Six months after the controversial incident where a student of Thiruvananthapuram University College was stabbed on campus, Students Federation of India (SFI) the student wing of the CPI(M)-led LDF government in the state has once again landed in trouble as two of its leaders at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) have been booked for attacking a fellow student and causing head injuries. The student was attacked allegedly over a scuffle at a campus hostel. On Sunday night, Azai

After scores across Kollam were hospitalised with symptoms of fever, swelling in the body and itchiness over the last few months, the Kerala police are on the lookout for a quack who reportedly sold counterfeit drugs to these persons.  The accused - Laxman Raj - is a self professed 'traditional healer' who has allegedly sold counterfeit drugs door-to-door to persons suffering from different kinds of ailments.  According to the police, Laxman claimed he could cure persons with psoriasis

When she introduced Papa CJ to the audience at the Kerala Literature Festival, journalist Nandini Nair said that unlike your typical author whos reluctant to make an appearance in public, much less speak to a crowd, here is one man who is a performer and a writer and takes the stage easily. On cue, Papa CJ, with his long hair bouncing about him and wearing 'half-pants' that hed later make a joke about, went up on stage and began telling jokes before he sat down to talk about his book Naked.

Hours ahead of the inauguration of the 12th International Theatre Festival of Kerala, five of the plays are already sold out. Four of these are in English, to be performed by theatre groups from UK/Singapore, Australia and Bangalore, and the fifth is in Malayalam from a Mumbai group. There are 19 plays on the theme of Imagined Communities selected from across the globe seven international ones, six national, and six Malayalam ones. Minister AK Balan will inaugurate the fest at the Kerala S

The state Cabinet, which met on Monday, has decided to inform the Centre that Kerala will not be updating the National Population Register (NPR). There are concerns that the data collected for NPR would be used to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the country. The cabinet has decided to inform the Registrar General and Census Commissioner that the state will stay away from updating and renewing the NPR. But the government has also made it clear that it will cooperate to carry

Thirty-eight years ago, 28-year-old Abdul Khadar was one of the few Keralites who migrated to the UAE for a better living. He knew the pain of hunger, having lived in poverty, and till date, what has stayed with him are the principles of his Gandhian parents, Kunju Muhamed and Biyyu. This is perhaps the reason that Abdul, when he came back home to Thrissurs districts Pulloottu in October 2019, chose to open a food bank near his house to serve lunch every day to the needy. A counter with glass pa

Dust rises up in clouds from the football pitch as two teams of jerseyed boys stand in straight lines, facing each other. Separated by a referee with a whistle on his lips, the boys are ready for the 90-minute game, which is part of their annual school soccer cup. However, before the whistle goes off, an unexpected player positions herself between the two teams and proceeds to steal the show. In the viral video described above, 17-year-old Hadiya Hakeem can be seen juggling the ball ef

The CPI(M) will conduct an intense nationwide campaign urging people not to provide any answers for questions related to preparing the National Population Register (NPR) as the NPR will form the basis for the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The party will soon begin a house-to-house campaign explaining the NPR-NRC linkage, asking people to answer the census questions but not provide details for NPR. Census is about the number of people living in India whil

Scholar, writer and activist Anand Teltumbde's voice cracks unnoticeably when he speaks about his mother, the woman who worked hard with her husband to raise their children in a village in Maharashtra. Anand was answering journalist Nandini Nair's question on his mother and daughters at a session at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode, where the two were in conversation on the subject 'Annihilation of caste'. Anand has written much against caste -- columns and whole books -- even as care

A 42-year-old man at Valanchery in Malappuram district has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing four of his minor daughters. The Valancherry police received a complaint from the District Child Protection unit in Manjeri on Friday based on which a case was registered. The man was arrested on Saturday. The girls are aged 17, 15, 13 and 10. The man has been charged with aggravated sexual assault under section 9 and section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act and

