THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government will launch a year-long drive to improve the standards of school students in the state, General Education Minister V Sivankutty has said. Announcing the HSE/VHSE results here on Thursday, the minister said a discussion will be held with representatives of various teachers associations next week to chart a plan of action. The State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has been directed to organise a conclave in which steps to improve educational

KOCHI: CSI South Kerala diocese Bishop A Dharmaraj Rasalam has been named as accused in the chargesheet submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case against Dr Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College and Hospital, on Thursday. The college has been listed as the main accused in the chargesheet submitted before the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court. College chairman Dr Benett Abraham, and CSI South Kerala diocese secretary T T Praveen are the othe

KOCHI: 'Krishnaleela', a book chronicling the legends associated with Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple, published by The New Indian Express was released in the presence of an august audience at Lilac Hotel in Guruvayur on Thursday. Guruvayur temple Thantri Chennas Dineshan Namboothiripad lit the lamp, marking the beginning of Krishnaleela Sayahnam, where the book was introduced to the audience. The book with beautiful pictures delves into the daily rituals of the temple that start with Nirmalyam an

PATHANAMTHITTA: The funeral rites of Believers Eastern Church Metropolitan Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan (formerly K P Yohannan), who died in a car accident in the United States on Wednesday, will be held at the church headquarters at Tiruvalla. Church spokesperson Fr Sijo Pandapallil said that while he discussed the issue with the senior bishops and others, everyone was of the opinion that the metropolitan should be given the final farewell at Tiruvalla. However, a final decision needs to be taken

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Higher Secondary Plus-II exam, the results of which were announced on Thursday, registered an overall success rate of 78.69%, denoting a significant dip of 4.26 percentage points from last years pass percentage. However, the number of students securing A+ in all subjects rose by over 5,000 compared to the previous year. Of the 3.74 lakh regular candidates who appeared for the exam, 2.94 lakh became eligible for higher studies, General Education Minister V Sivankutty said

MALAPPURAM: The Malappuram Cyber Crime Police have apprehended a native of Karnataka allegedly involved in extorting Rs 1.08 crore from a resident of Vengara through online trading scams. The suspect, identified as Abdul Roshan from Hobli in Karnataka, was taken into custody in Madikeri. Police stated that Roshan served as an agent who distributes SIM cards to fraudulent syndicates. The operation, led by a team headed by Malappuram Police Chief S Sasidharan and Cyber Inspector I C Chitharanjan,

THRISSUR: A first-year MSc Botany student of Maharajas College, Ernakulam, who was on an internship at Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), drowned in Peechi reservoir on Thursday. The incident occurred as Mohammed Yahiya, 25, a native of Thanur, along with two of his friends who were also interns at KFRI Peechi, were swimming in Peechi reservoir on Wednesday evening. The trio swam to an island in the reservoir and on the way back, Yahiya went missing while the other two reached the shore. A

KOCHI: Super League Kerala (SLK), which has been structured to mirror European football leagues, is set to commence in September this year. The tournament, to be staged at four stadiums spread across the state, will feature six teams and also foreign players, organisers said. Mathew Joseph, CEO of SLK, said the leagues significance as a groundbreaking venture in Indian football highlights its potential for aspiring players, passionate fans and stakeholders. He noted that the meticulous selection

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Travancore Devaswom Board has banned the use of arali flowers (Oleander) for offerings involving human consumption. The TDBs direction to 1,250-odd temples under its fold is to avoid the flower for blessing nivedyam, archana prasadam and theertham. There is no ban on using the flower for other rituals and decorative purposes. TDB president P S Prasanth told reporters that the board will not hesitate to issue a blanket ban if scientific reports confirm the toxicity of the

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A huge idol of Nandi, the bull vahana (mount) of Lord Shiva, will be installed at the Bala Tripura Sundari Devi Temple at Pournamikavu in Venganoor soon. Carved out of a single marble stone, the idol, according to the temple authorities, is the tallest in the state. The procession to the temple carrying the new idols, including Nandis, will enter the district on Friday. It began from Jaipur in Rajasthan 10 days ago and the idols are being transported on three trailers. The id

