Epaper 18 august 2013

Behind the mask

Joanna Garcia

Popularly known as Mime Madhu, he has awed his audiences for the past 23 years. He talks about his tryst with mime and the need for more to take up the craft as a career.

swimming on to Once Upon a Time as Ariel

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A trip to the Rock

Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

AUGUST 18, 2013 HYDERABAD

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REPORT ON PG 3

PG 16&17 32 PAGES

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ON SUNDAY A while ago N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s Cabinet colleagues were singing praises to ‘their leader’, but now, once a separate Telangana has been announced, they have little use for him. In fact, some members of his Cabinet from Telangana have zealously been putting up flexiboards throughout the region ‘thanking’ Congress president Sonia Gandhi for granting Telangana. Kiran’s name is conspicuous by its absence.

KIRAN’S CABINET COME TUMBLING OUT

Mamma Mia! Cold in a salad, baked under a layer of cheese, tossed with some olive oil... pasta is comfort food in its every form.

Postnoon tells you everything you need to know to become a pasta connoisseur.

PG 14&15

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CITY SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

PATRIOTIC FERVOUR

Dance workshop Odissi dance workshop by Jyoti Rout will be organised.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: From August 21 to August 22, 6 pm to 8 pm Contact: Nayantara Nanda Kumar, at 90300-13344 Girls of Sri Thyagaraja Government College Of Music & Dance captivated the audience with their performance at Ravindra Bharati.

Art show A solo show by Devangana Kumar, Pageants of the Raj will be held.

Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills When: Till August 25, 11 am to 7 pm Contact: +9140.66564466

Where: Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Banjara Hills When: August 18, 5 pm Contact: 93910-20243

Iranian fest

Works of art Exhibition and sale of sketches by talented painter Suraj.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: Till August 18, 10 am to 10 pm Contact: 9642731329

Contact: +91-40-23113709; 40207171

Iranian film Here Without Me will be screened.

Where: Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Banjara Hills When: August 18, 3 pm

Rock walk Rock walk to rocks near Bhongir by The Society to Save Rocks will be organised.

Where: St Ann's Convent High School, Marredpally When: August 18, 8 am Contact: Society To Save Rocks, at 2355-2923 / 98490-37240

Art exhibition Indie painter exhibition will be held.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: From August 15 to August 19, 10 am to 10 pm Contact: 96427-31329

Tea flavours Try the tea flavours of Budlabeta, Hapjan, Khobong and Sessa. A portion of the proceeds will be contributed to WWF India's onehorned Rhino Conservation project in Assam.

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

Play pursuits Love, Sex & Mocha will be staged.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: August 18, 6 pm Contact: 94495-96889

An age of innocence

Art attack Works of artists like Anand Panchal, Nagesh Goud, Laxman Aelay and others will be exhibited.

Where: Aalankritha Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills When: Till August 22, 11 am to 7 pm

CINEMAS

An exhibition by Jaya Javeri depicting playfulness, fantasy, nature and childhood memories will be held.

Where: Ginger Lily, Radisson Blu Plaza When: Aug 3 onwards, 11.30 am onwards Contact: 6733 1133

Movie magic The Song of Sparrows will be screened

Contact: 93910-20243

Clay Ganeshas Workshop that help you to make eco-friendly clay Ganeshas.

Where: Our Sacred Space, Secunderabad When: August 18, 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm Contact: 88975-41237

Iranian movie Iranian film Forty Years will be screened.

Where: Prasad Labs Preview Theatre, Banjara Hills When: August 18, 6.45 pm Contact: 93910-20243

Rakshabandhan goodies Strengthen the knot of rakhi with a hamper from Godrej Nature’s Basket.

Where: Godrej Nature’s Basket Contact: +91 8790432354

Big Cinemas, Ameerpet, 30581470; Cinemax, Banjara Hills, 44565555; Cine Planet , Kompally, 61606060; INOX, Banjara Hills, 447677770, Prasads, Tank Bund Rd, 23448888; PVR, Punjagutta, 08800900009; Talkie Town, Miyapur, 40214175; Tivoli, Secunderabad 27844973

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CITY SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Man attacked at rly station

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resident of Saphilguda, M Sudheer Babu, 22, was drinking tea in the parking lot of Secunderabad railway station when he claims one Suman Kumar came up to him and started quarrelling with him with no provocation. Kumar then attacked Babu on his arms and legs.

The Gopalpuram police arrested the accused within 24 hours of the attack.

Shop burgled

Fake policeman arrested

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wo laptops, one LCD TV and some cash were stolen from a steel shop in Akber Bagh Sikh village in Bowenpally. The unidentified burglers broke the lock and made away with the loot. When the shop owner, Jeetender Kumar, came to work as usual, he discovered the theft. He lodged a complaint with the Bowenpally police.

he Domkonda police of Kamareddy arrested a man masquerading as an assistant sub-inspector of police. Rajeshwar, a resident of Armur, introduced himself to some youths as a police officer and assured them that he would help them get recruited as home guards. He also started demanding money. By then, the police received a tip-off and arrested him.

Ingratitude, thy name is politics A while ago they were singing hosannas to ‘their leader’ N Kiran Kumar Reddy. Once the Telangana State was announced, they had little use for him.

“We’d have revolted but for party discipline,” mercifully say some of his Cabinet colleagues from T.

A gang member was murdered by other rowdy sheeters for turning police informer.

