Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Wanjiru dies: police

Reigning Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya died overnight after falling from the second floor of his home in the town of Nyahururu, police said on Monday.

"He fell from the balcony of his home after a row with his wife. We found him lying on the verandah with a broken skull," local police chief Jasper Ombati said.

"The theory we are getting from his wife and a watchman is that he came home drunk from the bar and he was accompanied with a woman. When his wife asked why he came home with a woman, an argument ensued, and that is when he fell off the balcony and died," Ombati said.

"He was pronounced dead at the Nyahururu district hospital," he added.

He said police were also investigating whether the runner may have jumped rather than fell from the balcony.

"There is also another theory that during the argument, the wife ran away from their bedroom and as her husband ran after her, she locked the stair-case door prompting Wanjiru to look for an alternative way out... and that is when he jumped off the balcony to the ground and died," he said.

"These are the two theories we are investigating. We cannot conclusively say he committed suicide, or that he jumped down and died accidentally. All these are conclusions we will make once the investigation is completed," the area police chief said.

"For now we are going on with the investigations. Wanjiru’s wife has recorded a statement with us and their watchman as well. The woman Wanjiru went home with is at the station with us, assisting detectives with the investigations," he added.

Wanjiru, who over the past few months appears to have had marital problems, was involved in a serious car crash in January.

He was scheduled to appear before a Nyahururu court next Monday, accused of being in possession of an unlicensed firearm.

Bipasha gets more support in Amar tapes controversy

After Celina Jaitley, Bollywood personalities Pritish Nandy and Sonam Kapoor have expressed support for actress Bipasha Basu whose voice is alleged to have figured in taped conversations with former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh.

"I believe @bipsluvurself (Bipasha) when she says she is not in the Amar Singh tapes. Doesn't sound like her at all," Nandy posted on his Twitter page.

Sonam added: "I agree. A bunch of vicious losers are doing this! It doesn't sound like her at all. It's so improbable, it's almost funny."

Bipasha herself has denied that it's her voice in the controversial tapes, which were barred from publication in the media since 2006 until Wednesday when the gag order was lifted by the Supreme Court.

Former beauty queen-turned-actress Celina had also extended support to Bipasha. She said she had heard the tapes herself, and was confident that the girl in the tape was not Bipasha at all.

Big B to launch his voice blog in Britain

Almost a year after launching his voice blog called 'Bachchan Bol' in India, Amitabh Bachchan is all set to launch vogging or voice blogging in Britain on May 18 on Wednesday.

"Bachchan Bol gets all geared up in the coming days. We launch this in the United Kingdom on May 18. It's my Vog, or in simpler terms, my Voice Blog," Big B posted on his blog Bigb.bigadda.com.

The 68-year-old has reached London and is excited to be able to connect to his fans worldwide.

"Greetings from the United Kingdom, which as you may observe is where I have landed myself this morning... and which as you will observe in time will be where I shall be launching the Bachchan Bol Vog facility for the UK... and which in time to come, perhaps not very long, about a month, shall initiate the possibility of connecting to my Vog worldwide … excited !!," he posted.

Glenmark outlicenses development of molecule to Sanofi

MUMBAI: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals S.A (GPSA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited India (GPL), has entered into an agreement with Sanofi to grant Sanofi a licence for the development and commercialisation of GBR 500, a novel monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Crohn's Disease (a form of inflammatory bowel disease) and other inflammatory conditions.

The transaction is expected to close in the coming month subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration or early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

Under the agreement, Glenmark will receive an upfront payment of $50 million, of which $25 million will be paid upon closing of the transaction and $25 million, which is contingent upon Sanofi's positive assessment of certain data to be provided by Glenmark.

In addition, Glenmark could receive potential success-based development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. The total of these payments could reach $613 million. In addition, Glenmark is eligible to receive tiered double-digit royalties on sales of products commercialised under the licence. Sanofi will have exclusive marketing rights for North America, Europe, Japan, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Sanofi and Glenmark will co-market in Russia, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, and Glenmark will retain exclusive marketing rights in India and other countries in the rest of the world.

GBR 500 is an antagonist of the VLA-2 (alpha2beta1) integrin.

It is a first-in-class therapeutic monoclonal antibody and has established proof of concept in animal models across a range of anti-inflammatory conditions.

Glenmark has completed Phase-I dosing of GBR 500 in the U.S. and the drug has been well tolerated with a good pharmacokinetic profile. Plans are in place to initiate clinical proof of concept studies in Crohn's Disease. Sanofi has licensed the rights to all therapeutic indications.

“There continues to be a strong medical need for safer and more efficacious products for the treatment of inflammatory diseases,” said Elias Zerhouni, M.D., President, Global Research & Development, Sanofi.

“GBR500 brings an innovative approach to Sanofi's immuno-inflammation portfolio, which we believe may address a significant gap in treating inflammatory diseases which would be of huge benefit to patients”.

