Nurses’ strike: Talks fail to reach consensus


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: The talks held between Labour department and the representatives of the nurses’ associations and hospital managements to resolve the problems faced by the Kerala nurses, failed to reach consensus.
Labour Minister Shibu Baby John said that the discussions will be held again on Monday. The Minister said that the hospitals cannot operate in Kerala without giving minimum wages to nurses.

Forest fire causes heavy damage in Muthanga


Sultan Bathery, Wednesday, February 29, 2012: Forest fire in several sections of Muthanga caused damage of many crores of rupees to growing timbers and menaced large number of wild animals on Wednesday. Acres of land were blazed.
When the fire began to spread to dry trees, the forest guards were unable to do anything and fire force was not able to reach the spot.

Kerala Budget session begins


Thursday, March 1, 2012: The budget session of the Kerala Assembly began with the address of the Governor HR Bhardwaj at 9 am on Thursday.
The session is to continue till April 4. However, there will be no sittings between March 9 and 18 as the members would be busy with the campaigning. The House is assembling at a time when the political mercury is already high in the state on account of the crucial assembly by-election from the Piravom segment on March 17.

Narayana Panicker’s cremation to be held today


Wednesday, January 25, 2012: The cremation of NSS president PK Narayana Panicker, who died on Wednesday, will be held today with full state honours at 11 am in Changanassery.
The cremation will be held with full state honours. Panicker died around 2:10 pm on Wednesday.

Kerala against interlinking of rivers: CM


Wednesday, Feb 29 2012 : Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today said that the State will not support any move to interlink rivers.
Talking to newspersons after the Cabinet meeting here, Chandy said that the Supreme Court (SC) verdict in this regard was not applicable to Kerala as the State has not given its consent for the interlinking of rivers. Reacting to SC order to constitute a special committee for interlinking rivers in the nation, he said the interlinking of rivers will affect the State badly.
The idea of interlinking of rivers was introduced by the previous BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre, which was opposed by Kerala during that period also, he added

Nurses strike: Iqraa Hospital revises pay structure


Thursday, March 1, 2012: The city-based Iqraa Hospital had on Wednesday said it has implemented a new pay package with Rs 8,000 as minimum salary to the nurses aimed at ending the labour unrest in the health care institution.
Talking to newspersons here, Executive Director PC Anwar said the hospital has agreed to pay Rs 8,000 as minimum wage fixed by the government to BSc nurses and Rs 7,600 to general nurses with effect from February 1, 2012.
Earlier, the hospital paid Rs 5,750 to the nurses in additional to other allowances, including Rs 500 increment, subsidized food and hostel facilities. Refuting allegation that the hospital was commercializing its services, he said Iqraa, run by charitable society JDT Islam stood for the health care of patients, majority of them hailing from poor strata of the society.
Iqraa is the only hospital in private sector which offered OPD facility at Rs ten and dialysis at a mere Rs 430 and CT scan at Rs 750, he claimed.
Denying the charge of striking employees that the management and doctors took commission for treatment, he said this was only aimed at denigrating the institution and disrupting its functioning, he added. The nursing staff, under the banner of Indian Registered Nurses Association, has begun an indefinite stir demanding, among others, minimum wage, 3-shift system, PF and ESI facilities.

Colourful start to Kerala University youth fest


Thursday, March 1, 2012: The five-day youth festival of the Kerala University had a colourful start in Kollam on Wednesday evening. Kerala Speaker G Karthikeyan inaugurated the fest.
Kerala University union chairman M Harikrishnan presided over the function. Vice chancellor A Jayakrishnan delivered the keynote address. The competitions will be at eight venues in 6 colleges. The main venue will be at SN college. More than 5000 students from 250 colleges would compete in 63 events.

Titanium scam: Court accepts plea against Chandy, Chennithala


Wednesday, February 29, 2012:The Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court has on Wednesday accepted a plea filed against Oommen Chandy and KPCC Chief Ramesh Chennithala in connection with the alleged corruption in sanctioning an anti-pollution project for Travancore Titanium Products Ltd.
The plea has been put up for further hearing on March 6. The vigilance court had on February 23 ordered the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to file the inquiry report on the alleged irregularities in Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTP) within four months. Inquiry commissioner and special judge P K Haneefa directed the VACB to file the report before June 25.
The judge also directed the VACB to take the statement of TTP employee Jayan who was one of the petitioners. The petitioner had expressed concern over the progress of the inquiry and approached the court. Though the VACB had sought six months to complete the inquiry, the judge denied it.

Kollam: Ship collides with boat; 2 fishermen die


Thursday, March 1, 2012: Two fishermen died when a ship collided with a shipping boat at the high seas of the Neendakara coast which is 9 km north of Kollam city on Thursday.
Four fishermen were reportedly missing after the ship collided. There is no clarity yet in the merchant ship that collided with the boat. Navy PRO said the incident occurred 50 nautical miles away from the Kollam coast.
More details are awaited on the accident.

Rahman performs at Oscars again


Indian composer A.R. Rahman performed at the 84th Academy Awards here as part of the Oscar band in his third performance at the prestigious award ceremony.
He even posted a picture with all members of the band, which performed throughout Sunday night’s ceremony.Last year Rahman had sung his tracks from “127 Hours” at the Oscar ceremony.
In 2009, the 46-year-old performed for the first time at the Oscar stage and in the same year he won two golden statuettes for best original score and best original song (”Jai ho”) for the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”.
Other performances at the ceremony also included Esperanza Spalding’s rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What a wonderful world” as a tribute to the entertainers who died during the past year.
There was also a performance by circus arts and street entertainment group Cirque du Soleil.

Kottayam: KSU activists clash at DCC office


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: The swearing-in ceremony of the Kerala Students Union (KSU) here on Wednesday was marred by violence between two groups of activists.
Two persons have been injured in the clash. A tense situation prevailed for around half-an-hour.

NSS president PK Narayana Panicker passes away



Kottayam, Wednesday, February 29, 2012: Nair Service Society (NSS) president P.K. Narayana Panicker, who has been keeping indifferent health for sometime, has passed away on Wednesday. He was 82.
He is the second-longest-serving general secretary of the organization(after founder Mannath Padmanabhan), who has served 28 years in the post. He is an advocate by profession, who came to the front raw of the organization in 1977 as its treasurer, became General secretary in 1983.

Medicos agitate against compulsory rural service


Wedneday, February 29, 2012: Medical Students in Thiruvananthapuram would stage a dharna before Medical Education Director’s office, today to protest against the Governments proposal to make one year’s rural service compulsory for medical postgraduates passing out from 2012-13.
They would also organise protest march in other districts
Through this, the Ministry aims to extend quality healthcare to the villages but the students alleged that by introducing compulsory rural service the government is trying to exploit the students and deny higher education.

Nurses’ strike: High-level meeting today


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: A high-level meeting chaired by State Health Minister Adoor Prakash and Labour Minister Shibu Baby John would be held in Thiruvananthapuram today to resolve the problems faced by the Kerala nurses.
The representatives of the nurses’ associations and Medical college hospital managements are expected to take part in the meeting, sources said.
The high-level meeting has been called in the backdrop of the recent strikes staged by the nurses demanding better wages, which had affected the functioning of the hospitals and caused inconvenience to the ailing patients.

