APSRTC SETS A NEW RECORD, AND IT’S NOT HAPPY AT ALL Almost 1.10 lakh APSRTC employees, out of a total of 1.22 lakh boycotted their duties and did not report for work across the state. PG 5
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SEPTEMBER 7, 2013 HYDERABAD
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CITY ON THE BRINK!
The police and citizens are on tenterhooks as protests raged across the City threatening to spillover onto the streets of Hyderabad.
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PAGE TWO SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
GREEN GANESHA
Artistic strokes Exhibition of paintings of Madhu Kuruva is on. Where: Beyond Coffee, Jubilee Hills When: Till September 9, 11 am to 11 pm Contact: 2354-5359
Telugu play Telugu play Adventures Of Chinnari will be staged. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: September 7, 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm Contact: 83411-20303
Eco-friendly
Actress and activist Amala Akkineni launched Clay Ganesha Campaign 2013 at Lumbini Park on Friday.
Singing sensation Shreya Ghoshal will be performing live.
Workshop on making eco-friendly Ganesha idols. Where: Treasure House, Jubilee Hills When: September 7, 4 pm to 6 pm Contact: 2355-0118, www.treasurehouse.in
Couture show Tarun Tahiliani in association with Trident, Hyderabad presents Tarun Tahiliani’s AW 2013-14 & Couture Collection 2013-14. Where: The Kaveri, Trident, Hyderabad. When: September 12, 6.30 pm
Paint my Ganesh A workshop on how to make clay Ganeshas and using natural colours will be held. Where: People’s Plaza, Tankbund
Where: Shilpa Kala Vedika, Madhapur When: September 7, 7 pm Contact: 93919-71600 / 9985625155 When: September 8, 10 am Contact: 90000-25066
Movie mania Film Inshallah, Kashmir: Living Terror will be screened. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: September 10, 7 pm Contact: 96427-31329
CINEMAS
organised. Where: The Birthplace, Banjara Hills When: September 7, 3.30 pm to 5 pm Contact: 98855-69459
Film fest The Last Day — a film By Siddhartha Gigoo will be screened. Where: Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Banjara Hills When: September 8, 10 am Contact: 2360-8015 / 2355-3017
Yoga Overview of prenantal yoga will be
Onam celebrations Kerala Kalotsavam will be held. Where: Rail Kalarang, Bhoiguda When: September 7 & 8, 3 pm Contact: 2778-6714
Film festival Waiting movie by Atul Gupta and Shabnam Ara will be screened. Where: Hyderabad Central University, Gachibowli When: September 12, 2.30 pm Contact: 2313-2110
Movies from Kashmir A Diary Of Aggression, a film by NVK Murthy will be screened. Where: Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Banjara Hills When: September 7, 1.15 pm Contact: 2360-8015 / 2355-3017
World in their stage Dramanon presents play Love Letters. Where: Novotel Hyderabad Convention Center, Hitech City When: September 8, 7 pm to 10 pm Contact: 97010-52861
Music concert Music concert by French singer Norig will be held. Where: Taj Banjara, Banjara Hills When: September 7, 7 pm Contact: Alliance Francaise of Hyderabad, at 2355-4485 / 86
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
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CITY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
SBH donates one day’s pay
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ith a view to extend help to rebuild Uttarakhand state, the employees of State Bank of Hyderabad (a socially responsible Bank) have donated a day’s wages amounting to `1,88,98,610.51(Rupees One crore eighty eight lakh ninety eight thousand six hundred ten and paise fifty one) to The Chief Minister Relief Fund - Uttarakhand.
Most of the Seemandhra and Telangana leaders have shifted base to Delhi so as not to get caught in the likely clash of the APNGOA and TJAC. Seemandhra leaders have an additional worry— they have forfeited the people’s trust, as many believe they did nothing to prevent the division of the State but lip-service.
Star Homeopathy’s new logo
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ahmed.m@postnoon.com
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t is not only the cops who are worried about the protest programmes of the warring Telangana and Seemandhra
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he bandh call given by Telangana Joint Action Committee was successful in the entire Telangana region including Hyderabad. The 10 districts of the region witnessed complete paralysis of normal life including closure all commercial establishments. TJAC Pro. Kodandaram called upon the Telangana people to observe restrain and resort to violence.
Netas fly away fearing mass ire TEAM - T
Jana Reddy
Uttam Kumar
INKESHAF AHMED
TJAC bandh call successful
n a programme held on Thursday at Madhapur famous tollywood actress Aaksha (Kandireega) launched the logo of Star Homeopathy and Star Ayurveda Integratred Super Speciality Clinic in the presence of the organisation CMD Dr. Murali Anki Reddy, Directiors Dr. Rama Krishna, Dr. Srinivasa Gupta and Dr. Ravinder Reddy.
Ponnala
Geeta Reddy
employees. Top politicians of the State especially state cabinet ministers are also anxious about the developments. Anticipating trouble, several ministers especially from Seemandhra region have left for New Delhi. These ministers include
TEAM - S
Raghuveera
Sailajanath
Anam
Vasant Kumar
Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Seemandhra Congress Leaders’ Forum convenor Dr S Sailajanath, N Raghuveera Reddy, V Vasanth Kumar, Syed Mohammad Ahamadullah, and Kanna Lakshminarayana. The cabinet ministers in their efforts to tell the world
they are doing everything to stop the bifurcation, go around meeting Central leaders who are easily available, chiefly AP in-charge Digvijay Singh and other mid-level functionaries to put up a facade of fight. The biggest worry of these leaders seems to be the reluctance of the Seemandhra people in acknowledging their efforts. “We have been sincerely making efforts to see that the process of the division of the state is stopped. But people of our regions don’t believe us, and they think that we are doing nothing. This is our biggest concern at this juncture,” a senior Cabinet minister from Andhra region told Postnoon from New Delhi. He said that they are frantically looking for ways to regain the trust of the people. It may be recalled here that the Seemandhra Cabinet ministers held a sit-in programme demanding that the state not be divided. The leaders are now plan-
ning to stay put in Delhi till they get some form of relief from the party high command. “We do not have any option but to stay put here. We can’t even visit our constituencies for fear of the people’s wrath. We will continue our efforts to prevent the division of the state by exploring all options,” another cabinet minister told Postnoon.
T- MINISTERS
TOO JOIN
Cabinet ministers from Telangana region also shifted their base to New Delhi. The leaders visit to Delhi was the result of the reports of making Hyderabad into a Union Territory. These ministers include K Jana Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Dr J Geeta Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy. The T-ministers met with Digvijay Singh and exhorted him to speed up the process of the creation of Telangana state. They reportedly told the AICC AP in-charge that inordinate delay in creation of the T-state was creating many doubts in the minds of the people and leaders in the region.
‘Greedy’ doc in dock He had got a bungalow-worth `3 cr from his in-laws marrying their doctor daughter. Despite that, himself a doctor and the son of a doctor, he harassed his wife for more. She decided that enough was enough and approached the Begumpet police, Now her husband is in the dock.
Mohd Subhan
mohd.s@postnoon.com
O
ne Dr Rahil, aged 35, has been taken into custody by the Begumpet police on a complaint from his doctor wife who said her husband and father-in-law had been harassing her for `35 lakh despite getting `3 crore at the time of marriage. A native of Kurnool, Dr Rahil’s father Dr B Yadaiah owns a hospital there. According to details, Dr Rahil married Dr Vinitha, 30, a resident of Regimental Bazaar in 2011. At the time of marriage her father, an
SURESH YADAV HAD GIVEN A `3 CRORE-WORTH BUNGALOW AT BALKAMPET IN SR NAGAR, BESIDES `15 LAKH IN CASH, AND A KILOGRAM OF GOLD. industrialist, Suresh Yadav had given a `3 crore-worth bungalow at Balkampet in SR Nagar, besides `15 lakh in cash, and a kilogram of gold. The Begumpet police on preliminary inquiries found the allegations true and so arrested him.
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CITY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
DARK AND DEEP The cast of the film of JohnDay, Randeep Hooda, Elena Kazan and the debutant director Ahishor Solomon were in the city at the Coffee Cafe store to promote their movie. For them this is a special movie in a different way. Arun D Yellamaty arunyellamaty@postnoon.com
I decided to do a film after I saw a fight when was at a bar where few people were beating this one man badly, in frustration this man jumped and bit someone's neck. That image stuck in my head.
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andeep Hooda, says his role in JohnDay is his darkest yet. “The movie is about two people, Naseeruddin Shah and me, I play the role of the man who is upset with life and wants to take revenge for what happened to him when he was in an orphanage; and Naseeruddin Shah plays a role of a man who has a good life, everything working right for him. The movie discusses the choices we make, where we have the right to choose to be either good, or bad.” It is when the two meet that the ‘fun’ begins, said Hooda. “The movie is a criminal drama, it's got enough sexuality and is unique," he explained. "I have never played such a dark role before.” The female lead Elena said her role is that of an Irani girl in love with a drunkard. “It's a very sad and intense role," she observed. Solomon who makes his debut in direction with JohnDay, said the germ of the story for the movie came to him when he witnessed a bar fight. “Some people were beating up this man badly when he pounced on one of his assaulters and bit his neck,” he recalled. Solomon said that’s when it struck him that in every man there is a dangerous instinct. “And I wanted to show that through the movie,” he said. When Randeep was asked about starring with actresses
Ahishor Solomon
I have never played such a dark role in any of my movies before. Randeep Hooda PERSONALLY SPEAKING: When Randeep was asked about starring with actresses like Sunny Leone, Elena and other new comers, he said, "I do not have any say in the actors who are picked for the film and talking about the actresses I have work with… yes… I have an enviable job for some people.” N SHIVA KUMAR
SOLOMON WHO MAKES HIS DEBUT IN DIRECTION WITH JOHNDAY, SAID THE GERM OF THE STORY FOR THE MOVIE CAME TO HIM WHEN HE WITNESSED A BAR FIGHT.
like Sunny Leone, Elena and other new comers, he said, "I do not have any say in the actors who are picked for the film and talking about the actresses I have work with… yes… I have an enviable job for some people.” About the talk that he started out in films due to Sushmita Sen, Hooda says that was a long time ago.
“No one knew me then. Now I am known for what I have done and my hard work,” the actor asserted. When Elena was asked about how she feels about comparisons to Sunny Leone and others who are now making a mark in the industry, she said, "It’s up to the directors to pick the people they like. Comparing me to others, it's
It's a very sad and intense role. Elena Kezan up to them, what can I say?" The actress has worked in Bengali and Tamil films and looks forward to work in a Telugu film too.
Audiences set for a Dolby Toofan Dolby Laboratories announced the arrival of its latest audio technology, Dolby Atmos at Prasads Cinemas.
Postnoon news feedback@postnoon.com
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ven as Ram Charan’s much-anticipated Toofan, released on Friday, Hyderabad’s audiences watching the movie at Prasads Cinema will be in for a treat as Dolby Laboratories has launched their latest revolutionary audio technology, Dolby Atmos, at the cinema. Dolby Laboratories on Friday announced the arrival of its latest audio technology, Dolby Atmos, in Hyderabad. Prasads Cinemas is the first cinema in the city to offer Dolby Atmos, which aims to revolutionise the experience of sound in entertainment.
Commenting at the launch, Ramesh Prasad, Chairman, Prasad Media Corporation Cinemas, said, "Prasads Cinemas will be the first cinema chain in Hyderabad to introduce Dolby Atmos. Our endeavor has always been to elevate the cinematic experience for our audiences by bringing the best technologies to our set-up. Dolby has always been synonymous with great cinema sound." Dolby Atmos delivers a more natural and realistic soundfield, which transports people into the story with a lifelike, sensory experience. Dolby Atmos has been installed in Screen 4 of Prasads Cinemas. Thoofan, the Telugu version of Zanjeer, directed by Apoorva
Lakhia that stars Ram Charan Teja and Priyanka Chopra, will be the first Telugu movie to be released with Dolby Atmos sound. Pankaj Kedia, Country Manager, Dolby Laboratories, said, “Dolby Atmos is one of our most significant innovations in recent years. It represents the future of cinema sound and reaffirms our unwavering commitment to advancing the cinema experience with groundbreaking new technologies.” Talking about the relationship, Kedia further commented: “We are very excited to work with Prasads Cinemas who are the first cinema chain to bring Dolby Atmos to Hyderabad.”
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CITY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
APSRTC sets a new record, and it’s not happy at all Almost 1.10 lakh APSRTC employees, out of a total of 1.22 lakh boycotted their duties and did not report for work across the state. Md Inkeshaf Ahmed ahmed.m@postnoon.com The state-run APSRTC went down in the annals of infamy today by creating a unique and embarrassing record. Over one lakh employees of the corporation from all the three regions — Telangana, Rayalaseema and Andhra —did not report for duty this morn-
ing, following an attempt to support the agitations being organised by Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) and AP Non-Gazetted Officers Association (AP NGOA) today. While the APNGO employees are organising a ‘Save Andhra Pradesh’ meeting today, the TJAC has called a complete bandh of Telangana protesting the holding of the meeting. The corporation, which is one of biggest public carriers in the world, has never witnessed such a situation since the eruption of the separate Telangana movement in 2009. “We have never experienced such a situation. Almost 1.10 lakh employees, out of a total of 1.22 lakh have boycotted their duties and did not report to work across the state. “We are operating only 150 buses in the temple town of Tirumala for the convenience of
devotees today," said the executive director (Operations) of APSRTC GV Ramana Rao.
According to Rao the corporation stands to incur a loss of `20 crore in one day alone
OU, Nizam college erupt Aleena Alice aleena.t@postnoon.com The bandh called by TJAC has once again turned Osmania University into a battleground. Students living on campus resorted to stone-pelting when the police closed the NCC Gate at OU. Students shouted slogans against the police and demanded that they remove the barricades. But their demands did not have any effect on the police as they continued to enforce law and order in the area. Normal vehicular movement on campus was also disrupted, due to ARUN YELLAMATY
the closure of the gates. At Nizam College hostel, located in Basheerbagh abutting LB Stadium, witnessed tense moments. The police faced the ire of OU Students at Nizam College hostel when the former tried to vacate non-
boarders this morning. The police went to the hostel to vacate non-boarders staying illegally. Their attempts were met with huge resistance from students. The students also staged a surprise sit-in in front of the hostel. Some stu-
dents also resorted to stonepelting to disperse the police. The bandh also led to the complete closure of educational institutions across the City. From primary schools to junior and degree colleges all declared a holiday as a precautionary measure. The offices of the district administrations of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy also remained closed. However, emergency services were spared from the purview of the bandh. All government and private hospitals operated normally across the City.
Menace on bikes hits commerce
Postnoon News
feedback@postnoon.com The streets of Madhapur and surrounding areas lay deserted as Telangana activists made the rounds forcing commercial establishments to shut down and threatening people to stay indoors due to the Telangana bandh in the city on Saturday. Around 30 people on 15 motorcycles roamed the streets and walked into shops that were opened for business and asked them to shut THEM down.
