KOCHI: One of the most interesting stories about autograph collecting is from 1932 when the Waterman Pen Company launched a major campaign to collect autographs in their special albums. More than 150,000 boys and girls under 16 participated. Waterman exhibited the winning albums and the top 30 entries at the 1933 Chicago World Fair and then returned them to the collectors. There were 333 prizes, comprising 133 cash prizes (including a grand prize of $1000), 100 Waterman Fountain Pens and 100 Wat

KOCHI: Industries Minister P Rajeeve flagged off an electric cart designed and manufactured by the state-run Kerala Automobiles Limited (KAL) at a function held at Changampuzha Park on Tuesday. The cart attached with a garbage box and tipping mechanism will be used as a model vehicle by the corporation to transport biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. The cart will be modified as per the requirements of the field staff appointed for waste collection. KAL authorities said the cart can carry

KOCHI: With an autopsy report revealing multiple head injuries, the police suspect that the 55-year-old woman who was found dead at an apartment in Koonamthai near Kalamassery was murdered. The deceased Jayesy Abraham, belonging to Chundikuzhi in Perumbavoor was staying alone at a rented apartment in Koonamthai and was found dead in the bathroom on Sunday night. The incident came to light after Jayesys daughter, who is in Canada, failed to get her on the line despite several attempts. She then

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM will not initiate disciplinary action against its senior leader and former LDF convener E P Jayarajan over the controversy related to his alleged autobiography Kattan Chayayum Parippuvadayum , for the time being. The state leadership is of the view that any kind of action against EP at this stage would affect the partys prospects in the upcoming bypoll in Palakkad. The party is not in a mood to respond to any controversies that would affect the CPM and the government,

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As voting progresses in the crucial bypolls for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and the Chelakkara Assembly constituency, a fresh controversy erupted in Kerala on Wednesday over the yet to be published autobiography of veteran CPI(M) leader E P Jayarajan. This morning, some channels broadcast excerpts from the purported autobiography, which included critical remarks about the LDF government and the Marxist party. As the matter triggered a major political row on bypoll day, Jayaraj

CHENNAI: A division bench of Madras HC has ruled that switch over from contributory pension fund (CPF) scheme to general pension fund (GPF) scheme is automatic for teachers of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan after the introduction of the GPF scheme pursuant to the office memorandum dated Sept 1, 1988. The ruling was issued on petitions filed by the Union Ministry of Education challenging the orders of CAT on the pleas of five teachers, including CVL Annapurna. The teachers joined service from 1981

COIMBATORE: Owing to a dispute between autorickshaw drivers over the last few weeks regarding the use of an auto stand in Kaniyur, the Karumathampatti police have seized the vehicles of four auto drivers. The four men said the police had been threatening them not to operate from the stand. Along with AITUC union members, they subsequently met Superintendent of Police K Karthikeyan and urged him to allow them to ply autos in the locality. G Daniel, one of the affected auto drivers said, We belong

COIMBATORE: The Minister for Milk and Dairy Development RS Rajakannappan announced that an automatic paneer manufacturing plant, set up at a cost of Rs 10 crore in the district, will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister soon. Addressing reporters after inspecting the modern dairy at the District Cooperative Milk Producers Union in Pachapalayam, he said that at present 231 out of 323 primary milk producers cooperative societies under the union are providing instant acknowledgment to milk producer

LUCKNOW: In a major road mishap in Hardoi district, central Uttar Pradesh, 11 people, including six women and three children, lost their lives when an overloaded autorickshaw collided with a speeding truck on Wednesday. The tragic incident occurred near Roshanpur village on the Bilgram-Madhoganj road at around 12.30 pm. According to police sources, the autorickshaw, carrying about 15 passengers, swerved sharply to avoid hitting a motorcyclist. As the driver made the sudden turn, the vehicle topp

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre to set up an autonomous body to monitor and filter content and regulate videos on over-the-top (OTT) and other platforms in India, saying these are policy matters. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said that such issue falls under the policy making domain of the executive and requires wide consultations with various stakeholders. This is the problem of