Ten injured in fireworks shell blast in T’puram


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: As many as ten persons were injured, three of them severely, when a pyrotechnic shell exploded at the Chirayinkeezhu Thengumvila Bhagavathy temple here on Wednesday.
The three persons, who sustain third degree burns, have been admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital. The accident occurred when the pyrotechnic shell accidentally exploded during the temple festival.

Palakkad Karuna MCH nurses call off strike


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: The striking nurses at the Karuna Medical college hospital in Palakkad have temporarily called off the strike till Friday after the hospital management agreed to hold a meeting to hear their demands.
The nurses had launched a strike from Wednesday morning voicing various demands including a rise in the minimum wage, removal of bonded labour and introduction of working in shifts.
The meeting which would be held between the hospital management and nurses’ association on Friday will be chaired by the Alathur DySP.

Court nod for in-camera trial in Kashmir recruitment case


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special Court here on Wednesday granted permission for the prosecution to conduct an in-camera trial in the sensational Kashmir recruitment case.
The Prosecution had requested for an in-camera trail citing the security of the witnesses in the case. This is the second case in the State probed by the NIA after the Kozhikode twin blast case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had chargesheeted as many as 24 accused in the Kashmir recruitment case on charges of waging a war against the nation. The accused include Wali alias Abu Rehan, a Pakistani national, and T. Nazeer, Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) operative.
Five youths from the State had been sent to Jammu and Kashmir for training for jihad by the LeT. Four of them were killed in an encounter with the Indian security forces on the border.

Infopark CEO appointment: Plea against VS posted for Mar 6


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: The Thrissur Vigilance Court today posted to March 6th the further hearing of the plea against Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan in connection with the allegations over the appointment of Jijo Joseph as the CEO of the Info Park in Kochi.
Jijo Joseph is the relative of former MP Sebastian Paul. It is alleged that Achutanandan had committed breach of oath of office by making “unlawful interventions” in the appointment of Jijo Joseph as Infopark CEO because he was a close relative of Sebastin Paul, a former LDF-supported independent MP and media critic.

Four shops gutted in fire at Kalpetta


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: Four shops were gutted in a devastating fire at a building market here on Wednesday morning.
Reports said the fire broke out from an electronic shop and engulfed three adjoining shops. Locals have hailed the role of police and their timely intervention in controlling fire.
As thick smoke emanated from the building, the local people alerted the police and the Fire and Rescue Services. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control after two hours, the Fire and Rescue Services personnel.
No casualty has been reported

Adultery is the new mantra in M’wood!


Believe it or not, many believe that ‘adultery’ is the ruling formula in Malayalam cinema of late.
Or take a look at some of the recent hits. The latest in the list is Ee Adutha Kaalathu, which is soon gaining popularity especially among the urban viewers.
According to a prominent scenarist, “of course, cinema reflects what is in the minds of the viewers and yes, adultery is a hot theme now. People may not discuss it in public but love to watch it on screen.”
From Cocktail to Beautiful, suggestive remarks on sex, double meaning dialogues, cheating partners and grey shades in general has been getting tremendous approval, especially at the urban centres.
If the filmmakers were hesitant to add such ‘explosive stuff’ in their movies earlier, nowadays the viewers welcome films with such themes in a big way.
The surprising aspect here is that even the family audiences are applauding for kinky remarks and sequences.

Chargesheet in Kannadi Shaji murder case submitted


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: The police team investigating the case relating to the brutal murder of notorious gangster ‘Kannadi Shaji’ in capital city on November 2, 2011, has submitted the chargesheet before the Judicial first class magistrate (2) Court on Tuesday.
There are 12 accused in the murder case including Ambalamukku Krishnakumar and his accomplice Sanish. The two had surrendered before the Vanchiyoor Court on November 29. Shaji was travelling along with his friend when the gang of unidentified persons attacked him near Chitra Nagar.
The incident took place 50 m away from his house where he was staying with his mother. According to the police, there were four persons in the car that was parked for quite some time anticipating Shaji. The victim sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the Medical College Hospital. He was declared dead on arrival at the casualty wing at 8.50 a.m.
Shaji’s friend Ajith, spared from the attack, fled after rushing him to the hospital and on learning that he had died. Later, the police traced him and obtained valuable clues about the incident. In his statement to the police, Ajith said that Ambalamukku Krishnakumar, a rival gangster, and one Sanish were among the assailants.
Investigators said Shaji sustained 23 injuries and six of them were fatal.

Piravom by-poll: Final voters’ list to be published today


Wednesday, February 29, 2012: The final voters’ list for the by-election to the Piravom Assembly constituency will be published today. The nominations could be submitted between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on working days till today.
The scrutiny of nominations would take place on March 1. The last date for withdrawal of nominations would be March 3.
There would be restriction on people accompanying the candidates and the process of submission of nominations would be recorded as video. A candidate would be permitted to submit only a maximum of four sets of nominations, the release said.
10 days are required for processing applications for inclusion in the voters’ list, including notice period of seven days.

T’puram monorail: NATPAC to submit report today


Wednesday, Friday 29, 2012: The National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) will submit the first phase report of Thiruvananthapuram monorail project to the State Government today.
The Thiruvananthapuram Monorail is a rail-based mass rapid transit system proposed for the Thiruvananthapuram city. The Kerala Government entrusted National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) to conduct the feasibility study of the proposal to build a monorail system in Thiruvananthapuram. It is estimated that 40% of the present traffic can be taken off the road from the capital city once monorail comes.
The monorail corridor proposed is from Pallippuram to Neyyattinkara, a distance of 41.80 km. The project will be implemented in two phases with the first phase extending from Pallippuram to Thampanoor (22.20km) and the second phase from Thampanoor to Neyyattinkara (19.60km.

Tvm: TTE accused of misbehaviour on train remanded


Tuesday, February 28, 2012: Ramesh Kumar, a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) of New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express was today remanded to custody by the Thiruvananthapuram Chief judicial magistrate Court here for misbehaving with a woman passenger.
According to Railway Protection Force (RPF) sources, Ramesh Kumar, a resident of New Delhi, was arrested on the basis of a written complaint given by the middle-aged woman passenger that he misbehaved with her while the train was passing through Uduppi and Mangalore yesterday.
The woman said the TTE approached her when the train passed the Mudgaon station and her coach was almost empty. He sought to befriend her by offering tea or coffee and even tried to touch her, she alleged.
She then informed her relatives about the harassment over mobile phone.
The matter was brought to the notice of the RPF by her relatives and the TTE was taken into custody from Thrissur.
On the arrival of the train here in the wee hours, he was arrested and questioned by the RPF officials. He was subjected to medical examination and found to be mentally and physically fit, sources said.