A security guard, S Sharma, had a tough time when 10 people surrounded him in front of the shop he was guarding: “These people came and threatened me that they would beat me up and also ransack the shop if we didn’t shut down.” Tiffin center owner, Ramesh Kumar, said, “There were close to 10 customers who were eating their morning tiffin and people walked in and threatened them and asked them to leave and made me shut down the shop.” General stores were also asked to shut down, even petrol bunks were shut.
because of the complete halt of operations. It may be emphasised here that the corporation is already suffering a loss of `13 crore per day over the last 35 days due to the suspension of bus services in the Seemandhra region. In Hyderabad City too, over 20 thousand employees did not report for duty bringing the entire bus operation across the GHMC area to a standstill. "The Greater Hyderabad zone has 20 thousand employees and not a single employee reported for duty. The corporation will incur a loss of `2.5 crore due to this bandh," executive director of Greater Hyderabad Zone A, Koteswara Rao told Postnoon this morning. He also stated that as many as six buses belonging to the Corporation came under attack at different places across the GHMC region.
Police thwart attempt to crash APNGOA party Mohd. Subhan mohd.s@postnoon.com The bandh called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) from midnight of Friday led to violence in various parts of the City. TJAC and Madiga Reservation Porta Samithi (MRPS) activists burnt and disfigured statues of former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy on Road No. 1 Banjara Hills. The Assistant Commissioner of Police Special Branch (West Zone) P Kaushal Ram confirmed the news and said that they were on looking for the vandals. He further added that proTelangana activists also made a futile attempt to damage the statue of Vishweraiah at Khairatabad junction. Many state-run APSRTC buses came under attack at Kothapeta and Hayathnagar. Scores of Telangana activists attempted to barge into the LB Stadium to stall the APNGOA meeting. However, the police thwarted their attempts and took the activists into custody. The City police have made elaborate arrangements to avoid any violent incidents around LB stadium. Roads leading to LB Stadium were barricaded and traffic was diverted.
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NATION SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Prez at Jagannath temple
Vigil held for killed Indians
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he local Indian American community was in shock as a vigil was held outside Saleh’s Market in Elkhart, Indiana, where two Sikh men, Jagtar Bhatti and Pawan Preet Singh, running a grocery store were shot and killed during an attempted robbery. Both were natives of Punjab. The community has urged the US government to take measures to protect them.
P
resident Pranab Mukherjee Saturday offered prayers at the 12th century Jagannath temple in the beach town of Puri, officials said. The president reached the temple, about 55 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, at 7.10 am. He was greeted by officials and temple functionaries. Mukherjee offered prayers to different deities inside the temple complex. He visited the sanctum sanctorum and offered prayers to Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra.
Modi top choice as PM: Survey The BJP-led NDA has a clear edge over the UPA in terms of support base if Lok Sabha polls were held now and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s performance is rated below that of his government, says a opinion survey released Friday.
NEW DELHI: The BJP-led NDA has a clear edge over the UPA in terms of support base if Lok Sabha polls were held now and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s performance is rated below that of his government, says a opinion survey released Friday. According to the latest survey conducted by ABP News-Nieslen, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is leading the race for the post of prime minister. “If the Lok Sabha elections were to be held now, 40 percent respondents intend to vote for NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and only 27 percent would vote for UPA (United Progressive Alliance),” said a release. These release said that survey data could be a major setback for Manmohan Singh as his performance has been rated “below average.” It said people in north zone have rated his performance even poorer. “Prime minister’s performance is rated below UPA-II government’s performance,” it said. It said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerges as a clear winner across all zones (more so in north and west zones) and gender. Major support is seen gained from younger lot (18-30 years). Congress, however, is neck and neck with BJP in the southern zone. The survey said more than 60 percent have rated Modi’s performance “as good/very good”. Modi is chief of BJP’s campaign committee for the Lok Sabha elections and seen to be its prime ministerial candidate.
“Narendra Modi is leading the race (47 percent) for prime minister followed by Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. Modi is popular among voters from north, younger generation and affluent sections,” it said. “Across all zones except South, Narendra Modi emerges as the clear choice of the people for the position of Prime Minister of India. In south zone, it is neck and neck between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi,” it said. It said majority of the respondents all across feel that Modi should be BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections “In a scenario, where it a competition between Priyanka Gandhi and Modi, BJP seems to be gaining more than Congress, even greater that it would have gained had it been some other candidate from Congress,” the survey said. The survey said 40 percent of those surveyed feel Manmohan Singh was responsible for poor economic situation of the country, but in the south, 45 percent feel that it is Finance Minister - P. Chidambram who is responsible. The release said that a major fraction (42 percent) of people in north zone were unhappy with the performance of UPA-II. IANS
Survey finds
I
f the Lok Sabha elections were to be held now, 40 percent respondents intend to vote for NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and only 27 percent would vote for UPA (United Progressive Alliance) It said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerges as a clear winner across all zones (more so in north and west zones) and gender. Major support is seen gained from younger lot (18-30 years). Congress, however, is neck and neck with BJP in the southern zone.
Encephalitis in UP: 2 dead
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wo more children today succumbed to encephalitis at BRD Medical College Hospital here, taking the death toll in the disease in eastern Uttar Pradesh to 237, health officials said. As many as 19 fresh encephalitis patients were admitted to BRD-MCH today and two children died of the disease, the officials said.
Chinese infra better: Antony NEW DELHI: China has not occupied Indian territory afresh or stopped Indian troops from accessing any part of Indian land, Defence Minister AK Antony asserted Friday but admitted that China’s infrastructure in the border areas was superior and this “mistake” has to be accepted by all. Replying to clarifications on his statement on the report by National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) chairman Shyam Saran on infrastructure in Ladakh, Antony told the Rajya Sabha that India had started building its infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after years of indifference. The minister said there had been a policy in the past not to develop border areas. He said while trying to improve relations with China and find solution to the boundary problem, the government will continue to strengthen capabilities
along the border. Antony said there were disputed areas along the LAC and both sides conduct patrols according to their perception. Earlier, in his statement in the two houses, he denied reports that Saran had said in his report that China had occupied 640 km of Indian territory.
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WORLD SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Quake hits Guatemala
Rodman arrives sans Bae BEIJING: Former NBA star Dennis
US judge frees woman
SAN SALVADOR: A strong 6.5 magni-
Rodman returned to China from Pyongyang after a five-day trip when he met North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, but without jailed American Kenneth Bae. The flamboyant exChicago Bulls player arrived at Beijing airport on a flight from North Korea, an AFP photographer witnessed, with a cigar clamped in his mouth.
LOS ANGELES: A German-born
tude earthquake struck the territories of southern Guatemala and El Salvador, US seismologists said, though officials said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.The US Geological Survey said the quake struck just six kilometers from Pajapita, Guatemala at a depth 67.7 kilometers.
woman was freed from jail after more than two decades behind bars for the murder of her four-year-old son, after a judge ordered a retrial, a police spokesman said. Debra Milke, 49, was freed on $250,000 bail pending the retrial, scheduled after a court in Arizona threw out her death sentence earlier in the year.
John Kerry embarks on critical tour of split Europe Kerry will press the case for punitive action against Syria after what the United States says was a chemical weapons attack by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad near Damascus, despite a lingering deep split among global powers. CLAIRE ROSEMBERG Agence France-Presse
VILNIUS: US Secretary of State John Kerry will Saturday seek to rally EU support for military strikes against Syria after a G20 summit failed to resolve bitter divisions between Washington and Moscow. Kerry will press the case for punitive action against Syria after what the United States says was a chemical weapons attack by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad near Damascus, despite a lingering deep split among global powers. On Friday, US President Barack Obama and Russian leader Vladimir Putin failed to resolve their differences at the summit in Saint Petersburg as half of the G20 called for a “strong” response to last month’s alleged chemical attack. Kerry is to hold talks with the European Union’s 28 foreign ministers in Lithuania, which currently holds the EU’s rotating chair, with the bloc itself sharply split. Only France has said it is ready to take part in military action, while Britain — whose parliament voted against any
involvement — and Denmark have expressed support. France was one of four European nations — with Britain, Italy and Spain — that signed a statement Friday at the G20 meeting calling for a “strong international response” to the chemical attack widely attributed to the Assad regime. The statement, signed by 11 of the G20 nations — but not by
Germany — said the response would “send a clear message that this kind of atrocity can never be repeated”. It did not specify military action and European diplomats said the language remained unclear. Obama said Friday in Saint Petersburg that the world could not “stand idly by” but Putin warned that it would be “outside the law” to attack with-
out the UN’s blessing. Putin also said Russia would “help Syria” if the US were to strike, pointing to existing military, economic and humanitarian cooperation. Washington has prepared the ground for possible strikes, evacuating non-essential embassy staff from Beirut and urging Americans to avoid all travel to Lebanon and southern Turkey.
As well as the stubborn international differences, the US administration still has to win backing from Congress for any action against Syria. Congress reconvenes on Monday and Obama addresses the nation on Tuesday. But he acknowledged that convincing Congress to back military action against the Syrian regime would be a “heavy lift”. “I understand the scepticism,” the US president said. The world is still waiting for a much-anticipated report by United Nations inspectors on the deadly August 21 attacks that left hundreds dead. At the Russian summit, French President Francois Hollande vowed to wait for the UN report before joining any military action, a decision welcomed by Germany. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urged the UN to publish its report “as quickly as possible” to help Europe’s divided leaders determine a response. Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told reporters it was essential to wait for the UN report as “it will be the best picture we can get from any source”.
Films from Japan, World powers to give UK tipped to win Iran break at IAEA
Abbott set to become Oz PM
VENICE: Movies from Britain, Japan and the United States are tipped by critics as favourites to win Venice’s Golden Lion prize this year, due to be announced at the world’s oldest film festival on Saturday. British director Stephen Frears provoked a hugely enthusiastic response with his charming tragi-comedy Philomena, the true tale of a mother’s search for her son after he is given up for adoption by Catholic nuns in Ireland. Japanese Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki impressed with The Wind Rises, the tale of a boy who yearns to design planes. It is based partly on the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man behind Japan’s deadly A6M Zero fighter aircraft.
SYDNEY: Millions of Australians voted in national
VIENNA: World powers are expected to give Iran a rare break at a UN atomic agency meeting starting Monday, in order not to jeopardise diplomatic efforts with Tehran’s conciliatory-sounding new government. But diplomats said that if there was no real progress by the next quarterly gathering in November of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation board of governors, Iran would again feel the heat. “Things have changed on the ground in Iran. We have a new government, a new president and there has been a change in tone from the Iranian government, which we recognise and welcome,” one senior Western envoy said. “By November there will have been another round of negotiations with the IAEA.”
elections with conservative challenger Tony Abbott heading for a thumping victory over Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Polling booths opened at with 14.7 million electors taking part in a mandatory ballot across the huge country where last-minute opinion polls showed Abbott on track for a landslide win. A Newspoll published in The Australian on Saturday put his Liberal/National coalition ahead 54 to 46 percent on a two-party basis, the same as a Nielsen poll in the Sydney Morning Herald. That represents a four percentage point swing since the last election in 2010.
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COMMENT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
EDITORIALS BIG CHANGES expected of state If it makes If it makes up its collective mind, a state can achieve unbelievable objectives. Criticism on its viability aside, the Food Security Bill is a perfect example of this. When a 50-crore population, which does not have to worry where the next meal will come from, expends its energy fruitfully, the magnitude of its achievement is bound to be humongous. One such initiative is taken up by Karnataka. The state government has decided to come out with a policy for wind energy besides updating the solar energy policy to include plans for encouraging roof-top grid connected solar power plants and solar-powered water pumps. Tapping all renewable energy sources is a perfect first step towards the progress of a state. Be it in rural area or urban, almost everything depends on power. When there is power, life is in full swing, and with its shutdown, things come to a standstill. Fossil fuels are not only limited, they are a big drain on the country’s exchequer. Also, ours is tropical country, rich in renewable energy resources. Post-monsoon periods are the most productive ones here because of power availability. But geographical terrains determine the extent to which hydro power can be tapped and distributed. Solar and wind power, like Gujarat has proved, hold tremendous promise.
WHY WE LOVE... the IOC In a cricket crazy country that ours is, this could have been done best by the BCCI, but it took the non-partisan IOC to put its foot down on corruption in India, well at least that in the sports administration. It takes thorough professionalism to make it good on the Olympic platform. Amateur Indian athletes need all possible support to meet international standards, which certainly is not going to come forth from manipulating officials. The IOC’s un-minced ultimatum to the IOA is sure to bring a positive change, hoping that this proves just a hiccup for the Indian athlete.
Godmen, conmen Soul Curry SUMAA TEKUR
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hat is it with godmen and their devious ways? It was not too long ago when self-styled godman Nityananda was caught on camera at the start of what looked like a bedroom romp. The images played over and over again on national TV, with broadcasters jumping at this almost-official license to play a soft porn reality show in prime time. And earlier this week, Asaram Bapu was arrested for allegedly molesting a minor girl. It’s ironic, and tragic, that teachers of life philosophy and those who claim to show people the right path to happiness and inner peace, are the ones who are taking away that very peace. Then again, those who understand the play of karma know this only too well that life is meant to throw you off balance every now and then just so that
HOW PURE ARE THEY? BUT AREN’T THEY ALSO ONLY HUMAN? HOW CAN THEY SHOW ME MY PATH? WOULD THEY EVEN KNOW WHAT MY PATH IS LIKELY TO BE? you can get back up much stronger than you were. It also pushes you around, makes you meet the wrong people, makes you trust them just so that lessons can be learnt and you can grow. These stories of godmen who are conmen are not uncommon these days. Bigger the guru, bigger the headlines. But smaller regional stories of so-called spiritual gurus conning groups of followers makes it to the newspapers every other day. One wonders how many more there are that get hushed up and die within suffering individuals. In May last year, I had written a column about an Indian-
American Vikram Gandhi, who conducted a social experiment in the US to understand if a placebo effect of a spiritual guru would work just as well as a real guru. Gandhi filmed this experiment as a documentary titled Kumare: The True Story of a False Prophet. In this experiment, Gandhi claimed that he is a spiritual guru from somewhere near the Himalaya. He created a website and took photos of him with a beard and flowing robes in maroon and ochre. He advertised his skills as a religious guru, created fake symbols for his new religion, and a philosophy called the Mirror philosophy, which basically asks one to look at one’s reflection in the mirror and have conversations to seek answers. In almost no time, Kumare had developed a cult following in the US. He held meetings, satsangs and preached to followers about the meaning of life. In time, he revealed his true identity. Some followers were angry and walked out in a huff. Some others laughed at the situation and understood what
Gandhi was trying to prove. How each ‘devotee’ reacted depended much on his emotional investment in the philosophy and teachings of the guru. Those in an emotionally sensitive state of mind are likelier to get carried away in trusting the guru, hoping that he has the answers to their questions. They think that he can provide solutions to their problems. Devotees who follow a faith blindly also forget that there are many dimensions to a guru’s reasons for preaching a certain philosophy, in a certain way. As these self-styled spiritual gurus grow more popular, the questions grow with them. How pure are they? But aren’t they also only human? How can they show me my path? Would they even know what my path is likely to be? Excessive emotional investment in something, anything, will open us up to vulnerability. We become dependent and ignore our own inner child hoping that another adult, not our own inner adult, will take care of our emotional needs. And here is where the problem starts.
