Postnoon E-Paper for April 10th 2013

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013 HYDERABAD

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: CLEAR WITH CLOUDY PERIODS. WINDY AT TIMES; 34°C

EXPLORING A AREA

GREY

P16&17

With the cost of care for mental health disorders now running into trillions, Obama's $100 million fund for brain mapping has brought the focus back on exploring the organ at the heart of it all — the brain.

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

YOUR HEALTH’S GOING UP IN

SMOKE! Blame the sanitation department Burning garbage has almost become a traditional practice for sanitation department workers within the GHMC. But a closer look reveals that the problem lies with the mindset of higher officials who wish to keep their records clean.

Postnoon investigates.

REPORT ON P8

32 PAGES

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

city events

PUNJABIYAAN DI SHAAN

With Baisakhi round the corner, masterchefs from Punjab, along with the skilled team of Radisson Blu Hyderabad, recreate the lip smacking authentic Punjabi delicacies and an array of cultural festivities. The event is at Chill Restaurant & Terrace, up to April 14.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

34°C Clear with cloudy periods.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 35 Max 33 Min 20 Min 26

Morning

Afternoon

26°C

32°C

40°C

Clear with cloudy periods.

Sunny with cloudy periods.

Sunny with cloudy periods.

Clear.

Chennai Max 34 Min 27

Clear.

Partly cloudy.

Bangalore Max 36 Min 23 Partly cloudy.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES When: April 14, 7pm onwards Contact: 89778 99777

WORKSHOPS Vaishali Bisht’s theatre workshop Vaishali Bisht is conducting special Summer Holidays theatre workshops for children between the ages of six and 12. The course consists of 20 classes held Monday to Saturday.

Using theatre games and exercises, the workshop helps children use their imagination and get creative.

Where: Road no 7, Banjara Hills When: From April 15, Monday to Saturday, 4.30pm to 6.30pm Contact: 94904 40986 Filmmaking workshops for children Yavanika Films is conducting a unique filmmaking workshops this summer vacation for children in Hyderabad. Each participant will make their own short film as part of the workshop. Even a parent and child can register as one student pair to make a short film together.

Where: Begumpet When: From April 24, 2pm to 7pm, Daily classes except on weekends Contact: 94901 00404

DINING Punjab Da Tashan Ambar sariyan murg, Punjabi chicken keemedar, kalimirch machhi, achari paneer and khumb hardhaniya are

French animated film Alliance Française of Hyderabad presents Le chat du Rabbin, directed

by Antoine Delesvaux and Joann Sfar.

Where: Alliance Française, Banjara Hills (first come first serve) When: April 18, 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2355 4485

BEATING THE HEAT: A sure sign that summer is here is when people throng water parks for some relief from the unbearable heat. These two, spotted at Jalavihar Park, certainly have cracked the code of how to stay cool. SRINIVAS SETTY some of the items on the menu.

There is a starter and welcome drink free for ladies above 21 years.

Where: Terrace Bay and Sky Bar, Babukhan Mall, 6-3-1111/B 501, 5th Floor , Somajiguda When: Fridays up to April 12, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2341 8545 Special lunch A changing menu, with a wide spread of food items, and special packages for kitty and group lunches.

Where: Kailash Parbat Above Ebony Gautier, 2nd floor, Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 23558856

Commissioner & Spl Officer

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

198 155313

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

Piano recital Alliance Française presents piano recital by Daniel Gomez.

Where: Alliance Française, Banjara Hills (invites also available here) When: April 12, 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2355 4485

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

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

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typical Sunday brunch can be a little confusing — it's hard to stick to one cuisine. Taj Krishna in the City has decided to go off the beaten track by launching its Sparkling Yumcha brunch this Sunday at the Golden Dragon. The brunch, which includes sparkling wine, will focus only on delicacies from the heart of China. It lures you with dimsums, soup, spring rolls, noodles, rice and a variety of seafood to choose from. Visit once, you'll definitely indulge again!

City’s #1 spot

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

155313 23307328 23313163

27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666 39879999

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

Malvani cuisine Taj Deccan is hosting Malvani Food Festival at Spice Junxion. Enjoy a scrumptious spread of classic dishes like pandhara kombdiche saar, kale vatana ni gawarchi bhajji and puran poli.

Where: Spice Junxion Taj Krishna, Road No 1, Banjara Hills When: Till April 25 Contact: (040) 6652 3939

Hindi play performance A Hindi play, To Be Or Not To Be, will be performed.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: April 12, 8pm onwards Contact: 9642731329

SHOWS Rhythm Dhol Bass World famous Punjabi music band RDB will perform live during the Baikashi mela. Dancer Shweta Sharma will also be performing live.

Where: LB Stadium

27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445

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

Caste film screening A research documentary, India Untouched, that reveals the truth about prevailing casteism in India will be screened at Lamakaan..

Where: Lamakaan, Rd No 1, Banjara Hills When: April 10, 7pm onwards Contact: 9642731329

Airport Director 27903785, 27906001 For Air India Flight Information Toll free (from any network) for IC Flights 18001801407 And for All Flights: 1800227722 Air India has revised its flight timings.

For more information call (Toll free) 18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from other lines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in TOURISM OFFICES AP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54 Sec-bad 27893100 Dept of Tourism 23453110 India Tourism 23261360 AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999 UK VISA OFFICE VFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A, Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7

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

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

City

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL CM HAVE TO LET GO OF SABITHA TO SAVE GOVT’S IMAGE? 81% 19%

YES (A) NO (B)

A)

YES

B)

NO

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

Youth impregnates minor, caught

A man who befriended a school girl, impregnated her and aborted the child by force before trying to flee, was arrested.

Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

T

he Reinbazar police have arrested Azhar Ali, 23, an A/C mechanic, on charge of trapping a minor girl under the guise of love and sexually assaulting her for a year. He has also been arraigned for impregnating her and making her undergo an abortion at the risk of her life. The hospital too is in hot water over the incident.

It is said that the girl, a resident of Brahmanwadi Yakutpura and a first year student in a City private college, met the youth at

TODAY’S QUESTION

IS CHIRANJEEVI A GOOD CHOICE FOR CM’S POST?

a bus stop she frequented. After initial resistance, the girl relented. They went places without the knowledge of the girl’s parents.

After a few months, she became pregnant and the man panicked.

He arranged for an abortion at a

private clinic and pledged to marry her afterward. But after the abortion, he played truant and changed his mobile number.

The worried girl contacted him and he told her to forget marriage. When she persisted, he made a vain bid to flee.

However, the parents of the girl, who were informed promptly, approached the Reinbazar police, who caught him before he could escape. The hospital located in Teegalkunta in Falaknuma that performed abortion too has been booked. Inspector Ranga Rao said the concerned doctor will be arrested too.

CRIME

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‘Sexual assault’ over property issue?

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

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Chennai-based woman, Lalitha aka Archana, was allegedly detained by her relatives, who tried to sexually assault her, for three days at Shanti Nagar, Lalapet, in Secunderabad.

She managed to escape and lodged a complaint with the Lalaguda police.

Lalitha, 30, a native of Hyderabad, married Ganesh six years back. The couple settled in Chennai a few months after marriage. Her mother Sukanya, a widow, was living alone in Hyderabad. She died a month back due to some illness. Lalitha came to the City to perform the last rites. She stayed at the house of Shanker, a relative.

It is said that Shanker, an old man, considered Lalitha like a daughter since her childhood. He has a huge property in his name.

His relatives are said to have detained her and tried to sexually assault her, apart from threatening her of dire consequences if she interfered in their property issue.

According to Lalaguda inspector V Srinivas Reddy, a case has been booked against them and investigations have started.

He said they have some doubts on the complaint and said it was purely a property dispute, which is why they haven’t arrested anyone yet. He added that Shanker married another woman after his first wife died. The police suspect the second wife’s relatives are involved in this.

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city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013 LAST YEAR... HERE

CIVIC

Missing in action

5 lakh property tax defaulters to be nailed

L

ast year we had reported how the absence of the first citizen from the scene of violence in the City raised many questions. While police top brass and political bigwigs visited the riot-hit areas, the mayor was conspicuous by his absence. Officials said as it would be construed as a move to sympathise with the minority community, th mayor skipped the visit.

APRIL 10, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

100KW

solar power plant was promoted by the State government amid much hype at Vidyuth Soudha, to promote renewable sources of energy.

The magistrate did not give me permission (to appoint a lawyer) and said that the public prosecutor will handle my case. I am very unhappy with the way the case is progressing.

Kiranmai, a litigant See page 6

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

1

Shadow hangs over solar power generation in State.

The State may be encouraging solar power but its unclear policies have left domestic consumers clueless as to whether they would benefit from it.

2

A dearth of public prosecutors in AP? Sources allege that the posts of public prosecutors are not being filled for political reasons. Some litigants are unhappy with the way their cases are progressing with the appointed prosecutors.

3

Property owners who habitually fail to pay taxes can expect a visit from a civic official with a frown. Pay up or face trouble is the message.

Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

M

T Krishna Babu, GHMC commissioner, has revealed that four to five lakh people living within the GHMC limits are not habituated to paying property tax. He made this observation while holding a review meeting along with Navin Mittal, special commissioner. All the zonal commissioners, additional commissioners and deputy commissioners were present.

Babu directed all officials to focus on collecting property tax from people who are regular defaulters for the next three months. He asked them to list property owners who have not been paying tax since the last four years.

The zonal commissioners are to hold circle-wise meetings

with bill collectors by providing them with the list of tax defaulters and duly fixing them weekly targets. He further directed the officials to be strict with the commercial and higher middle class consumers on the list.

The commissioner has told the zonal commissioners and deputy commissioners that settling of property tax revision petitions should be their second

priority in the coming days and further directed them to hold counselling for revision petitions from April 15 to May 15.

He further directed the officers concerned to update the top 1,000 defaulters of property tax database and upload the revised data on the GHMC website in 10 days. Many discrepancies in the website were found during the verification. The third priority

should be given to GIS mapping for setting up dockets and doorto-door survey of bill collectors, who should simultaneously bring the un-assessed and underassessed properties under tax net. He further directed the zonal commissioners to provide two assistants to the bill collectors.

The commissioner congratulated the town planning wing for getting more revenue from BPS and LRS schemes, as compared to last year, and directed the additional commissioner (planning) to take up a massive ad campaign to curb unauthorised constructions. He also reviewed trade licences and directed the additional commissioner (H&S) to ask assistant license officers and sanitary supervisors to take up a massive survey to bring the trades under the net. He said there will be regular review meetings on revenue collection.

CIVIC

GHMC hitches hopes to eGOV POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

T

o extend the contract on Holistic and Integrated Greater Hyderabad E-governance Solution (HIGH eGOV) for five years, the GHMC will be writing to the government for additional sanction of `21 crore.

After the Trimax (software solutions from Birla) won the bidding process in the beginning of this year, the deal was recently reset for five years from original two years by Andhra

Pradesh Technology Services (APTS). The estimation was revised to `33 crore from the original `12 crore. “In the next standing committee meeting, the proposal seeking approval from government would be put forward. If everything goes smoothly, we will have an entirely new system of e-governance, unmatched by any other in the country,” said a senior official from IT wing.

As part of the National Mission Mode Project (NMMP) for e-Governance in municipali-

ties, APTS awarded the contract to Trimax.

According to officials, the project aims at providing more ‘efficient’, ‘convenient’ and ‘transparent’ services to citizens.

“We have data on all the subjects, but rarely one document relates with another. For instance, property tax is collected from every household, but if we need history that relates with the property, like occupancy certificate, we cannot easily access it. This is where the new software brings in change. With

a single click, entire information will be displayed on the screen,” says an official.

The entire GHMC IT structure will be refurbished.

Computers procured before 2005 will be removed. Around 800 new computers will be installed, where 22 will be servers attached to 300 printers.

The expenditure will be shared; 35 per cent by State government, 15 per cent Centre and 50 per cent by the GHMC. Officials claim the project will broaden the public participation.

NEWS BRIEFS

Time we take garbage segregation seriously?.

Garbage in dumps are burned by sanitation workers, under pressure from higher officials, despite the health risks it poses.

UIDAI says e-Aadhaar is valid proof

Baisakhi celebrations to CCTV footage helps start in City crack kidnapping case

CM visits Adilabad for Indiramma Kalalu

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Tax defaulters in City to face the heat.

The GHMC plans to nail nearly five lakh property defaulters in the next three months.

5

Govt faces more criticism than it can handle?

Chirajeevi has also criticised the Kiran government for the power tariff hikes.

nique Identification Authority of India has notified that the "e-Aadhaar" is a valid proof of identity on par with the Aadhaar card.

This electronic document that is digitally signed by using National Informatics Centre certificates can be downloaded by the general public from the online portal of the UIDAI website.

he 314th 'Khalsa Saajna Divas' (Khalsa Panth Foundation Day celebrations), popularly known as Baisakhi, a harvest festival of Punjab, will be celebrated by the Sikh community from April 12 to April 14. The celebrations will be organised under the aegis of the Prabhandak Committee Gurudwara Saheb, Ameerpet.

T

he Hyderabad City police claims to have cracked the kidnapping case of an eight-month-old baby girl, Shragvi. It was a family feud that triggered the incident. On April 7, two men on a bike snatched the baby from her mother on Shivam Road near Osmania University. CCTV camera footage from the junction helped crack the case.

hief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is visiting Adilabad district today. He will participate in the State government's programme ‘Indiramma Kalalu'. The programme is aimed at creating awareness about the historic legislation passed by the State to implement a special sub plan to SC and ST communities of the State.

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city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

POLITICS

Chiru angers Kiran The CM is reportedly unhappy with his party colleague who has been openly slamming him on the power tariff hike.

PK SURENDRAN surendran.pk@postnoon.com

Spotlight on Sabitha rattles ministers Three ministers who have been issued SC notices are uneasy after the home minister was named in a chargesheet.

INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

C

hief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and the man allegedly after his post, actor-turnedpolitician Chiranjeevi are at loggerheads, sources say.

Chiranjeevi’s recent actions, which many say is aimed at projecting himself as an alternative leader in the State, has apparently left the chief minister angry and sad.

Kiran — who has off late had to tackle numerous issues like criminal cases against his Cabinet colleagues, PCC chief taking potshots at him and the attacks by the Opposition — was perturbed when his party colleague Chiranjeevi openly criticised him for raising power tariff. Such steps, the megastar argued, will lead to the government’s fall in the election year.

“Chiranjeevi is a sincere man who has not been polluted by the chicanery of party politics. He has upbraided many chief ministers when they brought bad name to tourism,” defended his aide when told of Kiran’s anger against the minister.

JAGAN CASE

T Underlying the issue, say political observers, is the fact that there is still animosity between the erstwhile PRP and the Congress. Even after the PRP merged with the Congress, Chiranjeevi’s supporters are yet to reconcile to the ‘Congress culture.’ The superstar’s cut-outs are missing at Congress events and once PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana had even scolded Chiru’s supporters for hailing him throughout the events. They were asked instead to hail Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

It is learnt that the chief

PROTEST

Women activists hurt in clash with cops

minister had angrily thrown away a letter that Chiranjeevi sent him through minister Ghanta Srinivasa Rao on the power problem. It was claimed that Kiran was angered by Chiranjeevi’s attitude and was unhappy that his ‘rival’ was talking about the power tariff hike in the open. “He is not the only saviour of the poor,” Kiran is reported to have said.

The CM told his close confidants that if Chiru had anything to say, he should say it at party or personal meetings and not in press conferences.

he inclusion of the State’s first woman home minister Patolla Sabitha Indira Reddy's name by CBI in the fifth chargesheet submitted in the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy disproportionate assets (DA) case has shocked the entire State Cabinet, especially the other three ministers who were issued notices by the Supreme Court in the same case.

The three Cabinet ministers include agriculture minister K Lakshminarayana, industries minister Dr J Geeta Reddy and IT minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah.

While Lakshminarayana is confident he will slip under the CBI’s radar as he is not directly involved in the case, the other two ministers seem to be visibly disturbed with the inclusion of Sabitha’s name in the chargesheet. Speaking to Postnoon, a senior Congress leader said that the State government has been put in a tight spot as the Opposition has already raised its pitch for Sabitha’s resignation.

Policemen stand guard outside the residence of home minister Sabitha Indira Reddy.

N SHIVA KUMAR

Sabitha to lose post?

H

ome minister Sabitha Indra Reddy is likely to be shifted out of her portfolio to keep her in the Cabinet, sources disclosed today.

Sabitha cannot head the home ministry, as it includes law and order machinery. Due to this, the CM postponed his visit to Sankarpalli.

NEEDS OF INDUSTRIES A Classified Display Feature

HYDERABAD: Several women were injured in an ‘encounter’ between the police and Telugu Desam Mahila Vibhag activists on Tuesday. Police personnel intervened and frustrated the attempts of the women activists who were trying to enter the Ministers’

Telugu Desam Mahila Vibhag activists were trying to enter the Ministers’ Residential Complex.

Residential Complex at Banjara Hills to register their protest against the hike in power tariff. In the process, policemen and the protesting women pushed each other, causing some injuries to the latter.

Tension enveloped the area when leaders got involved in heated arguments with the police over their condemnable behaviour.

NSS

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6

city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

LAW

Delayed justice? Blame the govt If ‘justice delayed is justice denied’, AP is a monumental instance of this dictum. The State has been dilly-dallying in filling public prosecutor posts, leading to a delay in disposal of cases.

ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com

T

he vacant posts of public prosecutors, which have not been attended to for years, stunts criminal justice in the State. As many as 194 posts of public prosecutors of all cadres are vacant in the State.

The petition for filling the posts has been pending with the High Court for quite some time now.

So far, the State government has been pulling along by giving additional charges to existing public prosecutors which, they say, has been affecting justice.

“Every public prosecutor is given two to three additional responsibilities. Sometimes even the seniors have to do the work of juniors because of the insufficient number of public prosecutors.

Because of the added burden, the disposal of cases is being affected; justice is being affected since

the public prosecutors are not able to give their 100 per cent to any of the cases,” said P Srinivas Reddy, president of the Public Prosecutors’ Association.

The dearth of public prosecutors is greatly affecting the special magistrate courts in the City.

The various magistrate courts

were set up for the speedy disposal of the lakhs of cases that are pending. Most of the criminal cases too have been transferred to these courts. However, there are no sanctioned posts for public prosecutors at these courts, the result of which is that public prosecutors at the sessions courts

SMOOTH RIDE

Roads in Basheerbagh remained deserted on Tuesday due to the Opposition’s bandh against power tariff hike.

M ANIL KUMAR

are asked to go to the magistrate courts, further increasing their burden.

Petitioners, on the other hand, feel their cases are being neglected because of the lack of interest shown by public prosecutors. “I wanted to appoint a lawyer for my case, but the magistrate did not give me permission and said that the public prosecutor would handle my case. I am very unhappy with the way the case is progressing and have approached the Directorate of Public Prosecution. The official concerned said that they would help me out, but so far I see no progress,” said Kiranmai, a litigant who is contesting a case in the City court.

According to public prosecutors, technical problems like issues with the seniority and the years of experience is one of the reasons for them to hold back the recruitment. “The cadre of the

public prosecutors starts with the assistant public prosecutor and goes up to the director of public prosecution. The assistant and senior public prosecutors are appointed after recruitment, but cadres above that are appointed based on seniority. Since there was a certain dispute over seniority, the petition was sent back by the State government,” said Srinivas Reddy.

Meanwhile, the State government has said that notifications for the post of public prosecutors have been given and the problem should be solved within a few months. “We have issued notifications for 65 assistant public prosecutors and 13 additional Grade II public prosecutors. The rest of the posts also will be filled very soon. By October this year, most of the posts should be filled,” said a senior official at the Directorate of Public Prosecution.

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city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

CONFUSED STATE

Shadow over solar power The Sun god would have solved much of our energy problems after the government announced 30 per cent subsidy on solar power as it allows individual homes to tap solar power and sell it to the grid. But what went wrong? Postnoon finds out.

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

initial phases. A lot of consideration is being given towards including low-end solar power production units under 10KW category so the same can be used by domestic consumers.” However, he admitted, that it remains to be seen whether operational logistics such as making it low tension from high tension three-phase and electronic metering are still being researched. The department heads are certain of this project being implemented in another six months to one year.

T

he situation could not be more strange. Amidst much hype, the State government has promoted the 100KW solar plant at Vidyuth Soudha by claiming it as the first step towards promoting renewable energy. To this effect, a government order (GO MS 22) was issued to encourage solar power production in the State and the NREDCAP had stated that a 30 per cent subsidy on claimed panels producing 500KW is being taken up. After all the euphoria died away, domestic consumers, who form the biggest part of the State’s electricity grid, were left wondering how much of this bounty could actually be theirs. The answer is none, at least as of now.

If one were to carefully examine the GO MS 22, the lack of clarity over domestic solar power utility is evident. Does a consumer need to take permission to set up a solar power unit?

Will there be subsidies for power units that produce 100 or 50KW? What will be the subsidy on these categories? These questions have no answers.

PRICES IN THE CITY

Earlier, small panels ranging between three and 100 watts would cost `45 per watt. Now, due to the increase in demand for solar products,the cost of one watt from small panels has shot up to `60. A small panel begins at 1*1 feet in size and can be used to power anything from a LED lamp to streetlights (streetlights use 35 to 70 watt solar panels).

Big panels anywhere from 150 watts and above are used for heating, electrification and other heavy-duty applications. Big panels come at a marginal price (compared to size and power ratio) of `52 to `65 a unit.

POSSIBLE SOPS

EXPERTSPEAK

As D Venkat Rao, honorary secretary of Policy Development Society and a solar power entrepreneur says, “The APTransco installation itself was 100KW whereas they promote installation and usage of 500KW units. Even large-scale industries fail to completely use 500KW. The installation of their pilot project itself shows a lack of commitment.” He adds that the government has said that it will give subsidies and concessions on such massive installation, but they are clearly going to be under utilised in the domestic sector. What is this, he asks, if not lack of clarity in the policy?

The domestic demand for solar supply is so high that in the last six months, over 150 entrepreneurs and over 40 companies that manufacture solar panels and small scale solar products have mushroomed. But there is a twist — the average domestic consumer has been left confused, thanks to the vague promotion of renewable energy utilisation.

It is commendable that the State government has taken up this aspect of power production,

The Central government’s policy on rural energy certification (REC) maintains that some connected load charges at `3/unit can be returned to the grid as unit bonds for people producing energy. This is possible for one MW plants. The same can be synchronised in a phased manner into 500KW, 100KW, 50KW plants for domestic consumption.

REMOVAL OF SALES TAX but it has clearly failed to understand the demands of the average domestic power consumer.

“Consumers are in a dilemma.

As of now, there is no standard procurement system. The government’s fabled net metering system guidelines say excess production will be remitted in coming months but this is not practically viable. Although it is a good policy, a lot more work needs to be done to push it into every household,” Rao says.

LOOK TO OTHER STATES

The common opinion among solar manufacturers is that the State government could take a

The domestic demand for solar supply is so high that in the last six months, over 150 entrepreneurs and over 40 companies have mushroomed. leaf out of Gujarat and Karnataka’s methods of introducing sops for consumers who use solar power or solar appliances. In both these states, the government ensured that property tax would be downsized by 15 per cent over 10 years if a con-

sumer were to install a solar panel water heating system on their rooftops. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Department has a 35 per cent subsidy policy for consumers investing in solar inverters in rural areas for agricultural purposes. So, the question on solar manufacturers’ lips is why can’t the same be taken up at semi-urban and urban areas and slowly introduced into domestic circles also?

WHAT OFFICIALS SAY

When contacted, a representative from NREDCAP said, “The policy guidelines are being developed as the project is still in its

The current sales tax limits on solar power products vary from five to 14.5 per cent. Manufacturers demand that this be regulated at one per cent sales tax or none at all, in order to promote solar power more effectively.

Policy making and implementation should not be left with State governments but rather with the Central government under the many agencies working on renewable energy projects like the Solar Power Corporation. Budget, implementation and discretionary authorities should be controlled by the Centre and not left to the respective State governments for effective transparency and promotion of solar power products and production projects.

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city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

CIVIC

Sanitation officials put public at risk

Burning garbage has almost become a regular practice for sanitation department workers. But a closer look reveals that the problem lies with the mindset of higher officials who wish to keep their records clean.

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

G

arbage burning in Kukatpally is a regular feature. But in hundreds of spots in the City, bonfires are set by municipal cleaners themselves.

While the adverse effects of burning plastic are yet to sink into the minds of the common public, the fault often lies with the supervisors who tend to push sanitation workers into clearing their dump yards. When this reporter spoke to one such sanitation worker, it was revealed that “the need to keep dump yards empty and free of all garbage forces sanitation workers to burn it”. As Kumar Goud, a garbage collector from Khairatabad circle said: “The dump yards often get piled up within a few days in any locality.

Since there are only a limited

number of trips that the GHMC vans make in a day, our supervisors ‘suggest’ that burning the remaining garbage is the best

way to get rid of it.”

When plastic is burnt, it releases dioxin, a dangerous insoluble chemical compound,

POLITICS

Congress eyes City LS seat

along with 315 carcinogens.

Inhaling this smoke is a sure way to contract cancer. As Jayaprakash Nambaru, an environmentalist,

said, “It is not the problem of lack of awareness with the sanitation staff. They are underpaid and overworked. They are not even provided with the right kinds of tools required to carry out their jobs. It is the problem of the GHMC and the PCB who take this issue very lightly.”

And what is shocking is that when Jayaprakash approached the GHMC’s health and sanitation wing, they issued a notice to the staff saying a `200 fine would be imposed on people found burning garbage. “ A `200 fine is a cruel joke. The PCB said they will watch the developments and take action, but nothing is being done. This problem is rampant throughout the City, but more so in Kukatpally, where it is a regular feature,” Jayaprakash added.

Additional commissioner L Vandan Kumar was unavailable for comment over this issue.

MEETING STALLED

The high command has asked the State leadership to wrest the Hyderabad seat from the MIM.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

T

he erstwhile ally of the ruling Congress, MIM, has to watch out. The Congress high command has reportedly asked the State leadership to wrest the Hyderabad Parliament seat from the MIM in the

next General Elections.

It is said that Rahul Gandhi’s emissary Amar Kale, who is on a State visit, held a series of meetings with Congress leaders at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday on this issue. Those who participated in the discussion included Rajya Sabha MP MA Khan, Secunderabad MP Anjan

Kumar Yadav, MLCs MS Prabhakar, Indirasena Reddy and Shabbir Ahmed, nominated MLA Christian Lazarus, former mayor Banda Kartika Reddy, deputy mayor G Rajkumar, PCC general secretary Abed Rasool Khan, Mohd Sirajuddin, Yousuf Qureshi and others, including GHMC corporators.

Talking to reporters later, Abed Rasool Khan said that he advised Kale to declare the Hyderabad candidate now itself so that he could prepare well for the next elections. He also demanded that Muslim candidates be given tickets from Hyderabad, Secunderabad and one each from all three regions besides giving tickets to Muslims from 20 Assembly constituencies.

The district revenue meeting (DRC) that began at Jubilee Hall today hit a roadblock midway when BJP leader and MLA Kishan Reddy insisted for the action taken report (ATR) of the district from the minister for major industries Geetha Reddy. The minister wanted to discuss power situation when Kishan chipped in with the demand for N SHIVA KUMAR the ATR. This led to a brief stalling of the meeting.

