CET results announced; Ananth G from Alva's College is medical topper

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 25: The government of Kerala under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is all set to launch the 'Kerala Dialogue' -- a debate series on new concepts and development models during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A series of visionaries including noted political thinker Noam Chomsky and Nobel-laureate economist Amartya Sen will join this unique initiative that is to be rolled out from Friday.

The debate series to be inaugurated by the CM will feature prominent personalities from various walks of life including scientists, philosophers, diplomats, economists, writers, journalists, activists, technocrats and people's representatives.

The first episode will have Chomsky, Sen and WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan speaking on 'Kerala - Future Paths of Development'. 

State Planning Board vice chairman VK Ramachandran and senior journalist N Ram would be the moderators. The first episode would be telecast through the Chief Minister's official social media accounts.

The coming episodes in the series will also be telecast in the same manner. The government is of the view that the Kerala Dialogue series can ensure debates and dialogues on sustainable and inclusive development on the lines of the Kerala model.

Mangaluru, May 29: Even as the thousands of Indian expatriates in Saudi Arabia are waiting for repatriation flights to return to India, a few NRI entrepreneurs are sending home their employees through chartered flights. 

The government of India on May 21 had formally approved the repatriation of stranded Indian expatriate workers through chartered flights arranged by their employing companies particularly in Gulf region and elsewhere. 

Expertise Contracting Co. Ltd headed by K S Sheik and Al-Muzain Est. headed by Zakaria Jokatte are among those who have hired charter flights to repatriate hundreds of employees to India amidst corona lockdown. 

Mr Sheik said that his firm had applied for nine charter flights. "Two of the charter flights will carry 360 people to Mangaluru. Seven other flights will repatriate employees to Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and Hyderabad," he said, adding that the company will bear complete expense of their repatriation and quarantine facility after India. 

Mr Jokatte three charter flights will fly from Dammam to Mangaluru International Airport on June 2, 5 and 8 carrying their employees.

Belagavi, Feb 11: Tension prevailed for sometime here after a few villagers spotted four country-made pistols disposed in the garbage site by the road between Markandey Nagar – Waghavade village on Sunday. Police rushed to the spot and seized the arms which are believed to be of Portugal era.

Sources said some villagers noticed a pistol lying along with heaps of refuse. They informed Bhavakanna Patil, the owner of the agricultural field adjacent to the garbage site. Patil and the villagers checked the garbage and found three more pistols totalling four.

Police said the pistols are about 50 to 60 years old. Going by their condition, all rusted, it is believed that they were left unused for a long time. The Belagavi rural police who have filed a suo motu case related to the incident are getting into the skin of case to trace the owners and those who disposed them in the garbage pit. 

According to preliminary investigation, it is learnt that such pistols were in vogue during Portugal rule in Goa. There are chances that those who inherited the arms may have disposed it for the fear of possessing weapon illegally. The chances of some notorious people who reside in the vicinity near Waghavade and surrounding areas, where burglaries and dacoity are frequently reported, disposing the arms due to the fear of police also cannot be ignored. Police Commissioner Lokesh Kumar was not available for comments.