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COMMENT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Anguish over Syria weighs heavily in Congress The Inside Story
THE SENATE IS EXPECTED TO VOTE NEXT WEEK ON ALLOWING A LIMITED ATTACK, WHILE THE HOUSE IS DUE TO VOTE WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.
MICHAEL MATHES
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uthorisation for President Barack Obama to strike Syria would likely fail in Congress if the vote were today, as sceptical lawmakers consider heeding war-weary constituents who firmly oppose military intervention. Members of Congress, many of whom loathe repeating the quagmire that was Iraq, face mounting pressure in their home districts where they fear a backlash at the polls, particularly in party primary votes next year. Obama’s administration has spent the last week intensely lobbying, but it has made little headway amid extraordinary bipartisan divisions over Syria, as lawmakers question military objectives and long-term goals of a limited strike, and worry about expansion of regional instability as a result. They have heard the president’s call for action, and many have attended briefings and weighed classified evidence of use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-
Urban sketches VISWAPRASAD RAJU
Assad’s regime. And despite universal revulsion in Congress for the deadly attacks last month, if the vote to authorise force were held Friday “I have to believe it would be rejected," Congressman Kevin Cramer told AFP. “I think for many, absent of being convinced, ‘no’ is going to be the answer” on Syria intervention, Cramer said, noting that the opposition cuts across party, geographical and socio-economic
lines. Congressional leadership aides conducting informal vote counts say nearly 80 percent of House Republicans are to some degree opposed to military intervention, while Democratic support is in the low dozens, Politico reported on Tuesday. According to a Washington Post survey, 224 of the current 433 House members were either “no” or “leaning no” on military action as of Friday. A large num-
ber, 184, were undecided, with just 25 backing a strike. The Senate is expected to vote next week on allowing a limited attack, while the House is due to vote within the next two weeks, according to Republican leader Eric Cantor. Some Obama backers expressed confidence that colleagues on both sides of the aisle will step into line. “The more people read from
the intel reports and the more they hear from the president, the more supportive they’ll be," veteran House Democrat Sandy Levin told reporters as he headed into a closed-door briefing in the US Capitol. But back home, lawmakers are finding voters congealing in opposition. “My constituents do not want it, they’re very reluctant," said House Democrat Rosa DeLauro, who has been a loyal Obama foot soldier but said she, remains undecided about the use of force in Syria. Cramer hosted a town hall meeting Friday in his state of North Dakota, where he said folks “look you in the eye” and don’t hesitate to speak their mind. “They are adamantly opposed to US involvement... being sucked into a long, drawnAFP out process," he said.
Global edits
Tombs
The New York Times
A VARIETY OF ORGANISATIONS
Tweeting (not twerking) their way to power
NOW SUPPORT GIRLS AND WOMEN IN CREATING ONLINE CAMPAIGNS TO COUNTER WIDESPREAD PROBLEMS LIKE SEXUAL VIOLENCE.
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f one were to take cues from pop culture alone, the state of young women today might seem rather grim. Miley Cyrus’s highly controversial, bizarre and hyper-sexualised dance moves at the recent MTV Video Music Awards was only the latest in a long list of incidents in which teenage girls are portrayed as more concerned with getting attention than with being genuinely powerful. But the disproportionate amount of ink and pixels spilled on famous and — let’s face it — confused girls like Cyrus distracts from the more interesting work of so-called ordinary girls — like 22-year-old Carmen Rios. Rios is a member of Spark, a nonprofit organisation that trains girls from 13 to 22 years old, to be activists. In the wake of the much-discussed Steubenville, Ohio, rape case last March, in which the sexual assault on an incapacitated high school girl was documented on social media and became headline news, the network of young women who blog and create campaigns through Spark were outraged
and wanted to do something about it. They discussed the most viable strategies on their private Facebook page, in addition to hosting private chats that included the girls, the staff and adult mentors. The group debated whom to aim their message at and what to ask; after all, addressing rape culture is such a complex and daunting task. But a quick survey of some of the most high-profile rape cases led them to an important insight: many of the perpetrators were also involved in high school athletics. (The point here, of course, is not that participating in high school athletics predisposes one to become a rapist, but that an intense high school sports culture, which can, at its worst, breed a sense of entitlement and even domination, is an ideal place for sexual violence education.)
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BUSINESS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Smithfield purchase cleared Euro auto market on the up?
Fed poised to taper
WASHINGTON: The takeover of US
BERLIN: The European auto market
WASHINGTON: The US posted a dis-
may be close to turning the corner, Ford chief executive Alan Mulally said. While acknowledging that Europe was still in a pretty severe economic situation, Mulally said “It looks to us in the automobile industry that we might be near the bottom.”Registration of new cars, a proxy for sales, fell by 6.6 per cent in the first half of year.
appointing August labor report but most analysts say the Federal Reserve is still on track to taper stimulus. The economy added 169,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department said, fewer than the 177,000 expected by analysts. The prior two months’ job numbers were revised sharply lower, by a combined 74,000.
pork giant Smithfield Foods by China’s Shuanghui International Holdings has received approval from a key US national security review. The high-level Committee on Foreign Investment in the US has approved the $7.1 billion deal, which would put the Chinese company in control of the world’s largest swine grower.
Yahoo received 29,000 govt requests for data SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo received some 29,000 government requests for data on its users this year, with almost half coming from the United States, according to the company’s global transparency report released Friday. Yahoo said in the report, covering the first six months of 2013, that 12,444 of the requests from worldwide governments came from the United States. “At Yahoo, we take the privacy of our users seriously,” general counsel Ron Bell said in a blog post. “We also recognize our role as a global company in promoting freedom of expression wherever we do business. That’s why we’re issuing our first global law enforcement transparency report.” Bell said the government requests affected “less than one one-hundredth of one percent of our worldwide user base.” He added that the report
includes US “national security requests” which have become a major issue in light of reports on secret government surveillance programs run by the United States. “Our legal department demands that government data requests be made through lawful means and for lawful purposes,” Bell said. “We regularly push back against improper requests for user data, including fighting requests that are unclear, improper, overbroad or unlawful. In addition, we mounted a twoyear legal challenge to the 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and recently won a motion requiring the US government to consider further declassifying court documents from that case.” For requests made in the United States, Yahoo said it provided some content in 37 percent of cases. In 55 percent it provided only “non-content data” such
Yahoo said in the report, covering the first six months of 2013, that 12,444 of the requests from worldwide governments came from the United States. as names, location other subscriber information. The company rejected two percent of requests and found no data in six percent. The report comes with US tech companies under pressure following revelations of a secret program which scoops up vast
China boost for Apple
NEW YORK CITY: China’s biggest mobile carrier looks set to sell Apple’s iPhone, hugely increasing the California-based company’s distribution in the world’s largest smartphone market, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Apple is preparing to ship iPhones to China Mobile, in a successful conclusion to years of negotiations with the Chinese wireless giant which has some 700 million subscribers, the Journal reported
on its website. The report comes as Apple prepares an event at its headquarters next week where it is expected to unveil two new iPhones, including a cheaper version. The Journal cited unidentified people with knowledge of the deal as saying that Apple had asked manufacturing partner Foxconn to add China Mobile to its list of carriers to receive a low-cost iPhone. If confirmed it would final-
Apple is preparing to ship iPhones to China Mobile, China’s largest service provider, a successful conclusion to years of negotiations with the Chinese wireless giant which has some 700 million subscribers. ly give Apple access to one of the world’s biggest major wireless carriers which does not offer the company’s smartphones. It comes as Apple’s sales in China slipped 14 per cent from a year ago in the third quarter to $4.6 billion.
amounts of data from Internet firms. Tech firms including Yahoo have been seeking to release more information on government data requests, in the belief that this would reassure customers. Yahoo said the numbers reported “include all types of
government data requests such as criminal law enforcement requests and those under US national security authorities, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and National Security Letters (NSLs), if any were received.”
Packer separates from wife Australian billionaire James Packer and his second wife Erica Baxter have announced their separation after six years of marriage.
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he casino mogul married the singer in a 2007 French Riviera ceremony reported to have cost Aus$6 million (US$5.5 million), attended by Hollywood and sporting stars including actor Tom Cruise and cricketer Shane Warne. “It is with great sadness that Erica and James Packer announce their separation,” said
a statement released late Friday. “We remain deeply close friends and incredibly proud parents and our children are our priority going forward.” The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported Saturday that the couple, who have just finished renovating a Aus$50 million mansion in Sydney’s exclusive oceanfront suburb of Vaucluse, signed divorce papers this week. Fairfax Media said Baxter, 36, is living in Los Angeles with their children, Indigo, five-yearsold, Jackson (three), and Emmanuelle, who turns one this month. The pair signed a pre-nuptial agreement worth millions of dollars, the Telegraph said.
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FOCUS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
All eyes on Chinese backwater after eye-gouging attack Schoolboy Guo Bin was drugged and his eyes gouged out in Fenxi county, a mountainous region far from China’s prosperous coast. Tom HANCOCK
Agence France Presse
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he brutal eye-gouging of a six-year-old boy shocked China and focused attention on one of the country’s poorest areas, where farmers live in caves and school closures have uprooted families. Schoolboy Guo Bin was drugged and his eyes gouged out in Fenxi county, a mountainous region far from China’s prosperous coast, where government figures say farmers earn an average of 1,944 yuan ($317) a year and better-paid jobs in other sectors are scarce. Guo’s aunt Zhang Huiying committed suicide a few days after the attack by jumping into a well, before police named her as the chief suspect, saying DNA tests showed the boy’s blood on her clothing. But her family members, and several neighbours in the remote hillside village where she took her life claim she is innocent -— although they have no alternative explanation and the boy’s own account has been confused and contradictory. “I am completely sure she didn’t do it... not one of the villagers can believe it,” her brother Zhang Ruihua told AFP, adding that witnesses placed her elsewhere at the time of the attack. While donations have flooded in to help Guo Bin, who has been offered artificial eyes by a Hong Kong doctor, the aunt’s husband Guo Zhicheng trembled tearfully as he contemplated his future raising the couple’s three daughters alone. “The impact has been devastating,” he said, sitting outside a row of run-down red-brick houses. Metres away, police had set up a cordon blocking off the area where his wife killed herself. She worked in a chicken slaughterhouse and became the couple’s main earner after he was injured in a workplace accident last year. Though primary-level education is free, locals still pay fees for kindergarten and high
school. “The school fee problem will become so much bigger, I hardly earn anything myself,” he said. “It’s unfair, it’s too unjust.” Most of Fenxi county is made up of ragged hills and dry earth, and unsuitable for arable farming, but patches of corn grown for animal feed line steep winding roads between small villages, dotted with cave homes carved directly into hillsides. The county demonstrates huge challenges facing China’s leadership, where despite decades of growth 99 million people still live on less than a dollar a day, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. “The economy hasn’t developed here... we’re a mountainous area and there are no resources, there aren’t many jobs,” said an
GUOVS AUNT ZHANG HUIYING COMMITTED SUICIDE A FEW DAYS AFTER THE ATTACK BY JUMPING INTO A WELL, BEFORE POLICE NAMED HER AS THE CHIEF SUSPECT, SAYING DNA TESTS SHOWED THE BOY’S BLOOD ON HER CLOTHING. elderly villager surnamed Guo — no relation to Guo Bin — who built his brick cave dwelling 30 years ago. Furnishings inside Guo’s house are sparse, with a simple stove which heats a large wok and a brick bed during the bit-
Pick
terly cold winter, a few chairs and wooden cabinets. “If you’re unemployed the government won’t give you anything... farmers have to look after themselves,” he said, adding that Guo Bin’s own family had had “a lot of strife in their family and they were under heavy economic pressure”. According to villagers Guo Bin’s parents had moved to the county town, where he was attacked, so that he could go to school there after the village’s own establishment closed. The couple became dependent on family members for income after the boy’s father suffered a workplace injury of his own, they said. Along with other families in Fenxi the Guos have been caught up in an unprecedented
at the
wave of school closures in rural China over the past decade in the wake of a vast migration to the cities. According to China’s education ministry the number of rural schools fell from 440,284 in 2000 to 210,894 in 2010, a decline of 52.1 percent, state media said last year — equivalent to more than two and a half schools every hour over the 10-year period. Researchers say the closures have pushed up costs for families, and according to reports Guo Bin’s aunt had quarreled with his parents over medical payments for the family’s disabled patriarch. China has rolled out a huge nationwide insurance scheme in rural areas in the past five years — which it says now covers 99 percent of the countryside population — but fees are still significant. “Seventy percent is paid for (by the state)... you still need money to see a doctor, but we don’t have money,” said 45-yearold Fenxi farmer Zhang Lianghua, adding that she had not sought medical care for her father in law, who recently died of a brain tumour. China’s central government lists Fenxi as one of 592 national-level “poor counties” targeted for extra investment, and the county government website lists a variety of growth-boosting projects, among them becoming a world-class hub for walnut growing. Some manufacturers have expanded production in poorer inland areas such as Shanxi province, which includes Fenxi, to avoid rising wages on the coast, including Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn. But locals said government action had done little to alleviate their plight. “People leave the village when their children go to school, and their houses collapse, and the land goes to waste,” said Yao Jianfang, a middle-aged resident of the county. “The (government) policies are good, but the money doesn’t reach us, it’s only words.”
airport,
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TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK Slashdot ews for Nerds. Stuff that matters. Such is Slashdot, a freewheeling and never-ending discussion of all things techie, sci-fi, and fun. Slashdot members scan the Web looking for interesting news stories.
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APP OF THE WEEK Cydia Pwnage Tool
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ydia, the package manager for jailbreak apps, is the very model of a major modern manager. It’s slick and quick, and it installs apps and updates faster than Apple’s App Store. You do need to jailbreak your iPhone to use Cydia.
To the moon again Since US astronauts last walked on the moon four decades ago, rocket scientists have learned that there is more to the Moon than just a dusty, desolate terrain.
