Epaper 03 august 2013

BLAST NEAR INDIAN CONSULATE IN JALALABAD A bomb packed in a car exploded near the Indian consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Saturday morning, officials said, wounding at least 12 people."A car containing explosives hit a barrier near the consulate and detonated," Ahmadzia Abdulzai, Nangarhar province spokesman, told AFP. FLASH

More than 400 balloons took to the skies over Chambley-Bussieres in eastern France on Wednesday in an attempt to set a new world record for the most number of hot air balloons in the sky. We give you a short take on hot air balloons.

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

PG 16&17

Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

THE

RISING

32 PAGES

`3

WEATHER: SCATTERED CLOUDS; 28°C

AUGUST 3, 2013 HYDERABAD

DON’T MAKE US

LEAVE HYDERABAD,

CRY

SEEMANDHRA

EMPLOYEES But KCR doesn’t want them! It is a curious case where employees at the Secretariat hailing from Rayala-Andhra are planning to meet TRS leaders and ask them to let them stay.

REPORT ON PG 3

ON SATURDAY

2

PAGE TWO SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

ALL SMILES

Wildlife conservation Try the tea flavours of Budlabeta, Hapjan and Khobong Sessa. A portion of the proceeds will be contributed to WWF India's onehorned Rhino Conservation project in Assam.

Where: Oxford Bookstore, The Park, 22 Rajbhavan Road When: Ongoing Contact: 8790432354

Play pursuits Jokhad (The Burden), a play in Marathi will be staged.

Where: Marathi Granth Sangrahalaya, Near Koti Woman's College, Koti When: August 4, 2013 at 7.30 pm Contact: 9949058292

Love for Kebabs An array of delicious kebabs will be served in Friday special Kebab festival.

Where: Basil, Banjara Hills, Road No 2 When: August 2, 7pm onwards Contact: 9989923763

Core committee members of COFEE club, St Francis College pose for camera after the investiture ceremony of the club on Friday.

N SHIVA KUMAR Overload. The parantha festival on till August 15, offers a variety of paranthas in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian combinations.

Where: Novotel Airport, Shamshabad When: Ongoing, 6.30pm Contact: (040) 6625 0000

6 pm Contact: 9030013344,

Monsoon sale Upto 80% discount on books, magazines, and stationery and gift items.

Where: Oxford Bookstore, Tresorie, The Park When: Till September 1, 10 am to 8 pm

Ramzan special Relish the season special iftar delicacies.

Where: Viva, Taj Vivanta When: Till Aug 7, 5.30-11.30 pm Where: Deccan Pavilion, ITC Kakatiya When: Till Aug 7, 7.30pm

Outdoor photography

Theatre festival The seventh edition of the multi-lingual theatre festival — Abhinaya National Theatre Festival will be held from August 16 to August 19.

Where: Ravindra Bharathi, Saifabad When: August 16 onwards 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2323 1245

Parantha festival Haldi at Novotel Airport is hosting a parantha festival titled Parantha

CINEMAS

An outdoor photography workshop for adults and teens will be held by Indira Penubolu.

Where: Our Sacred Space, Secunderabad When: August 10, 11, 3.30 pm to

When: August 30 Contact: 789301 3000

9246844650, 9949076582

Live performance

One Nite Stand - Tribute to Coldplay will be performing live.

Where: Hard Rock Cafe, Banjara Hills When: August 8, 2013 Contact: 88864 80007

World of colours Workshop on drawing and water colour, oil and acrylic painting for housewives.

Where: Inspire Painting Institute When: Ongoing Contact: 8977772524

Flavours to savour Unique flavours of Pondicherry on offer.

Where: Dakshin, ITC Kakatiya, Begumpet

Contact: 31002959/60

Adoption alert

Name: Marley (foster given) Gender: Male Age: Around 2 years Breed: Lhasa Apso mix Vaccinated: Yes Temperament: Playful, a bit reserved. He loves walks, paneer and good food.

Contact: Nita@ 9985634 872

Big Cinemas, Ameerpet, 30581470; Cinemax, Banjara Hills, 44565555; Cine Planet , Kompally, 61606060; INOX, Banjara Hills, 447677770, Prasads, Tank Bund Rd, 23448888; PVR, Punjagutta, 08800900009; Talkie Town, Miyapur, 40214175; Tivoli, Secunderabad 27844973

3

CITY SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Tax officer nabbed by ACB

Taiwan enlists 45 med students

G

aiwan has stepped into cash in on global demand for medical education. The Chang Gung University, Taiwan, has recruited 45 students mainly from Hyderabad for its medical course. Taiwan ranks at 390 among the top world. CGU has strong research collaboration and academic exchange program with 25 outstanding overseas countries including India.

S Srinivasa Rao, 50, a Commercial Tax Officer in Kamareddy, Nizamabad was caught red handed by the ACB officials on Friday at his office when he demanded and accepted an amount of `5,000 as bribe from the complainant for doing an “official favour“ to issue Commercial Sales Tax Way bills to the complainant.

Body found partially burnt

T

T

he body of an as yet unidentified man aged around 30 was found on Friday at Hayathnagar survey Number 34. The body was found partially burnt. He was clad in blue jeans and black shirt and no identification was found on his body. Hayathnagar police have registered a case and have kept the body in Osmania Hospital mortuary.

Seemandhra staff shift camp

But KCR doesn’t want them! It is a curious case where the employees at the Secretariat hailing from Rayala-Andhra are planning to meet TRS leaders and ask them to take them in sas Telangana State employees as they don’t want to leave Hyderabad.

The threat perception are forcing the employees from Seemandhra to propose for a Union Territory status to Hyderabad so that they would not be disturbed.

The Seemandhra employees recently held a lunch hour protest programme and demanded the grant of union territory

Md INKESHAF AHMED

ahmed.m@postnoon.com

T

THE EMPLOYEES LED BY AP SECRETARIAT EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION ARE PLANNING TO HOLD MEET-

CLUSI

E

X

N

tion of Telangana state and we want to be part of its development. But the rumours of sending us back to our native places is causing us a lot of worry. We do not want to go to our native places as we have already become

E

However, these employees have certain reservations over their job status after bifurcation of the State. They are saying that they would not go to their native places after the formation of the new state. “We are also supporting the forma-

V

he Hyderabad Secretariat, the centre of State administration, is witnessing a bizarre development these days.

The employees from RayalaAndhra are unwilling to go back to their native places and want to be part of Telangana state!

But they are pushed back at the first surge itself. TRS leader K Chandrasekhar has said the Seemandhra employees have no place in T. The employees of Andhra and Rayalseema regions working in the State secretariat have publicly raised their voice supporting the cause of a separate state and said that they wanted to be a part and parcel of the new state. Of the total 3,000- odd employees (excluding Class-4 employees), over 2,000 employees belong to these two regions.

The employees led by AP Secretariat Employees Association are planning to hold meetings with their Telangana counterparts in order to become an integral part of the new state.

E WS

an integral part of Hyderabad city,” a leader of the AP Secretariat Employees Association told Postnoon.

He said that the central and state governments should take a proactive role in driving out their apprehensions.

DEMAND FOR UT HYDERABAD

STATUS TO

INGS WITH THEIR TELANGANA COUNTERPARTS IN ORDER TO BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE NEW STATE. status for the city. “ We strongly feel that the only solution that we have, to end our worries, is to grant union territory status to Hyderabad City. This would not only help us in keeping our interests intact but also drive out the fear factor of our people,” APSEA president U Murali Krishna said.

Protesters serve ultimatum to Chiranjeevi They want Chiranjeevi to resign in favour of Samaikyanadhra, failing which they will prevent the release of his son’s film in the State.

“M

agadheera” Ram Charan, son of megastar and Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi, is like-

ly to face hurdles for the release of his upcoming film Yevadu. Integrationists of Seemandhra have sent a warning to the Union Minister that if he did not resign in favour of Samaikyandhra by August 7, they would not allow the release of Ram Charan’s new movie.

A bus belonging to the factory of State Minister Galla Aruna was attacked and damaged in Chittoor by the agitators, who wanted the minister to resign in favour of a united State. The agitators also raided the house of TDP leader B Gopalakrishna and demanded his resignation. Even

Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar had a taste of the fury of the integrationists who attacked his house in Gudiwada. Meanwhile, the current rage in Tollywood— Tamannaah—popularly known among her Telugu fans as “milk beauty” had a taste of the “Samaikya” agitation in Visakhapatnam this morning.

After completing a shooting assignment for one of her upcoming films in the steel city, Tamannaah was on her way to the airport to catch a flight to Hyderabad. At the same time, some integrationists were waiting at the Vizag Airport on information

that some minister was expected to arrive and hence planned to gherao him and seek his resignation.

The actress was taken by surprise when her car was surrounded by the agitators, who demanded her to shout “Jai Samaikyandhra” slogan along with them. Tamannaah with folded hands pleaded not to drag her into any controversy.

But the agitators persisted with her to raise the slogan and the actress too remained adamant stating that she has nothing to do with any of the issues. The timely arrival of the police saved the actress from further harassment. NSS

4

CITY SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

‘TAKE RISKS’ Hansen Ho is an award-winning creative director of Singapore-based design studio H55, which he founded in 1999. He talks to Postnoon about his work.

Rajesh Ravindran

the time you started?

rajesh.r@postnoon.com

Design now comes in many forms, is more pervasive, but at the same time, has become less intrusive and subtle at times.

A

s founder and creative director of Singapore-based design studio H55 which he founded in 1999, Hansen has created numerous visual identities, brand applications, and publications which have represented Singapore on an international level. These include the visual identity designs for the Singapore Pavilion at various Venice Biennales and the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize.

Apart from the multiple roles he plays at H55, Hanson is also curator for the Singapore Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) Art-in-Transit Programme for nine of the upcoming MRT Downtown Line Stations, and is managing editor for The Design Society Journal.

How did you get into design?

I have always enjoyed thinking and at a certain age decided that graphic design would allow me to express my thoughts while getting paid to do so.

How has the world of design evolved since

Harassed wife kills husband in sleep

How would you like to describe your work?

Contextual, appropriate, clear, objective, rational, intentional, representational.

Has any person or work inspired you? In what way do you draw inspiration from them? Or simply, what drives you?

I am inspired by things which I do not expect to.

We came across your advice for emerging designers, among

We need to take creative risks, allow ourselves to be lost, to put ourselves in uncomfortable, new situations in order to excel and discover.

Hanson Ho

which is your exhortation: ‘Take risks, and displace yourself from time to time.’

Could you elaborate?

We need to take creative risks and allow ourselves to be lost, to put ourselves in uncomfortable and new situations in order to excel and discover.

Tell us about a day in your life?

Take my kids to school, breakfast, work, late lunch, meetings, work, dinner with family, put kids to bed, conversation, read, sleep.

You have also spoken about spending hours practising design.

What’s a practice session of yours like?

I practise by pondering, by observing, by thinking about anything which may be linked to design, by doing work for clients, by designing or writing for myself, and through doing all this, by being more aware of myself.

Hansen Ho will be in the country soon as he is part of the specialist jury panel for the 2013 Kyoorius Design Awards, to review, discuss and elect the best of the best over three intensive days.

STUDY TIME

Mohd Subhan mohd.s@postnoon.com

F

ed up with the brutality and drunkenness of her husband, a mother of two allegedly smothered him to death while he was asleep, with help from her paramour.

Manjula, 40, was married to Laxminarayana 10 years ago and they have two children. They lived in Chintal Basti, Khairatabad. It is said that Laxminarayana, an RTC bus conductor, became an alcoholic and began physically abusing his wife. Faced with a bleak domestic life, she developed a relationship with one Srinivas, aged 30, and the two used to meet and spend time together.

Once, Laxminarayana found them in a compromising position and a quarrel broke out and Srinivas was warned not to come to his home again.

Manjula and Srinivas decid-

MANJULA, TIRED OF HER GRIM MARRIED LIFE, STARTED SEEING ANOTHER MAN. WHEN HER HUSBAND CAUGHT THEM, AND WARNED HIS WIFE’S BEAU, MANJULA DECIDED TO KILL HIM. ed to get rid of her husband.

Last week, when he Laxminarayana home drunk and fell asleep, the duo smothered him to death. Later, Manjula lodged a police complaint saying her husband fell down and died.

However, the postmortem report revealed the cause of death was the damage to windpipe and suffocation. Upon interrogation, Manjula admitted to the crime. Saifabad police have registered a case of murder.

Children of ragpickers study near the dumpyard at Necklace Road.

N SHIVA KUMAR

5

CITY SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Roads remain death traps Making promises and claims and not standing by them — that’s what the GHMC does best.

While commuters are meeting with accidents due to the bad condition of the roads, the GHMC authorities seem to care less and continue with their blame game.

SRINIVAS SETTY

THE BOWENPALLY ALEENA ALICE

MARKET WHICH IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST MARKETS IN THE CITY, NOW LOOKS DESERTED, AS CUSTOMERS DON’T COME HERE ANYMORE.

aleena.t@postnoon.com

R

ecently after a young girl lost her life near Begumpet because of the bad roads, the GHMC officials then stated that within a week’s time, they would ensure that all the potholes are filled and the roads are recarpeted. So far most of the roads remain in the same miserable condition.

One such road which has been a death trap for the past eight months is the road from Diamond Point in Secunderabad to Old Bowenpally. Every day more than 10 accidents are witnessed on this stretch, despite several complaints the authorities have taken no action and the condition of the road is only getting from bad to worse. The rains are only making the condition of that stretch miserable.

Lakshman Swaraj, who owns an electrical store at Bowenpally says, “Eight months back the roads were dug up for laying some pipe lines, after the work was completed, the road was not relayed properly. There are boulders lying on the stretch, posing a threat to the commuters. Just the other day an 8-year-old girl going to school with her father suffered from severe head injury after the two-wheeler skid and

lost control. Such incidents keep happening often and no action is taken.”

The entire stretch is an important road since it acts as a connecting road, for commuters from Thirumalagiri, New Bowenpally, Tarbund, Sikh Village, AWHO Colony and other areas. Commuters are forced to take this road since there is no other alternative route.

It is not only for people on motor vehicles who have issues with the road but even pedestri-

ans. “It’s a nightmare to get out of the house, especially during the rains, the entire road is flooded and we do not know where to walk since we do not know how deep the potholes are.

I fell a couple of times, so after that I stopped going out when it rains,” says Sujata, a resident of Old Bowenpally.

