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Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Saturday firmly defended the government's decision to introduce Zumba in schools, amid mounting opposition from several Muslim organisations. Calling the backlash an expression of "majoritarian communal tendencies," Sivankutty reaffirmed that Zumba would continue as a part of physical activity programmes in state-run schools. "When several states protested against the hijab, we took a progressive stand. But now, some organi ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala remains on edge with the Met department predicting that incessant monsoon rains will continue to lash several parts of the state on Saturday. This has prompted authorities to issue an orange alert in five districts and a yellow alert in the rest, and initiate evacuations in flood-prone areas. Educational institutions in Kottayam district that are currently functioning as relief camps and schools under the Thrissur District Education Office will be closed on June 28. C ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Educational institutions in Kottayam district that are currently functioning as relief camps will remain closed on Saturday as per an official order. Thrissur District collector has clarified that only the schools under the Thrissur District Education Office will be closed on June 28. Confusion prevailed after a widely circulated social media message that claimed all schools in the district would be closed. However, no official notification was issued by the district collect ...Read More >
New Delhi: Worried over the proposed plan to restrict the air conditioner temperature in the 20 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees Celsius range? Fret not. The central government is unlikely to implement that anytime soon. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday said the new AC temperature range would kick in only 'after 2050'. "I do not think it will happen immediately; capacities will be gradually built for it over time," he said while attending the India Climate Summit. Yadav stated ...Read More >
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday orally questioned the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over objection to the use of the name 'Janaki' in Suresh Sopi starrer 'JSK - Janaki v/s State of Kerala'. "We have cinemas issued in the name 'Seeta Aur Geeta'. Janaki is Seeta. Nothing happened. No problem. Nobody has any complaint. We have film named 'Ram Lakhan'. Nobody has any complaint. Then how come for Janaki there is a complaint?" Justice N Nagaresh asked Deputy Solicitor General of I ...Read More >
Malappuram: The Kerala government's decision to start Zumba classes in state-run schools from this academic year to reduce mental stress among children has met strong resistance from various Muslim organisations. Many schools have already started Zumba training with the cooperation of the PTA. While the Samastha Yuvajan Sangam (SYS), affiliated to Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, called the possible introduction of a Zumba dance programme as undermining society's moral values, Samastha Kera ...Read More >
Kochi: Muthoot Capital Services Ltd has announced plans to raise ₹100 crore through a private placement of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The company will issue 10,000 NCDs, each worth ₹1 lakh. The Kochi-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) said that the debentures will carry an annual coupon rate of 10.35 per cent. Non-convertible debentures are a type of debt instrument issued by companies to raise money from investors. They are called non-convertible because they cannot be convert ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph on Friday made light of the controversy over the alleged rift among the party leadership over the Nilambur bypoll victory, stating there was no dispute over the credit for the win. "There isn't any dispute over credit. The credit for the victory goes to Team UDF as well as the ordinary workers of the alliance. Today's meeting has put it on record," Sunny said as he briefed the media about the decisions taken by ...Read More >
Kottayam: A domestic argument turned fatal for a 46-year-old woman after she was hacked to death by her son. Police said the 26-year-old man was a drug addict. The victim, identified as Sindhu, was cooking inside her house in a village near Pallikkathodu when her son, Aravind, hacked her to death on Thursday night. Sindhu used to sell lottery tickets to support her family. Aravind, a former JCB driver, had allegedly been struggling with drug addiction and was undergoing treatment, police said. ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar has written a strongly worded letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, criticising General Education Minister V Sivankutty for walking out of a function held at Raj Bhavan on June 19. The Governor described the incident as a breach of protocol and an insult to the constitutional office. The letter, dated June 26, refers to an awards ceremony for the Bharat Scouts and Guides, where Sivankutty -- who also serves as President of the Associatio ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: As monsoon rains continue to lash Kerala, the state is on high alert with rising river levels and dam shutters being opened. Educational institutions have been ordered shut in several regions, even as authorities brace for more heavy rain, strong winds and the threat of flash floods over the next few days. Holiday in 7 districts District collectors of Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur, Palakkad, and Wayanad have declared a holiday for all educational ins ...Read More >
