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Nearly 500 TSA agents quit, US airport security delays drag on

2026-03-26 / Reuters

By David Shepardson

March 26, 2026 2:12 PM UTC Updated 51 mins ago

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Item 1 of 4 A pair of TSA officers talk as passengers wait in long TSA lines amid a funding standoff that has forced 50,000 airport security officers to go without pay, causign delays at airports, at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Antranik Tavitian

[1/4]A pair of TSA officers talk as passengers wait in long TSA lines amid a funding standoff that has forced 50,000 airport security officers to go without pay, causign delays at airports, at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Antranik Tavitian Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – Nearly 500 airport security officers have quit since the start of a partial government shutdown in February and long lines ​continued to snarl airport traffic around the country, the Homeland Security Department said on ‌Thursday.

The dispute that has forced 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay since mid-February is leading to major strains and the longest lines in the agency’s history, topping four hours in some locations.

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TSA reiterated ​on Wednesday that the agency could be forced to close smaller airports if staffing ​issues worsened. More than 11% of TSA officers, or 3,120 agents, did ⁠not show up for work on Wednesday.

About 30% or more of TSA agents did not show ​up for work on Wednesday at New York’s JFK, Houston’s two airports, and airports in Baltimore, ​New Orleans and Atlanta.

Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu on Thursday again urged Congress to quickly resolve the issue. He warned that even if the U.S. Senate reaches a deal by Friday “you’re still probably looking at ​a very tough weekend, because it’s not going to get finalized” immediately.

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President Donald Trump said he could ​deploy National Guard troops to airports to address security needs.

Senate Republicans and Democrats continue to debate a proposal ‌that ⁠would allow funding to resume for TSA and other Department of Homeland Security agencies.

TSA is grappling with the school spring break travel surge and experiencing about 5% higher travel volume than last year. Absences have spiked to more than 10% in recent days, leading to the hours-long delays ​to get through security ​checkpoints at some airports.

Democrats ⁠have held up funding for DHS while demanding a change in rules governing its immigration operations, after agents in Minneapolis shot and killed U.S. ​citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Republicans have rejected Democratic proposals ​to fund TSA ⁠while negotiating over reforms for how Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents operate.

Hundreds of U.S. immigration agents and Homeland Security Investigations officers began deploying at 14 U.S. airports on Monday to aid security screening.

Some ⁠of ​those agents are now performing duties like checking IDs using ​TSA equipment, guarding entrances and exits, assisting with logistics and doing crowd control.

ICE and other law enforcement personnel at DHS ​are getting paid during the shutdown.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot

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以军：已击毙约700名真主党武装分子

发布时间：2026年3月26日 21:11
来源：联合早报

3月17日，以色列炮兵部队向黎巴嫩边境开火。 （路透社档案照片）

以色列军方说，自3月2日与黎巴嫩真主党爆发战争以来，已击毙约700名真主党武装分子。

法新社报道，以色列军方发言人肖沙尼星期四（3月26日）说，目前约700名真主党武装分子已被歼灭。

肖沙尼指出，伊朗支持的真主党仍在继续发射火箭弹，“有时一天发射超过100枚……主要射向以色列北部”。

黎巴嫩卫生部报告称，以色列的袭击迄今已造成1094人死亡，包括121名儿童、81名妇女和892名男子。

以色列与美国对伊朗发动袭击后，真主党为支持伊朗也开始攻击以色列，双方为此持续交战。

以军：已击毙约700名真主党武装分子 | 联合早报

发布时间 / 来源：2026年3月26日 21:11 / 联合早报

3月17日，以色列炮兵部队向黎巴嫩边境开火。 （路透社档案照片）

以色列军方说，自3月2日与黎巴嫩真主党爆发战争以来，已击毙约700名真主党武装分子。

法新社报道，以色列军方发言人肖沙尼星期四（3月26日）说，目前约700名真主党武装分子已被歼灭。

肖沙尼指出，伊朗支持的真主党仍在继续发射火箭弹，“有时一天发射超过100枚……主要射向以色列北部”。

黎巴嫩卫生部报告称，以色列的袭击迄今已造成1094人死亡，包括121名儿童、81名妇女和892名男子。

以色列与美国对伊朗发动袭击后，真主党为支持伊朗也开始攻击以色列，双方为此持续交战。

Alleged Hezbollah member on U.S. terror list is arrested in Ecuador

March 26, 2026 / 8:11 AM EDT / CBS/AFP

Ecuador has arrested a Syrian man identified as a terrorist threat by the United States for belonging to Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, authorities said Wednesday.

