Epaper 10 july 2013

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013 HYDERABAD

WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY; 27°C

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WATCHING THE BULLS RUN

The festival of San Fermin, or the Pamplona bull running, as it’s more commonly known, begins at midday on July 7 every year with the ‘chupinazo’ which takes place on the balcony of the Casa Consistorial in Pamplona. Thousands of people congregate in the square awaiting the mayor’s official announcement that the fiestas have begun, a rocket is launched and the partying begins.

PG 16 & 17

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

NEVER JUDGE A BUILDING BY ITS FRONT Report on PG 5

Mahalakshmi Mansion on MG Road does not feature on the GHMC’s list of dilapidated buildings since its entrance looks great.The rear end of the building is literally falling apart, say owners, but tenants refuse to vacate the premises. Is it another City Light Hotel in the making?

FIRST VERDICT Delhi bus COMES gang-rape TOMORROW

A New Delhi court is set to hand down the first verdict Thursday on one of five suspects in dock over the fatal gang-rape.

PG 6

ROWDIES TURN TEENS INTO CRIMINALS Each City gang has a bunch of boys, trained to obey any dastardly order to the letter.

PG 3

Director Guillermo del Toro’s fetish for dark places, monsters and unborn things can be seen in a lot of his films.

THE MONSTROUS SIDE OF DEL TORO PG 15

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

city events

BLUE HOUR

Canadian singer and pianist Melanie LeBlanc will be performing and Blue Hour will be launched.

Where: Tre-forni Bar, Park Hyatt When: Monday to Saturday, 7pm to 9pm; Contact: +91 40 4949 1222

New Delhi Mumbai Max 34 Max 28 Min 25 Min 26

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

25°C

22°C

26°C

30°C

Showers likely

A mix of cloudy and clear skies.

A mix of cloud and sun.

Cloudy with a chance of showers.

Thundershowers likely

Chennai Max 34 Min 28

Cloudy with thunderstorms

Cloudy

Bangalore Max 28 Min 20 Scattered thunderstorms

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES latest spring – summer collection.

Where: Global Desi When: From July 2

WORKSHOPS Newborn handling A workshop for expecting parents.

Where: The Birthplace, Banjara Hills When: July 13, 3 pm to 5 pm Contact: 80086-24949

Weekend workshop Oakridge International Schools to host weekend experiential learning workshops — ‘Weekend Voyager’.

Where: Oakridge Gachibowli and Bachupally campuses.

When: Every Saturday, 9am to 12pm Contact: 1800-200-8171 Website: www.oakridge.in Dancing delight Dandiya and garba dance workshop will be organised.

Where: Colorama Printers, Secunderabad When: From July 8 to July 13, 1.30 pm to 4 pm Contact: 80088-85493

ALL THE FUN: Villa Marie girls pose for shutterbugs at the college campus on Tuesday.

Where: Just books, Jubilee Hills.

When: Every Sunday, 10am to 12pm Art attack Aakar Art academy is conducting a painting workshop for kids above the age of 4.

Where: Just Books, Jubilee Hills When: Every Friday and Saturday, Friday - 4 to 5.30 pm

SHOWS Zoom in Zoom: A Collection is on display.

Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills When: Till July 15, 11 am to 7 pm

Word club A fun workshop for kids above the age of 8 will be organised.

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

State of the Art Voyage of exploration, a collection of paintings, drawing and sculptures by students of MFA programme 2013 from Sarojini Naidu School of Art &

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

Communication, University of Hyderabad is on.

Where: Shrishti Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills When: Till July 25 Contact: +91 40 23554485/86

Where: Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, Secunderabad.

When: July 14, 6.30 pm Contact: Kaali Sudheer, at 9396444424

SALE

Just for fun History of India Viritten will be performed by stand-up comedian Vir Das. Where: N-Convention, Madhapur When: July 27 Contact: 8790432354 On display Expressionist art by Naresh Das will be on display.

Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills When: Till July 11, 11.30 am to 7 pm Contact: 98499-68797 Fat to fab Super mom, a photo exhibition by Karan Dembla will be organised.

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

Discount offer Walk in to any Global Desi store and avail an exciting discount ranging from 20% all the way up to 50% on apparel and accessories from their

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

Sale begins AND is back with its much awaited end of season sale for its spring — summer collection. Discounts range from 20-50 per cent.

Where: All exclusive AND outlets and multi-brand outlets.

DINING

Culinary Journey Exotic biriyanis of India on offer.

Where: Firdaus, Taj Krishna, Banjara Hills When: Till July 15 Contact: +91-040-6629 3306

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, JULY 10, 2013

news

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WAS BUILDING COLLAPSE DUE TO CORRUPTION OF GHMC? 76% 24%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

IS THE CONGRESS RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO RESOLVE THE T ISSUE? A)

YES

B)

NO

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

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Rowdies turn teens into criminals Each gang has a bunch of boys, trained to obey any dastardly order without question.

MOHD SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: While society is rightly indignant at child labour in hotels and homes, a far more dangerous misuse of children happening right in our midst goes unnoticed.

The cruel saga of turning innocent children into criminals came out during a detailed probe into some City gangs, who have earned ‘rowdy-sheeter status’ on police records.

Unveiling the story is additional deputy commissioner of Task Force P Rameshaiah. He described some rowdy-sheeters who behave much like extra-constitutional authority. “They fear nobody,” remarked the official.

Why? Because of the black sheep in uniform and selfish politicians

Choor gang has not done. He has been to jail many times and the prison has turned out to be his second home. He comes out unscathed because the police either present a weak case or don’t file a chargesheet within the stipulated 90 days. The provision in the law, meant for possible innocents, is grossly misused by the police and pliable lawyers.

who use them to armtwist rivals.

Choor Faiyaz, 38, (in pic) is a rowdy-sheeter in Reinbazaar. He is a close associate of ‘veteran’ rowdy Ayub Khan, who reportedly is like Godfather to budding rowdies. ‘Khan Saheb’ is in prison but the prison walls are AROUND THE

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no bar to conduct his operations — extortion, beating up for a sum, kidnap or killing, forcible seizure of property — officiated

by Choor Faiyaz.

Choor reportedly built a palatial bungalow in Eddi Bazaar recently. Police say he has 400-500 boys who are trained to obey his diktat. They move about on fancy bikes and do Choor’s

TURF WAR

biddings. They were, like circus artistes, picked up young and subjugated to obey commands.

Rameshaiah’s detailed study of the most prominent gangs reveal that there is no crime the

Gangs always sire rivalry. In Faiyaz’s case, Choor Kaiser, a rowdy-sheeter of Habeeb Nagar, and another rowdy Najaf have posed a challenge.

Police officials say that even when they come to sign the police muster as required by law, they do so in ‘filmy’ style. A dozen young roughnecks follow the boss’s car and wait outside

while ‘sir’ comes out after signing the muster.

Recently, Task Force South Zone team arrested Faiyaz with arms from Nayapul. Questioning revealed that he had collected arms to eliminate his rivals.

FOUL PLAY

It is obvious that the police and some lawyers make the rowdy cases weak using many provisions in the law. Changing sections of the IPC Act is the biggest foul play. By changing sections, the judiciary will be forced to take a lenient view and often the criminals get away. Intimidating witnesses is another.

“If the police really want, if the officer in-charge of crime is intrepid, no criminal can escape,” remarked a senior officer who had worked with CCS earlier.

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News WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

POLITICS

LAST YEAR... HERE Not our problem

L

ast year we had reported how the apex body of pan-India developers and builders, CREDAI, said that pollution emanating from construction sites was not their problem. The body, when questioned, said that this was a problem for the AP Pollution Control Board, not them. The PCB, on its part, said they had no special checks for pollution at construction sites.

JULY 10, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

157

the GHMC has identified 157 more derelict structures in the City and says nearly 50 of them are in litigation. Some 274 buildings are already on the list.

I did face a lot of humiliation, but I took it in a positive way. I like proving people, who have humiliated me, wrong. I took all that as a challenge and went ahead with a positive attitude.

Sreenu Vaitla, director See page 9

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

1

City gangs force teenagers into a life of crime.

Every gang has a bunch of young boys, who are trained to follow any given order. The children are picked up young and are forced to do what they are told. This is an often overlooked part of child abuse.

2

GHMC to ensure quality control of haleem.

The civic body held a meeting with various hotels preparing haleem to discuss the measures to be taken for providing good quality and hygienic haleem to the public this festive season.

3

Jagannath Yatra kicks off in City today.

The annual Jagannath Yatra by ISKCON, Hyderabad today is billed to be a grand affair with 15-20,000 devotees likely to participate. .

4

GHMC’s strange criteria for demolishing buildings.

Buildings that ought to be pulled down remain ‘fine’ while not-sodangerous ones are on the list. .

5

Young City sailor gets rare privilege.

Nikhil Kumar, 15, is on his way to train with an Olympic coach.

NURSE SUICIDE

Naidu vs Modi? New formula tried out New movement in the non-Congress non-BJP spectrum is veering round to the view that projecting Naidu as the real development-oriented leader might upset Modi’s applecart.

Md INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: While T-party is being hosted in Delhi with gusto, new developments are happening in the rival TDP camp. Reports said party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is once again active with the dream of becoming kingmaker for the next Union government.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik, and CPM’s ideologues are said to be in touch with Naidu who is seen as a shrewd politician who knows where his bread is buttered. Admitting the move, Naidu himself on record said that he was seriously considering the possibility of an alternative government other than the NDA and UPA. “I was never an aspirant and even today I am not an aspirant,” said the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, who played a key role in formation of United Front governments in 1996 and 1998.

The movement gained fresh life after the JD(U) of Bihar left the NDA. “There are so many people. They are well experienced. I don’t want to name anybody. They are stalwarts and have worked as chief minister for 10 to 15 years,” he said.

But all this does not mean Naidu has no dreams for Andhra Pradesh. He wants to come back to power in the State. He says the Congress governments do not know how to dream big. During his reign, he made massive shifts to the politics like making

Australia royal prank DJ sues network SYDNEY: An Australian DJ involved in a royal prank call to a London hospital that resulted in the suicide of a nurse is suing the broadcaster over workplace safety, her lawyer said Wednesday.

Mel Greig endured a global backlash after the death of Indian-born nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who was found dead three days after transferring a hoax call to staff caring for Prince William’s pregnant wife Kate Middleton (in pic).

Greig and co-host Michael Christian, from Australia's Southern Cross Austereo radio network, were able to get details of Middleton's condition on air after posing as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles on the phone.

Christian has since returned

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Hyderabad a world brand, setting up self help groups for women, Rythu bazaar for farmers, Hi-Tec city and engineering colleges for the State.

“Which other leader had the acumen and foresight to give the State such a huge advantage?” asks PL Srinivas, TDP’s organising secretary.

“Most of the politicians are only bothered about their selfish gains but Naidu is the only hope to set right mechanism of development.

Indeed he would be an alternative to the development-oriented Narendra Modi of the BJP. “If Naidu becomes the PM, the country will emerge as the number one in the world and the entire globe will talk about Naidu. They would keenly

watch Naidu’s aims, objectives and views to put a check on corruption and undertake development activities in a huge manner. He would also ensure the development of poor, downtrodden and all sections of society. Due to the negligence and improper governance, the value of rupee has crossed the record breaking 60 plus mark, which was never expected. An economist turned prime minister like Manmohan Singh is not able to set right the situation as he was remote controlled by Sonia Gandhi,” Srinivas says.

Some core TDP committee members are also seeing an advantage in projecting Naidu as the national hope. “It is too early to say something definite but the movement is on,” says a senior party leader and MP. Srinivas says a clear framework would emerge shortly.

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to the airwaves and was last month controversially awarded a “Top Jock” gong.

Greig is still on an extended leave of absence and her lawyers said she was suing Austereo in the Fair Work Australia tribunal for failing to provide her a safe workplace.

“I can confirm that a general protections application has been filed with Fair Work Australia on behalf of Mel Greig against Southern Cross Austereo," Greig’s lawyer Steven Lewis told AFP. Lewis said Greig remained employed by Austereo and would not be making any comment on the case.

An Austereo spokeswoman said the network would also not be commenting at this stage. AFP

CITY BRIEFS Woman commits suicide over loan problems

81 AP pilgrims still missing in Uttarakhand

Woman’s chain snatched

‘Allot land for disaster management body’

A

A

T

T

resident of Lal Bazaar Trimulgherry in Secunderabad, SR Jayanti, 53, has allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself at her home yesterday. Her husband Guru Vasu said she had taken huge loans from some people and they had started harassing her. However why she had taken loan is not explained.

bout 81 pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh are still missing in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, the state government announced today.

The information has been communicated to the Uttarakhand government. AP Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy reviewed the issue with Chief Secretary PK Mohanty and other senior officials today.

wo unidentified persons have snatched a gold chain weighing three tolas from Santoshi Rani, 40, a resident of Malkajgiri. Rani was riding pillion on her son’s bike when at Diamond Point, Secunderabad, two persons riding a bike whizzed past them. They snatched the gold chain from her neck and sped away before she could react.

DP's state organising secretary PL Srinivas alleged that rampant corruption by politicians and bureaucrats led to the City Light Hotel disaster recently. He also expressed shock over the dilly-dallying of the State in allocation of land for crucial National Disaster management Authority (NDMA) in the state.

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News WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

POSTNOON EXCLUSIVE

Many more death traps in the City

N SHIVA KUMAR

GHMC’s ‘dilapidated list’ is inscrutable. Their classification of ‘decayed’ buildings has no transparency and many that ought to be pulled down (like City Light) remain ‘fine’ while some not-sodangerous ones are on the demolition list. Postnoon brings out one such glaring case.

ALEENA ALICE aleena.a@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The drive to demolish buildings over 50 years that are unsafe for living has been started by the GHMC, yet it’s surprising to see how the civic body failed to identify this 70-year-old building in the dilapidated list.

