WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013 HYDERABAD
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WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY; 28°C
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HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER
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COPS TURN JUDGES? A curious thing is happening. When a person approaches the police saying his mobile phone has been stolen, cops browbeat them saying it was misplaced, not stolen. Agreed, there are some who hide the fact that they lost their cell, but police can’t make a proposition and refuse to file an FIR, can they?
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
city events
LASER TAG
Laser Game is the hi-tech version of your conventional hide and seek game. It is played with the world’s most advanced laser tag equipment brought from New Zealand. Head over to Rainbow Shopping Mall, Secunderabad.
Weather for Hyderabad
Evening
Overnight
25°C
Morning
Afternoon
25°C
29°C
A mix of cloud and sun
A mix of cloud and sun. Showers
22°C
A mix of cloudy and clear skies
Mix of cloudy and clear skies
New Delhi Mumbai Max 37 Max 32 Min 27 Min 30 Mostly sunny.
Thundershowers
Chennai Max 36 Min 28 Thundershowers
Bangalore Max 30 Min 19
Mix of cloud and sun
AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES of fun! .Where: Sri Satya Sai Nigamamam, Sri Nagar Colony When: Oct 6, 3:30pm Contact: (040) 23741450/ 40505000
EXHIBITION Pamper Bazaar It’s all about pampering yourself at the Pamper Bazaar which will feature live singing, a flea bazaar, tarot reading, tattoos and more. Where: Ruci & Idoni Road No.10, Banjara Hills When: Oct 2, 11am to 4pm Contact: (040) 64551000/2000
K-Circle Quiz Fest Try out your luck at solving the most intricate of problems. The K-Circle Quiz Fest is a challenge. Where: Birla Planetarium and Science Centre When: Oct 5-6, 10am onwards Contact: 23235081
Just Splurge Its called “Splurge” for a reason. Make sure to have your wallet full when you visit Splurge: ExhibitionCum-Sale of Designer Ethnic and western wear for men and women. Where: Taj Krishna, Road No.1, Banjara Hills When: Oct 2, 8am to 10pm Contact: (040) 66662323
ART
Joy of Giving Joy of Giving Week: Art for a Cause is selling art to raise money for charity. Where: Hyderabad Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre, Secunderabad When: Oct 2, 11am to 3pm Contact: (040) 27522999/9396444424
Showcase During the Joy of Giving Week, Art for a cause@Muse is exhibiting art to sell. The collections will be given to charity. Where: Hyderabad Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre, Tankbund, Secunderabad When: Oct 2, 11am to 3pm Contact: 9396444424 FESTIVE FASHION: Designers Neelam Ashley and Zubin Vakil were spotted at the curtain raiser of Khwaish’s, Dussera and Diwali special exhibition and sale at Hotel Marigold. savoured during this festive season. Where: Taj Krishna, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills When: Oct 5 onwards, 7:30pm to 10pm Contact: (040) 23392323/ 66293306 W-Lunch Gather all your girlfriend and head over to Ruci and Idoni for their special lunch, only for ladies. Where: Ruci & Idoni, Opp Rainbow Hospital, Road No. 10, Banjara Hills When: Oct 2, 11am to 4pm Contact: (040) 64551000/ 2000
DINING Navratra Menu This Navratri, the chefs from Firdaus present to you the finest delicacies like kuttu ki puri, aloo ki tari, shingara ki sabzi, that need to be
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
Food for Change As part of the Joy of Giving Week, a charity dinner is being organised for the who’s who in the city in aid of education for 200,000 needy children.
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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
Where: N Convention, Lane opp Shilparamam, Hi-tech City, Madhapur When: Oct 3, 8pm to 11pm Contact: 9949351874/ 7893377333 Taste of Asia The Pan Asian dinner at The Square is serving some of the best in Pan Asian cuisine. Be sure to check it out. Where: The Square, Novotel Hotel Convention, Near hi-tech City, Kondapur When: Oct 2, 6:30pm onwards Contact: (040) 66824422
SHOWS German Film The German film Soul Kitchen will be screened. The film revolves is a true narrative of the screenwriter’s experi-
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
ences as a owner of a Greek tavern named Taverna. Where: Goethe Zentrum, Road No.3, Journalist’s Colony, Banjara Hills When: Oct 10, 6pm onwards Contact: (040) 23350473/ 23350040 Lover boy The screening of the film is happening. Be sure to check the film out! Where: Sarathi Studio, Ameerpet When: Oct 11, 6:30pm onwards Contact: 9391020243/ 23732050 Quiz Time Do you want to test your brain power. Are you in the mood for some mind-boggling questions. Well, then the wait is over. Landmark, the bookstore, is organising a Quiz called the Landmark Quiz 2013. Be sure to check it out. Looks like a lot
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
Spiritual Mapping Exhibition of Painting by artist Surekha Sadana. Where: IconArt Gallery (Dr. Avani Rao Gandra, Artist Studio), SBI Building, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills When: Until Oct 3, 11:30am to 7pm
Contact: 9849968797 Contemporary paintings Small Format - Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings by artists from across India. Where: Daira, Center for Arts and Culture, 100A Basement, Banjara Petals, Old Road No. 5, Banjara Hills When: Up till Oct 3, 11am to 7pm Contact: 9849987187/ 8019762868
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 # Plot no.550-A1, 3rd floor, Road no-92, Jubilee hills, Hyderabad-500033 a call on a call on 2354 1412
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
news
YESTERDAY’S QUESTION
DOES THE US FINANCIAL CRISIS PRESAGE ANOTHER 40% SEVERE GLOBAL SLUMP? 60%
YES (A) NO (B)
TODAY’S QUESTION
SHOULD MANMOHAN RESIGN AFTER PUBLIC HUMILIATION FROM RAHUL GANDHI? A)
YES
B)
NO
To vote visit www.postnoon.com
CURRENCY ‘ISSUE’
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City cries: Change we need Small coins are mysteriously vanishing and it is creating a huge problem. MOHSIN ALI ali@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: If you are going to the neighbourhood grocery store or vegetable market or any store, remember to carry small change. Coins are becoming a rare commodity, and rapidly disappearing from the market. “Sir, would you like to take a toffee instead of `1 or a chocolate instead of `5?” is the usual plea of the counter girl. The boorish among them simply thrust the chocolate in your hands — no matter if you are a diabetic. Both, traders and consumers are facing problems of severe shortage of change while the custodian of currency, the RBI keeps a studied silence. Incidentally, the largest sources of small change today are alms-seekers who charge the shop owner a 10 per cent commission! “Earlier, we use to get coins from the Reserve Bank of India’s retail counters and some agents who charged 3-5 per cent, but
now there are black marketers who are charging up to 18 per cent and we have to spend hours in the queue for that,” J Narender, owner of a grocery store, told Postnoon. “Alms-seekers are better, they charge only 8 to 10 per cent. The damaged note collectors are charging upto 15 per cent for
providing change,” said Gudem Ramesh, a representative of retailers’ body at Sultan Bazaar, a retail market hub here. Whereas bus conductors are also asking exact change for tickets, Vithalrao, a vendor expressed his anger at them accusing them of making big money pleading lack of small
change. “I often use to go to the market by bus; if I pay Rs 10 for a seven-rupee ticket, conductor writes the balance amount on the back of the ticket. When you ask, he acts helpless,” he said. RBI’s annual report released a couple of weeks ago acknowledges the problem. “There has been a spate of complaints about non-availability or short supply of coins in recent times,” it said. The Government had also asked the RBI to take appropriate action with regard to adequate distribution of coins. Now it is also examining the recommendations of a high-level panel headed by deputy Governor KC Chakrabarty on the measures to be taken to increase the supply of coins. The matter is being discussed with the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd. The data shows huge difference in the indent and supply of coins. For instance, in 2012-13, only 6,878 million coins of various denominations were
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The data shows huge difference in the indent and supply of coins. released into the market while the indent was for 9,554 million. For the current financial year, the indent was for 12,033 million coins, but some bankers feel it would be difficult to meet the target and the indent itself was not in tune with the increasing economic activity. “I agree that there is some unofficial link of lower level staff with retail traders of coin sale. The work pressure in banks is also impacting coin sale in branches, the RBI recently shut down many of its own retail coin sale outlets asking banks to open special counters,’’ said an executive of a public sector bank.
STUDENT PROTESTS
Spurious spare parts scam: 2 more held
City police are chasing the replica spare parts dealers who cheat the vehicle owners and kill the popular trust on genuine brands
Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The city police team of Central Crime Station has raided two companies housed in the Chennai Trade Centre in Secunderabad and seized lakhs of rupees worth duplicate spare parts of branded companies. Two persons have been arrested.
Police had earlier arrested a man from Raiyasat Nagar for the same offence. The arrested, Dilip Vardhan, 33, a resident of Rasoolpura and Prakash Purohit, 26, a resident of Begumpet, have been selling fake spare parts. Raids followed complaints of motor owners. The dealers in duplicate parts made two offences. They kill
popular trust in branded genuine parts and charge people high for low quality stuffs. After several complaints, the City Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma asked police to conduct extensive enquiries and arrest the guilty. Police said both the arrested have admitted to their crime.
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They reportedly said they were not manufacturing them, but buying them from Delhi for cheap and selling them at prices of genuine brand arts. The racket is said to be spread all over Andhra Pradesh.
CITY BRIEFS Bangles stolen from woman’s purse
Chain-snatchers rob woman of 10-tola chain
Naidu and Modi to speak in Delhi
Gandhi Jayanti celebrated
YSRC to organise public meeting on October 19
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hieves stole gold bangles weighing about three tola from the purse of a woman by name Swarna Lata, a resident of Alwal. Swarna Lata was travelling in the RTC bus from Afzalgunj to Secunderabad yesterday. When she reached her destination, she noticed that from her gold bangles have been stolen. She lodged a complaint with the cops.
senior citizen, G Rani, 62, who lived in the Sikh village was robbed by two unidentified persons on a bike when she was returning to home yesterday. She said she was walking home when the bike whizzed past her near C Sector in Karkhana and the men snatched her 10 tola gold chain. Her husband G Venkat Rao has lodged a complaint.
DP President N Chandrababu Naidu and the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will share the same platform this afternoon in New Delhi during the Citizen for Accountable Governance. The meeting is being organised by an NGO called Manthan. Naidu will deliver the inaugural address, Modi the concluding speech.
he birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi were celebrated across the state. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and other cabinet ministers paid tributes to Father of Nation at Assembly premises by garlanding the latter's statue. A special programme has also been organised at Bapu Ghat.
SR Congress Party (YSRCP) would organise a public meeting here on October 19 in support of united Andhra Pradesh. YSRCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy had announced a meeting would be held on a convenient day between October 15 and 20. Also, YSR Congress has chalked out a monthlong programme beginning today.
News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013 LAST YEAR... HERE Going the FB way
L
ast year we had reported how OU students were aggressively using social media to communicate and spread messages about the T protest. Youtube videos and visual ads that circulated on Facebook and Twitter were aired on Telugu news channels. It was also reported that OU students will be joining the political JAC hunger strike on the day.
OCT 2, 2012
NUMEROLOGY
30K
South Korea is protected by the US nuclear umbrella and there are currently nearly 30,000 US troops stationed in the country.
We are worried that the BJP would grow as a reckoning force in the Telangana region if we merge the TRS due to a absence of strong opposition political party. A close aide of AICC AP in-charge Digvijay Singh See page 5
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THINGS WE LEARNT TODAY
The column that teaches everyone something new about the way the world functions.
1
Coins are rapidly disappearing from the market. Traders and consumers are facing problems of severe shortage of change while the custodian of currency, the RBI keeps a studied silence.
2
Cops are not booking an FIR for loss of phone complaints Complainants accuse police of duplicity. They say cops don’t have to declare if phones are found and could strike a deal with thieves.
3
Thigh gap: US teens take the risky road to perfection The latest weight loss craze among American teens striving to emulate the models is the “thigh gap”.
4
GHMC felicitates elders; opens 79 care centres The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, which has formed 176 Associations and opened 79 Day Care Centres for elders.
5
US government shutdown chokes Washington The first US government shutdown in 17 years has put a choke hold on Washington, with the White House and Republicans digging in for an extended struggle with no way out in sight.
POLITICS
Digvijay to douse fires, CM in fighting mood AICC’s APincharge Digvijay Singh is scheduled to come soon to assess the mood of the Kiran cabinet which is hopelessly divided and accuse the CM of playing oneupmanship. The state seems to be hurtling toward President Rule POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The Kiran cabinet that resembles to the Tower of Babel is giving serious concern to the Centre, it is learnt. Consequently, the Congress leadership is sending Digvijay Singh to assess the situation and report. With the Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy adopting an aggressive stance on the CWC resolution on Telangana, ministers in Kiran’s has polarised into two camps. The anti-CM camp seems to be
point out that his stance has roused ill-feelings among people against one another.
