Postnoon E-Paper for 1st May 2013 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013 HYDERABAD

HEIRS TO THE JAZZ AGE

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: CLEAR WITH CLOUDY PERIODS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF A THUNDERSTORM; 36°C

Think jazz and John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Nina Simone leap to mind. To the uninitiated, it might seem like the genre is stuck in its glory days of the 1920s. A day after International Jazz Day, it's time to change that perception. These young, dynamic musicians have dusted off the classic notes, moulded them to their own beat, and every one of them is worth a listen.

P16&17

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

BIOMETRIC INFO OF

14L AADHAAR APPLICANTS

GOES MISSING Two lakh citizens from Hyderabad have not found their enrolments online. This could lead to vital data falling into criminal hands.

REPORT ON P5

STUDENTS LAP UP NEW COURSES AS CAREERS COME FIRST P3

It’s back to modified basics in college education, it seems. While engineering and medical colleges are reporting a slump, a renewed surge for traditional colleges is being seen. What attracts them is not literature or economics but new career-oriented courses. We find out more.

32 PAGES

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

city events

MEGA MUGS

Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF) announced TGI Friday’s mega mugs offer to coincide with the start of the IPL.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

36°C

30°C

35°C

43°C

Clear with cloudy periods.

Clear with cloudy periods

A mix of sun and cloud.

Sunny with cloudy periods.

New Delhi Max 36 Min 24

Mumbai Max 35 Min 27

Chennai Max 37 Min 30

Partly cloudy

Clear

Bangalore Max 37 Min 24 Cloudy

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES exhibited. Where: Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad, Banjara Hills When: Till May 3, 9.30 am to 5.30 pm

THEATRE Entertainment unlimited Nishumbita is presenting a theatre play Homework and mime performance I. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: May 1, 7.30 pm

Love Cliche Exhibition of art by Crimson is on. Where: Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, Secunderabad. When: On till May 2, 6.30 pm Contact: 93964-44424 The Deviant Digital art on canvas by Aekka Yadagiri Rao. Where: ICONArt Gallery, Road no 12, Banjara Hills When: On till May 3, 11.30 am to 7 pm Contact: www.iconart.in

FEST

Poetry & dance Creature of the Earth, poetry and dance performance by Space Theatre. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: May 2, 7.30 pm

WATER RUNS DRY: Amid unbearable heat, a thirsty boy tries to drink the water spilling out from a water tank. N SHIVA KUMAR

WORKSHOPS Summer camp Soft skills programme for children between the age group 8 and 14. Where: Prashanthi Counselling & HRD Center, Secretariat Road When: Till May 2, 10 am to 3.30 pm Contact: 93932-33232

All About Cycling A half-day interactive workshop on cycling. Where: Alliance Francaise, Banjara Hills When: May 4, 2 pm to 6 pm Contact: 96034-73470

Junior masterchef A summer camp Junior Gourmet is being organised. Where: The Park Hyderabad, Somajiguda When: Till May 3, 10 am Contact: 86860-47000 Indoor games Scrabble workshop for kids is being held. Where: Saptaparni (After School Activities), Banjara Hills When: Till May 3, 9 am to 11 am

Commissioner & Spl Officer

Helpline GAS BOOKING IVRS NO HP 9666023456 Indane 9848824365 BSNL Complaints HMWS & SB Complaints

198 155313

POLICE CONTROL ROOM Hyderabad 27852435 Traffic Control Room 27852482 DCP Traffic 23234065, 23243499F Pollution Control Board 23887500 ELECTRICITY General Complaints Breakdown Section

The joy of reading Oxford Bookstore in association with GHAC and LICH is organising an informative, exciting and fun-filled

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

23262266 24166666R ENC 23225267 Engineering 23220418 MCH Tankbund 23225397 Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842 MCH Circle III 24736912 MCH Circle IV 23326975 MCH Circle V 23326976 MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100 Head Office 23225397 IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRY PHONE NUMBERS (TRAIN & RESERVATION) RAILWAYS Rail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216 Railway Information 131 Reservations 135 Recorded Information 1345 Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333

Music fest Banyan Tree's World Music Festival will be held. The day will feature musicians Farah Siraj, Prasanna, Andres Rotmistrovsky, Jake Hertzog others. Where: Taramati Baradari, Gandipet When: May 3, 7 pm Contact: 93231-19381

workshop in social sciences and Humanities for kids. Where: Oxford Bookstore, The Park When: Ongoing, Till May 12, 9:30 am to 2:00 pm Contact: 92461-12461 Budding geniuses A creative writing workshop for kids above the age of 7. Where: Saptaparni (After School Activities) (2.6 km), Banjara Hills When: Ongoing, May 4, 10.30 am to 12.30 pm Summer camp Tailoring training camp for children between the age group of 6 and 16 is being organised. Where: Shilparamam, Madhapur When: Till May 20, 11 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 4 pm

WATER SUPPLY Complaint Cell Sewerage Complaint Hyd. Water Supply HOSPITAL General Hospital, Sec-bad Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills NIMS, Director, Punjagutta Osmania General Hospital Railway Hospital, Lalaguda Apollo, Jubilee Hills Care Hospital, Banjara Hills Care Hospital, Nampally Care Hospital, Musheerabad Care Hospital, Sec-bad Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar

155313 23307328 23313163

27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666 39879999

BLOOD BANKS Blood Bank,Narayanguda Chiranjeevi Blood Bank Blood Bank Mediton Goal Red Cross, Vidyanagar ADRM Blood Bank Mythri Charitable Trust NTR Memorial Trust Care Banjara Hills

The art of writing Calligraphy workshop is on. Where: Saptaparni (After School Activities), Banjara Hills When: Till May 3, 9 am to 11 am Contact: 90320-10200

ART Feathered friends Photographs of birds are being

27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445

AMBULANCES Apollo 23548888, 23607777 Kamineni 24022222 Medwin 23202902, 23204616 Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979 Red Cross 27627973 Niloufer Hospital 23314095 Gandhi 23320332 AIRLINES

Ideas galore FailFest, an idea-sharing presentation will be conducted. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: May 3, 7.30 pm

Airport Director 27903785, 27906001 For Air India Flight Information Toll free (from any network) for IC Flights 18001801407 And for All Flights: 1800227722 Air India has revised its flight timings. For more information call (Toll free) 18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from other lines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in TOURISM OFFICES AP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54 Sec-bad 27893100 Dept of Tourism 23453110 India Tourism 23261360 AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999 UK VISA OFFICE VFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A, Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7

Beside Meridian School, Banjara Hills34. Working hours are from 8 AM to 1 PM And 2 PM to 3PM. MUSEUMS Salar Jung Museum AP State Museum Nizams Museum

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

We invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to feedback@postnoon.com or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500 033 or even by way of a call on 4067 2222

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

news

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL CHANDRABABU NAIDU MAKE A COMEBACK IN 2014? 58% 42%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

WILL COALGATE BRING THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DOWN? A)

YES

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

EDUCATION

It’s careers first as new courses rule With options like digital humanities and food tech, students are thinking out of the box.

ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com

Changing Trends n BSc in Applied Nutrition at St Francis College for Women, Begumpet

one are the days when engineering and medicine reigned, and admission to a regular degree college meant students selecting B.Com, economics, political science or literature. With increasing demand for career-oriented courses, arts, science and commerce colleges are opening new avenues for students. This year, some colleges have introduced courses like applied nutrition, photography, and food technology. St Francis will be introducing applied nutrition in the science stream. “There has been a lot of demand from the hospital industry for this course, so we decided to include it in our curriculum. Going by the univer-

n Digital Humanities at Koti Women’s College n Advanced Learning in Photography at Koti Women’s College n Bachelor’s in Business Administration at St Mary’s College, Yousufguda

sity norms, we will have 40 seats for this course, which will surely have great demand,” says Uma Joseph, associate professor and co-ordinator of Internal Quality and Assurance Cell at St Francis. Digital humanities is a course that will be introduced for arts students at Koti Women’s

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College. It is a course that combines the methodologies from traditional humanities subjects with the various tools provided by computing like digital pub-

lishing, data visualisation, statistics and data mining. “So far, computing was an option for commerce students. But this year, we will be introducing it for arts students. Computing skills will be useful in various applications for students. This course

has great demand internationally also,” says Prof BT Sita, principal of Koti Women’s College. There is a mad rush for mass communication and journalism these days. Every year there is an increase of nearly 30 per cent in the applications. “Because of the popularity and eagerness of students to learn this subject, we will be upgrading the course to a full-fledged mass communication and journalism course from this year,” said Sita. Professional commerce is another sought-after subject. In the science stream, food technology has been attracting many. “When we started this course, there were not many students. Now there is a rush for seats, since it has a great future,” said a senior faculty at Loyola Degree College.

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

CIVIC

LAST YEAR... HERE Losing treasure

WEIGHT WATCH

Study tour begins — with family

ast year we had reported how the Hussain Sagar lake, once the pride of the Twin Cities, was being clogged with garbage. The apathy of the corporation and the government made things worse. Though several ‘beautiﬁcation’ projects had been taken up, little had changed. A year later, there still is no difference in the plight of the once beautiful water body.

MAY 1, 2012

TDP corporators will ‘study’ the CPM-ruled Thiruvananthapuram and the Congress members will ‘learn’ something from Modi’s Ahmedabad.

NUMEROLOGY

14,37,900 is the total number of erroneous enrolment between Phase-1 in 2011-2012 in Andhra Pradesh. This means loss of biometrics and personal information of lakhs of citizens.

Love junk food? Blame your mum! B

abies of women who ate junk food while pregnant are more likely to be obese when they become adults, found an Australian study. Also, they will be born with an addiction to fatty foods. The report that came in the Telegraph is based on the study published by the FASEB journal. The study found babies of mums who had junk food are less sensitive to opioids and are more likely to overeat. Experts AROUND THE

WORLD

Special needs (kids) go for intercountry adoptions. Nobody shows any interest here. We prefer to keep them in an NGO where they are at least taken care of nicely. CG Konda, Shishugruha See page 9

THINGS WE 5LEARNT TODAY The column that teaches everyone something new about the way the City functions.

Adoption still lags in Andhra Pradesh. In the past 13 years, there have been only 2,030 adoptions in the State, which accounts for less than 160 children being put up for adoption in a given year. There are over 40,000 orphans living in Hyderabad alone.

Government loses info on 14 lakh Aadhaar applicants. Personal information and biometric data of over 14 lakh people in the State has been lost. The implications of this are grave, considering the data could be used for criminal purposes.

Herschel space telescope closes its eyes on Universe. After three years of observation, the telescope has run out of coolant, forcing it to shut down.

Want to go to Mars? You just have to be curious. Now, it’s not only astronauts who can go to Mars, with a company offering space rides.

Bored with studies? Pick an interesting new course. Medicine is old school; food technology is all the rage now.

Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

his year’s councillor study tour won’t be any different from the earlier ones, says one of the senior corporators. Half of the TDP corporators who are interested in the ‘study tour’ left for Kerala on March 29. The Congress corporators, along with the other half of the TDP, will be leaving on May 3. The MIM is as yet undecided but pressure from councillors may finally prevail on the party leaders to let them go later, sources indicated. The study tour of the Congress will go through Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Pune and Mumbai. The batch of TDP corporators who left for Kerala numbered 22 along with their family members, totalling around 55. Accompanying them was MBT (Majlis Bachao Tehreek) corporator Amjadullah Khan.

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VIGNETTES FROM EARLIER ‘STUDY TOURS’ “There were scenes of spouses having drinks in the hotel rooms,” recalls a corporator. “This year too I do not think it

During one such tour sponsored by a company in Delhi, the corporators had sumptuous beverages. would be different,” he adds. Recalling one of the incidents, a corporator who is mortally afraid of identifying himself confided in Postnoon a hilarious instance of a corporator, under the influence of liquor, jumping into a swimming pool at midnight. The

deafening splash brought the hotel staff to the poolside and they hauled him up and hushed up the matter. “It was at a hill station,” he said. During one such a tour sponsored by a company (that does business with the GHMC) in Delhi, the corporators had sumptuous beverages. “In one sitting, they had alcohol worth `15,000. Had it been a small hotel, it would have cost less,” recalls the councillor raconteur. The way they behave is another concern. “Towels, utensils and pillows were missing from the hotel rooms after they left,” noted another. Never do such study tours go as planned. “There never is a serious effort to learn anything from the host city. It is a pleasure trip,” he added. Behind the trips, the travel agent is chosen by those who are pliable, it is alleged. The agent ploughs back a part of the earning to the benefactors.

explained that since the babies response to opioids is impeded, the baby will eat more sugar and fat to get a “full” feeling. “We found that the opioid signalling pathway (the reward pathway) in these offspring was less sensitive than those whose mothers were eating a standard diet,” Dr Bev Mühlhäusler, from Adelaide University, said. The study also said the risks may be reduced if the baby is put on a healthy diet after weaning, cannot be completely eliminated, as the baby will be predisposed towards overconsumption of junk food and obesity. The study examined the impact of eating foods such as peanut butter, sugary breakfast foods, nutella and lard. It said the results showed the impact of junk food on a baby’s reward pathways and highlighted the need for further research on mothers’ diets to address rising obesity rates. AGENCIES

CITY BRIEFS 2 chain-snatchers arrested

June 30 deadline for May Day celebrated trade licence application across State

Lokayukta wants report on pregnant woman

he railway police of Vikarabad have arrested two chain-snatchers — R Raju, 26, and Shiv Naik, 30 — and seized six tolas of stolen gold jewellery from their possession. The police had recently launched a special drive to curb chain-snatching. Police said the drive will continue in all the trains on a perennial basis.

he date for applying for trade licence and renewal has been extended to June 30. It can be applied online or by approaching eSeva or Citizen Service Centres (CSC) in GHMC ofﬁces. A 25 per cent penalty will be levied on and legal proceedings initiated against those who failed to obtain the trade licence from the civic authorities.

orld May Day (International Workers Day) celebrations were held across the State today. The workers’ union wing of all political parties organised special programmes at party ofﬁces on the occasion. The ruling Congress held celebrations at Gandhi Bhavan, while TDP and YSRC held celebrations at their respective party HQs.

aking suo motu cognisance of a newspaper report about a pregnant woman delivering on the road here, the AP Lokayukta has called for a report from the Director of State for Medical Education. A report in a Telugu daily had alleged that a pregnant woman was “pushed out” of a maternity hospital at Sultan Bazar.

