THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rahul Mamkootathil's appearance at the Legislative Assembly on Monday has triggered internal conflict within the Youth Congress. He was accompanied by Youth Congress Thiruvananthapuram district president Nemom Shajeer, who has now drawn sharp criticism from party factions. Members of the Youth Congress have filed complaints against Shajeer, accusing him of supporting a leader who has been suspended by the party. The complaints have been submitted to KPCC president Sunny Josep

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mounting pressure on the government on the ongoing custodial violence row , the two opposition MLAs have entered into an indefinite satyagrahaat thelegislative assembly demanding the dismissal of the police officers who beat the Youth Congress leader Sujith at Kunnamkulam. Congress MLA of Chalakkudy Saneesh Kumar and Muslim League MLA of Manjeshwaram AKM Ashraf will be on strike. Opposition leader VD Satheesan mentioned about the strike before staging a walkout with other UDF

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An international award given to Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran has sparked social media storm and meme fest. Netizens are questioning the credibility of the recognition and the organisation behind it. The award, titled Certificate of Excellence, was presented by the World Book of Records for sustainable development efforts led by the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. Arya Rajendran shared photos of the award ceremony on Facebook with a caption, Honoured to re

KOCHI: In yet another setback to the Kerala government, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Ernakulam Bench on Tuesday stayed its order transferring senior IAS officer Dr B Ashok to the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department (P&ARD). With the stay, Ashok will continue as Principal Secretary (Agriculture) and Agricultural Production Commissioner. The Tribunals intervention comes just days after Ashok had rejoined the agriculture department following a previous CAT order that blocke

KOCHI: Author M. Leelavathis decision to forgo celebrating her 98th birthday on Tuesday, in solidarity with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, has sparked a vile cyberattack. Her statement When I see the children in Gaza holding out their bowls for food, how can food go down my throat? was met with online abuse and mockery. One taunt read: Maybe youre just tired of plain rice. Teacher, why not try mandi rice? Maybe then youll find some happiness in your old age. Speaking to the media, the author

KOLLAM: A 33-year-old nun was found hanging in a monastery in Kollam city on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Mary Scholastica, a native of Madurai district, Tamil Nadu. Police recovered a suicide note, and the preliminary investigation suggests it is a case of suspected suicide. The nun was found hanging around 3 p.m. yesterday. Although those at the convent rushed her to a private hospital, she could not be saved. Her relatives had visited the monastery a few days ago, and police sa

Flipping over the assumption that anime is yet to go mainstream in Kerala is the current hubbub following the release of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle. The much-anticipated film of the popular Demon Slayer franchise has created an unexpected big bang at Keralas box office last week. Theatres in cities like Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are witnessing packed audiences, prompting some of them to increase the number of shows. Even if one is not well-versed with the manga

Away from the clamour of the city, yet right at its very heart, stands a place that no page of Thiruvananthapurams history can leave behind. One of the oldest law colleges in the country, it has lived not just as an institution of learning, but as a space where freedom, friendships, art, politics, and countless passions have found a voice. Shaded by greenery, the spacious campus at Barton Hill occupies the historic Highland Bungalow, once the residence of Walthew Clarence Barton, the first chief

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The recent detection of amoebic meningoencephalitis in a teenager who had used the swimming pool at Akkulam Tourist Village has sparked anxiety among regular swimmers and parents in the capital. The rare but fatal brain infection has forced authorities to shut down the Akkulam pool. The deadly infection has claimed 17 lives in the last nine months in the state, with seven reported in September alone. My 14-year-old has been attending swimming sessions for the past three years

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: T Safeer lost his mother 24 years ago. Not a single day passes without me remembering her. When Rakhi amma passed, it hit me the same way, said Safeer, the ward member of Chittattumukku in Kadinamkulam panchayat. This was why Safeer, a practising Muslim, stepped in last Friday to conduct the last rites of Rakhi, 44, a person with intellectual disabilities, as per the Hindu tradition. There is no need to focus on religion for that, he said. A native of Chhattisgarh, Rakhi had