Md INKESHAF AHMED

ahmed.m@postnoon.com

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he dynamics of politics are hard to comprehend.

But political dealings have been laced with ingratitude. Not long ago, leaders who had been fawning over Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy now find a lot of faults with him because he stood for a united state and not bifurcation.

Cabinet colleagues of Kiran from Telangana are zealously putting up flexiboards throughout the region ‘thanking’ the Congress president Sonia Gandhi for granting Telangana.

They have kept Kiran out of it.

Sonia, Rahul and Manmohan take the space. And they are busy negating Kiran any role in the T State. “If anything, he is our enemy,” is the refrain.

Interestingly, most of the loyalist-turned-rebels are his own

Impact Indiramma Baata

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he stand taken by the loyalists of the CM from Telangana is likely to have its impact on Indiramma Baata, the brainchild programme of the CM. The CM is yet to cover many districts of Telangana as part of the programme.

The programme is aimed at taking personal stock of the development programmes implemented by the state government.

Rowdy sheeter murders bring gangs into focus Mohd Subhan

mohd.s@postnoon.com

G Above clockwise: DK Aruna, Sunitha Laxma Reddy, Geetha Reddy Cabinet colleagues. All the hoardings put up by these leaders only carry the pictures of Telangana leaders, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh but not the CM. In his capacity as the CM, Kiran Reddy played a pivotal role in impressing upon the high command to solve the T-issue.

These leaders included his once-staunch supporters such as DK Aruna, V Sunitha Lakshma Reddy, Uttam Kumar Reddy and Dr J Geeta Reddy. Reacting on the issue, a die-hard supporter of the CM from Telangana said the CM's recent anti-Telangana statement forced them to ignore his role. "We are still his loyalists. But his recent aggressive pitch against the formation of Telangana state and spewing of venom against the Telangana agitation hurt us a lot. He might have done a lot as the CM in pushing the high command on the T-issue. But he lost all credi-

bility and left us pained.”

Another Telangana Congress leader announced that they would see the CM as the number one enemy of Telangana in coming days. He will be a persona non grata in T, predicts another.

One of the rebel ministers say they fell short of rebelling against the CM keeping in view of the party discipline. "After his venomous speech against Telangana, we wanted to rebel against him. But the high command's dictum forced us to not to cross the line," he said.

A close aide of the CM from Telangana quipped that he was no more the leader whom they liked till recently.

These worthies forget that Kiran himself had asked the Centre to resolve the T tangle. It was now clear that division was not on his mind. Now it has happened, he wanted to endear himself to the regions where his future lies — Rayala-Telangana.

ang war murders are now almost a common feature in Old City, especially with the increase in shady land deals, unsavoury money matters and ego clashes. Just recently, two gang members were murdered in separate incidents in Old City. While one died in gang-related violence, the other was murdered over a personal issue.

The first incident happened in a graveyard in Moula ka Chilla (Ganga Nagar). A gang member, Mazhar Ali Razvi, 26, who is a close associate of rowdy sheeter Najaf, was murdered because he had turned informant. Razvi, who worked as an auto driver, had allegedly been passing on information about the illegal activities of the accused to the local police and the task force.

When the victim reached the graveyard, the rival gang members — Syed Abdul Majid, Taqi Ali aka Chotu, Mirza Fazil Namazi and Shaik Abbu aka Wajid — started quarreling with him.

They then stabbed him several times and threw a boulder at his head. Razvi sustained massive injuries and

died on the spot.

Based on a complaint filed by Nusrath Fatima, Razvi’s wife, a case was registered by the Reinbazaar police. The accused were arrested and sent to prison, deputy commissioner of police (south zone) Dr Tarun Joshi said.

In the second case, a rowdy sheeter from Chandrayangutta, Mohd Ahmed, 34, was murdered in the bylanes of Rakshapuram

by Ayub, Shaaker, Qayyum and Shahzadi Begum.

According to the details, the victim had been having an illicit affair with one Mahmooda Begum, who lived with her parents in Rakshapuram. On August 10, Mahmooda committed suicide. After her death, her mother, Shahzadi Begum, and brothers Ayub, Shaaker and Qayyum were very angry at Ahmed. They believed he was the main reason she killed herself.

Ahmed soon came to their house on his bike.

Shaaker alerted his brothers and mother. They hit him with granite boulders. He died on the spot.

Shaaker and Qayyum were arrested and produced in court. The remaining two are absconding and they will be arrested, Joshi added.

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CITY SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Junior docs mull HC order While the striking medicos consult legal advisories on whether they should call off their agitation, hospitals in the City are struggling to provide quality care.

MOHSIN ALI

ali@postnoon.com

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fter being warned by the Andhra Pradesh High Court that they should be prepared for criminal action for going on strike, junior doctors are planning to call off the strike fearing the cancellation of their degree.

They may resume their duties soon, after consulting legal experts. The Junior Doctors’ Association (JUDA) will take a decision in this regard.

In order to get their demands met, the Junior Doctors’ Association members were on indefinite strike since July 29.

The AP High Court expressed anger over the strike. It ordered JUDA to either resume their duties or be ready to face the punishment, as the strike is criminal negligence.

Speaking to Postnoon, chairman of the Central Committee Junior Doctors’ Association, Dr Vamsi Krishna, said, “We are going to meet and discuss our

legal advisers regarding the comment of the AP High Court. Later, we will decide whether we continue the strike or should call it off.”