Fed up with the unconcerned attitude of the authorities the locals themselves, identified a few accident prone spots on that stretch and set up barricades,

Make some noise Arun Daniel Yellamaty arunyellamaty@postnoon.com

T

hanks to Submerge, a highly successful West London house duo, Max Reich and Simon Marlin will be performing for the first time in the City of Pearls. Telling us about the visit, Simon, said, “We have been getting a lot of tweets from people from Hyderabad and we are excited to take our music to new places all the time.”

“We have been to Goa and few others cities the last few times we visited and through Submerge we played at quite a few places,” Simon said Talking about playing together for 10 years and how Shapeshifters came together, Simon said, "We hooked up when I was working for Downboy. I went to Sweden to see a mate who’d asked me to

DJ. He recommended a couple of guys who were making music and Max was one of them. He was working with someone else at the time. I ended signing him up. We’ve been working together since then.”

Simon says it’s been a great journey. “We have had our own ups and downs, but the most important part is we are still

doing some good music. In fact, we are sci-fi fans and that's how the name came about.”

The duo burst out with their debut single Lola’s Theme back in 2004. The release went on to top the singles charts and since then, they’ve never looked back. Perhaps against the odds, they’ve sustained a career as artists, DJs and remixers in demand with hits such as Back

The numbers

A

ccording to the GHMC officials, out of the 6,411 roads under the GHMC limits 2,240 damaged roads have been identified and repair work has been started for 1,231 roads.

however, the traffic police did not allow that stating that the barricades were causing traffic jams.

For people living in that area, life has come to a stand still, and business is very badly affected. The Bowenpally market which is one of the biggest markets in the City, now looks deserted, because of no customers. Vendors are suffering since they are not able to get minimum daily business.

“Because of the bad roads, customers no longer come to the market. People don’t mind spending a few rupees more by purchasing vegetables from supermarkets rather than risking their lives and coming to the market. We are finding it difficult to earn our daily bread and butter because of no business at the market,” says Savitri a vegetable vendor.

The GHMC officials, however blame their negligence on the rains. When contacted the Dy Commissioner of the Zone BV Gangadhar Reddy, said, “Repairs will be taken up soon. The only reason for the delay is because of the rains which is making it hard for the repair work.”

UK-based electro duo, The Shapeshifters are in town and will perform at the Sky Avasa tonight.

They speaks to Postnoon in an exclusive interview about their passion for music.

To Basics, Incredible and remixes for huge artists including George Michael and Cee Lo Green. Their new album, Analogue To Digital… And Back Again, acts both as a retrospective and a sign of the future containing new material as well as their big hits and remixes.

Their biggest hit, Lola’s Theme, has a great story behind it.

“My ex-wife and I were listening to a record made by her and in a few days we went and got them recorded. It was the first record we made together.

And we knew it was good, as we knocked it out in four days — it felt right.”

How has the dance music industry changed since you’ve been part of it? “I find the quality side of music the most difficult to deal with. Since vinyl

went and the whole promo system has gone digital, there’s so much going on. It’s great because so many people are making music, but there’s no quality control any more.”

“Integrity had been lost in few industries and few big DJs have worked hard and are taking music to various places,” he recalls.

About his music in India and the duo’s first visit to Hyderabad, he says, "I am excited to come here, like always, and I am looking forward to playing in India; the music here is very nice and I hope people have a great time.”

And like every first-time visitor to the Hyderabad who has been recommended to try out some of the local cuisine, he says, “We sure will grab a bite of the popular dish Haleem.”

6

NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Guerrilla killed in J&K SRINAGAR: A guerrilla was killed Friday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district as the army foiled another infiltration bid from across the Line of Control (LOC), officials said.

“Army foiled an infiltration bid and killed one militant while seriously injuring the other on the LOC in the Tangdhar sector of Kupwara," a defence spokesman said.

10 kg cocaine recovered SRINAGAR: Ten kg of cocaine, estimated at `10 crore in the international market, were recovered Friday from a truck that had returned to Baramulla district from Pakistan-administered Kashmir during trade across the line of control (LOC) dividing the state. “On a specific input, Baramulla police intercepted a truck bearing registration number JK02F-0127 driven by Abdul Ahad Ganie of Mawar Handwara (Kupwara) this afternoon," police said.

`39 lakh looted inside ATM

NEW DELHI: Three unidentified men

looted `39 lakh from the employees of a cash delivery van at gun point when they were refilling an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in the capital Friday, police said. The incident was reported from Delhi’s Mansarovar Park area around 11.30 am. A case has been registered and hunt is on to nab the culprits.

Maoists blow up tracks in Gaya

Maoists blew up a railway track in Bihar’s Gaya district to enforce a day-long strike called by them to protest the killing of two of their top-ranking leaders by a rival Maoist outfit, a railway official said.

PATNA: Two Maoist leaders were killed by the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a rival group of the Maoists, after they were abducted from Kothi village in Gaya last Tuesday.

“Maoists blew up a track between Taraiya and Guraru railway stations in Gaya late Friday night," said ECR’s Chief Public Relations Officer Amitabh Prabhakar.

The incident took place at about 10.55 p.m. “barely 20 minutes after the pilot engine of the Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani train crossed the area on the GayaMugalsari route of East Central Railway (ECR) to create fear

Indian EDK packs a punch It looks like a little pocket sized cigar box, but it packs a mighty punch in the fight against terrorism.

This DRDO creation will play its part in the US. WASHINGTON: Widely used in India by bomb detection squads and the armed forces since 2002, the handy kit would be manufactured and sold in the US and other parts of the world by Summerville, South Carolina-based Crowe and Company LLC under a technology transfer agreement. “We are planning to introduce the EDK to the US Army and US homeland security forces and in other international markets after getting necessary approvals from the US regulatory institutions," said Fay Crowe, CEO and president of the company.

A few drops of four reagents

A

few drops of four reagents contained in four vials can detect explosives based on TNT, RDX, dynamite, and black powder within minutes with no more than 3 to 5 milligrams of the suspected sample. It also does not require field calibration, power or peripheral devices.

A few drops of four reagents contained in four vials can detect explosives based on TNT, RDX, dynamite, and black powder within minutes with no more than 3 to 5 milligrams of the suspected sample. It also does not require field calibration, power or peripheral devices.

Besides the wallet sized disposable kit for covert and military operations, it’s also available in vanity sized field cases for law enforcement and bomb squads.

And personnel can be trained in its use in just a couple of hours. A team of Indian scientists led by DRDO Director General, Avinash Chander, the chief architect of Agni series of ballistic missiles, was at hand for the global launch of the edk at a function at the US Chamber of Commerce here Friday.

Chander was upbeat over first of DRDO developed products getting globalised with the transfer of Indian technology to the US which not long ago looked at the DRDO “as a very reluctant supplier". DRDO is now talking to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI), which was instrumental in the launch of EDK in the US, for the roll out of 50 more DRDO-developed technologies for the international market under the DRDO-FICCI Accelerated Technology Assessment IANS Commercialisation programme.

among people", added Prabhakar.

He said the incident disrupted rail traffic on the route for few hours, but after repair work, normal traffic resumed early Saturday morning. Prabhakar said there were no reports of casualties in the incident.

According to him, railways had decided to run pilot engines ahead of trains following the 2003 accident of the Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani in Maoist-affected Aurangabad district in Bihar which left over a 100 people dead.

The Maoist strike evoked a mixed response in Bihar, as urban areas remained unaffected but normal life was hit in many

villages.

“Life in parts of rural Bihar was badly hit during Maoist called shutdown," an official at the police headquarters here said. The strike evoked no response in cities and towns like Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Purnea. However, rural areas in districts like Patna, Aurangabad, Gaya, Jamui, Jehanabad, Arwal and Banka, considered Maoist strongholds, saw daily life disrupted.

“Fear of Maoist violence forced closure of markets in rural areas and vehicles remained off the roads," the offiIANS cial said.

7

WORLD SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

US issues terror warning

Messina heads to UK

Chilean miners to appeal

WASHINGTON: The US issued a

LONDON: Britain’s Prime Minister

SANTIAGO: The 33 Chilean miners

worldwide warning that Al-Qaeda may attack in August as it ordered shut its embassies across the Islamic world.

Britain also said it would temporarily close its embassy in Yemen as US said the threat likely involved Al-Qaeda’s franchise in the country. The State Department said attacks were possible “particularly in the Middle East”.

David Cameron has hired US President Barack Obama’s campaign manager to advise his Conservative party on its strategy for the 2015 general election.

Jim Messina will advise the Tories on strategic communications, including the use of Facebook and Twitter to win votes, but will have no say over the right-leaning party’s policy.

who captivated the world after being trapped underground for 69 days said they will appeal a decision to close an investigation into the incident without charges. The case was closed after no evidence of criminal liability was found concerning the owners of the San Jose mine, three years after the miners were trapped under the earth.

Mugabe storms to ‘victory’, as opposition cries foul

Full results were expected later today but Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party said it had already won the 140 seats in parliament required to press ahead with controversial amendments to the constitution.

Susan Njanji & Fanuel Jongwe feedback@postnoon.com

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe looked poised to win a seventh term in office after romping to victory in parliamentary polls dismissed as fraudulent by the opposition, as the head of the UN led calls for calm.

Full results were expected later Saturday but Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party said it had already won the 140 seats in parliament required to press ahead with controversial amendments to the constitution.

“We have already gone beyond two-thirds. It’s a super

The head of the SADC observer mission Tanzanian foreign minister Bernard Membe speaks during a press conference in Harare.

AFP/ALEXANDER JOE majority,” a top party official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

With 186 of 210 constituencies officially counted after Wednesday’s disputed poll, Mugabe’s party already had a commanding lead, winning 137 seats in parliament.

Party spokesman Rugare Gumbo told AFP: “Our opponents don’t know what hit them”, adding that Mugabe could win “70 to 75 percent” in the presidential vote.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has described the vote

as a “sham” and a “huge fraud” and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has vowed not to accept the result, sparking fears of a repeat of bloody violence that marked the aftermath of the 2008 election.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged both rivals to send “clear messages of calm” to supporters as tensions mount.

Ban hopes that the broadly “calm and peaceful atmosphere” of election day “will prevail during the vote counting and throughout the completion of the

electoral process,” said his spokesman Martin Nesirky.

The influential 15-member southern African bloc SADC also implored “all Zimbabweans to exercise restraint, patience and calm”.

All eyes were now on the MDC which was expected to release a statement on Saturday following a two-day meeting.

Ahead of that meeting, top MDC official Roy Bennett called for a campaign of passive resistance, urging people to “just bring the country to a standstill”.

Even before the election was officially called for ZANU-PF, Mugabe followers were already planning how to use what could be a crushing parliamentary majority.

“The new constitution will need cleaning up,” said Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, referring to a text overwhelmingly approved by Zimbabweans in March that introduced term limits and curbed presidential powers.

Chinamasa said Mugabe’s government would also press on with controversial efforts to bring firms under black ownership.

Investors have expressed fears that may mean rolling back the power-sharing government’s efforts to stabilise the economy after crippling hyperinflation and joblessness.

“It’s back to extreme volatility,” Iraj Abedian, the CEO of Pan African Investments, told AFP from Johannesburg.

“We can expect fairly radical positions that will have populist support, but which will have huge implications.”

Abedian said foreign-owned banks were likely in the firing line for seizures that would, like land and mining grabs, lead to chaos.

“The land grabs caused chaos in the agricultural sector and it took 10 years for it to settle down.

The financial sector would have a similar impact. It would cause chaos,” added Abedian.

Morsi backers plan fresh rallies

US don refuses to testify in ‘sham’ trial

Jury sentences pirates to life

CAIRO: Islamist backers of Egypt’s deposed president

BOSTON: Alleged Boston mob boss James “Whitey”

WASHINGTON: Three convicted Somali pirates

Mohamed Morsi staged defiant rallies Friday and clashed with police in Cairo, after the government ordered their protest camps to be broken up.

Police fired tear gas and birdshot at roughly 1,000 protesters who tried to set up a new camp outside a large media compound. The clashes erupted as US Under Secretary of State William Burns landed in Cairo, the latest international envoy on a mission to press Morsi’s backers and the interim government to resolve the standoff peacefully.

Meanwhile, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian-born head of the militant Al-Qaeda organisation, accused the United States of “plotting” Morsi’s overthrow.

Bulger will discover his fate next week after refusing to testify in his trial for murder and other crimes.

Lawyers for the 83-year-old brought their defense to an end by confirming that their client’s much-anticipated appearance in the dock would not happen, clearing the way for the jury to start considering its verdict next week after one of the most engrossing criminal underworld trials in US history. Bulger who is accused of 19 murders, extortion, money-laundering and arms trafficking, said he would not testify because he had been prevented from telling his full side of the story. This centers on a claim that federal agents had granted him immunity from prosecution.

escaped the death penalty when a US jury sentenced them to life in prison for the high-seas murder of four Americans in the Indian Ocean.

Federal prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Ahmed Muse Salad, 25, Abukar Osman Beyle, 20, and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, 29, for the February 2011 shooting deaths aboard a 58-foot yacht. The boat’s owners Scott Adam, 70, and Jean Adam, 66, both retirees from the Los Angeles suburb of Marina del Rey, had set off from New Zealand to fulfill a lifelong dream of sailing around the world. Their friends Bob Riggle, 67, and Phyllis Macay of Seattle had joined them for the ill-fated Indian Ocean leg.

8

COMMENT SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

LECH MAGNUSZEWSKI

EDITORIALS TIME TO STAND UP for Hyderabad Like Mumbai is much more than just a city in Maharashtra, Hyderabad is more than just a city in Telangana, and it’s time Hyderabadis realised that. For far too long Hyderabad has been used a political bargaining chip by politicians whose only aim is re-election, and failing that, to make sure they’ve lined their pockets and acquired enough political favour to see them through a comfortable post-political career.

It’s time that stopped.

Hyderabad is the powerhouse of the region, and it needs to stop punching below its weight. The city has oft been divided between communal and socio-economic lines, which while difficult to change, must be blurred (maybe not like Robin Thicke intended, but you get the point).

Hyderabad must first look to making sure its own infrastructure, utilities, and retails juggernaut is taken care of. The longer Hyderabad remains the epicentre of political wrangling controlled by Delhi the less of a chance it has to realise its full potential, which could see it eclipse Bangalore and Chennai as the South’s crown jewel.

But to achieve that aim, Hyderabadis and the migrant workforce that earn their living in this great city, must band together and work towards that goal.

