Dileep and Manju Warrier Thursday filed a joint divorce petition
Kochi: Dileep and Manju Warrier Thursday filed a joint divorce petition in a court here.This comes after they were told there would be limited legal proceedings if a joint divorce petition was filed and they could legally separate within six months.While Dileep came to the court with his counsel, the 35-year-old actress was accompanied by her brother. The two were married in 1998, after which Manju Warrier called time on her film career, while Dileep's continued. Following...

The CPM will not instruct the SFI to abandon such strikes
Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM will not instruct the SFI to abandon such strikes.Party will discourage protests that stop classes, but the party This was the stand adopted by the CPM’s state secretariat, which ended yesterday.The party tried to solve the ideological differences on this matter by taking up a paper on the SFI itself because inconsistent statements by leaders have caused more confusion. After placing it for the consideration of the state committee, which will meet on July 26-27,...

Federal Aviation Administration removed its ban on U.S. passenger planes
The Federal Aviation Administration removed its ban on U.S. passenger planes flying to and from Tel Aviv.Now that the ban is lifted, the three U.S. airlines that fly to Israel -- Delta, United and US Airways -- will need to decide when they will resume flights. Bloomberg: 'Devastating' to stop flights U.S. airlines suspend flights to Israel FAA bans flights to Israel for 24 hours Israeli officials have been lobbying Washington to reverse its decision which was put in place after a Hamas...

Air Algerie flight with 116 people on board has dropped off radar
Air Algerie flight with 116 people on board has dropped off radar, prompting a search for the missing plane, the airline's operator said Thursday.The plane, an MD-83, was carrying 110 passengers, two pilots and four crew members. The MD-83 is part of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family of twin-engine, single-aisle jets. The plane belongs to a private Spanish company, Swiftair, but it appears to have been operated by Air Algerie. Flight 5017 lost radar contact 50 minutes after takeoff from...

Sujatha Singh to fly to Islamabad on August 25
Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif agreed that their top diplomats would keep in touch, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh spoke with her Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary on Wednesday, and decided to fly to Islamabad on August 25 for a bilateral meeting. The foreign secretaries last met face-to-face in Islamabad in September 2012. Pakistan offered the window of August 4-14; India, however, said the visit could take place only after Parliament’s Monsoon...

Ban on U.S. airlines' flights to and from Tel Aviv
Federal Aviation Administration extended its ban on U.S. airlines' flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel. Calling the decision a "mistake," Michael Bloomberg -- who arrived in Israel on El Al, Israel's national airline -- praised Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport as most secure airport on Earth. "The real world is that there are things going on near airports all over the world. Ben Gurion airport, because Israel has been threatened since it was formed in 1948,...

The black boxes from Flight MH17 will be sent to British aviation investigators
The black boxes from Flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine last week, will be sent to British aviation investigators for forensic analysis. Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said it was a normal procedure for black boxes to be sent for analysis to the nearest laboratory authorised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The international investigation team led by the Netherlands has decided to pass the black boxes, which record cockpit activity and flight data, to the UK...

Rajan Vichare has expressed regret over his action
NEW DELHI: Rajan Vichare who 'force-fed' a chapatti in the mouth of a fasting Muslim employee in New Maharashtra Sadan, has expressed regret over his action. The Shiv Sena MP claimed that he did not know that the employee was a Muslim, but as anger mounted he expressed regret. "I came to know that the employee was a Muslim only after seeing TV footage and I regret it," Vichare said. He also claimed that he was only trying to draw the attention of authorities to poor quality of food...

'3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy' recently won the Manvention of the Year award
'3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy' recently won the Manvention of the Year award at the Guys'' Choice Awards in the US. The 128 minute World's first 3-D porn film is a revival by producer and screenwriter Stephen Shiu of his father's 1991 film 'Sex And Zen'.

Nawaz Sharif to attend the inauguration of Indian Prime Minister-designate Modi
The Pakistani premier's attendance will be a first in the history of the nuclear-armed rivals, which have fought three wars since independence in 1947.Pakistan has accepted an invitation to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend the inauguration of Indian Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, an official said on Saturday. "There will be a bilateral meeting on the sidelines between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Modi," Mohyuddin Wani, the joint secretary of the Prime Minister's...