Blaming the government on the rural service issue, he said, “The State government is creating rumours by saying that we are not ready to serve in the rural areas as per the GO 93. That is not true. We are ready to serve

in rural areas if appropriate infrastructure is provided. But there are no facilities even for boarding. The government promised to pay a stipend for junior doctors working in rural areas, but the promise has not been fulfilled since eight months”.

Gandhi Hospital junior doctors’ association president Dr Imran said that asking junior

doctors to work in rural areas is not fair because as fresh graduates they lack experience.

“The government wants us to experiment on the rural public. If the government is serious about serving the public in rural areas, they have to appoint experienced doctors instead of freshers. The junior doctors want assurance from the government that it will

regularise their services with good infrastructure in rural areas,” he said.

On the other side, the situation in government hospitals like Osmania General Hospital and Gandhi Hospital is bad due to the strike. Patients are not being attended to properly, and the senior doctors are facing many challenges as the number of patients increases daily. Emergency cases are being handled only if the condition is severe.

OGH is currently registering approximately 600 out-patients daily while the capacity of inpatients is 1,500.

“The number of in-patients is nearly 2,000, but we are trying our level best to treat patients.

Doctors are working double shifts,” said the superintendent of Osmania General Hospital, Dr K Ram Das. “Even if the AP High Court ordered junior doctors to resume their duties, we have no information from their side as to when they will be rejoining duty. Students should not go on strike during academics. It may affect their career because they learn through practicals, which is most important in any sector,” he further added.

ART WITH A BEATING HEART Heal A Child Foundation partnered with five prestigious art galleries to raise funds for children.

Arun Yellamaty arunyellamaty@postnoon.com

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or the very first time in the City, close to five art galleries and 25 artists came together and put up 75 paintings on sale to support children of Heal A Child foundation.

The exhibition, which was held at Taj Krishna, was visited by more than 200 people and raised nearly `3 lakh for the foundation.

Karen C of Heal A Child, says, “There were few reasons for the exhibition. First was to raise funds. What we also did at the show was encourage and give a platform for upcoming artists.

For the first time ever, we got many well-known art galleries together. We are happy with the outcome and want to thank everyone who came together for the cause.”

This is the second event Heal A Child has put up in this vein. Last year was the

first time when few galleries came together for this unique event and raised funds. Close to 25 upcoming artists and five well-established artists participated in the exhibition.

Art galleries Kalakriti, Muse, Icon, Ginger and Shristi took part in this year’s fund raiser. Icon Art had the most number of paintings on display, as well as most number of artists that participated in the event, Dr Avani of IconArt Gallery said. “Earlier, we

THE EXHIBITION, WHICH WAS HELD AT TAJ KRISHNA, RAISED NEARLY `3 LAKH FOR THE FOUNDATION. SOME 25 UPCOMING AND FIVE ESTABLISHED ARTISTS PARTICIPATED. have raised funds and participated in such events. When I heard about the event and that we were raising funds

for infants, I was moved and instantly agreed to be involved. We had close to 14 artists and 28 paintings put up and it was a great experience,” she added.

Kaali Sudheer of Muse, who helped and was involved with Heal A Child foundation’s event last year too, says, “This event and foundation is run by genuine people who have a passion to help the kids. Why would anyone say no to being involved in a fund raiser? I am happy that every time

Heal was planning to do something, I made sure I was a part of it.”

One of the artists who sold two paintings at the event, Shanti B, said, “I am happy that my art would bring a change in few children’s lives. I would surely plan to do few more in the days to come and help people through my art.”

All the pieces that were displayed at this exhibition were sold at affordable prices and close to 30 paintings were sold.

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READERS’ LETTERS SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Fed up N

These people are seriously done with the double standards and charades of their leaders, who in their right minds should be doing something to make things right instead of making it worse.

ow we are in a democracy where the Peoples’ Representatives of AP failed to discharge their duty to safeguard the interests of the people who elected them. They compelled people to take to the streets to resolve the bifurcation of the State. Statements

by State and Central leaders are creating bitterness and widening rifts. The greatness of Telugu people has reached its lowest ebb.

Every political party in AP should hold meetings of their followers to convince them to take a reasonable and responsible stand and not say things that would further worsen the situation.

Everyone is fed up with the drama enacted by politicians, and ultimately they will be at the receiving end.

on’t know whether to laugh or cry at the affairs of state. A 100 years from now people will look back and say perhaps this is the moment when the disintegration of India started. Civil wars always had similar beginnings. So here comes a fellow who says people who are not sons of the soil should leave when the constitution of the nation he calls home promises any citizen to live anywhere in it. The closed-minded nature of these people scare me: both the Telanganites and Seemandhra people. Everyone knows this agitation has nothing to do with Telangana or United Andhra — it’s about Hyderabad. God save this country and its people who forget the real problems are hunger, poverty, lack of education and uncontrollable population growth.

D

SUDHAKARRAO VEPACHEDU

ANIRUDH REDDY

In response to Be fair or face eviction

Hand in glove Are the recent spate of chainsnatchings linked to jewellers?

One reader thinks so.

SHE’S A LEGEND

This is a die-hard fan of Madonna vowing his allegiance to her and explaining why she prevails in a music world where a new star is born TOP LETTER every day.

am sure cops have knowledge of chain-snatcher gangs that operate in their area of jurisdiction.

They are paid mamool by these robbers, and know where and to whom the stolen gold is sold.

In this way, they make some money. The remaining chunk goes to jewellers, who buy the stolen ornaments at cheap rates.