Municipal corporators must be held to account when they put their personal interests above those of the citizens. Politicians should be recalled when their illegal activity is proved. The emergency services should get a better wage and their working environments and tools must be brought up to grade. But most of all, we have to understand that without Hyderabad in the mix, every political shenanigan is pointless. That is a powerful tool, and it’s high time it was wielded by the people rather than their flaccid ‘guardians’.

BOB, THE TERROR

It’s ironic that while the US and the rest of the West faff about in other nations’ business, Robert Mugabe has been raping Zimbabwe for decades with impunity. Mugabe has systematically dismantled what once used to be the bread basket of Africa and pushed its population to starvation. The West must act fast and hard.

Don’t just think, act Soul Curry SUMAA TEKUR

A

t a conference a few weeks ago, the speaker announced that she would give away two books to members of the audience who asked questions. The winners would be randomly picked by her.

Many hands went up to ask questions, and the wireless microphone was passed around.

One book was presented to a young man. The second round of questions started and the gathering got more involved in the subject matter, quite forgetting about the second book prize.

Towards the end of the session, the session moderator reminded the speaker that the second book was yet to be given out. The speaker immediately announced that the book would be gifted to the person who asked the last question. Even as

the audience was thinking of a question to ask, one lady raised her hand and shouted out that she had a question. The microphone was passed on to her and she asked: “May I have the book, please?”

The following motivational story is an old one but I’d like to bring it up here because it’s connected to the first. A motivational speaker held up a Rs500 note and asked members of the audience: “Who wants this note?”

Almost all the hands went up. He then crumpled the note and asked again if anyone wanted it.

The hands went up again. The third time, he dropped the note on the floor.

He picked up the dirty note and asked again if anyone wanted it. By this time, the audience started to shout: “I want it”, “I’d like to have it”, “Can I take it?” and so on.

A lady suddenly stood up, ran up the aisle and on to the stage. She grabbed the note from the speaker’s hand and said: “I’m taking it”, before walking back to her seat to laughter and applause. Both the stories point to the importance of not just sit-

ALL OF LIFE’S PHILOSOPHIES DO NOT HAVE MUCH MEANING UNLESS WE PUT THOSE PHILOSOPHIES INTO ACTION. THE MORE ACTION-ORIENTED OUR LEARNING IS, THE BETTER WE ARE ABLE TO SEE THE RESULTS OF OUR WORK. ting there but taking action on the things that we truly want.

We may think about doing something but that is just the beginning. Action is what gives vent to the energy contained in the thought.

All of life’s philosophies do not have much meaning unless we put those philosophies into action. The more action-oriented our learning is, the better we are able to see the results of our work. If we only contemplate, wish and yearn for something

without moving towards the goal in a clear, action-oriented manner, all the intent goes to waste.

All aspects of life, work and creativity thrive only on action.

We all reach somewhere only because we have taken action in that direction. Wishing for a life of abundance and prosperity is only the first step. One needs to act towards achieving that and attracting all those desired things into one’s life.

Knowledge is important in order to put things into action.

We need to know what we’re acting towards and what results we can expect from that action. If we do nothing, we can expect no results.

If we do little, we can expect some result. But if we do big things, we can expect big results.

But these big results don’t always necessarily come from one big action.

These are most often contained of smaller actions keeping in mind the larger goal. That first small step is the most important, and takes you well on the way to meeting larger goals and desired results.

9

COMMENT SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Fears for Zimbabwe economy after Mugabe rout The Inside Story

AFTER LAND AND MINING GRABS, CHINAMASA

ANDREW BEATTY

HAS ALREADY SINGLED OUT THE COUNTRY'S FOREIGN-OWNED BANKS AS TARGETS FOR INDIGENISATION.

R

VISWAPRASAD RAJU

Urban sketches

Cab driver

obert Mugabe's apparent landslide election victory has prompted fears that Zimbabwe's barely resuscitated economy is in for another bumpy ride.

The full results are not yet in, but Mugabe's triumphant allies have already vowed to redouble efforts to put assets into the hands of black Zimbabweans.

"All resources must be for the benefit of our own people. We will no longer tolerate any exploitative relationship," Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Friday.

"We are going to continue with our message that our resources must come under the control of the people of Zimbabwe."

After land and mining grabs, Chinamasa has already singled out the country's foreign-owned banks as targets for indigenisation. "All the banks are British owned, that is why they are refusing to give credit to our people," he said.

In recent years Mugabe's ZANU-PF hardliners have talked a lot about seizing financial firms

like Britain's Standard Chartered and Barclays. There have even been threats against South African firms like Standard Bank — despite the risk of irking a powerful neighbour. But generally cooler heads have prevailed.

"Destabilising a large bank such as Standard Chartered has serious systemic consequences that can lead to unintended

results," Zimbabwe's central bank chief and Mugabe ally Gideon Gono said in April.

But the scale of Mugabe's supposed victory may give the hardliners the upper hand. And some analysts believe Mugabe, already 89 years old and trying to keep successors at bay, may have little choice but to expropriate assets and divvy up the spoils.

B ACK

TO EXTREME VOLATILITY

Investors are bracing for the worst.

"It's back to extreme volatility," said Iraj Abedian, CEO of Pan African Investments.

"We can expect fairly radical positions that will have populist support, but which will have huge implications."

"The land grabs caused chaos

in the agricultural sector and it took ten years for it to settle down," said Abedian.

"The financial sector would have a similar impact. It would cause chaos, but ZANU-PF and Mugabe seem to like that."

During the last decade Mugabe has seized white owned farms and demanded majority ownership of foreign owned mines. Critics and supporters have argued over whether the farm seizures have successfully redressed colonial imbalances, or just put assets in the hands of Mugabe's cronies.

Before the measures, 6,000 white commercial farmers owned roughly 45 per cent of the land, including the most arable.

After half the white farmers were — often violently — kicked off, the cereal harvest shrank by 60 per cent and agricultural proAFP duction fell by 25 per cent.

Global edits The Guardian

We must be positive of Israel-Palestinian talks

W

ere You can't fault him on expectations management. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has succeeded in launching a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative for which almost no one has high hopes.

Conventional wisdom suggests the effort is, if not doomed from the very start, at least hobbled by stubborn facts akin to those that have thwarted every peace effort since the Oslo accords, which will be 20 years old next month. To take just a few: the Palestinians remain divided between Hamas and Fatah, and their president is weak; Israel's governing coalition includes parties explicitly hostile to a two-state solution; the US has shown itself unwilling to impose the pressure required to get a deal.

One veteran negotiator says his fellow Palestinians "are either sceptical or actively opposed", and the Israelis are no more enthusiastic. In Washington and Europe some eyebrows have been raised. With Egypt and Syria unravelling, is it really wise for Kerry to be spending so much time and energy going down an alley that everyone

JOHN KERRY HAS SHOWN THE WILL TO GET THINGS MOVING, AND EVEN OLD HANDS AREN'T AS PESSIMISTIC AS USUAL. THERE'S ROOM FOR HOPE. knows ends in a brick wall?

Yet talk to those who follow this conflict most closely and you find something surprising. Nothing so reckless as unbridled optimism – they've all seen too much failure for that – but what one longtime insider comically calls a "cautious non-pessimism". It's the unfamiliar sensation of spotting a glimmer of light in the usually reliable gloom.

No one thinks the two sides have suddenly seen merit in each other's cause. Rather, they've found themselves in a blame game they don't want to lose.

Neither wants to be left with the dead cat on their doorstep, as Kerry's Texan predecessor James Baker so memorably put it. Kerry has played on that skilfully, herding both sides into a room under threat of being named and shamed as spoilers if they refuse. So long as they fear being cast as the naysayer, they're likely to stay there.

10

BUSINESS SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Yahoo buys Rockmelt

Bid to rein in iTunes NEW YORK CITY: The US

SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo on Friday

Department of Justice on Friday launched a bid to more tightly regulate Apple's wildly lucrative iTunes storefront, after the tech giant lost a price-fixing case. DOJ officials urged a court to order Apple to cut ties with publishers with which it was found guilty of an e-book price-fixing scheme.

said it bought social web-browsing star-tup Rockmelt, extending a buying spree started shortly after Marissa Mayer became chief last year. Yahoo did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but technology news website AllThingsD valued the purchase at between $60 million and $70 million.

GTETS & Tata Motors unite HYDERABAD: Tata Motors announced an initiative under Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu, with Gram Tarang Employability Training Services, to build job specific skills to make youth employable in automobile services across the state. The initiative is to establish a well-equipped workshop and E-Learning Lab, with computers loaded with self-learning modules.

Live in style, comfort Villas that were built to realise dream houses in one of eight hotspots in the country, Gachibowli sure deserve a look-in. Postnoon does that for you and comes out stunned at the luxury on offer.

PRUDHVI RAJU K

prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

P

BALAKRISHNA

rice alone cannot bring the luxury, quality or comforts that are you aspire in your home.

Behind the scenes, a group of people like architects, landscape designers, engineers and developers need to put in dedication in their work and have a taste for quality. It is their output, without cutting corners, which results in villas of class, style and elegance. Aditya Constructions’ Eden Woods at Tellapur is one such project that easily grabs your attention when you step inside the community.

Inspired by and designed in Spanish architectural style, from its elevation to streetlights, villas here are surrounded by greenery with ample open spaces. Spread over 8.5 acres, the 48-villa project is nearing completion.

“It is not just style or luxury, the project offers a range of amenities that include an AC gym, tennis court, table tennis room, swimming pool, children’s play area, spa, jogging track and

indoor games,” informed PS Rama Krishna, assistant general manager (marketing), Aditya Constructions.

He goes on to add, “In terms of location, Gachibowli submarket is the most happening place presently and is listed as one of the eight emerging hotspots in the country. Wellsupported and excellent infrastructural development and relative low-price levels are reasons Gachibowli is listed among them. There are high chances of future capital appreciation and healthy returns for investments made here.”

When compared to other parts of the City, the West has seen considerable appreciation in terms of infrastructure and price over the years.

“This will continue with more companies setting up their offices here due to availability of good infrastructure.

Connectivity to the ORR and International Airport, and quality office space development will attract more companies to this location, further driving the growth of residential developments here. Gachibowli submarket has become one of the most sought-after residential location for IT employees, HNIs, CEOs and industrialists,” says Rama Krishna.

OTHER AMENITIES Landscaped gardens Solar fencing Underground cabling Backup generator Two-car parking space Intercom Gas pipeline

KEY DESTINATIONS Huda Tellapur Techno City APIC IT Park Delhi Public School ISB Microsoft IIIT Wipro Infosys The project is built from top quality raw material. “We equally give importance to the construction material for durability and style. Each villa consists of various quality raw materials, like RCC-framed structure, teakwood frame for the main door, Italian marble flooring in the

hall, glazed ceramic tiles in the kitchen and anti-skid ceramic tile in bathrooms,” he said.

Apart from the HNIs from the City, the property has also grabbed the attention of NRIs. “We have many NRIs who have booked our projects to settle down once when they retire and return to the country. The fall in rupee value will also bring huge savings to our NRI community.

Each unit is priced around `2.3 crore. For instance, two-and-half months ago, the dollar value was around `53.7; today it is around `60.5. The buyer spends $3,80,165 instead of $4,28,305 on a purchase.

This means savings of around `28.88 lakh for the investor from US. Each villa is located in 315syds land with a built-up area of 4,000sft, which is spread over G+2 floors. “Although, the project is nearing completion, we are offering a villa at just 15 per cent of advance payment and the rest can be paid at the time of possession. Added to this advantage, a customer can opt for paying five per cent at the time of possession and the remaining in equal instalments.

IIT Hyderabad project with Japan approved NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the collaboration project of Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH) under a loan of the Japanese government and grants by the human resource ministry.

The project, costing `1,776.50 crore will be financed out of the official development assis-

tance loan of `1,501.72 crore from Japan.

The balance expenses would be met by the HRD ministry over a period of four years starting from 2013-14 to 2016-17.

“The project would create value addition through collaborative interactions with academics and the industry of Japan and exchange of students and faculty,” an official statement said.

“This will enhance cooperation between the two nations in the area of science and technology and human resource development. For the Indian side, the project would also help in creation of a number of basic infrastructure facilities and faster scaling up of a quality institution viz. IIT, Hyderabad with benefits for the Indian economy,” the statement said.

IIT Hyderabad is one of the eight new IITs established by the central government in 2008.

IANS

11

FOCUS SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Robot turns Japanese kids into master calligraphers

N

ijiya Kurota’s little hand grips a calligraphy brush dangling above a clean sheet of rice paper.

The brush itself is being held dead straight, just as an expert who has spent years learning the art of “shodo” — Japanese calligraphy — would do.

That’s because a robot arm is also attached to the brush and for a moment, as thick lines of glistening black ink are laid down on the page, Nijiya is transformed into a master calligrapher.

A few days ago the 10-year-old student and his classmates from a junior high school in Yokohama, close to Tokyo, came face to face with this strange invention.

Despite being a deft practitioner of such a subtle art form, there is nothing human about this collection of metal rods and whirring motors.

But the robot writes just like an expert calligrapher and its inventor hopes it will help teach a new generation of Japanese children an ancient skill that many fear is fast dying out.

“The teaching of calligraphy is all but lost so I thought I could forever preserve the art of our great masters on the robot’s memory,” explains Seiichiro Katsura, a professor at Keio University and the robot’s inventor.

The machine itself consists of multiple engines and a mechanical arm which is attached to a brush. Its

hard drive has been imbued with the skills of 90-year-old Juho Sado, a master calligrapher who taught the robot how to write a series of “Kanji” characters down to the most imperceptible of wrist movements and brush strokes.

The robot’s complex sensors recorded everything, from the stroke order, the brush angle, the thickness of the line or the slightest pressure change. It then relays those memories to novices and gently corrects their hand movements if they go wrong.

The little school students from Yokohama were able to practice drawing kanji characters such as “study”, “sea” and “flower” in classic cursive — a calligraphy style where all the lines are interconnected. Each time the students produce near perfect replicas.

“When you take the brush, it’s as if the master himself is holding your hand and guiding you,” said Ayaka Matsui, an assistant of Professor Katsura who teaches children how to use the robot during introductory workshops at the university.

Nijiya agrees. Proudly waving his “Gaku” character — which means “study” — he exclaims: “The master is not there but we feel his presence, like he’s trying to teach us.” “It’s great,” adds his classmate Keisuke Yamagishi. “I only need to put a little bit of pressure through my arm and the brush glides across the paper.”

