ala

Minister of State for External Affairs meets delegation from New Zealand South and South East Parliamentary Friendship Group in New Delhi





ala

Minister of State for External Affairs calls on King Felipe VI of Spain at the El Pardo Palace in Madrid





ala

External Affairs Minister meets Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Foreign Minister of Oman on his arrival in Muscat





ala

External Affairs Minister meets Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Foreign Minister of Oman on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference 2020





ala

Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand lays wreath at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, New Delhi





ala

External Affairs Minister meets Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand at Hyderabad House, New Delhi[ph]Photo Courtesy - Chandan Kumar Shah[/ph]





ala

Pro-business or aam aadmi: Modi government's tough balancing act

That's one lesson Modi ship's internalised from Vajpayee's exit, that pro-market can proceed if it can be marketed as pro-poor




ala

Amitabh Bachchan proud of hosting girl child segment at govt's second anniversary gala

At the event, celebrating two years of Modi govt, the actor stressed on the importance of protecting the girl child




ala

Startups need to opt for IPO to tackle fund crunch: Kris Gopalakrishnan

Gopalakrishnan advised startups to take minimum funds from angel, friends and families. They have to create minimum viable product, and establish unit economics and profitable model, he underlined.




ala

Startups lap up Rs 70 cr investments in 'Seeding Kerala' summit

Bengaluru-based Sporthood, a startup for sports enthusiasts, got investment from SEA Fund, which made its fourth investment in Kerala out of its seven investment ventures.




ala

Covid-19 crisis: Consumer internet start-ups brace for salary cuts, layoffs

Companies taking extreme steps to continue to stay afloat amid Covid-19 crisis




ala

Ramco bags contract from New Zealand's fertiliser company Ravensdown

By using Ramco Aviation Suite, Ravensdown Aerowork aims to improve operational efficiencies




ala

Don't stop MPLAD funds, take full salary instead: TMC at meeting with PM

The cabinet has approved a temporary suspension of the MPLAD funds scheme during 2020-21 and 2021-22




ala

Assembly polls: Campaigning ends in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

The assembly elections will conclude on May 19, when the results will be declared




ala

PM urges people of TN, Kerala & Puducherry to vote in record numbers

Modi's tweet in the morning adjured people to be a part of 'festival of democrtacy'




ala

US returns another USD 300 mn of recovered 1MDB funds to Malaysia

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday (local time) said it has repatriated approximately USD 300 million (RM 1.292 billion) to Malaysia in additional funds misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (MDB), the Asian country's investment development fund.The government of former Prime Minister Najib Razak set up the 1MDB fund in 2009 to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment.The Justice Department estimated that some USD 4.5 billion was siphoned out of Malaysia by high-level fund officials and their associates between 2009 and 2014 in a scandal that called for Razak's resignation -- including Mahathir Mohamad, one of the former's predecessors.The funds were laundered through financial institutions in several jurisdictions, including the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg."We are pleased to make this latest repatriation of an additional USD 300 million in stolen 1MDB funds," Assistant Attorney General




ala

EU underlines its opposition to China's interference in Dalai Lama's succession

The assertion came in response to a question by five MPs of the European Parliament, namely Petras Austrevicius, Ausra Maldeikiene, Hannes Heide, Francisco Guerreiro and Petra De Sutter who had submitted a question to EU Foreign Affairs chief, Josep Borrell, asking about the position of EU on the succession of Dalai Lama and what measures the Union intends to take.The EU parliamentarians said that they expect Beijing to respect the spiritual leader's succession according to the traditional standards of Tibetan Buddhism, according to an independent analyst.In January this year, the US House of Representatives had unanimously passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) to strengthen policy in support of Tibet, a move that was hailed as "encouraging and empowering" by the representatives of Tibet.The Act intended to, among other things, sanction Chinese officials for interfering in the Dalai Lama's succession.The Dalai Lama institution has existed for more than 600 years, during ...




