A | (ECNS) -- The first phase of the middle route of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project had transferred more than 80 billion cubic meters of water to northern China as of Friday, directly benefiting nearly 118 million people, according to the Changjiang Water Resources Commission. The water comes mainly from Danjiangkou Reservoir, where managers balance reservoir inflows, local demand in the Hanjiang River basin, northbound supplies, and downstream ecological needs. This summer, after forecasts pointed to below-normal rainfall, authorities adjusted reservoir operations to retain about 1.5 billion cubic meters more water as a buffer against possible drought. Technology is playing a growing role in monitoring water quality. An AI-powered floating platform works alongside satellites, drones, and ground monitoring stations, feeding data into a digital twin of Danjiangkou Reservoir that tracks water quality, simulates flood scenarios, and supports emergency planning. At Danjiangkou Reservoir, the core water source for the middle route, an autonomous vessel collects samples from different depths to monitor algae. Using AI-powered microscopy, the floating station identifies microorganisms quickly and tracks algal activity, giving early warning of blooms. The vessel is part of an integrated satellite, aerial, surface, and structural monitoring network that combines remote sensing, drones, ground-based stations, and sensors embedded in the dam. By fusing multi-source data in real time, the system has shifted water monitoring "from isolated points to full-area coverage," said Cui Dongdong, deputy director of the technology development department at a company under the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources. With the digital platform, a regulation plan that once took days to produce can now be generated in seconds. The platform runs more than 15 professional models covering flood routing, pollutant dispersion, and dam structure simulation. The 1,432-kilometer middle route canal carries water across the Yangtze, Huai, Yellow, and Hai river basins before it reaches households in the north. Water quality has also improved, and the nationally protected "crystal jellyfish," known as the "giant panda of the water," is now sighted frequently in the reservoir, an indicator of excellent conditions. (By Helen Mo, intern Yang Hongran) 
。 BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- A former prime minister of Slovakia who plans to end the country's military support for Ukraine is poised to return to office after his political party signed a deal Wednesday with two other parties to form a coalition government. The leftist Smer, or Direction, party captured 22.9% of the vote in Slovakia's Sept 30 parliamentary election. The party's leader, populist former Prime Minister Robert Fico, needed to find coalition partners to rule with a majority in the country's 150-seat Parliament.The memorandum signed Wednesday provides for a coalition of Smer, which holds 42 seats; the left-wing Hlas, or Voice, party, which placed third in the election and has 27 seats; and the ultra-nationalist and pro-Russia Slovak National Party, which has 10 lawmakers in the new parliament. Fico's former deputy in Smer, Peter Pellegrini, is the leader of Hlas. Pellegrini parted ways with Fico after the scandal-tainted Smer lost the previous election in 2020. Their reunion was a key to Fico’s ability to form a government.It was not immediately clear when President Zuzana Caputova might swear in the new government. Fico said he hoped to represent Slovakia at the next summit of the leaders of European Union member nations, which is scheduled for late October. As part of the coalition deal, Smer will get to appoint the prime minister and six other ministers, opening the way for Fico to serve as Slovakia's head of government for the fourth time. Hlas will get to name the parliament speaker and seven Cabinet ministers, and the Slovak National Party three ministers.The deal struck by the three groups means that the Progressive Slovakia party, a liberal, pro-Western newcomer that took second place in the election with 18% of the vote, will end up in the opposition. The party holds 32 seats in parliament. Fico campaigned on a pro-Russian and anti-American message. He has vowed to withdraw Slovakia’s military support for Ukraine, and his victory could further strain the fragile unity in the European Union and NATO.He said he wants Slovakia to remain a member of the EU and NATO but with “full respect” for his country's sovereignty.“The protection of sovereignty and national interests of Slovakia will be the government's priority,” Fico said. He pledged the protect his country against illegal migration that has been recently on the rise in Europe. Fico’s critics worry that his return to power could lead Slovakia to abandon its course in other ways, following the path of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and to a lesser extent of Poland under the Law and Justice party.。
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