9

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

focus

IMPOSSIBLE TASK

Sceptics say Japan should stop the costly programme and give up on an almost impossible task. But others say the country’s complicated relationship to its wartime history mean it is an important way to come to terms with the past.

HAUNTING PAST

Seven decades on, Japan looks for WWII remains

TOKYO: Tears roll down Heitaro Matsumoto’s face as the 72-year-old businessman talks of an uncle who died on Guam as a Japanese soldier in the hopeless final weeks of World War II. The remains of Goro Matsumoto, in his mid-20s at the time of his death, have never been recovered. Nor have those of 18,000 other Japanese soldiers who died on the island, now a tropical vacation spot for Japanese tourists.

“People sacrificed their lives to fight for the country.

And their remains are left abandoned,” said Matsumoto, who is part of a voluntary programme to repatriate fallen Japanese soldiers.

“Unless we return their bodies, we cannot bring closure to the war.”

Nearly seven decades after hostilities ended in 1945, Japan

Politicians across party lines have passionately supported a programme that collects several hundred to a few thousand remains every year. is still trying, with limited success, to collect remains in an effort seen as a symbolic gesture honouring those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Some 2.4 million Japanese soldiers died overseas during the war. Nearly half — 1.13 million — of them still lie in a vast area somewhere between Russia and remote southern Pacific islands.

Japan’s efforts have required sensitivity. Memories of the bloody war remain vivid in East Asia, where the legacies of brutal colonialisation and nationalistic tension continue to affect Tokyo’s ties with Beijing and Seoul.

It is also logistically difficult. For the first seven years after the war, Tokyo could not dispatch overseas missions because of the US-led occupation.

The problem

T

he lack of diplomatic relations with Beijing until 1972 meant no one could go looking for the tens of thousands believed to have perished in what is now China.

This photo taken on February 5, 2013 shows Japanese businessman Heitaro Matsumoto (R) and his fellow volunteer Sumiko Naito (L), who have volunteered to repatriate the remains of fallen Japanese soldiers, showing images of their work during an interview in Tokyo. Nearly seven decades after hostilities ended in 1945, Japan is still trying, with limited success, to collect remains in an effort seen as a symbolic gesture honouring those AFP PHOTO / KAZUHIRO NOGI who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The lack of diplomatic relations with Beijing until 1972 meant no one could go looking for the tens of thousands believed to have perished in what is now China.

Roughly 300,000 soldiers are estimated to have died on the oceans while being transported by ship and the jungles of Southeast Asia present their own challenges when it comes to locating the dead.

Politicians across party lines have passionately supported a programme that collects several hundred to a few thousand remains every year, aided in part by sentimental movies depicting the pain of those left behind, unable to hold a proper funeral.

“The programme is openended at this point,” said a welfare ministry official in charge of repatriation issues. “We are conducting the programme as a national policy.”

In 2010 left-leaning then-

The toll Some

2.4 million

Japanese soldiers died overseas during the war.

Nearly half — 1.13 million — of them still lie in a vast area somewhere between Russia and remote southern Pacific islands.

Roughly

300,000

soldiers are estimated to have died on the oceans while being transported by ship and the jungles of Southeast Asia present their own challenges when it comes to locating the dead.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan launched a three-year project to find remains on Iwoto island,

better known as Iwojima, the site of one of bloodiest battles at the end of the war.

Kan boosted the annual budget to more than one billion yen a year for three years, a sharp increase from the normal budget of 200 to 300 million yen ($2.1 to $3.1 million).

“It is a national duty to collect remains of those who died for Japan,” Kan said at the time.

“By thoroughly carrying out the recovery programme on Iwoto, Japanese territory, I hope to use the momentum for foreign recovery programmes,” he said.

Sceptics say Japan should stop the costly programme and give up on an almost impossible task.

But others say the country’s complicated relationship to its wartime history mean it is an important way to come to terms with the past.

Some of the men who governed Japan during its acquisi-

tive march through Asia were convicted as war criminals in trials held by the US-led occupying forces in the years following surrender.

As a defeated aggressor there is no nationally accepted version of events, or agreement on who was a hero in the years up to 1945, said Haruo Tohmatsu, professor at the National Defense Academy.

Tokyo, instead, focused its narrative on the building of a modern democracy and a US ally in a new global order.

“You might say Japan was characterised as a sort of a criminal state that disturbed the world,” he said. “It has been difficult for Japan to openly honour people who fought in the war and died.

“Recovery of remains can be interpreted as a form of recognition” of the fallen soldiers without any judgement on the nation’s uncomfortable past, he said.

However, nearly 70 years on, the task risks becoming a practical impossibility.

“The places of their deaths should be regarded as their graves,” said Tohmatsu.

But for ageing relatives in a culture that places great emphasis on family graves providing a home for departed souls, it is difficult to give up hope that some day the remains of their loved ones will return to the homeland.

Heitaro Matsumoto recalls how he watched the skeleton of one soldier — still wearing boots and clutching a grenade — unearthed at a site in Guam.

“We know the remains are there,” Matsumoto said. “We must do this so the memory of the horrific war will never fade.”

AFP

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

Business

EX-BOSS OF FAILED UK BANK RETURNS KNIGHTHOOD

The former boss of failed British bank HBOS will return his knighthood and forego 30 percent of his pension following last week's damning parliamentary report into its collapse during the financial crisis. James Crosby also resigned as a non-executive director of catering firm Compass Group.

POWER SHORTAGE

Biz rues crippling jolts Industry leaders are appalled by the official policy of prefering populism over pressing issues faced by them.

PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

D

espite agitations on power scarcity, in its 29th month now, by various political parties, industry bodies, there is no response from the government.

“In spite of extensive media coverage on this issue for more than two years, there is neither a solution nor long term planning or even short term relief from the government for industry. We are still facing 3-day power cut and unofficial cuts, which count for the other two days.

Realistically, industry gets only two days of power in a week.

There are also heavy fines up to five times the tariff if industry takes the power from 6pm -10 pm,” says APK Reddy, president, Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises of Andhra Pradesh (FSME-AP).

He continues to add, “On top of it, they increase electricity tariffs in various ways without giving the minimum power required by the industry. It is understandable if government

10

CUTS WILL HURT CHILDREN

The UN warned on Wednesday that austerity measures are hitting children hard, as it published a ranking of kids' well-being in rich countries topped by northern European countries and showing Britain climbing out of the bottom tier. As governments turn to austerity to avoid passing on huge debt loads to the next generation, they must reflect on how their cuts are affecting children today, said Chris de Neubourg, who heads social and economic policy research at the UN's children's agency.

NUMEROLOGY

$1.5

buys or manages the power for the industry and request industrialists to pay for it. But, government continues to make the industry suffer from all the fronts.”

“An industrialist is bombarded is nagged by everyone in the current scenario. On one side you have banks asking for their repayment and on the other we have to pay salaries to our employees though the factory is running only few days in a month. On the third front, we could not abide by the promises given to the suppliers resulting not only in financial losses but also mental agony and hardship,” he says.

He questions, “Why should industry suffer for government’s freebies or election promises? Cross-subsidisation for providing power to agriculture is taking place at the cost of industry. We have become victims for their promises by paying heavy tariffs, surcharges even with out getting quality and uninterrupted power.”

“There are seven lakh industries and 40 lakh employees in

Power numbers

n Number of Industries: 7 lakh n Employees: 40 lakh n Population depending on the industries: 3 crore n Number of Power holidays:3

FACTS ABOUT APGENCO

n Installed capacity of APGENCO : 8924.9 MW n Thermal: 5092.5 MW , n Hydro: 3829.4 MW n Wind power: 2 MW n Solar: 1 MW n Country rank for power generation: 3 Source:Wikipidea

the state. Around 2.4 crore people in the State directly depend on these employees. The family members of these entrepreneurs count to another 42 lakh. Of the 8.4 crore people of the State, around 3 crore is directly dependent on these industries, but till date is no guarantee for their financial security,” says Reddy.

“For many industries, power itself is a raw material. The power-intensive industries are

neither in a position to shut down the factory nor afford captive power plants. Government can give special packages to produce captive power for these industries. It can waive the VAT for what the industry suffered all these years. The government can also get the loan payments deferred or restructured till things get normal. All these are temporary measures and not the solutions for this on-going problem,” he says.

Reddy said that it was not impossible for the government to supply power for industries.

“Industries need 500MW of power supply, which can be produced and supplied by the purchase of RLNG. This is the need of the hour to save crores of people, who are dependent on the industry,” he concludes.

However, the government, in its recent notification, says it will use the income generated with hiked tariffs to buy expensive fuels like RLNG to produce electricity. But, it did not set a time frame to solve this crisis by supplying the power produced through RLNG.

GOLD `30,000 10g SILVER `52,500 1kg

24C

for

for

DOLLAR `54.51 POUND `83.50

bn

is the worth of a sale-and-lease contract by French oil and gas marine services group Bourbon for 51 vessels with China's ICBC Financial Leasing.

UNINOR SPORTS UNLIMITED Uninor announced the launch of its value added service ‘Uninor Sports Unlimited’. With this, all Uninor customers can access a wide variety of T20 Cricket content, score updates, commentary, predict and win contest. Uninor Subscribers also have an opportunity to set the ‘Sunrisers Hyderabad’ team anthem as their ringtone and caller tune by simply dialing 52222(TOLL FREE) at a cost of `2.50 per day. It also includes a contest wherein subscribers can predict the winning teams or players and get a chance to win an Eon Car, Discover bikes, mobile phones and DVD players and instant mobile recharges. Other prizes include a Galaxy Grand phone and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s merchandise.

THUS SPAKE Literally, day and night we are dealing with this problem. Absolutely we are trying to save our banking system.

ALENKA BRATUSEK, SLOVENIA'S PRIME MINISTER

BSE NSE

18,267.76 42.56

5,506.60 11.50

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

nation CRIME

TWO GIRLS COMMIT SUICIDE

Two girls allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving train in Sidhari area, police said here today. The girls, around 18-20 years of age, jumped in front of Saryu-Yamuna Express near Dugdugwa railway crossing last night, they said. Police said that the identity of the girls could not be established so far.

DELHI LEFT PROTEST

Beau stabs teen over petty tiff

11

PM expresses regret to Didi...

Mamata cancels meeting with Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: An 18-yearold girl was stabbed by her boyfriend,19, following an argument over a petty issue here Tuesday evening, police said. He was arrested late evening.

The victim’s condition was critical and she was undergoing treatment at Rao Tula Ram hospital in south Delhi, police said.

On Tuesday, around 4pm, the couple met in a park in Dwarka area in south Delhi to sort out their differences over some issue. They left for home on motorbike but another round of argument ensued between them on the way.

"The girl was talking over the phone when the boy

asked about the person whom she was talking to. The girl refused to divulge the caller’s identity which infuriated the boy,” police said.

"In the meantime, he stabbed her two or three times on the face and neck with a knife and ran away on his motorbike."

Some passersby saw the girl bleeding and called up the police.

Police said the boy had been arrested from his home in Najafgarh area, where the girl also lives in the neighbourhood.

He told police that he was angry over the girl’s talking to their common friend which he did not like.

IANS

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed regret over the protest faced by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Left activists outside the Planning Commission’s office here.

Singh spoke to Banerjee after her office called up the PMO to cancel the meeting scheduled with him last evening, sources close to the chief minister said today.

The West Bengal Chief Minister had sought cancellation of the meeting, saying she was unwell and her blood pressure had dipped.

Banerjee and her Finance Minister Amit Mitra were the target of the ire of CPI-M and its students’ wing activists yesterday with protesters manhandling the minister outside the Planning Commission here.

Protesters from CPI-M and SFI ambushed the Chief Minister and other ministers, including Mitra, when they arrived at the Planing Commission complex for annual state plan discussion.

While the Chief Minister was shielded by policemen, it

... pays tribute to killed Indian soldiers

P

rime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed anguish over the killing of five Indian army personnel during a UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

"I pay tributes to our brave soldiers,” Singh said in his condolence message to the bereaved families.

A Lt Colonel was among the five army personnel killed yesterday when their 32-member convoy came under attack in Gurmuck in the volatile state of Jonglei, South Sudan.

was left to Mitra’s lot to face the anger of the activists who were protesting the death of SFI member Sudipto Gupta in police custody in Kolkata last week.

The 65-year-old Finance Minister was pushed and jostled around as he tried to enter the Yojna Bhawan building. A woman protester thumped him twice on his chest and his kurta was torn in the melee.

PTI

... leaves for Germany P

rime Minister Manmohan Singh left Wednesday on a three-day official visit to Berlin, where he will co-chair intergovernmental consultations and witness the signing of a series of agreements on education, science and technology and renewable energy.

Manmohan Singh, who is visiting Germany at the invitation of Chancellor Angela Merkel, will co-chair with her the second meeting of inter-governmental consultations launched in 2011 to discuss all possible areas of cooperation.

The prime minister is leading a high-level delegation that include five cabinet ministers: Salman Khurshid (external affairs), Anand Sharma (commerce), Farooq Abdullah (renewable energy), M.M. Pallam Raju (human resource development) and S. Jaipal Reddy (science and technology).

IANS

MISHAP

One dies as train derails in TN

NEW DELHI: One passenger was killed and 33 others injured when a train derailed at Sitheri near Arakkonam this morning, railway sources said.

Nine coaches of the Muzaffarpur-Yesvantpur Express bound for Yesvantpur derailed at about 5.50am, they said.

Two passengers were killed in the mishap, while the injured were admitted to the hospitals by the rescue teams of the Southern Railway, they added.

In the wake of the incident, the rail traffic on Arakkonam junction has been affected, sources said.

A team of Railway officials from Chennai have reached the accident site and held preliminary enquiries on the cause of the mishap, railway

PICK YOUR

@ sources said.