ala

Exit polls give Bengal to Mamata, Assam to BJP, Kerala to Left, TN to DMK

Exit polls predicted a win for the DMK-Congress alliance in Puducherry too, ousting the ruling All India NR Congress




ala

BJP storms Assam; TMC, AIADMK set to retain power; LDF in Kerala

As per trends, J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK appears to be winning Tamil Nadu for a straight second term, bucking the tradition since 1989 when a ruling party has not returned to power




ala

Jayalalithaa breaks the jinx: Five top victory quotes

She said she has no other interest in life than working for the people of Tamil Nadu




ala

Jayalalithaa deprives Karunanidhi of last hurrah

The J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK has retained power by winning 134 seats in the 234 Assembly seats




ala

Jayalalithaa elected as legislature party leader

The party won election with 134 seats out of 232 seats




ala

Pinarayi Vijayan to be Kerala chief minister

Sonowal to take oath in Assam on Sunday, Mamata in West Bengal on May 27




ala

Post win, Jayalalithaa meets TN Governor, stakes claim to form govt

This is for the first time since MGR's death in 1987 that a party will return to power for a second straight term in Tamil Nadu




ala

Jayalalithaa calls on Tamil Nadu governor, stakes claim to form govt

She is likely to be sworn in as chief minister for a second consecutive term on May 23




ala

Jayalalithaa stakes claim to form govt, stage set for oath on Monday

AIADMK Supremo hands over a list of 29 legislators who will be appointed as the ministers




ala

Jayalalithaa to be sworn in as CM on May 23

28 others, including her trusted lieutenant and Finance Minister in outgoing Cabinet O Panneerselvam, to also take oath




ala

Jayalalithaa keeps five poll promises on Day 1

AIADMK chief becomes Tamil Nadu CM for the sixth time




ala

Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie in talks for M Night Shyamalan's next

"Little Women" star Eliza Scanlen and "Jojo Rabbit" breakout Thomasin McKenzie are among the actors in negotiations for M Night Shyamalan's next directorial feature. According to Variety, Aaron Pierre, Alex Wolff and Vicky Krieps are also in discussions for the filmmaker's top-secret project, which he will write, direct and produce. Though the details of the plot have been kept under wraps, it is rumoured that the movie might be connected with some of the other films by the director. The yet-to-be-titled feature will be released by Universal Picture. Scanlen, 21, is best known for starring in TV series "Sharp Objects" and Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" adaptation, while 19-year-old McKenzie broke out with Taika Waititi's Oscar-winning satirical feature "Jojo Rabbit". Krieps, 36, became popular after she starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's romance drama "Phantom Thread", opposite Daniel Day Lewis. Wolff, 22, is best-known for starring in movies such as Ari Aster's "Hereditary" and the two




ala

COVID-19 deaths in US' Ohio state nursing homes continue alarming rise

The number of people dying from the coronavirus in Ohio's nursing homes has continued to increase at an alarming pace. Close to 500 residents of long-term care centers have died of COVID-19 in the past three weeks, according to data released by the state this week. That's nearly double the total reported for the previous two weeks. The increase in deaths could be attributed to a significant jump or a backlog of cases being added over the past week, said Melanie Amato, a spokeswoman for the state health department. Since mid-April, more than 4,300 nursing home residents and staff members have tested positive for the virus. The numbers don't tell the entire story of how the virus has devastated nursing homes during the pandemic because the Ohio Department of Health has only released the totals for just the past three weeks. Before that, the state didn't require local health departments to report nursing home deaths linked to the virus.




ala

Flights from Riyadh, Bahrain carrying stranded Indians reach Kerala

Two flights carrying a total of 335 people from the Gulf countries landed in Kerala's two airports on Friday night, as India's Vande Bharat Mission to bring home its nationals stranded due to COVID-19 lockdown in various countries entered second day. While an Air India repatriation flight from Riyadh carrying 153 passengers, including 84 pregnant women, 22 children and four infants landed at the Kozhikode airport 8 pm on Friday night, another Air India Express flight from Bahrain with 177 passengers, including 5 infants, reached Kochi airport at 11.32 pm. Two flights had landed at Kochi and Kozhikode on Thursday from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively. According to Kozhikode airport sources, the flight from Riyadh carried five people having some health issues and they would be shifted to Manjeri and Kozhikode medical college hospitals. Ten passengers from neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also travelled in the flight from Riyadh, the sources said. The passengers were ...