To curb the menace, first eradicate these buyers (jewellery shops), who are the main source of income for these snatchers. If they don’t buy the loot, these gangs will not have the courage to snatch jewellery.

Vetting of these shops is very important. These jewellers give people cash as when required at huge interest rates. When they have to be repaid, they encourage these youths to pay them through illegal means.

Investigate the jewellers and check their record. You will soon come to know about the thefts of mangalsutras and other ornaments.

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don’t care what people say, but this woman is a legend.. no female artiste comes close to her when it comes down to performance and bringing out something new and interesting…

Today we see pop stars struggling even with their second release and disappearing after a few years; Madonna’s ability to reinvent herself and her music (which people always seem to forget) put her exactly where she belongs: above any other female artiste past, present and, judging from the state of the music business now, future, too.

Happy Birthday, Madonna!:)

I

MANNY

KS SUDHAN Snatchers have a field day in Hyderabad

In response to The life and times of the Virgin Queen

WIN `500

Hyderabad’s share?

We are giving `500 to the reader who writes in the best letter every week. So get to work. You can e-mail us at feedback@postnoon.com, or write to us at Postnoon, #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Rd no 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, 500033.

ALSO SEND US YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS.

ood info. Looking at it clearly indicates the importance of Hyderabad vis-à-vis revenue. The excise collection is where the whole State participated! Looks like everyone likes a drink or two (rich or poor). But for some reason, you left out the State’s share of stamps and registration department collection. That would be an interesting fact as it will indicate how the activity across the State is. My guess is around 1/3 will be Hyderabad’s.

EVERY WEEK

G

M AHI In response to Hyderabad is the cynosure of all eyes

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NATION SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Priest shot dead in temple

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45-year-old priest of a local temple was shot dead by two unidentified persons in Loni area, police said today.Chetan Das, a native of Rajasthan, was killed inside the Prachin Sidh Baba Mandir premise last night, they said. The police have registered a case and are investigating for clues on motive and suspects.

8-year-old raped, murdered

Sikkim tops afforestation list

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Sikkim has become the only state to have increased its forest cover in the past two decades and has launched an ambitious `31 crore project of plantation in additional 1,000 hectares in the next five years.The forest cover in the tiny northeastern state has been increased to 47.34 per cent in 2013 from 43.95 per cent in 1993, the only state to achieve this.

A youth allegedly raped and murdered an eight-year-old girl in Rasoolpur locality of Uttar pradesh, police said today. The girl was raped yesterday when she was outside her house. The accused slit the throat of the girl before surrendering to police. A probe is on in the matter and police have sent the body of the victim for postmortem.

Top GNLA rebel escapes SHILLONG: A top Garo

Kishtwar still under curfew

Separatists have demanded that Village Defence Committees be disbanded as they use their weapons during riots.

JAMMU: Curfew continued for the 10th day on Sunday in Kishtwar town of Jammu and Kashmir although it was relaxed for a short duration Saturday.

An indefinite curfew was imposed August 9 following communal clashes in the town.

Kishtwar District Magistrate Basheer Ahmad Khan said no untoward incident occurred anywhere during the relaxation period and the situation has remained peaceful in the town for the last two days.

Meanwhile, a ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand reached Kishtwar town late Saturday to hold talks with representa-

A MINISTERIAL TEAM HEADED

BY DEPUTY CM TARA CHAND REACHED KISHTWAR TOWN LATE SATURDAY TO HOLD TALKS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE TWO COMMUNITIES TO DEFUSE TENSIONS. tives of the two communities to defuse tensions between them. The team held a meeting with representatives of the minority community late Saturday, during which the minority community put forward their demands.

The demands included hiked compensation in favour of those whose properties were destroyed during the riots, increase in ex gratia relief to the

next of kin of the slain member of the community and transfer of the DIG and a DSP who were charged of partisan role during the riots.

The minority community representatives also demanded that the name of the former junior minister for home, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, should be included in the police complaint lodged against rioters in the town.

The minority representatives had earlier refused to meet the ministerial team in presence of the local civil and police administration.

The team agreed to the demand and met the representatives without including any one from the district administration in the meeting. The representatives included religious, political and social activists from Kishtwar.

They also strongly opposed the separatists' demand of disbanding the village defence committees (VDCs) in the area. The ministerial team was told any action against the VDCs would go in favour of the militants against whom the committees were set up.

Separatist leaders have accused the VDCs of using weapons during the communal riots.

The team will Sunday meet representatives of the majority community in Kishtwar.

Three people were killed and private and public property worth millions were set ablaze in Kishtwar August 9 during communal clashes following which an indefinite curfew was IANS imposed in the town.

National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebel Saturday escaped from Tura District Jail in western Meghalaya, a jail official said. "Kennedy T Sangma escaped from the prison ward by scaling the wall of Tura Jail with bedsheets," Prem Singh, the Chief of Meghalaya Prisons told IANS. Sangma was booked under Meghalaya Preventive Detention Act. Singh said the incident took place at around 8pm. Tura Jail is in the West Garo Hills district, about 300 km from Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya.

Sangma, who is senior rebel of the outlawed GNLA, was arrested from South Garo Hills district bordering Bangladesh a few months ago. He was wanted by state police for his alleged involvement in extortions, kidnappings and murders.

"We are investigating how he escaped from the cell. A departmental inquiry will be conducted to find out the lapses," Singh said.

