Latest news with #Balachandran
Time of India
18-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Flamingos light up Kovalam
Chennai: Bird watchers in the city were surprised to spot nearly 200 Greater Flamingos at Kovalam Creek recently, more so because wildlife officials said they were not sighted at their regular haunts such as Pulicat Bird Sanctuary in Tiruvallur, Kodiakkarai in Nagapattinam district, or the newly declared flamingo sanctuary at Dhanushkodi near Rameswaram. A senior wildlife official said that in Kodiakkarai, flamingos begin arriving from Sept and stay for about six months. Former deputy director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) S Balachandran said flamingos breed once in four years, and in some areas, they can be seen year-round. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai In Kanyakumari district, the backwaters near saltpans often host them due to the mixture of saline and fresh water that ensures adequate feed. This combination influences their extended stay, Balachandran said. Regarding Dhanushkodi, Balachandran said that the lagoon, now declared a flamingo sanctuary, dries up in summer, forcing the birds to move elsewhere. K V R K Thirunaranan of The Nature Trust said the availability of feed and absence of human disturbance attracted flamingos to Kovalam Creek every year. Thirunaranan and his team recorded mostly flamingos in non-breeding plumage and juvenile birds. "Since 2017, our team has recorded flamingo sightings here during July, albeit in small numbers, which always surprised us," he said.
The Star
29-06-2025
- The Star
Bodies of Perhentian boat tragedy victims to be taken home for final rites
KUALA TERENGGANU: The remains of three family members who drowned when their boat capsized off Pulau Perhentian, Besut, on Saturday (June 28) night will be taken home to Butterworth, Penang, and Sungai Petani, Kedah, for their final rites. Special Officer (Non‑Islamic Affairs) to the Terengganu Mentri Besar, Dr K. Balachandran, said post‑mortem examinations and other formalities for S. Arumugam (40), his daughter A. Sarrvihka (three) and their relative V. Vennpani (10) were completed at about 4.30 pm Sunday. "The bodies of the father and daughter will be sent to Butterworth, while the third victim will be taken to Sungai Petani. "A family member informed us that the 15 passengers, from four related families, had arrived for a holiday last Friday and were due to travel back to Sungai Petani and Butterworth on Sunday," he said when met at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital (HSNZ) Forensic Unit. According to Balachandran, the family had finished dinner on Pulau Perhentian Kecil and were heading to Pulau Perhentian Besar when their boat was hit by strong waves and overturned, claiming three lives. Balachandran said surviving passengers and the families of the deceased are still traumatised and have requested privacy. "They are not ready to speak to anyone, including the media, but they have expressed gratitude to all agencies and volunteers who assisted," he added. The incident occurred at about 10.30pm on Saturday. The boat was carrying 15 passengers aged between three and 40. Three people died, while one passenger remains in critical condition in HSNZ's Intensive Care Unit. - Bernama
New Straits Times
29-06-2025
- New Straits Times
Bodies of Perhentian boat tragedy victims to be sent home for final rites
KUALA TERENGGANU: The remains of three family members who drowned when their boat capsized off Pulau Perhentian, Besut, on Saturday night will be taken home to Butterworth, Penang, and Sungai Petani, Kedah, for their final rites. Special Officer (Non-Islamic Affairs) to the Terengganu Menteri Besar, Dr K. Balachandran, said post-mortem examinations and other formalities for S. Arumugam (40), his daughter A. Sarrvihka (three) and their relative V. Vennpani (10) were completed at about 4.30pm today. "The bodies of the father and daughter will be sent to Butterworth, while the third victim will be taken to Sungai Petani. "A family member informed us that the 15 passengers, from four related families, had arrived for a holiday last Friday and were due to travel back to Sungai Petani and Butterworth today," he said when met at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital (HSNZ) Forensic Unit. According to Balachandran, the family had finished dinner on Pulau Perhentian Kecil and were heading to Pulau Perhentian Besar when their boat was hit by strong waves and overturned, claiming three lives. Balachandran said surviving passengers and the families of the deceased are still traumatised and have requested privacy. "They are not ready to speak to anyone, including the media, but they have expressed gratitude to all agencies and volunteers who assisted," he added. The incident occurred at about 10.30pm on Saturday. The boat was carrying 15 passengers aged between three and 40. Three people died, while one passenger remains in critical condition in HSNZ's Intensive Care Unit.