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Saturday said that the amended citizenship law was the subject of the central list and not a state subject and therefore it will have to be implemented. There is no way other than implementing the act. It will have to be implemented under (Article) 254, Khan told reporters in response to a question on some states refusing to implement the new law.  He said everyone should understand one's own jurisdiction. You may give your arguments by using

Entering a students room on the second floor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University left the usually-vocal Kanimozhi speechless. He was from Kashmir, but without any political views, with absolutely no involvement in the politics of the highly political campus. And yet the room was vandalised. There was mud on the floor and the bed, books strewn apart, powder and paint thrown everywhere. Standing outside, the student said he was thrown off the second floor. Kanimozhi, poet and politician, stood ther

Kerala Minister for Law AK Balan has said that there was no need for the government to take the Governors permission for moving the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act. His statement comes after Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan accused the government of not informing him before filed a suit in the top court and sought a report over the matter.   Balan also said that the government will give an explanation to the Governor if the latter sought for it. The government has

A day after CPI(M) leader P Jayarajan's stated that Alan Shuhaib and Thaha Fasal were SFI members who spread Maoist ideology within the organisation, Alan's mother Sabitha has hit back with a response. In a short statement posted on Facebook on Saturday, Sabitha said that her son Alan had never been an active member of the SFI (student wing of the CPI(M)Alan was never an active member of the SFI. He was associated with the local CPI(M) unit next to our house. Even in the Palakkad campus he was n

The painting was done more than two years ago, and not for any competition or contest. However, towards the end of last year, the paintings creator, 14-year-old Anujath Sindhu Vinaylal, won an international award in a competition held by Shankars Academy of Art and Book Publishing, set up in the memory of cartoonist K Shankar Pillai. The painting called My mother and the mothers in the neighbourhood won the award at a really bad time for the family. Anujaths father, Vinaylal, a designer by profe

After being detained in his house multiple times and stopped from taking part in the most peaceful protests, social activist Sandeep Pandey said he could finally breathe in freedom when he came to Kerala. The activist from Uttar Pradesh was taking part in the 'We, The People' movement in Thiruvananthapuram, organised by a collective of people for safeguarding the values of the Indian Constitution.I can tell you such kind of a programme cannot be organised in UP today. We, as you know, have faced

A Kerala man has used the Right to Information (RTI) Act to file an application seeking documents of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prove that he is indeed a citizen of India.  The RTI application was filed by Chalakudy native Joshy Kalluveettil. He filed his application before the information officer of the Chalakudy municipality on January 13.  Request to access the documents used to establish the citizenship of our countrys respected, current, Prime Minister, Narendra Damodardas Mo

A fifth-generation dynast Rahul Gandhi has no chance in Indian politics against PM Narendra Modi, and Kerala did a disastrous thing by electing the Congress leader to Parliament, historian Ramachandra Guha said in Kozhikode on Friday. Guha was speaking on the rise of jingoism and Hindutva brand of nationalism in the country and said that the Gandhis and the hypocrisy of the Left was also to be blamed for the same. Mr Guha said the reduction of the Congress from a great party during the freedom m

The visuals of the survivor in the actor abduction case have been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh to verify its authenticity. The cloned content of a memory card containing visuals of the survivor has been sent to CFSL as per the request of actor Dileep, who is one of the accused in the case, reports The New Indian Express. Dileep is the eighth accused in the case. The memory card containing visuals of the assault on the survivor was sent to CFSL, along wi

The Election Commission has temporarily frozen the 'two leaves' symbol of the Kerala Congress (Mani) as it is inquiring into the dispute between two factions claiming ownership of the party, a senior EC official said on Thursday.Based on the representation received from one of the factions of KC(M) led by Jose K Mani, which apprehended that the other faction led by P J Joseph may misuse the symbol for the ensuing polls, the Commission has decided to freeze the symbol till January 20 when the nex