The famous Mahalakshmi Mansion on MG Road sees thousands of footfall every day. The mansion, which has shops like Kathiawar Stores, Bata Showroom and various other showrooms, is in a dilapidated state. It is a 70year-old building which had a part tumbling down in the rear side not long ago. Going by its appearance from the front, the GHMC failed to identify it as a dilapidated structure. It’s not all the owner’s fault. It is a representative case where old tenants refuse to move away and continue to pay paltry sums as rent. But the owners want their buildings razed so that they could recover the land and build big buildings and earn big money.

According to the owners of the mansion, the tenants who have been there for more than 25

years now, refuse to vacate the complex since it is fetching them huge profits. “The tenants who have their shops have been here for generations. They still continue paying a meagre rent, and refuse to vacate in spite of us issuing them several notices. The building is in a dilapidated state but they seem to care less because they are beautifying it at the entrance and attracting customers,” said Amarnath A, one of the owners of the building.

Every monsoon weakens the building further, yet the shop owners have been overlooking its state. “Last Sunday, a part of the parapet on the first floor collapsed. Usually workers from the shops sit below the first floor balcony to have their lunch, because it was a Sunday, not many were around when the wall fell off. I live with my family on the ground floor at the rear end of the building, even the walls of my house are falling apart. We are living in fear, and despite several complaints to the shop owners and the building owners, no action has been taken,” rues Ravi Kumar the security person of the building.

MANY CITY LIGHTS IN THE MAKING? People who live in the vicinity of this shopping complex have been seeing how parts of the building have been collapsing.

After seeing the disaster that took place at the City Light Hotel, they feel that if the GHMC does not take action, thousands of lives will be in danger.

“Going by the physical structure of the City Light Hotel, the GHMC failed to identify it as a dilapidated building. Similar is the case of this Mahalakshmi Mansion. The civic body is only taking into consideration the outer structure from the front side, reality can clearly be seen from the rear end of the building.

We suspect that there could be a possibility of the tenants bribing the GHMC, since if they have to move out they will lose out on business worth lakhs. This is the only reason no action has been taken so far,” says Rajiv Amaram, joint secretary, All India Petrol Dealers Association, who lives in the same area.

Every monsoon weakens the building further, yet the shop owners have been overlooking its state.

LITIGATION PREVENTS DEMOLITION GHMC town planners and engineers have identified 157 more structures in addition to the 274 previously identified ones and say nearly 50 of them are in litigation. Out of these 274, so far 36 buildings were in litigation because of the owner tenant disputes, and have got stay order.

The GHMC officials says that among the newly identified building there could be nearly 20 more which will be in litigation.

“When the buildings are in litigation there is nothing much the GHMC can do. Whatever buildings have been identified, we will ensure that they are demolished immediately. Those not identified, the owners should bring it to the notice of the GHMC. We cannot literally go to every house and establishment. It is the moral responsibility of the owners also to come forward and bring it to our notice so that the structures can be reconstructed,” said GHMC Chief City Planner GV Raghu.

NATION BRIEFS Haryana to map red light colonies

136th rath yatra begins LDF hartal hits normal life in Ahmedabad in Kerala

Woman moves HC to tie Raids find `4.46 crore assets from two officials knot with married cop

CHANDIGARH: All the red light colonies in Haryana will be mapped in order to reach out to the children in the age group of 0-18 years living there, a top official said Wednesday.

Sumita Misra, director general, women and child development department, said the District Child Protection Units have the responsibility to map all red light colonies.

AHMEDABAD: Amid tight security and monitoring by two unmanned aerial vehicles, the 136th Lord Jagannath rath yatra began in Ahmedabad this morning. As per tradition, elephants had a first glimpse of Lord Jagannath and led the procession, which set off from the over 400 year-old iconic Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area.

PATNA: The Economic Offence Wing of Bihar police today conducted raids at the premises of two government officials and seized cash and properties of over `4.46 crore. In the first case, raids were conducted against the executive engineer of rural works department, Nawada, Ramchandra Gupta and properties worth over `2.17 crore were seized.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Normal life was today disrupted in Kerala due to the dawn-to-dusk 12hour hartal called by CPI-M led LDF to demand resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy over the solar scam issue. Except for a few private vehicles and two-wheelers, other modes of transport were off the road while shops, including hotels remained closed.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has turned down the plea of a woman, who prayed for a direction to allow her to tie the know with a married police officer. The court refused to entertain the petition filed by Rajashree Marde on the ground that the officer, Prashant Marde, was already married with two children.

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News WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

DELHI BUS GANG-RAPE A New Delhi court is set to hand down the first verdict Thursday on one of five suspects in dock over the fatal gang-rape.

First verdict comes tomorrow

AMMU KANNAMPILLY Agence France-Presse

NEW DELHI: A New Delhi court is set to hand down the first verdict Thursday on one of five suspects on trial over the fatal gang-rape of a student on a moving bus, which sparked an outcry in India.

A juveniles' court in the capital has finished hearing the case of a teenager, aged 17 at the time of the crime, who faces a maximum sentence of three years in a correctional facility if found guilty.

The sentence is likely to cause further outrage in a country attempting to turn a rising tide of violence against women and which has passed a new law toughening sentences for adults convicted of sex crimes.

The victim's family led calls for the teenager to be tried as an adult, alongside five men initially arrested over the savage crime on December 16, which led to weeks of protests in the capital and elsewhere.

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"We want to be reassured by the government that my rights to justice are protected. In this case the accused is hiding behind legal loopholes in the system," the father of the 23-year-old victim told a national daily earlier this year.

The trial of four adult suspects continues but is expected to wrap up in the next few months, with the men facing a possible death sentence if convicted of rape and murder.

The fifth adult, alleged ringleader Ram Singh, died in jail in an apparent suicide.

If found guilty, the juvenile can be

If found guilty...

T

he juvenile can be sent to a correctional facility for a maximum three-year term, which includes the time he has already spent in custody while waiting for the verdict.

The update

T

he trial of four adult suspects continues but is expected to wrap up in the next few months, with the men facing a possible death sentence if convicted of rape and murder. The fifth adult, alleged ringleader Ram Singh, died in jail in an apparent suicide.

an Indian protestor holds a placard as they take part in a rally in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Lucknow, after the death of a gangrape victim from the Indian capital New Delhi.

sent to a correctional facility for a maximum three-year term, which includes the time he has already spent in custody while waiting for the verdict.

Anant Kumar Asthana, a Delhi-based lawyer who defends juveniles, explained that "the idea behind the provision is that three years is sufficient time to reform a child".

"The institutionalisation of a child is a last resort, and the idea is to do it for a minimum amount of time... since institutionalisation can often impact a child negatively," Asthana told AFP. Criminal charges against staff at a number of juvenile homes last year have highlighted what activists describe as a pervasive culture of violence that begins with carers abusing wards and ends with older children assaulting younger children.

Shahbaz Khan, co-founder of Haq: Centre for Child Rights, which has provided counselling to the juvenile in the Delhi gang-rape case, told AFP the services provided in homes are usually inadequate.

"Counselling services are very poor.

Staff are paid very little and are not at all eager to work with these children," Khan said. "Some homes will offer tailoring classes or cooking classes, but these kids are damaged, they need mentors. The law on juveniles has all these provisions, but the reality is something else," he said.

QUALITY CHECK

Haleem on the radar GHMC met on Tuesday and discussed measures to be taken to ensure healthy haleem this festive season.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Haleem the flavour of the season, is now under the GHMC radar. The civic body on Tuesday held a meeting with various hotel managements preparing haleem this Ramzan to discuss about the measures to be taken for providing the good quality and hygiene haleem to the public this festive season.

Well-known eateries like Pista House, CafĂŠ Bahar, Paradise, Bawarchi and Astoria among others were instructed to purchase the meat from the notified slaughterhouse only. They were also instructed to use good quality spices and ingredients. The bhattis (kilns) should be erected on safe places, which will not create any nuisance to the pedestrians or the public.

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The Food Safety Designated Officers, Food Safety Officers, Veterinary Officials and Asst. Medical Officers of Health were instructed to be vigilant during the entire month of Ramzan and to check the qualities being maintained by the traders in the preparation of haleem. The authori-

ties should take samples to check the hygiene and for following the Food Safety & Standard Act, 2006 norms.

Though so far many places have been serving haleem even before Ramzan, no complaint has reached the GHMC. However, the GHMC states that strict action would be taken against the management in case of any violation of the instructions during their random checks.

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News WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

SPORTS

Teen sailor gets rare honour Son of a fishmonger, Nikhil Kumar is all set to head to Hong Kong to be trained by a famous Olympic sailing coach.

ARUN D YELLAMATY arunyellamaty@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Hyderabad is known for producing great sports personalities in fields like cricket, badminton, and many other sports. To this tradition is added the latest — the story of a 15-year-old Hyderabadi sailor, S Nikhil Kumar.

Son of a poor fishmonger, Nikhil is all set to head to Hong Kong to be trained by a famous Olympic sailing coach.

Nikhil recently passed out of a government school at Monda Market. Son of a single parent, S Kalavathi, who sells fish in Monda Market, he comes on a bicycle daily and dedicates two hours on working days and four hours on Saturdays and Sundays for sailing practice.

Nikhil was selected after he was spotted excelling during Yacht Club races. “I am very excited

that I will be coached by a world famous coach. Yes, I am excited to see Hong Kong. I have never travelled outside India but will use this opportunity to learn more about sailing.” Nikhil has to get his passport done first.

Talking about how his passion came about, Nikhil said, “I

started learning this sport about three years ago, after seeing my brother who seemed to be enjoying it.” He adds a touch of philosophy, “Sailing is like our life, you wouldn’t know what to expect from the waters, much like in life.”

What does he like to do when he is not sailing? “I study and I don’t get much time to do any other activities. I have good friends who sail with me. My ambition is to become a sailor; so I practice a lot.”

Nikhil lost his father over two years ago. He says, “This sport also helps me to forget my troubles and rough times my family have.”

His mother said, “I am happy for my son. It’s a great achievement for us. I just worked as hard as I could, but my sons are very hard-working too. They use every opportunity they get. I am proud of Nikhil

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and my other son too.” She says Nikhil helps her whenever he is not sailing or studying.

Nikhil is a first-year student at St Mary’s Junior College, and the youngest in his family. His brother, Praveen, is also a sailor.

Talking about the opportunity Nikhil got, Suheim Sheikh, founder of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad, said, “We provide the infrastructure for these kids, and help them learn this sport.

Our motto is to achieve dignity through sport. The likes of champion pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka, sprinters PT Usha and Carl Lewis came from humble backgrounds, and they went on to conquer the world. We believe these kids could make a mark in the coming years.”

HEALTH

Sleeping on back flattens babies’ heads?

WASHINGTON: Nearly half of the newborns develop flat spots on their heads by the time they are two months old due to sleeping on their backs to prevent sudden infant death syndrome, a new Canadian study has found.

Published in the US journal Paediatrics, the study investigated the occurrence of positional plagiocephaly, or flat spots on heads, in infants 7-12 weeks of age who attend a two-month well-child clinic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Xinhua reported.

Researchers from Canadian Mount Royal University assessed 440 healthy full-term infants who had been born at more than 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Of these infants, 205, or more than 46 per cent, were observed AROUND THE

WORLD

to have some form of flat spots on their heads. Of all infants with the condition, about 63 per cent had flattening on the right side and about 78 per cent had a mild form of the condition, they said.

“Since the 1992 recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics to have infants sleep on their backs, infant mortality from SIDS has declined dramatically,” the researchers said. “One consequence, however, has been an increase in positional plagiocephaly, or flat spots on infants’ heads.”

Flat spots, however, are generally harmless. The researchers said there is some indication that children with positional plagiocephaly have mild developmental delays, but that those typically disappear by 18 months.

Treatment for the condition is usually simple and painless, often cured by repositioning the infants while they sleep, encouraging them to alternate their head position while sleeping on their backs.

IANS

THE SICK REEF OF OZ Australia hailed “solid” progress on water quality at the Great Barrier Reef but admitted that overall conditions were now “poor” as it battles UNESCO threats to downgrade its heritage status. Environment minister Mark Butler released a report card showing that the reef’s health had slumped since 2009 due to cyclones and floods, despite progress on reducing agricultural runoff.

WORLD BRIEFS Oz PM vows referendum to recognise Aboriginals

Hardliners target ‘sinful’ bars in Indonesia

Snowden not accepted Venezuela asylum yet

Car bomb wounds 53 in Shiite Beirut suburb

Mexican gets US asylum after 11 relatives killed

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd used the 50th anniversary of the indigenous land rights movement to pledge a referendum on recognising the country’s Aborigines in the constitution if Labor is re-elected. His predecessor Julia Gillard shelved a plan to hold a vote this parliamentary term, citing low public support.

JAKARTA: Muslims across Indonesia began celebrating the holy month of Ramadan Wednesday, with hardliners vowing to raid “sinful” bars and police steamrolling a mountain of alcohol and porn amid rising intolerance.

Ramadan is used as an opportunity to attack nightclubs, bars and shops that openly sell alcohol.

MOSCOW: The WikiLeaks antisecrecy website said that fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden had not yet formally accepted asylum in Venezuela as was claimed by a Russian lawmaker in a posting that was later deleted. Pro-Kremlin Alexei Pushkov sparked confusion when he tweeted that Snowden had agreed to an offer from Caracas.

BEIRUT: A car bomb rocked south Beirut on Tuesday, injuring at least 53 people in the most serious incident in the stronghold of Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah movement since the start of the Syrian conflict. The international community was swift to condemn the attack, with the UN Security Council renewing its appeal for all to stay out of the Syrian war.

CIUDAD JUAREZ: A US court has granted asylum to a Mexican man, Christian Chaidez, 32, threatened by organized crime after 11 of his family members were killed by gangsters in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, his lawyer said Tuesday. His relatives were killed for refusing to pay protection money demanded by gangs.

