Postnoon E-Paper for April 16th 2013

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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013 HYDERABAD

WEATHER: MOSTLY CLEAR; 34°C

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32 PAGES

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MASTERS OF THE BATON The London Symphony Orchestra lost one of its longest-serving principal conductors Sir Colin Davis recently. This renowned interpreter of music, from Mozart to Sibelius and Berlioz, leaves behind a rich musical legacy. Interpreting music is not everyone’s cup of tea, but there are some greats who have shown tremendous skill in this field. We list some of the best classical music conductors.

P16&17

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

US BLEEDS AGAIN

INFERNO IN CELLAR,

14 BIKES TORCHED AT DAWN Fourteen bikes were allegedly torched at one go in a cellar parking of an apartment in SRT 12 area in Sanathnagar last night.

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HEADLESS COMMISSION

LIMPS ON With no chairperson for years, AP women’s commission has only a few functionaries who try to address all its issues. Postnoon finds that there is a dire need for a larger set-up for the four crore women in the State.

REPORT ON P12&13

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The spectre of terrorism made another visit to US soil, leaving behind scenes of gore and suffering. Two explosions struck the Boston Marathon, one of America’s top sporting events, killing at least three and wounding over 100.

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‘GREATER’ MESS

GHMC hasn’t the foggiest idea of the properties under its limits as no inventory has been made as yet. This suits everyone — bureaucrats, builders and politicians.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

city events

DAM’D’ED: POINT OF VIEW

This is a Telugu film with English subtitles on the life of adivasi communities affected by the government’s decision to construct the Polavaram dam. The film will be screened at Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad on April 20, 5.30pm onwards.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

35°C

26°C

33°C

41°C

Clear.

Clear. Chance of thunderstorm.

Sunny. Chance of thunderstorm.

Sunny.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 37 Max 30 Min 24 Min 23 Clear.

Chennai Max 37 Min 30

Partly cloudy.

Clear.

Bangalore Max 36 Min 23 Partly cloudy.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Arvind Kolapkar, Datta Bansode, Devyani Parikh, and Kaushik Raha. Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery 468, Road No 10, Banjara Hills When: Up to April 30 Contact: kalakriti.in

WORKSHOPS Vaishali Bisht’s theatre workshop Vaishali Bisht is conducting special Summer Holidays theatre workshops for children between the ages of six and 12. The course consists of 20 classes held Monday to Saturday. Using theatre games and exercises, the workshop helps children use their imagination and get creative. Where: Road no 7, Banjara Hills When: From April 15, Monday to Saturday, 4.30pm to 6.30pm Contact: 94904 40986 All about cycling A half day interactive workshop on cycling, the technical considerations, fitness, nutrition, common problems, how to plan a training programme, planning for competition and prevention of injuries. Where: Alliance Franchise, Road no 3, Banjara Hills When: : Registration: Ongoing Event: May 4 Contact: (040) 2335 0008 Filmmaking workshops for children Yavanika Films is conducting a unique filmmaking workshops this summer vacation for children in Hyderabad. Each participant will make their own short film as part of

Kumbh Kumbh: Native Realm, a search of the true self is a photography show by Joydeep Mitra. Where: ICONART Gallery, Road No 12, Sri Ram Nagar Colony, Banjara Hills When: Up to April 18 Contact: 98499 68797

MISCELLANEOUS

REFLECTIONS: Charminar is reflected on the bell of a bicycle on a hot summer day. the workshop. Even a parent and child can register as one student pair to make a short film together. Where: Begumpet When: From April 24, 2pm to 7pm, Daily classes except on weekends Contact: 94901 00404

DINING Malvani cuisine Taj Deccan is hosting Malvani Food Festival at Spice Junxion. Enjoy a scrumptious spread of classic dishes like pandhara kombdiche saar, kale vatana ni gawarchi bhajji and puran poli. Where: Spice Junxion, Taj Deccan, Road No 1,

Commissioner & Spl Officer

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

198 155313

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

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

Banjara Hills When: Till April 25 Contact: (040) 6652 3939 Corporate express lunch Testa Rossa has added a new on-thego corporate express lunch service for its customers. The lunch is economically prices at `199 for veg and `249 for non-veg. Where: Testa Rossa, Jubilee Hills When: Ongoing, noon to 4pm Contact: (040) 6555 6519 IPL Fervor You can order any four or six items from the menu and get the chat of day free. Where: Kailash Parbat, Above Ebony Gautier,

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

2nd floor, Road No 36, Jubilee Hills When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 2355 8856

SHOWS French animated film Alliance Française of Hyderabad presents Le chat du Rabbin, directed by Antoine Delesvaux and Joann Sfar. Where: Alliance Française, Banjara Hills When: April 18, 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2355 4485

Three for two Taj Safaris offers guests the option of extending their two-day trip. It gives you a third day complementary stay. There are four exquisite lodges in the national parks of MP. Where: Taj Safaris When: Offer is valid from April 15 to June 30 Contact: (022) 6601 1825

ART Reflections and Images An exhibition of paintings by artists including Agacharya, Anand Panchal,

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

SRINIVAS SETTY

Story-telling session Deepa Kiran is an education consultant and professional story-teller. She combines music and dance with story telling. Where: Just Books, Jubilee Hills When: April20, Contact: 98497 48117

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, APRIL 16, 2013

City

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

IS THE EMINENT RESHUFFLE GOING TO RESULT IN A JUMBO CABINET? 58% 42%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

WILL THE BOSTON BLASTS SPARK OFF A POST 9/11-LIKE PARANOIA? A)

YES

B)

NO

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

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Inferno in cellar, 14 bikes torched at dawn

FILE PHOTO

Police said it was too early to pinpoint the cause of the fire. On the face of it, the incident looks like a deliberate criminal act. Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

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n a never-before crime in the City, 14 bikes were allegedly put to torch at one go in the cellar parking of an apartment in SRT 12 area of Sanathnagar last night. It happened around 2.30am in the cellar of MK Residency apartments located in SRT 12 area. Surprisingly for such a big apartment complex, there had not been a watchman for many years. It is said that residents woke up when a series of blasts reverberated. Not knowing what happened, many came out and saw the conflagration spreading in the cellar. Fire brigade was imme-

diately summoned and people began pouring water while awaiting the firemen. By the time the firemen came, most bikes had caught fire. The firemen brought the flames under control. The cellar was damaged and the whole place was black with soot. Police said it was too early to pinpoint the cause of such a big crime. On the face of it, the incident looks like a deliberate criminal act. Interrogation of suspects and investigation of the incident have begun. Sub-inspector of Sanathnagar G Saidloo said his investigation team would take the opinion of the fire services and electricity officials before making the detailed report.

CRIME

CRIME

Man held for harassment Inspector taken off Greedy for more dowry, a clerk with South Central Railways regularly beat his wife and married another woman when his demands were not met, it is alleged. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

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omen police arrested a South Central Railway employee in connection with a dowry harassment case. Shaik Abdullah (in pic), a native of Lingareddy Guda village in Mahbubnagar district, tied the knot with Meenaz Fatima from Akber Bagh in Malakpet over two years ago. The couple have one child. At the time of the wedding, Fatima’s father gave Abdullah `4 lakh, 20 tolas of gold, one motorbike, some silver and other valuables as dowry. Woman police inspector N Sherya said that Abdullah, a clerk with South Central

Railways, started harassing Fatima for more dowry soon after the wedding. Her brother gave him `1.5 lakh, but then Abdullah’s demands increased and he asked for a car. He regularly beat Fatima and when her family was unable to give him a car, he married another woman. This was when Fatima first lodged a complaint with the police. A case was registered against Abdullah but he was not arrested. Fatima’s brother then approached senior police officials, who directed the Ghansibazar police to arrest Abdullah. The police team went to Lingareddy Guda and arrested Abdullah. He was produced before the magistrate last evening.

murder case

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

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police inspector attached to Patencheru police station was recently removed from investigating a murder case that involved a big land deal and a lot of money. Inspector P Ravinder Reddy has been under the scanner of the Medal superintendent of police Vijay Kumar after complaints from people known to the deceased, 24year-old Mohd Bilal Feroz. The SP gathered that the inspector was suspected to have manipulated the postmortem report to save the alleged attackers. The investigation has now been handed over to police inspector

Gangadhar. According to details, real estate agent Feroz, a resident of Shanti Nagar in Patencheru, was brutally murdered and his charred body was found on March 20 in Patelguda village. Narasima Reddy and his mother Chandrakala were arrested for the murder as Feroz was learnt to have been summoned by Reddy the previous day. Investigation revealed that Reddy and his friends had been conning Feroz to save themselves from paying him commission from a land deal that ran into crores. Later, `30 lakh was found after raiding Reddy’s home. Medak inspector Vijay Kumar said that one diary and a mobile phone of the victim are yet to be found.


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city TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

CIVIC

LAST YEAR... HERE Walk with mayor, stay fit

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ast year we had reported how buoyed by the response from the Bicyclone initiative, mayor Mohd Majid Hussain planned to launch another initiative to improve the health conditions of over 7.5 million residents of the City. The novel idea was dubbed ‘Walk with Mayor’. A list of all localities falling under the corporation limits was prepared for this.

APRIL 16, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

5,513

are the number of divorce cases filed in the last three months alone in the family court. This is 80 per cent of the cases that were registered last year.

Other agencies involved in investigation, disposition and execution do not respond on time. We attend to every case, but the system of justice is delayed . S Rajya Lakshmi, APWCWD See page 7

THINGS WE 5LEARNT TODAY

A ‘Greater’ mess

GHMC hasn’t the foggiest idea of the property under its limits as no inventory has been made as yet. This suits every one — from bureaucracy, builders and politicians. Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.m@postnoon.com

A layout obtained by a builder in most cases is never exhibited among buyers. Later, the open spaces are shown as registered plots.

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rom each layout in the GHMC limits, the Corporation has a 40 per cent stake. But unfortunately you will see only narrow lanes, a strip or a shadow, as everything else is gobbled up,” laments a higher official of the GHMC. He is one of a handful of officials whose conscience is pinched every time the Corporation is duped of its precious assets. “What will future generations do if all these properties are swallowed up today?” he asks, pointing out the injustice. Even though the Corporation has expanded itself to 625 sq kms, the irony is that there is no clear plan or intent amongst officials to protect the GHMC’s interests. When the layouts are given permission there is a specified space for a park, community hall and other facilities for the use of residents. But within a few months, permission is given over to these government lands by the same department officials. “How can one protect anything unless it is earmarked?” asks retired engineer Pradip Rajguru.

A community hall at Lingampally.

PAYING A VISIT

US mayor in City

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11 functionaries to serve four crore women. The State Women’s Commission has been running on a skeletal staff for years, but they manage to do the best job they can with their limited resources. It’s time the State gave them a helping hand.

Lauds the GHMC for its good initiatives on development and infrastructure. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

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No more ‘adjust please’ for young couples. Divorce rates are increasing steadily as more young couples opt for divorce rather than try to work on their marriage.

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Do you know what properties you own, GHMC? The civic body has not surveyed its assets, which is a boon for corrupt officials and builders.

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April 27 is your last date for joining the TRS. TRS is having a ‘limited offer’ drive for netas of other parties.

tant general secretary, UFERWAS (United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations). GHMC estates should take care of all properties from community halls, parks, play grounds, complexes, markets and taibazars (open markets in peripherals areas). But according to additional commissioner (estates) GD Priya Darshini, community halls were given to urban community development wing, parks and open lands of GHMC were given to the parks wing and play grounds and sports complexes were handed

This has been the modus operandi for years, where everything goes on smoothly in connivance with local leaders. Civil society activists point out that the layout obtained by a builder in most cases is never exhibited among buyers. Later, the open spaces are shown as registered plots. “Individuals who buy plots do not show interest in these matters. Even if they do, they are intimidated. If someone brings it up, nothing can be done as the space is already sold and a structure is built,” says Syed Badsha, assis-

The column that teaches everyone something new about the way the City functions.

Kiran drops tainted ministers ahead of polls. The CM has decided that the party has too much to lose if it decides to keep the tainted ministers on board. A Cabinet reshuffle is expected in the coming days to redistribute their duties.

SRINIVAS SETTY

over the sports wing. “Originally these all come under estates but were distributed to various departments, which make monitoring them a problem,” says the official. Priya says that there were approximately 900 community halls in 2010. “I asked officials to make an inventory of all these, but none has paid heed to my concern. To this day, it is pending,” she says. Not only community halls, there is no clarity about open spaces marked as parks in various localities in the City. It is believed that the negligence on the part of the officialdom is directly related to the nexus between babus and politicians, who favour each other. “Hyderabad is perhaps the only big City in the country where everything is left to the mercy of contractors and politicians,” says Badsha.