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

UNIVERSE

AADHAAR EXCLUSIVE

Beware! Vital info missing

Run out of ‘juice’, Herchel shuts eye

urope’s Herschel space observatory, the largest infrared telescope ever launched, has stopped working after exhausting its supply of liquid helium coolant, ending over three years of pioneering observations of the universe. AROUND THE

WORLD

Instruments on The European Space Agency’s (ESA) billioneuro flagship observatory have warmed to levels that mean it has closed its eyes on the Universe. The mission began with over 2,300 litres of liquid helium, which has been slowly evaporating since the final top-up the day before Herschel’s launch on May 14, 2009, ESA said. The liquid helium was essential to cool the observatory’s instruments to close to absolute zero, allowing Herschel to make highly sensitive observations of the cold universe until now. The confirmation that the helium is finally exhausted came on Monday at the beginning of the spacecraft’s daily communication session with its ground station in Western Australia, with a clear rise in temperatures measured in all of Herschel’s instruments. Herschel has made over 35,000 scientific observations, amassing more than 25,000 hours worth of science data from about 600 observing programmes. A further 2,000 hours of calibration observations also contribute to the rich dataset, which is based at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre. AP

Biometric information from over 14 lakh people has gone missing. This could lead to vital data falling into criminal hands. RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

hat can be a greater loss to a city than the loss of identities of its citizens? While the Aadhaar card, projected as a “smart mix of politics and economics,” promises to deliver the “one ultimate identity” to all the citizens of India, its progress report in Andhra Pradesh has no reassuring remarks. Forget ultimate identity, there seems to be no guarantee of our identities anymore. On April 8, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) publicly agreed that several lakh Aadhaar enrolments and data were lost. What is described as a “technical error” is in reality the loss of biometrics and personal information of 14 lakh Aadhaar card-seeking citizens of Andhra Pradesh. Over two lakh citizens in Hyderabad have not found their Aadhaar enrolments online. Fearing public backlash, the UIDAI authorities were able to retrieve over seven lakh enrolments through data retrieval, but have been unable to retrieve the other half. Postnoon investigates.

Aadhaar enrolments in Andhra Pradesh Total Men Women

Data loss: Enrolment data lost (erroneous enrolment) between Phase-1 in 20112012 in Andhra Pradesh n Total erroneous enrolment 14,37,900 n Rectified

7,37,900

n Data Lost( Yet to re-enrol) Seven lakh (accurate figure yet to be updated) n Total erroneous enrolment in Hyderabad : 2,04,000 ( figure yet to be updated ) collectorates do not seem to have found the need to be accountable,” says Raoji Brahmanand, RTI activist and Aadhaar applicant. The official explanation for the data loss is that private enrolment agencies had employed agents who developed differences over their AROUND THE

CURRENT ENROLMENT STATUS Even as the deadline for Aadhaar-LPG link gets closer, there seems to be little or no coordination among any of the three major players — the AP civil supplies and district collectorate, private enrolment agencies and the UIDAI — in the Aadhaar game. “The selling point of this project was the promise of transparency and accountability. Except for the UIDAI’s website, our State government’s civil supplies or district

5,73,64,835 2,98,06,768 2,77,12,951

CITY

remuneration and left the project mid way. Some claim that laptops and equipment containing data also went missing. “But since high encryptions guard the enrolment data and biometrics, it cannot be decrypted. We are trying to retrieve the data currently,” says an official from UIDAI. According to data gathered by Postnoon from UIDAI and district collectorate authorities, the current population of the

Project statistics

City stands at roughly 82 lakh. Out of this, only 53,28,183 have enrolled for Aadhaar and a little over 30 lakh UID numbers have been generated. Ask why this slow pace of enrolments and loss of data, S Vijaypal, deputy district collector of Hyderabad collectorate says, “No idea. We are only forwarding whatever enrolment data we receive to the State government and UIDAI.” The morale among officials handling the Aadhaar project is low and it is evident why. Here are the current statistics of the Aadhaar project in Hyderabad:

Population of Hyderabad 82 lakh Total Aadhaar enrolments in Hyderabad as of April 2013: Hyderabad 53,28,183 n Men 28,49,512 n Women 24,78,671 Areas in Hyderabad with highest enrolment data: n Tirumulgiri 87,858 n Secunderabad 46740 n Charminar 27,881 Current daily enrolment per day at average 31,348

NATION BRIEFS Government to intensify vaccination efforts

IED defused on Srinagar road used by Omar

6 Maharashtra cops killed in road crash

95 fall ill in Tripura after eating at wedding feast

Ponzi funds will be shut down, says Mamata

o create awareness about the urgency to vaccinate every eligible child and intensify efforts to improve immunisation coverage, the Indian government has launched special immunisation weeks. One week each in April, June, July and August will be used to hold special immunisation sessions in high-risk areas across the country.

major tragedy was averted Tuesday after an improvised explosive device (IED) was detected and defused on the SrinagarMuzzafarabad highway on which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had passed twice during the day, police said. Counter-insurgency troops of Rashtriya Riﬂes defused the IED, averting a major tragedy in the area.

t least six policemen were killed and three injured when their vehicle rammed into a tree in Maharashtra’s Amravati district early Wednesday. The accident occurred around 5.30am when a police vehicle hit a tree on the WashimAmravati Road. Two anti-corruption bureau inspectors and four constables, including the driver, died.

total of 95 people were taken ill and admitted to various hospitals after eating at a wedding feast in Tripura Monday night. The condition of 24 people is stated to be critical, an ofﬁcial said. According to doctors, the illness was caused by food poisoning. The health department has rushed two medical teams to Melaghar in western Tripura.

he West Bengal government would shut down by Wednesday two companies having four of ﬁve sister concerns engaged in ‘Ponzi’ or multi-level marketing schemes, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Tuesday and asserted that it was keeping a watch on other similar companies. However, she refused to name the companies.

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

GODHRA RIOTS AFTERMATH

POLITICS

TJAC to dump Cong Left with little option, TJAC and TRS have decided to back the BJP-led NDA in the next General Elections. INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

Retain Modi ban: US panel The US commission on international religious freedom said Modi should be ‘inadmissible to the United States’.

panel has urged the United States to maintain a ban on a visa to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi over the 2002 postGodhra riots, even though he is a favourite to run for prime minister. In a wide-ranging annual report, the US commission on international religious freedom said that Narendra Modi should be “inadmissible to the United States” due to “severe viola-

Closed doors

n 2005, Modi was denied diplomatic visa to the United States. In addition to this visa denial, his already granted B-1/B-2 visa was also revoked, under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act which makes any foreign government official who was responsible or “directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom” ineligible for the visa. For ten years after the Godhra riots, the United Kingdom refused to deal with Modi, but changed this policy in October 2012. Similarly, the European Union ended the over a decade-old boycott of Modi in 2012, delinking his image from any human rights issues. Source: en.wikipedia.com

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tions of religious freedom.” “There is significant evidence linking him to the violence and the terrible events that took place in Gujarat and for this reason, a visa would not be appropriate,” Katrina Lantos Swett, chair of the Commission, told reporters on a conference call. Mr Modi led the state in 2002 when riots broke out that left 2,000 dead, most of them Muslims. One of his former ministers was jailed for life for instigating the killings but several investigations cleared Modi of personal responsibility. With Gujarat’s economy booming, Modi has tried to rebrand himself as a pro-business reformist and is considered a frontrunner to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in next year’s national elections. The US state department has refused to let Modi visit. But it has faced growing calls to change its position, with three junior Republican members of Congress visiting Gujarat in March and urging a visa for Modi. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, whose board is appointed by President Barack Obama and congressional leaders of both parties, advises the government on policy, but does not have power over visa decisions. In its report, the commission called for a database of foreigners who would be denied admission to the United States over religious freedom violations. The annual report strongly criticised several countries over their records on religious freedom, including China, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

t is now learnt for sure that the Congress-led UPA government has decided never to give a separate Telangana state. This has not only shocked the TJAC leaders, who had been agitating for the creation of a T-state, but has also forced them to prepare themselves to ensure the defeat of Congress, both at the State and the Centre. “Our agitation at New Delhi has exposed the Congress. We came to know that it had already decided not to give (a separate) Telangana state. Congress is under the control of the rich Andhra and Rayalaseema leaders,” a senior leader of TJAC said while speaking to Postnoon from New Delhi. That the Congress is reluctant to concede the sep-

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arate state is likely to become blessing in disguise for the BJP-led NDA in AP. “The BJP has promised to give Telangana state within 100 days of coming to power. We do not want to support BJP, but as votaries of Telangana state, we have

left with no option but to ensure the return of NDA at the Centre,” he said. Over 3,000 government employees from Telangana, activists and TRS, BJP and CPI leaders participated in the agitation at Jantar Mantar. TJAC has now shifted its focus to the Chalo Assembly programme to disrupt Assembly proceedings by taking out a huge march towards the AP Assembly.

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

POLITICS

RANGA REDDY DIST

Jaya Prada to join Congress? Politicians have begun scurrying about for safe seats and safer political platforms as the general elections are less than a year away. PK SURENDRAN Surendran.pk@postnoon.com

It is reported that Sonia Gandhi has almost agreed to field her from Anakapalli in Visakhapatnam against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s closest ally, Sabbam Hari.

he glamorous Jaya Prada who is currently shopping for a party that gives her a winnable seat is likely to land in the Congress camp, it is learnt. Jaya’s meeting Congress prima donna Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi the other day is indicative of joining hands with the Congress as she was unable to wrest an assurance from the TRS on Rajamudhry seat which she is keen on. Jaya is currently MP of Rampur, UP. It is reported that Sonia has almost agreed to field her from Anakapalli in Visakhapatnam against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s closest ally, Sabbam Hari. Jaya had sought Rajamudhry seat but Sonia did not have the heart to disturb incumbent Arun Kumar who was close to the Nehru

family. The only trouble is that Hari has strong roots in Vizag and upstaging him is a heavy job. However, Jaya Prada is said to have expressed her readiness. Sabbam Hari was a follower of the late Chief Minister Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. After YSR’s death, he remained loyal to Jagan. He has been expressing loyalty to Jagan and criticising

TOUGH MEASURES

the Congress. Though still a Congressman, the party is not keen to keep him and he is likely to contest as the YSR Congress candidate in the 2014 elections. Jaya Pradha was also toying with the idea of joining the BJP but her supporters pointed out it was a risky affair in Andhra Pradesh as the party does not have roots. It is also rumoured

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that her mentor Amar Singh had advised her to join a national party, not a regional one. The choice was therefore between the Congress and the BJP. Singh believes that the NDA will come back to power this time. But the Lotus is not blooming in AP is the reason for not going in for the party. With the election less than a year away, politically ambitious have already begun the scramble for safe seats. “Finding a safe seat is the biggest challenge for any political leader,” remarked an ex MP. The second challenge is to decide which is the winning party in 2014. As of now, despite the blows UPA suffered, it and the NDA have chances.

apua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has announced a renewed push for the death penalty, and life sentences for rape, saying that 'draconian' penalties were needed to tackle violent crime. O'Neill said AROUND THE

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the impoverished Pacific nation would also repeal its controversial Sorcery Act, meaning any black magic killing would be treated as murder. It follows a spate of horrific crimes against women including a beheading and the burning alive of a mother accused of witchcraft.

MOHD SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

gang that went around stealing valuable copper wire from transformers came to grief on Monday when one of its members was electrocuted and some others sustained injuries. The case Mominpeet police reported stated that the incident happened at Chemaldari village of Ranga Reddy district. It is believed to have happened on Monday night. Villagers on Tuesday saw a body hanging by the transformer and blood marks on the road. They informed police. Investigation brought out the following scenario. A gang of six to eight members (villagers say) used to steal copper wire from electric transformers. Thefts were reported earlier but authorities did not make a thorough probe though the villagers say they have seen a

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FAREWELL GIFT

PNG revives death penalty

Copper-wire thieves get a shock, 1 dies

Chief secretary Prasanna Kumar Mohanty presents his predecessor Minnie Mathew a memento at a function at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

gang of 6-8 members suspected to be involved in the crime. The body of a man in his ‘twenties suggests that he was electrocuted when he was trying to slash copper wire with a gas cutter. As he was dying, his accomplices helping him too got the shock but fell down and injured. That is why bloody drag marks of feet were noticed on the road. Police and electricity officials say the night before, two phases were off, which must have beguiled the thieves into believing that the power was off and it was safe to operate. However, they did not know the third phase was live. Till Tuesday police could not establish the identity of the diseased. Police inspector Vijay Lala said enquiries were made in local hospitals if anyone with injuries sustained from electrical equipment are undergoing treatment. But so far nobody could be found.