A massive manhunt has been launched to recapture the rebel.

The GNLA, one of five Garo rebel groups fighting for a separate Garoland in western Meghalaya, is

headed by police officerturned-rogue Champion R. Sangma.

Champion Sangma is presently lodged in Shillong Jail after he was arrested from the IndiaBangladesh border last year.

The GNLA, which has over 100 rebels, including a few women cadres, operating in East Garo Hills, West Garo Hills and South Garo Hills, has been declared a terrorist outfit.

Over 40 people, including security personnel, have been killed while more than 10 people were abducted for ransom by GNLA rebels in the last IANS three years.

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WORLD SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Iran’s got 18K centrifuges

Landmines: Harry’s angry

TEHRAN: Iran has about 18,000 cen-

LONDON: Britain’s Prince Harry has a

trifuges, including 10,000 active ones, the outgoing head of the country’s atomic agency said Saturday, confirming figures from the UN watchdog overseeing its disputed nuclear drive. An official said from July 23 they had 17,000 first generation centrifuges, of which more than 10,000 are active and 7,000 ready to start work.

African leaders get earful JOHANNESBURG: Sudanese-born bil-

“bee in his bonnet” about some countries’ failure to remove landmines in Africa, the chief of The Halo Trust clearance organisation said Sunday.

Harry, 28, has recently returned from Angola, where he saw mine clearance projects run by the trust. The work was championed by his late mother Diana, princess of Wales.

lionaire Mo Ibrahim on Saturday castigated Africa’s ageing leaders for crowding out young blood. The philanthropist said the average age of leaders on the African continent was around 60 years, yet half of the population was under the age of 19. He referred to the instance of 90-year-old Robert Mugabe’s starting a new term.

Cops end mosque standoff Egyptian Islamists announced fresh demonstrations for Sunday after police ended a tense standoff with protesters in a Cairo mosque, as the death toll from four days of violence surpassed 750.

Haitham el-Tabei Agence France-Presse

CAIRO: Egyptian Islamists announced fresh demonstrations for Sunday after police ended a tense stand-off with protesters in a Cairo mosque, as the death toll from four days of violence surpassed 750.

Security forces on Saturday dragged Islamist supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi from the Al-Fath mosque, passing through angry crowds who called them “terrorists” and tried to beat them.

The interior ministry said 385 people inside the mosque had been arrested. The clashes came as the government said the country’s death toll had risen to more than 750 since Wednesday, when police cleared two camps of Morsi loyalists in the capital.

A statement by the Anti-Coup Alliance said several marches would take place in Cairo on

Ban alarmed at turmoil

2 Irish women trapped with protesters

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N Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm at the turmoil in Egypt on Saturday, urging an end to violent protests and citing the “excessive use of force” in handling them. “He strongly condemns attacks on churches, hospitals, and other public facilities, which he finds unacceptable,” Ban’s spokesman said in a statement. “There is no justification for destruction of infrastructure and property so important to Egypt’s future.”

Sunday afternoon, continuing the daily campaign of protests in defiance of an intensifying crackdown.

According to an AFP tally, more than 1,000 people have been

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woman protestor chants slogans in front of a poster of Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi during a demonstration condemning the recent deadly military crackdown on pro-Morsi protesters in Cairo on August 17, 2013, at New Mosque in Istanbul.

T Egyptian riot policemen get in the community services hall of Cairo’s Al-Fath mosque where Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi held up on August 17, 2013. killed since mass demonstrations at the end of June against the unpopular rule of Morsi, accused of concentrating political power in the hands of his Islamist backers and of failing to address economic woes. He was deposed by the military on July 3 in what his supporters say was an armed “coup d’etat” that deepened splits in an already highly divided society. Meanwhile, international criticism of the bloodshed mounted, with Germany and Qatar jointly condemning the “brutal violence” and United Nations boss Ban Ki-moon urging “maximum restraint” and “de-escalation” at what he termed a “dangerous moment” for Egypt.

The siege of the Al-Fath mosque in Ramses Square began on Friday, with security forces surrounding the building where Islamists were sheltering and trying to convince them to leave.

The Islamists had lined up the bodies of dozens of protesters who had been killed on Friday inside the mosqueturned-morgue. By Saturday afternoon, the situation turned violent, with an AFP reporter at the scene saying gunmen inside the mosque were trading fire with police outside. Police eventually dragged people from inside the mosque, firing in the air to hold back residents who tried to attack the Islamists with sticks and iron bars.

wo Irish women were arrested Saturday after being trapped with hundreds of people in a Cairo mosque surrounded by Egyptian security forces, one of them told Irish state broadcaster RTE. The pair are children of the imam of Ireland’s biggest mosque in Dublin and were on holiday in the Egyptian capital with a sister and a teenage brother who were also in the mosque. The family took refuge in the Al-Fath mosque after dozens of people were killed in violent clashes between supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and the security forces in Cairo on Friday. Omaima Halawa, 21, and her sister Fatima, 23, were taken into custody by the Egyptian security forces when they left the mosque.

Although their mobile phones were taken from them, they managed to borrow one and called relatives in Dublin saying they had been arrested, RTE reported.

