Hong Kong's CK Hutchison warns of legal action over Panama Canal ports

HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings warned of legal action on Thursday against a Danish logistics and ports group, after the latter was tapped by Panamanian authorities to temporarily take over the operation of two critical ports at both ends of the Panama Canal from the Hong Kong conglomerate.

US stocks sink and oil prices rise as worries about AI, inflation

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks sank as Wall Street kept punishing companies that could become losers in the AI revolution. A surprisingly discouraging update on inflation also hurt the market Friday, while oil prices climbed. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% and closed out just its second losing month in the last 10. The Dow dropped 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%.

Nicaragua blocks key pathway used by Cuban migrants to reach US

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Nicaragua’s government on Sunday blocked Cuban citizens from entering the country without a visa, effectively cutting off a key route for Cuban migration to the United States at a time when the Trump administration has put the Caribbean island in an economic chokehold.

Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Morning Edition

ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged cross-border attacks overnight in a dramatic escalation of tensions that led Pakistan’s defense minister to say on Friday that the two countries are in a state of “open war.” Afghanistan launched an attack on Pakistan late Thursday, saying it was in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday.

US strikes another alleged drug-trafficking boat in Eastern Pacific

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. military said Thursday that it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. U.S. Southern Command said on social media that the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”

Iranian doctors say agents intimidated them and obstructed medical care

BEIRUT (AP) – As wounded anti-government protesters poured into an Iranian hospital during last month’s crackdown, a young doctor hurried to the emergency room. When the doctor and others tried to resuscitate a man, a group of armed, plainclothes security agents blocked their way, pushing some back with their rifles, the doctor told The Associated Press.

Panama will not be threatened by China over Panama canal court ruling

PANAMA CITY (AP) – Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday said he hoped an ongoing legal battle with a Hong Kong firm over operations of Panama Canal ports would “not escalate,” but that Panama’s government would remain firm in its ruling against the company.

Editorials from The Washington Post, New York Times, The Guardian and others

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Hong Kong firm begins arbitration proceedings over Panama Canal contract

HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings said Wednesday its subsidiary has started arbitration proceedings against Panama, after that country’s Supreme Court ruled a concession for the subsidiary to operate Panama Canal ports was unconstitutional.