'The Kerala of today is not the Kerala of yesterday.' 'What has seeped into this society is the feeling of hatred towards other castes and religions.'
This year's Rose Monday Parade on March 3, 2025 attracted thousands of spectators to the streets of Dusseldorf.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
A special court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district granted bail to three persons, including two nuns from Kerala, arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
'So, they have taken away the word Waqf from the Bill.' 'It will now be known as the UMEED Act.'
In a strategic move, the BJP has welcomed prominent Christian figures like Anil K Antony, son of Congress stalwart AK Antony, and seasoned Kerala politician PC George, into its fold.
Confronted by outrage in Greenland, the US has scaled down a proposed visit to the island.
German chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition has agreed on a plan to reform the nation's banking system and to impose a levy on the financial institutions to make them accountable for future financial crisis.
The Lok Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, with the ruling NDA defending it as beneficial for minorities while the opposition called it "anti-Muslim". All amendments moved by the opposition were rejected and the bill was passed with 288 votes in favor and 232 against. Union Minorities Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that India is the safest place in the world for minorities, refuting claims of their insecurity.
Rediff.com brings you a list of leaders who have won three consecutive times or more.
Riding a wave of public support, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday made a hat trick as she led her Christian Democratic Union to a "super victory" in parliamentary elections, but fell short of absolute majority.
'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its junior coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, suffered a debacle in the elections in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein
The Centre on Thursday disputed in the Supreme Court the figure pertaining to alleged attacks on Christian institutions and priests, terming the data "wrong" and claiming the petitioners wanted to keep "the pot boiling" to sully the image of the country abroad.
Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance throwing all its weight to snatch Jharkhand from the hands of a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-headed coalition, the saffron camp suffered a debacle leaving the party's rank and file wondering what had gone wrong.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of anti-nuclear Green Party in a state it has ruled for half a century, dramatically changing the country's political landscape.
The chancellor travelled in a VIP helicopter of the federal police to Oldenburg in the state of Baaden Wuerttemberg to attend an election campaign rally of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on Wednesday evening.
To tackle acute shortage of skilled workers, Germany has agreed to open its labour market for specialists from non-EU countries, including India, by easing the minimum salary requirement to obtain a residence permit.
'Putin will not be bound by any kind of deal he would sign with the US.'
Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, George Kurian, strongly condemned the alleged threatening of teachers at a government school in Kerala by Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists over Christmas celebrations. Kurian urged the state government to take stringent action against the culprits to prevent such incidents from recurring. The incident sparked outrage, with opposition leaders accusing the Sangh Parivar of attempting to create communal tension. Meanwhile, VHP leaders clarified that they were not against any religion and admitted that their district office bearers had questioned the teachers about the organisation of the Christmas celebration.
Glimpses from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's funeral at the Vatican City, January 5, 2023.
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
Merkel has pledged to reduce Germany's already low unemployment, and is offering modest tax cuts.
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
This will be the third 'grand coalition' between the ruling CDU and the SPD since 2005.
Germany's left-leaning, Social Democrats Party (SPD) won in the German federal election with over 25 per cent votes, but uncertainty remains over the next leader as results showed that the party won narrowly.
On Thursday, December 2, Germany bid an official farewell to its first lady chancellor who has led the country with intelligence and grace through turbulent times.
'A country that hosts and even celebrates UNSC-sanctioned terrorists, commenting on India whose pluralistic ethos and democratic credentials are exemplars for the world, is a contrast for everyone to see'
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Kerala's election discourse operates surreptitiously. Its explicit face focuses on important national and local issues. At the same time, it seeks to secure apt communal equations to ensure votes, notes Shyam G Menon.
The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the Wakf Act, 1995, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
Meanwhile, the Congress and RSP whole-heartedly backed the Kollam MP.
Wayanad will continue to support Rahul but not to the same extent as in 2019, when his margin of victory had been enormous. Articulate, to the point and speaking in fluent Malayalam, CPI's Annie Raja, had the people who gathered to see her, listening in rapt attention, notes Shyam G Menon.
Azad said it will affect all religions.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, where Rahul Gandhi won for the second time in a row, comprises three assembly constituencies each in the tribal district of Wayanad and the Muslim-dominated Malappuram, as well as one in Kozhikode district where Christians hold a significant vote base.
The application, filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which is one of the petitioners who have challenged the citizenship law, has sought the court's direction to ensure no coercive action is taken against people belonging to the Muslim community pending adjudication of the writ petitions. Muslims cannot apply for Indian citizenship under the CAA.
Drawing examples from history to prove his point, Vijayan said a Muslim man named Azimullah Khan had coined the slogan 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.
Chancellor Angela Merkel-led new German government has been jolted by its first political crisis after a minister resigned over claims he leaked confidential information about an international child pornography probe involving an Indian-origin ex-member of parliament.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on March 19 the pleas seeking a direction to the Centre to stay the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024 till the apex court has decided the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
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