Safety of women passengers to be ensured in trains: DGP


Tuesday, February 28, 2012: In the backdrop of the recent attacks on women passengers in trains, DGP Jacob Punnouse on Tuesday forwarded a letter to Railway south zone manager seeking to issue travel passes to 60 police personnel immediately.
In the letter, DGP informed that the strength of police personnel in the trains would be increased to ensure the safety of women commuters. DGP also expressed concern over the recent increase in number of incidents in which women passengers are frequently attacked.
Meanwhile a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) of New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express was today arrested here for misbehaving with a woman passenger.
According to Railway Protection Force (RPF) sources, Ramesh Kumar, a resident of New Delhi, was arrested on the basis of a written complaint given by the middle-aged woman passenger that he misbehaved with her while the train was passing through Uduppi and Mangalore yesterday.
The woman said the TTE approached her when the train passed the Mudgaon station and her coach was almost empty. He sought to befriend her by offering tea or coffee and even tried to touch her, she alleged.
She then informed her relatives about the harassment over mobile phone.
The matter was brought to the notice of the RPF by her relatives and the TTE was taken into custody from Thrissur.
On the arrival of the train here in the wee hours, he was arrested and questioned by the RPF officials. He was subjected to medical examination and found to be mentally and physically fit, sources said.
Kumar was produced in a local court here and was remanded to police custody.
Recently, two TTEs came under scanner for allegedly misbehaving with a woman passenger on a train between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.
The two TTEs in question were initially suspended, but the punishment was later revoked, following which a petition was filed in the court of the Judicial Magistrate, charging that the suspensions were an “eyewash”.
Directing the Railway Police to register a case against the two TTEs, the court also directed them to register a case against the Divisional Railway Manager as the Railway Police had refused to register the case of alleged misbehaviour.

HC refuses to stay probe into land allotment row,


 Tuesday, February 28, 2012: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday refused to stay the Vigilance probe ordered into the alleged the illegal allocation of land to Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan’s relative, T K Soman allegedly without following the rules.
The plea was filed by Achuthanandan’s personal assistant A Suresh, who is the eight accused in the case.
It is alleged that 2.33 acres of land in the northern Kasargod district was given to Soman, an ex-serviceman, at below the market value. The land was allotted in 2010, with a rider that it could not be sold for 25 years.

Ind vs SL: Flamboyant Virat Kohli helps India earn bonus point against Sri Lanka


NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli smacked unbeaten 86-ball 133 and added a quick-fire 120-run stand with Suresh Raina (40*) to help India thrash Sri Lanka by seven wickets and gain crucial bonus point to keep themselves alive in the tri-series. 


Chasing a mammoth 321-run target, Kohli completed his 9th ODI ton and snitch two crucial stands with Gautam Gambhir (63) and Raina to help India chased down the target in 36.4 overs. 


Kohli raced to his hundred in just 76 balls, hitting 10 boundaries and a six. 


India lost Gambhir after he added 115 runs for the third wicket with Kohli as they kept India's chances of earning bonus point alive at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. 


Gambhir played sensibly before he was run-out trying to snatch risky second run, he hit four boundaries in his 64 balls knock. 


Gambhir smashed four boundaries in his 31st ODI fifty that came 47 balls while Kohli reached to his 21st ODI fifty in 44 balls that included three fours and a six. 


Gambhir and Kohli also completed unbeaten 100 runs stand for the third wicket which was the first hundred runs stand for India in the tri-series. The pair raced to their century stand in just 89 balls. 


After losing Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in quick succession, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli took India past 100 runs in 11.1 overs. 


Sachin, who was going well towards his first fifty of the series, was caught in plumb of the wicket from Lasith Maliga's Yorker. Master blaster played handy knock of 39 runs, hitting five fours in his 30 balls stay at the crease. 


Sehwag also made quick-fire 30 runs in 16 balls before went back to the pavilion. Farveez Maharoof removed the dangerous Sehwag, who smacked five boundaries and huge six in his cameo. 


India got off to blistering chase with Sehwag and Sachin putting 54 runs in just 38 deliveries for the first wicket. 


Earlier, India's hopes of winning their last ODI with a bonus point of the tri-series suffered a big blow as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara helped Sri Lanka post a mammoth 321 runs target. 


Dilshan remained unbeaten on 160 which is exactly half the score of what Sri Lanka piled against India in the 11th ODI of the tri-series. 


Sangakkara was sent back to the pavilion by Praveen Kumar just after scoring his 13th ODI ton. Sanga's brisk knock of 105 came in just 87 deliveries that included eight fours and two sixes. 


Sangakkara and Dilshan also stitched a record 200 runs second wicket stand at Bellerive Oval, bettering the previous best 145 between greats West Indian Desmond Haynes and Jeff Dujon in 1988. 


Flamboyant Dilshan stood firm to reach his 11th ODI ton to add the India's worry to stay in the race for the tri-series finals. 


Sangakkara slammed quick-fire fifty in just 55 balls, smacking three boundaries and a six in his 39th ODI fifty and first of the series. 


Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan played a steady knock to take Sri Lanka past 100 runs against the beleaguered Indians. 


Dilshan reached to his 27th ODI half-century in 68 balls, smashing five boundaries in his second knock of more than fifty in the series. 


Dilshan and Sangakkara played patiently after India struck in the 12th over to claim the first Sri Lankan wicket. 


Ravindra Jadeja gave India first breakthrough when skipper Mahela Jayawardene went for late cut but got inside edge that went to the first slip where Virender Sehwag showed good reflexes and pouched it safely. 


Sri Lanka got off to a steady start as Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan have added 49 runs in 12 overs for the opening wicket after being sent into bat first. 


Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who just won the second toss of the entire series, decided to field in an attempt to claim a vital bonus-point win over Sri Lanka. 


Senior paceman Zaheer Khan returned to the Indian team in place of injured Irfan Pathan while Sri Lanka retained the same playing eleven. 


If India can beat Sri Lanka with a bonus point on Tuesday, they will earn themselves an outside chance of remaining in the tri-series. If not, they can finally take the flight home. 


India will have to chase down whatever total Sri Lanka manage in 40 overs to earn the bonus point. After the defeat against Australia on Sunday, the Indians assumed that the tri-series was over for them. 


India would not only need a win with a bonus point to remain alive but also hope that Australia would somehow prevail over Lanka in the last league match on Melbourne on March 2. 


A bonus point though looks a wild dream for a team which is getting all-out in most of the matches and have suffered defeats by the margin of 101, 51 and 87 runs in last three successive matches. 


Teams: 


India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan. 


Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Angelo Matthews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath and Ferveez Maharoof.

Nation-wide unions’ strike hits normal life in Kerala


Tuesday, February 28, 2012: Normal life was disrupted in Kerala today due to the country-wide strike called by the central trade unions to protest the “anti-labour” policies of the UPA Government.
Buses kept off the roads and shops were closed in the state. The strike also affected the functioning of banks and offices as pro-Left unions in the state sector also joined the protest against the “neo-liberal economic and labour policies” pursued by the UPA Government at the Centre.
The Congress-led UDF Government in the state has enforced ‘dies non’ (no work-no pay) order against the strike in Government offices.
Early reports from across the state said in most places the mobility of people was hit as the impact of the strike was near total in the transport sector with buses, taxis and autorickshaws keeping off the road.
The rail traffic, however, was not affected and no blockade was reported from anywhere in the early hours. There was no disruption in electricity or water supply and the health sector exempted from the strike.