KOCHI: Scientists at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) have identified two new species of needlefish from Indian waters. The research found that the previously identified flat needlefish (Ablennes hians) is a complex of at least three distinct species. Genetic and molecular analysis, coupled with taxonomic examination, confirmed that these newly identified species have unique characteristics. The new fishes have been scientifically named as Ablennes joseberchmansis and Able

KOCHI: Dismissing fears that the state will be forced to impose load shedding to manage the rising power consumption, Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty said on Thursday that the power situation in the state is under control. A meeting of the top officials of the KSEB convened by the minister on Thursday observed that the steps taken by the board to reduce peak-hour consumption have started yielding results. The states peak demand had touched 5,854 MW on May 2. The daily consumption set a new

KOCHI: The Directorate General of Shipping has issued an advisory to seafarers and their family members, cautioning them against falling prey to fraud callers pretending to be from law enforcement agencies and soliciting money. It has come to this directorate's attention that there have been incidents involving individuals falsely claiming to be associated with seafarers on board vessels or pretending to be from law enforcing authorities such as customs, state police departments, CBI, Immigratio

KOCHI: Truck drivers at BPCL LPG Bottling Plant at Ambalamugal, Kochi, launched a lightning strike on Thursday morning protesting an attack on a truck driver by loading and unloading workers at a distribution agency at Kodakara in Thrissur district. According to sources, both truck driver Sreekumar and the loading workers who thrashed him belong to the CITU union. The drivers union said the police have refused to book a case against the assailants. All 156 truck drivers affiliated to CITU, INTUC

KOCHI: The district administration and health department have strengthened containment activities in Vengoor, near Perumbavoor, following the spread of hepatitis A in the panchayat. As many as 122 cases and one death has been reported in the area in the last few weeks, officials said. District collector N S K Umesh and health officials visited the panchayat and issued directions. Vengoor grama panchayat president Silpa Sudheesh said local authorities and associations are working together to stop

KOTTAYAM: After a brief hiatus, the Kottayam depot of the KSRTC received confirmation last Saturday to operate a tourism service to the Nefertiti luxury cruise vessel in Kochi. The corporation charges Rs 3,560 for adults and Rs 1,250 for children, including the cruise and lunch. Shortly after the depot authorities announced to start of services of their budget cruise package starting May 16, all tickets for the date were sold out. The vessel, owned by the Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporati

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: TCS iON, a unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has launched TCS iON Career Insight -- a unique career counselling platform aimed at guiding students and young adults in making informed career choices. The offering addresses different career stages and is designed for students aged 13-15 (Class 8-10), 16-17 (Class 11-12), and 18 and above. Reaching out through the ICT Academy of Keralas extensive network of institutions across urban and rural areas, the platform is antici

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Alleging abuse of power, the government doctors protested against District Collector Geromic George for demanding treatment at home. They alleged that the collector insisted on the service of a doctor for treating nail fungal infection on Saturday. As a result, a duty doctor was sent to his residence when over 200 patients were waiting in the outpatient clinic at the General Hospital. The Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) accused the collector of abusing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Creating opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs and setting a unique model to start their ventures in food technology sector, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) will conduct a virtual Rink Demo Day on Friday. The event will showcase nine innovative food technologies that are ready for commercialisation. Major designers had given diligent branding identities to these products in the Branding Challenge held on the sidelines of KSUMs Huddle Global 2023. Prominent research and devel

KOCHI: KSRTCs budget tourism project is going great guns. Things are so rosy that the state-run carrier is now planning to expand its list of destinations in its tour packages by including popular spots in neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. We have placed two proposals each before the RTCs of both the states, said Sunil Kumar, state coordinator, KSRTC (budget tourism). One proposal is that KSRTC applies for temporary permits for its buses to conduct destination tours to these states. The sec