The arrest came as the government of Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, wages a crackdown on drug trafficking gangs, with Washington’s backing.

Ecuadoran Interior Minister John Reimberg said on X the man had been arrested in a joint operation between immigration authorities and the national police intelligence service.

“Deportation proceedings have been initiated” against the man, who was identified only as M.K. and entered Ecuador without proper documentation, said Reimberg.

He said the man was known to Ecuadoran authorities, having been arrested in the country in 2005 on charges of leading a drug trafficking network that allegedly moved millions of dollars on behalf of Hezbollah.

The suspect had been granted provisional release in 2012.

“There are international terrorist groups that intend to operate in the country, and President Daniel Noboa’s Government will not allow it,” Reimberg said.

xLebanon-based Hezbollah is currently fighting with Israel as part of the Middle East war unleashed by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

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Noboa last year issued a decree blacklisting Hezbollah and Palestinian militant group Hamas as terrorist organizations.

The president claims the groups advise drug trafficking gangs operating in Ecuador.

Earlier this month, Ecuador launched operations against drug traffickers with support from the U.S. The two countries are part of a 17-country cartel-fighting alliance launched by Mr. Trump at a summit earlier this month.

U.S. and Ecuadoran forces recently conducted joint strikes inside Ecuador, and Ecuador’s military sank a “narco sub” near its northern border. Earlier this month, the FBI said it would open an office in Ecuador to investigate organized crime, money laundering, and corruption in conjunction with local police.

Noboa has spent the past two years targeting cocaine traffickers, but the rates of associated crimes including murders, disappearances and extortion have not fallen.

分析：美伊分歧巨大缺乏互信 短期内或难回谈判桌 | 联合早报

[冯嘉年] 发布/2026年3月26日 21:17

华盛顿声称美伊有进展，德黑兰却断然否认。分析指，这凸显双方的分歧并不只是谈判条件，更在于严重缺乏互信，毕竟过去一年，美伊曾有两次机会通过谈判缓和紧张局势，但以色列和美国最终都选择出手攻击。 （路透社）

（华盛顿／多哈综合电）美国和伊朗对达成和解的条件存在巨大分歧，且严重缺乏互信，分析认为，两国不太可能在短期内重返谈判桌，要达成协议恐怕更是遥遥无期。

美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）星期三（3月25日）引述消息报道，不论为美伊传达信息的中间人或特朗普政府内部，目前都无法为一个可行的协议提供任何轮廓。波斯湾和欧洲盟友对谈判毫无进展、甚至尚无任何停火方案，感到担忧。

知情者指出，美伊双方必须先就一些基本问题达成一致才能展开谈判，然而当前的状况却是，伊朗对美方的“极限要求还以极限拒绝”。

英国广播公司（BBC）同天也分析，美方通过中间人向伊朗传达信息，根本称不上“谈判”。一方声称有进展，另一方却断然否认，凸显分歧并不只在于谈判条件，还包括严重缺乏互信；毕竟过去一年，美伊曾有两次机会通过谈判缓和紧张局势，但以色列和美国最终都选择出手攻击。

美国总统特朗普周一（23日）突然宣布将攻击伊朗发电厂的最后通牒推迟五天以重启谈判，美方过后透过巴基斯坦向伊朗传达15点要求，当中大部分内容都跟冲突爆发前一样，包括要伊朗承诺不发展核武器、将高度浓缩铀转交美国、限制导弹能力及停止支持区域代理人等。