24-hour nationwide strike gets underway


Tuesday, February 28, 2012: The 24-hour nationwide strike has begun here today. 11 trade unions together have given call for a general strike all over the nation on Tuesday.
Employees in private sector have also extended support to the strike.The striking trade unions include the Left labour arms CITU, AITUC, UTUC and AIUTUC, and Congress’s INTUC, besides BMS, HMS, TUCI and NLO who have joined forces in support of a 10-point charter of demands.
The unions have been demanding abolition of appointments on contract basis, bringing ammendment to the Minimum Wages Act, providing for payment of pension to all categories of employees, and bringing down inflation, among others. For the first time, unions owing allegiance to Congress, BJP, and communist ideologies have joined hands together for the strike.
It is expected that work in banks, government offices, and private enterprises will be affected by the strike. Railways will be the only exception, which will function normally.

TTE held for misbehaving with woman passenger


Tuesday, February 28, 2012: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has arrested a TTE, allegedly for misbehaving with a woman passenger on the Rajdhani Express on Tuesday.
The arrested has been identified as Ramesh Kumar, hailing from New Delhi. The arrest came following the complaint by Hemalatha, a native of Thiruvananthapuram.

Kozhikode Iqraa hospital nurses on strike


Tuesday, February 28, 2012: The nurses of Kozhikode Iqraa hospital have launched an indefinite strike on Tuesday.
Nurses at Iqraa hospital under the Indian Registered Nurses Association have begin strike demanding better wages.

Fire breaks out at rubber godown in Kothamangalam


Tuesday, February 28, 2012: A fire broke out at rubber godown in Kothamangalam on Tuesday. The incident happened today morning.
The fire force rushed to the spot and efforts are on to douse the fire. The reason for the fire is not known yet.

Supreme Court okays interlinking of rivers


Monday, February 27, 2012: The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner and appointed a high-powered committee for its planning and implementation.
Observing that the project has already been delayed resulting in an increase in its cost, a three-judge Bench headed by the Chief Justice, Mr S.H. Kapadia, said the Centre and the State Governments concerned should participate for its “effective” implementation “in a timebound manner“.
The Bench, also comprising Justices Swatanter Kumar and A.K. Patnaik, appointed a high-powered committee comprising representatives of various Government departments, ministries, experts and social activists to chart out and execute the project.
The committee will comprise the Union Minister of Water Resources, its secretary, Secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and four expert members appointed by Water Resources Ministry, Finance Ministry, Planning Commission and MoEF.

Assembly panel rejects VA Arun Kumar’s plea


Monday, February 27, 2012: The Assembly panel led by VD Satheesan today rejected VA Arunkumar’s request to give him copies of the statements of those who had deposed against him.
Arun Kumar had earlier urged the Assembly panel to allow him to present his version in the ICT and IHRD appointment scam, before the finalisation of the report.
Arunkumar has pointed out that going by the version and statements of many who had deposed against him in front of the panel presenting facts and countering them has become imperative.
The panel is expected to finalise its report on its March 2 sitting. The report will be submitted to the Speaker on March 8.

Kerala Assembly session to begin on March 1


 Friday, February 17, 2012: The fourth session of 13th Kerala Assembly will begin at 9 am on March one. The session will begin with Governor HR Bharadwaj’s address.
Speaking to the mediapersons, Speaker G Karthikeyan has said that the assembly proccedings can be viewed in internet this time. The Kerala budget for year 2012-13 will be presented on March 19.

Three BJP activists injured in bomb attack


 Monday, February 27, 2012: Three BJP activists, including a woman, were injured in a country made bomb attack on their house, allegedly by CPI (M) group at Paravoor near Mathamangalam under Payyanoor police limits.
According to Police, P P VIswanathan (34) and his brother P P Biju (34) and mother Janaki (55) suffered minor injuries and had been admitted at a private hospital at Payanoor. The CPI (M) groups allegedly hurled three country made bombs at the house. At that time Babu was not in the house, police added.

Undertrial escapes from Palakkad sub jail


Monday, February 27, 2012: An under-trial prisoner today escaped from Palakkad sub jail. He was identified as Satyan of chittoor village near Kannimari
Satyan was lodged in the jail in a firing case, sources said.
The jail authorities came to know about the escape around 7 a.m. today and informed the police.
Police suspect the prisoner jumped over the boundary wall and got away without being detected by the security guards.
‘If negligence of jail officers is found, action will be taken against them,’ said an officer of the state’s jail department.

Youth Under Custody With Fake Passport in Kochi


Monday, February 27, 2012: A youth from Thrissur was arrested at Nedumbassery airport on Monday by police for trying to go to foreign with fake passport.
The person has been identified as Sudheer hailing from Perinjeri.

Temple treasure:C vault to be opened today


Monday, February 27, 2012:The last unopened ‘C’ vault of the Padmanabhaswamy temple would be opened on Monday following the apex court’s nod to go ahead for preparing the inventory of the temple treasure.
The Supreme Court appointed Expert committee, headed by conservationist M V Nair informed that the computer facilities used for the evaluation and documentation of the treasure in the E and F chambers will be used for the documentation of the C-vault.
The Supreme Court had granted permission for opening the C, D vaults of the Padmanabhaswamy temple. The ‘C’ chamber was earlier sealed following the directive by Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sub-Court. The expert committee filed a petition in the Apex Court to open the sealed chamber.
The Apex Court also ruled that presence of the Advocates’ commission appointed by the Sub-Court was not necessary during the inventory process of the C-vault.
Meanwhile the scientific documentation of the treasure, which is estimated to be worth more than Rs one lakh crore, unearthed from the temple, began here on Monday morning. The documentation is being carried out using electronic gadgets and high-end devices supplied by Keltron. As only 20 items can be documented at one day, the process would be a lengthy one, taking at least a year to complete.
In all, there are six vaults in the temple of which five have been opened based on a petition filed by a former IPS official T P Sundararajan, who passed away during the trial last July. In July last year, the Supreme Court-appointed committee found the treasure from vault A which had remained unopened for more than 150 years. The B vault will only be opened after completing the inventory of items of other vaults. For this, the expert panel has to get the permission of the Supreme Court.

Kerala police seize guns from Italian ship


Kerala police on Sunday seized machine guns alleged to have been used by soldiers on an Italian oil tanker to shoot two fishermen who were mistaken for pirates.


The guns were removed from the Italian-flagged oil tanker Enrica Lexie, which has been docked in Cochin port in southern India since the fatal shootings on February 15.


Two Italian soldiers who were deployed on the vessel to guard against the growing threats from armed pirates across the Indian Ocean have been arrested on murder charges and are being held in custody.


Diplomatic tensions have been high since the deaths, with Italian authorities saying the shootings occurred in international waters and the soldiers have immunity from Indian law.


