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) - The U.S. stock market wobbled to an uneven close as uncertainty continues about how long the war with Iran will last. The S&P yo-yoed throughout much of the day before ending 0.4% lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.8%. Smaller stocks bucked the downward trend and rose.
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.
BANGKOK (AP) – Asian countries are turning to coal as the Iran war disrupts oil and gas shipments. The continent is exposed because it relies on imported fuel, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz – a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and natural gas trade. LNG is a natural gas cooled to liquid form for easy storage and transport.
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.
Pakistan’s prime minister says his country is ready to “facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks” to end the Iran war. Pakistan is one of the countries pushing diplomatically for talks between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump said Monday there were ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
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.
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