8

News WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

EGYPT ERUPTS

Morsi men pan new plan Opponents and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi blasted a new charter granting Egypt's interim president extensive powers.

SAMER AL-ATRUSH Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Opponents and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi blasted a new charter granting Egypt's interim president extensive powers, as talks for a new cabinet were to begin Wednesday.

The military's ouster a week ago of Morsi, after massive protests calling for his resignation, has pushed the divided country into a vortex of violence that has already claimed dozens of lives.

In the worst incident since Morsi's overthrow on July 3, at least 51 people, most of them supporters of the ousted Islamist, died in clashes outside military barracks in Cairo on Monday.

Cracks within the coalition that lobbied for Morsi's ouster, and defiant protests by his loyalists, have returned the country to an uncertain transition to democracy with elections scheduled next year.

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In the restive Sinai peninsula, two people were killed early Wednesday when militants struck several police and army positions with mortar rounds and rocket propelled grenades.

The fresh violence came less than a day after interim president Adly Mansour laid out a

A child holds a national flag during a rally of supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi on July 9, 2013 near Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque. Egypt's armed forces warned in a statement against any attempt to disrupt the country's "difficult and complex" transition. AFP PHOTO / MAHMUD HAMS

timetable for elections by early next year and appointed economist Hazem al-Beblawi as prime minister and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president responsible for foreign affairs.

Beblawi was Wednesday to begin talks on forming his cabinet, the official MENA news agency said.

Quoting a presidential aide, MENA added that Beblawi planning to extend an olive branch to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood by offering them cabinet posts.

The conciliatory move will likely be rejected by the Brotherhood which has vowed to keep up street protests until

TWO KILLED n Two people died in a militant attack on a security checkpoint in Egypt's Sinai on Wednesday, as a police base elsewhere in the peninsula came under mortar fire, medics said. n The medics and security officials said one of the dead appeared to be a civilian whose car was hit by a grenade. They did not identify the other casualty.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically-elected president, is reinstated.

The Muslim Brotherhood has already spurned Mansour's tem-

porary charter as a decree enforced by "putchists". The National Salvation Front (NSF), the main coalition that had called for Morsi's resignation before the Islamist president's overthrow by the military, has also denounced Mansour's decree and demanded amendments.

An official with one of the parties in the NSF told AFP that Mansour's 33-article declaration foresees new "legislative, executive and judicial powers" for the interim president. "You would look like a hypocrite now. It makes it look as if you are not against dictatorship, just against a dictatorship that is not from your group," he said.

ASIANA CRASH

‘Pilot could not see runway’ SAN FRANCISCO: The flight crew of the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 which crash landed at San Francisco Airport couldn't see the runway just seconds earlier, given how far the plane was out of position, US investigators said Tuesday.

With attention focused on whether human error caused the aircraft to slam into the ground, missing the runway, it was also confirmed that the training pilot on board was undertaking his inaugural flight as an instructor.

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The crash killed two Chinese students and left more than 180 injured, but given the heavy impact and extent of the damage experts have said it was fortunate that the death toll was not higher. Three of Asiana Flight 214's four pilots have now been interviewed, said National Transportation Safety Board chair Deborah Hersman, who is leading the probe, and who gave an account of their attempts to avert disaster. "The pilot that was sitting in the jump seat, the relief first officer, identified that he could not see the runway... from his seated position. And that the aircraft — the nose was pitched up, so he couldn't see the runway," Hersman said.

AFP

ISKCON FEST

Colourful Jagannath Yatra today The annual Jagannath Yatra by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Hyderabad today is billed to be a grand affair with 15-20000 devotees likely to participate.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The Yatra will start at noon from NTR Stadium and pass through RTC Crossroads, Kachiguda, Sultan Bazar, Koti, Abids and Nampally to Telugu Lalitha Kala Thoranam.In addition, this year, there will be a spiritual lecture, bhajan, aarti followed by 'prasad' distribution at Public Gardens, said temple officials.

Each year, ISKCON is host to

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a yatra that is on the lines of the original Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, in cities all over the world including London, Paris, New York, Durban, Rome etc.

Thousands of devotees offer their prayers by pulling the chariot and singing bhajans all along the route of the Ratha Yatra.

"For those who are very busy and can't make it to regular darshan at a temple, they can simply come to the yatra, as it is very auspicious. Pulling the chariot will be a divine opportunity," said Lokeshwara Govinda Dasa, spokesperson for ISKCON Hyderabad.

The ISKCON yatra will coincide with the 136th edition of Jagannath yatra that starts off at the 400 year old temple in Puri, where over 5 lakh devotees are expected to participate.

News WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013 Ace director Sreenu Vaitla has the reputation of making people laugh in the theatres and he knows what he’s expected to do. He gets talking to Postnoon about his tryst with Hyderabad, the changing face of Telugu cinema and life after Dookudu.

ENTERTAINMENT

GUARANTEED

cinema. Bollywood has been doing a good job in this area and it’ll take us some time to adapt to digital filmmaking.

HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com

Pick

TE

W

2

E

BIG

RY

People keep talking about the life in Krishnanagar and how hard it is to find a breakthrough in Telugu

frustrated and angry at film industry. You too all those who ill-treated might have faced this. you?

What would you sugI did face a lot of humiliation, gest to aspiring writers but I took them in a positive or directors? way. I like proving people, who I spent more years in Chennai have humiliated me, wrong. I than Hyderabad during my took all that as a challenge and struggling days. There people went ahead with a positive talk about Pondy Bazar and attitude. here we have IVERS Krishnanagar.

N N What’s the Whatever the place A most signifimight be, the cant change important thing that the film is to realise that industry has it’s not a cakegone through walk. You need in recent to have a lot of years? determination to The biggest change withstand all the in recent times is how hardships and be the films are released. focused to achieve your Unlike yesteryears where films goals. It might take ages before ran for over 100 days, here the you get a breakthrough, but you lifespan of a film in theatres has have to be mentally prepared for fallen to two or three weeks. that and not deviate from your Since films are getting a huge goal. There’s a lot of uncertainty.

First, we have to understand and release, people are watching them within the first two weeks. analyse our strengths. There will I think it’s a good trend, but we be lots of hurdles, but you have shouldn’t forget that unless the to keep moving ahead. content is good, people won’t watch a film.The other change When you look back at has been the advent of digital your career, do you feel

A

Dookudu was a turning

point in your career.

How much has your life changed after that film became a blockbuster?

I have lots of hit films to my credit even before Dookudu was released, but life did change a lot after it released.It gave a major push to my career and took me to a whole new level. I always had the zeal to do big films, but I’m not extremely ambitious and till then, I had just made good use of the opportunities I got. I had inhibitions when it came to approaching big stars. Luckily, when I approached Mahesh Babu, he agreed to do that film. I know that comedy is my signature style, but I have to strike a balance between comedy and heroism and action. In that sense, Dookudu is a universal film. It has all the emotions and at the same time, it’s quite entertaining. Wherever I went, everyone kept praising the film. It'll always be a special film for me.

IN

You have been in the film industry for more than 20 years now. So, when you look back at your life, what are your accomplishments and your misses?

It’s been 14 years since I turned director and before that, I worked as an assistant director and did few other odd jobs on film sets for almost 10 years. My parents are from a village named Kandulapalem, near Ramachandrapuram in East Godavari district. When I was 17, I moved to Chennai all by myself to try my luck in films. I didn’t know anyone there, but I was determined to stick around. My first job was that of an apprentice in 1990 on the sets of Balakrishna starrer Prananiki Pranam, directed by Chalasani Rama Rao. I felt that was a big achievement.

After working for several years as an assistant director, I finally turned director in 1999 with Nee Kosam. We went through a lot of struggle to complete the film, but it finally fell into the hands of Ramoji Rao, who released the film. Nee Kosam won seven Nandi awards and I got more offers to direct films. What I used to miss the most was my family and my village, but I was happy that I became a director. I guess you lose something, if you want to gain something.

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at the

You have the freedom to do anything you want to and cast some of the biggest stars to make films with a budget of `30-40 crore.

Will you be able to make a film within a budget of `5 crore now or do you always dream big?

I don’t think my films have ever overshot the budget and if you hear rumours like that, please don’t believe them. I started my career as a small-time director and Nee Kosam, my first film, had a budget of `38 lakh. I know the value of money and I’m very careful about spending it. It’s the producer’s responsibility to keep the budget under control and not crib about the film after its release. There’s no guarantee that a film will turn out to be a visually great if you spend a lot.

You need brains for that. I can still make a film within a budget of `1 crore.

You have been in Hyderabad for several years now. What do you like about the City and if there’s one thing that you wish was different about it, what would that be?

I first came to Hyderabad in 1991 and back then, it seemed like a foreign location to me because of the weather. It was so beautiful back then and so misty.

I have been to a lot of cities, but I can feel the energy in the air when I’m here. Another thing that I like the most here is the vibe in Old City. I have even tried to incorporate that in some of my films like Dhee. One thing which has changed dramatically over the years is the traffic. It’s getting a lot worse now and also the climate has changed. It’s not as pleasant as it was a decade ago.

airport,

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News WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013 ARUNIMA RAJAN arunima.r@postnoon.com

A

s Bangalore’s growth expands to newer regions despite infrastructural constrains, will the new Congress government provide the necessary impetus for the city’s development?

With the new Congress government in Karnataka headed by Chief Minister Siddaramiah completing two months in office, its vision of developing Bangalore has come into focus. The government’s plan for Bangalore is closely being watched as it is set to announce the annual state budget on July 12. Some of the key concerns expressed by business and civil society groups are regarding the state’s plans to address the infrastructure and transportation woes of the city and its suburbs.

Given the strong mandate the voters have given the Congress, how does the new government intend to shape Bangalore’s future? It would be useful to look at the election manifesto of the Congress to decipher its priorities.

Congress’s manifesto has an 18-point ‘charter for governance’ for Bangalore which promises the construction of north-south and south-east long elevated flyovers, four botanical gardens, five auditoriums and five high-tech stadiums.

Interestingly, the manifesto promises that the government will enact a law exclusively for the Greater Bangalore Region (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara) which brings all basic service providers under a single agency. It further states that they will review the existing size of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) jurisdiction and organise it to administratively viable units. The manifesto also offers

a special package of development programmers to improve villages absorbed by the city corporation, BBMP.

INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE Bangalore is the growth engine of Karnataka, contributing more than half of the state’s GDP. Considering the city’s primacy, how much should the state government invest in the city’s infrastructure? And what are the benefits of such investment? A recent research study, titled ‘Sectoral and Spatial Spillover Effects of Infrastructure Investment: A Case Study of Bengaluru’, conducted by London-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), analysed how infrastructure investment may lead to considerable economic benefits. It found that investment in public infrastructure can stimulate investment in other sectors like commercial and residential building construction.

While infrastructure projects have also helped alleviate mobility constraints, the report finds that “the most noticeable effect of the infrastructure investment is seen on land value across the city”. It finds that developments in the property sector in Kanakapura Road, Magadi Road, Peenya, Bannerghatta Road and Mysore Road, have resulted from a spatial spillover effect of a number of physical infrastructure projects.

However, the increasing demand for both commercial and residential space due to strong growth in Bangalore IT and knowledge industry has outpaced supply and led to a significant demand-supply mismatch. The report also finds that the growth of the real estate sector is thwarted by infrastructure bottlenecks

caused by regulatory framework and government controls. Hence it argues that “unless such bottlenecks are mitigated or removed, the desired policy outcome may not be achieved.”

ECONOMIC GROWTH BEYOND THE CITY LIMITS With concentration of economic activity in Bangalore often leading to dire consequences, the need for expanding the growth in Bangalore to surrounding towns has been espoused by many experts. The Congress also seems to recognise this reality as its party manifesto proposes the creation of a Greater Bengaluru Region with infrastructure and administrative connections with surrounding cities like Kolar, Chikballapura, Doddaballapura, Ramnagara, Tumkur, Kanakapura.

What could further increase the economic growth of areas

around Bangalore is the proposed 1,000-km-long Bangalore-Mumbai industrial corridor. In its 12-point action plan presented to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) has backed the development of the industrial corridor as an alternative to the eight-lane road from Bidar to Chamarajanagar proposed in Congress’s manifesto. BCIC has urged for the development of various Sector-Specific Industrial Zones along the corridor.

Britain is keen on developing the corridor in partnership with India as was made clear

by British Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to India in February. On June 5, the British High Commissioner to India Sir James Bevan met Siddaramaiah and announced that India and the UK would jointly finance a feasibility

study on the proposed corridor. The industrial areas that would be covered in the corridor include parts of the districts of Tumkur, Chitradurga, Shimoga, Hubli, Haveri, Gadag, Dharwad, Belgaum and Bagalkot. A National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) has also been planned in Tumkur as a part of the project.

CONNECTING THE SUB-CITIES Transportation may well be the biggest opportunity for the new government to provide visible results of its vision for Bangalore. Congress’s manifesto promises to undertake a massive rapid transit system by developing a circular railway for Bangalore. The proposal for creating such a railway that joins Bangalore with its suburbs has been on the anvil for years, but has not received enough priority from

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Can Bangalore become a well-networked mega-city?

The increasing demand for both commercial and residential space due to strong growth in Bangalore IT and knowledge industry has outpaced supply and led to a significant demand-supply mismatch. the central and state governments. A circular railway to towns like Tumkur, Yelahanka, Devanahalli, Hoskote, Hosur, Anekal, Kengeri, Ramnagara, Doddballapur can spur economic growth. Such a rail system has the potential to simultaneously decongest Bangalore while also developing surrounding towns.

The Rail Indian Technical and Economic Services (RITES) had conducted a feasibility study of the proposed project and the final report submitted

The development of physical infrastructure and transportation facilities for the city and its surrounding has the potential to spur growth and increase economic activities. in November 2012 batted for the commuter rail. Compared to the Metro’s `250-crore-perkm and the Monorail’s `175crore-per-km rates, the commuter rail costs are as low as `15-20 crore per km. Even then, it covers a total of 405 km and can carry two million passengers per day as per the

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RITES report.