Indian police, witnessed by 10 Italian government officers, began a 14-hour search of the oil tanker on Saturday and took the arms off early on Sunday.


"We have seized four boxes from the ship. They contain two Italian-made light machine guns and other weapons," a senior Indian police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.


"We believe that the guns were used to kill the two Indian fishermen," he added.


The weapons will be submitted as evidence in court proceedings against the two soldiers.


Italy has expressed its regret over the shootings but said the Indian fishing crew behaved aggressively and were repeatedly warned before shots were fired.


Last week Italy filed a petition in the Kerala state high court seeking instant dismissal of the murder case.


The owner of the Indian fishing boat said the soldiers fired "without provocation", killing the two unarmed fishermen aged 21 and 50.

Tvm: Another student allegedly manhandled in school


Sunday, February 26,2012: After an eighth standard student of Christ Nagar School was branded, another similar case was reported on Sunday.
An eleventh standard student of Sree Vidyadhiraja Vidya Mandir higher secondary school who sustained serious jaw injuries is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the capital city. The student was badly hit by a helmet when he questioned five students of Class X when they came drunk to school. Museum police has registered case against five students.
In a shocking incident, an eighth standard student of a private school has alleged that some of senior students had brutally manhandled him and etched an alphabet ‘J’ on his left forearm using a sharp weapon on Saturday.

Qatar named world’s richest country


Sunday, February 26, 2012: Qatar has been ranked as the world’s wealthiest country in a new list compiled by the prestigious US magazine Forbes.
The Gulf State with a population of 1.7 million topped the list as the world’s richest country per capita, thanks to a rebound in oil prices and its massive natural gas reserves.
Adjusted for purchasing power, Qatar booked an estimated gross domestic product per capita of more than $ 88,000 for 2010, Forbes said, compared with $ 47,500 for the UAE, which was placed sixth while Kuwait stood at 15th in the list.
Qatar, which will host the 2022 Football World Cup and is also in the running for the 2020 Olympic Games, has been a high-profile investor in recent times.

Alappuzha: Protestors beaten up for disrupting exams


Sunday, February 26, 2012: Several SNDP Youth movement activists on Sunday morning went on a rampage in the Alappuzha TD high school during a protest, disrupting examinations and tearing the answer papers.
The agitators barged into the halls where the examinations to the Travancore Devaswom Board were being conducted and snatched the answer papers from the candidates and tore them. The agitators alleged that the examinations to the Devaswom Board were conducted without following the reservation norms.
The enraged candidates along with the locals manhandled the activists. The local police soon reached the spot and arrested the protestors.
Meanwhile, SNDP Youth Movement has called for a hartal in Alappuzha tomorrow.

Rural funds: Jairam Ramesh bats for States


Sunday, February 26, 2012: The Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh ,who was in Kerala on a three-day visit, today said that there is a need of fundamental shift.
He called for a change in architecture of rural development programmes.
He said that the rural development schemes were focused more on states that were backward and did not reflect the needs of states like Kerala which has high literacy and effective grassroots organisations.
”My ministry was trying to bring about greater flexibility in rural schemes in states like Kerala, Punjab and Goa which were relatively more advanced in rural development and that my serious suggestion is that by 2017, 50 percent of all rural funds must be given to state governments,” he added.

Alappuzha: SNDP Youth movement calls for hartal tomorrow


Sunday, February 26, 2012: The SNDP Youth movement activists has called for a hartal in the district tomorrow as a protest against the incident in which five activists were injured during a protest march to Alappuzha TD high school on Sunday.
Several SNDP Youth movement activists went on a rampage in the Alappuzha TD high school during a protest, disrupting examinations and tearing the answer papers.
The agitators barged into the halls where the examinations to the Travancore Devaswom Board were being conducted and snatched the answer papers from the candidates and tore them.
The agitators alleged that the examinations to the Devaswom Board were conducted without following the reservation norms.
The enraged candidates along with the locals manhandled the activists. The local police soon reached the spot and arrested the protestors.

Kerala Plus One and Plus Two 2012 Timetable for Higher Secondary Examination REVISED



Kerala Plus One and Plus Two 2012 Timetable for Higher Secondary Examination


The higher secondary examination for Kerala plus one and plus two 2012 students will starts on March 12,2012. The examination will ends on March 26,2012. Both plus one and plus two examination will be conducted on same day and in same time. All subjects with practicals except music will be conducted from 10 am to 12:15 pm and subjects without practicals will be conducted from 10 am to 12:45 pm and Biology will be conducted between 10 am and 12:25. Music examination will be conducted between 10 am and 11:45 pm.




Kerala Plus two 2012 Timetable


March 12- Part 1 English.
March 13- Part 2 Second Language, Information Technology.
March 14- Gandhian Studies, Statistics.
March 15- Geology, Sanskrit, Electronics Service Technology.
March 19- Chemistry, Political Science, Communicative English, Sanskrit Science.
March 20- Psychology, Home Science, Accountancy, Geography, Philosophy,Anthropology.
March 21- Biology, Economics, Journalism.
March 22- Computer Science, Computer Application, Electronics, History, Islamic History and Culture, 
March 24- Mathematics, Sociology, English Literature.
March 26- Physics, Business Studies, Part 3 languages, Social works, Music.




Kerala Plus one 2012 Timetable.




March 12- Gandhian Studies, Statistics.
March 13- Geology, Sanskrit, Electronics Service Technology.
March 14- Part 1 English.
March 15- Part 2 Second Language, Information Technology.
March 19- Chemistry, Political Science, Communicative English, Sanskrit Science.
March 20- Psychology, Home Science, Accountancy, Geography, Philosophy, Anthropology.
March 21- Biology, Economics, Journalism.
March 22- Computer Science, Computer Application, Electronics, History, Islamic History and Culture, 
March 24- Mathematics, Sociology, English Literature, Biology.
March 26- Physics, Business Studies, Part 3 languages, Social works, Music.

Kozhikode monorail is practical: Sreedharan


 Sunday, February 26, 2012: E Sreedharan, former MD of
Delhi Metro Rail on Sunday said that Kozhikode monorail is technically practical. He conducted a survey of the alignment for the proposed monorail project.
The detailed report is to be prepared, and further initiatives in the matter would be finalised after meeting with PWD Minister VK Ebrahim Kunju, he added.
The first phase of the monorail project envisages a double lane route from Medical College to Meenchanda running over 13 kilometers.

510 litres of spirit seized near Kattakkada


Sunday, February 26,2012: A team of the State Excise Department officials seized 510 litres of spirit smuggled in a luxury car during a vehicle check in Kattakkada here on Sunday.
The vehicle was tying to pass through the green channel at the check-post. When the vehicle crew found that checking was going on they fled and were intercepted after a long chase.
The raid was conducted by the team led by Excise Sub-Inspector M. Rabi. Intelligence generated by Joint Excise Commissioner E. Shihabudeen had led to seizure.
The driver of the vehicle escaped. The spirit could have been sourced from Tamil Nadu, sources said.