The Southern Railway cancelled seven trains including Bangalorebound Brindavan Express, Duranto Express between ChennaiCoimbatore and Kovai Express.

The West Coast Express, Coimbatore Inter-City Express and

Chennai-Tiruvananthapuram mail have also been cancelled, they said.

Railway officials have pressed several buses into service to ferry stranded passengers, while at least 200 travellers continued their onward journey to Bangalore by Guwahati Express.

PTI

Across Stores

ities Twin C

12

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

World

GUNMAN KILLS 13 IN SERBIA RAMPAGE At least 13 people were gunned down Tuesday in Velika Ivanca, a village located south of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, in what was apparently a rampage sparked by a family dispute, police chief Milorad Veljovic said.

THE TRUE FACE

‘Thatcher was a racist’

SYDNEY: Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr says late British leader Margaret Thatcher made “unabashedly racist” comments, recalling what she allegedly said to him about Asian immigration after she left office.

Carr said the conservative “Iron Lady”, who died in London on Monday, had told him Australia could end up like Fiji “where the Indian migrants have taken over”.

While Labor stalwart Carr,

who has a Malaysian-born wife, said he respected Thatcher for the boldness of her political leadership, “on 100 other things I would pick arguments with her”.

I remember one thing she said as part of that conversation. She said, ‘You will end up like Fiji’.

Bob Carr Oz Foreign Minister

“I recall one conversation I had with her in her retirement where she said something that was unabashedly racist,” he told ABC television late Tuesday from China.

“She warned Australia — talking to me with Helena (his wife) standing not far away — against Asian immigration, saying that if we allowed too much of it we’d see the natives of the land, the European settlers, overtaken by migrants,” he added.

KOREAN CONUNDRUM

Seoul on high alert South Korea raised its military watch alert to ‘vital threat’ Wednesday ahead of an expected North Korean missile launch.

SEOUL: South Korea raised its military watch alert to “vital threat” Wednesday ahead of an expected North Korean missile launch, as UN chief Ban Kimoon warned the Korean peninsula may be slipping out of control.

South Korean intelligence says the North had prepared two mid-range missiles for imminent launch from its east coast, despite warnings from ally China to avoid provocative moves at a time of soaring military tensions.

Last week, North Korea told foreign diplomats in Pyongyang they had until April 10 to consider evacuation, fuelling speculation that a launch was planned between Wednesday and the April 15 birthday celebrations for founding leader Kim Il-Sung.

Vital Threat

S

outh Korea’s and the United States’ the Combined Forces Command raised the “Watchcon” status from 3 to 2 reflecting indications of a “vital threat”, Yonhap said, citing a senior military official. Watchcon 4 is in effect during normal peacetime, while Watchcon 3 reflects indications of an important threat.

Border closed

T On Tuesday, the North reiterated a warning that the Korean peninsula was headed for “thermo-nuclear” war and advised foreigners to consider leaving South Korea.

In a further sign of the rising nuclear tensions, a key border crossing between North Korea and China has been closed to tourist groups, a Chinese official said Wednesday.

he biggest border crossing between North Korea and China has been closed to tourist groups, a Chinese official said Wednesday as nuclear tensions mounted, but business travel was still allowed.

NEWS BRIEFS Concerns over African force in Mali grow

Japan, Taiwan near pact Guatemala recognizes on disputed isles fishery Palestine as free state

6-yr-old boy dies after being shot by a 4-yr-old

PARIS: As France begins withdrawing its troops from Mali, a top US defence official has said a UN-mandated African force was “incapable” of taking over the battle against Islamist extremists. Paris, which sent 4,000 troops to Mali in January to block a feared advance on the capital Bamako by Islamist fighters, said it had pulled out its first batch.

TOKYO: Japan and Taiwan are close to an agreement on fishing rights for waters near islands at the centre of a territorial row that has soured ties between Beijing and Tokyo, an official said Wednesday.

The two sides have agreed in principle to establish a jointly managed zone in waters off islands controlled

by Japan under the name Senkakus.

WASHINGTON: A six-year-old boy has died in the US after being accidentally shot in head by his fouryear-old neighbour while they were playing. Brandon was playing with the four-year-old at his Toms River home in New Jersey on Monday evening when the latter left the yard and went inside got a gun and shot him accidently.

GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemala has recognized Palestine as a sovereign state in the belief that this will help foster peace in the Middle East. A statement read: Guatemala “has decided to join the vast majority of Latin American and Caribbean countries and recognize the State of Palestine, as a free, sovereign and independent State.”

SKELETONS IN PREZ CLOSET

Looters after gold or jewels in the abandoned home of deposed Central African Republic president Francois Bozize came instead across a gruesome discovery -two human skeletons hidden beneath the garage floor.

At the house in Sassara, on the outskirts of the capital Bangui, Colonel Ali Garba — one of the Seleka rebels whose coalition toppled Bozize from power last month — gives a tour.

NUMEROLOGY

$1

billion

Cosmetics billionaire Leonard Lauder has given New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art an astonishing collection of Cubist art that he assembled over four decades. The gift, estimated to be worth $1 billion, includes 78 works

by Picasso, Braque, Gris, and Leger.

TO MEMPHIS SOUL US President Barack Obama paid homage on Tuesday to Memphis soul and the role the music style played in advancing civil rights at a star-studded White House concert celebrating the genre. “In the sixties and seventies, Memphis knew its share of division and discord and injustice,” Obama recalled. It was in the Tennessee city in 1968 that civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. But soul music “tried to bridge those divides — to create a little harmony with harmony,” said the president.

When I went back to the PMLN, Nawaz rang me and joked: ‘How long are you staying with us this time?’

Arbab Khizer Hayat A Pakistani politician about his joining Nawaz Sharif’s party. he has changed parties 14 times.

13

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

Technology SMARTPHONES

‘ONE’DERFUL

HTC One impresses but software disappoints.

R

eady for the battle of the phones? This year’s crop of highend smartphones is starting to emerge, like bear cubs crawling out of their burrows, sniffing the spring air.

First out is the HTC One, a handsome, powerful animal that should do well this year.

The HTC One belongs to the big camp of smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software. Collectively, they’re the big alternative to the iPhone, though no one model outsells the iPhone. What makes the HTC One really stand out is that it’s the only phone that can match Apple Inc.'s standards of feel and finish. Much like the iPhone, the HTC One has a beautifully machined aluminum back and aluminum detailing on the front. Also like the iPhone, the metal edges are beveled, or “chamfered'' as the industrial designers call it. Plastic and metal are joined together so well that you can’t tell by feel where one ends and the other starts.

While the HTC One clearly borrows some elements of the iPhone 5's style, it’s hard to mistake the HTC One for the iPhone. For starters, it is half an inch taller and broader, with a huge screen. It’s also noticeably thicker at its maximum, but that’s cunningly concealed by a bulging back and narrow edges. Bigger screens are one way Android phones take on the iPhone, and that inevitably leads to bigger phones, but the HTC One carries its bulk very well.

The screen is quite a sight, boasting a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels as many as you’d find on a 50-inch TV set.

You’d have to line up three iPhone 5s, side by side, to show as much detail as you can on one HTC One screen.

That doesn’t mean the screen is three times as useful. These pixels are just so small that the eye can’t take advantage of the full resolution.

Above and below the screens are two speaker grilles.

That means that when you turn the phone sideways to watch a movie, you’ll get real

The Play Store has never been the most attractive item in Google’s Android app portfolio, but it’s getting a major makeover today.

As previously leaked, the redesign does away with the dark theme in favour of a colourful new interface that uses the Google Now-style cards metaphor to display a stream of recommendations. Images are bigger, icons are clearer, and from what we’ve seen it looks to be a big improvement that falls in line with Google’s new-found focus on design. That said, we’ll have to wait for it to roll out completely before passing further judgement — some users on Android 2.2 and above should start seeing it from today.

stereo sound, without headphones. The speakers are great, too, pumping out surprisingly deep sound. The price you pay for a body that feels as tight and sharp as a knife fresh from the forge is that nothing goes into or out of it. You can’t change the battery, and you can’t expand the memory with cards. Again, this is very much in the iPhone’s vein, but it’s a contrast to Samsung’s Galaxy phones, which have chintzy plastic backs that allow you to change batteries and plug in memory cards.

The phone has a camera sensor that has only 4 megapixels of resolution, though HTC doesn’t actually tell you it’s a 4megapixel sensor.

MS PLANS BETTER SCREEN Microsoft is planning to update Windows Phone 8 to support 1080p resolutions. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Windows Phone plans have revealed to The Verge that the company will issue an update later this year that brings support for the 1080p resolution and new 5-inch and higher devices.

Windows Phone 8 currently supports WVGA, WXGA, and 720p resolutions. Microsoft’s update will arrive as part of the new devices, but we understand that it’s not directly related to the company’s Blue plans for Windows Phone — a codename for a future upgrade.

What makes the HTC One really stand out is that it’s the only phone that can match Apple Inc.'s standards of feel and finish.

Rather, HTC calls it an “Ultrapixel'' camera. The story is that the sensor pixels are twice as big as they are in most phone cameras, which means they can gather more light.

More light per pixel means better pictures in indoor lighting, at least in theory. In practice, I found the images to be better than those of other Android phones in low lighting, but not as good as those from the iPhone 5, which are of higher resolution. Low-light pictures taken on the HTC One do show relatively little “noise'' which usually looks like colored speckles but the images aren’t particularly crisp.

Another hardware feature that reaches but doesn’t deliver is the infrared diode on the top edge. Through it, the phone can control your TV or cable box. But setting up the software is daunting. I was confronted with going through a list of 1,800-plus channels and manually selecting which ones I get from my cable provider. Even if I were to set this up, I still couldn’t control the DVR functions of the cable

NEW LOOK

QUAD-CORE ANYONE?

box from the phone.

So as a replacement for the remote, the HTC One falls short.

The phone’s other big shortcoming isn’t really new, or unique to this model.

Rather, the problem is that HTC is doing what it’s always done, and what competitors like Samsung do, too. It can’t leave Android alone, but tinkers with it to “improve'' it and put its own stamp on it.

The result is a baffling interface, with four different “home'' screens from which to launch apps. It might reward those who take the time to customize it and really get to know it, but most people aren’t

like that.

They’re better served by simple, consistent interface.

Google recognises this and keeps Android relatively simple on its own Nexus line of phones. HTC and Samsung seem determined to make things complicated.

If you’re looking for an Android phone, do yourself a favor and check out the HTC One. Samsung Electronics Co. will outspend HTC Corp. many times over in marketing when Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 comes out shortly. But if you take the time to feel the One in your hand, it will probably be your One. AGENCIES

Samsung announced the introduction of 20 new television models across its Smart TV Series 8, 7, 6 as well as the LED TV Series 5500 and 4500. Samsung’s F8000 and F7500 smart TVs, available in 46, 55 and 65-inch screen sizes, feature a quad-core processor, like smartphones and tablets.

These smart Tvs are equipped with Intelligent Viewing and Smart Interaction -- a feature that responds to your motion and voice. In addition, a new Smart Touch Control is provided with the Samsung’s new Smart TVs, wherein all number keys have been replaced by a touch pad.

14

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

Comment A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.

DRESS CODE

Sailajanath’s sartorial summons & I HARD TALK

Mahatma Gandhi Father of the nation

Maduro is not Chavez LAURENT THOMET feedback@postnoon.com

A

truck barreled through a Caracas market with loudspeakers playing a campaign song of acting President Nicolas Maduro, with a Caribbean beat and the chorus “Chavez I swear, my vote is for Maduro.” Many residents, fishmongers and fruit salesmen along the crowded blue-collar neighborhood of Petare have pledged to follow Hugo Chavez’s wishes and vote for Maduro in Sunday’s presidential election. But most warn that Maduro will not get a free pass if he fails to follow the fallen leftist leader’s self-styled socialist revolution, a set of oil-funded health, education and food programs for the poor. “I will vote for Maduro. But if he doesn’t follow Chavez’s legacy, we will remove him,” said Jean Carlos Chavez, a burly 28-year-old fruit salesman selling mangos under a bridge next to stalls with posters of Maduro. “I like him as a man. He will do well. But he must show who Maduro is,” he said. The fruit salesman and others cited the constitution, which states that a referendum to recall the president can be held after the first three years of a mandate with the signatures of 20 percent of voters. Kelvin Gomez, 38, who was selling fish covered in ice, pointed to different shopkeepers who planned to vote for opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in last October’s election. “We are all friends here,” the longtime Chavez supporter said, despite the deeply divided country that the late president left behind. “It looks like Maduro will win by a small margin.”

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS

Didi is taking umbrage to the Left student wing’s attack on her finance minister and herself in Delhi. Not very different from Trinamool goons attacking CPM veterans in Bengal. What goes around, comes around.

PK Surendran

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oes the dress of teachers have impact on students?

To my knowledge nobody has conducted a study or survey in this regard in India. But the AP school education minister S Sailajanath’s directive to the government schools makes one believe it does.

The minister ought to be lauded for two things. He emphasised that the dress of teachers should be appropriate to the profession and he barred them carrying mobile phones to classes. “In a 50-minute period, a teacher spoke for about 30 minutes on mobile phone without conducting the class,” the minister said recalling a past experience. Millions of parents whose kids study in public school would thankfully remember him for this much-needed bar on the obnoxious habit of Indians carrying on endless talks on phone, mostly trivial matters.

He has a seemingly valid reason for putting fetters on a sartorial restriction. The dress code orders said teachers would have to be dressed to school “appropriate to the profession”.

It bans teachers from being

dressed in “.Accordingly, the “glittering and glamorous dress” materials worn by teachers were disturbing the concentration of students. Jean pants, 8 pocket/4pocket pants, T-shirts, round neck T-shirts, flip-flop shoes etc are out.

