but once Italy managed to get to the shoot-out Gattuso selected inexperienced Pio Esposito to take the first penalty, which the 20-year-old smashed over the bar.

The upheaval caused by failing to qualify for this summer's finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico, means the national team will have an interim coach for a friendly with Greece on June 7.

Two former national team coaches in Roberto Mancini, who led Italy to victory at Euro 2020, and Antonio Conte are the names most frequently cited as Gattuso's replacement.

But no new coach will be announced until after the FIGC's board vote on a new president on June 22, Gravina falling on his sword a day after sports minister Andrea Abodi called on him to go.

Italy's failure to reach the first ever 48-team World Cup -- which will feature the likes of Cape Verde and Curacao -- led Abodi to release a statement saying: "It's clear that Italian football needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that starts with changes at the top of the FIGC."

That came a day after Gravina had hit out at politicians "who have only pushed for resignations", while also admitting Italian football "is in a profound crisis".

Italy's footballing woes do not just relate to diminishing performances by the national team.

No Serie A club has won the Champions League since 2010.

The country is due to co-host Euro 2032 with Turkey but on Thursday, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin hit out at the state of Italy's stadiums, warning the country could be stripped of hosting rights.

"I just hope that the infrastructure (in Italy) will be ready. If that's not the case, the tournament will not be held in Italy," Ceferin said in an interview with the Gazzetta Dello Sport.

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From Japan's wacky racers to JD Vance's demons... Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world.

- Japan's office hell riders -

It takes true grit and buttocks of steel to compete in Japan's ISU-1 Grand Prix, a test of endurance modelled on France's Le Mans 24 race. Except the gruelling Japanese race is run on office chairs.

Their faces contorted in pain and exhaustion, the losing drivers lay prostrate at the finish line amid a mess of broken dreams and chair wheels. 

But Naoki Nishikawa, a member of the victorious team, said the two hours of hell on the Kyotanabe track near Kyoto was worth it. It "really showed me how important it is to keep going without giving up," he told AFP.

Yasunori Miura missed out on the top prize -- 90 kilos of rice -- but thinks the race could go global. "I really hope it spreads across the world," he said.

- There be demons -

Pause for thought all those who think anyone else would be better than Donald Trump in the White House.

Vice President JD Vance this week admitted that he is "obsessed" with unidentified flying objects -- though he is convinced they are actually demons, and they are up there zipping around skies ready to do us mischief. 

"I've still got three more years as vice president. I will get to the bottom of the UFO files," he told a podcast.

"I don't think they're aliens. I think they're demons," which he defined as "celestial beings who fly around, who do weird things to people".

- Udderly crazy -

Five young cows have been enrolled in a French primary school in a bid to boost numbers.

Parents in the Alsatian village of Moosch -- yes, that's really its name -- brought Arlette, Abondance, Amsel, Amandine and Abeille to the school to register them for next year's intake in September.

While they took care of the paperwork, the cows amoosed themselves in a paddock in playground to the delight of the school's two-legged pupils.

Mayor Jose Schruoffeneger said the school risks losing a class after falling four students short, "so we had the idea to enroll the heifers" to make up the numbers.

"Obviously it's tongue-in-cheek," he told AFP, "but since this morning the phone has been ringing off the hook with enquiries".

- Won't be Russian to Moscow -

A German's sense of humour has landed him in deep trouble with the Kremlin. 

Jacques Tilly, who depicted Russian leader Vladimir Putin taking a bath in blood for a carnival float, was sentenced to eight years and six months in jail by a court in Moscow.

But the artist -- who was convicted in absentia -- does not seem overly bothered, and hit back with a paper-mache creation for this year's Duesseldorf carnival of Putin being whacked on the head by a jester marked "satire".

- All-you-can-eat marathon -

To China where two runners whose antics at the Chengdu marathon went viral have been banned from all races in Sichuan province for two years.

One woman who stopped suddenly to perform the splits without breaking her stride -- and make a heart with her arms at the same time -- was condemned for endangering other runners.

Another competitor sparked outrage and laughter in equal measure by shamelessly filling his large backpack with energy gels and other snacks offered along the route.  

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(The Center Square) - The U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in March, exceeding expectations, after one month of conflict between the United States and Iran. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.3%, according to a new report from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. 

The March job's report shows a significant uptick from Februrary's "dismal" loss of 133,000 jobs. The healthcare, construction, transportation and warehousing industries drove most of the increases in March. 

The unemployment rate went down to 4.3% in March, slightly improved from 4.4% in February. 

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal, said job gains in March were the best since December 2024. 

"There's no sign of the war in Iran hurting the job market yet," Long said. 

The healthcare industry added 76,000 jobs in March, driven by a 54,000 increase in ambulatory services. The construction industry added 26,000 jobs in March, similar to the previous 12 month span. 

The transportation and warehousing industries added 21,000 jobs in March. Employment in the industry is down after reaching its peak in February 2025 with 139,000 jobs. 

