live Trump urges action at Strait of Hormuz as 20,000 sailors stranded- Middle East, 31 March
The Iran-U.S.-Israel conflict is escalating further with missile and drone attacks, expanded strikes on key infrastructure, and growing regional fa...
President Donald Trump is touting strong job numbers as proof of his economic leadership while blaming former President Joe Biden for lingering problems, even as economic indicators show mixed signals.
“I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy because he’s done a terrible job,” President Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker set to air on “Meet the Press.” “He did a terrible job on everything, from his autopen — which I’m sure he knew nothing about, some of the things he was supposedly signing.”
Trump did not explain how he separates the impacts of each presidency on the current state of the economy. Still, he was quick to link April’s better-than-expected jobs report to his own policies, despite only recently returning to the White House.
In the first 100 days of his new term, Trump has aggressively pushed to overhaul the global economic order, reintroducing broad tariffs that affect both rivals and allies. He has also prioritized bringing manufacturing back to the U.S., though many of his punitive measures have been temporarily paused for 90 days to allow time for negotiations.
However, the early data has not been entirely favorable. The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025, a notable downturn from the 2.4 percent growth seen in the final quarter of 2024. Consumer confidence has also taken a hit.
“Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last week. “Our country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang.’ This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!”
In April, U.S. employers added 177,000 jobs and hourly wages rose, although many of the federal job cuts proposed by the Trump administration have not yet impacted employment figures. Despite these gains, Trump’s approval rating on economic issues stands at just 39 percent, according to a recent CNN poll.
“Ultimately, I take responsibility for everything,” Trump told Welker. “But I’ve only just been here for a little more than three months.”
He added, “The stock market — look at what’s happened in the last short period of time. Didn’t it have nine or 10 days in a row, or 11 days, where it’s gone up? And the tariffs have just started kicking in. And we’re doing really well. Psychologically, I mean, the fake news was giving me such press on the tariffs. The tariffs are going to make us rich. We’re going to be a very rich country.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the U.S is in talks with the new Iranian regime. He said this in a post on his Truth Social account but warned that the U.S. will "Obliterate" Iran's electric and oil facilities if no deal is reached, especially regarding the Strait of Hormuz closure.
NASA is aiming to launch its Artemis 2 mission on Wednesday (1 April), sending astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, officials confirmed. According to the Space Administration, the launch window is due to open at 23:24 GMT, with additional opportunities to 6 April if delays occur.
The Iran-U.S.-Israel conflict is escalating further with missile and drone attacks, expanded strikes on key infrastructure, and growing regional fallout. At the same time, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate began to emerge amid rising global energy and security concerns.
A senior Iranian military officer warned that American troops will become ‘food for sharks’ on Sunday if the U.S. launches a ground offensive in Iran. The threat came as contingents of U.S. Marines began to arrive in the Middle East, with thousands expected to be deployed in the region.
The Israeli military said on Monday that Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, and an attack had also been launched from Yemen for the second time since the U.S.-Israeli war began on Tehran. It said two drones from Yemen were intercepted early 30 March but gave no further details.
The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas and several EU foreign ministers arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of the Bucha massacre and to voice their support for Ukraine, amid tensions within the bloc over blocked EU aid.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 31 March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The Australian government has threatened to go to court in a bid to sue social media giants for allegedly flouting a ban on under-16s, as its internet regulator disclosed it is investigating some of the biggest platforms for suspected non-compliance with the world-first measure.
At least 70 people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in a gang attack in Haiti’s Artibonite region, according to two rights organisations, as thousands of residents fled the violence in the towns of Jean Denis and Pont Sondé.
Russia has expelled a British diplomat, accusing him of economic espionage in a move that further strains already tense relations between Moscow and London. The United Kingdom described the action as intimidation and rejected the allegations outright, Reuters reports.
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