伊朗官员星期三则通过国营媒体提出诉求清单，包括建立具体机制确保不再受攻击、支付战争赔款、承认伊朗对霍尔木兹海峡的主权，以及美国海军第五舰队须从巴林撤出。

伊朗在霍尔木兹海峡掌握前所未有的战略工具

曾在美国国家安全委员会主管伊朗事务的华盛顿智库大西洋理事会学者斯旺森（Nate Swanson）向CNN说：“如果美方的立场真是如此，谈判绝不可能成功。”

针对伊朗也提出“同样狂妄且不实际”的要求，斯旺森认为，这显示德黑兰认定特朗普仍秉持着“不投降就升级打击”的立场，因此并未认真看待这个外交斡旋的机会。

他进一步点出，这场冲突让伊朗从钳制霍尔木兹海峡找到前所未有的新战略工具，如今甚至想充当海峡的“收费站”。

尽管双方分歧巨大，但谈判之门似乎未全然关上。星期三较晚时分，伊朗外长阿拉格齐接受国营电视台访问，对美方的提案不置可否，只说已把“各种意见”传达给高级领导人，“必要时必会阐明立场”；伊朗目前无意谈判，对策是继续防御。

波斯湾邻国要求美国完整解决伊朗威胁

中东国家和美国盟友都希望立即停火，重新开放霍尔木兹海峡；但部分波斯湾邻国如今还期待能有个更完整的解决方案。

阿拉伯联合酋长国驻美国大使奥泰巴周三在《华尔街日报》发表署名文章表明：“单纯的停火协议如今已不足够。我们需要一个明确方案应对伊朗的全方位威胁：核武、导弹、无人机、恐怖代理组织及封堵国际海运航线。”

一名中东官员则告诉CNN，沙特阿拉伯要求美国在战争结束前，“尽一切可能”摧毁伊朗的弹道导弹能力。

分析：美伊分歧巨大缺乏互信 短期内或难回谈判桌

发布/2026年3月26日 21:17 / 联合早报

华盛顿声称美伊有进展，德黑兰却断然否认。分析指，这凸显双方的分歧并不只是谈判条件，更在于严重缺乏互信，毕竟过去一年，美伊曾有两次机会通过谈判缓和紧张局势，但以色列和美国最终都选择出手攻击。 （路透社）

（华盛顿／多哈综合电）美国和伊朗对达成和解的条件存在巨大分歧，且严重缺乏互信，分析认为，两国不太可能在短期内重返谈判桌，要达成协议恐怕更是遥遥无期。

美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）星期三（3月25日）引述消息报道，不论为美伊传达信息的中间人或特朗普政府内部，目前都无法为一个可行的协议提供任何轮廓。波斯湾和欧洲盟友对谈判毫无进展、甚至尚无任何停火方案，感到担忧。

知情者指出，美伊双方必须先就一些基本问题达成一致才能展开谈判，然而当前的状况却是，伊朗对美方的“极限要求还以极限拒绝”。

英国广播公司（BBC）同天也分析，美方通过中间人向伊朗传达信息，根本称不上“谈判”。一方声称有进展，另一方却断然否认，凸显分歧并不只在于谈判条件，还包括严重缺乏互信；毕竟过去一年，美伊曾有两次机会通过谈判缓和紧张局势，但以色列和美国最终都选择出手攻击。

美国总统特朗普周一（23日）突然宣布将攻击伊朗发电厂的最后通牒推迟五天以重启谈判，美方过后透过巴基斯坦向伊朗传达15点要求，当中大部分内容都跟冲突爆发前一样，包括要伊朗承诺不发展核武器、将高度浓缩铀转交美国、限制导弹能力及停止支持区域代理人等。

伊朗官员星期三则通过国营媒体提出诉求清单，包括建立具体机制确保不再受攻击、支付战争赔款、承认伊朗对霍尔木兹海峡的主权，以及美国海军第五舰队须从巴林撤出。

伊朗在霍尔木兹海峡掌握前所未有的战略工具

曾在美国国家安全委员会主管伊朗事务的华盛顿智库大西洋理事会学者斯旺森（Nate Swanson）向CNN说：“如果美方的立场真是如此，谈判绝不可能成功。”