COUNTER MOVE
closing ranks around state Financé minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy. Nobody knows whether CM Kiran has played his cards in a proper manner, but he seems to have invited the wrath of party high-command and that of Congress general secretary in-charge of state affairs Digvijaya Singh. Singh, who is generally outspoken and get into controversy was however tight-lipped about Kiran. Kiran’s championing of ‘Samaikyandhra’ has generated enemies within as they don’t like him emerging the sole champion of Seemandhra. This is especially true of thePCC Chief Botsa Satyanarayana who tries to checkmate the CM at every turn. Botsa is learnt to have advised Kiran to assess how many of the Seemandhra
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Nobody knows whether CM Kiran has played his cards in a proper manner, but he seems to have invited the wrath of party high-command. Congress leaders endorse the bifurcation and how many are opposed. Many Congress leaders are vexed at the chief minister’s brazen stance against the high command. They argue that his aggressive posture comes a day too late and it amounts to damaging the credibility of the party leadership. They all
Tuesday’s meeting of Seemandhra ministers at Anam’s residence has been seen as a counter-camp to Kiran and his followers. This is primarily because the meeting was spearheaded by PCC Chief Botsa and most of the ministers who took part in the meeting were at loggerheads with Kiran at one time or the other in the past. Reports also suggest that during his previous trip to Delhi on the occasion of National Integration Council (NIC) meeting, no central leader except Home minister Shinde took his calls and gave him an opportunity to call on them. Even Shinde’s meeting with the CM was more to discuss the appointment of a new DGP for the state. Reports further suggest that Digvijaya Singh himself did not return Kiran’s calls during his Delhi trip. On the other hand, political observers say that Congress high-command has two choices if it wants to go ahead with the bifurcation process in the face of stiff opposition by Kiran. One is to replace him with a compliant leader or impose President’s rule in the state and then proceed. Of late, parallels are being drawn between the current state of affairs in AP and the situation that prevailed in the undivided Punjab (the present day Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh-UT) before 1966.
ENVIRONMENT
Russia charges Greenpeace activists
MOSCOW: Russian investigators on Wednesday began charging a group of Greenpeace activists detained in the northern city of Murmansk after a protest against Arctic oil drilling, an official said. “The investigation began the process of bringing charges against them,” a spokeswoman for the Investigative
Committee in Moscow told AFP. She could not say whether the 30 activists from 18 countries are being charged with piracy or a lesser crime. On Tuesday an unnamed source told the Interfax news agency that Russia will bring piracy charges against the group, a crime that carries up to 15 years in jail.
On Tuesday an unnamed source said that Russia will bring piracy charges against the group, a crime that carries up to 15 years in jail.
President Vladimir Putin last week raised hopes that the activists would face lesser charges when he said that they “are not pirates”, but had nonetheless broken international law by protesting close to a Russian oil rig. The crew of Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise icebreaker was detained in September for two months.
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STRATEGY
Saffron phobia sabotages Cong-TRS merger Fear of the growth of the BJP in the Telengana region if the Congress and TRS merged is keeping the two parties merging. They argue that TDP will vanish after the polls and the BJP will fill that space.
INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The dynamics of politics are changing fast in the Telangana region. The merger of the Telangana Rasthra Samithi (TRS) with the Congress seems unlikely now. While the TRS leadership is already under pressure from its party cadres and leaders to keep off the merger, the ruling Congress has a different reason to keep the T champion at bay. The Congress believes it could ride the popular wave of having acceded to the request for a separate state. The TRS second-rung lead-
ers also are afraid all their efforts might be washed away if the party ceased to exist. Besides, the party fears the BJP will grow phenomenally if the two parties came together.
CONGRESS APPREHENSION
The most important worry of the Congress is the possible push it may give to the BJP in the region. The T-Congress leaders feel that if they merge the TRS into Congress, the Telangana region would only have BJP as the alternative for the Congress. The leaders reason that the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) would vanish from the political scene of Telangana
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due to its existing image as an anti-Telangana party. “Yes, we are worried that the BJP would grow as a reckoning force in the Telangana region if we merge the TRS due to a absence of strong opposition political party. We think that the Telugu Desam would disappear from the scene after the next General Election, paving way for the growth of BJP which will bank on its pro-Telangana stand. We do not want this to happen,” a close aide of AICC AP in-
charge Digvijay Singh told Postnoon. The leader further said that the Congress was planning to contest the election on its own as it is confident of emerging as the single largest political party in 2014 assembly elections. Another Congress MLA also expressed similar views. Interestingly, majority of the TRS leaders are also expressing similar feelings. TRS MLC and party’s Minority Morcha president Mohammed Mahmood Ali said it was essential to keep the BJP away. Mahmood believes giving up the opposition space to a ‘communal’ BJP was dangerous.
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News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
CRIME
ARUN D YELLAMATY arunyellaaty@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Everyday more than two hundred people turn up at various police stations in the city hoping that their lost or stolen phones are found. Many times the IEMI (international mobile equipment identity) number of a phone helps in retrieving the phone, but few get happy news of retrieval. In majority of instances, police express helplessness. Cops say in the last one year they face difficulty as thieves are getting smarter. But complainants have a different view. They accuse police of duplicity when approached for not registering loss of mobile phones which give the police a wide field to play mischief. They don’t have to declare if phones are found and could strike a deal with thieves. According to a senior police official, AROUND THE
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There have been rumours that cops are hand in glove with the thieves on expensive phones and close the deal with any high end handset. in 2012, a lot of complaints about lost or stolen phones have been solved after the police traced them using IEMI numbers. But in 2013, they have been having a tough time as many thieves are getting smarter and have been changing the IEMI numbers of expensive phones using improved software, and moving out of the state with the phone, which is making it impossible for the cops to track the phones. People should be very careful, as many phones stolen could be misused. The data can be stolen, pictures can be misused, terrorists have used cellular phones to trigger improvised explosive
COPS TURN JUDGES? devices and the list continues. Fine, but what about the widespread complaints that cops at various police stations are not booking an FIR for lost of phone complaints. Sushmita Reddy, a student, says, "I had gone to the police station after my phone was stolen. I informed the policeman on duty about it. But a constable who was standing by the one I was talking with, argued that I had misplaced the phone, not stolen. How could he say that? After a while the cop just took down the details on a register and told me to come back in three days. They did not suggest or talk about an FIR." However, the DCP West Zone, Satyanarayna, says, he does not believe it. "We file an FIR, if a phone is stolen, we have been doing that. There have been few cases where the complaint was filed and we even recovered the phones." he adds, "about filing an FIR, if any individual is sure that his phone is stolen, they should reach the inspector of police and speak to him about the incident. He will surely file an FIR." he adds. "But many people misplace their phone, for that we don't file, but we make a note and keep the phones on tracker. Only after people confirm it was stolen we book an FIR." adds Inspector of Police, Banjara Hills, Murli Krishna.
TECH-SAVVY THIEVES OUTSMART POLICE?
But police say tracking of cellphone has become difficult due to the new technology the thieves are using to change the IEMI numbers, DCP West Zone, Satyanarayna, adds, "we have been facing few difficulties as many thieves have been changing the IEMI numbers as soon as they get the phone, we have been checking local phone markets and we are working on these issues." There have been rumours that cops are working with the thieves on expensive phones and close the deal with any expensive phones, for which the cops say that the rumors are false and they are trying their best to deal with the phone theft and lost issues.
A curious thing is happening. When a person approach police saying his mobile phone is stolen, cops browbeat them saying it was misplaced, not stolen. Agree, there are some who hide the fact that they lost the cell on the way but police can’t make a proposition and refuse to file a FIR, can they?
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GOOD DEED
News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
GHMC T felicitates elders
WORLD BRIEFS Letta tipped to defeat Berlusconi challenge ROME: Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta is tipped to win a nail-biting parliamentary confidence vote Wednesday which would deal a major blow to Silvio Berlusconi but could leave Italy more frail than ever. Letta's survival hinges on rebels, within Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL), who are considering splitting from the media mogul.
Myanmar president visits riot-hit western state THANDWE: Myanmar's
leader toured a strifewracked western state Wednesday after antiMuslim riots left one dead and homes razed in a resurgence of sectarian violence that has overshadowed internationally lauded political reforms. President Thein Sein arrived in Rakhine on Tuesday on his first trip to the region since a wave of religious bloodshed first erupted in June 2012.
Zambian separatists to answer charges LUSAKA: More than 70
Zambian separatists are due in court on charges of treason Wednesday, in one of the country's biggest trials in recent years. The defendants, mostly from the Lozi tribe want Barotseland state in the country's impoverished west to secede from the copper-rich southern African country. Police have arrested 83 people.
Cuba lost $12.7 mn due to US cultural embargo HAVANA: The US-led economic embargo against Cuba had cost the island's cultural institutions $12.7 million last year. A report released Tuesday by Cuba's ministry of culture said Washington's embargo hinders normal cultural exchanges between Cuba and other countries, reported Xinhua. In 2012, US company PayPal, which facilitates payments via internet, placed restrictions.
POSTNOON NEWS he Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, which has formed 176 Associations and opened 79 Day Care Centres for elders under the Aasara on Tuesday, honoured the seniors at Hari Hara Kala Bhavan in an event organised by the civic body.
Speaking at the event GHMC Commissioner MT Krishna Babu stated that recently he had a meeting with the City Grandhalaya Samstha for improving the existing city libraries. The GHMC is paying eight per cent of its property tax towards maintaining libraries, which comes to `60 crore a year.
He said the civic authority will further strengthen the existing Day Care Centres by providing them with required books and transform them as book depot centres for the convenience of the senior citizens. He further added that the recreation facilities like cycling, carom boards, for relaxation
doing exercises physiotherapy etc. for the Aasra Committee will be improved for the benefit of the senior citizens. Mayor Majid Hussain also suggested the senior citizens from the Aasra Committee to give their suggestions so that the GHMC can implement and address their issues.
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News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
PATCH-UP MEET
THE ‘PEACEMAKER’
Rahul meets PM over ordinance Initiatives on Kashmir should be taken forward: PC AROUND THE
NATION
SRINAGAR: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that initiatives taken by him on Kashmir when he was the home minister should be “carried forward”. “I wish the interlocutors’ report and the initiative taken by the all-parties delegation should have been taken forward. I still hope these initiatives can be carried forward,” Chidambaram said at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank in Srinagar Tuesday evening. Three interlocutors were appointed by the central government in 2010 to find a way forward in Kashmir, an initiative largely believed to owe itself to Chidambaram.
Dilip Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M.M. Ansari were appointed as three interlocutors during the 2010 summer unrest in the Kashmir Valley in which 110 people were killed in bloody clashes between mobs and the security forces. An all-parties delegation of parliament members also visited during 2010 to defuse the growing tensions. Chidambaram said there is still scope for reducing the footprints of the security forces in Kashmir and the process of amending the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was still on. “We don’t claim that we resolved all issues. The work (about amending the AFSPA) is still in progress and I still believe that it can be done,” he said. Admitting that there are forces at work in Kashmir beyond the control and reach of the state, Chidambaram expressed optimism that the youth in Kashmir have realised the futility of following the path of violence. IANS
NEW DELHI: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the ordinance that proposes to protect convicted lawmakers, a party official said. “He (Rahul Gandhi) arrived at the PM residence at around 9.45am... they discussed the ordinance,” a party official said. The meeting went on for
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around 25 minutes. Gandhi had earlier rubbished the ordinance, saying that it was “complete nonsense” and should be “torn up and thrown away”. The remark had created a political storm, with the BJP
saying that the prime minister should step down. Manmohan Singh Tuesday said he would not quit over the perceived undermining of his authority and that of his cabinet by Rahul Gandhi. Manmohan Singh said Tuesday he would not quit over the perceived undermining of his authority and that of his cabinet by Rahul Gandhi. IANS
REMEMBERING BAPU
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, left, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, right, sit with officials including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit (2L) and Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath (3R) after paying their respects at the memorial to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi on Wednesday.
SYRIAN CRISIS
Syria chemical disarmament team begins mission DAMASCUS: International disarmament experts were to begin cataloguing Syria’s vast arsenal of chemical weapons Wednesday, checking a list of sites provided by Damascus and conducting on the spot tests ahead of its destruction The 19-strong team from The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) arrived in Damascus Tuesday to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2118 ordering the elimination of Syria’s chemical arsenal by mid2014. The mission was to begin work a day after Syria’s opposition warned of a “humanitarian disaster” in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyet al-Sham, one
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of the areas reportedly targeted in an August 21 sarin attack that killed hundreds of people. It also comes after Syria’s information minister insisted that President Bashar al-Assad would stay in office and could
run for another term in elections next year. Assad’s departure is a key demand of the opposition, who insist it must be a pillar of a mooted Geneva peace conference. The disarmament team includes 19 OPCW inspectors and 14 UN staffers who drove to a five-star Damascus hotel in a 20-vehicle UN convoy from the
Lebanese capital, Beirut. On arrival, the team set up a logistics base. “In the coming days, their efforts are expected to focus on verifying information provided by the Syrian authorities and the initial planning phase of helping the country destroy its chemical weapons production facilities,” the UN said. AFP
NATION BRIEFS Odisha chit fund panel gets 8 lakh plaints
UP to set up special cells for juveniles
Pakistan again violates ceasefire
HC seeks UP’s response on minority scheme
Adequate security for Lalu in jail: IG Prison
BHUBANESWAR: The commission probing the multi-crorerupee Odisha chit fund scam, which has already received about eight lakh complaints, has extended the deadline for receiving complaints to October 31, an official said on Wednesday. It first fixed August 31 as the last date to receive complaints.