Mayor Mohd Majid Hussain receives Indianapolis mayor Gregory A Ballard.

regory A Ballard, mayor of the US city of Indianapolis, along with a 10-member delegation, called on Hyderabad Mayor Mohd Majid Hussain yesterday.

Ballard praised the GHMC for taking up several good initiatives on development and infrastructure, saying he is impressed by the maintenance of the roads, greenery and various developmental activities of the GHMC. The visiting mayor

also visited various top corporate companies like Infosys, Reddy Labs and Satyam and praised their working style. Later, both the mayors exchanged their views and presented and received mementoes of both the cities.

NEWS BRIEFS Woman found murdered in her home

Siva Parvathi will oversee planning

YSRC chief Jagan seeks combined trial

Job opportunities for teachers

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35-year-old woman, G Shankramma of Kokapet in Narsingi, was found murdered this morning in her home. Her attackers had used boulders to kill her, the police said. The victim was a scrap dealer and it looks like a sex crime, an official added. The police have begun searching for people who frequented her home.

he additional commissioner (works, elections and census) K Siva Parvathi will take additional charge of planning, as AC (planning) Dhananjaya Reddy will be attending duties as election observer for Karnataka Assembly Elections between April 16 and May 9. In addition to her original duties, Siva Parvathi will take care of planning.

ncarcerated YSR Congress leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday filed a petition in the CBI court urging it to take up a combined trial after the CBI files a final chargesheet. The high-profile MP opposed separate trials for each chargesheet on the ground that it violates Supreme Court orders in various cases.

mployment opportunities are being provided to teachers by Confederation of Voluntary Associations (COVA) on behalf of ICAN for its member schools. Interested teachers are asked to submit their biodata with their specialised subjects to covanetwork@gmail.com. They can also call 9704083248 for assistance.


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city TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

POLITICS

‘Election Cabinet’ in the making It is learnt that the Congress leadership has decided that the ministers tainted in the Jagan Mohan assets case will have to keep off until they are cleared by the judiciary. INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

Sources reveal that the chief minister is likely to induct many surprise faces, especially youngsters, into the State Cabinet.

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he fate of six ministers accused in the disproportionate assets case of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy seems to have been sealed. It is learnt that the leadership has decided that the tainted ministers will have to keep off until they are cleared by the judiciary. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s many meetings with Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and the latter conferring with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi are believed to have led to the conclusion that the party has much to lose by keeping the accused. This includes home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy. Accordingly, Kiran will be asked to reshuffle and expand his team which will essentially be the ‘election Cabinet’ for the Congress. “The leader (chief

SURPRISE FACES

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy beats a drum during a recent visit to Yellandu in Khammam district.

minister) has been asked to carefully select faces that will prove to be an asset in the coming General Elections,” said one of his aides.

It is also learnt that Kiran would give weightage to those loyal to him, else he won’t be able to entrust them with the delicate election works.

With the likelihood of removal of six Cabinet ministers becoming brighter, the aspirants for the Cabinet are running around in circles. Many are making rounds of the CM’s camp office like devotees to a temple. Sources say close associates of the chief minister — chief whip G Venkata Ramana Reddy, whips A Mohan and T Jayaprakash Reddy — are expecting to get Cabinet berths. There is also a likelihood of many surprise faces, especially

POLITICS

EYE ON POLLS

KCR’s limited offer for this summer? Announces that pro-Telangana leaders from Congress and TDP will be welcomed into the TRS only till April 27. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

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elangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhara Rao has announced a ‘limited offer’ for rival party politicians from Telangana region. The offer is valid for the ruling Congress and the opposition Telugu Desam Party leaders to join the TRS fold. The party president has announced that proTelangana leaders from the Congress and TDP would be welcomed in the TRS up to April 27 only, which is the foundation day of the TRS.

OFFER STIRS FENCE SITTERS

The limited period offer of the TRS president has begun to have its effect. The main opposition Telugu Desam Party’s MLA from Karimnagar Assembly constituency, Gangula Kamalakar, became the first person to accept the offer. He met with KCR at his farm house on Monday and announced that he was joining the party. Apart from the TDP MLA, many other MLAs and MPs from

youngsters, who may be inducted into the State Cabinet. They include former minority welfare minister Mohd Ali Shabbir and whip E Anil Kumar. Shabbir, who had lost the 2009 elections but managed to get in as MLC, is said to be close to AICC AP incharge Ghulam Nabi Azad. The proximity Shabbir enjoys with Azad is his best hope of securing a berth. A promotional campaign in his favour has already been launched by his loyalists. Apart from Shabbir, State government’s whip Anil Kumar, who belongs to Nizamabad, is also competing for a Cabinet berth. Kumar enjoys the support of Union minister of state for tourism K Chiranjeevi. Sources say that Chiranjeevi had recommended the name of Kumar for the Cabinet post. Armed with the list of Cabinet berth aspirants, Kiran is leaving for New Delhi on April 18.

the TDP and Congress are preparing to join the TRS in the coming days. The TRS president himself revealed this while addressing the press on Monday. “Many MLAs and MPs from the Congress and TDP are in touch with us. They will join our

party in the next couple of days,” he said. Speaking to Postnoon on the issue, TRS minority wing president and newly-elected MLC Mohd Mahmood Ali said that the party’s move is aimed at bringing together all the pro-Telangana forces under one

roof to ensure that the target of 100 Assembly and 15 MP seats is met during the next General Elections. “Our target is to achieve 100 Assembly and 15 MP seats in the next General Elections. If we achieve this target, Telangana state will be a reality,” he said.

Sonia focuses on AP issues

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

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ICC president Sonia Gandhi, back from a trip abroad for a medical check-up, has been giving priority to the political situation in Andhra Pradesh where the Congress has to refurbish its image. The uncertainty over the Telangana issue, increase in power tariff, besides acute power shortage, drinking water problem, shutdown of industries due to prolonged power cuts have given the Opposition much-needed fodder to grind the government. But the party leadership believes it can put its house in order under the leadership of Kiran Kumar Reddy for the 2014 elections. The Congress, after taking resolutions on many vexed issues, will be thinking how to blunt the TDP’s marathon padayatra. Programmes to highlight government’s welfare measures will have to be chalked out to present a united face. Exorcising the YSR effect in such a way to help the party is another thought exercising the minds of the Central leaders.


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city TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

LEGAL

No adjustment, only divorce

STOP RIGHT THERE!

Over 5,000 divorce cases have already been filed in the State this year. Lawyers and community heads give Postnoon their take on this trend. ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com

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or young couples these days, even the slightest provocation by their spouse is landing them in courts to contest a divorce case. With the shocking statistics, seems like Andhra Pradesh will very soon be credited with the title of being the divorce capital of the country. Last year, the total number of divorce cases registered in the family space and adjust if they courts in the State was 7,575. This year, want the relationship to work. More in the last three months, already 5,513 importantly, they should let go of their cases have reached the courts. This is ego.” Another trend that advocates and nearly 80 per cent of the cases registered last year. In most cases, the couples are judges have been witnessing is the rapidly growing divorce rate among below the age of 35. Advocate Gopal Krishna, who has Christians. The statistics show that the registered hundreds of original peti- divorce rate among Christians, which was six per cent in 2011 and 20 per cent tions (OP) for divorce, says, in 2012, is 31 per cent “These days, couples so far this year. approach the courts for The increasing petty reasons. Lifestyle These days, number of divorce change is one of the cases among main reasons for the young people no Christians is leaving growing number of religious heads worbreak-ups.” Adding longer believe in the ried. “Till a few years that most of the concept of arranged ago, the word divorce divorce cases are filed was a social taboo. But by highly educated marriages. Nearly 70 now, with the fastpeople, he says, “The paced life, every year institution of marriage per cent of the divorce cases have is no longer sacred. marriages I solemnise been increasing. These Since the past five days, young people no years, I have been are love marriages. longer believe in the noticing that young Couples are in a rush concept of arranged people no longer see marriages. Nearly 70 marriage as a ‘forever to get married and in per cent of the marrelationship’. More riages I solemnise are preference is given to the process, do not love marriages. Young their professional life think of issues couples are in a rush to rather than their perget married and in the sonal life. Professional like compatibility. process, do not think rivalry is one of the of other issues like main reasons for many Fr Bosco compatibility. divorces.” Priest Also, with growing Psychologist Dr P individuality, they do Chandana says, “Marriages these days are more of not believe in adjustment or comprophysical attraction and less emotional mise. Earlier, if couples had issues with bonding. This is one reason for divorce their spouse, they would approach a cases. Blame it on the nuclear family priest and try to solve their disputes. lifestyle change; the quality most young Now young couples directly approach people lack is adjustment. Marriage the courts and seek divorce to end their counselling is a must these days. marriage, hence the increasing figures,” Couples should learn to give each other says priest Fr Bosco.

A traffic policeman apprehended two persons on a bike after they jumped the signal at Khairatabad junction. They tried to flee but the cops managed to stop them and fine them for breaking the law. SRINIVAS SETTY


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city TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

COMMUNITY

Headless commission limps on With no chairperson for years, AP women’s commission has only a few functionaries who try to address all the issues. Postnoon finds that there is a dire need for a larger set-up for the four crore women in the State. N SHIVA KUMAR

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

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ne would like to believe that the Andhra Pradesh sarkar is dedicated to the welfare of its women population but a visit to the AP State Women’s Commission proves the notion wrong. It is not the fault of the commission. The government has failed it. Here, the fate of four crore women depends on an 11-member staff without a head or six members who are crucial for effective functioning. And despite this State-sponsored negligence, the commission continues to deliver what little justice and hope it can to those who come pleading at its doors. The first sight that greets visitors here is women squatting by the counselling hall, waiting for their turn. Ask them what they are here for and nine out of 10 say they are victims of harassment, dowry threats, physical and mental abuse, marital violence; all social products that primarily affect home-makers.

What the commission has learnt

INEXPLICABLE NEGLIGENCE

Here is how this august institution has fallen into decay. The last chairperson heading the commission was removed in 2005 for political reasons. Ever since, the commission has been functioning without a chairperson, and is headed by a project director on deputation duty from the AP Women and Child Welfare Department. Sarala Rajya Lakshmi, secretary of the commission and project director, said, “It is a tough job that comes with a lot of pressure. But we do what we can to help these women.” The commission holds around 15 counselling sessions a month. Cases are registered and dates are appointed for each session. Some cases come in via post cards. These are women who are too poor to afford to travel to the City. In such cases, the government departments concerned are nudged into action by the commission. So far, their annual case registration and disposition for 2012 stands at 630. “The trouble is that other agencies involved in investigation, disposition and execution of the orders, like the police department or the human rights commission or the courts, do not respond or function on time. We attend to each and every case we come across, but the system of

monthly Lok Adalat with a bench of judges and advocates to help the victims and the accused. Other programmes include awareness and empowerment sessions with the help of NGOs and women’s organisations. We could do better, but for the lack of funds and interest from the State government,” said a member of the commission. Ask her what the State budget has allocated annually for the commission and she said, “`43 lakh. We know it is not enough and we have made several representations but the improvement is yet to happen.” It is evident from the lack of furniture to seat visitors or from the paint peeling off the walls that the commission’s functioning is a miracle. As we begin to leave, a victim and her husband shake hands nervously at the insistence of the counsel. They hug and suddenly the room is full of smiles. While it might be too optimistic to say that justice has been delivered, it is nonetheless a start. For Sarala Rajya Lakshmi and her 11-member staff, it is another day at work.

justice is delayed at the other end. As a commission, our priorities of making policy changes in order to effectively help troubled women is stalled because there is no chairman present to direct us,” said Lakshmi. The commission records a surprisingly large number of

complaints and visits from women from West and East Godavari districts. “It is either the case of high awareness in these two districts or it could be that women in these districts have recorded the highest number of problems. And most of them are rural women. About 60

per cent of the cases we take up are from the rural populace and in most of the cases, the root cause of the problem is marriage at a very young age,” she adds. After dealing with a family or a woman’s plight, the commission educates them about the disasters of early marriage and stresses on education and empowerment. Most of the cases that the commission hears are harassment cases. “We realised that the problem often lies in lack of communication between the two partners and this leads to harassment. We also come across dowry threat cases and physical and mental abuse. Apart from counselling them, we also try and deliver our judgments based on the victim’s choice. It is never our sole decision to impose something on them. And this system has worked so far, effectively. The number of cases coming back for a repeat hearing has gone down,” Lakshmi said. “We conduct a regular

n There is a need to discourage early marriage, as it fetters women and generates discord. n Push for rural women’s education, as education is a liberating factor. n Make keeping girls unlettered a punishable offence. n Pre-marriage counselling centres ought to be set up in rural areas.


