3-year-old Anjana becomes youngest organ donor in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHPURAM: 

Anjana's (in pic) organs - liver and kidneys - were given to a five year old boy admitted to Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences in Thiruvananthapuram.

A three-year-old girl has become the youngest donor in the state. Anjana, a three year old from Thiruvananthapuram, who was admitted to SAT Hospital since Thursday was declared brain dead on Saturday night, donated her liver, two kidneys and corneas.

The organs - liver and kidneys - were given to a five year old boy admitted to Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences in Thir uvananthapuram. The harvesting of the organs began at 11 pm on Saturday and it was completed during the wee hours of Sunday.

The organs were sent to KIMS hospital at 2.30 am on Sunday where the surgery began on the five-year-old boy. At the time of the filing of this report the surgery is going on at the KIMS hospital to transplant the organs. The doctors said that the condition of the boy could be said only by evening.


Anjana daughter of Ajith staying at Enikkara near Karakulam in Thiruvananthapuram was admitted to the SAT Hospital when she collapsed at her home on Thursday while playing. She was detected with serious brain damage and the doctors who tried their level best to rescue her could not save her.

The doctors informed her parents about the remote chances of getting her back to life and requested to them donate her organs. The parents much to the dismay of their relatives accepted the request of the doctors agreed to donate their kid's organs.


The message was immediately communicated to the Kerala Network of Organ Sharing (KNOS) of the state government. The doctors from the KIMS hospital and KNOS immediately rushed to the SAT where the surgery began to harvest the organs at 11 pm in the night.

The body of Anajana was handed over to the parents early morning and the cremation is expected to take place by Sunday evening.

Is Halle Berry getting a divorce?

Halle Berry

Halle Berry’s divorce rumours ignited months ago as she and her husband, Olivier Martinez, have not been seen together since February 2015 — and have barely made any public appearances since their son Maceo was born in 2013. Halle was recently spotted with Maceo and photographed without her wedding ring. 

Halle has been concerned about her husband’s temper and violent streak when he attacked an airport employee at LAX and was caught on camera hitting him over the head with Maceo’s car seat. An insider told Radar Online, “Halle is telling pals she worries that Olivier’s runaway temper could put her kids at risk. They’ve just been delaying the inevitable split.” 

Radar’s source went on to reveal that Halle and Olivier have been living separately for months.

A sequel of Kick in pipeline?

Actress Tamanna

Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja’s film Kick has been a hit and now the industry is abuzz with the news that Ravi Teja and director Surender Reddy are teaming up to make a sequel of Kick. The film will be produced by actor-turned-producer Kalyan Ram under NTR Arts banner.

Initially, Surender Reddy said that he would make an experimental film after he completes the Allu Arjun starrer Race Gurram. He is now said to be keeping his experimental film on hold and going ahead with making the sequel of Kick. The director is currently working on the script after which he will finalise the rest of the cast.

Rumours are that Surender Reddy wants to cast Tamanna opposite Ravi Teja in Kick 2. But, the actress has apparently rejected the offer stating date issues. Tamanna is currently busy shooting for the Mahesh Babu starrer Aagadu and is also working on two Tamil and two Hindi films and is busy with these projects till August.

Inspite of Tamanna being busy, Surender Reddy is bent on casting her in Kick 2. While the director plans to begin the shooting of the sequel in June, and Tamanna not being free till August, only time will say if the director plans to wait or delay the project to get Tamanna on board.

Drew Barrymore is ready for No. 3

Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman

Married to art consultant Will Kopelman since 2012, 40-year-old Drew Barrymore admitted that she is ready to have a baby, for the third time. “I think I’m good right now, but I don’t know. The door’s open, but I’m no spring chicken. I have to figure it out sooner or later,” the actress told Us Weekly in Los Angeles.

Founder of the Flower Beauty, Barrymore already has her hands full with two children.

Ram Charan gets Priyanka Chopra’s trainer

Ram Charan- Trainer Samir Jaura

Ram Charan has hired celeb trainer Samir Jaura to get into shape for an upcoming action flick — a project likely to be directed by Srinu Vaitla. Jaura, who has trained Bollywood stars like Farhan Akhtar for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Priyanka Chopra for Mary Kom, Rani Mukherjee for Mardaani and Hrithik Roshan for Bang Bang, is already in the city and has started training Ram Charan.

A source says, “Ram had very briefly met Samir on the sets of Zanjeer. Priyanka Chopra had introduced him to the trainer. While Samir got busy training other Bollywood actors, Ram too moved on to his South films.”