Kerry Sheridan
Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON: NASA hopes to unravel more of the Moon’s mysteries Friday by launching an unmanned mission to study its atmosphere, the US space agency’s third such probe in five years. The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is to launch Friday at 11:27 pm (Saturday 0327 GMT) aboard a Minotaur V rocket — a converted peacekeeping missile — from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Since US astronauts last walked on the moon four decades ago, rocket scientists have learned that there is more to the Moon than just a dusty, desolate terrain. Recent NASA robotic missions such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have returned troves of images detailing the Moon’s cratered surface, while NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) revealed how being pummelled by asteroids resulted in the Moon’s uneven patches of gravity. A previous NASA satellite, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite(LCROSS) discovered water ice when it impacted in 2009, the space agency said. “When we left the Moon we thought of it as an atmosphere-less ancient surface,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s science mission directorate. “We have discovered that the Moon scientifically is
Objective LADEE aims to hurtle itself beyond Earth’s orbit so it can circle the Moon, first cruising at a height of about 250 kilometers (156 miles) for just over a month, and then moving lower to 20 to 60 kilometers (12.4 - 37.3 miles) from the surface for the science portion of its mission.
Tools
n An Earth-to-Moon laser beam technology demonstration n A neutral mass spectrometer to measure chemical variations in the lunar atmosphere and n Other tools to analyze exosphere gasses and lunar dust grains.
End About 100 days into the science portion of the mission, the LADEE spacecraft will do a death plunge into the Moon’s surface.
very much alive, it is still evolving and in fact has a kind of atmosphere.” The Moon’s atmosphere is so thin that its molecules do not collide, in what is known as an exosphere. Exploring that exosphere will be a $280 million solar and lithium batterypowered spacecraft about the size of a small car — nearly eight feet (2.4 meters) tall and five feet (1.85 meters) wide. After launch, LADEE aims to hurtle itself beyond Earth’s orbit so it can circle the Moon, first cruising at a height of about 250 kilometers (156 miles) for just over a month, and then moving lower to 20 to 60 kilometers (12.4 - 37.3 miles) from the surface for the science portion of its mission. It is carrying an Earth-to-Moon laser beam technology demonstration and three main tools, including a neutral mass spectrometer to measure chemical variations in the lunar atmosphere and other tools to analyze exosphere gasses and lunar dust grains, NASA said. “These measurements will help scientists address longstanding mysteries, including: was lunar dust, electrically charged by solar ultraviolet light, responsible for the pre-sunrise horizon glow that the Apollo astronauts saw?” NASA said. Other instruments will seek out water molecules in the lunar atmosphere. About 100 days into the science portion of the mission, the LADEE spacecraft will do a death plunge into the Moon’s surface. The spacecraft was made in a modular design that aims to “ease the manufacturing and assembly process” and “drastically reduce the cost of spacecraft development,” NASA said. Potential future uses of this module could include unmanned probes to an asteroid or to Mars, as well as future Moon probes, though none are planned for now. US astronauts first walked on the Moon in 1969, and the last explorers of the Apollo era visited in 1972. The US space agency has no plans to follow LADEE with a human mission to the Moon. LADEE was conceived when NASA was planning to return humans to the Moon as part of the Constellation program, which President Barack Obama cancelled early in his presidency for being over budget and redundant in its goals.
WHAT’S NEW Microsoft is said to be working on a new keyboard cover accessory for Surface Pro, Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 that will ship later this year. Known tentatively as the Power Cover, it will include an integrated battery and a new connector style that won’t be compatible with the original Surface RT.
China’s tech doyen has cancer BEIJING: One of China’s most popular microbloggers received a huge outpouring of sympathy on Friday after announcing online that he has cancer. Kai-Fu Lee, a former head of Google China, has more than 51 million followers — more than the entire population of Spain — on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, and is ranked as its most influential user. “Life is limited but the world moves on. At the end of the day, everybody is equal before cancer,” he said in his post late Thursday. A Taiwanese-born American who now runs a capital venture fund in Beijing incubating technology start-ups, Lee is respected by China’s young as an inspirational and gritty figure. The posting immediately drew wide attention and was the most reposted entry Friday with more than 140,000 repetitions, most of them sympathetic and supportive. Lee, 51, posted again Friday, thanking users and confirming he had been diagnosed with lymph cancer. “That does not sound very optimistic,” he added. “This is life.” That comment quickly became the second most re-posted entry on Sina Weibo. Lee is well-known for his outspokenness on China’s social media and has come under government pressure as a result. His efforts to raise public awareness have ranged from shaming stock short sellers who “slam innocent Chinese companies” to commenting on Taiwan’s presidential vote “to give people a feel of what a democratic election would be like”. In February, he announced that had been banned for three days from the weibo services provided by Sina and competitor Tencent, without specifying the reasons. Without mentioning him by name, state broadcaster CCTV showed the homepage of his Sina Weibo account last month when it criticised bloggers with huge numbers of followers for “intensifying the spreading of rumours”.
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ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
PET NEWS Elephants killed
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Wrongly accused
oachers in a major Zimbabwean national park killed 41 elephants by poisoning with deadly chemical cyanide the pools the animals drank from, a media report said.
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IMPORTANT NUMBERS
As fast as cars
gyptian authorities detained a stork last week on suspicion of espionage, mistaking its migration tag for spying equipment. In fact the stork was innocent — like a number of other animals falsely accused.
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heetahs – the world’s fastest running land mammals — move like race cars, using a mixture of stealth and speed to win, a new study finds.
A helping hand It has being nine years since Nita Paropkari began volunteering for the four legged. She tells us about her reason for doing it. AMY ROSE THOMAS
amyrose.t@postnoon.com
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t has being years since Nita Paropkari began doubling up as a volunteer and lending a helping hand to organisations taking care of the four legged. And now after nine years, she is very much well-versed with the task of adjusting and taking out time for animals. “I always try to make myself available when in time
animals. “Sometimes we rescue animals that are too sick to be kept in a shelter house. So it is necessary to foster them. I live in an apartment so I cannot entertain big animals, but I have brought home pugs, cats and squirrels for fostering. While dogs and cats are taken to the adoption ward, squirrels are released into the wild. I also go for the tiger census organised by the forest department each year,” she informs. She also spends a lot of time counseling people who show interest in adopting. “We organise around three house check-ups after the animal is adopted. I went through a bad experience once when we found that the person who had recently adopted the dog from us was trying to breed it. In spite of repeated requests, the person refused to get the dog neutered. We rescued the dog and since then we keep a close watch on the animals after their adoption,” she says. She says she gets a lot of calls each day enquiring about adopting pedigree dogs but there are always very few takers for Indian dogs. “It’s rather disappointing that we get very few enquiries for Indian dogs. Some opt for adult dogs since, they, as opposed to puppies are hassle free. And most of the time, these dogs that are abandoned are yearning for love. So, they get adjusted easily to a new environment when they know that they can trust them,” she says.
040-2779 7458, 9848645350 Claws & Paws 98662 82772 All Creatures Animals Clinic 040-2773 0885 BIRDS Govt Veterinary Hospital 040-2331 9656, 2753 5755 Bird Watcher’s Society 040-2355 6166 Friends of Birds9391048315 SNAKES Friends of Snakes 8374233366
Washington’s new panda cub is a girl, zoo says
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of need. Most of my work involves spreading the word if there is any dog that urgently requires a home. Blue Cross is quite active when it comes to reaching out to people and letting them know about animal rights. I coordinate with people through the Facebook and also through other networks. I have a 9-5 job so I make sure I go for rescuing and do my coordination work before and after my working hours,” she adds. Apart from rescuing and coordination work, Nita is also actively involved in fostering
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
he giant panda cub born 13 days ago at the National Zoo in Washington is female and she has a live-in dad, the zoo said Thursday. “We have another girl in our family,” said research scientist Jesus Maldonado of the zoo’s genetics center as father Tian Tian lounged in the morning sunlight and mother Mei Xiang tended to her newborn in private. Yet to be named, the tiny offspring is the happy outcome of a successful attempt at artificial insemination using a mix of fresh and 10year-old frozen semen from Tian Tian. “I’m very happy to report she is absolutely beautiful,” said Brandie Smith, the zoo’s senior curator of mammals and giant pandas. “It has a fat little belly. It’s very active. It’s very vocal.... It’s getting healthier and stronger every day,” she told reporters. The zoo used DNA samples from buccal swabs as well as chromosome tests to pinpoint the cub’s paternity and gender. Mei Xiang had been inseminated twice — once with semen from Tian Tian, with whom she had failed to mate naturally, and a second time with a mix of semen from both Tian Tian and Gao Gao, a giant panda at California’s San Diego zoo. She carried twins, but the second cub was stillborn, suffering from a fetal development abnormality that left it with only half its skull, said reproductive biologist Pierre Comizzoli of the zoo’s
species survival center. “What we are trying to understand is how this happened,” he said. The cub, about the size of a stick of butter, weighed in at a normal 4.8 ounces at birth. Following Chinese tradition, she won’t be named until 100 days after her birthday, in early December. After two years, the newest member of Washington’s panda family will be sent to China and become part of a breeding program there, as part of a cooperative breeding agreement. Pandas are notoriously reluctant breeders when held in captivity. Fewer than 1,600 pandas remain in the wild, mainly in China’s Sichuan province, with a further 300 in captivity around the world. But this summer has been particularly busy in the panda world. Just last Friday, Hua Zui Ba, already a mother of twins, gave birth again in a Madrid zoo after a gestation period lasting 131 days, zoo officials in the Spanish capital announced. In mid-August, the Vienna zoo said its pandas Yang Yang and Long Hui had given birth to the first cub ever conceived by natural means in a European zoo. Washington’s Mei Xiang’s first cub, Tai Shan, was born in July 2005 as a result of artificial insemination. He now resides at the Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya’an, in Sichuan province. AFP
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BOOKS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
SHORT READS Title: The Maze Runner Author: James Dashner Publisher: Delacorte Press When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone.Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.
Title: The Book Thief Author: Markus Zusak Publisher: Alfred A Knopf It is 1939. Nazi Germany. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. During WWII, a young girl named Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refuge is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
Title: Serena Author: Ron Rash Publisher: Ecco The book is a thrilling story that follows newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton on their journey to create a timber empire and ruthlessly kill all who fall out of favor. Serena finds out some unfortunate news and then all hell breaks loose.
Title: Horns Author: Joe Hill Publisher: William Morrow Ig Perrish’s girlfriend was raped and murdered, and he was originally accused of this heinous crime. One day he mysteriously wakes up with horns and uses his new paranormal powers to hunt down his girlfriend’s killer. Everyone, it seems has abandoned him.
LIFE SERVED FUNNY SIDE UP The secret recipe for a happy life lies in the ability to laugh at yourself and look back at things with a hearty smile. And bringing this secret out of the closet is this anthology that reveals one thing - we all have stories, but what matters is how good a storyteller an individual is.
Shilpi Raina feedback@postnoon.com
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elliappa takes a walk down the memory lane with over 50 anecdotes that are drawn from his personal experiences and succinct observational skills. These tales, narrated in a lighter vein, portray the comedy of day-to-day life in a manner that we all can associate with. “We encounter several sticky situations in the course of our daily lives; and my attempt too has been to spin a humorous angle to these predicaments,” writes Belliappa in the author’s note. The novel reveals two things about the author: his love for the French language and golf — something he has candidly admitted in his stories. My Experiment With French reveals his fascination for the romantic language he had studied during his college days and then decided to brush up on his own. The humour element comes in when his “working knowledge” of French is challenged by a woman and all he did then was to come up with an excuse and quickly leave the place. Many tales like this,
where the author was clean bowled by events or people or had to eat his own words, have found a place in the novel. In a hilarious tale, “The Umbrella”, he shares the story about how he tried to get rid of an umbrella that had become a burden during one of his foreign trips. All his attempts to abandon it at air-
port lounges or market places, failed miserably. For Belliappa, who is a regular contributor to newspapers and has authored three novels, weaving a tale in simple language and adding sprinkles of wit and humour comes easy. And this is pretty evident in his way of story-telling.
One is not surprised when he makes fun of himself in “The Introduction”. He was once the chief guest of a function — and was mentioned only once in the two-page-long introductory speech. The achievements of his father and son were highlighted throughout! He admits he was absolutely aghast. Through these vignettes, his travel history is also traced. From Paris to China and many other places, he has come back with many stories. His ironic shopping experience comes into the picture with “Chinese Bargain” when once in China he went on a shopping spree and splurged on the fake branded gadgets. To his horror, back at hotel, he realised none of those worked. So he swore “not to buy anything made in China again”. But the twist comes at the end of the tale when he regrets not having gotten himself a golf-set from China. There possibly might be nothing new in these stories, as we all have had such experiences in life. Yet the simplicity with which they are told is beautiful. At times, what is annoying is the first person narration. It gets so repetitive that one gets
exhausted. Even a quick wordcount by the author revealed this single alphabet appears 500 IANS times in the novel.
Name Tongue Of The Slip: Looking Back On Life With Humour Author CP Belliappa Pages 168 Publisher Rupa
When Kalam hawked newspapers At age 82, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam has come out with a slim, moving book on the lesser-known happenings in his illustrious life.
H
e was only eight years old when he hawked newspapers to supplement his family income in the pilgrim town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. There were times when food was scarce in Kalam’s large family, when his hard-pressed mother stretched every resource to the utmost to keep her five sons and daughters as well as her husband and his brothers’
families fed, clothed and in good health. Life was not easy for Kalam’s humble boat-owner father, what with periodic coastal storms washing away the vessels that ferried pilgrims between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. With World War II creating food shortages, Kalam would wake up much before dawn to distribute newspapers in the town after col-
lecting bundles of them at the Rameswaram railway station. His sister pawned jewellery with a moneylender so that the studious Kalam could have `600 to join the Madras Institute of Technology. One man who influenced Kalam early on and remained a key player in his life
Name My Journey Author APJ Abdul Kalam Pages 147 Publisher Rupa
was his brother-in-law Ahmed Jalalluddin, who made him the “man I would become one day”. Kalam experienced setbacks too, including his heart-breaking failure to join the Indian Air Force, an event that however ultimately made him the country’s “missile man”. It was from his father and other elders from Rameswaram’s Hindu and Christian communities that Kalam learnt to respect all cultures and India’s secular ethos. My Journey is a story of how Kalam married hard work, piety, learning, compassion and forgiveness — qualities that made him one of India’s most popular IANS presidents.
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BOOKS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Shahrukh Husain’s book A Restless Wind comes with a lot of promise and questions.
NAME: A restless wind AUTHOR: Shahrukh Husain PAGES: 350 PUBLISHER : PanMacmillan
FLEME VARKEY
fleme.v@postnoon.com
I
t’s been long since anyone touched on Indian history related to the Rajas and the princely states. For me, that was first what attracted me to the book. The backdrop of this story is something that has been a source of untold suffering for many in India — The Godhra Riots. Zara, our protagonist is a Muslim practicing law in Britain, from her vantage point, everything about her India had changed. Her disturbed state of mind, every time she meets a fellow Indian, Gujarati or when she comes across things that remind her of her home in Trivikrampur, is what forms the mood of the story.