First it was a pair of severed arms and then a skull which was washed ashore at the beach near Chaliyam. Later, more body parts were found. Now, two and a half years later, the dark mystery of scattered body parts which were found in different parts of Kozhikode district in 2017, has been unraveled.   The police have identified the deceased to be Ismail, 47, a resident of Wandoor in Malappuram. In a startling revelation, it has come to light that there's been another murder associated

Kerala Tourism's choice of day to promote beef on its official Twitter page has received massive backlash from users, who are now urging Hindus to boycott the state. On Thursday, the Kerala Tourism handle on Twitter tweeted a picture of 'Beef Ularthiyathu', a popular dish in the state, with the caption - Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, Beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices,

Are you drunk? You are talking and behaving as if you are drunk?. This was what Keralas former Director General of Police, TP Senkumar had to say to a journalist who asked him a few uncomfortable questions at a press meet. Senkumar and the chairman of the Spices Board and Mavelikkara union president of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) Subhash Vasu, had called for a press meet on Thursday to expose alleged corruption by SNDP chief Vellappally Natesan. An hour into the press meet,

A resort owned by a private person at Attamala near Meppadi in Wayanad has been vandalised, allegedly by Maoists. Handwritten posters stuck on a wall of the resort said the attack was in retaliation for sexual exploitation of tribal women at the resort, police said.  According to a Special Branch of the police in Kalpetta, the vandalism happened between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. There were handwritten posters fixed on the walls which claimed that the attack was conducted by Maois

The statement by the Syro Malabar Catholic Church synod the high profile meeting of its Bishops that Love Jihad was real and was used to target Christian women has drawn flak from reformist groups within the church. The reformists groups allege that the statement made by the top leaders of the church instilling discord between religions was part of a hidden agenda. The groups allege that the top leaders of the church are trying to divert peoples attention from real problems by raking

In a significant development that could be a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) in Keralas Thiruvananthapuram has been granted a US patent for a technology developed using a compound extracted from turmeric. Curcumin, which is a bright yellow chemical compound extracted from turmeric, could potentially be used for sustained delivery of a potential chemotherapeutic molecule in and around cancer tissues, the research

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who has been at loggerheads with the ruling LDF government over various issues, including the Citizenship Amendment Act, made it clear on Thursday he was not a ubber stamp. The remarks were made by Khan a day after a section of the media reported he had allegedly refused to sign the ordinance on the Local Self Government ward re-organisation, which had recently received the cabinet nod.I have to apply my mind. I have to take my time. The file is with me. I wi

About a year ago, when Kerala was witnessing protests against the Sabarimala judgement, a group of likeminded people in Kerala came together to organise a huge gathering in the states capital to stand for gender equality. Today, when the country is witnessing unprecedented protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the citizens group We The People has organised a five-day protest in Thiruvananthapuram in solidarity with the protests across the nation.  The protests kicked off on

A senior citizen in Kerala's Palakkad district was arrested after he bludgeoned his son to death on Tuesday night. Mathai, a 62-year-old resident of Kannambra village near Vadakkanchery, was taken into custody by the local police early Wednesday morning, hours after he struck his son Basil who was reportedly drunk with an iron rod, after which the latter died. The victim had returned home heavily inebriated and began physically attacking his parents over a family feud, Mathai told the police.

The trailer of Siddiques flashy action drama Big Brother had the tagline Feel the Lalhood. The words dont particularly make sense, but this is a movie where Mohanlal is constantly sending people to space, and the heroine sings a romantic duet with him a few minutes after she excitedly refers to him as her Big bro. Its the directors friendly warning that one shouldnt use ones brain too much while watching the film. Its all about the feelz. Big Brother begins with a young

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the state police chief to issue a directive to station house officers (SHOs) to book those violating the illegal flex ban.  Despite there being a ban on placing illegal flex boards, hoardings, banners and flags in public places, the court said that it is difficult to curb political parties and religious organisations from doing so, reports Media One.  The Director General of Police should issue a circular to chiefs of all police sta

