Cauvery water from Kabini to reach Tamil Nadu today

Water released from the Kabini Dam in Karnataka is expected to reach the Tamil Nadu boundary on Monday and flow into the Mettur Dam by Monday night or Tuesday, according to Water Resources De-partment (WRD) officials. The Karnataka government, following heavy rainfall over the past few days, began releasing Cauvery water from the Ka-bini Dam on Saturday.

PM launches drive to curb drug abuse among youth

Stressing the need for sus-tained action and community participation to combat drug abuse, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid out a national vision for building a drugs-free youth population as the foundation of "Viksit Bharat" (developed India). Launching the Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan (Drug-Free Youth for Developed India Pledge Campaign), Mr. Modi said that today's youth would eventually enjoy the fruits of a developed India.

Petrol, diesel consumption surges in July; LPG use down despite rollback of curbs

Consumption of diesel and petrol surged about 9.4% and 8.7% year-on-year res-pectively in July, primarily driven by a below-average monsoon that increased the demand for fuel among farmers to run irrigation machinery and tractors. According to government data, diesel con-sumption in July touched about 8.05 million metric tonnes (MMT), higher than 7.356 MMT last July. Petrol consumption stood at 3.795 MMT as against 3.493 MMT in the comparable period last year.

A.P., Australia sign four MoUs on education, clean energy

Andhra Pradesh and Australia have signed four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in the fields of clean energy, advanced manufacturing, inclusive education, student mental health, and skill development. The agreements were signed in the presence of Andhra Pradesh HRD Minister Nara Lokesh and Australia's Assistant Minister Julian Hill, a statement said. One of the MoUs propose to establish a Centre of Excellence for Solar Manufacturing at IIT-Tirupati.

Kerala to identify forest locations illegally geo-tagged on online maps

The Kerala Forest Depart-ment has decided to take stock of all locations in the State's forests that have been illegally geo-tagged by individuals on online map platforms. The de-partment's IT wing is col-lating a list of these loca-tions, which will then be forwarded to the Forest Management Wing.

Strong health systems for all with better public spending

The discourse on building strong public health systems tends to start with financing. Indeed, according to the World Bank, the per capita public spending on universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) - including government expenditure and off-budget development assistance is about half of the minimum benchmarks.

Europe's relentless summer leads to unprecedented wildfires

The heat wave conditions and the forest fires are seen as symptomat-ic of Europe's rising temperatures, attributed to climate change. The fire in the Bordeaux region is shaping up to be the biggest for-est fire France has seen. According to multiple media reports, the fire has already burnt through 42,000 hectares of pine forest, destroyed 240 homes, spread close to densely populated areas, with the smoke reaching up to 400 km away.

Why does Kerala report a high leptospirosis burden?

The story so far:

Leptospirosis is a tropical zoonotic disease-a - bacterial systemic infection caused by pathogenic Leptospira - highly integrated with an environment in which both humans and animals thrive. The disease, which began to be reported in Kerala since 1989, has been endemic in the State for the past three decades or more and has now become the communicable disease with the highest mortality profile. Leptospirosis is yet again in focus now, as the disease has claimed 50 lives just in the month of July this year.

A lepidoptera hotspot, India is home to 8.25% of the world's butterflies, moths

India is home to 13,703 species of lepidoptera - butterflies and moths which is about 8.25% of the total lepidoptera found across the globe. Scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have come out with a detailed "Catalogue of Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths) of India", which has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.

India produces smart scientists but is struggling to retain them

• Recent reports of nearly 120 scientists resigning from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have rightly raised concerns
• Many talented researchers are now moving to private research organisations, emerging deep-tech companies, universities abroad, and/or international collaborations where scientific autonomy has more room than administrative strictures
• India must increase administrative transparency in scientific institutions, and install robust systems to redress grievances concerning workplace harassment and mentoring-based leadership training

Extreme-event materials

Researchers have found a previously unknown metal alloy created by the blast of the Hiroshima atomic bomb in 1945. The material was found inside small, glass-like beads called hiroshimaites, which were recovered from the beach sands of Hiroshima Bay. These beads formed when the intense heat of the blast vaporised building materials, soil, and metals, which solidified as they fell back to the earth.