Epaper 06 july 2013 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS, INTO THE LIMELIGHT Zynga launched Hidden Shadows — their first game that was completely developed by their studio in Bangalore — last week. Postnoon speaks to Sumit Mehra, general manager of the game to understand more about it and Zynga’s work in India. PG 12

WOMEN POWER TO THE FORE IN LOCAL POLLS

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 28°C

Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

JULY 6, 2013 HYDERABAD

THE DESIGN OF SUCCESS

Anushree Reddy's career as a fashion designer was a success from the word go. After her first stint at LFW’s Talent Box, she became a name to reckon with. The designer opens up about her journey and much more. PG 18

32 PAGES

ON SATURDAY

While this is being generally regarded as a step in the right direction, the issue of neonatal care in the City still remains a cause for concern. REPORT ON PG 5

AT LAST, A FULLY EQUIPPED

NEONATAL CARRIAGE

PAGE TWO SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

PUTTING THEIR BEST FOOT FORWARD

Discount offer Walk in to any Global Desi store and avail an exciting discount ranging from 20% all the way up to 50% on apparel and accessories from their latest spring – summer collection. tÜÉêÉW=Global Desi tÜÉåW From July 2

Up for grabs Turquoise & Gold is presenting an exclusive collection of contemporary resort wear and party gowns. tÜÉêÉW=Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Banjara Hills tÜÉåW July 6 and 7 `çåí~ÅíW 6733 1133

Sale begins AND is back with its much awaited end of season sale for its spring — summer collection. Discounts range from 20-50 per cent. tÜÉêÉW=All exclusive AND outlets and multi-brand outlets.

Dressed in saris of vibrant hues, students of St Francis College are all smiles as they strike a pose during the Fresher’s party held at the college campus on Friday. tÜÉåW July 7, 7.30pm `çåí~ÅíW 83411-20303

On display Waterscapes, a photography and painting exhibition is conducted in the City. tÜÉêÉW=The Muse Art Gallery, Hyderabad Marriott and Convention Centre tÜÉåW Till July 7, 6 pm `çåí~ÅíW +91-40-27522999

Banjara Hills tÜÉåW Till July 15 `çåí~ÅíW +91-040-6629 3306

`çåí~ÅíW Sunil Kumar M / Sarodhya Yadav - 040- 40140753/ 9866520337/ 8686080577

Just for fun

Weekend workshop

History of India Viritten will be performed by stand-up comedian Vir Das. tÜÉêÉW=N-Convention, Madhapur tÜÉåW July 27 `çåí~ÅíW 8790432354

Oakridge International Schools to host weekend experiential learning workshops — ‘Weekend Voyager’. tÜÉêÉW=Oakridge Gachibowli and Bachupally campuses. tÜÉåW Every Saturday, 9am to 12pm `çåí~ÅíW 1800-200-8171 tÉÄëáíÉW www.oakridge.in

Word club A fun workshop for kids above the age of 8 will be organised. tÜÉêÉW=Just books, Jubilee Hills. tÜÉåW Every Sunday, 10am to 12pm `çåí~ÅíW 9849748117

Street food fest A street food festival will be organised. tÜÉêÉW=MoMo Café at Courtyard by Marriott tÜÉåW July 5 to 14

Freezing a moment Zoom in Zoom: A Collection is on display. tÜÉêÉW=Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills tÜÉåW Till July 15, 11 am to 7 pm

My freedom story

Play pursuits Silence Please, a comedy play by Samahaara Workshop Production will be staged. tÜÉêÉW=Lamakaan, Banjara Hills

CINEMAS

Culinary Journey Exotic biriyanis of India on offer. tÜÉêÉW=Firdaus, Taj Krishna,

Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil in association with Red FM is organising a contest called 'My Freedom Story’. Participants can register by sending an SMS to Red FM in the format RED <space>HY<space>FREEDOM to 58585. They will get a call from Red FM for their story.

One-day photography workshop. tÜÉêÉW=Photriya Professional Studios, Madhapur tÜÉåW July 7, 3-7pm `çåí~ÅíW 6524-3029, www.photriya.com

Art attack Aakar Art academy is conducting a painting workshop for kids above the age of 4. tÜÉêÉW=Just Books, Jubilee Hills tÜÉåW Every Friday and Saturday, Friday - 4 to 5.30pm

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

CITY SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Mopidevi family joins YSRC

PM slammed over gas scam

Phone for prisoners

ormer minister Mopidevi Venkataramana’s brother Harinath, son Rajiv, and other family members and followers joined the YSR Congress in the presence of party’s honorary president Vijayamma on Friday. Harinath has alleged that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy sent his brother to jail simply because he belonged to a backward community.

PI State secretary Dr K Narayana has accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of keeping mum on the `1 lakh crore scam on Krishna-Godavari gas basin that involved Reliance Co. He alleged that the whole of Congress was dancing to the tune of Reliance company for obvious reasons and the prime minister was probably helpless.

eputy inspector-general of jails department Chandrasekhar on Friday inaugurated a telephone booth in Chanchalguda Central Jail in order to enable the prisoners to talk to their family members. The phone will enable prisoners to talk with their family members twice a week for about five minutes. Superintendent Saidaiah other officials were present.

Women power to the fore in local polls Women will outnumber men when it comes to casting votes this elections. Fact sheet Md INKESHAF AHMED

ahmed.m@postnoon.com

he forthcoming local body polls in AP will see the embodiment of women empowerment. Perhaps this will be the cherished moment in history when women of the State outnumber men in casting their votes in the panchayat elections. According to the official statistics released by the AP State Election Commission on Wednesday, the total number of women voters is 1,97,52,741. Male voters stand at 1,96,49,114. Women voters outnumber their counterparts by 1,03,627. Apart from this, the village panchayat elections will also see 50 per cent of the total village panchayats reserved for women of the State. It means a total of 10,746 village panchayats out of a total of 21,496 will see the

Total number of male voters

1,96,49,114 Total number of female voters

1,97,52,714

THE POLS WILL ALSO WITNESS THE ELECTION OF 1,03,789 WOMEN WARD MEMBERS ACROSS THE STATE.

election of women as the head of their villages. The local body elections will also witness the election of 1,03,789 women ward members across the State.

C ATEGORISATION

TOO HELPS

The categorisation of village

panchayats as per existing castes viz SC, ST and BC, are also helping in unanimous elections of many women as village heads. This happens due to the lack of eligible candidates as per the categorisation of the village panchayats.

EC makes faux pas? Postnoon News

feedback@postnoon.com

as the State Election Commission (SEC) committed a faux pas? TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu believes it did. Fixing a common date for receiving nominations (July 9) for a three-phased panchayat polls is untenable. But SEC assistant secretary GV Saiprasad said the notification was issued as per the convention followed since 1995. Naidu urged the SEC to reconsider the gram panchayat election schedule of July 3 and issue a revised notification duly fixing separate schedule for the nomination and election process for the second and third phases of gram panchayats. The nomination process for the three phases of gram panchayat elections should be notified separately, duly fixing the period between publication of the list of contesting candidates and the polling day uniformly for all the three phases. Date of receipt of nominations was fixed as July 9 for all the three phases though polling is to be held on July 23 for the first phase, July 27 for the second phase and July 31 for the last phase. Apart from impropriety of the system, it may also lead to prolonged law and order problem in the villages.

The many avatars of con artistes Mohd Subhan

mohd.s@postnoon.com

yderabad has of late seen some novel methods of cheating where hundreds of innocent people get duped of their money and valuables while police make no concerted efforts to pin down criminals and get them stern conviction. The latest in the series of deception has been the ‘safari gang,’ so named because they come clad in safari suits to give them an official air. They usually come in pairs. They would approach elderly women, tell them snatchers are around and suggest taking their gold chains off. As some women took off their gold chains, the safari gang would snatch it and

sprint to the bike parked nearby. By the time people gather, the safari man is far away. Film, the eternal attraction for many, has come in handy for some unscrupulous people to fleece reel-stuck businessman to ‘invest’ in the forthcoming film billed to be a mega-hit. A businessman, Srinivas Reddy, lost `11 lakh recently to a duo who convinced him that a masala film, Guntur Mirchi, was in the making and he could have a piece of glory at a cost. The duo disappeared with their harvested mirchi. A four-member gang went around collecting a neat sum a few months ago from scores of people across the State. Their idea was offering gold jewellery at 10-20 per cent less than the market value. To a couple of

people in a locality, they would sell genuine gold to earn their trust and then would distribute imitation gold and disappear.

In this manner, the gang is said to have duped people of `12 crore. One Jonagiri Aruna Reddy is said to lead the gang. Gold polishing is an old game where conmen and women would approach housewives and say they would shine gold for a nominal fee. They would either bunk with the gold or grind the ornaments in a chemical solution that takes off some gold. Fake certificates of various universities is another trick. One Bonu Shankar Rao of Vijayanagaram came out with the idea of fake certificates. He formed a gang and made a pile before falling in the hands of the police early this year. G Nagendra Prasad of Nalgonada’s only asset was his good physique and a matching

wit. He came out to fleece many people posing as a reserve inspector working with CMO. He had in a few months duped 40 youths with fake appointments and collected a neat sum but was finally trapped. Nigerian lottery has African youths as villains. They would approach the gullible with the news that they have won a lottery online and would ask for a nominal sum for processing and commission. An African con that operated in Delhi and Hyderabad got away with `36 lakh. Women posing as poor workers who had the great fortune to stumble on a gold biscuit could be met in bus stops where they talk about selling it at a lesser price. They ensure that there’s a gullible woman nearby.

CITY SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Basic need missing in public schools It may sound trivial but lack of toilets for public schools in the State, especially for girls, is leading to students dropping out. PADMINI C

padmini.c@postnoon.com

ast month, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy kicked off Vidya Pakshotvalu, a month-long Education Fortnight Celebration here, during which he laid foundations for new schools, inked welfare programmes for girl children, distributed uniforms and textbooks reportedly worth over `5,000 crore. The directive of the programme was to increase enrolment in government schools and tackle the issue of school dropouts. But despite all the fanfare and tall claims, the longstanding issue of girl children dropping out of schools due to lack of toilets still remains unsolved. In fact, it never gained official importance. “This year, I moved my daughter from a private school, which was charging a lot of money, to a government school. But she doesn’t want to go to school because they have no toilets. She has also cut down on drinking water because of this,”

N SHIVA KUMAR

laments Srinivasulu Boddam, a construction worker, whose children have enrolled in the newly constructed Government High school in Punjagutta. As toilets are under the purview of the Rural Water Supply (RWS), separate from the school construction authorities, the lack of co-ordination between them have resulted in many newly constructed schools already functioning while the toilets are still in the process of being built. “Where both are present, the

WHILE THE STATE CLAIMS TO RELEASE FUNDS TO APPOINT CLEANERS FOR MAINTENANCE OF TOILETS, THOSE IN THE SCHOOLS SAY IT’S NOT ENOUGH. toilets are not in working condition. If they are in working condition, there are water problems. In the rare event there is water, there is no one to maintain them. It is a problem of negligence that we need to address immediately because it’s an inconvenience not just to students but to teachers too,” says M Ravinder, secretary

of the Andhra Pradesh Teachers’ Association. While the government claims to release funds to appoint cleaners for the maintenance and upkeep of these toilets, those in the schools say it’s not enough. “In most schools, the toilets are there, but are not

in usable condition. Like our school. They’re allocating us `500 for maintenance. It’s not enough. It should be raised to at least `2,000 so schools can employ proper sweepers,” says Y Ram Mohan Rao, retired headmaster of Government High School, Regimental Bazaar.

According to SSA figures, 36 out of 100 girls drop out of school at primary level in AP. Many experts attribute this discontinuation to unfriendly facilities in schools. But with no satisfactory answers to provide, officials are currently keeping mum on the issue.

Signalling to confuse you! Solar-powered signals, self-regulating system, hi-tech traffic management are some high-sounding things said about the traffic control system these days but improper operation of it all is giving commuters heebie-jeebies. Arun Daniel Yellamaty arunyellamaty@postnoon.com

SRINIVAS SETTY

raffic signals are the beacon of orderly traffic, but what if they create confusion rather than conviction? Motorists in the City are blogging about the troubles they face at traffic junctions where either faulty settings of the new signals are creating trouble or the authorities have forgotten to remove the old ones even as the newly installed are operating. The old signals are still intact at many junctions and crossroads, creating confusion for the motorists and pedestrians. Rohit Jessikar, a student, says, “More than once I got confused by the old signal thinking it was working. It turned out to

be dysfunctional, and another signal a little ahead was regulating traffic. They didn’t even bother to remove the old one when they put up a new one. I even found a traffic signal lying on the road for weeks.” Apart from that, there are also many newly put-up signals not functioning properly. Many a time there are signals which are seen giving out ‘red’ and ‘green’ signals at the same time (Jubilee Check Post) and the motorists do not know what to do. Rahul Kumar, a software employee, said, “Last week, I was heading to work around 9am and it was raining and difficult to see the signals. However at Gudimalkapur, the signals right under the flyover were not functioning properly. All of them had

‘red’, not even one was giving out the ‘green’ signal. It was dangerous as everyone started to move. Often I see both ‘red’ and ‘green’ signals on at the same time.” There are few places in Jubilee Hills and other such places where signals are hidden behind a tree and difficult to spot. When Postnoon checked with the traffic chiefs, additional commissioner, traffic, Amit Garg, said, “We have been in the process of taking out the old signals, which are a major cause of complaints for the motorists. We had a meeting with the GHMC and they are working towards the same.” He added, “The signals which are giving trouble are only a few and it is usually a tech fault. We set it right when we get information.”

CITY SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

At last, a fully equipped neonatal carriage

While this is being generally regarded as a step in the right direction, the issue of neonatal care in the City still remains a cause for concern.

M ANIL KUMAR

Aleena Alice & Padmini C feedback@postnoon.com

n response to the rising number of neonatal emergencies in the City, the GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute has launched a pilot project of a 108 ambulance equipped with state-of-theart technology for newborns. The ambulance, shuttling between maternity hospitals and Niloufer hospital, has a neonates cabin specially created to make it sterile. The ambulance is also equipped with the following — incubator unit with a UPS for running the incubator, a pulse oxy-meter with neonatal probe, separate oxygen support system, baby resuscitation kit-ambu bag case and an overhead ceiling radiant warmer. It also has a collapsible bed, and a medical storage cabinet. Though this is a pilot project, very soon more such neonatal ambulances will be introduced in the City to transport children even from far-off districts. So far, every day 10-15 emergency cases are transported from various government units in the City to Niloufer Hospital. “Most of the cases that have to be attended to are infants suffering from various breathing and respiratory problems. They are infants who do not cry after birth because of complications and have to be shifted immediately for treatment,” says CH Venkatesh, the paramedic of the neo-natal ambulance. Speaking to Postnoon about the pilot project, the regional manager (operations) for Hyderabad, Mohammed Rafi said, “The objective of this exclusive neonatal ambulance is to prevent infant mortality. Since it is a pilot project, there is only one such ambulance which is currently stationed at Government Maternity Hostel near the City College and transports babies in emergency conditions to Niloufer Hospital from the surrounding areas. Very soon we will be launching more such ambulances which will even bring infants from hospitals in nearby districts to the City. The technicians in the ambulances are trained to handle and take the baby in critical condition to the hospital.”

