Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Kerala Korner

  • Kerala assembly adjourned

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    The Kerala assembly was adjourned sine die, amid a ruckus by Left members, with Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan demanding action against legislators who, according to him, misbehaved with women legislators on March 13. Speaker N. Sakthan adjourned the house sine die following disturbances by the opposition. The session began on Monday after a four-day…

  • Ayurveda a hit among Moscow women

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    Ayurveda has been a big hit in Russian capital Moscow, with many women who were looking at alternate health care practices asking about it during the country’s largest tourism fair. The public and industry representatives streamed into the Kerala Tourism stall during the four-day 22nd Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (MITT) that ended .…

  • Kerala seeks NRI money for Kannur airport

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    By Sanu George  The Kerala government is seeking investment from its large diaspora for the upcoming fourth international airport in the state at Kannur. The state-owned Norka-Roots, the agency which looks after the interests of the Kerala diaspora, is set to launch an investment drive among Keralites living abroad, Minister for Diaspora K.C. Joseph said in…

  • Kerala woman legislator defends biting

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    Left legislator Jameela Prakasham said she bit Congress member K. Sivadasan Nair because he grabbed her from behind during the turmoil in the assembly last week. Prakasham, who came under widespread criticism in the social media for biting Nair on March 13, defended her aggression. “If people see the visuals (of the house proceedings) carefully,…

  • Kerala Mocks Democracy

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    Kerala, the most literate state in India, mocks the democratic process as legislators go berserk as budget presented in assembly The Kerala assembly witnessed unruly scenes on Friday as members of the Left opposition broke the speaker’s chair and the electronic equipment. Finance Minister K.M. Mani tabled the 13the state budget amid the ruckus. The…

  • Mani sues whistle-blower bar owner

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    Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani  filed a defamation case seeking Rs.10 crore as damages against whistle-blower bar owner Biju Ramesh who had accused him of accepting Rs.1 crore for re-opening shut down bars. On November 12, 2014, Mani sent a notice asking Ramesh to call a press conference to publicly apologise and withdraw the allegation…

  • MMA Women’s Day Celebration

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    Nisha Pramod reports on Manchester Malayalee Association (MMA)’s International Women’s Day celebrations at St. Joseph’s Church Longsight in Manchester. IF YOU GOT A STORY TO SHARE, PLEASE SEND TO newsdesk@asianlite.asianlite.uk, Attn Pradeep Manchester Malayalee Association (MMA) celebrated International Women’s Day at St. Joseph’s Church Longsight. The celebrations commenced with an inaugural ceremony of  lamp lighting…

  • Kerala assembly pays homage to speaker

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    The Kerala assembly  paid homage to speaker G. Karthikeyan, who died two days ago. Karthikeyan, 66, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Saturday and was cremated here with full state honours on Sunday night. Karthikeyan is the first speaker in the state to die during an assembly session. Deputy Speaker N. Sakthan…

  • Miffed Achuthanandan to skip CPI-M meet

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      Disgruntled veteran CPI-M leader V.S.Achuthanandan has expressed his inability to participate in the ongoing party meet here  in the light of allegations levelled against him of being an anti-party person. In a statement issued to the media, Achuthanandan said since his differences with the party still persist, he is unable to attend the concluding…

  • Prince Charles to Rescue River Periyar

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    A delegation from Aluva, Kerala, India meets Prince Charles and explained the UK aided project. Preserving the Past, Presenting a Pleasant Present and Protecting the Future was the theme Aluva adopted to present its project at the INTBAU World Congress on Sustainability in London…writes Anasudhin Azeez Prince Charles, Britain’s heir to the throne, offers support…

  • NRI workers in US awarded $14 million

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    By Arun Kumar   After seven long years, five Indian ‘guest’ or temporary workers who were allegedly defrauded and exploited in a labour trafficking scheme have won $14 million in compensatory and punitive damages by a US court. The workers were allegedly exploited by Signal International, an immigration lawyer and an Indian labour recruiter who lured…

  • 266 kg gold missing from Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple