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Police will soon constitute special cells for juveniles in all districts of the state, an official said on Wednesday. Besides monitoring the rise in crimes involving juveniles, these cells would also try to counsel them and bring about behavioural changes, allowing for their rehabilitation.
JAMMU: Pakistani troops fired at Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Mendhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district in yet another violation of the bilateral ceasefire, a defence spokesman said Wednesday. No damage was caused to the troops in this firing exchange, an army spokesman said.
LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court sought the Uttar Pradesh government’s response on a PIL seeking to know why only Muslim girls were being given benefits and financial aid under its minority welfare scheme “Hamari Beti, Uska Kal”. The petitioner had also alleged that the government was trying to divide the society on religious lines.
RANCHI: Security inside the Birsa Munda Central Jail where RJD president and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is lodged along with other fodder scam convicts is adequate, IG (Prison) Sailendra Bhusan said here today. Former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda had suffered fractures after being beaten up inside this jail in 2011.
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News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013 STABBING SPREE Disturbed homeless man attacks 5 in New York park AROUND THE
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NEW YORK CITY: A mentally disturbed US homeless man slashed and stabbed five people with a pair of scissors in a New York park on Tuesday, one of them a one-year-old child, police said. The man struck in broad daylight in Riverside Park on Upper West Side near the Hudson River. Police said none of the victims was in critical condition. A 36-year-old woman out jogging was stabbed in the back, a 35-year-old man walking his dog was stabbed in the stomach and a 32-year-old female jogger had her neck slashed. A father walking with his one-year-old son tried to intervene before being stabbed in the abdomen. The toddler was lightly hurt in the arm, police said. A member of the public overpowered the attacker before police arrived. The assailant was identified as Julius Graham, 43, from Texas who lives in a homeless shelter in the Bronx. AFP
TIT FOR TAT US expels Venezuelan diplomat CARACAS: The United States has expelled Venezuela’s charge d’affaires in Washington and two other diplomats in reprisal for the expulsion of three American diplomats from Caracas, both countries said late Tuesday. The tit-for-tat move came a day after the expulsion of the Americans, accused of plotting acts of sabotage against the government, the AROUND THE
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foreign ministry in Caracas said. It called the American move unjustified, saying the Venezuelan diplomats had not been meeting with people opposed to President Barack Obama. Venezuela said the three diplomats had met with the “Venezuelan far right” to finance President Nicolas Maduro’s opponents. AFP
JUST-IN-CASE DEAL
S Korea, US ink ‘N’uke plan The pact establishes a ‘strategic framework’ for dealing with ‘key North Korean nuclear threat scenarios’ that have escalated since the North’s third nuclear test. SEOUL: South Korea and the United States signed a strategic pact Wednesday to prevent a North Korean nuclear attack and agreed to review a planned switch of US wartime command over South Korean troops. The pact establishes a “strategic framework” for dealing with “key North Korean nuclear threat scenarios” that have escalated since the North’s third nuclear test in February. AROUND THE
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It was signed by visiting US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who reiterated US commitment to using all its military capabilities — conventional and nuclear — to provide South Korea with an “extended deterrence that is credible, capable and enduring”. Although neither side provided any specific details of the measures envisaged by the new strategy, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-Jin said it would “greatly enhance the efficacy” of the alliance’s existing deterrence capacity. Observers said the plan,
which is certain to be condemned by North Korea, was largely a confidence-building measure to signal the depth of Washington’s support for South Korea against any provocation from Pyongyang. South Korea is protected by the US nuclear umbrella and there are currently nearly 30,000 US troops stationed in the
country. But Seoul insists that the alliance must respond to what Kim described as the “vastly different” security situation on the Korean peninsula following the North’s nuclear test. To that end, it has requested an extension of US wartime command over South Korean troops — scheduled to end in 2015.
COPYRIGHT ISSUE
Producer sues Eastwood over ‘Trouble with the Curve’ story LOS ANGELES: A Los Angeles film producer has sued Clint Eastwood’s production company and studio giant Warner Bros over the Oscarwinning director’s 2012 baseball movie Trouble with the Curve, alleging they stole his work. Ryan Brooks said the movie, about an aging baseball scout who takes his daughter along on one last recruiting trip, breached copyright law by borrowing various plot elements from a screenplay he wrote in 2008, according to court papers released Tuesday. The case “is about a conspiracy to steal the body, structure, theme and soul of a unique, original, copyrighted screenplay from a production company and its owner,” said the lawsuit, which seeks “tens of millions of dollars,” the documents said. Brooks — whose screen-
Ryan Brooks said the movie, about an aging baseball scout who takes his daughter along on one last recruiting trip, breached copyright.
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play was first called Run Down and later Omaha — cited Warner Bros, Eastwood’s Malpaso Productions, the film’s director Robert Lorenz and talent agencies United
Talent Agency and the Gersh Agency. He claimed there was a vast conspiracy to deny his company, Gold Glove Productions, due credit for the screenplay of the movie, which was relatively poorly received and has made less than $50 million worldwide, according to the Los Angeles Times. Dirty Harry icon Eastwood, 83, has won four Oscars over a more than half-century career, including most recently best movie and best director for 2004’s Million Dollar Baby.
In case of war with North Korea, the alliance currently calls for the US military commander to lead the US troops deployed to the country, as well as South Korea’s 640,000-strong force. Seoul argues that the transition to South Korean command should be postponed until the nuclear threat from Pyongyang has been neutralised.
DISSIDENCE Blind Chinese activist to join conservatives WASHINGTON: Chen Guangcheng, the Chinese activist who dramatically fled house arrest, will join three organizations including a conservative institute after falling out with New York University, supporters said Tuesday. The blind-since-childhood human rights campaigner will jointly join the Witherspoon Institute, the Catholic University of America and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. Bob Fu, the founder AROUND THE
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of the Christian rights group China Aid, said Chen was joining “three institutions across the political spectrum and ideologies.” The Witherspoon Institute is based in Princeton, New Jersey and is known for its opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
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News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
AUTHORITARIAN RULE
Vietnam’s war on dissent While Vietnam insists it has no political prisoners rights groups estimate hundreds of activists are locked up for speaking out against one-party communist rule, including at least 46 jailed this year. CATHERINE BARTON Agence France Presse HANOI: Secretly moved from prison to prison, held in solitary confinement, their families subject to constant harassment — Vietnam’s activist bloggers say they are treated like international terrorists. While Vietnam insists it has no political prisoners — and therefore will not comment on the subject — rights groups estimate hundreds of activists are locked up for speaking out against one-party communist rule, including at least 46 jailed this year. Activists say that while conditions are no picnic for common criminals, prisoners of conscience face particularly harsh treatment behind bars. Prisons have a separate area for political prisoners where “anything can happen and no one knows,” said Nguyen Tri Dung, the son of high-profile blogger Dieu Cay who is serving 12 years for anti-state propaganda. Like many dissidents, Dieu Cay — whose real name is Nguyen Van Hai — refused to plead guilty. Now his relatives believe he is being punished in prison for this show of defiance. Since he was detained in 2008 on an initial charge of tax evasion, Dieu Cay has been moved 10 times between different prisons, according to his family, who said they are never notified in advance. The imprisoned dissident, whose case has been raised by US President Barack Obama, faces constant pressure to sign a confession as well as visitor restrictions, his relatives said. His son told AFP that he too had been repeatedly detained by authorities — always for less than 24 hours — to disrupt his studies and prevent him sitting his exams. Using vague, trumped up administrative charges is a way for authorities to warn activists to cease their campaigning, experts say. Another prominent blogger, the Catholic lawyer Le Quoc Quan, is due to go on trial on Wednesday for tax evasion. “Le Quoc Quan’s apparent crime is to be an effective public critic of the Vietnamese government,” New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday, calling for the 41-yearold’s release.
Once in jail, the Vietnamese authorities are always strict with prisoners who do not admit their guilt, said one activist who spent five years in prison in the past. “They fear they will influence other prisoners and cause problems,” he said. Criminal and political prisoners are held separately and treated in very different ways, he said on condition of anonymity. “Criminal prisoners in Vietnamese jails can buy anything — food, tobacco, heroin,” he said, but political prisoners are often denied books or writing paper and held in cells on their own. Vietnam’s authoritarian government does not allow independent inspections of jails. But experts said arbitrary periods of solitary confinement — another measure used against political detainees — could constitute torture under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), which Vietnam has said it will ratify this year. “The reports that we’ve received indicate that it is a standard practice and that decisions to send someone to solitary confinement are arbitrary, based on the discretion of jail officials,” said HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.
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Former political prisoners and their relatives described intense harassment of families: from pressuring friends to cut contact to denial of business licenses needed to make a living.
‘ISOLATE THE ACTIVISTS’
Former political prisoners and their relatives interviewed by AFP described intense harassment of families: from pressuring friends to cut contact to denial of business licenses needed to make a living. It is designed to “isolate the political activists... and scare family, friends,” the formerly detained activist said. “They find other ways to control, persuade or discredit (activists).” The pressure exerted on families and friends means many dissidents end up isolated from normal Vietnamese life — which often makes them even more determined.
“Difficult people are the ones prepared to make a stand and then they get ostracised and that makes them act even more stubbornly,” said Bill Hayton, author of ‘Rising Dragon’ who is banned from Vietnam. The excessive reaction by authorities is counterproductive, said Hoang Nguyen, a Vietnamese student living in exile in the United States. “Families (of activists) learn a lot about the nature of the political regime,” she said, adding that many relatives “turn dissident” themselves. Nguyen, whose fiancé was jailed in 2010, said the Vietnamese consulate in Washington refused to renew her passport unless she promised to give up her “dissident activities”. She refused and was recently granted asylum.
FIGHTING FROM BEHIND BARS
Branded an “enemy of the Internet” by Reporters Without Borders, Vietnam bans private media and all newspapers and television channels are state-run. Even so the Internet and social media are changing the nature of the battle. Facebook is sporadically blocked but wildly popular
among Vietnamese users. “Social media connectivity and more broad and experienced activist networks are making sure that the word from prisons gets out far and wide,” said Robertson. In June, after authorities refused to respond to a formal complaint and attempted to put him in solitary confinement for three months, Dieu Cay embarked on a hunger strike. “He is trying to light up the real fate of political prisoners of Vietnam, which is now in the darkness,” his son said. Separately, in May, imprisoned legal activist Cu Huy Ha Vu — the son of a revolutionary leader — also refused to eat for 25 days. Eventually, both detainees called off their hunger strikes after receiving key concessions — a tactic seen by some as part of the communist rulers’ strategy to manage dissent. “China and the USSR, they purged ruthlessly their competitors, killing many, sending them into exile,” said the formerly detained activist. “The Vietnamese Communist Party is cunning, wise — they do not see killing and imprisonment as the best solution (but) the last resort. Therefore their power may last longer.”
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News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
SPACE COWBOY
I FELT LIKE SUPERMAN
Colonel James P Dutton, during his interaction with Postnoon, talks about his journey into space, his dream coming true, about Kalpana Chawla and much more. ARUN D YELLAMATY arunyellamaty@postnoon.com
HYDERABAD: Going into space is a wishful dream for many, but only a selected few get a chance to do that, but for Colonel James P Dutton, it was a dream come true when he flew into space with 14 members of the 19th NASA astronaut class. Colonel James P Dutton, a graduate from the United States Air Force Academy, was in Hyderabad recently for a conference organised by Ravi Zachariahs-International Ministries, (RZIM). In his first visit to India and during his interaction with Postnoon, he talks about his journey into space, his dream as a young boy coming true, about Kalpana Chawla and much more.