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department has provided a costly preventive treatment free of charge to a 32-year-old woman from Thrissur with haemophilia, a bleeding disorder, in what would be a first in the country. Emicizumab therapy, which costs Rs 22 lakh annually, was given to the woman as part of a life-saving initiative, at a time when many states lack effective programmes for haemophilia patients. Health Minister Veena George noted that Kerala had made great strides in treating haemophil

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rahul Mamkootathils short yet damaging visit to the assembly on Monday has led to a virtual divide within the Congress leadership. While Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan is evidently unhappy with the tainted MLAs move, the state leadership, especially the three working presidents who are fast emerging as a new power centre, is not. Meanwhile, Rahul seems to be going all out in a win-or-lose battle to reclaim his lost glory within the party. The KPCC-DCC office-bearers meet,

KOZHIKODE: Various Muslim organisations have welcomed the Supreme Courts decision, in its interim order on Monday, to stay certain provisions in the Waqf (Amendment) Act. IUML state president Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said it is heartening to know that the SC has found merit in the reservations raised by the party and other organisations about the Act. He said the court has made it clear that the provision that a person has to follow Islam for five years before declaring his or asse

PATHANAMTHITTA: The honey trap and torture case involving a Pathanamthitta couple has taken a strange turn with allegations of black magic and the likelihood of more victims surfacing even as the police probe progresses. The police have dismissed the claims. Jayesh, 30, and his wife Reshmi, 25, of Koipuram, have been booked for the brutal assault and extortion of a 19-year-old from Alappuzha and a 22-year-old youth from Ranni on September 1 and 5, respectively. The victims alleged they were beat

KANNUR: The six decade-old rhythm of Kannur town will not be silenced. The corporation council has decided to retain the municipal office siren, a relic dating back to the India-Pakistan war of 1965, despite the district collectors order to remove it. The siren, which sounds daily at 6am, 1pm, and 6pm, was originally installed to warn residents during wartime. Over the decades, it was woven into the towns identity -- serving as a timekeeper for generations of residents. To many, its wail is more

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A month after Kochi hosted Indias first-ever Wedding and MICE Conclave, industry stakeholders say the lack of a liberal excise policy continues to hold back business in the state. Though the government eased monthly dry day restrictions, liquor policy reforms fall short of the requirement to make Kerala competitive in wedding and MICE tourism. According to estimates presented at the conclave, the state could generate up to Rs 13,000 crore annually from the Wedding and MICE se

IDUKKI: Farmers in Idukkis Udumbannoor Keralas emerging hotspot for stingless bee honey are discovering that their buzzing friends can do more than just pollinate crops. Low-cost beekeeping has opened up a sweet new source of income for farmers, while also boosting the yield from their vegetable farms. The first steps were taken in 2021-22 when Udumbannoor panchayat, in collaboration with the Krishi Bhavan, distributed bee boxes under the Janakeeya Aasuthrana Padhathi (public planning project)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala School Olympics, which will be hosted in the state capital next month, will have the participation of over 18,000 students -- a sharp rise of 2,000 students from the last years figure of 16,000, sources from the education department said. Officials from the department have confirmed that unlike last year, venues will be limited to a maximum of 11 for this years olympics. Authorities expect to have over 9,000 competitions in close to 40 events to be held as part of

KOCHI: After an eight-year hiatus, the Indian edition of Wiki Loves Earth (WLE), a Wikimedia initiative to promote natural heritage through an annual global photography competition, made a return this year, thanks to the Wikimedians from Kerala. A main objective that prompted the group of Malayalam users of Wikimedia to take up the initiative was to enhance and expand nature and environment-related articles on Wikipedia in Indian languages, including Malayalam. While much of the focus has tradit

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday raised concerns over missing details of the gold used for cladding the dwarapalaka idols on either side of the sreekovil at the Sabarimala temple, pointing out discrepancies between official records from 1999 and the handover documents of 2019. When the case initiated suo motu based on the report of the Sabarimala Special Commissioner regarding the detachment of gold plates from the idols without prior permission of the court came up for hearing, a divisi