Zara’s profession, though an enviable one, was the cause of her worry as the writer says, “...The whole world seemed peaceful as Zara was growing up. But now, armies of the dispossessed were fleeing their homes to find safety across boundaries of sea and land. And client, after client blamed the same demon— religious intolerance. In India, too, politics had been communalised. It had been a conscious process.” The Babri Masjid’s demolition and the furore it caused, left many a life displaced and many a man orphaned. Leaving your country for good is one of the hardest decisions one can be forced to make. It means a break from all that you know — your family, your livelihood your friends and everything else familiar. Zara knows this only too well. And then she met Parveen.
THE BACKDROP OF A RESTLESS WIND IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN A SOURCE OF UNTOLD SUFFERING FOR MANY IN INDIA — THE GODHRA RIOTS. Parveen Abdul-Rehman was sent to Zara as a case. She was also running away from a demon, the one which burned down her house, killed her family, separated her from her sister, threw her life into turmoil, raped her and left in the ditches to die. Escaping from which, Parveen travelled like cattle, hidden, seeking to run away from a country and a state that had failed her. She sought asylum in Britain because she wanted to live without fear.
Before her death, she expresses her desire in few lines of poignant prose: My heart, my wayfarer Another injunction imposed For us to become stateless, you and I, Calling from lane to lane Wandering from land to land Searching out traces Of a message-bearing friend Asking every stranger The address that was home. “Women like me should be able to go home safely,” Parveen states as her dying wish to Zara. This is the task which Zara seeks to complete, but first her dying Aunt Hana takes away all her attention, and for that she must go to Trivikrampur. She wanted to go back to her ‘ancestral world, her inner strength, her source. ‘ The meeting with Parveen
affects Zara a lot. Her relationship with her psychotherapist husband is strained, her longing for home-Trivikrampur, the anxiety of going back to India and the struggles of married life all begin to take a toll on her. But fight her demons, she must and that’s what this book is all about. It talks of themes of state and statelessness, home and identity, legal and illegal immigration, law and its loopholes, Muslims and Hindu. It examines love of various kinds — forbidden, marital, siblings and deep male friendship. It tries to focus on the slender threads of relationships and the constant movement across countries, identities and histories. Intertwining memories with contemporary events, it evokes a beautiful past and a troubled present, providing a vivid and intense read.
WHAT’S SELLING Landmark’s best in fiction
Walden’s best in fiction
New York Times’ best in fiction
New York Times’ best in non-fiction
n Like it happened yesterday by Ravinder Singh
n Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
n The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
n Liberty Amendments by Mark R. Levin
n An Uncertain Glory by J Dreze & Amartya Sen
n The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
n Zealot by Reza Aslan
n Trust Works by Ken Blanchard
n Wicked Firsts, by Elisabeth Naughton and others
n Lean in by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell
n Mistress by James Patterson and David Ellis
n Happy, happy, happy by Phil Robertson with Mark Schlabach
n The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith n Secret of the Nagas by Amish n And the mountains echoed by Khalid Hosseni n Immortals of Meluha by Amish
n Elephant Catchers by Subroto Bagghi n My Journey by APJ Abdul Kalam
n High Heat by Lee Child
n Exposed by Jane Velez-Mitchell
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WOMEN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Today’s Big Thing: Today’s Big Thing isn’t ‘only’ a humor site. It was created to aggregate the coolest videos on the net, every single day. Although more subjects are covered, a laugh is often included. Want to play safe? Go to the funny videos channel.
CollegeHumor: CollegeHumor is one of the most hilarious websites on the web. You’ll find very funny pictures and essays, but mostly videos. Most videos are aggregated from all over the internet, but you should also check out the CollegeHumor Originals.
ONN: The Onion News Network (ONN) is one of the most popular fake online news channels there are. With everything performed and produced with incredible realism, it’s not uncommon to realize the ‘fake’ only halfway through the video.
‘DANCE COMPLETES ME’ She sees life through dance and she loves talking about it as well. A recipient of numerous awards, she says most of them took a lot of time to reach her. Meet the multi-talented Bharatanatyam dancer Rajeswari Sainath.
ARUN YELLAMATY
arunyellamaty@postnoon.com
T
he very popular Bharatanatyam dancer, Rajeswari Sainath, a disciple of Smt. Indira Rajan, who underwent advanced training under Mridangam maestro Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani in the nuances and intricacies of Laya continues to make a mark every time she puts up a performance. The dancer who has influenced many, wants to use her dance to raise issues woman face and to create awareness through her dance. Rajeswari recently took part in the Asmita’s Campaign on Violence against Women, where she choreographed and performed an English ballet. The lyrics are written by Vasanth Kannabiran and the music was composed by flute maestro BV Balasai. “I like talking about my dance; I see life through my dance. In the last 42 years I have been performing and teaching for close to 28 years. I have also produced a lot of
solo dances. I have set up schools in Australia, the US, London, Canada apart from Chennai and Hyderabad. They are called Sruthilaya Kendra. The founder of the schools is Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani, we together take dance to various countries and teach a lot of people.” She then goes on to add, “I do keep getting a lot of awards, which I think took a lot of time to reach me. But, again I thank all the people who I might not have ever met, people who come to my shows and attend my concerts and appreciate my work.” Rajeswari, is known for her strong techniques in Laya which she combines with slow and subtle abhinaya resulting in a rare thematic presentation of unusual rhythm patterns. Most of which have not been earlier attempted in Bharatanatyam. “Through dance I want to help people in every way I can, because it helps me. It helps me to stay fit, it helps me stay motivated and have pure thoughts. Dance completes me. I think I am one of the very few who have learned Laya intensively thanks to Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani. This
helps me to stand out in between many other dancers.” Arguing about the question whether classical dance is losing its charm, she says, “Many artists do not experiment, they want to keep showing same old stories. For how long will people continue to see the same Krishna eating butter? Any one presenting a ballet should make it more appealing to today’s generation. They should try using various languages and people want to see something new; if not then people will say classical dance is losing its charm. I have done my ballets in various languages like, Telugu, Tamil, English, Sanskrit, Marathi and many more and people appreciate and look at dance differently. The complete two hour show is done in different languages.” Rajeswari now wants to use dance to talk about various issues and use this platform to create awareness. To pursue her ambition she joined hands and put up a show recently with Asmita Resource Centre for Women, who came out with a Campaign on Violence against women. “I want to help people, and nowadays
there is so much crime against women in our country and also in big cities. It is very sad that there are so many concerns on women’s safety in this so called developing country. I want use my dance to create awareness on women safety. “Every time I visit a different country we Indian women are treated with extra respect, due to our culture. But here in India, our women are treated badly. We need to do something now and try to make a difference in whatever way possible.” Rajeswari’s daughter, Vyshnavie is a bharatanatyam and Odissi dancer, who even has a dance institute. “I am proud of my daughter and happy that someone will take my dance forward after me.” Giving tips to future and upcoming dancers, she says, “Always be humble and do not think you know it all. Respect your gurus and keep learning and keep helping.”
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SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013 1
ART SOIREE
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Art enthusiasts trooped to The Grand Ballroom, Taj Krishna where First Edition, an exhibition of contemporary art was launched. Shilpa Reddy, Upasana, Krishna Reddy and others attended.
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1 Shilpa Reddy
4 Preeti Reddy
2 Asmita Marwa
5 Binu Singh
3 Upasana
6 Pinky Reddy, Sanjay
Reddy 7 Anju Poddar 8 Sana, Fara
9 Girish, Surabhi
12 Latha Reddy
10 Shilu
13 Bobby
11 Deepa, Vivek
14 Dia
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Lap of luxury The launch of Meridian Audio Boutique in Madhapur was a fun affair. The boutique will showcase Meridian’s stylish and innovative products.
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RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
I AM ALL EARS
I
am 32. I am a widower and have one son. My parents have found a girl for me but she says that we must put the child in a boarding school. My child became very unhappy and he has become depressed. I can’t do that to my child. How do I deal with this issue?
Dear disturbed kid, What made you even write this question to me. Are you not old enough to put your foot down? That woman even before becoming your wife is walking all over you and you cannot say a simple no. He is your son, if you will not answer for him who will. No wonder he is depressed to have you as a dad. If you still have a spine, tell your parents that there are no two ways about it, the son stays, the woman goes. Thank me later.
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majority of men wish to die before their wives bid them goodbye in this world, but hardly anybody wants to die for their country, a study has found. A study of 1,005 adults, conducted by 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair, showed 70 per cent of men would want their wives to outlive them. Women were slightly less likely to want to be outlived, with 62 per cent of women saying they would want to die before their husband, Daily Mail reported.
Who has the upper hand? Deep down, men may not bask in the glory of their successful wives or girlfriends. A man’s subconscious self-esteem may be bruised when his spouse or girlfriend excels, says a study. What’s the take on this? We find out. Fleme Varkey fleme.v@postnoon.com
I
t didn’t matter if their significant other was an excellent hostess or intelligent, men were more likely to feel subconsciously worse about themselves when their female partner succeeded than when she failed, according to the study published online in the American Psychological Association Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. However, women’s self-esteem was not affected by their male partners’ successes or failures, according to the research. “It makes sense that a man might feel threatened if his girlfriend outperforms him in something they’re doing together, such as trying to lose weight,” said the study’s lead author, Kate Ratliff, PhD, of the University of Florida. “But this research found evidence that men automatically interpret a partner’s success as their own failure, even when they’re not in direct
competition”. For a better example, think Bollywood film Abhimaan — the Amitabh-Jaya Bachchan starrer. Singer Subir Kumar thinks his wife Uma singing alongside him will only increase his popularity. What he wants happens, but he does not expect her success to surpass his fame. Seeing his position as the numero uno pop singer threatened by his wife’s popularity, the seeds of jealousy sprout within him and their relationship hits the rocks. His pride and jealousy tear the marriage apart. The question becomes whether Subir can overcome his jealousy. Same is the case with musical movie Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar, where the third story is one of how love can be swallowed by ego, pride and insecurity. Vishal (R Madhavan) and Raksha (Namrata Shirodkar) are happily married. Both are aspiring singers and want to become stars. Though Vishal is more ambitious than Raksha, it is Raksha who succeeds first and
becomes a rage. Vishal gets insecure and jealous and their marriage totters. “One of my ex boyfriends was very jealous when I managed to get into a better B school than the one he graduated from. It led to a lot of unnecessary arguments. We were supposed to be engaged in a week and his mum was like why don’t you join the same school it will be better. When I refused, it created a rift among us. I did not know what the issue was about. We had to
break it off,” says Priya Gupta. Kriti Rao, 25, just got out of a messy relationship. The reason she states was a jealous and insecure boyfriend. “I have a travelling job and as I am in the public relations field, I have to meet people, go places and attend a lot of events. Recently I was awarded for being the best in my team and I also received a promotion, which put my pay packet ahead of my boyfriend’s. There was no end to his jealousy. He kept taunting me saying that now he will have to treat me with more respect and that I will have a say in everything since I earn more and he refused to go out with me citing silly reasons, etc... I grew fed up and finally called an end to our bickering,” shares Kriti. Anmol Mathur,* 28, however, disagrees, “I don’t agree with this study. I don’t think all men are jealous. In fact, women are jealous of other women’s success. They are so competitive. On what basis will men be jealous. Isn’t it acceptable that a boy
gets jealous if he sees his girlfriend hanging out with other men? And with regards to work, it’s a silly reason to fight over or be insecure. I don’t think doing well at work, upsets any of the balance at home.” Priyansh Kakre*, 45, says, “ I confess, it would bother me if my wife were to be more successful than me. After all I am more educated than her and have better capabilities. It would pinch if she would ignore me for her work or she put me after anything in life. I think as her life partner I am entitled to a certain position in her life. I also think it would affect my selfesteem and make me feel insecure. So I think she should keep this in mind.” Clearly men and women have opposing views on this study. Some of the women we spoke to said, “I don’t think we could be jealous of our male companion’s achievements. Had I been a woman, the case would have been different.” * Names changed
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CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
‘MAGADHEERA SHOULDN'T BE REMADE’ Nani buys remake rights of Pannaiyarum Padminiyum
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ani has bought the Telugu remake rights of Pannaiyarum Padminiyum. Since he liked the film, he is all set to play the lead in the film's remake version," said a statement. Nani, who rose to fame with films such as Ashta Chamma and Eega, is awaiting the release of films Paisa and Janda Pai Kapiraju. He is also currently
busy shooting for Tamil remake of Band Bajaa Baaraat. Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, which is slated to release soon, is directed by debutant Arun Kumar. It features Vijay Sethupathi, Jayaprakash and Sneha in important roles. The film is about the story of a landlord and his vintage Padmini car. IANS
SUKUMAR STARTS A PRODUCTION HOUSE
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ctor Ram Charan Teja believes his blockbuster Telugu film Magadheera should not be remade. "I don't think Magadheera should be remade nor do I think it will be remade. It is very difficult to recreate the same magic," said Ram Charan. "Magadheera was not made by one person; it was the effort of an entire team and unless the same team comes back, I don't think it will do justice," he added. Citing the example of Bollywood star Aamir Khan-starrer 3 Idiots, Ram Charan said: "3 Idiots was remade in various languages down south, but it wasn't successful anywhere because the magic was created by Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani. Some films shouldn't be remade." Directed by SS Rajamouli, Magadheera featured Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal in the lead. The film was released in 2009. Meanwhile, Ram Charan's Bollywood debut Zanjeer released on Friday. IANS
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elugu director Sukumar has followed in the footsteps of several directors turning producers. He has done so in a bid to back creative projects of his assistant directors. He has named his banner Sukumar Entertainment Pvt Ltd. "I wish
to produce small and creative films. We desperately need films with unique concepts. To start with, I intend to produce films of my assistant directors. A few of my associates already have interesting stories to be made into films," Sukumar said. "In a few days, I will share more information about the films I intend to produce. This is the only way to tap lot of talent around me," he added. Sukumar, who is known for films such as Arya and 100% Love, is currently busy directing superstar Mahesh Babu in Telugu action-thriller 1: Nenokkadine. IANS
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CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Love at first sight for SIDDHARTH MALHOTRA
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New age ZANJEER, ROMANCE a Big B remake that gets it right
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he movie Shudh Desi Romance revolves around the characters Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput), Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra) and Tara (Vaani Kapoor). Unlike other romantic comedies where the men are portrayed to be rich and fabulous, Raghu the lead character in the movie is mere a tourist guide in Jaipur. On his way to his own wedding, he meets Gayatri, a part-time instructor in an English speaking institute, and gets so attracted to her that he decides to not to show up for his wedding. They later have a live-in relationship which is still considered a taboo in the country. Vaani Kapoor plays the role of Raghu’s jilted lover. While Sushant Singh Rajput convinces the audience with his role of Raghu, Parineeti Chopra is supposed to have over-acted in certain parts of the movie. Overall, the film is an interesting take on modern relationships.