AFP

UK probe Diana murder claim

Pak cleric acquitted in blasphemy case

Mexican drug cartel lord held

LONDON: British police said Saturday they were

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court on Saturday acquitted a Muslim cleric who accused a Christian girl of blasphemy before he himself was arrested on similar charges, a lawyer said. The girl, Rimsha Masih, was arrested in August 2012 for allegedly burning pages containing Koranic verses but the case against her, which drew widespread international condemnation, was quashed. Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti, the cleric who made the allegations, was accused of desecrating the Koran and tampering with the evidence against Rimsha. But his lawyer, Wajid Ali Gilani, told AFP: “The court has dismissed all charges against Khalid Chishti and has acquitted him in this case.”

MEXICO CITY: The leader of Mexico’s feared Gulf

examining new information about the 1997 death of Diana, princess of Wales, reportedly including an allegation that she was murdered by a British military figure. Scotland Yard police headquarters said it was checking the credibility of recently received information about the deaths of the princess and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed. They were killed in a car crash in a Paris underpass in the early hours of August 31, 1997, along with their driver, Henri Paul. Citing a military source, Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency said it understood the allegation was made by the former parents-in-law of an ex-soldier, based on information he had talked about in the past.

drug cartel, who is wanted in the United States for trafficking, was arrested by security forces on Saturday, officials said. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the Mexican army captured Mario Ramirez Trevino on Saturday morning, in the latest success for a new government that has vowed to tackle the country’s murderous drug trade. The US State Department has said that Trevino actively facilitated the trafficking of cocaine and marijuana shipments from Mexico into the United States, and offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

The Gulf cartel boss, charged with several US federal offenses, is thought to be aged 51.

8

COMMENT SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

EDITORIALS

SPEND MORE time with kids Parents are increasingly finding it difficult to make enough time to spend with their children, and letting their children consume soft drinks is an example of this.

Whatever soft drink manufacturers may claim, it is a poor substitute to let’s say, a natural drink like tender coconut or a fresh-fruit juice, even if one should be naive to make such a comparison.

Umpteen studies have highlighted the ill-effects of soft drinks, especially when consumed immediately after a meal.

Heavy soft drink consumption is associated with aggression, attention problems and withdrawal behaviour in young children, a new study has found.

Although the study could not identify the exact nature of the association between soft drink consumption and problem behaviours, limiting or eliminating a child's soft drink consumption may reduce behavioural problems, the researchers have said.

But who cares? Who has the time to bother with nittygritty? When one is travelling, a parent would argue, it’s near impossible to be able to peel and extract juice from fruits, while popping open a soft drink bottle is so much more possible to quench the loved one’s thirst.

Watching her favourite serial is no less important for the mother, even the repeat telecast. The father is likely to feel less moralistically wrong, because he is watching news or a match to stay abreast with the world.

WHY WE LOVE...

King Khan

During an interview about 15 years ago when Shah Rukh Khan was asked by a journo where he saw himself 10 years from then, the witty actor had answered, “I will still be at the top.” He has proved his critics wrong time and again. Charm or sheer business acumen in the confident actor ensures his movies like Ra.One make profits and the likes of Chennai Express gross `200 crore.

Food Security Bill needs firm foundation

From the hip

SYED SHOAIB

T

he National Food Security Bill 2013 is an ambitious initiative of the Central Government aimed to provide food and nutritional security to 68 per cent of the Indian population. In this scheme, food grains for 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population at 5kg food grains per month at subsidised prices of Rs3, Rs2, and Re1 per kg for rice, wheat and millet respectively will become a legal entitlement.

With this, the annual food grain requirement is 612.3 lakh tonnes and the corresponding estimated subsidy at present year’s costs works out to be 1,24,724 crore rupees. The NFSB consciously lifts up India’s most vulnerable sections, the women and children. The woman, in this scheme, is considered the household head. Pregnant women get free meals till six months after child birth with an additional maternity benefit of Rs6,000 given in stages.

Children get free meals till they turn 14 years of age.

Inclusion of these segments of society aside from the direct benefits of food assurance will impact their very life chances.

A programme of such a massive scale to be successful will have to be anchored to an equally large-scale effort in implementation if it has to achieve its goal.

Though identification of beneficiaries is left to the state government, it utilises the existing Public Distribution System network to channel the distribution of grains.

Procurement, storage, transport and distribution involve multiagency co-ordination, and monitoring the successful implementation and prevention of leakage are further challenges to its success.

The food grain requirement has been intelligently worked out to match the usual procurement quantity, ie 30 per cent of the annual production, which will do away with associated problems of maintaining prices in the open market. However, the procurement has to be enhanced to factor in buffer stock in case of droughts, as now food security will be a legal entitlement and to continue the ongoing Antyodaya Anna Yojana scheme that provides

35kg to the BPL beneficiaries.

The danger of an unsteady open market will have to be tackled. This is directly dependent on increasing production.

For the scheme to be successful, the existing PDS network needs to be refurbished and expanded as the NFSB scheme will have a wider beneficiary base than the existing Fair Price Shops (FPS) can handle. It is not only the number but the quality of service mean-

THIS REQUIRES MINUTE AND DETAILED PLANNING, STRATEGISING AND DEVELOPING A VAST INFRASTRUCTURE AS PRELIMINARY PREPARATION TO ACHIEVE SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY. ing that effectively leakages should be plugged in so distribution to the doorstep with smartcard authentication will have to be quickly introduced.

The whole chain of procurement, transport, storage in godowns and distribution in the last mile has to be well oiled and set in motion to run so smoothly that there will be no delays from end to end. This

will entail effective co-ordination, communication and monitoring of this chain to preclude leakages and wastage wherein delays could lead to rotting of the food grains and ultimately delay in reaching edible quality food grains to the beneficiary, which will be contrary to the objectives of the programme.