WORLD BRIEFS Indian gets three years for selling bath salts

US allows hunter to import rare rhino trophy

US set to supply lethal arms to Syrian rebels

170 flee Libyan prison amid chaos

NASA extends Russia space travel deal

28-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to three years in prison by a US court for selling synthetic drugs known as bath salts. Phulbir Singh now faces deportation after serving his sentencing. "The state blamed him for selling drugs that killed people besides having no legal status in the country," the a local paper reported.

he US is allowing a hunter to bring a slain African black rhinoceros back home. The animal was listed as endangered in 1980. David K Reinke, 52, killed the rhino in 2009. He argued that the killing was an act of "conservation hunting", as he was culling an elderly rhino that was unable to reproduce but still crowded out fertile rivals.

mid the US ramping up its international outreach for the next step in its effort to get rid of the Assad regime, a media report has said the Obama Administration is preparing to supply lethal weapons to the Syrian opposition. "We've moved over to assistance that has a direct military purpose," a senior administration ofﬁcial said.

ome 170 prisoners escaped Tuesday from a prison in Libya's Sebha, some 800 km from Tripoli, Xinhua reported citing an ofﬁcial. Abobker Hamza, Sebha's local council spokesman, said the escape took place after a dispute among the prisoners turned into chaos. So far, some of the prisoners have turned themselves in.

ASA will pay an additional $424 million to extend its contract with Russia’s federal space agency (Roscosmos) to transport US astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), NASA said Tuesday. About the move, America’s space chief said it underscores how diminished funding is hampering the US space programme.

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

INTERNATIONAL WORKERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; DAY

8 N SHIVA KUMAR

SALUTING OUR LABOURERS May Day is just another public holiday for most, but it should be a day when we take a moment to think about the many labourers toiling around the world, struggling to make ends meet.

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

SOCIETY

Barriers for babies

PADMINI C padmini.c@postnoon.com

o re

We l fa

Ch i ld

in A

In 2010, and the tenth year of its operations, the Central Adoption Resource Agency still had only a tragic 6,200 adoptions to show for itself, out of which nearly 600 were intercountry adoptions. The AP story is no different. The number of adoptions in the State in the past 13 years amounts to a measly 2,030, which accounts for less than 160 children being put up for adoption in a given year. This, in the context of Childline's estimate, that there are currently over 40,000 orphans living in Hyderabad alone. Interestingly, this is not due to a lack of takers. Project directors and child development officers say that the number of prospective parents far outnumber that of the available children today, some of whom have been waiting years to adopt. So then why this bewildering lag? Those in the child welfare and protection community answer.

s es oc pr

Finding a family for a child is one of the core tenets of child protection and development yet the adoption system is still struggling to take off.

ast week, a daily wage labourer was caught selling his one-month-old son for `1.5 lakh in Nizamabad. Neither the cruelty of the act nor the 'going rate' came as a surprise for those working in the child protection arena. Baby boys are a precious commodity in the Andhra Pradesh adoption scene and reports of buying and selling of children are more commonplace than anyone would care to admit. India has the highest number of population under 18 in the world. It is also home to 20 million orphans in the 0-17 years age-group, reveal reports based on the latest National Family Health Survey. Furthermore, it is estimated that over 100,000 of these children are currently being housed, raised and passed out of one or another type of institution — an orphanage, a state-run home or hostel, a juvenile facility — or anywhere except amidst the comfort of a family and a real home.

the cha l lenges of n i a the x pl e ad ls op a i tio c fi

PIC: SHIVA KUMAR

THE ELUSIVE MALE CHILD Gender is the singular reason there are no matches between children available and couples in waiting, say officials. "Typically, male children are rarely surrendered, relinquished or abandoned. In contrast, for every other couple that did not want (their first/another) girl child ends up an orphan. Therefore, our girl-boy ratio is highly skewed. There are couples that have been waiting for 5-6 years for a boy child and willing to wait further but still don't even want to consider adopting a baby girl,"says child protection officer, ICDS, Srinivas K and adds, "it became so severe, we stopped taking requests for boys."

AGE IS NOT JUST A NUMBER While children under 18 are all eligible for adoption, sishugrahas house only those below five years of age, who have the most likelihood of being adopted. Children above six years end up in a home where they will spend the rest of their years until they are forced to leave at the age of 18. "Kids above five years

remember everything. They already are forming personalities and have a will of their own. Besides law provides for the child above six years to have a say in their adoption process. Prospective parents are fearful that they'll come with baggage, or that they can't handle them or that they will reveal their history to everybody. Either way, once they cross the threshold, they become unwanted," says sociologist and CWC Rangareddy member K Krishna.

PRIVATE AGENCIES, PLEASE EXCUSE One positive explanation for the low figure, officials say, is that AP is perhaps the only major state where there are no private agencies with the power to handle adoptions. Only the 23 State-run sishugrahas hold the right, therefore limiting the numbers but which social workers say is a good thing. "Sure, the State procedures are cumbersome but at least private players with a profit motive are not involved. Also, because there are check and measures in place, it means there's less chances of adoptive

parents being unstable, neglectful or abusive," feels activist Geeta Ramaswamy.

BEATING THE SYSTEM Some officials claim that the adoption numbers here are low because the number of abandoned children is lower than in other States. But social workers refute these claims and cite another reason. Though agencies are not involved, they say cases of trafficking and illegal transactions are aplenty. In many instances, a child is bargained for and bought and sold before the matter reaches official networks. "A newly born in a hospital is already booked and paid for, so that in effect the adoptive parents are recorded as biological parents, negating the need for any checks. It's the easy way out for many couples, and they're completely off the record," says Isidore Phillips, founder of NGO Divya Disha.

DEMANDS OF PROTOCOL Not even half of registered applicants are qualified, say officials. Legally, all prospective

The numbers are not a lot but things have been picking up for the last few years. However they won’t get better until parents come forward with an open mind to adopt a child irrespective of its gender. And they should also follow the processes of the law and keep faith even if it takes long. We are in no rush to raise these figures, as it's a life in question, not a commodity. Shyama Sundari, Ast. director, women and child welfare dept

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parents are subject to a house study which requires them to prove themselves to be emotionally, financially and socially stable. "So many of them furnish false data. People who say they have homes and jobs and social standing, when investigated have nothing. And we have rule each one after the next until we find a match, so it takes time," adds Krishna.

NOT 'ADOPTABLE' A significant percentage of abandoned children that don’t account in the adoption math is that of children with special needs/HIV infected kids who are not considered 'adoptable,' and generally relegated to the care of an NGO. "Usually special needs go for inter-country adoptions. Nobody really shows any interest here. We prefer to keep them in an NGO where they're least taken care of nicely," says project director of Shishugruha, Vishakhapatnam, Chinmayee Gurram Konda.

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013 TRAGEDY

6 killed in Mexico crash

GOOD COMPANY

K Khan, vice-chairman and MD, APSRTC, and BL Meena, Additional DG (Drugs) interact with students attending the Summer Camp of Sarojini Cricket and Fitness Academy. PV Sunil Kumar (IG, SPF) and Kamalhasan Reddy (DCP, Central Zone) were also present. Khan advised the students to give equal importance to education and sports. Meena emphasised on the need to develop sportsman spirit. Sunil Kumar exhorted the participants to be disciplined and to stay committed. They presented trophies and medals to outstanding performers.

MEXICO CITY: A small plane owned by the Mexican federal prosecutor's office crashed shortly aftertakeoff in northern Mexico, killing three agents and three crew members, the attorney general said. AROUND THE

WORLD

The Beechcraft King Air 300 hit the ground yesterday, 10minutes after taking off in the state of Zacatecas at aroundnoon, and the cause of the crash is under investigation, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said in a statement. AFP

GHOSTS OF PAST

Knox may return for Italy trial

She has been reportedly paid a $3.8 mn advance for a tell-all memoir on her Italy stint including sex, drugs and abuse in jail. MICHAEL THURSTON Agence France-Presse

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manda Knox may return to Italy for a murder retrial, she said as she launched a memoir on Tuesday about her nightmare, including frank details about sex, drugs and her harrowing time behind bars. In interviews to promote the book — which also recounts how she considered suicide in jail -she said she hoped her slain former roommate Meredith Kercher’s family would read it, although she has had no contact with them. “It matters to me what Meredith’s family thinks ... I really hope that the Kerchers read my book. And they don’t have to believe me. I have no right to demand anything of anyone. But I hope they try,” she told USA Today. “I want them to know, their grief has my every respect, has the respect of my family,” she added to ABC television, in her

Case in brief n The American student and her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were sentenced to 26 years and 25 years in prison for the killing of Kercher six years ago, allegedly in a drug-fuelled sex attack. n She was acquitted on appeal and released in 2011, returning to her native Seattle. But in March Italian authorities overturned that judgment, and ordered the 25-year-old to stand trial again.

first broadcast interview since her release two years ago. Although most legal analysts expect Knox to be tried again in absentia following the decision, the former student told USA Today in an interview she was “considering” returning to Italy. “My lawyers have said that I don’t have to and that I don’t

need to. I’m still considering it, to be honest,” she was quoted as saying when asked if she planned to return to Italy. “It’s scary, the thought. But it’s also important for me to say, ‘This is not just happening far away from and doesn’t matter to me.’ “So, somehow, I feel it’s important for me to convey that.

And if my presence is what is necessary to convey that, then I’ll go.” Knox has launched a publicity blitz in the United States to promote her autobiography Waiting to be Heard” for which she was reportedly paid a $3.8million advance. In the 480-page book, she

describes her early life in Seattle and her decision to take a year out to live in the small Italian city of Perugia to learn Italian language and culture. She moved in with two Italian girls and Kercher, who was also a foreign student, and led an easy-going life with a group of boys who lived downstairs in the same house. She also recounted the day Kercher’s body was found, how police rapidly became suspicious. In one early interrogation she reported being slapped around the head while being told “Stop lying!” Knox was eventually charged, tried and sent to jail -where she described repeated sexual harassment and detailed thoughts of suicide, for example in the shower, where “steam would fog up the guard’s viewing window.” “I imagined cutting both my wrists and sinking into oblivion in a calm, quiet, hot mist,” she writes. AFP

BIZARRE

4Real? NZ lists banned baby names

WELLINGTON: New Zealand officials on Wednesday released a list of baby names put forward by parents that were rejected because they were too bizarre or offensive, including “Lucifer” and “Mafia No Fear”. The list of 77 names reveals

one child was set to be called “Anal” before the Department of Internal Affairs vetoed the proposal, while another narrowly avoided being dubbed “.” or full stop. Other names on the list included “4Real”, “V8”, and

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“Queen Victoria”. In some cases, parents appeared to have lost any inspi-

ration for coming up with a moniker for their offspring, wanting to call the latest addition to the family simply “2nd”, “3rd” or “5th”. The department’s rules forbid any name that might imply a child holds an official title or

rank, so “King”, “Duke” and “Princess” were among those that had been turned down most since 2001. “Justice” was the most popular, having been rejected 62 times, although “Justus” and “Juztice” also failed to gain official approval. AFP

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013 SPACE TRAVEL

GET READY TO JUMP

WINDS OF CHANGE

Prisoners get smart cards in Bihar

T Resilient? Adaptable? Curious? Come to Mars

eople are queuing up for an opportunity to visit to Mars planned by Dutch organization Mars One. Although the trip and training sound daunting, the requirements for candidates are wide open: If you show resilience, adaptability, and curiosity, you might qualify. Scientific and astronaut’s skills, however, are not required. However anyone who signs up for this adventure will have to wait a long time as the mission is not expected to take off before 2023. Also, it won’t be like a resource gathering mission like Apollo, AROUND THE

WORLD

Broken bones can’t stop this young parkour enthusiast. KANCHAN AGARWAL kanchan.a@postnoon.com

“W

hat are the words that come to your mind when I

say parkour?” “Freedom. Beauty of movement. No fear. No obstacles. Escape. No stress. Honour. Life,” said Yasaswy Modukuru, a 22-year-old parkour artiste from the City. It was a video of David Belle, founder of parkour, that inspired Yasaswy to explore his body movements. Four years ago, he trained first in ground-level moves such as cat leaps/arm jumps, precisions, long jumps, vaults, wall runs, and so on. The natural athlete that he is — he has been a sprinter and a long

FREE BIRD

jumper while still memorising the alphabet — in two years, Yasaswy felt ready to climb a bit. Now he was training on roof tops approaching high-rise movements. That is being on your mark on a building’s roof, jumping and landing on another building’s roof. From a building to another. Spectacular, is it not?

