Postnoon E-Paper for may 14th 2013

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013 HYDERABAD

WEATHER: CLOUDY. WINDY AT TIMES; 36°C

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32 PAGES

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Stencilled on the wall With the Bangladeshi sweat shop labour rings being exposed, renowned British graffiti artist Banksy’s controversial Slave Labour, an apparent comment on sweat-shop labour is being put up for auction in London again. We take a look at some of the artist’s other controversial work.

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HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

BILL TO LASSO REPORT ON P4

BILLBOARD FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY

New advertisement policy on anvil seeks to ban huge hoardings near schools, hospitals, heritage buildings and parks. There will be a fine if the phone numbers on the hoardings are found to be fake.

SRINIVAS SETTY

When power changes hands When an existing business is taken over, a lot of things need to be considered to make the change work. The recent takeover of an animation company in the City has led to a lot of questions in the minds of the employees. How does one handle the situation?

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TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

city events

ASTORNOMY TALK

Talks and practical sessions on basic astronomy by Dr Priya Hasan and Dr SN Hasan at Lamakaan, Banjara Hills. The event will be held on May 18 at 4.30 pm

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

36°C

29°C

35°C

42°C

A mix of cloudy and clear skies.

A mix of cloudy and clear skies.

A mix of cloud and sun.

A mix of cloud and sun.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 39 Max 32 Min 27 Min 28 Clear

Chennai Max 39 Min 31

Mostly cloudy

Cloudy

Bangalore Max 32 Min 20

Cloudy with chances of thunderstorms.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Thakur is on.

Where: Novotel, Shamshabad When: Till May 18, 9 am to 9 pm

WORKSHOPS

DINING BBQ night Saturday Sunset BBQ will be held.

Where: The Square, Kondapur When: May 18, 7 pm

Fit as a fiddle A zumba fitness workshop by Vijaya is on.

Where: Hard Rock Cafe, Banjara Hills When: May 17, 7.30 pm to 9 pm Personality development A workshop on communication skills.

Where: Swamy Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence, Lower Tankbund When: Till May 18, 6.15 pm to 7.30 pm

WATER BABY: A woman creates a state record of floating on water for 100 minutes. The attempt took place at the N SHIVA KUMAR Katriya Hotels, Somajiguda on Monday.

Junior masterchef Junior Gourmet is on.

Where: The Park Hyderabad When: Till May 17, 10 am

Dish out Biscuit-making classes are on.

Where: Colorama Printers, Begumpet.

When: From May 14 to May 16, 10 am to 1 pm.

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

Summer camp Training for children in swimming, horse riding, skating, football and tennis.

Where: St Paul’s Residential School,

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

Group show Works of four artists Jaya Prakash, K Srinivas, Murali and Shanti are on display.

Where: Di Bella Coffee, Jubilee Hills When: On May 18

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

A musical voyage Raahie, a musical show will be staged.

Where: Hard Rock Cafe, GVK 1, Banjara Hills When: May 16, 9 pm

Traditional Beats Exhibition of paintings by Anuradha

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

Ocean’s Eleven Eleven of the finest prawns are on offer.

Where: Lacantina, Novotel.

When: Till May 31, 7 pm to 11 pm

SHOWS

ART

Commissioner & Spl Officer

Helpline

Spirit of Summer A contemporary jazz workshop.

Where: Rang Manch, Himayathnagar When: Till June 1, 8 am to 9 am

Art attack Khaandikaa, works of artist Aditi Gemini are on display.

Where: Muse Art Gallery, Tank Bund Road When: Till May 18, 11 am to 7 pm

Play pursuits Children’s theatre workshop by Samahaara.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: Till June 1, 5 pm to 7 pm

Workshop for kids Scrabble workshop for children.

Where: Crossteps, Kukatpally When: May 14, 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm Behind the scene Script writing workshop by Sheel.

Where: Saptaparni, Banjara Hills When: From May 13 to May 17, 10.30 am to 12.30 pm

Shamirpet When: Till May 15, 7 am

Mango Mania You can ask for mango cheese cake, mango gateau, mango almond tart, mango milk shake and others.

Where: Le Cafe, Novotel.

When: May 31.

Music to serve a cause Karuna, musical concert dedicated to kids with HIV. Concert will feature singer Usha Uthup and others..

Where: HITEX, Madhapur When: May 17, 5.30 pm

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

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

news MEXICO

Robo probes ancient temple site TEOTIHUACAN (MEXICO): A robot that weighs just 25 kg is helping scientists explore the underworld of Teotihuacan, an archaeological complex. The complex is located some 50 km north of Mexico City.

The robot is exploring a tunnel built by Teotihuacan's residents under the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, the thirdlargest pyramid at Teotihuacan, leading archaeologists to expect an important discovery.

This is only the second time a robot has been used at the site and only the third time in history, following the use of a similar apparatus in Egypt to explore AROUND THE

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one of the Great Pyramids.

The Tlaloc II robot, which was named after the Aztec god of rain and fertility, uses a camera and scanner to provide an exact picture of the condition and shape of the tunnel, Hugo Armando Guerra, one of the engineers who designed the robot, said.

The robot performs a dangerous job, entering areas that may have loose rocks or be subject to collapse, Guerra said.

The project to explore the 103-meter tunnel under the Temple of the Feathered Serpent started in 2010.

IANS

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

IS OUSTER OF 5 STATE MINISTERS IMMINENT FOLLOWING 2 UNION MINISTERS QUITTING ?

81%

YES (A)

19%

TODAY’S QUESTION

IS IT RIGHT TO CATIGATE JUDICIARY FOR ITS COMMENTS? A)

YES

B)

NO

NO (B)

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

EDUCATION

GENDER GAP STILL EXISTS

Srikakulam has low sex ratio with 1,445 girls for 2,158 boys.

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UNITES STATES

Marine faces court martial for urination video AROUND THE

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PIC FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY

2010-11, the State witnessed a growth in enrollment by 8 per cent as per government records.

LOWEST RECORD

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The number of enrollments gender-wise in pre-primary level in all schools across the State has many stories to tell. While the sex ratio registers a great variation between the two genders even at pre-primary level in school education, the statistics also show a great difference between enrollments and some districts show an appalling difference.

The total number of preprimary enrollments across the State are 4,10,086 students of which 2,29,595 are boys and 1,80,491 are girls. Ranga Reddy district stands first among others in the State with the highest number of enrollments in preprimary level schools. It registered 46,476 enrollments, out of which 25,104 are boys and 21,372 are girls. Hyderabad registered with 16,262 boys

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and 15,459 girl enrollments for pre-primary education. The worst sex ratio was registered in Srikakulam district with 2,158 boys and 1,445 girls followed by East Godavari district with 23,216 boys and 19,144 girls. Prakasam district registered a meagre 2,166 enrollments, the lowest number in the entire State.

PREVIOUS YEAR RECORD According to the reports of previous academic year 201011, 3,90,476 pre-primary enrollments were registered including 2,18,987 boys and 1,71,489 girls. The lowest number of enrollments was recorded in the last decade was in 2004-05 with a total of 3,00,302 students of which 1,66,413 were boys and 1,33,889 girls. During

While they unabashedly declare the growth in literacy rate and child enrollment for pre-primary education, there seem to be no government sponsored measures for the districts that had recorded the lowest figures so far. For instance, among the lowest number of enrollments, Prakasam, Nellore, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Adilabad and Khammam districts stand below the average 10,000 figure pegged up for pre-primary enrolment. (Prakasam2,166, Srikakulam – 3,603, Vizianagaram- 4,825, Nellore5,175, Adilabad-7,610 and Khammam- 5,830.)

WHAT EXPERTS SAY Academicians fume over the growing gap between the sex ratio in enrollment. Charul Sharma, academician and child’s rights activist says, “Despite the seriousness of this situation, the government has assumed a casual approach towards ensuring proper sex ratio.

The problem of female infanticide and selective abortions are rampant in rural areas of Srikakulam and Prakasam districts.

Despite a blanket ban, the law against sex determination tests continues to be practiced, she added.

WASHINGTON: A US Marine officer will be court martialed for his alleged role in the scandal sparked by a 2011 video that showed American soldiers urinating on the corpse of Taliban fighters. Captain James V Clement will be tried at a special court-martial for his alleged misconduct during a counter-insurgency operation in the vicinity of Sandala, Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on or about July 27, 2011, the US Marine Corps said in a statement.

Clement will be tried for dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentlemen for failing to stop the misconduct of junior marines.

"Clement will be tried for dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentlemen for failing to stop the misconduct of junior Marines," the statement said.

The charges against Clement were referred to a special courtmartial on May 10, 2013 by Lieutenant General Richard Mills, the Commanding General of Marine Corps Combat development Command, who commanded the Marine forces in southwest Afghanistan in 2010.

The video of the soldiers, laughing as they posed over the bodies, went viral months later, sparking a global outrage.

PTI

CITY BRIEFS GHMC releases schedule for poll

APSRTC bus rams into house

Orientation programme for Haj pilgrims

Disabled man commits suicide

Union finance minister in City

HYDERABAD:The election schedule for next 15-member standing committee has been announced by GHMC. They will serve for next one year.

List of the voters will be displayed on May 15 and notice for election will be issued on May 17. The nominations will be received from May 17 to 25.

CHITTOOR A speeding RTC bus lost tracks and rammed into a roadside house early this morning leading to injuries to five passengers at Renigunta village of Chittoor district. Luckily inmates were away when the mishap took place. How the driver lost control is being investigated, said inspector Reniguta, NTV Ram Kumar.

HYDERABAD: The 205 pilgrims selected for performing Haj will be given an orientation and training camp on May 19 at Hi-Tech Garden Function Hall in Old Malakpet. The selected pilgrims will have to pay the first Haj amount of Rs76,000 and submit their details failing which their seats will be allotted to those in waiting list.

HYDERABAD: One P Tirupatanna,55, has allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his home in Brindavan colony of Hayathnagar area. He had lost one of his legs in a road accident and he was facing financial difficulties as his daughter is yet to be married.

Police found out that he was apparently dejected and took his own life.

HYDERABAD: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram will reach City this afternoon. He will participate in a meeting with bankers and industrialists at the Park Hyatt hotel in Banjara hills. The meeting will be held from 3 pm to 5.30 pm today.

After the meeting, the minister will leave for New Delhi. Arrangements were made for the meeting.

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News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013 LAST YEAR... HERE City ATMS under attack

L

ast year we had reported that most of the ATMs unattended or unguarded in the City. In many cases, the CC cameras which are mandatory for every ATM are not working.Police claimed that they are doing their best but it is difficult if the banks do not maintain their CCTVs in working condition and the machines are not guarded.

MAY 14, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

$38.8

Leonardo DiCaprio urged wealthy art collectors Monday to bid at an environmental charity auction in New York as if the planet's fate "depends on us"- and they responded by splashing out $38.8 million.

To peel coconuts, you’ve got to have jaw power.

You’ve got to have teeth power. And you’ve got to have God’s power.

Andres Gardin Cocunut peeler See page 12

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

1

Complaingts galore GHMC’s prajavani The weekly Prajavani programme of GHMC where the civic administration responds to citizens’ grievances in a direct manner is bringing complaints against unlawful constructions and encroachments.

2

At last, Kukatpally RoB opened The long awaited Kukatpally Railway Over Bridge (RoB) is finally ready. The HMDA proposes to open it for traffic on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy will declare it open.

3

War crime shame is not a universal phenomenon.

Osaka mayor justifies Japan’s WWII practice of keeping sex slaves as ‘necessary’.

4

Cashing in on new-found fame?

Buenos Aires has its cash registers ringing — by selling itself as the Pope’s hometown.

5

When will the bubble burst?

While a parched City grabs any affordable water can, there is hardly any quality check.

CIVIC

Bill to lasso billboard

New advertisement policy on anvil seeks to ban huge hoardings near schools, hospitals, heritage buildings and parks. Hoardings will be fined if found to be using fake phone numbers.

ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com

H

opefully soon residents of the City will be taken for a surprise when they can spot buildings more clearly and will also be able to admire the landscape which had so far been blocked by huge advertisement hoardings.

The advertisement policy which has been prepared by the government is in its final stage and will be adopted very soon, confirmed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials.

Illegal hoardings keep up Even two years of placing a ban on unipoles (billboard on a single steel pipe) hoardings the GHMC is still grappling with the issue as thousands of unauthorised or illegal hoardings keep bobbing in different parts of the City causing incalculable harm to the City’s look and ambience. Though the officials have identified around 599 illegal hoardings since 2011, senior officials in the department confirm that the number of illegal hoardings is four times more than this number. So far the GHMC officials claim that they have removed around 460 ille-

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gal hoardings and will shortly be removing the rest of the 139 unauthorised hoardings soon.

“Many of these advertisement companies have been found to be displaying fake advertisement numbers. Some of the areas in the West Zone like Kondapur, Nadhapur, Jubilee Hills, Kukatpally and Gachibowli have the highest

number of illegal hoardings. We have removed most of them after making sure that the agencies which erected them have no political influence backing them. The rest of the illegal hoardings also will be removed gradually,” said a senior official in the advertisement department.

According to officials only 2,683 hoardings are permitted in the city at various locations.

When the advertisement policy comes to effect even this number will come down to half, say

the GHMC officials.

As per the draft of the advertisement policy, hoardings will be banned on any hospitals, schools, heritage buildings, parks, religious places and near any water bodies. Hoardings will not be allowed to be erected in any residential areas and the minimum distance between two hoardings will have to be at least 30 meters. Unipoles will only be allowed in commercial areas.

The locations of all the advertisement boards have been categorised in to A, B and C areas. While State and National highways and roads in all towns and major commercial areas fall under the A category area, major district roads and other small commercial roads fall in category B. Residential areas and other institutions come under category C. Unsafe and unauthorised hoardings should be removed by the owners within 3 days of time from when the notice is issued, else the GHMC would remove and the cost incurred on it will be taken from the owner.

If there are any violations of this rules, penalty up to 25,000 would be levied and the licence of the advertisement agency will also be cancelled.

BITTER LAUGHS

Comedy, scandal, class schism A satire comedy film on spoilt rich brats has taken Mexico box-office by storm.

LAURENT THOMET Agence France-Presse MEXICO CITY: How the mighty have fallen in Mexico — at least on movie screens and in social media. A comedy lampooning the rich has become the highest-grossing film in Mexican cinema history, with five million moviegoers laughing at the story of a construction tycoon fooling his spoilt children into a life of poverty.