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    As much as 266 kg gold is missing from the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here, says former chief government auditor Vinod Rai in his audit report submitted to the apex court. The highlight of the report that has been obtained by media reveals that out of the 893 kg gold that was given out for…

  • Train derails near Bengaluru,12 dead

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      Twelve passengers died and 30 were injured when the Bengaluru-Erankulam inter-city express derailed near Bengaluru, said Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Chandy, who spoke to Karnataka Home Minister K.J. George, told reporters in Kochi (for which Ernakulam is the railhead, and said a Kerala delegation led by Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed has left for…

  • Kerala’s warring Syrian churches move for truce

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    By Sanu George   After warring for decades, the two factions of Kerala’s influential Syrian Orthodox Church, which have a combined strength of over two million, have indicated they are taking steps to sign a truce. The church’s majority group known as the Orthodox faction has its headquarters in the state’s Kottayam city while the Jacobite…

  • Jiji Thompson new Kerala chief secretary

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    IAS official Jiji Thompson will be the new chief secretary of Kerala, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced here . Chandy said this to reporters here after the weekly cabinet meeting. The 1980-batch Kerala cadre official’s appointment comes despite former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan asking the Chandy government earlier this month to not consider Thomson for…

  • Kerala graft case boiling over

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      The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala  called for a state-wide shutdown Tuesday demanding resignation of state Finance Minister K.M. Mani over a bribery allegation while the Left parties decided to boycott him. While deciding to boycott all official functions of the beleaguered minister, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) also decided to stage…

  • Media is prosecution, judge, jury: Tharoor

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    Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has hit out at a section of the media for hounding him over the murder of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, saying some anchors were behaving like “prosecution, judge and jury”. “I been advised not to take any legal action against the media by my lawyers,” Tharoor told CNN-IBN in an interview.…

  • A make over for coconut industry

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    By Sanu George It’s time the coconut industry in India got a makeover. Producers and officials lament that although India is one of the largest producers of coconuts, it has failed to extract exquisite high value goods – unlike some other countries. Even some non-coconut producing countries are using coconuts to manufacture a wide variety…

  • Tharoor to be questioned

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      Congress MP Shashi Tharoor  reached the national capital and is likely to be questioned by Delhi Police in connection with his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s murder. Tharoor arrived at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport from Kerala around 2 p.m. and went to his house in central Delhi’s Lodhi Estate. Tharoor did not reply to…

  • Tharoor’s domestic help questioned

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    Taking forward its probe into the murder of Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, Delhi Police questioned their domestic help Shri Narayan Singh but said they had not yet called the MP for questioning. Singh, who had been interrogated by police twice earlier, was Thursday again called for questioning, police said. The…

  • Tharoor alleges bid to implicate him

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    A day after police said Sunanda Pushkar was poisoned, her husband and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor alleged in a letter made public that a police officer tried to implicate him and a domestic help in her mysterious death. In a letter to Delhi Commissioner of Police B.S. Bassi dated Nov 13, Tharoor, a former central…

  • Police begins Sunanda murder probe

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    A police team formed to investigate afresh Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar’s murder has started work, Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi said . “The special team is looking into each and every possibility of the case. Whatever is needed will be done,” Bassi told the media. Asked if Tharoor, a former central minister…

  • Tharoor ‘stunned’ that Pushkar was poisoned

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    Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that he was stunned to know that his wife Sunanda Pushkar was poisoned and that a murder case had now been filed. In a statement here, Tharoor said: “Needless to say I am anxious to see that this case is investigated thoroughly, and (I) assure the police my full cooperation.…

  • Three Kerala ministers took bribes: Achuthanandan

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    Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani was not the only one who received bribes from bar owners, but Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Excise Minister K. Babu also took money to tweak the state’s liquor policy, former chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said Monday. Chennithala and Babu, however, denied the allegations. Achuthanandan said this during a protest…

  • Mohanlal pips Mammootty in Padma awards hopefuls’ list

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    Superstar Mohanlal appears to have pipped arch on-screen rival Mammootty as he figures in the UDF-led Congress government’s wishlist of Padma Bhushan awardees, a top government source said Monday. Mohanlal and one other person are included in the Padma Bhushan list that has been forwarded by the state government, the source said. Mammootty had received…

