State :
Tamilnadu :
16th century stone inscription found
- A team of amateur archaeologists of Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation has discovered a 16th century stone inscription of Pandiya era at Kallikudi village in Tiruvadanai block.On the wall of the entrance of a temple in Ramnad district .
DMK opposes Jayalalithaa’s portrait in Tamil Nadu Assembly
- Taking exception to the AIADMK government’s decision to unveil a portrait of its late leader and former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Hall, Opposition parties led by the DMK on Sunday announced that they would boycott the function on Monday.
- DMK working president M.K. Stalin says that unveiling a portrait of a person who had been convicted by the Supreme Court was against law.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister’s bull dies during jallikkattu
- A bull belonging to Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar died during a jallikkattu held at Thirunallur village near Illupur in the district .
- Soon after the Minister’s bull, named Komban, hurtled out of the Vaadi Vaasal [entrance to the arena], it rammed a tree, suffering severe injuries to the head.
Of portraits, statues and controversies in Tamil Nadu
- The political opposition to the plan to unveil Jayalalithaa’s portrait in the Assembly is not unique.In the past too, unveiling of statues of prominent personalities hailing from Tamil Nadu was mired in controversies.
- In the past, AIADMK and DMK have sparred over the installation of statues of Murasoli Maran and M.G. Ramachandran
Telangana :
Railway officials at their wits’ end
- “It makes sense to have zonal HQ at State capital because it is centrally located and gone are the days when Railways was doing everything on its own. These days most new projects are being taken up with the States picking up 50% or two-thirds the cost,” they say.
- Actual demand has been to move Viskhapatnam out of ECR into SCR, which later on took traction into a movement for separate railway zone following AP bifurcation, aver senior officials.
Most tribals use firewood for fuel
- “The government needs to come out with some form of solution to the issue of rampant use of firewood in rural households too. Subsidised LPG connections have not reached the households in far-flung areas even after decades since LPG arrived in Adilabad,” rued Athram Lingu, from the tribal mandal head quarter of Jainoor, in KB Asifabad district.
Kerala :
Striking nurses blockade NH
- Tension prevailed in front of KVM Hospital, Cherthala, on Sunday, after nurses under the aegis of United Nurses Association (UNA) blocked the National Highway demanding government intervention to end the ongoing nurses’ strike at the hospital.
- For the past 175 days, 113 nursing staff have been staging indefinite strike and dharna in front of the hospital, demanding better pay and working conditions, along with reinstating of two of their colleagues sacked by the hospital management.Police evict many, arrest 50-odd protesters .
KSEB in for thorough restructuring
- The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is in for a thorough restructuring and drastic expenditure curbs to steer clear of the looming financial crisis.Meaningful staff redeployment to clear 7,300 cr debt burden on the cards .
Maramon meet begins with a call to conserve nature
- The 123rd Maramon Convention, which is billed as Asia’s largest week-long annual Christian meet, began with a call to conserve the river Pampa and the environment on Sunday afternoon.
- The convention is being held at its traditional venue on the riverbed of Pampa at Maramon near Kozhencherry.
Andra Pradesh :
Four Hyderabad women bikers embark on a cross-border road trip
- Four women, Jai Bharathi, Shilpa Balakrishnan, A.S.D. Shanthi and Piya Bahadur, have set out on a biking expedition to cover India’s neighbouring South East Asian nations by road through the newly-laid India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway.
- From Hyderabad, the women perched on their roaring machines and came to Gollapudi on the city outskirts in the afternoon and arrived to a rousing welcome by the Tourism department officials at Prakasam Barrage via Sitara Centre, Chittinagar, Panja Centre and Kaleswararao Market in the One Town area.
Clear the air on Central assistance, says Pawan
- Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan requested the Central and the State governments to furnish details of what the State had so far been given so that the same could be sent to the proposed Joint Action Committee (JAC) for finding out the truth at a meeting to be held in a few days.
