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☆ Indian deputy IT minister investigated over social media post after attack on Jehovah's Witnesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Jose Devasia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People stand outside the Zamra International Convention and Exhibition Centre where multiple blasts occurred during a religious gathering of Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian group, in Kochi, India, October 29, 2023. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India Oct 31 (Reuters) - Police in Kerala opened an investigation against India's deputy minister of Information Technology on Tuesday for allegedly stirring religious hatred on social media after bomb blasts at a Jehovah's Witnesses convention in the southern state. More than 2,000 people were attending the convention in the state, where the Jehovah's Witnesses have a strong presence. Police arrested a man after he posted a video claiming responsibility for the attack, accusing the religious group of being anti-national. Chandrashekhar's aide told Reuters the criminal case filed by the Kerala police would be addressed by the minister's lawyer.

Persons: Sivaram, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Narendra Modi's, Kerala's, Chandrashekhar, Hillary Clinton's, Khaled Mashal, Pinarayi Vijayan, Vijayan, Israel, Rupam Jain, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Exhibition, REUTERS, Rights, Police, Information Technology, Communist, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Zamra, Kochi, India, Rights THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala, Gaza

People stand outside a convention centre where multiple blasts occurred during a religious gathering in Kochi, India, October 29, 2023. Preliminary investigation showed that an improvised explosive device was used, Kerala Director General of Police Shaik Darvesh Saheb told reporters earlier. Police were appointing a special investigations team, Saheb told reporters, adding that strict action would be taken against those involved. "The explosions occurred seconds after the end of a prayer as part of the day's event. Seconds later, two more explosions rocked simultaneously on either sides of the hall," TA Sreekumar, regional spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses told mathrubhumi.com.

Persons: Umesh, Veena George, Police Shaik Darvesh Saheb, Saheb, Pinarayi Vijayan, mathrubhumi.com, Swati Bhat, Gerry Doyle, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Asianet News, Reuters, Police, Local, National Security Guard, TA, Thomson Locations: Kochi, India, Rights KOCHI, Kerala, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kalamassery, United States

☆ One Killed, Several Injured in Explosions in India's Southern State
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Jose Devasia and Maria PonnezhathKOCHI, India (Reuters) -At least one person was killed and several were injured in a series of explosions at a convention centre in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Sunday where a Christian group was holding a prayer meeting. The incident took place during a Jehovah's Witnesses convention at the centre in Kalamassery, about 10 kilometres (6.21 miles) northeast of Kochi. P. Rajeev, Kerala's industry minister, told reporters that he cause of the explosion could not be immediately determined. Local newspaper Mathrubhumi said at least three explosions occurred inside the convention hall, with more than 23 people injured. Seconds later, two more explosions rocked simultaneously on either sides of the hall," TA Sreekumar, regional spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses told mathrubhumi.com.

Persons: Jose Devasia, Maria Ponnezhath, Pinarayi Vijayan, Rajeev, Jehovah's, Mathrubhumi, Veena George, mathrubhumi.com, Swati Bhat, Gerry Doyle Organizations: TA Locations: Maria Ponnezhath KOCHI, India, Kerala, Kalamassery, Kochi, United States

KOCHI, India, Oct 29 (Reuters) - At least one person was killed and several were injured in a series of explosions at a convention centre in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Sunday where a Christian group was holding a prayer meeting. The incident took place during a Jehovah's Witnesses convention at the centre in Kalamassery, about 10 kilometres (6.21 miles) northeast of Kochi. P. Rajeev, Kerala's industry minister, told reporters that he cause of the explosion could not be immediately determined. Local newspaper Mathrubhumi said at least three explosions occurred inside the convention hall, with more than 23 people injured. Seconds later, two more explosions rocked simultaneously on either sides of the hall," TA Sreekumar, regional spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses told mathrubhumi.com.