Nosotros Los Nobles (We Are The Nobles) has hit a nerve — or the funny bone — in a country with one of the widest income gaps in the world, where 10 per cent of the people control 40 per cent of the wealth while almost half live in poverty.

Then last month, in a real-life

scene that could have come right from the script, inspectors from the Profeco consumer protection agency tried to close a restaurant after their boss's daughter complained she was denied her table of choice.

But the tables turned on her when Mexicans denounced her AROUND THE

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behavior on Twitter, dubbing her #LadyProfeco. Some mocked her as a daddy's girl, asking her to shut down a volcano spewing ash, but many saw it as the latest example of the elite's sense of entitlement.

Gary "Gaz" Alazraki (pictured), the 35-year-old director of

Nosotros Los Nobles," said the young woman's behavior is typical of the privileged few in Mexico, who often think they are above the law, and he wanted to use comedy to depict the disconnect between the elite and the poor.

In the movie, businessman German Noble — tired of seeing his three children cruise through life thanks to his deep pockets — decides to teach them a lesson by faking his bankruptcy and staging a police raid on his property to force them to get jobs.

The oldest son, Javi, likes to party and fly on a private jet to Miami -- until he ends up driving a bus in Mexico City's congested streets. The daughter, Barbie, talks down to the help and leaves bad tips, but she suddenly finds

herself serving tacos in a cantina.

When she learns she has to share tips with co-workers, she asks: "Are we in Cuba now or something?" The youngest, Charlie, gets kicked out of university for sleeping with a professor and takes up a job as a bank teller.

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News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

HEALTH

CITY EVENT

Test for new bird flu strain The test is expected to play a majot role in keeping the virus out of the country.

NATASHA CHAKU feedback@postnoon.com MELBOURNE: Australian scientists have for the first time developed a test for the new H7N9 bird flu strain which will be vital in keeping the disease out of the country.

Scientists from Queensland have developed the test at Pathology state's microbiology

CIVIC

department in conjunction with the state Paediatric Infectious Disease Laboratory at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

The state government has said the test will play a major role in keeping the flu out of the country.

Meanwhile researchers have said that the test is an essential part of the preparedness for a

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potential bird flu pandemic, according to a report in ABC. The H7N9 flu has so far taken 31 live with four more people who died from the virus last week in China.

The bird flu strain which

first appeared in March has been detected in eastern China and Taiwan only.

The head of the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the current strain of bird flu virus cannot spark a pandemic in its current form, but that there is no guarantee it will not mutate and cause a serious pandemic.

PTI

What's in the water?

With new reports emerging everyday declaring City's ground water unfit to drink, demand for packaged drinking water is rising. But how safe is it?

PADMINI C padmini.c@postnoon.com

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very morning and evening, a long winding queue forms along a bylane in Erramanzil colony. Residents around the area crowd each day to have their fill of clean drinking water from the treatment plant run by the Naandi Foundation.

Here, each bubble top can containing about 15 litres is sold for approximately five rupees. The price is lucrative not just to the residents but to scores of private suppliers who fill their vans with these bottles and sell them with a 300-400 per cent mark up at `30-40 a can. Even the seals are available and hammered in to place at the plant for one buck a pop.

“Be thankful, this is still clean water. You don't know where all the rest get their water from,” said a supplier while leading away his 50 odd cans labelled ‘Apple Mineral Water’ agency.

Naandi’s facility is among the few where water is actually treated in accordance with ISI standards. Sadly, the same can't be said of many others.

With groundwater getting

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more and more unfit to drink, packaged drinking water has become the alternative for offices and residences alike, leading to the emergence of hundreds of spurious agencies across the City promising ‘pure, mineral water’.

Except the origins of these water bottles are as dubious as the checks being levied on them.

The Food Safety Authority office, for instance, acknowledges the problem but has no answers

about measures being undertaken to either curtail such activities or punish the agencies.

An official from the Food Commissioners Office said, “Almost all of these local water companies are bogus, operating without licenses, and don’t conform to any of the BIS standards, but that said, we are the over-all in-charge, the food inspectors must do all the checks and raids.”

In the absence of governmental inference, it’s private labs that consumers are seeking out to help them know if their drinking water is safe.

Vitro labs in Nallakunta

which receives hundreds of drinking water samples each month from all over the City debunks the myth that this water might be safer than ground water.

An analyst from the lab discreetly confides, “We usually check water samples on 22 parameters including testing them for pH, fluoride, E-coli, chlorine, alkaline content etc. And we find that most of them fail the test.”

Caught between a rock and a hard place, the end customer is left with few options. Reliable names in the market like Bisleri, Kinley and Bibo charge anywhere between `65 and `90 per can.

“Water purifiers require running water which we get very little of. Trusted companies charge too much. The affordable ones might not be very reliable. So what choice do I have?” asks Manikonda, a resident of Madhapur, who gets his cans delivered from a dealer in his area.

Incidentally – Sri Water Supply – the dealer Manikonda and many in the area trust to provide safe drinking water, runs a facility in the midst of a major dump yard along the HITEX road.

Defence symposium on May 24 POSTNOON TEAM feedback@postnoon.com

H

yderabad will play host to the sixth Annual India Defence and Aerospace Symposium on May 24 at The Park hotel, Somajiguda.

The symposium is expected to focus on how COTS (Commercially Off the Shelf) technology and software-defined systems help leverage the local talent build state-of-the-art test and embedded systems for Indian aerospace-Defence needs. This indigenous approach ensures that know how is available locally hence guaranteeing long-term reliability and maintainability of the systems.

Themes to be presented are Radar Test and Validation, Ecosystem for indigenisation, large channel data acquisition, etc.

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Indigenisation is key to selfreliance without compromising national security in the Indian Aerospace and Defence industry.

The approach of building software-designed systems, with COTS technologies is redefining the development of aerospace and defence systems — it is to help scientists and engineers build sophisticated systems indigenously.

The themes slated to be presented at the symposium are next generation platforms for Radar Test and Validation, Ecosystem for indigenisation, large channel data acquisition, Simulators, Autonomous systems, wireless sensors and applications etc.

The symposium will altogether be held in two other cities beginning with Bengaluru on May 17, and Delhi on May 30.

NATION BRIEFS Court seeks medical report of accused

MP Assembly Deputy Speaker dies

Saris and dhotis seized

80-yr-old hacked to death

Son kills ailing father for property

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court hearing the Dec 16, 2012 gang-rape yesterday sought the medical report of an accused admitted to hospital with high fever. Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna called for the medical report of Vinay Sharma from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where he was taken on May 6 from Tihar Jail following high fever.

SEONI: Madhya Pradesh Assembly Deputy Speaker and senior Congress leader Harvansh Singh died in the wee hours of today following a cardiac arrest.

Singh, 65, is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter. The former minister, who was elected from Keolari Assembly seat, suffered the attack at his house in Barra.

ERODE: Revenue officials seized 11,500 saris and dhotis meant for free supply to people living below the poverty line.They visited a premises at Vairapalayam in the suburb yesterday and found the items in bundles. Workers there told them that the materials were meant for transporting to Kanpur. Nobody has been arrested.

AZAMGARH: An elderly person was hacked to death in the Kritmalpur Ahirauli village in Vardah area, police said today. Ishtiyaq alias Chutkan (80) was killed last night by some unidentified persons while sleeping outside his house. The body of the victim has been sent for postmortem and a probe is on. No arrests have been made yet.

ETAH: A son allegedly killed his ailing father in the Gandudwara village in Kasganj area for property, police said today. Aurangzeb (65), who was critically ill, was allegedly killed yesterday by his son Wasim, who was upset with his brothers for planning to sell their property for the treatment of their father. The accused has been arrested.

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News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

POLITICS

ABUSE OF POWER?

Don’t trust Naidu: Kiran Govt this year plans to distribute `72,000 Crore farm loans POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

T

he Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy urged people not to trust the TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on his promise of waiving farm loans.

Addressing a public meeting in Nizamabad on Monday, Kiran said that only the UPA, till date, has shown care and concern for the farmers in the country.

Stating that people were intelligent than leaders, the chief minister said people would deliver their verdict in the elections after listening to all political leaders. The Chief Minister exuded confidence that the farmers would cast their vote to the Congress party as it delivered what it promised and did not sell dreams.

The Chief Minister said, “The Congress would stick to its word but Chandrababu never fulfilled his promises. He only

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raised the power charges and price of `2-a-kg rice during his rule. He said the Congress governments alone would fulfil the promises given to farmers.

He asked whether Chandrababu has guts to say that his party was a pro-farmers party. He said the Congress has guts to proclaim they were profarmers governments.

The Chief Minister said Rythu Chaithanya Yatras were not a gimmick but were taken up with a great aim. The scien-

ENVIRONMENT

Warming to wipe out half of flora and fauna The species most at risk are amphibians, plants, reptiles and regions that would lose most of its species are SubSaharan Africa, Central America, Amazonia and Australia.

PARIS: More than half of common species of plants and a third of animal species are likely to see their living space halved by 2080 on current trends of carbon emissions, a climate study said on Sunday.

Output of man-made greenhouse gases is putting Earth on track for 4

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degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming by 2100 compared with the pre-industrial 18th century, it said.

The unprecedented speed of warming will be a shock for many species, as it will badly affect the climatic range in which they live, it warned.

Investigators from Britain’s University of East Anglia looked at 48,786 species and measured how their habitat would be affected according to models of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Fifty-five per cent of plants and 35 per cent of animals could see their living space halved by 2080 at current emission growth for CO2, they found.

The figures take into account the species’ ability to migrate into habitat that may open up as a result of warming.

The species most at risk are amphibians, plants and reptiles, and regions that would lose most are Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, Amazonia and Australia.

Lead researcher Rachel Warren said the estimates “are probably conservative” as they were based on the impact of rising global temperatures.

AFP

tists, bankers, irrigation, power and concerned officials will go straight to the farmers and ask their problems and give suggestions to the farmers, he said.

He said the government conducted 37,000 Rythu Chaithanya Sadassulu across the State and it was going to conduct them in 74 divisions in the coming days and about 19 lakh farmers would participate in the sadassulu.

He recalled that Chandrababu Naidu government and NDA government at the Centre before 2004 used to give loans to the farmers at 11 to 12 percent, but Manmohan Singh’s UPA government, under Sonia Gandhi’s leadership reduced it to seven per cent.

The Centre had allocated `7 lakh Crore loans to the farmers this year as against `70,000 to 80,000 Crore allotted in the past.

He said the State government would distribute `72,000 Crore loans to the farmers this year.

US govt ‘obtains’ AP call records WASHINGTON: In an unusual move, US Justice Department secretly obtained two months' of telephone records of journalists working for the Associated Press, an action termed by the global news wire as a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how it gathers the news.

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The Justice Department obtained secret records as part of a year-long investigation into the disclosure of classified information about a failed al-Qaeda plot last year.

The alleged Justice Department obtained two months phone records, mostly outgoing, of its several offices, particularly those in New York and Washington. AP is asking the DOJ for an immediate explanation of the extraordinary action and for the records to be removed immediately.

PTI

7

News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

POLITICS

Gujarat Govt holds death penalty Right wing criticises decision to seek death penalty for Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi.

AHMEDABAD: Under attack from right wing forces, Gujarat government today kept on hold its decision to seek death penalty for former minister Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi and eight others in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case.

The rethink comes after Chief Minister Narendra Modi government came under criticism from right wing forces for its earlier decision to go ahead with the Supreme Courtappointed SIT’s recommenda-

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tion to seek death penalty for Kodnani, Bajrangi and others.

The state government had earlier given its consent to file an appeal in the High Court seeking death sentence for Kodnani, Bajrangi and others, who were awarded life term by a lower court.

“The decision has been

Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years in prison while Bajrangi was sentenced to jail for his entire life. withheld for now as we have to take opinion of state advocate general,” Gujarat Finance Minister and spokesperson Nitish Patel said.

“A final decision will be taken after advocate general

gives his opinion,” Patel added.

Kodnani, who was earlier a minister in the Modi government, was sentenced to 28 years in prison by a Special Court in August 2012 in connection with the post-Godhra Naroda Patiya riot case — in which 96 people were killed.

Bajrang Dal activist Babu Bajrangi was sentenced to jail for his entire life, while eight others were given 31 years' jail term each in the same case. PTI

WASHINGTON: A passenger was booted off an American Airlines flight en route from Los Angeles to New York yesterday when she would not stop singing Whitney Houston's hit I Will Always Love You.

WORLD

Planners under fire

A well-meaning direct interface between the civic officials and the public brings in a large number of complaints against illegal constructions. without any development. In spite of clear guidelines from court, GHMC has failed to proceed with developmen activity.”

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Complaints received on Monday Total complaints received so far Disposal

HYDERABAD: The weekly Prajavani programme of GHMC where the civic administration responds to citizens’ grievances in a direct manner is bringing an avalanche of popular complaints against unlawful constructions and encroachments.

While the direct interface is supposed to cater to many emergency services, it is clear that illegal constructions and attendant problems are bother-

Passenger booted from flight for singing

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Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

WASHINGTON

ing people more than anything else. On Monday, 75 per cent of the complaints had something to do with irregular construction or encroachments.

Unlawful constructions in Upperpally Village was the first complaint to reach the Prajavani, followed by several others related to Town Planning. Delay in Building Penalisation Scheme, encroachment of road and construction of building at Lalapet, Illegal construction of plot in Dilsukhnagar, blocking way of

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mosque by land grabbers in Bahadurpura, illegal erection of huts on the road of Friends Colony, unauthorised construction at Ladbazar and encroachment of water beds and illegal construction of houses at Miyapur were also raised.

In an instance of how space meant for development of park has been encroached by people from outside the colony, by constructing a temple, a resident of Lalapet, K Laxman was furious.

According to him, about 300 sqyd has been already encroached by Temple, where none of the colony people have stakes. “At least the remaining land that should have been transformed into park is left

OFFICIAL INEPTITUDE Prajavani has brought to fore the inefficiency of officials and their communication skills. At one point the ineptitude of one additional commissioner so irked the commissioner MT Krishna Babu that he admonished the official for his abject failure to communicate with the deputy municipal commissioners over the importance of the Urban Community Development in GHMC. “You are not taking interests”, he glared at his subordinate. He said the deputy commissioners seldom understands the need to tell public that the GHMC spends huge money for the welfare schemes and it is not there only to tax people and collect revenue. Babu told additional commissioner that writing a letter to is not enough. “You should have the kill to explain and convince the DCs,” he said.