NEONATAL

A NEGLECTED AREA

While this is being generally regarded as a step in the right direction, the issue of neonatal care in the City still remains a cause for concern. All the best facilities needed for efficient

DURATION care of newborns (one to 28 days old) remain consigned to private hospitals, and come at a hefty price, out of reach for the common man. The alternatives that remain are public hospitals like Gandhi and Maternity Hospital in Nayapul which all eventually refer cases to Niloufer Hospital, the biggest institute dedicated to mother and child care in the City. However, the number of neonatal mortalities in Niloufer paints an alarming picture. Hospital records reveal that from January to May this year,

JANUARY 2013 FEBRUARY 2013 MARCH 2013 APRIL 2013 MAY 2013

NO OF ADMISSIONS 1,203 1,041 1,246 1,230 1,465

1,067 newborn fatalities were reported due to causes such as respiratory problems, asphyxia, pneumonia, meningitis, congenital malformations, prematurity, and so on, bringing the average to over 200 deaths per month. Authorities however maintain that the statistics don’t tell the whole story. The neonatal

NO OF DEATHS 234 177 206 197 264

mortality rate might seem shocking on its own but is a realistic number compared to the total number of babies that come in each day, say doctors. “Most of the babies that are sent here from other hospitals and clinics come in critical or terminal stages. They are referred here after all hope is

lost. Yet we manage to save a number of these cases too. The deaths that do occur are unavoidable given the sheer volume,” asserts Dr Ramesh Reddy, HOD Paed Surgery, Niloufer Hospital. Despite the staff ’s best efforts, over-crowding is a major problem at the hospital. The 500-bed teaching facility is almost always filled to twice its capacity, with the management saying that they admit between 800-900 patients at any given time. With each patient coming with two-three attenders, it’s a veritable nightmare for hospital authorities to keep any wards, especially the neonatal ones, under even acceptable hygienic conditions. “These newly born babies are highly vulnerable to infections and diseases and should be kept under strictly regulated hygiene and sanitary conditions, but it’s just impossible here. We do the best we can but people just keep coming and we are not allowed to turn away attenders,” confides a member of the nursing staff. With the kind of facilities available for neonatal care in our full-fledged government hospitals, it still looks like years will pass for the neonatal health standards to be improved in the City.

NATION SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Actor Swarna out of danger

1 dead in building collapse

four-storey residential building that was being demolished collapsed early Saturday morning in Jafrabad area of northeast Delhi, leaving one person dead and 15 injured, police said. "The collapsed happened at 2.05 am. One person died and 15 have received minor injuries," a police official said. "The victims were labourers.”

alayalam actress Swarna Thomas who suffered severe injuries after falling from her fourth floor apartment in Kochi recently is out of danger and has been shifted to the general ward, her father told IANS Saturday. She might have to undergo surgery for a damaged back soon, Thomas, her father added. "Her backbone was damaged due to the fall and she is likely to undergo a surgery. She is conscious now and has been shifted to the general ward from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)," Swarna's father said.

Ramesh ‘smells a rat’ in Odisha road projects BHUBANESWAR: Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh pointed out several irregularities in the implementation of road projects in Odisha under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMSY) an official said Saturday. In a letter to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the union minister said the state has projects worth `5,000 crore under implementation, but only 50 project implementation units with the capacity to handle a workload of only `3,125 crore.

The concerns

amesh said the state has projects worth `5,000 crore under implementation; only 50 implementation units can handle a workload of only `3,125 crore.

"There are concerns about the quality in execution. The National Quality Monitors (NQMs) have reported 25 percent unsatisfactory works in the ongoing projects. The state quality monitors (SQMs) have

not been inspecting the roads as frequently as prescribed in the guidelines" he said, in a letter of July 4. "To execute additional projects to be sanctioned, the number of project implementation units (PIUs) with full commitment of technical staff will have to be increased to at least 70 by the end of September 2013," he said. Emphasising the need for transparency in the implementation of the projects, Ramesh has also pointed out that maintenance-related expenditure has been low in the state, and IANS needed to be increased.

AUTONOMOUS AFTER 121 YEARS

Students walk outside Khalsa College in Amritsar on July 5. President of the Governing Council, Khalsa College Amritsar (KCA), Satyajit Singh Majithia said that the 121-year-old Khalsa College Amritsar, which was established in 1892, has become the first amongst the colleges affiliated with Guru Nanak Dev University, to be an autonomous college. AFP/NARINDER NANU

Haryana cop shot dead

‘Can solve border issue’

ROHTAK: An officer of the Haryana

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

Police was shot dead and a constable injured in firing by a youth near Haryana's Rohtak town, 70 km from Delhi, police said Saturday. The victim, sub-inspector Balwan Sharma, who was posted as in-charge at Kharawar police post near here, was shot at by an unidentified youth near Kheri Saadh village on the National Highway No 10 late Friday night. Constable Harvinder Singh also sustained gunshot wounds in the attack, and was admitted to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS).

told India's defence minister on Friday that the two countries can settle a longrunning border row, state media reported. Both sides have the political will to solve their border issues and create a peaceful and stable environment, Li told AK Antony, Antony is making a three-day visit to China, the first by a defence chief from the South Asian giant in seven years. His trip comes after the neighbours engaged in a stand-off in May over troop movements in a disputed border region.

Sharif envoy meets PM

akistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's special envoy Shaharyar M Khan met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and delivered a letter conveying Islamabad's “sincere desire to move forward on improving relations with India”. Sharif's letter contained warm expressions of goodwill and good wishes for the prime minister and the people of India.

WORLD SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Abe bloc set to win majority

Docs reject turning off Madiba life support

apanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc is set to secure a majority in the upper house in this month’s election, newspaper polls said Saturday. Victory would give Abe control of both chambers of the legislature. The Liberal Democratic Party and its ally should comfortably win more than half of the 121 seats up for grabs in the 242-seat upper house election.

elson Mandela’s doctors have rejected the idea of turning off the ailing icon’s life support unless he suffers massive organ failure, a close family friend told AFP. Denis Goldberg — an anti-apartheid activist who has been Mandela’s friend for more than half a century — on Friday said the issue of turning off life support was discussed and ultimately dismissed. “I was told the matter had been raised and the doctors said they would only consider such a situation if there was a genuine state of organ failure," Goldberg said.

Quake strikes off Sumatra

strong 6.4-magnitude quake struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued. The quake struck at a shallow depth of just 23 kilometres (14 miles), off the west coast of the vast island and 154 kilometres southwest of Sungaipenuh, said the USGS.

Crisis worsens as toll hits 26

At least 26 people were killed in clashes across Egypt on Friday as tens of thousands of supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi turned out to protest his ouster by a popularly backed military coup. Samer al-Atrush, Sarah BENHAIDA

US condemns clashes

Agence France-Presse

he United States condemned clashes across Egypt on Friday and urged all leaders including the army to stop the violence after 14 people were killed following the toppling of president Mohamed Morsi. “We condemn the violence that has taken place today in Egypt. We call on all Egyptian leaders to condemn the use of force and to prevent further violence among their supporters," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

CAIRO: At least 26 people were killed in clashes across Egypt on Friday as tens of thousands of supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi turned out to protest his ouster by a popularly backed military coup. A coalition of Islamist groups including Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood vowed further “peaceful” protests in a statement early Saturday, demanding the military restore the country’s first democratically elected leader. In the restive north of the Sinai peninsula, armed Morsi supporters stormed the provincial headquarters in El-Arish after a gunfight and raised the black banner of Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militants, an AFP correspondent said. At least 12 people were killed in Alexandria as Morsi’s supporters and opponents fought a pitched street battle, the official MENA news agency said. Police continued to round up top Islamists, announcing the arrest of Khairat al-Shater, widely seen as the most powerful man behind Morsi in the Muslim Brotherhood movement. A spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon quoted him calling for a peaceful end to the crisis. “There is no place for retribution or for the exclusion of any major party or community". In Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, at least two people were killed when Morsi supporters traded fire with his opponents, state television reported.

Protesters cheer upon the arrival of the Egyptian Security Forces during clashes between ousted president Mohammed Morsi supporters and anti Morsi protesters near Egypt’s landmark Tahrir square on July 5, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. AFP/MOHAMED EL-SHAHED The clashes subsided when the army separated the protesters using armoured vehicles. “We are not taking sides. Our mission is to secure the lives of protesters," military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali said. Four protesters were killed outside the Republican Guard

EGYPT headquarters after breaking away from a pro-Morsi demonstration, MENA news agency reported. The bodies of two people were covered with sheets, said an AFP correspondent, adding that another protester was shot in the head.

Classifieds WANTED Wanted teachers with good fluency in English at Jubilee Hills; should work from 2 to 7 pm. Contact-9666985923

Soldiers had warned a protester waving a picture of the ousted president not to approach their barbed wire cordon. They opened fire when he ignored them, and shots were then heard from both sides, an AFP reporter said. The Islamists accuse the military of conducting a brazen coup against Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, after millions called for his ouster on the June 30 anniversary of his first turbulent year in power. Friday’s violence came as the supreme guide of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, vowed that members of the Islamist movement would throng the streets in their millions until his presiden-

cy is restored. Badie appeared at Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque to screams of joy from jubilant supporters, following reports he had been detained after Wednesday’s ouster of the president. “Millions will remain in the squares until we carry our elected president, Mohamed Morsi, on our shoulders," Badie told the crowd, before leading chants of “Military coup!" and “Invalid!" Violence between Morsi’s supporters and opponents also left one protester dead at Assiut in central Egypt and another in Minya, officials said. In the Sinai, where gunmen killed five policemen and Islamists killed a soldier in a machinegun and rocket attack.

Egypt suspended from AU

ollowing the overthrow of Egypt’s elected president Mohammed Morsi by the military, the African Union (AU) Friday suspended that country’s membership until restoration of constitutional order. “The PSC will deliberate on the situation in Egypt and take the required decisions on the basis of the relevant AU instruments, including the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the Algiers Decision and the Lome Declaration," a statement said.

US missile test fails: Pentagon

Venezuela offers asylum to Snowden

WASHINGTON: America’s missile defense system failed on Friday in a test over the Pacific, with an interceptor failing to hit an incoming ballistic missile, the Pentagon said. The miss represented yet another setback for the costly ground-based interceptors, which have not had a successful test result since 2008. The test’s objective was to have an interceptor, launched from Vandenberg air base in California, knock out a long-range ballistic missile fired from a US military test site at Kwajalein atoll.

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro offered Friday to grant asylum to US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, giving a possible escape route to the fugitive whose revelations rocked the American government and security establishment. Moments earlier in Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega also gave the 30-yearold computer expert another glimmer of hope, saying that “if circumstances permit” his government would be willing to shelter him.

COMMENT SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

EDITORIALS FOOTPATHS: GOING, GONE Like the shrinking story of every other city in India, Hyderabad also has no footpaths. Over 40 to 45 per cent of accidents here involve pedestrians. It is believed that the municipal corporation has under its jurisdiction nearly 6,000km of roads for maintenance and about 3,000km of this have some form of footpath on either side as per records. In reality, you can hardly walk 200 meters on any footpath in the twin cities without finding an obstruction. Despite footpaths belonging to local bodies, all other departments utilise it without permission. The need of the hour is an umbrella agency to co-ordinate the needs of different departments that need to use footpaths for various needs — electric and telephone poles, junction boxes of power utilities, ramps, cables and planting of saplings. Although the GHMC points at other departments like Internet providers for the mess, it has also been guilty of allowing ramps of residential and commercial complexes run onto the footpaths. A government directive is also mandatory towards formation of pedestrian-friendly footpaths, otherwise walking will become fatal. Accessibility and walk-ability audit of Road No 36, Jubilee Hills and Kavuri Hills junction taken up with the help of voluntary groups from Delhi and Vaada Foundation is an example to follow. It looked at crossings, junctions, footpaths, footpath surfaces, refuge areas, and refurbishment undertaken.

WHY WE LOVE... Lake beautification The AP Tourism Development Corporation’s move to develop lakes in the City as attractive destinations for locals is praise-worthy. The Durgam Cheruvu and Shamirpet Lake Resort ‘facelifts’ and enhancement of surrounding areas also make them good tourist destinations. In the Durgam Cheruvu location, the department needs to beautify the hilltop, lake environs, water purity, add boats and improve the tourism department bar and restaurant. At Shamirpet Lake Resort, the department will put up a sculpture park and refurbish the restaurant and cottage. The brisk work pace should meet the August deadline.

The right intention Soul Curry SUMAA TEKUR

f the intent is powerful enough, it can do wonderful things. I have a fitness trainer-friend on my Facebook friends’ list. She’s a practical trainer, who tells you, quite frankly, what you should aim for in weight loss. She does radio shows and sets expectations for callers who cannot seem to understand just where they’re going wrong with diet and exercise. This trainer plays on the mind. She helps people channel their intent and shape it to the desired result. A few days ago, she set her Facebook status as: “Who wants to lose 3kg in a month?” She goads. Her job is more about directing people’s intent on the right path. If the intent is strong, action will follow, no matter what.

This story captures the power of intent quite beautifully. An old man lived all by himself in a village. His wife had passed away and his only son was in prison. He had a medium-sized farming area just outside his house. Since he was running out of money, he decided to grow potatoes. For this, he had to spade the garden. The old man did not have the strength for this and did not have the money to hire someone to do it. Feeling helpless, and in a depressed state of mind, he wrote a letter to his son in prison. The letter read: Dear son, I am gradually running out of money. I thought I could grow potatoes in that piece of land in front of the house, and later sell them to earn enough to see me through this season. But to do that, I need to first spade the garden. But I have lost strength in my limbs and am unable to dig up the garden for planting

NO MATTER WHERE ONE IS, IF THE INTENT IS STRONG, THE GOAL BECOMES THAT MUCH CLEARER. EVERYTHING ELSE THEN IS ONLY AN OBSTACLE THAT NEEDS TO BE CLEARED. time. When your mother was here, we would somehow manage. Now, she’s gone. If you were here, I know that you would have helped me dig the plot. But you’re away at prison. I’m feeling so helpless, and I miss you, son. I just wanted to share my feelings. Love you, Dad. In a day’s time, the old man received a telegram. It read: "For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden! That's where I buried the guns!" The old man was shocked on reading this but put the telegram away and went

about his day. Early the next morning, at about 4am, a dozen police officers showed up at the old man’s house and dug up the entire plot. But they didn’t find any guns. They left the place in a huff. The confused old man wrote another letter to his son telling him what had happened. He asked the son if the guns were indeed hidden in the garden, and what to do next. To this, the son replied to his father: “Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad. It's the best I could do for you from here.” The point is that no matter where one is, if the intent is strong, the goal becomes that much clearer. Everything else then is only an obstacle that needs to be cleared rather than a huge problem with no solutions. If you have decided to do something from deep within your heart, little can stop you. Gain strength from the intent, and keep going on the path till you reach the goal.