This requires minute and detailed planning, strategising and developing a vast infrastructure as preliminary preparation to achieve successful delivery.

Since a cross section of the society is brought in the scheme, it entails a synergy of various functionaries, departments and agencies both within and outside the government. If the government really wishes the success and institutionalisation of its flagship scheme, it should lay a strong and deep foundation and not hurry its commencement in kneejerk and fanfare-filled hasty inauguration melas for electoral gains.

Hurriedly introducing the scheme will end up in botchedup failures, which will not only be a financial liability but a standing testimony to a tughlaqian extravaganza boomeranging on itself.

The ultimate loser in this debacle, should it end that way, will be the poor Indian soul!

9

BUSINESS SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

AP bans strike in finance

‘LGBTs have high income’

JPMorgan in bribery probe

HYDERABAD: With government

PRAGUE: The lesbian, gay, bisexual

NEW YORK CITY: JP Morgan Chase

employees in Seemandhra continuing their indefinite strike, the AP government on Saturday imposed ban on strikes in the finance department for six months and also brought it under Essential Services and Maintenance Act. The finance department issued an order, banning the strikes in various services for a period of six months.

and transgender (LGBT) community is rich and has a high disposable income that makes it attractive in times of recession, according to a business forum held here. The forum held Thursday discussed diversity in business, niche markets and the so-called ‘pink dollar’, which describes the purchasing power of the LGBT community.

is being investigated by US authorities over claims the bank hired the children of influential Chinese officials to secure business in the country, the New York Times reported on Saturday. The Times reported on its website, citing a confidential United States government document, that a bribery investigation had been opened to study the allegations.

The bond market, yields and risk: How they work PARIS: The market for debt issued by governments is huge and global, and it provides benchmarks for interest rates across national economies, in addition to official central bank rates.

The market is known as the sovereign debt market, or the fixed income market.

This is because most government debt is issued with fixed annual cash returns for the life or maturity of the debt instrument, called a bond.

The fulcrum of the global bond market is the US Treasury bond market, and the main barometer of this is the yield on US T-bonds issued with a life of 10 years.

This means that the bond will be redeemed, and the money lent to the government will be repaid together with the last payment of interest, 10 years from the date of issue.

GOVERNMENTS NEED TO BORROW, PARTICULARLY WHEN ANNUAL REVENUES FALL SHORT OF ANNUAL EXPENDITURE, INCLUDING THE COST OF PAYING INTEREST ON EXISTING BONDS. In the eurozone bond market, the reference bond is the 10-year German Bund because it is considered to be the safest and carries the lowest rate of return, or yield.

Central banks set base interest rates for funds provided in the short term to the banking system.

But businesses, individuals, and also governments needing to borrow money, from the very short term up to many years, have to borrow from the national and international pool of funds available for investment, called savings.

Governments need to borrow, particularly when annual revenues fall short of annual expenditure, including the cost of paying interest on existing bonds and redeeming bonds falling due.

Eurozone bond market turning page on crisis Jean Baptiste Oubrier

PARIS: The eurozone bond market is gradually recovering from the disruption caused by the debt crisis, analysts say, with the gap in borrowing costs between fragile countries and Germany at twoyear lows.

"The bond market is benefiting from both the staunch support of the ECB for one year and better-than-expected economic indicators for the past couple of weeks," said Rene Defossez, a bond analyst at French investment bank Natixis.

"This cocktail is reassuring investors," he added.

A normalisation of the bond markets began in July 2012 when European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi pledged to do "whatever it takes" to protect the euro and later unveiled a facility to provide massive support to countries implementing stabilisation programmes.

And the past few months have seen a series of more reassuring economic indicators, culminating with data showing the eurozone exited

its record 18-month recession in the second quarter with 0.3-percent growth.

Germany managed 0.7percent growth and France 0.5 percent. And while Spain and Italy still contracted, the rate had slowed.

At the height of the debt crisis, the difference — or spread — between the low borrowing costs enjoyed by powerhouse economy Germany and the ballooning rates endured by crisiswracked Italy and Spain soared to levels seen as unsustainable.

Such a situation generates an annual budget, or public, deficit.

To bridge the gap, a government will create bonds and offer them for sale, if it has the creditworthiness to do so at an interest rate the nation can afford.

The bonds are auctioned for sale on the primary, or new-issue, market. They offer a fixed amount of cash return each year, which should be competitive bearing in mind the credit rating of the country and the overall climate for interest rates.

The terms on which investors bid to buy the bonds then determine exactly how the annual cash return relates to the price of the bond, generating an interest rate at issue.

The bonds may then be traded throughout their life on the secondary market.

If the perceived risk of lending money to the country concer ned goes up, some investors will sell the bonds already issued, and some investment funds may be obliged to sell under their contracts with savers if rating on the bond falls below certain levels.

This will depress the price of the bond: the annual cash return, the yield expressed as a percentage of the new lower price, automatically rises.

The same process works in the opposite direction: if risk falls, the price of the bond rises, and the percentage yield falls.

Hence, bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In general, the climate of exceptionally cheap money from central banks during the financial and debt crisis is believed to be ending: the landscape of low rates and low risk is moving up the scale.

Hence, bond yields are tending to rise as well, and bond prices on the secondary market to fall.

Government bonds are an essential component of many financial organisations.

