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Showing posts from November, 2013

LION ON TREE

Salam, 5, an African lion, stands on the branches of a tree at the Ramt Gan safari near Tel Aviv, Israel. Tree-climbing lions are relatively uncommon and are best known for their populations in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park and Tanzania's Lake Manyara national Park.

15 YEARS OF LIVER TRANSPLANT IN INDIA

Sanjay Kandasamy had Undergone a Path-breaking Procedure of Liver Transplant in 1998 as an 18-Month Child at Apollo Hospitals Delhi. Today he completed 15th successful year of survival after Liver Transplant. He is the first to had Liver Transplant in India. Sanjay belongs to Kancheepuram, Tamilnadu was born with a rare condition called biliary atresia, which is seen in 1 in 12000 babies. This is a condition in which there is no connection between the liver and the intestine, so the bile produced in the liver cannot be excreted and therefore damages the liver. These babies develop jaundice a few days after birth and the jaundice progressively increases. An operation to create bile flow, if performed before the age of 2 months can prevent liver failure. Unfortunately in India, most babies with biliary atresia are diagnosed after the age of 3 months, making this operation unsuccessful. This happened in Sanjay's case. Since his condition was deteriorating because of liver failur

DEATH...TOUGH TO EXPLAIN FOR KIDS

Illustrating children's books is as challenging as working on books for adults as some images stay with us throughout life even if we may forget the story, says French author and illustrator Olivier Tallec. "Many think children's books are about inspiring stories but there’s a lot more to it. There are books which deal with sensitive issues like death, sexuality, loneliness coupled with humour," Tallec told PTI in an interview. "To illustrate such themes for children's books is very challenging because these concepts are difficult to explain. As an illustrator and writer, I have to be careful about what to say and how to say it to kids because they can be influenced easily," he said. In one of his books "The Scar", Tallec, through a series of illustrations captures the theme of loneliness through the eyes of a child. The story written by Charlotte Moundlic is about a little boy who wakes up to the news of his mother's deat

SABARIMALA SEASON BEGINS

Chief priest PN Narayanan Namboothiri and Thantri Kandararu Maheswararu preparing for ‘Kalababhishekam’ at Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala

GOOD PHOTOS

FEEDING THE SIBLING

PUNE GIRL WON ACCOLADE...OCCUPIES GOOGLE DOODLE

Google India on Thursday celebrated Children's Day with a colourful doodle designed by a class 10 student from a school in Pune. The doodle titled "Sky's the limit for Indian women" has been designed by Gayatri Ketharaman for the fifth edition of Doodle 4 Google competition with the theme celebrating Indian women. "Each letter of the doodle depicts the trait of Indian women. She is graceful and elegant, adept at balancing work and home. She is a go-getter and also personifies motherhood," said Gayatri Ketharaman, a student of Bishop's co-education school in Pune. The winner was selected from among 12 finalists chosen from different parts of the country by the national jury comprising actress Kirron Kher and political cartoonist Ajit Ninan. The search engine giant holds the Doodle 4 Google contest for school kids in India with a particular theme every year. The winning entry is then featured on the h

BJP ON POPULIST SPREE

Rice at Re one per kg for poor families, bonus for farmers, interest-free loans for peasants, free laptops and tablets for students are the key promises made by the ruling BJP in its manifesto for the Assembly polls to be held in the state this month. "Rice at one rupee a kilogramme will be provided to 42 lakh poor families in the state if the party remains in power," Chief Minister Raman Singh said during the release of the manifesto in presence of senior leaders here today. Other promises for the farmers made in the manifesto included interest free agricultural loans, free power supply (for 5 hp pumps), Rs 300 per quintal bonus for paddy, insurance facilities and crop insurance guarantee scheme. Besides, the party has also assured to make efforts to provide Rs 2,100 per quintal support price to farmers for their paddy. However, it has not clarified a fix support price for paddy procurement to the farmers. To attract young voters, the party has promised to provide free

AEGING COCONUTS THREATEN LLIVELIHOODS

Livelihoods of millions in Asia-Pacific countries, including India, have been affected as ageing coconut trees in the region cannot produce enough to keep up with the world's rapidly growing demand. "Nearly 90 per cent of the world's coconuts and other products derived from coconut trees originate in this region, but the sector has problems and requires rehabilitation," said Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO's assistant director-general and regional representative for Asia and the Pacific. As the ageing trees produce fewer coconuts and by-products, the livelihoods of millions are affected, experts at a meeting on coconuts organised by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said. Fifteen Asia-Pacific countries had gathered at the meeting here over the weekend to agree to a regional approach to rejuvenate the crop upon which millions rely. The experts stressed the need for replanting and rehabilitation of coconut trees, as many of the coconut trees alive toda

