Statescape

Cyclone toll touches 9,866BHUBANESWAR: With reports of 63 more casualties coming in from Kendrapara, Jajpur and Cuttack districts, the to...

Cyclone toll touches 9,866
BHUBANESWAR: With reports of 63 more casualties coming in from Kendrapara, Jajpur and Cuttack districts, the toll in the October 29 cyclone in Orissa has risen to 9,866, official sources said on Thursday. The toll in the worst-hit Jagatsinghpur district, however, remained static at 8,119 since the last fortnight, the sources said. As many as 51 deaths were on reported since Wednesday from Kendrapara district followed by Jajpur 10 and Cuttack 2.

These deaths, caused in the cyclone or its aftermath, were being received at the revenue control room now, the sources said. The death toll in the districts other than Jagatsinghpur are Kendrapara 469, Cuttack 454, Puri 301, Jajpur 188, Bhadrak 98, Khurda 91, Dhenaknal 51, Balasore 49, Keonjhar 31, Mayurbhanj 10 and Nayagarh 3.

Smallest Quran found in Kanyakumari
NAGERCOIL: In what is considered to be the smallest size of the holy book of Islam, a two cm x 1.5 cm Quran has been found from ahouse at North Soorankudi in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.

The Quran was discovered from the house of one Sabir Ahmed, who claimed that the rare holy book was gifted to his father by a Muslim in Sri Lanka several decades ago, when he visited the island nation in connection with his family business, the local press reported today.

The Quran, in Arabic, has 900 pages and 114 chapters.

Sabir Ahmed was quoted as saying he chanced upon the quot;treasurequot; when he was sifting through the old files and papers of his father who died a few years ago.

Dacoits kill one, rape three women
HYDERABAD: One person was killed and three women raped when dacoits attacked Sommaram village near Medchal in Renga Reddy district on Wednesday. According to the police, a six-member gang raided the farm houses in the early hours and raped three maid servants.

They also stabbed to death one of the rape victims husband when he tried to fight the dacoits. The assailants then looted cash and gold ornaments and fled,the police said. An intensive search has been launched for the culprits.

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Lalit Kala Akademi elects new V-P
NEW DELHI: C L Porinchukutty, former principal of College of Art, Thiruvananthapuram, has been elected as the new vice-president of the Lalit Kala Akademi. in a press release on Thursday announced that Prof Mahendra Pandya, former professor of sculpture at the M S University in Vadodara was unanimously elected as a member of the search committee to select a new chairman for the National Academy of Art. Porinchukutty was elected at the first general council meeting of the Akademi after it was handed back to artists by the government.