As it would be largely based on existing railway tracks, developing commuter railway will save time and money and its operations would be flexible. An effective integration of the existing rail network and the Metro with common rolling stock and ticketing is likely to transform the transport infrastructure of Bangalore.

As many studies have pointed out, the development of physical infrastructure and transportation facilities for the city and its surrounding areas has the potential to spur growth and increase economic activities. Will the Siddaramaiah government put the development of Bangalore as a priority and allocate sufficient funds for its development? Will it address the infrastructural and transportation difficulties faced by its citizens and fulfill the electoral promises? The announcements in the upcoming budget and the subsequent decisions taken by the state government will signal the approach the new government has towards the city’s development.

6.1

cr

is the population of Karnataka, according to Census 2011. This makes it the ninth most populous state in the country.

96.21

lakh

is the population of Bangalore district.

973:1,000 is the female-male gender ratio in Karnataka.

4,381 people per sq km

is the density of Bangalore, making it the most crowded place in Karnataka. The city accounts for 15.75 per cent of the state’s population.

2,07,379 km is the road network of Karnataka. This includes National Highways, State Highways and district roads.

3,172

km

is the rail network of the state.

12

News WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013 TELANGANA ISSUE

Seemandhra leaders up the ante AROUND THE

CITY

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: While hectic arrangements for high-T is being organised in New Delhi, the united Andhra votaries have stepped up its activities.

The Samaikya Andhra JAC has fixed July 12 as the deadline for all people’s representatives to quit their posts protesting against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Leaders of the JAC threatened to raid their houses if they fail to resign and intensify the agitation.

Meanwhile, the Visakha SA JAC sent sarees, flowers, bangles and other things which form ‘Saree’ generally given to women by parents and family members at the time of marriage, to the Rajya Sabha member T Subbarami Reddy and the Union Minister Purandeswari on Tuesday. They said they sent ‘Saree’ to them as they had not made a statement so far in favour of Samaikyandhra.

The United Andhra leaders say they would quit if the state is divided without taking their views into consideration.

However, the Congress leadership has told them not to go public at this juncture.

INSPIRATION

Goa looks to Germany for garbage woes AROUND THE

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PANAJI: A southwestern German town, known for its clinical fetish for cleanliness and garbage management, will be Goa’s inspiration as India’s bestknown beach tourism destination finally tries to sort out its everburgeoning garbage woes.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s visit to picturesque Kaiserslautern last week and inspection of the city’s efficient and comprehensive garbage handling systems have impressed him so much that he now plans to replicate it in Goa to solve “our long pending garbage woes”. IANS

NEPAL

Kathmandu’s hidden diners offer the real deal

The tapas-style array of buffalo brain, spine and testicles may not sound appetising, but for the indigenous Newars, this is their daily staple.

DEEPAK ADHIKARI Agence France-Presse KATHMANDU: Down a narrow, stone-paved alley a few minutes’ walk from Kathmandu’s bustling tourist hub of Durbar Square, Uttam Manandhar prepares a tapas-style array of buffalo brain, spine and testicles.

It might not look appetising to Westerners but dozens of indigenous Newars gather daily in his “bhatti” as part of a centuries-old social scene largely missed by the thousands of tourists who come to Nepal in search of culture.

Hidden in the capital’s myriad labyrinthine alleyways are hundreds of these traditional hole-in-the-wall eateries — “speakeasies” to the locals — serving potent home brew and various buffalo meat snacks.

“These are the daily staple of Newars. I think the locals come here because, apart from being cheap, they are also nutritious and delicious,” Manandhar said, multi-tasking between a boiling pot of spinal cord and some fried intestines.

Both sides of the alley are dotted with these grimy, smoky coves which can be identified by those in the know by the greasy green curtain covering their

Locals part with around `100 ($1.83) for a filling meal while a double shot of home-distilled raksi — so potent at more than 50 per cent alcohol that you soon forget how many you’ve had — costs little more than `40 .

Down a narrow, stone-paved alley a few minutes’ walk from Kathmandu’s bustling tourist hub of Durbar Square, Uttam Manandhar prepares a tapas-style array of buffalo brain, spine and testicles.

AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH MATHEMA

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doorways.

Inside, a dozen Newari dishes comprising beaten rice and every conceivable part of a buffalo, are spread out before the hungry locals, who wash down their spicy barbecued, or sometimes raw, meat with a rice-gin concoction called raksi.

Locals part with around 100 rupees ($1.83) for a filling meal

while a double shot of homedistilled raksi — so potent at more than 50 per cent alcohol that you soon forget how many you’ve had — costs little more than `40. The delicacies on offer include buffalo brain, a greyish dish of boiled blood called rakti, phokso (lungs stuffed with minced meat), kachila (raw meat), baked buffalo skin, boiled spinal cord and fried intestines.

But the tourists who throng the courtyards of the nearby

17th century temples and other attractions in search of the “genuine” Kathmandu experience hardly ever venture here, says Manandhar. “These places might be dark and not polished if you compare them with the fine dining places in Kathmandu. But once your palette knows about it, it will be hard for you not to be tempted by them,” he told AFP. A typical bhatti might serve 60 people on a good day, making around `4,000 after expenses are deducted, although staff costs are low, with the owner usually doubling as waiter, barman and chef.

MOB OF LETTERS

Japanese mafia starts magazine

TOKYO: Japan’s biggest yakuza organised crime group has published a magazine for its members that includes a poetry page and senior gangsters’ fishing diaries, reports said Wednesday.

The eight-page publication has been distributed among the Yamaguchi-gumi, a sprawling syndicate believed to have about 27,700 members, in a bid to strengthen unity in the group, the daily Sankei Shimbun reported.

The front page of the “Yamaguchi-gumi Shinpo” (newsletter) carries a first person piece by the group’s don, Kenichi Shinoda, instructing younger members in the values and disciplines they should observe, the Sankei said.

Shinoda writes that times

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have become hard for Japan’s mafia and that they can no longer rely on their “brand” to generate profitability in their operations, the Mainichi

Shimbun said.

The magazine, which is not being made publicly available, has an entertainment section detailing fishing trips by top officials, along with satirical haiku — a traditional Japanese form of poetry — and pieces on the board games Go and Shogi, the reports said.

“They may feel that it has become harder to carry on with their activities under anti-mafia ordinances that bar them from opening new bank accounts and signing real estate contracts,” a police source was quoted by the Mainichi as saying.

The number of yakuza has declined in recent years, standing at 63,200 in late 2012, down 7,100 on year, according to the National Police Agency.

The Yamaguchi-gumi

Shinoda writes that times have become hard for Japan’s mafia and that they can no longer rely on their “brand” to generate profitability. makes up more than 40 percent of the nation’s organised criminals, but it lost 3,300 members in 2012, the agency said. Like the Italian mafia or Chinese triads, the yakuza engages in activities from gambling, drugs and prostitution to loan sharking, protection rackets, white-collar crime and business conducted through front companies.

AFP

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

Business

TEXTILE EXHIBITION Aakruthi Vastra 2013, an exhibition of textiles by Crafts Council AP, was inaugurated by DK Aruna, minister for information and public relations at Kamma Sangham function hall, Ameerpet today. The exhibition, on till July 12, will showcase sarees, yardage and dresses by weavers and designers.

CAR SALES

Value over novelty

Car buyers are of two kinds — those who want a new car and those who prefer a used one. The sectors mirror each other, says Viren Choudhary.

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REAL ESTATE

CREDAI announces NATCON2013 POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

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PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

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set of customers that prefers value over newness is still choosing used cars. Neither increase in their purchasing power nor discounts by the new car retailers will shift them towards buying a new car.

This customer mindset drove many players to start retail operations in the used car segment. Apart from two-three major players in the City, every one of the existing 40 car dealerships in the City are also in used car market. Unorganised players may be anywhere between 150-350.

Talking about the market, Viren Choudary (in pic), director, Dr Car, the largest retailer in the used segment of the country,

Rough Estimates n New car sales every month in the City: Around 7,000 n Used car sales in the City: 5,000-5,500 n Used car sales in the State: 10,000 n Number of organised used car retailers: 43 n Unorganised car retailers: More than 150

said, “The competition has become huge in the market with too many players. Almost half of the used car transactions happen among friends and known people. The rest has to be shared among the organised and unorganised players of the segment.

“The used cars industry follows the growth rate of the new car market with a lag. After few years, those people who purchased new cars have to become sellers in the used car market.

Though the market is decent now, soon it will be impacted with the hit that new car sales have taken. The used car market growth is stagnating and may not see growth for another couple of years till the economy recovers from the slump.

“In this scenario, only the players who provide good customer service and value will be the winners.”

Explaining the relationship between the new car and used car segments, he said, “There is a thought in Western countries that the used car market is bigger than the new car market.

Unlike new car sales, the used car can be sold many times. For instance, if the car is sold thrice, the sale happens three times.

According to research in the West, the used car market is 1.11.2 :1 of the new car market. For instance, if there are 100 new car

sales, the used car sales will be anywhere between 110-120.

However, it is difficult to give exact figures in the City because of the unorganised nature of the sector.”

When asked about the difference between the new car and used car buyer, he said, “A used car buyer looks for value whereas the new car buyer looks for newness. A new car buyer doesn’t buy a used car.

For instance, if there is a rise in price of the new car, he will hold on to his existing car for few more years and then buy a new car. In the same way, the user car buyer doesn’t shift to new cars due to discounts offered. A new car buyer changes his car

roughly once in five years whereas used car buyers buy a new used car in the span of 2-3 years.”

“It is the value that drives buyers to the used car segment.

Every car has a life span of almost 10 years. Used car buyers have to spend more money on servicing. However, the value that he gets in the car price nullifies all these factors,” Viren adds.

Analysing the relationship between new car and used car segments, he said, “Used car market mirrors the new car market and vice versa. Whichever brand is stronger in new car market, the same will be stronger in the used car market.

If the brand has good value in used car market, the car sales of that specific brand will increase in new car market.

“Resale value is the most important factor while choosing a new car. Maintenance costs and brand value play a key role in the resale market.

Manufacturers try to control the used car market to maintain decent price value for their brand cars which will in turn impact their new car sales.

However, the market determines the value of the brand and manufacturers cannot have control over it due to its sheer size,” he said.

GOLD`26,300 10g SILVER `40,300 1kg

24C

for

for

DOLLAR `60.13 POUND `89.56

he 13th NATCON-2013 to be hosted by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), the apex body representing private real estate developers in the country, will be held at the Ritz Carlton, Moscow on July 27-28.

The keynote speakers and attendees include Dr Girija Vyas (minister, HUPA), Arun Mishra (secretary, HUPA), Anshuman Magazine (CBRE, chairman), David Cockerton (SinoGulf Real Estate Investments LLC) and many other experts from across the real estate spectrum.

NATCON-2013 will expect participation of over 800 delegates, including developers representing above 100 cities of India.

Widely recognized as the best real estate convention, NATCON-2013 will expect participation of over 800 delegates including developers representing above 100 cities of India. Based on the agenda of “Realty favours the brave — Surviving against all odds” the convention will aim to showcase and debate what the industry can do, in order to take on the challenges including access to capital.

Lalit Kumar Jain, chairman, CREDAI, says, “While we discuss current challenges like regulator, we will also see innovative funding, instruments and technology; the overall focus will be vision. Motivation by world renowned speakers will be of huge value and those who are big or aspire to be big cannot miss it.”

For details, visit http://credai.org/event/13th-natcon-2013

BSE NSE

19,430.75 8.89

5,861.55 2.55

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

Comment You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.

Aristotle Greek philosopher

Barry loves broccoli

M

ichelle Obama’s healthy eating campaign is clearly hitting close to home.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday sung the praises of broccoli, snubbing the cheeseburgers, hot dogs, pork chops and pumpkin pies he has munched to show common man credentials on the campaign trail.

The slim line Obama was asked by a guest at a “Kids State Dinner” event at the White House to name his favorite food, and nominated the pride of the cabbage family, which reputedly boasts more nutrients than any other vegetable.

The president with his wife close by, stayed faithful to the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign, which is designed to cut childhood obesity and tout the benefits of a healthy lifelong diet and exercise.

Obama also reopened a long bubbling Washington debate, about the benefits, or otherwise, of broccoli.

Former president George H.W. Bush hated broccoli so much that he reputedly banned it from Air Force One, wielding the power of the presidency in a blow to healthy vegetable fans everywhere.

“I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it,” Bush said in 1990.

“I’m President of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.”

Obama’s comments quickly sparked a political debate on Twitter. The president’s campaign guru David Plouffe predicted the president’s Republican foes would now come out swinging against the vegetable. “All (Republican) 2016ers will now have to pledge to never eat broccoli again,” he tweeted. AFP

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS

The Centre has been given one week by the Supreme Court to regulate the sale of acid, considering the increasing attacks on women. More than 500 acid attacks are reported every year in the country. While this is a step in the right direction, stricter laws to find and prosecute the attackers should also be passed.

EGYPT ERUPTS

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A ROCKY ROAD AHEAD FOR EGYPT A CLOSER LOOK Simon MARTELLI

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gypt’s interim charter hit a wave of opposition shortly after it was announced late on Monday, from liberals as well as supporters of Islamist former president Mohamed Morsi, illustrating the treacherous political landscape following his ouster.

The blueprint unveiled by army-appointed caretaker President Adly Mansour has been welcomed by some as a decisive step towards restoring civilian rule in Egypt, amid heightened tensions between the army and Islamists in an increasingly bloody transition.

The charter outlines the president’s powers, while laying out a timetable to revise the suspended constitution and hold fresh parliamentary and presidential elections, possibly by early next year.

But in a major blow to hopes that the non-Islamist parties might rally behind Monday’s transition plan the National Salvation Front (NSF), Egypt’s main opposition coalition, said it rejected the constitutional decree, while the liberal Free Egyptians Party called it “highly disappointing.”