THIRVANANTHAPURAM: The famed aravana prasadam of Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple will regain its original flavour complete with the sweet undertone of cardamom. For, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is set to reinstate the traditional style of prasadam preparation from the next pilgrimage season. Devotees harbour an attachment towards aravana and appam prasadam. Last time, we were forced to prepare several batches of the prasadam without cardamom. Now, the board is committed to bringing back

THRISSUR: With its origins around the 16th century, kathakali is a classical performance art that combines dance, drama and music, and is rightly considered a national treasure. But societys unfettered march towards modernity has left practitioners worried about the art form losing its popularity and old-world charm. Realising the predicament, Kalamandalam Rajeev decided to do something about it. He developed a kathakali-appreciation course that has been piquing peoples interest in the art form

KOCHI: For the first time in the history of the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) interstate agreement, the state has been able to avail 100% of its share of water at the Sholayar dam during a drought year. As of May 9, 2024, Kerala received 11.514 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water from the project at Sholayar dam as against the annual share of 12.3 TMC. The water year for PAP starts on July 1 and ends on June 30. The state has got one month and 20 days to avail the balance share of 0.7

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Professionals and tech-savvy people are more prone to fall prey to cyber criminal activity in the state, a study conducted by the state cybercrime investigation wing has revealed. Data prepared by the wing as part of its profiling of victims of cyber fraud shows that of the 1,103 cases registered this year, only 11 involved jobless people. The rest of the victims were from diverse professions, with most of them (327) working in the private sector. Members of the business commu

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The Global Science Festival Kerala (GSFK), which was touted as Asias largest thematically curated science exhibition, has turned into a nightmare for those involved, with many participants and companies involved in behind-the-scenes arrangements claiming that they are yet to receive payments. British artist Luke Jerram, renowned for his work Museum of the Moon, has come out against GSFK, organised by AMuseum, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and t

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) coming down heavily on Kerala for dumping both biomedical and non-biodegradable waste in the bordering villages of Tamil Nadu, the state is gearing up to curb illegal interstate transportation of solid waste. The plan is to introduce GPS tracking of all vehicles deployed for interstate transportation of waste and catch illegal service providers involved in such violations. Sarada Muraleedhar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Higher Secondary Plus Two exam results announced on Thursday, registered a significant dip of 4.26% in the overall success rate, even as the number of students securing A+ in all subjects rose by over 5,000 compared to the previous year. Of the 3.74 lakh regular candidates who appeared for the exam, 2.94 lakh became eligible for higher studies, with a success rate of 78.69%. General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who announced the results here on Thursday, said a total

PATHANAMTHITTA : The head of the Believers Eastern Church, Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan (formerly K P Yohannan), who was on Tuesday hit by a car during his morning walk in Dallas, United States, has passed away. He suffered sudden cardiac arrest, a church spokesperson said. The 74-year-old prelate was under intensive care at a hospital in the Texan city following the accident. Beloved Archbishops, Bishops, Fathers and all the Faithful. With profound grief and sorrow, we would like inform that His

KOCHI: The placement season at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) began on a high note, with top companies recruiting students from the campus. Around 700 final-year students from various courses secured jobs in high-profile companies this year. The highest pay of this placement season stands at Rs 25 lakh per annum, while the average pay package is Rs 7.32 lakh. Approximately 75 companies visited CUSAT for placement, of which four companies are offering more than Rs 15 lakh per

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The SSLC examination results , which were announced on Wednesday, has recorded a success rate of 99.69%, denoting a marginal dip of 0.01% compared to the all-time high pass percentage of 99.7 registered last year. Though the number of A+ holders in all subjects increased this year, there was a drop in the number of schools that registered 100% success. While announcing the results, General Education Minister V Sivankutty said that of the 4,26,892 students who appeared for the