Nilambur: A night-time fishing trip turned into a harrowing ordeal for five cousins in the remote hamlet of Vellakkatta near Nilambur, after a 14-year-old boy was electrocuted by a live snare wire illegally set across a stream to trap wild boars. But amid the chaos and grief, the sheer courage and presence of mind of the other boys saved two lives, one of them unconscious, the other moments from death. Ananthu, also known as Jithu, a Class X student at Christ King Higher Secondary School in Man ...Read More >
Bengaluru: A letter written by the DCP of the Vidhana Soudha security division to the state government has revealed serious concerns over organising a felicitation ceremony for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) players at the iconic steps of the Karnataka state legislature. The DCP warned that the rushed planning of the event could jeopardise security arrangements due to the expected massive turnout of fans. Following a request from the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to host a felic ...Read More >
Kochi: The Andhra Pradesh government's invitation to Kerala-based textile major Kitex Garments Ltd. to invest in the state has triggered a war of words between Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev and the company's head, Sabu M Jacob. Sabu reiterated that he decided to call off his company's proposed investments to the tune of ₹3,500 crore from Kerala and shifted it to Telangana as he was fed up with the harassment from the Left government, prompting a sharp response from Rajeev. Projecting the ...Read More >
RAIPUR: The Vishnu Deo Sai cabinet embarked on a singular initiative -- Chintan Shivir 2.0 -- where all state ministers shared their experiences, lessons learnt, accounts from the field, as they got an opportunity for introspection on an attentive, thoughtful platform. Cited as no ordinary government meeting, the two-day extensive deliberations and exchange of better ideas held at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur campus is exclusively designed for the ministers to reflect on thei ...Read More >
Madurai: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the NDA would form governments in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Addressing party office bearers, Shah said that the BJP-AIADMK alliance will secure power in the 2026 Assembly election and people will defeat DMK in 2026 polls and the party is 100 per cent failure government. "In 2026, in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, NDA will form governments," he said. The central minister also hailed Madurai as a city of 'Parivartan' and said his party's ...Read More >
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit back at the Election Commission after sources in the poll panel dismissed his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, reported PTI. Gandhi said evasion would not protect the EC's credibility, but telling the truth would. In an article titled "Match-fixing Maharashtra", published in an English daily, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged large-scale manipulation in the Maharashtra polls and claimed tha ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: A new Coast Guard jetty, designed to enable safe berthing and swift deployment of surface assets, was inaugurated at Vizhinjam on Saturday. The facility was opened by Indian Coast Guard Director General S Paramesh, AVSM, PTM, TM, in the presence of Inspector General Bhisham Sharma, PTM, TM, Commander of the Coast Guard Region (West), during an official ceremony, according to a Defence release. Describing the jetty as a "cutting-edge" addition, the release said the berth -- w ...Read More >
Idukki: In the village of Thommankuthu in Kerala's Idukki district, a cross has driven a wedge between the people and the Forest Department. What began as resentment toward the department for removing the cross installed by the church at Naranganam has now boiled over to an entire village. In April, the Forest Department removed a cross installed by the St Thomas Church at Naranganam, Thommankuthu in Thodupuzha. This triggered widespread outrage cutting across communities. St Thomas Church Vica ...Read More >
Thrissur: The mortal remains of C P Chacko, father of actor Shine Tom Chacko, who died in a road accident in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, were brought to Thrissur on Friday night. It arrived at Jubilee Mission Hospital around 10.30 pm and was shifted to the mortuary. Shine Tom Chacko and his mother, Maria Carmel, who were injured in the early morning accident on Friday, are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Thrissur. Maria sustained spinal injuries, while Shine suffered injuries to his h ...Read More >