ala

INS Jalashwa sets sail from Male to Kochi with 698 Indians

Indian Navy Ship Jalashwa has set sail from Male to Kochi in Kerala with 698 Indians nationals who were stranded in Maldives amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, senior Navy officials said. This repatriation is part of the Vande Bharat Mission that began on Thursday to bring stranded Indians home from various countries like the UK, the UAE, the US, Maldives, Bahrain and Singapore. "Total 595 males and 103 females have boarded INS Jalashwa. 19 women are pregnant. The ship has departed from Male," the Navy officials added. When the ship arrived at the port of Male, the Defence Attache visited it to discuss and coordinate procedures for embarkation, they said. "Baggage disinfection stations, medical screening and reception desks at the jetty were set up to ensure safe embarkation while following social distancing norms," the officials said. Priority was accorded to pregnant women and children to embark the ship first and bunk allocation was also undertaken by the ship's crew catering




ala

'Death Cap' mushrooms behind death of six in Meghalaya

The poisonous mushrooms that killed six people at a remote village in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district have been identified as Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the 'Death Cap', a senior official said on Saturday. Six people, including a 14-year-old girl, of Lamin village along the India-Bangladesh border in Amlarem civil sub-division died after consuming wild mushrooms they collected from a nearby forest late last month. The wild mushroom has been identified as Amanita phalloides and is hepatotoxic as it directly affects the liver, state Director of Health Services (MI) Dr Aman War told PTI. He said it has been established after an investigation that the cause of the deaths was the poisonous mushrooms. At least 18 persons from three families were taken ill after consuming the mushrooms. The symptoms after consuming the poisonous fungus include vomiting, headache and unconsciousness, the senior doctor said. Most of those taken ill, including a pregnant woman, .




ala

Yamaha employees donate a day's salary to support fight against COVID-19

Two-wheeler major Yamaha Motor India Group (YMIG) on Saturday said its employees have voluntarily donated a day's salary to support the government in combating the coronavirus pandemic. The company's permanent employeesas well as some trainees based out of its three plants -- Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu), Surajpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Faridabad (Haryana), and employees at its other offices donated a total of Rs 61.5 lakh from their pay for April, YMIG said in a statement. Out of the total amount, Rs 25 lakh each will be donated to the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund (Government of Tamil Nadu) and Chief Minister Distress Relief Fund (Government of Uttar Pradesh). The remaining Rs 11.5 lakh will be donated to the PM-CARES Fund, it added. "This is a global crisis and Yamaha's task as a global company is enormous. During such time what COVID-19 has prompted, Yamaha feels that it is important for everyone to stand united against the pandemic and come forward to support the government in ...




ala

Five held in Kerala for holding prayers at mosque

Five people were arrested for allegedly conducting congregational prayers at a mosque here in violationofthe COVID-19 lockdown norms. A case was registered against five people for conducting evening prayers on Friday, police said. We received information that prayers were being conducted in the mosque, they said adding they were held at Eriyad Masjidul Bilal mosque here. On Friday, four people, including the president of a local temple trust, were arrested for allegedly conducting a religious recitation in a temple here in violation of lockdown restrictions. Though lockdown conditions have been eased in accordance with the Centre's guidelines, public gatherings, including functions, weddings, political events and religious gatherings were not allowed.




ala

One more person tests COVID-19 positive in Meghalaya, total 13

One more person has tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, taking the total number of cases in the state to 13, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Saturday. Of the total 13 COVID-19 cases, only two are active including the fresh case in Shillong. "Unfortunately we have another positive case in Shillong. Its a person working in the same house. As a precaution health department was retesting all the primary contacts and in the process we found this positive case. The person is safe and healthy and showing no symptoms," the chief minister tweeted. Senior Health department officials said the person had tested negative twice in the past. Meghalaya has reported 13 COVID-19 cases till date with one death. Ten persons have recovered from the disease. The first COVID-19 positive case in the state was Dr John Sailo Ryntathiang, who tested positive on April 13. The 69-year-old doctor died two days later and eight of his family members and two of his domestic help have also ..




ala

Two fresh COVID-19 cases in Kerala, total goes up to 505

Two fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported from Kerala on Saturday, both being foreign returnees who reached the state from Dubai and Abu Dhabi on May 7 and were among the expatriates airlifted by the Centre as part of its mission to bring back stranded Indians abroad. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said with the two new patients, the total number of cases in the state has gone up to 505 and there are currently 17 under treatment. "One patient from Idukki, who was under treatment, has been cured today.The two new cases are now under treatment in Kochi and Kozhikode. They reached the state on May 7 in the Abu Dhabi- Kochi andDubai-Kozhikode flights, respectively," Vijayan told reporters. "There are 23,930 people under observation in the state out of which 334 are in isolation wards of various hospitals," he said. Out of the total 505 infected, Kerala has till now cured 485,Vijayan added. The state has reported three deaths.




