Flooding In Louisiana And Manitoba

Ten to twenty feet of water has begun to flood Cajun Country in Louisiana in an effort to relieve a greater disaster further south on the Mississippi.  The spillway opened Saturday for the first time since 1973, and people and animals rushed to higher ground as the water shot through like a waterfall, bursting 6 feet into the air.  US army officials are hoping that this release will save Baton Rouge and New Orleans from another disaster greater than that left behind by Hurricane Katrina.

In Manitoba, the swollen Assiniboine River was let through a dyke, for the same purpose of stemming a greater disaster down river.  While the Manitoba government has pledged financial aid to the approximately 150 homes expected to be affected by the deliberate flooding, residents are still quite stressed regarding their immediate future.  The majority of those likely to be affected by the flooding have not been notified how deep the water is expected to get, nor what to expect afterwards.

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Elsewhere, gunfire at a border crossing between Syria and Lebanon has left one woman and one soldier dead.  Newer information puts the number of civilians killed at four.

India and Pakistan have exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, following the earlier shooting death of an Indian soldier.

Israeli gunfire injures 45 Palestinians protesting in the Gaza Strip when they got close to the border.  Four pro-Palestinian protesters are dead following the shooting.

Japanese engineers have abandoned the latest attempt to cool the reactor one at the Fukushima plant.  The attempt to cool the rods by pumping water into the reactor has been thwarted by a hole in the floor of the building which is allowing 3,000 tonnes of radioactive water to pool in the basement instead.  Tepco, the company which runs the plant, says another plan will be thought up by Tuesday.

Sony has stated that partial service of its Playstation Network have once again become operational in the US and Europe.  Service is expected to begin again in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, with Asia following soon after.  As of yet, the service will not allow purchase of games or services by credit card, as this aspect of the network is still being tested due to the new security measures.

More news as it happens.