“When Ram needed to get a certain physique for his upcoming action film, he immediately rang Samir for help and flew him to Hyderabad.” Though Ram Charan is currently shooting for a romantic film, he has already started his training this week. The source adds that the intensive training program that has been designed by Jaura will last for four-five months, along with a strict diet. When contacted, Jaura confirms, “Yes, I am in Hyderabad right now to train Ram.”

About the training routine, Jaura says, “I am making him do a lot of functional training, high endurance training, and strength training. He is following a structured diet, his eating habits have been changed; it has a balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fat. One training session extends up to two hours of intensive workout. In a week’s time, Ram will start working out twice a day. So it will be four hours of training every day.”

Since Ram Charan is a busy actor and will not always have the time for training, Jaura will be his constant companion. “I will be travelling with him to the film sets where he will be working out before or after the shoots.” Jaura, who is training Ram Charan in the actor’s home gym, adds that Ram Charan will not get any rest during the initial period. “It’s not a simple workout where you get Sunday rest,” he says.

Why Jennifer Garner is now furious!

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner

On the sets of her film Miracles From Heaven, Jennifer Garner was spotted looking tense as she talked over the phone. The 43-year-old actress is said to have been livid amidst claims that her ex-husband Ben Affleck had an affair with the couple’s nanny Christine Ouzounian. The actress looked serious and was engaged in a fierce conversation as she exited the building in Atlanta, Georgia where the shooting is taking place.

According to a source close to Christine Ouzounian, the affair began soon after she was hired and the two would often meet at Hotel Bel Air, as reported by the Daily Mail. Ben Affleck has refuted these claims.

10 facts about director S.S. Rajamouli and his latest film 'Baahubali'

1.  Son of writer K V  Vijeyendra Prasad who has written Bajrangi Bhaijaan S S Rajamouli is arguably the most successful filmmaker of the South  with a string of Telugu blockbusters to his credit including mega-hit Vikramarkurdu remade as Rowdy Rathod in Hindi. Producer Sanjay Bhansali wanted Rajamouli to direct Rowdy Rathod. Rajamouli declined due to his work in Telugu cinema.

2.  Baahubali has recorded the highest ever advance booking collections in Hyderabad. Baahubali  was  actually going to be a Hindi-Telugu film . It’s a universal story, not star-centric film. Finally it was shot in Telugu and Tamil and dubbed in Hindi.

3. Baahubali had  to star  the Telugu star Prabhas. Rajamouli was committed to make the next film with him.

4. Rajamouli’s  fascination with the theme of reincarnation  started with Rakesh Roshan’s Karan Arjun. Said Rajamouli, “I remember watching that film. For the first time I openly laughed and wept during a film. Earlier I was very reserved about my emotions. Karan Arjun opened up my emotions.”

5. Baahubali  is a period film. But not a historical. It’s a folk story. And no, it’s not about reincarnation.Rajamouli is  done with reincarnation after Magadheera and Eega.

6.  Rajamouli is  very happy and proud to be known as a Telugu filmmaker. “I am glad to know my films make a pan-India impact. I see no linguistic impediment. But to make a film in Hindi would be an advantage.

Also read: Makers of 'Baahubali' issue leave letters for movie lovers

7.  The refrain Chin ta ta chi ta ta in Rowdy Rathore was lifted from Vikramarkurdu and used into Rowdy RathoreActually it was not  an original tune in Vikramarkurdu either either. Says Rajamouli, “My music composer M M Kreem didn’t compose it. It’s like… how do I put it? A folk tune in Tamil Nadu. It’s a kind of anthem refrain among students in the State. Youngsters compose their own crude protest songs and then cap it with Chinta ta ta. It has existed in Tamil Nadu for generations. I made it a part of Ravi Tejaa’s character and then it was given to Akshay Kumar.”

8.  Rajamouli’s favourite source of inspiration?  “Amar Chitra Katha...Those comics, even today transport me into those times. I have endless fantasies revolving around those stories set in the past. My  excitement with that genre translates into my films.”

9.  Prabhas  the leading man of Baahubali spent two years of his life working on this one film. Says Rajamouli, “We worked before on Chathrapathi and we clicked very well both on creative and personal front. i needed a giant of a man with royalty personified, but with a tender heart to play Baahubali.At the start I told him i'll need one year of his dates exclusively. He smiled and said i'll be needing 2 years and kept himself free for the whole period. I don't think i could have done this with anyone else.”