HIS JOURNEY
Sharing his experience of flying into space, he said, “I was with NASA for eight years and it was six years before I had the opportunity to fly into space and it was everything I ever hoped it would be. At that moment I knew this would be my one and only chance to fly, as the shuttle was going to retire right after our flight. “The entire journey, from the launch of the shuttle till the time we stayed in the orbit, was an absolute delight. The view from space is something to talk about, and the return was just as phenomenal.” “I surely felt like a superman flying in the space, it was cool. There was no epiphany up there; my world view just fit what I saw. It was amazing to see the majesty that God has created. The fact that it felt similar to what heaven will be like. I wish I could take a lot of people into space,” he beams. He further adds, “We got to
watch the sunrise on launch and during our entry when we were coming down. As the pilot, I was the only one who could see the ground view, and it was unbelievable as I got to look down on our country. It was a proud moment.” But it was no picnic, he adds. “It was astonishing to see how much energy is dissipated from the orbit to the earth- zero level. It was an extremely difficult environment to come through in order to survive that.” Speaking about his dream coming true, Dutton distinctly remembers that when he was a kid, his parents made him a cake
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in the shape of a rocket and that sparked his interest. He exclaims, “From an early age I was curios about space and everything related to it, but at the age of 13 I knew what I wanted out of my life. That’s when I wrote to NASA and later got back the relevant information. They had a list of requirements, and after that I decided on working hard towards attaining my goal. “In the early 90’s the US Air
Force was drawing down number of the flying squadrons, so there was nowhere else for us to go. We graduated from pilot training and they didn’t even have an airplane to send us. That was the hard-hitting moment. “When I was sent to a nonflying job with the prospect that I would never be called back though they said they would. But my faith and persistence paid off in the end.“
VISIT TO INDIA
Speaking of his first-ever visit to the country, he said, “Coming to India has been incredible. If you take the globe and where we live
MILESTONES ALONG THE ROAD TO EXCELLENCE
C
ol. Dutton, a graduate from the United States Air Force Academy. He has more than 3,300 fight-training hours in over 30 different aircraft. His military decorations include a Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal and 10 Aerial Achievement Medals. He was selected in 2004 as one of the 14 members of the 19th NASA astronaut class. In 2010 Dutton served as the pilot on the crew of STS-131 Discovery and logged over 362 hours in space. Also: Distinguished Graduate Euro-NATO joint jet pilot training, top graduate from F15C student training and the US Air Force Test Pilot School.
and when you spin it 180 degrees, there is India”. About Indo-American, Kalpana Chawla, he said, “I certainly knew a lot of people who knew her and loved her. I showed up after the Columbia accident, so I didn’t get to meet KC, that what everybody called her. She was well-respected and had a lot of friends.”
WORDS OF WISDOM
For youngsters who want to fly into space, he says, “For individuals interested in space fight, things are changing very rapidly. In the next 15 years, one will see the commercial sector begin to take over the low earth orbit — the area around the earth resulting in numerous opportunities to go into space. “I would suggest aspirants to work hard with dedication. “You will love it, even if you are not the one on the rocket. Working on the space program, being part of the missions and everything surrounding it, that’s what I did six years at NASA. It was incredible.” When questioned if he wanted his son to pursue the same career as his, he said, “He’s got his own dreams. In a family where there is so much spotlight on what the dad does, it’s imperative to just allow the child pursue his dreams.”
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News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
FADS
Thigh gap: US teens take risky road to ‘perfection’ Experts say the cost is self-esteem problems that can lead to eating disorders, depression and even suicide. FABIENNE FAUR Agence France Presse WASHINGTON: It’s the latest weight loss craze among American teens striving to emulate the models they see in magazines: the “thigh gap”, in which slender legs, when standing with feet together, do not touch. Experts say the cost of what teens see as an ideal body shape —but really is for most unattainable — is self-esteem problems that can lead to eating disorders, depression and even suicide. On Tumblr, Pinterest and Facebook, “thigh gap” photos abound: close-ups of sometimes unbearably skinny legs published by young girls eager to show off their success — or bemoan what they see as a failure to whittle away fat. “My thigh gap is huge,” brags a Tumblr user with the handle foster-the-beatles. Another user, skinnysizezero, cheers her fellow dieters on, saying: “Together we can lose weight. Together we can be skinny.” Another poster, elleskyyy, said she felt better when she “realized I’m getting a thigh gap.” Meanwhile, a user called “starving for perfection” complained about her “mediocre/nonexistent thigh gap” and flagellated herself for her “fatfatfatfat.” Experts say the obsession with leg shape is not new, but has been dramatically amplified by social media websites and
their 24/7 influence on the lives of American teens. The fan Twitter account Cara’s Thigh Gap, is dedicated to the extreme slenderness of British model Cara Delevingne, while dozens of Facebook pages and websites propose diets and exercise regimes to achieve the almighty gap. But clinical psychologist Barbara Greenberg warned that for most women, the “thigh gap” is a pipe dream, even via extreme dieting and exercise.”Most women are not built that way to have that space between their thighs,” she said. “It is a matter of bone structure,” she explained, which “the majority of women do not have.” For teenagers, adopting what Greenberg called an “unrealistic obsession” can be dangerous — increasing pressures that can lead to depression, even suicidal behavior, as well as to severe eat-
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Experts say the obsession with leg shape is not new, but has been dramatically amplified by social media websites and their 24/7 influence. ing disorders, which can cause lasting brain and bone damage. Indeed, starvation diets— and self-loathing — are a common theme on the “thigh gap” pages of young girls. “Yesterday i had 380 calories but then i ate candys so much that my calorie number switch to ca. 650.... faaaaaaaaaaaaaat,” writes Anastasia, a young German girl, on Tumblr, who
prays: “Please God let me be skinny.” The World Health Organization recommends a daily intake of around 2,500 calories to support the energy needs of a growing teenage girl.
‘THIN IDEAL’ SPREAD IN MEDIA
Shannon Snapp, a sociologist at the University of Arizona, blames magazines, movies and television for spreading the “thin ideal,” and urges consumers to stop buying into it. “That message is internalized by young women and girls: if you want to be successful, if you want to be liked, this is the way you should look,” Snapp said — “thin everywhere except for their breasts.” “Teenage girls are probably the most likely to be feeling the pressure to look that particular way, because they are going through puberty: for the first
time, they are compared to adult women,” she added. Likewise, San Jose State University sociologist Natalie Boero said the skinny-obsessed “are looking for social acceptance and to fit in.” “Young women are aware that in a sexist and sizeist culture, their bodies are their currency, and they are looking to increase their perceived social value,” she added. That’s not how the teenagers themselves always see it, however. One girl, “mannddda,” declares on Tumblr: “I hate when people tell me I’m dumb for wanting a thigh gap and to be skinny. It’s not for anyone else but ME. I wanna look in the mirror and be happy for MYSELF” But sociologists say there is an unmistakable trend linking body size with social status. Abigail Saguy, a body image expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, told AFP: “Attaining thinness is a way of signaling elite social status.” But, worse than that, “fatness not only connotates low social status, but it may predict low social status.” “Studies show that heavier girls and women are less likely to get hired and when they are hired, they are paid less,” Saguy said, adding that larger women are also less likely to marry. However, a counter-movement against the “thigh gap” is building, with girls also taking to social media to mock the obsession.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
Business
PARAMOUNT TO CUT STAFF
US film giant Paramount is to cut 110 employees, or about five percent of its staff, according to an internal memo published Tuesday. Paramount has released five new films this year, including “Star Trek Into Darkness” and “World War Z” starring Brad Pitt.
STALEMATE
13
BEZOS IS WP BOSS
US government shutdown chokes Washington It was the morning after on Capitol Hill, where late night brinkmanship sent America into its first government shutdown in 17 years. WASHINGTON: The first US government shutdown in 17 years has put a choke hold on Washington, with the White House and Republicans digging in for an extended struggle with no way out in sight. National monuments were barricaded on Tuesday, US war cemeteries in Europe closed, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers were sent home without pay, after dawn revealed the wreckage of America’s latest paralyzing political crisis. President Barack Obama accused conservatives in the House of Representatives of waging an “ideological crusade” by making government funding conditional on gutting his landmark health care law. His top foe, Republican House Speaker John Boehner, meanwhile claimed Obama was pursuing a “scorched earth” policy by refusing to negotiate, as the rhetoric hit new heights and hopes for a swift end to the standoff faded. The president was in feisty form at a White House event marking the rollout of a key portion of Obamacare, which turned into an extended taunt at Republicans for failing to halt implementation of the sweeping law. “This Republican shutdown did not have to happen — I want every American to understand why it did happen,” Obama said. “They have shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health care to millions of Americans.” It was the morning after on Capitol Hill, where late night brinkmanship sent America into
WASHINGTON: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, closed a $250 million deal Tuesday to acquire The Washington Post, ending the longstanding ownership of the renowned Graham family, the newspaper announced. The 49-year-old Internet entrepreneur announced a plan in August to take the newspaper private, and seek to reverse the declines experienced at the Post as digital news takes hold. Tuesday’s confirmation came in a short statement from the publicly traded Washington Post Co., which will retain its television and educational operations.
NUMEROLOGY
$450
mn
is the worth of the deal between a consortium led by Australian billionaire James Packer and US director Brett Ratner to co-finance Warner Brothers to cover the production of 75 movies.
CHYRSLER RECALLS VEHICLES its first government shutdown in 17 years when the money ran out at midnight. Boehner, who effectively chose to side with the uproarious Tea Party faction of his party rather than risk his job by attempting to pass a straight funding resolution stripped of political poison pills, lit into the president. “Washington Democrats have slammed the door on reopening the government by refusing to engage in bipartisan talks,” he wrote in an opinion piece in USA Today. The political paralysis remained unbroken as the Senate followed through on Majority Leader Harry Reid’s promise, rejecting the House’s demand that the two chambers appoint formal negotiators to
thrash out a deal. So far at least, Boehner is dancing on precarious political ground. A Quinnipiac University poll found voters, by a margin of 72 percent to 22 percent, oppose the shutdown of the government as a way to derail Obamacare. The New York Daily News tabloid had a more blunt summation: “House of Turds” its front page read, in a swipe at Republicans modeled on the hit Netflix political mini-series “House of Cards.” Thousands of federal workers trekked into town only to clear their desks and be told they were not “essential” to running the US government machine.Young aides trooped out of the White House, leaving
Obama with only a skeleton crew on hand. Perplexed tourists were turned away from monuments and museums on the National Mall secured behind barriers and tape reading “Police Line: Do not Cross.” But one hardy group was made of sterner stuff — an ageing band of the so-called Greatest Generation showed up at the World War II memorial and refused to be denied entry. Those visiting their dead comrades in France, Belgium, Italy and elsewhere were turned away, as funding dried up for American cemeteries in 20 foreign fields. Another symbol of hardwon freedoms — The Statue of Liberty in New York — was off limits to disappointed tourists.
NEW YORK CITY: Chrysler said Tuesday it was recalling 142,800 Jeeps and Ram pick-up trucks to fix a problem with software that controls instrument lighting and, on the Jeeps, the anti-lock braking system. The majority of the recalls are for 132,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees in the model year 2014. Most of them — 91,559 — are in the United States. The rest are outside the US. Chrysler, controlled by Italy’s Fiat, said there was a software problem on the Jeeps that randomly lit up the instrument lights or made them go dark. Engineers also discovered a software glitch with the vehicles’ anti-lock braking system that affects the instrument display. The company recalled 10,800 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups to upgrade software that controls instrument illumination. It said most of the trucks were still at dealerships. The automaker said it was unaware of any associated accidents or injuries with any of the problems, and will update the software free of charge.
ADB CUTS ASIA GROWTH FORECASTS AS INDIA, CHINA SLOW HONG KONG: Slower growth in China and India and uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's stimulus programme is hurting Asia's economic momentum, the Asian
Development Bank said, as it cut its forecast for the region. In an update to its annual Asian Development Outlook published in April, the bank tipped regional gross domestic
product to grow six percent this year, compared with its earlier forecast of 6.6 percent. Growth in 2012 was 6.1 percent.It also trimmed its 2014 estimate to 6.2 percent from the
6.7 percent previously stated. Asian economies have seen a marked slowdown this year owing to a troubled first six months in China -- a key driver of regional growth -- while
India has been hit by political paralysis, rising inflation and a slumping rupee. On top of this are worries about the Fed's massive bdbuying programme.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
Comment
HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS Well, there can be nothing good that comes from the GOP brains. History shows that last two times they caused government shutdown in the US in the last 20 years, it was the guy at the helm who benefitted. Then, on both occasions it was Bill Clinton: this time it will be Barack Obama.
US-IRAN RELATIONS
14
US, Israel try to conceal acute Iran disagreements DELPHINE MATTHIEUSSENT
Rowhani was elected in June on promises to ease tensions with the West and repair an economy crippled by US-led sanctions.
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
A
fter decades of animosity and false starts, the US and Iran may be best advised to go slow in their effort to repair relations, experts say. The US and Iranian top diplomats will meet Thursday for one of the countries’ highest-level interactions since the 1979 Islamic revolution to discuss Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. But all sides have been quick to say that the encounter, which will also include European, Russian and Chinese foreign ministers, will be brief and not solve the long standoff over Iran’s nuclear work. And after days of speculation that Iran’s new President Hassan Rowhani would meet or at least shake hands with President Barack Obama at the UN, a US official said that the White House reached out and concluded that the Iranians were not ready. “My sense is the flirtation has begun and now everybody is waiting for the first big kiss but that’s probably not going to come anytime soon,” said John Tirman, executive director of the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. Both Obama and Rowhani “are conscious that a better relationship is not going to be assured through speeches at the UN but rather through negotiations,” Tirman said. Tirman said that arms control negotiations historically required several months and that the two sides were mindful of historical lessons. Iran’s clerical regime sees hostility to the US as a core value of the 1979 revolution, which ousted the Western-oriented shah.
