04/29/2016  GREAT BARRIER REEF IN DANGER
Scientists are warning that one of the seven wonders of the natural world is at risk of serious damage. They say more than 90 percent of Australia's Great Barrier Reef has experienced coral bleaching.Researchers say the problem is caused by rising water temperatures. They first noticed the phenomenon at the World Heritage site in the 1980s, but they say it has escalated recently.A survey by the Australian government and a research body found bleaching at 93 percent of 911 individual reefs. The damage was most extreme in the northern 1,000-kilometer stretch of the system. One researcher warned the bleaching could affect almost all of the coral species. He said some could take decades or longer to recover.UNESCO considered putting the Great Barrier Reef on its "World Heritage in Danger" list last year, but it dropped the plan after the Australian government submitted a conservation plan.
05/09/2016  ABANDONED IN SPACE
Japanese space scientists have abandoned one of their projects in orbit. They launched an astronomy satellite called Hitomi earlier this year, then lost contact. Now, they say it's broken.(Saku Tsuneta / Vice President, JAXA)"We have concluded from a range of information that we cannot restore the satellite's functionality."Workers at the Japanese space agency JAXA say both of Hitomi's solar panels appear to have come off. They can't restore power. JAXA developed Hitomi at a cost of 280 million dollars and launched it in February. Scientists hoped it would shed light on black holes and other mysteries of the universe. Hitomi stopped communicating late last month. Workers found it was spinning out of control. They said part of it had broken up.JAXA scientists last abandoned a spacecraft in 2003. They weren't able to put a probe called Nozomi into orbit around Mars. 
05/10/2016  TAIWAN SENDS SHIPS TO JAPAN'S EEZ
Officials in Taipei are protesting Japan's seizure of a Taiwanese fishing boat. They sent two ships to patrol Japan's southernmost island.The officials dispatched a coast guard ship and a fisheries training vessel to the waters around Okinotorishima. Okinotorishima is made up of coral reefs and has a coastline of about 11 kilometers. No one lives there. Japan's exclusive economic zone covers an area of roughly 400,000 square kilometers around the island. The waters are believed to be rich in resources.Late last month, members of Japan's Coast Guard seized the Taiwanese fishing boat from the zone, and they accused the captain of illegally operating. He was later released on bail. People in Taiwan say detaining the boat was illegal.Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou says Okinotorishima is a rock, not an island, and that Japan cannot claim an exclusive economic zone around it under international rules. Japan says the status of Okinotorishima as an island was established on the basis of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. 
05/11/2016  CALL FOR FLEXIBLE LNG MARKET
Energy ministers from the Group of Seven countries have agreed to create a more transparent and flexible market for liquefied natural gas.(Motoo Hayashi / Japanese Industry Minister)"G7 ministers agreed to cooperate for the international LNG market initiative."The ministers issued a joint statement on Monday, wrapping up two days of talks in the western Japanese city of Kitakyushu. It calls on countries to review existing practices for international trade in LNG. Contracts often ban reselling to third parties. Japan is the world's largest importer of the fuel. It has been asking the ban be eased in order to help reduce prices.The G7 statement welcomes the Japanese plan to set up an international LNG market in the country in the first half of the 2020s. 
05/12/2016  CRUZ DROPS WHITE HOUSE BID
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has announced he's dropping out of the race for the presidency. He says he can no longer see a viable path to victory after losing the Indiana primary to Republican rival Donald Trump.(Ted Cruz / Republican candidate)"We gave it everything we've got, but the voters chose another path. And so, with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign."With nearly 100 percent of the votes counted in Indiana, Trump was at 53 percent, Cruz 37, and Ohio Governor John Kasich had eight percent. Cruz had vowed to stay in the race right to the end, but the result in Indiana made it all-but-impossible for him to stop Trump.Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has called the real estate mogul the presumptive nominee and asked the party to unite behind him. 
