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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
U.S. job openings fell to 6.88m in February from an upwardly revised 7.24m in January, undershooting expectations and signalling a moderation in labor demand after a brief uptick at the start of the year. According to the Labor Department's latest JOLTS report, hiring also slowed markedly, to its lowest level since April 2020, reflecting weaker recruitment across sectors including construction, leisure and hospitality, and business services. The slowdown in vacancies was driven by declines in accommodation and food services, healthcare, and manufacturing, suggesting softness is concentrated in specific industries rather than broad-based. Meanwhile, the quits rate held at 1.9%, matching its lowest level since 2020, indicating reduced worker confidence in securing new roles, while layoffs edged up slightly but remained subdued overall. The ratio of job openings to unemployed workers fell to 0.9, down significantly from a peak of 2 in 2022, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s view that the labor market is no longer a key source of inflationary pressure.
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Human Times
UK
Iceland has offered a job to a former Waitrose employee dismissed after confronting a shoplifter, in a case that has sparked wider debate about retail crime and staff policies. The offer came from Iceland chairman Richard Walker, who publicly invited Walker Smith to join the company. Smith had worked at Waitrose for 17 years and was dismissed after attempting to stop a theft of Easter eggs, breaching company rules that prohibit staff from intervening due to safety risks. The incident prompted political criticism and public support, with a fundraiser raising more than £7,500. Waitrose defended its decision, emphasising the importance of staff safety and adherence to policy, while the worker said repeated shoplifting had led to frustration and his actions.
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Human Times
Europe
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warns that Russian state cyber group APT28 has exploited vulnerable internet routers to enable domain name system (DNS) hijacking operations. The resulting malicious DNS resolutions enable adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) attacks that harvest passwords, OAuth tokens and other credentials for web and email related services. This puts organisations at risk of credential theft, data manipulation and broader compromise. The NCSC has provided a list of mitigation measures that could help in defending against the activity described in its advisory.
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Human Times
Middle East
Reuters reports that some Western and Saudi firms in Riyadh extended work-from-home advisories earlier this week amid mounting concern over the US-imposed deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face "hell." The advisories, which were sent out on Monday and Tuesday, related to work in Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District, Faisaliah Tower, Business Gate and Laysen Valley, people familiar with the matter said. The locations are home to offices for major US banks and tech firms including Microsoft and Apple, and also Saudi entities such as the sovereign wealth fund. The US and Iran have now agreed a two-week ceasefire that would open the Strait of Hormuz shortly before Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to meet his demands or face strikes that he said would kill “a whole civilisation.”
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