  • Chandy had a whale of a time

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    By Sanu George   Just as 2014 began when Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy saw the withering away of the Left-sponsored protest against what is known as the Solar scam, the year is coming to a close with a morale-boosting victory over his state party president V.M.Sudheeran when the liquor policy was tweaked. Overall for Chandy,…

  • Chandy’s tweaked liquor policy get support

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    A majority of Congress legislators in Kerala Monday gave their full support to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on the changes made to the state liquor policy. The legislators, however, expressed their displeasure over the way party president V.M. Sudheeran criticised the tweaking of the policy. Congress legislator Benny Behanan said that 31 of the 39 elected…

  • Chandy committed to total prohibition

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    Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy  reiterated that the aim of his government is to achieve “total prohibition” in the state within a 10-year period. Chandy was replying to a motion given notice by the Left opposition in the assembly. “You need not have any apprehension that we are going to dilute the liquor policy. Our…

  • ‘Smart eHome’ is here

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    Adapting the smart home concept, Technopark incubated Ronds Innotech launched “Smart ehome” — an intelligent power management system that automatically controls the home appliances in a house. “Smart ehome” uses home automation technology and advanced energy saving techniques to control and optimise the power utilisation of home appliances, such as lights, fans, television, refrigerator, washing…

  • A journey between time and space

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    By Shilpa Raina   If Hollyoowd wizard Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” explored the idea of finding life on another planet in space, artist Jitish Kallat is redirecting many journeys between time and space through artistic impressions that would take the audience on a whirlpool of explorations during the 108-day-long Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Spread over eight venues across this…

  • K M Mani booked for corruption

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      The Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) filed a case in a special vigilance court here against 81-year-old Finance Minister K.M. Mani over allegations that the Kerala Bar Hotel Owners Association gave him a Rs.1 crore bribe to reopen closed bars in the state. The case was filed against Mani after verification of the…

  • God’s post office at Sabarimala

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    By Sanu George   It is a unique post office, and one of its main tasks is to deliver letters to God. Located near the famed Hindu temple at the Sabarimala hills, the post office may perhaps be the only one in the country which doesn’t work round the year. It comes alive when the peak…

  • FIR against Mani in bar graft case

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      The Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau filed an FIR against Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani after conducting a quick verification of the allegation that bar hotel owners association had given him a Rs.1 crore bribe. Mani, who is in Delhi to attend a meeting, told reporters that there is no reason for him to…

  • Congress can retain power in Kerala: Rahul

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    There is “a sense of confidence” in the Congress party in Kerala that it can retain power in the next assembly polls, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said . Addressing party leaders at the state party headquarters here, Gandhi expressed confidence that his party can do well both in the next year’s elections to the…

  • Slavery a crime against humanity: Pope Francis

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    Pope Francis on characterized all forms of modern slavery, including prostitution and human trafficking, as crimes against humanity. The Pope was speaking during the signing ceremony of an ecumenical agreement between leaders belonging to different religions, who met with the aim of eradicating the scourge of slavery worldwide by 2020. The event was attended by…

  • V.R.Krishna Iyer 1914-2014

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    Former Supreme Court Justice and Kerala minister V.R. Krishna Iyer  passed away in a hospital in Kochi, doctors said. Iyer celebrated his 100th birthday Nov 15. Fine lawyer, eminent jurist, incredible philosopher & above all a phenomenal human being. I bow to Justice Krishna Iyer. Modi said, “My association with Justice Krishna Iyer was special.…

  • ? Kerala duck food festival to win tourists

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      Left opposition legislator Thomas Chandy will organise a ‘Duck food festival’ in Kerala’s Alappuzha district to instil confidence in tourists to have poultry products after the bird flu outbreak is fully under control and has been contained. The state government had directed people not to eat poultry product after the avian flu outbreak was…