The plane's pilot made an unscheduled stop in Kansas City about halfway through the sixhour flight after passengers and crew complained about the woman's incessant singing.

American Airlines spokesman Joe McBride told local Kansas City KCTV that the woman's behaviour was "disruptive" and that she was removed from the aircraft for "interfering with the flight crew".

Because the woman would not stop singing the Houston hit, the pilot declared an emergency and requested clearance for an emergency landing at the Kansas City airport, McBride added.

Once on the ground, police boarded the plane, handcuffed the passenger and removed her from the plane.

The airline refused to let the passenger board another flight.

In a video recorded by a passenger on a cellphone and then posted on the Internet, the woman is seen being removed by police from the flight, still singing the hit from The Bodyguard, the 1992 film starring Houston, who died in 2012, and Kevin Costner.

After being questioned by the police, the passenger was released without being charged and told the media that her diabetes sometimes caused her to engage in ridiculous behaviour of the sort that got her kicked off the flight.

IANS

WORLD BRIEFS Joilie underwent double mastectomy

Three astronauts return from ISS stint

China top official sacked for corruption

Boat with 150 Rohingya Muslims capsizes

Putin-Netanyahu to hold talks today

NEW YORK: Angelina Jolie revealed that she has undergone a preventive double mastectomy to reduce her risk of cancer. Jolie wrote in an opinion piece entitled "My Medical Choice" in The New York Times that she had chosen the procedure because she carries a faulty gene that increases her risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

MOSCOW: Canadian spaceman Chris Hadfield on Tuesday returned to Earth along with two other astronauts after a half-year mission to the International Space Station that saw him become a global celebrity through his Twitter microblog.

Hadfield landed safely along with American Tom Marshburn and Russian Roman Romanenko.

BEIJING: China's ruling Communist Party has sacked a top government official, state media reported Tuesday, following a probe into graft allegations that emerged on the Internet. Liu Tienan, deputy director of the powerful National Development and Reform Commission , was dismissed, the official Xinhua news agency said.

YANGON: A boat carrying up to 150 Rohingya Muslims fleeing a cyclone has capsized off Myanmar's coast, the UN said on Tuesday, as the storm threatened to strike flood-prone Rakhine State over coming days. The boat went missing on Monday night after it left Pauktaw township, a UN spokeswoman said.

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were set Tuesday to hold talks on the conflict in Syria amid growing concern about Moscow's arms deliveries to the Damascus regime.

Netanyahu is just the latest world leader to beat a path to Putin's door for talks on Syria in recent days.

8

News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

ABORTION

MURDER MYSTERY

US doc faces death penalty A US abortion provider was found guilty of murdering three babies with scissors after they were born alive in his filthy Philadelphia clinic.

NEW YORK: A US abortion provider was found guilty Monday of murdering three babies with scissors after they were born alive in his filthy Philadelphia clinic.

Kermit Gosnell, 72, could face the death penalty after his conviction by a jury in a Philadelphia court, the district attorney's office said.

The jury returned guilty ver-

Death with dignity bill

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rosecutors said Kermit Gosnell performed late-term abortions in a state where the limit is set at 24 weeks and that when babies emerged still alive, he used scissors to sever their spines. He denied this, insisting that all babies were already dead as a result of the drug he was using.

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dicts on the three babies, an acquittal in the alleged murder of a fourth, and a guilty verdict in the involuntary manslaughter of a woman on whom he was performing an abortion, DA's spokeswoman Tasha Jamerson said.

The jury, which had earlier Monday declared itself unable to decide on two counts before going back to try again, had been deliberating for 10 days.

Gosnell's crimes horrified Americans on either side of the intense national debate on the rights and wrongs of abortion.

Prosecutors said he performed late-term abortions in a state where the limit is set at 24 weeks and that when babies emerged still alive, he used scissors to sever their spines.

However, he denied this, insisting that all babies were already dead as a result of the drug he

THE CASE

was using in the abortion.

During one operation in the clinic a woman who'd come in for an abortion died from a heart attack after an overdose of anesthesia.

Gosnell's business, called the Women's Medical Society, was "decrepit and unsanitary," prosecutors said, staffed with unlicensed personnel who would "practice medicine on unsuspecting patients, unsupervised, and directed them to heavily drug patients in his absence."

The grand jury report indicting Gosnell described the outwardly professional looking brick building where he worked as a house of horrors.

egislators in the US state of Vermont approved a "death-with-dignity" bill Monday enabling terminally ill patients to request medication from their doctors to take their own lives.

The liberal-minded New England state becomes the third in the United States, after Oregon and Washington, to allow assisted suicide -- but the first to do so by legislative process rather than a voter-initiated referendum. Governor Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, has declared that he will sign the End of Life Choice Bill.

Gay time in Minnesota

Small amount of pot OK

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n Monday Minnesota became the 12th state, and the third in two weeks, to legalize same-sex marriage, marking another victory for marriage equality campaigners in the United States.

Senators in the state capital Saint Paul approved the measure by a 37-30 vote, after it cleared the House of Representatives on Thursday, and Governor Mark Dayton is expected to sign it into law as early as Tuesday. "I am proud to be a Minnesotan today," said Democratic state senator Scott Dribble.

ermont's legislature on Monday voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, making the New England state the 17th to relax restrictions on the drug. The House of Representatives followed an earlier vote in the state Senate in favor of the measure and Governor Peter Shumlin, a strong supporter, was expected to sign it into law. The law would decriminalize possession of up to one ounce (28.3 grams) of marijuana and also small quantities of hashish.

US tech expert left suicide note SINGAPORE: A US hightech researcher whose family claims he was murdered in Singapore was under treatment for depression and left suicide notes before he was found hanged, a public inquiry was told Monday.

Senior state counsel Tai Wei Shyong, opening a coroner's inquest into the death of electronics engineer Shane Todd, said there were no signs of foul play in the apartment where his body was found.

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taking part in the inquiry, believe he was killed in connection with his work for a Singapore research institute with alleged links to a Chinese firm accused of involvement in international espionage.

Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecom giant, and Todd's former employer, the state-linked Institute of Microelectronics (IME), have denied collaborating on any project involving Todd.

AFP

EU FILM FESTIVAL

Celebrating the spirit of women

The 18th edition of European Union Film Festival in India offers a rare glimpse of some of the most poignant films from various European countries.

HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com

F

ilm aficionados in Hyderabad are in for a rare treat this month. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties between European and India, the European Union is all set to launch the 18th edition of European Union Film Festival in several Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

As many as 24 films from 24 different European countries will be screened in Hyderabad

Our Recommendations The First Assignment (Italy) Roads and Oranges (Cyprus) Applause (Denmark) Eszter's Inheritance (Hungary) Back To Your Arms (Lithuania) The Graveyard Keeper's Daughter (Estonia) Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl (Portugal) Beyond (Sweden) The House (Slovakia) Installation of Love (Slovenia)

from May 25 onwards and the film festival will come to an end on June 8.

The films will be screened at Annapurna International School of Film+Media (AISFM), Alliance Francaise, Goethe Zentrum.

EU delegation to India, which is organising the film festival, has themed it on 'Celebrating Women' and films offer a glimpse of lives of women whose indomitable spirit speaks for itself.

The film festival will open on May 25 evening at Prasads IMAX and the opening film is an Italian

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film titled The First Assignment and the closing film of the film festival is a Romanian film titled My Sex Life, which will be screened at AISFM on June 8.

Prepare yourself for some quality visual treats.

For more details about the film festival, contact Anna Edlin - anna.edlin@goethehyderabad.com.

Tel - 040-23350443

9

News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013 BAFTA AWARDS DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR COLMAN London: Olivia Colman took home two Bafta TV awards for best comedy actress and best supporting actress for her roles in Twenty Twelve and Accused.

Ben Whishaw was adjudged the best actor for his role in the BBC's Richard II (The Hollow Crown). Best drama series was won by Last Tango in Halifax, while Room at the Top picked up best mini series.

LEADING ACTOR Ben Whishaw - Richard II (The Hollow Crown) BEN WHISHAW LEADING ACTRESS Sheridan Smith - Mrs Biggs

SUPPORTING ACTOR Simon Russell Beale - Henry IV Part 2 SUPPORTING ACTRESS Olivia Colman – Accused OLIVIA COLMAN ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE Alan Carr - Alan Carr: Chatty Man FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAMME Olivia Colman - Twenty Twelve MALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAMME Steve Coogan - Welcome to the Places of My Life DRAMA SERIES Last Tango in Halifax INTERNATIONAL Girls ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME The Graham Norton Showa SITUATION COMEDY Twenty Twelve AUDIENCE AWARD Game of Thrones

FEMINIST FURY

Barbie mansion under fire As the first life-sized Barbie Dreamhouse in Europe is set to open this week, feminists are mobilising against what they call a sexist icon.

MARIE JULIEN Agence France-Presse BERLIN: The opening this month of the first life-sized Barbie Dreamhouse in Europe may be the fantasy of many a little girl, but Berlin feminists are mobilising against what they call a sexist icon.

With her ironed-straight blond tresses, doe-like baby blue eyes, blinding smile and superhuman measurements, the mistress of the giant Barbie mansion has become a lightning rod ahead of the May 16 inauguration.

Just a few steps from Alexanderplatz, the main shopping district of east Berlin, the 2,500-square-metre (26,900 square foot) slice of Malibu lifestyle is nestled between a railway and old communist housing blocks.

Inside, young Barbie fans can pretend to bake cupcakes in a marvellous kitchen, rummage through her sequin-studded wardrobe in the blonde bombshell's "endless" walk-in closet and lounge in her — pink, of course — living room while admiring hundreds of dolls on display.

"For 22 euros ($29), you can

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have two careers — model or pop star! What kind of image is that presenting to young women?" grumbles Michael Koschitzki, the proudly feminist male leader of a grassroots group of opponents of the Barbie Dreamhouse, and a member of the youth wing of the far-left party Die Linke.

A Facebook faction called "Occupy Barbie Dreamhouse", created in March with a wink at the New York anti-greed movement Occupy Wall Street, has drawn more than 1,000 support-

For 22 euros ($29), you can have two careers — model or pop star!

What kind of image is that presenting to young women?

Michael Koschitzki A feminist male leader

ers since its launch in March when the Berlin plans came to light.

It regrets that "the vast majority of little girls play with a doll that, if she were real, would be anorexic and whose life would consist of waiting for Ken in the car," Koschitzki said.

An angry fist piercing adverts for the attraction was printed on 10,000 flyers to publicise the fight against such "sexist propaganda" in a country headed by a childless woman.

Germany, where combining family and work is notoriously difficult, has a fertility rate among the lowest in western Europe and is debating binding quotas for female executives to diversify its overwhelmingly male-dominated boardrooms.

Having weathered half a century of feminist rage, US Barbie manufacturer Mattel notes that it has modernised the doll's image, moving beyond the beach beauty to create surgeon dolls and even a presidential candidate.

AFP

CRIME

Bizman alleges police apathy He was kidnapped and beaten up for not paying ransom last year and yet the Gopalpuram cops sat on the case leading to a similar situation now.

MOHD SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

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A

businessman Keshav Rao has a question. If the police are not for the safety and security of the law-abiding citizens, what use are they?

Rao, 40, a cloth merchant is a resident of Sanikpuri in Secunderabad. He has been receiving phone calls from unidentified men who demanded a huge ransom money or threatened him to face the trauma he underwent not long ago.

It was revealed in an investigation that Rao, who had a flourishing cloth business was kidnapped by two men, identified as Rajesh and Koteswar Rao. He was kept in captivity and was asked to pay `10 lakh for release.

He refused and he was beaten up

Rao was kidnapped by two men and was asked to pay `10 lakh for release. He was beaten up for two days when he refused.

He managed to escape when their vigil was lax. for two continuous days. Somehow, he says, he managed to escape when their vigil was lax.

Rao says he had immediately lodged a complaint with the Gopalpuram police but they did nothing to trace the culprits

though the identity of the duo were given to the police.

The police inaction has now led to further harassment, he says. Recently he kept receiving similar phone calls he’d received last year. He suspects it that it

might be the same people, though this time the callers are threatening to kill his family too.

Rao said that the cops are just being too lax and not arraigning the guilty which leads to this kind of situation.

10

News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

BEVERAGE

Ceylon sexes up image of its tea Sri Lanka Tea Board is about to embark on a major international marketing campaign for the first time to promote the health benefits of a high-end cup.

AMAL JAYASINGHE Agence France-Presse SRI LANKA: A hot cup of Ceylon tea is better known as being soothing and relaxing, but Sri Lanka is now marketing its most profitable export as a luxury boost for the libido.

The tea industry is increasingly plugging Ceylon’s supposed aphrodisiac qualities in a bid to radically change perceptions of the brew, which manufacturers say that they can sell for less than water in some markets. “We are highlighting the properties of tea that can give you an edge in the bedroom,” said Rohan Fernando, whose firm HVA Foods sells a small 60-gram jar of premium Ceylon for $350.

“Tea has traditionally been the poor man’s drink. We want to be at the top-end of the supply chain,” he said.

The industry may not yet have hard medical proof of Ceylon’s performance-enhancing powers, but

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Sri Lanka also conducts the world’s largest weekly tea auction where five to six million kilos (10 to 13 million pounds) change hands. they have long been the stuff of legend among Sri Lankan tea lovers.

The brews known for their potency are the top-quality white teas, known as Silver Tips and Golden Tips, which are gaining popularity among well-heeled Chinese businessmen along with rich Saudis and Japanese, Fernando said. Unlike orthodox teas, the white varieties are made with just the tender tea buds, which are sun-

dried and carefully tended until they turn gold or silver in colour. At his tea factory in Kandana town, north of the capital Colombo, Fernando held up a ceramic urn wrapped in black velvet and sealed with a gold ribbon, explaining that a cuppa is not only good for sexual health. The tea contains polyphenols, flavonoids and anti-oxidants-known to improve the immune system and blood circulation.

Leading tea maker Herman Gunaratne is also keen to promote such qualities in his rare “virgin white” tea, so called as it is untouched by human hands in production, unlike orthodox types hand-plucked from the tea bush. The product retails at the Mariage Freres tea emporium in Paris for $88 for a 20-gram box, the equivalent of $4,400 per kilo.”My virgin white tea contains 10.11 per cent anti-oxidants. This could be the highest level of anti-oxidants in any tea.”