COMMENT SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

US immigration system could be red tape nightmare The Inside Story LEILA MACOR

new system that would require all US employers to check if job applicants are authorised to work risks being a bureaucratic nightmare for immigrants and US citizens alike, critics said. The E-Verify system, included in a comprehensive immigration reform package passed by the US Senate last month, draws on official databases to decide if an individual has the right to work in the United States. The reform package — which must still be approved by the House of Representatives — calls for the US-Mexico border fence to be bolstered, creates a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, and requires E-Verify, currently an optional system, to be used nationally. Pro-immigrant groups said they are willing to agree to EVerify as part of an overall reform package. But, they emphasised, the system stands to be improved. “The problem is that the gov-

Urban sketches VISWAPRASAD RAJU

ernment databases on which the system relies have a lot of errors within them,” Joshua Stehlik, a workers’ rights attorney with the Los Angeles-based National Immigration Law Center, told AFP. “Those errors particularly impact non-US citizen workers, as well as female workers and workers who have non-traditional last names,” he added. At the moment, E-Verify is used in some 20 US states and by seven per cent of employers (about 411,000). Under the proposed reform, all firms would have to use E-Verify within four years of it becoming law. When an employer uses the system, an applicant’s details are sent for verification to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Of the 20.2 million people who went through the system last year, 1.09 per cent were barred from working. Another 0.26 per cent were initially turned only, only to be cleared after appeal, according to official DHS figures. The 0.26 per cent error rate amounts to 52,520 people wrongly classified as unfit for work. Those tens of thousands of US workers must “face a daunting bureaucracy and contest the decision before making a living

OF THE 20.2 MILLION PEOPLE WHO WENT THROUGH THE SYSTEM LAST YEAR, 1.09 PER CENT WERE BARRED FROM WORKING. ANOTHER 0.26 PER CENT WERE INITIALLY TURNED ONLY, ONLY TO BE CLEARED AFTER APPEAL, ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL DHS FIGURES. again,” said the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The mistakes risk costing a job opportunity for the applicant involved, whether immigrant or non-immigrant, Brent Wilkes of the League of United Latin American Citizens told AFP. “Employers are kind of lazy, and if they are interviewing 20 people, and one of them comes up with a hit saying that he’s not eligible, they’ll just say well, let’s not bother to call for a second interview,” he said. If E-Verify becomes obligatory, that same 0.26 per cent error rate, over all 52 million new jobs filled each year (based on 2012

Eating out

figures), would equate to 135,200 people having to get through a bureaucratic maze to prove they can work. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insisted it can handle the expansion of the system, adding that the proportion of mistakes “has been declining over time.” But pro-immigrant groups warned there is also a risk of abuse: “that the system can be misused by employers to retaliate against employees or discriminate against employees,” said Stehlik. That could happen, he said, if an employer “only uses it to

verify the authorisation of employees of a certain ethnicity, for example, or uses it in a retaliatory way against the employees who are organising a union in the workplace.” Some employers knowingly hire undocumented immigrants, because they are cheap, said ACLU lawyer Chris Calabrese. “That’s the business model,” Calabrese said. “They’re hiring these folks to pay them under the table, not give them benefits, not pay them a fair wage. Those people aren’t playing by the rules now. Why are they going to play by the rules under the EAFP Verify system?”

Global edits The New York Times

The Afghan legacy

long with waging war in Afghanistan, the United States has worked to rebuild the country. But, after over a decade and nearly $93 billion spent on reconstruction and security programs, there are still worrisome lapses in accountability, management and effectiveness. The special inspector general on Afghan reconstruction, John Sopko, has cataloged the problems in a series of reports and concluded that some programs are actually working against American interests. While his aides say the mismanaged money is a small percentage of the overall spending, that still amounts to billions of dollars. These problems are persisting at a critical time when American forces are withdrawing from the country, and the United States has a diminishing opportunity to ensure programs and projects are designed and carried out in a way that puts Afghanistan on a firmer footing. ■ The Pentagon has proceeded with the purchase of aircraft costing $771.8 million despite the fact that just 7 of 47 Afghan pilots assigned to the air force unit are fully qualified

AFTER OVER A DECADE AND NEARLY $93 BILLION SPENT ON RECONSTRUCTION AND SECURITY PROGRAMS, THERE ARE STILL WORRISOME LAPSES IN ACCOUNTABILITY, MANAGEMENT AND EFFECTIVENESS. to fly counterterrorism missions, which is the primary objective. The unit has a quarter of the 806 personnel needed to operate at full strength, and there is no plan for reaching that goal. ■ The inspector general’s office is investigating charges against 52 prime contractors for failing to pay their subcontractors some $62 million. This has meant delayed projects, causing Afghan subcontractors to blame the United States for the nonpayments. ■ The office has also raised questions about weaknesses in Washington’s efforts to avoid contracting with those who support the Taliban and its investment in projects, like hospitals, that Afghans cannot sustain.

BUSINESS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Dollar surges on jobs gains NEW YORK CITY: The US dollar surged against the euro and yen on Friday bolstered by a firm report on job creation that boosted confidence in US growth and pushed bond yields up sharply. At 2100GMT the euro was at $1.2832, compared to $1.2914 late Thursday. The dollar powered higher sparked by the June US employment report from the Labour Department.

Abu Dhabi lounge voted best

Malaysian consortium to bid

ABU DHABI: The Al Dhabi lounge at

AGRA: Tender bids for the Agra-Luck-

the Abu Dhabi International Airport has been voted the best airport lounge in the Middle East and Africa in the Priority Pass 2013 Lounge of the Year Awards. Nearly 60,000 Priority Pass members voted for the award, based on lounge quality including refreshments, staff, business facilities and overall ambience.

now Expressway in Uttar Pradesh are to open in Lucknow July 15, officials said on Saturday. The Malaysian Construction Industry Board, a consortium of industries, has evinced keen interest in the 285-km project, estimated to cost Rs15,000 crore, officials said, adding that a team from that country had already met CM Akhilesh Yadav.

Concocting the perfect coffee Challa Srishant blended the business that he inherited with present-day needs that catapulted it to a meteoric height. M. ANIL KUMAR

s a young student, Challa Srishant did not think of getting in to his family business, CCL Products. However, things changed with time, and it is everything for him today. He started as an intern to understand business operations in 2005. The idea was to take a call whether to choose it is as a career path or not. With his love and passion for business, he went on to become executive director and has played a key role in expanding its operations by setting up units in Switzerland and Vietnam. CCL Products India, a public limited company, (formerly known as Continental Coffee Ltd) was started in 1995 by his father, Challa Rajendra Prasad with a 3,000-tonne capacity coffee manufacturing unit. Today, the company has become one of the largest coffee manufacturers in the world with a 30,000-tonne capacity. Srishant graduated in Law and bagged the gold medal in Corporate Law at the NALSAR, University of Law. Prior to that, he was the State topper and gold medallist in Mathematics. “My father did not want me to jump into the business without me having a liking for it. According to him, one should enjoy their work life or chosen career. He gave me an opportunity to do internship as part of my course at Nalsar, which exposed me to the intricacies of business and eventually choose it as a career path,” reminiscences Srishant. Srishant was responsible for the integration of information technology to their operations that increased efficiency in operations in 2005. “When I started off, my father did not let me do anything but observe and understand things. He wanted me to see what he does, how he does and why he does. In my observation, I found that efficiency levels were poor. “For instance, he used to reply only to a few letters by dictating to a secretary. I brought a computer and made him reply to email directly

from his PC. Others in the company, then, adopted IT and learnt to use computers at their own desks. Today my father replies to almost 60 email from his laptop or tablet out of around 250 that he receives a day. This helped not only him but employees at different levels to respond faster and thereby increase the efficiency of marketing. We are also connected to all our customers (brands) through Skype and answer their queries in real time. “At times, he curses me that I made him more like a secretary than the chairman by continuously replying to these mails,” he added with a smile. The company, which is headquartered in the City, exports around 13,000 tonnes coffee per year. The company sources coffee from across the country and also imports from different parts of the world to bring out finished coffee powder and export it. It has recently launched its own brand of products

In-house products n

Continental Supreme: Coffee beans blended with roasted chicory

Continental Spéciale: 100% pure, granulated soluble instant coffee

Continental Premium: A distinctive blend (freeze-dried coffee)

(Continental Coffee range) into the Hyderabad market, and is expanding to other parts of the State. The company also supplies coffee to various retail chains like Reliance and Spencer’s, who sell it to their customers under their brand name. Retail and grocery stores sell their products directly to the customer. “The product has got a very good response from retailers. We offer coffee with better taste and also at 20-30 per cent lower price compared to similar products from MNCs,” he

Types of coffee manufactured n

Soluble Instant SprayDried Coffee Powder

Spray-Dried Agglomerated/ Granulated Coffee

Freeze-Dried Coffee

Freeze-Concentrated Liquid Coffee

revealed. When asked about value addition, he said,” Unlike these MNCs, we produce for around 200 customers (brands) in 65 countries. Each of them wants unique coffee from us to stand out in the competition. We have around 70 blends of coffee with different combinations catering to different tastes of people. Our pricing is competitive. For instance, our Continental Premium, a freeze-dried coffee, is priced at around Rs1,000kg. International brands import this coffee as they don’t have

local manufacturing units, which force them to price it over three times higher.” He reveals that the biggest strength of the company is its employees. “Each of them has grown step by step in career along with the company. They dedicated their entire lives for its growth. For instance, key members in the organisation get various luring offers from competitors, especially when they want to set up a unit. They out-rightly reject this and stay on with us because of the confidence and relationship they have with us.” he added. The company, he said, proposes to increase its production in proportion, “As we have finished our expansion, we are targeting production of 17,000 tonnes this year. Not just a private label manufacturer, we want to be a brand that provides the best Continental coffee to our countrymen. Initially, we want to establish in the AP market and slowly expand to other parts of the country.”

FOCUS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Mexico's female mariachis defy macho culture

AFP PHOTO/ALFREDO ESTRELLA

Although not all male mariachi musicians look down on their female peers, several women mariachis say they have to battle to earn the respect of their colleagues, who accuse the women of evading their domestic chores, and sometimes exclude them from gigs. Carola Sole Agence France-Presse

MEXICO CITY: With her hair tied back, large hoop earrings and high heels, Isabel Aguilar stood confidently in front of her five fellow mariachi musicians, all men, and sang to a mostly male crowd in a Mexico City square. Aguilar, a violinist, is among the few female musicians in Plaza Garibaldi, a tourist spot famous for its roving mariachi bands, crowded restaurants and booze-fueled nightlife. For the past 16 years, the 32-year-old mother-of-two has defied the quintessentially macho culture of mariachi music, the disdain of many of her peers and even the disapproval of her father, who was himself a mariachi musician. “He would say that women should stay at home,” Aguilar said of her father. There are around 20 women among the 2,000 buskers registered with Plaza Garibaldi’s Mexican Mariachi Union, still trying to break the male domination of this symbol of Mexican culture that emerged in the 19th century. Mariachi is a style of folk music involving mostly stringed instruments and traditionally played by an all-male ensemble. Some male mariachi musicians still have a hard time accepting the presence of women like Aguilar, who performs in a long brown skirt and the traditional embroidered “charro” jacket. “I will refrain from commenting,” said a veteran member of the famous Mariachi Vargas band as he sat on a bench watching Aguilar play her violin. Women, he told a colleague, still have a “long

path” before they reach the level of men. Although not all male mariachi musicians look down on their female peers, several women mariachis say they have to battle to earn the respect of their colleagues, who accuse the women of evading their domestic chores, and sometimes exclude them from gigs. Aguilar is one of the few female musicians to raise her voice against such discrimination. “The hardest thing is this prevailing macho man culture in Mexico,” declared the musician, who said she was engaged in a “silent battle” with her female colleagues. “Men still carry around this idea of machismo. It’s a culture that we haven’t been able to get rid of.”

TRAILBLAZING

WOMEN

Aguilar is not the first woman to sing her way into a man’s world. In the 1950s, trailblazing women broke the mould and formed the first all-female mariachi groups in Mexico. Lupita Villa, an 80year-old singer and guitar player, preciously keeps black and white photos of her band, “Las Coronelas”, who filled theaters across Mexico and gained worldwide acclaim on international tours. “We were surrounded by applause and praise for being women,” said Villa, who plied her trade during the so-called golden era of mariachi music, competing with both male bands and other female groups like the “Estrellas de Mexico”. Back then, the

women in the group could be more committed to the band because they weren’t married, she recalled. But once they tied the knot, some members quit. “Men are a bit jealous, they’re a bit suspicious. Two of the girls got married and then the mariachi band ended. The husband kept her at home,” said Villa, who never married or had children. Villa, who still plays in a band called “Las Pioneras” with other veteran musicians, said women can win respect by being professional in their work. A new mariachi school that opened near Plaza Garibaldi in October could attract more women to the world of mariachi music, Villa said, lamenting that all-female bands no longer exist in the capital. Eleven of the 85 students are women and most, like Maria Teresa Gabriel, say the school will “prepare women well” to face any challenge they may meet after they complete the three-year programme. “How great would it be if more women come out and have the good fortune that we did to lift Mexico’s name high?” Villa said.

PICK YOUR

Across Stores

ities Twin C

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK Disney World isney’s New Fantasyland website uses Flash to bring visitors to an enchanted land that's been long hidden from our view. As the story has it, this is a place where mermaids sing, beauties tell tales, beasts roar and elephants fly.

MOBILE GAME REVIEW

APP OF THE WEEK

SWAPPER

OfficeTime

aintaining accurate timesheets can be a chore for the self-employed. Unfortunately, most clients expect detailed descriptions of what has been done and when. Office Time lets you create projects

Playing as a robot, you move left and right across a fixed rail reaching out and grabbing blocks as they descend from the top of the screen. It's not the deepest of titles, but thanks to some interesting RPG-esque ideas and addictive gameplay, Swapper is a welcome addition.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS, INTO THE LIMELIGHT

Zynga launched Hidden Shadows — their first game that was completely developed by their studio in Bangalore — last week. Postnoon speaks to Sumit Mehra, general manager of the game to understand more about it and Zynga’s work in India.