Movie: Shudh Desi Romance Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra, Vaani Kapoor Director: Maneesh Sharma
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et’s not get carried away. Every time a remake comes along, we get gooey-eyed and nostalgic about the original. The Zanjeer remake gets it right. Dead right. Lakhia’s Zanjeer is neither slavishly reverent to the original material nor does it take off into weird wild and wacky tangents — like the Rohit Shetty’s recent remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Golmaal. Rather, the new Zanjeer opens up the original plot, weeds out the humbug and preserves the core of the revenge saga of an angry cop whose ire grows progressively higher as the plot moves through a series of cleverly conceived conflicts that accentuate his alienation from his khaki-coloured line of duty. No one can do to the sullen cop’s role what Mr. Bachchan did. But yes, even in his new avatar, Inspector Vijay Khanna seethes, simmers and boils over with an indignant rage. Everything about the festering rotten ‘system’ makes him annoyed and churlish. That this time the Angry Cop, who was played with such compelling candidness by Amitabh Bachchan in the original Zanjeer, is played by Ram Charan Teja is just a huge stroke of luck for the remake. Ram Charan brings in an entirely unique brand of silent satyagraha to his character. The pace from that hard-hitting moment is relent-
less. The momentum never slackens even when Vijay Khanna gets down to expressing tender thoughts for the fast-talking befuddled and disoriented NRI girl Mala. Playing Mala, Priyanka Chopra seems to have a whole lot of infectious fun. She spells joie de vivre and looks gorgeous. Priyanka is the comic relief in this fast-paced actioner where fists and the background point out an ominous warning.
Movie: Zanjeer Cast: Ram Charan Teja, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, Prakash Raj, Mahie Gill Directed by: Apoorva Lakhia Lakhia paces the proceedings as a rush-hour traffic of bustling events. No one has the luxury to stop and think as the narration gathers up a storm of pulpy conflicts building up to an exceptionally staged climax filmed amidst the volatile proceedings of a crowded Moharram event. The film’s action, by Javed-Ejaz, feels and looks right. The attention paid to getting the action sequences right is highly commendable. There is an elaborately staged multiple-explosion sequence in a huge Dharavi-like slum which belongs to a Vin Dieselstarrer. Sanjay Dutt steps splen-
didly into Pran’s part. His sequences, though limited by the actor’s physical unavailability, show the sensitive side to his aggressive personality. The bonding between Ram Charan and Dutt comes across as effectively as the one between Ram Charan and Priyanka and Prakash Raj and Mahie Gill. Fast-paced, and forever furious, Zanjeer also finds space to be excruciatingly funny. In fact, the whole villain-vamp equation between Teja (Prakash Raj) and Mona Darling (Mahie Gill) is here subverted to a kind of comic coitus interruptus where Prakash Raj repeatedly keeps talking about sex without getting down to it while ‘Mona’ Mahie Gill purrs and moans and pouts — not out of passion but for just the opposite reasons. Throughout the film, we sense the director’s immense affection for the original Zanjeer, a reverence that never clouds his judgement. This is one remake that stands tall and lithe. It is manned by a manful supply of action and yet manages to keep the machismo understated. Breakneck-paced, adrenaline-pumping, pulsepounding — Lakhia’s deconstructed version of the Prakash Mehra film is a fullon pacy paisa-vasool entertainer with brio and balls. Ram Charan Teja makes an impressive Bollywood debut. We can safely say he is the man among the boys. Go for it! IANS
ne-film-old Siddharth Malhotra went to Durban for the first time, got a sneak peek of the exotic beaches and landscape from his hotel window and that, he says, evoked romantic feelings in his heart. “It’s my first time in Durban. I haven’t seen the place yet, but whatever I can see from my hotel’s window, I feel like lip-syncing romantic songs on the beaches,” said the Student of The Year actor. He is in Durban to perform at the South Africa India Film and Television Awards (SAIFTA), and said he is ready to put his best foot forward. It’s his first performance in the city and Siddharth says that he is giving it his best and not worrying about the rest. The young modelturned-actor will be next seen in Hasee Toh Phasee. He has also signed Mohit Suri’s The Villain. IANS
CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
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CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
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CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Robert in a new biopic Life A
ctor Robert Pattinson will reportedly team up with actor Dane DeHaan in a new biopic titled Life. Directed by Anton Corbijn, the movie is about the real life friendship between late American actor James Dean and Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock, reports eonline.com. Pattinson, 27, will play Stock, the young photographer who got the assignment of a
lifetime to shoot James Dean, played by DeHaan. The movie will follow their personal journey together as they travelled from Los Angeles to New York to Indiana for the job. During the trip, Stock captured famous images of the iconic star before he was launched to stardom with the 1955 film East of Eden. Shooting of Life is slated IANS to begin in early 2014.
HEMSWORTH wants to end relation with Cyrus? A ctor Liam Hemsworth is reportedly so upset with fiancee Miley Cyrus’ habits that he wants to end the relationship with her. Situation took turn for the worse in their relationship after Cyrus, 20, hit the headlines for twerking and flirting with singer Robin Thicke during a performance at MTV Video Music Awards, reports radaronline.com. “The VMAs is the straw that will break him. He wants out of the relationship,” Life and Style magazine quoted a source as saying. Hemsworth’s family and friends have also advised him to end the relationship. “All of his family and management are begging him to break it off and publicly move on,” said a source. The couple has been engaged IANS for over a year.
RIDDICK
riddick-ulously boring
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omplete with spacecrafts, animals and airbikes in an arid alien planet, Riddick is Vin Diesel’s vulnerable and vain attempt to promote himself as a sci-fic action hero. It’s the story of the anti-hero, a notorious murderer and galactic fugitive Richard Riddick (Vin Diesel). The film takes off with a vulture like creature circling the sky looking for its prey. And when bird swoops to get its booty, all of a sudden circumstantially, the predator becomes the prey. This introductory shot reveals the survival of the fittest. From thence, the next thirty minutes trudge to expose Richard Riddick’s endurance to survive in this barren wasteland, where he lands up after being deceived by Vaako (Karl Urban). He fends off attacks by stripped wild canines that resemble hyenas and fights carnivorous amphibians reminiscent of giant scorpions. Riddick makes it out of the barren desert-like landscape after taming the aboriginal canine. He eventually lands up and seeks refuge in an abandoned outpost. With no other way to
MOVIE : “Riddick” CAST : Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Jordi Molla, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Bokeem Woodbine, Dave Bautista, Raoul Trujillo, Nolan Gerard Funk and Conrad Pla DIRECTOR : David Twohy RATING :
escape the inhospitable planet, Riddick activates the beacon device, which alerts two groups of mercenaries. First to arrive is Santana (Jordi Molla) and his ruffian cronies, who jointly possess more muscle than grey cells. Following them is Johns (Matt Nable) with his crew that includes Dahl (Katee Sackhoff), the only woman among the testosterone-fueled hunters. Each group has their own plans for Riddick, but with time running out, the stakes are high. Fortunately, Riddick is as unconquerable and unrelenting as ever. Director Twohy maintains a skillful command of the franchise’s narrative template
throughout, but misses the opportunity to effectively shade the characters’ distinctive dimensionality. There is abundant action and gore along with a bathing scene to entice the audience, but the narration drags. The pace of the film crawls. The mood and tone darkens as the film progresses. The dialogues that are far between, are sharp and yet redundant. With great production design and background score, the film lacks visual appeal. The CGI effects are unremarkable and the landscape over a period of time along with the two breeds of animals that dominate the screen time, becomes an eyesore. Of all the characters, Molla’s performance as Santana stands out. Often cartoonish and even comical at times, he breathes the character. Nable as Johns is nothing extraordinary. Sackhoff as the lone woman attracts attention during the few scenes she is visible. With Riddick as a lone avenging hero, Diesel seems determined and even desperate to convince audiences that he can deliver. But unfortunately, he could not do much to elevate the film. With his slow, muscle-flexing grumpy personality and a dragging narration, the film IANS slumps.
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CHAI TIME SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
SUDOKU
THOUGHT OF THE DAY It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not. – James Gordon
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 Polish, as shoes 5 Act on, as advice 9 Trapper’s collection 14 Flattened circle 15 More than just suspicious of 16 Word used coming or going 17 Apportion 18 Alternative to a carpet lift 19 Anchorman’s summary 20 This puzzle’s theme 23 Small band 24 Take-home pay 25 Waiting room item, for short 28 Antiquated 31 Letter for a gaggle 34 Like a lit candle 36 Suffix with ‘symbol’ or ‘social’ 37 What soap may leave 38 Between-innings performer 42 Sighting from the crow’s-nest 43 Bodybuilder’s unit 44 Plenty sore 45 Guinness ending 46 Married ‘mujeres’ 49 Grant’s rival 50 Beard on barley 51 Mental inspiration 53 Between-innings performer 61 ‘Island of the Blue Dolphins’ author 62 Heat in the microwave 63 ‘Golden’ or ‘ground’ follower 64 Risk 65 Rehab candidate 66 Run in place 67 Snooty types 68 Eyelid problem 69 Twosome DOWN 1 Bunker buster 2 Pigmented part of the eye
3 Famed pool shark’s nickname 4 It has gobs of gobs 5 Filler for some balloons 6 As a group 7 List lengthener 8 Residence at Rice 9 ‘Star Trek’ distance 10 Put in office 11 Out of one’s mind 12 ‘How do you like ___?!’ 13 Nincompoops 21 Altercation 22 Persona’s counterpart, to Jung 25 Bowling pin wood 26 Eastern elite 27 A momentary brightness 29 River horse 30 Volcano plume 31 Key 32 Cliquish
33 Host figure 35 Not new 56 Black wildebeests 37 Where successful 57 Drum out people go? 58 Corkscrew-horned 39 Good-night girl of antelope song 59 Miss Cinders of early 40 Nighttime, poetically comics 41 Offspring of Japanese 60 Requirement immigrants PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER 46 Drinks greedily 47 Baseball’s Branch of Brooklyn 48 Stick 50 Eschew cue cards 52 Caustic 53 Absorbs (with ‘up’) 54 Yemeni seaport 55 ‘I, Claudius’
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CHAI TIME SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
King of Swords
Seven of Pentacles
Five of Swords
Knight of Pentacles
Ten of Pentacles
The Devil
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ork – A complete stranger will give you ideas on where you could be headed in the future. It will set you thinking about your career path. Romance – You and your significant other are hitting it off really well, and you cannot believe this is true, and is actually happening to you. Health – You get into a debate about the better way to maintain your health. This is good because it gives you better ideas about losing weight. Money – You may want to go by the book when it comes to storing money for tomorrow. Tried and tested experiments work better than new adventures. Tarot message –Stick to the plot and you will be fine.
W
ork – Be more open and accepting of your current situation. There will be times when you doubt your own capability. Push the thoughts away. Romance – You are in the romance orbit right now and find that a lot of your happiness is coming from here. Good going! Health – You have some icons of health around you, and find them doing crazy things to maintain their health. Can you do the same? Do you want to? Money – Keep a buffer for emergency expenses. Do not get into very accurate calculations when it comes to savings. Tarot message – You are tempted to go wild and do something totally different. Watch out for the consequences.
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ork – You have many alternatives. Your biggest weakness is that you think you are cornered. You are cornered only when you stop thinking. Romance – Your date may land up a little late today and this delay may lead to a fight. Do not let it go too far, though. Health – Pay attention to health. You must rest and be more open to spending time with yourself and being alone without getting uncomfortable. Money – Figure out the nuances of an investment plan. There may be hidden conditions you may not know just by talking to people. Read the terms carefully. Tarot message – You need to sweep your mind off negative thoughts. Think clear, positive and cheerful.
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ork – You will be asked to head a department and do something different to bring about positive changes. Don’t indulge in politicking. Just do your job well. Romance – Why should romance be restricted to weekends? Make your weekdays as interesting. Health – Conduct your annual health checkup and make sure your body is working fine. Run routine tests and also do not ignore minor irritants. Money – A known person is waving at you with an offer to double your money. Be wary of such schemes, even if you know the person. Tarot message – You may land in trouble if you do not play your cards safe. Mind your own business and stay out of trouble.
ork – You are feeling enlightened about something you were earlier very naïve about. It comes as a shock to you but it’s too late to do anything about it. Romance – You are in the mood to engineer a situation where you get introduced to someone attractive. Don’t keep your hopes up too high. Health – Your health is normal. So do not do anything radically different to take it away from its current state. Money – You must lower your expectations when it comes to investments. The returns will not come to you so quickly, as you expect. Tarot message – You are sitting on a volcano. Watch out for sudden changes not in your favour.
ork – Your biggest strength is your winning plan. Execute it well and you’re on the way to success. Romance – If you’re feeling uncomfortable sharing your feelings with your loved one, you may need to try communicating in a different way. Health – Those who are into heavy gymming must stop and slow down. Take frequent breaks or you will end up having to deal with a lot of fatigue. Money – Take stock of all your finances and make sure nothing is kept in the wrong place. You need to run frequent checks to avoid losing out. Tarot message – Temptation has to be avoided altogether. That’s the only way you can tide over this difficult time.
SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com
Libra
Scorpio
Seven of Swords
Nine of Wands
W
W
ork – You may be overreacting to an issue which actually does not warrant this kind of extreme reaction. Step back from the situation and think again. Romance – There will be some things that are out of bounds for you in the relationship, like talking about the past or a difficult time. Respect those rules. Health – You need to cheat your body into making it burn excess fat. Come up with a health schedule and stick to it. You have to start somewhere. Money – You are impressed with the way you have managed to keep away from unnecessary expenditure and saved up. Tarot message – You are a go-getter and nothing can stop you from reaching your goals.
ork – Your office might expect you to migrate to a new place. It will be a tough decision but look at it positively. Romance – Couples with relationship trouble must seek counseling and professional help. Attend a seminar about this if you think it will do you some good. Health – Go through the yearly health check up and ensure that your health is doing fine. Money – This is a good time to do something for charity. Spend more time doing tasks for the larger human good. Tarot message – You may need to spend more time alone. Think over your ideas and plan your execution. Be comfortable with where you are now.
Sagittarius Six of Pentacles
W
ork –Someone at the office is out to spoil your party. You can stop that by not paying too much attention. Romance – Singles must be careful of an alliance that comes their way. Run a background check and convince yourself before going ahead. Health – Treat health routines like sacred rituals and you will be more likely to follow them. They need to be followed with discipline. Money – There is some fear that your investments are all not in the right place. Do not fret. You are doing your best under the given circumstances. Tarot message – There is enough for your every need, but never enough for your greed. Keep your expectations in check.