Saree is a symbol of female fetters But I differ with minister on favouring saree to jeans. Maybe one could argue that jeans or pants is un-Indian. But then our conduct in public has been quite un-Indian in most instances.

Saree, little doubt, is an elegant dress that gives a tall and slim woman a sexy look. For formal occasions saree may look well but for working women, it adds to the misery. Ask any woman, how much time it takes to wrap the six-yard thing around the body properly. It takes 30 minutes to 1 hour to the lesser experts. And, pardon sisters, doesn’t the saree give glimpses of the wearer’s belly when she turns? Doesn’t that’disturb’ the students?

Saree, again, is a symbol of thraldom. Saree wraps the woman up, symbolically it is binding her with little leeway to freedom in movement. Could you imagine a sari-clad woman running? Disrobing a woman is easy if she is in saree. No surprise saree is a favourite dress for heroines liable to be raped in the next scene.

Compared with saree, jeans, or pants promises women freedom and equality. Pantaloon reduces the differences in look between a boy and a girl. But a saree gives a woman a distinct look. Even churidar is a comfortable dress material for working woman.

The ‘disturbing’ theory gets another beating. These teachers deal with the newest generation who are surrounded by the ultra modern image throughout their day—around, at home, on television, on Net. Why should a jean-clad teacher ‘disturb’ the students?

As for male teachers, it only bans flashy jeans and emblazoned T-shirts with risqué messages screaming across the chest or back. And, I am one with the

minister on this count. At least for teachers wearing T-shirts with loony messages such as “I am buffalo fighter,” “Kiss me,” or “Terrier bull” lends the wearer an amorous aura that does not befit a teacher.

Dress is worn for elegance and comfort. Wearing bizarre outfits is for showbiz, not for a noble profession like teaching.

But, for working women, I vote against the saree for the following reasons: it ties a woman up, it exhibits body parts, it restricts movement, and wearing it is time-consuming.

TAILEND

So, here is the slogan with apology to Karl Marx: Women of India unite. You have nothing to lose but your saree!

EDITORIALS Thanks, Bob Carr: A dead spade’s still a spade

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s accolades and condolences pour from all over the world after Margaret Thatcher died, there are revelations of some unpleasant facets of the great Iron Lady, who is being hailed as one of a kind,an iconic person who changed the world and many others in the same vein. The Australian foreign minister Bob Carr said once when he met her post her retirement she told him his nation would be a mess if they did not act on immigration. Here’s what Carr recalled from what she said: ‘I like Sydney but you can’t allow the migrants’ — and in context she meant Asian migration — ‘to take over, otherwise you will end up like Fiji where the Indian migrants have taken over.’ There. Thatcher was that, Thatcher was this, and take this, Thatcher

READERS’ VIEWS

was a racist, too. Perhaps she forgot that Australia was a land of settlers, where the real natives of the land were persecuted and driven out or hunted down. Now Carr is bombarded with criticism over the timing of his criticism. Carr should be thanked that he said this. When can it be more apt when people battered by an influx of eulogies for a ‘great’ person who died are likely to be influenced to think that the dead person led a near-saintly life? Do you think she did a great job of leaving thousands of miners to starve; was it a great feat that she stayed unmoved and unresponsive to Irish Republican Army, which in fact worsened the situation?

Before we jump to conclusions, we must consider things in their entirety.

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

Editor: Dean Williams

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

Cinema

CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR Bollywood actor-producer John Abraham, whose debut production Vicky Donor won accolades at the National Film Awards, received the Creative Entrepreneur of the Year title at the seventh edition of NDTV Profit's Business Leadership Awards.

ACTIONS SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS TOM CRUISE

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or 30 years, Tom Cruise has been training hard to perform all the stunts in his films on his own, but jumping from the 119th floor of Burj Khalifa, Dubai is incredibly insane. For one of the scenes in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise brushed aside all safety concerns about performing such a dangerous stunt and it took weeks of training and craftsmanship by the crew to get the stunt right.

Apparently, Tom Cruise practised the stunt in Prague and when the team flew to Dubai to shoot the stunt, it was nothing short of a nightmare to overcome all the technical challenges, not to forget the adrenaline rush which Cruise had to go through.

SCREEN POOPERS

JACKIE CHAN

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nyway, who has seen the show reel towards the end of a Jackie Chan’s film would know how much effort goes into shooting an action sequence. Except from jumping from space, Jackie Chan has pretty much performed every stunt there is in the book and he did so with so much grace that Jackie Chan became one of the most popular stars across the world. From the early 80s, Jackie Chan has done several stunts including crashing on a glass ceiling in Police Story, a clock tower tumble in Project A and sliding down twenty stories during a stunt sequence in Who Am I? Such daredevil stunts have often put him in trouble and he almost got killed after a stunt went wrong while filming Armour of God.

The DAREDEVILS

HEMANTH KUMAR Hemanth.k@postnoon.com

AJITH

V

ery few South Indian superstars perform risky stunts on their own and Ajith perhaps the rarest of them all.

Despite suffering numerous injuries during his stint as a race car driver, he stunned everyone while filming for Billa 2 in Georgia. In one of the scenes, while fighting the villains, he had to jump out of a helicopter and grab a handle bar with one hand to continue fighting.

“Believe me, guys, in my career as a stunt man, I have been a real daredevil. But when I saw how Ajith jumped off the helicopter and hung by one hand, my blood froze in my veins!” Stefan Richter, the stunt director of Billa 2, said soon after the shoot was wrapped up.

That’s not all.

Ajith suffered a near fatal injury after he crashed into a car while filming for Vishnuvardhan’s film. It’s sheer luck that he recovered from the shock quickly and returned to the film’s sets the next day.

Please return to Canada Sunny Leone, the Canadian porn star who entered Bigg Boss, is sadly here to stay. Like all others willing to reveal everything other than acting talent, Sunny too kickstarted her Bollywood career in a Bhatt-khandaan film. Now, the established B-Town ‘actor’, one can call her Mallika Sherawat 2.0, she is making headlines for her item song in Shootout in Wadala. The song – Laila – has gone viral on YouTube…really?

Has our taste gone that low?

Vidyut Jamwal

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outed as the latest action hero in Bollywood, after a string of negative roles, Vidyut Jamwal is going to make his debut as an action hero in Commando. Trained in Kalaripayattu, a martial arts form, Vidyut’s expertise in martial arts came in quite handy in numerous Tamil and Telugu films as well. He played the lead antagonist in NTR, Tamannaah starrer Oosaravelli, Ajith’s Billa 2 and Vijay, Kajal starrer Thuppaki. In Hindi, he’s best known for his work in Force, in which he locked horns with John Abraham, but in Commando, he’s taking the stunts to a whole new level.

If the stunts shown in the film’s trailer are anything to go by, we are definitely rooting for Vidyut to take our breath away.

Akshay Kumar

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he original Khiladi of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar has come a long way as far as performing stunts is concerned. We are glad that he earned a black belt in Taekwondo, studied martial arts in Bangkok, where he learnt Muay Thai before he made his debut in Hindi films. In his career spanning more than twenty years, Akshay Kumar has performed several daredevil stunts, carving a niche for himself among action movie buffs. He was also the host of a TV show named Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi.

The trailer of Commando proudly declares all the risky stunts have been done by Vidyut Jamwal who didn’t use any stunt doubles or ropes. We take a look at few such action heroes who have put their life at risk to perform daring stunts.

News hungry Amanda Amanda Bynes, yeah the same girl who has controversy as her middle name. Latest to suffer from the ‘I-am-a celebrity- I need attention-syndrome’ has gone an made a fool of herself at a gym.

She also declares to all who care that she suffered from an eating disorder when she was young. So when she is not having trouble drinking and driving she is finding ways to get in the news.

TRENDING...

Veteran star Ben Kingsley says he is a huge fan of Steven Spielberg.

"Steven is a remarkable man and we got pretty close. It was like being at the centre of Dante's Inferno – and the strange thing is that's exactly what Spielberg intended. He shouted, 'Don't act, improvise!'

Actor Tom Hiddleston has vowed to live on less than a pound a day for an entire week to support a Unicef campaign against poverty. "(This week) I start living below the line to help Unicef stop children suffering from hunger. Take the challenge too. The World Bank defines poverty as living on less than £1 a day.”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

spotlight STYLE DIARIES

KARAOKE NIGHTS

It's a day not just for the pretty ladies but also for the bold voices! It's karaoke time so get ready to enjoy a peppy night with KJ Anand at 10 Downing Street, Begumpet.

SRINIVAS SETTY

WHAT‘S IN STORE?

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Glitter and shine United Exhibitions is organising a Jewellery Expo, a 3-day celebration of gold and diamond jewellery. The expo will take place at Marigold by Green Park till April 14.

Designer Shravan Kumar announced his pink wedding collection at Park Hotel on Tuesday. The event was attended by most of the fashion-loving crowd in the City.

THIRST QUENCHERS

NourishCo launched India’s first nutrient water – Tata Water Plus in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. Present at the conference to launch ‘Pyaas Bhujao Health Se’, the new campaign in the state, were actress Amala Akkineni and Pratik Pota, MD & CEO, NourishCo Beverages Limited.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

health

INDIAN VACCINE REGULATORY SYSTEM MEETS WHO STANDARDS The Indian vaccine regulatory system has met the standards set by the World WHO, officials said Tuesday. A WHO-led team of international experts reviewed the National Regulatory Authority of India (NRA) and other affiliated institutions and decided that they meet WHO's indicators.

IANS

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Tinnitus — you might call this an occupational hazard for singers, musicians and DJs constantly surrounded by loud music. It means ringing in the ears, all the time... it doesn't stop, it doesn't rest. Find out how to block it out.

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Sound check...

. . .

3 2 . . . . .

1.

FLEME VARKEY

fleme.v@postnoon.com

T How loud is too loud?

Loudness of a sound is measured in decibels (dB). Experts agree that exposure to noise at or above 85 dB(A) can damage hearing. Some examples of average decibel levels of common noises: ume on some mp3 players n 20 dB (A) A quiet room at night n 110 dB (A) Night club n 60 dB (A) Ordinary spoken n 115 dB (A) Rock concert conversation n 120 dB (A) Aeroplane taking off n 70 dB (A) City street n 80 dB (A) DANGER LEVEL Source: http://www.actiononhearn 100 dB (A) Pneumatic drill ingloss.org.uk n 100 dB (A) Maximum vol-

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

he movie Soundtrack though a flop in the movie circles brought to the fore a lot of issues, apart from the cases of addiction to alcohol and drugs. The artist in question lost his sense of hearing as well. One of the major reasons was his constantly being in an environment subjected to loud music and sound, way above the decibel levels that a human ear can tolerate. By the end of the film, he is completely deaf.

Loud music at clubs, gigs and festivals, and through personal music players, can cause damage to your hearing. This could mean permanent tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or premature hearing loss.

Most people think it is fashionable to listen to blaring music and feel the beats of the amplifier, it might offer a momentary thrill but constant exposure to such sounds will

HOUSECALL

Simply Yoga

Otitis externa

Simply Yoga is your own personal yoga instructor.

The app contains a 20, 40 and 60 minute yoga routine that step you through each pose. Each pose is demonstrated by a certified personal trainer, so simply choose your workout length and follow along in the comfort of your own home. It also has audio instructions. itunes.apple.com

Otitis externa is commonly referred to as swimmer’s ear. Otitis externa is an inflammation of the outer ear canal — the tube between the skin surface of the external ear and the ear drum. There's redness and swelling of the skin of the ear canal. It may be itchy (especially in the early stages) and can become sore and painful. There may be a discharge.If the canal becomes blocked, hearing can be affected. bbc.co.uk

definitely impact hearing.

DJs, singers, musicians, construction workers and even workers in a forge are constantly under the threat of having hearing problems.

They forget to take care of the most precious standard equipment they possess — their ears.

In extreme cases, severe hearing loss could mean an end to a musician's career.

Benny Charles is a professional DJ in Pune, he has just been starting out in the field but has a long history of music behind him. He narrates an incident which he says was an eye opener for him.

“Since childhood, I was constantly surrounded by music and related gizmos. My speakers would always be running at full volume. By the time I reached my teens, I had decided my career of choice but the only impediment was that I was diagnosed with premature hearing loss, I even roamed around with hearing aids for a while. It was then that my lifestyle choices came back to haunt me. Now I am on the road to recovery but I

DID YOU KNOW? Black coffee does not cure hangover According to a health tip posted in health24.com, a health information website of South Africa, Black coffee does not sober up an intoxicated person. It will only wake him up, but will not change the alcohol levels in the bloodstream. It is better to drink fruit juice and water.

have realised the importance of my ears. I now make sure I use the best sound proofing headphones and also make time for periods of silence during the day. It has helped me to a great extent,” explains Charles.

Dr Marshall Chasin, an audiologist explains in an interview to www.audiologyonline.com how musicians might effectively prevent musicinduced hearing loss. "Hum while you work." The hum distracts the ears form concentrating on the loud noises.

Sound from the environment therefore cannot get through to our inner ears as readily, thus providing us with significant protection.

Dr KV Srikanth an audiologist in the City, tells us more, “After a loud concert or practice musicians should refrain from subjecting their ears to loud music. They should also get their hearing checked on a frequent basis and get proper ear plugs. This goes for not only musicians but for all those who love cranking up the volume on their music players and television sets as well.”

PIONEERS Harvey Williams Cushing Harvey Williams Cushing was an American neurosurgeon. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first person to describe Cushing's syndrome. He is often called the "father of modern neurosurgery." After doing exceptional cerebral surgery abroad under Kocher at Bern and Sherrington at Liverpool, he began private practice in Baltimore. During his time with Kocher, he first encountered the Cushing reflex. en.wikipedia.org

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health WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

GETTING THE JOB DONE

SNOOZE THERAPY

Autistic kids don't copy 'silly' actions K

ids with autism tend to skip “silly” unnecessary actions while imitating the behaviour of an adult while those without the disorder tend to copy everything they see, a new study has found.