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He has trained in parks and famous structures such as Golconda fort. You may catch him at work in the mornings or evenings, or on an afternoon if the weather is pleasant. He has faced criticism, of course. It is an unconventional sight, you see.

instead it’ll be a one-way ticket to red planet. The travellers will be part of first permanent space colony on Mars and they need to be older than 18 and more than 157cm tall. The candidates are each required to send in oneminute clips on themselves and they will be voted on via a TV show according to the organisers. They’re hoping that they will be able to make up for the cost of the mission, more than $6 billion, from the earnings of the show. Oh and out of the hundreds who applied, only four people will travel to Mars at a time. Then the plan is to launch four more settlers every two years. AGENCIES

Pick

“My family and friends were supportive but when I train in parks, strangers sometimes ask me not to do it. They say I am spoiling the property and children will try to copy me and hurt themselves,” he says. Well, there is only so much that can be done about it. There have been many injuries too. Using the word many, many times, he explains, “I even broke my back once. But I go on. I love parkour. I can’t give it up. I wait till I recover and go back to it. I don’t abuse my body but I never stop, and I am very careful now.” Moving to a philosophical zone, I ask what parkour means to him. “It is a way of life. You learn to work on fears, overcome obstacles of everyday life, face hardships. You learn to move on, come what may. In parkour, you use your body to clear obstacles efficiently and safely. You can even think parkour without actually moving.” Yasaswy performed for a few TV channels around three years ago. At random instances too, audiences have gathered, clapped, whistled, and hooted. “A long time ago, I felt good about it. Now I don’t bother. I don’t look at them. If I do, I’ll fall.” Is the beauty of movement important or the performance bit? “Everybody is unique. There is no competition. It is all about your freedom, it is your own movement. You create it and move the way you like,” Yasaswy is training others at private gyms now, and aspires to establish his own gym soon. Contact him at 99890 85505.

at the

airport,

he Bihar government has provided multi-purpose smart cards to prisoners in jail so that they can buy things from the canteen through cashless transaction among other uses. The service was launched in Beur central jail on an experimental basis by CM Nitish Kumar last week, director-general (prisons) Anand Kishore said. Nearly 2,100 inmates of the jail had been provided with the cards, he said. After monitoring its success in Beur, the scheme would be introduced in 55 other prisons of the state in another four or five months, Kishore said. The card could be AROUND THE

NATION

To avoid misuse of the card by another prisoner, there was provision of biometric authentication, said DG (prisons) Anand Kishore. recharged through payment by relatives of the prisoner or by himself through earning as wage while working in jail. “There is a bar on maximum cash in a card. For convicts, the upper limit of cash is `2,000 per month, while for an undertrial it is `2,500 a month,” he said. To avoid misuse of the card by another prisoner, there was provision of biometric authentication, the DG said. He said the smart card could also be used as a health card with details of health condition and medicine taken regularly, if any, by the holder. It also carried details of the family of the card holder. The card would also provide information like court dates and status of pending case in the court, he said. PTI

News WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Is he still relevant? Golly! Obama appeared taken aback when asked at a White House news conference whether he still had the ‘juice’ to get his agenda through clogged up Congress.

STEPHEN COLLINSON Agence France-Presse

‘Will push to close Gitmo’ Maybe I should just pack up and go home. Golly!

“G

olly." That was Barack Obama, flabbergasted at a variant of a question all US presidents get sooner or later: “Are you still relevant?” Obama appeared taken aback when asked at a White House news conference whether he still had the “juice” to get his agenda through clogged up Congress. “Maybe I should just pack up and go home. Golly," said Obama, probably thinking the question impertinent, since he is only three AROUND THE

WORLD

months into his second term. “As Mark Twain said, rumors of my demise may be a little exaggerated at this point," Obama said. Yet Obama, even as he has woos lawmakers with trips up Capitol Hill and intimate dinners, can barely contain his contempt for Congress, which blocks him at every turn and threatens his hopes for a robust second-term. “My charm offensive has helped me learn some interesting things about what’s going on in Congress — it turns out, absolutely nothing," Obama said Saturday. The president’s joke, at the White House Correspondents dinner, betrayed frustration at banging his head against a con-

gressional brick wall. “You seem to suggest that somehow these folks over there have no responsibilities and that my job is to somehow get them to behave," Obama told reporters Tuesday, in a snipe at lawmakers. In March, he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moments after touching down in Tel Aviv: “it’s good to get away from Congress." Obama’s cynicism is distilled from disappointment: he said while running for re-election last year that his victory could cause the Republican “fever” to break and catalyze more cooperation in Congress. Some hope. Apart from an end-of-year deal on allowing Bush-era tax cuts on the rich to expire, Republicans have

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said Tuesday the military jail at Guantanamo Bay is damaging US interests and vowed a renewed push to close it, as around 100 prisoners take part in a hunger strike there. Condemning the prison as a legal “no man’s land,” Obama told a White House news conference that it was time Congress agreed to shut the jail and said the military was trying to keep detainees alive in the face of the hunger strike. AFP dug in their heels on multiple fronts. Obama’s gun reform drive after the Newtown school massacre foundered mostly on Republican opposition — though some conservative Democrats peeled away. Chances of a deficit-cutting “grand bargain” are slim and discord between Obama and Republicans triggered $87 billion in automatic spending cuts known as the “sequester." Obama vowed to make a new push to close Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday — but the odds that Congress will change its mind and let him do so are extreme. One ray of light though is Obama’s top second-term priority — immigration reform which key Senate Republicans know they

must support if they are to win back Hispanic voters and have a viable path in future presidential elections. The legislation’s prospects in the Republican-led House of Representatives, though appear unclear. All second term presidents race the clock as their influence wanes. Former George W. Bush advisor Karen Hughes, who saw her boss fail in his second term to reform immigration and social security, told NBC Sunday that reelected presidents have only a year to pass their program. Still, while Obama’s influence may ebb at home — the US commander-in-chief is never irrelevant and second term presidents often look abroad to build their legacies.

ORGAN HARVEST

Row over honour to China doc A

ustralian academics are calling for a Chinese surgeon accused of harvesting organs from prisoners to be stripped of a University of Sydney honorary professorship. Huang Jiefu, who was trained in Sydney and until recently China’s vice-minister for health, today oversees Beijing’s organ transplant committee. The university awarded Huang an honorary professorship that was recently extended for another three years, AROUND THE

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sparking an outcry. Sydney professor of medicine Maria Fiatarone Singh is organising a petition to have Huang’s honours overturned. In an open letter, Singh said Chinese officials used execution by lethal injection as a way to take and preserve prisoners’ organs. “They are basically still practising execution on demand." “The person is anaesthetised, they don’t die straight away, (that) gives the surgeons time to take out as many organs as they would like to, and then the lethal injection finalised," Singh said. China executes about 4,000 a year, human rights groups say.

AGRA

Take a green trip beyond the Taj Mahal T

he city of the Taj is now aiming to show visitors that there is much more to it than the monument to love. Discovering Oriental Agra, a new tourist circuit, will showcase not just heritage monuments but also the city’s culture, cuisine and industry — in electric rickshaws. Described as a “journey through the heart of the Taj city”, the daily hour-long tour that was formally launched Sunday has been organised by members of Agra Beat, a group seeking to promote alternative tourism. While a number of rehearsals have been conducted, regular tours will begin in the first week of May.

Tour’s highlights

ara Shikoh’s library, Mirza Ghalib’s birthplace, the headquarters of the Radhasoami faith, the ancient Manka Meshwar temple, the Jama Masjid, and St Patrick’s Junior College - Asia’s oldest convent - and the Akbar Church. “We offer foreign visitors a ride in an electric rickshaw every morning through the city to acquaint them with the real culture of Agra and its cosmopolitan legacy. The rickshaw takes them through the old bazaars, traditional eating joints and

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places of worship," a member of Agra Beat said. “Agra is a melting point of cultures. It lives in three distinct zones: the Hindu Agra, the Muslim and the Christian," Amit Sisodia, the leader of the group, told IANS. The tour will initially be conducted on four electric rickshaws that can each carry four passengers but more vehicles can be arranged if the demand rises. There is one guide per two rickshaws and passengers pay Rs.500 per head.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Business

MANUFACTURING SLUMP IN CHINA

Manufacturing activity in China slowed slightly in April from the previous month, official data showed on Wednesday, in a sign of further weakness in the world's second-biggest economy.

VITAL SERVICES

APPLE’S OFFERING

Human resources head out With the growth of human resources, businesses may not have the equipment to manage these services. The solution? Outsourcing.

PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

A bond offering from Apple expected to be priced later today will be one of the largest ever for a US company, according to leading ﬁnancial newspapers Tuesday. Apple is selling $17 billion in investment-grade bonds, which would be a record for a US corporate debt issue, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited investors familiar with the deal. The Financial Times, also citing sources close to the deal, said the offering would be $15 billion, but might be increased due to heavy demand. Underwriters have been able to lower the interest rate to be paid on the bonds.

usinesses do not need to bother about managing or optimising HR services anymore. With the growth of outsourcing HR services, there is a win-win situation evolving between the HR solutions providers and businesses. “This will be a cost-effective and efficient way forward for business. HR outsourcing and payroll BPO is emerging and growing in the country like in the West,” says Raghuram Janapareddy, centre head (operations), NorthgateArinso,

NUMEROLOGY

$36.6

Various HR processes n Workforce administration n Payroll n Time and Attendance n Performance management n Compensation & reward n Recruitment n Succession planning

Hyderabad. “Today, businesses can pick and choose varied services in the mode of on-premise and ondemand from the range of products and service portfolio. For instance, our products like euHReka, ResourceLink are well-connected to back-end operations like SAP. The companies can also avail solutions, products and support from us,” he says. “With the growth of human resource, businesses may not have the bandwidth or the equipment to manage these services. The processes will be outsourced to other organisations based on the cost analysis,” he explains. “Generally, small companies have to afford wide-ranging

is what Yahoo! chief Marissa Mayer hauled in after just six months at the helm of the Internet firm.

FACTORY ROW human resources like admin manager, HR manager, recruitment manager irrespective of the size of the company. They tend to outsource these processes to small content companies, who work on simple softwares like MS Word and MS Excel. “However, if businesses think that they have to manage their own taxation and employee welfare with the growth of human resources and accountability, they can choose companies like us to maintain their entire HR operations. They also have an option to have their own software or buy on premise software, solutions and services from us,” says Raghuram. “Business management softwares in certain segments like

Various HR solutions n Cloud Transformation n Consulting n Application maintenance n Testing n Reporting and Analytics n Custom Product development n Internal Productivity tools n Project accounting and Reporting n Mobile applications n IT infrastructure management n Managing Global QMS n Implementation of business excellence framework

materials management; purchase and sales do not require frequent updates. However, accounting and HR softwares have to be up to date with the

taxation and other rules of each country. For instance, if there is a change in the deductions to an allowance, the software has to be immediately updated with the change and the next pay roll has to be generated with the new rule. Very few companies have that capability to constantly monitor and update the changes quickly. They are other difficulties like financial year of the country may not be same as of the organisation, which needs to be integrated in the application. “The complexity of managing will further increase if there is mistake in deductions for PF or while paying salaries late. These applications on cloud can help in easing the complexity through a solution,” he says.

GOLD `27,200 10g SILVER `45,200 1kg

24C

for

DOLLAR `53.80 POUND `83.44

South Korea said Wednesday it was edging towards a deal with North Korea to ensure the return of the remaining workers at a joint industrial zone that has become a casualty of military tensions. The last South Korean workers had all been due to return from the North on Monday but seven remained to settle unresolved issues such as unpaid taxes and wages for North Korean workers, believed to amount to millions of dollars. "Differences are being narrowed even if the pace is slower than we expected," a spokesman for the South's Uniﬁcation Ministry told reporters.

THUS SPAKE To accelerate economic growth and to usher in all-round development, the state would implement a plan of `2,75,000 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan.

BSE NSE

K SANKARANARAYANAN MAHARASHTRA GOVERNOR

19054.18 116.68

5930.20 26.10

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Comment Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. Nathaniel Hawthorne American author

Khmer Rouge cadres have had enough SUY SE

Agence France-Presse

It has been hailed as a chance to heal a traumatised nation, but former foot soldiers of the brutal Khmer Rouge say Cambodia's genocide trial is a waste of money that will only reopen old wounds. The landmark case against the most senior surviving leaders of the hardline communist regime, which began in 2011, has been described as one of the world's most complex in decades and is costing tens of millions of dollars. The tribunal, set up in 2006 after long negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations, was billed as an opportunity to find justice and reconciliation after one of the worst horrors of the 20th century. But in former Khmer Rouge strongholds along the Cambodian-Thai border, ageing former regime cadres would rather that the bloody episodes of the late 1970s are forgotten. "The wounds are almost healed, but I think the trial is like a sharp stick piercing the old wounds," said Nhem Preuong, who joined the Khmer Rouge as a soldier in 1973. "Everyone suffered under the regime, but we should let hatred go," said the 58-year-old father of three, who is now a local councilor and married to another former Khmer Rouge cadre. "We should bury the past." Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge wiped out up to two million people — nearly a quarter of the population — through starvation, overwork or execution in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS

What was it that hit Obama when he was asked if he had run out of juice. Golly was his answer, a term used to describe surprise or wonder? More than these feelings, was he shaken a bit, to be asked this this early into his second term?

HINDI-CHINI BHAI BHAI?

COWERING KITTY, ROARING DRAGON FUSILLADE

Arun Koshy Philip

he ghosts of 1962 are back. With China’s People’s Liberation Army entering and digging in almost 20 km inside Indian territory, our reaction shows that not much has changed despite in 50 years despite our tall claims of packing enough deterrent military punch. If then it was a myopic Jawaharlal Nehru with his utopian ‘Hindi-Cheeni BhaiBhai’ trust in the aggressively expanding giant neighbour, now it is another statesman prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and his team who have been caught off guard by the Chinese military manoeuvre. At the time of India’s second round of nuclear tests, the then defence minister George Fernandes had rather undiplomatically, but candidly, said that the nukes were aimed at the country’s most dangerous enemy — China. With the establishment touting India’s nuclear arsenal and long range missiles, the public may feel the country has enough capability to stop any Chinese adventurism. However, even a quick scan of last decade’s news reports on military preparedness would show

that such an impression is merely an illusion. The armed forces are woefully short of officers and low on morale due to unending line of massive corruption cases involving top level officers. The army is under-equipped and lacks modern artillery pieces and equipment for high-altitude warfare. If former army chief VK Singh’s letter to the government is anything to go by, there isn’t enough ammunition to fight a war. The navy too doesn’t fare much better. Half of its ageing submarine fleet is always under repair and the relic of an aircraft carrier is virtually kept afloat by faith — on rare occasions when it hits the blue waters between ‘refurbishments, upgrades, repairs and improvements. Though Su-30 MKIs and Jaguars add some punch to the air force, lack of infrastructure and adequately protected bases near the border reduce them to defensive roles. The Chinese side is well connected by highquality road networks, and their air-defence capabilities are nearly impenetrable to the rest of the fleet. So, with military action guaranteed to deliver another round of humiliation, India is at an unenviable position where it will have to lap up whatever breadcrumbs the Chinese will throw at it and walk away.