针对伊朗也提出“同样狂妄且不实际”的要求，斯旺森认为，这显示德黑兰认定特朗普仍秉持着“不投降就升级打击”的立场，因此并未认真看待这个外交斡旋的机会。

他进一步点出，这场冲突让伊朗从钳制霍尔木兹海峡找到前所未有的新战略工具，如今甚至想充当海峡的“收费站”。

尽管双方分歧巨大，但谈判之门似乎未全然关上。星期三较晚时分，伊朗外长阿拉格齐接受国营电视台访问，对美方的提案不置可否，只说已把“各种意见”传达给高级领导人，“必要时必会阐明立场”；伊朗目前无意谈判，对策是继续防御。

波斯湾邻国要求美国完整解决伊朗威胁

中东国家和美国盟友都希望立即停火，重新开放霍尔木兹海峡；但部分波斯湾邻国如今还期待能有个更完整的解决方案。

阿拉伯联合酋长国驻美国大使奥泰巴周三在《华尔街日报》发表署名文章表明：“单纯的停火协议如今已不足够。我们需要一个明确方案应对伊朗的全方位威胁：核武、导弹、无人机、恐怖代理组织及封堵国际海运航线。”

一名中东官员则告诉CNN，沙特阿拉伯要求美国在战争结束前，“尽一切可能”摧毁伊朗的弹道导弹能力。

Trump lashes out at ‘sick’ Iranian leaders, confirms estimated timeline for ending war

Trump also rips NATO allies for only offering help ‘when the other side is annihilated’

By Eric Mack
Fox News

Published March 26, 2026 11:24am EDT

President Donald Trump acknowledged peacemaking with Iran is made difficult because their “sinister, sick” replacement leaders are hiding.

“One of the problems they do have when they deal with us is we deal with people and the people aren’t able to communicate with anybody else, because all of their leadership has been gone,” Trump said at the start of his second Cabinet meeting of 2026 on Thursday.

“The first level is gone. And they met to pick a new level, and they’re gone. They’re all gone because they didn’t make a deal.

“And because they’re sick people, they’re really sick. They’re they’re really sinister, sick people.”

NEW IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER ‘LIKELY DISFIGURED,’ HEGSETH SAYS

Regardless of the struggle to find a diplomatic off-ramp, Trump is pleased with the progress on the “military operation” against Iran, saying the conflict may end after four to six weeks of fighting.

“We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission, and we’re way ahead of schedule,” Trump said. “If you look at what we’ve done in terms of the destruction of that country, I mean, we’re way ahead.”

While the chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz remains an issue — despite the removal of the Iranian military commander that had ordered it closed to the U.S. and its allies — Trump lamented the NATO allies are only now vowing to stand with the U.S.

WHITE HOUSE WARNS IRAN AGAINST BALKING AT DEAL: TRUMP READY TO ‘UNLEASH HELL’

“I said 25 years ago that NATO’s a paper tiger, but more importantly, that we’ll come to their rescue, but they will never come to ours,” Trump said. “And I want you to remember that we said this.: They didn’t come to our rescue.

“Now they all want to help when the other side is annihilated. They said, ‘We’d love to send ships.’ They actually made a statement, a couple of them, that ‘we want to get involved when the war is over.’

“You know, it’s supposed to get involved with the war’s beginning or even before it begins.”

TRUMP ORDERS WAR DEPT TO POSTPONE STRIKES ON IRANIAN ENERGY SITES, CITING ‘PRODUCTIVE’ TALKS TO END WAR

Ultimately, Trump warned, NATO failed a “test,” something that might loom down the road when peace negotiations in Ukraine and potential aspirations for Greenland resurface after Iran is off the top of Trump’s foreign policy agenda.

“Nobody’s a match for the United States,” Trump said, noting Iran’s heavy losses showing “they’re not a match for the United States. It’s small potatoes.