10.  Rajamouli’s favourite Bollywood director is Raj Kumar Hirani and his favourite Bollywood actor is Aamir Khan.

Wooing Rajamouli and Karan Johar’s big Rs 20 crore offer

DEAL? Karan Johar, right, is one of many who are hoping to rope in Rajamouli

The massive success of Baahubali has apparently made S.S. Rajamouli the most-sought-after director in India. He is being wooed, pampered, cajoled and coaxed by the biggest names in Bollywood — to direct a film.

Our khabrus report that Karan Johar — who distributed the dubbed Hindi version of Baahubali and has made a hefty profit off it — has now offered SSR close to Rs 20 crore to direct a Hindi film.

KJo isn’t the only one. Other producers queuing up for SSR-helmed projects include Sajid Nadiadwala, Madhu Mantena (who has the remake rights of Rajamouli’s Magadheera), UTV’s Siddharth Roy Kapur and Eros Entertainment’s Sunil Lulla.

A source close to SSR revealed: “Raja is being chased by every important producer in Bollywood, and is being offered staggering amounts as remuneration. But he has never been swayed by money. He was offered the chance to direct Rowdy Rathore by producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali four years ago. But Raja was committed to doing Baahubali with Prabhas. Now, he’s committed to making the sequel with the same actor, although Bollywood wants him to do the sequel with Hrithik Roshan or Akshay Kumar. But Raja isn’t tempted.”

As for the man of the moment, he is as rooted as always. Of Baahubali’s becoming the biggest blockbuster in the history of Indian cinema, Rajamouli said, “All of us aspire to be successful. Becoming the biggest success is incidental.”

Saina Nehwal is tougher than her World Championship rivals: Coach Vimal Kumar

Saina Nehwal had a good season this year where she won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and India Super Series. (Photo: PTI)

Bengaluru: Saina Nehwal might be still recovering from a shoulder pain but coach Vimal Kumar is confident of her performance at the World Championships as he feels the Indian ace is "mentally tougher" than other girls who are "unpredictable".

"Her (Saina) rivals are good players and very unpredictable, but Saina is mentally tougher than them. She’s doing physically well. These factors should help her to do well in the World Championships," Kumar said.

Former chief national coach, Kumar said the World Championship will be an interesting and open battle because the Chinese girls, who were dominating the world stage, have not been successful for the last ten months.

"This World Championship will be an open and interesting battle because the Chinese girls have not been successful for the last ten months," he said.

"In the last one year - after the Asian Games – majority of the international games were won by four girls - Saina, Carolina Marin (Spain), Tai Tzu-ying (Chinese Taipei) and Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) - these are the four girls that really dominated," he added.

Talking about the draw, Kumar said: "Saina has worked hard but it is a tough draw for her, because she is likely to face Japan's Takahashi in the pre-quarters and in the next stage, China's Wang Yihan.

"All the top players are expected to give a tough fight as they had five to six weeks of time for preparing for the big event. She has to take one match at a time. I don't want her to think too much on World Championship, but treat this tournament as a super series ties. If she does this it will good for her. She is experienced and knows how to deal with it," Kumar said.

Replying to a query, Kumar said: "Earlier, there were only the Chinese who ruled the roost, but now it is between Carolina and Saina. For me whoever wins the world championship is world number one."

In world championship, a medal has always eluded Saina, who has not progressed beyond the quarterfinals. The World No 2, who will start as one of the favourites, is hoping that Kumar's guidance helps her to conquer the world meet.

"It has been a successful story getting trained under the eyes of Vimal sir. The results have been sweet as I reached the number one position, though I am number two right now. I am training hard for this event, but there is a little shoulder pain, but hope to recover soon," she said after the evening practise session at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy here.

Saina had a good season this year where she won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and India Super Series. 

Expect a new Internet drone from Facebook soon

The new drone is can fly in the air for 90 days at a time

Facebook Inc announced on Thursday it has completed building its first full-scale drone, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and will provide Internet access to the most remote parts of the world. The company said it will test it in the United States later this year.

The plane will weigh about 880 pounds (400 kg), said Yael Maguire, the company's engineering director of connectivity. It will hover between 60,000 feet and 90,000 feet (20 and 30 km), above the altitude of commercial airplanes, so that it is not affected by problematic weather. "Our mission is to connect everybody in the world," said Jay Parikh, vice president of engineering. "This is going to be a great opportunity for us to motivate the industry to move faster on this technology."

The drone, which was built in 14 months, is able to fly in the air for 90 days at a time, Maguire said. Helium balloons will be attached to the plane and float it up into the air. The drones have a wingspan of 42 meters (46 yards). Because the planes must constantly move to stay aloft, they will circle a three-km (two-mile) radius, Parikh said. During the day, they will float up to 90,000 feet (30 km) and at night will drift down to 60,000 feet (20 km) to conserve energy.

