Epaper 14 august 2013 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013 HYDERABAD

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WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY; 27°C

This strike brings joy to them... ...But gloom to the taxpayers. The situation at the Secretariat on the first day of an indefinite agitation called by Seemandhra employees was like this: They marked their attendance, went and protested, and returned home, while the Telangana employees are working double their quota to ensure that government work does not suffer. PG 5

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

The recently refurbished INS Sindhurakshak exploded and sank early Wednesday at a dock in Mumbai, leaving rescuers scrambling to find 18 sailors who were on board. The diesel-electric had been returned by Russia less than a year ago after a major refit and was totally submerged after the accident, navy sources said.

18 SAILORS FEARED DEAD AS BLAST SINKS SINDHURAKSHAK REPORT ON P9

PG 16&17

IS SHE A MODEL OR A WORLD-CLASS ATHLETE? FIND OUT WHY SOME OF THE BEST-LOOKING PEOPLE ON THE PLANET ARE IN MOSCOW THIS WEEK.

PG 12

A BEE’S STING COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE

More than 27,000 people have undergone the painful technique. Each session can involve dozens of punctures at Wang Menglin’s clinic in Beijing, says the bee acupuncturist who makes his living from believers.

PG 6

GOING TO SCHOOL COULD BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR CHILD More than 50 per cent of the City schools do not follow proper fire precautions, says a senior official in the education department. Many schools do not provide clean water either. Unclean toilets are another woe students are called upon to bear.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

city events

FLAVOURS TO SAVOUR

Unique flavours of Pondicherry. Where: Dakshin, ITC Kakatiya, Begumpet When: August 30 Contact: 789301 3000

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

24°C

21°C

25°C

28°C

Cloudy with showers likely.

Cloudy with thunderstorms

Cloudy with thunderstorms.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 34 Max 32 Min 29 Min 27 Scattered thunderstorms

Chennai Max 35 Min 28

Clear with chances of rain.

Cloudy

Bangalore Max 28 Min 20

Cloudy with chances of thunderstorms.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES INDEPENDENCE DAY

DINING Dining experience Chef Olaf Niemeier is holding a week long fine dining experience with Art you can Eat. Where: Fusion9, Banjara Hills When: Till August 15 Tea flavours Try the tea flavours of Budlabeta, Hapjan and Khobong Sessa. A portion of the proceeds will be contributed to WWF India's one-horned Rhino Conservation project in

Gala dinner Taj Falaknuma Palace is celebrating Independence Day by hosting an exclusive Gala Dinner with a historical walk of the palace, marching band from the Indian Army and an exclusive screening of a never seen footage on Mahatma Gandhi. Where: Taj Falaknuma Palace When: August 14 Contact: 040-6629 8585

PUTTING THE FINAL TOUCHES: With Independence Day to be celebrated on Thursday, preparations are on in full swing. School children practice their dance number the day before of the event. Jubilee Hills When: Till August 22, 11 am to 7 pm Contact: +91-40-23113709; 40207171

Art show A solo show by Devangana Kumar, Pageants of the Raj will be held. Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills When: Till August 25, 11 am to 7 pm Contact: +91.40.66564466

An age of innocence An exhibition by Jaya Javeri depicting playfulness, fantasy, nature and childhood memories will be held. Where: Ginger Lily, Radisson Blu Plaza When: Aug 3 onwards, 11.30 am onwards Contact: 6733 1133

EXHIBITION

Play pursuits Play Gagana Damama Bajyo - The Legend of Bhagat Singh by Manch Theatre will be staged. Where: RNR Auditorium, MLA Colony, Banjara Hills When: 15 August, 7pm

Art attack Works of artists like Anand Panchal,

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

Photo exhibition Jal Anand: Shahi Snan, Maha Kumbha Mela 2013 by Jean Pierre Muller, Cord Meier-Klodt & Lalit Verma. Where: State Gallery of Art,Kavuri Hills, Madhapur. When: Till August 14 Contact: Goethe Zentrum on Facebook

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

Nagesh Goud, Laxman Aelay and others will be exhibited. Where: Aalankritha Art Gallery,

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

Works of art Exhibition and sale of sketches by talented painter Suraj. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: August 15 to 18, 10 am to 10 pm Contact: 9642731329

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

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

SHOWS Iranian movie Iranian movie, Beloved Sky will be screened as part of Iranian Film Festival. Where: Prasad Lab Preview Theatre, Banjara Hills When: August 16, 6 pm Contact: 93910-20243 Documentary screening Documentary The Human Factor will be screened. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: August 17, 7 pm Contact: 9642731329

Airport Director 27903785, 27906001 For Air India Flight Information Toll free (from any network) for IC Flights 18001801407 And for All Flights: 1800227722 Air India has revised its flight timings. For more information call (Toll free) 18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from other lines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in TOURISM OFFICES AP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54 Sec-bad 27893100 Dept of Tourism 23453110 India Tourism 23261360 AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999 UK VISA OFFICE VFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A, Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7

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

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

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

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

news

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

IS IT RIGHT TO EXEMPT POLITICAL PARTIES FROM RTI? 25% 75%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

WILL SEEMANDHRA EMPLOYEES’ STRIKE AFFECT GOVERNANCE? A)

YES

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

POLITICS

Snatchers have a field day in City All the police talk of nabbing chain-snatchers remains a statement for public consumption, not the reality.

Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

omen wearing even the traditional mangalsutra are in danger of attack by bike-borne snatchers, who of late have been including a woman pillion rider for convenience sake. On Monday, four women were robbed of their gold chains in two hours’ time in the City. In all, the criminals that included a pillion-riding woman have got away with 20 tolas of gold. According to preliminary information, two gangs had been on the job. In the first incident, Amrutha,

36, was on a morning walk in Bhoiguda Kaman in Habeebnagar when two persons, their faces covered with handkerchieves, managed to flee with her gold chain. She raised an alarm but not many bothered, police were told. In the second incident, reported from Srinivasnagar colony in Mettuguda of Secunderabad, senior citizen Prameela, 65, too was on her walk with her husband when two men whizzed past them, snatching a 10-tola chain off her. Her husband, Arjun, 70, ran after them and caught the shirt of the pillion rider, who managed to shake him off and sped away. At Cavalry Barracks in

Bollaram, Varalaxmi, 34, was on a morning walk as usual when two persons, one a woman, sped past, snatching a three-tola gold chain off her. The fourth snatching was reported from the Mettuguda crossroads in Secunderabad, where BSNL employee Kalpana, 52, was going to her office along with her daughter on a twowheeler when a couple rode along. The pillion-riding woman diverted the daughter’s attention saying something has fallen and while the girl was looking around, the criminals snatched her gold chain and sped away. Complaints have been registered with the respective police stations.

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

SNOOZE BUTTON

LAST YEAR... HERE What a price!

ast year we had reported how political protests are not all they seemed. If you wondered where all the supporters came from, here’s the enticement — money, food, and in some cases, liquor. Shout a few slogans, wave a couple of banners, and you’re set. So the next time you want to organise a political rally, don’t worry about ideals, just about biryani.

AUGUST 14, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

50%

of the schools in the City do not follow proper fire precautions, said a senior official in the education department. Clean potable water and clean toilets are also not provided.

After the announcement of IBL, more children and youngsters have started attending coaching. Sindhu’s bronze medal win couldn’t have been timed better. Venu Gopal, badminton coach See page 7

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

Know your Israel-Palestine conﬂict. As Israel and Palestine meet once more to negotiate peace in the volatile region, we give you a look at the key players, issues and hurdles of the conference.

Chain-snatchers continue to target citizens. Though the police claims to have cracked down on chain-snatching gangs, several still target citizens. On Monday, four women lost their valuables to snatchers.

NZ sleep-driver goes for a spin After five hours on the road, the woman was found slumped over the wheel of her car, with no recollection of her sleepy sojourn. WELLINGTON: A New Zealand woman drove for hundreds of kilometres while asleep at the wheel, sending texts from her mobile phone along the way, police said Wednesday. Police said they received an emergency call just after midnight Wednesday from a friend concerned the woman had gone out in her car after taking sleeping medication.

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Told that the woman had been sleep-driving 10 months previously and had a fondness for the beach, police ordered patrol cars to keep a lookout for her silver hatchback and began tracking her via her mobile.

They said data showed the phone was on and she was sending texts as she drove from her Hamilton home to the beachside town of Mount Maunganui via Auckland, a distance of almost 300 kilometres (190 miles). After five hours on the road, she was finally found slumped over the wheel of her car in the driveway of a house she used to

live in, with no recollection of her sleepy sojourn. “We have sought an urgent order forbidding her to drive and to seek medical advice on her suitability to remain holding her driver's licence,” senior sergeant Dave Litton said. “While her being found safe and well is a relief for everyone involved, the potential for tragedy was huge.” AFP

CIVIC

GHMC misses the point

Last month, 23 lives were lost in building collapses in the City. GHMC promptly took action — by pulling down small houses that posed no threat but sparing the big fish. ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Last month, the City witnessed 23 deaths in two separate incidents with the collapse of two dilapidated structures. Yet this does not seem to move the GHMC officials. After the tragic City Light Hotel incident which claimed the lives of 17, the GHMC went on a demolition spree and issued big statistics of the number of structures that were demolished. However, it failed to identify the dilapidated structure in Moulali, resulting in the death of six people on July 24. Though the GHMC claims to have demolished 370 dilapidated structures out of the 654 that have been identified, the City still has hundreds of buildings that pose a threat to the lives of citizens which still have not entered GHMC’s records. Of the 370 dilapidated structures that were demolished, 90 per cent of them were tiled roof houses that were vacant and could not possibly pose a threat

trapati Road and Mahatma Gandhi Road in Secunderabad, which have more than 200 dilapidated buildings. Yet the GHMC has identified less than 100 such structures in these areas. Strangely, both these areas have a high number of business establishments. Yet, for the GHMC, these areas are not on their priority list. (One classic example is the 70-year-old Mahalakshmi Mansion on MG Road which Postnoon already AROUND THE

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to anyone. However, the buildings that could pose severe threat have been spared. Going by physical appearances and judging the fitness of the building is how the GHMC identifies structures. However, even that way of judging and identifying dilapidated structures has come to a halt now. A week after the tragic incident in Moulali, the GHMC officials

have shown their negligence once again and have stopped identifying buildings. Several decrepit buildings that are just a stone’s throw away from City Light Hotel have not been identified. Despite complaints from the residents surrounding those buildings, GHMC officials have not taken any action. Take, for instance, Rash-

reported about.) Another prime example of a building that is right under the GHMC’s nose is the South Zone headquarters. The building in Shalibanda is over 80 years old and hundreds of people move on that road. Yet the GHMC has failed to identify this structure. When contacted, the GHMC officials concerned denied negligence and said that though not at a rapid pace, the demolition work is still continuing.

Striking and working at the Secretariat. As the Seemandhra employees’ strike begins, the region’s workers are taking it easy. Telangana employees, meanwhile, plan to do twice the work.

‘Seemandhra protest unconstitutional’

Chief minister missing, complain TRS leaders

Junior doctors’ strike continues

No President’s rule in AP, says Botsa

Labour disputes and union violence stalk South Africa. In the year since SA’s Marikana bloodbath, death has not strayed far from the platinum mining belt

Here’s the new health buzz from China. Patients in China are swarming to clinics to be given bee stings to treat life-threatening illness.

CITY BRIEFS -JAC chairman Prof Kodandaram has alleged that the Seemandhra employees strike was in violation of the Constitution. He said that the JAC will serve a notice to the government chief secretary asking it to speed up the process of creation of separate T state. JAC will organise rallies on August 16 to press for early announcement of Telangana.

RS leaders lodged a complaint with the SHO of the One Town Police Station that CM Kiran Kumar Reddy was missing. They complained that the CM has disappeared the day the Telangana announcement was made. TRS district leaders Sujit, Kartik, Kiran and Santosh alleged he was participating in the agitation.

edical services in government hospitals across the State continued to be affected as the junior doctors’ strike entered the 15th day today. Authorities said alternative arrangements were made to tackle the situation. In the State capital, more than 70 senior doctors were roped in from different departments in Osmania and Gandhi hospitals.

PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana ruled out the possibility of imposing President’s Rule in AP He said Seemandhra ministers and MLAs have communicated their sentiments to CM Kiran Kumar Reddy. Besides, party president Sonia Gandhi has constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of AK Anthony.

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013 KEEPING TABS

S-EMPLOYEES’ STRIKE

This strike brings them joy! While S-workers are clocking in at Secretariat and heading out to protest, T-workers are putting in extra time to keep the government wheels turning. FILE PHOTO

INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

CIA admits to spying on Chomsky WASHINGTON: The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has admitted to having amassed data on MIT linguistics professor and government critic Noam Chomsky during the 1970s, Foreign Policy magazine’s The Cable blog said Tuesday. For years, the CIA responded to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests about Chomsky by claiming it had no records relevant to the query, The Cable noted. Attorney Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors, decided to direct an FOIA request to the FBI, AROUND THE

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which produced a memo from the CIA asking the bureau for any information on a planned trip to North Vietnam by antiwar activists. Dated June 8, 1970, the CIA document said the journey to Hanoi had the “endorsement of Noam Chomsky”. An expert on information gathering consulted by The Cable said the memo confirms the CIA kept a file on Chomsky and that the agency likely destroyed the dossier, possibly breaking the law in the process. Chomsky, the 84-year-old father of modern linguistics, was voted the “world’s top public intellectual” in a 2005 poll. IANS

their colleagues. Speaking to Postnoon, the Secretariat wing president of Telangana NonGazetted Officers’ Association (TNGOA) B Shravan Kumar Reddy said that the Telangana employees are working from 10.30am to 7pm, as against the usual 5 pm. “As per the decision taken by our JAC, we have decided to put in two hours’ extra work to ensure smooth functioning of various departments. Our efforts have filled the gap of required manpower. We will continue to work in the similar manner till August 19 before chalking out our own action plan,” he added.