CIVIC

Long wait over, Kukatpally RoB opens RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA Rahul.r@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The long awaited Kukatpally Railway Over Bridge (RoB) is finally ready. The HMDA proposes to open it for traffic on Wednesday after Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy declares it open. The 910m-bridge that would provide thousands of commuters, especially techies, relief from gridlock, had witnessed many hiccups and delays. The RoB works was taken up in March 2007 and the initial project completion date was August 2008. However, things went sour between the

SRINIVAS SETTY

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Southern Central Railway and HMDA, as the SCR was responsible for shifting of utilities like water and sewage lines over the railway track where the RoB was to be constructed.

The initial project cost was `24.38 crore. But delays in completing the project shot the project cost to `48 crore and the final cost is now estimated at `60 crore. The finished RoB will connect Hitec City railway station to Kukatpally Housing Board phase IV.

SPECTRES FROM WWII

‘Comfort women were neccessary’

TOKYO: The Japanese government on Tuesday moved to distance itself from comments by a prominent politician that the socalled "comfort women" of WWII served a "necessary" role by keeping troops in check.

Outspoken Osaka Mayor

Toru Hashimoto said soldiers living with the daily threat of death needed some way to let off steam and the comfort women system provided this outlet.

Up to 200,000 women from Korea, China, the Philippines and elsewhere were forcibly

drafted into brothels catering to the Japanese military in territories occupied by Japan during WWII, according to many mainstream historians.

The comments risk further inflaming the already-irritated relationship Japan has with

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neighbours that were victims of its brutal expansionism and who claim Tokyo has never faced up

to its warmongering past.

"When soldiers risk their lives under a hail of bullets, and you want to give them a rest somewhere, it is clear that you need a comfort women system," Hashimoto said.

AFP

11

News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

CANINE REFORM

Thai monk punishes dog for killing cat Phra said that he had punished other dogs in similar fashion and it had worked before.

BANGKOK: In a unusual punishment, the abbot of a temple penalised a dog that killed a kitten, by hanging the dead cat around its neck, drawing angry reactions from netizens.

A monk at the temple in Mukdahan province told reporters that the dog, which

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was raised there, bit one of the kittens to death when the monks were collecting alms one morning. To teach the dog a les-

son, abbot Phra Thong decided to hang the dead kitten around the dog’s neck, using a piece of the monk’s robe.

The unusual punishment imposed by the abbot of Wat Sri Boon Ruang has astonished people visiting the temple and internet dwellers, and negative

HEALTH

NOVEL CORONAVIRUS

Panic grips Saudis as coronavirus toll rises

Deaths due to new strain of coronavirus with a high fatality, which can even be transmitted from human to human, is now on the rise. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause a range of infections, from common cold to SARS.

While the virus has been deadliest in Saudi Arabia, cases have also been reported in Jordan, Germany, Britain and France where two patients are now in hospital.

A Saudi health ministry official visits patients infected with a new SARS-like virus at a hospital in the eastern Saudi province of al-Ahsaa on Monday. AFP

RIYADH - Panic has gripped Saudis in the country’s east, where most cases of the deadly coronavirus have been detected, witnesses said, as the death toll from the SARS-like virus in the kingdom hits 15.

Scores of people have reported to the emergency services at hospitals in the city of Al-Ahsa in Eastern Province after showing even the slightest signs of a fever.

“I felt the symptoms of a cold, accompanied by a fever,” a young man told AFP on Monday from one hospital where he was admitted and placed in quarantine.

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Anyone showing possible symptoms of the virus after being admitted to hospitals in Al-Ahsa region had been placed in isolation, Saudi authorities said.

Fifteen of the 24 people who have contracted the coronavirus in Saudi Arabia since August have died, Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabia said on Sunday.

A total of 13 cases have been detected in the King Fahd hospital, in Al-Ahsa. Among those was

Pick

comments poured in through various social media platforms.

Phra believes that this punishment would stop the dog from attacking other cats again, he told the Bangkok Post. Phra said that he had punished other dogs in similar fashion and it had worked before.

PTI

a nine-year-old girl who died a few hours after arriving at hospital with a strong fever.

Another fatality was Haidar Ghanem, a disabled 21-year-old man who had a “strong fever” for a week, according to his father Mokhtar. He died last Thursday, four days after being admitted to hospital after falling unconscious.

In all, 34 cases have been reported worldwide since the virus was first detected in September 2012, with 18 of the victims dying, according to the World Heath Organization.

While the virus has been deadliest in Saudi Arabia, cases have also been reported in Jordan, Germany, Britain and France where two patients are now in hospital in the northern city of Lille.

However Keiji Fakuda, WHO’s assistant director general for health security and environment, told a Riyadh news conference on Sunday the new virus posed an “important and major challenge” for countries affected and said that experts were still grappling to understand all aspects of the virus and how humans become infected, stressing, however, that “this new virus is not the SARS virus.”

DOCTOR SACKED

34

In June 2012, Ali Mohamed Zaki, a virologist at the Dr Soliman Fakeeh Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was sacked when he warned other scientists of a new, deadly strain of coronavirus via pro MED after running lab tests of a patient. (source: the Guardian)

Cases have been recorded globally since the new strain was first spotted in September 2012.

Of the 34 people infected with the novel coronavirus have died.

24

18

Cases have been reported from Saudi Arabia alone; 15 of them have died.

A DEADLY STRAIN Known as the ‘cousin of SARS virus,’ a new deadly strain, the ‘novel coronavirus’ has emerged.

HUMAN-HUMAN TRANSMISSION: WHO officials have now said that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted from one infected human to another if there is a prolonged exposure.

AFP

at the

airport,

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12

News TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

GUINNESS WORTHY

The man with teeth of steel

VIRGIN GALACTIC

The ‘Coconut Peeler’ Andres Gardin at 64 is hell-bent on gnawing his way into the Guinness Book of World Records.

‘Space trips won’t affect environment’

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RIO ALEJANDRO: With jaws of steel that have earned him the nickname “Coconut Peeler,” Andres Gardin, at the tender age of 64, is hell-bent on gnawing his way into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Sure, lots of gents his age might be thinking about retirement or whiling away time at the bar.

But when you have a set of vice-like teeth, you have a duty, don’t you?

Gardin, who styles himself in an thorough homage to the old American classic TV character Mr T. and drives a cab when not making headlines, is not one to shirk from skills he has honed since he was a coconut-chomping lad of 11.

That makes over five decades of training, and more than 100,000 coconuts shredded.

He says he can shuck 500 coconuts in six hours using only his teeth and hands — good enough for Guinness he maintains. Yet no one has come to verify his feats.

Here, on a worn out basketball court in a small town on Panama’s Caribbean coast, he demonstrated how he can often gnaw his way through a single coconut in a rather astonishing eight seconds.

Visitors often stare, their

SINGAPORE: British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday that rocket-powered space tourism flights by his firm Virgin Galactic would have only a minor impact on climate change. More than 500 people have already reserved seats — and paid deposits on the 200,000 dollars ticket price — for a minutes-long suborbital flight on the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) set to begin by the end of this year.

“We have reduced the (car-

Panamanian Andres Gardin, 64, popularly known as “Coconut-peeler”, “Wari-Wari” or “Mister T”, in action: he (above) drags two cars with his teeth during a public exhibition in Rio Alejandro; he (right) dehusks a coconut with his teeth.

AFP/ Rodrigo Arangua

mouths gaping in surprise, filming it on cell phones for posterity.

“Peeling coconuts is not as easy as you all think,” he tells a crowd of mesmerized fans.

“To peel coconuts, you’ve got to have jaw power. You’ve got to have teeth power. And you’ve got to have God’s power” on your side.

His neighbors are stunned that his achievements have not

brought him the record or greater rewards. And Gardin says he has even tried to get the president’s office involved, so far without luck.

“I want to get in the Guinness Book, because I know that I have what it takes,” Gardin tells AFP, waiting for his date with destiny, and the record books.

Who’s going to stop him? Pity the fool.

AFP

Tall claim?

I

n over five decades, Gardin has shucked more than 100,000 coconuts.

He says he can shuck 500 coconuts in six hours using only his teeth and hands — good enough for Guinness he maintains. Yet no one has come to verify his feats.

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bon emission) cost of somebody going into space from something like two weeks of New York’s electricity supply... to less than the cost of an economy round-trip from Singapore to London,” Branson told reporters in Singapore.

Branson was here to attend a summit organised by the Carbon War Room, an environmental charity organisation he founded in 2009.

AFP

HOLY TRIP

Buenos Aires gains fame with Papa Tour

Buenos Aires, apart from tango bars, has a new claim to fame — the status of being the new Pope’s hometown.

SONIA AVALOS Agence France-Presse BUENOS AIRES: It’s not your average cross-town city bus: the new Papa Tour of Buenos Aires is packing them in for a nostalgic swing past local landmarks in the life of the man who became Pope Francis.

About 75 percent of Argentina’s 40 million people self-identify as Roman Catholic.

But compared with many Latin American countries, its fervor index was seen as fairly low prior to Bergoglio’s rise to Rome.

The ministry, which planned to take fewer than 100 people on the trip two days a week, saw a rush of more than 5,000 sign up in the first week, and is adjusting its schedules to meet demand.

AROUND THE

WORLD

With some of His Holiness’s favorite tangos playing in the background, the 43-seat buses swing by the pope’s birthplace in the Flores neighborhood, and follow in his footsteps at the

Metropolitan Cathedral, where he used to say mass as archbishop before he was named to replace the late Benedict XVI. Just hours before Pope Francis created the first saints of his papacy Sunday, canonizing some 800 Italian martyrs who refused to convert to Islam in the 15th century, the Papa Tour (Pope Tour) started rumbling for the first time around the hometown of the former Jorge Bergoglio.

Mabel Roggero, a 43-year-old religion teacher, was among the lucky ones on the inaugural

three-hour tour, along with her husband Daniel, daughter Cristal, 12, and son Maximo Benedicto, seven. “He has a really special charisma, and is able to bring the Church closer to people.” she said.

Also on the list of 21 highlights: the home where the pontiff grew up, the plaza where he

played soccer (football), the St Anthony School he attended and where his parents, Francisco Bergoglio and Regina Sivori, met in the Almagro district.

Asked about why Francis seems to have made a strong early mark, his believers claim that it has a lot to do with his warm Latin personality.

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

Business

SHARP REGISTERS RECORD LOSS Japanese electronics giant Sharp on Tuesday posted a record annual loss for the second year in a row, although it added that it expected to return to profitability in the current fiscal year. The maker of Aquos-brand electronics reported a net loss of 545.3 billion yen ($5.4 billion) in the year to March.

SEED PATENT BATTLE

Major win for Monsanto

13

GERMAN WARNING

The justices ruled laws limiting patents do ‘not allow a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting sans the patent holder’s permission.

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Monsanto Monday over an Indiana farmer accused of having pirated the genetically-modified crops developed by the agribusiness giant.

The high court’s unanimous decision focuses specifically on seed production, but experts say it may also have implications on intellectual property law in medicine, biotechnology and software.

The nine justices ruled that laws limiting patents do “not permit a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting without the patent holder’s permission.”

The crux of the argument was over “patent exhaustion” which states that, after a patented item has been sold, the purchaser has “a right to use or resell that article,” Justice Elena Kagan explained in the court’s 10-page decision.

“Such a sale, however, does not allow the purchaser to make new copies of the patented invention,” she added.

At 2 pm (1800 GMT) on

Monday after the ruling, Monsanto stock was down 1.1 percent at $106.94.

In a lawsuit filed in 2007, Monsanto had accused Vernon Hugh Bowman, a farmer, of infringing on its intellectual property rights by replanting, cultivating and selling herbicide-resistant soybean seeds it spent more than a decade developing.

The argument

T

he crux of the argument was over “patent exhaustion” which states that, after a patented item has been sold, the purchaser has “a right to use or resell that article,” Justice Elena Kagan explained in the court’s 10page decision.

The patented seed, which allows farmers to aerially spray Monsanto-made Roundup herbicide over their entire fields, was invented in 1996 and is now grown by more than 90 percent of the 275,000 US soybean farmers. The farmer, 75, said he had respected his contract with Monsanto and purchased new Roundup Ready seeds each year for his first planting.

But he said hard times forced him to purchase a cheaper mixture of seeds from a grain elevator starting in 1999, which he used for his second planting.

The mixture included Roundup Ready soybeans, which Bowman was able to isolate and replant from 2000 to 2007. “Under the patent exhaustion doctrine, Bowman could resell the patented soybeans he purchased from the grain elevator; so too he could consume the beans himself or feed them to his animals,” Kagan explained.

“But the exhaustion doctrine does not enable Bowman to make additional patented soybeans without Monsanto’s permission.”

AFP

TECH SCAM

Head of hacker-powered stock scam jailed SAN FRANCISCO: A US man was sent to prison on Monday for orchestrating a hackerpowered scam to pump up stock prices and then dump inflated shares, raking in millions of dollars.

Christopher Rad, a 44year-old Texas resident, was described by prosecutors as the organizer of a worldwide conspiracy to cash in by using an army of virus-infected computers to manipulate stock prices.

A US federal court judge sentenced Rad to five

years in prison and ordered him to pay a $30,000 fine, with restitution to be determined at a later date, according to US attorney Paul Fishman.

“Christopher Rad’s use of hackers to drive his pumpand-dump scheme illustrates a trend toward the modern mechanization of old-school scams,” Fishman said.

“Law enforcement is constantly anticipating and adapting as criminals operate in a more virtual - and more global - world.”

Rad enlisted spammers

who used networks of infected computers to unleash floods of carefully worded email messages touting stocks which he and cohorts sold after prices climbed to unworthy highs, according to prosecutors. Hackers also broke into people’s brokerage accounts and used them to buy shares of stocks to pump prices, prosecutors said. Rad made approximately $2.8 million dollars from the “pumpand-dump” scheme between early November of 200 and the end of February 2009.

GOLD `26,847 10g SILVER `44,990 1kg

24C

for

for

DOLLAR `54.60 POUND `83.63

Germany’s finance minister warned that only EU treaty change would create the legal framework needed to allow the formation of a single bailout agency for its ailing banks, in an article for Monday’s Financial Times.

Wolfgang Schauble argued that until then, bank rescues would remain in the hands of “a network” of national authorities. “The EU does not have coercive means to enforce decisions,” he wrote. “What it has are responsibilities and powers defined by its treaties,” he added. “To take them lightly, as is sometimes suggested, is to tamper with the rule of law.”