What is deplorable is that successive governments and military bosses have dragged their feet on achieving minimum deterrence capability and 50 years after the humiliation of 1962, we are pretty much in the same position. The reactions of our government are palpably weak-willed, divided and confused — and it is obvious to any keen observer that it is dealing from a position of weakness and hoping for a face-saver rather than problemsolver. In China, a new leadership

has taken over. They would use this crisis to improve their domestic standing and to curry favour with the military. This incursion tactic is also a not-sosubtle message to India that its newfound bonhomie with China’s ‘hostile’ neighbours such as Vietnam, South Korea, Philippines and Japan, and of course, the United States, will have serious repercussions. Tiger can take on the dragon. However, what we have now is a kitten, whose feeding bowl says ‘Tiger’. Tough luck boys, try better next time.

EDITORIALS Terrific impact of female infanticide

hat we suspected years ago is turning out to be true, after all. Years of female infanticide, thanks to the repugnant dowry system, is leading to a terriﬁc shortage of girls and this is triggering an unprecedented attacks on girls, even kids. It is a signal failure of the government of the day that should have spread awareness about the consequences of disturbing gender parity. It could also have gone in with a carrot and stick policy of penalising heavily those indulging in infanticide and encouraging those withstanding the trend with incentives in jobs, housing and other facilities. The government took it as a penal crime to be dealt with by the police. It was a grave mistake. Almost all states in India, barring Kerala, are reporting a heavy fall in female births. A while ago, Reuters’ TrustLaw had reported how social workers are sounding alarm bells on this aspect. The result of shortage of girls is increased trafﬁcking in girls, abduction, rape and even incest. Bhagyashri Dengle, executive director of children’s charity Plan India had said we are already seeing the terrible impacts of falling population of females.

READERS’ VIEWS

Run out of juice?

as Barack Obama run out of juice to get his agenda passed through a hostile Congress? The man who was asked this summed up in a word: Golly. Obama said maybe he should pack and go home. Moments of crisis are aplenty when one is the US President. But it is a much saner scene when a person unaffected by paranoia occupies the Oval Ofﬁce. When that is not the case we know how bad it can get.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Cinema

JAMIE FOX EYES ANNIE REMAKE The upcoming reimagining of musical classic Annie is landing more Oscar-caliber talent as Jamie Foxx reportedly nears a deal to play the Daddy Warbucks-inspired character Benjamin Stacks. Foxx would join Beasts of the Southern Wild star Quvenzhane Wallis in the remake directed by Will Gluck (Easy A) and produced by a team including Will Smith, Jay-z and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

TOO MANY COOKS DON’T ALWAYS SPOIL THE BROTH

THE POWER OF MORE n

Sirikkathe, a Tamil film released in 1939, was the first anthology film in India.

The 1961 Bengali film Teen Kanya by Satyajit Ray, based on three short stories by Rabindranath Tagore, belongs to this genre.

Chithramela, a Malayalam film directed by TS Muthaiah, and Kathasangama, a Kannada film directed by Puttanna Kanagal in 1975, are some of the earliest portmanteau films from India.

2. NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU (2009)

nspired by Paris je t'aime, New York, I Love You is another dream ensemble of directors. With 11 captains, including Shekhar Kapur, Natalie Portman, Mira Nair, Wen Jiang and Brett Ratner, behind the scenes, magic was obvious. The narrative revolves around 10 vignettes in New York City — a pickpocket, a writer, a bride-to-be, a businessman and so on. New York, I Love You, starring Orlando Bloom, Natalie Portman, Andy Garcia, Irrfan Khan among others, unfolds 10 stories among the eight million waiting to be told in the naked city.

nidhi.b@postnoon.com

1. PARIS, JE T'AIME (2006)

ith 22 directors sharing the captain's chair on one single movie, one can only imagine the hard work and coordination the project would demand. Creative differences and agreements apart, pinning the stories together would alone be a

nightmare. However, directors Gus Van Sant, brothers Ethan and Joel Coen, Christopher Doyle, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer and Gurinder Chadha of Bend it Like Beckham fame, among the 22, created magic with Paris je

3. KERALA CAFE (2009)

ith 10 different directors for the 10 segments in the movie, Kerala Cafe is one of the landmark movies coming from the state. Among the talented lot, Uday Ananthan, Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Revathy, Anjali Menon and Shyamaprasad stole the show with their segments. Anwar Rasheed, who directed the Bridge segment of the movie is still associated with that short film in Malayalam cinema. Kerala Cafe is an ode to the state and its people through the creative lens of 10 directors. The cast includes Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Sreenivasan, Prithviraj, Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Salim Kumar, Anoop Menon, Fahad Fazil and Nithya Menon.

4. FOUR ROOMS (1995)

SCREEN POOPERS

When four celebrated Bollywood directors – Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar and Dibakar Banerjee – come together to create magic through Bombay Talkies as a tribute to 100 years of cinema, it is only our duty to look at others who have successfully tread the same path in the past.

NIDHI BHUSHAN

Anthology trivia:

ne of the oldest anthology films made in Hollywood, Four Rooms saw four directors — Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino come together to narrate one story. The story is set in the fictional Hotel Mon Signor in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. Tim Roth plays the hotel bellhop, the main character in the frame story, whose first night on the job consists of four very different encounters with various hotel guests. The four segments of the movie are Honeymoon Suite - 'The Missing Ingredient', Room 404 - 'The Wrong Man', Room 309 - 'The Misbehavers' and Penthouse - 'The Man From Hollywood'.

t'aime. Given only five minutes each in the film, the directors successfully weaved a single narrative out of 20 moments. Each transition in the movie ends with the beginning of the following story thus negating any confusion among viewers.

5. DUS KAHANIYAAN (2007)

he film comprises 10 short films telling 10 different stories which are directed by six directors, including Sanjay Gupta, Apoorva Lakhia, Rohit Roy, Jasmeet Dhodi and Meghna Gulzar. Out of the 10 segments, Highway On My Plate starring Jimmy Shergill and Masumeh Makhija, Pooranmasi starring Amrita Singh, Parmeet Sethi and Minnisha Lamba, Strangers in The Night starring Mahesh Manjrekar and Neha Dhupia and Zahir starring Manoj Bajpai and Diya Mirza are revelations.

The Item Itch What's with Bollywood going overboard with item numbers? There's a Munni, Sheila or the latest Babli in almost all big budget movies now. Recently, Priyanka Chopra made headlines as she's doing another item number called Pinky in her upcoming ﬁlm Zanjeer. From Babli to Pinky, PC has made quite the jump! The Hindi ﬁlm industry seems to be at an all-time low as it has to bank on these out-of-plot, unrelated item gimmicks onscreen for success. You never know if Dhoom 3 will have Bebo doing a Rinky next!

Not so starry-eyed Karan Johar believes that the 'star' system in Bollywood is dying slowly and steadily because of small-time movies like Vicky Donor and Kahaani. He says: "With films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Vicky Donor and Shanghai doing well at the box office, it seems that the star system in Bollywood will come to a screeching halt. Small budget films like those had a better screen play and profit than any other star's film." Well, KJo, we hope you're right. We are sick of watching avatars of Dabaang too.

TRENDING...

Catherine ZetaJones is voluntarily going back to treatment for bipolar II disorder, Et has learned. Cece Yorke, a rep for the actress, tells Et, "Catherine has proactively checked into a health care facility.”

It looks like the stage-to-ﬁlm trend isn't stopping with last year's Les Misérables. Michael Fassbender is set to star in the upcoming ﬁlm adaptation of Macbeth, according to reports.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

spotlight

MIDWEEK MADNESS

DJ Sowmya and Umar will be churning out the best of hiphop and house music at Rain tonight. Head to the pub to let go and have a blast.

N SHIVA KUMAR

MEDICAL WONDERS

Dr C Raghu chief cardiologist at Prime Hospitals announced the successful completion of congenital heart device closure procedures (without surgery) on children between the age group of 2 and 4 and on a 45-year-old lady.

GOLD RUSH

Amtul ShaďŹ of Shadan Institute of Medical Sciences, Hospital & Research Center (SIMS) has been awarded six gold medals for securing highest marks in her college.

PARTY PEOPLE

Girls just want to 8

PYTs turned up in their glamorous best and set the dance floor on fire at Kismet on Tuesday night. Spotted were Manya, Shuba and others.

HAVE FUN 7

1 Sweta, Harini

3 Tanvi

5 Mega Reddy

7 Pari 8 Mayanka 10 Divya

2 Shima

4 Aditi

6 Bindhu, Mun mun

9 Shubha

11 Manya

12 Roshni 13 Deepti

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

health

FEAR OF ENCEPHALITIS OUTBREAK HAUNTS BIHAR With this year's first death suspected to be caused by Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) reported in Bihar, the fear of an outbreak of the deadly mosquito-borne disease has returned to haunt the state, an official said Tuesday. IANS

VITAMIN DEFICIENCY

FOOD SOURCES Good natural food sources of vitamin K include: n Vegetables like spinach, asparagus, and broccoli n Beans and soybeans n Eggs and meat n Strawberries n Vitamin K is also made by the bacteria that line the gastrointestinal tract. For newborns, a single injection of vitamin K is standard in many places abroad.” The advantages and roles of this vitamin are many, adds Dr Reddy, “Its primary role is to help blood clot easily, what we also know as coagulation. It helps keep strong the bones

FLEME VARKEY

Fleme.v@postnoon.com

hile parents are always worried about how to make their children eat their leafy greens, here’s a compelling reason to act fast. They could slow down the aging process and prevent a host of serious, life threatening diseases, which includes osteoporosis, inhibit cardiovascular disease, cancer and even Alzheimer’s. The list sounds scary enough. These diseases can be held at bay, fought against and their progression slowed with the presence of vitamin K in our bodies. Vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin that is often ignored — at least compared to some other essential vitamins and minerals. There are many forms of the vitamin K complex. Vitamin K1 is the one you get by eating spinach and other deep green, leafy vegetables and is an important factor in blood clotting. There is a second form of vitamin K now being closely studied by scientists, known as vitamin K2, and evidence shows that it might be a key in fighting both cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. But there is no need to press the panic button yet. The vitamin can be produced by the body and is needed only in small quantities. Deficiencies are rare except in those with underlying medical conditions. Dr Ravi Reddy, a nutritionist in Hyderabad, says, “ The cases of vitamin K deficiency in adults are quite rare. However, low levels of this vitamin can raise the risk of uncontrolled bleeding.

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

Not just a

and prevents hardening of the arteries. “ Persons deficient in vitamin K may have heavy menstrual bleeding, gum bleeding, bleeding within the digestive tract, nose bleeding, easy bruising, blood in the urine, prolonged clotting times, hemorrhaging and anaemia. A second set of vitamin K deficiency-related symptoms involves bone problems. Dr Reddy advises that since vitamin K is so abundant in food sources and bacteria in your intestine produce vitamin K on their own, there is almost no need to supplement this vitamin. Simply continue (or start) eating more leafy greens to bypass deficiency symptoms.

Vegetarians have a lot to be thankful for; especially their intake of leafy greens, which helps produce vitamin K, needed for the strengthening of the bones and coagulation of blood. But that’s not all there is to it.

‘clotting’ vitamin

HOUSECALL

Virtual Trainer

Breast cancer

This app has over 250 exercises. You can create and log your own routines or choose from 120 programmes, ranging from six to 60 minutes, and is suitable for any ﬁtness level. It is perfect for anyone interested in general ﬁtness, weight loss and muscle development. All exercises include easy-to-follow instructions. itunes.apple.com

About 48,000 women get breast cancer in Britain each year. Most (eight out of 10) are over 50, but younger women, and in rare cases, men, can also get breast cancer. It can have a number of symptoms but usually shows as a lump or thickening in the breast tissue (although most breast lumps are not cancerous). If it is detected at an early stage, it can be treated before it spreads to nearby parts of the body. nhs.uk

DID YOU KNOW? You get a new ear canal every year The ear canal (a tube running from the outer ear to the middle ear) skin is constantly growing outward at a rate of 1.3 inches every year. You get a new ear canal every year. If it didn’t fall off, you’d have a two foot string hanging out of your ear by the time you were 20. calmear.com

PIONEERS Charles Herbert Best Best was an American-Canadian medical scientist and one of the co-discoverers of insulin. In 1923, the Nobel Prize Committee honoured Banting and JJR Macleod with the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of insulin, ignoring Best. Banting chose to share half of the prize money with Best. Best was elected a honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1948. en.wikipedia.org

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Technology HEALTH WATCH

e v o m ' t r a m 'S

get ma ker d a g s y u b Jawbone Loser. for Biggest

WATER POWER Researchers in Sweden have developed a new technique by which you can charge your devices anywhere without electricity, provided there is a water source nearby. Just add a spoonful and get instant power. Handy for anyone who spends time away from electricity, the lightweight PowerTrekk could power critical devices for warfighters and aid workers deployed in remote areas of the world, Fox News reported. Developed by a team in Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology and made by MyFC, it's the world's first water-activated charging device, the developers claimed. It can extend battery life up to 3 watts.

GLENN CHAPMAN feedback@postnoon.com

SAN FRANCISCO: Fitness wristband maker Jawbone added muscle to its lineup of fitness lifestyle devices Tuesday with a deal to buy the company behind armbands that measure how many calories people are burning. Jawbone did not disclose financial terms of its deal to purchase BodyMedia, which makes armbands used to track performance of fat-shedding competitors on US reality television show The Biggest Loser. The two companies have a combined “three decades worth of deep technology and intellectual property” around sophisticated body sensors and hundreds of patents focused on wearable technology, according to Jawbone. “There’s an enormous appetite for personal data and self-discovery among consumers that will only continue to grow,” said Jawbone chief executive and founder Hosain

DEATH KNELL FOR TABLETS? BlackBerry Chief Executive Ofﬁcer Thorsten Heins said the popularity of tablet computers may wane, an indication the company may shelve a follow-up to its ill-fated PlayBook device, which was introduced in 2011. “In ﬁve years I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore,” Heins said in an interview. Heins is rethinking whether to offer larger devices even as the company pushes ahead with fresh smartphones built on the new BlackBerry 10 platform to engineer a sales recovery.