Kochi: The Directorate General of Shipping and experts appointed by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) have begun the preliminary inspection and mapping of the Liberia-flagged container vessel MSC ELSA 3, which sank off the Kerala coast on May 25. Alongside efforts to recover oil leaking from the vessel, authorities are also prioritising the recovery of containers carrying hazardous chemicals. The preliminary inspection aims to gather detailed information to facilitate these operations. ...Read More >
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has approached the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the FIR registered against it and its office bearers in connection with the stampede that occurred outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, leaving 11 people dead. The petition, filed by the KSCA Managing Committee, names President Raghuram Bhat, Secretary A Shankar, and Treasurer E S Jairam as petitioners. It is listed for hearing before Justice S R Krishna Kumar at 2.30 pm ...Read More >
Malappuram: Former MLA P V Anvar, who is contesting the Nilambur bypoll as the TMC-backed independent candidate, has pitched crowd-funding to mobilise money for his election campaign. He appealed to the voters to contribute money, no matter how small the sum. "I have crores worth of assets, but I have been trapped in cases related to possession of excess land. I am unable to do any transactions. Even if it is ₹10 or ₹1, I wouldn't mind. I feel I have the support. Your contributions will be reco ...Read More >
Malappuram: After ten days of political twists and turns, the electoral picture in Nilambur has taken its shape. What was predicted to be a straightforward face-off between the UDF and the LDF has taken a dramatic turn after PV Anvar announced his candidacy. Despite fielding strong candidates, both the UDF and LDF have struggled to shift the spotlight away from Anvar, whose actions have added an unpredictable edge to the contest. The political drama in Nilambur began after Anvar resigned form h ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala cabinet on Thursday ratified the 52-day trawling ban in the sea off the Kerala coast effective from midnight on June 9 to midnight on July 31. The ban, notified on May 29, is aimed at protecting marine resources during the fish breeding season, according to an official release. The cabinet also approved the lease of 10 acres of land to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) f ...Read More >
Thrissur: The deaths of a mother and daughter in their rented home in Padiyur have been confirmed as homicides, with the postmortem report confirming that both victims were strangled to death. The police have launched a manhunt for the accused, Premkumar (45), a native of Ithithanam, Kottayam. Premkumar was out on bail for murdering his first wife, Vidya, in 2019. He allegedly killed Vidya to pursue a relationship with an old lover. In the current incident, Mani (74) and her daughter Rekha (43 ...Read More >
Malappuram: The Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Wednesday announced its decision to contest the Nilambur constituency bypoll and named its Malappuram district vice president, Adv. Sadik Naduthodi, as the party's candidate. Addressing the media in Malappuram, the SDPI leadership alleged that both major political alliances -- the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) -- have failed the people of Nilambur. The party said that it offers voters a more reliab ...Read More >
Palakkad: A BJP leader from Palakkad has filed a formal complaint against popular rapper and songwriter Hirandas Murali, popularly known as Vedan, accusing him of defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and promoting caste-based division through his music. V S Minimol, a Municipal Councillor and Chairperson of the Development Committee at the Palakkad Municipality, has written to the Union Home Ministry and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), urging them to take action against the rapper. A ...Read More >
Bikaner: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India's enemies now know what happens when "sindoor turns into barood (gunpowder)", as he praised the Indian armed forces for the swift and decisive response under Operation Sindoor. Addressing his first public rally in Rajasthan after Operation Sindoor, which was launched following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, the prime minister took direct aim at Pakistan. "In just 22 minutes, we destroyed nine of the biggest terror hide ...Read More >
Kochi: Telltale signs of a dysfunctional family and possible psychological issues have emerged as reasons which led to the alleged murder of Kalyani, a three-year-old girl at Moozhikulam near Nedumbassery in Ernakulam district. The Nedumbassery police have booked Sandhya, the mother of Kalyani, after the girl's body was found from the Chalakudy river by 2.30 am on Tuesday after a search that lasted for hours. Sandhya has been in police custody ever since the missing case was reported. Sandhya be ...Read More >
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