HYDERABAD: Work at the Secretariat suffered partial paralysis yesterday on the first day of the indefinite strike by the AP Non-Gazetted Employees’ Association (APNGOA). However, thanks to the efforts of the Telangana employees, many important files found their way, authorities say. The drill the striking employees followed is like this. AROUND THE

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They come on time, sign the attendance registers, go out and give throaty slogans for the benefit of the cameras and enjoy tea and snacks. Later, after another bout of stir, they go home. This way, say officials, they wanted the best of both worlds — agitate and claim salary. Seemandhra employees were present in full strength on the roads under the banner of Secretariat Samaikandhra Forum (SSF). The employees raised slogans in favour of a United Andhra Pradesh and railed

against the Congress for going against the wishes of the State. Their focus was on the status of Hyderabad. ‘Hyderabad is for all’ was the message they wanted to drum out. The agitation had a direct impact on the movement of files in about 40 departments located in Secretariat. Many departments had empty chairs and cabinets. But important files were being handled by T-employees, it is learnt.

A MERRY EVENT Strikes are often at the cost of employees’ salary and perks,

but not in this instance. Employees were allowed to sign the register and bunk work. Some employees came out with their families —as if for an outing!

T-EMPLOYEES CHIP IN However, employees from Telangana region put in their efforts in order to minimise the effect of Seemandhra employees strike. Most of the T-employees put in extra hours of work as per the call given by the Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee (T-JAC) and compensated for the absence of

STATE HELPLESS Despite the agitation which paralysed work at the nerve centre of the administration, the State government appeared helpless to tackle the situation. Neither the CM nor any higher up of the State administration took any initiative to dissuade the employees from striking. Sources from the chief minister’s office told Postnoon that the CM may hold discussions with the striking employees today in order to convince them to withdraw their strike.

SEPARATION ANXIETY

APSRTC incurs `98 crore loss

HYDERABAD: APSRTC managing director AK Khan has said that the RTC has incurred `98 crore loss after the announcement on division of the State by the Centre. Speaking to the media here on Tuesday after participating in the review meeting organised by the government chief secretary PK Mohanty with the RTC officials at Secretariat, Khan said that the intensity of the strike in Seemandhra region was high, and only one per cent of the employees attended

to their duties. Due to this, the buses were confined to the depots and the corporation was losing `13-14 crore every day. He also made it clear that it was a fact that the devotees of Tirumala Tirupati were facing a lot of trouble due to the strike. He urged the APNGOAs to exempt the RTC employees of the Tirupati route from the strike, keeping the problems of the devotees in view and allow them to ply buses to Tirumala Konda. NSS

NATION BRIEFS Curfew moves into sixth day in Kishtwar

Road project in Karnataka Pak National Assembly Lower court's order of gets Cabinet nod resolution anti-India: BJP life sentence upheld

Manipur govt directs staff to attend I-Day festivities

JAMMU:Curfew continued for the sixth day without any relaxation in Kishtwar town Wednesday. In the other seven districts of Jammu region affected by communal tensions, it continued for the ﬁfth day after periodic relaxations Tuesday. Authorities in the tension-ridden Kishtwar town said they had decided against giving any relaxation in curfew.

NEW DELHI: The cabinet Tuesday gave its nod to a `588-crore road project in Karnataka under which a 150 km stretch on the Kerala borderKollegal section will be widened."The cost is estimated to be `588.49 crore including the cost of `65 crore towards land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities, “ a statement said.

IMPHAL: Manipur government has asked all state secretariat staffers to attend the Independence Day function in the city after insurgent groups in the state gave a call for the celebrations to be boycotted. Government employees have been asked to stay back at their ofﬁces tonight as public transport services and road networks are likely to be hit due to the boycott.

NEW DELHI: BJP on Tuesday termed as "anti-India" the resolution passed by Pakistan National Assembly. "Pakistan's resolution in the National Assembly is antiIndia...The government of India must disapprove of immediately the resolution passed by the Assembly", BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said.

MADURAI: The Madras High Court bench upheld the lower court's conviction and sentence to life term awarded to two men for murdering an 18-year-old girl at Maraneri near Sivakasi in 2004. The bench dismissed the appeal ﬁled by Amirtharaj and Raja Mohammed, challenging the Sessions Judge's judgement on February 21,2008.

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

EDUCATION

CRIME

FOR REPRESENTATION ONLY

1 flat, many owners! A woman sold the same flat to several people, made a pile of money and is now missing. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

City schools defy fire rules More than 50 per cent of the City schools do not follow proper fire precautions, says a senior official in the education department. ARUN D YELLAMATY arunyellamty@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: There are more than 2,000 schools in the City and at least 1,000 do not follow rules of hygiene and fire precautions, said a senior official of the education department. “There are 1,001 schools with no proper fire safety, violating all the rules of fire safety. We have informed all the schools to ensure they follow the rules,” he said. The official added, “Every school should have one fire extinguisher, one fire hose, an emergency staircase, one fire alarm and sprinklers. In Hyderabad, no schools follow these rules.” Not many schools admit failure, though. When Postnoon checked with the principal of a school located in Vanastalipiram, she said, “We are using all the needed requirements. We have one fire extinguisher and to make the school safer, we are planning to shift AROUND THE

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our campus to a better and bigger building.” The school had nothing more than one fire extinguisher. However, fire safety is not the only concern. They don’t provide clean potable water in schools and the toilets are badly maintained. Andhra Pradesh Bala Hakula Sangam president Achyuta Rao says, “I have personally visited and checked many schools. Most of the school fire safety rules are a big concern but the government does nothing. Many provide bore-well water and pass it off as mineral water. The toilets are badly maintained and this can cause severe infections, especially in girls.

These things should be addressed immediately.” Annupama Kumari, a mother of a Class I student, says, “The building of the school my son attends has very narrow staircases and no emergency stairs. I don’t know the details of the fire rules but I just hope that schools look into the details to keep our children safe.” A student of a model school says, “Once the closing bell rings, the school gets very crowded. There is hardly any place for people to get down. Our school building had only three floors but in case a fire breaks out, things will be bad here. The toilets are in a bad condition as well,” he adds. The authorities say they can only act after they get complaints from parents or children. Hyderabad DEO Subba Reddy says, “We haven’t got any official complaint so far. If we do, we will conduct checks and if the rules are being violated, then these schools will be shut down.”

HYDERABAD: A woman has sold her flat to several people, made a pile, and is now missing. Bowenpally police are now looking for the woman, identified as Chaithanya Devi, aged 31, who is reportedly from Vijaywada. Devi claimed to own a flat in Nara Residency in Bowenpally, Secunderabad. She advertised the flat in the newspapers and waited for gullible buyers to come. After completing her con, she slipped away. One by one, her victims realised with a shock that the same property had been sold several times over! In the recent complaint, one Neeta Agarwal, a resident of Abids, said she had paid `16 lakh towards the

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flat that cost `32 lakh. An agreement was executed between Chaithanya and her, she added. After a while, she noticed the same advertisement was still in the newspapers. Neeta asked a friend to call up and ask about the flat. She

then realised what the woman was up to. Neeta had initially asked for the key to the flat but it was not given. Later, when she persisted, she was provided a document that was supposed to be the ownership registration. However, it proved bogus and Neeta approached a local court which has asked the police to investigate.

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

BADMINTON IN CITY

N SHIVA KUMAR

Hyderabadis warm up to IBL With City’s favourite Saina Nehwal playing for Hyderabad Hotshots, denizens too are taking up racquets to root for the home side. ARUN D YELLAMATY arunyellamaty@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: As Indian Badminton League takes off in Delhi today with Krrish Delhi taking on the Pune Pistons, Hyderabadis are gearing up to support the game which is next only to cricket in popularity in the City. The welcome wagon is visible in the form of increasing interest and participation in the game across the City — an uptick in the number of shuttlers in residential areas and sports facilities. “We used to play badminton regularly but had stopped. However, owing to IBL fever, we are back at it again. We are even planning to have a small intercolony tournament to keep up with the IBL. We are looking forward to the tournament to begin,” says Rahul Kumar, a resident of Shanti Nagar. “People from all age groups, ranging from children to middleaged folks, now come and play every evening,” Rahul adds to buttress his point.

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Teams n n n n n n

n n n n

Krrish Delhi Smashers Lucknow Warriors Mumbai Masters Banga Beats Pune Pistons Hyderabad Hotshots Categories Men's singles Men's doubles Women's singles Mixed doubles. Team composition

11 players — four foreign, seven Indians including one junior D-Day

n n

Finals: August 31 Venue: Mumbai Total prize money:

$1 million

Not to be left behind, officegoers too make the best out of vacant lanes and open spaces near their workplace to work on their game during break time. “Of late, we are playing badminton every day during the lunch break and try to catch a quick game during free time. It’s fun and keeps us fit as well. We all run down to grab the racquets and start first. We are rooting for our hero Saina Nehwal to win the title and make Hyderabad proud,” says Karthik Reddy, a software employee. Looks like the IBL hoardings of badminton players wearing cricket pads and seeking encouragement has hit the bullseye. “After the announcement of IBL, more children and youngsters have started attending coaching. Sindhu’s bronze medal win couldn’t have been timed better and has caught the attention of badminton enthusiasts,” points out Venu Gopal, a badminton coach. “Hyderabad is slowly becoming the hub for badminton players. Many from the City are standing tall and making a difference,” he said.

The IBL will provide young players an opportunity to play opposite big names and make a mark. If a player beats a big name here, he/she will immediately be known in the market. DRC Kiron Tennis coach and badminton enthusiast

This tournament will help in globalising the game. Many will give badminton a shot and take up badminton as a career. Vasu Rao Badminton coach

I am looking forward to the tournament. I am taking my friends along for the three games that will be held in the City. M Jonathan 14-year-old badminton player

At least now people will start giving more attention to other games apart from cricket. I am hoping that this tournament turn out to be a huge success. A Shrishti Badminton enthusiast

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

HIGH FLIER

Doc ‘steals’ heroin from carrier’s stomach

MOSCOW: Russian police on Tuesday said they had arrested a Siberian surgeon on suspicion of stealing heroin that he had extracted from the stomach of a drug mule. The surgeon at a hospital in the town of Bogotolsk was high on drugs when he was arrested, the police for the Siberian Krasnoyarsk region said in a statement on their website.

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The surgeon carried out an operation to remove packages containing heroin from a man’s stomach at the request of police, but the criminal investigative department later realised some of the drugs were missing.

The criminal investigative department later realised some of the drugs were missing. At the moment of the detention, the doctor was in a state of narcotic intoxication.

“When they searched the surgeon, they found a package with five grams of heroin hidden in his clothing. At the moment of the detention, the doctor was in a state of narcotic intoxication.” In a police video, the surgeon declined to answer questions. He faces up to 15 years in prison for theft and possession of a large amount of drugs if found guilty, said police.

FAILED INSPECTION

US nuclear missile unit deemed ‘unsatisfactory’ The US nuclear missile unit failed safety test since the unit made tactical errors. WASHINGTON: The US Air Force gave a nuclear missile unit an “unsatisfactory” rating, according to a statement released Tuesday, in a setback for strategic forces after a similar incident in May. An inspection conducted August 5-13 assessed the 341st Missile Wing’s “ability to execute operations while complying with nuclear surety standards.” The Air Force said the unit made “tactical-level errors during one of several exercises,” without

AROUND THE

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providing further details about what went wrong. “A failed inspection does not mean that the safety of the nation’s nuclear arsenal is at risk,” Lieutenant General Jim Kowalski said. The unit, housed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, controls 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, which comprise one-third of America’s ICBMs.

HEALTH

New way to treat brittle bone disease found AROUND THE

WORLD

LONDON: British scientists have developed a new method to treat brittle bone disease in children. The new treatment for Osteogenesis Imperfecta has been developed by scientists from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The findings were published in The Lancet. This is the first study to clearly demonstrate that the use of the medicine risedronate can not only reduce the risk of fracture in children with brittle bones but also have rapid action, as the curves under fracture risk begin to diverge after only six weeks of treatment, reported Science Daily. “We wanted to show that the use of risedronate could significantly impact children’s lives by reducing fracture rates — and it did,” said Nick Bishop, professor of paediatric bone disease at the University of Sheffield. “The fact that this medicine can be given by mouth at home (other similar medicines are given by a drip in hospital) makes it familyfriendly,” he said. IANS

341st Missile Wing’s “ability to execute operations while complying with nuclear surety standards” was assessed. The Air Force said the unit made “tactical-level errors”. The incident marks the second time this year that the Air Force has experienced trouble with a unit that controls nuclear missiles. In early May, 17 officers based in Minot, North Dakota, were stripped of their certification after a poor assessment of their launch operations.Although it is not uncommon for an officer to lose accreditation and be returned to training, 17 officers losing accreditation at the same time is unprecedented, Lieutenant Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the Air Force, told AFP. Malmstrom Air Force Base will be inspected again within 90 days. AFP

WORLD BRIEFS Mexico will appeal freeing of drug lord

Bombing suspect’s friends plead not guilty

Woman sentenced to 99 years in baby's death

Severe Typhoon Utor hits Hong Kong

‘No place’ for sexism in Australia: PM Rudd

MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s attorney general said the government would appeal the court ruling that set free Rafael Caro Quintero, a drug lord convicted of killing a US drug agent in 1985. Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said during a public event that the government was “preparing” an appeal to overturn the verdict.