Jobs in social assistance also increased by 14,000 in March, mainly from an 11,000 increase in family services. 

"Bottom line: It's been a rocky in the job market since last April, but March was a strong gain," Long wrote. 

With the war in the Middle East sending global fertiliser prices soaring, the EU is coming under pressure from farmers and some member states to take action. 

Agriculture sector representatives are due in Brussels for talks with the European Commission on April 13, as many complain the conflict risks plunging an already strained industry into a deeper crisis. 

"The situation is very dire," lamented Amaury Poncelet, a cereal farmer in central Belgium.

This winter he bought fertilisers for 380 euros ($439) a tonne, up from 330 euros last summer, he noted. "And since things flared up in Iran, prices are going further up," he told AFP. 

About a third of fertilisers shipped by sea reach the global market through the Strait of Hormuz that Iran has effectively closed in retaliation against US-Israeli strikes.

That sent prices up, with the UN expressing concern in particular about the impact on developing countries.

In Europe, the price of nitrogen fertilisers, which are derived from gas, has risen by around 20 percent over the past month, and is approaching 500 euro per tonne -- a one-two punch for farmers already facing higher costs because of the war in Ukraine.

Cereal producers, who need vast amounts of the stuff, have been hit particularly hard, said Luc Vernet of Farm Europe, an agriculture sector think tank.

"They haven't been able to make a living for the past three years," he said. 

In France alone, about 300,000 hectares of land once used for cereal farming has been left fallow or abandoned since 2022, he said. 

- 'Strategically important' -

Brussels, which has slapped high tariffs on fertilisers from Russia -- a major producer -- with plans to end imports by 2022 in a bid to hit Moscow's war coffers, has found itself again the target of requests for help. 

France and farmers groups are pushing for a pause in the application of the EU's carbon border tax on fertilisers. 

But the commission, which has promised an action plan for May, has so far ruled that out. 

Supporters point out that the levy targets carbon-intensive imports to level the playing field for European industries subject to strict emissions rules, noting their development is key if Europe wants to avoid a similar crisis in the future. 

The crisis sparked by the Iran war has made it "clear that maintaining strong domestic fertiliser production is strategically important for Europe", said Fertilizers Europe, an industry group. 

A commission spokeswoman said the EU executive was continuously monitoring prices and has already "taken several measures to help farmers with affordability of fertilisers".

These included suspending duties on all imports with the exception of those from Russia and Belarus and adjusting the carbon border tax to soften its impact, she said.

Its May plan will be addressing "structural vulnerabilities and market imbalances" and look to boost domestic production, including low-carbon alternatives. 

But there is a long way to go before these can become a competitive reality.

Some such green projects have been abandoned as too costly and others are in the initial stages, said Vernet. 

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During the war in the Gaza Strip and two wars with Iran in the space of a year, Israel has used artificial intelligence to fine-tune its missile early warning system. 

In last year's 12-day conflict with Iran, incoming missiles would spark city-wide air raid alerts, and Israelis would have to rush for cover, often several times a day.

But now the systems that warn of an impending attack have become increasingly more sophisticated and localised.

Sarah Chemla is a 32-year-old mother whose second child was born in a delivery room set up in an underground hospital bunker in Tel Aviv during the 2025 war with Iran.

Back then, every alert that sounded applied to the whole city, she said, but now the system has become more precise.

"We spend less time in shelters, even if the stress is still there," Chemla said.

As the new war with Iran rages, Chemla said the refined warning systems are making lives easier.

She no longer has to shake her children awake whenever a siren sounds, and some nights they even manage to sleep through.

"Before, alarms would sound across all of Tel Aviv whenever a missile targeted the area," she told AFP.

"Now alerts are ultra-localised. If a projectile is heading for the south of the city, I only get a pre-alert and no longer have to wake my children."

Between the wars with Iran and during the Gaza conflict, Israeli civil defence has significantly upgraded its public warning system, to make daily life more manageable under the constant threat of missile fire.

Behind the shift lies the growing use of artificial intelligence, AI, to predict where incoming projectiles are likely to hit.

- Continuous surveillance -

Since the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas that triggered the Gaza war, "more than 60,000 missiles, rockets, drones and aerial threats have been fired at Israel", former air defence commander Ran Kochav told AFP.

"Each launch has been the subject of a full analysis ... incorporating all its characteristics: trajectory, timing, weather, launch angle, radar signature."

This data is "processed ... with the help of AI", added Kochav, now an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in Britain.

Israel's defence firm Elbit Systems has also deployed its "SkyEye" system to analyse launches, media reports say.

"The system has the capability to continuously monitor vast areas, intercept events and maintain multiple regions of interest (ROI) under constant surveillance with high spatial resolution," Elbit Systems says on its website.

Experts say AI is processing data at a speed and depth beyond human capacity.

