CP 
In an interview with The Associated Press, Vásquez said that higher energy, fuel and navigation costs could make the Panama Canal a more attractive option for commercial traffic. “When costs increase, in general when the price of marine fuel rises, the Panama Canal becomes a more attractive route,” Vásquez said. Oil prices have risen amid …
WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said that he thinks new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father, the former supreme leader, was killed on the first day of the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran, is alive but “damaged.” Khamenei has not been seen by Iranians since his selection on Sunday by …
KABUL, March 13 (Reuters) – Pakistan has bombed the fuel depot of private airline company Kam Air near Afghanistan’s Kandahar airport, the Afghan Taliban spokesperson said on Friday, as the South Asian neighbours’ worst conflict in years flared up again. Pakistan’s military did not respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar …
Ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz was mostly stopped amid the war in Iran on Thursday, which contributed to rising oil prices. The waterway typically carries around 20% of the world’s supply of oil. On Wednesday, President Trump ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves. In a statement attributed …
The U.S. is temporarily greenlighting the purchase of Russian oil that’s already at sea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday, in the Trump administration’s latest move to loosen the wartime sanctions that restrict Russia’s oil industry as the world grapples with high oil prices. The authorization will last one month, and applies to petroleum products …
KATHMANDU, March 13 (Reuters) – A three-year-old party won Nepal’s general elections by a landslide, authorities said, positioning its candidate Balendra Shah to become the next prime minister, with a mandate for the rapper-turned-politician to restore political stability. The March 5 election was the Himalayan nation’s first vote since demonstrations against corruption last September led …
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A moderately strong earthquake struck central Turkey on Friday, Turkey’s emergency response said. The tremor sent some residents rushing into the streets but no damage has been reported. The magnitude 5.5 quake was centered in the town of Niksar in Tokat province, at a depth of 6.4 kilometers (4 miles), according …
WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s human resources office, said on Thursday it was evaluating the cost of an election observer program that aimed to tackle race discrimination in voting. The OPM said that in consultation with the Justice Department it was evaluating whether the costs of …
SYDNEY, March 13 (Reuters) – One-fifth of Australian teenagers under 16 were still using social media two months after the country banned platforms from allowing minors, industry data showed, raising questions about the effectiveness of age-gating methods they are using. The number of 13-to-15-year-olds using TikTok and SnapChat, among the most popular social media apps …
NEW YORK (AP) — After sixth-ranked UConn opened the Big East Tournament by rolling over Xavier in the quarterfinals Thursday night, Dan Hurley’s mind was still on the Huskies’ surprising defeat in their regular-season finale. “It was great to get back on the court after the choke job over the weekend,” Hurley said, referring to …