BOSTON: Two college friends of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of impeding investigators pursuing the perpetrators of the deadly finish-line attack. Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, both 19year-olds from Kazakhstan, had been indicted by a grand jury.

SAN JUAN: A San Juan court Tuesday sentenced a woman to 99 years behind bars for the death of her five-month-old baby and for hiding his body in a freezer. The baby suffocated on his own vomit after the mother placed him face down on a pillow and went to bed after being bothered by the child's crying.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong battened down as Severe Typhoon Utor forced the closure of the city’s financial market and schools and disrupted hundreds of flights after leaving six dead in the Philippines. Gusts of more than 100 kilometres per hour were recorded as the Hong Kong Observatory issued a “Number 8” storm warning.

SYDNEY: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Wednesday said there was “no place” for sexism, racism or homophobia in Australia as election rival Tony Abbott laughed off his touting of a candidate’s sex appeal. Abbott came under fire after praising the female conservative colleague while campaigning in western Sydney on Tuesday.

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

TRAGEDY

INS Sindhurakshak gutted, 18 feared dead Despite all efforts by rescue and relief teams, the submarine could not be saved and sank shortly after dawn Wednesday in the high-security Naval Dockyard where it was berthed. Specs Length

72.6 m

Beam

9.9 m

Draught

6.6 m

Speed

31 kmph

Range (submerged) Endurance

640 km

Up to 45 days

Operational Depth

240 m

Weapons Strela-3 SAMs, Klub anti-ship missile, torpedoes, mines

Submarine incidents since 2000 resulting in loss of lives 2000: Kursk explosion In August 2000, this Russian sub sank in the Barents Sea when a leak of hydrogen peroxide in the forward torpedo room led to the detonation of a torpedo warhead, which in turn triggered the explosion of around half a dozen other warheads about two minutes later. The explosion and the flooding killed most of sub’s 118 sailors. Despite international rescue efforts, 23 survivors also died several days later.

2001: Collision of Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville On February 9, USS Greeneville ran into and sank Ehime-Maru, a Japanese fisheries training ship, killing nine of the 35 aboard, 16 km off the coast of Oahu.

2003: Sinking of Ming 361 On an unspecified date in May, in what is believed to be a case of suffocation due to malfunctioning of its diesel engines, the entire crew of were killed aboard Ming class submarine 361, off the coast of Liaoning province in northeast China.

Sinking of K-159 A decommissioned submarine of Russia K-159, which was being towed away for scrapping, sank in the Barents Sea, killing nine of her skeleton crew of 10. MUMBAI: Indian Navy submarine INS Sindhurakshak sank Wednesday morning after it was ravaged by a massive fire preceded by a huge explosion, official sources said here. Several of the 18 sailors trapped in the submarine are feared dead, according to defence minister AK Antony. “I have apprised the PM of the incident. I’m going to the spot. The Naval Chief is already

Russian connection

he INS Sindhurakshak is one of the 10 Kilo-class submarines bought from Russia between 1986 and 2000. It is equipped with Russian Club-S cruise missile system. The vessel, powered by diesel and electricity was returned from Russia last year after undergoing an upgrade and sea trials began last October, reports said. The boat’s cooling system was modified, a “Porpoise” radio-locater fitted and other work carried out “increasing the boat’s military capacity and safety”.

there. I’m saddened by the incident as many Navy personnel lost their lives,” he said. Despite all efforts by rescue and relief teams, the submarine could not be saved and sank shortly after dawn Wednesday in the high-security Naval Dockyard where it was berthed. There were at least 18 sailors on board the newly refurbished vessel when it sank and their fate is not yet known, the sources said. Only a small portion of the submarine is visible on the surface as it sank in the shallow waters of the Naval Dockyard. A team of Indian Navy divers have been deployed since morning in an effort to rescue the sailors feared trapped inside the sunken vessel. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral DK Joshi will reach Mumbai to take stock of the situation. Later, Admiral Joshi will brief Antony, who in turn is expected to make a statement in Parliament later in the day. The cause of the explosion and blaze was not immediately known. A board of inquiry has been ordered. Some among the injured sailors have been rushed to naval hospital INHS

There were two to three explosions and the night sky lit up briefly. Dharmendra Jaiswal eyewitness Ashvini in Colaba. The explosion on the submarine comes within days of India getting its first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant on

INS Sindhurakshak timeline 1997: INS Sindhurakshak procured by Indian navy. February 2010: A fire in its battery compartment kills one sailor August 2010: Submarine sent for re-fit to equip it with cruise missile systems June 2012: Refit completed with refurbished hull and 10 years added to its 25-year service life

August 12 and the nuclear reactor that propels Arihant, the country’s first ballistic missile submarine, going critical August 9.

‘CERTAIN CONCERNS’ The Russian firm that refitted the submarine said Wednesday the craft had been fully operational when returned to India in January. A spokesman for the Russian Zvyozdochka ship repair company told RIA Novosti that “certain concerns” were raised when the Russian-made INS Sindhurakshak was inspected by experts at the Severonisk port on the Barents Sea. But he said India raised no objections about the state of the diesel-powered vessel when receiving it from Russia. “We signed a contract for a light overhaul and modernisation in June 2010, and completed (the refit) in January 2013,” the unidentified Zvyozdochka spokesman told RIA Novosti. “During the repairs, we fitted a new Club rocket complex and a number of foreign systems on the ship, including Indian ones.” IANS,AFP

2004: Fire onboard HMCS Chicoutimi Two officers died in two fires that broke out onboard Canadian submarine HMCS Chicoutimi on October 5 2004. An inquiry found that seawater penetration at a cable joints was the cause. 2005

2005: Underwater collision USS San Francisco One sailor died when USS San Francisco collided with an undersea seamount about 560 km south of Guam on January 8.

2008: Fire onboard St. Daniel of Moscow Two crew members of Russia’s St. Daniel of Moscow died in a fire onboard the ship while anchored off the Rybachiy peninsula on September 6.

Fire onboard K-152 Nerpa At least 20 people died and 41 were injured due to a fire on Russia’s K-152 Nerpa on November 8. The release of fire suppressant gas inside the submarine during a submerged test run during the vessel’s sea trials in the Sea of Japan caused victims to die of asphyxiation or suffer frostbite in their lungs. The submarine was later inducted into the Indian Navy on April 4, 2012 as INS Chakra.

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

ISRAEL-PALESTINE TALKS

Israel launches Gaza air raid

The raid was launched hours before the peace talks with the Palestinians on Wednesday after rockets were fired from Gaza. JERUSALEM: The Israeli air force targeted rocket launch sites in Gaza hours before the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians on Wednesday, after rockets were fired from the area, the Israeli army said. “The raid targeted two rocket launch sites after rockets were fired Tuesday from the Gaza Strip, one of which exploded on Israeli territory,” said an army spokesman. No one was injured in the attack. “Hamas must account for AROUND THE

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any violation of Israeli sovereignty and the terrorist regime that it has put in place will be held responsible for any terrorist activity coming from the Gaza Strip,” the spokesman added. The Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip is opposed to the resumption of US-sponsored peace talks in Jerusalem later Wednesday. The negotiations will come just hours after the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners as a confi-

dence-building gesture, and a day after Israeli authorities announced the approval of 942 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, provoking Palestinian fury. Israel and the Palestinians are set to resume peace talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday, and have set themselves a ninemonth goal of trying to reach a long elusive peace deal. Here’s what we know —and what we don’t — about the latest US-led effort to bring peace to the Middle East.

NEGOTIATORS

Israelis: Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, legal adviser Yitzhak Molcho Palestinians: Chief negotiator Saeb Erakat, Fatah central committee member Mohammad Shtayyeh United States: Former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, who could be backed by either US Secretary of State John Kerry or even the President.

ISSUES

All the so-called “final status” issues — the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descen-

Palestinians from the Israeli occupied West Bank celebrate in the village of Betunia. Israel is to release 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners ahead of a resumption of Middle East peace talks scheduled for today. AFP /AHMAD GHARABLI

dants, the borders of a future Palestinian state, the fate of Jerusalem, the existence of Jewish settlements —are on the table. Israel has dashed any hopes for a halt to settlement building during the talks, which was a key Palestinian demand. Israel has agreed to a key Palestinian demand to release some 104

Palestinian prisoners. The date for the release will be decided by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

Everything else, including what a future deal will look like. There is no indication of how the talks will roll out, only an awareness.

The parties have not decided yet how the core issues will be negotiated. How they intend to resolve such issues as the holy city of Jerusalem, claimed by both sides as their capital, and the hopes of millions of Palestinians, who dream of returning to their homeland, remains as yet a mystery. AFP

STORY TIME

The new avatar of Indian myth

Mythological characters with contemporary twists are acquiring a swashbuckling superhero-like stature in a departure from folklore of yore, which focused on imparting moral lessons. SAHANA GHOSH feedback@postnoon.com KOLKATA: Shiva is no longer just a god, nor Ravan a villain. Having dared to think out of the box, a brave breed of publishers have revamped Indian comics by adding a zing to flat storytelling and zoomed in on lesser known aspects of Indian mythologies, making new pop-culture icons out of age-old characters. Not only youngsters but veteran comic book fans are lapping up the current trend, where mythological characters with contemporary twists are acquiring a swashbuckling superhero-like stature in a departure from folklore of yore imparting moral lessons. “In India, many of the smaller and newer publishers are moving away from the traditional mythological and historical storylines to more contemporary content. Most

are solely focusing on a mature audience,” Jatin Varma, founder of Comic Con India, told IANS. With the advent of web comics and graphic novels, comics are now part of the mainstream. Vivek Goel, whose Holy Cow Entertainment churns out the

popular Aghori and Ravanayan series, points out children are more likely to take to mythology if there’s more to the story. “If you need youngsters, teens, adults to get hooked on to mythology then you need to upgrade the same with better

quality art, a changed perspective and non-stereotypic cradle-tograve stories. Give them a different perspective of the characters and they will love it,” Goel said. It is not just the rehashed script that attracts the super-hero loving youngsters. Bold and gritty, the illustrations in themselves are tempting enough. “Our art is more global and 3D oriented... it’s more stylish. We put more effort in the research on our art and colours,” said Karan Vir Arora, CEO of Vimanika Comics that brings out the I am Kalki and ShivaLegends of the Immortal series. “From experimenting with colours, narratives, styles, to dealing with issues that concern society, feminism, sexuality, religion and the like, the world of comics is no longer defined the way it was even some years ago,” said Sreejita Bose of StripTease, the emagazine on comics. IANS

Where are the readers?

he 19th edition of the Delhi Book Fair, on from August 23 to 31, will see deliberations on the role of libraries as the habit of reading is being eroded. “Good libraries were once considered treasures of society. They were part of us, but today reading habits of people are going down. We wanted to raise this issue and so we decided to make it the theme of our fair,” Ashok Gupta, general secretary of event organiser Federation of Indian Publishers, told IANS. “The aim is to develop neighbourhood libraries. If people work in tandem, it is possible to have small library set-ups,” he said. IANS

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

SOUTH AFRICA

Murder stalks Marikana a year after bloodbath

JOHANNES MYBURGH Agence France-Presse

MARIKANA: In the year since South Africa’s Marikana bloodbath, death has not strayed far from the platinum mining belt, with bodies piling up amid union rivalry and violence against witnesses. On August 16, 2012, what started as just another labour dispute became, for many, the most egregious example of police brutality since the end of apartheid. After days of tense standoff, police unleashed a volley of 284 bullets, that mowed down 34 miners and injured 78 more. In the week leading up to the shootings at Lonmin’s Marikana mine twelve more miners, unionists, security guards and policemen died in clashes, bringing the toll to 46. A year on, the inquest launched by President Jacob Zuma has yet to conclude.

Same old story n

Despite a 22-percent salary hike, Lonmin miners claim life is unchanged. Most miners live in the same shacks as a year ago, although some now have communal toilets. They cling to their dream of a 12,500 rand ($1,270, 955 euro) minimum wage.

Lawyers representing wounded strikers have withdrawn over a lack of funding. The police have denied wrongdoing and no officers have been charged for their role in the deadly assault. The rainbow nation’s lustre — and that of the ruling ANC — has dulled in the eyes of the world. AROUND THE

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“Their moral authority was eroded," said Frans Cronje, director the South African Institute for Race Relations. Despite a 22-per cent salary hike, Lonmin miners claim life is unchanged. Most miners live in the same shacks as a year ago, although some now have communal toilets. They cling to their dream of a 12,500 rand ($1,270, 955 euro) minimum wage. All the while tensions between rival unions and in the wake of the inquest have resulted in vicious beatings, stabbings and shootings. At least 20 people linked to the events at Lonmin’s Marikana mine have died, according to an AFP tally, including six of the inquiry’s witnesses. The latest victim, a National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)

Miners demonstrate at a mountain close to the mine near Rustenburg where they are demanding that their wages are more than tripled on August 16, 2012.

shaft leader, was gunned down in front of her house on Monday — a second victim in two weeks. Two months ago Mbulelo Nqapo was another casualty. On June 3 a gang shot the local union leader in front of his National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) office, just a few hundred metres from a Lonmin mine shaft. But his fate may have been sealed a year before. “How can we get Mbulelo?" striking miners chanted a chill-

ing warning at the same office just days before the Marikana tragedy. While many union leaders went into hiding, Nqapo remained visible. His superior, NUM branch secretary Sisa Buyeye, feels it’s just a matter of time before he too is picked off. “I am the target after him. They said ‘who’s next after Mbulelo?' It’s me." In the past year rival union AMCU has upstaged NUM in

the platinum sector, but both unions have lost key leaders to violence each blames on the other. At Marikana the white crosses that used to memorialise last year’s shooting lie pulled from the ground, forgotten in a heap at the foot of the hill where cameras caught the clash between police and strikers. Chickens scratch in the yellowed grass, life seems to have returned to normal, but it has not. AFP

SCARS OF TRAGEDY

Japan tsunami ship to to scrapped TOKYO: A fishing boat that was swept far inland by the 2011 tsunami in Japan and became one of the most poignant symbols of the disaster is to be scrapped, authorities said Tuesday. Officials in the city of Kesennuma, which was flattened in the disaster, said the decision to dismantle the 60metre (200-foot) ship, named the No. 18 Kyotoku-maru, came after local people said they wanted it gone. “Our city has decided to demolish the vessel since nearly 70 percent of residents did not want to preserve it," a local official told AFP, citing the results of an opinion poll.