South Coast Railway could be the new railway zone for AP
- South Coast Railway (SCoR) is likely to become a reality soon with the Central Government and the Railway Ministry bowing to the pressure exerted by Andhra Pradesh Government and public representatives to form the new railway zone . Move is the outcome of pressure exerted by people’s representatives of Andhra Pradesh .
India :
Loya PILs a bid to scandalise judiciary, says Maharashtra in SC
- The Maharashtra government opened its arguments on the death of CBI judge B.H. Loya by accusing the PILs and interventions filed in the Supreme Court for an independent probe as an attempt to “scandalize the judiciary” by “taking advantage of the unfortunate death of a judge”.
- The PILs and interventions were based on “hearsay” and an “unconfirmed article” published in a magazine years after Judge Loya’s death, advocate Mukul Rohatgi argues.
Take no coercive steps against Army officer, says Supreme Court
- The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to explain why an FIR was registered against Army personnel for opening fire at protesters in Shopian district of the Valley killing three people.His father filed a petition to quash FIR.
World :
Kingfisher loses court battle in U.K.
- Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya has lost another legal battle linked to his now- defunct Kingfisher Airlines after the UK High Court awarded Singapore-based BOC Aviation an estimated $90 million in claims.
- The latest case involving the 62-year-old businessman, whose extradition case over alleged loan defaults amounting to around Rs. 9,000 crore returns to Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on March 16, is related to the leasing of aircraft by Kingfisher Airlines dating back to 2014.
Giving up control of Brussels mosque, Saudi Arabia sends a signal
- Saudi Arabia has agreed to give up control of Belgium’s largest mosque in a sign that it is trying to shed its reputation as a global exporter of an ultra-conservative brand of Islam.
- Belgium leased the Grand Mosque to Riyadh in 1969, giving Saudi-backed imams access to a growing Muslim immigrant community in return for cheaper oil for its industry.
Pakistan warns against any Indian cross-border raid after Kashmir attack
- Pakistan warned India against cross-border strikes in the disputed region of Kashmir after India blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) for the Saturday’s attack on an army camp in which soldiers and their families were targeted.
- The attack on the camp near Jammu was the worst in months, with five soldiers and the father of one of the soldiers killed and women and children among the ten wounded.
Pakistan’s iron lady Asma Jehangir passes away
- Pakistan’s top lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jehangir passed away on Sunday due to a cardiac arrest in Lahore, her family said in a statement. She was 66.She headed the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and remained the Supreme Court Bar Association chairperson
Science :
Three new eel species found in Bay of Bengal
- Scientists have discovered three new species of eel along the northern Bay of Bengal coast in the past few months.Eels are found mostly at the bottom of rivers and seas. Across the world about 1,000 species of eels have been identified.
- In India, the number is around 125. For species belonging to the family Muraenidae, referred commonly as Moray eels, there are records of about 200 species of which more than 30 species are found in India.
A new self-healing, recyclable ‘e-skin’
- Scientists have developed a new type of malleable, self-healing and fully recyclable “electronic skin” that has applications ranging from robotics and prosthetic development to better biomedical devices.
- Electronic skin, known as e-skin, is a thin, translucent material that can mimic the function and mechanical properties of human skin, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances. The new e-skin has sensors embedded to measure pressure, temperature, humidity and air flow.
Sports :
Record-breaking twins
- The Ratiwatana twins, Sonchat and Sanchai’s achievements on the Challenger Tour have earned them the sobriquet ‘the Challenger Bryans’.The Thai duo has won a record 46 Challenger titles, and bagged a title every year since 2003.
- Sonchat and Sanchai became the first doubles team to win 40 Challenger doubles titles when it triumphed in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2016.“It feels great to create some record,” said Sonchat, the older of the two. “(We are) looking to step up and win an ATP event.”
MCA demands IPL play-offs at Pune
- Pune may no longer be home to an Indian Premier League (IPL)franchise, but riding on Rising Pune Supergiant’s stupendous run last year, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) has staked claim to host two of the four playoff games of the IPL’s upcoming edition at its international stadium on the outskirts of Pune.Cites usual venue allocation practice