Mohammad Khatami, who rose to the presidency in 1997 on a reformist platform, faced a major backlash from hardliners who say him as moving too quickly. Rowhani was elected in June on promises to ease tensions with the West and repair an economy crippled by US-led sanctions. Rowhani, who had heavily promoted his UN debut through US media appearances, appealed for Obama to ignore “warmon-
gering pressure groups” to make peace and vowed that Iran did not want nuclear weapons. But Rowhani also offered a firm defense of the clerical regime’s core principles as he denounced the domination of the West and its “strategic violence” in the Middle East. Karim Sadjadpour, an expert on Iran at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that Rowhani needed to ensure the support of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei. “For the last few weeks Rowhani’s charm offense seemed intent on impressing Obama, but his UN performance seemed more intent on reassuring Khamenei that he would not deviate from revolutionary ideals,” Sadjadpour said. Sadjadpour said that, so long as the 74-year-old Khamenei remains in charge, Rowhani and his US-educated foreign minister — Mohammad Javad Zarif, who meets Thursday with John Kerry — were likely to be the Iranians most likely to strike a deal. Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine, said that Iran and the US had a shared interest on the nuclear issue. Obama, facing debacles in Syria and Egypt, is eager for diplomatic solutions, while Iran obviously does not want to be attacked. “I don’t think what we are looking at is a process which is going to lead to a rapprochement or long-term resolution of the nuclear weapons issue,” Ibish said.
EDITORIAL
Remembering the Mahatma
O
ur centrespread is about the Mahatma. No attempts to aggrandise him. He is for many a demigod… among the stars, too high to reach, just too ideal, something shiny that is to be looked upon and admired. But the little bits and pieces of information of his life, early life to be precise, tell us a different story: that he was born an ordinary man, grew up an ordinary boy, was of average capabilities, had a horrible handwriting by his own admission, had made mistakes,
READERS’ VIEWS
crossed the tenets of his sect of not eating meat… all of this is vividly and wittily described in his autobiographical book, My Experiments With Truth… But the great difference, if there is any (for many there are many), is that he learned from them and embraced change and made amends for his failings. It had been a constant struggle, his whole life, but he stood up to it, let’s say smiled at every hurdle and overcame it in his own way. We will not know the real man that he was because
it is the intention our leaders who use his name, to make him a god, just to be revered in statues of stone and bronze. That is the ultimate insult, because among the pantheon of other ‘great people’ are many who do not deserve such tribute. What a joke that these netas who had inadvertently or deliberately swept the interests of this nation under the carpet and were neckdeep in corruption get the same treatment the man who liberated this nation gets!
We invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to feedback@postnoon.com or # Plot no.550-A1,3rd floor, Road no-92, Jubilee hills, Hyderabad-500033 Landmark - Volkswagen showroom or even by way of a call on 040-2354 1412. Editor: Dean Williams
15
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
Cinema HI-FI SCI-FI
Donnie Darko
Brazil
Metropolis
Dir: Richard Kelly Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal An astonishingly imaginative, poignant, genre-defying tale of teen love, insanity and time travel from debut director Richard Kelly. The then up-andcoming Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the film’s troubled hero, forewarned of the end of the world by a rabbit-costumed visitor from the future. Brimming with ideas and satirical humour, it’s one of the most original films to emerge from the US in the Noughties.
Dir: Terry Gilliam Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro Undoubtedly Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece. Visual brilliance combines with snappy satirical humour to create one of the best films of the 80s. Worrying, then, that it nearly didn’t make it to the screen thanks to a furious battle with Universal who threatened to bury the film with an anti-marketing campaign. But the film’s triumph in the face of adversity only makes its tale of an everyman office worker who dares to defy the system all the more poignant.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Gustav Fröhlich, Brigitte Helm Fritz Lang’s spectacular, highlyinfluential vision of a teeming, politically dubious urban future is a seminal landmark in film, never mind science fiction. Lang depicts a society of bustling streets and skyscrapers in which people live in comfort. Below is an expressionist nightmare of men and women as machines - a vision of a future where society is divided into the haves and havenots. Boasting 30,000 extras and costing $2 million in 1926, the lavish set pieces still astonish.
Blade Runner Dir: Ridley Scott Cast: Harrison Ford, Sean Young Arguably the finest film ever made… period. Blade Runner set the platinum standard for dystopian views of future Earth. The film sees Ford’s Blade Runner battle it out against rogue Replicants (essentially androids looking to live a bit longer). The dialogue is superb, and even if you’re one of those who feel the Director’s Cut is far better than the original film, you’ve got to admit watching Rutger Hauer deliver his closing monologue still gets your hair standing on end.
The Terminator Dir: James Cameron Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton The sci-fi action-thriller that launched the careers of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger into the stratosphere. Still endlessly entertaining, the secret of its success is certainly not in its originality, but lies in its relentless energy, tough-as-nails heroine (Linda Hamilton) and Schwarzenegger himself as the taciturn killer robot, who in the course of the action delivers fewer than 100 words of dialogue.
Not an alien in sight As the George Clooney-Sandra Bullock flick Gravity releases this weekend, we take a look at the top science fiction films that don’t feature pesky aliens. Twelve Monkeys Dir: Terry Gilliam Cast: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt Richly detailed, deliriously realised time-travel thriller from Terry Gilliam, starring Bruce Willis as time-hopping convinct James Cole, who is sent from his futuristic prison back to the 1990s to prevent mankind from being destroyed by a virus. Brad Pitt used his role as the mental patient who may be the catalyst for Armageddon to prove that he was more than just a pretty face, bagging a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for his efforts.
A Clockwork Orange Dir: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Michael Bates Famous for the controversy surrounding copycat violence and Kubrick’s decision to withdraw it in 1973, A Clockwork Orange can now be judged for what it is: an intelligent, visually stunning, disturbing and yet queasily entertaining adaptation of what was already a great work of literature. The film is stacked with superb performances from younger, hairier versions of talents that went on to become stalwarts of the British acting aristocracy, including Steven Berkoff, Warren Clark and, of course, Malcolm McDowell as Beethoven’s most horror show admirer, Alex.
The Fly
Back to the Future Dir: Robert Zemeckis Intro: Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd Gleeful, thoroughly entertaining 80s time travel yarn that stars Michael J Fox as a teen who heads back in time, only to muddle his own parents’ courtship. The De Lorean time machinecum-car and special effects date it slightly, but this is a film almost unique for 1980s Hollywood, one that is charming, clever and genuinely weird (check Crispin Glover’s discomforting turn and the undisguised Freudian plot).
Dir: David Cronenberg Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis When a scientific experiment goes wrong, the DNA of a man becomes spliced with that of a house fly. With special effects king Chris Walas on hand to indulge his darkest fantasies, writerdirector David Cronenberg shows us the mutation of man into monster in stillunsurpassed grisly detail. Chuck a dose of cracking chemistry between the then-married Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis into the mix, and you’ve got one of Cronenberg’s finest American movies.
18
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
spotlight GRACEFULLY YOURS
Drapes of wonder Ladies donning traditional sarees dazzled the ramp at Srimathi Silk Mark Hyderabad 2013 held at Shilpakala Vedika Auditorium, Madhapur on Tuesday.
1
2
3
4
5
A FUN GATHERING
Actors Adivi Sesh, Madhavi Latha and singer Sri Krishna made a beeline to Hotel Kens, Banjara Hills where event management company Josh Media and Events was launched.
1 Madhavi latha
4 RP Patnaik
2 Sri Krishna
5 Adivi Sesh
3 Sunaina
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
health
INDIANS WALK LESS THAN 30 MINUTES A DAY
A regular walk helps to maintain a healthy lifestyle but a survey indicates that a lot of people in India don’t even walk for a minimum of 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace. The online survey was conducted by international internet-based market research firm YouGov on behalf of the World Heart Federation.
LOOPHOLES
19
Scientists have discovered key gaps in breast cancer research pertaining to understanding of genetic changes in the development of tumour, a study said.
1in 8 women
Every
WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER.
3
A WOMAN IS DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER.
A WOMAN IN THE U.S LOSES HER LIFE TO BREAST CANCER.
...AND AT LEAST
Over
11,000
250,000
I
n an article in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research, leading scientists in the field reported on a gap analysis that critically assessed issues and new challenges emerging from recent breast cancer research, and proposed strategies for translating solutions into practice. It is estimated that around 570,000 people are living with, or after, a diagnosis of breast cancer in the UK, and this number is expected to double by 2030. Breast cancer, therefore, remains a significant challenge. Over 100 specialist breast cancer scientists and healthcare professionals reviewed a wide range of issues and challenges involved in breast cancer research, prevention and treatment.
Through facilitated discussions and consultation, including appraisal from experts and patients, they produced an account outlining ten major gaps and five strategic solutions, reports Science Daily. The key gaps that were identified in the research paper included: an understanding of
the genetic and epigenetic changes in normal breast development and during cancer, how to implement sustainable lifestyle changes through diet, exercise and weight management, and an understanding of how to optimise treatment for improved personalised therapy.
13 MINUTES
MINUTES
Scientists find crucial gaps in breast cancer research
Every
more young women
women under 40 in the U.S LIVE WITH A BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS.
WILL BE DIAGNOSED THIS YEAR
An estimated
226,870 ABOUT
2.6 million
FEMALE SURVIVORS OF BREAST CANCER LIVE IN THE U.S
women
39,510 women
and
2,190
THIS YEAR,
and
men
410
men
WILL BE DIAGNOSED BY THE END OF 2012.
WILL DIE OF THE DISEASE.
– IANS
BREAST CANCER SYMPTOMS n n n n n n n n
A lump, hard knot or thickening inside the breast or underarm area. Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening of the breast. Change in size or the shape of the breast. Dimpling or puckering of the skin. An itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple. Pulling in of the nipple or other parts of the breast. Nipple discharge that starts suddenly. New pain in one spot that won’t go away.
EXERCISE.
DRINK LESS.
10-19 HOURS PER WEEK CAN LOWER YOUR RISK UP TO 30%
IF YOU'RE AWOMAN AND YOU DRINK, LIMIT YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE TO REDUCE YOUR RISK.
KNOW
BE YOUR
THE SIGNS.
OWN ADVOCATE.
BE AWARE OF WHAT'S NORMAL FOR YOU AND TELL YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT ANY CHANGES.
CREATE A PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PLAN WITH YOUR DOCTOR THAT FOCUSES ON YOUR NEEDS.
20
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
Technology COOL APP
New app that shows internship opportunities Yes, if your smartphone is equipped with this app, all you have to do is point at a building and press the magic button: if there’s an opening, it shall be revealed to you.
C
ollege students and graduates know getting an internship can be the gateway to a job but landing one can often be difficult. However, a new mobile app from Nokia (NOK1V.HE) is aiming to change that by showing them job opportunities nearby. By aiming a smartphone at a nearby building that houses companies users will be able to see available internships there. The app is from Internship Lens, which was created by Finnish communications corporation Nokia for its Lumia Windows-based smartphones. “You’re able to point your phone at a building and see the jobs available at companies there, and also the people you know at that company,” said Bryan Biniak, a vice president at
What, where?
B
eKnown is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and a Facebook app. It finds mutual connections through Facebook. LinkedIn, which has apps on all major platforms, finds connections through their network.
Nokia, said in a telephone interview from Espoo in Finland. “People are often looking for a place near their home, or along the transportation line,” he added. Nearly half of internships in the United States turned into full-time jobs this year, according to The National Association of Colleges and Employers. The app uses augmented reality, a technology that overlays information on a real-world display, to show internship listings. Users can also browse for opportunities on a map. The app connects with professional and social media websites LinkedIn and Facebook to identify people who might be able make an introduction to the hiring manager. Biniak said the odds of getting a callback for an internship can increase greatly when there is a mutual connection.
“It might be a friend or family member or your friend’s dad who works at that company,” he said. The free app lists more than 75,000 internships from 45,000 companies across the United States through a partnership with internship listings site Internships.com. Users can also upload resumes and apply to jobs through the app. Biniak said the motivation for creating the app was to expand the number of unique apps available for Nokia Lumia users. The company also created JobLens, available in the U.S., Canada and the Britain, which has similar features but for fulltime positions. Several other apps, including career management website Monster’s BeKnown, also help interns find jobs and show how they are connected to hiring managers.
It’s free!
T
he free app lists more than 75,000 internships from 45,000 companies across the United States through a partnership with internship listings site Internships.com. Users can also upload resumes and apply to jobs.
BeKnown is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and a Facebook app. It finds mutual connections through Facebook. LinkedIn, which has apps on all major platforms, finds connections through their network. LinkedIn also recently released University Pages, which provides students with information about alumni who have graduated from their school.
END OF AN ERA Nintendo to stop making Wii console for Japan market
TOKYO: Japanese game console maker Nintendo said Wednesday it will stop making its Wii console for the Japanese market, but will keep producing it internationally. The move to abandon the home console, which competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, will allow Nintendo to focus its efforts on its successor. "Our new generation Wii U console is already on the market and allows users to play software originally designed for the Wii," a Nintendo spokesman told AFP. "So this is part of the transition of our products to new models," he said. The company will keep producing Wii for markets abroad including its cheaper version Wii mini, he said.Since its release in 2006 Wii has sold more than 100 million units worldwide. The Wii disrupted the world of consoles on its launch, with its emphasis on family-orientated gaming that made use of wireless controllers fitted with accelerometers.These controllers, which sparked the production of games where players could actually mimic the body movements of a sport or playing a musical instrument, were widely copied. Nintendo launched the Wii U console late last year, although analysts said a lack of games took away some of the fizz the company had been hoping for after its 3DS console saw disappointing demand abroad. Nintendo, maker of the iconic Donkey Kong and Super Mario brands, has been locked in a war with Sony and Microsoft.