Mimicking the behaviour of parents has long been considered a vital way in which kids learn about the world.

Now, psychologists at the University of Nottingham have shown that copying unnecessary behaviour is more likely to be a social phenomenon than part of the practical process of acquiring new skills.

In the study, published in the journal Current Biology, scientists found that autistic children, who have profound difficulty in engaging in social situations, were less likely to copy unnecessary behaviour when learning a new task.

“Our study showed that typically developing children copy everything an adult does, even when they know that some of the actions are ‘silly’,” Dr Antonia Hamilton, who led the research in the University’s School of Psychology, said.

“In contrast, children with autism only copied the useful actions — in a way, they are getting the job done more efficiently than typical children.

“These results show us that copying unnecessary actions is a social phenomenon, it is not just about learning how to use objects,” Hamilton said.

Scientists tested 31 children on the autistic spectrum and 30 typically developing children with the same level of language skills and a further 30

typically developing children who were matched by age.

Typical children copied 4357 per cent of the unnecessary actions, while the autistic children copied only 22 per cent.

The children were then asked to watch the demonstration, and judge if each action was ‘sensible’ or ‘silly’.

All kids could do this task, but typical children found it easier, meaning they copied unnecessary actions even though they know the actions are silly.

Scientists argue that typical kids copy everything an adult does because they are more eager to please and ‘fit in’.

Children with autism showed significantly less over-imitation but this was not linked to weak

motor skills as all the unnecessary actions were simple and familiar and less complex than others in the sequence.

It was also not driven by superior reasoning skills because the autistic children performed worse on the task to accurately judge the rationality of each task.

PTI

Typical children copy everything an adult does because they are more eager to please and ‘fit in’, while autistic kids only copy those needed to get the job done.

WORK IT OUT

Exercise can keep blood sugar at bay S cientists of Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan have shown that growth of white muscle due to exercise can help keep blood sugar level in check.

Researchers have challenged a long-held belief that whitening of skeletal muscle in diabetes is harmful.

In fact, the white muscle that increases with resistance training, age and diabetes helps keep blood sugar in check.

“We wanted to figure out the relationship between muscle types and body metabolism, how the muscles were made, and also what kind of influence they have on diseases like Type

2 diabetes,” said Jiandie Lin, Life Sciences Institute faculty member and associate professor at the UM Medical School.

Lin’s findings were published in Nature Medicine.

People with diabetes see whitening of muscles.

“For a long time, the red-towhite shift was thought to make

muscle less responsive to insulin,” Lin said. “But this idea is far from proven. You lose red muscle when you age or develop diabetes, but is that really the culprit?” Lin said.

White muscle dominates in weight-lifters and sprinters — people who require short, intense bursts of energy.

IANS

Teens can sleep off their excess weight!

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dolescents can battle obesity by increasing sleep duration to 10 hours each night, according to a new study.

Researchers from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found fewer hours of sleep is associated with greater increase in adolescent body mass index (BMI) for participants between 14 and 18 years of age.

The relationship between sleep duration and BMI remained even after adjusting for time spent in front of computer and television screens.

The findings suggest that increasing sleep duration to 10 hours per day, especially for those in the upper half of the BMI distribution, could help to reduce the prevalence of adolescent obesity.

The study observed over 1,000 Philadelphia high school students from their freshmen through senior high school years.

At six month intervals, participants were asked to report their sleep patterns. At the same time, heights and weights were reported and BMIs were calculated.

Researchers suggest that increasing sleep from eight to 10 hours per day at age 18 could result in a four per cent reduction in the number of adolescents with a BMI above 25.

Lead author Jonathan A Mitchell said, “What we found in following these adolescents is that each additional hour of sleep was associated with a reduced BMI for all participants, but the reduction was greater for those with higher BMIs. PTI

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

Entertainment FAMILY MATTERS

CINE BYTES

ANJALI alleges harassment, shifts base to Hyderabad

Balupu’s team heads to Lisbon

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alupu is going to be the first Telugu film to be shot in Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan and Anjali are playing the lead roles in this mass entertainer and Gopichand Malineni is directing the film. The film unit will soon head to Lisbon to can couple of songs. The film is likely to hit the screens in May this year.

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njali, who became a household name after films like Journey and Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, seems to be going through a crisis in her personal life. The actress has alleged that she’s being harassed by her step-mother Bharati and Kalanjiyam, the director who introduced her in Tamil cinema. Anjali revealed that Bharati has been siphoning all her earnings and has been using her as an ‘ATM machine’, besides restricting access to people who want to get in touch with Anjali. Rumours are abuzz that Anjali is even planning to file a police complaint against the two, but for the time being she has shifted base to Hyderabad.

She hasn’t been in touch with any of her family members for the past few days and her brother came forth and told a news channel that she’s ‘missing’. Anjali is expected to join the sets of Bol Bachchan’s remake in Bangalore, in which she’s paired opposite Venkatesh On the other hand, Anjali’s revelations has come as a big shock to her colleagues in the industry, who had so far believed that Bharati was indeed her mother since she had accompanied her almost everywhere. Both Bharati and Kalanjiyam have categorically denied Anjali’s accusations. Kalanjiyam even stated that although he introduced Anjali, her debut film never saw daylight but admitted that Anjali’s mother had been in touch with him to seek advice on the films which Anjali should be doing.

Meanwhile, Anjali’s career is going great guns in both Telugu and Tamil film industry. Her recent Tamil film Settai opened to good word of mouth and its Telugu version, titled Crazy, is slated for release this weekend in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from this film, she’ll soon be seen in Gopichand Malineni’s Balupu and Madha Gaja Raja opposite Vishal.

Greekuveerudu pushed to April 26

T

he theatrical release of Nagarjuna, Nayanthara starrer Greekuveerudu has been pushed to April 26.

Dasaradh has directed the film and D Sivaprasad Reddy is the producer. The film’s post-production is nearing completion.

Greekuveerudu is also being dubbed in Tamil where it has been named as Love Story.

No politics please

N

TR has finally broken his silence about the ongoing political controversy and reiterated that he’ll always support Telugu Desam party. “TDP was founded by my grandfather and I’ll be always support the party, but please don’t drag me into controversies. I have no time for politics right now and I am happy doing my films,” NTR said.

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

Emraan

LET THE MONEY FLOW IN

to go on a cash hunt in 16 cities!

A

ctor Emraan Hashmi will travel to 16 cities across the country looking for cash as part of promotional activity for his forthcoming film Ghanchakkar. Director Raj Kumar Gupta says it would be fun to promote the funny drama in this manner.

Gupta, known for wielding the megaphone for serious films like Aamir and No One Killed Jessica, is trying a lighter subject for the first time with Ghanchakkar, being produced by UTV Motion Pictures. He said: “There are some very exciting promotional plans around Ghanchakkar.”

“This one has fun and a big thrill element to it, just like the movie. The film has Emraan hunting for his money and the (promotional) activity is a straight fit to the storyline. The logistics are being worked out by UTV currently. It will be fun to promote the film like this,” he added.

In the film, Emraan’s character hunts for money that he steals from a bank, while Vidya Balan will be seen as his wife, who has a weird sense of fashion.

The film promises to be a lot of fun when it comes out on June 28.

Emraan and Vidya will also promote the film on local trains. IANS

CINE BYTES Fukrey trailer to be launched in a college

A

ctor-director Farhan Akhtar will launch the first trailer of Fukrey with co-producer Ritesh Sidhwani in a college canteen.

The movie is about four boys who cannot wait to live college life.

Hence, the producers decided that it would be fitting to launch the trailer in the canteen of Jai Hind College at Churchgate on April 12.

IANS

Jaya to be given Deenanath Mangeshkar Award

L

egendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar will confer the Deenanath Mangeshkar Award to veteran actress Jaya Bachchan on April 24.

She is being given the honour for her dedicated services to theatre and cinema. PTI

Kamal joins NAB show for Bollywood

A

ctor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan will participate in a panel discussion as part of a National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show, an electronic media show covering filmed entertainment, to discuss the international appeal of Bollywood. The event is being held in Las Vegas. IANS

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013 Matt is part machine in first Elysium poster

E

lysium stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, and is set in the year 2159, where the world has been divided into the very rich and the poor. The rich live in a palatial space station called Elysium, while everyone else is forced to stay on a ruined Earth. Damon enters Elysium for medical care.

Kate Moss decides to go green

Brad Pitt may present at MTV Movie Awards

B

rad Pitt is set to present the biggest award of the night during the 2013 MTV Movie Awards— Movie of the Year. The World War Z star, who is a potential nominee for next year’s award ceremony, will be handing the golden popcorn.

S

upermodel Kate Moss and her husband Jamie Hince plan to go green. They have turned one of their barns into a hen house and are also designing a vegetable patch. "Jamie feels very strongly about the environment and he and Kate want to do their bit where they can," a source said.

PTI

MORE OF THE BLUE

sequel to feature underwater shots

A

vatar director James Cameron is likely to present something more visually stunning for the movie’s sequel. He plans to include underwater scenes in the new film.

The set will be partly in planet Pandora’s deep oceans just to make the film even more visually arresting, according to producer Jon Landeau.

Cameron, who has been busy drafting the movie’s script, is enjoying working on the project.

“I’m deep into it and I’m living in Pandora right now. There is that start up torque where you feel it’s coming to you.

Then you build up momentum. That’s when it gets fun. The characters talk and it’s writing itself. I’m almost there right now. It’s building fast,” contactmusic.com quoted Cameron as saying.

The sequel is expected to release in 2015. IANS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. homas Jefferson

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

26

SUDOKU How to play kakuro Kakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku in some ways. But is also suitably different. The key question: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well here are the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers.

However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number.

Within each collection of cells — called a run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once.

Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly: In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on...

So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this is done through elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as you work out the answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limit the valid combinations, and hence the answer for this particular run.

Note the second cell in row two — it contains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30 and the 11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of the number 11.

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 Some autobahn autos 6 Upside-down frown 11 Org. founded in 1948 in Bogota 14 Still in the sack 15 Place of safety 16 Winter illness 17 One selling seats 19 “Ten Most Wanted” agcy.

20 Oak, in a nutshell 21 Thaws the windshield 23 “Fear Factor” comments 26 Barrel org.

28 Camper owners, for short 29 Mauna ___, Hawaii 30 Sandbox user 32 Card player’s stake 33 “Boola Boola” collegian 34 Lackey 38 With “Ace,” a Burt Reynolds film title 40 Serialized tear-jerkers 43 Completely lacking courage 45 Served like sushi 46 Brad of Hollywood 48 Healthful getaway 49 “H” on a frat sweater 50 Up to now 52 Sound rebound 55 Time of reckoning, figuratively 56 Tract of low land 58 Now, say 60 “What ___ supposed to think?”

61 Inferior 66 Flunky’s expected reply 67 Business owner’s contract 68 Suffix with “Wrestle” 69 Gallery display 70 Change 71 Make into law

DOWN

1 Toronto’s prov.

2 Luau dish 3 Abbr. after a comma, sometimes 4 Haas of Hollywood 5 Blueprint detail, for short 6 Like some cheddar 7 “X-Men” villain 8 “Now ___ heard everything!”

9 What libraries do 10 Come in 11 Situated away from the middle 12 Slugger Pujols 13 Switzerland, to the French 18 “It’s ___ Late” (Carole King classic) 22 Lendl and Reitman 23 Picked-on instruments, for short 24 Hanukkah moolah 25 Salon employee 27 Green thicket 31 In this manner 34 Aspen activity 35 Strong desires 36 Lightweight fabric 37 Commercials 39 Made a choice 41 “Tat-tat” preceder 42 Dance romantically 44 Some are intolerant of it 46 Melonlike tropical fruit 47 Compound with multiple forms 51 Unit of flux 53 Blade sharpener, say 54 Not even 55 “John Wesley Harding” singer Bob 57 Film winds up on it 59 Pinnacle 62 Garfield or Heathcliff 63 Santa ___ winds 64 Attack word, for a dog 65 Posed for a picture

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 11-4-2013

27

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Money will be received from all the expected sources but at the same there might be a gap for the plans which you wanted to implement. This situation might make you angry, but keep your cool and avoid venting your anger on others.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Debt issues to get cleared and you will be in a good relaxation mood. Avoid getting into unwanted arguments as you might get upset due to the outcome. Some are likely to get into romance and feel happy.

Misunderstanding between couple will disappear. Due to financial problems, the difficulties you faced will come to an end. You will now work with self confidence and a clear cut vision. You will win over the enemies and march ahead.

Avoid executing important works as you are facing resistance. Employees will feel comfortable but financially they will face a deficit situation. Avoid making new debts. Financial planning is a must or else consequences will be bad.

Separated couple is likely to get together again with the good efforts taken by the elders of the family to mediate between them. You will keep travelling on official works to other states or abroad too. Some have get ancestral property.

Businessmen will plan expansion by adding more machines.

You will feel upset as expenses will overtake the income but this situation will not continue and very soon you will be in a comfortable financial position.

Health looks fine.

You will succeed in all the efforts and march ahead with a determination and self confidence. Prestige and respect are the most important for you rather than improving you financial position. Employees will get new responsibilities.

Written of old dues will get collected to your surprise.

Irrespective of facing any sort of trouble, you will take a clear cut and bold decision which will yield the desired results. Your family will be in a cheerful mood.

Businessmen need to put in their hard work to retain their profit margin. Confusions in the family might put you under depression but keep your cool and solve the problem wisely as you are capable enough to do the same.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Ace of Swords – You may be too stubborn about something and refuse to see the bigger picture. Don’t be harsh on yourself.