“That’s why I’m so disappointed in NATO, because this was a test for NATO. This was a test. You can help us. You don’t have to, but if you don’t do that, we’re going to remember.”

“Just remember, remember this in a number of months from now,” he continued. “Remember my statements. They have an expression, a great expression: Never forget. It can never forget.”

Eric Mack is a writer for Fox News Digital covering breaking news.

内坦亚胡：将继续打击伊朗政府目标

2026年3月26日 21:31 / 联合早报

以色列总理内坦亚胡说，以色列星期三（3月25日）夜间空袭炸死伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队海军司令坦格西里，是“我们与盟友美国为实现战争目标而开展合作的又一例证”。 （路透社档案照片）

以色列总理内坦亚胡指出，以色列“将继续以武力打击”伊朗政府的目标。

新华社报道，内坦亚胡星期四（3月26日）在办公室发布的一段视频声明中说，以色列夜间空袭炸死伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队海军司令坦格西里，是“我们与盟友美国为实现战争目标而开展合作的又一例证”。

当天早些时候，以色列国防部长卡茨声称，坦格西里和其他几名海军高级官员在这次袭击中丧生，并称这次袭击是“对美国重新开放霍尔木兹海峡的援助”，因为坦格西里“直接负责”封锁霍尔木兹海峡等事件。

以色列军方随后声称，伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队海军情报局局长雷扎伊也在袭击中丧生。

伊朗方面尚未证实以色列的说法。

以色列军方星期四早些时候说，已在伊朗中部城市伊斯法罕及其他地区完成一次“大规模空袭”。作为回击，伊朗数小时后向以色列发射多枚导弹，引发以色列全国范围内的空袭警报。

与此同时，真主党向以色列北部发射了数十枚火箭弹和无人机。据以色列红十字会称，至少有一枚火箭弹直接命中目标，碎片散落在包括特拉维夫在内的多个地点，造成至少八人受伤，以及建筑物受损。

Transgender women athletes banned from women’s Olympic events by new IOC policy

Updated on: March 26, 2026 / 11:10 AM EDT / AP

Transgender women athletes are now excluded from women’s events at the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy on Thursday which aligns with President Trump’s executive order on sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,” the International Olympic Committee said, to be determined by a mandatory gene test once in an athlete’s career.

It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level. No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games, though weightlifter Laurel Hubbard did at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 without winning a medal.

The eligibility policy that will apply from the LA Olympics in July 2028 “protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category,” the IOC said.

“It is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs,” said the IOC, whose Olympic Charter states that access to play sport is a human right.

After an executive board meeting, the International Olympic Committee published a 10-page policy document which also restricts female athletes such as two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya with medical conditions known as differences in sex development, or DSD.

The IOC and its president, Kirsty Coventry, have wanted a clear policy instead of continuing to advise sports’ governing bodies who previously have drafted their own rules.

“At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” Coventry, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, said in a statement. “So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category.”

IOC President Kirsty Coventry attends a final press conference with Executive Board members after visiting Olympic and Paralympic Village and various venues in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Antonio Calanni / AP

She set up a review of “protecting the female category” as one of her first big decisions last June as the first woman to lead the Olympic body in its 132-year history.

Female eligibility was a strong theme in a seven-candidate IOC election last year — held after a furor around women’s boxing in Paris — when Coventry’s main rivals pledged a stronger policy to leading on the issue.

Before the 2024 Paris Olympics, three top-tier sports — track and field, swimming and cycling — excluded transgender women who had been through male puberty. Semenya, who was assigned female at birth in South Africa and has high natural testosterone levels, won a European Court of Human Rights judgment in her years-long legal challenge to track and field’s rules which did not overturn them.

The IOC document details its research that being born male gives physical advantages that a working group of experts believes are retained.

“Males experience three significant testosterone peaks: In utero, in mini-puberty of infancy and beginning in adolescent puberty through adulthood,” the document said.

It added this gives males “individual sex-based performance advantages in sports and events that rely on strength, power and/or endurance.”