BANGALURU GUYS WON ECONOMIST INNOVATION AWARD

Rahul Panicker, Jane Chen, Linus Liang and Naganand Murty of Embrace Innovations, have been named as this year's winners in Social and Economic innovation of The Economist's Innovation Award for their design and development of a new infant warmer for developing countries. Panicker and Murty, both IIT graduates, are the first Indians to win The Economist Innovation Award after Sam Pitroda in 2006 and N R Narayana Murthy in 2007, city- based Embrace Innovations said in a statement. Now in their 12th year, the Innovation Awards recognise significant contributions in eight fields: Bioscience, Computing and Telecommunications, Consumer Products, Energy and Environment, Process and Services, Social and Economic, No Boundaries, and Corporate. According to the World Health Organisation, of the 15 million premature and low-birth-weight babies born each year, three million die within the first month -- about 340 every hour. In well-resourced settings, vulnerable babies u

MARS...THE RED PLANET, DEMYSTIFIED FOR YOUNG READERS

  Indian Space Research Organisation's historic mission to Mars makes for fascinating reading and will spark the interest of young minds in space science and space journeys, says ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan in the forward of a new book on the red planet. "India's tryst with space science dates back to ancient astronomers and mathematicians who have striven to understand our place in the Universe. Now, in 21st century, we stand at a unique time in exploration of our heavens," says Radhakrishnan in the foreword of book "Destination Mars: Secrets of the Red Planet Revealed." Authored by S K Das, an honorary advisor to the ISRO, the book takes readers to the "most exciting planet in the solar system" and talks about the secrets that astronomers and scientists have unearthed about it over the years. "Das's book is a welcome and timely development. It tells the story of Mars as it captured the imagination of people in the early days, f

INDIA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES MARS MISSION

SATILITE PLACED IN EARTH ORBIT India's maiden mission to Mars was successfully launched today with its polar rocket placing the Mars spacecraft precisely into an intended Earth orbit. It is India's first-ever historic inter-planetary odyssey in a bid to join a select band of nations. In a "new and complex mission design", ISRO's PSLV C 25 successfully injected the 1,350-kg 'Mangalyaan' Orbiter ('Mars craft' in Hindi) into the orbit around Earth some 44 minutes after launch at 2.38 PM from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, marking the successful completion of the first stage of the Rs 450 crore mission. Entering a new frontier in space technology, Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO)'s mission is aimed at establishing India's capability to reach the Red Planet and would focus on looking for presence of methane, an indicator of life there. The rocket injected the satellite into Earth's orbit over South America, which was ca

GRAND ADEU TO NIRUPAMA RAO

Nirupama Rao, Indian envoy to the US, bid farewell to her career of diplomacy, as members of the American diplomatic core and her counterparts from countries like China and Brazil gathered at a reception hosted in her honour by the State Department here. "It is difficult to imagine that so much time has passed," Rao told a select audience gathered at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the US State Department, which hosted a rare farewell reception for the Indian diplomat on the last day of her assignment last night. Rao, 62, in the four-decade of being a diplomat served as India's Foreign Secretary, External Affairs Ministry's spokesperson and envoy to important countries like China and Sri Lanka. "I leave with a great sense of optimism and hope and satisfaction that I have been able not only to learn so much but also to help build partnerships and forge relationship between India and a number of countries around the world," said Rao. US Secretary of S

MARS ORBITOR MISSION

India is inching towards a milestone in space technology with preparatory work in full swing at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota to launch the country's first inter-planetary satellite to Mars tomorrow. "The countdown for the launch, which commenced yesterday has been progressing smoothly. Things are normal. We are busy with preparatory work," an ISRO spokesman told. The Launch Authorisation Board of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had on November 1 given its consent for launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission after a successful launch rehearsal the previous day. The 44.4 metre tall rocket has been mounted on the pedestal of the First Launch Pad at the spaceport,covered by a 76 metre tall Mobile Service Tower, designed to withstand a wind speed of 230 km per hour, in case of a cyclone. It will be removed as the countdown comes closer to the launch. PSLV C 25 is scheduled to lift off at 2.38 PM tomorrow from the spaceport, about 100 km from