Professor Katsura hopes this new technique will not only be able to teach people other forms of art, but also other fields such as surgery or mechanics.

“The process of trans-

mitting knowledge by hand was often tedious, requiring a long process of acquiring techniques, intuition and experience,” he says. “With this robot, the process becomes faster AFP and more efficient.”

PICK YOUR

@

Across Stores

ities Twin C

12

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK TWiT WiT network, with the flagship show This Week in Tech (TWiT, get it?), a weekly roundup of what’s going on in the tech world.

Eastern every weekday too, as are 20-plus additional shows covering every corner of the tech world.

T

MOBILEGAME REVIEW

APP OF THE WEEK

TURBO

MightyText

I

Want to make iPhone owners jealous?

Tell them about how you can send and receive all your text messages right from your laptop or desktop web browser. To make it happen, install the MightyText.

Based on the upcoming movie, Turbo, the game lets you play as (you guessed it) Turbo, a not-so-slow snail.

The game starts off with a tutorial to teach you the ropes. The objective is simple, win and unlock the next level of racing events.

Dell vote delayed on sweetened offer by founder Voting on a proposal to take computer-maker Dell private was delayed for a third time Friday after founder Michael Dell agreed to boost the price of the transaction.

T

he takeover proposal accepted Friday by Dell’s special committee ensures shareholders at least $350 million more, according to a Dell statement, and changes the votecounting system to improve the chances of shareholder approval.

The amended deal from the Michael Dell-led consortium raises the purchase price from $13.65 per share to $13.75, provides for a special dividend of 13 cents and guarantees that the third-quarter dividend of 8 cents will be paid at or before closing.

The voting system will be changed from one in which nonvoting shares were counted as “no” votes to one in which only those ballots which are submitted will be counted.

The previous system had put the Michael Dell-led consortium at a disadvantage.

“We believe modifying the voting standard is in the best interests of Dell shareholders,

THE AMENDED DEAL FROM THE MICHAEL DELL-LED CONSORTIUM RAISES THE PURCHASE PRICE FROM $13.65 PER SHARE TO $13.75 AND PROVIDES FOR A SPECIAL DIVIDEND OF 13 CENTS. both because it has enabled us to secure substantial additional value and because it provides a level playing field for the decision facing shareholders," said Alex Mandl, chairman of the Dell special committee.

Mandl said the modified votecounting system made sense in light of an “alternative” proposal from other Dell shareholders, a reference to a deal offered by Carl Icahn, a strong critic of Michael Dell.

Given that backdrop, the “committee does not believe it is

appropriate to count shares that have not been voted as having been voted in support of any particular alternative," Mandl said.

The committee also postponed the vote for a third time, to September 12, giving “abundant” notice to shareholders, Mandl said.

“We urge all shareholders to support this transaction."

Dell shares gained 5.3 percent to $13.64 at mid-morning.

Friday’s deal marks the latest twist in an increasingly acrimonious battle for control of Dell,

an iconic personal computer firm that is struggling to navigate the shift towards mobile technology.

The Dell consortium includes private equity firm Silver Lake Partners.

Michael Dell, who founded the company from his college dorm room, believes moving it out of the glare of public markets and quarterly-reporting deadlines is the best hope for the firm’s long-term survival.

Icahn, who has led the opposition to Michael Dell, filed suit

Thursday to block Dell from changing the terms for shareholder voting and accused the Dell board of breaching its fiduciary duty.

Icahn has proposed an alternate plan that would pay $14 per share for up to 71 percent of Dell stock, and recently sweetened the deal by adding one warrant for every four Dell shares, entitling the holder to one share of Dell at $20.

Earlier this week, the Dell special committee rejected a proposal from the Michael Dell con-

sortium that modified the votecounting system and included terms that were more generous than the original offer, but not as robust as Friday’s deal.

The committee did not elaborate on its reasons for rejecting the prior deal.

Dell postponed the vote twice last month, fearing insufficient shareholder support.

A recent survey showed worldwide sales of personal computers fell for a fifth consecutive quarter in the April-June AFP period.

13

ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

PET NEWS Distinct personalities

Resurrecting the mammoth

piders, like humans and many other species, have their own distinctive characters that help to shape their individual lifestyles, a new study suggests.

he well-preserved blood from a 10,000-year-old frozen mammoth could lead to mammoth stem cells, said Ian Wilmut, the scientist responsible for Dolly — and might ultimately lead to a cloned mammoth.

S

T

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Stranded deaf dolphins

I

n waters from Florida to the Caribbean, dolphins are showing up stranded or entangled in fishing gear with an unusual problem: They can't hear. More than half of stranded bottlenose dolphins are deaf, one study suggests.

CATS AND DOGS The Animal Care Clinic 040-2335 2474 Pet’s World Dog Clinic 98856 46259 Blue Cross of Hyderabad 040-3298 9858, 23544355/ 5523 Vet-N-Pet 040-6553 9535, 93463 05890 Bluplus Pet Clinic 040-2712 1739, 2716 2636 Sri Sai Pet Clinic

Imbibing compassion Prabhalika, education officer at Blue Cross talks about getting the younger generation on board with the idea of animal welfare.

Amy Rose Thomas

amyrose.t@postnoon.com

I

t is no cakewalk getting the younger generation on board with the idea of animal welfare when the fear of stray animals is being inflicted upon their tender minds by their parents. Prabhalika, the education officer working with Blue Cross, who has been working with school children for the past three years, says that more than 90 per cent of the children in a class raise their hands when asked if they are scared of stray animals.

“We have two modules in the presentation, first is about wild animals and how they belong in the wild and not in

DURING HER FIRST YEAR ALONE, PRABHALIKA REACHED OUT TO MORE THAN

13,340 STUDENTS AND 107 SCHOOLS AND THIS YEAR, SHE IS FOCUSING ON THE CHILDREN LIVING IN FOUR SLUMS AROUND BLUE CROSS. the homes and the second one is about stray animals. Most of the kids do not know how to behave when around a stray dog and in the result get bitten,” she says.

There are many times Prabhalika says she was taken by surprise. “In between one of the presentations I was giving, one student stopped me in the middle and told me to stop the presentation and follow him. We walked half a kilometer and found a dog that was injured and dying. We immediately called Blue Cross and the dog was rescued. Another time, a Class VI boy told me how he gives a proper burial to stray animals that he finds lying on the street,” she says.

During her first year alone, Prabhalika reached out

to more than 13,340 students and 107 schools and this year, she is focusing on the children living in four slums around Blue Cross.

“I noticed in the first two years that I worked with schools that kids who live near Blue Cross are unaware of the facilities at the NGO and do

not know what to do when they notice an animal that needs help. That’s when I decided that I would first reach out and educate kids near the organisation,” she says.

The most crucial lesson that she imparts to all the children she meets is to adopt

only if they are ready to take care of the animal for the next 12 years. “After presentations, many kids visit Blue Cross with their parents in tow to adopt. But I ensure they know that animals are not status symbols and a responsibility that one needs to take care for more than 12 years,” she says.

040-2779 7458, 9848645350 Claws & Paws 98662 82772 All Creatures Animals Clinic 040-2773 0885 BIRDS Govt Veterinary Hospital 040-2331 9656, 2753 5755 Bird Watcher’s Society 040-2355 6166 Friends of Birds9391048315 SNAKES Friends of Snakes 8374233366

Caged in zoos W

earing bodysuits resembling tigers while locked in a cage and holding a sign that reads, "Save the Tiger – Say No to Zoos", two members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India led a protest outside the National Zoological Park (formerly Delhi Zoo). The action came in the wake of the deaths of eight tigers at the zoo in a six-month period. The zoo has reacted to the deaths of several adult, newborn and stillborn cubs by announcing an aggressive breeding programme. One of the cats, Khushi, was only 8-years-old when she died from an infection caused by a cub stuck in her womb. The cub died within hours of delivery.

"Majestic tigers who are kings of our jungles are reduced to living sad, empty lives in zoos, staring out of the bars of their cages with vacant eyes", says PETA India Campaign Adviser Bhuvaneshwari Gupta. "Tigerprotection efforts must ensure both the physical and mental well-being of the animals, and zoos often fail on both counts.

No matter whether the species is endangered or plentiful, nobody wants to be caged. We urge the government to shifts its focus to protecting tigers and other animals in their natural homes instead of pouring crores of rupees into keeping a few miserable animals jailed in zoos."

14

BOOKS SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

SHORT READS Title: A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life Author: James Bowen Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Sometimes, all you need is a little feline help to get your life on track. Struggling musician James Bowen adopts an injured cat despite hardly being able to feed himself, and he soon realises that the cat has rescued him as much as he rescued it.

Title: The Darwin Elevator Author: Jason M Hough Publisher: Del Rey Humankind has been almost wiped out by a mysterious virus and a strange alien elevator has turned up in Darwin, Australia. As the fate of the species hangs in the balance, the two protagonists race to discover what happened. A thrilling sci-fi novel from a promising new author.

Title: The White Princess Author: Philippa Gregory Publisher: Touchstone Fifth in Gregory’s Cousins’ War series, this novel deals with Elizabeth, mother to Henry VIII and grandmother of Elizabeth I. As the Tudors are still newcomers to the scene of power, Elizabeth has to navigate the churning waters of love, politics, treachery and power.

Title: The Husband’s Secret Author: Liane Moriarty Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Cecelia Fitzpatrick leads a perfect life — she’s a successful businesswoman and has three lovely children. But when she finds a letter her husband has written, to be opened after he dies, she reads it anyway and opens a Pandora’s box of doubt.

New detective on the block

Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling has created an intriguing new detective in Cormoran Strike. Hopefully Rowling is not put off by the unwanted publicity and gives Strike more mysteries to solve.

Jyotsna Nambiar jyotsna.n@postnoon.com

S

o turns out JK Rowling can write some pretty mean crime fiction as well. If The Casual Vacancy was her way of proving that she had more in her than just a boy wizard, she’s shown how truly versatile she can be with The Cuckoo’s Calling.

The novel, written under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith, is smooth, fairly engaging and despite its bulk, a quick read.

The pity is that the book was not allowed to do business on its own steam. Not too long after the book was released, it was revealed that Robert Galbraith, described as an ex-cop and a first-time novelist, was actually JK Rowling. Whatever was said after the news broke was all keeping in mind that it was a book by a respected, established author. It didn’t matter that Rowling had never dabbled in the genre before. Robert Galbraith ceased to exist.

But the good thing is that, Galbraith or Rowling, this is a nice book. Its hero, Private Eye Cormoran Strike, is huge, hairy and missing a leg. Like other legendary crime thriller protagonists (think Jack Reacher), he’s ex-military, with an imposing build, a quick mind and a soft

This is the maiden book by the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the third most important Tibetan religious head after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama.

Gyanendra Kumar Keshri feedback@postnoon.com

T

he book, edited by a group of American college students, explores the major interpersonal, social and environmental issues facing a human being today, and points to the emotional resources that can

heart. His assistant is the spunky Robin (cue sidekick jokes), a secretarial temp with a secret yearning to be a detective. When the brother of a dead supermodel asks them to investigate her death, Strike sees a way out of

Name The Cuckoo’s Calling Author JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith Pages 449 Publisher Hachette India

his penury. Soon, he finds himself thrown into the world of the rich and the beautiful, where everybody lies and everybody gossips.

While the hero is a hulking, mysterious figure much like most punch-throwing detectives around, Strike prefers a less confrontational, more cerebral approach. The closest parallel would be the sandwich-constructing Detective Edward Delaney of the Deadly Sin series — serious, hardworking and dedicated.

Strike’s methodology involves a lot of legwork, tonnes of interviews and occasional clues. He doesn’t have an eidetic memory, no do-gooder streak — he keeps his internal conflicts to himself and does the work.

Galbraith/Rowling does a great job of bringing the characters alive. Aristocratic

bankers, flippant supermodels, eager assistants and homeless drug addicts make brief but memorable cameos. Strike’s past makes an appearance every now and then, but it does not detract from the main story too much.

The author navigates through the contrasting boroughs of London and emotional upheavals easily enough, just like the

Secret of peace lies within help tackle these formidable challenges.

The 28-year-old monk maintains that the basic nobility of the human heart can help overcome these challenges.

“Although I am a Buddhist monk, this is not a book about Buddhist theory or practice, but about our experiences as human beings,” The Karmapa, who mysteriously escaped to India from Tibet in January, 2000 at the age of 14 says in the introduction. The book touches on several burning issues like gender inequality, social conflict and the environment.

A chapter on “Gender Identities” says division of

Name The Heart is Noble Author The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje Pages 216 Publisher Shambhala Publications human beings on the basis of gender is nothing more than a socially constructed identity.

“Masculine and feminine are fabricated identities that societies create, not nature,” the book says.

“When we think in more subtle ways beyond obvious anatom-

hero does. The focus is a little more on the characters than the detective work; lovers of highspeed chases and guns-blazing face-offs will be disappointed.

This could have been the start of an iconic detective series. Strike is an engaging character, and his difficult life doesn’t seem to have made him a brooding loner. It has its loose ends and weak points, but as crime fiction, it works well enough. Our only hope is that Rowling isn’t too put off by the media hullabaloo over her book and decides to stick with Cormoran Strike a while longer.

We’d all like to.

ical distinctions, we see that the fundamental foundation of human beings includes both female and male aspects, both psychologically and even biologically. We have both,” it says.

The book refers to mythological stories that say there was a time when there was no gender either male or female but just a human. “Being human is prior to being male or female,” the book says.

The 17th Karmapa has also described the terror he and his companions faced along the way as they fled across the Himalayas into India, where he reached Jan 5, 2000. Since then he has been residing at Gyuto Monastery on the outskirts of Dharamsala, where the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile is located.

15

BOOKS SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Surviving the storm

The story of an extraordinary young woman in Afghanistan told in an ordinary way.

Fleme Varkey fleme.v@postnoon.com

I

n 2001, Deborah Ellis introduced Parvana, heroine of The Breadwinner, a novel that grew into a trilogy and now continues with a fourth book. The Breadwinner series are about a young Afghan girl, Parvana, struggling to stay alive in wartorn Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Ellis’s new book, My Name is Parvana, continues with Parvana’s story as a teen.

When one leafs through the pages and contents of this uncomplicated book, one is forced to draw comparison to a living embodiment of Parvana —Malala Yousafzai. Malala, as the world now knows, is the girl who dared defy the Taliban, got shot for that, was injured, spent her time recuperating and now she is back again trying to take what is essentially her right — a proper education.