8

city TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

COMMUNITY PICS: SRINIVAS SETTY AND M ANIL KUMAR

Drops of mercy With the temperatures soaring, political parties, NGOs and even some housing colonies have taken it upon themselves to ensure that pedestrians have access to clean drinking water.


9

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

focus

CELEBRITY CUSTOMERS

Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss are both fans of the Claus Porto brand, and their endorsement means there’s no shortage of international fashionistas who are more than happy to pay 15 euros ($20) for a bar of soap.

MARKET SITUATION

Portugal’s retro style is in vogue The crisis in the country has made people turn towards their roots a little more each day, closer to what some of them call their pedigree.

CAROLE GUIRADOCAILLEAU Agence France-Presse

F

rom vintage sardine tins and embroidered napkins to artisanal soaps, Portugal’s retro products are winning new fans as a handful of companies introduce their oldschool aesthetic to the international market. “The Americans have McDonald’s — we’ve got tinned fish”, jokes Tiago Cabral Ferreira at the Conserveira de Lisboa shop which has sold sardines, mackerel and other canned fish from the heart of Lisbon’s old town for the past 83 years. And it’s the retro-styled tins, with their vintage logos and slogans, that lure up to 100 a customers a day at the

height of the tourist season. The shop itself offers a glimpse back to a bygone era, with its carefully preserved decor including original tiles and wooden floors. The fish itself — a cupboard essential in Portugal — has been going down a treat with tourists too thanks to a canny marketing strategy focusing on its heritage and traditional local production. In the shop, a couple of German tourists rave about their find, insisting, there are “very rarely shops like this in Europe”. “The Portugese are working to showcase their history, not everybody is lucky enough to know about it” one of them said. When Catarina Portas opened her shop “ds” six years ago, she set out to promote

Portugese heritage via vintage brands and products. “I’d noticed that old Portugese brands were disappearing, and that their designs hadn’t changed for 50 or 70 years, because under Salazar’s dictatorship they didn’t have to deal with serious competition”, she says. Understanding the appeal of these old-school labels, she stocked her shop with products boasting “over 30 years of history, with packaging that was identical, or strongly linked to the original”. “I wanted to show that our products are good. The Portugese had a tendency to think that foreign products were better,” she says, adding that she also wanted to help promote small local brands over multinationals. Her strategy seems to be

paying off. She’s doing a roaring trade to tourists and Portugese consumers alike at her shops in Porto and Lisbon, where she sells over 2,000 vintage Portugese products, with the branch in the capital generating over a million euros in sales. It’s a similar story at Ach Brito-Claus Porto, a soap and perfume-maker with a long history. The company launched in 1887, but 100 years later, they were struggling. According to Aquiles Brito, a fourth-generation employee in the family business, by the 90s the brand was suffering and the company was on the brink of collapse. “Going against market research recommending mass distribution, we decided to bet on our old logos,” and focus

on international markets, he explains. Twenty years later, there’s no let up at the company’s small factory in Porto where employees meticulously wrap each bar of soap in beautiful Art Nouveau and Art Decostyle packaging, ready to be exported to over fifty countries around the world. Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss are both fans of the Claus Porto brand, and their endorsement means there’s no shortage of international fashionistas who are more than happy to pay 15 euros ($20) for a bar of soap. “The crisis in Portugal has seen us turn towards our roots a little more each day, closer to what I call our pedigree. It’s that pedigree that our clients are looking for” Brito concludes.

A woman stands in front of displayed vintage products at ‘A Vida Portuguesa’ (Portuguese Life) store in Lisbon. This store exists in Lisbon since 2007, its foundress Catarina Portas’s AFP/PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA main objective is to bring back oldtPortuguese brands that were once part and parcel of their lives.


TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Business

SENSEX UP 171 POINTS IN EARLY TRADE The BSE benchmark Sensex today rose by over 171 points in early trade as stocks of oil and gas, power, banking and PSUs sectors surged on increased buying by funds and retailers, fuelled by lowerthan-expected wholesale inflation and falling global crude prices.

NEW TREND

MILITARY SPENDING FALLS

Getting sporty

Believing that sports is vital to the overall development of a child, a company is aiming to include sports training at an early age.

World military expenditures totalled $1.75 trillion in 2012, registering a decline of 0.5 percent in real terms year-on-year for the first time since 1998, according to data released by a Sweden-based security think-tank. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) attributed the fall to austerity policies implemented in the majority of developed countries due to the global economic crisis that began in 2008. The SIPRI noted, however, that deep defence cuts in the US and other NATO countries, as well as in Australia, Canada and Japan were largely offset by significant increases elsewhere in the world, including in Russia and China.

PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

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here is a clear trend and interest towards sports training in the country. Earlier, sport was seen as a hindrance to a child’s education, but overtime there has been a gradual shift and change in the mind-set of parents in understanding the value of sports in the overall development of a child. This has given a push to the sports education sector. “From being a country that mostly watched sports, we are now a country where young parents want their wards to play a sport of their choice from a young age. Schools too have taken note of this change and are marketing the sports facilities they offer,” says S Ramakrishnan, managing director of SportsMentor. According to him, the right combination of welltrained coaches, infrastructure that is safe and inviting for kids to play, along with well-structured programmes that enhance a child’s physical and physiological development is the way forward. When asked about the potential for sports as a career in India, Ramakrishnan says, “There is a huge potential for this, but starting at the grassroot level is the key as this is where talent can be identified. With the right knowledge, and certified coaches and all aspects such as sports physics, biomechanics, sociology, nutrition, physiology, psychology, medicine and training techniques, it becomes easy to identify athletic prowess at an early stage, which can then be nurtured. “Not only in terms of career, sports facilitate the development of a child’s physique. When sports becomes a habit at

10

NUMEROLOGY

$17.3 bn

is the proposed supplementary budget by South Korea budget to help boost the economy, including further spending on defence at a time of heightened tensions with the North.

Sporting careers n Sports Management n Sports Administration n Sport Psychology n Sport Sociology n Sports Medicine n Corporate Fitness Instructor n Nutrition Specialist n Personal Trainer n Rehabilitation Specialist/Physical Therapist n Sports Journalism

an early age, it is easier to retain as a lifestyle. As we have done with academics, it is high time we integrate sports into the school curriculum. By doing this, we allow for holistic development of a child’s intellect and physique,” he says. Most techniques and skills

The right combination of well-trained coaches, infrastructure and well-structured programmes is the way forward. used on the field are applications of sciences learnt in the classroom. If the approach of teaching science through sports is used, it is sure to retain the interest of young minds. Research has proved time and again that those adults who played sports as children are more likely to exhibit superior social skills. When asked about the company and its plans, Ramakrishnan says, “We provide internationally-accredited scientific sports education programmes for schoolchildren to achieve their career goals.” The company has been

operating for a year now, and is likely to partner with 50 schools before the end of the year. SportsMentor also recently tied up with TAISI (The Association of International Schools of India). The company is trying to bring a paradigm shift in sports education in the country and is overcoming many challenges in its way. “One of the main challenges we face is when we approach schools and authorities that are oriented towards academics rather than sports. Our primary aim is to change their thought process and show them that sports education as important as academics,” Ramakrishnan says. Talking about the different career opportunities, he says, “There are many opportunities but many of them can only be available by achieving a right balance with academics. Excelling in sports alone while neglecting academics should not be encouraged in any case.”

GOLD `25,800 10g SILVER `43,800 1kg

24C

for

for

DOLLAR `54.34 POUND `83.16

AIRTEL’S INT ROAMING Bharti Airtel launched attractive International roaming packs for mobile customers. Airtel mobile customers travelling abroad to popular destinations can now enjoy exclusive offers on international roaming and continue using their Airtel India number abroad to easily stay connected with loved ones at special promotional rates. While Airtel postpaid customers travelling to countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, UAE and UK can now enjoy up to 2 hours of nonchargeable incoming calls and make outgoing calls for as low as `40/minute through special packs.

THUS SPAKE “The global crisis is taking an even more dangerous shape, which inevitably affects us as well. This is how it was in 2008. However, unlike our friends and partners in Europe and other parts of the world, the Russian economy is showing vitality and prospects of further growth.”

BSE NSE

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT

18,556.87 199.07

5,630.25 61.85


11

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

nation OBSTRUCTION

MITTAL, RUIA FURNISH PERSONAL BONDS IN 2G CASE

Bharti Cellular CMD Sunil Mittal and Essar Group promoter Ravi Ruia today appeared in a Delhi court in connection with the additional 2G spectrum allocation case and furnished personal bonds in pursuance of the Supreme Court's direction.

ANTONY CRACKS WHIP

BIRD SCARE

BJP leaders booked in Odisha BHUBANESWAR: Police have registered a case against BJP legislature party leader Jayanarayan Mishra and his supporters for preventing police from performing duty during a religious procession in Odisha two days ago, an official said Tuesday. Mishra and his supporters had also abused a senior policeman during the Hanuman Jayanti procession at the district headquarters town of Sambalpur Sunday, Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Deo said. According to him, Mishra and his BJP supporters were allegedly attempting to push a procession near the place of worship of Muslim community. IANS

Members of the Border Security Force (BSF) inspect the site where a dead falcon fitted with a small camera was found near the border with Pakistan in Rajasthan. This has sparked an alarm near the highly militarised border with Pakistan, an official said. Suspicions were initially that the bird might have been used for military spying, but the camera did not appear to be very sophisticated and it might instead have been the AFP PHOTO work of Pakistani hunters, the official added.

MARINE’S CASE

Italy objects to NIA handling It is concerned that serious charges can lead to a call for death penalty.

Italian marines Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre.

NEW DELHI: The Italian government today objected in the Supreme Court to the National Investigation Agency or NIA handling the case of its two marines. Italy is concerned with the assignment of the case to the NIA because the agency is empowered to deal with maritime piracy and terrorism, and serious charges can lead to a call for the death penalty. The elite agency was handed over the case earlier this month. It was earlier being handled by the Kerala police. The Supreme Court had said in January that the Kerala government did not have jurisdiction to investigate the case. The Centre has said that the two marines, Salvatore Girone

Pick

and Massimiliano Latorre, who have been charged with murder, will be tried by a special court in Delhi with daily hearings. They marines flew back to India in a dramatic turnaround on March 22, resolving a diplomatic crisis. India has agreed that if convicted, the marines can serve their sentence at home. India has also given Italy an assurance that the marines will not face the death penalty and that they would be housed at the Italian embassy in Delhi during their trial. The marines had been allowed in February to travel home for four weeks to vote in the national elections after a written assurance that they would return to face trial. PTI

at the

Defence minister AK Antony today promised to take strong action if anybody was found guilty in the alleged Kochi wife swapping case in which the wife of a navy officer has filed an FIR against her husband and his superiors. "Whenever there is a complaint, we take strong action. After inquiry, if anyone is found guilty, we take strong action and exemplary punishment is given.This is our track record and this will continue. In the Kochi case also, three separate investigations are going on," he told reporters on the sidelines of the IAF Commanders' conference.

8 NAXALS KILLED Eight Naxals were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district today. On a tip-off about the presence of Naxals in the forest area of Puarti village, a search was launched by Greyhounds force of Andhra Pradesh and district force early this morning, Sukma SP Abishek Shandilya said that on spotting the security forces, Naxals opened fire and in the retaliatory action, eight rebels were killed.

EARTHQUAKE IN ASSAM An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale shook Assam today jolting people out of bed. The Regional Meteorological Centre here said the quake occurred at 6.53am on latitude 26.3 degree North and 92.0 degree East with its epicentre being in Darrang district of Assam. There was no report of any casualty or damage to property so far due to the quake which rattled doors and windows, official said.

airport,

-


TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Boston blasts THREE DEAD, OVER

MARATHON BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Two explosions struck one of America’s top sporting events Monday, killing at least three and wounding more than 100 as the Boston Marathon erupted in a maelstrom of blood, screams, smoke and panic. As cities from New York to Los Angeles went on high alert, Americans with ever-vivid memories of the September 11, 2001 suicide airliner attacks automatically wondered if the country had been hit again by terrorists. President Barack Obama went on national television to say it was not yet clear who was behind the blasts. He said the perpetrators would pay. He did not utter the word “terror.” “We still do not know who did this or why. And people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts,” Obama said. “But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this, we’ll find out why they did this.” A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said later that “any event with multiple explosive devices — as this appears to be — is clearly an act of terror.” At the blast scene, a horrific chorus of high-pitched wailing and screaming rang out as bewildered runners and spectators fled the carnage and debris. News reports said one of the fatalities was an eight-year-old boy and that some of the injured lost limbs. One woman told CNN the blast was the loudest sound she had ever heard, and it made

the ground shake. The thunderous blasts struck near the finish line of the marathon, long after the winners had crossed. Competitors who were still running when the blasts rocked downtown Boston were diverted elsewhere. Some 27,000 people were entered to take part in the event. Video footage on American TV showed the moment when the first blast apparently struck:

Make no mistake — we will get to the bottom of this. And we will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals or groups will feel the full weight of justice. Barack Obama US President the detonation came on the left side of the course, behind spectators and a row of colourful national flags showing how runners come from around the world to take part. Security people in yellow jackets threw their hands to their ears as the blast took place and at least one runner was thrown to the ground as white smoke billowed upward. AFP

Third explosion at a library BOSTON: The Boston Police have said a third explosion occurred at a local library within hours of the two blasts at a marathon that killed two persons and injured over 40. The police, however, did not specify whether the three explosions were terrorist attacks. “We’re not being definitive, but you can draw your own conclusions,” Boston Police Chief Edward Davis told reporters, when asked if the explosions were a terrorist attack.