PATHANAMTHITTA: Following the sudden demise of Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan I Metropolitan , the supreme head of the Believers Eastern Church, on Wednesday, the task of taking a call on the religious institutions future has fallen on the synod, which comprises around 30 bishops. The synod, which ordinarily meets two to three times a year to discuss matters of governance, is expected to convene shortly. The Metropolitan is appointed from among its duly-consecrated bishops (episcopas). Metropolitan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Film director Sangeeth Sivan passed away on Wednesday. The 61-year-old was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mumbai. Sangeeths maiden directorial venture was Malayalam action thriller Vyooham, released in 1990. The film with Raghuvaran in the lead caught the imagination of filmgoers, thanks to the fight sequences involving Babu Antony. He has directed around 20 films in Malayalam and Hindi. Yoddha, Gandharvam and Nirnayam were among the noted Malayalam films helme

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will appeal against the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order to hand over the SAIL-SCL Kerala Ltd to Chhattisgarh Outsourcing Services. Industries Minister P Rajeeve said that the tribunal did not hear the state governments version and that the handover would be against the conditions laid out by the government while leasing out land to the company. The company is a joint venture of the central PSU Steel Authority of India and state-run Steel Comple

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayans 15-day foreign trip has received the approval of both the Union government as well as the CPM, party state secretary M V Govindan told reporters on Wednesday. He also refuted the Oppositions charges over the travel expenses of the CM and his family and said Pinarayi was managing it by himself. Dont you think every politician needs a vacation from this rushed political situation? We all wanted to take a vacation. The Model Code of Conduct is in

KOCHI: The Maradu police, who are investigating the clash between bettors at a hotel in Kochi, have launched a separate probe into a major gambling racket in which lakhs of rupees are placed as bets. The assault, which took place at a high-end hotel at Thykoodam near Vyttila on Monday, came to light after Kothamangalam native Joby Baby approached the police alleging he was beaten up by Maradu native Ansar and four others during a card game. The police, who arrested all five persons involved on T

KOCHI: Uncertainty over the flight schedules of Air India Express is likely to continue as its senior cabin crew members are set to press on with their protest against the management, alleging pay cuts, mismanagement and disrespect. The impasse led to cancellation of over 90 flights across the country on Wednesday after over 300 senior cabin crew went oin sick leave from Tuesday night. The cancellation of services resulted in hundreds of passengers being stranded at airports. According to union

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Timeliness is determined by the position of an object on a timeline that stretches to infinity both ways of the point marked zero. As he prepared 'Yoddha' in the early 90s, Sangeeth Sivan seems to have stationed himself well in the future, on the right of the timeline, and looked towards the present that zero represents! How else can a film speaking of personal relations prove to be a cult movie, its characters still part of casual family talk and its dialogues parroted by ev

KOCHI: After waiting for more than 20 years, Kottayam resident Teena (name changed) underwent in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in 2021. Teena and her husband chose IVF after exhausting various treatment options to have a child. She was in her late 40s when she gave birth to a boy in 2022.Teena and her husband are among an increasing number of couples opting for IVF in Kerala. Mostly, couples in their 40s opt for IVF, says Dr Vivek Kumar, an infertility specialist at Kinder Hospital in Kochi. People

KOCH: Akash was a hardworking youth who earned around Rs 1,200 a day working for a private company in Kozhikode. Yet, the 24-year-old developed an addiction for online rummy, which led him to take his own life. On August 17, 2023, Akash was found hanging from a water pipeline in Manjappalam, Kozhikode. His uncle Shyju K says that Akash was not the same person after he started playing online rummy two years ago. Akash was very bright and energetic. He worked as a driver transporting glass from Ko

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In April, nearly 1,000 persons sought medical assistance at hospitals across the state due to heat-related health issues, including sunstroke and rashes. The Directorate of Health Services reported 850 such cases till April 25, the day before Kerala was designated a heatwave-affected region. The patients predominantly hailed from Palakkad, the district that for a long time topped the temperature list and was the first to meet the heatwave condition in the state. Palakkad repo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The NDA candidate in Thiruvananthapuram, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, will win by a minimum of 15,000 votes, according to BJP s preliminary Lok Sabha election review report presented in the leadership meeting. The party evaluates the contest between Rajeev and his immediate opponent Shashi Tharoor of the Congress as a close one. The BJP does not see LDF finishing second in the constituency. If all the favourable conditions are realised, Rajeevs winning margin might rise to 60,000 vo