ala

Man held for raping, blackmailing 17-year-old in Rajasthan's Jhalawar

A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a girl on multiple occasions, recording the act and using it to blackmail her in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, police said. The incident took place in a village under the Khanpur Police Station limits and the arrest was made on Friday, they said. The 17-year-old girl and her father had approached the Jhawalar SP with their complaint on Thursday, following which a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, DSP and Circle Officer Bhanwar Singh Hada, who is investigating the case, said. The accused, identified as Saddam Hussain Pinjara, was on Saturday produced before a Jhalawar court which sent him to two days' police remand. In her complaint, the minor alleged that the accused, who is her neighbour, took her to an isolated place around three months ago and raped her at knifepoint and also clicked her pictures and recorded the




ala

Energy Journal: EU-China Solar Battle Escalates

By James Herron Here’s your morning jolt of news, insight and analysis on the global energy business. Send us tips, suggestions and complaints: ben.winkley@wsj.com and james.herron@wsj.com Click here to receive this morning email newsletter SOLAR WARS The usually tranquil world of European renewable energy just got exciting, as a plucky band of rebels led by […]




ala

Kerala re-assessing the environment


An expert working group established to create a roadmap for the state's new independent Department of Environment has made recommendations to strengthen environmental conservation and protection. A number of state agencies, especially the Pollution Control Board, have come in for strong criticism. P N Venugopal reports.




ala

Kerala's unconvincing shot at the environment ministry


Kerala’s Left-dominated 141-member legislative assembly adopted a resolution on 11 July urging New Delhi to withdraw the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2006. The resolution says the notification is “against the interest of Kerala State, nature, environment and people.” M Suchitra reports.




ala

Kerala mangrove island under threat, cabinet divided


Kerala's biodiversity board has asked Chief Minister V S Achutanandan to reject single window clearance for the 'High Tech City' project at the exhilarating Valanthakad island in the backwaters outside Kochi. P N Venugopal reports.




ala

Blundering into a Himalayan mistake


Are glaciers in the Himalayas retreating? India depends greatly on these water sources, and we should therefore be more cautious in assessing this risk, writes Darryl D'Monte.




ala

Are Himalayan glaciers not melting?


A new study stirs up an old debate - whether the melting of the Himalayan glaciers is only evident at lower reaches, and the higher altitudes are in fact adding snow. Darryl D'Monte reports.




ala

Crippling Lok Adalats


As the justice delivery system gets farther from the people, a serious attempt like the Lok Adalat to make justice accessible to a large chunk of the poor has been appropriated by powerful vested interests. The search for an equitable justice system has come to an end, writes Girish Patel.




ala

Junkyard justice at Alang


The Clemenceau has set sail for India, and the spotlight is on the ship-breaking industry at Alang, where workers' safety takes a last-row seat and owners operate without fear of regulatory enforcement or punishment. Ramesh Menon writes that the toxic cargo presents an opportunity to reverse this tide of disgrace.




ala

Alang shipyard: Pushing more than ships to their graves


The ship-breaking yard of Alang in Gujarat, which brings millions of dollars into the state, wreaks heavy environmental damage and endangers thousands of labourers. Ramesh Menon, who first visited the yard in the early eighties, finds very little has changed over the decades.




ala

President Kalam, please listen


Six leading advocates of decentralisation and people centred planning met the President of India on 20 April to impress upon him that the Interlinking of Rivers project as currently being envisaged is the wrong direction for the country to take. They have since written a letter to Dr.Kalam addressing his questions.




ala

Kerala: rain-blessed and short of water


With its enchanting greenery and network of backwaters and rivers, Kerala is thought to be a water-plenty state. After all, Kerala gets 6 months of rainfall, 2.5 times higher than the national average. Despite this, the state has been experiencing water scarcity, with conditions worsening in some regions. P N Venugopal analyses the causes.




ala

In Palakkad, ‘rain pond’ to the rescue


This dairy in Palakkad, Kerala spent over Rs.2 lakhs buying water from outside in 2008, since borewell yields were insufficient. This year they will spend nearly eight-nine times less, because of a rain pond. Shree Padre has more.