March 18, Thursday, 2021 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline read by Ms. Yamamoto Miki

1. A coronavirus advisory panel for the government has given the green light to a plan to lift the state of emergency for the Tokyo area. The declaration, covering four prefectures, is set to expire on Sunday.
2. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says his country needs the “minimum credible deterrence” provided by nuclear arms to deal with international threats.
3. Israeli archaeologists have discovered fragments of ancient biblical text known as the Dead Sea Scrolls in a desert cave.