KOCHI: The people of Munambam heaved a sigh of relief on Monday after the Supreme Court passed an interim order while hearing multiple petitions challenging the constitutionality of almost all sections of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025. With the pronouncement of the interim order, all hurdles to finding a solution to the Munambam Waqf land issue have been removed. The major obstacle cited by the Central Government in resolving the Munambam issue had been the pendency of these petitions before the

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Parassala SHO P. Anilkumar has been suspended in connection with a hit-and-run incident that resulted in the death of a 59-year-old pedestrian near Kilimanoor on September 7. The suspension was ordered by South Zone IG S. Shyamsundar. Rural SP K. S. Sudarshan submitted a report to Range DIG Ajitha Beegam on Sunday. After reviewing the findings, the DIG forwarded the report to the IG, who issued the suspension order on Monday. Meanwhile, the investigation has been handed over

KOLLAM: An Anganwadi teacher at Panayam, Eroor panchayat, has been suspended for seven days pending an inquiry for allegedly pinching and injuring a four-and-a-half-year-old boy. The action followed a meeting on Friday attended by ICDS officials and a gram panchayat member, where the teacher, Shobhana Kumari of Anganwadi No. 85, was asked to explain the incident. The boys parents alleged that the teacher harassed him for not reciting a letter. They said the child cried while being bathed that ev

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state governments ambitious attempt to revive the long-failed dust bin culture has drawn a lukewarm response, as the recently concluded Onam Week Celebrations highlighted the publics reluctance to properly use waste bins. In the capital city, where lakhs flocked to witness the Onam pageantry, the city corporation installed segregation bins every 25m along major venues and routes. However, officials noted that instead of putting the waste inside the bins, people threw garb

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the city roads geared up to welcome children dressed as little Lord Krishnas and Gopikas, the crowd was delighted by a modern twist to the traditional celebration. Many young Krishnas sported stylish sunglasses, adding a touch of flair to their costumes. Alongside the iconic peacock feathers, some also adorned their heads with vibrant flowers. In place of Krishnas classic flute, a few children carried their favourite toys, showcasing their personal preferences. Reflecting

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The third edition of Kovalam Marathon, organised by the Trivandrum chapter of Young Indians the youth wing of the Confederation of Indian Industries, was held in the state capital on Sunday morning. As many as 1,500 people of all age groups took part in the marathon that carried the theme mental health and active living. Young Indians national representative Tarang Khurrana flagged-off the marathon at 3.30am from the Kovalam Leela Convention Centre. The programme was conduct

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 13-year-old boy with roots in Malappuram, has been inducted into a Harvard-affiliated research group, making him one of the youngest members ever. Sameer Ebrahim, who lives in Atlanta, became the 37th member of the Scholarly Work Group on Climate Conflict and Health at the Harvard Global Health Institute. He participated in the groups third meeting held at Harvard University on August 8, 2025. Sameers parents are both originally from Malappuram. His mother Habida Elachola i

KOZHIKODE/MALAPPURAM: The political slugfest over the land acquisition of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University intensified on Sunday with Muslim Youth League leader P K Firoz and Tavanur MLA K T Jaleel continuing to exchange heated words and former minister Abdu Rabb and TMC leader P V Anvar joining in. Firoz, who had alleged that Jaleel personally profited from the transaction, countered the formers minister claim that he had played no role in the controversial deal. Jaleel had claimed th

SABARIMALA: The Sabarimala temple will be opened on Tuesday for the five-day monthly pooja for the Malayalam month of Kanni. Melsanthi Arunkumar Nampoothiri will open the sreekovil of the hill shrine at 5pm in the presence of thantri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru. The entry for darshan will be restricted to devotees with online pass. However, devotees who possess spot pass issued at the special counters at Nilakkal and Pampa will be allowed darshan. Sahasrakalasam and kalabhabhishekam will be the sp

