Formula shows why it’s hard to cut jobless rate

Formula shows why it’s hard to cut jobless rate

WASHINGTON — The economy’s 5.7 percent growth last quarter — the fastest pace since 2003 — was a step toward shrinking the nation’s 10 percent unemployment rate.

There’s just one problem: Growth would have to equal 5 percent for all of 2010 just to lower the average jobless rate for the year by 1 percentage point.

And economists don’t think that’s possible.

Most analysts say economic activity will slow to 2.5 percent or 3 percent growth for the current quarter as the benefits fade from government stimulus efforts and from companies drawing down less of their stockpiles.

That’s why the Federal Reserve and outside economists think it will take until around the middle of the decade to lower the double-digit jobless rate to a more normal 5 percent or 6 percent.

Russian police break up opposition protests

MOSCOW — Russian police broke up anti-Kremlin protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Sunday, and detained more than 100 demonstrators, including several opposition leaders.

In Moscow, several hundred demonstrators gathered in a central square, defying a ban imposed by authorities. The protesters said their rally was banned in violation of the Russian constitution’s guarantee of the right to gather.

They denounced the policies of President Dmitry Medvedev and his predecessor and mentor Vladimir Putin, who continues to wield broad powers as Russia’s powerful prime minister.

Several dozen protesters were detained, including opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov, Eduard Limonov, Ilya Yashin, and the head of the Memorial rights group, Oleg Orlov.

Slain Hamas leader helped smuggle arms, officials say

JERUSALEM — A Hamas military commander slain in a Dubai hotel room played a key role in smuggling antiaircraft missiles and other weapons into the Gaza Strip, Israeli and Hamas officials said Sunday.

But they disagreed on whether Mahmoud Mabhuh’s death would deliver a blow to Palestinian armed groups in the seaside enclave or inspire them to redouble their arms campaign.

“This guy was a middleman for smuggling weapons from Iran, not only to Gaza but to Hezbollah” in Lebanon, said an Israeli military official speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issues involved.

Among other things, Mabhuh, believed to be about 50, was suspected of helping to run an arms-smuggling route through Sudan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. One of the arms convoys was bombed in Sudan last year, reportedly by Israeli aircraft.

US faces myriad challenges in training Afghan soldiers

KABUL, Afghanistan — As part of President Barack Obama’s plan to dramatically increase the size of the Afghan National Army, the first contingent of additional U.S. troops has arrived and begun taking over the training of new Afghan recruits, hoping to build up the local force to 134,000 battle-ready soldiers in 10 months.

At the Afghan army’s dusty and sprawling training camp on the outskirts of the capital, soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., are busy showing Afghan recruits the proper way to hold their weapons, how to man a checkpoint, and the best technique for entering and searching a building.

But the Afghan army still has a long way to go if Obama is to meet his stated goal of beginning a withdrawal of U.S. forces in July.

At the moment, American military officers say, the Afghan army numbers about 102,000, which means 32,000 soldiers have to be added over the next 10 months.

NM road crash turns into a 238-pound pot bust

TUCUMCARI, N.M. — Tracks in the snow leading from a crashed car to the nearby bridge overpass on New Mexico’s I-40 just didn’t look right to officers.

State police say that officers patrolling the stretch near Tucumcari Saturday found that 40-year-old Henry Alan Lowe of El Paso, Texas, had lost control of his sedan and crashed into a snow pile.

Then they noticed tracks leading back and forth from the trunk to the bridge.

They allege that partially hidden under the overpass were large plastic wrapped bundles and inside was about 238 pounds of raw marijuana with an estimated street value of more than $642,000.

Police say Lowe was arrested after treated for a gash to his head.

Combined dispatches