Ukraine’s president says partners asked if the attacks could be “reduced” as prices soar due to the Iran war.
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Zelensky says allies asked him to scale back attacks on Russian energy
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PHL tops ranking of outsourcing destinations
By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES has topped a global ranking for outsourced talent, winning points for strong English proficiency and competitive labor costs, according to Ataraxis, a US hiring platform.
The company’s Global Outsourcing Talent Index, which evaluated 193 countries, classified the Philippines as an “elite sourcing hub” and described the country as the “most attractive destination for companies hiring global remote talent.”
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were Malaysia, India, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Peru, Indonesia, Argentina, and Romania.
The index evaluates countries across five key factors that influence global hiring: labor cost (52.5%), English proficiency (20%), talent availability (17.5%), digital infrastructure (5%), and business, legal, and political stability (5%).
According to the report, the Philippines scored 96 on labor cost; 90 on English proficiency; 90 on talent depth; and 70 on digital infrastructure. Its lowest rating (60) was for business stability, where it was classified as “moderate risk.”
Jack Madrid, president and chief executive officer at the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines, said the ranking represents the industry’s value proposition to global firms.
“A talent base of 1.9 million digital Filipino workers, validated on a global scale, signals that the country can support both scale and more complex work, making it an attractive destination for companies looking to expand or diversify their operations,” he said in an e-mail.
To retain its position, the industry must focus on upskilling talent to climb the information technology-business process management value chain.
“This requires sustained investment and strong coordination between government and industry to keep policies, education, and training aligned with global demand,” Mr. Madrid said.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ low stability score reflects concerns about policy consistency and exposure to external shocks, according to Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow John Paolo R. Rivera.
“The government needs to strengthen policy predictability and regulatory clarity as investors value stable rules, faster approvals, and less bureaucratic friction,” he said via Viber.
Mr. Rivera also cited the need to improve the reliability of power, internet, transport, and cybersecurity infrastructure.
Managing inflation, a stable currency, and credible fiscal policy would also help reduce perceived risks, he said.
“Strengthening governance and ease of doing business, including contract enforcement and institutional coordination, can significantly improve investor confidence and lift the country’s business stability score,” Mr. Rivera said.
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Zelenskyy offers Ukraine’s help to unblock Hormuz – POLITICO
Although the three Ukrainian ports in Odesa region still experience Russian missile and drone strikes, they’re visited by about 200 cargo ships a month, said Andrii Klymenko, head of the monitoring group on the situation in the Black Sea region with the Institute for Black Sea Strategic Studies.
“Ukraine managed to create a complex system of cargo ship protection from all kinds of threats on the sea route from the territorial waters of Romania to the Odesa region,” Klymenko said. “I call it a tunnel.”
Ukraine hasn’t gone into details about its strategy, but the system includes defense from air attacks, protection from sea mines and joint work by coastal artillery, the air force and other units, Klymenko said.
A crucial factor were the sea drones used against the Russian fleet.
“As of today, Ukraine’s marine drones are not only kamikaze boats, but also platforms that can carry machine guns, rocket launchers and FPV drones,” Ihor Fedirko, CEO of Ukraine’s Council of Defence Industry, told POLITICO.
The drones have also shot down Russian helicopters and jet fighters.
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Swiss want to inscribe Alpine foodstuffs on UNESCO list
Switzerland wants to inscribe Alpine foodstuffs on the UNESCO list
Keystone-SDA
Switzerland has submitted its “Alpine Food Heritage” application to UNESCO, according to the Federal Office of Culture. The aim is to include cheese-making in the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices for Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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This project is being carried out in collaboration with France, Italy and Slovenia. This is the first time that Switzerland has coordinated an application for inclusion in the UNESCO Register of Best Practices for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which recognises exemplary programmes that can inspire other regions of the world.
The Alpine food heritage brings together a body of knowledge, practices and techniques relating to food in the mountain regions of the Alps, said the government in a press release on Monday.
+ Ten Swiss traditions on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list
These include, for example, cheese-making at high altitudes, the cultivation of cereals – and turning them into bread – adapted to Alpine environments, the gathering of wild plants, the upkeep of traditional orchards and mountain bee-keeping. For the Federal Office of Culture, these practices “constitute a living heritage that is closely linked to the landscapes, farming systems and lifestyles of Alpine communities”.
The aim of this application is to “recognise the conservation programmes run by communities to identify, document, transmit and promote this heritage”. It also aims to strengthen the promotion of “sustainable forms of production and consumption”. These initiatives are based on the transnational network developed as part of the European AlpFoodway project (2015-2019).
The UNESCO decision will be taken in December 2027 at the earliest, the press release said.
Adapted from French by AI/ts
We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.
Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.
If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at english@swissinfo.ch
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12 Unmissable Foodie Escapes of the Vallée
Wine, cheese, olive oil, seafood, mustard – France’s finest flavours are all here for you to enjoy… 1. DIJON GINGERBREAD Find out how Dijon’s classic gingerbread (pain d’épices) is made through a visit to the excellent and informative Mulot & Petitjean museum and factory, which has been manufacturing the biscuits since 1796. mulotpetitjean.com/gb Dijon gingerbread 2. ANISEED BONBONS They’ve been…
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NFL to Begin Hiring, Training Replacement Officials as Potential Ref Lockout Nears
The NFL is moving forward with plans to begin hiring and training replacement officials in the next several weeks because negotiations with the referees’ union have been unsuccessful, two people with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press.
Both people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the conversations are private.
The league and the NFL Referees Association have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since the summer of 2024. The current CBA expires on May 31.
