Fresh News

• A move by the Kerala state government to set up a Smart City at Kochi has triggered off a fresh rally in real estate prices in the central districts of Kerala, especially in and around Kochi.
• Nightclubs and bars will also face a smoking ban as part of the Dubai Municipality's plan to ban smoking at public places. "Nightclubs and bars will have to regulate smoking in their premises after shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, public offices and many other public places," said Abdullah Rafe'i, Assistant Director General for Environment and Public Health Affairs at
  the municipality.
• Anupam Ray, an IFS official deputed to the Indian High Commission in London was assaulted by Britons waiting to get visas to travel to India. The attackers voiced racial taunts as they waited in the queue and were subsequently arrested.
• Kerala Food Minister C Divakaran's statement urging people to eat eggs, chicken and drink milk instead of consuming rice has created a furore.
• Kerala, once known for its paddy fields and coconut plantations, is now facing severe shortage of rice and the prices have gone up by around Rs 4 per Kg.
• The decision of the British Council to close down its library at Trivandrum has upset many booklovers.
• Tripura is the second largest rubber producer in the country after Kerala with 35760 hectares of land so far brought under cultivation.
• Train services in Kerala were disrupted since afternoon following a flash strike by a section of the loco pilots of the Trivandrum Division.
• The Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) today told the high court that it was withdrawing its month-long strike for a temporary period.
• Kerala's Education Minister MA Baby Sunday inaugurated the first phase of Internet broadband connections to 1200 schools in the state.
• Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul foresees India becoming a hub for world anufacturing industry in the near future.
• Dubai-based Syed Mohammad Salahuddin has become the first to get a licence for operating a low-cost regional airline in India. The carrier, Star Aviation, will begin operations with a fleet of four ATRs by mid-2008 in south India.
• The southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will get around Rs 122 crore for replantation and rejuvenation of cardamom gardens.
• A number of businessmen were honoured at the first Asian Business Awards Middle East (ABA ME) held at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi on Saturday evening. List of winners include - Narayana Murthy, Lakshmi Nivas Mittal, Renuaka Jagtiyani (Landmark), Sunny Varkey (GEMS), Ramesh Prabhakar (Rivoli Group), Madhu Koneru(RAK Minerals and Metals Investments), Syed M.Salahuddin(ETA Ascon and Star Group) and Yousuf Ali (EMKE Group).
• Escalating property rentals are affecting businesses in Dubai, traders said in a survey conducted by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).
• A riot of colours and rhythms featuring the folk arts of Kerala would mark the beginning of the 12th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), in Thiruvananthapurm on December 7.