The Boston Marathon is an annual event that attracts thousands of people from across the world. Nearly 27,000 people were participating in this year’s marathon. The first two blasts occurred as the runners were nearing the finishing line of the marathon. Davis said two simultaneous blasts occurred along the route close to the finish line and were 50-100 yards apart. The third explosion was reported at the JFK Library. Initial video footage showed some runners falling

down and spectators scrambling away as fire broke out after explosion. Police have cordoned off the area and are investigating the cause of the explosions. Davis said police is not certain if the “third incident” at JFK library is related to the two blasts along the marathon route but said “we are treating like they are. It is an ongoing event at this point.”The Boston blasts prompted other major US cities like New York and Washington to step up security at landmark locations.


100 HURT IN

12&13

BLASTS Two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon — the oldest and most prestigious race of its kind in the US — have left at least three people dead and more than 100 injured.

Bloodied but unbowed Horrified to hear news of bomb explosion near Boston marathon finish. Paula Radcliffe English runner

Running brings people together, but what just happened in Boston is terrible Haile Gebrselassie Ethiopian runner

BRIEFS US-Indians, Muslims condemn blasts

WASHINGTON: IndianAmericans and the Muslim community in the US joined their shocked countrymen in condemning the Boston bomb blasts that killed three persons and injured over 130. “We hope that the perpetrators will be caught promptly, unlike after the Atlanta Olympics bombing, and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” said Indian American Dr Shaik Ubaid, who is co-chair of the New York chapter of the Muslim Peace Coalition. PTI

Blast being treated as terrorist attack WASHINGTON: The two bomb blasts in Boston, that killed at least three people besides leaving over 130 injured, are being approached as a terrorist attack by the US authorities, a White House official has said. “Any event with multiple explosive devices, as this appears to be, is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror,” the official said on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the press. PTI

Security tightened across the country NEW YORK: Security was boosted across the United States after a double blast killed at least two people and injured more than 100 at the Boston Marathon Monday. President Barack Obama ordered federal agencies to help police and local officials prevent any further attacks by increasing vigilance and catching the perpetrators of what White House staff described as an “act of terror.” “We’re continuing to monitor the situation,” Obama said.

Pakistani Taliban denies role in blasts

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he Pakistani Taliban, which claimed the 2010 Times Square bomb plot, on Tuesday denied anything to do with explosions that killed three people and wounded more than 100 in Boston. "We believe in attacking US and its allies but we are not involved in this attack," Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said. "We have no connection to this bombing but we will continue to target them wherever possible," Ehsan added.


TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Comment You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi Father of the nation

Glories of Gaul LAURENT BANGUET Agence France-Presse

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On a muddy field located between a motorway and a meander of the Seine southeast of Paris, French archaeologists have uncovered an Iron Age graveyard that they believe will shed light on the great yet enigmatic civilisation of Gaul. The site, earmarked for a warehouse project on the outskirts of Troyes, has yielded a stunning array of finds, including five Celtic warriors whose weapons and adornments attest to membership of a powerful but longlost elite. Archaeologist Emilie Millet crouched at one of 14 burial sites that have been uncovered in recent weeks after a nine-year excavation of the 260-hectare (650-acre) site. At her feet are the remains of a tall warrior, complete with a 70centimetre (28-inch) iron sword still in its scabbard. “I have never seen anything like it,” said Millet, gazing at a metal-framed shield whose wood-and-leather core has long rotted away. Buried next to the warriors are several women, whose jewellery — twistedmetal necklaces known as torcs, and large bronze brooches decorated with precious coral — also speak of high status. In one grave, a woman was buried next to a man, separated by a layer of soil, speaking of a close but as-yet unfathomable bond. “This graveyard is exceptional in more ways than one,” says the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), which excavates sites of potential interest before the bulldozers are allowed in.

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS Terrorists live in the shadows and attack unawares, a strategy that reeks of shame and cowardice. We must unite, take them on and bring them down. If there is to be a moment that the world must stand together and fight them, it is now.

NATION FORWARD

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ONE OF A KIND

NEW INDIA

Penny MacRae

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hhavi Rajawat is a one-woman whirlwind as she seeks to drag her impoverished ancestral village in the desert state of Rajasthan into the 21st Century. Rajawat, who spent her family holidays in sun-scorched Soda, became its sarpanch or elected village head three years ago after villagers implored her to take charge with dozens turning up at her home in state capital Jaipur to persuade her. “The villagers broke all caste, gender and religious barriers to elect me,” said Rajawat, a glamorous 33-year-old whose 10,000 constituents are mostly farmers and labourers largely untouched by India’s economic boom. The MBA graduate ditched her corporate career with one of India’s biggest telecom firms to become sarpanch and has been working ever since to bring better water, solar power, paved roads, toilets and a bank to her ancestral village. Soda is a byword for backwardness in this remote corner of Rajasthan where the houses are made of mud, electricity supplies are erratic, literacy levels are below 50 percent and the fear of drought is never far away. The villagers said there had been no progress since Rajawat’s brigadier grandfather,

now in his 90s, had served as sarpanch two decades ago and they wanted someone else in the family to take on the role. “I didn’t have a choice,” said a smiling Rajawat, who represented India at a recent UN poverty summit. Her story reveals the potential of good grassroots leadership in making a difference in a country plagued by corruption and inefficiency. It also shows the limitations. ‘India must go faster’ Swarmed by villagers as she walks down the road, Rajawat greets them by name as they share family news and pepper her with questions about progress on various projects. “Nobody has been able to do what she has done — no other sarpanch has done as much,” said 30-year-old farmer Jai Singh. Rajawat was visiting a computer centre in a no-frills stone structure that she set up with the help of a corporate sponsor. The spartan interior doesn’t bother the youngsters who tap away eagerly on keyboards on long trestle tables. “It’s a huge opportunity for them to get some skills — there was nothing before,” said teacher Mohammed Sadeek, 25. But Rajawat, who now divides her time between Soda and Jaipur, chafes impatiently at the sluggish pace of change. “India can’t keep advancing at the same slow rate — it must go faster. Otherwise we won’t be able to give people the schools, the electricity, the water and the jobs they need,” she said.

She was also checking on the progress of a scheme equipping primitive homes with toilets, which have made a big difference to locals who earlier had to relieve themselves outside — and the women only after darkness set in.

BUREAUCRATIC INERTIA There are many women sarpanchs in India because a number of these posts are reserved for them. But what sets Rajawat apart — aside from her iPhone, big-rimmed sunglasses, blue jeans and youth — is her education. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Indian Institute of Modern Management in Pune, rated one of the nation’s top 10 business schools, which she says helps her draft funding plans and proposals. “She’s unique. We need her

kind of people, they are a breath of fresh air, they have vision,” said government district collector Muktanand Agarwal. Among the achievements is her arrangement for medical checks of villagers by doctors from the state capital Jaipur, a bone-jolting two-hour drive away. She also organised the opening of the first bank in Soda — a branch of the state-run State Bank of India — a significant success as 90 percent of India’s 600,000 villages have no banks. But all that change doesn’t come without raising some local hackles. She has not decided whether she will continue in development work once her five-year terms ends, but she is hoping her example will inspire other educated young people to take time out to serve their communities.

EDITORIALS Do not give up, do not give in Prices down, glitters back

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hrough the scenes of gore and suffering after the blasts that rocked Boston and the whole of the US, walked a man with its flag, held aloft, undaunted. To this manaical, senseless bloodshed, allegedly by terrorists, that’s the perfect reply. By that gesture, he communicated more loudly than words, “Our heads are bloodied, but unbowed.” If those behind this ghastly cowardice have any sense, they will get the message. Violence is not the answer. And despite repeated attacks, we will not give up, or give in. That they should target people who had congregated for sport, is itself revealing about the nature of the perpetrators: they are demons. Never has anyone in the world ever achieved anything through bloodbaths: what follows is more. As the world shares the grief of millions of Americans, it must not let down its guard, but buck up and unite against the scourge of terrorism. Because, divided we will achieve nothing.

READERS’ VIEWS

G

old tumbling from its hallowed pedestal after a long time is something that has had its immediate cascading effect on the price scene, it seems. Though gold’s influence has always been psychosocial rather than real, its sentimental value on economy is too great to be ignored. Downward trend of inflation and price tumbling would be all right for short term but strictly from economic view, mild inflationary trend indicates an economy in its pink. Nevertheless, a slowing-down inflation has surely given the common man some relief.

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, APRIL 16, 2013

workplace

RAJENDRA MITTAL HEAD OF ESSAR STEEL ODISHA

Essar Steel India, which is setting up a 12 million tonne per annum (MTPA) pelletmaking facility in Odisha, announced that it has appointed Rajendra Mittal as its new chief executive officer for its operations in the state.

RIDDLE ME THIS

HERE’S THE DOPE

The ugly truth

It’s not only the candidate who gets surprised by the questions asked by the interviewing board, even the HRs have to face a couple of those awkward questions. We bring you experiences from both sides of the table.

NIDHI BHUSHAN nidhi.b@postnoon.com

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STUMPED

FLEME VARKEY fleme.v@postnoon.com

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here are no correct answers to any question, that’s what most of us would like to believe and in all probability that maybe true. But wacky questions as how many blades does a ceiling fan have, could get people a little nervous. But basically these questions are to make the candidate think on their toes. Well, what are you supposed to answer to have you stolen any pen from work? Ankit Modi was asked this question at an interview to a financial services company. He replied, “Yes. Don’t we all end up with a pen that is usually not ours?” The board liked his response and he was selected for his honesty. Another question which had one interviewee stumped at an IIM Bangalore interview was ‘What is colour of the wall behind you?’ Anchal Vohra who was asked this question, turned to look at the wall before answering the question. What the interviewer intended was to check her presence of mind, as the colour of the wall in front

15

Some weird questions posed at interviews:

n How do you weigh an elephant without using a weigh machine? (Reportedly from IBM (NYSE:IBM - News) n How are M&Ms made? (Reportedly from USBank) n "Can you leap over tall buildings in a single bound?" Asked by George Fox University, for a campus security guard position. n “If you could only do one dance move the rest of your life, what would

Anyone who has appeared for a job will have their own bunch of awkward questions and embarrassing answers. would be the same as behind. Here’s what some HRs had to say about them being at the receiving end. Paramjeet Singh, an HR with

it be?” Asked by Red Frog Events, for a legal position. n "What do you think about when you are alone in your car?" — Asked at Gallup, associate analyst candidate. n "Can you say: 'Peter Pepper Picked a Pickled Pepper' and cross-sell a washing machine at the same time?" — Asked at MasterCard, call center candidate.

Source-GLASSDOOR a construction company was asked by one candidate, ‘Are there any rules for washroom breaks?’ Needless to say the candidate did not make it. Kavita Rayudu, recounts an experience where the candidate emptied the candy box on the table through the interview.” She came across as extremely nervous and the candy box just killed her chances,” she says. “Another thing we have had to bear is ringing phones, she adds.“ There was this candidate whose phone kept ringing

loudly in the briefcase and he immediately tells the interviewer it’s not his. And then he has the cheek to ask the board, ‘Are taking phone calls allowed in your office?’” recalls Kavita. More from the other side, Vinita Pandey had applied to a financial firm and at the interview one of the things that startled her was the HRs refusal to grant leaves. “Are you planning any long leaves? I’m fine if you take short breaks but I can’t have you plan any long leaves. I could see my future with the company already,” she says. And then there are questions which often catch you off guard. Applicants for an IAS post often are faced with a lot of trick questions. For example, there was a cup of coffee kept on the table for the candidate and the interviewer asked him what is before you? (Answer — T), Bay of Bengal is in which state? (see if you get this one) Shruti Singh an HR explains, “It all depends on individual skills and presence of mind. What we look for is presence of mind and their problem solving capabilities or even creativity.”