In this book, we begin with an arrest. On a military base in postTaliban Afghanistan, American

authorities have imprisoned a teenage girl found in a bombedout school. The army major thinks she may be a terrorist working with the Taliban. “She’s not a kid. She’s a terrorist,” he remarks while questioning her.

The girl does not respond to questions in any language and remains silent, even when she is threatened, harassed and mistreated over several days. The only clue to her identity is a tattered shoulder bag containing papers that refer to people named Shauzia, Nooria, Leila, Asif, Hassan — and Parvana.

That ‘clue to her identity’ is what slowly helps us to know who Parvana is and how she came here. Even for a first-time reader of Ellis’s books, it will not be difficult to conclude that Parvana has suffered before and her journey till this arrest is of great interest. The authorities hope that through the diary they discover in the shoulder bag, they might know who their captive is.

Though heartbreaking, it is at

times like these that Parvana uses her imagination, to focus on something not so disheartening.

Her frequent recalling of her life gives us an insight into the oppression the women folk in Afghanistan are under, domestic violence and the unfeeling attitude of the US military.

We get a vision of the hardship Parvana has gone through when she recalls how she and the other children used to chew on her father’s precious books to keep alive, how she cut her hair in order to pass off as a boy to find work. She talks of the school that her family used to run and how they struggled to get an education. “The girls would sometimes come on their own in a group, walking together for protection against the stares and insults.”

On her visits to the area for her research, Ellis learnt two things. She says in an interview to PublishersWeekly, “I came away with a sense of two things.

One is that there is still a huge

Title:

My Name is Parvana

Author:

Deborah Ellis

Pages:

196

Publisher: Hachette India

hill to climb in terms of rebuilding the country after so many years of war. And part of that hill includes a great deal of violence against women and a great deal of people clinging to old ideas, which is making it difficult for others to move forward. The other thing is how amazing this current generation of young Afghans is. They have families that were affected by the Taliban and by the war, and [who] have been encouraging them to grab hold of every single opportunity they can get and [to] run as far and as fast as they can possibly manage because they don’t know when it is going to be taken away again.”

This is what she depicts in her book as well. Though hurt, left orphaned and even under the threat of death by stoning and other barbarous methods, these girls strive to achieve a semblance of an education, hoping that this learning might somehow help them claw their way up from the misery they are in.

WHAT’S SELLING Walden's best in fiction

Landmark's best in non-fiction

New York's best in fiction

New York's best in non-fiction

n Empire Of The Moghul: Serpent's Tooth by Alex Rutherford

n The signal and the noise by Nate Silver

n The English Girl

by Daniel Silva

n Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell

n Laws of the spirit world by Khorshed Bhavnagri

n Inferno by Dan Brown

n Turning Points by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

n The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

n Hit by David Baldacci n Best Kept Secret

by Jeffrey Archer n Fifty Shades Of Grey by EL James n Salvation Of A Saint by Keigo Higashino

n Miracles Happen Biran Weiss n What young India Wants by Chetan Bhagat

n First Sight by Danielle Steel n And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

n This Town by Mark Leibovich n Happy, Happy, Happy by Phil Robertson with Mark Schlabach n Zealot by Reza Aslan n Fantasy Life by Matthew Berry

18

WOMEN SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Work it Mom: A community and blog for working mothers.

Their philosophy is that if mothers share their experiences with each other, working women can successfully juggle career and family.

The Glass Hammer: An award-winning blog and online community created for women executives in finance, law, technology and big business.

The Football Girl: Melissa Jacobs blogs about football, “because women love football too.” Her site features game analysis, exclusive interviews with players and fantasy football tips for women.

Reaching out to women Dr Vijaya Bhavani is one of the very few who have stepped up to the challenge of changing the mindset of the people about the way women are treated. She talks to Postnoon about the changes that are needed.

All About Eve

FLEME VARKEY

A

AMY ROSE THOMAS

amyrose.t@postnoon.com

I

t was at a time when girls preferred secure jobs like teaching and those jobs that involved meeting people were shunned that Dr Vijaya Bhavani decided to take up a PhD in Women Mental Health and work with human trafficking victims and AIDS patients. She is now programme manager at Plan India, an NGO that has its branches in more than 40 countries. She is also a member of the Indian programme of Human Rights Association.

“My parents were very apprehensive when they got to know about my plan to be a social worker. They were worried if I would ever get married since as part of my work I was working with patients with leprosy and those who were living on the street. But even in school, I was the one who was counseling friends when they were in

The skin you are in

trouble and I knew that it was this field that best suited me,” she says.

According to her, women do not have to settle for occupations like tailoring and embroidery. She herself gives training sessions on occupations like repairing and baking.

“There is no point in competing with the corporates. One cannot get people to buy clothes and handicraft when other companies are selling relatively same goods for a very cheap price. That is why I organise training sessions for repairing and baking. There are many times when your cooker or mixer grinder stops working and you ask the men to fix them. That doesn’t have to be the case.

If you have a talented lady in the community who is equipped to fix these goods like mobile phones, mixer grinders and pressure cookers, one doesn’t have to call

someone else. Another important job that is currently in demand is baking.

If you have a person who is well-versed in baking cakes and pastries one doesn’t have to go to a city to buy them,” she says.

In spite of the large number of policies against sexual harassment, Vijaya says that workplaces are still dangerous for women.

“It is not just in offices

If you have a talented lady in the community who is equipped to fix these goods like mobile phones, mixer grinders and pressure cookers, one doesn’t have to call someone else.

Dr Vijaya Bhavani

but also outside that women face a lot of harassment. If you are in the development sector, you have to face comments like ‘ghoomti rahti hai’. So while working, women carry the burden of societal pressure also. Not just that, everyone expects women to be more like a machine. She is supposed to take care of her children and family apart from going to office. As part of one of the programmes in Plan India, we train women to be future leaders so that they can speak up about the problems they are facing. There are many activities we conduct that help women understand their situation better,” she says.

Our society needs more Vijaya Bhavanis to make a huge impact until then society will stick to the comfortable practice of pointing fingers at women and targeting them.

picture of Alia Bhatt, the youngest daughter of Mahesh Bhatt, has been doing the rounds on Facebook.

Fans have stopped eating and some have even fainted I presume. Catastrophe has broken loose and this matter needs immediate attention, from none but the Prime Minister himself.

If an RTI were to be written regarding this, I am sure the reply will probably be, “The answer cannot be disclosed since this is subject of national security’. Such is the grave situation we are in. For those thinking that a disaster has struck, let me tell you the grisly details. You are warned the picture (below) can be emotionally disturbing.

Well, now that you have seen it. Alia Bhatt who charmed the viewers with her ooh-so-sexy figure in her debut movie Student of the Year, she even donned a bikini, has sadly shown signs of a little ‘fat’ on her body. Oh the horror! Now what will the world do? What will her fans do? The young girls who worship her will now have to look for another idol, their idol now has fallen.

The bigger question is now, how will she get movies anymore? Mahesh Bhatt will now have to explain the reason for the two bits of ‘fat’ on Alia.

Our concept of beauty seems to be touching new lows everyday. While on one hand we in the country advocate a healthy body, on the other hand we lose no opportunity in pointing out a person’s flaws( that is if this can be called one). Such things only force young girls to become anorexic and bulimic.

Let people be and worry about your own skin.

19

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

BLING ALERT

Minister of Labour, Danam Nagendar inaugurated CMR's new showroom at Somajiguda. A dress made of 3.5 kg gold was on display at the showroom.

Safety in focus

D

r Daggubati Purandeshwari, Minister of State for Commerce launched ASSOCHAM Ladies League Web portal and helpline for women at Taj Deccan on Friday.

Game, set, match In a bid to promote the game badminton and wellness among corporates, Tech Mahindra Ltd and Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy launched Corporate Badminton League (CBL) 2013 on Friday.

LITTLE STARS

Coupon launched Kool Kids Fashion Icon, a talent contest and fashion show for children.

Actress Priyadarshini was present at the do.

Time to feast

Political honchos were in attendance at Raj Bhavan for the iftar party organised by Governor of AP, ESL Narasimhan on Friday.

20

RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

I

I AM ALL EARS

am 28. I have been in a relationship for the past six years. My boyfriend works in a software company and the hours he keeps are very late .

Often I don’t get time to talk to him. And when I work late he gets angry. This is causing a lot of problems for us. How do I explain what I feel?

Dear disturbed kid, Commit to spending quality time together on a regular basis. Even during very busy and stressful times, a few minutes of really sharing and connecting can help keep bonds strong.Doing new things together can be a fun way to connect and keep things interesting. It can be as simple as trying a new restaurant or going on a day trip to a place you’ve never been before.

W

hy do shopping addicts keep spending even in the face of harmful financial, emotional and social consequences? A new study suggests poor credit management and a belief that new purchases will create a happier life fuel compulsive buying."Compulsive shoppers tend to be people who bury their head in the sand and ignore the credit card bill," said Ryan Howell, associate professor of psychology at SF State.

Youngsters becoming increasingly violent: Experts Need for instant gratification and not being able to take no for an answer have become the hallmark behaviours of the younger generation, leading to many fatalities experts said.

Postnoon News

feedback@postnoon.com

I

n a sensational campus crime, a student of Jawaharlal Nehru University walked into a classroom armed with an axe and a pistol on Wednesday, asked a girl to walk out with him and, when she refused, drank poison and then slashed her with the axe.

He died while the girl is battling for her life.

“The lack of control over one’s emotions is on the rise," psychiatrist Sameer Malhotra, head of the department of mental health and behavioural sciences at Max group of hospitals said.

Noted psychiatrist Nikhil Raheja blamed it on the changed norms of parenting and upbringing. He pointed out that when children

migrate from smaller towns to metropolitan cities like Delhi, “they are subjected to very little control.”

“This leads to them not realising the boundaries of relationships," he said.

A day after this horrifying incident in New Delhi, City newspapers reported that a suspected jilted lover attacked a girl with a knife in a busy market area and then tried to commit suicide by slitting his throat.

On speaking to some youngsters in the City, we came to know of the situation in the City.

Nishat Khan*, an intermediate college student was being followed every day after college by two of the boys in her locality. Her refusal to acknowledge them, cost her dearly. “My friend used to be scared going home every day. If she would have

told something at home, her studies would have been stopped then and there. It was a terrible situation for her. For most part of the route she kept to the main road, so chances of them doing anything to her was minimal. But one day, they stopped her on the road and she raised an alarm. When the passerby gathered, the duo were beaten up. Out for revenge, the next day, the duo pounced on her while she was going home, they pulled at her clothes and scared by their act, she ran and hit an oncoming car. She is now in hospital with injuries on her arms, legs and scars on her face as well, says a classmate of Nishat.

Nishat’s case involves strangers, but what about Sreejani*, who was in a relationship for the past four years? “My boyfriend was

insisting that we get married and when I refused citing practical reasons, he hit me and loses no opportunity to harass me. He is even threatening me with blackmail,” says Sreejani, who has shut herself inside her house since a week, for the fear that the boy will harm her bodily.

“The reasons for the above incidents stem out of a certain form of obsession.

What youngsters watch on

television, through movies they are bound to recreate in their own lives. It’s stupidity but that’s the truth. They see the hero trying to woo the girl with all sorts of antics and finally you see her giving in. Younsgters think that in real life if they follow a girl, pester her or try and talk to her, the girl will fall for them, but that is not true. Often this behaviour amounts to harassment and when the ego is hurt or they feel insulted, people take drastic steps.

Parents can help in this case, if they know their ward is tempermental or even hear rumours of their children’s relationships, they must keep a close watch on them so that such incidents can be averted,’ advises city-based psychiatrist M Anjani. (with inputs from IANS) * Name changed on request.

21

CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Kajal

to star with a newbie K ajal Agarwal might have had two hits to her credit this year in Tollywood, but she has failed to bag another big movie in Telugu. Her last movie that she appeared in was Baadshah, which was released in April since then, it is reported she hasn't signed any movie. Her next release in Tollywood is expected to be a cameo appearance in Yevadu. And now it comes as a surprise that she has said yes to act opposite a newbie. The actor in question is a budding Tamil star Udayanidhi Stalin, grandson of Karunanidhi. He was recently seen in Ok Ok (dubbed movie opposite Hansika). Big heroines are usually reluctant to act opposite newbies and this step taken up Kajal Agarwal has got everyone excited. It remains to be seen what is in store for the audience with this pairing.

TOOFAN GETS A RELEASE DATE

R

am Charan’s Zanjeer will be released as Toofan in Tollywood. The movie is on the postproduction mode and promotion activities are in full swing.

Toofan will be released on September 6th and the movie's audio album is expected to be released in the second week of August.

The movie marks

Ram Charan's entry into Bollywood and bombshell Priyanka Chopra is the leading lady.

Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, the movie's Telugu version is supervised by Yogi.

Zanjeer has been jointly produced by Reliance Entertainment, Prakash Mehra Productions and Flying Turtle films.

OOTY SCHEDULE FOR NTR

T

he production unit of Ramayya Vasthavayya is off to Ooty for a quick three-day schedule. NTR Junior and Samantha are the lead actors in the movie, which is directed by Harish Shankar. “Reached Ooty for a quick 3 days Schedule…RV shooting is happening with a rapid fire pace (sic),” said Harish on his Twitter

account. The leading lady Samantha is currently on a short break and is expected to get back to work soon.

NTR is reportedly going to be seen in the role of a student leader.

Thaman has composed the music while Dil Raju is the producer. The movie is likely to be released on September 27th.

22

CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

In this sharply-drawn satire, the Great Indian ‘Muddle’ Class is projected in a bright and reflective light that never blinds the director of the plot’s central search for an engaging story.