NUMEROLOGY

`639

mn

REpower Systems SE, part of wind turbine maker Suzlon group, has bagged an order worth over `639 crore for four wind power projects in Germany.

FRERE TO SELL GDF SHARES BRUSSELS: Belgian industrial holding company Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), owned by billionaire tycoon Albert Frere, on Monday began selling shares worth around one billion euros in French energy group GDF Suez.

“Bruxelles Lambert group launched the sale of 65 million shares in GDF Suez... which represents about 2.7 percent of the company’s capital,” a statement said. At the close of the Paris bourse Monday GDF Suez shares held by the Belgian group were worth more than one billion euros ($1.3 billion). “GBL is actively pursuing the reorganisation and diversification strategy of its holdings,” Frere said in the statement.

THUS SPAKE Law enforcement is constantly anticipating and adapting as criminals operate in a more virtual - and more global - world.

BSE NSE

PAUL FISHMAN US ATTORNEY

19,764.93 73.26

6,007.80 27.35

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

Comment I think you end up doing the stuff you were supposed to do at the time you were supposed to do it.

Robert Downey, Jr. Actor

Turkey for Assad ouster FULYA OZERKAN Agence France-Presse

T

he deadly blasts that shook Turkey at the weekend will only spur Ankara to press harder for global action against the Syrian regime, analysts say, as fears grow that the country is being dragged into the spiralling conflict.

At least 48 people were killed Saturday in twin blasts in the town of Reyhanli, near the Syrian border, in an attack Turkey claims was masterminded by a group linked to embattled Syrian President Bashar alAssad, though Damascus rejects the allegation.

The bombings were the deadliest incident on Turkish soil since the start of the Syrian civil war two years ago, in what observers see as a sign of the growing regional impact of a crisis that has already cost 80,000 lives.

With the Reyhanli bombings coming just days before Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to meet with US President Barack Obama in Washington on Thursday, the Turkish premier is likely to use the incident to urge the powerful NATO ally to take "a stronger stance" against Assad, said Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute.

"Even if the president is not ready to move on all (demands)... greater commitment to support the (Syrian) rebels would be well received in Ankara, as well as stronger US and NATO commitment to Turkey's defence," he said.

The bombing appeared in line with the "usual tactics and the capability" of Damascus, but Turkey would not resort to unilateral military force as an immediate reaction to avoid regional tension, Faysal Itani of the Atlantic Council said.

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said the "comfort women" gave soldiers putting their lives at risk a chance "to rest". We know people say things to get attention, but this is over the top and is downright obnoxious. Rest for your soldiers comes not at the rape of innocents.

FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED

14

RUSSIA DIGS IN HEELS OVER SYRIA THE INSIDE STORY Anna Smolchenko

D

espite a flurry of diplomatic activity aiming to end a war that has claimed more than 80,000 lives, Russia still shows no signs of abandoning its support for the regime of Bashar alAssad.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, British Prime Minister David Cameron and now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have all found time to meet President Vladimir Putin in the last few days in a new effort to find an international consensus.

Russia and the United States agreed to work to convene an international peace conference on Syria, a move UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi described as "the first hopeful news" from Syria in a long time.

But in a sign of its refusal to line up with the West against Assad's regime, Moscow has defied international calls to pledge to halt deliveries of advanced S300 missile batteries to Syria.

Meanwhile it is far from certain that the conference, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said should ideally take place by the end of the month,

can take place swiftly.

"If they don't agree on the conference, its format and the time Assad should go, the casualties will carry on growing in huge numbers," said Vladimir Akhmedov, a Middle East expert at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"They would have to have Assad and his opponents at the negotiating table and they so far do not want to talk to him. There are lots of snags," added Viktor Kremenyuk, deputy head of the Institute of USA and Canada.

Further complicating matters is the fact that the proposed conference would aim to build on an agreement reached by world powers in Geneva last June, which was never implemented, analysts said.

The agreement called for a cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government without ever spelling out Assad's fate.

"It will be based on an idea that has failed. I doubt that the second conference will be more successful than the previous one," said Akhmedov.

Russia and the West have been deeply divided over the war in Syria since its beginning in 2011.

Even though Moscow has stressed it does not support Assad personally, it maintains he has to be part of any negotia-

tions over future of the country.

In contrast, the West wants Assad out.

But recent claims of the use of chemical weapons by both sides, Israeli airstrikes on Syria and the multiplying casualty toll have spurred the uneasy partners into action.

In a bid to make another joint push for peace, Putin met Kerry for two and a half hours at the Kremlin on Tuesday and hosted Cameron for rare talks at his Black Sea vacation residence on Friday.

The next high-profile guest to call on Putin in Sochi is Netanyahu who will visit him Tuesday.

Netanyahu is widely expected to discuss supplies of weapons to Syria such as S-300 surface-to-air-missiles, amid conce-

rns such a delivery would embolden the Damascus regime.

The sophisticated systems can defend against multiple aircraft and missiles and will complicate any foreign intervention.

While military analysts say it remains unclear whether the Kremlin will make good on its promise to deliver the arms, some suggest it is using the supplies as a bargaining chip in its talks with the West.

Opposition weekly The New Times, citing a source in London, said Monday the Russians had insisted in talks with Kerry that Moscow would fulfil its arms contracts with Syria.

The Kremlin will only revisit its decision if the West drops any plans it may have to "dismember Syria".

EDITORIALS Check tendency to castigate SC

D

igvijay Singh’s irksome comments on Supreme Court set a bad precedence. In our system, Judiciary is supposed to be truly independent, and it has the prerogative to make comments based on facts presented to it. Judicial comments are in fact part of the judicial process and ruling. Intolerant politicians like Singh should not be allowed to make cheeky comments on the highest seat of justice in the land. The Opposition should take him to task as this trend of criticising judiciary goes unchecked, it would erode the authority and justice system.

Digvijay Singh has a penchant to prove himself more loyal than the king and he is known to engage in unabashed sycophancy

READERS’ VIEWS

of the Nehru family. People of this country do not need his wisdom to live. He should, if he has any sense, understand that even the CBI director has agreed that what SC said about the agency’s functioning is true. Does Singh consider himself superior in intelligence to SC or CBI director? The Congress official stance too has not adversely commented on SC, and yet the party seems to allow this man to go scot free. He has been known to make obnoxious comments on the BJP leaders. But it is one thing to make illogical remarks of one’s adversary, quite another to make brazen comments of judiciary. Check him or chuck him in the dungeon before he does more harm to the highest seat of justice.

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

Editor: Dean Williams

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

workplace

IVAN MENEZES NAMED DIAGEO CEO British liquor giant Diageo has appointed Indian-origin Ivan Menezes as its next chief executive officer. The maker of Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker Scotch, in a statement Tuesday said Menezes would take over as CEO with effect from July 1 this year.

ADAPTATION MECHANISM

HERE’S THE DOPE

A punching bag for all

When power changes hands

AMY ROSE THOMAS amyrose.t@postnoon.com

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When an existing business is taken over, a lot of things need to be considered to make the change work. The recent takeover of an animation company in the City, has led to a lot of questions in the minds of the employees. How does one handle the situation? We take a look.

FLEME VARKEY fleme.v@postnoon.com

T

aking over a company on paper might involve a lot of strategy, bank balance and power, but managing the employees takes a lot more than just power. A

How the new management can ease into their jobs: n

Occupational Psychologist Will Shutz believes that people have three needs during a period of change — the need for control, the need for inclusion, and the need for openness.

n

A key to employee happiness is for them to feel that they have a number of options that they could pursue, be it in the short term or long term.

n

It is also an opportunity for the new owner to communicate his or her goals to the team — satisfying that need for openness, and also allaying any fears the individual might have.

n

If you are buying a business, you need to make it clear why you are buying it, what the vision is and where people will fit.

Source: www.wikihow.com

whole new set of client and individual relationships need to be established, employees need to be pacified about their position in the firm, new rules and programmes need to be charted and there is a lot more.

“A business just does not run on someone’s name alone.

For many a time companies are run by the bonds employees forge with clients or even the management. The name invokes a certain goodwill in the markets. With new management stepping in, all these factors need to be considered very carefully,” says Ashish Jamandar, CEO of an IT firm in Delhi.

Take for instance the recent takeover of City-based company

15

Rhythm and Hues by Prana Studios, a Mumbai-based firm.

Though lack of funds to keep the venture afloat was the reason for the sell-off, the employees were still appreciative of the outgoing management. “The outgoing directors made a visit to the company, addressed each and every employee and asked us to keep up the team spirit and the casual work environment that they had worked so hard to build. The management and the staff exist in perfect harmony and that is what makes the company one of the best places to work in the profession itself. The directors grew emotional as they addressed us and even made it a point to meet

each one of us personally. This is one of the rarest examples of great management that I have seen,” says Kunal*, an artist at the firm.

A business changing hands can be an enormous jolt to its employees. Many will, quite naturally, worry about their future with the firm, whether the company changes direction or not. In the most extreme cases, this can lead to mass resignations. “The key during a transition is to ensure that everyone feels included in the new regime. As with most strategies in business, the key is managing expectations.

Remuneration is also one of the factors. Also being in the know of the new management’s policies as soon as possible will help employees adapt to the change faster,” says Ashish.

For employees, Ashish says that they must firstly try and be less resistant to change. The new management will have their ups and downs and the first few months the trial and error method will be employed, so if the newcomers do not get the support of the employees, they will think of other harsher methods to bring about changes and soon the atmosphere will become bitter. If an employee lacks trust in the new management, try not to spread rumours of closing down or lay offs. Look for a job on the sides and leave the firm in peace.

e, the public relations executives are the middlemen of the media industry.

From the outside, everything looks hunky-dory — we get to travel for work, we always look the best during events and we seem to be the busy body, always on the call. However, unfortunately all this is a facade.

We truely are on the call 24/7 but mostly we are trying our hardest to pacify our clients while they hurl insults. Either clients are angry because their stories did not get as much coverage as they thought they would or the journalists are pissed because we couldn’t deliver the required inputs from our client. We hang in between

doing the dirty work for both the parties. Each client is of the opinion that we work only for them and when a particular news item doesn’t get coverage, it is solely our fault. While, the journalists wrongly accuse us when clients do not respond. They invariably blame the PR team since we are their only point of contact. It is at very rare occasions that we get to hear good things about our work from a journalist or the client.

That is not all, during events, when we meet the journalists, we are supposed to be at our charming best, nodding and agreeing to everything they say, after all they are ones who put our clients’ stories in the paper.

Then the worst part of our job is that in spite of us being allotted weekends off, we are rarely given the liberty. Each Friday, we wait with baited breath for the judgement call — if we get to stay at home during the weekend or go for an event. Most of the times, it is the latter and we end up slogging on all seven days of the week.

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

spotlight

PAINT THE NIGHT BLUE

Blue Orchids offers the pretty women in the City a night of their own. The ladies are invited to celebrate and enjoy 30 per cent flat off on their bills.

Be there at 7.30pm.

GOLDEN SILK

18

Fluid elegance Swarna Kanchi showroom at Kothapet was inaugurated recently by famous Kuchipudi dancers Raja and Radha Reddy.

The launch was followed by a fashion show. S BALAKRISHNA

A golden wedding The wedding reception of Sphoorthi Reddy, daughter of Jadcherla’s ex MLA Laxma Reddy and Swetha with Sujith, son of JC Reddy and Sudhadha was held with a lot of pomp and celebration ar the HICC Novotel recently. Family and friends gathered to bless the newly-weds.

ADDING TO THE FOODIE’S LIST

Green Group of Hotels launched its Green Bawarchi multi-cuisine restaurant at Suchitra X roads, Jedimetla. The luxurious restaurant was inaugurated Sarve Satyanarayana, Union Minister of State for Transport.

PREPARING FOR THE MONSOONS

92.7 BIG FM Hyderbad has undertaken a month-long water conservation initiative called “Neetini Panchu Life Andinchu” in association with Vodafone India. It was formally launched by Tollywood actress Reshma on Monday at Radisson Blu.

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

health

WORKPLACE STRESS HEIGHTENS DIABETES RISK Scientists in Israel have linked development of diabetes to stress at the workplace, made worse by low social support. While the development of the disease is more commonly associated with risk factors such as obesity, and physical inactivity, research shows that stress can also have a significant impact. IANS

PALLIATIVE CARE

19

Caring for a dementia patient We talk to doctors about how to take care of dementia patients, what to expect as the disease progresses, and how to mentally and emotionally prepare oneself.

DEEPASHRI V deepashri.v@postnoon.com

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adha takes care of her 73-year-old mother, Padmaja, an Alzheimer’s patient.

Padmaja wakes up at night, to open the door for a woman who worked in their house decades ago. Radha got a new grill gate fixed to ensure she doesn’t walk out at night.

Padmaja likes having people around — someone to constantly be there with her, sit with her and talk. Else she feels lost and scared. She asks Radha the same questions repeatedly — Padmaja can’t remember what was told to her five minutes back. Apart from taking care of her mother, Radha has a job and a family of her own to look after.

Taking care of a dementia patient is not easy. They

require a lot of attention, as with a little child, or maybe even more.

We talk to doctors about how to take care and mentally prepare oneself for it.

Dr Sudhir Kumar, senior consultant neurologist at Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad, said it would be better for the patient of you include them in discussions, keep them where there are a group of people or some activity. “Some stimulation is given to the brain. It’s better than leaving them alone,” he said.

“They have difficulty in finding where the bathroom is, where the kitchen is. Keep them in a room that is close to the bathroom,” said Dr Kumar. “If you keep moving them (from one house to another), they get even more disoriented.”

Also, using adult diapers at night does away with the need to repeatedly wash bed sheets. But many people do not know how to prepare

themselves for it emotionally and mentally. The patient might reach a stage where he/she does not recognise his/her own family.

Shekhar was the only son to his parents. When his mother was diagnosed with dementia, he was determined to take care of her. As her disease progressed, she couldn’t recognise him. One day, as he was trying to give her food, she asked him if he was giving her poison. Unable to take the emotional pain, he left her at a centre for dementia patients in Bangalore.

“We have to tell relatives that the problem is with the brain; not that the person (patient) doesn’t love you anymore,” Dr Kumar said.

Sometimes, he said, if the

temporal lobes are affected, the patient might show sexual tendencies, which might become embarrassing for the family.

Understanding the patient’s condition and knowing that they do not deliberately behave in such manner is important.