PICK YOUR

Across Stores

ities Twin C

News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

QUACK, QUACK?

BEE STING THERAPY CAUSING A BUZZ IN CHINA

NEIL CONNOR Agence France Presse

BEIJING: Patients in China are swarming to acupuncture clinics to be given bee stings to treat or ward off life-threatening illness, practitioners say. More than 27,000 people have undergone the painful technique — each session can involve dozens of punctures — at Wang Menglin’s clinic in Beijing, says the bee acupuncturist who makes his living from believers in the concept. But except for trying to prevent allergic reactions to the stings themselves, there is no orthodox medical evidence that bee venom is effective against illness, and rationalist websites in the West describe so-called “apitherapy” as “quackery”. “We hold the bee, put it on a point on the body, hold its head, and pinch it until the sting needle emerges,” Wang said at his facility on the outskirts of the capital. The bee — Wang said he uses an imported Italian variety — dies when it stings. “We’ve treated patients with dozens of diseases, from arthritis to cancer, all with positive results,” said Wang. Bee stings can be used to treat “most common diseases of the lower limbs,” he added, and claimed they also work as a preventative measure. But science-

But on its website, the American Cancer Society makes clear: “There have been no clinical studies in humans showing that bee venom or other honeybee products are effective in preventAROUND THE

WORLD

Charlemagne (742814), the first Holy Roman Emperor, is said to have been treated with bee stings.

basedmedicine.org, a US-based website, says that such claims of panaceas and cure-alls are “always a red flag for quackery”. “There is no scientific evidence to support its use,” it says of “apitherapy”, or treatment with bee products. One of Wang’s patients said

doctors told him he had lung and brain cancer and gave him little over a year to live, but he now believes he has almost doubled his life expectancy and credits bee stings for the change. “From last year up until now, I think I’m getting much stronger,” the patient told AFP.

ing or treating cancer. “Relying on this type of treatment alone and avoiding or delaying conventional medical care for cancer may have serious health consequences.” It adds that there is a Koranic reference to the medicinal properties of the liquid produced by bees, and that Charlemagne (742814), the first Holy Roman Emperor, is said to have been treated with bee stings. In the West bee stings have also been used by sufferers of multiple sclerosis (MS), an often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. But the National Multiple

More than 27,000 people have undergone the painful technique — each session can involve dozens of punctures — at Wang Menglin’s clinic in Beijing, says the bee acupuncturist who makes his living from believers in the concept.

Sclerosis Society of the US says on its website: “In spite of longstanding claims about the possible benefits of bee venom for people with MS, a 24-week randomised study showed no reduction in disease activity, disability, or fatigue, and no improvement in quality of life.” Bee venom is one of the many traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments derived from animals and plants -- some of which are blamed for endangering particular wildlife species. TCM is a major part of China’s healthcare system and a booming industry which continues to receive significant investment and support from the central government. Many people in China cannot afford to buy the latest orthodox pharmaceuticals as national health insurance is limited. Older people -- who are more likely to fall ill -- also favour traditional remedies because of deeprooted cultural beliefs in the power of natural, rather than modern, ingredients. Most hospitals in China have traditional medicine treatments available. It can be a lucrative field for companies and practitioners -in 2012, the TCM industry in China produced goods worth 516 billion yuan ($84 billion), more than 31 percent of the country’s total medicine output, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

Business

US SUES TO BLOCK US AIRWAYS-AA MERGER

The US Justice Department and several states sued Tuesday to block the $11 billion merger between American Airlines and US Airways, saying it would reduce competition and push up fares.

CORPORATE RAID

SAO PAULO SUES SIEMENS

ICAHN BITES INTO APPLE Carl Icahn, who is in the midst of a fierce battle over computer maker Dell, has a history of taking stakes in firms to seek shakeups. NEW YORK CITY: Corporate raider Carl Icahn said Tuesday he has taken a “large position” in Apple, calling the US tech giant “extremely undervalued.” Icahn, who is in the midst of a fierce battle over computer maker Dell and has a history of taking stakes in firms to seek shakeups, announced his move on Twitter. “We currently have a large position in APPLE,” he tweeted. “We believe the company to be extremely undervalued. Spoke to (Apple chief executive) Tim Cook today. More to come.” In a second tweet moments later, Icahn said he would press Apple to increase its stock buyback, in which the company purchases its own shares in a bid to boost its value. Apple shares, which had been flat most of the day, jumped on the news and closed up 4.75 percent at $489.57. Asked about the Icahn action, Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in a statement: “We appreciate the interest and investment of all our shareholders. Tim had a very positive conversation with Mr. Icahn today.”

Shares in Apple last year surged to a record above $700 but have been in a deep slump over concerns the maker of the iPhone and iPad has been losing its edge in innovation. Apple remains the most valuable publicly traded company with a market capitalization of more than $440 billion despite its steep decline in recent months. Earlier this year, Apple yielded to pressure from the hedge fund Greenlight Capital, agreeing to return some $100 billion to shareholders over the next two years, including $60

DEEPWATER SPILL FALLOUT BP sues US over contract ban

NEW YORK CITY: British energy giant BP is suing the US government for banning it from federal contracts after the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, documents showed Tuesday. The US Environmental Protection Agency last year barred BP from competing for new federal contracts following the catastrophic accident three years ago, which left 11 people dead and sent millions of barrels of oil churning into the Gulf. The EPA decision, citing BP’s “lack of business integrity,” came

after BP agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion last November to settle criminal charges arising from the case. The lawsuit filed this week by BP in federal court in Texas has challenged the EPA ban, arguing it surpassed the agency’s authority and constituted an abuse of power. BP argued that the company has already been punished for the oil spill and faces “irreparable harm” if the bans are not lifted. The British energy giant has paid several billion dollars in various settlements since the disaster. AFP

billion in share repurchases. The Dow Jones news website AllThingsD reported Sunday that Apple scheduled an event next month where it will announce its newest iPhone in an effort to regain ground lost to Samsung and other smartphone makers, most of which use the Google Android operating system. Speculation has centered around whether Apple will shift its strategy to include a lower-cost handset to appeal to more consumers, especially in emerging markets. A recent IDC survey showed Apple’s share of the global

smartphone market slipped to 13.2 percent in the second quarter, from 16.6 percent a year ago, while Android’s share rose to 79.3 percent. Icahn has been embroiled in a battle over Dell, seeking to block a private equity buyout led by founder Michael Dell, which Icahn says undervalues the company. The 77-year-old Icahn has fought some of the roughest proxy battles in modern corporate history, ranging from the airline TWA to RJR Nabisco and Blockbuster Video. He also headed a shareholder revolt at Yahoo after the Internet giant rejected a takeover from Microsoft. Icahn is from the same generation as famed investor Warren Buffett. But unlike Buffett, a long-term, relatively passive investor, Icahn makes his money by taking positions in companies that give him the leverage to force changes in management or rewards to shareholders, or both. Forbes estimates Icahn’s net worth at $20 billion, earning him 26th place in the 2013 list of the world’s wealthiest. AFP

WORKING CONDITIONS Brazil sues Samsung RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil has filed a lawsuit against Samsung alleging poor working conditions at a factory in the Amazon and is demanding more than $100 million in damages, the government said Tuesday. The Ministry of Labor said employees at the factory worked up to 15 hours a day, including 10 hours on their feet, and sometimes for 27 days straight. The audit was performed at the Manaus plant, one of the largest of

Samsung’s 25 factories worldwide. The facility employs 6,000 workers and supplies all of Latin America. According to a report on the website of the Tribuna Hoje newspaper, individual workers at the plant are given just six seconds to place a phone with its battery, charger, earphones and instruction manual in its packaging. Individual workers can repeat this process up to 6,800 times a shift. AFP

GOLD`29,182 10g SILVER `46,568 1kg

24C

for

DOLLAR `61.50 POUND `94.99

SAO PAULO: Sao Paulo state said Tuesday it planned to sue German engineering giant Siemens over allegations of price-rigging during bidding for the city’s metro rail systems. “We are taking legal action against Siemens,” State Governor Geraldo Alckmin told a press conference. “If it is proven that other companies also were involved, all will face legal action,” he added. Last week, prosecutors said they had launched a criminal investigation after uncovering “strong indications” of price-rigging during bidding for Sao Paulo’s metro. “Based on documents from CADE (the Brazilian antitrust authority), there are strong indications of criminal cartel formation in bids called by the Sao Paulo commuter rail company CPTM and the Sao Paulo Metro company from 1999 to 2009,” said state prosecutor Marcelo Mendroni.

NUMEROLOGY

$6.98

is the profit posted by Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, the biggest ever profit by an Australian banking institution.

US MAY SPARE IKSIL NEW YORK CITY: The ex-JPMorgan Chase trader nicknamed “the London Whale” for his huge derivatives losses has reached a deal to avoid US prosecution, a source familiar with the situation said Tuesday.Bruno Iksil, who along with others has been blamed for big bets that resulted in a $6.2 billion loss for the bank in 2012, reached the deal after agreeing to testify in the case, according to the source. But criminal indictments against two other ex-JPMorgan traders could come later this week in the case, with regulators focused on whether some in the bank sought to cover up the extent of the losses. Iksil, a French citizen, cooperated with prosectors who determined after reviewing email correspondence and other evidence not to prosecute him, the source told AFP. Iksil also is not expected to be named in civil charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the source said.

BSE NSE

19,264.64 34.80

5,713.35 14.05

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

Comment Every man’s dream is to be able to sink into the arms of a woman without also falling into her hands. Jerry Lewis Comedian

Foreign firms are easy targets in China

host of foreign pharmaceutical and baby formula firms have been investigated by Chinese regulators in recent weeks, but analysts say they have become convenient scapegoats for consumer anger over high prices and safety scares.The domestic companies that are the main culprits behind a string of scandals surrounding the giant and lucrative markets are either state-owned or too well connected to take on, they say.They go after high-profile foreign companies because it’s easier to target them,” Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai, told AFP. The most widely publicised inquiry is a bribery probe into British firm GlaxoSmithKline that has seen at least 20 people arrested since the beginning of July. France’s Sanofi is also being investigated over reports it bribed more than 500 doctors, according to state media, while the list of foreign firms involved in a pricing probe — of both domestic and foreign companies — reads like a global who’s who of Big Pharma.The clampdowns are partly a response to public frustration over high prices for foreign goods, which Chinese consumers flock to as they often distrust local produce, Rein said. “First of all, they target sectors,” he said. “In the pharmaceutical sector and baby formula sector, prices have been too high for many years.”But the authorities have shown themselves reluctant to take on domestic companies, whose reputations have been savaged by repeated scandals such as the melamine milk powder contamination of 2008, which killed six babies and sickened 300,000. AFP

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS The Israel-Palestinian talks might just face a hurdle if the gun-toting members of the two places don’t go easy on the ammunition. However, one positive thing to be gathered is that authorities in both places have decided to go ahead with the talks despite any barriers.

RISING INTOLERANCE

Row over Swiss handling of asylum seekers NINA LARSON

Agence France Presse

witzerland, which prides itself on its humanitarian principles, is facing a barrage of criticism over its treatment of asylum seekers, including charges of segregation and inhumane living conditions. The controversy first broke last week when federal migration authorities said the small northern town of Bremgarten, with 6,500 residents, had been permitted to deny residents of a new asylum centre access to certain public spaces. Initial reports that the asylum seekers would be barred from the public pool, gyms and even the town library and churches sparked outrage and charges of segregation and discrimination from rights activists. Swiss migration authorities maintain the reports were based on a misunderstanding, insisting the asylum seekers will only have restricted access to so-called “sensitive areas” where access is also restricted to the Swiss public, like schools and sports facilities during school hours. The rules were merely

aimed to help “organise the cohabitation between the asylum seekers and the town population”, Federal Migration Office spokeswoman Gaby Szoelloesy told AFP. Denise Graf of Amnesty International’s Swiss section was unconvinced, maintaining that the rules, which require asylum seekers to among other things request permission from the town before accessing the pool, “are clearly discriminatory”. And Bremgarten is not the only place where asylum seekers face such discrimination, she said, accusing Bern of making any number of concessions to avoid protests from the communities chosen to house a growing number of temporary asylum centres. Residents in one centre near the central city of Lucerne had for instance been barred from taking the shortest route to the train station, while other centres impose strict curfews, she said. Police meanwhile moved in this week to remove 10 asylum seekers who had camped out for days at the Solothurn train station in northwestern Switzerland to protest their living conditions in a subterranean bunker they described as “unworthy of a human being”. Switzerland is one of the countries in Europe that welcomes the most asylum seekers

in proportion to its population, with some 48,000 people currently in the process of applying for asylum in the small Alpine nation, including 28,631 who arrived in 2012 — the highest number since 1999. Amid the recent spike in refugees, Switzerland has been rushing to open a slew of temporary asylum centres. But the Swiss public, which in June overwhelmingly voted to tighten the country’s asylum laws, often resist the creation of such centres in their neighbourhoods. Szoelloesy acknowledged that four of the 10 communities asked to host new centres since last year had been granted the right to set up “sensitive areas”, like Bremgarten, to help avoid “bad feelings” towards the asy-

lum seekers. She echoed Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga’s claim last week that in Switzerland, “fundamental rights are not negotiable”, and insisted: “our asylum system is fair and humane”. The 10 Solothurn demonstrators, who spent five days protesting their living conditions in a windowless military shelter with insufficient ventilation in the nearby village of Kestenholz, do not feel they have been treated fairly in Switzerland. “There’s no air, no windows and 30 people sleeping together... That’s not the way it should be,” Turkish Kurd Abdullah Ochalan complained to public Swiss radio RTS before the protesters were cleared out.