Music director Johnson’s son to be laid to rest today


Sunday, February 26, 2012: Ren Johnson (25), son of late music director Johnson, who was killed in a road accident in Chennai yesterday will be laid to rest at the Thrissur Nellikunnu Saint Sebastian church on Sunday. Funeral will be held at 4pm.
Ren Johnson’s body was brought to Thrissur on Saturday night. The incident happened in Chennai around 1 pm on Saturday where Ren was working as an engineer.
The accident occurred when the bike in which Ren was travelling lost control and rammed into a median killing him instantly.

Gokulam MCH nurses to begin indefinite strike today


Sunday, February 26, 2012: The nurses of the Venjaramoodu Gokulam Medical college hospital would begin an indefinite hunger strike from today. The talks held between the Labour officer, Management and striking nurses yesterday had failed to reach consensus.
The Nurses’ association informed that the nurses of the Intensive care unit would also take part in the strike. The nurses had gone on strike from today demanding better wages.
Though the staff nurses and the hospital management had reached an agreement regarding the wages the nurses decided to enter into a strike again because of the delay in implementation and to press their demand to take back colleagues who have been dismissed

Miscreants go berserk in Varkala; houses vandalized


Sunday, February 26, 2012: As many as four houses were vandalized in Varkala Cherunniyoor- Thannimoodu colony after a group of armed miscreants went on a rampage here on Saturday.
The armed men barged into the houses and destroyed household items including TV, furniture, table fan and smashed the window panes. The incident occurred at 10.30 pm.
Two persons were hacked by the offenders and have been admitted to the Varkala taluk hospital. The hooligans did not even spare small children. Even though the Varkala police have begun investigation into the incident, no one has been taken into custody.

RPF initiates action against drunken passengers


Saturday, February 25, 2012: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has initiated their drive against drunken travel on trains following complaints that they are harassing women commuters.
As part of the drive the Railway police are strictly monitoring the passengers and arrested three persons for drunken traveling here on Friday. The RPF officers are using breath analyzers to find out whether the commuters have consumed alcohol.
It is also alleged that the police are not using modern breath analyzers to track the drunken passengers. The increasing incidents of harassment of women and disturbances to other passengers by those who consume alcohol and enter the trains and railway premises had forced Railways to launch the drive.
As per Section 145 (A) of the Indian Railway Act, those found guilty will have to pay a fine of Rs.500 or undergo imprisonment up to six months.

Tvm: Student alleges manhandling by seniors in school


 Saturday, February 25, 2012: In a shocking incident, an eighth standard student of a private school here has alleged that some of senior students had brutally manhandled him and etched an alphabet ‘J’ on his left forearm using a sharp weapon.
According to the parents the Plus one students of the same school had allegedly assaulted the boy and threatened him not to inform anyone about this incident. The incident had occurred on February 16 and the boy’s parents lodged a complaint to the school authorities on 18.
Meanwhile the school authorities informed that the senior students have been identified and stringent action has been initiated against them. Meanwhile ADGP has ordered an investigation into the incident.

LDF files complaint against Aryadan


Saturday, February 25, 2012: The LDF filed a complaint with the election commission on Saturday against electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed.
According to the LDF complaint, electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed had violated model code of conduct by declaring that Anoop would become a minister after the polls.
But Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, inaugurating UDF’s election convention at Piravom and also referring to the LDF complaint, said that the only issue before the UDF was whether Anoop should become a minister before the polls or after that.

Music director Johnson’s son killed in bike accident in Chennai


Saturday, February 25, 2012: Ren Johnson (25), son of late music director Johnson was killed in a bike accident on Saturday.
The incident happened in Chennai around 1 pm. The body was kept at Royapettah General Hospital. Johnson Master died of cardiac arrest in Chennai on 18th August 2011.

One killed in road mishap in Malappuram


Saturday, February 25, 2012: A woman was killed and four others were injured when two auto-rickshaws collided with each other near Kottakal here on Saturday morning.
The deceased has been identified as Zuhara. The injured were rushed to the Kottakal Almas hospital.

Youth killed in bike-tipper accident in Kozhikode


Saturday, February 25, 2012: A youth was killed when the bike he was riding rammed into a tipper at Ramanattukara here on Saturday.
The deceased has been identified as Satyan, , from Ramanattukara. It is said that Satyan was riding at a high speed, and collided with the tipper at turning in the road.
The bike which he was riding was completely smashed. The body has been shifted to hospital.

VA Arun Kumar writes to Assembly panel


Saturday, February 25, 2012: VA Arunkumar, son of Opposition Leader VS Achuthanandan wrote a letter to Assembly panel in connection with the probe on appointment of Arun Kumar as the director of ICT academy after flouting the rules.
The letter demanded to hear his stand on the issue before submission of final report.
The joint legislature committee investigating the allegations against Arun Kumar will submit the report on March 8. Arun is accused of some irregularties in his functioning as an official of a state-sponsored education agency.
The probe by the Inspection Wing of the Finance Department had found faults in Arun Kumar’s appointment and promotions he received in IHRD. It appeared that suspension of Arun Kumar as Additional Director of state-sponsored education agency Institute of Human Resource Development (IHRD) was imminent.

Fishermen’s killing: BJP activists lay siege to Kollam NH


Saturday, February 25, 2012: Hundreds of BJP activists today blocked the Kollam national highway as a protest against the incident in which two Indian fishermen were allegedly shot dead by Italian marines of ‘Enrica Lexie’ off Kerala coast on February 15.
The protestors stated that the stand taken by the State, Central governments was not at all satisfactory. Following the demonstration vehicular traffic through the NH was completely disrupted for several hours. The protest march was inaugurated by BJP state president V Muraleedharan.
Kerala Police continued interrogation of the two Italian marines- Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, whose remand period was extended for seven days.
The Italians have maintained that Jelastine and Ajeesh Binki, who had set out to sea along with nine other fishermen, were shot at on suspicion of being pirates.

B’lore blast case: Maudani’s plea rejected


Saturday, February 25, 2012: A special Court here on Saturday dismissed the plea filed by PDP leader Abdul Nasser Maudani seeking removal of his name from the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts.
The Court instructed that Maudani must face trial in the case. Maudani, who is among 31 persons charge sheeted in the case, had earlier sought bail on the grounds that there was no prima facie case against him to implicate him in the blasts.
The PDP leader was taken into custody from an orphanage-cum madrassa in Anwarssery in Kerala on August 17 last year, later brought here and lodged in Bangalore Central jail.

BJP hartal gets underway in Thrissur


Saturday, February 25, 2012: The 12-hour hartal announced by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a protest against the lathi charge has begun here on Saturday.
Stones were pelted at KSRTC buses near Kodungallur during hartal. The protest strike staged by BJP activists against Mannuthy-Edappally NH toll collection turned violent on Friday.
A major scuffle broke out between police and activists. The scuffle broke out when BJP activists pelted stones at police. Following this, police resorted to lathicharge.
Almost 15 BJP activists including Mahila Morcha state president Shoba Surendran were injured in the clash. Tense situation is prevailing in the area.