The Kerala government has been in a fix after Governor Arif Mohammed Khan declined to sign the ordinance to increase the number of members in local self government departments in the state. The move by the state government comes with a year to go for the local body elections. This is the second time Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is declining to sign the ordinance. According to reports, Governor Khan informally communicated to Local Self Government Department (LSGD) Minister AC Moideen that the gov

He must have counted the days, 1, 2, 3 74, 75. On the 75th day, it finally happened. It was he, Sooraj Thelakkad, who'd acted as the robot in the popular film Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25, director Ratheesh Poduval told the world. It was not supposed to be revealed immediately, we all kept it under wraps for so long, says Sooraj, who's now getting a lot of attention after pictures of him in the robot costume were released. Ratheesh had made the call to Sooraj after watching his comedy pr

Kerala is set to get a digital university soon as the state government decides to upgrade the present Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K) in Thiruvananthapuram to varsity status. A Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Wednesday decided to recommend to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to issue an ordinance in this regard. The new digital university would be known as The Kerala University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology, an

The carry bags just had to go. Plastic had been the taken-for-granted option for carry bags, big, medium and small for years. When Kerala introduced the single-use plastic ban on New Years Day 2020, quite a lot of the shops had already put plastic replacements in place. But there was of course a lot more to go. Like the small plastic covers we use to parcel curries. Especially for bulk orders thats urgently required, like a restaurant which supplies food to the patients at a hospital nearby. We

On January 11 and 12, four luxury waterfront apartments in Kochi's Maradu municipality were reduced to rubble following a 2019 Supreme Court order which found the buildings to be constructed in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms.  While the demolitions undertaken by Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering and Chennai-based Vijay Steels, went well with some minor glitches, the job is far from over as the Kerala government now faces the giant task of disposing of the concrete debris that

Santhosh PC and Sanoj PC, two farmer brothers from Thrissur district of Kerala, had taken 56 acres of land for a lease period of five years to cultivate paddy. The land, which is adjacent to Thrissur-Ernakulam Highway in Kuttanalloor (Thrissur), was barren for almost 12 years. In early 2019, they eventually turned it into arable land. In February this year, 25 acres of land will be ready for harvesting. However, the remaining 31 acres of paddy field, which were ready to be harvested in March, ha

Four persons were killed when a speeding car ran over them on Tuesday at Irinjalakuda in Kerala. All the four deceased were returning home after attending the Kavadi festival at Ayyappan temple at Thumboor in Kerala.  The driver of the car lost control and rammed the vehicle into a crowd walking along the Thumpoor-Vellangaloor Road near Indira Bhavan. The Hyundai Magna car after causing the accident did not stop and attempted to escape from the accident scene but was eventually traced and s

Kerala Forest department officials arrested five persons on Tuesday for attempting to sell two elephant tusks worth Rs 40 lakh at an apartment in Tripunithura. Forest department officials with the Perumbavoor flying squad seized the two elephant tusks weighing 1.046 kg and 1.226 kg each from the five youths, who were attempting to sell them to international brokers for Rs 1 crore, say officials.  The accused, Roshan Ramkumar (29) of Tripunithura, Shebin Sasi (28) of Eroor, Midhun TM (26) of

The Election Commission has started its hearing on the claims made by two factions of the Kerala Congress (Mani) to decide which represents the original party, poll panel sources said here on Tuesday. The full commission -- Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, and Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra -- began the hearing on Monday. Representatives from the factions led by Kerala Rajya Sabha member and son of KC (M) founder Jose K Mani and former Kerala Minister and party wo

Surprise checks by the Labour Department in Kerala have revealed alleged large-scale flouting of labour laws by two well-known private finance companies in the state. The inspections were done on the 148 branches of Kosamattam Finance and 66 outlets of Indel Money - both gold loan companies. Officials of the Labour Department spoke to 807 staff employed by these firms when it allegedly became clear that close to 66 of these employed were denied minimum wages.  Further, the staff of these co