EDITORIALS No food for this lack of thought

he Food Bill is an anachronism of ofﬁcial claim of a country that is considered a world power. It is the biggest indictment on the Congress party that ruled most parts of the Independent India — an open confession that despite pumping in gigantic sums we have 30 per cent population submerged and we need to have a minimum guarantee of food! What one can’t understand is why the ruling party blames Opposition for all its ills. If Parliament is disrupted the blame is on the Opposition. If the government of the day sires only scams and outrageous lies, what else should the Opposition spectrum do? Not holding a brief for the BJP and other opposition one must say that for the sake of common man, those worthy in the opposition benches too should at once sink their differences and corner the government asking why it is

READERS’ VIEWS

unconcerned with the galloping prices of essentials from oil to onion. It is obvious that the government of India is in the clutches of a handful of oil companies whose rapacity knows no bound. Every day the prices of fuel bob up and sometimes a little down, creating havoc for the transport sector. Now, even the small consolation of the aam aadmi of enjoying their simple mean of roti and dal is weaned away from him. The onion prices reach `100 a kg! What a feat! The government in Delhi is far removed from the masses and its handling of foreign affairs is another disaster. It is time the Congress is put on dock and made to answer all the ills we face today.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

Cinema

BREAKING RECORDS After Breaking Bad began its final batch of episodes with an audience more than double of last summer's premiere, can we call him The One Who Rates? Sunday night's (mid)season premiere for the AMC drama drew 5.9 million viewers.

VIEW POINT

WEEKEND MOVIE

None of us truly know what goes on in a person's mind. When it comes to celebrities, we know even less. But to fulfil our curiosity, there are those on the inside who tell their story about their time with the stars. With Lee Daniels' The Butler releasing, we take a behind-the-scenes look at the famous.

Lee Daniels' The Butler Narrator: Cecil Gaines (played by Forest Whittaker) The Star: President Dwight Eisenhower, President

Richard Nixon, President John F Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson, President Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King Jr. An African-American but-

Paranoia

ler who served in the White House for 34 years would have interesting stories to tell, and that is exactly what the movie, directed by Lee Daniels, aims to show. Based

The Last King of Scotland

The Hurricane Narrator: Lesra Martin (played by Vicellous Reon Shannon) The Star: Rubin “Hurricane” Carter iddleweight boxing champion Rubin “Hurricane” Carter spends 20 years in jail for a triple murder he did not commit. A young teenage fan, adopted by a Canadian family, pushes for the State of New Jersey to reinvestigate Carter's case. The judges find that the conviction was due to racism and that Carter was innocent. Denzel Washington was praised for his portrayal of the boxer, even though many critics claimed that the movie was not factually accurate. Despite all the criticism, the movie is testament to the power of one young man's conviction and faith in his hero.

M My Week With Marilyn Narrator: Colin Clark (played by Eddie Redmayne) The Star: Marilyn Monroe hen you're a young man fresh out of college and you get a job chaperoning screen goddess Marilyn Monroe, you're not likely to ever forget that week. That's exactly what happened to Colin Clark, who got his first job working on the production of Laurence Olivier's The Prince and The Showgirl. Set in 1950s England, the movie is a romantic nostalgic homage to a young man's infatuation with Monroe. Michelle Williams, who played Monroe in the 2011 movie, won critical acclaim for her portrayal and was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award.

on the real-life account of butler Eugene Allen, the movie looks at the upheavals that shook America in the 20th century, all from inside the White House.

Narrator: Dr Nicholas Garrigan (played by James McAvoy) The Star: Idi Amin r Nicholas Garrigan is a fictional character loosely based on Englishman Bob Astles, who was an associated of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The dictator appoints Garrigan as his doctor, and slowly the Scotsman becomes his close confidante. Garrigan initially believes Amin is only doing what he does for the good of the country, but soon he is forced to acknowledge the cruelty of Amin's regime. A fine mixture of fiction and fact, The Last King of Scotland was a revealing account of the dictator's private side.

Iris Narrator: John Bayley (played by Hugh Bonneville, Jim Broadbent) The Star: Iris Murdoch o watch a loved one lose the battle to Alzheimer's is not easy, and the 2001 biopic shows how heartbreaking it can be. Author Iris Murdoch's struggles with the disease are hauntingly portrayed by Judi Dench, a far cry from her carefree young self played by Kate Winslet. The story is narrated by John Bayley, Murdoch's husband, who can only watch as his wife slips away from him. The movie earned Broadbent an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and both Winslet and Dench got Oscar nominations for their roles.

Director Robert Luketic’s high stakes thriller, Paranoia, explores a deadly world of greed and deception in which two powerful, dueling global tech billionaires (Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman) with a complicated past will stop at nothing to destroy each other. An ambitious young superstar (Liam Hemsworth) becomes trapped in their dangerous game of corporate espionage only to realise that he’s in far too deep for them to let him walk away. Opening August 16, the ﬁlm also stars Gary Oldman, Amber Heard, Lucas Till, Embeth Davidtz, Julian McMahon, Josh Holloway and Richard Dreyfuss.

DID YOU KNOW...

Pixar

The Disney-owned animation studio Pixar has taken the rare step of changing the plot of its forthcoming sequel to the 2003 blockbuster Finding Nemo, according to a New York Times report, following claims about a US marine park in the critically acclaimed Sundance documentary Blackfish.

TRENDING...

Anton Yelchin, perhaps best known for playing Chekov in the latest Star Trek ﬁlms, and Dakota Johnson, who starred in the cancelled sitcom Ben and Kate, have joined the cast of director Michael Almereyda’s Cymbeline, a modern-day update on Shakespeare’s tale. Yelchin will play Cloten and Johnson will play Imogen.

Natalie Portman has suggested that Thor 3 is in the works. Asked about co-star Anthony Hopkins's comments that he wants Thor to continue, Portman told E! Online: "Yeah, well I think they are going to make a Thor 3, so I think Anthony will be pleased."

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

spotlight BLESSINGS GALORE

BUNDLE OF JOY Cradle ceremony of baby Asma, daughter of Mahain and Shafi ur Rahman held at The Park Hotel was a fun affair. The party was hosted by Asma's uncle (father's brother) Khaleequr Rahman.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO Launch ceremony of Telugu Entertainment Awards was held at Taj Vivanta on Tuesday. Spotted at the do were singer Sumangali, anchor Jhansi and others. 3

GAME ON

Trophy unveiling ceremony of Vodafone Indian Badminton League 2013 was held in the City on Tuesday. Players Jwala Gutta, Saina Nehwal, Marc Zwiebler, Carsten Mogensen, Ashwini Ponnappa and Mathias Boe were present at the do.

UP FOR GRABS

Xerox India introduced a series of multifunction printers (MFPs) enabled with the new Xerox ConnectKeyâ&#x201E;˘ controller that is designed to simplify how work gets done. Regional Business Head-South Xerox India Venkat Rao was present at the do.

1 Salma

3 Mahain, Shafi ur Rahman

2 Khalil ur Rehman, Shabber Ali and

4 Mohit Beig with wife

Hasnan

5 Muruza, Iqbal, Munaf, Saadat, Mustafa

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

health

BLOOD AWARENESS

Dressed in red, 3,069 students of Kurukshetra University and its affiliated colleges Monday set a new record when they formed the shape of a blood drop to create awareness for blood donation on International Youth Day in Kurukshetra town in Haryana.

SAY NO TO TEXTING AN DRIVING

Watch where you are going!

Teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are worse drivers than their peers who don’t have ADHD and texting only compounds their problems on the road, a new study shows. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

hat’s more, texting behind the wheel is so distracting it makes normal teens drive as poorly as those who have ADHD, underscoring the danger to any driver of trying to text and operate a car at the same time, the researchers noted. “Texting is on a different order of magnitude compared to other distractions. It’s a concern for teens across the board, and kids with ADHD are at that much greater risk," said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, in New Hyde Park. Adesman has studied the problem of texting and driving in teens, but was not involved in the current research. About half of teenagers admit to texting behind the wheel, according to a study published recently in the journal Pediatrics. About 6.4 million U.S. children under age 18 have received a diagnosis of ADHD at some point in their lives, US health officials say. For the new

study, published online in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, researchers recruited 61 drivers who were 16 and 17 years old. About half of them had the disorder. Kids with ADHD are frequently prescribed stimulant medication to control symptoms such as inattention and impulsivity. But since researchers say most teens drive at night and on the weekends, times when they are least likely to be medicated, the teen drivers were asked not to take the drugs. All the teens operated a driving simulator for 40 minutes. For about half the time, researchers let them drive through urban and rural conditions without any distractions. For two 10-minute periods, they drove while talking on a cellphone or while texting with a researcher who was asking them questions from another room. Overall, teens with ADHD had significantly more trouble staying in their lanes and maintaining a constant speed than kids with normal attention. On average, they drifted out of their lanes 1.8 per cent of the time. Their driving records

appeared to reflect these difficulties. About 17 per cent of teens with ADHD had received at least one traffic ticket compared to sixper cent of those without the disorder. And when they were asked to text, their driving problems nearly doubled. They strayed across the lane line or onto the shoulder about 3.3 per cent of the time. “That’s just a heck of a lot of time for a kid or any driver to be out of their lane when they’re driving," said study author Jeffery Epstein, director of the center for ADHD at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio. “All the kids need to stop texting behind the wheel," Epstein said. “The impact of texting is just so big that for these kids to be texting behind the wheel just poses such a danger to themselves as well as other drivers that there just needs to be not only a policy of stopping texting behind the

wheel but also enforcement," he said. Parents play a big role in reining in the problem. Adesman recommends that parents print out and get teens to sign an online pledge, such as the one available from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and use it as a way to start a conversa-

Eye-tracking systems that sound an alarm or cause the car seat to vibrate when drivers look away from traffic for longer than two seconds may help kids become more aware of the problem and help them self-correct.

tion about the problem. Also recommended: cellphone apps or easy-toinstall devices for cars that will shut a phone off when they detect that the car is moving, Adesman said. The attention troubles of ADHD are harder to tackle, but Epstein said he’s testing behavioral interventions that he hopes will help. “The deficit that kids with ADHD seem to have is that they tend to let their eyes look away from the roadway for longer glances than do experienced drivers," he explained. Epstein said that eye-tracking systems that sound an alarm or cause the car seat to vibrate when drivers look away from traffic for longer than two seconds may help kids become more aware of the problem and help them self-correct. “Those are the sorts of things that would be interesting if they work out," he said. webmd

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

Technology THE HYPERLOOP

Travel faster than sound GAY GROUP SUES TWITTER

A design for a super-fast transport system dubbed Hyperloop was by inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk. SAN FRANCISCO: A design for a super-fast transport system dubbed “Hyperloop” — carrying passengers in pressurised tubes at near-supersonic speeds — was unveiled Monday by inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk. Musk, who heads electric carmaker Tesla Motors and private space exploration firm SpaceX, released a 57-page document describing the project, which he claimed could connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in 35 minutes. Musk told a conference call this would be a new form of transport, different from traditional rail, and would carry passengers and goods in pods in a contained system elevated on pylons. “This is designed to be super light and trains are amazingly heavy," he said. “This is designed more like an aircraft." The system is capable of speeds reaching 1,220 kilometers (760 miles) an hour, or Mach 0.91, according to Musk’s document. The technical paper said Hyperloop “consists of a low pressure tube with capsules that are transported at both low and high speeds throughout the length of the tube." “The capsules are supported on a cushion of air, featuring pressurized air and aerodynamic lift," it said. Musk said last week he was merely publicising the “open source design” and had no plans to actually build the system, but on Monday it appeared he was having second thoughts. “I’m tempted to make at least a demonstration prototype," he said. “I’m not trying to make a ton of money on this, but I would like to see it come to fruition and I think it would help if I did a demonstration."

f the Hyperloop becomes a reality, the time to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco would take less than

30 minutes.

yperloop “consists of a low pressure tube with capsules that are transported at both low and high speeds throughout the length of the tube." The system is capable of speeds reaching 1,220 kilometers (760 miles) an hour, or Mach 0.91, according to Musk’s document. The rail cost has been estimated at “roughly $70 billion” but that “it’s probably going to be north of $100 billion and it’s going to be less desirable to take that than to take a plane." The system would be less vulnerable to shocks from quakes, and less prone to accidents as it cannot fall nor can it derail like a train.

meters (900 miles). He estimated the cost of connecting the cities would be $6 billion, which could translate to a fare of about $20 for a one-way ticket. Musk said he came up with the design because of his opposition to a high-speed rail project in California, which he claimed was more expensive and less efficient. He said the rail cost has been estimated at “roughly $70 billion” but that “it’s probably going to be north of $100 billion and it’s going to be less desirable to take that than to take a plane.” California has approved the first phase of construction of a much anticipated yet controversial high-speed rail project linking Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Musk said he and a small team from his two firms came up with the design, drawing on some technology from each. It envisions some version of the same electric motors used in the Tesla S automobile, creating an electromagnetic field to propel the pod. “It essentially sends a pulse .. and the tube ends up chasing the pulse," he said. He maintained that the ride “would feel a lot like being in an airplane .. it would feel smooth, like as if you were riding on air." Musk has previously called the system a cross between a “Concorde, a rail gun and an air hockey table." While the system was envisaged to connect the two big California cities, Musk said it would be economical for any link less than about 1,500 kilon

Besides SpaceX and Tesla, Musk, who was born in South Africa but is a US citizen, heads SolarCity, a company which makes solar panels for homes and businesses. He also has a foundation that focuses on education, clean energy and child health.

