Latest news with #Groundwater
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
This weeks lit fic picks: Groundwater by Thomas McMullan, Selfish Girls by Abigail Bergstrom, Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko
Groundwater is available now from the Mail Bookshop Groundwater by Thomas McMullan (Bloomsbury £18.99, 304pp) John and Liz abandon their city life for a new start in a remote house by a lake. Their furniture is delayed, the local warden seems a bit strange and Liz's sister, her husband and two children have turned up, expecting a bit of a holiday. Then there is the longed-for child, John's brewing work problems, the peculiar behaviour of Liz's brother-in-law, who may be seriously ill, and the three students from a local campsite who start hanging around for no discernible reason. McMullan's shape-shifting novel is a masterclass in apprehension, exposing the fissures between an imagined life and its reality with stealthy power, and boldly upending reader expectations. Richly unsettling. Selfish Girls by Abigail Bergstrom (Hodder and Stoughton £20, 272pp) When Ines has a miscarriage, her boyfriend appears more upset about it than she is. She agrees, all the same, to return with him to her family home in Wales for a new beginning: after all, her career as an actress in London isn't exactly going anywhere. But also in Wales live her two elder sisters, Dylan and Emma, and their mother, Gwen, and before long the unspoken secrets and buried difficulties of their unconventional childhood start to rise to the surface. Bergstrom, whose novel What A Shame was a Gen-Z hit, roves between the lives of all four women across a time span of several decades in ways that echo both the mess of remembered experience and the chaotic make-up of a life. The story is not always easy to follow but Bergstrom's prose has a rangy, off-the-cuff immediacy, as though you are reading what is happening from inside each character's skin. Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko (Oneworld £10.99, 320pp) Melissa Lucashenko's latest novel is full of stories. There are the tales Granny Eddie, a spirited First Nations elder, mischievously spins about her past when a team of white liberals co-opt her into their progressively minded bicentennial celebrations. There are the consoling myths Australia likes to tell itself as a way of whitewashing its savagely colonial history. And there is the story of Mulanyin, a Yugambeh man who falls in love with a Nyugi woman in 19th century Queensland as his life plays out against the pernicious reach of British colonialism. Looping back and forth between the 1850s and the present day and steeped in the rituals and storytelling of First Nations culture, Edenglassie at times feels as vast as Australia itself. But it's also written in a spirit of reconciliation, daring to dream what a future version of that country might look like.
Sydney Morning Herald
16-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Some tourists are avoiding Trump's America, but we aren't
When Traveller columnist Ben Groundwater wrote a piece earlier this year, saying that the Trump administration would not stop him from visiting the US, he received an overwhelming response. Of the record 525 comments on Groundwater's column, the vast majority took the opposite view. Not only were many of the readers critical of the idea of visiting the US under president Trump, many were critical of Groundwater for even suggesting it. At a time when visitor numbers to the US from various other countries are reportedly plummeting, then, it might come as a surprise to see that Australians are not only continuing to visit, are actually going there in greater numbers than before Trump's election. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that, in May, the number of Australian residents returning from short trips to the US was a little over 69,000 – an increase of more than 5000, or about 8 per cent, on the same time last year. What's more, the numbers were up in every key category – those travelling a holiday (up 12 per cent compared with last year); visiting friends or relatives (up 15 per cent) or for business (up 8 per cent). It's true that the numbers for April showed a decline in Australian visitors, year-on-year, for the first time since borders reopened after the pandemic, but so far that amounts to a blip, not a trend. Overall this year the number of Australians visiting the US is up about 3 per cent and in May the US was our fourth most-visited country, behind only Indonesia, New Zealand and Japan. The number of Australians heading to the US still remains below pre-COVID levels, one of only two countries in our top 10 to have not surpassed 2019's numbers (New Zealand is the other one), but this might indicate that the strength of the US dollar has been a bigger factor in deterring visitors than any political issues. Australians have long been a sought-after market for US tourist destinations. We are among the top 10 sources of visitors and tend to stay longer and spend more money than tourists from other countries. And it seems we are continuing to go there in droves. This comes even as a series of horror stories are reported about Australians and others being denied entry to the US for seemingly arbitrary reasons.