've been working as a salon employee for the past 15 years. With more than a decade-long tryst in the industry, one would imagine, I make a fortune. I don’t. With only `10,000 per month, I barely scrape through. I spent more than a year learning the skills that my job required in Marathapally. I had to pay a few thousands for the course too. When I started working in a fancy parlour — my first job — I used to earn a meagre `5,000 per month and considering the time I’ve spent in the industry, I’m not making much today either. A typical day starts at 9 am in the morning, we are expected to clean the parlour and make it presentable for clients who only start walking in around 11 am. We are expected to do whatever it takes to keep the client happy — even if they are fussy and moody for no reason. There are days when people come into the parlour in such a foul mood that they fuss about threading. But, I can’t complain, I just have to suck it up and smile — a tactic I’ve picked up in the many years being a salon employee. After noting all the appointments for the day, we try to delegate work equally. However, that’s not possible with regular clients who insist on sticking to one beautician. There are days when I have to do full body waxing for more than 10 clients. It’s exhausting and at times, disgusting — there are many who have terrible body odour issues. Waxing in a closed, private space only makes the smell worse. The most popular service in waxing is bikini line. At `1,000 per session, the parlour makes at least `20,000 just through bikini or Brazilian waxing. Though I’m good at what I do and do it all wearing a smile, waxing that area can be very disgusting. There have been times when I couldn’t eat the whole day because the clients had not washed their private parts and I had to deal with the smell and vaginal fluids. I provide at least `60,00070,000 worth of revenue to the parlour I work in, that too, in a bad month. I can’t even imagine how much money the parlour must be making totally. — This column to appear every week will give you the inside dope on professions you thought were the coolest and the easiest.




TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

spotlight N SHIVA KUMAR

PUMP UP THE VOLUME

It’s electronic dance music and hip hop on the menu this Tuesday at Firangi Paani as DJ Shafi will make you dance to his tunes.

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Playing it right

Stars and their picks Genelia Deshmukh launched Myntra.com's third edition fashion property Stars n Style on Monday at Taj Deccan, Banjara Hills.

S BALAKRISHNA

A VISUAL TREAT

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Qadir Ali Baig theatre foundations presented Quli dilon ka shahzaada at Golkonda Fort, recently. The play showed the love life of prince Quli Qutub Shah and his love Bhagmati. S BALAKRISHNA

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1 Jyothi, Tanvi 2 Sumit, Nupur 3 Prachi, Ruchi

4 Utkal, Hiral, Meena 5 Geeta, Shamala 6 Rachna, Pallika

A NEW INITIATIVE

Maxivision Super Speciality Eye Hospital, a Medfort initiative, launched its seventh branch at AS Rao Nagar on Monday. The hospital was inaugurated by Dr D Rama Naidu, actor Rana Daggubati, Kasu Prasad Reddy founder chairman and Vinesh Reddy ED graced the occasion.

FOR THE PRETTY BRIDES

At Lakmé Salon make-up trainer, Sushma Khan on Monday divulged some of her secrets to a stunning bridal make-up.

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7 Bhramaji 8 Priya, Sharath


TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

health

60 AVIAN FLU CASES IN CHINA, 13 DEAD The total number of confirmed cases of H7N9 avian influenza in China has reached 60, including 13 people who died from the disease, the government said. Till Sunday evening, 11 new cases were confirmed, with two new deaths reported in Shanghai. IANS

INFECTIONS

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Some Candid(a) facts Candidiasis, a yeast infection, can affect the skin, genitals, mouth or other parts of the body. But when it spreads to internal organs, it can be life-threatening, doctors say. DEEPASHRI VARADHARAJAN

deepashri.v@postnoon.com

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east is a form of fungus and it is said that due to the hot, humid weather, infections caused by yeast may increase during summers. Candida, a type of yeast, can cause fungal infection in the skin, mouth, genital and other parts of the body. This infection is called candidiasis. The symptoms manifest themselves in several forms and while milder forms of the infection can be treated easily, as it gets severe, and if left untreated, it can cause serious damage.

CAN BE LIFE-THREATENING While superficial candidiasis affects the skin or mucous, systemic candidiasis involves internal organs and can be life-threatening, doctors say. “When it affects the nails, it is called cutaneous candidiasis. It can occur in the mouth, called oral thrush, or in the genital parts for women, called vaginal candidiasis,” said Dr Aftab Ahmed, general physician at Apollo Hospitals. “It can occur anywhere in the body,” said Dr Sunitha Shekhar Reddy, dermatologist at ADI clinics. “(It is common in) folded areas like groins and underarms. Vaginal infections can also occur.” She said everyone has fungus in the body, which get activated when aggravating factors are present, like in summer. Dr Reddy said those with dia-

betes and those who have some form of immune suppression are at a higher risk. “Systemic candidiasis is lifethreatening. It is common in patients who are severely immune-compromised, like cancer patients, post-transplant patients and HIV/AIDS patients,” Dr Ahmed said.

PRECAUTIONS Dr Aftab Ahmed told Postnoon about the three main precautions one can take to avoid developing candidiasis. He prescribes a sugar test for many patients who come to him with candidiasis. “A lot of them who get the sugar test done test positive for diabetes. In fact, they realise they are diabetic only because of this (candidiasis). Make sure diabetes is treated well; this will reduce the infection.” Secondly, those who take a lot of broad spectrum antibiotics for prolonged periods need to do so judiciously. “Think, do you really need to use it?” Dr Ahmed said. Thirdly, prolonged exposure to water causes yeast infection, particularly of the finger and nails, he said.

TREATMENT According to medicinenet.com, the most accurate way to confirm a vaginal yeast infection is to get a lab culture test done. It is treated with anti-fungal agents. Topical anti-fungal creams are also used. However, stronger and more expensive agents are required in case of invasive (systemic) candidiasis, Dr Ahmed said.

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

HOUSECALL

Sleep Pillow Sounds

Painful limb

Sleep Pillow provides an advanced set of high quality ambient sounds. The sounds are recorded and enhanced to relax and make you sleep. They create a relaxed environment and put you into a cyclical sleep pattern. These sounds are created to induce sleep even for difficult sleepers in the noisiest environments. itunes.apple.com

A child who has been previously well may suddenly complain of pain in their arm or leg. While this is usually a result of a knock or fall, there can be other causes. The most common cause of a painful limb is damage to the muscles, ligaments and soft tissues caused by a sprain or tear after moving or falling awkwardly. Muscle cramps are also common, especially after exercise or at night. bbc.co.uk

DID YOU KNOW? Chocolate is a cough suppressant According to a study published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), it was found that a compound found in chocolate called theobromine suppressed cough as well as codeine without any side effects. life.dailyburn.com

PIONEERS Valery Shumakov Valery Ivanovich Shumakov was a Russian surgeon and transplantologist, famous for being the founding father of organ transplants in Russia and was a pioneer of artificial organ surgery. Shumakov began his medical career by researching blood flow during congenital heart disorder operations. He created the Medical Research Institute of Transplantation and Artificial Organs, which he headed for over 30 years. en.wikipedia.org


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health TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

RESEARCH

TRANSPLANT

Scientists develop ‘lab-grown’ kidney

new genetic variations tied to heart rate identified The experiments identified 20 genes with a role in heart rate regulation, signal transmission, embryonic development of the heart, as well as cardiac disorders NEW YORK: Scientists have identified 14 new genetic variations that are associated with heart rate and may provide insight into the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK, through a collaborative genome-wide study on individuals discovered the new genetic variations linked to heart rate. Senior author of the study Dr Ruth Loos from Mount Sinai and her team, spent three years working on a genome-wide association study using data from 1,81,171 participants from 65 studies during 2009-2012. “Without any prior hypothesis, we studied the entire human genome hoping to identify new genetic variations that no one before had even imagined would play a role in the regulation of heart rate," said Loos. “This discovery is just the beginning of something new and exciting and can hopefully be used to identify new drugs that can be used for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders," Loos said. In a follow-up study, experimental down-regulation of gene expression was then conducted on fruit flies

The follow-up study showed that a genetic susceptibility for higher heart rate is associated with altered cardiac conduction and a reduced risk of sick sinus syndrome.

and zebra fish, to better understand how genetic variations might affect heart rate. These experiments identified 20 genes with a role in

heart rate regulation, signal transmission, embryonic development of the heart, as well as cardiac disorders, such as dilated cardiomyopa-

thy, congenital heart failure and sudden heart failure. “Our findings in humans as well as in fruit flies and zebrafish provide new insights into mechanisms that regulate heart rate," said Dr Marcel den Hoed, post-doctoral fellow at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and lead author of the study. The follow-up study also showed that a genetic susceptibility for higher heart rate is associated with altered cardiac conduction and a reduced risk of sick sinus syndrome, a common indicator for pacemaker implantation. “Our study tripled the number of genetic variations that are known to be associated with heart rate, some of which are also associated with other cardiovascular risk factors and with heart rhythm disorder," said Loos. The study was published in journal Nature Genetics. PTI

WASHINGTON: Scientists have implanted a bio-artificial kidney in rats, which may pave way for a synthetic organ made from a person’s own cells for human transplant. Bio-engineered rat kidneys developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators successfully produced urine both in a laboratory apparatus and after being transplanted into living animals. “What is unique about this approach is that the native organ’s architecture is preserved, so that the resulting graft can be transplanted just like a donor kidney and connected to the recipient’s vascular and urinary systems," said Harald Ott of the MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine, senior author of the study. “If this technology can be scaled to human-sized grafts, patients suffering from renal failure who are currently waiting for donor kidneys or who are not transplant candidates could theoretically receive new organs derived from their own cells.” The approach used in this study involves stripping the living cells from a donor organ with a detergent solution and then repopulating the collagen scaffold that remains with the appropriate cell type — in this instance, human endothelial cells to replace the lining of the vascular system and kidney cells from newborn rats. The overall function of the regenerated organs was significantly reduced compared with that of normal, healthy kidneys, something the researchers believe may be attributed to the immaturity of the neonatal cells used to repopulate the scaffolding. “Based on this initial proof of principle, we hope that bio-engineered kidneys will someday be able to fully replace kidney function just as donor kidneys do," Ott said. PTI

BREAKTHROUGH

Skin cells directly turned into brain cells

WASHINGTON: US researchers say they have directly converted ordinary skin cells to the type of brain cells destroyed in patients with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other myelin disorders. The breakthrough research at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine now enables “on demand” production of myeli-

nating cells, which provide a vital sheath of insulation that protects neurons and enables the delivery of brain impulses to the rest of the body. In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebral palsy (CP), and rare genetic disorders called leukodystrophies, myelinating cells are destroyed and cannot be replaced.

The new technique involves directly converting fibroblasts — an abundant structural cell present in the skin and most organs — into oligodendrocytes, the type of cell responsible for myelinating the neurons of the brain. “Its ‘cellular alchemy,'" said Paul Tesar, assistant professor of genetics and genome sciences

at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and senior author of the study. “We are taking a readily accessible and abundant cell and completely switching its identity to become a highly valuable cell for therapy," Tesar said. The study was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. PTI


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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Entertainment CINE BYTES

Nag’s song remixed in Action 3D

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wathi Muthyapu Jallulalo, a popular song from Nagarjuna, Amala starrer Prema Yuddham, has been remixed in Allari Naresh’s upcoming film Action. The song was shot on Allari Naresh and Neelam Upadhyaya. Anil Sunkara has directed the film and it also stars Vaibhav Reddy, Shaam, Raju Sundaram, Sneha Ullal, Kamna Jethmalani and Sudeep.

Harish Shankar clarifies on NTR’s film

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arish Shankar has, once again, clarified that the title of his upcoming film starring NTR, Samantha and Shruti Haasan hasn’t been decided yet. “Guys pls stop predicting about the title... Very Soon will Announce an awesome title of Young Tigers Movie (sic),” he posted on Twitter.

Prema Oka Maikam’s audio launched

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he audio of Charmee, Rahul and Sharanya starrer Prema Oka Maikam was launched recently in Hyderabad. Sreenu Vaitla and Sukumar were the chief guests at the audio launch. Charmee is playing a call girl and the story revolves around a call girl, a writer and a singer.