Musk said his system would be less vulnerable to shocks from earthquakes, and less prone to accidents than planes or trains, because “it cannot fall out of the sky nor can it derail like a train.” AFP n

Musk banked his first millions when he sold Zip2 to Compaq for $300 million in 1999. His next company, X.com, eventually merged with PayPal, the online payments firm bought by Internet auction giant eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

A group fighting homophobia has filed a complaint against Twitter for incitement to hatred following a stream of anti-gay tweets on its French site at the weekend, a lawyer told AFP Tuesday. The IDAHO Committee's French branch lodged a complaint in Paris after tweets appeared on Saturday and Sunday with hashtags entitled "gays must disappear" and "let's burn gays", lawyer Felicite-Esther Zeifman told AFP. "These illicit tweets on Twitter's site characterise the offence of public incitement to discrimination, to hatred or national, racial or religious violence," read the complaint seen by AFP. "Despite alerts, Twitter allowed a homophobic atmosphere to develop on the social network and gave no serious response" to the tweets, the group said on Monday when it announced it would complain. The French ministers for women's rights and the digital economy condemned the abuse in a joint statement.

OSLO BANS APPLE MAPPING Norway's intelligence agency has blocked US company Apple from flying over Oslo to take 3D aerial photos for its map application, citing national security, officials said Tuesday. "I can confirm that Apple was not authorised to take aerial photographs because the level of detail in the shots is considered too high for some of the restricted zones," a spokeswoman for the Norwegian National Security Authority said. "We have however presented Apple with alternative solutions, including buying photos from Norwegian suppliers or from the Norwegian map authorities," she said. Norway's neighbours Sweden and Denmark have meanwhile granted Apple permission to take aerial photos. NSM, tasked with protecting Norway from espionage, sabotage or acts of terrorism, refused to comment on the number or nature of restricted zones in Oslo. Photos of these zones provided by Norwegian suppliers are of a lower resolution or blurred.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

Entertainment CINE BYTES

A tribute to Pawan Kalyan

he craze for Pawan Kalyan will now be transformed into a Telugu ﬁlm titled Pawanism, which will pay tribute to the actor, his popularity and his real life philosophies. It will be directed by Chaitanya. “It’s our way of paying tribute to someone we all adore. We want to portray his ideologies in the ﬁlm such that it can move and create a new path for younger generation,” he said.

Don’t do two films in the same genre

irector GNR Kumaravelan, who made Haridas, feels it’s important for a director to avoid repeating a genre. “I felt Haridas was quite heavy on the audiences, and therefore, I wanted to return with something solid and entertaining. I didn’t want to be typecast," Kumaravelan said. IANS

200 posters for Vamsi’s Thanu Monne Vellipoyindi

elugu director Vamsi, who is busy wrapping up upcoming romantic-thriller Thanu Monne Vellipoyindi, is designing some 200 posters to promote his film. . “Posters are the first step of promotions. They need to attract audiences to keep the buzz alive around the film until its trailer comes out and eventually the film. My film’s posters will hint the audience about the story of the film," Vamsi told IANS.

NO AGE BARRIERS

‘ACTRESSES DON’T FEAR LOSING WORK’

ctresses who keep delaying their wedding plans may be career-oriented, says Amala Paul, who has worked in southern films and who believes the industry has room enough for lead heroines who may have crossed the 30s-mark."To get married or not is a personal choice. Some actresses postpone wedding plans because they give more importance to career, but not because they fear going out of work," Amala said. The 21-year-old also spoke about the importance of family support for an actress to make a decision as crucial as marriage."We live in India, and to act post-marriage needs a lot of family support. Not all families are open to the idea of seeing their daughters or daughters-inlaw act after marriage," she added.Amala, who made her cinematic debut with Malayalam romantic-drama Neelathaamara, believes that today’s actresses need not worry about their shelf-life."Today, we have actresses playing lead roles even at the age of 35. I don’t think actresses have a shelflife, because some prefer to work for many years, while others decide to get married and settle down. It’s again a personal choice," said the actress.In her brief career in filmdom, she has starred opposite superstars such as Vijay, Vikram, Mohan Lal and Ram Charan Teja, but Amala says she gives prime importance to the script."I don’t do films only with superstars. I have done films with newcomers as well and I’m always open to work with everybody provided I get an interesting script. I have worked with new actors such as Atharva and Vidharth. I believe script matters the most and everything else follows," she said. She has tasted success with films such as Naayak, Vettai and Kadhalil Sodhappuvathu Yeppadi, but Amala says she likes to talk less and work more. On the career front, Amala has dubbed for the first time in Tamil action-drama Thalaivaa."I always felt uncomfortable acting to the voice of someone else. It was a big dream to dub and my crew told me it made a lot of difference to my performance. I think audiences have to eventually gauge my effort," she said.She is currently awaiting the release of Tamil-Telugu bilingual Nimirnthu Nil. She also has an untitled Tamil project with Dhanush in her kitty. IANS.

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

ALL PRAISE

Shah Rukh Khan: ‘THEY SHOULD SAY I’M A GENTLE ROMANTIC’

CINE BYTES

Lahore director’s sci-fi film pushed to 2014

irector Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan of Lahore fame was earlier slated to roll the cameras for his next project, a sci-fi film, in October. But he says the film will go on the floors late. “We have started the pre-production work for the film. It’s a huge film, so it will take 12 to 14 months for the pre-production. The film will now go on floors by next year September or October,” Chauhan told IANS.

hah Rukh Khan has said he would like to be remembered in cinema history as “a gentle romantic”. In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, the actor said that while he does not feel he deserves the adulation he receives, he would like it to be said that he “tried”. Deliberating with Deepika Padukone over the question of how they each might be remembered in Indian film history, he prompted the actress, joking: “‘He’s a gentle romantic’. That’s all they should say. ‘He tried…and failed with me miserably’.” Padukone explained that Khan would be known for all he has given his fans. “He’s a giver and he never gives thinking about what he’s going to get back in return,” she said. “And I think that’s what he has given to all his fans over the years and that’s what makes him so special.” The actor in turn praised his Chennai Express co-star, saying: “I hope they say, ‘Here’s an actor, a star. The epitome of what an actor should be like, an actress should be like. Extremely mouldable and gave a lot of cheer to a lot of people and achieved way beyond even what her great father did’. I hope that’s what they say about Deepika.” The Rohit Shetty-directed Chennai Express has become the fastest Bollywood film to join the 100-crore club, breaking the previous record set last year by Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger.

Sholay 3D to release on Big B’s b’day?

he 3D version of the 1975 Bollywood classic Sholay will release on Amitabh Bachchan’s 71st birthday October 11, said a source. “The date was speciﬁcally chosen as it coincides with Bachchan’s big day. He is the biggest star we have today and what better day to release the ﬁlm,” said a source in a statement. IANS

Now, Mandira has no time for cricket

ctress-anchor Mandira Bedi is caught up with multiple things — getting her fashion line of saris ready, her role in the TV series 24 and her son. She says that leaves her with no time for cricket. “I am busy with 24, which is the Indian adaptation of the American TV series with Anil Kapoor. That will come on Colors in the ﬁrst week of October,” the 41-year-old said. IANS

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013 CINE BYTES

CHLOE MORETZ

I haven’t lost out on childhood:

STAR SPEAK

Looks don’t matter for Charlotte Church

ctress-singer Charlotte Church says she will make sure that her daughter Ruby, five, doesn’t grow up to be superficial, and that she understands that looks don’t really matter. “I want to instill in Ruby (the idea that) who gives a damn what you look like? And hopefully I lead by example with that - ‘cause I don’t," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Church as saying. IANS

Affleck visited Lindsay Lohan in rehab?

ctor Ben Afﬂeck reportedly visited Lindsay Lohan when she was in Cliffside Malibu rehabilitation centre to discuss a movie role. Afﬂeck went to offer Lohan role in his upcoming movie Live by Night. “Ben came to visit Lindsay while she was at Cliffside to talk about the possibility of a role in his movie," said a source.

Glen Powell joins The Expendables 3 Cast

ctress Chloe Moretz, 16, says she hasn’t lost out on her childhood despite being a movie star. She admits she prefers attending Hollywood premieres over going to school prom parties. The Kick-Ass 2 actress, who has been working in Hollywood for most of her life, also says that the perks of fame have allowed her to enjoy an “immense” life already and she hasn’t missed out on her

youth. “I think growing up in Hollywood, I’ve actually had a greater childhood because I’ve been able to see what I’m learning in my history books, I’ve been able to go and see around the world, and I’ve been able to experience it firsthand whereas a lot of my friends have only been able to travel for summer to small locations," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Moretz as saying. “I’ve been able to live in

London for three years, go to Berlin, go to Bora Bora (islands in the Pacific Ocean) ... go to all these crazy locations and I’m only 16. So I feel my childhood has honestly been a lot more immense than most," she added. The actress doesn’t yearn for normal teenage rituals like going to the prom or shopping at the mall, and says she “loves” dressing up in highend couture for big red carpet events.

“I’ve done all that ... I went to the prom, I went to the mall. I’ve done all that stuff. What I find fun is going to premieres. That’s my prom night. I get to dress up and be with the people that support me and talk about the stuff that I love. That’s what I love doing," said Moretz. “I am a normal kid, but what other teenagers look forward to in their year is different from what I look forward to," she added. IANS

asting for The Expendables 3 is almost complete with Glen Powell on board following recent additions Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas and Harrison Ford. Filming starts August 19 on the actionfest at Nu Image Studios in Bulgaria. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Dolph Lundgren and Victor Ortiz have also committed to the sequel, due to be released August 15, 2014.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

There are admirable potentialities in every human being. Believe in your strength and your youth. Learn to repeat endlessly to yourself, 'It all depends on me.' Andre Gide

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

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 ‘What a shame!’ 4 Gymnastics legend Korbut 8 Data storage units 13 ‘Dies ___’ (Latin hymn) 14 Change course suddenly 15 Third rock from the sun 16 Kids always lose them 18 Animal followed by a tickbird 19 Playwright Arthur 20 Fill beyond full 22 Bit of crowing 23 Person in the driver's seat 25 What Oscar winners do at the podium 27 Garden gastropod 29 Brings back memories 32 Canine sounds 35 Slender roasting rod 37 The blahs 38 ‘Sex’ suffix 39 Exit precursors 41 Big Band ___ 42 Have some catching up to do 44 ‘The Untouchables’ lawman 45 A million millennia (Var) 46 Charlton of ‘The Ten Commandments’ 48 Like some news 50 ‘Down the ___!’ (drinker's toast) 52 Identifiable (Var) 56 Celebrant's robe 58 Setting for a Homeric epic 60 Gulliver of ‘Gulliver's Travels’ 61 Renting contract 63 Perfect shots 65 Acquire 66 Allegro con ___ 67 Fraught with danger, as some circumstances 68 Confiscates 69 How-to segment 70 Whichever

DOWN

1 Characteristic 2 Weasel look-alike 3 High-tech type of car entry 4 How some like their eggs 5 Washington and ___ University 6 Understands 7 Buddhist in Nirvana 8 Deprives through death 9 Folksy-sounding approval 10 It may require joint checking? 11 Europe's highest volcano 12 Broadway offering 13 Some PCs 17 Seabird with a forked tail 21 Part of many titles 24 Become ready to harvest 26 ‘Stop’ or ‘stick’ lead-in 28 Actionable words 30 It replaced the drachma 31 City of central China (Var) 32 Bibliographic info 33 Barely cooked 34 Vivid memory 36 ‘Miss Jane Pittman’ portrayer 39 Rap sheets 40 Bake in a sauce, as potatoes 43 ‘Give ___ rest!’ 45 California city 47 Point-of-purchase equip giant 49 ‘Rag Mop’ brothers 51 ‘The Natural’ baseball star Roy 53 Poker tourney entry fee 54 None too trusting 55 Otherwise 56 Landed 57 ‘Love Me or Leave Me’ singer Horne 59 Asian tent 62 Seek redress 64 Stretch the truth or stretch out

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 15-8-2013

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Businessmen might face hurdles but they handle them well and come out wiser. Politicians are advised to be cordial with co-workers. Those in love will be happy as support from both families is likely. Your charisma is set to increase.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Businessmen will get prosperous opportunities. Avoid giving up tasks because you face hurdles. Employees will feel comfortable but face a deficit financial situation. Avoid making new debts; try to earn and spend. Financial planning is a must.

You will complete purchase of an asset for which advance has been paid. Health problems will be over. However, you need to eat more fruits and vegetables, which are rich in calcium. Employees will see a favourable trend at workplace.

Hurdles in the way of performing happy events will end. Take immediate care of health problems. Self-confidence and courage levels are set to increase. Avoid laziness and behaving headstrong. Employees likely to get promotion and pay hike.

Businessmen are likely to face minor losses if proper focus is not put in deals. Health will be fine. Those involved in foreign trade will gain big. Media-persons and artists will get handful of good opportunities and move forward with determination.

