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The US labor market picked up in March as employers showed signs of resilience amid the US-Israel war in Iran.

After an extraordinary contraction in February, employers added 178,000 jobs last month, ahead of economists’ expectations of about 70,000.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. In February, the economy lost 133,000 jobs, according to revised figures. Job figures for January were revised up, from 126,000 to 160,000. With revisions, total employment in January and February is 7,000 lower than previously reported. .

Previous data painted a mixed picture of the US labor market, which economists say has been in a static “low-fire, low-hire” state, where both layoffs and new hires are down.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that employers announced 217,362 job cuts in the first quarter of 2026 – the lowest total for that period since 2022. But hiring in February slowed to a six-year low, according to data released earlier this week, with dips seen in construction and leisure and hospitality.

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US federal agents have arrested the niece and grandniece of the late Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani after the Trump administration’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, revoked their lawful permanent resident status, officials said on Saturday.

“Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” or ICE, the state department said in a statement.

US authorities arrest relatives of State department said niece and grandniece of Qassem Soleimani, killed in 2020 US drone strike, celebrated attacks against US soldiers

In his own statement on social media, Rubio, the US secretary of state, confirmed that the mother-daughter pair are “pending removal” from the US, a development that came after the US and Israeli militaries began waging war on Iran in late February, in part citing an Iranian history of terrorism sponsorship.

More...https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/04/soleimani-family-arrested-us-federal-authorities

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s effort to force public colleges and universities in 17 states to hand over detailed race-based admissions data.

U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor found that the Department of Education likely has the authority to “collect, analyze, and make use of the data,” but the process was performed in a “rushed and chaotic manner.”

“The manner in which [National Center for Education Statistics] handled that process simply cannot be squared with the requirements of the [Administrative Procedure Act] — and, indeed, epitomizes arbitrary and capricious agency action,” Saylor wrote.

He granted a preliminary injunction to the 17 Democratic-led states that challenged President Trump’s executive order from August, which directed the Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “expand the scope of required reporting to provide adequate transparency into admissions” within 120 days.

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Global approval of China surpassed the U.S. in 2025, the widest favorability gap between the two countries in almost 20 years, according to a new Gallup poll released Friday.

Gallup found that China’s global approval rating last year reached a median of 36 percent in support of the country’s leadership. U.S. leadership saw its median approval rating drop to 31 percent, a fall of 8 percentage points since 2024. China’s approval rose from 32 percent in 2024.

Disapproval of China’s leadership remained flat at 37 percent, Gallup found. U.S. leadership’s disapproval reached a record-high of 48 percent.

Last year was the second year on record where both countries registered negative net global approval ratings. The median net approval for China dipped to -1, with the U.S. dropping down to a median net approval of -15, the lowest on record.

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Iraqi authorities are continuing the search for American journalist Shelly Kittleson who was kidnapped March 31 on a busy street in central Baghdad, Reuters reported.

The Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hizballah was responsible for Kittleson's kidnapping, according to The New York Times, which reported that the group offered on April 1 to negotiate with the Iraqi government for her release in exchange for several militia members being held by authorities.

“We will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible,” Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said in a March 31 post on X. Johnson did not refer to Kittleson by name.

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Two United Nations experts have called on Israel to immediately release Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya from detention following reports that he had been subjected to "severe torture". 

Special Rapporteurs Tlaleng Mofokeng and Ben Saul said on Tuesday that the former director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza faced severe torture and "other cruel and degrading treatment", leaving him in a "dire" health condition.

“The conditions of his detention appear to be flagrantly arbitrary and manifestly inconsistent with the Mandela Rules, which establish the obligation of states to ensure prisoners have access to healthcare," they added. 

The Nelson Mandela Rules are a set of standards unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in late 2015 to ensure a fair and humane treatment of detainees.

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An Israeli soldier has shared a photo online in which he appears to use a blindfolded Palestinian man to advertise a private business.

The image, which has circulated widely on social media, shows a Palestinian father who was reportedly detained by Israeli forces during a raid on his home in the occupied West Bank.

He is seen blindfolded and holding a sign bearing the Instagram handle @shilo_jewlry, alongside the words “Happy Passover” in Hebrew.

Amid a wave of online outrage, the account has since been deleted.

Social media users reacted with shock, describing the image as “depraved” and “abhorrent”.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that Ukrainian expert teams are actively working across the Middle East and Gulf region, assessing defense systems, advising governments, and laying the groundwork for long-term military cooperation.

During an off-the-record meeting with journalists on April 2, Zelensky said Ukrainian teams are already on the ground in several countries.

“Our expert groups are there to analyze what is happening in a particular country – what level their defense is at, what changes are needed, what can strengthen them,” he said.

According to the president, this effort has now moved into a second phase, where partner countries are outlining their needs and priorities.

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