NT BALANARAYAN

balanarayan.nt@postnoon.com

How did the team go about developing the game? Considering it's a sequel to an existing game what were your basic goals during the initial phase? Following the success of Hidden Chronicles, we asked players what they wanted in our second hidden object game, and the final product includes the features they are most interested in – a darker storyline (supernatural mystery), more amazing artwork, and the ability to put their skills to use to solve intriguing crimes. Friends become truly powerful allies to this cause, helping players solve murders and close cases more quickly. Our goal was to keep our players in mind throughout the development of the game from design to game-mechanics.

Most of the initial social games were all about doing something with friends, but in games such as Hidden Shadows there is a

good storyline too. How easy or difficult is it for Zynga to monetise such games as opposed to games like Farmville? We believe games should be free to play and easy to access. You should have the option to pay to improve your playing experience, but that option should be a natural part of play for you, your friends and your family. Hidden Shadows is designed for a broad audience of players who like playing hidden object scenes and appreciate strong, continuous storylines. While designing Hidden Shadows, we listened to our players of Hidden Chronicles. Their feedback was crucial in the design and game development. We know that our players enjoy crime themes and supernatural stories as well as progressing through the game without the need to rely on their friends. In Hidden Shadows, players can continue to make progress on their own, however, friends can help them progress faster. We specially designed the “Spirit Lab” feature so that each player can make their own choice on how they want to play. There are a lot of new, exciting features

in our development roadmap that will make playing this game with friends even better while continuing to keep the story rich — expect a lot of twists and turns as the story unfolds.

How many people have signed up for the game till now? We are seeing quite a few fan clubs. The team is meticulously listening and following our players’ feedback and incrementally fine-designing, so that we can continue to surprise and delight.

Can those who are playing Hidden Chronicles carry over anything (achievements, items bought) to the new game? While Hidden Chronicles and Hidden Shadows are both hidden object games, their game mechanics are very different. Carrying over items or achievements doesn’t fit to the individual storyline of the different games. Even though players cannot carry over items from one game to another, we are receiving great response from Hidden Chronicles and have acted upon it.

Will the team here be developing more games or does that depend on the success of this one? Which is the team working on other new IPs as of now? Our number one focus right now is to iterate on Hidden Shadows and add new, engaging elements for players. Over the past two years, Studio-I has built some great features such as Mafia Wars Arena — a real-time player vs. player feature and YoVille Auction House — a live trading system for the players. The team in India has a lot of experience in running live games and building new features to enhance these games. Hidden Shadows is the first global game developed from Zynga India and the team is excited to be working on the launch for tablets coming soon, which will make it one of the first fully connected hidden object games in the industry. Stay tuned for more innovations coming from the Zynga India team.

How many people are working at Zynga India currently and how many of them worked in the new title?

Zynga India has more than 350 employees. The Hidden Shadows team is part of Studio-I within Zynga India who have been working in collaboration with many teams across Zynga for the launch. We don’t disclose the specific number of people working on each game.

From what I remember, when Zynga opened the studio in Bangalore it was mainly handling server side work and some art; how has the profile of the Bangalore studio changed over time? Today, Studio-I (as we call it) is full game development studio working on both new and live games for worldwide audiences. We have game designers, producers, writers, artists, engineers, quality assurance, product managers, community managers and even customer support specialists. We began Zynga India with a focus on engineering but the goal was always to build a studio. Zynga India today runs multiple live games as well as has teams to support larger technology needs of the company.

ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

PET NEWS Forever alive

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Park Hyatt adopts white peacock

onesome George, the iconic giant tortoise of the Galápagos who died last June at over a hundred years of age, is getting stuffed. Taxidermists at New York City's American Museum of Natural History recently received the frozen body.

he employees of Park Hyatt Hyderabad took up conservation of wildlife as a serious social issue and adopted white peacocks at the Nehru Zoological Park.

200 years old

200-year-old rockfish was caught off the coast of Alaska by Seattle resident Henry Liebman — possibly setting a record for the oldest rockfish ever landed. Samples of the rockfish have been sent to a lab in Juneau.

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

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

LIVES BEHIND BARS

If the Chennai authorities’ decision is anything to go by, street dogs in Chennai will soon be behind bars. A shelter house with a facility for 2,000 dogs is under construction for the purpose. AMY ROSE THOMAS

amyrose.t@postnoon.com

n the wake of Chennai authorities' decision to cart off street dogs and house them in dog pounds, animal welfare organisations across the country are up in arms. The major reason being that the shelter house, whose construction is underway at Kannamapet with a facility to house 2,000 dogs will be inadequate for the street dogs. “Dogs require exercise and mental stimulation just like we do. And to imprison dogs forever shelters is also illegal under the Animal Birth Control

(Dog) Rules 2001 enacted under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 which requires that dogs be sterilised and released back where they were found. “Imagine a building with 2,000 dogs in it. They will spend their lives in cages, in filth, forgotten. In such crowded facilities, disease can spread like wildfire. And it is also a very ineffective solution as long as the remaining dogs continue to breed and people continue to buy dogs from pet stores and breeders,” Bhuvaneswari Gupta of PETA says. Moreover, cramping stray dogs in one location can prove fatal for these dogs since there are more chances of diseases being spread among them. Activist Radha Rajan had

explained, Jodhpur once tried to confine dogs in "forever pounds". Not surprisingly, healthy dogs were confined, and started to mentally deteriorate from the frustration. “Dogs began fighting in such close, unnatural quarters. The stench from dead dogs deterred the feeders and persons employed to clean the pounds from going in. Food was thrown over the wall, bigger and more assertive dogs grabbed all the food, smaller and weaker dogs starved. The pound could not be cleaned and soon the dogs were inches deep in their own faeces. There was an outbreak of parvo and distemper and the end result was the tragic death of hundreds of dogs because of disease, dog-fights and starvation. Forever pounds can quickly

turn into death mills.” According to PETA, the only way to permanently end the homeless animal crisis is to focus on an aggressive sterilisation campaign. “Government should focus on an effective animal birth control program supported by the community. Sterilisation and release is scientific, effective and humane. If the dogs are sterilised and placed in their own territories then it would prevent more birth. Just one female dog and all her puppies can produce 67,000 dogs in six years if not sterilised. After sterilisation, the remaining dog population becomes non-breeding, non-aggressive and rabies-free, and keeps decreasing over time. Community members can help by supporting NGOs that run

sterilisation schemes and refusing to buy animals from breeders or pet stores,” Bhuvaneswari explains. Apart from rat population controllers and helping in reducing garbage and waste, stray dogs are also wonderful and faithful companions, and shower anyone who gives them a kind touch or even a moment's attention with love. “Indian street dogs make wonderful loyal companions. They are friendly and they are incredibly loving. All prospective dog or cat guardians should also stop buying puppies and kittens sold in pet shops in favour of adopting an Indian community dog or cat from a shelter or the street and get these animals sterilised,” Bhuvaneswari says.

BOOKS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

SHORT READS Title: William Shakespeare's Star Wars Author: Ian Doescher Publisher: Quirk Publishing Imagine Star Wars’ iconic scrolling text arranged in iambic pentamer. And with Elizabethan illustrations. Lovers of science fiction and high literature will have a blast with this book, which is a crazy mix of Shakesperean tragedy and Wookiees.

Title: The Day the Crayons Quit Author: Drew Daywalt, Oliver Jeffers (Illustrator) Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Here’s one for the artistic kids, whose imaginations know no bounds. Duncan just wants to colour, but his crayons are fed up of their predefined roles. So what can he do?

Title: The Light in the Ruins Author: Chris Bohjalian Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group World War II is on, but the Rosatis feel safe in their sprawling estate in Tuscany. That is, till the soldiers come. Years later, a serial killer is targeting the surviving members of the aristocratic Italian family. A tale of intrigue and history.

Title: Disinformation Author: Lt Gen Ion Mihai Pacepa Publisher: WND Books, Incorporated It seems like everybody is out to let out secrets. The latest is Pacepa, whose book’s subtitle is: Former Spy Chief Reveals Secret Strategy for Undermining Freedom, Attacking Religion, and Promoting Terrorism.

Too much of shadow play A prestigious ballet academy with hints of the supernatural. This is the setting for a great psychological thriller by Yelena Black. Here the shadows come out to dance. ter, secondly whether she will be able to live up to her sister’s reputation as a dancer and also her worries about the giddy spells she has when she loses herself in the music. While at school it’s not only her past demons that are haunting her but even the living ones. She becomes the talk of the school immediately garnering undue attention from three males the lead dancer Zeppelin Black, her sister’s batchmate Justin and the dance choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. Matters don’t help after she falls for the gorgeous Zep, a friend mysteriously disappears and she is got people following her every move. Yelena totally captivates the readers in the first half of the book. The ballet school is the centre of all the happenings. There are a lot of hidden faces, masks that the reader is unable to penetrate. What’s the story behind Zep, Justin and Josef ? You believe something great is in store as you move towards the end. The tone though dark and suspicious makes the story all the more riveting. A few pages before the end and there goes the plot. We know Vanessa is going through a tough time, she is seeing shapes in her ballet room.

FLEME VARKEY

fleme.v@postnoon.com

ilms and books on vampires, ghouls, ghosts, fairies and all the supernatural kind of people have got their fair share of popularity thanks to Twilight and films of their kind. Every other author has jumped onto this bandwagon. Yelena Black’s Dance of Shadows too treads the same path if not makes a little more of a splash. Ballet dancing to a dancer means peace, emotion, drama, grace, determination, a story, a poem and it means freedom, complete freedom. It’s you moving and the music, you dancing along the music, never against or with, you become the music, and you put it to expression. These are the exact thoughts of Vanessa Adler. Vanessa auditions and gets a seat into the elite American ballet school — the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. She enters the school with a lot on her mind other than dancing. First priority to learn more about the mysterious disappearance of her sis-

Nothing may be divined about the moods of the sea, calm one moment, destructive the next. Adrift is the story of some who learn that and live to tell the tale. Rajesh Ravindran rajesh.r@postnoon.com

an has been sailing forever since he can remember, but we cannot say for sure that we ‘know’ the sea yet. On land, we may make claims

Expect the unexpected we are masters, and know the place like the back of our palm, but the sea, it is a different, fickle being — calm and beautiful one moment; angry, raging and destructive the next. Adrift, as the name suggests, is the true story of a bunch of people lost at sea when a dive trip off Sir Hugh Rose Island goes wrong. Veteran journalist V Sudarshan, the author of the book, reminisces in the foreword that he came across the story some years after the incident from friends of Commander Avatar Singh Baath, who led the harrowing diving expedition. Expect the unexpected — that’s the message. In the pro-

logue Sudarshan tells us the story of a woman who was reading a book on the Radhanagar Beach at Havelock Island before wading in with her boyfriend to snorkel. The boyfriend portentously says they might see something they had not seen in their earlier excursions. It was a horror story that she had been read-

Name Adrift Author V Sudharshan Pages 173 Publisher Hachette India

But you don’t expect this story to be so rushed in the end. You have demons and dancers wanting control and dominion. Yelena’s psychological thriller is a great read and we hope she does a better job of the sequel.

Name Dance of Shadows Author Yelena Black Pages 447 Publisher Bloomsbury

ing and though the boyfriend asks about the book, soon becomes cautious: it is situationinappropriate. She was light about it: “I am not getting spooked. It’s only a book.” They cleave the waves and a little while later, she is taken by a crocodile. Till then a crocodile attack was unheard of in those parts. Luckily, nothing of that sort happens to Baath and his friends. They are pushed to the limits, pushed to the edge of their temper — some bicker over water. They have their ancient mariner moment, too, when one of them gets hold of a bird and proposes that they eat it, but lets it go; and when they have run out of things to eat, they feast on barnacles from the boat’s side, but they live to tell the tale.

BOOKS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

The youngest lawyer in town All of 13, Theodore Boone is back and he's taking on politicians and builders as he tries to save his friend's house.

Jyotsna Nambiar

jyotsna.n@postnoon.com

ohn Grisham's lawyers are usually young, idealistic and driven, but none are as young as Theodore Boone. The 13-year-old lawyer is making his fourth appearance in Theodore Boone – The Activist, and this time, he's taking on the big boys. Theo has been hanging around law offices all his life, and has become somewhat of a celebrity lawyer himself in his little town of Strattenburg. With parents who encourage him, a dog that adores him and a happy school life, he has it all. But when his friend, Hardin Quinn, approaches him for help, he knows it will be his toughest case. A massive bypass is being constructed in town, and

Quinn's home is among those that will be bulldozed to make way for it. With the economy down, the move seems foolhardy, but the mayor throws his weight behind it. Environmentalists, land owners and businessmen clash over the issue, and Theo finds himself drawn into the treacherous world of politics. Filled with easy language and a likeable young protagonist, this series would be a good way to introduce young readers to John Grisham. While the book is not as fast paced or action-packed as his other books usually are, Grisham doesn't pull the punches when it comes to moral dilemmas. He tackles issues like environmentalism, development and activism head on, albeit in a rather simplistic way.

Theo is a spunky kid, and Grisham does a great job of writing from a precocious 13year-old boy's point of view. He had earlier managed to do the same in A Painted House, though this series is a world away. Though Theo has to tackle big issues, his innocence is retained. It is this characteristic that allows him to navigate the murky roads of the law without becoming corrupted. Theodore Boone fits comfortably in the tradition of books like Famous Five and Secret Seven, where enterprising teenagers investigate and bring criminals to justice. It also has that kind of innocence, which seems slightly out of place in today's world. With children's books getting more violent and imaginative, this series might lose out on readers.

Traditional Grisham readers might not enjoy the book too much, as it is written primarily with a young adult audience in mind. However, it is a nice, easy read, which is what you need sometimes. It is nice to see how Grisham allows the teenager to have a normal life beyond his legal escapades. He participates in debates, goes on camping trips and wanders around town with his friends. He does seem a little too much like an overachiever, but he isn't the type that gets on your nerves. Young readers who enjoyed the book should check out http://www.theodoreboone.com/, dedicated to the kid lawyer. From writing up summons to finding out the weirdest laws in the US, the interactive site will be a fun activity for teenagers.