(Patient names have been changed)

HOUSECALL

DID YOU KNOW?

Heart Fitness

Paget's disease

Measure your heart rate with the built-in camera and monitor your physical fitness using our patented technology.

Developed in the laboratory of Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in France, this method has been tested and validated against FDA-approved instruments in clinical conditions. itunes.apple.com

Paget’s disease disrupts the normal cycle of bone renewal and repair, causing bones to become weakened and deformed. Bone pain is the most common symptom of Paget’s disease, often affecting the pelvis or spine. The pain is usually worse when lying down.

However, in many cases of Paget’s disease there are no noticeable symptoms and it is only diagnosed during tests for an unrelated medical condition. nhs.uk

Turmeric has healing properties

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin. It also contains three essentials oils. It is considered to be a molecular constituent powerhouse, containing 20 different antibiotic molecules. It also contains anticancer, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant molecules. bioponic.com

PIONEERS Charaka Charaka, born in 300 BCE was one of the principal contributors to the ancient art and science of Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is referred to as the Father of Medicine. Charaka was the first physician to present the concept of digestion, metabolism and immunity.

According to his translations, life may be prolonged by human effort and attention to lifestyle. en.wikipedia.org

20

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

Technology BREAKTHROUGH WHAT SAMSUNG HAS ACHIEVED

n 1Gbps data transfer made over 28 Gigahertz (GHz) waveband. n Potential to reach 10Gbps as the technology advances. n Technology will be available by 2020.

3, 2, 1, IT’S DONE!

WHAT SAMSUNG HAS ACHIEVED

n 1Gbps data transfer made over 28 Gigahertz (GHz) waveband. n Potential to reach 10Gbps as the technology advances. n Technology will be available by 2020.

WHY WE NEED 5G

n More and more devices, ranging from self-driving cars to smarthomes, will be connected to the Internet, which means there needs to be a more efficient and faster way to communicate with servers located thousands of miles away. n Existing networks like 3G are not fast enough and 4G is just not efficient enough. Also, there are too many variants for these technologies that they can't be rolled out globally in one go. In case of 4G the antennas need to be customised for each cell phone carrier and a new faster solution that is also efficient might change that trend. n Another issue with 4G is that it is not backwards compatible, you most 4G cellphones also have a 3G antenna built-in. 5G network as proposed by Samsung could change that.

5G GOALS

n Better battery usage per data consumed in comparison to 4G n More coverage per network antenna, which will mean lower infrastructure deployment cost n Ability for more people to connect to one tower without losing speeds n Ability of one chip to transfer and receive data over multiple frequencies

Samsung announced that they were able to get data speeds of up to 1Gbps over a new proposed 5G network. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

HISTORY

n 2008 - Development works starts in Korea n 2012 - University of Surrey in UK secured £35M for new 5G research centre n 2013 - Samsung tests first 5G deployment

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THIS SPEED

n Download full HD content in a few seconds. A full Blu-Ray quality movie (80GB) can be downloaded in less than two-minutes. n Read and write on cloud networks like you would on a local drive. n More people will have access to superfast broadband, as ISPs will no longer need to roll out fibre to homes to reach such speeds.

Laying down fibre optic cables are costlier than deploying a cell phone network which is why Google took it up on themselves to roll out such a network in parts of US.

ISSUES WITH TECHNOLOGY

n SSD write speeds need to improve to catch up with this download speed. Currently your harddisks and SSDs is not able to put data in place fast enough, which means that downloads and uploads take longer than these superfast broadband can offer. n Battery life and capacity needs to improve as the 64 antenna elements that it takes to get this technology to work will require a lot of power. n If there is no standardisation, 5G will be affected by the same problems that affected 3G and 4G. What we know as 4G, LTE and WiMax, are not true 4G implementations because of which we never saw the 1Gbps speeds 4G is supposed to deliver. Also latest iPhones run on HSPA+ which is only a little better than 3G, but claims to be 4G. We might face the same issue with 5G as well. n Spectrum is not easy to come by and in most cases it is very expensive. We'll need to wait and see how governments will make spectrum available. In India much of the spectrum is controlled by the army and they will need to offer a decent portion at a reasonable rate so that it is affordable.

NUMBERS

n 75 Mbps - Current top speed in real use on LTE network n 1Gbps - The target speed on 4G network n 10Gbps - The target speed with 5G network n 2020 - The year by which Samsung believes the technology will be available to the public

ALL YOUR FILES GO THERE

Since launching Drive last year, Google has offered users 5GB of free Dropbox-style storage for documents and their Picasa / Google+ photos — but Gmail has long had its own, separate 10GB of storage. Now, Google is unifying storage across its products, something that should automatically make Drive a lot more useful to many users. All Google users now get a combined 15GB of shared storage across Drive, Google+ photos, and Gmail that can be used as they wish. If you're a light Gmail users, you can devote some (or all) of that 15GB to Drive — immediately making it one of the larger free cloud storage options out there.

WANT SUB-TITLES?

There will be a special attraction for deaf people in theaters across US soon. By the end of this month, Regal Cinemas plans to have distributed closed-captioning glasses to more than 6,000 theaters across the country. Sony Entertainment Access Glasses are like 3D glasses, but for captioning. The captions are projected onto the glasses and appear to float about 10 feet in front of the user. They also come with audio tracks that describe the action on the screen for blind people, or they can boost the audio levels of the movie for those who are hard of hearing.

NO TAKERS FOR HOME

Facebook’s HTC First, the smartphone herald of Facebook Home, will be discontinued by carrier partner AT&T, according a report from BGR. The phones, released just over a month ago, will be returned as unsold inventory to HTC, with only 15,000 handsets making it into customers’ hands.

Facebook announced its Android UI overlay Facebook Home in early April, and both the flagship HTC First and Google Play became available on April 12. The First hardware was solid and in line with the $99-with-two-yearcontract price. But the Facebook Home interface has proved confusing and borderline repulsive to users, with a current Google Play store rating of two out of five stars generated from 16,700 votes.

21

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

Entertainment A WHOLE NEW LOOK

CINE BYTES

H

ansika was the cynosure of all eyes at the audio launch of her upcoming film Something...Something, which was held recently in Hyderabad. Siddharth, Hansika, Ganesh Venkatraman and Brahmanandam have played the lead roles in this comedy film and Sundar C has directed it. Hansika has lost oodles of weight and looked quite chic at the event. No wonder, almost every guest, who graced the audio launch, had something special to say about her including Dasari Narayana Rao, Siddharth and Khushboo. “I have seen her grow as an actress right from the days of Desamudhuru. She has earned the tag of being golden leg and quite rightly so. I had once told her that she should lose some weight and now she looks really good,” Dasari Narayana Rao said. Siddharth revealed that it was fun playing a shameless role who tries to woo the lead actress (Hansika) in the film. “Everyone keeps calling Hansika as Chinna Khusbhoo, but you’ll see an original Hansika in this film. It was a pleasure working with her,” Siddharth said. Khushboo, who produced the film, was all praises for Hansika’s professionalism, but also added, “It would be great if people recognise Hansika for who she is, instead of calling her as Chinna Khushboo.” Not surprisingly, the actress was all smiles while receiving such compliments from her team.

The film is slated for release in early June.

Kalakalappu to be remade in Telugu

K

alakalappu, a superhit Tamil film directed by Sundar C, is all set to be remade in Telugu.

Allari Naresh is going to play the lead role and E Satti Babu will direct this remake. This is the fourth time that the two are teaming up for a film. Ambica Krishna is going to produce this film which will go on floors later this year.

Balupu’s audio launch in early June

R

avi Teja, Shruti Haasan and Anjali starrer Balupu is in the last leg of shooting. The film unit will head to Bangkok on May 18 for the final schedule.

Gopichand Malineni is directing the film. The film’s audio is going to be launched in the first week of June. Thaman has scored the music.

Rajamouli is all praises for Bachchan

S

HANSIKA

hogs the limelight

S Rajamouli is all praises for Kannada actor Sudeep’s latest film Bachchan, which has turned out to be a big hit in Karnataka.

“Saw bachchan. Some unbelievably brilliant moments in the first half and a first rate performance

by Sudeep made the film an enjoyable watch (sic),” Rajamouli posted on Twitter soon after watching the film last weekend.

22

Entertainment TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE - RK

r's anbir Kapoo ie ov upcoming m ai H ni aa w Yeh Ja to see a t se l al is i Deewan e in Russia. major releas r and Rishi Kapoo aj Kapoor R ck decades ba n base in fa ge u h had a eir films th Russia and ally good in used to do re hi Kapis R y. the countr red by ou on h as oor w ure of lt u C Ministry of Federation the Russian ibution to tr for his con actor's cinema. The or film aj m previous the music of d an r ta Rocks ck a chord ru st the movie ssian audiwith the Ru her movie ot ence. His leased in Turkey was re e ad m d Turkey an s. es n si bu huge his Ranbir and e ar s ie mov surely going places.

R

I N A A W A J YEH I N A W E E HAI D A E V A H O T E S A E L E R MAJOR A I S S U R N I

CINE BYTES Yami Gautam concludes Aman Ki Aasha

A

ctress Yami Gautam, who made a successful transition to films from TV with Vicky Donor, has completed shooting for her second movie Aman Ki Aasha. An Hindi remake of Spanish movie Seres Queridos ("Only Human"), the romantic comedy will see her with singer-actor Ali Zafar.

IANS

Divya burning calories with Tannishtha Chatterjee turns singer with 'Gulab Gang' Zumba ctress Tannishtha Chatterjee,

I

nstead of sweating it out on a treadmill, Divya Dutta is shedding weight by following Zumba.

The 35-year-old, is following the dance-exercise programme.

Hectic Zumba started now! On heavy duty workout mode! So proud of myself! Lazy me is motivated," Divya posted on Twitter.

A

who will be seen in Gulab Gang, says she has given a playback in the film too. "I recently wrapped up shooting for my film. We had a wonderful time shooting for the film and not many know that I have also sung a song in the film," Tannishtha said.

IANS.

Entertainment TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

23

Entertainment TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

24

25

Entertainment TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013 CINE BYTES

Tom Hardy splurges 2 million pounds on house

B

ritish actor Tom Hardy has bought a two million pounds Georgian property in Richmondis.

He is planning to call his house in south west London Manderley, reports thesun.co.uk. A source said: "Tom’s going to keep good company among the rock elite — Mick and Richard are literally both just up the road. He'll have his work cut out before any entertaining starts, though, as it needs a fair bit of work.”

IANS

Cory celebrates birthday with Lea

C

ory Monteith has many reasons to be celebrating!

After completing a monthlong stay in rehab for substance abuse, Monteith went out with his Glee costar and real-life girlfriend Lea Michele in honor of his 31st birthday on Saturday, May 11. "A very happy birthday to the best guy I know Mr. Cory Monteith," Michele tweeted Saturday.

Katy Perry joins the Rolling Stones onstage

S

inger Katy Perry sang with rock band Rolling Stones during their show in Las Vegas. She performed a rendition of the band's song Beast of burden from their 1978 album Some girl in Las Vegas, reports dailystar.co.uk. She tweeted: "Yes, I just did gyrated on Mick Jagger. WHAT?! (sic)."

IANS

EYEING FREEDOM

JADEN SMITH

WANTS FREEDOM AS GIFT

A

ctor Will Smith's son Jaden wants freedom from his parents on his birthday.

Jaden, who will turn 15 in July, might be doing films with his father but he wants his own place, reports thesun.couk.

Will, 44, reveals: "He says, 'Dad, I want to be emancipated'. I know if we do this, he can be an emancipated minor, because he really wants to have his own place, like ooh. "That's the backlash. On the other side, if kids just want to have command of their lives, I understand."

Both will be seen in sci-fi film After Earth.

IANS

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

CS Lewis

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

26

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

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

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

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

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

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

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 What some excuses are 5 Middle of many plays 10 “I could ___ horse!”

14 Republic on the Caspian 15 Allies of the Yanks, often 16 Workers on financial records 17 What gossips dish 18 It may follow grade school 20 Fill beyond full 21 Find a function for 22 ___-weensy 23 Unable to react chemically 25 Bluish-green 27 Small beard 29 Assumed to be true 33 Back-to-school item 34 Kind of van or bus 35 Within shouting distance 36 In-flight stat 37 Battlefield doc 38 Amateur’s antonym 39 Six years, for a senator 41 Guinness or Waugh 42 Eucharist plate 44 Blood carriers 46 Treat with contempt 47 Highly rated 48 Former French currency 49 Accumulate 52 Conniving 53 Twosome in the gossip columns 56 Make your plans to attack known 59 “I couldn’t ___ less!”

60 Poker pot input 61 Where Davy Crockett met his maker 62 The “A” in A.D. 63 Make messy or untidy, as hair 64 “Seven Years in ___” 65 Depict unfairly

DOWN

1 Coffee container covers 2 Oratorio highlight 3 Dojo activity 4 Arrangement between nations 5 Formally disavow 6 Pie part 7 Pitchfork prong 8 “Lord, is ___?” (Last Supper question) 9 Prefix with “metric” or “bar” 10 Battlefield formation 11 “You could hear ___ drop” 12 Yard sale labels 13 Covered with soot, e.g.

19 Gather, as grain 24 Always, to an old poet 25 Forum garb 26 Sweeping story 27 Actress Garbo 28 Classic TV’s “The ___ Limits” 29 What opponents take 30 Rural underground container 31 Dog-___ (folded book pages) 32 Ambient sound 34 Bench-clearer at the ballpark 37 Large water pipe 40 Vaccine target, often 42 It may be split for soup 43 Lotions for treating sprains 45 Sub ___ (in confidence) 46 Wood decay 48 Moth attractor 49 Being No. 1?

50 Beanery handout 51 Makes a scene?

52 Mop decks 54 White-tailed eagle 55 Cat’s plaint 57 Critter of the Chinese zodiac 58 Pharmaceutical giant Lilly

Chai Time TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 15-5-2013

27

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Be careful in legal issues. Avoid talking against children’s wishes, as they will be dissatisfied and get hurt; there is a need to give them good support and fulfill their wishes within the possible time; take them into confidence.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Spouse is likely to get a good job which will increase your status considerably. Blood relatives will extend you good support. Employees will gain upper hand by completing their jobs in time and with perfection.

You will put in good efforts to increase your income. Some have bright chances to buy valuable and movable assets like jewels etc. You will get the vehicle repaired as they give trouble. Housing plan will get approval.