KALPETTA: The Congress in Kerala has been thrown into fresh turmoil after the family of late leader N M Vijayan released an audio clip of Kottayam MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, in which he is heard lambasting the party leadership for dirty politics and betrayal. Many feel Thiruvanchoors words have laid bare the deep fractures within the Congress in Wayanad, which is already reeling from a series of suicides linked to infighting and broken assurances, and the party is now staring at a credibil

KALPETTA: With Congress caught up in its own storm in Wayanad, the CPM seems to be capitalising the formers silence over the string of tragedies that have rattled the UDF stronghold. CPM state secretariat member M V Jayarajan on Sunday visited the families of both N M Vijayan and Jose Nalladam two Congress leaders who died by suicide amid allegations of neglect by their own party while the Congress leaders were conspicuously absent. Offering financial support to Vijayans daughter-in-law Padmaj

PATHANAMTHITTA: The police have arrested a couple from Charalkunnu in Pathanamthittas Koipuram for honey-trapping, extortion and sadistic torture of two youths. As per the police, Jayesh, 30, and his wife Reshmi, 25, extorted money from two youths one of them a teen and subjected them to brutal torture, including beating them with iron rods and injuring their private parts. The crime came to light after a 22-year-old youth was found lying unconscious in an abandoned area with injuries on his b

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The condition of a 17-year-old boy undergoing treatment for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) at the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital remains the same. Health officials suspect the boy contracted the rare brain infection while swimming in a public pool in Akkulam. Following the incident, the health department directed the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) to ensure the pool is regularly maintained with fresh water, chlorine levels are kep

KOZHIKODE: Rising temperature has sparked a fresh public health concern in the state, with six deaths reported in the past month from amoebic meningitis -- a rare but deadly brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri. The fatalities have prompted health officials and researchers to sound the alarm over water safety and climate-linked health risks. Commonly known as the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri flourishes in warm, untreated freshwater sources such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and even

KOZHIKODE: Even as the number of cases and deaths from amoebic meningoencephalitis continues to rise in Kerala, uncertainty persists over the exact mode of transmission and effective preventive measures. The deadly infection, which is caused by an amoeba that attacks the brain, has claimed 17 lives in the last nine months in the state, with seven reported this month alone. Initially, health experts believed that the infection primarily affected people who had bathed or swum in ponds, lakes, or s

KOCHI: Biljith Biju was a first-year engineering student at Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology (ASIET) in Kalady. The 18-year-old Nedumbassery resident was riding a motorcycle on September 2 when a lorry that went out of control ran him over. Pedestrian passersby moved him to the hospital. There was blood loss. Considering his age, a surgery was performed to save his life. But on the tenth day, he was declared brain dead, said a source. Biljiths heart, kidneys, corneas, liver,

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police will register cases against a bunch of social media news portals and people including activists on the charges of cyber stalking and online bullying of a Kochi-based actor, who had raised allegation that a young politician -- presumably Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil -- had misbehaved with her. Actor Rini Ann George had filed a complaint with the chief minister and the state police chief alleging that she was constantly being subjected to cyber attack after reveal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 14th session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly will commence on Monday. The session will span 12 days until October 10, and will be held in three phases: September 15 to 19, September 29 and 30, and October 6 to 10. The session is being held at a time when the UDF is on the back foot in the wake of the allegations against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, and amid calls for his resignation from the assembly. Speaker A N Shamseer, who announced the assemblys schedule

KOCHI: Development work at the Ernakulam Junction railway station is likely to be delayed as a decision on appointing a new contractor may be taken only after one-and-a-half month. Work at the Ernakulam Town railway station too seems to be progressing at a slow pace. Sources in the railways said tenders submitted by six firms were opened on September 12. We will be carefully studying each document and conduct a thorough check to verify the credentials of the interested companies, said a Railway