Secular criticism has focused notably on article one in the charter that upholds a stricter definition of Islamic Sharia law as the main source of legislation, in what is widely seen as a concession to the Salafist al-Nur party.

The provision narrowing Islamic law to the principles of Sunni thought first appeared in the controversial constitution that Morsi forced through last year and which was suspended following last week’s coup.

Shaheeb Wageeh, spokesman for the Free Egyptians Party, said the Sharia clause was included to “appease a political party that has been trying to impose its vision on society,” referring to Al-Nur. Others raised concerns about the election timetable, seen as particularly ambitious given the ongoing protests and security problems, the extensive powers of the president and the unchecked privileges of the military, who intervened last week to depose Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

Gamal Eid, an Egyptian lawyer who works for a human rights NGO, said the text gave the army too much discretion over prosecuting soldiers and civilians in military tribunals, a concern echoed by Heba Morayef from Human Rights Watch.

“This decree has broadened

out the military justice system...

At present the military has absolute jurisdiction when it comes to trying its own people,” she told AFP. Army accountability has been thrown sharply into focus since Monday morning when at least 51 people, mostly Morsi loyalists, were killed outside the Cairo military headquarters, stoking the Islamists’ anger towards the army.

The Muslim Brotherhood claimed police and troops “massacred” their supporters as they performed dawn prayers, while the army said it came under attack by “terrorists.”

After the incident, the Brotherhood rejected the interim charter outright, with senior official Essam al-Erian saying “a

constitutional decree by a man appointed by putschists... brings the country back to square one.”

Meanwhile anti-Morsi factions refusing to endorse the transition plan have complained in particular about not being consulted before it was announced, highlighting the problem of consensus for the Egypt’s new leadership.

They include the NSF coalition and the grassroots Tamarod campaign which organised the massive protests that led to the Islamist president’s downfall.

Tamarod spokesman Mahmud Badr said his movement would make proposals for changes to the blueprint, which they would present to Mansour later on Tuesdsay.

EDITORIALS The Bartoli lesson

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ell, Marion Bartoli does not mind the flurry of nonsense about her looks. Despite being Wimbledon champion that is what some people are harping on about… that she was never a ‘looker’: that’s what the BBC correspondent covering the match said. And John Inverdale has the gall to say that he was mocking her in a nice sort of way — he calls it his hamfisted sort of way. Too long have we been fussing over superfluous matters like looks upon the urging on by the supercilious among us. In a game like tennis, how do looks ever matter? You win, good; you win again, better; you keep on winning consistently and rise to the pantheons of the greats, best. It may come as a shocker

READERS’ VIEWS

to many who was rooting for Sharapova and Serena — who knows it may be that the rooters where rooting for them for reasons but their game. There were scores of tweets of severely unkind remarks about how she looked, or her unconventional style of playing, her height. Some went on to the extent of professing their admiration for her sexy, lithe opponent and hoping to God that she loses the match. No one wondered what an amazing story hers is, always on the fringes, and her out of the blue victory, what a story it is to billions of people like her, what an inspiration is she… But the tweets make one think: have we evolved at all?

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, JULY 10, 2013

Cinema

BIOPIC ON DARA SINGH ON THE CARDS If the latest Bollywood buzz is to be believed, a biopic on Dara Singh is on the cards. With Farhan Akhtar-starrer Bhaag Milkha Bhaag releasing this Friday and Mary Kom’s biopic starring Priyanka Chopra in the making, biopic fever seems to be catching up on the Hindi film industry.

THE HORROR ELEMENT

SCREEN POOPERS HELLBOY

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HEMANTH KUMAR Hemanth.k@postnoon.com

ased on the a series created

by Mike Mignola for Dark Horse Comics, Hellboy turned out be a stellar adaptation of the superhero, who defies all odds to protect the world. Ron Perlman played the titular role, apart from Selma Blair and Doug Jones. Hellboy is a demon, but he’s fostered by a special team at Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense and several years later, the FBI seeks his help to fight against Rasputin Ogdru Jahad. It’s a creepy story which turned out to be quite cool.

Guillermo del Toro, the director of films like Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth, has a fetish for dark places, monsters and unborn things.

Here’s a list of his films which you ought to see, before his latest film Pacific Rim blasts into screens on July 12.

The monstrous side of Del Toro THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE hat happens when the inno-

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PANuillermo ’S LABYRINTH del Toro’s

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Pan’s Labyrinth is a dark fantasy film, set in post civil war Spain in 1944, about an young girl Ofelia, who believes in fairy tales, she must complete three tasks assigned to her by a mysterious faun. Highly imaginative and filled with mysticism, Pan’s Labyrinth turned out to be one of del Toro’s most successful films and it won three Academy and three BAFTA Awards. It’s also one of the finest films ever made in Mexico.

cence of a child takes a backseat in the middle of nowhere during an ongoing civil war? And if that wasn’t devastating enough, Guillermo del Toro added another layer of horror element in the film. Now, we have a troubled child who cannot understand why he keeps having nightmares. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews upon its release in 2001 and it was rated among the top horror films of 2000s.

BLADE II aking over a successful fran-

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chise is never an easy task, but del Toro did just that back in 2002 when he was offered to direct Blade II. The film follows the life of Blade, a vampire hunter, who must find his mentor Whistler. Soon we are told that Blade must join hands with the vampire leader, Damaskinos to fight against Reapers, a mutated super-race of vampires who are out to destroy everyone.

What a relief!

It seems, we won’t be seeing Katrina Kaif in movies this year.

Her two action adventures, scheduled to have a December release – Dhoom 3 and Bang Bang – have been delayed. Apart from her four or five fans, including Salman Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, all of us have breathed a sigh of relief after listening to this news. A year without Chikni Chameli and Sheilas is a rarity, in a good way.

The age factor

CRONOS

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fter directing couple of short films in the 80s, del Toro’s first feature film revolves around an ancient device named Cronos, which holds the key to eternal youth. However, everyone who’s injected with a mysterious solution from Cronos also turns into a vampire which wrecks havoc on their life. The film starring Federico Luppi and Ron Perlman released in 1993 and it has plenty of gore and horror which became del Toro’s signature style.

Just when we thought SRK has matured because he is playing a 40-year-old in his upcoming flick Chennai Express, news that he will be romancing a new girl in Farah Khan’s Happy New Year has started making headlines. Not that it’s a problem for him to paired with somebody much younger, but the fact that we’ll see Shah Rukh Khan, far beyond his prime, playing a 20-something again causes one to cringe. What a pity!

TRENDING...

Madhuri Dixit’ performance at the IIFA received a standing ovation. The 46year-old dancing diva grooved to songs like Dola Re Dola Re, Mera Piya Ghar Aya and her latest item number Ghaghra from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Prabhu Deva, Sridevi, Deepika Padukone and Sushant Singh Rajput also performed.

Actor friend Matt Damon is sympathetic towards his friend, Brad Pitt, who is always followed by paparazzi and, thus, cannot enjoy his personal life.

Damon has managed to raise his children away from the spotlight unlike Pitt and his fiancee Angelina Jolie.

Damon is happy he doesn’t lead a similar life.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

spotlight

MIDWEEK MANIA

Dance to the beats of DJ Shafi at Firangi Paani tonight. The pub is hosting Fusion Night.

DRESSED TO THE NINES

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Luxury unlimited

Sevenseas Furniture Gallery was inaugurated by G Prasad Kumar, Minister for Handlooms & Textiles, on Tuesday.

Luncheon time Ladies assembled in their colourful best at Taj Banjara for a lunch party hosted by Masoom and Irfat. Spotted were Anju, Namita and others.

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Sparkle effect 9

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Rado unveiled its exquisite collection of watch pieces at Rado store, Jubilee Hills.

1 Ameena

4 Nabya

7 Anju

10 Anees

2 Zara

5 Masoom, Irfat

8 Namita

11 Sidra

3 Tehzeeb

6 Fatima

9 Naheed

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

health

IRREGULAR BEDTIME IN CHILDHOOD STUNTS BRAIN POWER

Irregular bedtimes during early childhood could disrupt children's brain power later in life, according to a study published in the online journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Researchers analysed whether different bed times in early childhood were related to brain power in more than 11,000 7-year-olds.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR STOMACH-PART III

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We all have had stomach troubles at some point in life and some of them may even turn fatal. Keeping one’s stomach as healthy as possible can minimise your chances of developing a stomach condition. Digestive problems and stomach upsets can be prevented, relieved and even banished by simple lifestyle changes.

REDUCE YOUR STRESS LEVELS You may have noticed a feeling of unease in your stomach during times of stress. That’s because anxiety and worry can upset the delicate balance of digestion. In some people it slows down digestion, causing bloating, pain and constipation, while in others it speeds it up causing diarrhoea and frequent trips to the loo. Some people lose their appetite completely.

Stress can also worsen digestive conditions like peptic ulcers (on the inside lining of the stomach or small intestine) and irritable bowel syndrome.

One solution is to avoid eating when you're feeling very anxious, stressed or unhappy.

CUT DOWN ON ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION Moderate drinking won’t hurt your digestive system, but binge drinking increases acid production in your stomach and can cause heartburn and aggravate other digestive dis-

orders. Binge drinking is defined as drinking eight or more units of alcohol in one session for men, and drinking more than six units in one session for women.

MODIFY YOUR DIET TO EATING HEALTHY Eat a diet that emphasises fruits and vegetables and min-

imises your consumption of smoked, salted and pickled foods. This can help reduce your risk of developing stomach cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. We spend most part of our working lives eating on the move or at our desks, gulping down food between meetings and then crashing out in front of the TV with a takeaway in the evenings. But eating this way can play havoc with our digestive system. Have proper meals and do not overeat.

STOP SMOKING

Smoking can weaken the muscle that controls the lower end of the oesophagus (gullet) and allow acid from the stomach to travel in the wrong direction back up the oesophagus, a process known as reflux. Reflux causes the symptoms of heartburn (a burning sensation in the chest) and can bring on or aggravate peptic ulcers and inflammatory conditions of the bowel.

Smoking is also an important risk factor for stomach cancer.

SHED THE EXCESS BAGGAGE Exercise, ideally regular walking, is a must to relieve constipation as it helps in regulating the body systems, especially digestion and bowel movement. Walk 20-30 minutes every day; drink 12-16 glasses of water every day, eat regular balanced meals high on fibre

and low on fat and salt.

VISIT YOUR DOC REGULARLY Follow the doctor’s advice, do not skip your medication and in case of any discomfort or unease in the stomach, especially if it is continuing over a period of time, do not ignore it.

Go and get it checked.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

Technology NASA’S NEXT MARS ROVER WILL ADVANCE HUNT FOR PAST LIFE KERRY SHERIDAN feedback@postnoon.com WASHINGTON: The next robotic rover to explore Mars in 2020 should scour the surface of the red planet more closely than ever for signs of past life, a NASA science team said Tuesday.

The US space agency’s science definition team (SDT) released a 154-page document containing its proposals for the next Mars rover, after five months of work.

The mission would use microscopic analysis for the first time, collect the first rock samples for possible return to Earth and test ways to use natural resources on site for a future human trip, it said.

The Mars 2020 mission would build on the work being done by NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has been exploring the red planet since August 2012 and has already found evidence of potentially habitable environments.

John Grunsfeld, NASA’s associate administrator for science, said the 2020 Mars rover would get the US space agency to the next step in the “quest to answer the grand questions,” before a planned human mission in the 2030s.

“Do we see any evidence of

past life in those habitable environments?” he said.

The next step is for NASA to analyze the recommendations and issue a call for scientific instruments, which could include higher resolution imaging devices, microscopes, fine scale minerology, chemistry and organic carbon detection tools.

“To combine this suite of instruments would be incredibly powerful,” said Jack

The European Space Agency will follow in 2018 with its ExoMars rover.

Mustard, SDT chair and professor of geological sciences at Brown University.

The rover would collect about 31 samples that might someday be returned to Earth, representing “a legacy for understanding the development of habitability on the planet,” he told reporters.

The US space agency has not yet devised the technology to bring the cache back to Earth without disturbing its contents, and no plans have been set for any potential sample-return.

The next NASA mission to Mars is a November launch of MAVEN, an orbiter that will

study how Mars interacted with the solar wind and lost its atmosphere.

The European Space Agency will follow in 2018 with its ExoMars rover.

“The Mars 2020 mission will provide a unique capability to address the major questions of habitability and life in the solar system,” said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA headquarters, describing the plans as “a major step toward seeking signs of life.”

The rover would explore an ancient site on Mars, which has yet to be decided, and any samples it collects may help reveal hazards posed by Martian dust to potential human explorers.

However, samples would have to “be retrieved, potentially quarantined, and preserved in such a way that potential hazards are identified and mitigated,” NASA said.

Research toward that goal is complicated but worthwhile since robotic analysis cannot “match the depth and sensitivity of analysis that can be done on samples in Earth laboratories,” NASA said.

NASA also said the rover could demonstrate how to collect carbon dioxide, which could be used as a resource for making oxygen and rocket fuel

The truth is out there

for astronauts who land on the surface.

If NASA accepts the SDT’s recommendations, the 2020 mission would “examine wether past environmental conditions were favorable to have supported microbial life, and also... for preserving clues about life, if any existed,” NASA said.

“Beyond that, it would check at a microscopic level for potential visual, mineralogical and chemical signs of past life.”

The design would be based on the Curiosity rover, a $2.5 billion dollar project that launched toward Mars in 2011, and would use the same elaborate rocket powered sky crane for landing.

Re-using the past plans, along with some spare parts left over from the building of Curiosity, would help keep mission costs and risk “as low as possible,” the space agency said. Advances in technology may lead to an even more precise landing system than last August’s entry, landing and descent process that was coined “Seven Minutes of Terror” by NASA. AFP

The Nasa released a 154-page document containing its proposals for the next Mars rover.