Mercury touches 40 degrees celsius in Palakkad


Palakkad, Saturday, February 25, 2012: Palakkad district had experienced high temperature with the mercury touching 40 degree Celsius at Mundoor IRTC on Friday.
This is the highest temperature recorded so far. Last year the temperature during this time was 38 degree. Now the people are unable to venture out of their houses during noon.
On Thursday the temperature was 38.5 degree. The temperature began to soar from the beginning of February itself. There are chances for sunburns too and from 11 am to 3 pm people are not going outdoors.

Major fire in Kanjikode mattress factory


Palakkad, Saturday, February 25, 2012 : A mattress factory in the Kanjikkode area of the Palakkad city was gutted in a massive fire that broke out on Saturday morning.
Fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames and the fire-fighting operations are going on here. Although there was no report of any causality, there was panic in the area.

Mannuthy-Edappally NH: BJP protest turns violent Bjp Hartal Today


The protest strike staged by BJP activists against Mannuthy-Edappally NH toll collection turned violent on Friday.
A major scuffle broke out between police and activists. The scuffle broke out when BJP activists pelted stones at police. Following this, police resorted to lathicharge.
Mahila Morcha state president Shoba Surendran was injured in the clash. Tense situation is prevailing in the area.

Women’s commission to collect evidence from Jayageetha


 Friday, February 4, 2012: Justice D Sreedevi, Kerala Women’s Commission Chairman has said that evidence will be collected from MR Jayageetha, poet and Research Officer in the State Planning Board.
She added that the issue will be brought into attention of National Women’s panel if needed.
Jayageetha, a regular passenger of the train, was alone in a compartment when one of the ticket examiners asked her to come and join them in another compartment on Friday evening. Jayageetha informed about the misbehaviour to her husband and DYFI Kollam area secretary Shivaprasad. He immediately reached the railway station when the train arrived around 7 pm.
The two ticket examiners allegedly showered abusive words on Shivaprasad and Jayageetha. Following this, the couple met the Station Manager and lodged a complaint. Meanwhile, the railway withdrew the suspension of two ticket examiners identified as Jafar and Praveen on Tuesday. The suspension was withdrawn saying the complaint lodged against the two doesn’t exist.

Lalur garbage issue: K Venu ends hunger strike


February 24, 2012: Social activist K Venu has ended his hunger strike. He has been staging an indefinite hunger strike as a protest against the Lalur garbage issue from February 14.
He stopped his huger strike today evening at Thrissur district hospital. He has been admitted to the Thrissur district hospital on Wednesday after his health condition deteriorated.
Moving through city roads has largely become a disgusting experience these days as the city has been without a sanitation system for over three weeks now. Garbage disposal from the Thrissur Corporation areas remained halted for the last three weeks owing to protest from the residents of Lalur.

Firearms of Italian marines will be seized, says DGP


Friday, February 24, 2012: Director-General of Police (DGP) Jacob Punnoose today opined that the Kerala police would take into custody the weapons used by the Italian marines to shoot dead the two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast on February 15.
Addressing the mediapersons here on Friday, Punnouse added that the police would conduct a ballistic examination of the weapons on board merchant vessel ‘Enrica Lexie’. Meanwhile the Kochi Police has postponed its search of the weapons on board merchant vessel ‘Enrica Lexie’ till Saturday.
A Court in Kollam, which had permitted the police to seize the arms allegedly used in the firing by Naval guards at the fishermen, on Thursday accepted the Italians’ plea seeking presence of their representatives during the ballistic examination.
The Italians have been maintaining that they opened fire assuming the fishermen onboard the boat to be pirates.

Illegal liquor manufacturing unit found in Tvm; 4 held


 Friday, February 24, 2012: Officials of the Excise Department have detected an illegal liquor manufacturing unit and arrested four persons in connection with this near Kattakada here on Friday.
The accused have been identified as Vinod (39), Rajith (23) -both natives of Malayankeezhu, Sreekantan (37)-native of Perumpazhuthoor, Pradeep (23)-native of Kulathummal.
Police informed that the accused were running the illegal bottling plant at a rental house for the last three months. The police personnel seized 155 litres of spurious spirit, 150 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), 45 litres of arrack and two bottling machines from there.
They also seized spirit and flavour and colouring chemicals from the house. Three vehicles used for transporting the illegal liquor were also taken into custody. The accused have been under the scanner of the Thiruvananthapuram Excise squad for the past three months.

SFI, ABVP activists clash at MG University campus


Kottayam, Friday, February 24, 2012: A clash broke out between the activists of the SFI and ABVP at MG University, Kottayam on Friday. Five persons were injured including SFI Kottayam district committee member Nelson.
Three students have been arrested in connection with the incident. SFI activists alleged that they were attacked by quotation gangs outside the campus. The injured were shifted to Kottayam Medical college hospital.

Kochi: Prime accused in flat fraud case held


Friday, February 24, 2012: Parthasarathy Builders owner Girish Kumar, has been arrested here for swindling customers.
He was arrested by Palarivattom police today.
The police said that Girishkumar had taken money from the public promising apartments at various locations of Ernakulam district. But neither the flats had been handed over nor the money has been returned so far. Four cases have been registered against him.
The Kadavanthra police on Tuesday arrested Ajay V George owner and managing director of Star Homes Builders and Apartments, in connection with the Star Homes Flat cheating case.
George was arrested for not handing over flats to two customers despite receiving Rs 40 lakh from them.

Piravom poll: CPM alleges irregularities in voters’ list


Friday, February 24, 2012: CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan today charged the UDF of manipulating the voters’ list in the Piravom Assembly constituency for which the by-election is scheduled on March 17.
Addressing the presspersons here on Friday, Pinarayi alleged that the UDF had sent officers to Piravom for manipulating the voters’ list. The voters are being included in the list after flouting the rules, he added.
The by-poll will be the first major trial for the Congress ministry after it rode to power with a wafer-thin margin of 72 seats in the 140-member house in May last year.
The election was necessitated following the death of Kerala Congress (J) leader T M Jacob, who was food minister in the Chandy cabinet. Jacob’s death in October had reduced the elected strength of the UDF in the assembly to 71, including the Speaker, against 68 seats held by the CPI(M)-led LDF opposition.

Arun Kumar issue: Assembly panel to submit report soon


Friday, February 24, 2012: The joint legislature committee investigating the allegations against former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan’s son, V.A Arunkumar, will submit the report on March 8. The next sitting of legislative committee will be on March 2.
Arun is accused of some irregularties in his functioning as an official of a state-sponsored education agency.
The probe by the Inspection Wing of the Finance Department had found faults in Arun Kumar’s appointment and promotions he received in IHRD. It appeared that suspension of Arun Kumar as Additional Director of state-sponsored education agency Institute of Human Resource Development (IHRD) was imminent.
It also questioned his posting as Special Officer of the Model Finishing School, set up during the fag-end of the previous LDF ministry headed by Achuthanandan.
Based on the report, Education Department had recommended the government to suspend Arun Kumar and another IHRD director Subramaniam and institute a detailed probe into the issues involved.

