South

Local musicians are already singing about the evils of fake news when police superintendent Rema Rajeshwari's convoy rolls up to the dusty village square in one of India's poorest communities. "Don't believe these things," a performer cries out to the crowd.

A state-level kabbadi player and his friend died when a lorry hit the two-wheeler they were riding near Erode in Tamil Nadu today, police said.

Nearly a month after 13 people were killed as police fired at protesters demanding closure of the Sterlite copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin, fear is palpable in villages in the area, with hundreds of men going into hiding.

Vedanta Ltd said on Wednesday a sulphuric acid leak from a tank at its copper smelter in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu was severe and inaction could lead to serious environmental consequences.

Actor Kamal Haasan on Wednesday slammed the Tamil Nadu government for arresting people protesting against the eight-lane green corridor between Chennai and Salem.

The Central Branch of the Central Intelligence Department or CB-CID probing the sensational case of a college teacher's alleged attempt to lure students to extend sexual favours in return for better grades, has moved the Madras High Court for conducting a voice test on her.

Noted Urdu poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar on Wednesday sought immediate arrest of Karnataka cleric for his controversial remark that cows would be slaughtered during Bakrid.

Tamil Nadu government today said the much-anticipated All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) facility announced for the state by the Centre will come up near Madurai at an estimated Rs 1,500 crore.

Condemning the practice of subjecting women to cruelty under the guise of ceremonies, the Madras High Court today observed that such acts can never be justified even if it had been followed for a very long time.

Supporters of former Karnataka minister Satish Jarkiholi have protested against his exclusion from the state cabinet. Mr Jarkiholi who belongs to Belagavi in north Karnataka had resigned as the secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) after he was left out of the first cabinet expansion earlier this month. Congress, which has been allotted 22 out of the 34 cabinet berths in the coalition government with the Janata Dal Secular, is yet to fill up six slots.

Unable to repay loans taken for their medical treatment, a couple allegedly committed suicide by consuming insecticide at Malkapet village in neighbouring Rajanna Sircilla district today.

The community which performed the wedding of dolls believes that this age-old forgotten tradition has been revived as it brings good luck.

Piyush Manush, an environmental activist based in Tamil Nadu's Salem district, was arrested on Monday night for allegedly "instigating enmity between groups," said the police. Mr Manush has been supporting locals in Salem who are protesting the proposed airport expansion and eight-lane, 270-kilometre super highway, which will pass through the district as per the plan.

The Hyderabad police have filed 14 cases against illegal financiers.

In significant remarks, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today said any move by pro-Dhinakaran disqualified MLAs to return to AIADMK fold was welcome, but indicated he was not aware of any such plan.