20 SLOW AND STEADY Apple is designing a new iPhone camera feature called “Mogul” mode. A mogul is defined as “a powerful person in a media industry,” making the word a perfect codename (or even a marketing name) for a new iPhone camera feature. The discovery, comes by way of hidden references inside of the latest iOS 7 betas.

According to our analysis and testing of the code, “Mogul” is a feature in development that allows the iPhone to capture video at an exceptionally fast and precise rate. Specifically, our testing indicates that the feature can allow the iPhone to record video at a rate of 120 frames-per-second (FPS).

THE END Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc have ended their lawsuit over who has the right to use the “app store” name, clearing the way for both companies to use it. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, on Tuesday ordered that the case be dismissed at the companies’ request, averting a trial that had been scheduled for August 19.

This came after Apple issued to Amazon a covenant not to sue over the online retailer’s use of the term, eliminating the need for it to pursue a counterclaim seeking permission.

Upgrades!

Amazon will launch three new Kindles this year, two 7-inch tablets and an 8.9-inch model.

Not only will they be redesigned with a more “chiselled” look than their overwhelmingly plastic predecessors, but each will benefit from higher-resolution LCD panels and faster processors. The cheaper 7-inch Kindle Fire will be upgraded to a 1280×800 resolution display; the Kindle Fire HD will be bumped to 1920×1020; and the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 will break the Retina barrier and go well past it with a rumoured 2560×1600 resolution display.

The 9.7-inch Retina iPad, by comparison, has a 2048×1536 pixel resolution.

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

Entertainment CINE BYTES

Mumtaz shakes a leg with Pawan Kalyan

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umtaz is all set to shake a leg alongside Pawan Kalyan, Samantha, Pranitha Subhash and Hamsanandini in Trivikram Srinivas’ upcoming film Atharintiki Dharedhi. The song is being shot at the Annapurna Seven Acres studios. Incidentally, Mumtaz had played an important role opposite Pawan Kalyan in Khushi back in 2001.

Romance gears up for release

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rince, Dimple and Manasa starrer Romance is gearing up for release in the third week of July. Swamy, who had written dialogues for Darling and Rebel, is making his debut as a director. Makers of Ee Rojullo SKN and Srinivasa Rao have produced the film.

Bhai’s final schedule to begin soon

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agarjuna’s upcoming film Bhai is fast nearing completion. The film’s final schedule is expected to begin later this week in Hyderabad and some crucial scenes are going to be shot on Nagarjuna and Sonu Sood.

Richa Gangopadhyay is playing the lead role opposite Nagarjuna.

BRAVO!

ON AN ADVENTUROUS TRAIL HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com

I

f coincidences can be quantified, then the number of times we have met Taapsee when she’s on a high and in a mood for a conversation would be close to 100 per cent.

That’s saying a lot considering how much she travels and works throughout the year. And it gets even better when our conversation delves deep into the transformation she had to undergo for her upcoming film Sahasam.

Directed by Chandrasekhar Yeleti, the film, starring Gopichand and Taapsee, is an action adventure which takes the two lead actors on an exciting journey across the border. The film’s trailer gives a sneak peek into her characterisation and it certainly looks like her most deglamorous role yet. Taapsee quips,”I don’t understand this definition of being glamorous or deglamorous. Yes, I don’t sport any western wear in the film and I play a very simple girl, who believes that the world will end soon because of our sins. I hope at least after this film releases, people stop talking about my looks.

It’s my most challenging role so far and required a lot of homework since I just couldn’t relate to the character. I’m nowhere close to her in real life.”

Sahasam is her first film with Chandrasekhar Yeleti, who had directed films like Aithe, Anukokunda Oka Roju and Okkadunnadu in the past. Ask her what it’s like working with a filmmaker who has a reputation for being quite an introvert, she recalls, “I have seen people who knew Chandrasekhar Yeleti, but when they finally met him they didn’t recognise if he is same person. He usually keeps to himself and prefers talking only about work. He even managed to control me (laughs). What really impressed me the most was that he expects his actors to read

the script thoroughly and think about how we can improvise a scene, before going for the shoot. Not many filmmakers do that in South. I had to work a lot on my dialogues because there’s a lot of innocence in the role I play. An important lesson I learnt while working on the film was to trust the director completely.

Yeleti sir didn’t want me to look at the monitor after completing a shot and many times, I had no clue what was going on. I’ll always be grateful to him for teaching me how to deliver dialogues naturally,” she laughs.

And what about Gopichand? “Sahasam is a film which will bring out the best in an action hero like him. I keep teasing him that I’m the only heroine he has seen in the past three years,” she quips.

(Read the full interview at www.postnoon.com)

Taapsee has pinned high hopes on her upcoming film Sahasam, which is one of the most challenging films in her career so far.

She tells us more about the film and how her learning curve shot through the roof, thanks to Chandrasekhar Yeleti.

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

SWEET MEMORIES

CINE BYTES

TV is easiest, quickest way to reach audience: Imran Khan

Popular singer and entrepreneu r Chinmayi tells Postnoon about singing for a Shah Rukh Khan’s film and her reaction after reading his tweet about her song.

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ctor Imran Khan took to the TV show Punar Vivah to promote his upcoming film Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara!. He believes television is the easiest way to reach the audience. "The TV audience in this country is so huge that whatever it is you want to promote, a film or a product, you have to reach out to the TV audience.”

IANS

Prakash Jha adds item number in Satyagraha SHRADDHA BORAWAKE

IN A STATE OF ECSTASY HEMANTH KUMAR Hemanth.k@postnoon.com

“I

would have fainted, if I hadn’t cried for nearly 20 minutes,” Chinmayi reveals when we prod her to recall her first reaction after seeing Shah Rukh Khan’s tweet. She further adds that couldn’t believe that a superstar of his stature was gracious enough to praise her for a song named Titli that she had sung in his upcoming film Chennai Express.

Juxtapose the song’s title to Chinmayi’s reaction and it all begins to make sense why she had butterflies in her stomach after SRK tweeted, “@Chinmayi u sound lovely in the song....extremely sweet...just like love. thanx a lot.(sic)” Soon, Deepika Padukone joined the chorus saying, “@iamsrk #titli my most fav from the album..I wouldn't start my day without listening to it atleast once!Used to be Shah's fav too until...(sic).”

Surely, that must have come like

a bolt of lightning. Isn’t it? “It was quite overwhelming because I’m fairly new to Bollywood, although I had sung few songs in the past. To get an approval from such top stars, that too for someone who’s from Chennai, is really a big deal for me and a huge step forward.

One ought to be extremely gracious and humble to go all the way and praise someone,” Chinmayi says.

Incidentally, when Chinmayi sang the song, she had no idea that it was for Chennai Express.

“Shekhar sir was in Chennai last November to record the song and he asked me if I would sing the song, along with Gopi Sunder. He knew that I had sung Tere Bina, a song from Guru long ago, and it was the first time I was meeting him. I wasn’t overtly curious about where this song is going to be featured.

Many times, your voice might be recorded and it might not even make it to the final album, but I got really excited when I

came to know that it was an SRK’s film,” she confesses. After having worked with the likes of AR Rahman, Harris Jayaraj, Ghibran and Selvaganesh, how different was the experience of working with a top music composer like Shekhar, who works along with Vishal? “Initially, I expected it to be quite different, but after interacting with

Incidentally, when Chinmayi sang the song, she had no idea that it was for Chennai Express.

Shekhar sir, I completely forgot about my nervousness. There was a comfort level and since we were recording in Chennai, it was a major ice-breaker for me because I’m quite familiar with how things go on here. It was a pleasure working with Shekhar sir and I have found a mentor in him.”

Last month, Marie Claire magazine named her as one of the top 25 influential women of 2013. Ask her if that honour caught her off-guard, she says, “When I was interviewed, I had no idea that it was for a cover story and when I finally read it, I couldn’t believe it. Everyone who was named in the list was miles ahead of me. I don’t know if I deserve all this, but I believe that God has been very generous to me. A lot of women have told me that I was an inspiration to them, particularly when I took a stand against online bullying last year. Everyday, I feel a responsibility to be the right sort of influence on people who look up to me. I know that I can’t please everyone, but I have always followed my heart.” So where does all this lead to? “I want to be remembered as a good a singer. That’ll always be my top priority. Beyond that, I’ll leave to the universe to unravel its mysteries. Life has quite a few surprises already,” she signs off.

F

ilmmaker Prakash Jha hasn't missed adding one sizzling item number in his forthcoming drama Satyagraha. He has roped in model-actor Natasa Stankovic to groove to a thumri-electronic fusion number called Aiyo ji hamri atariya mein for the movie.

IANS

Akshay Kumar takes Shiv Pandit under his wings

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ctor Shiv Pandit managed to impress many with his performance in Shaitan, but the impact that he left on actor-producer Akshay Kumar is turning out to be a fruitful one. He is said to have offered a three-film deal to the young actor. Shiv, who was popular for his role as Hanuman Prasad, a corrupt cop in comedy TV show F.I.R., before he took to the big screen, will be seen sharing screen space with Akshay in action film Boss.

IANS

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

ANOTHER ONE DOWN?

CINE BYTES

George Clooney and Stacy Keibler Dev Patel in talks to join Chappie

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A

fter two years together, George Clooney and Stacy Keibler have reportedly gone their separate ways. The longtime couple have been spotted working on their own projects in the recent months, with their busy schedules keeping them in separate parts of the world. The 52-year-old actor has been filming The Monuments Men in Berlin as of late, alongside pal Matt Damon. Keibler came to visit her beau on the set back in March but the two haven't been seen together since.

Rumors began swirling that the two had broken up after the 33-year-old beauty was seen hanging out sans Clooney on the Fourth of July at the DeLeon Tequila party in Malibu.

lumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel is in early talks to join Sharlto Copley in Mrc's Chappie, the next sci-ďŹ movie from District 9 and Elysium director Neill Blomkamp, an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap. Blomkamp wrote the script with Terri Tatchell. Simon Kinberg is producing the character-driven movie.

Kristen Stewart films for Camp X-Ray

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he 23-year-old actress was spotted at a Los Angeles studio recently, where she was reportedly headed to meet about her next ďŹ lm, the Guantanamo Bay-set drama Camp X-Ray. Stewart is set to play an American soldier who gets stationed at the infamous prison camp as a guard and ends up befriending an inmate who has been there for three years.

Wiz Khalifa weds Amber Rose!

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iz Khalifa is a married man!

The 25-year-old rapper wed girlfriend Amber Rose on July 8 according to a message posted to his Twitter page. "Me and Amber got married today. Weddings this fall. Thought I'd let y'all know," he wrote, to retweets of more than 10,000. According to TMZ, Khalifa and Rose were seen applying for a marriage license at a Los Angeles courthouse on July 2nd.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

William Shakespeare

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 Picasso or Casals 6 Long-range weapon, briefly 10 “That’s all right, ___” (Elvis refrain) 14 Fancy hairnet 15 Mitchell mansion 16 “Don’t leave home without it” card 17 Command to one on fire 20 St. ___ of Avila 21 “___ victory!”

22 Agatha Christie, ___ Miller 23 Featherbrain 25 Plods 27 Brazil’s ___ Paulo 30 Pen parts 32 Practice grp.?

33 Alero or Aurora, briefly 35 Barflies 37 Like yoga instructors 41 Avoid being a witness?

44 Like horror movie film scores 45 Fizz flavoring 46 Lock banned at Harvard?

47 Clerical abbreviation 49 “___ go bragh!”

51 Grass over 52 Certain idolater 56 Tuning device 58 Student inside ivied walls 59 Memorable time periods 61 Advance 65 Teacher’s instruction 68 Kingly sport 69 State with a non-rectangular flag 70 Chinese, say 71 Part of assembly instructions 72 Lymph ___ (immune system part) 73 This and that

DOWN

1 Confidential call 2 Deserve a hand?

3 Crude person 4 Ran relaxedly 5 Having likely-to-win chances 6 Famed TV judge 7 Crime syndicate head 8 Arctic goose 9 Often-repeated utterance 10 Spoil the perfection of 11 Mixed in with 12 Chaotic brawl 13 Connections for big wheels 18 Pungent root 19 Two-base hit 24 Bassoons’ little brothers 26 Type of farm 27 High-class flounder 28 Sunblock additive 29 Telltale sign 31 Made off with a neckpiece?

34 Part of a Girl Scout’s uniform 36 Baby deliverer of legend 38 “‘___ the night before Christmas ...”

39 Angel costume accessory 40 Checked out 42 Flirtatious laugh 43 Something to fall back on?

48 Mt. ___ (Washington’s home) 50 Kind of milk 52 Pitches in 53 “Middlemarch” author George 54 Theater passageway 55 Chip variety 57 Grooming implement 60 Verbalized 62 Melange 63 Melodramatic lament 64 Unit of force 66 “On ___ of Old Smoky” 67 Lobster coral

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 11-7-2013

27

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Happy events are likely to take place at home. Do not run away from your responsibilities.

Hurdles of long will end.

Employees need to put in hard work on a continuous basis to get recognition. Inflow of money will increase.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Before purchase of house or land, be careful to study the parent documents. Separated couples might get together.

Mother’s health needs to be taken care of. Some might have a chance to get afflicted by skin ailment; take care.

Dues that were almost written off will get collected to your surprise. Employees gain as their hard work is recognised.

Be careful in food habits.

Businessmen need to adopt new and innovative schemes to attract more customers.

Businessmen need to focus well in achieving their goals. Those trying for a job will get favorable news. Marriage talks will be successful. Employees will be recognised. Comforts are likely to increase. A court verdict will go in your favour.

As a deficit financial situation is likely, avoid financial commitment. Debt issues will be handled well and kept under control.

Employees working in the private sector might struggle. Avoid arguments and taking controversial stand at workplace.

Dull period experienced by businessmen will be over.

Politicians and social workers will get support from the public for their constructive work.

Those who were jealous of your growth will realise their mistake and support you here on.