"AI gathers millions of data points and performs what is known as data fusion," Yehoshua Kalisky, a laser specialist and researcher at Tel Aviv's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told AFP.

"It provides strategic planning and forecasting tools at levels the human brain cannot reach, thereby supporting decision-makers."

For each launch from Iran or Lebanon -- where Israel is also at war with Tehran-backed Hezbollah -- the prediction is passed on to the military's Home Front Command, which is responsible for civilian protection.

- 1,700 alert zones -

Nearly 20 years ago, during the 2006 war with Hezbollah, "the country was divided into 25 alert zones", a Home Front Command source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"Today there are 1,700."

Major cities are now split into sub-zones to avoid unnecessarily confining millions of people to shelters during frequent alerts.

The Command relies on multiple channels to reach the public: street sirens, a dedicated website, the media, and a silent radio frequency that activates only in emergencies for observant Jews who switch off their phones during the Sabbath.

But above all else, it is the smart phone that has transformed the management of life during wartime.

The Israeli military says an app downloaded on more than four million phones in a country of 10 million people delivers real-time geo-located alerts, the time needed to reach a shelter and "all-clear" messages when the threat recedes.

During the June 2025 war with Iran, civil defence added cell broadcast technology, enabling alerts to be sent to all switched-on phones within range of relay antennas.

At dawn on June 13, 2025, thousands of phones across the country sounded a piercing tone, warning that Israel had struck Iran and urging people to brace for retaliation, which followed within hours.

Since February 28 this year, for many Israelis that sound has become the soundtrack of war.

Tel Aviv resident Chemla said the improvements in the early warning system over the past year have been "life-saving".

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Greece on Friday reshuffled its government after three cabinet members resigned as a burgeoning EU farm subsidy scandal pisled pressure on the country's conservative government.

The government resignations came after European Union prosecutors this week said they were probing 20 members of the ruling New Democracy party, including active and former lawmakers.

Prosecutors are reportedly probing whether beneficiaries of agriculture subsidies had made false claims.

According to Greek authorities, the network defrauded at least 23 million euros ($27 million) since it started around 2018. 

- 'Widespread corruption' -

"The removal of the current leadership of the Ministry of Rural Development highlights the widespread corruption whose core and heart lie deep within the government" and the prime minister's office, the main opposition socialist Pasok party said in a statement.

"Of course, until yesterday the prime minister was claiming that this leadership had brought order to the chaos of illegal subsidies," it said.

The EU's European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) on Wednesday demanded that Greece lift the parliamentary immunity of 11 lawmakers, for acts allegedly committed in 2021.

The agency said it also had information regarding the possible involvement of a former agriculture minister, his deputy and five former MPs.

On Thursday, it said there were another two MPs under suspicion.

It said the investigation concerns "instigation of breach of trust, computer fraud and false attestation with the intent to obtain for another an unlawful benefit."

The suspects have not been formally named, but their names were widely circulated by Greek media.

According to news reports, the EPPO investigation was partly based on phone recordings in which politicians are allegedly heard attempting to secure subsidy payments for their constituents.

"You had wolves guarding the sheep," Konstantinos Barkas, parliament speaker for the leftist Syriza party, told lawmakers.

Ministers cannot be independently prosecuted by Greek courts. Any probe must first pass through parliament in a cumbersome process that is frequently blocked by the government's majority lawmakers.

Greek police last year made dozens of non-political arrests over the scandal.

EU prosecutors first detailed the scam last May, accusing subsidy beneficiaries of making claims for land that they did not own and exaggerating the number of animals on farms. 

Some people receiving payments had no link to agriculture.

The scheme started after the EU's Common Agricultural Policy began calculating subsidies based on land instead of livestock in 2014.

The incomplete land registry at the time made ownership across much of Greece unclear. Farmers were therefore allowed to declare land owned elsewhere in the country to claim subsidies.

- 'Thieves' -

Cases under investigation include pastures declared on archaeological sites, olive trees in a military airport and banana plantations on Mount Olympus.

The allegations led to a string of raids and arrests last October, as well as long-running protests from farmers who had their legitimate subsidies held up.

Most of the fraudulent subsidies went to the island of Crete, where the family of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been politically influential for over a century. 

"To conceal the illicit origin of the proceeds, the suspects are believed to have issued fictitious invoices, routed the funds through multiple bank accounts, and mixed them with legitimate income," the EPPO said in October.

According to Greek authorities, approximately 80 percent of subsidies for pastures granted from 2017 to 2020 ended up in Crete.

And while the number of livestock farmers in Greece is decreasing, 13,000 new farmers were registered in Crete between 2019 and 2025. The number of declared sheep and goats doubled over the same period.

Mitsotakis, who notes the fraud began before he came to power in 2019, has vowed to imprison the "thieves" responsible and to reclaim the funds.

Elections are scheduled in Greece next year. Mitsotakis's conservative party leads in opinion polls, but is not expected to secure an absolute majority.

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