SLICE OF YOUTUBE PIE

Applications tailored for Apple or Android devices collect data from the bands to let people more easily get pictures of their activity, sleep and eating. Rahman. “We look forward to pushing new boundaries, creating new markets, and showing people what’s truly possible with wearable computing.” The San Francisco-based company behind “smart” wireless earpieces and Jambox speakers late last year released and redesigned its UP wristbands that combine fashion with smartphone lifestyles to help people along paths to improved fitness. UP wristbands are priced at $129 in the United States. UP applications tailored for Apple or Android mobile devices collect data from the bands to let

people more easily get pictures of activity, sleep, eating, and even their moods on any given day or over time. The wristbands track users’ level of activity, whether they are exercising, pacing in an office, or snoozing in bed. BodyMedia, founded in the Pennsylvania city of Pittsburgh about 14 years ago, is considered a pioneer in combining sensors in wearable devices with machine learning. BodyMedia armbands track activities of wearers, including how intensely they work out, and calculate how many calories are burned. Sleep and eating information is also gathered.

The BodyMedia platform boasts of being registered with the US Food and Drug Administration as a proven device for enhancing healthy weight loss. By combining forces, “we can make an even bigger impact on people’s health and help them achieve their goals,” said BodyMedia chief executive Christine Robins. BodyMedia operations will remain in Pittsburgh but the employees will become part of the Jawbone team, according to Jawbone vice president of strategy Travis Bogard. “We always talked about wireless headsets as wearable

computers,” Bogard said. “This is exactly the long term vision we have had. We are expanding what is possible with sensors and computing going on the body.” Jawbone announced an UP platform that software developers can build on to make applications that work with the wristbands on iPhones, iPads, or iPod touch devices. Applications ready at launch included RunKeeper and MapMyFitness for logging runs or bicycle rides, including routes, and synching information with UP software on Apple gadgets. AFP

Lots of big media companies have been investing in YouTube video makers. Now it looks like one of them is going to buy one. DreamWorks Animation is close to a deal to acquire AwesomenessTV, a YouTube network aimed squarely at teens and tweens, according to people familiar with the proposed transaction. Awesomeness was created by former child star Brian Robbins and is positioned as a next-generation version of Viacom’s Nickelodeon, targeting the kids who make up the core of YouTube’s audience. The channel has nearly 5,00,000 subscribers. Last month it said it had generated more than 80 million video views.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Entertainment CINE BYTES

CLA’s shooting wrapped up

he principal shooting of Chandamama Lo Amrutham has finally come to an end. Gunnam Gangaraju has produced and directed the film and it’s an adaptation of the popular Telugu sitcom Amrutham. Srinivas Avasarala, Harish, Dhanya, Inturi Vasu and Shivannarayana have played the lead roles.

DK Bose’s audio out on May 7

he audio of Sundeep Kishan’s upcoming film DK Bose is going to be launched on May 7. An Bose has directed the film and it has been produced by Anand Ranga and Seshu Reddy. Nisha Aggarwal is the lead actress. Achu has scored the music. Sundeep Kishan will be seen as a police officer in this film.

Sreeram Chandra’s film nears completion

ormer Indian idol Sreeram Chandra will soon be seen in a romantic comedy titled Prema Geema Jantha Nai. Barbie is the lead actress and the film has been directed by Subbu RV. The film’s principal shooting is almost complete, except for three songs. The audio will be launched in June and the film might be released in July.

T-TOWN AT CANNES

RAM CHARAN, PRIYANKA DUTT head to Cannes

s the date for the 66th Cannes Film Festival inches closer, more celebrities from India are unveiling their plans to attend the world’s most prestigious film festival. This year, Cannes Film Festival has decided to focus on Indian cinema to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Indian Cinema. As a result, several Indian celebrities from various regional film industries, apart from Bollywood, are going to attend the film festival. Steven Spielberg is the President of the Film Festival this time and he has already selected Vidya Balan as one of

the jury members. Four Indian films including Ugly, Bombay Talkies, Charulata and Monsoon Shootout are going to be screened in various categories at the film festival. Apart from this numerous short films from India have been selected to be screened out of competition. Rajinikanth is expected to attend the film festival along with select members from cast and crew of his upcoming film Kochadaiyaan. The film’s trailer will be unveiled at Cannes. Apart from Rajinikanth, we hear Ram Charan is also going to walk the Red Carpet at Cannes with the lead members

of Zanjeer’s team. This is the first time he is visiting the film festival officially and he’ll be rubbing shoulders with some of the most revered filmmakers and actors from across the world. On the other hand, Priyanka Dutt is on cloud nine that her short film Yaadon Ki Baarat has been selected to be screened at the film festival. The short film is reportedly about how a child, who’s a huge RD Burman fan, tries to pacify his parents when they end up quarelling frequently. The film festival is going to begin from May 15 and it will close on May 26.

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

ALL ABOUT THE KHAANDAN

CINE BYTES

BOLLYWOOD DYNASTIES KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY As Indian cinema turns 100 years old, one powerful Bollywood dynasty can trace the roots of their stardom almost right back to the birth of the national film industry. RACHEL O'BRIEN feedback@postnoon.com e have been there throughout. All the milestones of cinema, there has been some Kapoor or the other,” says 60-year-old Rishi Kapoor, who has notched up nearly 150 Hindi film credits over a four-decade acting career. It started with grandfather Prithviraj, a silver screen pioneer from the 1920s. Then came his son, the legendary Raj Kapoor, known as “the Showman” and “India's Charlie Chaplin” for his roles as a loveable tramp.

“W

Raj's three sons followed him into acting, with Rishi leading the way as his generation's romantic hero. Now Rishi's son Ranbir, 30, is touted as “the future of Bollywood”and his niece Kareena is a leading actress. That's not to mention the Kapoor spouses, cousins, inlaws and other relatives who have taken a shot at movie stardom with varying degrees of success. “The audiences have always welcomed us and given an opportunity and we've lived up to it,” Rishi tells AFP . The lineage keeps producing talent — Ranbir won critical acclaim for his turn as the deaf-and-mute hero of last year's hit Barfi — but it also shows the power of a surname in an industry still mired in nepotism. As Indian cinema marks its centenary this week, the main rivals to the title of “Bollywood's first family” are the Bachchans. Veteran superstar Amitabh Bachchan married actress Jaya Bhaduri and their son Abhishek has followed them into the movies, albeit to much less acclaim, and married model and actress Aishwarya Rai. Among other famous film families are the Dutts, the

Bhatts, the Deols, the Akhtars, the Chopras and the Johars. “I'm a brand ambassador of nepotism,” admitted director and producer Karan Johar at a recent conference on cinema in Mumbai. “If my father was not a film producer and he didn’t have that kind of contact with other illustrious filmmakers, I would probably have been a fashion designer, I would have been in the world of advertising.” In showbiz worldwide it helps to have connections, but India is especially fond of its dynasties. A few outsiders have managed to break into cinema. Johar's nepotism comments were made at a panel titled

Gatecrashers who made the party: the Out of Towners in Bollywood, which highlighted a handful who have shown it is possible. Megastar Shah Rukh Khan, ranked as India's top celebrity by Forbes, had no starry childhood but a middleclass upbringing in Delhi. Half-British Katrina Kaif, one of Bollywood's highest-paid actresses, was brought up abroad, not speaking Hindi, and “had an ice cube's chance in hell of making it”, according to an April edition of Filmfare magazine. “I think it has become a more accessible space in the last 15 years. The pearly gates to the kingdom have opened up a little bit, especially for filmmakers,” says film critic Anupama Chopra. She adds however that nepotism remains a “big part” of the industry: “the son of an actor invariably becomes an actor”. Rishi insists that hard work and talent are crucial to make it to the top — not every Kapoor has hit the big time. But if you are one of the lucky ones, he sees little sense in diverting from the family path. “It's plain logic. Why would I want to become a rocket scientist when I'm good as an actor?” he laughs. AFP

Zoya Akhtar nervous about 'Bombay Talkies'

ombay Talkies, a film comprising four shorts by four directors, is ready to hit the screens Friday. Zoya Akhtar, who has made on of the films, says she is nervous. The film has been made to pay tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema. Apart from Zoya, it has contributions by Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar and Dibaker Banerjee. IANS

When Aamir made Imran cry

ctor Imran Khan was in tears to see his uncle Aamir Khan die in the ﬁnal scenes of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Imran played the role of young Raj (essayed by Aamir) in his grandfather's home production. Imran feels it is a big day for the family and also it's very special and emotional as the ﬁlm completes 25 years. PTI

Ekta Kapoor gets a visit from the tax officials

round 100 sleuths of the Income Tax Department carried out search operations at the offices, residences, studios and other properties of top officials of film production house Balaji Telefims on Monday, an official said. The operations started simultaneously at the Balaji Telefilms offices in Andheri, studios, residences of top officials in Juhu and their offices on Linking Road, Andheri. IANS

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

STAGE IS SET

CINE BYTES

NATALIE PORTMAN,

Michael Fassbender in Macbeth

atalie Portman and Michael Fassbender are reportedly set to star in a new film adaptation of Macbeth, directed by The Snowtown Murders helmer Justin Kurzel. ScreenDaily hears ”Portman has long wanted to take on the role, previously considering stage versions, and that the actress was keen to renew her collaboration with Fassbender after the two recently wrapped production on Terrence Malick’s latest film about the Texas music scene.” (Until recent scheduling issues popped up, the two were also set to appear in Jane’s Got a Gun.) Macbeth will feature Shakespeare’s original linguistic stylings and “a visceral approach to the story including significant battle scenes.” Filming is set to begin later this year.

Disney takes Downton Abbey actress as Cindrella

isney has found someone to wear the magic slipper. Lily James (Downton Abbey) will star as Cinderella in Disney’s upcoming live-action interpretation of the classic tale. Kenneth Branagh will direct, with Cate Blanchett playing the evil stepmother. Emma Watson was previously in talks to star as the famous princess, but a deal never closed.

Epic to hit Indian screens first

ollywood ﬁlm Epic, a 3D animated adventure comedy, will hit Indian screens on May 17, a week before it opens in the US. The Fox Star Studios’ fantasy movie is based on William Joyce’s book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. It has voiceovers by Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried and Beyonce Knowles.

The Bling Ring to Close Seattle film festival

he North American premiere of Soﬁa Coppola’s The Bling Ring will serve as the closing-night attraction at the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival, a 25-day event that draws more viewers than any other US festival. The Bling Ring, which will have its world premiere at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section, stars Emma Watson and tells the story of a group of LAarea youngsters who broke into a string of celebrities’ houses.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. Mahatma Gandhi

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

SUDOKU How to play kakuro Kakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku in some ways. But is also suitably different. The key question: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well here are the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers. However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number. Within each collection of cells — called a run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once. Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly: In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on... So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this is done through elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as you work out the answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limit the valid combinations, and hence the answer for this particular run. Note the second cell in row two — it contains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30 and the 11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of the number 11.

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 Committee head, briefly 6 Electrical pioneer Nikola 11 Victoria’s Secret purchase 14 A detective might flash it 15 Ancient Andes dwellers 16 Scottish hero Roy 17 Evicting, essentially 19 Singleton 20 Heavy weight 21 Prefix for “eminent” 22 Abbr. on a toothpaste box 23 Chickens 27 Royal bailiwick 29 William Tell’s canton 30 Sounds of disapproval 32 Thailand, prior to 1939 33 A mouse moves over it 34 Sings like Torme 36 Birdlike 39 Newspaper clipping 41 Decorative sewing cases 43 Pre-deal chip 44 Jeter of baseball 46 Fireplace item 48 ___ Jones Index 49 A billion years, in astronomy (Var.) 51 Combustible funeral heap 52 Building wing 53 Be in command of 56 In a clear way 58 Fix, as a boxing match 59 Prior to, to a poet 60 Work wk. starter, usually 61 Yale grad Whitney 62 Enough for everyone and then some 68 It used to be light as a feather 69 Birth-related 70 Blender setting

71 Metric work unit 72 Looseness 73 Brown ermine

DOWN

1 You might have a handle on these 2 “Hem” companion 3 Suffix with “lemon” or “lime” 4 Marvin Gaye’s “Can ___ Witness?” 5 Cops’ paperwork 6 Soldier material? 7 Chang’s twin 8 Rifleman’s aide 9 Dern and Bush 10 Star sapphire, e.g. 11 Unbiased 12 Musical form with a refrain 13 At right angles to a ship’s length 18 Bring on, as labor 23 Deity with a bow and arrow 24 Address Congress, say 25 Extending over a large area 26 Enunciate 28 Kilauea flow 31 Go on the campaign trail 35 Female fortune-teller 37 Coral reef 38 Word with “wed” or “married” 40 Wrestling competition 42 Immunity providers 45 Seoul residents 47 Gets back 50 Commonplace 53 Word with “paper” or “suzette” 54 Edmonton hockey player 55 Greek penny, once 57 Data fed to a computer 63 Fond du ___, Wis. 64 Big game 65 Athlete who plays for pay 66 Where cows graze 67 “Are we there ___?”