Turning points will make your life very meaningful. Avoid unwanted arguments and take care of your health. Hurdles in performing good events will end and you will perform them. Debt issue will be under control. Financial position will be strong.

Misunderstanding between couples will be over and they will be peaceful. Those with a chronic disease will have relief. Employees will get support from their colleagues and superior. A debt will get cleared and you will feel relaxed.

You might be in a fix to decide on an important issue but you need to go as per plan. It is also advisable to postpone the decision for time being. Take good care of health by consulting the doctor without delay to avoid future complications.

Expected money will be received and make you financially strong. You might be worried about the future; don’t. You will be generous but at the same time firm in your decisions. Sudden travel is possible, but will yield desired results.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Four of Swords – If you are caught in the middle of a fight between friends, try to be the peacemaker. Do not allow the fight to blow up.

LEO:

Nine of Swords – You are feeling complete, with almost all aspects of your life in control. You must communicate more with family members and tell them how you feel.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Six of Pentacles – Start making notes of your daily schedule so that you can be more productive. Know where you’re wasting time, and plug those holes.

SAGITTARIUS:

The High Priest – Finances need attention. Take all steps to ensure that your basics are covered and that you do not have to dip into your savings.

TAURUS:

Ace of Pentacles – Play music in the background as you work. You will need some motivation to keep working. Good music can lift your mood like nothing can.

CANCER:

Seven of Pentacles – You may be at the receiving end of someone’s wrath. This person takes you for granted all the time only because you allow him/her to.

VIRGO:

Nine of Cups – A cold or flu may stop you from being fully productive. Just wait it out and let it take its own time to heal fully. Home remedies work.

SCORPIO:

The Tower – Learn to adapt to new situations. Things are not going to be as you want them to be, at the work place. Trudge along. You don’t have a choice now.

CAPRICORN:

King of Wands – There may be an after-effect of a medicine you’ve just taken. Take more rest and use some nasal spray, if your sinuses are blocked.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

The Hanged Man – When inviting friends and family for a party, ensure you are not missing out anyone important. You may have neglected to invite someone.

NUMBER GAME

– Write the address on the envelope carefully, if you are sending a snail mail. Check and double check that all details have been included.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Three of Cups

POOCH CAFE

Businessmen can be sure of good profit margins. Politicians need to maintain a low profile and be cordial with seniors. Employees need to work with focus and determination to achieve their planned goals. Artists will have a dull time.

for 15-8-2013

Three of Wands – Career is in focus now. This is the right time to plan for the future and take action to secure your future. Take steps to ensure you will be in demand.

NON SEQUITUR

Avoid anger and emotional outbursts. Be careful while driving as a minor accident is likely. Avoid interfering in anyone’s personal issue and also a third person’s interference in your personal life. Newlyweds will be blessed with an offspring.

SUDUKO

A comfortable financial situation is likely. Businessmen will gain good profits with innovative schemes. Some have a bright chance to buy a vehicle. Tension and worries likely but stay cool and proceed with work as the situation will change soon.

Boggle TENNIS FOOTBALL BASEBALL BASKETBALL Vol: 3, No 25 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

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

TWINKLE, TWINKLE ‘LITTLE’ STAR

CINE BYTES

JENNIFER LAWRENCE on Fame: ‘I’m Kind of Going Through a Meltdown’ J ennifer Lawrence loves acting, but she hates being a celebrity! The Hunger Games star graces the September cover of Vogue where she opens up about being famous. While Jennifer wasn’t always sure about what she wanted to do when she grew up — she did know one thing for sure ... that she’d be famous one day! “But I always knew that I was going to be famous. I honest to God don’t know how else to describe it. I used to lie in bed and wonder: ‘Am I going to be a local TV person? Am I going to be a motivational speaker?’,” she confesses. “It wasn’t a vision. But as it’s kind of happening, you have this buried understanding: Of course.” But before she reached her A-list status, Jennifer had a lot of anxiety growing up ... especially when it came to being with large groups of her peers. “I was a weirdo,” she says about her younger self. “I wasn’t picked on or anything. And I wasn’t smarter than the other kids. That’s not why I didn’t fit in. I’ve just had this weird anxiety. I hated recess. I didn’t like field trips. Parties really stressed me out.” Now, the 22-year-old doesn’t get “stressed out” about parties, but she hates the lack of privacy that comes with fame. “I teeter on seeming ungrateful when I talk about this,” she reveals. “But I’m kind of going through a meltdown about it lately. All of a sudden, the entire world feels entitled to know everything about me.” “I am just not okay with it. It’s as simple as that. I am just a normal girl and a human being and I haven’t been in this long enough to feel like this is my new normal. I’m not going to find peace with it.” The star has definitely been keeping busy; instead of taking a brief hiatus after shooting The Hunger Games sequel, J Law decided she wanted to work on American Hustle!

Kevin Jonas tight-lipped about the sex of his baby

evin Jonas seems to know if he’s expecting a boy or a girl with wife Danielle Jonas, but he isn’t ready to reveal that news just yet. ”We have early indicators, but we’re not telling,” Kevin told Access Hollywood’’s Shaun Robinson on the Teen Choice Awards red carpet over the weekend. And even though she tried hard, Kevin wasn’t willing to disclose the gender of his baby-on-the-way.

Nichols adds Dunst to Midnight Special

riter/director Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter, Shotgun Stories) recently cast Michael Shannon for a fourth straight collaboration in Midnight Special, about a dad and his young son hitting the road when some special powers turn up in the boy. Now Kirsten Dunst has come aboard in an unspeciﬁed role.

Adele to play villain in The Secret Service?

dele has been reportedly approached to play a villain in The Secret Service, which also features David Beckham and Elton John. She will have a cameo in the new spy film, directed by Matthew Vaughn. “Adele is exactly what Matthew is looking for. He wants highest-profile names in various fields to boost the film’s cause and turn it into a megamoney franchise,” said a source.

sports

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Isinbayeva claims third title

LUKE PHILLIPS Agence France-Presse

MOSCOW: Russian Yelena Isinbayeva cemented her place in the pantheon of track and field greats by winning a third world pole vault title on home soil at the World Athletics Championships on Tuesday. It was a first global title for the two-time Olympic champion since she won at the 2008 Games, and made a mockery of suggestions that her powers are waning and retirement beckons. Isinbayeva completely dominated the event in the run up to those Olympics in the Chinese capital, breaking the world record an incredible 28 times (13 indoor and 15 outdoor), before and just after, as she revolutionised the event. But she finished sixth on her last outing at the worlds, in Daegu two years ago. On home soil in front of an expectant crowd at the Luzhniki Stadium,

Yelena Isinbayeva cemented her place in the pantheon of track and field greats by winning a third world pole vault title on home soil.

Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva competes in the women’s pole vault final at the 2013 IAAF World Championships at the AFP/YURI KADOBNOV Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on Tuesday. Isinbayeva won the gold medal.

there could be only one Isinbayeva who turned up - one to win. “It was the best ever support,” said Isinbayeva, who confirmed she would be taking 18 months out to have a baby with

Merritt regains 400m title MOSCOW: American Lashawn Merritt regained the men’s 400 metres world title at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow on Tuesday. It restored some credibility to his reputation after serving a 21-month doping ban, then fighting a court battle against the International Olympic Committee before being allowed to run in the 2012 Olympics. The 27-year-old posted the fastest time of the year of 43.74 seconds to take gold while compatriot Tony McQuay ran a personal best (44.40sec) for second place and Luquelin Santos of the Dominican Republic was third (44.52sec). Olympic and defending champion Kirani James of Grenada appeared to tighten up in the finishing straight and faded to finish seventh of the eight-man field. “It just didn’t work out for me today,” said the 20-yearold James, who beat Merritt for gold two years ago at Daegu, South Korea. “It is back to the drawing board, see what’s going on. I didn’t come into the Worlds expecting this but you just move forward from this.”

the goal of making a comeback at the 2016 Rio Olympics. “I felt like I was at home, that everyone was behind me. I absorbed that and it resulted in a gold. The support was just colossal.” The world record holder with

a massive 5.06m set in 2009, but bronze medallist at the London Olympics, came into the competition at 4.65m. Amid roars from the best crowd yet at the stadium, Isinbayeva needed two attempts

to clear that height, but a cool vault over 4.75m and suddenly all the pressure was on American Olympic champion Jennifer Suhr, who had entered at 4.55m. Vaulting after Isinbayeva, the tension was palpable in the stadium and despite seeming to slip across the face of the bar, she muscled her way over to land 4.75m. Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg, fourth in the London Games, then joined the party with an equally comfortable vault over the same height, a season’s best, Cuban Yarisley Silva sailing over shortly after. AFP

Aman delivers it for Ethiopia

world record in winning the Olympic title last year. But, in his absence, Aman, the 19-year-old world indoor champion who has twice got the better of Rudisha, stepped into the void with some style. “I’m the first Ethiopian to win a 800m gold medal!” Aman said. “This gold medal is a big thing for me and my country. AFP

MOSCOW: Mohammed Aman (in pic) was outmuscled and jostled, but belied his diminutive size to produce a devastating sprint and claim a first-ever medal of any colour for Ethiopia in the world 800m by winning gold on Tuesday. The two-lap event had sadly been shorn of the sublime talents of the injured David Rudisha, the Kenyan who broke the

Melnichenko ruins Eaton duo’s golden dreams US athlete LaShawn Merritt celebrates after winning the men’s 400 metres final at the World Championships in Moscow on Tuesday. AFP/KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV

Merritt, who failed to make it past the heats in the Olympics pulling up injured, burst from the blocks and, by the time they rounded the final bend, it was all for James to do. However, the spark that has seen him dominate the event for the past two years was not there and instead of producing his trademark burst down the straight he was swallowed up by the rest of the runners. AFP

MOSCOW: Ukraine’s Ganna Melnichenko (right) deprived Mr and Mrs Ashton Eaton of a famous multi-event double by claiming gold in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships on Tuesday. The gruelling two-day event came down to the seventh and final event, the 800m, with Canada’s Brianne Theisen Eaton, wife of newly-crowned world decathlon champion Ashton Eaton of the United States, handed a mighty ask. The Canadian had to beat the Ukrainian by a margin of 4.69sec to claim gold at a packed Luzhniki Stadium. It was not to be, however, as Melnichenko tracked Theisen Eaton around the strength-sapping 800m after the latter had

shot to the front, tying up badly late in the race. Melnichenko amassed a total of 6,586 points, a personal best, while Theisen Eaton claimed silver with 6,530pts and was comforted by Eaton trackside.

Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands took bronze in a Dutch record of 6,477pts. “I knew I could take the gold, but I just couldn’t run any faster,” said Theisen Eaton. “It was the hardest 800m in my life. “I tried my hardest but I just didn’t have enough energy to speed up at the end.” In a competition missing Olympic champion Jessica EnnisHill of Britain and 2011 world champion Tatyana Chernova of Russia, the field was rightly considered an open one, with just two of the top eight at the 2012 Games competing. For that reason the margins remained small, with every height and distance keenly fought for in the tussle for a podium place. AFP

sports

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

CINCINNATI MASTERS

Stephens stuns Sharapova

CINCINNATI: American Sloane Stephens snatched her second major scalp of the season as she toppled former champion Maria Sharapova in the second round at Cincinnati on Tuesday. Stephens rallied to beat the world number three from Russia 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, bringing Sharapova’s injury return to an abrupt end in this combined WTA and ATP Masters hardcourt tournament. While Sharapova -- who enjoyed a first-round bye -- was struggling with her game, Roger Federer made a smoother comeback after dealing with back pain in recent weeks. The five-time champion who is defending the title and needs as many matches as possible before the August 26 start of the US Open, won his seventh career match against German friend

Sloane Stephens snatched her second major scalp of the season as she toppled former champion Maria Sharapova in the second round.

Sloane Stephens celebrates her 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 win against Maria Sharapova of Russia during the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday at Lindner Family AFP/RONALD MARTINEZ Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

LOCAL SPORT

LEAGUE CRICKET

A 2 and 3 division two days Day 2 Sultan Shahi 309 bt Vijay Hanuman 113 (Sukhein Jain 41, Prashanth IP 8/43) Visaka 198 (Sai Keerth B 41, Surender Singh 82, Navjot Singh 3/48, Shashi Anand 3/40) lost to Balaji Colts 199/8 (Amit Yadav 30, Akshit Mahajan 74, Revanth Sai 5/44) CCOB 229 (Shahbaaz Tumbi 85, SK Nafeez 47, Jaysuryia 5/52) bt Telangana 113 (Jaya Suryia 32, Parvez Khan 3/53, Abdul Ela Qureshi 3/12, Abdul Manan 3/7) Gemini Friends 133 (Y Chris Kalyan 43, Mohd Ali Quershi 3/27) drew with SA Amberpet

88/3 (Paramveer 42 no) Under-19 Day 2 Andhra U-19 224/8 vs Hyderabad U-19 (Day called off without a ball being bowled) Day 1 Baroda 143/2 (Akash Brahmabhutt 62 n.o., Jignesh Solanki 47 n o.) vs Kerala A division one-day Manikumar177 (D Srikanth Naik 31, B Sai Kumar 30, B Sai Ramdev 37, Yash Kapadia 3/30, Saqlain Arafat 3/4) lost to AVCC 181/2 (Yash Kapadia 74 n.o., Sri Pragnay Reddy 50 n.o.) Southern Raymonds 215/9 (P Arun Kumar 89, Adil 4/36) bt

Deccan Blues 100 HCA Coca Cola cup U-16 inter-school Sherowod Public School 153 (Ishan 35 n.o., Srikanth Naidu 3/34) lost to Hindu Public School 156/6 (Srikanth Naidu 44 n.o., Pavan Tripathi 31) Loyola Academy Junior College 106 (Srinath 43 n.o.,Prajwal 4/23) bt St Anthony High School 79 (Sai Kiran 5/12) Cresent 98/6 lost to Bhavans Sri Rama Krishna School 99/3 (Junaid Ali 57 n.o.) St Marks Progressive School 163 (Devendar 48) lost to Chirec School 164/4 (Himish Kapoor 44, K Sai Harsh Vardhan 76 n.o.).

Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6 (9/7). The fifth-ranked Swiss felt in his element as he played the tournament for the 13th time, improving his record to 31-10 this season. “I think it was a match where I had to sort of just fight to come through and hope to get over the finish line,” Federer said. “I was playing really well at times, and then sometimes it was maybe a bit up and down.

Nadal puzzed by success in 2013

CINCINNATI: Modest Rafael Nadal refused on Tuesday to credit his runaway success this season to any kind of genius scheduling despite winning eight titles from 11 events so far.

PLAYERS SELECTED FOR STATE LEVEL

HYDERABAD: The Ranga Reddy District Chess Association organized a under-11 selection Chess Tourney and Ranga Reddy under-19 open chess tournament recently. The winners of the U-11 category will participate at the state level event which is scheduled to be

held in Warangal from 16 August. Winners: under 11 boys: K Pranav Sharma (Johnson Grammar School, Habsiguda), Neeraj Anirudh (Littlescored High School, Neredmet). Under 19 boys: P Shanmukha Teja (Indian

Academy School, Nallakuntta), M Dheeraj (Meridein, Jubilee Hills), M Vamsi (Meridein, Jubilee Hills) Under-19 girls: Varsha (Meridein, Jubilee Hills), Meghana (Meridein, Jubilee Hills), K Praneeta Patnaik (Hyderabad Chess Academy)

CHESS TOURNAMENT TO TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY HYDERABAD: The Chiman Chess Academy will be conducting the inter school U-8, U-10 and U-12 boys and girls chess tournament on 18

August at the Suprabhat Model School, Habsiguda. For further information on this event, contact S Padmaja Reddy on

9440956009, 9030930254 or 8885262543. Also, IJ Ganesh, the chief arbiter of the tournament, can be contacted on 9347213806.

“Assessing the performance overall, I’m very happy. It’s good to be back and playing pain free. I don’t know, my mind’s good. I was in a good place while I was playing, so it felt nice to win at the end.” Spanish third seed David Ferrer joined Federer in the third round with a 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-4 victory over American Ryan Harrison. Montreal finalist Milos Raonic struggled in the opening set against Jack Sock, but found his rhythm for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win and a date on Wednesday with Janko Tipsarevic. Sharapova was making her return to tennis seven weeks after her last match, a shock second-round Wimbledon defeat. Since then she had sacked her coach and begun working with Jimmy Connors, all while she battled to get over a hip injury.

He will make his start at the Cincinnati Masters in the second round against one of a pair of qualifiers. But after winning the Montreal title to climb one notch higher on the rankings, Nadal is taking none of his success for granted. “When you prepare your schedule, you don’t know if you will play one match, two, three, four, or five. You can lose in the first round, so the schedule is changing a lot,” he said. “I do what I can. I don’t want to be too smart and say I prepared the schedule great.” “That’s why I arrived to Montreal in very good shape,” said the player who returned to his winning ways after sitting out seven weeks. AFP

AUSTRALIAN MASTERS Cancer survivor to return

SYDNEY: Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle will make a return to professional golf at the Australian Masters in November after an 18-month battle with cancer, organisers said Wednesday. Lyle, a member of the US PGA Tour, was diagnosed with a recurrence of the leukaemia he battled as a teenager in March

last year and has been sidelined since. But the 31-year-old has agreed to make his return at the Australian Masters from November 14-17, where he will share the limelight with US Masters and defending champion Adam Scott and America’s world No.6 Matt Kuchar. AFP

sports

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

ASHES

Waugh tells

Flower hails Cook’s tactics

Australia to stick by top six SYDNEY: Former captain Steve Waugh has urged Australia coach Darren Lehmann to stick with his underperforming top six batsmen, saying no one performs at their best with the axe hanging over them. Lehmann on Tuesday warned his batsmen that their Test careers were in jeopardy after a dramatic second innings collapse in the fourth Test saw England to a third straight Ashes series win. “No-one’s guaranteed (their place). Apart from probably Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers,” he said, referring to the captain and the opener. But Waugh, who played 168 Tests, said selectors need to stick with the nation’s top six Test batsmen if they are to have any chance of putting Australian cricket back on a winning path. He said uncertainty over selection meant fringe batsmen were unable to relax into their natural stroke play. “Look at Phil Hughes, he’s been up and down the order and has been dropped three or four times in 20 Tests. That doesn’t give you much confidence,” Waugh told the Australian Broadcasting

Corporation late Tuesday. “Usman Khawaja is another example. “If you’ve got the axe hanging over your head always it is really hard to relax and play your natural game. “Selectors have got to say: ‘We’re going to go through some tough times, but these are the six or seven batsmen we believe in and we’re going to back them even if they don’t succeed straight away’.” Waugh said he experienced firsthand the benefits of selectors showing faith, as he did not win a Test match until his 13th Test and failed to score a ton until his 26th Test. After that, he flourished into one of Australia’s most successful batsmen and captains, accumulating 10,927 Test runs with an average of 51.06 and leading Australia in 15 of their record breaking 16 consecutive Test victories. “It took a long while for me to get it right as well,” Waugh said. “But I had the benefit of getting it wrong. Right now, the selectors need to pick and stick and show confidence in players.” AFP

MATCH-FIXING

Seven charged in Bangladesh DHAKA: The ICC said Tuesday seven people have been charged with match-fixing in the Bangladesh Premier League in a scandal that has already ensnared national hero Mohammad Ashraful. It said another two people have been charged with failing to report corruption when they were approached to take part in fixing during the 2013 season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). All have been charged under the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) anti-corruption code and face a disciplinary tribunal hearing.

The ICC said seven people have been charged with matchfixing in the BPL in a scandal that has already ensnared Mohammad Ashraful. “The charges relate to an alleged conspiracy within the Dhaka Gladiators franchise to engage in match-fixing and spot-fixing activity during matches in the BPL 2013, as well as failures by individuals to report approaches made to

them to be involved in the conspiracy,” the ICC said in a statement. Evidence was gathered against the unidentified individuals during an investigation by ICC anti-corruption officials into the scandal involving Ashraful and others. The affair has further shaken confidence in the game across South Asia. Indian cricket is also embroiled in spot-fixing and betting scandals. Bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and 38 others were charged by Delhi police in July over alleged spot-fixing in the

Indian Premier League. “All those charged (in Bangladesh) now have 14 days to indicate whether they wish to plead guilty or to defend themselves against the charges,” ICC chief executive David Richardson said at a press conference, flanked by Bangladesh’s cricket chiefs. He declined to name the players charged or say whether they were Bangladeshi or overseas cricketers contracted to the BPL. It is unclear how many of the nine fingered in the ICC probe are players and how many are officials. AFP

JULIAN GUYER Agence France-Presse CHESTER-LE-STREET: Coach Andy Flower said on Tuesday that England captain Alastair Cook (above) deserved credit for his tactics after leading the side to an Ashes series win over Australia, despite criticism of his field placings and declarations. Cook has enjoyed some notable triumphs as England captain since taking over from his now retired former opening partner Andrew Strauss, including a series win in India last year and now steering the side to an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Australia with a Test to spare. The 28-year-old Cook has, however, been criticised by former players, notably Australia greats Ian Chappell and Shane Warne, for being an excessively cautious captain when it comes to declarations and for a lack of imagination in his field placings. The Essex left-hander’s style has been contrasted unfavourably with the bold approach of Australia captain Michael Clarke. England’s Stuart Broad inevitably hogged most of Tuesday’s headlines after a stunning spell of six wickets for 20 runs on Monday saw him to Test-best match figures of 11 for 121. But Flower highlighted Cook’s role in bringing back Tim Bresnan on Monday’s fourth afternoon, with the seamer taking the key wicket of well-set opener David Warner soon afterwards.

ZIMBABWE TOUR

Farhat pulls out, cites personal reasons

KARACHI: Opener Imran Farhat (right) has pulled out of Pakistan’s tour to Zimbabwe, citing personal reasons, and has been replaced by the uncapped Shan Masood, Pakistani cricket chiefs announced Tuesday. The 31-year-old Farhat has failed to cement his place in the Pakistan team in a turbulent 13-year career and has often been criticised for lack of consistency. “Farhat has informed the Board and the national selection committee that due to domestic matters which require his immediate attention he will be unable to

proceed to Zimbabwe with the team,” said a Pakistan Cricket Board release. Farhat had been named in the Test squad for the tour starting on August 23, in which Pakistan will play two Twenty20s, three one-day internationals and two Tests. “The selection committee has consulted and Masood has been selected to replace Farhat in the Test Squad,” the PCB said. Farhat has so far played 40 Tests for Pakistan, the last of which was in South Africa in February this year. AFP

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013

sports

FRENCH GREAT VINCENT DIES

Former France winger Jean Vincent, who also enjoyed a highly successful career as a coach, has died at the age of 82. Vincent was a leading name in the French game in the 1950s and early 1960s, winning the title in 1954 and two French Cups and then starring for the great Reims side of the era.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Moyes, Mourinho, Pellegrini brace for coming impact TOM WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse LONDON: The approaching Premier League season will be defined to a large extent by the ability of the new managers at England’s three leading clubs to tackle the challenges awaiting them. Last season’s top three sides are all under new management, with David Moyes (extreme left) succeeding Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Manuel Pellegrini (extreme right) taking over from the sacked Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, and Jose Mourinho (centre) returning to Chelsea. Amid the attendant flux, there are expectations that a new order could emerge in the English top flight, but Moyes’ task is to ensure that United’s 20year dominance persists. The 50-year-old Scot appears to face the most daunting task of the three new men. Although he inherited a squad that finished the last campaign as convincing champions, he has no experience of competing at the very top of the table and will find Ferguson’s shadow wherever he turns. Ferguson led United to 38 titles during his 26-year tenure,

turning the club into one of the biggest names in global sport, and fans will be quick to pine for his return if Moyes fails to successfully negotiate an awkward opening run of fixtures that includes meetings with Chelsea, City and Liverpool. Moyes’ first pre-season at United has been far from ideal, amid continued speculation over the future of unsettled striker Wayne Rooney, who the manager insists is not for sale despite lingering interest from Chelsea. United’s supporters have also become restless about the club’s lack of activity in the transfer market. The champions have seen

The approaching season will be defined to a large extent by the ability of the new managers at England’s three leading clubs to tackle the challenges. moves for Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Everton leftback Leighton Baines rebuffed, but after Sunday’s 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the Community Shield, Moyes said he was happy with his squad. “We’re getting closer to sign-

ings. We’re moving forward, but the deadline is getting closer as well," he said. “Hopefully we are. If we don’t (sign anyone), I’m happy to go with what we’ve got." Unlike Moyes, Mourinho knows what it takes to win the Premier League, having led Chelsea to successive title triumphs in 2005 and 2006. In returning to Chelsea from Real Madrid, he has ignored the old football truism that says one must never revisit the scene of former glories, but this time he is determined to lay down a lasting legacy. The 50-year-old Portuguese returns to find a squad now

geared towards patient possession football, rather than the counter-attacking style he introduced during his first stint at Stamford Bridge. He will have a dizzying array of attacking midfielders to select from, with new signing Andre Schuerrle and returning loanee Kevin De Bruyne expected to compete with Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Victor Moses for the three advanced midfield positions in a 4-2-3-1 formation. “Chelsea did very well to get these young boys with great potential, great ability and a great future, and I look forward to trying to improve them," Mourinho said in June. Up front, he must either seek to pursue the rehabilitation of Fernando Torres or place his trust in 20-year-old Romelu Lukaku, who scored 17 goals during an impressive loan spell at West Bromwich Albion last season and has a profile similar to Didier Drogba, the indomitable spearhead of Mourinho’s first Chelsea side. Pellegrini, the former Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga coach, has never worked in England before, but the early conclusion of City’s transfer business has given him ample time to get to know his squad.

LA LIGA

Barça hoping Neymar nourishes Messi’s magic

MADRID: In contrast to previous seasons, Barcelona played their trump card in the transfer market early this year by securing the services of Brazilian starlet Neymar for 57 million euros back in May. The 21-year-old had been on the Catalans’ radar for some time with Barca having even made a down payment of 10 million euros to Santos for first option on the player a year previously. However, the confirmation

of his transfer was hastened by the feeling that Barca needed to react quickly to having been thrashed 7-0 by Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions League semi-finals. Initial scepticism as to whether Barca really needed another forward option rather than a defender subsided after Neymar’s stunning performances as Brazil won the Confederations Cup in June. One question that remains unanswered though is how

Neymar’s talents will dovetail with four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi? As much as the Argentine is often lauded for not being the stereotypical egotistical modern footballer, the success that both player and club have had in recent years has very much depended on building the side around Messi’s talents. The need for Messi to play in a deep-lying central striking role hastened the sale of Samuel Eto’o, resulted in Zlatan

Ibrahimovic ending his sole season in Catalonia on the bench and has also limited Cesc Fabregas’ chances to play where he has successfully combined with Xavi and Andres Iniesta with Spain.

Those sacrifices though have been worth a return of 271 goals over the past five seasons and concerns over how Messi and Neymar will co-exist appear to have been overblown for a number of reasons. AFP