The hill station of Munnar is experiencing a delayed winter with the temperature dipping below zero degrees Celsius a week after when it is considered normal in the first week of January. On Saturday, Munnar recorded a temperature of minus 1 degree Celsius in Silent Valley, and zero degrees Celsius in Munnar town, Ellappetty, Lakshmi and Kannimala areas. On Sunday, minus 1 degree Celsius was recorded in Lokhart estate, and zero degrees in Munnar town. It was on January 1, 2019 that the temperatu

Before the massive landslide hit Puthumala in Keralas Wayanad during the 2019 floods, life had been a lot, lot different. Christians, Muslims and Hindus lived together as one in the village located in the farthest corner of Kerala, K Balakrishnan says, sitting under the shade of a tree at University College in Thiruvananthapuram. The Continuing Education Arts Fete is going on at the college and Balakrishnan, who hails from Muthumala, has won the first prize for mimicry. It is a morning before th

With the 17-storey Golden Kayaloram in Kochi razed down on Sunday, the demolition of the four high-rise buildings ordered by the Supreme Court in Maradu stands completed.   All of these buildings were issued demolition orders in September 2019 after a three-member committee appointed by the top court found them to be constructed in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms. At around 2.30 pm on Sunday, Golden Kayaloram, among the oldest of the four Maradu buildings, collapsed. Thi

My father has been trying to create an ecosystem for more than the past fifteen years. His mission is a little done, with the arrival of some exotic birds. Our house has always been serenaded with some enchanting cacophony, whether it is by the Jungle babblers who make quite a racket in their packs, the pleasant chirping of the red whiskered bulbuls or the sweet melody of the common koel. During monsoon, when the field down below would get wet, the local migrant the Indian Openbill Stork, the L

Within seconds, Jain Coral Cove, the largest of the four illegal apartment complexes in Maradu, was razed to the ground at 11.03 am on Sunday. This is the third Maradu apartment complex that has been pulled down following the Supreme Court order for flouting Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. Two of the apartment complexes, the H2O Holy Faith and the twin towers of Alfa Serene, were razed on Saturday.  Jain Coral Cove, located just 700 metres away from the Nettoor Junction, was demolished

Look at the face of this clown, though he smiles, his eyes are watery. The artist wants to express the emotion of a clown. The Japanese bride and groom in the church, see their prayerful faces, fully involved in spirituality! All of those are bells,  they have got clappers hanging inside, says Latha Mahesh, a bell collector from Thiruvananthapuram, who has set up a private museum of bells from 90 countries. The museum is located near her home, in the same compound. A huge bell hanging from

For every Keralite, Chekutty, the tiny cloth doll with a smiling face, is a household name. The brainchild of social entrepreneurs Lakshmi Menon and Gopinath Parayil, it stands as a symbol of the survival of Keralites, especially weavers of Chendamangalam, from the 2018 floods. Chekkutty, who survived the mud, brought back life to many artisans who had lost their assets to the floods.  As the weavers stood aghast, Lakshmi and Gopinath came forward to help them by making tiny toys out of the

The total number of crimes against women recorded in Kerala in 2018 is 10461, which is 496 less than the statistics in 2017 but 427 more than in 2016. The data, released by the National Crime Records Bureau, says that Kerala accords for 2.8 per cent of the total number of crimes against women in the country. There have been 1945 incidents of rape reported in 2018 in Kerala, affecting 1972 victims. What is most shocking is that in 98.4 per cent of the cases, the assaulter has been known to the vi

A Cancer Care Board would soon be formed in the state to consolidate the effort to treat cancer, said Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja. The decision was made at a high-level meeting held at the Minister's chamber held on Saturday. Nearly 50,000 people in the state are diagnosed with cancer every year, it is estimated. Doctors and technical experts would be brought together for the board, said a press release. At present, cancer treatment can be procured at three cancer centres in the state, at