Nagma Mohamed Mallick is new Indian Ambassador to Tunisia

Bengaluru, May 18: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge on Monday slammed the State Government’s decision to appoint administrative committees to Panchayats, which completes their five-year term, shortly.

Speaking to media persons, the Congress leader described the State Government’s decision on appointing committees as a ‘death knell ‘ to the basic characters of the Panchayat bodies, which were elected on a non-party basis.

Strongly recommending the BJP-led government to desist from its decision, Kharge urged Chief minister B S Yediyurappa to extend the term of the elected bodies of the Panchayats by six months.

Udupi, Mar 1: Acting on credible information, Udupi district police arrested five persons and seized 1.35 kg of crude gold worth Rs 56.99 lakh from the possession of the accused, custom department said on Sunday.

A case has been registered against four people at Kundapur and one at Byndoor on charges of gold smuggling. The accused were transporting gold from Calicut to Bhatkal, informed Joannes George, joint Commissioner of Customs.

Off these five accused, four persons were held at Kundapur, while other at Byndoor on Saturday evening.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 11: In a unique form of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a bridegroom in Kerala, Haja Hussain, came for his wedding ceremony riding on a camel holding an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) poster in his hands, on the outskirts of the capital city on Monday.

Accompanied by a large crowd mostly comprising his friends and relatives, Hussain carried a placard which read "Reject CAA, Boycott NRC and NPR" as he arrived at the wedding hall in Vazhimukku, about 20 km from Thiruvananthapuram, on a camel back.

Haja Hussain said that he chose to do this to express his protest against the CAA.

"Along with the ' mahr' (the custom where the groom hands over gold or money to the bride), I also gave a copy of the Constitution. CAA should be rejected," said Haja Hussain, who is a local businessman.