07/08/2016  WIDENED PANAMA CANAL OPENS
The Panama Canal has been widened, allowing bigger vessels to use the passageway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.The opening ceremony for the expanded locks was held on Sunday. Their construction began in 2007 to allow the canal to handle larger ships. A Chinese container ship chosen by lottery became the first to enter the new locks. With the expansion, the locks are now able to accommodate ships up to 366 meters long and 49 meters wide. That is 17 meters wider than before.Another canal project is underway in Nicaragua. A Hong Kong-based Chinese company has been building a 280-kilometer-long canal since 2014 to link the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Heated competition is expected between these canals to attract shipping firms from around the globe.
07/11/2016  STATE GUEST HOUSE PUTS OUT WELCOME MAT
People will soon be able to get a firsthand look at an outstanding example of traditional Japanese architecture whenever they like. The Kyoto State Guest House will be open all year round, starting July 21st.The building and the surrounding garden are designed to help state visitors learn about the culture and history of Japan. Until now, the guest house has been open to the public only about 10 days a year. Around 20,000 people visited when the government opened it on a trial basis during holidays in late April and early May. Government officials have decided to open the guest house to the public all year round, except when foreign dignitaries are staying there.Admission is about 10 dollars for adults, and five dollars for junior and senior high school students. The officials hope foreign tourists will include the guest house on their list of must-see attractions in Kyoto.
07/12/2016  RECREATING AN ANCIENT VOYAGE
Researchers are hoping to find out more about how their ancestors arrived in Japan. They're about to embark on a journey in a type of boat they think was used thousands of years ago.Archaeologists are studying how people sailed from Taiwan to the southern islands of Okinawa 30,000 years ago. They believe cattail grass was a possible material people used to make their vessels. The group used seashells to cut the grass. They then bound it together to make a boat that can carry around 10 people.Yonaguni in Okinawa is about 100 kilometers from Taiwan, the closest of Japan's islands. In recent years, researchers have unearthed the remains of people who lived there 30,000 years ago. DNA tests suggest that they may have come from regions south of Japan, including southern China. But the researchers have yet to find any stone tools for wood-working, so how the vessels were made remains a mystery.The team will make a 75-kilometer voyage next week between two Okinawan islands.
07/13/2016  NASA PROBE REACHES JUPITER
A U.S. space agency probe has reached Jupiter after a journey of nearly five years. The probe will orbit the planet over the next 18 months.NASA's Juno probe was launched in August 2011. At around 3:53 Tuesday UTC, Juno completed entry into Jupiter's orbit after firing its main engine to slow down.It will use ultraviolet ray- and microwave-monitoring equipment to study the internal structure of Jupiter, which is described as a huge ball of gas. Juno will conduct observations from an altitude of 5,000 kilometers, the closest a probe has ever got to the planet's surface.Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It's believed to have been the first planet created when the solar system came into being. NASA says scientists are hoping that finding clues to Jupiter's origin will help uncover the mystery of how the solar system was created.
07/14/2016  UK IRAQ WAR INQUIRY SLAMS BLAIR
A long-awaited report into Britain's decision to join the Iraq War in 2003 has delivered a scathing verdict. The independent inquiry has found that former Prime Minister Tony Blair did not accurately represent the threat, and it says he didn't give the risks and consequences enough consideration. The inquiry was launched by the British government and took seven years to complete. Its chairman, John Chilcot, said Wednesday the intervention went "badly wrong."(John Chilcot / Chairman, Iraq Inquiry)"We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort."The report denies there was a realistic threat from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. That was the main justification the U.S. and Britain gave for invading Iraq.
07/15/2016  'UDON DAY' CELEBRATION 
Thick noodles called "udon" are a local specialty of Kagawa Prefecture in western Japan. Producers expressed thanks for a bountiful harvest by presenting their traditional wheat noodles to a local shrine on July 2nd, known as "Udon Day".Representatives made offerings from this year's wheat harvest to a Shinto shrine in Takamatsu City. Local farmers in the region used to eat udon around this time of year to mark the end of rice planting.One thousand complimentary bowls of cold udon were given to visitors. The noodles were made with locally grown wheat. One representative explained that each udon restaurant has its own recipe. He said he hopes visitors enjoy the noodles at a restaurant of their choice.
07/18/2016  RESEARCHERS: OZONE LAYER ON THE MEND
Researchers say the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has shrunk in the last 15 years. The layer shields the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Leeds and others published their findings in the journal Science. They found the hole shrank by four million square kilometers between 2000 and 2015. That's bigger than India.Chlorofluorocarbons and other gases damaged the ozone layer. They were used in dry-cleaning solvents, refrigerators and aerosol sprays. Most countries have restricted emissions of those gases after signing the Montreal Protocol in 1987. The researchers say those efforts have put the planet on a path towards healing.
07/19/2016  EMPEROR CONSIDERS ABDICATION
NHK has learned an unprecedented change in modern Japan could take place in the near future. Sources from the Imperial Household Agency tell us that Japan's Emperor Akihito intends to step down in the coming years. He has been informing close aides that he will hand over the throne to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.The Emperor is 82 and has reigned for 28 years since he succeeded his father, Emperor Showa, whose given name was Hirohito. Sources say he wants to step down before he is too frail to fully carry out his duties, and they say he has already informed his family.There are no legal provisions for abdication under the Japanese law governing the status of the Emperor, and an abdication would have more practical effects as well. The Japanese year-numbering system will reset when the current "Heisei" era ends and a new one begins under Crown Prince Naruhito. The current law on naming eras stipulates that the new name is supposed to emerge only after the Emperor dies and the succession takes place.
07/20/2016  THERESA MAY TAKES OVER AS PRIME MINISTER
Britain's new prime minister is starting her role by naming members of her Cabinet. Theresa May appointed one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign, Boris Johnson, to be foreign secretary. He and others will help May steer the country's exit from the EU.
(Theresa May / British Prime Minister)"As we leave the European Union, we will forge a bold, new, positive role for ourselves in the world, and we will make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few, but for every one of us."
Queen Elizabeth asked May to form a new administration on Wednesday, following former Prime Minister David Cameron's resignation. May is 59 and is the second woman to lead the country after Margaret Thatcher. She has held key posts in the Conservative Party, including serving as home secretary for six years. In that role, she grappled with terrorism and the flow of European immigrants.
07/21/2016  TRIBUNAL DISMISSES CHINA'S CLAIM
In a long-awaited decision, an arbitration tribunal in The Hague has dismissed claims by China to waters in the South China Sea. It's the first legal decision by an international judiciary on any of the sea's multiple disputes and could be felt around the region.The Philippines filed the case in 2013. It argued that Beijing's claim on almost all of the sea is contrary to international law. Other countries in the region have their own claims there. They want the ability to exploit resources, including rich fishing grounds and oil and gas fields. China boycotted the proceedings. It argues that disputes should be settled by the parties involved.The tribunal concluded there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources, and it says there is no legal basis for China to claim historic rights over the area. The ruling is legally binding, and it cannot be appealed, but there's no penalty if China violates it.