Increased financial flow will keep you comfortable. Health problems are likely, need to take good care. You will have a fear about the future, but need not worry. Minor issues also will surface; but deal with them with politeness.

Govt. sops are likely to reach the businessmen which will make them happy. Those planning to change their residence or buying new house will materialize now. You will take certain bold but proper decisions which will yield better results.

Works undertaken might be delayed but the situation will change soon. Unexpected financial opportunity is likely to surprise you. Those planning to construct their own house or renovation of the present residence need to start.

Eye infection is likely for some; need to take a good care.

Deficit financial situation will improve. Your experience will help you to deal with difficult situations. Hand loans availed will be cleared which will bring you relax.

Politicians will strive hard to fulfill their commitments given and complete them successfully. You will get friendship of VVIP persons which will be beneficial to you. You will learn many important things from your own experience.

Be cordial with all so as to achieve your goals. Avoid being too emotional and sentimental. You might get confused thinking that you are sidelined by others or due respect not given to you. This is just your doubt.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

The Sun – You are in a great flow as far as work and personal relationships go. You are benefitting a great deal and make the most of all that’s in your kitty.

LEO:

Eight of Swords – There are a dozen jobs to be finished and too little time. Make a to-do list and stick to it. You gain better control of your life by doing that.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Seven of Swords – Circumstances make you become a student all over again. You learn new things and challenge your intellect.

You are in the right frame of mind.

SAGITTARIUS:

Ten of Wands – Laughter is the best medicine.

Don’t forget to get your fill of joke for the day, or do what it takes to loosen up and relax yourself from within.

TAURUS:

King of Wands – These are taxing times, especially because situations have changed.

You need to give yourself more time to settle into the new routine.

CANCER:

Four of Swords – Do not, under any circumstances, get on the offensive and do anything that will harm your own chances. Try to think practically.

VIRGO:

Seven of Wands – You’re bored that you need to repeat a job over and over again. You may feel as though the creativity is lost.

But creativity lies in the repetition.

SCORPIO:

Knight of Wands – It’s orientation time. You are getting the hang of something new and need to absorb all the details.

Relationships are the most valuable.

CAPRICORN:

Ace of Swords – Your social group is expanding. With new entrants to the group, new kinds of politics are being played.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

The Emperor – The focus will be on the household.

There will be many housekeeping items on your checklist that will need immediate attention.

NUMBER GAME

Hierophant – Be aware of someone who is giving you a sob story. Don’t get taken in by what they say, unless they have proof to back up their story.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: The

POOCH CAFE

Keep away from spending the savings which is not advisable.

Avoid criticizing or hurting others by your harsh talks.

Misunderstanding between couple is likely, avoid reminding previous bitter moments and increasing the problem.

for 15-5-2013

The Star – New perspectives can be gleaned from your present circumstances. You turn philosophical and look at everything from the metaphysical plane.

NON SEQUITUR

Be careful and alert while involving in financial transactions. Frequent misunderstanding chances are likely between couple; need to adjust with each other and try to avoid such problem. Take good care of spouse’s health.

SUDUKO

Strained relationship will resume and meeting with close relatives likely who were away from you since quiet long.

Your son has bright chance to buy a new house or vehicle.

You will get good response while attending function.

Boggle COLON COMMA HYPHEN PERIOD Vol: 2, No 298 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved.

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

28

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

PICK OF THE WEEK

Rundskop (2011)

The French Do It Best HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com

Y

oung and Beautiful, the new French film directed by François Ozon, is a contemporary portrait of a teenage girl, in four seasons with four songs. The film will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival later this month and so far, François Ozon has only unveiled a teaser which shows a teenager recollecting how she felt while meeting a ‘client’, who she had come across on the Internet. One aspect which really stands out in the teaser of this film, whose French title is Jeune & Jolie, is what the teenager says in the end. In her own words, while describing the coitus, she says, “I didn’t feel much during it.

But when I thought about it at home or at school, I wanted to do it again.”

French cinema has been liberal in its views about sexuality and François Ozon, in particular, has built a reputation for addressing this theme since the beginning of his career. In the film, Water Drops on Burning Rocks, which released in 2000, Ozon depicted a complex relationship between two couples while addressing themes like homosexuality, subjugation and sexual dependence. One of the characters openly declares himself as Leopold, the lead charac-

François Ozon, the director of 8 Femmes and Swimming Pool, is back with a new film titled Young & Beautiful which will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival later this month. Not surprisingly, it’s yet another sexually charged film which questions our views of sexuality.

ter’s ‘creature’. Two of his earlier films Sitcom and Criminal Lovers were filled with wild orgies. One of his most acclaimed film, 8 Femmes, which was nominated for Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002, featured two women as lesbians and another as a bisexual. And in Swimming Pool, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2003, the plot focuses on a British crime novelist Sarah Morton, who goes to a summer house in Southern France, and her budding relationship with the arrival of a young

girl. Needless to say, it’s sexually charged and then all hell breaks loose.

François Ozon is one of the several directors in French cinema who has woven intricate plots filled with sexual innuendos, quite effortlessly and he will once again be in the limelight at Cannes where Young & Beautiful is in competition for Palem d’Or. The film stars Marine Vacth, a former model, as an underage prostitute, apart from one of Ozon’s favourite actresses Charlotte Rampling, Frédéric Pierrot and Géraldine Pailhas.

This is the second time that a François Ozon’s film will be vying for the top prize at Cannes; the last one being Swimming Pool back in 2003.

Having found a place in the list of most important French filmmakers in the New Wave of French Cinema, François Ozon finds himself in the company of other heavyweights like Roman Polanski, Joel and Ethan Coen and Asghar Farhadi among others. But, when it comes to depicting sexuality, the French do it best. Going by the films which he has made in the past, it would be surprising if Young & Beautiful doesn’t set tongues wagging. That’s the least one would expect from a film about an underage prostitute who’s in love with her job.

Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts gives the performance of a lifetime in Michaël R. Roskam’s Rundskop (Bullhead), a Belgian drama about a cattle farmer who’s approached by a veterinarian to make a shady deal with a beef trader. The meeting triggers a series of events which reveals an ugly secret about the young farmer’s childhood and the trauma he has had to go through because of that. A must-watch.

I am not a pessimist; to perceive evil, where it exists is, in my opinion, a form of optimism.

Roberto Rossellini Italian Director

DID YOU KNOW? Fernando Meirelles, the director of the Brazilian film City of God, studied architecture at the University of São Paulo, before he became interested in filmmaking.

Instead of creating traditional designs like other students, he shot a film with the equipment he had bought from Japan. Soon after graduating from college, he joined advertising business.

Despite the immense popularity of Solaris among the critics, Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky believed that it was his least favourite and least successful films because he was unable to avoid elements of science fiction.

Solaris was an adaptation of a Polish sci-fi novel of the same name written by Stanisław Lem.

sports

29

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

NBA

Bulls on brink of elimination LeBron James had 27 points, as the Heat routed Chicago 88-65 to seize a commanding 3-1 series lead.

CHICAGO: LeBron James had 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Miami Heat routed Chicago 88-65 to seize a commanding 3-1 series lead in their second round Eastern Conference series.

Miami, who dominated the Bulls 115-78 in game two, started with an 11-2 run in Monday’s contest and never looked back.

“We just try to wear a team down throughout the series and get better each game,” said James who was the leading vote getter in balloting for the NBA All Defensive Team on Monday.

“We’ve done a great job of closing out quarters and going into the next quarter with momentum.”

Chicago shot a dismal 25.7 percent from the field and also scored a postseason franchise low in points in front of a crowd of 21,990 at the United Center arena.

The Bulls scored just nine points in the third quarter,

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat goes to the basket against Joakim Noah #13 of the Chicago Bulls in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2013 NBA Playoffs on Monday at United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

AFP/NBAE/JESSE D. GARRABRANT

another franchise low.

Miami can now close out the best-of-seven series in game five Wednesday at home.

“We have to come out with the same intensity that we came out with tonight, both offensively and defensively,” James said.

Chris Bosh also scored in double figures, finishing with 14 points and four blocks for the Heat who had 19 fastbreak points compared to just seven for the Bulls.

“We wanted to work as hard as we could on defence tonight,” Bosh said. “We are looking for-

TOUR OF CALIFORNIA

ward to having a chance to close these guys out Wednesday.”

Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, whose previous playoff franchise low in points (69) came against the Detroit Pistons in game one of a 2007 NBA quarterfinals.

Their previous low in fieldgoal percentage (31.1 percent) also came against the Pistons in game seven of the 1990 NBA semi-finals.

Boozer shot just three-of-14 and Nate Robinson was zero-for12 and didn’t score.

“We are disappointed with the way we played,” said Joakim Noah. “But there is still basketball left and we are not giving up.”

Once again, the Bulls had to play without injured star Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.

Rose hasn’t played all season and Deng underwent a spinal tap two weeks ago to rule out meningitis and has been slow to recover.

With all of the injuries and the heavy minutes, Chicago appears to be losing steam.

“We have to bounce back,” said Bulls’ coach Tom Thibodeau, who was slapped with a $35,000 fine after he criticized the officials after game three of the series.

James had 15 points and Bosh scored 12 in the first half for Miami who led 44-33 at halftime. They held Chicago to just 27 percent shooting in the first 24 minutes.

The Bulls’ day just kept getting worse, especially in the third when they made just two of their 13 shots in the quarter.

Miami was rolling on offence, going on a 10-1 surge in the middle part of the third.

Dwyane Wade had a pair of buckets during the swing, including one from the left side that gave Miami a 56-40 lead.

Norris Cole swished a three pointer at the buzzer to make it a 61-42 for Miami who led by as many as 26 points in the fourth.

LOCAL SPORTS Meridian emerge champions HYDERABAD: Meridian High School lifted the titles of under–12 and 14 categories whereas CCOB Cricket Club won the title of Under–16 category of the 14th Boston Cup, 2013 cricket tournament.

Amway-Nutrilite tennis results Results: Semifinals: Boys U-16: Aditya Ganesh bt Abhunav Reddy 7-3, K. Chaitanuya Sai bt Aman Ayub Khab 7-3.

Boys U-18: Aditya Ganesh bt Abhinav Reddy 7-1, Justice bt Aman Ayub Khan 7-4.

Girls U-16: Vibha Naiknavare bt A. Raashi 7-1, A. Shreeya bt Fareena 7-3 Girls U-18: Amreen Naaz bt P Lasya 7-3, Vibha Naiknavare bt Fareenac 7-3.

Pranav, Ramyakrish nha take top honours HYDERABAD: K Pranav Sharma of Johnson Grammar High School, Habsiguda won the juniors category of 84th Brilliant by scoring 6 points out of 6 rounds, while Bipinraj and A Rohith came second and third respectively with 5.5 points each.

In the Open category Ramyakrisna and GV Srinivas tied for first place with 5.5 points each out of six rounds, in tie-break Ramyakrishna was declared winner, while Nagashashank came third with 5 points.

BOXING

Acevedo wins stage 2 Manny puts Macau on fight map PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA: Colombian cyclist Janier Acevedo battled dehydration, steep climbs and oppressive heat to win stage two of the Tour of California, finishing 12 seconds ahead of America’s Tejay van

Garderen Monday.

In temperatures that climbed to 46 Celsius (115 Fahrenheit), Acevedo made his move on the Tramway Road climb finishing the 200-kilometer (124-mile) stage, that began in Murrieta and ended in the desert town of Palm Springs, in five hours, seven minutes and 40 seconds. “Insane,” van Garderen said of the brutal conditions. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever done.” Phil Deignan was third in stage two, 27 seconds adrift. With his victory, Acevedo took command of the general classification.

Overnight leader Lieuwe Westra dropped back early on the finish climb and was more than eight minutes behind Acevedo.

The Tour continues Tuesday with the 177 kilometer (110 mile) third stage from Palmdale to Santa Clarita. Weather forecasters are predicting somewhat cooler temperatures for the third stage.

ALEX MILLSON Agence France-Presse HONG KONG: Years ago Macau snatched the title of the world’s biggest gambling hub from Las Vegas and now, it wants a slice of the boxing action too.

With Manny Pacquiao following Chinese star Zou Shiming to the glitzy casino haven near Hong Kong, Macau looks set to copy Vegas by becoming a boxing capital — with promoters eyeing a huge potential audience in China.

The November 24 bout, between Pacquiao and American Brandon Rios in the semi-autonomous territory, will be the biggest pro fight yet on Chinese soil. Not surprisingly, it will be financially advantageous for all con-

Philippine boxing icon, Manny Pacquiao, casts his vote during midterm elections in Kiamba town on Monday.

AFP/PAUL BERNALDEZ

cerned. Filipino Pacquiao, 34, once considered the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter but now battling back from two straight losses, saves a fortune in American tax. He has not fought outside the United

States since 2006. Macau, and especially The Venetian, the giant casino-resort which is hosting the fight, gains more visitors, a higher profile, and an image diversified away from gambling.

AFP

30

sports TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

ROME MASTERS

TABLE TENNIS

Zhang, Ding out to defend titles

Robson thrashes Venus

Laura Robson beat Venus Williams at the Rome Masters and now faces the second half of a one-two punch when she next plays Williams’ sister, Serena.

SCOTT WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse ROME: Briton Laura Robson beat Venus Williams 6-3, 6-2 in blustery conditions at the ATP/WTA Rome Masters on Monday and now faces the second half of a one-two punch when she next plays Williams’ sister and world number one, Serena.

The top-seeded American, who was watching from the stands, has targeted this week and hopes to follow up her Madrid trophy from the weekend.

“I’ve never played her and I have always wanted to,”Robson said of her Serena date.

“It’ll be a good test and she is playing probably her best tennis and so she is not losing and so its going to be insanely tough but I’m just going to go out there and do my best.”

The 39th-ranked Robson moved through to the second round in just under 90 minutes against Venus, the 1999 Rome winner now ranked 24th.

The five-time Wimbledon

Australian Laura Robson returns a backhand to USA’s Venus Williams during their WTA Italian Open game in Rome on Monday. AFP/GABRIEL BOUYS

winner committed six doublefaults, and dropped serve five times. Robson, 19, closed it out on her third match point.

Venus pulled out of her first match last week with back pain and had reportedly been training at half strength in Rome.

Elsewhere in women’s play, Australian Samantha Stosur came third time lucky in her pre-French Open campaign, with the ninth seed finally scoring a 2013 European clay victory 6-2, 6-3 over Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan.