FAMILY GET-TOGETHER

MANCHUS team up for a multi-starrer M ohan Babu, Vishnu Manchu and Manoj Manchu are teaming up for an upcoming Telugu film. Although Mohan Babu had acted in few films with Vishnu and Manoj on separate occasions, this is the first that all three of them are going to act together. Interestingly, the multistarrer film also stars Varun Sandesh, Tanish in important roles whereas Raveen Tandon, Hansika and Pranitha Subhash will be playing the lead roles in the film. Two more actresses, who’ll be paired up with Varun and Tanish, are yet to be finalised.“It’s the first time all three of us are teaming up for a film and we are quite excited about it. The script for the film is ready and it’s going to be a family entertainer,” Vishnu and Manoj Manchu said. The film is going to be jointly produced by Mohan Babu, Vishnu and Manoj under Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures and 24 Frames Factory banner. Sreevas, who had earlier made Lakshyam and Rama Rama Krishna Krishna, has been roped in to direct this multistarrer and the film will be shot in India and few other locales abroad. Palani Kumar is the cinematographer and four music directors are going to score the music. The film will be officially launched on April 21 and it’ll go on floors later this year. Currently, Vishnu Manchu is shooting for Doosukeltha in Veeru Potla’s direction and Lavaya Tripathi is playing the lead role. On the other hand, Manchu Manoj is busy shooting for Pawan Wadeyar’s Potugadu in Bangalore.


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Entertainment TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

CREATING A NICHE FOR HERSELF

CINE BYTES

A

ctress Huma Qureshi, who garnered positive response for her role in Gangs Of Wasseypur, says things are changing and actors like Vidya Balan and Kalki Koechlin are refining the quintessential role of a glamour doll in the showbiz. Huma said: “I think that is changing very, very fast. Look at what Vidya has done — she has changed things for women. Be it me, Konkona (Sen Sharma), or Kalki — we all are refining the quintessential role of a glamour doll in Bollywood... Thanks to many directors and writers who are coming up with fantastic story and ideas.” Post Gangs of Wasseypur, Huma has been described as an unconventional actress who wowed everyone with her work in the gritty celluloid saga of coal mafia. The actress has teamed up with Kalki and Konkona in Ek Thi Daayan, which is coming out Friday. Directed by Kannan Iyer, the forthcoming supernatural thriller also features Emraan Hashmi and it has been co-produced by Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj. Huma doesn’t have a problem “being called pretty”, but adds they really have to work hard other than looking good. “I have been working hard like insane. As an actress, people think it’s all about being glamorous, looking pretty and dressing up, but there’s a lot of hard work as well. I am working 14 to 16 hours a day and that is a lot of work. But it’s fun. I am loving it. I am enjoying it,” said the actress who was born and brought up in Delhi and comes from a completely non-film background. Nine months ago “I was like a completely different person, I didn’t know anything”. Although there have been no changes on personal level, “work has increased, media attention has increased and I am really enjoying it”. “At the end of the day, what matters is your work. I am very excited with the kind of filmmakers I am working with,” the 26-year-old said. After Gangs of Wasseypur, Kashyap repeated her in Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, while Bhardwaj is working with her again in Dedh Ishqiya post Ek Thi Daayan. IANS

Ayushmann happy with Nautanki Saala response

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he verdict on Ayushmann Khurrana’s second film Nautanki Saala! is out and the actor is happy with the feedback. “Lots of praises and some criticism. Loved your feedback. Let this be your ‘nautanki’ Sunday. Nautanki Saala!,” Ayushmann tweeted Sunday. Co-produced by Bhushan Kumar and Ramesh Sippy, Nautanki Saala released Friday. IANS

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein keeps Shraddha busy

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hile everyone is awaiting Shraddha Kapoor’s much talked about Aashiqui 2 release, the actress is busy shooting for Dharma Productions’ Gori Tere Pyaar Mein in Bangalore. “I am doing Gori Tere Pyaar Mein with Dharma. That will release in November. I just shot for it in Bangalore. I am still shooting for it,” Shraddha said. IANS

Action is my forte: Tiger Shroff

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iger Shroff has already started shooting for his debut film Heropanti with routine scenes but will soon go into heavy duty dancing and then what he loves the best — the action sequences. “Of course, action is my forte. But to me, all my scenes are equally important. The dancing, fighting, emoting... I have to give my best all through the film,” he says. IANS

Vidya, Kalki refining typical glamour doll roles: Huma


Entertainment TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

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Entertainment TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

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Entertainment TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

CLEARING THE AIR

Will Smith and I have a “Grown” relationship

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ada Pinkett Smith wants to make something clear — she’s in a very committed relationship with Will Smith. The actress wrote a lengthy post on her Facebook today, trying to further explain a comment she made during an interview with HuffPost Live regarding rumours that she and the Men in Black star have an open marriage. “I’ve always told Will, ‘You can do whatever you want as long as you can look at yourself in the mirror and be OK,’” the star told HuffPost Live. “Because at the end of the day, Will is his own man. I’m here as his partner, but he is his own man. He has to decide who he wants to be and that’s not for me

to do for him. Or vice versa.” Dr Marc Lamont Hill, who conducted the interview with HuffPost Live, exclusively tells E! News, “Everyone has wanted to ask that question of Will and Jada. I felt comfortable enough, and we were having a good conversation, so it felt like a natural progression to ask. It was an opportunity for her to honestly address something that has been speculated about for years.” During the interview, Jada simply stated, “He’s [Will] my best friend. He’s been by my side through some of the most difficult parts of my life. And so that’s something you can never take away.”

CINE BYTES Bradley Cooper takes home two MTV Movie Awards

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radley Cooper took the MTV Movie Awards stage at the Sony Pictures Studio in LA on Sunday night. He was the winner of the golden popcorn for best male performance for his role in Silver Linings Playbook. Bradley also took home the statue for best kiss with Jennifer Lawrence, though she wasn’t on hand to accept the honour.

Jennifer Lopez still a diva, says ex-husband

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ctress-singer Jennifer Lopez’s ex-husband Cris Judd says she is a diva and describes her as “an amazing performer”. “Jennifer is a diva! She is an amazing performer and a confident professional. She is always striving to be better. You have to respect that,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted Judd as saying. IANS

Knowles accident prone!

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inger Beyonce Knowles says she gets injured and bruised all the time.The 31-yearold, who is married to Jay-Z and has a over a-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, admits her clumsiness has become a joke. “I’ve fallen quite a few times, so I’ve learned how to fall. It’s very rare that I’m not bruised in my life,” Britain’s Vogue magazine quoted Knowles as saying. IANS


TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. Anna Quindlen

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

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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 Gullible one Hold's hold 9 Middle of a sleeve 14 Gp with moles 15 Morning rouser 16 Frilly and feminine 17 Climber's challenge 18 St ___ (Windward Island) 19 Battery part 20 Hit for Sinatra and Davis 23 North American flycatcher 24 Half a cocktail? 25 Hair holder 28 Loose ads in newspapers 31 Remove from practice 34 Code word for ‘A’ 37 Chardonnay alternative 38 Big hit for Janis Joplin 44 Month known for its showers 45 Rock heap 46 Succumb to a yo-yo diet 48 Like some museum displays 54 100 bani, in Romania 55 Abu Dhabi locale 58 Tequila plant 59 Classic hit from Billy Paul 64 ‘Paper Moon’ Oscar winner 66 Gas company bought by BP 67 Modern ID verifier 68 Consequently 69 Olympic prize 70 Elder elver 71 Courtroom statements 72 Cubic cordwood measure 73 Taboo spray's letters

DOWN

1 Sauteed shrimp serving 2 Actress Quinn of ‘Annie’ 3 Custard-apple trees (Var)

4 Mobile creator Alexander 5 Styptic pencil stuff 6 Suggestive 7 Mill input 8 Biggest city in Nebraska 9 ‘Good heavens!’ 10 Flooring choice, for short 11 Common lunch holder 12 Like an antique 13 Slingshot or divining rod 21 Maiden name preceder 22 Grant money, essentially 26 Roofer's concern 27 Oak, maple or apple 29 Bar bill 30 Hog filler 32 Suffix with ‘ideal’ or ‘organ’ 33 SSN part 35 J Edgar Hoover's org 36 Competent 38 Loamy fertiliser 39 Edgeless sword 40 War of words 41 Peeples or Long 42 551, in stone 43 Japanese currency 47 Woman of habit? 49 Persuade using flattery 50 Give it ___ (try) 51 Prepared for refinishing 52 Made level 53 Treat seawater, in a way 56 One working close to Washington? 57 Actor M ___ Walsh 60 Apiece 61 Brewpub drinks 62 Got on one's high horse? 63 Capone facial feature 64 Outburst of surprise 65 Class-conscious org?


Chai Time TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 17-4-2013

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Your bold and wise decisions yield desired results. Confusion will disappear and you will get a clear-cut vision. Held-up work will resume now and end successfully. Misunderstanding and cold war with neighbour will end. Purchase of house likely.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Politicians will be in the limelight and get support from the high command. Success is certain as you work hard. Court verdict will go in your favour. Money will come from all the expected sources. VIPs will become your friends and help.

Your influence is set to improve and you will attract persons of the opposite sex with charisma. You look very happy and cheerful. Money will come from expected sources. Your clever talk and creativity earns appreciation. You maintain calm in all you do.

Your cool attitude will ensure that all work undertaken by you get completed successfully. Some undertake pilgrimage. Speculation will yield decent gains. You hesitate to enter into others’ personal matters. Minor accident is likely; take care.

Not being able to save because income and expenses compete with each other upsets you. Heat-related ailments likely to affect you; take care and get treated in time. Avoid giving commitments to anything for anyone. Avoid harsh talk with all.

Children make you happy and proud. You are responsible and do work with full focus. Govt sops likely for businessmen. Financial position will be strong and hence you feel relaxed. Efforts regarding marriage finalisation will be successful.

Some have a bright chance to go abroad for the first time. You talk strictly and get work done successfully. Real estate transactions bring favourable gains. Blood relatives extend financial and physical help encouraging you in all you do.

Those deprived of children for long might hear good news soon. With swift actions you put your enemies on check. Maturity and knowledge is evident in your talks. Everyone will appreciate you for your innovative and different approach.

Money will come from all the expected sources, which will let you relax. You will be generous and at the same time stubborn in your decisions. You might worry about the future. Sudden travel likely, which will yield desired results lifting the gloom.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Eight of Swords – A friendship turning sour will leave you in quite a shock. You may not have expected this from this particularly close friend. Don’t worry.

LEO:

The Lovers – Decision time is here and you are at a crossroads. You want to take the best option available. Trouble is, you don’t know what that is. Trust your instinct.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Eight of Wands – Good luck favours those who are prepared. They can then convert this opportunity to something wonderful. This is such a lucky phase for you.

SAGITTARIUS:

Seven of Pentacles – Money will follow you if you’re willing to do the different. Open your mind to possibilities and don’t be intimidated by the unfamiliar.

TAURUS:

Knight of Swords – Focus on diet. It will solve all health problems, for the time being. You’re tempted to go to extremes and take medication for the smallest problem.

CANCER:

Two of Pentacles – Balance is the name of the game. Working mothers, especially, have a tough time with this. Go easy on yourself. You’re not a machine.

VIRGO:

Four of Cups – A job offer is likely to take you by surprise. It will be in a field you’re not familiar with. Don’t doubt your abilities. Just plunge in and get going.

SCORPIO:

Justice – You cannot control what happens to other people, although you may be their responsibility. No one can be responsible for another’s life.

CAPRICORN:

The Empress – There may be minor irritants in a relationship. But it’s important you deal with them before moving on. Ignoring won’t make them go away.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Two of Cups – Partnerships are in focus. Two minds are better than one. Be open to sharing your ideas and collaborating and learning as you go along.

NUMBER GAME

Sudden changes in the process of an important project has you worried. You begin to imagine all the things that could go wrong. Stop doing that.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Temperance –

POOCH CAFE

Spouse’s health may be a cause for concern; take care. Persons who benefit through you may not respect you; do not worry. You may be deprived of sleep due to tension. However, your wise action will drive it away, ensuring peace.

for 17-4-2013

Seven of Swords – Be careful of injuries while working out. Always follow your trainer’s instructions and don’t do anything that will push your body too much.

NON SEQUITUR

Apprehensions you had will disappear. Delayed marriage talk will resume and get finalised. You cheerfully involve yourself in new efforts and become successful. Purchase or selling of house or land will be profitable and end smoothly.

SUDUKO

Employees will feel cheerful as management accepts their demands unconditionally. Selfconfidence level will be at a high. Real estate deals will end with gains. Businessmen will have sudden and unexpected fortune opportunity.