Capricorn
Date 8-9-2013
Aquarius
Pisces
Nine of Cups
Nine of Swords
The Magician
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ork – Your principles will be put to the test today. Whatever you do, make sure you are firs t comfortable with the decision. Romance – Take your partner out to a different place. Do something fun and, for a change, do not talk about your worries or concerns. Health – Keep a close watch on your diet. Maintain a diary and see what’s working and what’s not. Be more open to change. Money – A foreign trip is on the anvil. Start saving for shopping and entertainment while travelling. Check your passport and see that it’s all okay. Tarot message – If you do not adapt quickly to the changes around you, circumstances will force you to. Be prepared.
ork – You have to work as a team and no matter what you do, you cannot get away from that. You will have to build better team sentiment. Romance – Draw from the experiences of others to learn and grow in your own relationship. Your togetherness is unique and must be respected. Health – If you have been ignoring a health issue, it is reaching boiling point now where you cannot but give it attention now. Start sooner than later. Money – Your money management skills are put to the test. They’re the same as leadership skills and managing a large team. Tarot message – There will be more obstructions in your way. Keep your cool and overcome them all.
W
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ork – You will have to come up with an interesting alternative plan in order to make your ideas click. Colleagues will have to buy into the idea. Romance – You may need to do just a little more to improve the quality of time you and your partner spend together. Quality over quantity. Health – Become a member of a support group or a health club where members have similar issues as yours. You won’t feel so alone. Money – The grass is always greener on the other side. Though people around you look like they’re making a lot of money, you may not know the whole truth. Tarot message – Stop ordering people around. Mind your own business.
Vol: 3, No 48 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at # Plot no.550-A1,3rd floor, Road no-92, Jubilee hills, Hyderabad-500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon. com and for subscription, please call 040-23541412,
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THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
IN THE NEWS
fibre to be made? 11 Where are red blood corpuscles formed? 12 Who was the "the waltz king"? 13 Who was world's first computer programmer? 14 Which Egyptian pharaoh proclaimed that the sun was the sole deity? 15 Who took the first photo-
graph? 16 Who is called the Lady with the lamp? 17 Originally invented by Oleg Losev in 1927, it was mass produced first by the Monsanto Company in 1968. It is found commonly in household devices, and smartphones? What is it?
Answers
kiwifruit? 6 What is the name of the poisonous fish that the Japanese eat as a delicacy? 7 What is the largest edible fruit native to the United States? 8 Who invented the thermal flask? 9 Expand TWAIN? 10 What was the first synthetic
1 1940. 2 Lacrosse. 3 Nine, eight before she turned 20. 4 Little corporal. 5 Chinese gooseberry. 6 Puffer fish or fugu fish. 7 The pawpaw. 8 Scottish inventor James Dewar. 9 Technology without an interesting name. 10 Rayon.11 Bones. 12 Johann Strauss. 13 Augusta Ada King, daughter of Lord Byron. 14 Akhenaton 15 Nicéphore Niépce. 16 Florence Nightingale. 17 Light-emitting diode
1 When was Polo removed from the official roster of Olympic events? 2 Which other sport does the Irish game of hurling resemble? 3 How many Grand Slams did Monica Seles win? 4 What was Napolean's nickname? 5 What is the original name of
TEST YOURSELF
IDENTIFY THESE WRITERS
CURRENT AFFAIRS 1
2
1
The writer of Escape from Taliban was recently gunned down in Afghanistan's Paktika province by suspected members of the Islamist militia?
FIND OUT WHO’S WHO?
1
Who is the president of International Meteorological Organization ?
2
Members on Friday demanded in the Lok Sabha that two Indian languages be given the status of official language by including them in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Name the two languages.
2 3 4 5
Who is the secretary general of Asean ? Who is the DirectorGeneral of Unesco ?
Who is the Secretary General of Nato?
3
A former tennis champion's estranged husband, Thibault Hutin, has accused her of being a serial adulterer, insisting that she cheated on him several times during their two year marriage.Name the player.
Who is the President of the European Union?
3
4
4
After travelling over seven billion kilometer in space, Nasa's spacecraft has lost contact with Earth. Name this spacecraft which was launched in 2005.
6
Who is the head of the African Union Commission ?
7
Who is the Executive Director of UN Women?
8
Who is Head of World Health Organization?
1Sushmita Banerjee 2. Rajasthani and Bhojpuri 3.Martina Hingis 4. Deep Impact Spacecraft
Answers with Santosh Ghule What is hidden within the obvious is quite the contradictory. What is it?
Answer for 82:
4
Which is the strait that separated India from Sri Lanka?
PICTURE PUZZLE 83
WHO AM I? I am a self-styled godman and I am in the news for having been accused of the rape of a 16-year old girl. I am 72 and my base is Gujarat.
His ladylove.
“By gaining independence we have lost our power to blame the British. If anything goes wrong, we are responsible now.” Who said this?
Answer : Asaram Bapu
Where is the largest zoo in India located?
Answers:
Name the Indian state with the largest area under forest.
Answers: 1. Julian Barnes 2. Zadie Smith 3. Jhumpa Lahiri 4. VS Naipaaul
1 2 3
1. Alexander Bedritskiy 2. Surin Pitsuwan 3. Irina Bokova 4.Anders Rasmussen 5.Herman Van Rompuy 6.Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma 7.Michelle Bachelet 8.Margaret Chan
KNOW YOUR COUNTRY
1.Madhya Pradesh 2. Kolkata 3.Dr Rajendra Prasad 4.Malacca
Answers
29
SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
CBL 2013 kicks off
Vergne not jealous of Daniel
Smith hit with ban
I
F
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ndia’s first of its kind National Inter-Corporate Badminton Tournament - Corporate Badminton League (CBL) 2013, an initiative by Tech Mahindra Ltd. and the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy kicked off at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA), Gachibowli in Hyderabad on Friday.
renchman Jean-Eric Vergne stressed that he was not jealous of his Toro Rosso team-mate Daniel Ricciardo’s success in landing a place in the Red Bull team next year. He said he understood the decision even though he had out-scored both last season and this. “I understand it - he is stronger than me in certain aspects, but I am stronger than him in others,” he said.
Hamilton hopes for overnight progress
MONZA: Lewis Hamilton called for his Mercedes team to react, again, with an overnight rethink after Sebastian Vettel led a Red Bull domination of Friday’s opening practice for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. The 28-year-old Briton conceded that Vettel had outpaced him on a hot afternoon at the Autodromo Nazionale, but stressed that he can bounce back for a fifth consecutive pole on
Saturday. “It has been quite a smooth day - ok, we’re not as fast as the Red Bulls, but we are still confident,” he said. “The Red Bull is very quick, but generally my car feels good so I have to sit down tonight and try and understand things. “I feel like I am on the limit everywhere and the car feels reasonably balanced. Maybe we are running too much wing? We’ll
League Cricket Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Day 1 Delhi 387/6 (Mohit Sharma 146, Jagrit Anand 62, Milid Kumar 108 no, Punit Bist 34, Ashish Reddy 2/81,GH Vihari 2/63) vs Hyderabad Karnataka 387 (Mayank Agarwal 44, KL Rahul 110, Kunal Kapoor 99, Shreyas Gopal 30, Abrar Kazi 33, Rahil Shah 3/92, S Suresh Kumar 3/84) vs Tamil Nadu A division two days Day 2 Sai Satya 177 lost to Oxford Blues 178/5 (Rohit Bharadwaj 30) Budding Stars 251 bt Crown CC 152 (Pranav P Ramrakhyani 31, Manish Parasher 8/25) National CC 114 bt Ours CC 82 Abdul Rehman 34,
M Vijay 7/37) Charminar 181 bt Venus Cyber Tech 177 (Naresh Kumar 70, S Ahmed 3/41) Gujarathi 406/3 bt Saleemnagar 254 (Zameeruddin 35, Md Khalid 82, Md Fardun 55, Vidath 5/61) Gemini Friends 133 bt New Blues 97 (Ganesh 7/41, Akash Sana 3/22) Osmania 303/7 bt Zinda 110 (Satyanarayana 4/39, Dinesh 5/31) Sporting XI 193 lost to Galaxy 196/7 (Ruthvik Reddy 35, Rajender 46, Sanjay Kumar 31no, Balaraj 3/46) Day 1 Balaji Colts 166 (Sharavan Chinta 38, M Sree Aditiya 3/55, K Srinu 3/33) vs Hyderabad Titans 79/6 (Navdeep Singh 3/17)
have to see... “Right now, it doesn’t look massively strong for me for tomorrow, but hopefully we can improve the pace. You don’t know what fuel loads people are on — so we will wait and see.” Hamilton, like Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, has made clear that he has to cut into Vettel’s massive lead in the drivers’ championship at the next two races if he is to stay in the hunt. He may draw some comfort from the knowledge that though Vettel has won twice at Monza, compared to his sole win, Red Bull has registered only one Italian victory from 16 starts since 2005 — and regards the Autodromo Nazionale as a bogey circuit. The winner at Monza, however, has started from pole 10 times in the last 13 years - a statistic that makes it clear that Vettel’s rivals need to overhaul the Red Bull duo to boost their title challenges. Both Webber and Vettel were reluctant to crow, however. “The car is certainly not in bad shape,” said Webber. “We just want to get a better package out AFP of what we have got.
ew York Knicks guard J.R. Smith has been suspended five games without pay by the NBA, the league announced Friday, for violating the league anti-drug program. The ban will begin with the first game of the 2013-2014 season in which Smith is physically able to perform, which is an issue in his case because he underwent left knee surgery in July.
Barguil claims 13th stage CASTELLDEFELS: French youngster Warren Barguil (Argos-Shimano) broke clear in the final kilometre of Friday’s 169km ride from Valls to Castelldefels to claim the 13th stage of the Tour of Spain. The 21-year-old was part of a breakaway group of 10 that controlled the second half of the stage but he made the telling break to seize his first professional stage win ahead of Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2R) and Bauke Mollema (Belkin). Race leader Vicenzo Nibali (Astana) finished amongst the peloton 2mins 43secs back along with all the other major contenders in the general classification to maintain his 31 second advantage over Nicholas Roche (Saxo). Barguil celebrated his victory as he crossed the line by pointing to the sky and he dedicated his maiden win to his recently deceased grandfather. “I am very happy and especially for my grandfather because he was an inspiration for me.” And victory also completed a huge turnaround in fortunes for Barguil after he suffered a heavy fall in Monday’s 10th stage in Granada which saw him lose 25 minutes in the general classifi-
HYDERABAD POLO SEASON
Argos - Shimano’s French rider Warren Barguil celebrates winning as he crosses the finish line on Friday at the Tour of Spain. AFP/JAIME REINA
cation. “I was very disappointed after my crash because I was 19th in the general classification and I felt I was in very good shape. “Today though the attack went well and I am delighted to seal this first victory.” After Michele Scarponi (Lampre) had briefly led on his own following the category one climb up the Alto del Rat Penat, the Italian was joined by a group of nine more riders that had broken away from the peloton. AFP
FILA argues for wrestling in 2020 Games BUENOS AIRES: World
Players of SSC and Topchi are seen in action during their polo match of the Prince of Bearer Cup of the Hyderabad Polo Season, at the Bison Polo ground in Hyderabad, on Friday. SSC defeated Topchi by 6 goals to 2 and a half goals.
Wrestling body FILA made its final presentation here Friday before the 125th International Olympic Committee (IOC) session to save the sport’s position in the 2020 Olympic Games. The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) president, Nenad Lalovic, along with Canadian Olympic gold medallist Carol Huynh, French Wrestling Federation vice president Lise Legrand, Nigerian Wrestling Federation president Daniel Igali and chief operating officer of the Baku 2015 European Games Jim Scherr joined the lobby team, IANS Xinhua reported.
30
SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Younis double ton puts Pak on top HARARE: Younis Khan hit a
It was a monumental performance by Younis, who batted for 10 hours 12 minutes and faced 404 balls, knowing for much of his innings that his side would be in danger of defeat if he was dismissed. Pakistan were in deep trouble at 23 for three early in his innings. He shared a century partnership with captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Thursday but the tourists were still vulnerable when Asad Shafiq was bowled in the first over on Friday, with Pakistan only 91 ahead with five wickets remaining. Another century stand, with wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, who made a career-best 64,
double century as Pakistan wrested control on the fourth day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Friday. Younis hit 200 not out to enable Pakistan to declare on 419 for nine, setting Zimbabwe an unlikely 342 to win. Zimbabwe were 13 for one at the close, losing opening batsman Tina Mawoyo in the last over of the day, leg before wicket to Saeed Ajmal. Off-spinner Ajmal, who took seven for 95 in the first innings, will be the main threat to the Zimbabwe batsmen on the last day on a deteriorating pitch.
SA, India to discuss scheduling dispute JOHANNESBURG: India and South Africa cricket chiefs are to meet in Dubai this month to defuse a row over the scheduling of an upcoming tour between the two countries, Cricket South Africa said on Friday. CSA said chief executive Haroon Lorgat will meet BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel during a scheduled ICC chief executives’ meeting on September 16-17. A statement said the meeting was agreed “after several conversations between the two over the past few days as they work towards resolving scheduling issues around the tour to South Africa by India”. What was announced as a tour consisting of three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20s seems likely to be shortened following announcements by the BCCI of plans for a tour by the West Indies and to New Zealand.
Rain plays spoilsport, washes out first ODI LEEDS: The first ODI between England and Australia in Leeds was washed out on Friday, as heavy and persistent rain flooded the ground and ruined any chance of play. Umpires Aleem Dar and Richard Illingworth had little option but to abandon hopes of any play taking place after inspecting the waterlogged outfield for a third time at 1.30 pm. Groundstaff tried in vain to soak up and sweep away puddles which had grown larger by the hour on the grass and the covers.
steered Pakistan towards safety. An unbroken last wicket partnership of 88 with Rahat Ali (35 not out) took the game away from a tiring Zimbabwe team. Patience was the hallmark of Younis’ innings until he cut loose in the last wicket stand, adding his last 51 runs in quick time. Misbah delayed the declaration, first signalling two more overs as Younis neared a double century, then indicating a further over when Younis was on 194 when the allotted two were complete. Younis hit off- spinner Prosper Utseya to reach the landmark and the declaration AFP was immediate.
Bolt ready to chill BRUSSELS: Usain Bolt is ready to chill out on holiday after bagging another three world gold medals in a season during which he suffered only one defeat, and that was by one-hundredth of a second. The Jamaican’s 100m victory in 9.80sec at the season-ending Diamond League meet on Friday crowned another amazing season which was marred early on by a dearth of doping cases. And again it was Bolt who steered the world of track and field out of those doldrums. The 27-year-old went to last month’s world championships in Moscow with nagging question marks over his form, as there had been at the London Olympics and the 2011 Daegu worlds. Bolt promptly dispelled any concerns by claiming treble gold, winning the individual 100 and 200m crowns and then anchoring home the Jamaican 4x100m relay team to give a rosy tint to the world of athletics. It means that apart from his false-start blip in the Daegu 100m, Bolt has won every global sprint title on offer since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, an astonishing feat he aims to carry through until the 2016 Games in Rio. The six-time Olympic gold medallist’s world medal haul now stands at eight golds, bringing him level with American
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt celebrates after winning the men’s 100m race at the Diamond League athletics meeting on Friday, in Brussels. AFP/JOHN THYS women’s 200m specialist Allyson Felix, and retired US track stars Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson. With no global championships planned for 2014, Bolt has made several hints that he might target a debut appearance
at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. But first up is a well-earned holiday back in Jamaica, albeit interspersed with at least two return trips to Europe to fulfil AFP sponsor commitments.
