The Panama Canal Authority said on Tuesday that the conflict between the US and Iran in the Middle East should prompt more cargo to be transported through the canal. "This situation is expected to continue until the situation in the Middle East is resolved," said Victor Vial, the agency's treasurer, at a conference. He also noted that approximately 300 ships have been recorded passing through the Panama Canal since October last year, compared to the same period last fiscal year.

[Three Medical Workers Killed in Israeli Airstrike at Rescue Site in Southern Lebanon] The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health issued a statement on the 28th, saying that an Israeli airstrike on the town of Majderadun in the Tyre region of southern Lebanon that day killed at least five people, including three medical workers from the Civil Defense. An earlier statement from the Lebanese Civil Defense indicated that Israel had earlier bombed Majderadun, and civil defense personnel subsequently launched a rescue operation. A second Israeli airstrike trapped the three medical workers under the rubble, ultimately leading to their deaths. (Xinhua)

[British Think Tank Lowers Economic Growth Forecasts; Iran War Impacts Energy Prices and Leads to High Inflation] 1. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predicts that the UK economy will slow significantly this year and next due to the Iran war, with inflation remaining above the central bank's target until 2028. The surge in oil and gas prices triggered by the Middle East conflict will push UK inflation from the current 3.3% to 4.1% by early 2027. 2. The institute expects that the UK inflation rate, which has been high among developed economies for most of the past four years, will not fall back to the Bank of England's 2% target until 2028. UK economic growth is projected to be only 0.9% this year and 1% in 2027, significantly lower than the 1.4% and 1.3% forecasts in February. 3. The institute's director pointed out that the Middle East conflict has fully exposed the UK economy's continued high vulnerability to global energy price fluctuations. The think tank's 2026 growth forecast is slightly higher than the latest forecast from the International Monetary Fund.