South

Holiday was announced this morning for school and educational institutions in Kannur, Kasargod and parts of Kottayam due to heavy rainfall in Kerala.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to urgently list a plea of two Independent Karnataka MLAs seeking holding of floor test forthwith, but said it may consider listing of the petition Tuesday.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy met Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar to seek more time for the trust vote but reports indicate his request was turned down. "I will lose face if I don't keep my word. I promise that it should be done today... however long it takes," the Speaker had reportedly responded. The BJP's BS Yeddyurappa also refused to postpone the matter. There are reports that the Speaker has asked the rebel lawmakers of the Congress-Janata Dal Secular alliance to be present in the assembly by 6 pm. The coalition was asked to prove majority after 16 lawmakers of the two parties resigned and two independents withdrew support. The BJP has accused the Chief Minister of delaying the vote in hopes of a reprieve from the Supreme Court.

BJP lawmakers who are staying at a hotel in Bengaluru started their morning with a feel-good group yoga session before they headed out for the assembly, where they expect to see a floor test decide the fate of the Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition government today.

Capping weeks of uncertainty, the fate of the fragile Congress-Janata Dal Secular government in Karnataka could be decided today with a trust vote in the assembly. While Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy appealed to the rebels to return and "expose" the BJP, the defiant legislators ruled out attending the session. Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa exuded confidence that today "will be the last day of the Kumaraswamy government" and said the Chief Minister was just trying to buy time. The coalition received some minor relief when Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati directed her party's lone legislator in Karnataka N Mahesh to vote in favour of the trust motion.

Days after a British-flagged oil tanker with 18 Indian crew on board was detained by Iran, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to the Centre seeking safety and details of four Keralites on board the vessel.

Two Independent lawmakers, who withdrew support to the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka, are going to move the Supreme Court seeking a direction for conducting a floor test forthwith in the state Assembly, their lawyer said.

Four people have died and three, including two fishermen from Tamil Nadu, are missing as rains continued to hit Kerala. A red alert being issued in Kerala's asargod, Idukki, Kozhikode and Kannur districts till July 23.

A 24-year-old man, who was allegedly attacked by a group of people in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur for posting a picture of him consuming beef soup, was arrested today on charge of disturbing peace soon after he was discharged from a hospital, the police said.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday asked her lone lawmaker in Karnataka to support the ruling Congress-Janata Dal Secular government as it heads for a trust vote on Monday, set to cap a rebellion by more than a dozen legislators.

A five-year-old Asiatic lion who had been suffering from paralysis died due to multiple organ failure at Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad on Saturday.

A 26-year-old person was brutally murdered and beheaded with a sickle by his two brothers-in-law in Telangana's Nalgonda.

The main accused in the multi-crore IMA Ponzi scam Mansoor Khan was today sent to the custody of Enforcement Directorate (ED) till July 23 by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Bengaluru.

A Kerala man who fled to Saudi Arabia after allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl two years ago was finally extradited to India last week and charged under POCSO

Seven fishermen are missing and relief camps have been opened in two districts as heavy rains lashed several parts of Kerala for the second day Friday under the influence of the southwest monsoon.