A U.S. government panel was due to convene Tuesday for the first time since 1992 to consider exempting oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act due to unspecified national security concerns, a move critics say could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.

BANGKOK (AP) – Asian nations are increasingly competing for Russian crude oil as an energy crisis mounts amid the month-old war by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, which has choked off roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

CHESSY, France (AP) – A 118-foot mountain of ice rose over the suburban Paris countryside this weekend as Disney opened its Arendelle kingdom to the world – Elsa’s palace glowing at the summit, a “Frozen” Nordic fishing village below, and the company’s new CEO standing before a crowd of celebrities.

NEW YORK (AP) – The leader of a sex-focused women’s wellness company that promoted “orgasmic meditation” was sentenced Monday to nine years in federal prison for a scheme that a judge said exploited vulnerable women and coerced them into performing sex acts with the company’s clients and investors.

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have driven up prices, darkened the outlook for the world economy, sent global stock markets reeling and forced developing countries to ration fuel and subsidize energy costs to protect their poorest.

VERACRUZ, Mexico (AP) – Every year, fish markets in the seaside Mexican city of Veracruz flood with a crush of customers in the lead up to Holy Week. This year, they were virtually empty.

PARIS (AP) – French police have thwarted a suspected bomb attack outside a Bank of America building in Paris, authorities said Saturday. One suspect was detained and another escaped. The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, or PNAT, told The Associated Press that it has opened an investigation into alleged terrorism-related offenses.