21
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
Entertainment CINE BYTES
LEGEND being shot at Nanakramguda
A
ctor Nandamuri Balakrishna is busy shooting for his next film titled Legend. The film is being shot at Nanakramguda and is going to be a 2014 release. Actresses Radhika Apte and Sonal Chauhan have been roped in to play Balakrishna’s leading ladies.
Anushka has no time for new films
A
ctress Anushka Shetty is unlikely to sign any new film in the near future as she is extremely busy shooting for Telugu perioddrama Rudhramadevi and Tamil-Telugu bilingual Baahubali, said a source close to her. Both films are expected to release next year
Mahesh films action sequences
M
ahesh Babu’s has put on his action cape to film action sequences for his upcoming film 1-Nenokkadine which is currently being shot in Bangkok. Kriti Sanon plays Mahesh’s love interest in the movie. Produced by 14 Reels Entertainment , the makers are targeting a Sankranti 2014 release.
RAKING IN THE MOOLAH
RAJA RANI T
amil romantic-drama Raja Rani, a Fox Star Studios and A.R. Murugadoss’ latest venture, has registered an opening weekend collection of Rs.12.2 crore in Tamil Nadu, the production house said a statement. Raja Rani, which released last Friday, is the third collaborative venture between Fox Star Studios and A.R. Murugadoss Productions. Their past two Tamil projects were highly successful, Engeyum Eppothum and Vathikuchi. Debutant director Atlee is elated with the success of Raja Rani. “I am absolutely thrilled and really thankful to the audiences and the critics for such a warm reception to the film. I am also humbled by the response to the film from the family audiences for whom I had primarily conceived this film,” Atlee said in a statement. The film features Arya, Nayanthara, Jai and Nazriya along with Santhanam in the lead roles. Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios, credits the innovative marketing strategy of his team for the success.”In marketing, we were keen to bring our learnings from Hollywood and Bollywood and apply them in the Tamil market. Kudos to the Fox marketing team and Atlee for coming up with innovative ideas like the marriage invitation invite and the first-time ever roadblock of the trailer which created a buzz for the film beyond its star cast,” said Singh.The film’s first trailer, featuring Nayanthara and Arya as a couple, created a lot of buzz, while the wedding invite idea was even mis-
taken for a real wedding invite of the actors.He says good content eventually decides the fate of any film. “All the marketing efforts are no use without good content. Director Atlee has crafted a film which is hard to believe is a debut film. We look forward to working with him on his next film too,” Singh added. – IANS
mints Rs. 12.2 crore on opening weekend
22
Entertainment WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
MOVES LIKE JAGGER
Big B
turns dance teacher M
egastar Amitabh Bachchan, who has his own distinct style of dancing, will be seen teaching a contestant of Kaun Banega Crorepati a step or two of what he learnt from actor Shahid Kapoor recently. During a recent episode of the game show, Shahid taught Big B a few steps on the song Agal bagal from his latest movie Phata Poster Nikla Hero. When Amitabh came to know that one of the hot seat contestants, Deepika, cannot dance, he decided to don the role of a dance teacher and taught her a few moves. The duo then grooved and matched steps on the same song. Not bad that the 70-year-old is not just preaching the show’s theme Seekhna bandh toh jeetna bandh (No learning means no winning) - but also practising it by imparting some of his talent. The episode will air Friday on Sony Entertainment Television. IANS
CINE BYTES Junior MasterChef contestants on a day out
T
he contestants of Junior MasterChef had a reason to rejoice! For the first time, the kids were taken out of the kitchen for a fun outdoor trip. Judges Vikas Khanna, Kunal Kapoor and Surjan Singh Jolly, along with the entire unit of Junior Masterchef - Swaad Ke Ustaad, shot a special outdoor segment for the show. The contestants were taken to Adlabs Imagica, at Khopoli, near Mumbai. IANS
Pratyusha Banerjee’s exbeau hosted break-up party
Public hunger drives gossip train:
S
T
mall screen actress Pratyusha Banerjee, has revealed that her exboyfriend, businessman Makrand Malhotra, had hosted a break-up party after they parted ways. Pratyusha, best known for playing Anandi in Balika Vadhu earlier, confided in fellow contestant Tanisha Mukherjee about the same. IANS
FAHAD SAMAR he media is often blamed for promoting crass and gossipdriven content through what is known as tabloid culture, but filmmaker-turned-author Fahad Samar says “public hunger” is the real culprit and in a way has contributed to an unhealthy trend in the media industry. “One shouldn’t entirely blame the media for promoting the tabloid culture. The public is hungry for gossip and media provides tit-bits to satiate their hunger,” Samar told IANS while he was in the capital to promote his debut novel Scandal Point. “I have mentioned in the novel how the public quickly moves from one gossip item to another. It is an unhealthy trend, but we possibly have to find a way to balance it,” added Samar, who is a hugely popular columnist with a leading national daily.
Published by Harper Collins, Samar’s debut novel is a social satire on Bollywood and high society. “Apart from my main characters, media too is an important element of my novel. Some of the mainstream papers are entirely market-driven and and sell profitable news rather than serious topics,” he said. “It’s a sad state, but the question is how to get rid of this inevitable trend,” asked Samar. Samar’s characters are inspired by real people, but this wasn’t a conscious effort, he said. The writing bug has caught up with Samar who has already planned a trilogy and is working on his next novel, Flash Point.
Entertainment WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
23
Entertainment WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
24
25
Entertainment WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
FEARLESS
CINE BYTES
Dannii, Simon's affair was irritating: Sharon Osbourne
S
inger Sharon Osbourne says the affair between Dannii Minogue and music mogul Simon Cowell was difficult for her to tolerate. The three of them together judged British reality show The X Factor from 2007 to 2010 along with Louish Walsh. Dannii's affair with Simon was later revealed in a book written by him, reports dailystar.co.uk. - IANS
Amanda Bynes shifts to The Canyon for treatment
A
ctress Amanda Bynes has reportedly left the UCLA Medical Center and has moved to a fancy Malibu rehab, The Canyon' for the mental treatment. The Canyon is meant for celebrities and Bynes is being treated for a serious mental illness, reports tmz.com. IANS
TAYLOR
SWIFT
does not rule out dating celebrities
D
espite having her share of heart breaks, singer Taylor Swift does not rule out the idea of dating celebrities in future.
Swift, has dated known names like singers Joe Jonas, Harry Styles and actor Taylor Lautner in the past and things will definitely change whenever she gets in a relation again, reports dailymail.co.uk. "'You can't say 'I'm never gonna date a high-profile person in the arts!" But whoever I date, famous or not - whether I ever date again! - all chaos will break loose," said Swift to Glamour magazine. The Love story singer believes when two people
are perfect for each other, they tend to look over the mistakes. "Here’s what I’ve learned about dealbreakers. If you have enough natural chemistry with someone, you overlook every single thing that you said would break the deal," said Swift. But she has not found her perfect match. "I’ve seen my friends take someone back after they’ve cheated because they fit perfectly. But I don’t know, because I’ve never had a perfect fit with someone," she said. IANS
Lohan's parents banned from reality show
L
indsay Lohan who completed her 90-day stint in rehab earlier in July, has struck a deal with Oprah Winfrey's Own which will showcase her struggle to rebuild her life. The 27-year-old’s parents Michael and Dina Lohan have been asked not to come on the show as it might confuse the viewers, reports tmz.com. – IANS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
Chai Time
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
There are admirable potentialities in every human being. Believe in your strength and your youth. Learn to repeat endlessly to yourself, 'It all depends on me.' Andre Gide
KAKURO
QUICK CROSSWORD
26
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 Cliff formed by erosion 6 Needing replenishment 9 Piece of footwear 13 Fisherman’s tool 14 Popular tax shelter 15 Wart-covered creature 16 One approaching a hearse 18 Pro foe 19 Woes, as of the world 20 Emergency tool 22 Mai ___ (rum-based beverage) 23 Bucolic expanses 24 Traditional piercing site 25 Pinot ___ (dry red wine) 27 Tried to get elected 28 Org for Brownies 31 Idiomatic vocabularies 33 More like a teddy bear 35 Hooch 36 Type of bran or meal 37 Civilian clothes, for a soldier 38 Certain emergency vessel 40 Mrs George Washington 41 Folkloric figure 42 ‘___ Wiedersehen’ 43 Cream-filled cookie 44 ‘___ about time!’ 45 What many a pop song has 47 Summer cooler 50 Unit at college 54 One of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’ 55 Where a small queen resides 56 Bringing in newer employees 58 Land bounded by three oceans 59 Fury 60 Blunders 61 Show and ___ 62 Pitches between innings? 63 ___ up (relaxes)
DOWN
1 La ___ (Milan landmark) 2 Canceling 3 ‘___ fair in love ...’ 4 Yank’s Civil War foe 5 Favors 6 Turkish coins 7 Mine finds 8 Missile tip 9 Escalator part 10 ___ Kong 11 Solemn vow 12 Do copydesk work 13 Cookout rod 17 ___ broche (cooked on a skewer) 21 Golden Gate Bridge or Mount Rushmore, eg 23 Well-read folks 26 Opposite of gush 27 Boring daily routine 28 Present at birth? 29 Oscars host MacFarlane 30 Operatic solo 31 Adequately skilled 32 Move turbulently 33 Meow Mix muncher 34 Trout tempter 36 Not playing one’s best 39 Mozart’s birthplace 40 Dock payment 44 Perfection standard 45 Fire engine accessories 46 ___ of commission (unavailable) 48 1972 hurricane 49 Pesters constantly 50 Schmooze online 51 ‘___ and shine!’ 52 Like Darth Vader 53 Stampede group 54 Kills, in gangster lingo 57 Air-safety agcy
Chai Time WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013 Thiruvaikumar
STAR POWER for 3-10-2013
27
As per Hindu panchang thiruvaikumar@yahoo. co. in, 040-27177230 / 9177596118
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
CANCER
LEO
VIRGO
LIBRA
SCORPIO
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
PISCES
Pregnant women need to be careful and avoid travel to the extent possible. You might face a dilemmatic situation in certain issues. Avoid arguments or disputes with anyone, especially with your spouse as it might bring a bad name to you.
STRIP TEASE AGNES
Changes are likely in a preplanned journey. Those deprived of a child since long might get favourable news soon. Artists are likely to perform well. Maternal relatives will extend their help and support, which will cheer you up.
Ego clashes between couples will end. Though income is good, expenses too will be more, which will upset you. Employees will be happy. Those working abroad will get a chance to visit their native place in holidays and enjoy the same.
Drastic changes are likely to take place and meeting with VIP friends will be beneficial. Those in a depressed mood will cheer up as the situation changes. Expenses are likely to go up. Real estate deals are likely to bring good gains.
Businessmen need to be careful with partners. Both expenses and happiness through children are likely. Delayed marriage talks will resume. Employees will be burdened with extra work, which will result in more travel and stress.
Confusion will disappear. You will be able to sell old property at the expected price, which will let you relax. Good news from your child is on the cards. Influx of close relatives and well-wishers will cheer you and family members.
Loan applied for purchase or construction of house will get sanctioned. Your confidence and willpower levels are at their high. Couples will be more affectionate towards each other and a happy atmosphere will prevail at home.
Employees will get recognition at workplace for their hard work. Good and constructive thoughts will come to you and by implementing them you reap benefits. Unwanted apprehensions and worries will get cleared.
Confusion and depression will disappear. Employees will feel happy as atmosphere at workplace will change. More expenses towards fulfilling children’s demands are likely. Friends and well-wishers will extend wholehearted support.
TAROT READ
Sumaa Tekur
tarotreadhyd@gmail. com
ARIES:
GEMINI:
The Moon – Mood swings are likely today. You feel strangely upbeat one minute and very low the very second. Just stay with it and don’t do anything important today.
LEO:
King of Pentacles – Your focus is completely on money and on stabilizing your finances. This is who you are, and will project that image of power and attitude.
LIBRA:
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
Three of Pentacles – Your skill and training are important and will determine quality of your work and the kind of job offers you get – even within the same company.
SAGITTARIUS:
Five of Swords – You are in conflict with your inner self. You feel deeply about a principle and yet you cannot let go of your ego. Something’s got to give.
TAURUS:
Page of Wands – You may have to stick your neck out and insist on something that you really want. In an office environment, especially, you have to stick your ground.
CANCER:
Ace of Wands – Creative ideas are flowing through you. But the challenge is to convince your team that these are, indeed, good ideas, and get their support.
VIRGO:
The Hanged Man – Spiritual awareness is important to you now. Intuition is heightened and you get all kinds of messages from objects and people around you.