I’m transparent about my SU relationship: h t i w d l Sushant Singh o I b H goes IN JOS B H C T SA CKPO

Y N N

E N EO

L

ollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who will next be seen in Shuddh Desi Romance, says he never tried to hide his relationships.”I am very transwho parent about my relationone, Jism e L ships. I mean I will not nny od film for u S o ss hi hesitate to say that I am ctre Bollyw hin Jos lm, a m fi in a relationship,” Sac le in the lt fil adu bare ro h actor shoot as been n Sushant told reporters a i t o i h t e d r I a w e a a n o n e w d G o ce d a en -Ca Thursday at the ndo seen in bold sc y are in e bold s e, and n t allowe c launch of Gulabi song was s shot a pot. The s that th sequen I am no u it is o from his forthcoming 2, ha lm Jack arantee r a bold dience. ssure y Sachin u u a o ” fi romantic comedy. The actor is dating , a f g r n t e w who a a h , g c l t ne Sachin e sho d I u a o e. st in tt Ankita Lokhande, his co-star from TV kv and shot. “W leave i hat scensn’t loo izad Gu y Boom o a t show Pavitra Rishta. Maneesh Sharmawell d like t about d it doe ed by K lowed b l l t n h directed Shuddh Desi Romance talks o u c c a f o e u , y r w s lk m Boy icall is di about various conflicts which come up to ta aesthet he film ombay ustad G in a relationship and Sushant said he shot IANS. T 8 film BSunny, a 9 has also experienced it. “Four years told the 19 g about seen in e ago when I met Ankita, I had the mad . Talkin will be charsame conflicts... when you are with 2003 “Sunny d sharp a : someone who you love, everysaid edgy an playing . n thing seems great. This process very . She is woma r d goes on,” he said.Talking about acte isticate a bold the film, he said: “Here the emosoph there is film , e tions are very real. Everyone Yes e in th ny and here is a very good reason why momentum is somewhat who falls in love has these scen een Sun S this interesting satire on petty lost at the climactic thoughts. These things have betw in.” IAN Sach crime and plummeting morals in moment partly because the never been told in such an honDelhi is captioned “Season One”. film insists on using songs est way.”The actor describes Reality shows and their absolutewhen there is no room for Shuddh Desi Romance as a difly disregard for basic decency and human any. Chor Chor Super Chor is ferent love story.”In the last 20sensitivities play a major part in Chor a prime example of new-age 25 years, all love stories have Chor Super Chor. The script creates a cinema, which doesn’t forget been shot outside India and world of petty crime in the metropolis the basic requirement of the everything is very perfect. with a generous dosage of warm humour audience. A strong story line The minute details are not and a comic candour and characters shown. This movie talks directed at the middlewhose dramatic about coflicts between love class and its craving for a potential is laced and commitment,” he good life. with humour. The said.The film also stars The film teems with plot here is riddled Parineeti Chopra and vividly-drawn low-life with visuals and introduces Vaani characters scattering their emotions that are Kapoor. It is set to self-serving subterfuge all peculiar to life in come out across the malls, highmetropolises. Delhi, September 6. IANS ways, streets, back-alleys to be more precise. and loos of Delhi. Except So, we have one for the very talented of the film’s more Deepak Dobriyal, the rest interesting characof the characters are ters a petty busiplayed by natural-born nessman, played actors from theatres. One

by Chandrahas of the virtues of this Tiwari, who is large-hearted saga voicing kidnapped and the vices of pickpockets kept in a cheap and other swindlers of eatery by a modern life is that almost pickpocket risevery character is played ing in life to Title: Chor Chor Super Chor by actors we have hardly become a kidCast: Deepak Dobriyal, ever encountered before. napper. It’s a Chandrahas Tiwari, Anshul This naturally confers crazily out-ofKataria, Priya Bathija a sense of complete believcontrol world ability on the goings-on. held together by Director: K. Rajesh The narrative moves on K Rajesh’s Rating: two levels. We are swiftly straightfaced nonfamiliarised with the charjudgemental acters’ lives as petty crimihumour addressed nals. It is the absolutely ingenious second to fringe lives. movement of the narration where reality The performance by Dobriyal television enters the characters’ lives in and a cast of gifted impresarios is most unexpected ways, where the direcintuitively vivacious. And the brisk tor makes telling comments on the rise of goings-on never get tedious. a working-class whose moralities are conThis enjoyable film is a surprise. stantly challenged flexed and dilated.

It sparkles with original wit directed The film has a very original and at lives that would have been truly provocative story to tell. It tells it with sad if they weren’t so funny.

IANS warm and intelligence. The mirthful

Quirky, I original and HEARTWARMING

A J n i

T

CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

23

CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

24

25

CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

SAMUEL L JACKSON finds another comic book movie to villainise

S

uperhero-movie actor and sometimes-other-kinds-of-movies actor Samuel L Jackson is joining The Secret Service. The adaptation of Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar’s comic will star Colin Firth as a James Bond-ish hero; Jackson will play the baddie, just like he did in Unbreakable and Jumper. Variety reports that director Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class, Layer Cake) also approached Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio for the role.

NOT SO

BLUE

AFTER ALL As animated fare goes, we’ve gone from the unnecessary-but-charming Monsters University to the derivative, mediocre Turbo to...this.

C

ontinuing his streak of family-friendly comedies that began with 2004’s Scooby Doo, Raja Gosnell returns with four of the original’s writers — plus one new addition — with the evil wizard Gargamel (a decidedly over- the-top Hank Azaria) plotting yet again to use the Smurfs in some dastardly scheme to rule the world.

Unfolding a number of years after the former film, Gargamel has since become a magic-show sensation at the Paris Opera House, enchanting his audience of humans with his tricks born of Smurf essence. But that essence is running out, and the fauxSmurfs known as the ‘Naughties’ — made up of the grey-skinned Vexy (Christina Ricci) and Hackus (JB Smoove) — he created are not only not able to give him the essence he needs, they need it to stay alive.

So yet again, Gargamel is after the Smurfs, or more specifically, the only female of their species Smurfette (Katy Perry), who was in fact Gargamel’s evil creation until she was turned blue and good

by Papa Smurf (Johnathan Winters in what became his final role). Smurfette is kidnapped across dimension by Vexy on her birthday, with Papa, Clumsy (Anton Yelchin), Grouchy (George Lopez) and Vanity (John Oliver) in hot pursuit to rescue her.

Rather than look for new human companions for help, the quartet once again turn to Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) and Grace (Jayma Mays), who promptly pack their bags in New York and head to Paris.

The increasingly frenetic plot juggles a couple of parallel story lines — including Vexy’s attempt to get Smurfette to hand over the formula by playing family with her, Patrick’s daddy issues with his genial stepfather Victor (Brendan Gleeson) who gets unfortunately turned into a duck

MOVIE : Smurfs 2

CAST : Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Brendon Gleeson

DIRECTOR : Raja Gosnell

by Gargamel halfway through the movie, and of course the Smurfs’ race against time to get to Smurfette before she reverts to her former devilish ways.

As you can already tell, Papa-hood figures as one of the key themes in the movie, with Papa Smurf ’s doubts about his parenting abilities mirrored by Patrick’s strained ties with Victor. Interestingly, instead of the normal parentchild relationship, both portrayed here are about that between stepfathers and their children, a somewhat interesting twist given the state of reconstituted families today.

Hank Azaria is the highlight as the evil Gargamel with great delivery of funny lines. He’s ably assisted in providing comedy by Brendan Gleeson and, to a lesser extent, by Neil Patrick Harris.

Jonathan Winters is, surprisingly, unfunny. But, that’s okay. He is Papa Smurf, the straight-man in Smurf village.

It’s just too bad what may be his last film doesn’t give us one more chance to experience his wit.

The plot is marginally improved over the first, as the kidnapping of Smurfette adds a dash of pathos that was sorely lacking in the first tale. The stakes are higher than ever and despite some blunders and missteps along the way, The Smurfs 2 IMDB delivers.

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg talk 2 Guns and bonding in a Winnebago

I

n the new Universal Pictures movie, 2 Guns, the audience gets to watch as Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg play undercover agents betrayed at every turn.

The two men find that they have no one they can go to for help, maybe not even each other. It is a buddy cop action comedy where the dynamic between the two men is crucial. So, just how close are Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg? Well, in our interview with them, Wahlberg insists that if Washington had invited to drive around in a Winnebago through Arizona so that they could bond prior to making the movie, he would have gone. We don’t know if that’s really true, but if our time with the men showed us anything, it’s that they are undeniably comfortable with each other off screen, something they certainly brought on screen for the film. Says Wahlberg, “The whole movie lives and dies on the chemistry between the two guys.”

26

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

SUDOKU

THOUGHT OF THE DAY The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.

– Frank Lloyd Wright

KAKURO

How to play kakuro

SCRIBBLING PAD

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.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Punches for practice 6 Resistance units 10 Certain wise men 14 Hawaii island 15 Be a sore loser, in a way 16 Basic elemental unit 17 ‘The Sopranos’ restaurateur 18 Letters for an ex-superpower 19 Shaped meat dish 20 Facilitates at the dental office?

23 Copious quantity 24 Material measure 25 Talk at length 28 Alone, at the prom 31 Gold purity unit 34 Square footage 36 Significant time spans 38 ‘Cross my heart!’

40 Dentists’ chairs?

43 Pretend to have, as an illness 44 Lustrous gem 45 Ten inside two pumps?

46 Navel orange’s lack 48 One looking down on others 50 Anti-drug spot, perhaps (Abbr) 51 Preconception 53 A Beatty of films 55 Uses for support, as a wall 61 Dog’s tiny tormentor 63 Omani money 64 Father, Son and Holy Ghost, eg 65 Rajah’s mate 66 University founder Cornell 67 Wrinkly citrus fruits 68 Acronym for an oil-rich group 69 Frat’s nemesis, maybe 70 Henhouse sounds DOWN 1 Thick slice 2 Young salmon

3 In opposition 4 Police actions 5 Military blockades 6 Numbered musical piece 7 Party thrower 8 Full of smooching and such 9 Run in the altogether 10 Awkward 11 Straddling 12 Make a little ___ long way 13 Global financial org 21 All finished, as dinner 22 Eighteenth US president 25 Barbed spear 26 ‘The Ram’ 27 Contradict 29 2012 film about hostages 30 Abrupt inhalations

32 Knock for ___ (surprise) Teasdale 33 Pitchfork projections 57 Country singer Jackson 35 Type of math equation 58 A shade of green 37 Musial of the diamond 59 Use shears 39 She, in Rome 60 Trueheart of the comics 41 ‘The Jungle Book’ 61 Back from to setting 62 440 yards, to a track 42 Word with ‘move’ or runner ‘string’ PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER 47 Worthy of worship 49 Batter or battered 52 Jump on, as an opportunity 54 Mournful melody 55 ‘Stand By Me’ singer ___ King 56 ‘Love Songs’ poet

27

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

The Star

Queen of Pentacles

Seven of Wands

Three of Swords

Five of Cups

Nine of Swords

W

W

ork – There is a possibility that you may be asked to take up a new assignment in an area that’s unfamiliar to you.

It may be challenging and worth your time.

Romance – Bring about some changes in the way you and your partner spend time. Keep the boredom away. Health – Take up newer exercises, like bench presses, pushups, etc., which you may have stayed away from. Yoga is a good, complete exercise that may suit you. Money – You are not short of money for all your needs.

However, you need to plan yourself better. Be prepared for unexpected expenses. Tarot message – Being too esoteric in your tastes will also take away from the practicality of your life.

W

ork – Keep emotions away from the work place. No point feeling strongly about something to do with the office. No one cares.

Romance – You have to reward yourself for being so understanding and compassionate in a relationship. Treat yourself. Health – Do not hide any medical issues you may be facing. Talk to your doctor openly, however minor the issue may seem to you. Money – You really have to save every little penny you make in order to survive the next few months. It is a tough time ahead for you. Tarot message – Reach out to your network and ask them for help. You have to learn to network better.

W

W

W

ork – Someone from your former organisation gets in touch with you. This person will give you some leads on jobs. Take his/her suggestion. Romance – There is something unpleasant you get to know about your partner.

It is deeply disturbing.

Confront your partner about it. Health – You may come across a new health regimen, which is what you need exactly.

Try it out. Money – Get more involved with money and manage your finances better. To leave the bank balance alone, hoping it’ll all work out, is not a good idea. Tarot message – You attend a demonstration and are inspired to try a new way of living. No harm in trying.

ork – Someone is going to lord over you, and you just have to accept it. It is not going to be easy. Romance – Getting too mechanical in your romance will just kill the feeling. Be more spontaneous and fun-loving. Health – Create a module and stick to it, if you want to get better health.

Maintaining your weight and eating healthy should be your priority.

Money – You may hear of many different investment plans from people around you. These people may or may not have your best interests in mind. Tarot message – Soldier on. Do not stop for anything, no matter what someone says.

Always believe in your own abilities.

ork – You have to lower your standards of what to expect from a new assignment.

The client looks eager to spend, but they may not.

Romance – Do not allow your relationship to rot.

Do fun things together and talk about everything openly so there are no issues. Health – You may want to cry about something. It may be cathartic to do that. Do not hesitate to have a good cry once in a while.

Money – You have to be cold and calculative while dealing with money. Do not depend on your emotions. Tarot message – There are going to be many changes in the coming year. You need to plan for the next phase of your life.

ork – It seems like you come across a particular type of boss no matter how many jobs you change. Maybe you need to see it differently.

Romance – A long drive and seeing a new place together will rekindle the romance. You also discover new things about each other. Health – You will not be eighteen till you die. So you better start taking care of your health. Sooner the better. Money – Hold on to the savings and do not be rash in your spending, putting it away on a whim for something extravagant and luxurious. Tarot message – You begin to see life more clearly if you remove the rose-tinted glasses. Not everything is as it’s presented to you.

SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

Libra

Scorpio

King of Swords

Six of Wands

W

ork – You have the tendency to give age a lot of importance. But times are changing.

Youngsters today have many resources to make the most of their talent.

Romance – Stay in tune with your partner’s feelings. He/she may not be telling you everything but expecting you to be sensitive to their needs. Health – You will feel great about your mental health if you indulge in some charity and philanthropic work.

Start on it immediately.

Money – Take care of your credit and debit cards. If you are finding it very hard to manage them, then get rid of them. Tarot message – Take up a new hobby. Learning something new will also change your perspective to life.

ork – Do not hold on to a petty argument or fight. There is no point in taking it forward. Just drop it and move on.

Romance – Your partner can act as a great adviser to you. This person knows you better than you know yourself. Health – Someone in your close circles is getting married and this is bothering you.

Clear the air about what you know, and think.

Money – You are doing quite well, financially. Just maintain your thrifty ways and you should be able to reach all your goals. Tarot message – You have to get into prevention mode.

There’s no point always finding out what the cure is when you could have well prevented the situation.

W

Sagittarius Knight of Wands

W

ork –Housekeeping is very important. Take a backup of all your individual work at regular intervals so that you are in a position to build your work portfolio. Romance – Do fun things together with your partner or your potential partner. Go fishing, read for each other, watch fun movies together, etc.