Name Theodore Boone – The Activist Author John Grisham Pages 289 Publisher Hachette India

WHAT’S SELLING Walden’s best in fiction

Walden’s best in non-fiction

New York Times’ best in fiction

New York Times’ best in non-fiction

n And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

n From Smart To Wise by P Kaipa & N Radjou

n Inferno by Dan Brown

n Happy, Happy,Happy by Phil Robertson

n Asura by Anand Neelakantan n Inferno by Dan Brown n Like It Happened Yesterday by Ravinder Singh n Oath Of The Vayuputras by Amish Tripati

n Business Sutra by Devdutt Pattanaik

n The Ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaiman

n Squaring The Circle by APJ Abdul Kalam

n And the mountains echoed by Khaled Hosseini

n Trust Works by Ken Blanchard

n The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

n The NaMo Story by Kingshuk Nag

n Entwined with You by Sylvia Day.

n Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg n Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan n Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson n Let’s explore diabetes with owls by David Sedaris

WOMEN SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Textfromlastnight: This is a website that started in February 2009 and has become incredibly popular. Text messages are sent in from anyone that deems them jaw dropping or hysterical enough to share with the world.

Fmylife.com: Life is not always as perfect as you may wish it could be. When it is not, head over to fmylife.com and post your incredible moments. The site is a collection of moments sent in from readers about incidents in their lives that they would rather forget.

notalwayssright: Working in customer service can be one of the toughest jobs there is. If you have ever worked in customer service, you know how often you want to pull your hair out, laugh at a customer or throw something.

The design of success

Fashion editorturned-fashion designer Anushree Reddy at 28 has built herself a vibrant career. After a recent debut at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/ Resort 2013, she is headed to showcase main stage in its next episode. KANCHAN AGARWAL

kanchan.a@postnoon.com

ashion editor-turnedfashion designer, Anushree Reddy at 28 has built herself a vibrant career. After a recent debut at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013, Anushree is headed to showcase main stage in its next episode. Her first stint at LFW’s Talent Box, called Vintage Princess, got her buyers in London. The collection, dominated by dull pinks, off whites, laces, pearls, and roses, was highlighted by Hyderabadi zardosi. “We wanted to create a dreamlike look. Our colour palette was from the vintage era and our workmanship was lifted off Old City.” Moving on, her next collection is called The Tantrum Bride, and as she says, describes the journey of a bride from the first day

of planning till she is wed. “They spend all their lives scheming about that one day. It is not about the demure bride, it is about the tantrum bride who can do anything she wants to. My collection is a kaleidoscope of colours. It starts with what she would wear a cocktail party, to the sangeet and so on. I want it to look like a carnival”. Anushree, born and brought up in Hyderabad, went to St Francis degree college to pursue BCom. After a smooth three years of college life, she went to London School of Economics to study entrepreneurship and then took up an MBA in Cardiff University. When she got back, she landed a job at the bank that could not be stretched beyond four days. A local magazine, You n I, was just launching then (in

2008), and she became its fashion editor. Marriage was next on the cards, and she felt a

need for change. Maybe she could create. While the idea was still building in her head, she rented a flat and headed off for vacation. She started her new year with a new plan. It included a man, a machine and a few ideas. “I started with one tailor and a machine. I didn’t know anything technical about cuts or fabrics. I have learnt everything on the job.” As ideas materialised, she was ready with her first, small collection for a show at a local multidesigner store. Soon after, she participated in Araish held in Delhi, and got herself shelf space at Ogaan, Aza, Fizaa and Ensemble. “These are good platforms because suddenly you are sharing space with a Sabyasachi or an Anamika”. The first garment with her label was a pink anarkali which is, she has confirmed, her signature style — a dainty pink anarkali. “I won’t make something that I personally won’t wear. When you don’t believe in something, it is difficult to pave the path from there. My label is pretty much an extension of my personality. I do what I like. I like pink, peaches, off white, and vivacious colours. I love floral prints and silhouettes.” No matter how dreamlike her clothes are, she makes it a point to keep them wearable. “I don’t like garments that weigh you down. I use a lot of fabric, too. Our gheras have 24-36m of rounding, but I use softer lining so they are not bulky.” She loves her work so much that she didn’t take even a Sunday off the first two years. Now that she is a mother, things have changed. “Earlier I could travel and pick fabrics. Now I feel guilty if I am away for long but I work things around.” Last year, Madhuri Dixit wore an Anushree Reddy on the opening episode of Jhalak Dikhla Ja. She hopes to design for Sonam Kapoor someday. Having indulged in bridal so far, she is in the process of launching a line in pret, formal and couture.

Do what you want to do All About Eve

JYOTSNA N

ecently, a friend called up to tell me she is getting married. It is for all the right reasons — she met a guy she loves, they dated for more than two years and their parents are happy about the marriage. No one was forced, no one is miserable. What struck me was the tone in which she told me the news. “I never thought I would be among the first to get married!” she wailed. “Please don’t judge me!” It hadn’t been a spur-ofthe-moment decision; she had thought about it carefully for very long before taking the step. But she still felt slightly guilty about getting married. The thing is, our generation has been bombarded with messages that marriage is for losers. If you get married before you’re 28, you’re throwing your life away. Why marry at all, just have a live-in relationship instead! It’s a way of rebelling against our parents and grandparents, who’ve told us time and again that marriage should be the goal of our lives. We’re worthless if we don’t get married before 28. Starting a family is more important than getting a great job or racking up academic credentials. The only problem is we’ve gone too far in the opposite direction. Now, even if two people love each other and want to get married, we mock them. We ask them why on earth they’re doing this. We tell ourselves that it will only end in divorce. We ask our friends if they don’t think the couple is too young to make such a big commitment. But here’s the thing. No one should be made to feel guilty for doing something they love. If you want to stay single, you should be free to do so. If your friend wants to get married at 25, congratulate and support him or her. Everyone doesn’t have the same life plan. So the next time a friend calls up to say she is getting married, be happy for her. Don’t sneer and say ‘another one bites the dust’.

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

FLAIR FOR FASHION Fashion followers were in attendance at the launch of designer Uma Srinivasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; store at Banjara Hills. Spotted were Archana, Rekha, Padma Reddy and others.

S BALAKISHNA

Treats to savour Akkineni Nagarjuna inaugurated the luxurious Shubam multi-cuisine restaurant and banquet hall on Friday.

S BALAKISHNA

1 Mrudhu, Ritu 2 Archana, Rekha 3 Ayushi 4 Padma Reddy, Aparna Reddy 5 Parvini, Deepti 6 Harshita 7 Menaka 8 Sheetal 9 Manaswini 10 Karuna 11 Megha, Sangita 12 Bela 13 Bindu

Retail therapy Petals exhibition cum sale at Taj Krishna organised by Padma and Aparna Reddy on Friday was a huge success.

RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

I AM ALL EARS

y girlfriend of two years has generalised anxiety disorder. She is just too protective and possessive of me. Her behaviour though initially did not affect the relationship, now has started to strain it.With her attitude becoming all the more worrisome.I don’t want to end up with a problem at my hands. Please help.

Dear problematic kid, Now that’s a mean thing to say. She is not a problem, she is suffering from one. As you have correctly said, they either show extreme attention or detachment. So you are lucky she is not the other end.The best thing you can do is convince family or even her to get counselling and your behaviour can also aid her in a great way. Don’t be over-indulgent or too aloof. In all therapy can be a great help.

rguing with your spouse about where to go on vacation or how to handle the kids? As you age, you may find yourself handling these disagreements more often by changing the subject, according to a new SF State study.The researchers found that while most aspects of demand-withdraw communication remained steady over time, both husbands and wives vincreased their tendency to demonstrate avoidance during conflict.

All about expression Telling someone how you feel about them can be hard and if there’s nothing to lose and you don’t think there’ll be much to gain either, things can become even harder. Postnoon speaks to a few people who couldn’t keep their feelings bottled no matter what the consequences.

hings never go according to plan. I’m sure all of us are familiar with this emotion. Especially, when it comes to matters of the heart, things can go totally haywire. It’s one thing to ask someone out and it’s another to just express your feelings without much to expect from them. For some people, the task of telling someone equals getting things out of their system and feeling relieved after. “There’s not much left to do after you tell someone how you feel. So, it’s best to just get it

out,” says Himanshu M, who’s never kept his feelings bottled up. “I’ve mostly developed feelings for girls I knew well and was close to. I have never gone up to somebody random in a pub or a restaurant and asked her out. Even though nothing has ever materialised after I expressed my feelings, it doesn’t upset me. Because the worst that can happen is hearing that ‘no’, once that’s out of the way, you need to get over them and move on. There’s no more build-up, no speculation about what they must be feeling, etc. To be frank, I’m used to it now.” It must have been hard the first time though. “I don’t think it’s about the first or the second time. Each time the situation is different. It was difficult to tell the first girl I loved about how I felt only to the

NIDHI BHUSHAN

nidhi.b@postnoon.com extent that I had never felt that way before. And, I obviously expected things to work out between us, I didn’t go to her with the assumption that she’ll say no, you know. It was hard to get over the feeling too, because she was a friend and she chose to stop talking to me after I told her,” recalls Himanshu. Another question that pops up is that is it necessary to stop talking to a person who loves you just because you don’t feel the same way? “It’s not necessary but in most cases, it ultimately comes to that no

matter how hard you try. After my friend told me how he felt about me, I didn’t want to change a thing. In fact, I told my friend that I understand how he feels but I don’t feel the same way and at the same time I didn’t want to lose him as a friend. For a while, we ignored that he had confessed anything, but gradually he started avoiding me and ultimately stopped talking to me altogether. Though it upset me at first, I gave him his space, understood that I can’t help him get over me. After a gap of two years, we’re back to being friends again. Though it isn’t the same as it used to be, it’s not bad either,” says Ritu Sharma. “It’s good to tell someone you like her — it makes her feel good too. I don’t regret telling people how I felt about them. One doesn’t

have a control over feelings and I think most people understand that well,” says Vinay S. “In fact, I wouldn’t have been happy in a relationship right now if I didn’t express my feelings just because it hadn’t gone my way the first time I told someone I like her. When I had told my girlfriend how I felt, I expected nothing. She was in a relationship with someone at the time. We were great friends and it took me a couple of months to tell her how I felt. Though it came as a shock to her initially, she realised she felt the same way later.” It’s great if things work out when you tell someone about how you feel, but don’t feel disheartened if it doesn’t either. Because, the heart of the matter is that you never know what the bigger plan is. So, go ahead, express yourself.

CINEMA SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

HEMANTH KUMAR

hemanth.k@postnoon.com

ingham is the kind of film which makes you sit back and take notice of how well the film progresses. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hardly a dull moment in this intense action drama, but thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a point where you begin to question â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how much is too much? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a film where the hero has to tackle a million things before he decides to put an end to all the drama and in the process this becomes an excuse for the director to pack in so many details which make the film far too long than it ought to be.Yet, one cannot help but appreciate Suriya, who delivers a power-packed performance as a tough cop and director Hari. Singham starts off right from where its first part Yamudu ended. ACP Narasimha (Suriya) is sent to Kakinada by the Home Minister as an undercover cop to find out more about supply of illegal weapons. Soon, Narasimha gets to know that Bhai (Mukesh Rishi) has been running the show on the seashore, along with his close aide Sahayam. Thyagaraju (Rahman) is another powerful industrialist in the same city and his niece Satya (Hansika) falls in love with Narasimha, who joins as an NCC officer in her school. Meanwhile, Narasimha finds out more details about the illegal activities in Kakinada which

force him to take charge of the situation, once again. Suriya pulls off the role with ease and it is his performance that holds the film from collapsing under its own weight. His aggression is visible in every scene, which makes him scream his lungs out throughout the film. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the side effects of a mass entertainer where a cop has to take on a drug cartel headed by an international drug dealer. Anushkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extended cameo and Hansikaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence hardly make a difference. Hari has done a good job of making Singham a racy entertainer and this could have been a much more fulfilling experience had it been 20 minutes shorter. In one scene, after watching Narasimha pounce on a goon, a South African cop says, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This must be the Indian styleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Truer words couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been said.

Suriya, Anushka-starrer Singham is an intense film, but it packs in a tad bit too much of everything which pushes you into an uncomfortable zone.

Movie: : Singham Cast: Suriya, Anushka, Hansika Directed by: Hari Rating:

POETRY IN SLOW MOTION

Mallela Theeram Lo Sirimalle Puvvu is a poignant drama about a woman who finds solace in a lyricist.

ow does one react to a film which is too pure to believe? How does one react to a film which delves deep into what a woman thinks? How does one react to a film where two people spend their time talking about the meaning of happiness, love, music and more importantly, freedom? Mallela Theeram Lo Sirimalle Puvvu is a deeply personal film by Rama Raju, who dabbles with the pursuit of happiness through the eyes of Lakshmi, a married woman whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extremely unhappy in life and how her life changes slowly after she meets Kranthi, a lyricist. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remarkably written and well shot, but it comes so loaded with conversations that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s difficult to follow the train of thought at times. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like listening to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stream of consciousness where the lead protagonist Lakshmi poses several questions about love, happiness and comes

Movie: : Mallela Theeram Lo Sirimalle Puvvu Cast: : Kranthi, Sri Divya Directed by: Rama Raju Rating: to terms with her own feelings for Kranthi. The two keep meeting daily without any expectations and Lakshmi forgets all her anguish and pain during that time. On the other hand, Lakshmiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s husband is obsessed about money and he dreams of becoming rich, which further complicates his relationship with Lakshmi. A story like this hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been dealt with in Telugu in recent times and it is indeed like a breath of fresh air. On the flipside, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also incredibly boring at times and despite all the good writing, the conversations donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always hold the interest. Sri Divya is a wonderful actress and she suits the role of Lakshmi and Ronson Vincent, who played her husband, is good. On the other hand, newcomer Kranthi, who played the role of a lyricist, is completely overshadowed by the other two actors. The film is almost like staring at a painting before you conclude what it means. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost like poetry.

Nithin teams up with Puri Jagannadh

ithin has signed yet another film, post the success of Gunde Jaari Gallanthayindhe. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently acting in Prem Saiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Courier Boy Kalyan and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another romantic entertainer with Karunakaran in the pipeline. The latest news is that Nithin is going to team up with Puri Jagannadh for a film titled Heart Attack later this year. Puri Jagannadh is going to produce the film under Vaishno Academy banner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heard an amazing love story n dir is PURI..shoot starts from august..đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x192;đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x192;yayyy doooper happyyyđ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x192;đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x192; (sic),â&#x20AC;? Nithin posted on Twitter. More details about the film will be revealed soon. Recently, Puri Jagannadh had announced that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to make three films with Mahesh Babu, Prabhas and Allu Arjun and few weeks ago there were also rumours that he might direct Varun Tejâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debut film. No wonder, his decision to team up with Nithin comes as a big surprise.

CINEMA SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

I R I G E C I L PO

fails to

impress Using the most common fodder for action films of this genre, Policegiri fails to live up to the expectations.