SCORPIO:
Eight of Cups – This is a good time to do some charity work. Pick a social issue that truly stirs you and make a plan to give back in a consistent manner, actively.
CAPRICORN:
The Moon – Logic and reason may not work as well as intuition and insight. Trust your gut feel; live in the moment, and believe it’ll all be fine.
PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS
PISCES:
The Hermit – You’re alone but you don’t feel lonely. That’s because you’re busy on a quest for something and occupied with doing what it takes to reach there.
NUMBER GAME
cles – Work-life balance is becoming a big pain. It might also be the fact that you’re not getting a complete buy-in from family to your ideas.
SCRABBLE
AQUARIUS: Two of Penta-
POOCH CAFE
Plan to purchase a house or land will materialise soon. Drastic and favourable changes are likely to take place. A longpending court verdict is likely to go in your favour. Delayed work will resume and get completed without difficulties.
for 3-10-2013
Justice – Blame no one if you’re feeling left out and wish you could share more – whether with colleagues or friends. You’re not the best at group work these days.
NON SEQUITUR
Vehicle maintenance expenses will go up. You stay calm and get all work done with patience. Travel, higher expenses and tension are inevitable. Good news from daughter about arrival of offspring will bring cheer to family.
SUDUKO
Your attitude will change and you will take clear-cut decisions rather than getting confused. You might have to raise new debts on an urgent basis as your requirement goes up. Hurdles in finalising your child’s marriage will end.
Boggle LATIN GREEK CHINESE GERMAN ITALIAN Vol: 3, No 71 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at # Plot no.550-A1,3rd floor, Road no-92, 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 040-23541412,
28
Entertainment WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
CLEAN SLATE?
CINE BYTES
Pierce Brosnan supports neutering of dogs
A
ctor Pierce Brosnan is supporting a new campaign to raise awareness of having dogs and cats neutered, a process of removal of an animal’s reproductive organ. He has teamed up with dog trainer Cesar Millan for the initiative. “When we kill four to five million dogs nationally per year, what that says about our behaviour is that we have become a disposable society,” Millan said.
RACHAEL MCADAMS WANTS TO CHANGE PAST FASHION CHOICES
A
ctorRach e McAdam l s given a c says if hance, sh in time a would travel ba e ck n ion choic d change her fas h es durin g her ice skating days. McAd soon see ams, 34, will be n movie A in time travel bo involved ut Time and wa s in the sp ure-skati o ng in coll rt of figege days “I was . I would a figure skater. S take bac k a lot o o, fashion f ch Lot of se oices on the ice . quence, I back on the sequ would go ence a li bit. May ttle b shadow,” e, the blue eye M c A d ams in a statemen t. Directed by Richa Curtis, A rd b Domhna out Time also sta ll Gleeso rs release in na India Oc nd will t 11. – IANS
Justin Timberlake drank beer for Runner Runner role
S
inger-actor Justin Timberlake proved to be a perferctionist when he drank a lot of beer to play the role of college student Richie Furst in forthcoming online gambling drama movie Runner Runner. The movie revolves around Furst plays poker to pay tution fee of Princeton University.
Jenny Mccarthy praises new beau
M
odel-actress Jenny McCarthy has praised her new partner Donnie Wahlberg and calls him “great”. The couple hit it off after the pop star appeared on McCarthy’s show in March and they have been dating since July. McCarthy has revealed that she wouldn’t have ended up into a new relationship if her new beau wasn’t so impressive.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
NBA
HYDERABAD CORPORATE OLYMPICS
Can beat LeBron: Jordan
Capgemini take gold HYDERABAD: The 3rd edition of Hyderabad Corporate Olympics held the Snooker and Pool events on September 28 and 29 at the AP Biiliards & Snooker Association Cue Sports Facility, Khajaguda. The Women’s events were concluded on these two days while in the Men’s events, the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are scheduled to take place today. In the 8 ball pool (Womens) Shradha Priyadarshini of Capgemini won the Women’s singles gold medal defeating Anusha Boggarapu of CA Technologies in the final. Anusha Rao (HSBC) and Jayati Pathak (Verizon) shared the Bronze Medal. In the doubles, Sirisha Govindarajula and Anusha Rao (HSBC) defeated Jayati Pathak and Nikita (Verizon) to clinch the gold medal. Sushma Reddy & Anusha Boggarapu (CA Technologies) and Shradha Priyadarshini
and Swetha Bondalapati (Capgemini) shared the bronze medals.
RESULTS:
SINGLES: Final: Shradha Priyadarshini (Capgemini) bt Anusha Boggarapu (CA Technologies) - 2-1. 1st semis: Anusha Boggarapu (CA Technologies) bt Anusha Rao (HSBC) - 2-0 2nd semis: Shrada Bondalapati (Capgemini) bt Jayati Pathak (Verizon) - 2-1 DOUBLES Final: Sirisha Govindarajula and Anusha Rao (HSBC) bt Jayati Pathak and Nikita (Verizon) - 2-0 1st semis: Sirisha Govindarajula and Anusha Rao (HSBC) bt Sushma Reddy and Anusha Boggarapu (CA Technologies) - 2-1 2nd semis: Jayati Pathak and Nikita (Verizon) bt Shradha Priyadarshini and Swetha Bondalapati (Capgemini) - 1-0
MIAMI: Michael Jordan says that in his prime, he could have taken LeBron James in a one-onone showdown and might only have lost to Kobe Bryant because “he steals all of my moves.” The comments came on a promotional video for the “NBA 2K14” video game released Tuesday, in which Jordan lists several players from different eras that he would have liked to have faced in his prime, the 1990s when he led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA crowns. Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Julius Erving, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and James, the cover athlete for the video game, were the NBA icons that 50-yearold Jordan said he thought he could have beaten. “I don’t think I would lose,” Jordan said, before adding, “other than to Kobe Bryant because he steals all of my moves.” Lakers guard Bryant on Twitter, saying that such things were the cycle of life in the NBA.
“Domino effect,” Bryant tweeted. “I stole some of his..this generation stole some of mine.” James and the Miami Heat were at pre-season training in the Bahamas, where James told the Miami Herald, “It was for my game? It’s good promotion then.” James, a four-time NBA Most
Valuable Player who has led the Heat to the past two NBA titles, admits to wondering what a oneon-one showdown with Jordan in his prime would be like. “But no one will ever see it and it’s not going to happen,” he said. “It is good for people to talk about “ AFP
MURDER TRAIL
Pistorius adds US forensics experts to legal team
JOHANNESBURG: Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius has enlisted a team of forensic investigators from the United States for his murder trial which begins next year, his spokeswoman said Tuesday. The investigators will work with his legal team to beef up his defence against charges he murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14. “A team of highly regarded forensics specialists from the US is currently in the country and working closely with Oscar’s def-
ence team,” spokeswoman Annelise Burgess said. “It is standard practice, in the preparation for any trial, to work with specialists from a range of disciplines and fields, including forensics.”. The group completed a reconstruction of the murder scene in the early hours of Tuesday and attempted to match the evidence to Pistorius’s version of events on the night of Steenkamp’s death, South Africa’s eNCA television reported. They benefited from the co-
operation of the South African police, who lent them the lavatory door through which the athlete famously fired shots on February 14. The sprinter’s trial is set for March 3 to 20 at the Pretoria High Court. The double amputee athlete known as “Blade Runner” is currently out on bail. He has admitted to killing Steenkamp but has denied murder, saying he shot her through a locked bathroom door because he thought she was an intruder.
LOCAL SPORT EDDIE AIBARA U-19 ONE DAY Wesley Junior College 378/4 (Sandeep Naidu 55, DGJ Chaitanya 118, Rahul Buddhi 119) bt P Obul Reddy 51 (P Praneeth Reddy 4/26, S Naveen Kumar 5/19)
Sami Patsa 3/41, Omer Bin Razzak 3/50) bt MS Junior College 93 (Sami Patsa 34, Manish Parashar 6/34) A DIVISION TWO DAYS DAY 2
QUARTERS
CCOB 161 lost to New Blues 164/5 (Datta Prakash 71no, Ankush 36, Yousuf 3/45)
Visionary Junior College 102 (MA Majid 42) lost to St Marys Junior College Yousufguda 104/4 (Jayasurya 45)
Pash Beedi 132 lost to Osmania 133/3 (V Srujan 64no, Ram Prasad 43)
Bhavans SR Junior College 375/5 (Nafeez 152, Vikas Reddy 93, Sandeep Goud 55, Tanay Tyagarajan 32) bt LFJC 182/7 (Sai Pranay 59, Pranay Keerthan 39, Vidhath 3/40) St Johns Church Junior College 270/7 (Nivrith Ram 83, Nikhil Yadav 50, Manish Parashar 41, Nikhil Parwani 40,
Megacity 351 bt Vijay Hanuman 244 (Sharif Pathan 46, Sukhein Jain 44, Rohan Varkey 45, Vamshi R 65, Shravan Kumar 6/69) SBI 274/9 (Abubaker 39, Ranganath 77, Akhil Goud 4/58) bt Nizam College 158 (Dhananjay Singh 45no, Abrar Ahmed 4/63, Iftekhar Uddin 6/46)
Gemini Friends 155 lost to Khalsa 159/8 ( Saeb Ali Khan 79no, Mel Binto 30)
HYDERABAD CORPORATE CRICKET LEAGUE SCORES
Ours 158 lost to Jai Bhagwathi 159/4 ( Rahul Patangay 68no)
SQ Consulting 136 all out lost to Cigniti Technologies 137/5 (Ravi Kiran 92no)
Hyderabad Titans 281 bt P&T Colony 240 (Rana Pratap 64, Avinash Sharma 31, Jairaj 4/42, Chandrakant Dixit 4/53) Balaji Colts 354 (Navdeep Singh 145, Ratan Sharma 50, Shilpa Brahma 54, Akender 4/55, Mohammed Arshar 3/57) vs Brothers XI
IBM 157/9 (Shadrach Tomas 5/25) bt Mavericks 112 Gladiators 102 all out lost to CTH 105/6 (Shafi 15/3)
A DIVISION ONE DAY
Corporate Stellars 148/9 (Naresh 55) bt R&I 68 all out
HGC 104 (Charan 42) lost to Kishoresons 105/6
Tigers CC 141/7 (Omkar Avhad 51) bt Pete Transformers 87/9
SUCC 226/6 (Layaqath 36, Kaber 36, Feroz 35, Naveed 40) bt St Marys 127 (Kundan 37)
PegaSystems 107 all out lost to Tata Advanced Systems 110/3 (12.3 overs) (Tanmoy Bose 17/3)
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
FORMULA ONE
Vettel takes aim in Korea
Runaway leader Sebastian Vettel can put one hand on the Formula One world title this week as he aims to stretch his astonishing winning streak to four races at the Korean Grand Prix. YEONGAM: Runaway leader Sebastian Vettel (in pic) can put one hand on the Formula One world title this week as he aims to stretch his astonishing winning streak to four races at the Korean Grand Prix. Last month in Singapore, the brilliant young German left other drivers in his wake to move 60 points clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and ever closer to a historic fourth straight championship. With six races left, a wipeout from his rivals would leave Vettel capable of being crowned world champion next week in Japan, a triumph that would catapult him among the sport’s greats. Victory this year would make Vettel, 26, the youngest man to win four in a row, trumping Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio. Alain Prost is the only other man to win four or more titles. Vettel’s consecutive wins in
Last month in Singapore, the brilliant young German left other drivers in his wake to move 60 points clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and ever closer to a historic fourth straight championship.
Belgium, Italy and Singapore have not been universally popular and he has been unsportingly booed on the podium by a section of disgruntled fans. The German, with seven
wins in 13 grands prix this year, is also on a hat-trick in South Korea after winning the last two races at the Korean International Circuit in the country’s rural south.
PRESIDENTS CUP
CHINA OPEN
Tiger Woods bonds with usual foes JIM SLATER Agence France-Presse COLUMBUS: Top-ranked Tiger Woods has found camaraderie on the US Presidents Cup squad, the 14-time major champion bonding over jokes from and
However, in what could provide a glimmer of hope for his rivals, Vettel admits the Yeongam layout is not perfectly suited to this year’s Red Bull car, the RB9. “The track in Korea has a bit of an unusual layout. The long straights all come right at the beginning and the turns are at the end,” he said. “I love the curvy part because it is a lot more fun, whereas the straight lines and sharp turns can
be a little boring. They are also our weakness because we often lack in top speed there.” Alonso is the only man with a realistic chance of reeling in Vettel, although Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg are mathematically still in the hunt. Webber will be hampered by a 10-place grid penalty for his third reprimand of the year after he abandoned his Red Bull and hitched a ride on Alonso’s Ferrari following the race in Singapore. “For (Alonso) and me to receive reprimands for our actions after the race it is comical to say the least,” tweeted the clearly irritated Australian, who is quitting Formula One this season. Raikkonen drove heroically with a bad back to go from 13th on the grid to third place in Singapore. But the Ferrari-bound Finn said he’s not sure how the long-term complaint will shape up this week.
about his teammates as he ponders playing partners. “Whoever is playing well,” Woods said. “Whoever can carry me is great.” The US PGA Tour Player of the Year, a five-time winner on tour this year, is known for his
Hunter Mahan, Tiger Woods and Webb Simpson of the US team during a practice round prior to the start of The Presidents Cup at the Muirfield Village Golf Club on Tuesday in Dublin, Ohio. AFP/ANDY LYONS
stoic focus on the course and sharing little of his life away from the television cameras. But after his first practice round Tuesday at Muirfield Village ahead of Thursday’s start of the biennial matches against the Internationals, Woods was glad to share a few details. “It is a great group of guys. We all take a good ribbing and it’s constant,” Woods said. “What goes on in the team room is a lot of fun. “There’s a lot of needling going on. What people probably don’t understand is how close these teams are.” The surprise chatterboxes of the US bunch are low-key Jason Dufner, the blank-stare sitting ‘Dufnering’ You Tube trend setter who won the PGA Championship in August, and Matt Kuchar. “Duf, you wouldn’t expect the things that come out of his mouth,” Woods said. “Kuchar too. You expect the unexpected with those two. They are pretty funny guys.”