According to Glenn Saldanha MD and CEO of GPL, “This collaboration, on a novel first-in-class monoclonal antibody, validates Glenmark's world-class innovative R&D capabilities in the drug discovery arena. We are pleased to have this second licensing collaboration with Sanofi, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and the first one from Glenmark in the field of novel biologics”.

Glenmark is a leading player in the discovery of new molecules, both NCEs (new chemical entity) and NBEs (new biological entity). It has eight molecules in various stages of clinical development and is primarily focussed in the areas of inflammation and pain. It has 12 manufacturing facilities in four countries and five R&D centres.

Change lifestyle to prevent hypertension

Change lifestyle to prevent hypertension

HYDERABAD: Erratic lifestyle in these modern times is making hypertension (blood pressure) a common ailment among public. In fact, physicians in the Capital allude to the fact that these days, patients between the age group of 30 and 40 years, which was not the case till recently, are falling prey to hypertension. Thanks, largely to their apparent lack of control over lifestyle.

General physicians maintain that hypertension is a ‘silent killer' because it displays no symptoms and yet, has the potential to impact vital organs including heart, kidneys and brain. Significant changes in lifestyle will be good enough to get a firm control over hypertension, doctors suggest.

“Unofficial estimates suggest that hypertension prevalence is at 35 per cent among public in India while globally it is at 30 per cent. Earlier, patients above 50 years used to get hypertension, but now the patient demographic has changed and is now between 30 and 40 years,” says general physician and director of Surakshaka Hospitals Lily Rodrigues.

So, what exactly is high blood pressure? Heart pumps blood to the body through arteries. And when arteries become narrow or constricted due to various reasons, the heart starts pumping harder in order to move blood from the arteries to other parts of body. This leads to hypertension.

“That's why diabetes is closely linked to blood pressure. There is high level of cholesterol among diabetics and this cholesterol thickens the arteries. And this leads to hypertension among diabetics. Sedentary life and stress are major factors for hypertension,” Dr. Rodrigues points out.

Who are the high risk groups? Persons who are obese, lack physical activity, have ample abdominal fat and consume excess alcohol, have a family history of hypertension and diabetes form the high risk groups for hypertension. “Persons consuming large amounts of salt are also hypertensive.

Salt contains sodium, which constricts blood vessels leading to hypertension,” explains Dr. Ch. Jaya Kumari, District Medical Officer, Ranga Reddy. So what is the ideal amount of salt to be taken per day? “The vegetables that we consume already have some amounts of natural salt. So, on an average, a persons should not consume more than 5 gm of salt per day,” suggests Dr. Rodrigues.

When the patient should start worrying? Ideally blood pressure should be (120/80) mm (millimetres) of Hg (mercury). “Patients should start taking medication when their BP is more than 130/90. Here 130 Hg in mm is the contraction of the heart (systolic) and 90 is the heart relaxation known as diastolic,” says Dr. Rodrigues.

Easy win for Deccan Chargers

NAVI MUMBAI: Kumar Sangakkara enjoyed a high on his last night out in DLF IPL-IV, as his team Deccan Chargers chased down Pune Warriors' modest 136 in a methodical, no-frills manner for a six-wicket win with four balls to spare, scoring 138-4 in 19.2 overs. The Sri Lankan, whose calmness stands out in batting and keeping, amidst the hustle and bustle of T20 cricket, avenged a six-wicket loss against the same side in a home game.

Two back-to-back away wins (DC pulled the plug on Mumbai Indians earlier) allows the captain the satisfaction of knowing that his players have collectively begun to take responsibility for performances justifying the talent in the squad. Before leaving to join the Lankan squad in England, Sangakkara left his mark on the game, walking after his attempted cut off Rahul Sharma resulted in a snick behind. Uthappa appealed, the umpire deliberated and the captain walked back as the bowler saluted.

Chasing 137 on a slow turner, the visitor negotiated the first six overs with cautious batting. Shikhar Dhawan was pushed up to his regular opener slot, Sunny Sohal punished bowlers with audacious hitting against pace.

Deccan raced to 57 for no loss in six overs, inclusive of 10 from one over of Rahul Sharma's leg-spin. Yuvraj stepped up to effect a turnaround, slanted one wide on seeing Dhawan stepping out for Uthappa to whip off the bails in style.

Warriors sensed a comeback when Sharma's shout for leg-before was upheld after the ball sneaked through to strike Sohal on the backfoot.

Sangakkara, leading Chargers for the last time before joining Sri Lanka in England, was content with placements and taps into vacant areas for sharp singles. Duminy escaped a run-out at the non-striker end. Shrill whistles from Pune supporters mocked at the visitor's tactics. Chargers reached 78-2 in 10 overs without the fireworks expected by T20 fans eager for a dose of thrills and spills.

Earlier, brute force by Mitchell Marsh in the death overs helped Pune Warriors reach a respectable total after the top order failed to get going. The Aussie stepped out against the slow bowlers for huge straight sixes. He top-scored with 37 off 28 balls, an exception in a side where strokeplayers came and went.