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 2-5-2013

As per Hindu panchang thiruvaikumar@yahoo. co. in, 040-27177230 / 9177596118

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Wandering and expenses are likely due to children. With your wise action you will be able to march ahead by managing very hard tasks also. Those who are jealous of you might spread wrong rumors about you; be alert and careful.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Friendship with VIP friends is likely. You will take bold decisions which will yield desired results. You will win over the enemies who will try to put in lots of roadblocks to you. Good gains likely for those dealing in share markets.

Govt. related works will get completed in a faster speed. You will complete the works successfully by all means but never boast yourself for the achievements. Your stock is set to pile up. Happy events to take place at home.

Expenses are likely to go up which will worry you. You will look into children’s problem, get them resolved to their satisfaction and make them feel relaxed. Wanderings are likely to increase. Your self confidence will be high.

Marriage talks will progress well and finalization is expected soon. You will march ahead with a good speed towards achieving your goals. Financial position will be very much comfortable with which most of the debts will be cleared.

Financial position looks satisfactory. You will never wait for a chance or opportunity but you will create them for yourself. Employees might be upset because of the heavy work load. Avoid taking important decision by consulting others.

Blood relatives might put you in an embarrassing situation, be careful. You will change your approach which will benefit you in a big way. New ideas will spark in your mind to increase your income in multiple ways.

Planning to purchase a land or house will get completed smoothly with decent gain. All your long pending minor dreams will get fulfilled. Old and strained relationship will resume and they will come in search of you.

You will act briskly and cheerfully to complete all the pending works. You will adjust very much with friends and blood relatives. You will learn the in and out of the daily life and act accordingly with a determination.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Nine of Pentacles – Stand up for what you believe in and people will take you more seriously. If you are unsure and still want a say in everything, it won’t work.

LEO:

King of Swords – You cannot tolerate the idea of accepting evil without protesting it. This attitude, however, may get you into trouble with seniors and leaders.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

The Emperor – Learn to express your spirituality without demeaning someone else’s beliefs. Your words may come across as too harsh.

SAGITTARIUS:

Four of Swords – Your thoughts and ideas will be starkly different from reality. You need to realign your expectations by getting real.

TAURUS:

The World – There is likely to be some delay in your plans. So you should make more time and leave a buffer so delays will not affect your schedule.

CANCER:

The Star – You may get the feeling that you are subordinate to someone although you are of the same position. This could make you feel restless.

VIRGO:

Queen of Wands – By treating something as simply a symbolic action or like a religious ritual, without being fully involved, you make it more tiresome.

SCORPIO:

Eight of Pentacles – You will have the freedom to question the morality of someone’s actions today. Do it in a way that you do not cause hurt.

CAPRICORN:

Knight of Wands – Reconcile with what you have instead of thinking all the time about what all could have been. Don’t have very high expectations.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

The High Priestess – You play a big role in solving issues at the work place. You were not expected to intervene but your presence will’ve a good effect.

NUMBER GAME

Faith and spirituality play a very important role in your life, whether you are willing to accept it or not. Keep an open mind.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Ten of Cups –

POOCH CAFE

Though inflow of money is good, expenses will not allow you to save for the future. You are very much time conscious and expect others also to fall in line with you, which might be difficult. You will take very bold decisions.

for 2-5-2013

Three of Wands – Inflation and high costs of living are making a dent on your budget. You’re not happy with the inflow/outflow ratio.

NON SEQUITUR

Court verdict will go in your favor. New plans and efforts will be completed successfully. Need to reduce unwanted expenses and discussions which might land you in trouble. Tensions because of children will be over.

SUDUKO

You will purchase a new plot by selling the old one. Your skills will be exposed and will earn you a good appreciation. Son is likely to get a good career opportunity. Benefits through Govt. are likely. You will achieve success.

Boggle BARGE CANOE KAYAK YACHT Vol: 2, No 285 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon. com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

MORE TO THE CAST

THE AVENGERS’ Joss Whedon: ‘Thanos is being saved for the big finale’

oss Whedon has described Thanos as The Avengers’ “big finale”. The director sparked speculation that the Mad Titan — glimpsed at the end of last year’s superhero movie — may not be defeated until the end of The Avengers 3, the final chapter of Marvel’s Phase Three. When asked why the Avengers should be worried about Thanos, Whedon told DesdeHollywood: “Well, Thanos is more powerful.

He’s so powerful he’s not someone you just trot out and then you punch him. “Like he did in the comics, you want him to be threading through the universe and to save the big finale for the big finale. He is definitely a part of what I’ve got going on.” Thanos creator Jim Starlin confirmed last year that a deal is in place for his character to appear in both Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers 2.

CINE BYTES Demi Moore reunites with daughters

ollywood actress Demi Moore has reportedly reunited with her daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Willis from ex-husband Bruce Willis. Her daughters were upset with the actress for her partying ways and wished she would maintain a lower profile following her split from Ashton Kutcher and subsequent rehab stint.

Bridget Jones 3 might be bit of a wait

Depp and Amber Heard dating again?

t seems Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are back on after the two were spotted holding hands at a surprise Rolling Stones concert in Los Angeles. Depp has gone out of his way to hang on the affections of Amber, including having a Rum Diary replica bar built at his Bahamas home.

ans of the Bridget Jones series should be prepared for a very long wait for part three. After being confirmed in 2011, not a lot has been said about the movie. Colin Firth doesn’t make it sound like it’s going to happen anytime soon. “Unfortunately, it might be a bit of a long wait,” he says.

sports

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

GIRO D'ITALIA PREVIEW

BRIEFS UHG Corporate T20 Champions Trophy

Cavendish leads Omega Pharma Giro bid Mark Cavendish is the leading name in the Omega Pharma Quick-Step team for this year's Giro d'Italia, which starts in Naples, this weekend. PARIS: Isle of Man sprinter Mark Cavendish (in pic) is the leading name in the Omega Pharma Quick-Step team for this year's Giro d'Italia, which starts in Naples on Saturday. Cavendish, 27, will not however be able to count on the support of the Italian sprint veteran Alessandro Petacchi, who had been linked with a move to the team by local media. Petacchi had said after leaving the Lampre team last week that he needed a break from the sport but later admitted that he could be tempted by the prospect of teaming up with another leading sprinter, such as Cavendish. Cavendish, who has won eight stages on the Giro since 2008, will also be deprived of the support of the team's other star names, including Belgium's Tom

Climbers to aid Scarponi

PARIS: Italian rider Michele Scarponi will have three specialist climbers to help his bid to regain the Giro d'Italia title which he won in 2011 after Lampre announced their team on Tuesday. Scarponi - who was awarded the race when Alberto Contador was stripped of the title following his failed drugs test in the 2010 Tour de France - will have Poland's Przemyslav Niemec, compatriot Simone Stortoni and Colombian Jose Serpa to help him in the mountain stages of the first major Tour of the year, which gets underway in Naples on Saturday. The Italian team will also look to Roberto Ferrari for wins in the sprint finishes while Filippo Pozzato will be bidding to make up for a disappointing set of results in the Spring oneday classics. AFP

Boonen, Germany's time-trial specialist Tony Martin and Sylvain Chavanel of France. "The presence of a pure sprinter such as Mark will change our approach to the race if we compare it with our last participations," said Omega Pharma sporting director Davide Bramati. "I think an immediate important moment will be the first stage in Naples. Everyone wants to fight for the first (leader's) Pink Jersey. "Besides Mark, we go into the race with experienced guys such as (Michal) Golas and (Jerome) Pineau who have experience going for the stage victories at the Giro," Bramati added. Meanwhile, Yury Trofimov will lead the Russian team Katusha's bid for success on the first Grand Tour of the year.

Teams: Katusha: Maxim Belkov (RUS), Pavel Brutt (RUS), Giampaolo Caruso (ITA), Vladimir Gusev (RUS), Petr Ignatenko (RUS),

Dmitriy Kozontchuk (RUS), Luca Paolini (ITA), Yury Trofimov (RUS), Angel Vicioso (ESP) Omega Pharma: Gianluca Brambilla (ITA), Mark Cavendish (GBR), Michal Golas (POL), Iljo Keisse (BEL), Serge Pauwels (BEL), Jerome Pineau (FRA), Gert Steegmans (BEL), Matteo Trentin (ITA), Julien Vermote (BEL) Androni: Giairo Ermeti (ITA), Fabio Felline (ITA), Mattia Gavazzi (ITA), Tomas Gil (VEN), Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Jackson Rodriguez (VEN), Diego Rosa (ITA), Miguel Angel Rubiano (COL), Emanuelle Sella (ITA) Lampre: Mattia Cattaneo (ITA), Kristjan Durasek (CRO), Roberto Ferrari (ITA), Przemyslav Niemec (POL), Daniele Pietropolli (ITA), Filippo Pozzato (ITA), Michele Scarponi (ITA), Jose Serpa (COL), Simone Stortoni (ITA).

OPERATION PUERTO

Spain agency to appeal ruling MADRID: Spain's state antidoping agency said it would appeal a court ruling that blood bags confiscated from a medical doctor who was sentenced Tuesday to a year in prison for performing blood transfusions on top cyclists be destroyed. In her ruling Judge Julia Patricia Santamaria said Eufemiano Fuentes offered the blood doping treatments for money, posing a "significant risk to the health" of those receiving the blood and banned him from practising as a sports doctor for four years. She also refused to give the WADA or any other antidoping authority access to the 211 blood bags seized in 2006 from Fuentes' apartments in

police raids as part of the socalled "Operation Puerto" investigation. Instead she ordered the bags of blood, which could identify other spo-

ALEKHINE MEMORIAL CHESS Anand draws with Svidler, joint second now

rtsmen implicated in the scandal to be destroyed once any appeals have been settled. "All I can say is that I want to continue to work on this. For me, Operation Puerto is not over," the director of Spain's State Anti-Doping Agency, Ana Munoz, told a news conference after the court issued its ruling. I am going to ask the judge for any evidence of whatever nature, including the bags, so that these acts which she herself considers to be infractions can be judged by the competent authorities," she added. During his trial Fuentes said he worked with clients from other sports including football, tennis, athletics and boxing but he did not name them.

ST. PETERSBURG (RUSSIA): World champion Viswanathan Anand was held to a draw by Russian Peter Svidler but rose up to the joint second spot after the eighth and penultimate round of Alekhine Memorial Chess tournament here. On what turned out to be an off-day in office after a couple of remarkable victories with white pieces, Anand could do little against

GREEN 169/4 (Kevin Konda 57*, Deepak Jonnavaram 42, Subbaraju D 2/33) bt Kony Labs 158/7 (Bharadwaj V 46, Anil Kareti 40, Kevin Konda 2/20) MoM: Kevin Konda DE Shaw 97/8 (Akshay Kargwal 64, Aiyaz Ali 2/6) lost to Team Oxford 98/2 (Riyaz Ali 57, Ravi Prasad K 28) MoM: Riyaz Ali E-11 156/7 (Sameer S 45, K Govinda Raju 27, Prashanth DAR 3/23) bt Victory Hunters 138 (Prashanth DAR 86, K Govinda Raju 3/14) MoM: Prashanth DAR UHG 126 (Ibrahim Mohammed 39, Yashwin Y 20, Susheel Gadre 3/23) lost to V-Soft 127/6 (Pavan Pasupuleti 44, Sandeep Chundi 40, Mohit Kumar 5/19) MoM: Pavan Pasupuleti

Grahesh, Sai advance Selected second round results: K Ravi Kumar (3) lost to Y Grahesh (4), Sai Agni Jeevitesh (3) lost to Varun Anant (4), Kuldeep Kashyap (4) bt Anand Naik (3), Rahul Srivathsav (3) lost to S Khan (4), Sai Akshay (4) bt Chandra Sekhar (3),Harshavardhan (3) lost to Naren Kumar (4), Trinav Rattan(3) lost to Raghav Srivathsav (4), Dhiraj Patil (4) bt SVS Rohith(3), Samal Ansuman (4) bt V Toshali (3)

Toyota boss to take wheel

TOKYO: The motor-sport loving president of Japanese auto giant Toyota, will get behind the wheel in the Nurburgring 24hour endurance race in Germany later this month, a company spokesman said Wednesday. Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the group's founder, will be one of a team of four driving a Toyota car at the Nurburgring Circuit in the village of Nurburg, south of Cologne, on May 19 and 20, the spokesman said. It will be his first participation in the world-class race since becoming the company's top man in June 2009. He previously took part in the endurance race in 2007 and 2009 when he was vice president. "It's not merely a private activity," the spokesman said. "This is part of the company's effort to produce good cars by judging the performance of our production under such severe conditions." AFP

Svidler who had things under control for the most part of the game despite playing black. The Russian did not let his position slip in any way to earn an easy draw. Maxime Vachier-Lagraev was in for a surprise as he was taken to task by Nikita Vituigov of Russia and the Frenchman suffered his first loss in the tournament after being very close to annexing the title. PTI

sports

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

DEER ANTLER SPRAY DOPING

LAURELS

No PGA ban for Singh

Yudhvir award for Saina Nehwal

Singh won’t be suspended for doping after using deer antler spray known to contain a prohibited growth-enhancing substance. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: Fiji’s Vijay Singh (in pic) will not be suspended by the US PGA Tour for doping as a result of using a deer antler spray known to contain a prohibited growth-enhancing substance. Tour commissioner Tim Finchem announced the decision on Tuesday after Singh had appealed a sanction brought against him by the tour after he admitted to using the deer antler spray in a January story in Sports Illustrated. The spray contained IGF-1, a substance listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and PGA Tour prohibitive lists and one the tour had warned players against using in August of 2011. While there is no blood test for IGF-1, PGA policy allows for a violation without a positive test if a player admits using a banned substance. But WADA had informed the PGA that it no longer considered using the

deer antler spray to be prohibited unless it resulted in a positive test, a policy confirmed in writing to the tour on Tuesday in a letter from WADA. “In relation to your pending IGF-1 matter, it is

the position of WADA, in applying the Prohibited List, that the use of ‘deer antler spray’ (which is known to contain small amounts of IGF-I) is not considered prohibited,” WADA said.