Anoop Jacob will be Minister if voted to power: KPCC


 Friday, February 24, 2012: KPCC Chief Ramesh Chennithala has said that Anoop Jacob will become Minister if voted to power.
Yesterday, Electricity Minister Aryadan Muhammed had said that if the UDF candidate Anoop Jacob wins the election, he will be made a Minister. Chennithala said that there is nothing wrong in statement made by Aryaden.
Meanwhile, CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan today said that the UDF violated the election commission norms in the Piravom constituency.
The statements made by Ministers that if the UDF candidate Anoop Jacob wins the election he will be made a minister is a violation of the poll norm, Pinarayi alleged.

Venjaramoodu Gokulam MCH nurses to go on strike


Venjaramoodu, Friday, February 24, 2012: The Venjaramoodu Gokulam Medical College Hospital nurses will go on strike from tomorrow.
The nurses would launch an indefinite strike on Saturday demanding better wages.

Sharjah sex racket: Bail plea of key accused dismissed


New Delhi, Friday, February 24, 2012: The Apex court today rejected the bail petition of Soudha Beevi, the main accused in Sharjah sex racket case.
The Sharjah sex racket case was registered at the Pathanamthitta police station in 2007 on the basis of a complaint filed by a 36-year-old woman at Kulashekharapati. She had alleged sexual exploitation by a racket promising a job in Dubai, adding that the same racket had trapped 300 women for sexual exploitation in Dubai.
According to police sources, Beevi had confessed before the police, during interrogation, that she was instrumental in the illegal traffic of 25 women to the Gulf for sexual exploitation during the past two decades.
The investigating team had arrested the second accused, L. Ahamed, 42, of Alambady Chalakara house in Kasaragod, and Shemia, 28, daughter of Sauda Beevi, earlier.

Ananya reacts against facebook users Video watch On line

South Indian film star Ananya reacts to Malayalee facebook users alleging that they are creating problems in her life. This interview was conducted as a part of StarJam programme by RJ Shaan, Club.


Video link :http://www.yuvog.com/play/Life_And_Style/Ananya_reacts_against_facebook_users



After the media celebrated the engagement news of Malayalam actress Ananya with Anjaneyan, news not favour for the duo is floating in some English news papers. On 12th February afternoon a piece of information about the jerk in the relationship between Ananya and Anjaneyan went viral in social media sites. 


Substantiating this information now few medias report that, Ananya's father had filed a police complaint after knowing that Anjaneyan is already married and a suit for divorce is pending before the court. Anjaneyan agreed that he already had married in 2008 but have filed a divorce petition under mutual consent which is still pending in the court for consideration. 




The engagement of Ananya with business man Anjaneyan was held on February 2nd 2012 at IAM hall, Ernakulum which was only attended by the close relatives and friends. After the engagement, Ananya said that she was not willing to reveal the engagement photos to be made public, but later in the after noon the photos were posted and shared in the social media sites. According to sources, after Ananya's father Gopalakrishnan lodged a petition against Anjaneyan, the Perumbavoor police questioned him. 


Ananya was too busy with a handful of movies in Malayalam and other south languages. The year 2011 was good for het being a part of couple of movies which had done better in box office. Naadodikal(Tamil), Shikkar, Seniors, Kandahar, Doctor Love, Engeyum Eppodhum(Tamil)are just few movies which the actress has mesmerized with her acting talents. The engagement of Ananya came as a surprise for the large fans followers while the latest news about her seems to have shocked them too. The actress has 6 movies under her arms in 2012 which include 5 malayalam movies. 

Lal with no clues over Shankar film


It was a news that had his fans in extreme excitement. Yes, the news of our own Mohanlal teaming up with the greatest showman of south, Shankar. The last couple of weeks had media debating over who will be the lead girl of the movie and about the technical crew. But the latest we hear is that Superstar Mohanlal has got no clues over the film that is much in discussion among people. Talking to media Lal revealed that he has not yet got any offer form Shankar and had never hold any talks with the director on such a project.


The fans of the star who still keeps hope will have to wait a few more days to know whether such a project will materialise. Meanwhile, Mohanlal who is into the final stages of shooting of his latest 'Grandmaster' will shortly join the sets of the new movie by Ranjith.

LDF hartal gets underway in Kottayam


Friday, February 24, 2012:The half-day hartal called by LDF as a protest against the incident in which the CPM local committee office here was vandalized, has begun in Kottayam
The incident happened at 7.30 pm yesterday,where a group of people attacked the office.
The hartal will be observed from morning 6 till 1 in the noon..

Drunken passengers will be prosecuted, says Railway


Friday, February 24, 2012: RPF Safety Commissioner K.J. Joy on Thursday informed that the Railway has imposed a ban on drunken passengers inside trains and on platforms. If caught, they would be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and fined.
The decision was taken after it was found that most crimes inside trains had been done by drunken commuters. The decision comes in the wake of several incidents in which the women passengers are being attacked in trains.
K.J. Joy said breath analyzers would be used to check travellers.

Home ministry calls gay sex 'immoral', seeks fresh ban


NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to reverse a landmark decision to decriminalise gay sex, saying homosexuality was immoral, "against nature and spreads HIV." The Supreme Court is hearing more than a dozen petitions filed to overturn a 2009 ruling by a Delhi high court that made gay sex between consenting adults legal for the first time.


The colonial-era ban was judged to be unconstitutional in a decision hailed by gay activists as a victory in their fight for equal rights and opportunities in the world's biggest democracy.


Gay sex "is highly immoral and against the social order," additional solicitor general PP Malhotra, who is representing the home ministry, told the apex court.


He added that it was "against nature and spreads HIV."


The ministry said it favoured the ban staying in place in order to prevent child abuse and because Indian society was largely against homosexuality according to a survey by the Law Commission, Malhotra explained.


"Laws can't run separately from society and the morals of the time," he said.

Saif Ali Khan arrested


Amid high drama, Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was arrested Wednesday evening with two others for assaulting an NRI businessman. All three were later released on bail after being interrogated, police said.
Police detained Saif and his friends Bilal Amrohi and actress Amrita Arora’s husband Shakeel Ladak at the Marine Drive police station, and later brought them to the Colaba police station. The interrogation of the trio - about the incident early Wednesday at the Taj Mahal Hotel in which Saif is accused of assaulting South African NRI businessman Iqbal Sharma - lasted one hour.
They were formally arrested and then given bail on personal bonds of Rs.3,000 each.
According to sources, Shakeel Ladak is said to have hit Sharma’s father-in-law in the scuffle.
Shakeel and Bilal’s lawyer Mahesh Vaswani told that “Iqbal and his group of people were passing comments on the girls (who were part of Saif’s group), and that started the incident.” On his part, Saif said he had only “defended” himself after being “assaulted”.
“There was an ugly incident last night (Tuesday) where my friends and the ladies with us were abused and I was assaulted. I was hit and I defended myself,” Saif said in a statement.
“I have been to the police station to answer the requirements of law as I am a law abiding citizen. I have also filed a complaint about what happened last night and I am confident justice will be done,” he added.