Yuvraj stuck around for 17 balls then left without the blast from his blade. The damage was done by slow bowlers.

Medium-pacer Dan Christian (two for 13) underlined his utility value with Ganguly's scalp. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (two for 35) set off a chain reaction when opener Pandey chopped a ball onto his stumps. Amit Mishra's double blow in his first over almost knocked over the home team, disrupting plans the way he had done to Mumbai Indians two days ago.

Mishra, confident of troubling batsmen with his bag of tricks, claimed two critical wickets in his first over (1-1-0-2). Uthappa tapped a ball pitched on the leg-stump back to the bowler. The leg-spinner bounced in joy as teammates joined in celebration.

The next ball to Mithun Manhas was a googly, Mishra raised his arms in glee as the batsman fell for the bait, shaping for a late cut through slips and getting an inside edge onto the stumps

Duminy claimed a wicket too, reducing Warriors to 92 for seven by the 15th over before Marsh played a cameo.

Pune Warriors: J. Ryder c Ravi Teja b Steyn 18 ( 14b, 1x4, 1x6), M. Pandey b Ojha 23 ( 20b, 3x4, 1x6), S. Ganguly c Ojha b Christian 0 ( 5b), R. Uthappa c & b Mishra 4 ( 5b, 1x4), Yuvraj c Sangakkara b Christian 23 ( 17b, 3x4, 1x6), M. Manhas b Mishra 0 ( 1b), C. Ferguson c & b Duminy 11 ( 13b, 1x4), M. Marsh b Ojha 37 ( 28b, 1x4, 3x6), W. Parnell (run out) 16 ( 16b, 1x6), B. Kumar (not out) 1 ( 1b); Extras (lb-1, w-2): 3; Total: (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 136.

Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-35, 3-45, 4-45, 5-45, 6-73, 7-92, 8-127, 9-136.

Deccan Charges bowling: Duminy 2-0-19-1, Steyn 4-0-23-1, Ishant 3-0-19-0, Christian 3-0-13-2, Ojha 4-0-35-2, Mishra 4-1-26-2.

Deccan Chargers: S. Sohal lbw b Rahul Sharma 34 ( 28b, 2x4 2x6), S. Dhawan st. Uthappa b Yuvraj 28 ( 25b, 4x4), , K. Sangakkara c Uthappa b Rahul Sharma 25 ( 21b, 2x4, 1x6), J.P. Duminy b Parnell 23 ( 26b, 1x6), D. Christian (not out) 14 ( 12b, 1x4), B. Chipli (not out) 5 ( 4b, 1x4); Extras (w-9): 9; Total (for four wkts. in 19.2 overs): 138.

Fall of wickets: 1-67, 2-73, 3-108, 4-126.

Pune Warriors bowling: B. Kumar 2-0-10-0, Parnell 3.2-0-27-1, Rahul Sharma 4-0-25-2, M. Marsh 3-0-30-0, Yuvraj 4-0-27-1, Manhas 3-0-19-0.

Man-of-the-Match: Amit Mishra .

RCB can spike Kings' aspirations

DHARAMSHALA: With the all-play-all phase of the Indian Premier League-IV entering its last week, Kings XI Punjab finds itself in a tricky situation.

Unlike the five teams below it on the points table, Kings is in contention for a place in the playoffs. But like the four teams placed ahead, it is not sure of making the playoffs solely on the strength of a victory or victories in the remaining matches.

Permutations

For Kings to secure a place in the top-four teams, it not only has to win against an already-qualified Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday and Deccan Chargers on May 21 but also wish that fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders loses to Pune Warriors and Mumbai Indians.

Currently, Kings has 12 points, two points behind KKR that enjoys a far superior net run-rate.

At best, Kings can reach 16 points. In case of a tie at 16 points, Kings' low net-run rate will come in the way of securing a place in the playoffs. For the moment, Adam Gilchrist and his men can do only what they can — try and win.

RCB, obviously keen for a top-two finish in the league, will not be taking Kings lightly although it had posted a crushing 85-run win in their previous meeting.

The arrival of Chris Gayle has dramatically changed the fortunes of RCB.

Upfront, Gayle's savage attack on the new-ball bowlers has settled many contests much before the last ball was bowled. Even before Gayle arrived on the scene, RCB was already among the more balanced teams in the fray.

And even after skipper Daniel Vettori and Tillakratne Dilshan are not available for different reasons, the team has plenty in the reserve to go all the way.

Vettori has gone home to attend to a knee injury and Dilshan joins Sri Lanka for the tour to England.

On the other hand, Kings has taken time to make its presence felt in the competition.

The batting line-up now has a settled look with Gilchrist, Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh and Dinesh Karthik giving the opposition something to think about.

David Hussey is yet to play to his potential while Mandeep Singh is looking increasingly confident.

The bowlers, including Praveen Kumar, Ryan Harris, Shalabh Srivastava, Bhargav Bhatt, Piyush Chawla lacks the power to intimidate the batsmen.

But they have done reasonable well so far.