  • Syrian Christian women’s attire slips into oblivion

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    By Sanu George  With even the saree becoming a rarity in Kerala, the traditional Syrian Christian women’s attire referred to as ‘chatta and mundu’ has virtually disappeared into oblivion. The feature of this sartorial product is that it’s stitched in spotlessly white cotton cloth and, unlike the saree, there is not a single visible portion…

  • Maldives concerned about poultry imports from Kerala

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    The Maldivian government  warned against importing poultry from the Indian state of Kerala due to an outbreak of the avian influenza virus in the region. The Maldives health ministry, in a statement, warned against importing live birds, flesh and eggs from Kerala, Xinhua reported. “Over 15,000 ducks have died in Kerala from the H5N1 virus,”…

  • Chandy roadmap on beach sand-mining

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    The Kerala government will soon issue a roadmap on what needs to be done after the high court overturned its decision to bar private sector from mining mineral beach sands in the state, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here Sunday. Chandy said that Industry Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty will come out with a roadmap very soon on…

  • Kerala’s rival fronts on back foot

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    By Sanu George The winter session of the Kerala assembly beginning here Monday will see the rival fronts – the ruling Congress and the CPI(M) -led opposition – entering the house on the back foot. This peculiar situation has risen because there are issues plaguing both and despite their best efforts, a solution to their…

  • Kerala scheme gets $100mn ADB loan

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    India has signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank for a loan of $100 million to support Kerala’s initiative to increase employability of higher secondary and undergraduate students, an official statement said here . It will aim at providing opportunities to students to improve their English fluency and IT skills. Nearly 235,000 needy students…

  • Culling of poultry birds begin in Kerala

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    The Kerala government has deployed 75 teams to cull poultry birds in villages hit by outbreak of H5N1 or bird flu virus, a minister said . After a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to assess the situation, Minister of State for Health V.S. Sivakumar told reporters that the culling process would be over…

  • H1N1 kills ducks in Kerala

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     Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has called for a high-level meeting to discuss the reports of the deaths of ducks in Alapuzha due to avian influenza virus, a Kerala minister said . Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar told the media here that there is no need for any panic. “All arrangements are being made to stock…

  • Sabarimala festival season begins

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      Five days after the famed Sabarimala temple opened this season, collections recorded have gone up by 22 percent as compared with the same period last year, according to temple authorities. It was last Monday that the temple doors opened to the pilgrims for the two-month-long Sabarimala festival season. Last season during the first five…

  • House for sale to make films – Kerala style

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    They were known for selling houses to buy visas to get a job in the Middle East. Now the Keralites are selling their precious assets to make movies Over 100 Malayalam films are made every year, but it is not a cash rich industry. The new producers of Kerala often sell property or borrow money…

  • Kerala Catholics overjoyed over sainthood

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    Kerala’s Catholic community was overjoyed and held special prayers as the Pope will elevate two Keralite religious leaders as saints at a special service in the Vatican Sunday. Kuriakose Elias Chavara, popularly known as Chavara Achen, and Sister Euphrasia, popularly known as Evuprasiamma, were in April this year cleared by the Pope for sainthood. Catholic…

  • Kerala elderly check into care homes

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    With their children working abroad and with no family member to look after them, more and more elderly from rich families in Kerala are checking into nursing centres. Ninety-year-old Annamma Thomas (name changed) is one of them. She is at a plush geriatric centre in Kochi, lying in a vegetative state for months. Her only…

  • Obama awards science medal to NRI scientist

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    By Arun Kumar  US President Barack Obama awarded the National Medal of Science to Indian American scientist Thomas Kailath for his transformative contribution to science and technology. Kerala-born Stanford University Professor Kailath, 79, received the medal along with 18 of America’s top thinkers, discoverers, and innovators at a ceremony in the East Room of the…

  • Legendary NRI hotel doorman dies

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    Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan, the legendary doorman at the Galle Face Hotel here, who served dignitaries like Lord Mountbatten, Princess Elizabeth, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Yuri Gagarin and Arthur C. Clarke, has passed away, media reported . Kuttan left his village in Kerala when he was 17 years old and reached Sri Lanka in 1938…