Nadal makes winning start BEIJING: Rafael Nadal (right) of Spain made winning start at the China Open as he swept past Santiago Giraldo of Columbia 6-2, 6-4 to set a second-round clash with German Philipp Kohlschreiber. The world number two broke his opponent five times and closed the match after one hour and 29 minutes’ battle, Xinhua reported. Asked if he thought he could eventually surpass Federer’s tally of 17 major titles, he said: “Here we are, 27 years old, and it’s much more than what I ever dreamed. “So I’m going to try to keep working hard. If I’m able to do it, if I am able to be healthy and to compete well for the next four years, I am going to try to create opportunities to keep winning in important tournaments.” “If that happens, I will have the chance to keep being at the top. If I am at the top, I will have a chance to
win more tournaments. “But to overtake Roger is something that nobody did in I don’t know how many years of history. So it’s going to be a big coincidence if that happens in a period of ten years. “(Whether it happens or not,) the only thing I am sure of is when I am going to leave this tour, I am going to be very happy about what I did. I tried everything in every practice, in every match. I gave everything.”
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
CLT20
RR maintain win-streak
T&T look to seal semis spot
Rajasthan Royals continued their winning streak at home as they beat Otago volts by four wickets. JAIPUR: Rajasthan Royals continued their winning streak at home as they beat Otago volts by four wickets and moved into the semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here Tuesday. With the win, Rajasthan Royals extended their winning run at home to 12 matches and also kept alive semi-final fellow IPL franchise Mumbai Indians. Otago Volts were in a mustwin situation to qualify for the semi-final. Put in, they struggled with bat as pacer Rahul Shukla demolished the top-order with his three for 23. Dutchman Ryan ten Doeschate (26), James Neesham (32), Nathan McCullum (28 not out) and Ian Butler (25) took the score to 139 for seven in 20 overs. While Shukla did the damage upfront, West Indian pacer
BACK IN FORM
‘Glad to be back in the team’
KOLKATA: Expressing happiness over his recall to the Indian team, all-rounder Yuvraj Singh Tuesday said his recent performance with the India A team helped his comeback. “I am looking forward to playing for India yet again, represent my country. It’s been hard coming back in 200 percent fitness but I worked pretty hard in the off season and hopefully coming back would make a difference. I got the opportunity to play in the India A against West Indies and proved a point,” Yuvraj told media persons here. “I think mum would be the happiest,” said the southpaw who was Monday recalled in the Indian team for the first three ODIs of a seven-match series and a one-off T20 against the touring Australia. IANS
Kevon Cooper (2/33) rattled the middle-order with his double strikes. Shukla was also adjudged as Man of the Match. In reply, Rajasthan Royals made 142 for six with five balls to spare. Opener Ajikya Rhane struck a solid 52 off 48 balls to the set the stage and Brad Hodge hogged the limelight with a quickfire unbeaten 52 off 23 balls that was studded with five fours and three sixes. Pacers Neil Wagner (2/33) and Neesham (3/22) broke the Rajasthan Royals middle-order but Hodge played a gem of an innings to end Otago’s hopes. Brief scores: Otago 139 for seven in 20 overs. (Neesham 32, McCullum 28no; Shukla 3/23, Cooper 2/33). Rajasthan Royals 142/6 in 19.1 over (Rahane 52, Hodge 52no; Neesham 3/22, Wagner 2/33). IANS
Ajinkya Rahane of Rajasthan Royals raises his bat after reaching his fifty during match 18 of the Karbonn Smart Champions League T20 against the Otago Volts held at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on the Tuesday. CLT20/SHAUN ROY
MI set to face Scorchers NEW DELHI: IPL champions Mumbai Indians will have to get their act together against the Perth Scorchers Wednesday if they want to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20. However, the Mumbai team’s fate doesn’t rest on the match alone. They will also be hoping for a Rajasthan Royals victory against the Otago Volts at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur Tuesday. A win for Otago will end Mumbai Indians hope for a place in the last-four. “We need to play a good game. We missed a match which is why we are in this problematic situation today,” Mumbai Indians head coach John Wright said at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Tuesday. Mumbai India’s match against Otago in Ahmedabad was washed out due to rain. If the Rajasthan Royals manage a win against the Volts, the 2011 edition champions will need to drub the Scorchers by a big margin to qualify for the semis. Former New Zealand skipper Wright, however, appeared pretty confident. “The Delhi wicket is a good
Mumbai Indians will have to get their act together against the Perth Scorchers if they want to qualify for the semifinals. batting surface. We played Chennai Super Kings in the IPL Qualifier 1 so we know it is a good batting track. There might be some movement early on but we have to bat really well and fast,” said the former India coach. Asked about the unimpres-
sive performances of his batsmen, Wright quipped: “But we have played only two matches. They (Scorchers) are a tough team but we just have to make the most of the opportunities and go out there with the right attitude.” Perth Scorchers will be looking to regain their pride as the two-time Big Bash League runners-up are fifth and last in the Group A points table with two losses and a no result. The Simon Katich-led side will definitely look to ending the tournament on a winning note. In the two matches that they have played so far, their batting has let them down. IANS
NEW DELHI: Trinidad and Tobago will try to book their semifinal berth as they take on Group B toppers Chennai Super Kings in the 20th and last league match of the Champions League Twenty20 at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Wednesday. Sitting second in the standings, T&T will cruise to the last four stage if they beat the Super Kings, who have already qualified. But if they lose, it will boil down to the net run rate to decide whether they or the Titans go through. However playing the last match, Trinidad and Tobago have the upper hand in setting things right for themselves. But it will be extremely tough against Super Kings, the 2010 edition champions, who as always, have been consistent and have won all three of their league matches. “Well we wanted to win as many games as possible and qualify for the semifinals. That was the first objective which has been achieved. Now we are looking forward to play tomorrow’s match,” CSK’s Chris Morris said while briefing the media here Tuesday. IANS
Aus vs Ind Injured Clarke out of India tour SYDNEY: Captain Michael Clarke was Tuesday ruled out of Australia's one-day tour of India this month with his long-standing back problem needing further treatment ahead of the home Ashes series against England. The star batsman was picked in the initial 14-man squad last month but the chronic injury has failed to show as much progress as expected, with George Bailey assuming responsibilities as skipper. "Michael was very keen to captain the ODI team to India but unfortunately he hasn't progressed enough to be available for selection," said national selector John Inverarity. Clarke has been plagued by back problems for years and it flared up again before Australia's final ODI in Southampton last month at the end of a gruelling Ashes tour to England. AFP
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
sports
MOURINHO UPBEAT OVER TORRES INJURY
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho played down the gravity of the knee injury that forced striker Fernando Torres off during the London club’s 4-0 win at Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday. The Spaniard lasted only 11 minutes of the game in Bucharest before being replaced by Samuel Eto’o.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Arsenal down Napoli Ozil’s first goal for Arsenal inspired his side to an impressive 2-0 win over Napoli that maintained their 100 percent start in the Champions League. STEVEN GRIFFITHS Agence France-Presse LONDON: Mesut Ozil’s first goal for Arsenal inspired his side to an impressive 2-0 win over Napoli that maintained their 100 percent start in the Champions League on Tuesday. Ozil, signed for a club record £42.5 million from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day, had promised to add more goals to his undoubted creative talent and the German midfielder was as good as his word with a superb strike to break his Arsenal duck early in the first half at the Emirates Stadium. He turned provider soon after, setting up French striker Olivier Giroud for his sixth goal of the season to effectively kill off Napoli with just 15 minutes gone. Arsene Wenger’s side have taken six points from their first two Group fixtures, while also surging to the top of the Premier League with five successive
Arsenal’sMesut Ozil (L) vies with SSC Napoli’s Camilo Zuniga (R) during their AFP/ADRIAN DENNIS Champions League match in North London on Tuesday.
wins. It is a remarkable transformation since a shock opening day defeat against Aston Villa prompted a furious reaction from the Emirates faithful. Wenger had no reason to fear the boo-boys on another encour-
aging night for his emerging team and he was even able to leave England midfielder Jack Wilshere on the bench for the first 60 minutes. “The first half was amazing, absolutely fantastic. Everything
was in there. All that you dream to see when you come to watch football,” Wenger said. “I felt that we played at a good pace, technically very direct and finished with great goals.” Napoli boss Rafael Benitez added: “You have a team like Arsenal with this level and this quality sometimes they can play well and it is hard to beat them.” Arsenal’s early-season form has prompted suggestions that a title challenge could be brewing in north London. But Wenger might well be willing to sacrifice domestic success if he could guarantee winning the Champions League after this week describing his quest to land the one major trophy missing from his collection as an obsession. While it is too early for any bold predictions of Arsenal glory in Europe, on this evidence the Gunners boss can at least expect a better showing in the competition than in recent years.
Chelsea blow off cobwebs
BUCHAREST: Chelsea got their Champions League campaign up and running at the second attempt on Tuesday with a onesided 4-0 win away to Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest. Stunned 2-1 by Basel at Stamford Bridge in their opening game, Chelsea were eager to make up for lost time and the Europa League champions never looked in trouble beneath the closed roof of Bucharest’s Arena Nationala. Ramires broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, with hapless Steaua right-back Daniel Georgievski putting through his own goal on the verge of half-time. Ramires added a third early in the second period, before Frank Lampard’s low shot sealed victory in the 90th minute. “I think the performance was very solid, from the first minute,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports. “We kept always the control of the game and the result, and I think we played good football, but also with intelligence and
Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Ramires scores past Bucharest’s goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu (R) during their Champions League match at National Arena Stadium in Bucharest, Romania on Tuesday. AFP/DANIEL MIHAILESCU
maturity. “I think we are going to do it. I think we are going to qualify. This result today is important, because if you don’t win, you are a bit under pressure.” The one false note for the visitors, beaten on this ground en route to success in the Europa
League last season, was an injury to Fernando Torres, who left the fray after hurting his knee in the 11th minute. Mourinho, though, said he did not think the injury was as severe as the one that recently saw Chelsea’s Dutch midfielder
Marco van Ginkel ruled out for around six months. “We have to wait. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will have the scans and we will see what happens,” he said. “I hope it’s not one more dramatic like Van Ginkel. Doc (Paco) Biosca says not to be so worried, because it will not be a Van Ginkel situation.” Schalke’s 1-0 win at Basel in the other Group E game leaves them three points above Chelsea at the summit ahead of back-toback games between the sides later this month and in early November. Mourinho brought Andre Schurrle and Juan Mata into the team that drew 1-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday and the Spaniard almost teed up Schurrle for an early opener, but Iasmin Latovlevici blocked. The visitors’ purposeful start threatened to be upset by the premature departure of Torres, but his replacement, Samuel Eto’o, was quick to make a telling contribution. AFP
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Barcelona edge past Celtic ALISTAIR WATSON Agence France-Presse GLASGOW: Barcelona needed a second-half goal from Cesc Fabregas to claim a narrow 1-0 Champions League win over 10-man Celtic in Glasgow on Tuesday that leaves the Catalans top of Group H. The Spanish champions dominated possession but failed to test goalkeeper Fraser Forster in the opening 45 minutes with Celtic’s Georgios Samaras having the best chance of the half. But it was a moment of madness from skipper Scott Brown that cost Celtic dearly as the midfielder was shown a straight red card in the 59th minute as he appeared to direct a sly kick
The Spanish champs dominated possession but failed to test goalkeeper Fraser Forster in the opening 45 mins. at Neymar after tripping the Brazilian superstar. However, Celtic recovered well from Brown’s dismissal and substitute James Forrest forced Victor Valdes into a fine save before Charlie Mulgrew headed just wide. But, moments after creating the best chance of the match, substitute Alexis Sanchez, only on the pitch for two minutes, crossed for former Arsenal man Fabregas to nod home and gain revenge for their defeat at the same venue last season. It means Barca top Group H on six points after AC Milan and Ajax finished 1-1 and handed Celtic, who prop up the group looking for their first point, a rare home defeat in the Champions League. Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino, whose side have made a 100 percent start to their season, said Celtic had been their toughest opponents to date.