Persons: Pinarayi Vijayan, Rajeev, Jehovah's, Mathrubhumi, Veena George, mathrubhumi.com, Swati Bhat, Gerry Doyle Organizations: TA, Thomson Locations: KOCHI, India, Kerala, Kalamassery, Kochi, United States

☆ India's Nipah virus trackers gather samples from bats, fruit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Rupam Jain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Members of a medical team from Kozhikode Medical College carry areca nut and guava fruit samples to conduct tests for Nipah virus in Maruthonkara village in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India, September 13, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsNew Delhi, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Experts have fanned out in India's southern state of Kerala to collect samples of fluid from bats and fruit trees in a region where the deadly Nipah virus has killed two people and three more have tested positive. Samples of bat urine, animal droppings and half-eaten fruit were collected from Maruthonkara, the village where the first victim lived, set beside a 300-acre (121-hectare) forest home to several bat species. Fruit bats from the area had tested positive for the Nipah virus during an outbreak in 2018, the state's first. Kerala's first Nipah outbreak killed 21 of the 23 infected, while subsequent outbreaks in 2019 and 2021 killed two people.

Persons: Stringer, Veena George, George, Kerala's, Rupam Jain, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Kozhikode Medical College, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Kozhikode district, Kerala, India, Delhi, Maruthonkara, state's, Kozhikode, Karnataka, Tamil, Malaysia, Singapore, South Asia

☆ India's Kerala shuts some schools, banks to curb deadly Nipah virus
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Rupam Jain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Staff members install a sign reading "Nipah isolation ward, entry strictly prohibited" at a hospital where a ward is being prepared for suspected Nipah virus patients in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India, September 12, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - India's southern state of Kerala shut some schools, offices and public transport, authorities said on Wednesday, as they scrambled to rein in the spread of the rare and deadly brain-damaging Nipah virus that has killed two people. The victim's daughter and brother-in-law, both infected, are in an isolation ward, with other family members and neighbours being tested. The Nipah virus was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak of illness among pig farmers and others in close contact with the animals in Malaysia and Singapore. In Kerala's first Nipah outbreak, 21 of the 23 infected died, while outbreaks in 2019 and 2021 claimed two more lives.

Persons: Stringer, Veena George, Rupam Jain, Michael Perry, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, state's, National Virology Institute, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kozhikode district, Kerala, India, DELHI, Kozhikode, district's, Marutonkara, Malaysia, Singapore

☆ Indian state will proceed 'no matter what' with protest-hit Adani port-minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Munsif Vengattil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Police officers stand guard near the barricades during a protest rally by the supporters of the proposed Vizhinjam port project in the southern state of Kerala, India, November 30, 2022. The local fishing community, led by Catholic priests, has blocked construction of Vizhinjam port by Adani Group for almost four months, erecting a makeshift shelter at the port's entrance. The protesters say the huge project causes coastal erosion that has undermined their livelihoods, calling for a complete halt on the construction. "We want to complete the port project no matter what. "The possibilities being opened up by Vizhinjam port are unmatched by any other in India," Devarkovil said.

"We have denied permission to the rally by the Hindu United Front. The port is of strategic importance to both India and billionaire Gautam Adani, Asia's wealthiest man and the world's third-richest. Critics say Adani, who comes from the same state as Modi, has benefited from the policies of the federal government. Earlier, Hindu United Front member C Babu told Reuters they would go ahead with the rally. The Adani Group has said in court filings that the protests have caused "immense loss" and "considerable delay".

☆ Police in India's Kerala step up security after clashes over Adani port
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jose Devasia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Police officers are deployed as fishermen protest near the entrance of the proposed Vizhinjam Port in the southern state of Kerala, India, November 9, 2022. REUTERS/Munsif VengattilKOCHI, India Nov 29 (Reuters) - Police in southern India on Tuesday ramped up security around Vizhinjam port being built by billionaire Gautam Adani's group after scores of people were injured during clashes with protesters from a fishing community over the weekend. Kerala state police were sending reinforcements to the Vizhinjam area to prevent further violence, he added. The Adani Group says the port complies with all laws and cited studies that show it is not linked to shoreline erosion. Five years ago, Australian environmental activists had launched a "Stop Adani" movement to protest his Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland state.

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