LEO:

Seven of Wands – There is some secrecy involved at the work place. A colleague who claims to be close to you may be spreading rumours about you.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Eight of Wands – This is the card of good luck. It will work only if hard work and perseverance are also part of your routine. Be positive to attract the luck.

SAGITTARIUS:

Three of Wands – The waiting is over and you are well on your way to something you have always wanted to acquire. It could be a piece of real estate.

TAURUS:

Three of Swords – A heartbreak in a relationship is inevitable. When two people are incompatible, nothing much can be done to revive the relationship.

CANCER:

Page of Pentacles – You’re seemingly in a rush to make money quickly. If money, indeed, is your goal go about achieving it in an organized way.

VIRGO:

Knight of Cups – There are emotional people and there are emotional people.

Everyone you meet is fighting some battle or the other.

SCORPIO:

Queen of Swords – You like to be alone and don’t want to be told how to lead your life. In a relationship this can cause lots of problems.

CAPRICORN:

Strength – Your inner strength and never-saydie attitude is taking you through this rough phase. You will come out successful.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Three of Cups – Time to celebrate a work well done.

Think positive and send out positive vibes to your team members (whether you like them or not).

NUMBER GAME

You may be called upon to take an important business trip overseas. Make sure all your documents are in place and you have everything in order.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Six of Swords –

POOCH CAFE

Courage and self confidence levels will be at their high. Your determination to win in all the tasks undertaken will make you successful. You will feel happy as you have found a way to solve the debt issues which were haunting you.

for 11-4-2013

Nine of Swords – Dreams are telling you what really is on your time. People forget more than 50% of their dreams on waking up.

NON SEQUITUR

You might face criticism due to inept handling of the family issues. Delay is inevitable in getting the expected financial helps which will make you upset. Talks regarding marriage might not yield favourable result but will get delayed.

SUDUKO

Success is certain in all the works undertaken. Marriage talks will progress well and get favorable news about the finalization. Happy atmosphere is to prevail at home. Jobless will get a promising career opportunity very soon.

Boggle BRAZIL BELIZE BELGIUM BOLIVIA BULGARIA Vol: 2, No 264 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon. com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

28

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

A SMILING LOOT

CINE BYTES

robs bank for shoot, audience enjoys Chris Brown and Rihanna call it quits, says source

W

e can finally close the cluttered chapter of our Rihanna and Chris Brown scrapbooks, because it’s officially over...for now. A source exclusive to E! News has confirmed the couple’s split after a tireless frenzy of are-they-or-aren’t-they tailchasing. Per the insider, RiRi will always love Chris but has moved on and is reshifting her focus to her career and business ventures.

A

ctor Ryan Gosling says people enjoyed watching him rob a bank for a scene in upcoming movie The Place Beyond The Pines.

The actor shot in a real bank for the crime thriller, and the people inside the bank kept smiling at him, rather than looking scared. “I’m there with a gun and I look down and people are just smiling. They were just enjoying the show and I think I spotted someone filming me on their camera phone as I robbed the place,” Daily Telegraph quoted Gosling as saying.

Directed by Derek Cianfrance The Place Beyond The Pines, also stars Eva Mendes and Bradley Cooper. It is slated to release April 12.

IANS

Luke Evans to star in Dracula reboot

A

fter his turn as the villain in Fast & Furious 6, Luke Evans already has his next big role lined up. THR reports Evans will take on the title role in Universal’s Dracula. Originally titled Dracula: Year Zero the movie tells the origin story Dracula also known as Prince Vlad. When his family’s life is put in danger, he sacrifices his own becoming the first vampire.

Josh Duhamel surprises pregnant Fergie in Brazil

H

usbands of the world, take note. Josh Duhamel scored some major hubby points over the weekend when he surprised his pregnant wife, Fergie, in São Paulo, Brazil, where she was due to receive the Award of Inspiration at the 2013 amFAR Inspiration Gala. Better yet, E! Brazil reports, he made his presence known by popping up to present her with the honour!

sports

29

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

CHINESE GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

All eyes on Red Bull men Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will be under fierce scrutiny as they return to the Red Bull team garage at this week’s Chinese Grand Prix following a furious team orders row in Malaysia.

SHANGHAI: Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber (right) will be under fierce scrutiny as they return to the Red Bull team garage at this week’s Chinese Grand Prix following a furious team orders row in Malaysia.

The reigning world champion and his aggrieved Australian team-mate are said to have called a truce after Vettel’s controversial late pass for victory at Sepang, but relations are likely to be uneasy at best.

Webber admitted he considered his future in the sport after Vettel ignored orders to stay behind his front-running stablemate, who was on deteriorating tyres, to snatch one of the most contentious wins of recent years.

Webber was seen giving the middle finger to Vettel after his risky overtaking manoeuvre, and following an angry exchange in the garage and an awkward

podium ceremony, the German apologised profusely.

But whether that has cut any ice with the feisty Webber, and whether Vettel is prepared to make amends by returning the favour, could become clear in Shanghai,

act three in what has already been an intriguing campaign.

Kimi Raikkonen was the surprise winner at the season-opener in Australia, and Lewis Hamilton was also tipped into a team orders row in Malaysia

when Mercedes told Nico Rosberg not to challenge his team-mate for third. Red Bull will face further questions about possible punishment for Vettel, even after team principal Christian Horner insisted Webber was not about to quit and that the affair had been put to rest.

“He (Webber) is in a car capable of winning grands prix and hopefully going for a championship so I’ve no doubt Mark will see out the season with us,” Horner said. Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, will also be keen to show solidarity with Rosberg and the rest of his new team, which he has joined from long-term employer McLaren.

In Malaysia, the Briton sheepishly admitted that Rosberg, all over his back wheels in fourth until being ordered off by team boss Ross Brawn, deserved to take his place on the podium.

Drivers and constructors standings Drivers 1. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 40pts, 2. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) 31.0, 3.

Mark Webber (AUS) 26.0, 4.

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 25.0, 5.

Felipe Massa (BRA) 22.0, 6.

Fernando Alonso (ESP) 18.0, 7.

Nico Rosberg (GER) 12.0, 8.

Romain Grosjean (FRA) 9.0, 9.

Adrian Sutil (GER) 6.0, 10. Paul di Resta (GBR) 4.0, 11. Nico Hulkenberg (GER) 4.0, 12.

Sergio Perez (MEX) 2.0, 13.

Jenson Button (GBR) 2.0, 14.

Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA) 1.0 Constructors 1. Red Bull Racing-Renault 66.0pts, 2. Lotus-Renault 40.0, 3. Ferrari 40.0, 4. Mercedes 37.0, 5. Force India-Mercedes 10.0, 6.

Sauber-Ferrari 4.0, 7. McLarenMercedes 4.0, 8. STR-Ferrari 1.0

ATLANTIC DIVISION

TROUBLE TIME

New York Knicks clinch title

Michael Jordan sued SHANGHAI: A Chinese sportswear firm sued by Michael Jordan over unauthorised use of his name has countersued the retired NBA superstar for $8.0 million for hurting its reputation, state media said Wednesday.

Jordan’s original lawsuit against Qiaodan last year alleged the firm deliberately misled Chinese consumers about its ties to the six-time NBA champion.

Jordan said he was taking action to preserve ownership of his name and brand.

Jordan has been known in China by the Chinese name “Qiaodan” since he became a global basketball star in the 1980s.

NEW YORK: The New York Knicks clinched their first Atlantic Division title since 1994 on Tuesday as they routed the Washington Wizards 120-99 with another scorching scoring display from Carmelo Anthony.

The red-hot Anthony finished with 36 points, eight rebounds and six assists, as the Knicks won their 13th straight game.

“It says a lot about our team,” said Anthony, who became the first Knicks player to post five straight games with 35 or more points since Bernard King in 1985. “We reached one of our goals. We are now going to try and prepare for the post-

season.”

The NBA’s scoring leader heading into the contest, Anthony shot 13-of-21 from the floor and three-of-four from three-point range Tuesday at Madison Square Garden arena.

Iman Shumpert added 18 points on seven-of-10 shooting from the field, while J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland each came off the bench to score 17 points for the Knicks, who equalled a franchise record with 20 threepointers.

John Wall led the Wizards with 33 points. Cartier Martin came off the bench to score 16 points for Washington who lost their third game in the last four and 10th straight at Madison

Square Garden.

It marks the Knicks first Atlantic Division crown in 19 years when they eventually lost in the NBA finals to the Houston Rockets.

The Knicks started quickly Tuesday, nailing nine-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first quarter. New York led by 13 points heading into the second quarter as Anthony, Shumpert, Copeland and Raymond Felton all had two three pointers.

Steve Novak stepped up in the second quarter by making three triples as the Knicks J.R. Smith #8 of the New York 12 first-half three-pointers Knicks shoots over Chris Singleton matched their most of any half #31 of the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.

AFP this season.

AFP

AFP

IBAYS Suzuki Cup 1 E HLX NMC 163-4 (20 overs) lost to Tigers CC 166-4 in 19.1 - Omkar Avhad 55(33), Umair Ahmed 34(23) PegaSystems 168-7 (20 overs) beat Zonah 1365 (20 overs) - Ankith Sharma 64(47), Bhargav Vankalaya 62(44), Kaleem 65(45) Phoenix 155-9 (20 overs) beat Rebellion Shields 123-5 - Syed Khursheed 61(39), Venkatesh Thati 4 Overs 24/4, Fiyazuddin Amer 43(32) Deccan Stallions 137 (20 overs) beat Kargeens 133/10 in 19.2 - Abdurrahman 60(50) & 2.2 overs 12/4, Anurag Reddy 54(43) & 4 overs 24/1

BOXING

Chris John wants to train future champions JAKARTA: World featherweight champion Chris John learnt to box using tatty old gloves in an abandoned football field in rural Indonesia, pushed on by his father who was determined to make him a winner.

“My father was very domineering. He would hit me with a book, slap me, and make me do push-ups if

I came home late from playing with friends. I had to accept every punishment without resistance,” John said.

“I hated boxing at first, but it somehow grew on me.” Now 33, the man nicknamed “The Dragon” has carved out an astonishing undefeated career and will make his 18th World Boxing Association (WBA) title defence against Japan’s Satoshi

“Bazooka” Hosono on Sunday.

With plans to quit the ring undefeated at the age of 35, John plans to use his retirement to train future Indonesian champions, following the example set by his father.

“After I retire, I want to push more Indonesians to take up boxing and hopefully become world champions too,” John told AFP.

sports

30

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

US CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS

CARROM

Lorenzi, Isner advance at Houston HOUSTON, TEXAS: Seventhseeded Paolo Lorenzi overpowered Austrian qualifier Gerald Melzer 62, 6-2 in the opening round of the ATP Tour's US Clay Court Championships on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Italian Lorenzi, who won the doubles title at Vina del Mar earlier this year, blasted three aces, had two double faults and won 68 percent of his first-serve points.

It was the first career match between world No. 62 Lorenzi and the 22-yearold Melzer, who is the younger brother of Austrian star Jurgen Melzer. Jurgen was runner-up at Houston in 2006.

Lorenzi next faces countryman

Flavio Cipolla, who beat Argentine qualifier Facundo Arguello 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

In the night match, returning finalist John Isner engineered a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win over Ryan Harrison. Isner finished runner-up to Argentine Juan Monaco last year in Houston.

In other matches Tuesday, American Robby Ginepri notched his first tourlevel win in more than a year as he rolled over eighth seed Michael Russell 6-2, 6-2.

In another all-American first round match, wild card Jack Sock converted his two break points chances to beat qualifier Bradley Klahn 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

AFP

Yogesh, Babu claim doubles crown PANAJI: The Indian Oil Men's and the ONGC Women's pairs stamped their supremacy in the Doubles event at the XXXIII PSPB Inter Unit Carrom Tournament 2013 here today.

The Men's doubles final was an all Indian Oil affair with the experienced duo of Yogesh Pardeshi and K Ramesh Babu taking on their team-mates K Srinivas and Hidayat Ansari.

Yogesh and Ramesh prevailed in straight games 25-12 1714. The third place in Men's doubles was claimed by Sandeep Deorukhkar and Ashok Gaur of ONGC, who made short work of their own upcoming pair of Naresh Rathod and Prashant More 22-0 25-16.

PTI

AUGUSTA MASTERS

‘Less time for Tiger’

JIM SLATER Agence France-Presse AUGUSTA, GEORGIA: Jack Nicklaus says 14-time major winner Tiger Woods needs to win this week's 77th Masters or it will be "a lot tougher for him" to overtake Nicklaus' all-time record of 18 major titles.

Speaking just before both of them attended the Champions Dinner at Augusta National, the 73-year-old golf legend who won six Masters titles said he still thinks 37-year-old Woods will break his career record.

"I've said it, and continue to say, that I still expect him to break my record," Nicklaus said.

"I think he's just too talented, too driven and too focused on that."

Tiger Woods has won six times in the past 12 months, including titles already this year

at Torrey Pines, Doral and Bay Hill.

But while he has shown flashes of the form that allowed

him to dominate the sport for years, Woods has not won a major title since the 2008 US Open and has not won a Masters since capturing the fourth of his career back in 2005.

"He has played very well this spring," Nicklaus said. "I think if he wins here that it would be a very large step toward regaining the confidence, in that he has not won a major in a while.

"He's going to have to figure it out. But I think if he figures it out here it will be a great boost for him. If he doesn't figure it out here, after the spring he has had, I think it will be a lot tougher for him."

Woods is on pace with Nicklaus after having been ahead of the legend's major victory pace for several years.

Another victory this year would put Woods back on record pace.

Poulter set for Masters challenge ALLAN KELLY Agence France-Presse AUGUSTA, GEORGIA: Winning the Ryder Cup for Europe is one thing, but winning the Masters for yourself is quite another, according to Ian Poulter.

