Eminent Malayalam writer U A Khader is dead
Kozhikode, Dec 12: Eminent writer U A Khader, who enriched Malayalam language and literature with his unique style, died at a private hospital here on Saturday evening.
An active participant in literary and social gatherings here for decades, the 85-year-old Khader was under treatment for cancer for sometime, family sources said.
A recipient of various honours, including the Sahitya Akademi award, he had authored hundreds of books, including novels, novellas, short stories, travelogues and non-fiction and his works had been translated into various languages, including English, Hindi and Kannada.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala were among those who condoled the death of Khader.
Born in 1935 to Moidootti Haji, a migrant to the then- Burma, and Burmese citizen Mamaidi, Khader lost his mother three days after his birth.
His family resettled in his father's hometown Koyilandi in 1942 following reverse migration from Burma post the second World War.
His novel "Thrikkottur Peruma" won him the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983. He received the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 for his novella "Thrikkotlur Novellukar".
He was the president of Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham, an organization of artists, writers and art and literature enthusiasts based in Kerala.
Khader had also written a travelogue, "Ormakalude Pegoda", describing his nostalgic trip to his birth place Yangon in Myanmar, after 70 years of his migration to India.
Condoling his death, Vijayan said Khader was a writer who had engraved local history in his stories and his demise had caused irreparable loss to the Malayalam literature in general and to the progressive literary movement in particular.
Khader took a secular and progressive stand throughout his life and reflected that in his creative literature, he said.
"His departure at this crucialjuncture is a great loss to the cultural spheres of Kerala, including literature, and to democratic values including secularism, " the Chief Minister added in his message.
Born to a Malayali father and Burmese mother, Khader's creative space was Malabar and its myths and stories, Chennithala said.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