The NFL has increased its offer to a 6.45% annual growth rate in compensation over a six-year labor deal, but the NFLRA wants 10% plus $2.5 million for marketing fees, the people said.
The league wants compensation tied to performance so that only high-performing game officials during the regular season share in the year-end bonus pool.
The league is also seeking greater flexibility to ensure the best officials are on the field during the postseason. The current CBA includes seniority as a factor in making postseason assignments.
Shortening the “dark period” is also a priority for the NFL. Currently, the league has no communication with game officials during the roughly three-month stretch between the Super Bowl and May 15. The goal is to increase access to game officials for rules discussions, video review, mechanics and appropriate football operations and committee meetings in order to improve the game and officials’ performance.
The NFL is offering to hire some full-time officials, but one of the people said the union is resisting and is asking for “full-time pay and part-time hours.”
“Apparently ‘League sources’ are continuing to put out false and misleading information instead of wanting to meet at the negotiating table,” NFLRA executive director Scott Green said in a statement. “The bottom line is our officials work for the wealthiest sports league in America, with profits that far exceed any of the others. That’s normally a point of pride for the NFL. However, our officials are substantially under-compensated when compared to baseball and basketball umpires and referees. Our officials also aren’t provided the health care benefits that those at 345 Park Avenue have.
“As far as performance pay, we had ‘high performing officials’ who worked this year’s championship games and the Super Bowl who were paid less for those games than what they were paid for a regular-season game. That certainly isn’t rewarding performance, as the NFL claims is their goal.”
In preparation for potential use of replacement officials, the NFL competition committee has proposed a contingency that would allow the replay center in New York to advise the on-field officials on any missed roughing the passer or intentional grounding penalty, as well as any act that would have led to an ejection had a penalty been called. NFL owners will vote on the proposal this week at the annual meeting.
The NFL used replacement officials for the first three weeks of the 2012 season and resulted in several mistakes and wrong calls, including the disputed TD catch known as the “Fail Mary.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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48-hour curfew imposed after attack on bar in Nigerian city
The raid led to revenge attacks in Jos, with 22 reported dead so far in one of the most volatile parts of the country.
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Provation Introduces Real-Time, AI-Powered Documentation Assist for GI Procedures
For more information about Provation Apex’s latest feature, visit www.provationmedical.com/ apex-mira-documentation-assist/About Provation Provation is a leading healthcare software provider dedicated to empowering providers with innovative solutions that streamline clinical workflows in the Gastroenterology and Anesthesia specialties. Provation’s platforms, Provation® Apex and Provation® iPro, are trusted by over 5,000 hospitals, surgery centers, and medical offices globally. With a purpose-driven approach, Provation continues to drive productivity and improve patient outcomes through advanced documentation and workflow solutions. For more information, visit provationmedical.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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Spain’s PM defies Trump with MAGA-style cap
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has posted a video of himself with a red cap reminiscent of that of the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement, a nudge at Donald Trump at a time when relations between the US and Spain are particularly strained.
Spain’s PM Pedro Sánchez has made headlines after posting a video of himself on TikTok donning a red cap that reads “Make Science Great Again” in English.
Sánchez appears in selfie mode at the start of the video wearing the MAGA-style hat and saying “Vamos a darle caña”, an expression in Spanish which in this context could either mean “we’re going to give them hell” or “we’re going to give it our all”.
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The short video then cuts to a GoPro-style video of the Spanish premier practicing enduro mountain bike racing, a weekend pastime he’s spoken about on previous social media appearances.
The video has been covered widely by the Spanish press, who’ve described Sánchez’s cap as “pure sarcasm” and “a nudge at Trump”.
Sánchez’s headwear choice comes at a time when he has become the most vocal leader in the West to oppose US and Israeli-led attacks on Iran and the escalating war in the Middle East.
READ MORE: ‘No to the war’ – Spain’s PM defies Trump as rift with US deepens
The Spanish government has refused to allow the US military to launch missile attacks from its military bases in Andalusia (Morón and Rota), leading Donald Trump to threaten to sever all trade with Spain.
“Spain has been terrible,” Trump said when the news broke. “So we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
On Monday March 30th, Spain’s government also closed Spanish airspace to US planes carrying out missions against Iran.
As for the message on Sánchez’s cap – “Make Science Great Again” – it is probably in reference to the fact that the Spanish government has sought to take in US-based researchers and scientists who have faced funding cuts under the current US administration.
Last year, Sánchez’s Socialist government allocated €45 million to convince these researchers being “disregarded” by Trump to continue their work in Spain, a programme which has proven relatively successful.
The Spanish PM’s video on Saturday also coincided with another round of ‘No Kings’ protests in the US against the growing authoritarianism of Donald Trump as well as his decision to go to war with Israel against Iran.
Pedro Sánchez and his politics are seen by many as the antithesis of Donald Trump and his administration. The Spanish leader is pro-immigration, anti-war, a defender of minorities and a supporter of a strong welfare system, to name a few differences.
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Olivenöl-Test 2026: Migros siegt, Lidl und Denner patzen
Lidl zum zweiten Mal mit mässigem Resultat
Allerdings hatte Lidl bereits im letzten September bei einem Olivenöl-Test der SRF-Sendung «Kassensturz» schlecht abgeschnitten. Dort wurde dem Bio-Primadonna-Olivenöl die Note «fehlerhaft» gegeben, weil Geruch und Geschmack «stichig, schlammig» seien. Auch da argumentierte Lidl, das Öl sei in Tests eines deutschen Expertengremiums als gut bewertet worden und habe «alle Vorgaben erfüllt».