Govt sops are likely for entrepreneurs. All new and innovative efforts will achieve success. Artists will get name and fame. Financial position will be very comfortable and hence you will be able to fulfil wishes of yours and that of the family.

Employees will prove their ability by discharging extra responsibilities entrusted to them.

Those planning to start their own business can go ahead as the time is favourable. Those deprived of a child for long will get favourable news.

Artists will bag new and promising opportunities. Employees will be entrusted with new responsibilities. Minor misunderstanding within the family likely; will resolve soon. Stude- nts need to focus on studies.

Growth is likely for businessmen.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Ace of Pentacles – The universe will come to your aid to get you just exactly what you need at this point in time. You have the blessings of nature’s forces.

LEO:

Three of Swords – You may be asked to travel on work.

You will enjoy the travel time and will get some time for reading, music, etc.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Seven of Cups – Be alert to the needs of close family members. They may not openly tell you what they need. It’s up to you to figure it out.

SAGITTARIUS:

Five of Cups – You tend to rave about a person and how helpful he/she is. Do not go overboard as you are likely to see the truth for yourself.

TAURUS:

The Hanged Man – Your world is currently ruled by what is happening in the office, and this is not the best thing for you now. Take your mind off work.

CANCER:

Ace of Cups – You may come under the influence of someone with not your best interests at heart. Be careful who you trust. Be grateful to people who help.

VIRGO:

Eight of Pentacles – Mix your day with fun and seriousness. Being too serious the whole time can take a toll on your mental health in the long run. Laugh a lot.

SCORPIO:

Justice – Managers must create a team that is both helpful and creative. Ensure your team members get along, or you’ll be left only solving ego hassles.

CAPRICORN:

Death – Drink a lot of water and look out for your health. Do not take too many risks. Those who smoke or consume alcohol must cut down.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Five of Swords – If you like someone in a romantic way, make sure you send out the right signals, or there may be confusion later on.

NUMBER GAME

Swords – You get access to important people and technology that makes you do your job better. This is a time for learning and growth.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Four of

POOCH CAFE

A court verdict is likely to go in your favour. Benefit through spouse or women likely. Those without a job will be favoured with one soon. Transfer with promotion on the cards for employees. Students will continue to study well.

for 11-7-2013

Page of Cups – There is no shortcut route to get to where you want to be. Pick up new skills, learn, grow and kill that ego, if you want to continue to grow.

NON SEQUITUR

Businessmen might undertake a journey for business expansion. Transfer with promotion on the cards for employees.

Purchase of new immovable property likely. Delays in selling old assets will be over and deal will go through successfully.

SUDUKO

Some are likely to get transferred. Businessmen need to take advice from experienced persons. Minor tensions are likely; keep your cool and proceed with determination. Some have a bright chance to buy a new house or land.

Boggle ITALY SPAIN GREECE FRANCE GERMANY Vol: 2, No 355 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, JULY 10, 2013

MIXED APOLOGY

CINE BYTES

JIM CARREY Tweets 'Love' for assault rifle owners

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eeks after pulling his support from Kick-Ass 2 over the film's violence, the actor takes to social media to issue a strange apology.Jim Carrey is apologising to owners of assault rifles weeks after he publicly condemned his upcoming film, Kick-Ass 2, for being too violent.The actor posted a series of tweets on Sunday night addressing his harsh criticism of gun owners, writing: "Asslt rifle fans,I do not agree wth u,nor do I fear u but I do love u and I'm sorry tht in my outrage I called you names.That was wrong.""Btw I don't need a crisis mgr, just a conscience. Calling ppl names is inappropriate but my position on assault weapons hasn't changed," he wrote, hours later adding: "Only love is cool."

Is singer Niall Horan single again?

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inger Niall Horan has reportedly ended his relationship with model Zoe Whelan due to lack of communication.The duo were in an on-and-off relationship from sometime, but they went out of touch post Niall's elder brother's wedding bash in March. It was also the last time they were seen together. IANS

John Travolta loved playing woman

A

ctor-singer John Travolta says he felt comfortable playing a woman in big screen musical Hairspray, and that he didn't even have to practice walking like a girl for the role.The 59year-old has always been inspired by "erotic" screen sirens and this inspired him to take the role of a voluptuous comedy character Edna Turnblad in the 2007 film.

IANS

Ford's film upsets gay rights activists

A

ctor Harrison Ford's latest movie Ender's Game hasn’t gone down well with gay rights activists, who have been urging people to boycott the film due to controversial views of the author behind the story. The movie, which also stars Ben Kingsley and Abigail Breslin, is based on Orson Scott Card's 1985 book of the same name. The film has been criticised by activists over Card’s opinion on gay marriage, reports contactmusic.com.

sports

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

TOUR DE FRANCE

Kittel wins stage 10

Germany's Marcel Kittel of Argos dominated a dramatic group sprint to win the 10th stage as Britain's Mark Cavendish escaped sanctions for his role in a late crash.

Germany's Marcel Kittel reacts as he crosses the finish line at the end of the 197 km tenth stage of the 100th edition of the Tour de France cycling race on Tuesday between SaintGildas-des-Bois and Saint-Malo, northwestern France.

AFP/JEFF PACHOUD

JUSTIN DAVIS Agence France-Presse SAINT-MALO: Germany's Marcel Kittel of Argos dominated a dramatic group sprint to win the 10th stage of the Tour de France as Britain's Mark Cavendish escaped sanctions for his role in a late crash.

Yellow jersey holder Chris

Froome of Team Sky finished the 197km between Saint Gildas des Bois and Saint Malo just behind the sprinters to retain his lead of 1min 25sec on Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Movistar.

On a day the peloton were hit with crosswinds as they successfully reeled in a five-man breakaway, Froome was only too happy to avoid being caught

LOCAL SPORTS A-1 three days Group A Day 2 Deccan Chronicle 454 in 118.1 overs (B Sandeep 148, Praneeth 41, Ravinder Reddy 46, Himalaya Agarwal 3/56, Syed Maazuddin 3/73) vs Ensconse 102/1 in 34 overs (Azmath Khan 53 n.o., Himalaya Agarwal 34) Day 1 Falakhnuma 215 all out in 87.2 overs (Saket Sai Ram 82, Babu 38, P Indershekar Reddy 4/57, Aniket Redkar 5/84) vs R Dayanand 7 for no loss in 2 overs

Group B Day 1 Hyderabad Bottling 205 all out in 71.3 overs (Vinay Goud 42, Prithvi Reddy 73, Surender Singh Patwal 6/59, Akash 3/67) vs AOC 45 for no loss 17 overs (RK Pandey 35 n.o.)

EMCC 153/5 in 48.2 overs (Sharath Mudiraj 54, Vikram Surya Teja 36) Benjamin Thomas 41, Shiv Shankar 3/42) vs BDL India Cements 135 in 50.5 Overs (Sangram Reddy 81 n.o., Vishal Sharma 5/43) vs SBH 137/2 in 38 overs (Anirudh Singh 51, M Srinivas 42)

Tennis tourney from Saturday HYDERABAD: The Aster Minds AP State Ranking Tennis Tournament for U-10, U12 and U-14 Ffor both boys and girls will be conducted from July 13

at the Pallavi School, in Secunderabad. Entries for paticipation will be accepted on July 11 from 3.30pm to 6pm. For further details, contact AR Rao 9246368494.

up in the crash which saw Dutchman Tom Veelers hit the ground after Cavendish barged into him.

"That's always everyone's worst nightmare, getting caught in a pile-up," said Sky team leader Froome. "Fortunately I was to the side of that crash and went around it no problems."

Kittel, the winner of stage

one when he also took the leader's yellow jersey, pipped compatriot Andre Greipel (Lotto) to become the first sprinter on this year's 100th edition to win two stages.

But the German admitted the crash had taken the shine off his second stage victory.

"I'm really happy to have won but the victory is tempered a bit by the crash. I hope Tom isn't too injured," said Kittel.

Veelers, who sustained no serious injuries but admitted he was "bruised and scratched", said: "I think it's clear to see on the video that he (Cavendish) is riding me into the ground."

But asked if Cavendish should be disqualified, the Dutchman replied: "I'll leave that up to the jury. I'm not the one who decides."

Veelers had slowed down after finishing off leading out Kittel and the Dutchman found himself crashing to the ground at speed after the Manxman barged in from the right.

Remarkably, race jury president Vicente Tortajada Villaroya cleared Cavendish of any wrongdoing. "Veelers had done his job for Kittel, he was tired and he was looking down. If we have to blame anyone, it is Veelers," said the Spanish official.

France still waiting for stage success SAINT-MALO: Tuesday's 10th stage of the Tour de France passed a part of the country with a rich history for producing great riders, but the day in Brittany served mainly to remind French fans that they are no longer a dominant force in the sport. The stage route from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to the Channel port of Saint-Malo went through Saint-Meen-leGrand, the birthplace of Louison Bobet, a French cycling great who won the Tour three years in a row during the 1950s, before passing by Calorguen, the home of Bernard Hinault.

Hinault won the Tour five times but his 1985 triumph remains the last by a home rider.

French riders have won at least one stage on the Tour in every year since the turn of this century and it is surely unthinkable that the 100th edition of the sport's greatest race could end without at least one home stage win. But, with the halfway point almost there, there is no sign of one yet, as Tuesday saw two home hopes in a five-man breakaway that was eventually swallowed up by the peloton before Marcel Kittel of Germany won in a sprint finish.

AFP

IN OTHER SPORTS

Argentina clinch cup

BEIJING, July 10, 2013 (AFP) Argentina won basketball's Stankovic Cup tournament in Guangzhou on Tuesday, beating China 61-44 in the final with the hosts scoring their second-lowest total ever.

Pablo Espinoza led the scoring for Argentina -- who won all three of their games in the group stage - with 14 points, while Selem Safar contributed another 11.

China's star player Yi Jianlian overcame injury to contribute half his team's points in the final.

Yi, a former NBA player and China's Olympic flag-bearer in London last year, was the only team member to reach double digits.

The tournament in the southern Chinese city was China's first under new Greek coach Panagiotis Giannakis.

"We're still building our team, so mistakes are inevitable," he said after an earlier 66-58 loss to Argentina in a round-robin match on Sunday, the official Xinhua news agency reported at the time.

China are warming up to defend their FIBA Asia Championship title next month in Manila, where three spots will be available for next year's FIBA World Cup.

Chinese juniors win 10 medals

BISHKEK (KYRGYZSTAN): The Chinese junior weightlifting team impressed one and all as they comfortably won 10 medals at the Asian Championship which concluded here on Tuesday.

During the championship which had started on last Friday, China accumulated four gold, four silver and two bronze medals, reports

Xinhua.

The Chinese girls, with an impressive performance, won a total of three gold and two silver medals, finishing second in their team event, next only to India.

Their men compatriots went on to win one gold medal, two silver medals and two bronze medals for an eighth place finish in the team

event, which was won by Kyrgyzstan.

The championship featured 14 teams. These teams included the host nation Kyrgyzstan.

A few of the other participating countries were South Korea, China, Japan, Tajikistan, India and other Asian countries or regions.

IANS

sports

30

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

SCOTTISH OPEN

So near yet so far

12 months after injuring his finger en route to victory in the Scottish Open, Jeev Milka Singh’s finger is not fully healed, leaving him in a situation of despair.

FATIHA BETSCHER Agence France-Presse CASTLE STUART: Twelve months after injuring his finger en route to victory in the Scottish Open, Jeev Milka Singh’s (right) troublesome finger has still not fully mended.

Singh injured the index finger of his right hand playing a shot during the second round on the Gil Hanse-designed Castle Stuart course to the east of Inverness in northern Scotland.

Shortly after his play-off success over Italy’s Francesco Molinari the injury forced Singh to sit out seven weeks of competition.

The injury flared again during November’s Singapore Open, and an event Singh captured in 2008, forcing the Chandigarh golfer out of the second round at Sentosa.

And while the 41-year-old has undergone continual treatment on his finger, the injury has seen Singh having also to withdraw from May’s flagship PGA Championship and pull out of a US Open qualifier four days later.

The injury has also taken a toll on Singh’s world ranking, the Indian having slipped to 154th in the world after being placed 87th following his

Scottish Open win while he’s 104th on the Race to Dubai money list after ending 32nd at the close of last season.

“It’s been extremely frustrating as my finger is still not so good, honestly,” he said.

“I’ve also been struggling with my driving and my injury too. I can trace the injury back to the Scottish Open last year, second round, my club got stuck in the ground. I then had about six to seven weeks off.

“But then after having to pull

out of the BMW PGA this year I got an injection on both sides of the finger. The doctors injected dextrose in it, to tighten up the ligament which will protect the bone because every time I hit the ground it hurts.”

Singh added: “I’ve also spoken to a doctor in Leeds, one of the best hand specialists in the world, and he said sometimes one shot doesn’t work, that you may have to have another.

“I’ll see how it goes this week here in Scotland, then if I feel I

need another injection, maybe I’ll get injected again after the Scottish because I’m not going to play much after that.”

Singh, who had been the first Indian golfer to qualify for the European Tour, went into the final round of last year’s Scottish Open five strokes behind and lying in joint 16th position.

He had been enjoying a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of tea in the Castle Stuart clubhouse when he then found himself in a play-off with Francesco Molinari, and defeating the then reigning Spanish Open champion with a birdie at the first extra play-off hole.

“I was having a nice cup of tea and some chocolate cake and watching it on TV, and suddenly started getting excited,” he recalled. “I think God was kind to me, as the field came back and I was able to be in a play-off. So I am now going to follow the same route again this year staying at the Kingsmill Hotel, eating at the same Indian restaurant.”

Capturing the Scottish Open saw Singh qualify for the following week’s British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes and should he again be successful, Singh will qualify for a third British Open in his career.

WC QUALIFIERS Ireland qualify after dramatic tie

AMSTELVEEN: Ireland on Tuesday qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after a dramatic last-gasp tie with the Netherlands.