The colourful Englishman was the hero in Chicago last September when his battling display in the Saturday fourballs salvaged the European team's defense of the team trophy against the United States.

He won all four matches to confirm that he is one of the

finest exponents of match-play golf in the world, but that goes for little, he said, when it comes to stroke-play golf at the highest

level.

Asked if he could get as fired up at Augusta National as he does at the Ryder Cup, Poulter replied: "No is the simple answer. I've answered that 100 times.

"You've got two sets of fans (at the Ryder Cup), and here you've got fans that are wishing 92 players play well.

"It's very difficult to get that same atmosphere, recreate it. It just won't happen."

Not that Poulter is writing off his own chances of winning a first major title at the age of 37.

First Round Pairings April 11 8:00 a.m.: Sandy Lyle (SCO), John Peterson, Nathan Smith 8:11: Larry Mize, Brian Gay, Russell Henley 8:22: Ian Woosnam (WAL), David Lynn (ENG), Kevin Na 8:33: David Toms, Richard Sterne (RSA), Ted Potter 8:44: Tom Watson, Ryan Moore, Kevin Streelman 8:55: Robert Garrigus, Carl Pettersson (SWE), Tim Clark (RSA) 9:06: Mike Weir (CAN), Lee Westwood (ENG), Jim Furyk 9:17: Brandt Snedeker, Ryo Ishikawa (JPN), Justin Rose (ENG) 9:28: Jose Maria Olazabal (ESP), Marc Leishman (AUS), TJ Vogel 9:39: Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Webb Simpson, Peter Hanson 9:50: Zach Johnson, KJ Choi (KOR), Graeme McDowell (NIR) 10:01: Open 10:12: Michael Thompson, John Huh, John Senden (AUS) 10:23: Stewart Cink, Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL), Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 10:34: Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter (ENG), Steven Fox 10:45: Tiger Woods, Luke Donald (ENG), Scott Piercy 10:56: Jason Day (AUS), Rickie Fowler, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 11:07: John Merrick, Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN), DA Points 11:18: Craig Stadler, Ben Curtis, Michael Weaver 11:29: Mark O'Meara, Martin Laird (SCO), Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 11:40: Paul Lawrie (SCO), Thomas Bjorn (DEN), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP) 11:51: Trevor Immelman (RSA), George Coetzee (RSA),Alan Dunbar (NIR) 12:02 p.m.: Open 12:13: Ernie Els (RSA), Steve Stricker, Nick Watney 12:24: Ben Crenshaw, Matteo Manassero (ITA), Guan Tianlang (CHN) 12:35: Bernhard Langer (GER), Lucas Glover, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 12:46: Vijay Singh (FIJ), Bo Van Pelt, Yang Yong-Eun (KOR) 12:57: Angel Cabrera (ARG), Sergio Garcia (ESP), Adam Scott (AUS) 1:08: Fred Couples, Dustin Johnson, Branden Grace (RSA) 1:19: Hunter Mahan, Hiroyuki Fujita (JPN), Francesco Molinari (ITA) 1:30: Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Martin Kaymer (GER) 1:41: Rory McIlroy (NIR), Keegan Bradley, Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) 1:52: Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas (All timings are at EST, 9:30hrs after IST)

IPL 6

31

BATTLE OF THE TITANS

METRE

6 S 75

FLASH

RCB captain Virat Kohli has been fined US $20,000 after the team maintained a slow over rate during the IPL match against SRH in Bangalore. At the end of the match, RCB were assessed to be three overs behind the required rate after allowances were taken into consideration.

Dinesh Karthik (MI) 183 runs Sunil Narine (KKR), Kevon Cooper (RR) 6 wickets

Like batting at No.3: Karthik M

umbai Indians wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who became the leading scorer in the ongoing IPL after a matchwinning effort against the Delhi Daredevils, said he enjoys batting at number three as it helps him make the best use of powerplay overs.

He has 183 runs in three matches and he attributed his form to the good domestic season he had before the tournament. “This whole year has been good for me.

I had a good domestic season and it is important that you carry forward that momentum into T20 cricket. I am very confident that given a chance at any level, I will be able to do the best I can, so I am just motivated enough to get runs on the board,” he said.

PTI P

W

L

T PT

MI

3

2

1

0

4 +0.850

RR

2

2

0

0

4 +0.600

RCB

3

2

1

0

4 +0.352

SRH

3

2

1

0

4 +0.083

KXIP

1

1

0

0

2 +3.158

KKR

2

1

1

0

2 -0.231

CSK

1

0

1

0

0 -0.450

DD

3

0

3

0

0 -1.024

PW

2

0

2

0

0 -1.915

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

NR

Dinesh Karthik (MI)

7 4S 260

Dinesh Karthik (MI)

21

HIGHEST SCORE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

93*

Virat Kohli (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

4-13

Clash of the Kings

G. APARNA SAI

aparna.s@postnoon.com

R

avindra Jadeja might have been knighted by his team mates and his fans as Sir Jadeja but his side in the Indian Premier League, the Chennai Super Kings are yet to win a game in the sixth edition of the tournament.

The Kings from Chennai today take on the Kings from Punjab (Kings XI Punjab) in Mohali.

Both the teams have played a match each. While Kings XI Punjab found victory against Pune Warriors India in their very first game, the same fate did not prevail over the Chennai Super Kings, who missed out narrowly when they were beaten by Mumbai Indians.

On paper and with their past record, CSK seem to be a stronger team but one cannot belittle their opponents who

KXIP VS CSK AT 8PM ON SET MAX

SCORECARD RCB VS SRH

Sunil Narine (KKR)

thrashed the Pune Warriors when they had played each other on Sunday.

With the likes of Captain Adam Gilchrist, David Hussey, Praveen Kumar and Azhar Mahmood, KXIP could prove to be tough opponents against CSK. But CSK, having won the IPL title on two consecutive occasions and also the Champions League crown once, would look to getting back to their winning ways.

If one were to look at their previous encounter against Mumbai Indians, they would undoubtedly be of the opinion that had the skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hit the ball a little higher, to escape the hands of the towering Kieron Pollard, then the match would have swayed in CSK’s favour.

But that is the beauty of Twenty20 cricket, where it is usually difficult to pick a clear winner, as the match could swing in any team’s favour at any given point of time during a game.

FITTING VICTORY

MI VS DD

Sunrisers Hyderabad innings (20 overs maximum) PA Reddy c Vinay b Singh 12 (11) PA Patel† b Muralitharan 20 (19) KC Sangakkara* c Kohli b Kartik 23 (24) White c de Villiers b Vinay 52 (34) NLTC Perera b Singh 40 (24) A Ashish Reddy b Singh 3 (4) GH Vihari not out 4 (3) BB Samantray not out 2 (2) Extras (w 4, nb 1) 5 Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 161 Bowling O M R W Econ RP Singh 4 0 27 3 6.75 R Vinay Kumar 4 0 43 1 10.75 JD Unadkat 4 0 29 0 7.25 M Muralitharan 4 0 23 1 5.75 M Kartik 3 0 21 1 7.00 MC Henriques 1 0 18 0 18.00 RC Bangalore innings (target: 162 runs from 20 overs) MA Agarwal c Sangakkara b Perera29 (20) CH Gayle c †Patel b Sharma 13 (15) V Kohli* not out 93 (47) AB de Villiers c Vihari b White 15 (15) MC Henriques not out 7 (9) Extras (lb 1, w 4) 5 Total (3 wickets; 17.4 overs) 162 Bowling O M R W Econ GH Vihari 1 0 12 0 12.00 DW Steyn 4 0 16 0 4.00 I Sharma 3.4 0 30 1 8.18 NLTC Perera 3 0 35 1 11.66 A Mishra 4 0 42 0 10.50 A Ashish Reddy 1 0 12 0 12.00 CL White 1 0 14 1 14.00

Mumbai Indians innings (20 overs maximum) Ponting* c Jayawardene b Pathan 0 (6) Tendulkar run out (Jayawardene) 1 (1) KD Karthik† c Mendis b Morkel 86 (48) RG Sharma not out 74 (50) KA Pollard c Nadeem b Nehra 13 (7) AT Rayudu c & b Nehra 24 (8) Harbhajan Singh not out 1 (1) Extras (lb 6, w 3, nb 1) 10 Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 209 Bowling O M R W Econ IK Pathan 4 1 37 1 9.25 A Nehra 4 0 49 2 12.25 M Morkel 4 0 43 1 10.75 UT Yadav 3 0 28 0 9.33 S Nadeem 3 0 26 0 8.66 BMAJ Mendis 2 0 20 0 10.00 Delhi Daredevils innings (target: 210 runs from 20 overs) U Chand c Ponting b Harbhajan 0 (1) DA Warner c Rayudu b Johnson61 (37) Jayawardene* c †Karthik b Johnson3 (6) MC Juneja run out (Dhawan) 49 (40) BMAJ Mendis c & b Pollard 0 (1) IK Pathan c Johnson b Ojha 10 (12) KM Jadhav† c & b Malinga 1 (2) S Nadeem c Dhawan b Ojha 2 (3) M Morkel not out 23 (9) A Nehra c Ojha b Pollard 1 (5) UT Yadav not out 5 (4) Extras (b 1, lb 1, w 8) 10 Total (9 wickets; 20 overs) 165 Bowling O M R W Econ Harbhajan 4 0 25 1 6.25 SL Malinga 4 0 20 1 5.00 MG Johnson 4 0 49 2 12.25 PP Ojha 4 0 34 2 8.50 KA Pollard 4 0 35 2 8.75

RC Bangalore won by 7 wickets

Mumbai Indians won by 44 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring the winning runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad during their IPL match at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

PTI/SHAILENDRA BHOJAK

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

sports

MOURINHO CHEERING PSG AGAINST BARCA

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said he will be cheering on French league leaders Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarterfinal, second leg, against Barcelona. PSG face a tough task at the Camp Nou as they look to qualify for the semi-finals having drawn 2-2 at home.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Classic Dortmund!

Borussia Dortmund scored twice in added time to seal a dramatic 3-2 quarter-final win over Malaga.

32

Real lose, but still through to semis A heroic Galtasaray put three past Mourinho’s men, but it was not enough.

RYLAND JAMES Agence France-Presse DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund scored twice in added time to seal a dramatic 32 quarter-final, second-leg win at home to Malaga on Tuesday to reach the last four of the Champions League.

With Malaga leading 2-1 in the dying stages, Dortmund’s Marco Reus gave his side a glimmer of hope with a 91st-minute equaliser, but the Spaniards would still have gone through on away goals.

In the frantic closing seconds, Reus managed to stab the ball across the Malaga goal for Brazilian centre-back Felipe Santana to toe the ball over the

Dortmund go through 3-2 on aggregate after last Wednesday’s first leg finished goalless and are into the semi-finals for the first time since 1998. line for the crucial third Dortmund goal to put the Germans in the last four.

Dortmund go through 3-2 on aggregate after last Wednesday’s first leg finished goalless and are into the semi-finals for the first time since 1998.

Malaga winger Joaquin had given the Spaniards an early away goal before Poland striker

Robert Lewandowski’s equaliser made it 1-1 at the break.

Second-half substitute Eliseu then looked to have put Malaga in the semis in their debut season in Europe’s top club competiton with a goal eight minutes from time, before Dortmund produced two goals in two magical minutes.

It was heart-break for Manuel Pellegrini’s side after the Malaga coach had to make a round-trip to his native Chile following the death of his father in the days before the game.

Dortmund continue their run as the only unbeaten team in the competition, but the winning goal came as late as the 93rd minute at the Signal Iduna Park.

ISTANBUL: Real Madrid withstood a second-half onslaught from Galatasaray to qualify for their third successive Champions League semifinal 5-3 on aggregate, despite losing 3-2 on the night.

Already leading 3-0 from the first-leg last week, it took Los Blancos just eight minutes to build on their advantage as Sami Khedira crossed for Cristiano Ronaldo to prod home from close range.

However, after Ronaldo had missed a gilt edged opportunity to double his tally on the night, Galatasaray produced a remarkable comeback as Emmanuel Eboue thumped in an equaliser from the edge of the box.

Wesley Sneijder and

Didier Drogba then added two goals in a minute to ensure a nervy final 18 minutes for Madrid.

Alvaro Arbeloa saw two quick-fire yellow cards a minute from time to ensure he will miss the first-leg of the semi-final, before Ronaldo sealed Madrid’s path into the last four with another sweet strike in stoppage time -- his 49th in the Champions League taking him to fifth on the all-time list.

“It is our own fault it became complicated,” Ronaldo told Spanish TV station TVE. “In football you cannot gift anything. Today ought to serve as an example for the future to play for 90 minutes.”

Juve look to overcome Bayern behemoth Juve were outclassed in Munich last week where a rampant Bayern claimed a 2-0 first-leg win.

JUSTIN DAVIS Agence Free-Presse TURIN: Juventus coach Antonio Conte is expecting an improved performance from his players as they try to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final here.

Juve were outclassed in Munich last week where a rampant Bayern claimed a 2-0 first-leg win to put them in a commanding position to qualify for the last four of Europe’s premier club competition.

On three previous occasions in the competition, the Serie A giants have failed to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit.

Should they concede a goal at home, they would need to win by three clear goals to make the semis.

Bayern, who reached the final in two of the last three years, remain strong favourites to progress but Conte insisted his players are ready to produce the performance of their lives.

“The mood in the camp is good, we’re feeling positive but we’re aware that we’re facing a stong side that

showed their potential in the first leg,” said the 43-year-old.

“But we’re determined, we’re looking forward to the match and above all to playing a different kind of match than we did last week.

“The gap between us and Bayern is not what our performance from the first leg might suggest. My players and I know they can play a lot better than they did in Germany.”

David Alaba and Thomas Mueller sealed Bayern’s first leg win although it could have been more such was the home side’s dominance.