Smaller films make big bucks at the BO T

he calendar has crossed June and the first half of 2013 has been very fruitful for Bollywood. Biggies like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Race 2 have earned big as expected. What has been fascinating is how smaller films have fared at the box office. The slew of smaller films like Fukrey, Aashiqui 2, Commando, Mere Dad Ki Maruti, ABCD with newcomers went on to become box-office winners during the same period. They are all small budget films with newcomers but backed by a good story and new content. They have been very successful at the box office and they have all raked in the moolah at the ticket windows. These newcomers have got in the big league with their big success. Another small budget film that has been acclaimed at various film festivals across the globe is set to release in India. It is Anand Gandhi’s first film, presented by Kiran Rao, Ship of Theseus. Audience has expressed great interest in the film. “When audiences like a film, it becomes not just a money-spinner, but also a goodwill earner for everyone connected. It’s the audience that ultimately determines the size of the film, not producers and distributors,” asserts Fukrey co-producer Ritesh Sidhwani. Interestingly, a film like Aashiqui 2, helmed by Mohit Suri,

back as Dilliwala in Bajatey Raho

ollywood director KS Ravikumar is making his debut in Bollywood with Policegiri, which is the remake of Kollywood’s 2003 hit Saamy. Sanjay Dutt’s Policegiri is set to face a tough fight from Ranveer Singh-Sonakshi Sinha’s Lootera and Surya’s Singam 2. Looking at the rushes of the film one can already make out how similar it seems to Dabangg and Singham 2 where the policeman with bulging muscles, acts just as he feels like and breaks into a song and dance. And the setting is also our City, Hyderabad. We are told that Rudra played by the dashing and bashing Dutt is a rough and disciplined Deputy Commissioner of Police of a small town called Amalapur in Hyderabad. This cop with an attitude hates crime and leaves no stone unturned to weed out the local mafia which is spreading corruption and crime in the City. His sensitive side is unleashed when he falls in love with the ravishing Seher (Prachi Desai). Translating himself as a messiah for the panic stricken localities, his unique combo way of tackling crime is what pulls off the stellar show in the film. Nagori Subramaniyam (Prakash Raj), is an underworld don (Kingmaker) who has the total control of Southern states, both in politics as well as rowdyism. It is against Nagori then that Rudra trains his guns. Bodies and vehicles fly through obstructions, but the musclemen who bear the brunt of the action director’s imagination keep multiplying. Nagori and Rudra are perpetually at each other’s throats, they holler in loud voices. Unfortunately the deadly Dutt no longer has the capacity to carry off such a role. Prachi Desai’s acting is smooth, while Prakash Raj seems wasted. All in all don’t expect much from this film other than a lot of stunts and flying men.

Movie: Policegiri Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Prakash Raj, Prachi Desai, Om Puri, Manoj Joshi, Rajpal Yadav, Rajat Rawail, Ehsaan Khan, Mukesh Tiwari, Raju Mavani – Directed by: KS Ravikumar featuring newcomers Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, still made a whopping `82 crore. “It’s a welcome sign that smaller films are also finding takers. Our industry is still star-oriented, but such instances go on to prove that quality content will also work,” says trade expert Taran Adarsh.

Ranvir Shorey

fter essaying a typical Dilliwala in Khosla Ka Ghosla, actor Ranvir Shorey was conscious about staying away from playing a Delhi-guy on the big screen. But he changed his mind for Shashant Shah’s Bajatey Raho. “As much as I loved playing a Delhiite in Khosla Ka Ghosla, it was quite irritating to be offered so many roles where people wanted me to be known as a guy from the capital. I appreciate the fact that everyone liked me in that role, but I’ve always tried to do different roles,” Ranvir said in a statement. That’s when he vowed not to do any more roles that put him in that bracket. “However, when Shashant came to me with Bajatey Raho, I realised it was time once again to be a Dilliwala. The script is brilliant and Shashant is a very good filmmaker. I wanted to work with him and even though I am from Delhi in this film, it is not a repeat of Khosla Ka Ghosla,” added Ranvir. IANS

CINEMA SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

The Lone Ranger presents a new take on the classic characters, Lone Ranger and Tonto. This film is exactly what a summer movie should be and one fun ride that you most definitely don't want to miss.

THE

MILDLY WILDWEST

Eva Longoria dating Ready for Love bachelor Ernesto Arguello

few mo nth s back, rumours flew claiming Eva Longoria was dating Ready For Love bachelor Ernesto Arguello. While the former Desperate Housewives star, 38, said she wasn't dating him at the time, she has revealed she and Ernesto are now together. "I think that's why our relationship is so special â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we truly started as friends," Eva told People of her blossoming romance with the 34-year-old Miami-based entrepreneur.

Movie: The Lone Ranger Cast: Johnny Depp, Arnie Hammer, William Fichtner Directed by: Gore Verbinski Rating:

BRITNEY SPEARS promises 'Most Personal Album Ever'

n American Indian spirit warrior, Tonto played by Johnny Depp recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Arnie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice. The two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption to bring Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) to justice. John believes in non-violence and the court of law and Tonto is just the opposite. The two share an electrifying chemistry and Depp gets his comic timing spot on as the quirky Tonto. Tonto, belongs to a native American

warrior tribe, who feels responsible for the death of his fellow men and his family owing to a trade he made with two white Americans he saved from certain death when he was a child. John seeks revenge from Cavendish as he is responsible for the death of his illfated brother Dan Reid. (James Badge Dale). In spite of its length, the movie never drags or feels lethargic at any point of time, instead it provides a good dose of laughter at regular intervals and Depp shines in those scenes. The scenes where the Native American, trades a feather or grains for everything he steals from dead people or the scene where the white stallion chooses John over his brother, and Tonton repeatedly tries to force the stallion to switch the selection, Depp is just fantastic. The Lone Ranger rides strong for several reasons that include direction, cinematography, casting, screenplay, special effects, pacing, acting, and story. Due to these reasons The Lone Ranger can gain a new younger fan base while still appealing to older fans or casual moviegoers. The bottom line is watch this movie and enjoy its incredible action and comedy that will surly rope you in.... And watch out for some throwbacks to the classic IMDB show.

ritney Spears is hard at work on her next album and the superstar says it's going to be a revealing one. "Really excited 2 give u a taste of my new album... can't wait 2 share what I've been working on," Brit tweeted on Wednesday. "Going to be my most personal album ever :)," she added. The 31-year-old singer recently released her latest single, Ooh La La, an upbeat track featured in the upcoming animated Smurfs sequel, The Smurfs 2.

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

SUDOKU

THOUGHT OF THE DAY All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income. – Samuel Butler

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 Some like it hot 4 Mogul governor 9 London insurance pioneer 14 Vintage 15 Dwelling place 16 Word used to distinguish seals 17 Cocktail mainstay 18 Handle pressure 20 Farewell abroad 22 Quint portrayer in ‘Jaws’ 23 They’re straight 26 Not well-kept 30 Hung carelessly, say 32 Damascus native 34 NYC’s Park or Madison 36 Humdingers 38 Something to build on 39 Umps’ counterparts 41 Refine ore 43 Color-full bottles 44 ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ character Foley 45 Emotionally distant 47 Old PC screen 48 See 36-Across 51 Daytime showing 53 C&W singer George 55 Double trios 58 Something to stick with? 60 Greek writer of fables 61 What ogles made the handsome butcher feel like? 67 Commit a faux pas 68 Non-pc commercial writer 69 Evidence of ownership 70 Royal flush card 71 Well-thought-out 72 Drives the point home? 73 Word in many band names DOWN 1 Bar mitzvah reading source 2 Give the slip to 3 Surrender 4 Mr ___ (R Crumb character)

5 Org that accredits law schools 6 Chinese cooking necessity 7 Modern composer Thomas 8 Second Hebrew letters 9 Elbow room 10 ___-di-dah 11 Seam treasure 12 Parliamentary vote 13 Outlawed spray 19 Cries of derision 21 Ending for ‘puppet’ or ‘profit’ 24 Numbered musical piece 25 Where a King marched 27 Benjamin Button star Pitt 28 Tour de France perch 29 More quick to the helm 31 Old-fashioned argument enders

61 Dads or pops 33 Where worms may be 62 Words spoken in front served of witnesses 34 32-Across, for one 63 Swift-running Aussie 35 Ruffles feathers bird 37 Blackthorn fruits 64 All-you-___-eat 40 Utter indistinctly 65 Approx landing time 42 Didn’t use scissors 66 White vestment 46 Focuses (on) 49 Small piece of cloth or PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER paper 50 Storage building, on a farm 52 Absorbed the cost of 54 Clusters of grass 56 What an unrequited lover carries 57 Buying binge 59 Give off, as light

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

The World

Six of Swords

Queen of Cups

The Fool

The Star

The Chariot

ork – Something that you need to know will be found in a book you randomly pick up to read. Synchronicity will bring you what you need. Romance – If there is an emotional matter between you and your better half, it needs to be resolved immediately. Not talking about it, only aggravates the situation. Health – Steer clear of anything that will have an adverse effect on your health. Keep a low profile and don’t get too adventurous. Money – You need to negotiate better in a business deal and command a better price for your products/services. Tarot message – Do not hide behind the veil of ignorance. If you know something, speak out about it.

ork- There are too man y opportunities coming your way. This is the luckiest time and you need to make the most of this. Romance – Sometimes, saying a simple sorry and meaning it will make a relationship healthy and beautiful. Your ego needs to be kept in check. Health – Channel your energy to more meaningful things. Work out, eat right and spend time giving back to society. Money – There is some chaos in money matters for the next few days. Clear all your accounts and keep track of spending. Tarot message – You build a comfortable nest for yourself and your family. You don’t feel like stepping out of this comfort zone.

ork – An addictive behaviour of yours could be coming in the way of your progress. Identify that and alter your daily routine to increase productivity. Romance – You have the tendency to flit from one emotion to the next. This is not good for stability. Stay with one emotion. Health – Do not take whatever your doctor says all too literally. Yes, you need to make changes to your lifestyle but do it your own creative way. Money – Make a clear distinction between essential spending and entertainment spending. This will make you be a better saver. Tarot message – You need to find stability. Familiarity and routine will help you achieve that. Do not get bored of doing the same job every day.

ork – Job lists are very important. IT will give you the lay of the land for important projects and know how much is on your plate. Romance – You may be slipping in the popularity charts with the opposite sex due to some reason. Talk to your friends and figure out how you need to maintain yourself. Health – You’re doing well to maintain your health. Just some minor corrections may be needed to optimise the effort you’re putting in. Money – There is no point lying to yourself about your monetary needs. You feel the need for more. Work hard to earn it. Tarot message – You may be asked to be part of a committee to contribute. Do that with diligence.

ork – You have some very great ideas in your mind but lack the confidence to share them. You end up muttering some gibberish during meetings. Romance – Your romantic life may be costing you a lot of money. Maybe you should find more innovative and fun ways to spend on dates. Health – Your concerns about a particular health problem is growing. Do not continue to follow a routine if it is not giving you the results you expect. Money – You need to have a chat with your employer and cut for yourself a better deal. May as well get paid well. Tarot message – You seem like you’re floating from one idea to the next. Stay with one thought at a time.

ork – You are on the fast lane and this is a tricky place to be. While it may be tempting to speed up even more, it’s not the best idea. Romance – You need to share your feelings with your loved one more openly. No point just sitting there and hoping they will somehow understand. Health – You are creative and you’re talented enough to understand your body better. Do things intuitively to manage your health. Money – You have to show more commitment to saving money, or spending for the right things at the right places. Tarot message – You get a visitor and this person opens your eyes to all things new and wonderful.

SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

Libra

Scorpio

Three of Cups

Seven of Pentacles

ork – You have a spring in your step. Your colleagues are noticing the bounce and will approach you with many questions. Romance – Not everyone can gel well with another. Most people have to work very hard at it. Coordinate your plans with your partner. Health – Those who have been regularly going to the gym for the past six months or more need to up the ante. Challenge yourself, your body. Money – Businessmen will need to promote their brands better. You need to spend much more on marketing and advertising. Tarot message – This is not the best period to start on new projects. But do plan and let the idea run in your head for a few more days.

ork – Just making it once will not make you a winner at the work place. You need to repeat the success, and you can do this with help from others. Romance – Focus on adding an extra touch of love and togetherness to all your dates. Be careful of the tone you use while speaking to a potential date. Health – It would help to maintain a diary of your eating and exercise habits so you can keep track of your health. Money – This works for some people – keep a race with yourself to save more money by a particular date. This will motivate you to cut down unnecessary spending. Tarot message –You’re on the ladder of success. To keep going on it, you need support.

Sagittarius Eight of Swords

ork – Time to reclaim your space. You have been out of action from a particular category. You will get the opportunity to get back in now. Romance – You will be treated like royalty. Your significant other is pulling out all the stops to make you feel special. Health – you may be too enthusiastic and want to jump into an exercise routine. But check with your doctor if it’s fine to pursue it now. Money – You may be fussing too much about money being spent on unnecessary things. What may seem unnecessary may actually be unavoidable. Tarot message – You need to get rid of the negative thought about a person and move on. Your life is much brighter, better.

Capricorn

Date 7-7-2013

Aquarius

The Sun

Six of Pentacles

ork – You are entering a very profitable phase in career. You need to keep an open mind. Do not get carried away by what other people say. Romance – View your relationship differently. Just because it is one way for another person doesn’t mean it has to be that way for you, too. Health – Time to wake up and smell the coffee. You have to change your tack to get better results. Money – Try different things in investments. By hoarding money or keeping it all in one place, you may be losing out on something better. Tarot message – Loosen up. Laugh a lot, play a little. Think of all the wonderful things that people have done for you in the past.

ork – Whether you like it or not, you will be thrown into a situation where team work is must. You have to hone your social skills. Romance – Marriage is on the cards for singles. A sudden and unexpected encounter will bring you what you need right now. Health – Do not show off your toned-up body too much. Modeling it away will put excess pressure on you to maintain it. Money – Some form of loss is indicated. A regular source of income may be nipped at the bud. Do not worry though. You can manage just fine. Tarot message – You will be meeting some interesting people at a social gathering. Spend time getting to know people. Don’t judge.

Pisces Strength

ork – You may be quite stunned with the attitude of a superior at work. You thought this person was your friend, but he/she is really not. Romance – You may be inspired to try some new tricks in romance by reading romantic novels. Not a bad idea. But keep expectations in check. Health – You will be appreciated for your efforts to maintain health and do what’s necessary to keep your body beautiful. Money – You will get an opportunity to make some extra money, although this may mean cutting down on entertainment time during the weekends. Tarot message – This is the time to do more and think less. You have the ability to take your ideas forward.