The Age
16-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
Some tourists are avoiding Trump's America, but we aren't
When Traveller columnist Ben Groundwater wrote a piece earlier this year, saying that the Trump administration would not stop him from visiting the US, he received an overwhelming response. Of the record 525 comments on Groundwater's column, the vast majority took the opposite view. Not only were many of the readers critical of the idea of visiting the US under president Trump, many were critical of Groundwater for even suggesting it. At a time when visitor numbers to the US from various other countries are reportedly plummeting, then, it might come as a surprise to see that Australians are not only continuing to visit, are actually going there in greater numbers than before Trump's election. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that, in May, the number of Australian residents returning from short trips to the US was a little over 69,000 – an increase of more than 5000, or about 8 per cent, on the same time last year. What's more, the numbers were up in every key category – those travelling a holiday (up 12 per cent compared with last year); visiting friends or relatives (up 15 per cent) or for business (up 8 per cent). It's true that the numbers for April showed a decline in Australian visitors, year-on-year, for the first time since borders reopened after the pandemic, but so far that amounts to a blip, not a trend. Overall this year the number of Australians visiting the US is up about 3 per cent and in May the US was our fourth most-visited country, behind only Indonesia, New Zealand and Japan. The number of Australians heading to the US still remains below pre-COVID levels, one of only two countries in our top 10 to have not surpassed 2019's numbers (New Zealand is the other one), but this might indicate that the strength of the US dollar has been a bigger factor in deterring visitors than any political issues. Australians have long been a sought-after market for US tourist destinations. We are among the top 10 sources of visitors and tend to stay longer and spend more money than tourists from other countries. And it seems we are continuing to go there in droves. This comes even as a series of horror stories are reported about Australians and others being denied entry to the US for seemingly arbitrary reasons.
The Hindu
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bapatla District Collector assures immediate removal of canal obstructions hindering fishing activities
Bapatla District Collector J. Venkata Murali has assured that obstructions in the Epurupalem canal, which have hindered fishing activities, will be removed immediately. He gave this assurance during an emergency meeting with fishermen representatives from nine villages who had halted fishing to protest the blockage., held here on Tuesday. The Collector stated that the canal, which merges into the sea, will be restored to its original flow conditions prior to any fishing bans. He emphasised the urgency, as over 20,000 families and around 2,500 boats belonging to fishermen depend on this canal for their livelihood. The obstruction, reportedly caused by a private individual who dumped 500 tonnes of sand to divert the canal path, has halted boat movement and damaged vessels due to submerged rocks near the shoreline. A committee has been formed to investigate the illegal blockage. It includes officials from Revenue, Groundwater, Water Resources, Pollution Control Board, Fisheries Department, and fishermen leaders. A comprehensive survey and inquiry are to be completed within a month. District SP Tushar Dudi affirmed that legal measures will be taken under CRZ laws, including potential criminal charges. Fishermen welcomed the move and submitted written complaints, seeking action against those encroaching coastal zones for personal gain.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Officials told to expedite repair works of irrigation tanks in Sri Sathya Sai district
Sri Sathya Sai district Collector T.S. Chetan on Thursday reviewed the progress of the repair and restoration works of minor irrigation tanks under the Repair, Renovation, and Restoration (RRR) scheme of the Central government. He said that strengthening the water bodies in the district would auger well for the district's agricultural ecosystem. Addressing a meeting with the officials of the Minor Irrigation, Groundwater, and Water Resources departments here, the Collector underlined the need for taking up restoration works immediately, in view of the ensuing southwest monsoon. He informed the officials to adopt a targeted approach to identify and rehabilitate tanks, which were critical to sustaining ayacut and galvanising the groundwater table. Mr. Chetan said that the RRR scheme envisaged revival plans for minor water bodies by enhancing their water-holding capacity. Sri Sathya Sai district has 1,186 water bodies under the minor and major irrigation tanks, which cater to 83,486 acres of area. The Collector asked the officials to promptly send proposals identifying tanks that were in urgent requirement of repairs, and funds allocation. 'The RRR scheme follows a 60:40 ratio, with the Central government contributing 60 per cent and the State government coming up with 40 per cent share of the expenditures,' Mr. Chetan said. Meanwhile, the Collector checked the reports pertaining to the first phase of works, which included the restoration of 239 tanks. He called for better coordination among departments for effective utilisation of resources and expedition of works.