NEW DELHI: A consortium of civil society groups, Nation Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM), expressed its solidarity with the Ladakhi peoples demands for - Sixth Schedule Status and Constitutional Rights to Save Ladakh and the Himalayas from 'Destructive Developments'. Members of NAPM have issued a statement expressing their full support to the Ladakhi delegation sitting on fast at Ladakh Bhawan. We also appeal to all Indian citizens, who support decentralised development planning and employme

An ongoing joint operation between the Narayanpur and Dantewada police forces has resulted in the neutralization of at least 24 Naxals in the dense forests of the Maad area, located on the border of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts, reported news agency ANI . The encounter began early in the day following a search operation in the remote and insurgency-affected region. (This is a breaking news story , follow for updates)

NEW DELHI: A 63-year-old man died and four others were injured after their autorickshaw was hit by a luxury car in central Delhis Tilak Marg, police said on Saturday. The incident happened at the Sikandra and Mathura Roads intersection at around 5 am on September 12 when a BMW car jumped the traffic light and hit the autorickshaw, they said. Neeraj Kumar, his father Sachhidanada, wife Kumari Salma, and two sons Yashraj and Hansraj were going to their home from New Delhi Railway Station in the au

During the Supreme Court hearing of the Kolkata rape-murder case on Monday, the three-judge bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud questioned the absence of a crucial document for the post-mortem raising significant questions. The CJI asked about the whereabouts of the challan which is essential for conducting post-mortem. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the West Bengal informed the court he was unable to find it at the moment and would come back to the court on this question. The issue ca

JAMMU: Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday dismissed the opposition's attempt to revive the autonomy plank during the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls and asked the NC-Congress alliance to stop fooling people by promising statehood as only the Centre can restore the status. Shah assured people about the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood after the assembly election, which he said is the first under the national flag and the Constitution following the abrogation of Article 370 by the Na

MUMBAI: Days after two minor girls were sexually assaulted in Thanes Badlapur, another case of rape has shamed Maharashtra. A 19-year-old nursing student was allegedly intoxicated and raped by an unidentified rickshaw driver this Monday in Maharashtras Ratnagiri, police said. Reports said the victim after her work took an autorickshaw to go back home. During her journey, she appeared exhausted. The driver offered her water which was allegedly laced with a sedative, said the local police. The dri

NEW DELHI: Commuters in Delhi-NCR faced a tough time as taxi and autorickshaw drivers began their two-day strike on Thursday demanding better compensation from cab aggregator services. Taxi and auto unions said inadequate compensation coupled with aggregators launching bike taxi services has hit their livelihood. Eighty per cent of autorickshaws and taxis are off the road in the national capital, Delhi Auto Taxi Transport Congress Union (DATTCU) president Kishan Verma claimed and announced that

CHHATARPUR (MP): Seven persons, including a one-year-old child, were killed and six others injured after an auto-rickshaw rammed into a stationary truck from behind in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh early on Tuesday, officials said. The accident took place under the Civil Line police station limits when the rickshaw was going towards Bageshwar on Khajuraho-Jhansi highway around 5 am, a police official said. Thirteen persons were travelling in the auto-rickshaw and seven of them were kille

GUWAHATI: An auto-rickshaw driver from Assam was shell-shocked when he learnt that he was fined Rs 1,000 by the traffic police for not wearing a helmet. Dinendra Kemprai, a resident of Haflong in the hill district of Dima Hasao, was charged with riding without helmets by both driver and pillion under section 194 D of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act. He had no idea that an e-challan was issued against him on July 29 last year until he visited a pollution testing centre for renewal of his pollution un

MUMBAI: In yet another hit-and-run case in Maharashtra, an auto-rickshaw driver was killed and his friend injured when an SUV ran over them while they were sleeping at the Versova beach in Mumbai, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place in the early hours of Monday following which the sports utility vehicle (SUV) driver fled from the spot without providing any help to the victims, they said. The SUV driver and another occupant of the vehicle have been arrested. Auto-rickshaw driver Gan

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to equip Village Defence Guards (VDGs) with basic automatic weapons like self-loading rifles, replacing the vintage .303 weapons, sources said. The aim is to strengthen VDGs ability to combat militant threats effectively, after the recent spate of terror attacks. The VDGs receive a monthly honorarium. The entire cost is borne by the MHA under the security-related expenditure of Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. Previously, 4,985 VDGs