NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices plunged below $95 per barrel, and stock markets surged worldwide after President Donald Trump pulled back from his threat of devastating attacks against Iran. The S&P 500 leaped 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,325 points, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 2.8%.

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) – Guatemala’s newly selected Constitutional Court will have to work to regain the trust of Guatemalans disillusioned with a justice system that appears to serve the interests of few, experts said Thursday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea Wednesday in its second launch event in two days, South Korea’s military said, hours after a senior North Korean official released crude insults against Seoul’s hopes for warmer relations.

PANAMA CITY (AP) – Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez said Thursday that the conflict in the Middle East and rising fuel costs could ultimately benefit the interoceanic waterway as global shippers adjust routes.

TORONTO (AP) – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has attracted another opposition Conservative lawmaker to the Liberal Party, further assuring that he will soon have a majority government. Ontario Member of Parliament Marilyn Gladu alluded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty and economy for her decision.

DORAL, Fla. (AP) – President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and Latin American countries are banding together to combat violent cartels as his administration looks to demonstrate it remains committed to sharpening U.S. foreign policy focus on the Western Hemisphere even while dealing with five-alarm crises around the globe.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

HONG KONG (AP) – A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company that has lost control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal said it is seeking $2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “illegal” takeover of the ports.