GUATIRE, Venezuela (AP) – The United States and Venezuela said Friday they were exploring the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations, as a Trump administration delegation visited the South American nation.

BEIJING (AP) – A week in which longtime tensions between neighbors China and Japan ratcheted up economically and politically drew to a close with no sign of improvements Friday as the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo rebuffed his host nation and the Japanese reported delayed shipments to suppliers in China because of the spat.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Federal immigration officers are pulling out of a Louisiana crackdown and heading to Minneapolis in an abrupt pivot from an operation that drew protests around New Orleans and aimed to make thousands of arrests, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) – Syria’s Defense Ministry announced a ceasefire on Friday after three days of clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo that displaced over 140,000 people.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – Argentina has repaid the funds it drew from a $20 billion credit line with the Trump administration, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Friday, in a crucial step for Argentine President Javier Milei to restore confidence in his chronically distressed economy.

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) – Nickolay Mladenov, the man chosen to serve as director-general for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Gaza, is a Bulgarian politician and former U.N. envoy to the Middle East who frequently worked to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas.

Meta has cut a trio of deals to power its artificial intelligence data centers, securing enough energy to light up the equivalent of about 5 million homes. The parent company of Facebook on Friday announced agreements with TerraPower, Oklo and Vistra for nuclear power for its Prometheus AI data center that is being built in New Albany, Ohio.