05/13/2016  SYMBOLIC IVORY BURNING
Kenyan officials burned a huge stockpile of ivory to send a message that their country is determined to end the poaching of Africa's elephants.Officials arranged 105 tons of confiscated ivory in pyres at Nairobi National Park on Saturday. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta ignited the first stack, doused with kerosene and diesel. Officials have burned confiscated ivory before, but this was the most ever destroyed at one time.Every year, poachers are estimated to kill over 30,000 elephants in Africa. Kenyatta condemned the killings for the ivory trade, which is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Officials have been trying to put an end to the poaching with patrols and strict penalties, but they're struggling due to a lack of budget. 
05/16/2016    U.S. CLEANS UP AGENT ORANGE
The United States has completed the first phase of a project in Vietnam to clean up highly toxic dioxin from Agent Orange, an herbicide U.S. forces used during the Vietnam War.A ceremony to mark the milestone was held on Tuesday at Da Nang International Airport in central Vietnam, where the 80-million-dollar project began four years ago. The U.S. military stored a huge stockpile of Agent Orange at the airport during the war. High levels of dioxin are still detected there more than 40 years after the war ended. In the project, contaminated soil is put into steel containers and exposed to temperatures of more than 300 degrees Celsius to destroy the dioxin. The treated soil is used to expand the airport.Nearly 30 other locations in the country reportedly are highly contaminated by dioxin. Many people are suffering from disabilities and illnesses believed to have been caused by Agent Orange. 
05/17/2017    NISSAN TO ACQUIRE MITSUBISHI STAKE
Nissan and Mitsubishi, they already have history of working together, cooperating in the development of mini-vehicles. Now, Nissan could help it out by acquiring a large stake in the smaller, struggling firm. Sources say Nissan might spend more than 1.8 billion dollars to acquire a 34-percent-stake in Mitsubishi, becoming its biggest shareholder.The two Japanese carmakers set up a joint company five years ago to develop mini-vehicles. But then the scandal at Mitsubishi erupted last month, when its officials admitted to fabricating fuel consumption data for four of its models.Mitsubishi's domestic car sales have since plummeted. Sources say they believe the Mitsubishi executives are hoping a new arrangement with Nissan could strengthen its research and development capabilities. Nissan is also pinning its hopes on gaining some advantages. It's keen to boost sales in Southeast Asia, which is a key market for Mitsubishi.Combined global sales of Nissan, its partner firm Renault, together with Mitsubishi topped 9.5 million vehicles last year. That figure is on par with those of the world's top selling automakers — Toyota, and Volkswagen. 
05/18/2016    LONDON'S FIRST MUSLIM MAYOR
British Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan is set to become the first Muslim leader of any European Union capital city. Khan on Thursday won the mayoral election in London.(Sadiq Khan / London Mayor-elect)"I want every single Londoner to get the opportunities that our city gave to me and my family, the opportunities not just to survive, but to thrive, the opportunities to build a better future for you and your family, with a decent and affordable home, and a comfortable commute you can afford, more jobs with better pay."Khan is the son of a south London bus driver who immigrated from Pakistan. He ran against a Conservative rival who attempted to link him to Islamic extremism, but he received more than 1.3 million votes, about 57 percent of the total. 
05/19/2016    OBAMA TO VISIT HIROSHIMA
In a long-awaited development, the White House has announced Barack Obama will visit Hiroshima. He'll be the first sitting U.S. president to visit the city that was devastated by an American atomic bomb in 1945. The visit will happen while Obama is in Japan for the Group of Seven summit later this month.(Josh Earnest / White House Press Secretary)"The president intends to visit to send a much more forward-looking signal about his ambition for realizing the goals of a planet without nuclear weapons."The spokesperson stressed that the visit is not an apology for America dropping the nuclear bomb. In an opinion poll last year, just over half of Americans said the use of atomic bombs was justified. Some Americans argue that it saved the lives of many U.S. troops by bringing an end to World War II. Analysts say a visit by a president to Hiroshima could be perceived as an apology by some people.