Narendra Modi will visit Rajghat
NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi who is scheduled to take the oath of office and secrecy at 6 PM tomorrow, would visit Rajghat at 7am, official sources said on Sunday.He will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi ahead of being sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister.Outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, besides leaders of various other parties and chief ministers of a number of states will also be attending the function in the forecourt of...

The rupee closed at 58.52 levels against the US dollar
NEW DELHI: With a gain of about 5.3 per cent since the start of this year, rupee has sprinted ahead of its other Asia-Pacific peers, including Indonesia's rupiah and New Zealand dollar, in terms of year-to-date rise, shows an analysis of various currencies vis-a-vis the Greenback. The rupee, which closed at 58.52 levels against the US dollar on the last trading day on Friday, has incidentally seen a lion's share of 5.3 per cent gain in the past one month.

Time to wind down the "boundless global war on terror " Obama
President Obama delivered a speech at the National Defense University in Washington in which he made the case that it was time to wind down the "boundless global war on terror " and "perpetual wartime footing" that has been a feature of American life since 9/11. Indeed, the CIA drone program in Pakistan has stopped completely since the beginning of this year. This is a noteworthy development given the fact that there have been 370 drone strikes in Pakistan over the past decade that have...

Pope Francis extended an invitation Sunday to the leaders of Israel
Pope Francis extended an invitation Sunday to the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to travel to the Vatican for a "peace initiative," as he called for a two-state solution to the intractable conflict. The pontiff's remarks came at the end of an outdoor Mass in Bethlehem's Manger Square on the second day of his three-day trip to the Middle East. "In this, the birthplace of the Prince of Peace, I wish to invite you, President Mahmoud Abbas, together with...

Jaswant Singh expelled from BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday night expelled its veteran leader Jaswant Singh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha poll as an Independent in Rajasthan's Barmer constituency against the party's official nominee, after he refused to withdraw his candidature on the last day of withdrawal of nominations. The decision to expel Singh, 76, for six years was taken by BJP President Rajnath Singh, a party statement said. The party expelled another rebel leader Subhash...

LPG from tanker overturned in Kozhikode shifted
Thirty per cent of the LPG from the tanker that overturned on Saturday killing an autorickshaw driver was shifted to another tanker on Sunday, thus avoiding the danger of an explosion. A combined task force of police, fire fighters and experts from Indian Oil Corporation had successfully contained the leakage of LPG from the tanker on Saturday night, after trying for fiver hours. The officials are now planning to lift the tanker using a crane before shifting rest of the...

Intl criminal Fayas bought VS’ silence: CP John
CMP state secretary CP John on Sunday unleashed fresh attack on Opposition leader and CPM veteran VS Achuthanandan over his change of stands in the TP murder case. Rapping the senior leader, CP John alleged that international criminal Fayas has bought VS' silence after he wrote letter to the Kerala Chief Minister to investigate Fayas' role in the killing of RSP leader TP Chandrashekharan. John added that Fayas must have used his 'good offices' to influence VS, which...

People won’t tolerate poor governance: Mukherjee
With Lok Sabha election less than 10 days away, President Pranab Mukherjee Sunday said people will no longer accept non-transparent and unresponsive administration. pranab Mukherjee stressed for “urgency” in decision-making and transforming public administration into a dynamic and “result oriented entity”. “The people are demanding better and more efficient administration. They would no longer tolerate non-transparent and unresponsive...

Rajnath Singh flays Congress for lack of development in Northeast India
BJP president Rajnath Singh on Sunday, March 30, charged the Congress with not doing anything to develop the northeast region. "It is the Congress party which was in power for most of the time at the centre after Independence. In Assam also, it is the Congress government that has ruled most of the time. But still there are problems of road network, electricity, irrigating farmlands, poor not getting rations and no job opportunities for youth," Rajnath Singh said while...

AK Antony seeks CPM help at Centre, but wants them thrashed at home
Indian Defence Minister AK Antony on Sunday sought Communist Party's help to fight religious fundamentalists from coming to power at the Centre, but lashed out at the state arm of the party while attending an election rally here. People of Kerala will give their verdict against the 'politics of murder' in the coming Lok Sabha election, he said. Even today CPM is still hesitant to say that political killings are wrong, he said and added that the UDF will enjoy a...

