VS

VS, V.S., Vs, vs, vs., or V_S may refer to:

Organizations

Science, technology, and medicine

Computers

Mazhavil Manorama

Mazhavil Manorama is a Malayalam general entertainment television channel from the Malayala Manorama group, the publisher of the widely circulated Malayalam Manorama daily, and Malayalam women's magazine Vanitha. Mazhavil Manorama is headquartered at Aroor, Alappuzha, near Kochi, Kerala.

The channel has been on air since 06:30 pm on 31 October 2011. The Malayalam Manorama group is already into TV media through their Malayalam news channel, Manorama News. Through the launch of Mazhavil Manorama, the group has widened its media business portfolio.

Mazhavil Manorama will be the second regional Malayalam channel to be launched in full high definition, after Asianet HD. It has been aired since 13 August 2015 as Mazhavil Manorama HD.

Programmes

Mazhavil Manorama has various entertainment programmes in its portfolio including television dramas, music reality shows, and Malayalam movies. The channel also telecasts popular shows like Katha Ithu Vare, hosted by Poornima Indrajith, a talk show with celebrities; Samadooram, presented by Sreekandan Nairdna; and popular comedy show Marimayam, which conveys a real picture of public offices in Kerala. The channel also broadcasts reality shows like Veruthe Alla Bharya, a family based reality show hosted by Swetha Menon; Indian Voice, a musical reality show; and Comedy Festival, a reality competition among comedians for a title.

Black widow

Black widow may refer to:

Spiders

North American species

Eurasian species

People

Murderers

Battle Royale

Battle Royale (Japanese: バトル・ロワイアル, Hepburn: Batoru Rowaiaru) is a novel by Japanese writer Koushun Takami. Originally completed in 1996, it was not published until 1999. The story tells of junior high school students who are forced to fight each other to the death in a program run by the authoritarian Japanese government, now known as the Republic of Greater East Asia.

It was previously entered into the 1997 Japan Grand Prix Horror Novel competition but was eventually rejected in the final round due to its content. The novel became a surprise bestseller. It was ranked fourth by the 2000 Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!, an annual mystery and thriller guidebook, and sold over a million copies.

In 2000, one year after publication, Battle Royale was adapted into a manga series, written by Takami himself, and a feature film. The film was also controversial and successful, with it being condemned by Japan's National Diet, yet becoming one of the country's highest-grossing films. The film spawned a sequel, and two more brief manga adaptations were also created.

Latrodectus

Latrodectus is a genus of spider in the big spider family Theridiidae, most of which are commonly known as widow spiders. The genus contains 31 recognized species distributed worldwide, including the North American black widows (L. mactans, L. hesperus, and L. variolus), the button spiders of Africa, and the Australian redback. Species vary widely in size. In most cases the females are dark-colored and readily identifiable by reddish hourglass-shaped markings on the abdomen.

The venomous bite of these spiders is considered particularly dangerous because of the neurotoxin latrotoxin, which causes the condition latrodectism, both named for the genus. The female black widow has unusually large venom glands and its bite can be particularly harmful to humans. However, despite the genus' notoriety, Latrodectus bites are rarely fatal. Only female bites are dangerous to humans.

Description

Female widow spiders are typically dark brown or black in color, usually exhibiting a red or orange hourglass on the ventral abdomen; some may have a pair of red spots or have no marking at all. They often exhibit various red or red and white markings on the dorsal abdomen, ranging from a single stripe to bars or spots. Females of a few species are paler brown and some have no bright markings.