Vol: 2, No 351 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

THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 10. Which country produces beer called Kaiser? 11. Which painter created the Mona Lisa? 12. What is the roman number MMX in Arabic numbers? 13. What is the currency of Sri Lanka? 14. What is the chemical symbol of Zinc?

15. In which sport is the terminology 'home run' found? 16. Queen Elizabeth II speaks what language fluently? 17. The film Happy Feet is primarily about what animals? 18. How many protons does an Oxygen atom have? 19. What does the abbreviation CD stand for?

Answers

6. How many days are there in three weeks and 48 hours? 7. In what year was Hollywood actor Tom Hanks born? 8. In what year was the Sydney Opera House in Australia inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II? 9. How many floors does the Empire State building, in New York have?

1. Montego Bay 2. 3 3. Mars 4. 100 5. Crux 6. 23 7. 1956 8. 1973 9. 102 10. Austria 11. Leonardo da Vinci 12. 2010 13. Rupee 14. Zn 15. Baseball 16. French 17. Penguins 18. 8 19. Compact Disc

TEST YOURSELF

IN THE NEWS

IDENTIFY THESE FLAGS

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1

1 2 3

The President of a country is under house arrest by the military facility. Who is he?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Which country refused to allow Bolivia President into its airspace? The deadliest US wildfire in 80 years struck which state this week damaging 114 buildings and burning 13 sq miles?

Power play

Sack dance

1. Egypt President Mohamed Morsi 2. France 3. Arizona 4. Liberal Democratic Party 5. Chrysler 6. Midfielder Marco van Ginkel.

Answers

Which Bollywood actor is the latest have a baby by a surrogate mother?

May seem simple but this is deceptive; how many fish do you see here?

Answer for 73:

India's first ever navigation satellite was launched from which place?

with Santosh Ghule

A violin and its reflection.

Answers: 1. Canada 2. Armenia 3. Scotland 4. Brazil

Which state's police is charged with 'staged' killing of a female student Ishrat Jahan?

PICTURE PUZZLE 74

WHO AM I? I am a tennis player. I am currently British number one. I am in the news for a dramatic five-set win over Fernando Verdasco on Centre Court in Wimbledon. Who am I?

Answer : Andy Murray

KNOW YOUR COUNTRY

A first ever transportation service was launched from Kargil to Jammu fulfilling the long pending demand of the people of the region. What is it?

Big Dance

White Meat

Chelsea has agreed to deal with Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem for which footballer?

Ducks on the pond

March Maddness

Which party does the current Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe belong to?

Which US carmaker has recalled 840,000 vehicles owing to potentially faulty components?

Bang the apple

Answers:

4 5 6

Do you what these sports jargons really mean?

1. Used in Baseball. Meaning “To make contact with the ball”. 2. Used in Baseball. Meaning “Runners on Base”. 3. Used in Basketball. Meaning “The NCAA basketball tournament, used mainly when referring to teams receiving an at-large bid, which is often referred to as "being invited to the big dance." 4. Used in Basketball. Meaning “The NCAA Division I basketball tournament, which mostly takes place during the month of March.” 5. Used in Poker. Meaning “Profit gained in a poker game.” 6. 6. Used in Hockey. Meaning "An offensive move that is made when one team is shorthanded due to a player being in the penalty box." 7. 7. Used in Football. Meaning "A celebratory dance after sacking a quarterback."

1. Which is the second largest city in Jamaica? 2. Approximately how many million people live in Armenia? 3. Where is Olympus Mons located? 4. What is the urbanisation rate in Singapore (%)? 5. Which constellation is known as the Southern Cross?

1. Shah Rukh Khan 2. Bus service 3. Gujarat 4. Sriharikota space centre

Answers

SPORTS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Vettel eyes home win

Howard headed to Houston

wight Howard will depart Los Angeles Lakers for the Houston Rockets, he said on Friday. “I’ve decided to become a member of the Houston Rockets. I feel its the best place for me and I am excited about joining the Rockets and I’m looking forward to a great season. I want to thank the fans in Los Angeles and wish them the best,” Howard said.

ebastian Vettel bounced back to his best, but with a warning on Friday afternoon when he led the way for Red Bull at the Nurburgring in second free practice ahead of Sunday’s German GP. The defending champ clocked a best lap in one minute and 30.416 seconds to boost his fans’ hopes that he can claim his first win on home soil in Sunday’s 60-laps race.

Ruth sets Asian meet record

ahrain’s Ruth Jebet led from start to finish to win the women’s 3,000m steeplechase with a new meet record in the Asian track and field championships in Pune on Friday night. The 16-year-old outpaced home favourite Sudha Singh to win gold in a time of 9:40.84 seconds, well ahead of the previous meet mark of 9:52.42 seconds by Japan’s Minori Hayakari.

Sagan stuns sprinters

Justin Davis

ALBI: Slovakian Peter Sagan dominated a bunch sprint to win the seventh stage of the Tour de France on Friday as South African Daryl Impey defended the race leader’s yellow jersey. Sagan, last year’s winner of the race’s green jersey points competition, surged in the final 150 metres of the 205.5km stage from Montpellier to Albi to claim his first win of the 100th edition. Germany’s John Degenkolb (Argos) and Italian Daniele Bennati (Saxo) finished a bike length behind in second and third respectively. It ends a frustrating first week for Sagan, who has narrowly missed out on sprint wins on four occasions. “The team did an incredible job and I want to thank them all,” said Sagan. “I hope today’s win gives an answer to all the fans who had criticised me and the team on the internet. Now the pressure is off.” A day before the first of two consecutive stages in the

Best sprinter’s green jersey, Slovakia’s Peter Sagan, celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of the 205.5 km seventh stage of the 100th edition of the Tour de France cycling race onFriday between Montpellier and Albi, southwestern France. AFP/JEFF PACHOUD Pyrenees, a combination of the climbs and the pace in the peloton proved too much for sprinters Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel. Both were dropped in suc-

Every seizes lead

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS: Matt Every’s (above) bogey-free 62 catapulted the American to the second-round lead in the US PGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic on Friday, but Phil Mickelson missed the cut. Every rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at his final

hole, the par-four ninth, for a 36-hole total of nineunder par 131 on the Old White TPC course. “I played really well tee to green, finally made some putts,” Every said. “I haven’t made anything all year and it just finally happened today — been waiting for it.” But four-time major champion Mickelson had a disappointing return to action in his first tournament since a heartbreaking sixth runner-up finish at the US Open at Merion. He shot 68 on Friday, but that wasn’t enough to overcome his first-round 74, so he will not be among the 80 players who made the halfway cut at oneunder 139. In second place, one stroke behind Every, were Australian Steven Bowditch and Americans Daniel Summerhays, Bill Lunde, Russell Henley and Johnson Wagner. AFP

cession on the second of the day’s four small climbs, and when the news filtered through to Sagan he put his troops on the front of the main bunch and ordered them

to hit full gas. It left Cavendish and Greipel, who won stages five and six respectively, in an 84strong group which flirted with missing the time cut-off limit. The late arrivals crossed the finish nearly 15 minutes in arrears, but Cavendish was unperturbed. “Over half the peloton was dropped on that climb,” said the Manxman. “It was difficult.” He added: “There’s still a lot of sprint stages, especially the last stage on the Champs Elysees.” German veteran Jens Voigt (RadioShack) and Frenchman Blel Kadri (ALM) lit up the early stages with an attack inside the first 20 km, the pair building a maximum lead of 6min 50sec on the main peloton over undulating terrain. But as Sagan set his sights on the points from the intermediate sprint, and other riders came to the front to help the chase, the pair were eventually reeled in just after the AFP 114km mark.

Chess tourney from tomorrow HYDERABAD: Hyderabad District Chess Association Organizing and Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy Districts will conduct the school chess tournament at the Victory Play Ground at Chadarghat, here, tomorrow. The competitions will be held in the age groups of U-5, U-7, U-9, U-11, U-13, U15 and must be in a class below 10th standard.

Players selected for State Level HYDERABAD: The Ranga Reddy District Chess Association organized the RR District Sub Junior selection chess tourney on July 4 and 5 at Saroornagar Indoor Stadium, RR District. The winners of this tournament will be selected to represent Hyderabad at the State Level tournament which will be held at Palasa (Srikakullam) on July 12. Selected players: Girls: D ChetanaSk Muneerunnisa Begam, M S Abhi Rami, P Lasya Priya Boys: Susheel Reddy, Lohith Raj P, Ch Sai Arun, P Shanmukha Teja

Shaikh wins gold HYDERABAD: With shifty and falling wind speeds, Friday was the tamest day at the Deloitte Monsoon Regatta here at Hussain Sagar Lake, with winds dropping to less than 5 knots at times on an almost cloudless day at the finals of Match Racing with the top seeds Ayaz Shaikh and Atool Sinha battling for gold in best of seven series. In the race one of the finals of the Match Racing event, Ayaz Shaikh had a clear start off the line almost parallel to Atool Sinha and managed to gain a lead of about 3 boat lengths at the end of the first beat but opened up with some skillful gennaker drill to finish a clear 12 boat lengths ahead of the second seed. In the second race after some complex pre-start maneuvering Ayaz started ahead and once again gained at every leg to win 2 Nil. But eventually Ayaz Shaikh won the match. Results for Match Racing: Ayaz Shaikh (Skipper), Sandeep Jain and Nijeesh Bhaskaran : Gold

Atool Sinha (Skipper), Rahul Rai and Samal Pradhan : Silver Manu Jairam Skipper, DK Sharma, Nagen Behra : Bronze Match Racing Finals: Ayaz Shaikh 4 Points Atool Sihna 1 Point Petit Finals: Manu Jayaram 3

Sandeep Mahtre 0 Optimist Championships Optimist Class: Race 1 — Chitresh T 1st, Vishnu Sarvanan 2nd, Jayalakshmi S 3rd. Race 2 — Navin Kumanan 1st, Navyn rabhakar 2nd, Vishnu Sarvanan 3rd.

Sailors seen in action during the Monsson Regatta held at the Hussain Sagar Lake in the city on Friday.

SPORTS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

Lisicki, Bartoli eye title LONDON: Sabine Lisicki and

Marion Bartoli clash for the Wimbledon title on Saturday having conquered a series of personal demons both on and off the court. When Lisicki walks onto Centre Court for her first Grand Slam final it will be both the culmination of a childhood dream and also a fitting end to a tale of redemption that started three years ago. The 23-year-old German’s joyful celebration at the conclusion of Thursday’s dramatic win over Agnieszka Radwanska was a far cry from the dark days of 2010 when she was on crutches for months after sustaining a serious left ankle injury at Indian Wells. Unable to walk and with her promising tennis career in the balance, Lisicki was at a crossroads. But she refused to bow to suggestions that it might be better to leave tennis rather than risk further damage to her body. And after five months of rehabilitation, she was finally able to return to action. Even then the journey

ers both looking for their first Grand Slam title would be the icing on the cake for Lisicki, who has become the darling of the Centre Court with her beaming smile and all-action play. “I always believed. Always. No matter what happened. I can still remember when the doctor told me that I have to be on crutches the next six weeks,” Lisicki said. “That period made me such a much stronger person and player. I know anything is possible after learning how to walk again. “I love the sport so much and I miss it when I cannot be out there on the court. It just gives me the belief to overcome anything.” Lisicki’s tale of triumph in adversity carries extra resonance at Wimbledon, where her compatriot Steffi Graf enjoyed so many great days and who was the last German champion in 1996. Lisicki, however, has come under fire from some rivals who claim she regularly exaggerates her back-story as well as overdoing the smiles and AFP tears on court.

A combination of pictures shows France’s Marion Bartoli (L) and US player Sloane Stephens in action during their respective women’s singles Wimbledon quarterfinal match. These two players are set to clash in the final which is scheduled to be held today. AFP/GLYN KIRK back to top had to be taken one step at a time. By the end of 2010 her ranking had slipped from 23 to 179 and in March 2011, she was down at 218.

But later that year she reached the Wimbledon semifinals as a wildcard and hasn’t looked back since. Beating French 15th seed Bartoli in a battle of two play-

Murray survives roof rage Steven GRIFFITHS

LONDON: Andy Murray set up a titanic Wimbledon final showdown with Novak Djokovic as the world number two beat Polish 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in a bad-tempered last four clash on Friday. Murray remains on course to end Britain’s 77-year wait for a male winner of the Wimbledon singles’ crown, but the Scot had to do it the hard way once again. Just 48 hours after battling back from two sets down to defeat Fernando Verdasco, Murray survived an early pummelling from Janowicz and then a controversial decision to shut the Centre Court roof due to bad light when he had just taken a Britain’s Andy Murray (R) and Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz (L) talk after two sets to one lead. Murray’s victory in their men’s singles semifinal match of the Wimbledon Murray was furious with Championships tournament at the All England Club on Friday. Murray won AFP/CARL COURT Janowicz, who had been plead6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

ing for the roof to be shut, and referee Andrew Jarrett, claiming there was still time to finish the match in daylight. But he retur ned to finish the job, sealing his second successive appearance in the All England Club final thanks to 20 aces and 18 winners in two hours and 52 minutes of nerve-wracking action. “There was still 45 minutes of light left,” Murray said of the roof controversy. “This is an outdoor event and I believe you should play as much as possible outdoors. I had 20 minutes, took a shower and got back to work. He was on his phone to someone,” he said. “That’s the way he is, he plays loose on the court as well. I’m delighted. He’s very talented and unpredictable, he’s got a huge serve and he didn’t give me AFP much rhythm,” he added.

Djokovic: sick-note Serb to GS warrior LONDON: Novak Djokovic (right) was once the sick-note Serb whose undoubted promise was at the mercy of a variety of frustrating aches, pains and assorted strains. Now, the 26-year-old world number one is the sport’s greatest warrior whose steely Serbian eyes are firmly trained on a second Wimbledon title and seventh career Grand Slam trophy in his 11th final at a major. His ability to thrive

amongst the greats was never in doubt, but the size of his heart certainly was. At Wimbledon in 2007, he retired with a back injury in the third set of his semi-final against Rafael Nadal. He also quit at the 2006 and 2007 French Opens at the third round and quarter-final stages respectively, while at the 2009 Australian Open, where he was defending champion, he pulled out of his quarterfinal with Andy Roddick cit-

ing heat exhaustion. But at the 2012 Australian Open, nobody was questioning his stamina anymore when he beat Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam final of all time, a draining 5hr 53min marathon. Another epic on Friday gave him a place in his second Wimbledon final, two years after he captured his only title at the All England Club.

His four hour 43 minute 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (6/8), 63 win over Juan Martin del Potro was the longest Wimbledon semi-final in history. Djokovic captured his first major in Melbourne in 2008, but it was three years before he added his second. He dropped gluten from his diet, his lithe physique allowing him to chase down lost causes, making him appear the rubber man of AFP tennis.