The Netherlands’ number-nine batsman Michael Rippon hit a four and a six from the final two deliveries off John Mooney to snatch a point for his side.

But Ireland’s point was good enough to see them top the ICC World Cup League Championship and advance, for the third successive time, to ICC’s flagship event that will be staged in Australia and New Zealand in 2015.

After Tuesday’s result, Ireland topped the table on 20 points, with nine wins from 12 matches.

There is still one place up for grabs from this tournament with four sides - Scotland, Netherlands, Afghanistan, and UAE — all still capable of claiming second position.

While the top two sides from the ICC World Cricket League Championship will go forward to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the six sides that do not qualify here will have a second chance to qualify through the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier New Zealand 2014, alongside Hong Kong, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Uganda.

TRI-NATION SERIES SCORE BOARD India Innings Rohit Sharma not out 48 Dhawan c M Jayawardene b Mathews 15 Virat Kohli lbw b R Herath 31 Dinesh Karthik b R Herath 12 Suresh Raina not out 4 Extras : (b -1, w -3, nb - 2, lb - 3) 9 Total: (for 3 wickets in 29 overs) 119 Bowling: Shaminda Eranga 6-0-27-0, Dilhara Lokuhettige 8-0-40-0, Angelo Mathews 5-1-5-1, Lasith Malinga 3-1-70, Rangana Herath 6-0-32-2, Jeevan Mendis 1-0-4-0 Sri Lanka innings Upul Tharanga c S Raina b B Kumar 6 Mahela Jayawardene c M Vijay b B Kumar 11 Kumar Sangakkara lbw b B Kumar 0 D Chandimal st D Karthik b R Jadeja 26 Lahiru Thirimanne c V Kohli b B Kumar 0 Angelo Mathews c D Karthik b R Jadeja 10 Jeevan Mendis b R Ashwin 13 D Lokuhettige c D Karthik b I Sharma 6 Rangana Herath c M Vijay b I Sharma 4 Shaminda Eranga not out 2 Lasith Malinga c R Jadeja b U Yadav 7 Extras: (b -0, w -5, nb - 0, lb - 6) 11 Total: (for 10 wickets in 24.4 overs): 96 Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 6-1-8-4, Umesh Yadav 4.4-0-28-1, Ishant Sharma 4-0-17-2, Ravindra Jadeja 5-0-17-2, Ravichandran Ashwin 5-0-20-1

Result: India won by 81 runs (D/L)

India, SL through to final PORT OF SPAIN: India overcame Sri Lanka and the almost continuous threat of inclement weather on Tuesday at Queen’s Park Oval to advance to the final of the Tri-Nation Series two days later against the same opponents.

In yet another match in Trinidad severely affected by rain, the World Cup and Champions Trophy holders battled to 119 for three off 29 overs before a torrential downpour just before midday seemed set to force the match into a reserve day.

However the conditions improved significantly in late afternoon, and with the Sri Lankans set a revised target of 178 off 26 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis system, Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced an outstanding spell of seaming bowling, taking four for eight off his allotted six overs and ensuring that Sri Lanka were routed for 96

India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar (R) celebrates with Suresh Raina (L) and Virat Kohli after dismissing Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene during the sixth match of the Tri-Nation series on Tuesday.

AFP/JEWEL SAMAD

in reply. India’s 81-run margin of victory was also sizeable enough to ensure that while they finished level on nine points with both Sri Lanka and the West Indies, their

net run-rate was superior to the Caribbean side’s, so knocking Dwayne Bravo’s team out of the competition and giving the hosts an unwanted two extra days to

prepare for the five-match OneDay International Series with Pakistan, beginning on Sunday in Guyana.

Kumar exploited the helpful conditions masterfully, extracting pace and bounce off a greenish pitch and moving the ball both ways.

“I feel proud to put in a performance like this for my country, especially in a match of such importance,” he said, reflecting on his match-winning effort, the best by an Indian in One-Day Internationals at Queen’s Park Oval. “I really enjoyed bowling here, just as it was in England, so I just tried to bowl in good areas consistently.”

He accounted for Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara off successive deliveries in his second over, although Sangakkara could consider himself unfortunate to be adjudged LBW.

URN

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

IT ASHES 2013

31

Captains try to contain build up Rival captains, Australia’s Michael Clarke and England’s Alastair Cook, both tried to keep the Ashes in perspective on the eve of the latest edition of cricket’s oldest Test rivalry.

JULIAN GUYER Agence France-Presse NOTTINGHAM: Rival captains Michael Clarke and Alastair Cook both tried to keep the Ashes in perspective on the eve of the latest edition of cricket’s oldest Test rivalry.

Ashes series tend to define the careers of England and Australian cricketers — for example, Mike Gatting won just two Tests as England captain but those were good enough to secure an Ashes series win in Australia in 1986/87 — something England did not manage again until 24 years later.

This year, unusually, sees back to back Ashes series with a five-match contest in England starting at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground on Wednesday followed by a return campaign in Australia that gets underway in November.

Australia skipper Clarke, a world-class batsman who briefly took over from Ricky Ponting when his predecessor was injured during the 2010/11 Ashes won 3-1 by England in

TEAMS: England: Alastair Cook (capt), Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior (wkt), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Graham Onions, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn

England captain Alistair Cook (L) and Australian captain Michael Clarke pose with the ashes during a photocall at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday on the eve of the first Ashes Test.

AFP/ANDREW YATES

Australia, said he did not want his captaincy to be judged on Ashes success.

“I would hate for people to all of a sudden think I’m a good captain because we win this series,” Clarke told reporters at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

Clarke stunned

by Compton axe NOTTINGHAM: Australia captain Michael Clarke said Tuesday he was taken aback by England’s decision to drop Nick Compton (in pic) for the first Ashes Test at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge.

Compton, grandson of England great Denis, opened in nine consecutive Tests and struck back-to-back hundreds on England’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year. But he was dropped from England’s squad, and so won’t feature in the first Test against Australia starting Thursday, after struggling in the return home series against New Zealand where he managed just 39 runs in four innings. Instead England have promoted Joe Root to partner captain Alastair Cook in what will be the Yorkshireman’s first Test as an opener. Clarke saw Compton at close quarters in both of Australia’s warm-up matches, the batsman making fifties for Somerset and as a ‘guest’ for Worcestershire. AFP

“To me five matches can’t be an indication as to whether you’re good or not good, in my opinion. I know especially back in Australia, this is the pinnacle of an Australian cricketer, to play Test cricket in England, be part of an Ashes series and I’m sure

Australia: Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Phil Hughes, David Warner, Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, Brad Hadin (wkt), Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, Usman Khawaja, James Faulkner, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade there will be judgements made on our performances, and as captain of the team you should be accountable.

“That’s part of your responsibility but I would hate for anybody to think I’m a better captain than I am just because we win

this series.”

England captain Cook, man of the series for his 766 runs during the 2010/11 Ashes, knows better than most how success against Australia can help cement the reputation of an England cricketer.

But the opening batsman, also speaking at Trent Bridge, urged his side not to blow the prospect of playing in the Ashes “out of all proportion.”

“Everyone is just desperately excited to be here after such a big build-up,” he said.

“We have finally arrived, pretty much, at game day. There are a few nerves floating around too, so that’s probably the two favourite words: nerves and excitement.

“We do have to remind ourselves how lucky we are to be playing the Ashes series at a fantastic venue with great support.

“You have to try and take yourself out of the moment and enjoy it. That’s why we play sport in the first place. We’ve got to try not to blow it out of all proportion, using huge words like ‘massive series’.”

No qualms with Root opening: Cook NOTTINGHAM: England captain Alastair Cook said Tuesday he had no qualms about having Joe Root open alongside him in the cauldron of an Ashes Test.

All of Root’s six previous Tests have been as a middle-order batsman, with the 22-year-old’s average 42.40 — not bad for a fledgling international.

But Root opens for Yorkshire and England have decided to promote him to the top of the order alongside Cook for the opening match of their Ashes defence against Australia at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground starting Wednesday, after dropping Nick Compton from their squad.

Compton, grandson of England great Denis, opened in nine consecutive Tests and struck back-to-back hundreds on England’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year.

But the Somerset batsman was dropped after struggling in the return home series against New Zealand where he managed just 39 runs in four innings. Cook, who struck a century on Test debut against India in Nagpur, was confident Root could handle the transition, telling reporters at Trent Bridge on Tuesday: “It’s quite similar to what happened to myself really when I moved

England's Joe Root performs stretching exercises during a practice session at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday.

AFP/ANDREW YATES

up from number three, although I had opened a couple of times in India.

“He (Root) is kind of thrown in there but he has handled himself in every situation fantastically well since he made his England debut.

“What has impressed everyone is he has always batted the situation fantastically well, whether it has been a one-

day game where you need to score quickly or see the side home, he has managed to change his style for Twenty20 and Test matches as well. I can see no reason why he can’t handle himself. He is a fantastic young player.

“Yes he has got a huge amount of improvement to do but I think he will be absolutely fine.”

AFP

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013

sports

MARADONA RENEWS SPORTS ENVOY CONTRACT

Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona got his contract, as honorary sports ambassador, extended for a second year by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC). He called Dubai his "second home" and will continue to promote Dubai globally.

CLUB TRANSFERS

32

Chelsea sign Schwarzer LONDON: Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has joined English Premier League giants Chelsea on a one-year contract.

The 40-year-old former Fulham and Middlesbrough player signed on a free transfer after leaving Fulham at the end of last season after five years.

“It’s a phenomenal club. It’s one of the biggest and best clubs in the world, and it’s an honour to sign for Chelsea. I didn’t take much convincing to come here,” Schwarzer told chelseafc.com.

Schwarzer moved to England in 1996 to join Bradford before making 367 league appearances in 11 years with Middlesbrough. He won the League Cup with ‘Boro in 2003 and appeared in the 2006 UEFA Cup final against Sevilla.

During his time at Fulham he became the first overseas player to make more than 500 Premier League appearances and reached

Dos Santos joins Villareal

MADRID: Mexican international Giovani Dos Santos has joined newly-promoted Spanish side Villareal from Mallorca, the club announced on Tuesday.

An attacking midfielder, Dos Santos, 24, who was a member of Mexico’s Olympic gold medalwinning side in London last year, has signed a four-year contract.

Born in Monterrey, Dos Santos came through the junior ranks at Barcelona before joining English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 for a reported six million euros.

He played just six league games before he was farmed out on loan to second-tier Ipswich Town and was later loaned out to Galatasaray in Turkey and Racing Santander.

After apparently falling out with Tottenham and threatening to leave on a free transfer at the end of his contract, he joined Mallorca in August 2012.

His move follows Villareal’s signing of Red Star Belgrade’s Serbian under-21 international defender Aleksandar Pantic on a season-long loan.

Mexican international Giovani Dos Santos has joined newly-promoted Spanish side Villareal from Mallorca.

Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has joined English Premier League giants Chelsea on a one-year contract. another European cup final as the Cottagers lost out to Atletico Madrid in 2010.

Schwarzer’s contract with Jose Mourinho’s Blues runs until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the veteran keeper will hope to add to his 108 caps given Australia’s qualification for the tournament.

The signing appears to have solved Chelsea’s goalkeeping dilemma.

The Europa League winners were on the lookout for a support keeper to Petr Cech following the release of Ross Turnbull and Hilario

at the end of the season and Premier League rivals Norwich this week confirmed rejecting two formal offers for England stopper John Ruddy.

Schwarzer revealed returning Blues boss Mourinho had helped persuade him to join “one of the best clubs in the country” after speaking to the Portuguese about his future options.

He told Sky Sports News: “I’ve spoken to the manager at Chelsea and it was very easy to make the decision that Chelsea was the right club for me.

“The size and ambition of the club and the opportunities at the club ticked all the boxes. It was an amazing opportunity to join a fantastic club.

“It’s one of the best clubs in the country, if not one of the best clubs in the world, so it was very easy to make the decision after speaking to the manager.”

AFP

COSAFA CUP

Lavatsa brace takes Kenya on top

DAVID LEGGE Agence France-Presse

JOHANNESBURG: An Edwin Lavatsa brace gave Kenya a 2-0 win over Swaziland Tuesday and top place in Group B of the Cosafa Cup. Lesotho netted in stoppage time to draw 3-3 with Botswana in a thrilling second half of a double-header in the Zambian town of Kitwe.

Jerome Ramatlhakwane scored a hat-trick for Botswana at the Arthur Davies Stadium, but Thabelo Tale levelled on 93 minutes Kenya, many of whose stars were playing a third game in as many days, top the table with four points going into the final round on Thursday.

Lesotho and Botswana have two points each and are also in contention for first place and a quarter-final date with former winners Angola.

Swaziland cannot finish first, but could decide who

does as they face Lesotho in Lusaka while Kenya and Botswana match-up in Kitwe.

After domestic league fixtures two days ago, Kenya came from two goals behind to hold Lesotho 2-2 Monday.

Fears that three matches in three days would take its toll proved unfounded as they were far too strong for the limited Swazis.

Lavatsa struck after just five minutes on a warm, clear mid-winter afternoon in the heart of the Zambian copper-mining region.

Racing on to a through pass, he stabbed the ball past onrushing goalkeeper Nhlanhla Gwebu, star of a 0-0 weekend

draw with Botswana.

A Lavatsa volley into the corner of the net nine minutes after half-time confirmed the Harambee Stars’ supremacy.

Democratic Republic of Congo-based Ramatlhakwane struck after five and 51 minutes to give the Zebras a two-goal advantage. But a Lesotho side continually booed by local spectators drew level through a Ralekoti Mokhahlane penalty and a Nkau Lerotholi header. The unsporting crowd behaviour stemmed from Lesotho snatching a draw against Zambia in Maseru last March and denting their World Cup hopes.

Rattled Botswana regained the lead 11 minutes from time when Ramatlhakwane completed the first hat-trick of this tournament. AFP