Boggle KAYAK RADAR MADAM TENET Vol: 2, No 270 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon. com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211


28

Entertainment TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

MASS EXODUS

A Painful Separation

TOP RECOMMENDS

Although Iranian filmmakers have made waves across the world over the past couple of decades, the hostile environment in their homeland has led to their exodus to foreign countries. We take a look at few such acclaimed directors who have been fighting against all odds. HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com

E

arlier this month, award winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who had previously helmed Oscar winning film A Separation, unveiled the first look of his upcoming film The Past which has Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim and Ali Mosaffa in lead roles. The film is about a man who wants to return to Iran but he’s called back to France after his wife demands a divorce from him. It’s the first time Asghar Farhadi has shot a film outside Iran and thanks to his previous film, studios in Europe were more than glad to fund his latest project. In a lot of ways, Asghar Farhadi is one of the luckiest directors in contemporary Iranian cinema who has had the freedom to film and that too in Iran. That he makes deeply personal films about fragile relationships might have proved to be a shield for him from the censorship in Iran, but few other celebrated filmmakers like Jafar Panahi, Abbas Kiarostami and Bahman Ghobadi haven’t been so lucky. Iranian cinema underwent a sea change during the Khomeini regime post the Iranian cultural revolution in 1979 and several filmmakers went into exile.Unlike the melodramas and action thrillers that were popular before the Cultural

“I think they don’t understand my films and so prevent them being shown just in case there’s a message they don’t want to get out” Abbas Kiarostami Revolution, filmmakers under the new regime began experimenting with new genres, styles and themes. The censorship had become so strict that filmmakers began focusing on children and narrate intensely personal coming-of-age dramas featuring children. Abbas Kiarostami was one of the most interesting filmmakers to emerge in this era and later Jafar Panahi followed suit. By the mid 90s, Iranian cinema

Jafar Panahi

had found audience across the world thanks to the popularity of Iranian films in Cannes and Berlin film festivals. Despite such widespread acclaim, the Iranian government has imposed severe restrictions on filmmakers who were perceived to be pro-West or who projected the issues plaguing the local Iranian population. All of Jafar Panahi’s films are banned from public screening in Iran, although his works are widely available through pirated DVDs and even Kiarostami’s films were banned for nearly 10 years. When asked why the government had banned his films in Iran, Abbas Kiarostami once said, “I think they don't understand my films and so prevent them being shown just in case there is a message they don't want to get out.” In 2010, the entire film fraternity was shocked to know that Jafar Panahi was sentenced to six years of prison and banned from making films, writing screenplays or giving interviews for 20 years. The Iranian government levelled charges of assembly and colluding with the intention to commit crimes against the country’s national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic against him. On the other hand, director Bahman Ghobadi, best known for Turtles can Fly, left Iran in 2009 after Iranian intelligence agents repeatedly threatened him. Last year, he made Monica Bellucci, Beren Saat starrer Rhino Season, which was his first film in three years. “I had a mental crisis when I left Iran. This crisis became so severe that I felt I would die if I didn't make a film,” he told BBC at the premiere of his film at the Toronto Film Festival. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who made Kandahar in 2001, left Iran in 2005 shortly after the elec-

tion of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. No other film industry in the world has seen such mass exodus of its filmmakers. Be it Panahi or Kiarostami, the pain of separation from their homeland is heartbreaking, to say the least.

The Hunt (2012) Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt is a gripping tale about a school teacher who’s wrongly accused of sexual abuse. Although he tries his best to prove his innocence, the town’s residents don’t believe him and the former becomes a victim of mass hysteria. The Hunt, a Danish film, is a brilliant study about human psychology and how quickly people lose their wisdom. The film starring Mads Mikkelsen and Thomas Bo Larsen was screened at Cannes Film Festival in 2012 and Mads Mikkelsen won the award for Best Actor.

Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Everyone who makes films has to be an athlete to a certain degree because cinema does not come from abstract academic thinking; it comes from your knees and thighs. Abbas Kiarostami

Werner Herzog Director

DID YOU KNOW?

Bahman Ghobadi

Despite their popularity across the globe, Chinese martial arts films were never nominated for Oscar awards until 2001. The record was broken by Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon which became the first martial arts film to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. It won four Oscars that year including Best Foreign Film.

Takeshi Kitano, the acclaimed Japanese director best known for films like Outrage, Sonatine, Battle Royale and Kikujiro, began his career as an elevator operator in a strip club. In 70s, he began his stint on TV as a host and soon became a popular comedian. Incidentally, he was the host for Takeshi’s Castle in late 1980s.


sports

29

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

MONTE CARLO PREVIEW Nadal admits winning streak will one day end SCOTT WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse MONACO: Rafael Nadal admitted on Monday that his incredible 42-match, 10-year unbeaten run at Monte Carlo will end, but he is in no hurry to see that day. The 26-year-old Spaniard, who last lost on the clay of Monte Carlo as a fresh-faced 16-year-old

when then-clay court king Guillermo Coria defeated him in straight sets in the third round, also claimed he is not the clear favourite he has been in the past. Nadal is bidding for an unprecedented ninth straight title at the Masters event in the heart of the Cote d’Azur but says his recent sevenmonth injury lay-off means he cannot be treat-

ed as the all-conquering clay king of old. “I cannot say I’m the biggest favourite to win here again,” the Spaniard said on Monday as he prepared for his second-round start after a bye. “This is not an easy event to win. I don’t want to lose perspective, but I don’t want to lose either. “Everything in life finishes sometime. Someday

the winning will stop, not everything is forever. “But I’m excited to be here, it is always a high motivation for me to play Monte Carlo.” Nadal, who won the Indian Wells hardcourt Masters 1000 crown three weeks ago and then rested his troublesome knees on the advice of doctors, remains quietly confident of his abilities on clay.

FLECHE WALLONNE

NBA

Contador to tackle the Ardennes

Thunder clinch top seed

BRUSSELS: Alberto Contador (above) will be one of the main draws at the Fleche Wallonne classic on Wednesday but the former Tour de France winner claims he wanted to skip the event. The 30-year-old Spaniard’s participation comes as something of a surprise after he recently said he was tired. His main aim for the year is a third Tour title in July. The champion from 2007 and 2009, who was stripped of a third victory in 2010 for doping, admitted the Fleche Wallonne had not featured in part of his original planning. But he said his SaxoTinkoff team has told him to ride. “The idea is to test my condition and increase my team’s chances,” he said.

CORPORATE CRICKET

S

EW 159 for 4 in 20 over’s (Himanshu 55, Praveeth 41) beat VAST 143 (Praveeth 3 for 23 runs, 3 for 35 runs) COGNIZANT 187 for 8 in 20 over’s (Roy 51, Srinivas 41) beat JYSHA 174 for 7 in 20 overs (Ajay 59, Asheesh 55, Mahesh 3 for 28)

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s victory also means they completed the sweep of Sacramento in the season series. OKLAHOMA CITY: The Oklahoma City Thunder clinched home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs by beating Sacramento 104-95 Monday behind a 29-point effort from Kevin Durant (right). Durant also had eight assists and seven rebounds for the Thunder who scored 62 points in the paint compared to just 46 for the Kings in front of a crowd of 18,203 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Russell Westbrook finished with 21 points and eight assists, while Serge Ibaka had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the win. Isaiah Thomas was the lone starter to reach double figures for the Kings as he finished with 16. Travis Outlaw had 15 points while Cole Aldrich posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Thunder’s victory also means they completed the sweep of Sacramento in the season series. AFP

Utah beat ‘Wolves to keep hopes alive MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Utah kept their playoff hopes alive as Al Jefferson scored 22 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Jazz to a 96-80 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Mo Williams finished with 15 points and 7 assists while Randy Foye chipped in 14 points for Utah, who have won four of their last five National Basketball Association contests. The Jazz are now one game behind the Lakers for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Utah must win Wednesday’s game at Memphis and hope that Los Angeles loses to Houston also on Wednesday.

FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX

Car blast at Bahrain ahead of F1

DUBAI: A Bahraini youth opposition group on Monday said it blew up a car in Manama overnight in an incident the authorities blamed on a “terrorist group” just days ahead of the country’s Formula One Grand Prix. There were no casualties in the blast and no damage other than to the car, police said in a statement. “A terrorist group used a gas

cylinder to burn a car in Manama at night on Sunday causing an explosion,” the statement said. The radical youth movement February 14 claimed responsibility in a statement on its Twitter account, saying the aim was to disrupt “activity in Manama’s financial centre in opposition to holding the Formula One race” next Sunday. Security services are investi-

gating the attack aimed at “attracting the attention of the media” before the controversial race, official BNA news agency quoted a government official as saying. Police and protesters chanting “No, no to F1” clashed in Shiite villages around Manama late on Monday, witnesses said. Roads were blocked by burning tyres and police fired tear gas and sound bombs at demonstrators. AFP


30

sports TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

AUGUSTA MASTERS

ASIA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Oz savours ‘historic day’ after Scott triumph Sports-mad Australia celebrated Adam Scott’s triumph in the Masters, claiming it as a historic moment for the nation. ROBERT SMITH Agence France-Presse SYDNEY: Sports-mad Australia on Monday celebrated Adam Scott’s breakthrough triumph in the Masters, claiming it as an historic moment for the nation and Greg Norman said there were more to come. Scott, 32, beat Argentina’s Angel Cabrera at the second playoff hole to become the first Australian to win the Masters at Georgia’s Augusta National. Norman, who endured Masters heartbreak with three runner-up finishes at Augusta in the 1980-90s and whose influence was hailed by Scott after his triumph, led the tributes and said his victory will help him win more majors. “I have been a huge believer in Adam and I am so proud of him, as is the rest of Australia,” Norman said on his Facebook page. “Adam is a great player and I’m confident this victory will catapult him to win more majors. It will not surprise me if he wins more major championships than any other Australian golfer in history.” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said “by any measure it is an historical day

Adam Scott of Australia smiles while wearing his green jacket after winning the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday. AFP/HARRY HOW

for Australian sport”. “Adam Scott’s triumph at Augusta immediately joins the ranks of the truly great Australian sporting moments,” she said in a statement. Nine months after making bogeys on the last four holes to squander a British Open lead at Royal Lytham and two years after sharing second at the Masters, Scott won his first major title in commanding fashion. Australians gathered around television sets across the country urging on Scott who ended a jinx that saw Australians eight times finish runnerup at the Masters. Sports Minister Kate Lundy called it “fantastic news for not only Adam, but all those who played on Augusta before him and for all those young Australians who will follow in his path”. “With golf now an Olympic sport for the 2016 Rio Games, today’s victory will no doubt help to inspire the next generation of Australian golfers,” she said. Geoff Ogilvy, the last Australian to win a major at the 2006 US Open, simply tweeted: “Yes!!! I reckon it’s time for a beer.”

Return of the king for China’s Lin Dan TAIPEI: Olympic gold-medallist Lin Dan returns to the court after an eight-month break this week as he spearheads China’s drive for a clean-sweep of titles at the Badminton Asia Championships in Taipei. Lin, arguably the sport’s greatest player, has not hit a shuttlecock in anger since last year’s Olympic final, apart from playing — and losing — a farewell exhibition match against retiring Danish great Peter Gade in December. Last August, Lin ripped off his shirt and raced around the London venue in celebration, weeping and saluting the crowd, after he defeated his arch-rival Lee Chong Wei to become the first double men’s singles Olympic champion. The tattooed 29-year-old has since kept a low profile, although he donned military uniform to marry long-term sweetheart and former world champion Xie Xingfang at a decked-out Beijing university gymnasium in September. Now attention will focus on the form of the People’s Liberation Army officer and whether China can repeat their feats of London, when they took all five titles despite losing their top women’s doubles pair in a cheating scandal. China arrive with a brimming coterie of stars including women’s Olympic champion Li Xuerui, and Zhao Yunlei and Zhang Nan, the boyfriend-girlfriend partnership who won the mixed doubles gold medal in London. China’s formidable line-up also features women’s doubles pair Wang Xiaoli and Yang Yu, who were among eight players disqualified from the Olympics for trying to lose group matches, in a bid to win a favourable quarter-final draw. AFP

BOSTON MARATHON BLASTS Bruins’ game postponed after marathon blasts BOSTON: The National Hockey League postponed Monday night’s contest between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators after deadly explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. NHL officials said the Bruins home game would be rescheduled at a later date. “The NHL wishes to express its sympathy to all affected by the tragic events that took place in Boston earlier this afternoon,” the league said in a statement. The Boston Red Sox’s home game against the Tampa Bay Rays wasn’t affected. The Red Sox had beaten the Rays 3-2 before the twin blasts caused chaos in the city, killing at least two and injuring dozens. “Very sad to hear the news coming out of Boston,” Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino said on Twitter after the team had travelled to Cleveland. “Horrific. My thoughts and prayers to all those involved.” AFP

