U.S. futures were trading modestly lower early Friday following surprisingly strong jobs data from the federal government. Equities markets are closed for Good Friday, but futures markets were trading into Friday morning, albeit quietly. Futures for S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% and Nasdaq futures were down 0.4%.

BANGKOK (AP) – Myanmar’s parliament on Friday elected Min Aung Hlaing, a general who ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in 2021 and kept an iron grip on power for the past five years, as the country’s new president. The move marks a nominal return to an elected government but is widely considered as an effort to keep the army in power.

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday accused China of “bullying” by detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships – though for a short period of time – after the Central American country seized control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal earlier this year from a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East.

BEIJING (AP) – Peace talks between Afghanistan’s Taliban government and Pakistan are advancing, China’s government said Friday, two days after those countries resumed conversations following weeks of fighting that have killed hundreds.

BANGKOK (AP) – The disciplinary body for China ‘s Communist Party said Friday it has placed the former Xinjiang party chief under investigation over suspected violations of discipline and law. Ma Xingrui is a member of the party’s Central Committee and served as party secretary of the Xinjiang region in China’s northwest from 2021-2025.

ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistanis faced record fuel price increases Friday, as petrol and diesel prices rose by up to 54% driven by the war in the Middle East that has caused global oil prices to surge. The increase adds pressure to a cash-strapped nation already grappling with high inflation, as economists warned the hike would push up food prices and living costs.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealand and Cook Islands signed a defense and security pact Thursday, easing more than a year of tension between the Pacific nations over Cook Islands’ deepening ties with China. The fraught diplomatic standoff that prompted Wellington to pause millions of dollars in aid to Avarua was hardly a clash of geopolitical heavyweights.