The IOC said its expert group agreed the current gene test is “the most accurate and least intrusive method currently available.” It screened for “the SRY gene, a segment of DNA typically found on the Y chromosome that initiates male sex development in utero and indicates the presence of testes/testicles.”

Still, the mandatory gender screening — already conducted by the governing bodies of track and field, skiing and boxing — is likely to be criticized by human rights experts and activist groups.

One of the two women’s boxing gold medalists at the center of the gender controversy in Paris, Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, has passed her gene test and can return to competition, the World Boxing governing body said last week.

In the U.S., President Trump signed the executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” in February last year, and pledged to deny visas to some athletes attempting to compete at the L.A Olympics. The order also threatened to “rescind all funds” from organizations that allowed transgender athletes to take part in women’s sports.

Within months, the U.S. Olympic body updated its guidance to national sports bodies citing an obligation to comply with the White House.

Low US weekly unemployment claims point to stable labor market

March 26, 2026 12:36 PM UTC / Reuters

By Lucia Mutikani

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Signage for a job fair is seen on 5th Avenue after the release of the jobs report in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 3, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Weekly jobless claims increase 5,000 to 210,000
• Continuing claims drop 32,000 to 1.819 million

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, suggesting the labor market remains stable and likely giving the Federal Reserve scope to hold interest rates steady while monitoring inflation risks from the conflict in ​the Middle East.

The report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showed the number of people collecting unemployment checks in mid-March was the lowest ‌in nearly two years. Part of the decline, however, was likely due to people exhausting their eligibility for aid, which is limited to 26 weeks in most states.

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The job market remains in what economists describe as a “low-hire, low-fire” state. Economists said it is too early to tell how the labor market would be affected by the surge in oil prices triggered by the ​U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

“It takes time for companies to recognize what a shock like this means for the economy, and then to have the ​conviction needed to start shedding workers,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “Things will decay, we are sure. However, ⁠they have not started to decay yet.”

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ended March 21. Economists ​polled by Reuters had forecast 210,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have been tucked in a 201,000-230,000 range this year amid low layoffs.

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Economists said lingering uncertainty caused ​by President Donald Trump’s aggressive import tariffs has undercut demand for workers, with private nonfarm payrolls averaging only 18,000 jobs per month in the three months through February. Reduced labor supply because of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown also is weighing on job growth, they said.

That situation has created what Fed Chair Jerome Powell this month called a “zero-employment growth equilibrium,” that has “a feel of ​downside risk.”

U.S. stocks were trading mostly lower. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies. The turmoil in the Middle East has sparked worries of a ​surge in inflation. Oil prices have jumped more than 30% since the war started at the end of February.

INFLATION RISKS RISING

Import and producer prices shot up in February, and economists expected the ‌hit from ⁠the war, which has also raised fertilizer prices, to be evident in consumer inflation data for March. Economists have been steadily raising their inflation forecasts for this year as the conflict drags on.

The U.S. central bank left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range this month. In updated projections released alongside the decision, Fed policymakers anticipated only a single reduction in borrowing costs this year. Financial markets, however, see the odds of any rate cut fading.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after ​an initial week of aid, a proxy ​for hiring, decreased 32,000 to a ⁠seasonally adjusted 1.819 million during the week ended March 14, the lowest level since May 2024, the claims report showed.

The so-called continuing claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed households for March’s unemployment rate. Continuing claims fell between ​the February and March survey weeks.

Economists were split on what this meant for March’s unemployment rate, with some predicting ​a decline and others ⁠a rise. They noted that the data did not include young people who are out of work and are having a tough time finding employment. Members of this demographic typically have limited or no work history, disqualifying them from claiming unemployment benefits.

The Chicago Fed is forecasting the unemployment rate to be 4.46% this month, which would round up ⁠to 4.5%. ​The unemployment rate increased to 4.4% in February from 4.3% in January.

“The relationship between claims and unemployment ​is relatively weak from month to month, partly due to noise in the employment report’s household survey, but also because only around a quarter of those unemployed are eligible to claim, with the long-term ​unemployed and new entrants to the labor market generally excluded,” said Oliver Allen, senior U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao

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