SCOREBOARD Pakistan 1st innings 249 Zimbabwe 1st innings 327 Pakistan 2nd innings (overnight 1684) Younis Khan not out 200 Asad Shafiq b Chatara 15 Adnan Akmal run out (S.Masakadza) 64 Abdur Rehman lbw b Utseya 9 Saeed Ajmal lbw b Utseya 1 Junaid Khan b Utseya 8 Rahat Ali not out 35 Extras (b11, lb1, w2) 14 Total (9 wkts dec, 149.3 overs) 419 Bowling: Chatara 33-7-99-2, Panyangara 30-14-42-2 (1w), Utseya 37.3-5-137-3, S.Masakadza 34-4-1001, H. Masakadza 15-5-29-0
Powell’s ‘B’ reports test positive KINGSTON: Former 100-meter world record-holder Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson were among five Jamaican athletes whose “B” samples have tested positive for doping, the Jamaican Gleaner reported Friday. The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) told the newspaper that it has received laboratory results that confirm the banned performance-enhancing substances found in “A” samples for the five at the Jamaican championships in June. JADCO said the five athletes have acknowledged receipt of letters notifying them of the positive “B” samples and that the findings have been passed along to the Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel to set up hearings. In July, Powell admitted he had failed a drugs test, a result that kept him from competing at last month’s IAAF World Championships in Moscow, where countryman Usain Bolt captured the 100m and 200m crowns. While Powell confirmed “adverse findings” in a Twitter posting, saying the banned stimulant oxilofrine was found, but denied he had knowingly taken any illegal performance-enhancAFP ing drugs.
Gallacher, Bjoern in lead CRANS-MONTANA: Stephen Gallacher (left) took a share of the halfway lead at the European Masters on Friday before confirming that his uncle, former European Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher, is making progress after a heart attack. Gallacher junior produced seven second-round birdies for a 65 to leave him
with a ten under par total of 132 and a share of the lead with Denmark’s Thomas Bjoern, the 2011 champion at Crans-sur-Sierre. Scotland’s Gallacher could have gone into Saturday’s third round holding the outright lead but for a bogey at the 18th. The frontrunners are being chased one shot back by a five-strong group
including Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez, who set the course record of 61 on his way to winning here in 2010. One shot further back came first-round leader Anirban Lahiri, and Paul Casey, while three-time major winner Padraig Harrington’s 65 fired him into contention at seven AFP under.
MEADOW
MAGIC
31
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Déjà vu for Serena, Azarenka Serena Williams will try to capture her 17th Grand Slam title and become the oldest women’s champion in US Open history in a finals rematch with second seed Victoria Azarenka.
Jim SLATER
NEW YORK: World number one Serena Williams (right) will try to capture her 17th Grand Slam title and become the oldest women’s champion in US Open history in a finals rematch Sunday with second seed Victoria Azarenka (left). Williams, who defeated Azarenka in last year’s trophy decider, seeks her fifth US Open crown in her seventh final, her 21st career Grand Slam final, and would be the first top-seeded champion since Justine Henin in 2007. And she would move her career Slam total just one shy of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert for second on the all-time list behind the 22 of Steffi Graf. “I can’t think about it,” Williams said. “It’s so close but still so far. I have to play a great player and play great tennis.” Williams, who has lost only 16 games over six matches, could win the title 18 days before her 32nd birthday, making her 293 days older than Australian Margaret Court was when she won the 1973 title to set the cur-
rent age mark. And after titles in 1999, 2002, 2008 and last year, Williams could finally claim back-to-back crowns. “To be able to defend a title for once would be really awesome,” she said. Not since Williams in 2008 has a US Open champion lifted the trophy without losing a set, but Williams could make it happen Sunday by winning her ninth crown of the year, what would be her career-record title haul for one season. “I have been really focused,” Williams said. “My practices have been much better than my matches. I set some goals for myself in my matches and I’ve met those goals every time.” But world number two Azarenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, sees herself as a more versatile and dangerous player than when she lost to Williams 62, 2-6, 7-5 in the final a year ago. “There are aspects that got better physically,” Azarenka said. “Mentally I felt like this year was a great turning point for me on some level for my career. I feel like I’m a better player. I’m a
more complete player. “From the groundstrokes to movement to coming in to variety, I think all those little things are coming together, paying a lot more details on how to create a bigger arsenal.” Azarenka, who won the past two Australian Open titles, seeks a third career Grand Slam title and could become the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997 to win the US and Australian
Li vows to battle stagefright Dave JAMES
NEW YORK: Li Na vowed to conquer the New York stagefright that crippled her in Friday’s US Open semi-final loss to Serena Williams. Chinese star Li, the 2011 French Open champion, slumped to a 6-0, 6-3 loss to the defending champion, her ninth defeat in 10 meetings with the world number one. Li has not taken a set off the American in the pair’s last seven meetings while her only victory came back in 2008 in Stuttgart. As a result, the world number six admitted her depressing record against the 17-time Grand Slam title winner might have preyed on her mind at Arthur Ashe Stadium as Williams booked a Sunday final clash against Victoria Azarenka. “I should not be nervous like this because it’s not the first time I have played in the semifinals,” said the 31-year-old.
“But when I walked on the court I felt the court was so big. I felt like it was a football stadium. For Serena it was like a table tennis court. I could not focus. I think I have to find out.” Li was playing in her first US Open semi-final but has contested 30 Grand Slam tournaments in her career and has reached the quarter-finals or better at all four majors. She has also played in three Grand Slam finals — her 2011
success at Roland Garros sandwiched between defeats at the Australian Open in 2011 and 2013. So, on experience alone, Friday’s occasion should not have been unusual. However, in her three previous finals at the majors, she was not playing the home favourite. “Today it didn’t matter who is the opponent,” she insisted. “The problem is myself because today I cannot face to the problem. Even if I was playing the 100th-ranked player it would still be the same problem. “I really have to face this thing for the next step. It’s not about the technique. It’s about the problem about myself.” Despite losing to Williams, Li still had time to sign off her US Open campaign with a joke. When asked if she had any advice for Williams on her personal life after the American was romantically linked with her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, AFP she urged caution.
Opens in the same year. “You’ve got to fight,” Azarenka said. “You have got to run, you’ve got to grind, and you’ve got to bite with your teeth for whatever opportunity you have. She is an amazing player. She’s the greatest of all time. “It’s just important to really take my chances because she’s a player who doesn’t give you anything. She’s really, really powerful, so it’s important to try to
find a way to be dictating yourself.” If Williams wins the title, she would receive the $2.6 million first prize plus a $1 million bonus for her performance in US Open tuneup events. The total would boost her above $9 million in season earnings, a women’s record, and boost her career winnings above $50 million. “Last time I had this opportunity I blew up. It didn’t work out,” Williams said, recalling her 2011 US Open finals loss to Australian Samantha Stosur. No matter how Sunday turns out, Williams and Azarenka will have combined to win six of eight Grand Slam titles over the past two years, although their only Grand Slam finals matchups in the span have come in New York. “When you play against Serena, you have to play your best. She makes me play my best. I think I kind of do the same way to her,” Azarenka said. “We raise each other’s level all the time and take each other to the limit, to go out of that place where you sometimes don’t know how far you can go, but AFP you just still go for it.”
Mirnyi, Hlavackova win mixed doubles title NEW YORK: Max Mirnyi of Belarus won his third US Open mixed doubles crown Friday, joining Czech Andrea Hlavackova to beat Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and American Abigail Spears 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the final. The seventh-seeded European duo needed only 86 minutes to capture the crown over the unseeded North Americans for the $150,000 top prize at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Mirnyi won his first US Open mixed doubles crown alongside current women’s singles world number one Serena Williams in 1998 and took his second in 2007 alongside compatriot Victoria Azarenka. Williams beat Azarenka in last year’s US Open women’s singles final. “New York is the best city to play tennis, this is the best stadium to play tennis and I always get the best partners,” said Mirnyi, who was also a
Andrea Hlavackova and Max Mirnyi celebrate winning their mixed doubles final match against Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez at the US Open on AFP/MADDIE MEYER Friday. mixed doubles runner-up in 2000 alongside Russian Anna Kournikova. Hlavackova, who remains in the women’s doubles event with compatriot Lucie Hradecka, gave Mirnyi the lion’s share of AFP credit for the victory.
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Hodgson in dilemma after win Roy Hodgson admitted he had a dilemma on his hands after the England manager’s attacking selection crisis deepened with Welbeck’s yellow card.
Tom WILLIAMS
LONDON: Roy Hodgson admitted he had a dilemma on his hands after the England manager’s attacking selection crisis deepened following the 4-0 win over Moldova in World Cup qualifying. England moved to the top of European qualifying Group H on goal difference above Montenegro after sweeping past Ion Caras’s side at Wembley on Friday, but victory came at a price. Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck, who claimed a sweetly taken double, was shown a yellow card that rules him out of Tuesday’s key trip to Ukraine, who trail England by a point. With Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll unavailable due to injury and Daniel Sturridge likely to miss out with a thigh problem, it leaves Hodgson with Rickie Lambert and Jermain Defoe as his only fit strikers. Lambert at least is taking to international football well, having scored his second goal in two games with a first-half header, but Hodgson was angry about the circumstances that led to Welbeck’s first-half booking. The 22-year-old was cautioned for making an attempt at goal after the whistle had gone for offside and Hodgson felt that Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak reached for his card too quickly. “I don’t think there will be
England’s striker Danny Welbeck (3rd L) heads the ball towards goal during the World Cup 2014 Group H qualifying match against Moldova at Wembley Stadium in London, on Friday. AFP/GLYN KIRK too many people, even amongst the refereeing fraternity, who will say that was a clear yellow card,” Hodgson told journalists at his post-game press conference. “A 40-yard sprint, a ball that arrives on your foot, a split-second between the whistle blowing and the shot, a team (Moldova) that’s already been wasting time
from the very first minute, so they’d have been delighted to see the ball going behind the goal... “You’ll have to work very, very hard to persuade me that in the rules of the game, that was a yellow card.” Hodgson added: “He’s got a yellow card, he’s out of the game. We’ll live with it, we’ll deal
CR7 strikes thrice
BELFAST: Cristiano
able match which came alive from the moment Bruno Alves and Gareth McAuley traded first-half efforts to send the sides in 1-1 at half-time at Windsor Park. Portugal were in danger of an embarrassing loss when Jamie Ward’s scrambled effort put Northern Ireland 2-1 in front early in the second half following the dismissal of Portugal’s Helder Postiga. However, Northern Ireland’s Chris Brunt was also sent off on the hour and Real Madrid forward Ronaldo took control with a pair of powerful headers and a late free-kick, before Kyle Lafferty’s dismissal finished off the hosts.
Ronaldo scored a superb hat-trick to lead Portugal to a dramatic 4-2 victory against Northern Ireland in a bad-tempered clash in Belfast on Friday. Ronaldo was playing for the first time since Gareth Bale joined him at Real Madrid in a transfer widely reported to have beaten the former Manchester United star’s £80 million ($125m) move to the Santiago Bernabeu. The flamboyant forward ensured he wasn’t overshadowed by Bale as his treble took him to 43 goals for Portugal, moving him above the legendary Eusebio into second place on his country’s all-time scoring charts. Ronaldo’s heroics capped a remark-
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with it, but did I think it was a yellow card, did I think it was a correct decision? No, I didn’t.” Hodgson, who revealed that Ashley Cole was substituted to spare him from the risk of a suspension-incurring booking, was nonetheless able to salute another impressive showing from AFP Lambert.
European zone WC qualifying results Group A Macedonia 2 bt Wales 1 Scotland 0 lost to Belgium 2 Serbia 1 drew with Croatia 1 Group B Czech Republic 1 lost to Armenia 2 Malta 1 lost to Denmark 2 Italy 1 bt Bulgaria 0 Group C Kazakhstan 2 bt Faroe Islands 1 Republic of Ireland 1 lost to Sweden 2 Germany 3 bt Austria 0 Group D Romania 3 bt Hungary 0 Turkey 5 bt Andorra 0 Estonia 2 drew with Netherlands 2 Group E Norway 2 bt Cyprus 0 Switzerland 4 drew with Iceland 4 Slovenia 1 bt Albania 0 Group F Russia 4 bt Luxembourg 1 Northern Ireland 2 lost to Portugal 4 Group G Bosnia-Herzegovina 0 lost to Slovakia 1 Liechtenstein 0 lost to Greece 1 Latvia 2 bt Lithuania 1 Group H Ukraine 9 bt San Marino 0 Poland 1 bt Montenegro 1 England 4 bt Moldova 0 Group I Georgia 0 drew with France 0 Finland 0 lost to Spain 2
Germany “boss” over Austria
Germany’s defender Per Mertesacker (top) falls over Austrian striker Martin Harnik during the FIFA World Cup 2014 group C qualifying match on Friday. AFP/CHRISTOF STACHE
MUNICH: Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil said Germany had shown who was “boss” in their World Cup qualifying group after their convincing 3-0 win over Austria in Munich on Friday kept them five-points clear. “We showed who is boss out on the pitch,” enthused Ozil, who became Germany’s most expensive player when he joined the Gunners from Real Madrid for 50 million euros (US$65.9m) on Monday. “We’re delighted with the result, we scored some nice goals going forward and were tight at the back.”
Veteran striker Miroslav Klose equalled Gerd Mueller’s 39-year-old record of 68 goals for Germany when he scored in the 33rd minute before Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller’s second-half goals kept Germany in charge of European qualifying Group C. “I can’t really be compared to Gerd Mueller, I have taken more than twice as many games as him to score the goals,” said Klose modestly on his 129th appearance, while Mueller, now 67, needed just 62 matches to score his goals for West Germany. Coach Joachim Loew was a relieved figure on the sidelines at Munich’s Allianz Arena as his side left the Austrians goalless having leaked nine goals in their three previous friendly games. “We had a bit more time to work together this week and we did our homework,” said Loew, who picked up his 65th victory in his 96th international as coach. We knew the way Austria would play and we took the sting out of their tail. Our defence worked well and it pleased me that we kept them goalless, but the main thing is the victory. The result gives us a bit more security at the top of the group. I am pleased that Miro Klose finally got his goal and the subject is finally closed. “I am sure he will go onto score his AFP 69th goal.”