AFP Panama is preparing to officially open its canal shortly to far bigger cargo ships after nearly a decade of expansion work aimed at boosting transit revenues and global trade. A VIP ceremony will be held on the banks of the canal to inaugurate the completion of the works. President Juan Carlos Varela will unveil the new locks and ...

  Bloomberg Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the nation’s largest heavy-oil producer, was fined C$500,000 ($384,500) for breaching environmental laws in 2010 and 2012. The company was penalized C$350,000 for an incident on May 28, 2010, at its Horizon facility when the plant’s sulfur-recovery unit failed and hydrogen sulfide escaped, the Alberta government said in a statement Friday. It had reported ...

  Bloomberg Monsanto Co. and Argentina announced an agreement for the collection of royalties for genetically modified soybeans, ending years of dispute between the world’s largest seed company and the third-largest grower of the crop. “The state will have full control of seed commercialization in order to ensure private companies like Monsanto will be able to collect royalties payments,” Agriculture ...

  CLENDENIN / AP Offering his condolences, President Barack Obama approved federal aid for the West Virginia communities devastated by floods that have killed at least 24 people and rendered many more homeless. Obama’s signature on the federal disaster declaration lets residents in three counties get aid for temporary housing and home repairs, receive low-cost loans to cover uninsured property ...

  Tokyo / AFP An American base employee on Japan’s Okinawa was arrested for suspected drink-driving on Sunday, a week after tens of thousands of angry residents rallied in protest at crimes linked to the heavy US military presence. US military personnel are still under curfew after a suspected rape and murder by another employee of a military base. The ...

  Sydney / AFP One man was killed and several buildings torched in violence at a university in Papua New Guinea, its vice-chancellor said on Sunday, some two weeks after police opened fire on students in the capital. Students have been protesting against Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, who is being investigated for corruption. The undergraduate killed at the campus in ...

  Beijing / AFP At least 30 people were killed when a large bus burst into flames after crashing into the side of a road in central China on Sunday, state media said. A total of 56 people were on board the bus which crashed in Hunan province, the official Xinhua news agency reported, suggesting casualties could rise. 21 injured ...

  London / AFP The future of opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn looked shaky on Sunday after two members of his top team quit and others seemed set to follow over his handling of Britain’s EU referendum. Corbyn sacked his foreign affairs spokesman, Hilary Benn, late Saturday after Benn said he no longer had confidence in his leadership, while health ...

  ROME / AP US Secretary of State John Kerry will rush to Brussels and London on Monday to meet the top British and European Union diplomats, as the world grapples with the implications of Britain’s historic vote to leave the European Union. Kerry will bring messages of support. Less likely: Answers or even suggestions for how to deal with ...

  Perris / AFP Every weekday, year-round, Esteban Yanez rises at the crack of dawn and heads to his job as a construction worker near the largely Hispanic desert town of Perris, south of Los Angeles. On weekends, he does odd jobs to complement his salary. Though the 49-year-old father of four pays income tax and social security, he has ...