KOCHI: With women increasingly seeking better careers and financial freedom, the number of young women deciding to freeze their eggs (oocytes) has risen significantly in Kerala. There was a time when only a woman or two approached us for egg freezing in a year. Now, at least five women approach us every month, says Dr Parasuram Gopinath, senior consultant at Cimar Hospital in Kochi. He says the awareness about the facility is also a reason for the shift. The increasing demand has led to the emer

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Making it clear that internal feuds in the Congress were here to stay, K Sudhakaran , upon his return as KPCC president on Wednesday, questioned some of the decisions taken by interim president M M Hassan and said they need to be examined. I reached the office just now. Let me see what decisions were taken by Hassan. However, certain decisions he took in my absence, including reinstating suspended KPCC secretary M A Latheef, need to be examined, Sudhakaran told reporters afte

KOCHI: The crisis in the power sector, triggered by a spike in consumption during peak hours, has compelled the state government to reconsider its decision to reject the central scheme for revamping the sector. It will also seriously re-evaluate installing smart meters. A meeting of KSEB employees, convened by Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Wednesday discussed a slew of measures, including the central scheme, to overcome the crisis. The state government and the CPM had opposed the Revam

PATHANAMTHITTA: Believers Eastern Church Metropolitan Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan, also known as KP Yohannan, who was critically injured in a car accident in the US, passed away due to a sudden cardiac arrest, official church spokesperson said on Wednesday. He passed away due to sudden cardiac arrest in a hospital in Dallas, Texas, where he had been receiving treatment since his accident, a Church official said. He was 74. He was under intensive care at a hospital in Dallas, Texas following the a

PALAKKAD: In a shocking incident, a cameraman of a leading Malayalam news channel was killed in a wild elephant attack while reporting in this north Kerala district on Wednesday. A V Mukesh (34), working with Mathrubhumi News, was seriously injured in the elephant attack when he and the reporter were capturing visuals of the movement of the strayed elephant herd, channel sources said. The tragedy struck the hapless cameraman when he was shooting the visuals of jumbos crossing a river in a place

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A success rate of 99.69% was recorded in the SSLC (Class X) exam 2024, the results of which were announced here on Wednesday. The pass percentage this year was 0.01% lower than the all-time high success rate of 99.7% recorded last year. Of the 4,26,892 students who appeared for the exam this year, 4,25,565 became eligible for higher studies, General Education Minister V Sivankutty said while announcing the results. The number of A+ holders in all subjects this year was 71,831

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hundreds of passengers who came to catch the Air India Express flights from three major airports in the state were left stranded due to the sudden cancellation of flights due to the staff protest, on Wednesday morning. As many as 12 flights were cancelled affecting trips to Sharjah, Abu Dabhi, Dubai, Muscat, Bahrain etc. Many of them missed connection flights from other airports due to these cancellations. Passengers of the Thiruvananthapuram - Sharjah flight came to know abo

IDUKKI: The first synchronised census of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr held in the forest area that comes under the Munnar wildlife division has sighted 827 Tahrs compared to 803 last year. A total of 144 newborns were found in the survey, while the number of newborns in last years survey was 128. A total of 99 personnel, including volunteers and officials, participated in the exercise that took four days. Munnar wildlife warden S Vinod told TNIE that forest departments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala jo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Giving in to persuasion by key party leaders in Kerala and pressure from K Sudhakaran himself, the Congress national leadership has decided to reinstate the Kannur leader as the KPCC president. Sudhakaran will re-assume the post at Indira Bhavan at 11am on Wednesday. It is learnt that a section of senior leaders backing Sudhakaran had conveyed to Delhi that dilly-dallying on Sudhakarans return at the partys helm will send a wrong message on social balancing. Following this, D