“On the other hand it should be known that deer antler spray contains small amounts of IGF-1 that may affect anti-doping tests. Players should be warned that in the case of a positive test for IGF-1 or HGH, it would be considered an Adverse Analytical Finding.” That left Finchem to rule that Singh, 50, should not face a ban. “Based on this new information, and given WADA’s lead role in interpreting the prohibited list, the tour deemed it only fair to no longer treat Mr. Singh’s use of deer antler spray as a violation,” Finchem said in a statement. The statement said Singh should have contacted PGA anti-doping program administrators before using the product to be certain it did not contain banned substances. Singh has won three major titles, including the 2000 Masters and the 1998 and 2004 PGA Championship. AFP

CHAMPIONS TROPHY

JAMAICA INTERNATIONAL

Bailey gets v-captain nod SYDNEY: George Bailey was Wednesday handed the vicecaptaincy of Australia’s squad for their defence of the Champions Trophy, while promising fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile won a call-up. The eight-nation tournament starts in England next month with Bailey getting the nod as Michael Clarke’s number two in place of Shane Watson. Watson is in the 15man squad but opted to stand aside as vice skipper to focus on his batting and bowling, in the same way he did with the Test side for the upcoming Ashes tour of England. “Selectors have been

HYDERABAD: Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal was today conferred the 22nd Yudhvir Memorial Foundation Award for her outstanding performance in the field of sports. The award, instituted in the memory of freedom fighter, journalist and founder of the daily Hindi Milap, Yudhvir, was presented to Saina by Andhra Pradesh Lokayukta Justice B Subhashan Reddy, this evening at a function. The Yudhvir Memorial Award was constituted by the Yudhvir Foundation in 1991 to commemorate the lifetime work of late Yudhvir. The annual award consists of a citation and a cash prize of Rs 50,000. After receiving the award, Saina said it was a great honour for her to receive the award. “I am really honoured. The award will give me encouragement to excel in my game in future also,” she said. Saina further said she will continue to put in hard work and more efforts to bring laurels to the country. “I want to play more, win more and get more medals for my country. It is your (fans) love and prayers which is helping me to win medals,” the Olympian said adding “I will try my best to win in more tournaments in future also.” AFP

impressed with George’s leadership when he stepped in to guide the ODI team in Michael’s absence last summer and leadership of the T20 team over the past two seasons,” national selector John Inverarity said. “Given George’s experience and credentials, he was viewed as the ideal person for the role.” There were few surprises in the squad with Inverarity previously announcing that players chosen to represent Australia A in their England tour that will run at the same time as the Champions Trophy would not be considered.

This ruled out Brad Haddin, Steve Smith, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, James Pattinson and Jackson Bird. But several of the Ashes squad are on the team, including Clarke, Watson, David Warner, Phil Hughes, Matt Wade, Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner. Mitchell Johnson was also selected and will have a point to prove after being left out of the Ashes reckoning. Team: Clarke (capt), Bailey (vc), Warner, Watson, Hughes, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Wade, Maxwell, Faulkner, Johnson, Starc, McKay, Coulter-Nile, Doherty. AFP

Hamstring strain forces Bolt out

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: A hamstring strain suffered during training last weekend has forced Usain Bolt to withdraw from Saturday’s Jamaica International Invitational meet, the superstar sprinter’s manager said Tuesday. Bolt, a double world-record holder and two-time defending 100- and 200-metres Olympic champion, won the 100 at the meet last year and was to run the 200 this time before what manager Ricky Simms called “a mild set-

back in training.” “I am disappointed to miss the Kingston meet as I love running in front of my home crowd,” Bolt said. “I’m told it is only a Grade 1 strain so hopefully I will be OK soon.” Simms said Bolt hopes to recover in time to race in the Cayman Invitational on May 8 but will make a final decision closer to the time depending on how he feels in training. The decision not to run was taken after talks between Bolt, trainers and Bolt’s coach, Glen Mills. “The 26-year-old felt tightness in training over the weekend and in consultation with his coach Glen Mills decided not to risk anything at this early stage of the season,” Simms said. Bolt will join training partner and reigning world 100 metres champ Yohan Blake on the sidelines after Blake suffered a strain in his right hamstring two weeks ago while running his first 100 race of the year at the UTech Classic. AFP

IPL 6

BATTLE OF THE TITANS

METRE

6 S 356

36 4S 1128

Chris Gayle (RCB)

Michael Hussey (CRK)

175*

HIGHEST SCORE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013 Chris Gayle (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

5-20

James Faulkner (RR)

SRH look to extend streak It's a matter of one over or a wicket. Myself and the entire team management has a lot of faith and trust in him [Yusuf]. Gautam Gambhir KKR skipper

Chris Gayle (RCB) 484 runs

James Faulkner (RR), 16 wickets

Working hard to improve batting: Tom

heir batsmen have failed to fire in unison this season and a worried Sunrisers Hyderabad Coach Tom Moody says his players are doing everything to change the sad story. "We have not scored the runs, the way we would have liked. We are aware of that. We have been aware of that for a couple of weeks. We are doing everything we can and our players practice to rectify that. At the end of the day, it comes down to individual responsibility," he said ahead of SRH's match against MI. Moody said every match from here on would be crucial for the team. "We are positioned at middle of the table. We recognize that every game from here on is an important one," Moody said. P

T PT

CSK

16 +0.733

RCB

12 +0.690

12 +0.577

12 +0.241

SRH

10 -0.197

KXIP

8 +0.172

KKR

6 -0.016

4 -0.761

PWI

4 -1.433

P-played; W-win; L-lost; T-tie; NR-net run rate; PT-points

APARNA SAI

aparna.s@postnoon.com

unrisers Hyderabad have played three games on their home turf in this season of the IPL and have managed to win all of them. They will look to extend this win streak when they take on the Mumbai Indians today. The SRH side have ten points from nine games and are currently placed at the fifth position on the points table. Hyderabad were earlier considered as the underdogs of the IPL-6 but they surprised one and all when they won five off the seven games they played. But this equation soon changed as they lost their previous two matches. In their last tie against the Rajasthan Royals, the Sunrisers were in a pathetic position as their score, at one point of time, read six for 29.

SRH VS MI AT 4PM ON SET MAX

SCORECARD

It was Darren Sammy who saved the team from embarrassment hitting 60 off 41 deliveries and guiding them to a decent 144. But this knock failed to see SRH post a victory as they lost by eight wickets. The batting of the Sunrisers side has been a cause of concern since the very beginning and usually won matches because of their bowling with the likes of Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra in the side. But in the recent past, even their bowling failed to be effective. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians, who have had a good run under Rohit Sharma, would look to continue with their good form. Currently placed fourth on the points table, the Mumbai team would hope to live up to the expectations of all the fans. They would look to be formidable on the field, just as they are considered to be on paper. It will be a tight battle as the Mumbai take on the Hyderabad, the side which has an unbeaten win streak at home.

Both teams in tight spot

PUNE WARRIORS V CHENNAI SUPER KINGS Chennai Super Kings innings (20 overs maximum) MEK Hussey b Richardson

WP Sahalbw b Sharma

SK Raina not out

S Badrinath c Smith b Wright

MS Dhoni*† not out

Extras (lb 2, w 2)

Total (3 wickets; 20 overs)

164

Bowling

M R

W Econ

R Sharma

0 27

6.75

B Kumar

1 24

6.00

KW Richardson4

0 35

8.75

AB Dinda

0 41

0 10.25

AM Nayar

0 23

LJ Wright

0 12

1 12.00

7.66

Pune Warriors innings (target: 165 runs from 20 overs) RV Uthappa† run out (Raina) 10 AJ Finch* c †Dhoni b Sharma 15 TL Suman lbw b Sharma 0 Yuvraj Singh c †Dhoni b Sharma 5 SPD Smith c & b Jadeja 35 LJ Wright run out (Morkel) 2 AM Nayar run out (Morkel/Ashwin) 2 KW Richardson c Raina b Morris 26 B Kumar not out 24 R Sharma c Raina b Bravo 0 AB Dinda not out 2 Extras (lb 1, w 4, nb 1) 6 Total (9 wickets; 20 overs) 127 Bowling O M R W Econ RA Jadeja 4 0 26 1 6.50 JA Morkel 3 0 20 0 6.66 MM Sharma 4 0 21 3 5.25 CH Morris 3 0 21 1 7.00 R Ashwin 2 0 20 0 10.00 DJ Bravo 4 0 18 1 4.50

Chennai Super Kings won by 37 runs

elhi Daredevils were considered one of the favourites for the title this year, having topped the table in the last season. But it turned out to be a complete different situation as DD managed to win only two matches from the nine they have played. None of the players have risen to the occasion whenever the team needed them to. Though they look threatening on paper, they have failed miserably and another loss could possibly rule out all their chances of making it to the playoffs. DD are set to take on the Kolkata Knight Riders today in Raipur. The defending champions , KKR, maybe place a rung above

DD VS KKR AT 8PM ON SET MAX the Daredevils but their story isn’t much different from DD. They have managed to win only three matches from the nine they played and are struggling at the seventh position on the table. Kolkata Knight Riders will have to post a victory today to strengthen their chances of making it to the play-offs. With half the tournament already completed, every match from now on, will be crucial in deciding the top four teams. And with every team eyeing one of the top four spots, it remains to be seen who today’s winner would be. AS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

sports

CHELSEA MAINTAIN FORM AS MARATHON END NEARS

Chelsea will be looking to keep their hopes alive of their marathon season ending with a trophy as Rafael Benitez’s men host FC Basel in their Europa League semi-final second leg clash at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. The Blues lead 2-1 from last week’s semi-final, first leg in Switzerland.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS

Real win, but too late Despite beating Dortmund 2-0, Real Madrid were still knocked out of the Champions Leage on a 4-3 aggregate.

KIERAN CANNING Agence France-Presse MADRID: Borussia Dortmund qualified for their second ever Champions League final on Tuesday, beating Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate despite losing the second leg of their semifinal 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Needing a huge turnaround from the first leg last week, Real seemed to have run out of steam after Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil had passed up early opportunities. However, after Robert Lewandowski had smashed the underside of the bar and Diego Lopez prevented Ilkay Gundogan with an incredible save from close range, Madrid were given a lifeline in the 83rd

minute when substitute Karim Benzema swept home Ozil’s low cross. And six minutes later they had real hope of an incredible comeback as captain Sergio Ramos rifled a shot into the roof of the net. But Dortmund withstood the onslaught in an agonising five minutes of stoppage time to seal their place at the final at Wembley next month. Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said Real may have been the better side on the night but it meant nothing as his side had achieved their goal of reaching the final and he was immensely proud of his players. “It isn’t too hard to reveal what I thought during those last 10 minutes: if God wished it then we would qualify for the final,” said Klopp.

Webb of incompetence

orussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp was furious with the performance of English referee Howard Webb. “The game was crazy. From the first seconds each player of Real Madrid did things to bring the referee to one side so we had to not react and be cool,” Klopp said. “I thought Ramos could do to [Robert] Lewandowski what he wanted and so to stay cool in these situations is great. I thought if we stayed calm and played our football that it was possible for us to go to the final tonight and I think we are the team that deserved to go through.”

“But it has to be said that it was a crazy match, from start to finish. “From the first second the Real players were doing everything they could to get the referee on their side.” Ramos, who wouldn’t have played in the final anyway because he picked up a booking meaning he would have been suspended, said it was a pity Real hadn’t played the same way in the first leg. “It is a shame,” Ramos told TVE afterwards. “You can lose but it is better to do it like this. Football is like this. “If we had done half of what we have done today in Dortmund, it would have been different. The fans have roared us on and it was a shame that we didn’t take our chances.”

Jose hints at a return to ‘love’ MADRID: Jose Mourinho has hinted that he could be set for a return to England after seeing his Real Madrid side go out of the Champions League at the semifinal stage for the third consecutive season. Real very nearly staged a remarkable late comeback to progress to the final, but the Germans’ 4-1 victory in last week’s first-leg saw them squeeze through 4-3 on aggregate. And afterwards Mourinho refused to confirm that he will still be in charge of the Spanish champions next season. “My future is not important, it is Real Madrid that are important,” he said. “I know that in England I am loved. I am loved by the fans and the media who are fair with me. They criticise me and give me credit when I deserve it. “I know I am loved by the clubs, especially one. In Spain it is different because people hate me, many of whom are in this room.

Barça hope belief will see them through Only three clubs have ever managed to recover such a deficit in European competition, the last being Real Madrid in 1986.

STANISLAS TOUCHOT Agence France-Presse BARCELONA: Even Barcelona’s most ardent fans know that their side’s chances of overturning a four-goal first-leg deficit against Bayern Munich are slim, but defender Gerard Pique insists that the Catalans are the only side capable of pulling off the type of comeback

needed. Only three clubs have ever managed to recover such a deficit in European competition, with the last being Barca’s bitter rivals Real Madrid, who came back from losing 5-1 to Jupp Heynckes’s Borussia Moenchengladbach in the UEFA Cup in 1985-86. However, speaking to media on the eve of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final, second leg, Pique insisted that

the mere presence of Lionel Messi in the Barcelona starting line-up at the Camp Nou will give the home side the belief that they can still win the tie. “I know that it is complicated. But of course it can happen,” said Pique, 26. “I believe that the only team capable of overturning a four-goal deficit against Bayern is Barcelona. The supporters must believe too. And to have Messi with us helps massively.”