The drones are part of a programme called Aquila, which is geared towards the 10 percent of the population that does not have any Internet access, executives said. Separately, Facebook a year ago launched Internet.org, an initiative to provide Internet access to the two-thirds of the world that do not have a reliable connection.

Parikh said Facebook is not planning to sell the drones but will use them to expand Internet access. Although Facebook does not immediately face policy or legal hurdles in testing its drone in the United States, Maguire said, it is the first company to fly at such altitudes. It has a team working with policymakers to help set guidelines.

An email about a WhatsApp voicemail message could ruin your operating system

Watch out for the email that will alert you about you missing a voice message on your WhatsApp. It contains a website link, which is infected by a malware. An email has been floating around, which informs the victim that they have missed a message from WhatsApp and it is a voicemail message.

Those who have no idea about the features of WhatsApp are potential victims and fall prey to the hacker’s email. The email informs them that they have received a WhatsApp voicemail message and a link in the email will take them to the message. The email states that the message has come from ‘WhatsApp Reminder’ with a misspelled name as ‘Whats AppReminder’ and a subject line ‘Missed Voice mail – with a time stamp’. The email address is identified as ‘cheung3_16@excite.co.uk’

Once you open the email, you will be informed that you had received a voice message and a small link will be provided to help you view the message. On clicking on the ‘autoplay’ link, you will be taken to website ‘http://chitraprakashan.com/wp-content/plugins/nubia.php’ which then redirects you again to ‘http://homesupplementsale.ru’ a pharmacy website which has an active malware waiting to pounce into your operating system. On checking the website, AVG detected the potential threat with the malware active on it for almost a week.

In order to be safe, we recommend that you do not entertain these emails as WhatsApp has no voicemail alerting system and most importantly, WhatsApp does not send users any personal emails. You should ensure that your system is protected by a good antivirus, which will detect the malware on the website before opening it and block it immediately. 

8 Unknown Facts You Didn’t Know About APJ Abdul Kalam Sir

In 2012, the same duo designed a rugged tablet PC for health care in rural areas, which was named 'Kalam-Raju Tablet'.

In 1998, he along with cardiologist Dr Soma Raju developed a low-cost coronary stent. It was later named 'Kalam-Raju Stent' honouring them.

He used to get average grades in his school days, but his strong desire to learn, especially mathematics made him what he is today.

He played a prominent role in India's 1998 nuclear weapons tests which established him as a national hero.

He is also well known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.

Before his term as the President of India, he worked as an Aerospace Engineer with DRDO and ISRO.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 to Jainulabdeen, a boat owner, and Ashiamma, a housewife, in Tamil Nadu.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is an Indian scientist and was India's President from 2002 to 2007.

China plans railway to India border by 2020

China has long mooted this plan, but the difficulty and expense of building in such a rugged and remote region has slowed efforts (Photo: AFP)

Beijing: China plans to extend a railway line linking Tibet with the rest of the country to the borders of India, Nepal and Bhutan by 2020 once an extension to a key site in Tibetan Buddhism opens, a state-run newspaper reported on Thursday.

China opened the railway to Tibet's capital Lhasa in 2006, which passes spectacular icy peaks on the Tibetan highlands, touching altitudes as high as 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) above sea level, as part of government efforts to boost development.

Critics of the railway, including exiled Tibetans and rights groups, say it has spurred an influx of long-term migrants who threaten Tibetans' cultural integrity, which rests on Buddhist beliefs and a traditional herding lifestyle.

The Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said that an extension to Shigatse, the traditional seat of Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure, the Panchen Lama, would formally open next month.

That link is scheduled for its own extension during the 2016-2020 period to two separate points, one on the border of Nepal and the other on the border with India and Bhutan, the newspaper cited Yang Yulin, deputy head of Tibet's railways, as saying, without providing details.

China has long mooted this plan, but the difficulty and expense of building in such a rugged and remote region has slowed efforts.

Tibet is a highly sensitive region, not just because of continued Tibetan opposition to Chinese control, but because of its strategic position next to India, Nepal and Myanmar.

The Chinese announcement coincides with a drive by India, under its new prime minister Narendra Modi, to consolidate its influence with its smaller neighbours.

Modi's foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, heads to Nepal on Friday with a proposed pact to help develop the Himalayan country's hydro-electric power potential high on the agenda.

Modi, who made his first foreign trip as prime minister to Bhutan, is to visit Nepal next month. But Nepal's opposition Maoists are uneasy about the hydro-electric plan and say it could lock out China to the benefit of Indian companies.

