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.
NEW YORK (AP) - Hope for a possible end to the war with Iran pushed stocks higher again, while oil prices eased. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% Wednesday in its latest flip-flop. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8%. Stock indexes rose more than 1% across Europe and Asia.
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.
Iran on Wednesday dismissed an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East, issuing its own counterproposal instead, as it launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries. The 15-point U.S. proposal addressed sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
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.
GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) – Conservatives are holding one of their largest annual gatherings at a perilous political moment for President Donald Trump and with open division on the right over the war he launched in Iran.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Three years after Honduras parted ways with Taiwan and forged diplomatic ties with China in hope of economic gain, shrimp farmers in the Central American country are in revolt. Their sales to Taiwan fell to a mere $16 million in 2025, down from more than $100 million in 2022, and the Chinese didn’t fill the void as hoped.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
PANAMA CITY (AP) – Two ports run for years by a Hong Kong-based company at either end of the Panama Canal have thrust Panama into a geopolitical tug-of-war between the United States and China. Even before taking office for his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump complained that China was running the Panama Canal.