Health – Strong belief in your ability to overcome the odds will work in your favour. You need to be more trusting of yourself and others. Money – It’s difficult to have confidence that an investment plan someone is talking about will be worth your while. Check it out fully before putting your money on it. Tarot message – There is a rawness to your emotions.

Evolve with time, and grow.

Capricorn

Date 4-8-2013

Aquarius

The Wheel of Fortune

The Sun

W

ork – A narrow viewpoint of things is not going to help you. You will have to see things from the larger perspective and allow others to make their point. Romance – You may experience some strain in close, romantic relationships. Do not react harshly to anything. Let things go as they’re going.

Health – There may be slight variations in your health. Keep weight in check and take the doctor’s advise seriously.

Money – You have to create very strict boundaries for spending. These fences will help you manage work and life better. Tarot message – Practice the art of living in the ‘now’. You have to make more effort to forget the past and move on.

ork – Learn to give up thinking “what’s in it for me” every time you are given an assignment by your seniors.

Romance – The problem may be that you are measuring a close romantic relationship in terms of give and take. This is not a business deal. Health – Excess stress is leading to a lot of your problems.

Give yourself a lot of room to rest and relax.

Don’t tax your body and mind. Money – You need to work harder to fix matters of finance. Do not be impetuous in your spending habits. Tarot message – Your personal equations with those who matter in your inner circle of life will determine how your life goes in the coming year.

W

Pisces The Chariot

W

ork – Work harder to be a team player and get greater compatibility with your colleagues and peers. You cannot work in isolation. Romance – Find ways to seek out entertainment together. By doing fun things together, you keep the magic alive and be more attractive to your partner. Health – You have been holding something within you for a long time.

Talk about it with the person concerned and forgive, forget and move on.

Money – Time is ticking.

Plan well and start on your investment plan at the earliest. The sooner you do it, the better. Tarot message – Focus on the more humane emotions of love, compassion, peace and community. Think positive thoughts.

Vol: 3, No 14 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-40672222, Fax: 040-40672211

28

THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

IN THE NEWS

sidered to be part of which continent?

11. Poseidon was the Greek god of what?

12. Tony Stark is played by which actor in the movie Iron Man? 13. Which plant is used as a symbol in Buddhism?

14. What fruit topping would you find on a Hawaiian pizza?

15. What does the E in E=mc2 stand for?

16. Who is David Beckham?

17. What colour is the result of mixing blue and yellow paint?

18. What product do women use to make their eyelashes look darker?

19. In what year was fashion designer Guccio Gucci born?

Answers

their what?

6. For how many years was Caligula the Roman emperor?

7. What is the maximum age that a teenager can be?

8. How many kilometers long is the Ob river in Russia?

9. How many players are there in a beach volleyball team?

10. The United Kingdom is con-

1. Ramesh 2. four 3. Alexander Fleming 4. 12 5. feet 6. 4 7. 19 8. 3,650 9. 2 10. Europe 11. Sea 12. Robert Downey Junior 13. Lotus 14. Pineapple 15. Energy 16. football player 17. Green 18. Mascara 19. 1881

1. What is the middle name of Sachin Tendulkar?

2. How many times has Australia have won the ICC Cricket World Cup since its inception?

3. Who discovered the penicillin?

4. Yuvraj Singh scored his fastest half-century in 2007 ICC T 20 World Cup in how many balls?

5. Elephants can hear through

TEST YOURSELF

IDENTIFY THESE RICHEST, LIVING MONARCHS

CURRENT AFFAIRS

1 2 3 4

EADS, the parent company of Airbus, is to be renamed as what?

1

2

Do you remember these famous equations you learned in school?

US scientists announced that theyhave been successfully able to grow a body part from a patient's cells. What body part is it?

1 2

More than 1,700 cases involving abusive messages sent online or via text message reached which courts?

3

Pythagorean Theorem a² +b² = ?

Newton's law of motion F=M x ?

An American teenager slashed six seconds off the world record to win gold in the women's 1,500 metres freestyle at the world championships in Barcelona. Who is she?

5

Thailand's 85-year-old King who is also the world's longest-reigning monarch, will be leaving the Bangkok hospital where he has been for almost four years to live at his palace by the sea. What is his name?

The origin of complex numbers i² = ?

4

Einstein's theory of relativity E= m x ?

5 3

4

The logarithm and its identities log xy = log x + ?

6

Euler's formula for polyhedra F-E+V=?

7 8

The definition of Pi π =?

1. Airbus Group 2. Human ear 3. English and Welsh courts 4. Katie Ledecky 5. King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Linear Systems Ax = ?

Answers 1. c² 2. a 3. -1 4. c² 5. log y 6. 2 7. c/d 8. b

KNOW YOUR COUNTRY

What region is being declared the 29th state?

This is not just to warn or scare. What else does it depict?

Answer for 77:

3

with Santosh Ghule

WHO AM I? I am a 2009-batch IAS officer who was suspended last month for taking on a sand mafia. I have been invited by The Arvind Kejriwalled Aam Admi Party (AAP).

Who am I?

Answer : Durga Shakti Nagpal

A bollywood actor spends whopping `80,000 on a customised bar. Who is he?

Elaborately painted lips.

2

PICTURE PUZZLE 78

Answers:

India's numero uno snooker player has clinched the gold medal in the World Games after beating China's Liang Wenbo in the final of the quadrennial event at Cali, Columbia. Who is he?

Answers: 1. King of Thailand: Bhumibol Adulyadej 2.Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei 3. The Queen of England: Elizabeth II 4. Prince Albert II, Prince of Monaco

1

1. Aditya Mehta 2.Ranbir Kapoor 3.Telangana

Answers

29

SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

India target cleansweep

CBL launched in Hyderabad

Atapuma wins sixth stage

I

T

C

ndia will seek their first whitewash in a five-match one-day series away from home when they take on a ragged Zimbabwe side in the fifth one-day international at Queens Sports Club on Saturday. Although India have recorded three 5-0 series wins at home in the past five years they are yet to achieve the feat on foreign soil.

ech Mahindra Ltd. on Friday announced the launch of Corporate Badminton League (CBL) 2013, in association with the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy. Padma Shri Pullela Gopichand being one of the celebrated stars of the game, brings forth this initiative under the aegis of his Academy at Hyderabad.

olombian Darwin Atapuma climbed to victory on the sixth stage of the Tour of Poland on Friday after 190km around Bukowina Tatrzanska. Atapuma edged out Christophe Riblon by two seconds in a sprint for the line but the Frenchman’s consolation was taking over the leader’s yellow jersey from Spain’s Jon Izaguirre.

Lochte claims double gold

Kieran CANNING

Gyurta targets Yamaguchi record

BARCELONA: American star Ryan Lochte claimed two gold medals to take his career world championship tally to 15 as teammate Missy Franklin’s bid to win seven golds in Barcelona unravelled on Friday.

Lochte, swimming an unprecedented three times in the evening, first won the 200m backstroke before progressing to the final of the 100m butterfly and rounding the evening off with another gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

“I survived,” said the exhausted 28-year-old Lochte after a long but successful evening.

“I don’t know anyone in swimming that has done a triple in one night. No matter what the outcome was in the first and second race I had to pull it together for the team in the relay.

“When you get together for a relay, you don’t care about the pain you just have to get up there and do it for the other guys.”

Lochte’s feat was lauded by his American teammates and also by 200m butterfly world champion Chad Le Clos, who is aiming to beat the 28-year-old on

US swimmer Ryan Lochte competes in the final of the men’s 200-metre backstroke swimming event in the FINA World Championships at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona on Friday. Lochte won the event.

AFP/JOSEP LAGO Saturday after also qualifying for the 100m butterfly final.

“It is great what he is doing for the sport. It is good to show the youngsters that they should swim all the races because he is still able to do this at his age.”

There wasn’t to be a fifth

Ogier takes Finland lead JYVASKYLA: World championship leader Sebastien Ogier took charge of the Rally of Finland on Friday driving his Volkswagen to a 38-second lead over Belgian Thierry Neuville in a Ford.

Neuville had led overnight but, two stages from the end of the day, his Focus suffered a puncture.

He clung on to second place and has a 39-second advantage over Norway’s Mads Ostberg, also in a Ford.

RALLY OF FINLAND STANDINGS ON F RIDAY: 1. Sebastien Ogier (FRA/VW Polo-R) 1 h 38:34.7, 2. Thierry Neuville (BEL/Ford Fiesta RS) 38.1, 3. Mads Ostberg (NOR/Ford Fiesta RS) 39.0, 4. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN/Citroën DS3) 1:01.4, 5.

Kris Meeke (GBR/Citroën DS3) 1:33.2, 6. Jarkko Nikara (FIN/Mini Cooper) 2:18.6, 7. Dani Sordo (ESP/Citroën DS3) 2:45.0, 8. Jari Ketomaa (FIN/Ford Fiesta R5) 6:13.9, 9. Evgeny Novikov (RUS/Ford Fiesta RS) 6:38.5, 10. Robert Kubica (POL/Citroën DS3 RRC) 7:24.1

gold of the meet for Franklin though as she failed to even make the podium in the women’s 100m freestyle as Australia’s Cate Campbell claimed gold ahead of Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrum and Dutch Olympic champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo.

“It’s a strange feeling, it still hasn’t sunk in yet,” said a shocked Campbell who cried as she stood atop the podium.

“It’s strange to strive your whole life for something and then achieve it in under a minute!”

BARCELONA: Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta has targeted regaining the world record after winning the men’s 200m breaststroke for the third time in succession on Friday at the swimming world championships.

Gyurta, the Olympic champion, added to his 2009 and 2011 world titles in the event when he clocked a new championship record time of 2min 07.23sec in Barcelona with Germany’s Marco Koch second at 1.31 back and Finland’s Matti Mattsson 1.72 adrift in third.

Having won gold in the Olympic final with a then-world record time, Gyurta said his target now is Akihiro Yamaguchi’s world record of 2min 07.01sec, set by the Japanese teenager in September last AFP year.

Franklin meanwhile was philosophical about losing her unbeaten record in Barcelona — having pulled out of the 50m backstroke earlier in the week — and insisted she will challenge for gold in the 100m freestyle come the next Olympics in Rio.

Katie, Friis set for record clash BARCELONA: Sixteen-yearold American swimmer sensation Katie Ledecky (in pic) faces a familiar foe as she goes in search of a fourth world championship gold medal in the 800m freestyle on Saturday evening.

Ledecky smashed the world record in the women’s 1500m final on Wednesday to relegate Denmark’s Lotte Friis into second place despite the fact she too had bettered the previous world record held by Kate Ziegler.

The Olympic champion was again paired with Friis for Friday’s final heat of the 800m as the American looks to boost her collection of golds in Barcelona after also heading the podium in the 400m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay.

Ledecky again just pipped Friis to victory and looked remarkably fresh having sw-

um in the 4x200m relay final just over 12 hours previously.

“It’s just a matter of recovering well now and thankfully I have another 36 hours before I have to swim again,” she said.

“I just want to do my best and carry the momentum from the start of the week

into my final race.”

Another world record looks well within Ledecky’s reach as she was just 0.53 of a second behind Rebecca Adlington’s time from the Beijing Olympics five years ago when she stormed to victory at the American trials in Indianapolis last month.

And she is hoping to round off her amazing meet with another stellar performance. “I want to end on a bang so we’ll have to wait and see about the world record. I’ve set myself up well with that swim.”

Meanwhile, far from being weighed down by an exhausting schedule over the past week, Friis believes Ledecky’s youth will be an advantage as she looks to set another world record.

Friis had admitted to experiencing mixed emotions earlier in the week as world record breaking attempt was only enough to land her a silver medal. And after also claiming silver in the 800m at the world championships two years ago, she accepted that she might just be swimming for second place once more when she stands on the blocks on Saturday night. AFP

30

SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Del Potro up against Haas

Jim SLATER

WASHINGTON: Argentina’s top-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro booked a semi-final matchup against Germany’s Tommy Haas with a straight-set victory Friday over Kevin Anderson at the ATP and WTA Washington Open.

Seventh-ranked Del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner and the Washington champion in 2008 and 2009, beat the South African seventh seed 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 while third seed Haas ousted Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3).

“It’s a good opportunity to reach another final but I have to beat a very good player,” Del Potro said. “He’s playing good this season and he has got a lot of experience. I’ll try to play like today or even better.”

US eighth seed John Isner, who won his seventh career title last week in Atlanta, will face Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov in the other men’s semi-final at the $1.76 million hardcourt

Tommy Haas of Germany returns a shot to Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the ATP and WTA Washington Open on Friday.

AFP/MATTHEW STOCKMAN

event, a tuneup for the US Open.

Del Potro, in his first event since losing an epic Wimbledon semi-final to top-ranked Novak Djokovic, has won all four prior ATP matches against Haas without losing a set, including

a 2008 Washington semi-final and most recently in the round of 16 this year at Indian Wells.

“Del Potro is one opponent I despise playing in many ways,” Haas said. “He has given me a lot of trouble. And he has been playing terrific tennis.

“It’s going to be a challenge.

I hope I can mix it up, play aggressive and not give him too many points.”

Del Potro, who never faced a break point in the match, rolled through the first-set tiebreaker, winning it at love when Anderson netted a backhand.

That was part of a run of 15 points in a row by the South American, including the first six of the second set on his way to the first break of the match for a 2-0 lead.

Del Potro held serve to the finish, which came after one hour and 45 minutes on a service winner, and improved to 50 all-time against Anderson.

Meanwhile, women’s top seed Angelique Kerber of Germany was ousted by defending champion Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6 (7/0), 3-6, 6-3.

“I couldn’t find my rhythm at all,” Kerber said.

“It was not actually my game,” Kerber went on to add.

AFP

Isner, Tursunov in semis WASHINGTON: John Isner, seeking his second title in as many weeks, booked a semifinal matchup with Dmitry Tursunov on Friday at the $1.76 million ATP and WTA Washington Open.

US eighth seed Isner, who won last week in Atlanta, fired 18 aces to defeat Cyprus’ Marcos Baghdatis 6-7 (5/7), 64, 6-4 while Russia’s Tursunov outlasted Australia’s Marinko Matosevic 6-3, 4-6, 76 (7/4) in another quarterfinal at the hardcourt event.

“I was pretty confident even though I lost the first set,” Isner said. “I know I’m not going to win every tiebreaker. I was in a good rhythm and serving well.

“I wanted to make him beat me. I didn’t want to lose my mind out there and I held it together pretty well over the last two sets.” It will be the first ATP meeting for Tursunov and Isner, who is feeling confident three weeks AFP ahead of the US Open.