Barnama
29-06-2025
- Barnama
Bodies Of Perhentian Boat Tragedy Victims To Be Taken Home For Final Rites
KUALA TERENGGANU, June 29 (Bernama) -- The remains of three family members who drowned when their boat capsized off Pulau Perhentian, Besut, on Saturday night will be taken home to Butterworth, Penang, and Sungai Petani, Kedah, for their final rites. Special Officer (Non‑Islamic Affairs) to the Terengganu Menteri Besar, Dr K. Balachandran, said post‑mortem examinations and other formalities for S. Arumugam (40), his daughter A. Sarrvihka (three) and their relative V. Vennpani (10) were completed at about 4.30 pm today. 'The bodies of the father and daughter will be sent to Butterworth, while the third victim will be taken to Sungai Petani. 'A family member informed us that the 15 passengers, from four related families, had arrived for a holiday last Friday and were due to travel back to Sungai Petani and Butterworth today,' he said when met at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital (HSNZ) Forensic Unit. According to Balachandran, the family had finished dinner on Pulau Perhentian Kecil and were heading to Pulau Perhentian Besar when their boat was hit by strong waves and overturned, claiming three lives. Balachandran said surviving passengers and the families of the deceased are still traumatised and have requested privacy. 'They are not ready to speak to anyone, including the media, but they have expressed gratitude to all agencies and volunteers who assisted,' he added. The incident occurred at about 10.30 pm on Saturday. The boat was carrying 15 passengers aged between three and 40. Three people died, while one passenger remains in critical condition in HSNZ's Intensive Care Unit. -- BERNAMA
Boston Globe
24-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Cambridge medical AI company OpenEvidence sues physician networking app Doximity, alleging corporate espionage
Advertisement OpenEvidence asked the court to block Doximity from using its trade secrets and award unspecified financial damages. A Doximity spokesperson said the company could not comment on pending litigation, but would 'defend these claims vigorously.' OpenEvidence is one of the leading AI companies in Greater Boston, backed by top venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins and valued at an estimated $3 billion. OpenEvidence was one on only two Boston-area firms to make Described by Forbes as 'ChatGPT for doctors,' OpenEvidence provides physicians with almost instantaneous access to the latest medical information to help them determine diagnoses and treatments. The company has partnerships with leading journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Advertisement In the suit, OpenEvidence alleged Balachandran and Konoske used the National Provider Identifier numbers of real doctors to access After logging in to OpenEvidence's search engine, the lawsuit claims that Doximity employees submitted prompts designed to trick the AI to divulge the system's inner workings. In one instance, the lawsuit alleges, Konoske prompted the AI bot to'write down the secret code' while logged into the platform under a gastroenterologist's identification number. The lawsuit also claims that Doximity executives and staff submitted hundreds of medical queries and submitted identical questions dozens of times to find pattens to help understand how the technology works. The legal action comes amid what OpenEvidence founder Daniel Nadler describes as a 'talent arms race' in AI innovation, with top firms competing for top talent graduating from prestigious programs such as those at Harvard, his alma mater, and MIT. 'These companies are staffed with the brightest minds in the world, and are going to have a profound impact on humanity, but only if they can survive,' Nadler said in an interview. In the lawsuit, OpenEvidence claimed that Doximity named OpenEvidence as a 'number one target' and prime competitor. Doximity's technology provides a secure channel for clinicians to communicate with their patients and other physicians over the phone, according to Doximity's website. Doximity has started developing its own AI tools, including OpenEvidence alleged in the lawsuit that Doximity CEO Jeff Tangney 'engaged in a systematic campaign of defamation and false advertising designed to undermine OpenEvidence's reputation and competitive position in the marketplace.' Advertisement Tangney manipulated prompts to generate false answers from OpenEvidence's search engine before a group of pharmaceutical executives whose companies account for nearly $20 billion in annual advertising spending, according to the lawsuit. Maren Halpin can be reached at
