Kerala

New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday released its first list of 86 candidates for the upcoming Kerala assembly elections.

Former chief minister Oommen Chandy will contest from Puthuppally, while Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala has been fielded from Haripad Assembly constituency.

Sitting MP from Vadakara K Muraleedharan, who is the son of veteran Congress leader K Karunakaran, will contest in Nemom, the only seat in the state currently represented by the BJP.

Kochi, Mar 8 (PTI): An Additional District Sessions Court near here on Monday awarded death sentence to a 28-year-old man from Assam for raping and killing a 61-year-old woman at her house in Puthenvelikkara panchayat nearly three years ago.

The court in Paravur found that the case would fall in the category of rarest of the rare cases and ordered capital punishment to Parimal Sahu, who is called as Munna.

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 2 (PTI) Attacking the Centre, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said unemployment is high in the country and its informal sector is in shambles following the "ill considered demonetisation decision" taken by the BJP-led government in 2016.

He also criticised the central government for not holding regular consultations with the states.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 20 (PTI) Kerala took a major step forward in its progress towards a knowledge society with theinauguration of the country's first Digital University, based in Technocity at Mangalapuram near here on Saturday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presided overthe function, where Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the Chancellor of the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology (KUDSIT), unveiled the varsity plaque.

Both the Governor and the Chief Minister addressed the function through video conferencing.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 21 (PTI) The Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad has sought to cancel the national-level voluntary online exam on 'gau vigyan' (cow science), saying it was an attempt to spread superstition and to saffronise the education sector in the country.

Coimbatore, Feb 18 (PTI) A farmer died by suicide on his farm near here early Thursday as he was apparently upset over the torture and abusive language allegedly used by a private financial firm for not repaying a loan, police said.

In a letter purportedly written by him and recovered from his house, the 30-year-old Anandan said the employees of the financial firm had used abusive language for the delay to repay the Rs 45-lakh loan, the police said.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 15 (PTI) Marking a new chapter in Kerala's transport and tourism sector, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday launched the first phase of a 520-km-long national waterway.

Vijayan inaugurated the 310 km first phase of the inland waterway, by travelling a 11 KM stretch from Veli to Kadinamkulam onboard a 24-seater solar-powered boat.

The rejuvenated waterway is from Veli here to Chavakkad in Thrissur district through Kollam and Kottapuram.

Kochi, Feb 14 (PTI) A 45-year-old nun was found dead in a quarry pond near her convent at Vazhakkala area on Sunday night, police said.

Jesna Thomas, a native of Idukki, was a resident of St Thomas convent here.

"The body has been shifted to a nearby hospital for conducting the covid test.

The mother superior of the convent informed us that the nun was undergoing treatment for depression for the last 11 years," a senior police official told PTI.

Kochi, Feb 2 (PTI) Kerala's first Human Milk Bank (HMB), a state-of-art facility will be opened at the Ernakulam general hospital here on Friday by Health Minister K K Shailaja.

Set up with the support of the Rotary Club of Cochin Global, the milk bank is to ensure breast milk for new born babies, who are not being breastfed by their own mothers who may be sick, deceased or due to insufficient production of breast milk, in the hospital.

Wayanad (Ker), Jan 24 (PTI): A 26-year old woman tourist from Kerala was trampled to death by a wild elephant at a remote resort at Meppadi in Wayanad district, police said.

The shocking incident occurred around 8 PM at the Rain forest resort on Saturday.