Stosur wasted no time in getting to Rome after her opening loss last week in Madrid to Carla Suarez Navarro, with 2010 Roland Garros finalist Stosur glad to get some work in on her game. She was also winless in Stuttgart last month.

“I really like the surface, the clay courts here are very light and the ball gets through the air pretty quickly,” said the Australian. “As long as it’s not too windy it’s great.”

Sabine Lisicki beat Madison Burdette 6-1, 6-2, but German sixth seed Angelique Kerber withdrew prior to her opening match with an abdominal injury and was replaced by Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain.

China’s Peng Shuai defeated Romanian Monica Niculescu 46, 6-3, 6-2 while Italian Nastassja Burnett put out 2008 finalist Alize Cornet of France 6-2, 6-2.

Amongst the men, Potito Starace set up his seventh career meeting with Roger Federer with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win over Czech Radek Stepanek.

NEW ZEALAND’S TOUR OF ENGLAND

Tim given green signal for first Test

LONDON: New Zealand seamer Tim Southee has been passed fit to play in the first Test against England at Lord’s on Thursday.

The 24-year-old paceman limped out of action during last week’s drawn match with the second-string England Lions in Leicester, the tourists’ final match before the first of a two Test series that culminates later this month at Headingley.

But having had a scan on the sore left toe that was ham-

pering him and seen a specialist, Southee has now been given the all clear.

Had he been sidelined, the tourists would have had to lean heavily on left-arm

quicks Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, who starred in the drawn 0-0 series across three Tests against England in New Zealand two months ago, and the fit-again Doug Bracewell.

However, with 24 Tests behind Southee is a seasoned Test player and New Zealand coach Mike Hesson was glad to have him available for the series opener.

“Tim’s fine. It was very much a precautionary response really from us,” Hesson said Monday.

“We sent him down to London for further investigation, and basically the result was as we hoped.

“He’s had some treatment to his left toe, and we’re very comfortable he’ll be right for the first Test.”

Wagner might have played in any case, as New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker in the three recent draws.

He too has recovered from a minor toe injury and Hesson said: “It will be very hard to leave him out.

AFP

PARIS: - Defending champion Zhang Jike of China says he is relishing his return to Paris this week as he aims to retain his title won two years ago in Rotterdam at the world table tennis championships.

Zhang defeated compatriot Wang Hao in the 2011 final before triumphing over the same opponent later that year in the French capital for his maiden World Cup victory.

The 25-year-old then added the Olympic title to his collection at London 2012 to complete a career Grand Slam and is eagerly anticipating taking to the Bercy arena to defend his world championship crown.

“I am feeling no pressure now and I have been well prepared. I can’t wait for my first match,” said Zhang.

“I won my first World Cup two years ago here, so I think Paris is my lucky place,” he added.

Zhang enters the week-long tournament as the fourth seed following a string of inconsistent displays but downplayed its significance, insisting: “The important thing is to win the match, not the ranking. The top players in the world will be revealed anyway.”

Compatriot Xu Xin, a potential semi-final opponent for Zhang, is the No.1 seed after regaining the world’s top ranking from compatriot Ma Long last month, but he too sought to minimise its importance.

“The world ranking is just about placements, it is not enough to give you good results; so I still adopt a lower profile and have a positive attitude to fight,” explained Xu, one of 23 players in the China squad that will be seeking to complete another clean sweep in all five events.

German duo Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov will headline the list of contenders seeking to challenge Chinese supremacy.

AFP

AWARDS

Prior wins England player of the year title LONDON: Matt Prior was named Monday the England cricketer-of-the-year for 2012/13, in an acknowledgement of the Sussex wicket-keeper’s consistency with both bat and gloves.

The 31-year-old is now one of the first names on the team sheet after England captain Alastair Cook and the latest demonstra-

tion of his worth to the side came with his match-saving unbeaten hundred in the drawn third Test against New Zealand in Auckland in March.

Prior was presented with his award at Lord’s, where the first of a return two-Test series against New Zealand starts on Thursday.

“It was fantastic when I found out, a huge honour to be singled out as player of the year,” said Prior, the first wicket-keeper to win the award. “I feel slightly uncomfortable with it, because individual accolades are not really the reason I play.

“I want this team to win. I get much more out of the group win-

ning a Test or series,” he added ahead of a season where England will defend the Ashes against Australia.

“I think it’s very easy to look back and think ‘that was a great year’ and pat yourself on the back,” said Prior. “That’s certainly not something I’ll be doing.

AFP

IPL 6

METRE

6 S 529

I am still sniffling a bit. I missed the game against Pune, slightly under the flu. But I knew how important the game was.

Kieron Pollard MI player

Michael Hussey (CSK) 614 runs

Narine (KKR), Bravo (CSK), V Kumar (RCB) 22 wickets

‘80% of match was won before Pollard came’

S

unrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody lavished praise on Mumbai Indians allrounder Kieron Pollard, saying the visitors had won “80 per cent” of the IPL game before the West Indian got in their way.

“Of course we are disappointed. We won 80 per cent of the game, but Mumbai are undefeated here at home. We have been criticised throughout the tournament how poorly we have batted and I think we showed people we are capable with the bat...,” Moody said at the postmatch press conference. “I think we had more than a competitive total on that surface but there was one bloke (Pollard) who got in our way, it is as simple as that.”

PTI P

31

BATTLE OF THE TITANS

W

L

T PT

NR

MI

14 10

4

0

20 +0.636

CSK

14 10

4

0

20 +0.551

RR

14 10

4

0

20 +0.506

RCB

14

8

6

0

16 +0.475

SRH

14

8

6

0

16 -0.117

KKR

14

6

8

0

12 -0.044

KXIP 13

5

8

0

10 -0.018

DD

13

3

10 0

6 -0.737

PWI

14

2

12 0

4 -1.314

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

Chris Gayle (RCB)

41 4S 1684

Michael Hussey (CSK)

67

HIGHEST SCORE

175*

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013 Chris Gayle (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

5-20

James Faulkner (RR)

All eyes on crucial match G. APARNA SAI

aparna.s@postnoon.com

W

ith three teams nearly making it to the playoffs and one spot up for grabs, Royal Challengers Bangalore would need to win their match against Kings XI Punjab today, as it would be crucial in determining their possibilities of making it to the next stage.

With Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians having 20 points each, they are each a victory away from cementing their place in the play-offs while Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad are the frontrunners for the fourth spot.

RCB, who have had a good run at home this season, would look to maintain that momentum.

They would hope that, on their home turf, they defeat the

RCB VS KXIP AT 4PM ON SET MAX seventh placed Kings from Punjab.

But when these two sides met earlier this year, in closely fought contest, KXIP drew first blood.

David Miller who scored a century in that clash, snatched

the match for his side from RCB. If Miller, like RCB’s Chris Gayle, gets going, then the going will be tough for the Royals.

Also, though RCB stand a good chance of making it to the play-offs, the fact remains that even KXIP can still make it to the next stage if they win all their matches from here on and

manage it with a good net runrate.

Although RCB look to be a more formidable side on paper, KXIP have fine players who can prove threatening on a good day at office.

Will all eyes on the playoffs, this match will be a crucial one, not just for the two sides playing it but also the others eyeing a place among the top four.

DD clash with CSK

SCORECARD MUMBAI INDIANS VS SUNRISERS HYDERABAD Sunrisers Hyderabad innings (20 overs maximum)

Mumbai Indians innings (target: 179 runs from 20 overs)

PA Patel† c Rayudu b Malinga

26

DR Smith b I Sharma

21

S Dhawan c †Karthik b Johnson

59

SR Tendulkar retired hurt

38

GH Vihari c Johnson b Malinga

41

KD Karthik† c White b KV Sharma 30

CL White* not out

43

NLTC Perera not out

2

Extras (b 1, w 6)

7

Total (3 wickets; 20 overs)

178

RG Sharma* not out

20

AT Rayudu st †Patel b KV Sharma KA Pollard not out

2 66

Extras (lb 1, w 5, nb 1)

7

Total (3 wickets; 19.3 overs)

184

Bowling

O

M R

W Econ

Bowling

O

M R

W Econ

MG Johnson

4

0 43

1 10.75

DW Steyn

4

0 23

0

5.75

DS Kulkarni

4

0 42

0 10.50

I Sharma

4

0 32

1

8.00

Harbhajan

3

0 19

0

6.33

NLTC Perera

3.3

0 55

0 15.71

SL Malinga

4

0 26

2

6.50

DJG Sammy

2

0 15

0

PP Ojha

4

0 37

0

9.25

A Mishra

3

0 36

0 12.00

KA Pollard

1

0 10

0 10.00

KV Sharma

3

0 22

2

Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets

7.50 7.33

I

t will be a “formality encounter” when the Chennai Super Kings clash with the Delhi Daredevils today on the former’s home turf.

Delhi Daredevils, who are at the eight position, no longer stand a chance of making it to the playoffs while Chennai who are second on the points table, are most likely to make it to the playoffs.

But the visitors would look to win this tie and salvage their lost pride.

There is a possibility that a few players from the Daredevils side, who did not get many chances in this season’s IPL, would get an opportunity to play in today’ match.

Meanwhile, Chennai would look to win this match and

regain the top spot they had lost to Mumbai Indians after their victory against the Sunrisers

CSK VS DD AT 8PM ON SET MAX Hyderabad.

Dhoni and his men have been performing consistingly throughout this tournament and looking at their past performance, it seems that they are the favourites to not only win today’s match but also win the trophy for the third time.

However, Delhi Daredevils, a side which boasts of the likes of Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Morne Morkel and Irfan Pathan, can prove to be the hurdle in the path of the Chennai Super Kings.

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

sports

ZAHA DOUBLE FIRES PALACE INTO PLAY-OFF FINAL

Wilfried Zaha fired Crystal Palace into the Championship play-off final as the England winger’s double sealed a 2-0 win over arch rivals Brighton in Monday’s semi-final second leg. Ian Holloway’s team will face Watford at Wembley on May 27 with a lucrative place in the Premier League at stake.

OUSTED

MANCINI SACKED

City’s shock FA Cup Final defeat by Wigan meant they ended this season without any silverware and strengthened rumours that Mancini was goingt to be dismissed.

JULIAN GUYER Agence France-Presse LONDON: Roberto Mancini was sacked as manager of Manchester City on Monday— a year to the day after leading the club to the English Premier League title.

City’s shock FA Cup Final defeat by Wigan at Wembley on Saturday meant they ended this season without any silverware and strengthened rumours Mancini, who replaced Mark Hughes in 2009, was about to be dismissed.

The club’s Abu Dhabibased owners confirmed Monday the end of the Italian manager’s three-and-a-half years at Eastlands, with a City statement saying: “It is with regret that Manchester City Football Club announces that Roberto Mancini has been relieved of his duties as Manchester City manager.

“This has been a difficult decision for the owner, chairman and board to make and it is the outcome of a planned end-of-season review process that has been brought forward in light of recent speculation and out of respect for Roberto and his extensive contributions to the football club.

“Despite everyone’s best efforts, the club has failed to achieve any of its stated targets

this year, with the exception of qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.”

“This, combined with an identified need to develop a holistic approach to all aspects of football at the club, has meant that the decision has been taken to find a new manager for the 2013-14 season and beyond.”

City’s Champions League

qualification has been overshadowed by the uninspiring nature of their title defence, with the club a distant second to already crowned English champions Manchester United and 13 points adrift of their local rivals.

The 48-year-old Mancini’s time at City saw the club win a first major trophy in 35 years with the 2011 FA Cup, while

last season’s Premier League title was their first top-flight crown since 1968 and saw the manager rewarded with a new five-year deal.

“Roberto’s record speaks for itself, he has clearly secured the love and respect of our fans,” said City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

“He has done as he promised and delivered silverware and success.” But City’s second succesive group stage exit in as many seasons from the lucrative and prestigious European Champions League appears to have weighed heavily against Mancini, for all that fans were chanting his name during the FA Cup Final at Wembley.

Those shouts of support cut little ice with City owner Sheikh Mansour, clearly demanding more from a colossal investment in a club whose reported wage bill of £200 million ($306 million) is the highest in the Premier League.

Reports in Spain and England have suggested Manuel Pellegrini, the Malaga coach is in line to succeed Mancini although the Chilean denied Monday he’d signed a contract with City chiefs.

“I deny here and now being the new coach of Manchester City, I haven’t signed any agreement with anybody,” Pellegrini said.

32

PREMIER LEAGUE

Martinez plans a great escape LONDON: Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has said his side have "no margin for error" as they face their latest last-ditch battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Anything other than a victory for the FA Cup winners at Arsenal on Tuesday would effectively condemn Wigan to Championship football next season as they have a vastly-inferior goal difference to nearest rivals Sunderland, who are four points ahead. But the last two seasons have seen Wigan's top-flight survival determined by the final couple of league matches, making Tuesday's fixture familiar

Roberto Martinez has said his side have "no margin for error" as they face their latest last-ditch battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League. territory for Martinez.

And having seen Wigan cause one of the great Wembley upsets in beating Manchester City 1-0 to win the FA Cup, Martinez was in bullish mood.

"There is no margin for error, you need to win your 'finals' - that could be survival or winning trophies like we did on Saturday," said the Spaniard. You prepare for 10 or 11 months to get to crunch time and make sure you win the games and that is exactly the situation we are in.”

AFP

EUROPA LEAGUE

Chelsea, Benfica chase history in final TOM WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse AMSTERDAM: After a turbulent season, history beckons for Chelsea in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Amsterdam, where they will meet a Benfica team reeling from a devastating domestic defeat by arch rivals Porto.

The premature end to Chelsea’s Champions League defence had threatened to leave a cloud over their entire campaign.

Roberto Di Matteo’s dismissal as manager created a negative atmosphere that only got

worse when the unpopular Rafael Benitez was appointed as his interim successor, but now, salvation is in sight.

Saturday’s 2-1 win at Aston Villa essentially secured the club’s place in next season’s Champions League, and victory over Benfica would turn an unhappy campaign into one etched in Chelsea folklore.

The all-German Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on May 25 means Chelsea’s fans will not be able to crow that they are the champions of Europe for

much longer.

But if they overcome Benfica, they will become the first club to hold both European titles at the same time.

They are also bidding to become only the fourth team to have won the Champions League, the Europa League and the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup after Bayern, Juventus and Ajax.

Chelsea beat Benfica in the quarter-finals en route to last season’s Champions League triumph, but Spanish midfielder Juan Mata remains wary of Jorge Jesus’s side.