A mighty river is drying up
River Cauvery, the lifeline of the delta districts in Tamil Nadu, appears like a small canal thanks to the failure of monsoon. With no water being released from Krishnaraja Sagar and Kabini reservoirs of Karnataka, the realisation of water at Mettur is much below three figure mark since January 16.
Following the poor storage level and with no hope of additional inflow in the near future, the Tamil Nadu government closed the shutters of the Stanley Reservoir on its customary closing date of January 28, when the farm operations in the dozen delta districts is only half way through.
According to the farmers of delta region, the standing paddy crop on about two lakh hectares had already withered due to non-availability of water and the crops on another five lakh hectares are on the verge of withering, causing heavy financial loss to the entire farming community.
At present only 500 cusecs of water is being discharged from Mettur Dam in River Cauvery for meeting the drinking water needs of the delta districts.
Puducherry-Bengaluru by flight
A SpiceJet flight takes off from from Puducherry Airport to Bengaluru on Thursday.
SpiceJet re-launched its flight operations between Puducherry and Bengaluru on Thursday. The airliner, which started service to Hyderabad in August under the Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme Udan (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik), has opened this route once again after it aborted operations in the sector four years ago.
Yuva Hunkar rally
BJP workers from various corners of Haryana heading for Jind to take part in 'Yuva Hunkar rally ' on Thursday.
BJP president Amit Shah is scheduled to attend the Yuva Hunkar rally in Jind, Haryana. According to BJP leaders, over 1,00,000 bikes will participate in Mr. Shah’s rally. The rally is being seen as an attempt by the BJP to consolidate its hold on Jind and adjoining areas. Jind is considered to be the nerve centre of Haryana politics.
Chinese New Year celebrations kick off
People watch fireworks explode over the Hudson River against the backdrop of Manhattan marking Chinese New Year celebrations on February 14, 2018 in Weehawken, New Jersey.
Though the Chinese New Year falls on Friday, February 16, this year, celebrations kicked off in the U.S. early. This year, it is the Year of the Dog. Also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, at least 385 million Chinese people are expected to leave the major cities to visit their families in rural parts of the country to mark the Year of the Dog.
Norway's Svindal wins Olympic men's downhill
Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway makes a run during the Men's Downhill on day six of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea on Thursday.
Aksel Lund Svindal on Thursday won the men's downhill in Pyeongchang, making the 35-year-old Norwegian the oldest-ever Olympic gold medalist in Alpine skiing.
Svindal was 0.12 seconds faster than Norwegian teammate Kjetil Jansrud down the 2.9-km course at Jeongseon. Beat Feuz of Switzerland took bronze, 0.18 behind Svindal's time of 1 minute, 40.25 seconds.
South African President Zuma resigns
In trouble: A file photo of President of South Africa Jacob Zuma at the 54th ANC National Conference .
South African President Jacob Zuma resigned in a televised address to the nation, ending a turbulent tenure marred by corruption scandals that sapped the popularity of the ruling African National Congress and hurt one of Africa’s biggest economies.
The resignation signaled an imminent end to a leadership crisis in South Africa and set the stage for Mr. Zuma to be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has promised a robust campaign against corruption but will quickly face pressure to produce results in a country struggling with unemployment, economic inequity and other problems. Ahead of 2019 elections, Mr. Ramaphosa also has the tough task of rebuilding a ruling party whose moral stature has diminished since it took power at the end of white minority rule in 1994.
17 killed in Florida school shooting
Students react following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Miama on Wednesday.
At least 17 people, including students, were killed after a former student opened fire at a Florida high school, law enforcement officials said on Wednesday.
The shooting suspect, identified as Nicolas Cruz, has been taken into custody. The FBI is assisting local officials in the investigation.
“Nicolas Cruz was the killer. He is in custody. We already began to dissect his websites and social media that he was on ... some of the things that come to mind are very, very disturbing,” Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters at a news conference in Florida.
Zimbabwe Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai passes away
TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai died Wednesday at age 65, ending a long campaign to lead his country that brought him jailings, beatings and accusations of treason.
Tsvangirai died Wednesday evening in a Johannesburg hospital, said Elias Mudzuri, a vice president of the Movement for Democratic Change party. The Opposition leader had been battling colon cancer for two years.
Tsvangirai for years was Mugabe’s most potent challenger and even became Prime Minister in an uncomfortable coalition government for a few years. Mugabe resigned in November after pressure from the military and ruling party, and this year’s election will be the first without the man who led the southern African nation for 37 years.