London Marathon to go ahead Race organisers said the London Marathon would go ahead despite the death of at least three people in explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. LONDON: Race organisers said the London Marathon would go ahead on Sunday despite the death of at least three people in explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, but police said they would review security plans. British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter that footage from the blasts was “shocking and horrific”, and said that his thoughts were with those affected. The harrowing scenes of injured spectators quickly prompted fears of a similar incident at the London race. “We will not be cancelling, what we are doing, we are reviewing,” London Marathon Chief Executive Nick Bitel told BBC Radio 5 Live. “You look at what has occurred, if there are steps we can take to increase security and all sorts of measures one

Police secures the area in front of the White House in Washington on Monday after blasts rocked the finish line of the Boston marathon. At least three people were killed and 23 others wounded when two explosions struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. AFP/MLADEN ANTONOV

could deploy. “We run through the city, when you have an event of any nature, a marathon, parade, it’s only as safe as the city itself, if it’s not held in a stadium you can’t do a lockdown like you

may do in a building,” he added. Thousands of people, including leading international athletes, compete in the London Marathon every year and, with the race just six days

away, there was earlier speculation the event could be cancelled on safety grounds. Bitel said he was “deeply saddened and shocked by the news. “Our immediate thoughts are with the people there and their families,” he said in a statement. “It is a very sad day for athletics and for our friends and colleagues in marathon running. “Our security plan is developed jointly with the Metropolitan Police and we were in contact with them as soon as we heard the news.” Met Police Chief Superintendent Julia Pendry added: “A security plan is in place for the London Marathon. We will be reviewing our security arrangements in partnership with London Marathon.” The explosions in Boston took place after the elite race had finished. AFP


IPL 6

31

BATTLE OF THE TITANS

METRE

6 S 144

14 4S 497

Chris Gayle (RCB)

26

Virat Kohli (RCB)

HIGHEST SCORE

93*

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013 Virat Kohli (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

4-13

Sunil Narine (KKR)

Viru may nullify Gayle effect It’s tough that two of our matches went to the last over and one turned out to be a Super Over. That's how cricket goes. Ravi Rampaul RCB player

Virat Kohli (RCB) 256 runs

K Cooper (RR), D Bravo (CSK), V Kumar (RCB) 8 wickets

‘Kings XI to bolster batting’

K

ings XI Punjab coach Darren Lehmann today said his batsmen need to bat out the full twenty overs and put more runs on the board to give the bowlers a chance to defend the total. "Our bowling and fielding has been really good. But what has obviously let us down is the batting. We need to bat out the full overs and score a bit more runs to give our bowlers a chance," Lehmann told reporters. After two successive defeats against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab are now looking at bolstering their batting line-up ahead of their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders at the PCA stadium today. PTI P

W

L

T PT

MI

4

3

1

0

6 +1.150

RCB

5

3

2

0

6 +0.439

RR

4

3

1

0

6 +0.230

SRH

5

3

2

0

6 -0.380

KKR

4

2

2

0

4 +0.223

CSK

4

2

2

0

4 -0.122

PWI

5

2

3

0

4 -0.854

KXIP

3

1

2

0

2 +0.494

DD

4

0

4

0

0 -0.836

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

NR

tom of the table they are languishing in. While lesser-fancied teams have had their day and won a match or two, DD are yet to open their account. Also, having lost the previous match at home, they will look at winning this away match. RCB, on their own, will want to quickly put behind them the heart-wrenching defeat they suffered at the hands of Chennai Super Kings in their last outing. That they are hosting DD will work in their favour. For this is a happy hunting ground for their leading batsmen Gayle and Kohli. As for bowling, there is really nothing to separate the two teams. If Vinay Kumar and RP Singh have come good in the death, they also have the ignominy of losing matches in last overs. Fans at the MA Chinnaswamy, who have always been supportive of good cricket, are in for a good treat. With both teams promising entertaining batting, this might well be a high-scoring affair, which makes for great viewing.

SYED SHOAIB

shoaib.s@postnoon.com

T

his match is not going to go the way the points table suggests, for Virender Sehwag may have failed in the first match he played in this season’s Indian Premier League against Sunrisers Hyderabad a couple of days ago, but will go all out to prove a point — that he still has it in him to produce a match-winning performance, and in the process silence his critics, who have grown many fold since he got dropped from the Indian squad. If Sehwag gets going the way he did last year that resulted in his ending as the leading scorer for Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore have a fight on their hands. A look at statistics reveals that when Sehwag has scored DD have won, mostly. DD will be more than eager to lift themselves from the bot-

RCB VS DD AT 8PM ON SET MAX

Kings must shrug trance

SCORECARD CHENNAI SUPER KINGS VS PUNE WARRIORS Pune Warriors innings (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings

Robin Uthappa† c Jadeja b Morris 26(33)

S Anirudha lbw b Kumar

Aaron Finch st †Dhoni b Jadeja 67(45)

SK Raina c Suman b Kumar

8(10)

S Badrinath c Smith b Marsh

34(26)

RA Jadeja c Dinda b Marsh

27(22)

MS Dhoni c Smith b Dinda

10(13)

Ross Taylor* c Jadeja b Morris 8(13) Steven Smithnot out

39(16)

Mitchell Marsh c Morkel b Bravo 2(4) Manish Pandey b Bravo

9(8)

Abhishek Nayar not out

0(1)

Extras

(lb 6, w 2)

8

Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) Bowling

O

M R

159

M Vijay

0(2)

c Taylor b Nayar

24(22)

DJ Bravo c Smith b Sharma

1(4)

JA Morkel c Finch b Dinda

13(11)

CH Morris

not out

5(5)

R Ashwin

not out

11(5)

Extras

(w 2)

Total

(8 wickets; 20 overs)

2 135

W Econ

Bowling

O

M R

W Econ

4

1 12

2

3.00

DP Nannes

4

0 42

0 10.50

B Kumar

RA Jadeja R Ashwin

4 4

0 27 0 24

1 0

6.75 6.00

AB Dinda

4

0 34

2

8.50

MR Marsh

4

0 35

2

8.75

CH Morris

4

0 25

2

6.25

AM Nayar

3

0 21

1

7.00

DJ Bravo

4

0 35

2

8.75

AJ Finch

1

0

9

0

9.00

R Sharma

4

0 24

1

6.00

Pune Warriors won by 24 runs

KKR VS KXIP AT 4PM ON SET MAX

I

f there is one team that has simply not found its bearings this IPL season, it is the Kings XI Punjab. Even though they started off the campaign with a comprehensive win (against a lowly Pune Warriors India), they looked out of depth in the following two games, at home against Chennai Super Kings and away against Rajasthan Royals. Holders of the IPL Kolkata Knight Riders may not have too much trouble subduing the Kings whose strength, their bowling, has just not fired. This has only compounded their woes. With bowlers like Ryan Harris, Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla, the team sure is not wanting there. Since captain Adam

Gilchrist has not started firing and Shaun Marsh is not available due to injury, David Hussey has been left to hold the team together. That he has done to a great extent, but the Kings have not survived 20 overs in at least two outings. Captain of the Knight Riders Gautham Gambhir, on the other hand, is in fine form and has begun to show a side of him not seen before — the aggressive side. Aggression, in the right quantity, is anyway a pre-requisite of Twenty20 cricket. The odds are heavily stacked against the home team and that precisely could work in their favour. The Kings might well go out and win as they have nothing to lose. Only, the Knights are no pushovers. SS


TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

sports

CHELSEA BID AGAIN FOR GERMANY STAR SCHUERRLE Premier League side Chelsea have made an improved offer of nearly $28.7m for Bayer Leverkusen’s Germany star Andre Schuerrle, according to a media report. Having made an initial bid of 20 million euros for the 22year-old, Chelsea have raised their offer.

PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW

32

SERIE A

United have title in sight Man United have won on just three of their last seven visits to West Ham in all competitions, including a 4-0 thrashing in a League Cup tie. TOM WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse LONDON: Having returned to winning ways at the weekend, Manchester United can close to within four points of the Premier League title with victory at West Ham United on Wednesday. United’s morale took a blow after last week’s defeat at home to Manchester City, but Sunday’s 2-0 success at Stoke City saw Alex Ferguson’s side re-establish a 15-point lead over their derby rivals. It left them seven points from an unprecedented 20th English league crown and they could even capture the title as early as Sunday if City slip up against Wigan Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur this week. However, before that can happen, United must prevail at Upton Park, and the boisterous east London stadium has not always been a happy hunting ground for the men from Old Trafford. United had title bids derailed there in both 1992 and 1995; the latter occasion a game in which home goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko produced save after save to deny United the goal they needed to pip Blackburn Rovers to the

Benitez looks to rally deflated Chelsea IAN WINROW Agence France-Presse

Premier League trophy on the season’s final day. More recently, United were given a searching examination in an FA Cup thirdround game in January, when the visitors needed an injury-time goal from Robin van Persie (above) to take the tie to a replay.

LONDON: Rafael Benitez will attempt to rally his Chelsea side in the wake of their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City as they prepare for a crucial Premier League visit to Fulham on Wednesday. The Wembley loss to Roberto Mancini’s side means the Blues have missed out on seven of the eight trophies available to them this season and places more pressure on their efforts to qualify for the Champions League. Benitez’s team make the short trip across west London to Craven Cottage in fourth place, but a failure to make the most of their game in hand will pave the way for Tottenham and Everton to step up their challenge. The game marks the latest fixture in a gruelling schedule for Chelsea and interim manager Benitez must quickly lift his side’s spirits after the narrow 2-1 defeat to City.

ROAD TO WORLD CUP

2 fans die in violence after stadium test

RIO DE JANEIRO: Two football fans died after clashes broke out following a match staged as a test event for the opening of a stadium due to be used during next year’s World Cup, a report said Monday. The Castelao stadium in Fortaleza, northeast Brazil, is due to host matches both at the World Cup and June’s Confederations Cup.

But a fight broke out Sunday between rival fans four kilometres (2.5 miles) away from the stadium after the Cearense state championship match that saw Ceara take on Fortaleza, newspaper O Globo reported. Members of Fortaleza’s “Garra Tricolor” fans used sticks and stones to provoke a fight, during which one fan shot two rival supporters, the daily

added. One of the victims was a 30-year-old man while the other has not been identified. Police have arrested a man who witnesses claimed had killed the two fans. At the moment of his arrest he was carrying a weapon and wearing a Fortaleza shirt. The match was supposed to be used to test the functionality of the stadium. AFP

FOOTBALL BRIEFS Borussia-Real evenly matched: Marcelo

Castro meets football great Maradona

Henry hails families at Hillsborough memorial

Brazil sees airports as key challenge

MADRID: Real Madrid defender Marcelo said on Monday that he believes his side’s clash with Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals of the Champions League will be a very open affair — despite their recent record. The two have already met twice in the group stages of this season’s competition.

HAVANA: Fidel Castro, the retired leader of the Cuban Revolution, met with Argentine football great Diego Maradona on Saturday, the official media said Monday. “The exchange between the two old friends was fruitful,” the official Cuban Granma daily reported, describing the gathering as “brotherly” and “cheerful.”

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool owner John Henry marked the 24th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster on Monday by paying tribute to the families of the 96 fans killed in the tragedy. Henry was attending Monday’s annual memorial service at Anfield for the Liverpool supporters crushed to death during overcrowding on its terrace.

RECIFE, BRAZIL: Brazil faces a major challenge in modernising its airports ahead of next year’s World Cup and will make available both civilian and military airfields for the teams, a government official said. “The big problem” for the tournament is “the quality of airports”, Luis Fernandes, the government representative said.

Vidal double edges Juventus closer to title ROME: An Arturo Vidal (above) double moved Juventus closer to retaining the Serie A title with a 2-0 win at Lazio on Monday. The Chilean slotted home from the penalty spot in the 8th minute, his first league goal since November, when he scored in a 6-1 win against Pescara. Vidal then doubled the lead 20 minutes later, rifling home from close range. As a result, Juventus are now 11 points clear of Napoli at the summit of Serie A with only six matches remaining. Napoli could only draw 1-1 with third placed AC Milan on Sunday, leaving Antonio Conte’s men with the Scudetto well within their sights. However, Vidal doesn’t feel the title is wrapped up just yet. “I am satisfied with my performance tonight,” he commented. “But the season is not over. “There are only six games left and this win is crucial for us to get closer to the title.” Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic lamented the penalty decision. “At the start we dominated,” he said. “Then we complicated matters by giving away the penalty. “Juve then took advantage of a goalscoring chance, but they have to be congratulated for the victory.” AFP

At the start we dominated. Then we complicated matters by giving away the penalty. Juve then took advantage of a chance, but they have to be congratulated. Vladimir Petkovic Lazio coach


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