Ghost of Perry haunts Andy LONDON: Andy Murray will on Sunday again attempt to finally rid Britain of one of its most painful sporting millstones when he bids to become his country’s first Wimbledon men’s champion since 1936. Not since Fred Perry 77 years ago, in the days of amateurism, flannel trousers and wooden raquets and when the stormclouds of the Second World War gathered in Europe, has Britain had a men’s champion at the All England Club. Murray’s 2012 campaign ended in a tearful final defeat to Roger Federer, a deluge of sobbing on live television which instantly won over a British public previously sceptical of the tough-as-teak Scot. On Sunday, he takes on world number one Novak Djokovic who beat him in the Australian Open final in January although Murray won the pair’s only meeting on grass at Wimbledon at last year’s Olympics when he went on to win gold. “I think I learnt a lot from last year’s Wimbledon,” said the 26-year-old. “The one thing that stands out is I knew how I needed to play the sort of big matches, or try to play the big matches after Wimbledon, because I didn’t come away from that final doubting myself or the decisions I made on the court, because I went for it. “I lost, but I didn’t have any regrets as such.” This will be Murray’s seventh major final with his only Grand Slam title coming in New York last year when he defeated Djokovic in a five-set final. The Serb, the Wimbledon champion in 2011, will be playing in his 11th major final and seeking a seventh title. Djokovic beat Murray in the title matches in Melbourne this year as well as 2011. “I think I’ll be probably in a better place mentally. I would hope so just because I’ve been there before. I have won a Grand Slam,” he said.

SPORTS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

India back in race after win

PORT OF SPAIN: India surged back into contention in the Celkon Mobile Cup Tri-Nation Series with a crushing 102-run victory over the West Indies in the fourth match at the Queen’s Park Oval on Friday. At the bottom of the standings following defeats in Jamaica in their first two matches of the competition, the World Cup holders rebounded with a tremendous all-round effort in the sultry Trinidad conditions. Put in by home captain Dwayne Bravo, India amassed 311 for seven batting first and then earned a bonus point to go with the comprehensive win in restricting the home side to 171 all out after the Windies were set a revised target of 274 off 39 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis system following a 90-minute interruption for rain. West Indies have little time to lick their wounds as they face Sri Lanka on Sunday before the preliminary phase of the series concludes on Tuesday with India taking on Sri Lanka. The Caribbean side still top

India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni gives drinks to his teammates during the fourth match of the Tri-Nation series against West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Friday. AFP/JEWEL SAMAD

the table with nine points but India have joined Sri Lanka on five, although they still trail on net run-rate, leaving all the possibilities open ahead of the remaining fixtures. With injured regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni looking on approvingly, stand-in skipper Virat Kohli led from the front with an attacking innings of 102 - his 14th ODI century - in pacing India to their formidable total. He was given an excellent platform courtesy of an opening partnership of 123 between Shikhar Dhawan (69) and Rohit Sharma (46) and was in no mood to waste such a promising foundation, blasting his way to the hundred in the final over of the innings off 83 deliveries with 13 fours and two sixes. He struck the ball cleanly and powerfully from the start of his innings, and even though wickets were falling regularly at the other end, the attacking right-hander was able to gradually raise the tempo of his innings to the point that he was in fully cry and dominating a seventh-wicket partnership of 90 with Ravi Ashwin (25 not out) off just 52 deliveries. “More than my performance, I’m really happy that the team won, and with the bonus point to get back into contention," said a delighted Kohli after victory was formalised. “When you’ve got three quality teams in a competition like

Kohli to lead team in Zimbabwe MUMBAI: The Indian cricket Selection Committee named a 15-member squad which is set to tour Zimbabwe in an upcoming series. Mahendra Singh Dhoni who is yet to recover from the injury he sustained in West Indies did not make the cut and hence Virat Kohli has been named the captain. Ishant Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav have been rested. The selection committee also named the India ‘A’ squad which will play in South Africa later this year. Squad for Zimbabwe tour: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Parvez Rasool, Mohammed Shami, Vinay Kumar, Jaidev Unadkat, Mohit Sharma

India ‘A’ squad touring South Africa: Cheteshwar Pujara (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Ajinkya Rahane, 9. Wriddhiman Saha, Parvez Rasool, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Ishwar Chand Pandey, Jaidev Unadkat, Siddharth Kaul

SCHEDULE FOR INDIA ‘A’ IN S OUTH A FRICA : August 8: 1st ODI vs Australia ‘A’ August 9: 2nd ODI vs South Africa ‘A’ August 11: 3rd ODI vs Australia ‘A’ August 12: 4th ODI vs South Africa ‘A’ August 14: Tri-series Final August 17 – 20: 1st Four Day Game August 24 – 27: 2nd Four Day Game

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring his century during the fourth match of the Tri-Nation series between against West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Friday. AFP/JEWEL SAMAD

INDIA SURGED BACK INTO CONTENTION IN THE TRI-NATION SERIES WITH A CRUSHING 102RUN VICTORY OVER THE WEST INDIES IN THE FOURTH MATCH. this, you can expect turnarounds like what happened here. I’m just happy we’ve got the result we wanted today so we’ll see what happens on Sunday to know what we have to do in our final match."

India’s bowlers were equally determined in defence of the total, the seamers showing impressive energy and hostility to strike important early blows, none more vital than Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s removal of the dangerous Chris Gayle for just ten in only the third over. Omitted from the side for what proved a humiliating 161run defeat to Sri Lanka in Jamaica, Kumar fully justified his recall, adding the scalps of Darren Bravo and Kieron Pollard for a first-ball “duck” for good measure. Umesh Yadav also snared three wickets while the giant Ishant Sharma accounted for two key victims upon the resumption from the rain-break, including top-scorer Johnson Charles (45), during a nightmarish period of play for the home side when they slipped from 64

Score Board India Innings R. Sharma c Ramdin b Best 46 S. Dhawan c D.M. Bravo b Roach 69 V. Kohli c Sammy b D.J. Bravo 102 S. Raina c Sammy b Samuels 10 D. Karthik c Ramdin b Best 6 M. Vijay c Charles b Pollard 27 R. Jadeja run out 2 R. Ashwin not out 25 Extras (4b, 7lb, 13w) 24 Total (7 wickets, 50 overs) 311 Bowling: Sammy 8-1-28-0 (1w), Roach 10-2-69-1 (2w), Best 10-0-51-2 (5w), D.J. Bravo 7-0-57-1 (4w), Narine 5-1-35-0, Samuels 8-0-39-1, Pollard 2-0-21-1 (1w). West Indies Innings (Revised target: 274 off 39 overs) C. Gayle c Karthik b Kumar 10 J. Charles c Raina b I. Sharma 45 D.M. Bravo c Ashwin b Kumar 1 M. Samuels c Karthik b I. Sharma 6 K. Pollard c Ashwin b Kumar 0 D.J. Bravo lbw Yadav 14 D. Ramdin c Kumar b Yadav 9 D. Sammy lbw Yadav 12 K. Roach b Jadeja 34 S. Narine c I. Sharma b Jadeja 21 T. Best not out 0 Extras (1b, 10lb, 8w) 19 Total (10 wickets, 34 overs) 171 Bowling: Kumar 8-1-29-3 (1w), Yadav 8-1-32-3 (4w), Sharma 7-1-30-2 (3w), Jadeja 7-1-44-2, Ashwin 4-0-25-0. Result: India won by 102 runs on D/L Method

for two to 69 for five. An entertaining ninth-wicket partnership of 58 between Kemar Roach and Sunil Narine threatened to deny India the critical bonus point before Ravindra Jadeja ended the unexpected resistance with AFP two wickets in two balls.

Warner could feature in first Test: Clarke

LONDON: (AFP) - Australia

captain Michael Clarke said Friday that David Warner could still feature in next week’s first Test against England despite his recent ban. Warner was suspended by Australian officials from all cricket until the Ashes opener at Trent Bridge after it was revealed he’d punched England’s Joe Root in a Birmingham bar following the hosts Champions Trophy win over their archrivals. The length of Warner’s ban led to a widespread belief there was no realistic way the batsman, primarily an opener, could feature when Australia begin their bid to regain the Ashes in Nottingham on July 10. Clarke stood down as a selector after Mickey Arthur was sacked as coach fewer than two weeks ago and replaced by Darren Lehmann. That means the star batsman

won’t have a formal say in selecting the side to play England but his backing for Warner was clear after Australia settled for a draw in their final warm-up match against Worcestershire. “I think he’s served his punishment. His punishment was no cricket up to the first Test match," said Clarke. “Now it’s about working out what our best team is. I don’t believe David

won’t be selected because of punishment, I think that’s been dealt with. “The selectors will take into consideration that he hasn’t played much cricket in the last couple of weeks but with Davey it’s more about his mind being clear and playing with intent. “I don’t think Davey is the type of player that needs two four-day games to get runs and feel confident. If he’s in the right place and batting well in the nets I have confidence that, if the selectors do pick him, he can walk straight into the first Test and make a hundred." Clarke said Warner had knuckled down to training since his ban. “He’s had plenty of net sessions. He’s been in the nets every day," Clarke explained. “Just looking at him now he looks a lot fitter than he has been and he’s been working AFP extra hard.

SPORTS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013

David Moyes aims to make his mark on United

Moyes plans to put his own stamp on United but vowed to continue the attacking traditions of the club. plans to put his own “stamp” on Manchester United but vowed to continue the attacking traditions of the reigning Premier League champions. The former Everton boss has replaced the retired Alex Ferguson and is said to have continued on the success of the club that has won 20 English league titles, three European Cups, 11 FA Cups, four League Cups and a European Cup Winners’ Cup in a successladen history. “Whoever was going to take over this job knows what the manager did before,” Moyes, who has never won a major trophy, said. “The manager before was incredible. His achievements, there are no better. “All I can do is what David Moyes has done before. I will definitely continue the traditions of Manchester United, but I have to put my own stamp on the club. “I’m very fortunate I’m taking

Rooney not for sale: David

Manchester United’s Scottish manager David Moyes poses for photographs beside the Manchester United club crest at Old Trafford in Manchester, northwest England on Friday. AFP/PAUL ELLIS over the champions of England, so that gives me a great start, better than most would get. “I’ve come to a club where success is tattooed across the badge. This club is about winning

trophies and I’ve come to continue that. “It’s something I’m looking forward to doing. It will not change me, I’m determined to try to get the first one on the board.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager David Moyes insisted that Wayne Rooney is not for sale as he faced the world’s media on Friday for the first time since his appointment. Moyes is adamant that the striker, who Ferguson claimed had requested a transfer before the end of last season, will not be leaving the club, but he stopped short of confirming that the England international had declared an intention to stay. He said that he had spoken to Rooney since he returned for preseason training on Wednesday, but he would not reveal what was said during the conversations. AFP “I am inexperienced in a lot of those things. Some brilliant managers could have taken this role but the bigger confidence I can take is Ferguson telling me he wanted me to be the next

CR7 rebuffs transfer rumours HAS DENIED SPECULATION HE WILL RETURN TO MANCHESTER UNITED NEXT SEASON, CLAIMING HIS FUTURE LIES WITH REAL MADRID. ed to move back to United, where he enjoyed six successful years from 2003 to 2009, winning the Champions League and three Premier League titles. One Spanish league title and one Spanish Cup success is scant reward from four years in the Spanish capital and with Jose Mourinho having walked away from the Bernabeu to rejoin Chelsea, many believed Ronaldo would follow him back to England. He added fuel to the fire last season when speaking of his personal sadness but the 28-year-old has now put paid to any sugges-

Neymar recovering well from surgery RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian football star Neymar is recovering well after undergoing tonsil and nasal surgery in Rio on Friday, according to a statement signed by his doctor. The 21-year-old prodigy, who helped his national squad crush Spain 3-0 in the Confederations Cup final

last Sunday, is to remain at the Sao Vicente clinic until Saturday for observation, the medical bulletin said. Neymar will then convalesce for 10 days in Rio before heading for Spain. “All went very well,” the medical AFP bulletin said.

tions about a departure. He says he is instead looking to earn more success with Real and Portugal. “I’m always looking forward to being better and better during the season so this year’s going to be the same. I will try to be focused every time to win La Liga and the Champions (League) like we always (try to) do. “I’m enjoying, of course, playing there. I’ve played in Spain for four years so I want to continue there. And for the national team also that we can qualify for the World Cup will be a big goal for us, so we are focused on that and I look forward to being in the World Cup too.” Ronaldo’s current contract at Real is due to run out in two years time and he has so far been unwilling to prolong it. That has alerted interest from mega-rich French pair Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco as well as United.

SOLUTIONS

Inter Milan sign Algeria’s Belfodil PARIS: Inter Milan have sign Algerian forward Ishak Belfodil from Parma for an undisclosed fee, the 2010 Champions League winners said on their official website Friday. The 21-year-old has signed a five-year deal through to June 2018. The transfer fee is rumoured in the Italian press to be around 10 million euros ($13 million). “Inter are a great team, I’m really delighted and I hope to do well here,” said the player who came through the ranks at French club Lyon. Last season he scored eight goals in 33 matches for Parma. Inter also announced that Argentine international goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo had extended his contract until 2015.

AFP

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CRISTIANO RONALDO

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PARIS: Cristiano Ronaldo has denied speculation he will return to Manchester United next season, claiming his future lies with Real Madrid. Speaking at an event in Monaco he told reporters that rumours of an imminent return to Old Trafford were wide of the mark. “It’s a club (United) that’s been in my heart since I was there so everyone knows that I have a passion for that club but my future now is at Real Madrid and I want to be there,” said the Portugal forward. “It’s not the best day to speak about my future. I’m going to have time to speak about that at the beginning of the season. “Basically it’s (time) to rest (after) 10 months of a hard season. It’s basically to rest, to be with my family, my kid, my girlfriend and to rest. “Just to rest, do a lot of the beach, massage, playing a little tennis, that’s it.” Speculation began at the end of last season that Ronaldo want-

Manchester United manager.” Moyes revealed that he has asked Paul Scholes to come on to the coaching staff at the club following the appointments of Ryan Giggs as player/coach and former United defender Phil Neville, who played under him at Everton, as first-team coach. However, Scholes has turned down the opportunity for now as he looks to spend some time with his family before deciding what the future holds after he retired for a second time at the end of the season. “He has been fantastic, he wanted to give me as much help and direction on things and we spent over an hour on the phone, but he wants to give his family some time,” said Moyes. “But there will be a place for him - we will look to bring him back in when he is ready.” Moyes refused to confirm that he would have any new players in place before United jet off for their pre-season tour next week.

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MANCHESTER: David Moyes