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 over the region at the eastern end of the Himalayas. The nuclear-armed neighbours signed a pact in October to ensure that differences on their shared border do not spark a confrontation.

India and China have competing claims over what India calls Arunachal Pradesh, which has been administered by India for decades and what China calls South Tibet.

China's Communist army occupied Tibet in 1950. Nine years later, Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India after a failed uprising.

Breakthrough in quest for Ebola cure after vaccine test success

File photo A nurse walks with a little girl suffering from Ebola, at a clinic in Monrovia (Photo: AFP)

Paris: An Ebola vaccine test successfully provided blanket protection during a field trial conducted in Guinea, researches announced on Friday, possibly marking "the beginning of the end" for the devastating West African outbreak that has killed thousands.

The serum was 100% effective a week after more than 7,600 people were inoculated, according to results published in The Lancet medical journal, results hailed as being "extremely promising" by World Health Organization (WHO) chief Margaret Chan.

The world was "on the verge of an effective Ebola vaccine," the UN's health agency said in a statement.

"The initial results of the study show that the vaccine can effectively contain the further spread of the Ebola virus," said the University of Bern, which contributed to the research.

Though encouraging, the results are "interim" and the vaccine will not become immediately available as a community-wide Ebola shield, experts cautioned.

About 28,000 people have been infected in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since late 2013, according to the WHO. Nearly half have died, but there is thought to be a large undercount of cases and deaths.

Having brought an already fragile health sector to its knees, and driving out much-needed investment, the outbreak has started winding down but is not over.

Seven cases were confirmed the week ending in July 26 -- four in Guinea and three in Sierra Leone -- the lowest weekly total for over a year. But even a single undetected case can spark a flareup -- the virus spreads through direct contact with body fluids.

More testing required

One of two leading vaccine candidates, VSV-ZEBOV has been developed and tested in a super-quick 12 months, compared to the normal decade or more. Ebola has no licensed cure or treatment.

The trial, backed by drug firm Merck, the WHO and the governments of Canada, Norway and Guinea, saw 4,123 high-risk people vaccinated immediately after someone close to the trial participant fell ill with the haemorrhagic fever.

None of the vaccinated group caught the virus.

A second, comparison group of 3,528 people received the vaccine three weeks after potential exposure. Sixteen of them contracted the virus while unprotected, said the study, but by day six after inoculation, everyone in the second group was also fully shielded.

"Indeed, no vaccinee developed symptoms more than six days after vaccination, irrespective of whether vaccination was immediate or delayed," said the study paper.

The vaccine was safe, with no serious side-effects, according to the study.

Not known is how long the protection lasts, or the vaccine's effect on pregnant women and children -- high risk groups not included in the trial.

The news was greeted with optimism in the Guinean capital of Conakry, where the coordinator of the country's fight against the virus, Sakoba Keita, expressed his "supreme satisfaction" in a press conference late Friday.

"We hope that with this discovery, the stigma that we have had to deal with and the fear of this illness will end," Keita said, while adding that existing measures aimed at preventing the virus would remain in place.

The WHO's representative in Guinea, Mohammed Belhocine, advised caution, however.

"Given the danger of this epidemic, this is just a partial result. We should celebrate it, but must not allow our guard to drop," he said.

Limiting virus spread

The Lancet said the Guinea trial would continue gathering evidence of VS-ZEBOV's effectiveness and safety.

"The vaccine is not yet licensed. More data on efficacy are needed before it can be widely deployed," said an editorial in the medical journal.

Even then, it may be better used not to try and prevent outbreaks, but to limit virus spread once there is a known case, and for protecting healthcare workers -- the group at highest risk.

"The major problem is the very sporadic appearance of Ebola virus in outbreaks which are unpredictable in terms of where and when they might next appear," Andrew Easton, a virology professor at the University of Warwick, told AFP.

And the cost of mass vaccination to cover all eventualities would be prohibitive.

The trial used a so-called "ring" approach -- the same used to eradicate smallpox in Africa in the 1970s. First to be vaccinated are people who had been in close contact with an Ebola patient, then those at a slightly more indirect risk, and so on.

"Where rings have been vaccinated... the transmission has stopped," WHO assistant director-general Marie-Paule Kieny told journalists in Geneva.

"Prior to the vaccination there were cases, cases, cases. The vaccination arrived, 10 days later no cases."

For one of the trial researchers, Matthias Egger, said the trial proved not only the effectiveness of the vaccine, but also of the ring strategy.

"This could finally be the beginning of the end of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and also be useful when combating this disease in the future," he said.