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Solar plane lands in New York City

A solar-powered airplane finished crossing the United States on Saturday, landing in New York City after flying over the Statue of Liberty during its historic bid to circle the globe, the project team said.  The spindly, single-seat experimental aircraft, dubbed Solar Impulse 2, arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 4 a.m. local time after it took off about five hours beforehand at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania, the team reported on the airplane's website.  Such a pleasure to land in New York! For the 14th time we celebrate sustainability," said the project's co-founder Andre Borschberg on Twitter after flying over the city and the Statue of Liberty during the 14th leg of the trip around the globe. The Swiss team flying the aircraft in a campaign to build support for clean energy technologies hopes eventually to complete its circumnavigation in Abu Dhabi, where the journey began in March 2015. The solar cr...

Because of drought, Panama canal cut the size of ship

Image result for Because of drought, Panama canal cut the size of ship

The Panama Canal Authority says it will temporarily cut the size of ships allowed through because of drought caused by El Nino. From 8 September, the maximum draft of ships will be cut to 39ft (11.89m), which may affect up to 20% of traffic. A similar restriction was imposed for the same reason in 1998. The authorities say a further cut in the draft could be imposed on 16 September if the situation does not improve. The authority has taken the action because water levels in the Gatun and Alhajuela lakes has reduced as a result of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Image result for Because of drought, Panama canal cut the size of shipThe current draft limit is 39.5ft, which will be cut to 39ft on 8 September and then potentially to 38.5ft on 16 September. Shipping companies had been warned the cuts could be coming. The Panama Canal celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, having seen more than a million ships pass through. Panama took control of the canal from the US in 2000, and has since been widely praised with the way it has handled the operation.
Transit fees now bring in about $1bn (£645m) a year for the government.

source - bbcnews

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