No plans for 2015 wedding, says Katrina
Actress Katrina Kaif has denied next year marriage rumours with actor Ranbir Kapoor. There was buzz that Katrina, 30, and Ranbir, 31, were likely to tie the knot in 2015. However Katrina dismissed such reports saying there were no such plans as of now. "I don't know about this, it has come in media today. It is news to me as I got to know when someone sent me a message about this, till then I was not aware about it," Katrina told PTI. "But there is no such...

Antony to lead UDF campaign in Kerala
Defence Minister A K Antony has started his campaign in Kerala and he would lead the UDF campaigns in the state. He is expected to visit all the 20 constituencies in the coming 11 days to back UDF candidates in the fray.  He is also expected to attend a vehicle rally in Thiruvananthapuram on April 8. Talking to the media, the minister said that people have already taken a decision in favour of the UDF. This election is to be contested on the basis of ideas, not individuals, he...

Land scam: Govt failed to do the needful
The government has made the assessment that its response to the Salim Raj-involved land scam was inadequate. Analysts believe that a CBI probe should have been initiated by the government itself, which would have prevented censure from the High Court. The government is also of the opinion that the legal department had not advised the government in this matter correctly. The office of the Chief Minister said that the non response of the government was a strategic miscalculation. The...

One killed as gas tanker overturns at West Hill
One person was killed after a gas tanker overturned at Chungam near West Hill, here, on Saturday. The tanker fell on an autorickshaw after losing control and the autodriver Ravi, hailing from Kunduparambu, was the causality. Leakage of gas has caused tension in the area. The District Collector has ordered to evict those living within 500 metre radius of the accident spot and power supply has been cut off. The Police and Fire Force are awaiting the arrival of the Indian...

BJP annuls Sabir Ali's membership post dissent
Amid growing dissidence over Sabir Ali's induction into its ranks, the BJP on Saturday cancelled the membership of the expelled JD(U) leader. Addressing a press conference, BJP's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad said that party president Rajnath Singh has decided to annul Ali's one-day-old membership. He also announced passing a resolution that directs BJP members to discuss matters related to induction in internal forums only. Senior BJP leaders...

Narendra Modi's comment unpatriotic, says Defence Minister A K Antony
 Hitting back at Narendra Modi for his remarks against him, Defence Minister A K Antony today said no patriot would make such comments which would demoralise the defence forces and help the enemy. "I am sorry not because of personalised attack. But, this kind of utterances can demoralise armed forces and help enemy.I do not think any true patriot will accept such remarks made for cheap popularity," Antony told a meet-the-press here. Targeting Antony, Modi had called...

’Will end political career if involvement in IPL scam is proved’ - Shashi Tharoor
United Democratic Front's candidate in the capital, Shashi Tharoor has made it clear that he will end his political career if his alleged involvement in the IPL scam is proved. Tharoor spoke about the IPL scam and the row over the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar during Manorama News' 'Kodippada' poll programme. Tharoor said that he had met Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar just twice and he had cleared Sunanda's misunderstanding about the relationship between...

Has not given approval for Aranmula airport project: Civil Aviation Ministry
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has clarified that it has not given approval for the Aranmula airport project. The affidavit submitted by the Ministry before the Kerala High Court states that only permission for land survey subject to stringent measures was given in 2011. This was done following a review petition by the KGS Group, promoters of the project. Since hills have to be levelled and trees have to be uprooted for the airport, it was also instructed that the approval of the...

Mani is party Chairman: Kerala Congress
The Kerala Congress clarified on Tuesday that K M Mani is indeed the Chairman of the party. The party issued the clarification in the wake of the complaint raised by Jose K Mani's rival candidates in Kottayam constituency that his nomination ought to be rejected since Mani signed under the column of party chairman in the nomination paper instead of C F Thomas. The Kerala Congress party leadership made it clear that valid documents regarding this were handed over to the Election...

Indian Mujahideen boss who plotted Narendra Modi rally blasts arrested
Tehseen Akhtar, the alleged mastermind of several terror attacks including the blasts targeting Narendra Modi's rally in October, was arrested on Tuesday. The 23-year-old expert bomb-maker's arrest has allegedly left the terror group, Indian Mujahideen, without a head in India. Tehseen had allegedly taken over as its chief after the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal in August. Tehseen had given investigators the slip several times in recent months. Police said the Indian Mujahideen...