Duminy stars in South Africa victory COLOMBO: JP Duminy (right) starred with bat and ball as South Africa overcame Sri Lanka in an exciting 12-run victory in the first Twenty20 international in Colombo on Friday.

The tourists, restricted to a modest 115-6 after electing to bat, bounced back to stop Sri Lanka at 103-9 in front of a packed house of 30,000 at the Premadasa stadium.

Duminy top-scored with 51 off 52 balls to help the tourists recover from a poor start and then grabbed three wickets for 18 runs, earning himself the

Federer out of Montreal Masters PARIS: Roger Federer’s faltering season suffered another twist on Friday when he pulled out of next week’s Montreal Masters, a key warm-up for the US Open.

Federer, who is currently at five in the world, his lowest ranking for a decade, gave no reason for his withdrawal.

“I am disappointed not to be playing in Montreal next week. It is a great tournament with amazing fans. I look forward to competing there in the future,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Federer was beaten in the first round at Gstaad last week by Germany’s Daniel Brands and admitted he had been suffering from back pain.

“I’ve had serious problems with the back, I had to get some anti-inflammatories last week in Hamburg due to the pain,” he said after his loss in AFP Switzerland.

man of the match award.

It was a morale-boosting win for South Africa over the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 side following an embarrassing 4-1 defeat in the last one-day series.

Kumar Sangakkara put up a fight for the hosts with an unbeaten 59 off 53 balls, but young opener Kusal Perera (11) was the only other batsman to reach double figures.

With 21 runs needed off the last two overs and three wickets in hand, left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell swung the game South Africa’s way by removing

Sachithra Senanayake and Lasith Malinga without conceding a run in the penultimate over.

Sangakkara hit two boundaries in Morne Morkel’s final over, but it was not enough to carry his team to victory.

Morkel and Parnell finished with two wickets each.

South Africa’s Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis was delighted by his team’s win.

“I am very chuffed and so proud of the boys,” he said.

“We were under pressure after the one-day series, but the

team showed great character tonight.

“The wicket was not easy to bat on, so I thought ours could be a good total. I told the boys that if we kept fighting, we could pull it off.”

Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal said that bad batting was what which cost his team the match.

“We bowled well, but then undid all the good work with some rash shots,” he said.

“But there are still two more games to go and we will look to come back strongly,” he added.

Tiger leads WGC by seven

AKRON: World number one Tiger Woods matched the low round of his career with a nine-under-par 61 Friday to seize a seven-stroke lead after the second round of the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational. Woods, playing his final tuneup for next week’s last major tournament of the year at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, fired an eagle and seven birdies to finish 36 holes on 13-under 127.

“I’m very happy I was able to post that,” Woods said. “I just kept thinking, whatever lead I had, let’s just keep increasing it. It’s at seven now so that’s not too bad after two days.”

Woods matched the Firestone Country Club course record of 61 he posted in 2000, when he won by 11 strokes with a record-low 72 hole total of 21 under par, and flirted with breaking the PGA record-low of

Tiger Woods hits off the 14th tee during the Second Round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club South Course on Friday.

AFP/SAM GREENWOOD 59 before settling for par on each of the final five holes.

“Disappointed? Absolutely not,” Woods said. “A 61 is pretty good. I’m not bummed.”

England’s Chris Wood and American Keegan Bradley shared second on 134 after each fired a 68. Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and American Bill

Haas are fourth on 135.

Aside from two at Firestone, Woods fired his other 61s at the 1999 Byron Nelson Championship and the 2005 Buick Open. Woods, a four-time winner this year and a seventime winner of events at Firestone, opened with birdie and then eagled the par-5 second with a 20-foot putt and birdied the third.

After a birdie at the par-3 seventh, Woods caught fire with a run of four gains in a row to open the back nine before parring his way to the clubhouse.

Woods missed birdie putts of 10 feet at the 15th and seven feet at the 17th hole but only saved par at the 18th with a 25-foot putt after a woeful drive.

Sending a signal his game was in fine shape entering the year’s final major, the 14-time major champion needed only 22 AFP putts.

URN

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

IT

31

ASHES 2013

Siddle adds to England agony Peter Siddle took two wickets shortly before stumps on Day two of the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford to cement a strong Australia position built by captain Michael Clarke’s 187.

Julian Guyer

Score board

MANCHESTER: Peter Siddle took two wickets shortly before stumps on the second day of the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford to cement a strong Australia position built by captain Michael Clarke’s 187.

At Friday’s close Ashes-holders England were 52 for two in reply to Australia’s first innings 527 for seven declared, a deficit of 475 runs, in a match the tourists, 2-0 down with three to play, had to win to stand any chance of regaining the urn.

England captain Alastair Cook, dropped on 15, was 36 not out and Jonathan Trott two not out after Clarke, whose innings was his highest against England, enterprisingly declared not long after tea.

Aggressive seamer Siddle was, surprisingly, the fifth of five bowlers deployed by Clarke.

But he responded by taking two wickets for two runs in 12 balls.

Siddle removed Joe Root, fresh from his 180 in England’s crushing 347-run second Test win at Lord’s, with the opener caught behind for a painstaking eight off 57 balls.

He then had nightwatchman Tim Bresnan well held by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Replays showed Bresnan hadn’t made contact, the ball hitting his trousers, but, following consultation with Cook, there

Australia’s Peter Siddle (R) celebrates after claiming the wicket of England’s Tim Bresnan during Day two of the third AFP/ANDREW YATES Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Friday. was no review.

“Bres thought he hit it, he heard a little noise and assumed it was an edge. So he walked,” explained Graeme Swann, who led England’s attack with five wickets for 159 runs in 43 overs — the 17th ‘five for’ of the offspinner’s 55-Test career.

Australia came into this match on the back of six straight Test defeats — their worst run since 1984.

Star batsman Clarke, rather like Allan Border at the start of the Australia great’s captaincy career in the mid-1980s, has often had to compensate for the

weaknesses of his top-order colleagues. Yet his Test-best against England was also his 10th century in 27 Tests as captain, with his average as skipper of 65.15 well above his career mark of 52.52.

“All the boys should be really proud to make over 500 and then

Oz press rejoice with England on back foot SYDNEY: Australia’s cricket writers on Saturday finally had something to cheer as Michael Clarke’s tourists turned the screws in the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford.

Paceman Peter Siddle took two wickets shortly before stumps on the second day to cement a strong Australia position built by captain Clarke’s 187.

At Friday’s close Ashes-holders England were 52 for two in reply to Australia’s first innings 527 for seven declared, a deficit of 475 runs in a match the tourists — 2-0 down with three to play — had to win to stand any chance of regaining the urn.

Coming after the humiliation of Australia’s 347-run defeat in the second Lord’s Test, the country’s newspapers took heart as the Baggy Greens had England on the back foot.

“Suddenly England is rediscover-

ing how jittery Ashes cricket can be after Australia turned the screws on the second day of the Old Trafford Test,” The Australian’s Wayne Smith said.

AUSTRALIA’S CRICKET WRITERS FINALLY HAD SOMETHING TO CHEER AS MICHAEL CLARKE’S TOURISTS TURNED THE SCREWS IN THE THIRD ASHES TEST. “At no stage in the series so far has England been placed under sustained pressure from Michael Clarke’s side but they were today and they didn’t handle it with any aplomb at all.”

Fairfax Media’s Chris Barrett said England’s “bellyaching laughter” was on hold for the time being.

“Michael Clarke said he knew he would be ridiculed when he claimed Australia could still win the Ashes.

Sneering smiles haven’t been completely removed from faces yet, but the bellyaching laughter is on hold for the time being,” he said.

“Clarke’s highest score on foreign soil and first century at No.4, capped off by Peter Siddle’s double blow late in the day, enhanced Australia’s grip on the third Test as the captain’s 187 helped keep England in the field for nearly two days.”

Ashes villain David Warner came in for some stick, with the Daily Telegraph’s Malcolm Conn saying the explosive batsman’s brief innings and a wasteful review contrasted with the imposing knock by Clarke.

Australia 1st Innings (overnight: 303-3) S Watson c Cook b Bresnan 19 C Rogers lbw b Swann 84 U Khawaja c Prior b Swann 1 M Clarke b Broad 187 S Smith c Bairstow b Swann 89 D Warner c Trott b Swann 5 B Haddin not out 65 P Siddle b Swann 1 M Starc not out 66 Extras (lb 6, w 2, nb 2) 10 Total (7 wkts, 146 overs) 527dec Bowling: Anderson 33-6-116-0; Broad 33-6-108-1; Bresnan 326-114-1; Swann 43-2-159-5; Root 4-0-18-0; Trott 1-0-6-0; England 1st Innings A Cook not out 36 J Root c Haddin b Siddle 8 T Bresnan c Haddin b Siddle 1 J Trott not out 2 Extras (lb 4, nb 1) 5 Total (2 wkts, 30 overs) 52 Bowling: Harris 5-1-12-0; Starc 5-2-8-0; Lyon 10-4-21-0; Watson 5-5-0-0; Siddle 5-1-7-2; come back out in the field and get some early wickets,” Clarke said. “How good was my innings? Ask me in three more days. If we win then it’s a good innings. If not, it’s a waste of time. It is always nice to make a big hundred but we’ve got three AFP more tough days to go.”

32

SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2013

Barcelona destroy Santos

Brazilian international Neymar and new manager Gerardo Martino got their first taste of the Camp Nou as Barcelona thrashed Santos 8-0 to lift the Joan Gamper trophy.

BARCELONA: Brazilian international Neymar and new manager Gerardo Martino got their first taste of the Camp Nou on Friday as Barcelona destroyed Santos 8-0 to lift the Joan Gamper trophy.

The Brazilians were confirmed for the annual glamour friendly as part of the transfer agreement that saw Neymar move to the Catalan giants in June. But they were hopelessly exposed by a strong Barca side as two goals from Cesc Fabregas, allied to further strikes from Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez, Pedro, Adriano, Jean Marie Dongou and an own goal from Leo made it a comfortable evening for the hosts.

However, the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Neymar when he made his bow at half-time and the 21-year-old made a positive impression despite failing to get on the scoresheet himself as he teed up Fabregas’ second and Barca’s sixth of the night 20 minutes from time.

“I am not too worried about not scoring,” Neymar told Catalan TV station TV3.

Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (R) celebrates his goal with Barcelona’s midfielder Sergio Busquets (L) and teammates during the 48th Joan Gamper Trophy match against Santos on Friday.

AFP/JOSE JORDAN “It is just great to be here playing for Barcelona and to play with players like Xavi, Cesc and Messi.”

Martino, who has succeeded

cancer-stricken Tito Vilanova, named a strong side on his own first home outing as the club’s new boss with the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Serio Busquets

Bale bid makes ‘joke’ of financial rules: Wenger LONDON: Arsenal man-

WENGER CLAIMS THE BID TO SIGN BALE FOR AROUND £85 MILLION WOULD MAKE FUN OF UEFA’S FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY RULES.

Boggle

teams like Manchester City and Paris Saint German who have been taken over by wealthy Middle Eastbased owners.

“It makes a joke of it.

It’s quite amazing that in the year where the Financial Fair Play comes in, the football world has gone completely crazy,” Wenger said on Friday.

“You wonder what kind of impact and effect it has on the football world. It looks like it has made everybody worse than before.”

If Bale does leave Tottenham, it would be something of a boost for Arsenal, who were in direct competition with their north London rivals for a place in the Champions League last season. AFP

ARK RAFT FERRY KAYAK BARGE CANOE

Suduko

Scrabble

SOLUTIONS

Number game

ager Arsene Wenger (in pic) claims Real Madrid’s bid to sign Gareth Bale from Tottenham for around £85 million ($129 million, 97 million euros) would make a mockery of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.

Real are reported to be willing to pay a world record fee, shattering the previous £80 million mark the Spanish giants paid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, to lure Wales winger Bale from White Hart Lane.

But Wenger feels such a huge outlay would go completely against the new regulations from European football’s governing body, which are aimed at making sure all clubs balance the books, while also curtailing the massive spending of

and Dani Alves starting for the first time in pre-season following their participation in the Confederations Cup. It didn’t take the hosts long

to get into their stride though as Pedro fed Messi to fire home the opener from a tight angle after just eight minutes.

Leo could then only turn a dangerous cross from Alves into his own net three minutes later and Barca were three up inside 22 minutes when Messi unselfishly set up Sanchez to roll the ball just inside the far corner.

Pedro made it four just moments later when he turned home Jordi Alba’s low cross and with the game comfortably sewn up Martino made eight changes at half-time.

Fabregas was one of those introduced at the break and he made it five just seven minutes after the restart with a composed finish from Sanchez’s pass.

Neymar then made his presence felt against his old club with a nicely weighted cut-back that Fabregas side-footed home before Adriano fired a 20-yard screamer into the far corner.

And Fabregas was involved again as he presented 18-year-old Dongou with an open goal to round off the scoring seven minAFP utes from time.

Thousands bid farewell to Benitez QUITO: Thousands of fans filed past the coffin of Ecuadoran football hero Christian Benitez for a statesman-like farewell in Quito on Friday after an autopsy confirmed he had died of heart failure in Qatar. The 27-year-old striker, who was eyeing next year’s World Cup, died suddenly after his first game with Qatari club El-Jaish last Sunday, shocking fans as far away as Mexico, where he played for Club America last season.

THOUSANDS OF FANS FILED PAST THE COFFIN OF

ECUADORAN FOOTBALL HERO CHRISTIAN BENITEZ FOR A STATESMAN-LIKE FAREWELL IN QUITO. His family wept as thousands of people stood in line to enter a sports arena where the man affectionately known as “Chucho” was lying in a glass-top coffin, partly covered by the Ecuadoran national flag.

Before the funeral, his body underwent a second autopsy at the request of his wife and family, amid suspicion that he was not given adequate attention at a Qatari hospital after he complained of abdominal pains. Luis Chiriboga, president of the Ecuadoran Football Federation, said the examination concluded that

Fans of deceased footballer Christian Benitez line up to pay their last respects to the player during his funeral in Quito, on Friday. Benitez died suddenly in Qatar on Monda.

AFP/RODRIGO BUENDIA Benitez was “destined to die” due to a coronary problem that “could only be detected after his death.” El-Jaish had declared on Wednesday that an autopsy found that the sudden death was caused by heart failure.

His aunt, Brenda Benitez, told AFP that the new autopsy was requested “in order for the country to have clarity, for the speculation to stop. AFP