KOCHI: Biljith Biju and Isaac George, two youngsters who were declared brain dead last week, have, through organ donation, served a purpose beyond saving lives raising awareness of the importance of their life-affirming acts of eternal kindness. And, this has reflected in the number of organ-donation pledges made in the state on Friday and Saturday. On September 13, 191 people pledged to donate organs after their death. The number was 193 on September 12. Factors like acceptance and the honour

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a shocking incident, a police officer sworn to uphold the law has apparently neglected it, resulting in the death of a man in Thiruvanantha-puram. The police have confirmed that Parassala station house officer (SHO) P Anilkumar was behind the wheel of the car that fatally struck a 59-year-old pedestrian, Rajan, at Kilimanoor on September 7 and fled without stopping. Though the incident was initially described as a hit-and-run by an unidentified vehicle, the police probe fo

NEW DELHI: Ayyappa devotee Dr P. S. Mahendrakumar has moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Kerala High Courts 11 September order and restraining the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and the state government from holding the Global Ayyappa Sangamam on 20 September 2025, or from using temple funds, properties, or contributions for the event. On 11 September, the Kerala High Court directed the state and the TDB to conduct the Global Ayyappa Sangamam at Pamba, while ensuring that the event d

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress on Sunday condemned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing the powerful Hindu nationalist group of displaying an anti-Christian stance following an article critical of the minority community in its Malayalam publication. The ulterior motive behind the recent article that appeared on Kesari is to once again spread hatred in society and to portray Christians as the enemy of the country in the name of religious conversion, AICC general secretary K C Venugop

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: School students across the state are all set to showcase and enhance their literary talents at a two-day literary festival Aksharakoottu being organised in Thiruvanthapuram. Organised by the State Institute of Education Technology under the general education department, the festival will begin on September 18. Kanakakunnu Palace auditorium, Jawahar Bal Bhavan and the Agricultural Co-Operative Staff Training Institute at Manvila, will be the venues of the literary festival. Ge

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM-led Left government has come under fire from the BJP for its recent decision to organise a minority meet shortly after the high-profile Global Ayyappa Sangamam. Sources said that the move is being widely seen by many opposition parties, especially the BJP, as a calculated effort by the Left to regain political ground amid growing anti-incumbency sentiment ahead of the upcoming elections. Senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Pin

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state cabinet has approved a draft bill that allows sandalwood trees grown on private land to be cut and sold through the forest department. The bill is intended to encourage sandalwood farming by ensuring that the sale amount reaches the farmer directly. Currently, even if a sandalwood tree is stolen from private land, the land owner is held legally responsible. Existing rules only permit the cutting of dead or dangerous trees or those required to be removed for house co

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has emerged as the state with the highest inflation in India for the eighth consecutive month, sparking sharp criticism from the BJP state leadership. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar blamed the mismanagement of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government for the states worsening economic situation. In a statement issued on Saturday, Rajeev Chandrasekhar pointed to the latest data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which showed Keralas i

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As India gears up to set up a space station much above the Earth, commoners on the land are left jobless. Fifty-five years and three generations have passed since families were evicted from their land in Veli here, for what is now known as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). Considering the issue, the High Court had directed the VSSC in August to look into the issue and solve the job crisis within four months. Over 550 families were displaced from 1962 to 1975, for setti

National Award-winning filmmaker Krishand first made waves with the mockumentary science fiction hybrid Aavasavyuham in 2022, followed by the police procedural comedy thriller Purusha Pretham, and Sangarsha Ghadana based on The Art of War. The adjunct professor at IIT Bombay has now returned with the web series The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang, hailed as Malayalams answer to Gangs of Wasseypur. In a freewheeling chat with TNIE, Krishand reflects on storytelling, the eyeball economy, his upcoming p

KOZHIKODE: IUML leader P K Firoz has levelled serious corruption allegations against former minister K T Jaleel over a controversial land acquisition for Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University. According to Firoz, Jaleel directly intervened in the acquisition of 11 acres of land for the university, allegedly facilitating the purchase from relatives of Minister V Abdurahiman and persons linked to senior CPM leaders. He claimed the land was purchased at inflated prices, causing a massive finan