For example, pension and insurance funds need them for low-risk income, and banks need them if only to offer as guarantees when borrowing short-term refinancing from the central AFP bank.

10

FOCUS SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

In Peru, drones get a peaceful makeover Other potential civilian drone use, scientists add, includes closely observing areas of natural disasters or studying urban traffic patterns.

Luis Jaime Cisneros Agence France-Presse

LIMA: Drones are most often associated with assassinations in remote regions of Pakistan and Yemen but in Peru, unmanned aircraft are being used to monitor crops and study ancient ruins.

Forget Reapers and Predators — the drones used here are hand-held contraptions that look like they were assembled in a garage with gear from a hardware store.

They are equipped with a microcomputer, a GPS tracker, a compass, cameras and an altimeter, and can be easily programmed by using Google Maps to fly autonomously and return to base with vital data.

“These aircraft are small in size, are equipped with high-precision video or photo cameras and go virtually unnoticed in the sky,” said Andres Flores, an electrical engineer in charge of the UAV program at Peru’s Catholic University.

Flores heads a multidisciplinary team brainstorming the best ways to use drones for civilian purposes.

“Up to now we have managed

to use them for agricultural purposes, where they gather information on the health of the plants, and in archaeology, to better understand the characteristics of each site and their extensions,” Flores said.

One UAV model built by Catholic University engineers is made with light balsa wood and carbon fiber. At a glance, the devices look like souped-up hand-held gliders.

One limitation is that these drones must fly below the clouds. If not, their instruments, especially the cameras, could fail, said Aurelio Rodriguez, who is both an aerial model-maker and archaeologist.

societies flourished.

After centuries of abandon some of these ancient cities have deteriorated to the point that they are hard to distinguish in the sandy, hilly region.

Archaeologist Luis Jaime Castillo is using drones to help map the 1,300-year-old Moche civilization around San Idelfonso and San Jose del Moro, two sites on the Peruvian coast north of Lima.

“We can convert the images that the drones provide into topo-

graphical and photogrammetry data to build three-dimensional models,” Castillo told AFP. “By using the pictures taken by drones we can see walls, patios, the fabric of the city.”

Separately, Hildo Loayza, a physicist with the Lima-based International Potato Center, is perfecting ways to apply drone technology to agriculture.

“The drones allow us to resolve problems objectively, while people do it subjectively,” he told AFP.

M APPING ANCIENT CITIES Some of the earliest human settlements in the Americas are found in Peru.

There are thousands of archaeological sites, many unexplored, dotting the Peruvian landscape, most of them pre-dating the Incas, a major civilization which was defeated by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

Along the dry coastline, where the main construction material was adobe brick, whole

AFP PHOTO / ERNESTO BENAVIDES

"In agriculture, drones allow us to observe a larger cultivation area and estimate the health of the plants and the growth of the crops. The cameras aboard the drones provide us with 500 pieces of high-tech data, while with the human eye one can barely collect ten,” Loayza said.

Precise, high-quality images allow experts to measure the amount of sunlight the plants are getting, and study plant problems like stress from heat, drought or lack of nutrients, he said. Other potential civilian drone use, Flores said, includes observing areas of natural disasters or studying traffic patterns.

In the thick Amazon jungle, where access by ground is often extremely difficult, drones can be used to study wild animals.

“Every time an animal goes by, it can snap a picture,” said Flores.

There are no laws in Peru regulating the civilian use of drones. Their use in urban surveillance, however, could be seen as an invasion of privacy.

Meanwhile, security officials use drones for military and intelligence purposes, especially in Peru’s rugged and remote valleys where coca — the source plant for cocaine — is grown.

11

INTERVIEW SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

BEHIND THE MASK Popularly known as Mime Madhu, he has awed his audiences for the past 23 years. He talks about his tryst with mime and the need for more to take up the craft as a career.

AMY ROSE THOMAS

amyrose.t@postnoon.com

A

rusam Madhusudan from Warangal is known popularly as Mime Madhu. A recipient of Ustad Bismillah Khan Sangeet Natak award, he travelled far and wide and learnt the different facets of mime. In the year 2002, he founded the Indian Mime Academy in a bid to encourage the progress and innovation in mime by popularising it among the youth. In an interview with Postnoon, he talks about his tryst with mime.

Where did you learn the craft from?

During the time I decided to learn mime there weren’t many teachers who were well-versed in this field. I believe in the traditional way of learning so I learned the craft while staying with each my gurus. I believe that learning through guru parampara not only helps you grasp the knowledge imparted by the guru but also give you the insight. In the beginning of my learning, I was with Guru Sri P Nagabhushanam in Warangal. Later I went on to do MPA (Master of Performing Arts) at the Sarojini Naidu School of Performing Arts, Hyderabad Central University. And this stint was followed by training with internationally renowned mime artiste Padmashri Niranjan Goswami, the founder director of Indian Mime Theatre, Kolkata. He taught me how to perform the Indianised style of mime. It was Goswamiji who inspired me to take up mime as a profession. And with the help of a scholarship I headed to Tony Montanaro Mime Theatre, Portland and attended a four-week Mime workshop by the famous American luminary Tony Montanaro. I also underwent rigorous training in body and movement at a 45-day workshop in Japan under the supervision of famous Butoh dancer and renowned body and movement trainer, Min Tanaka.

You are also the youngest recipient of the Nandi award for best theatre performance. Why didn’t you take theatre up as a career?

My idea, through my performance, was that I wanted to show the

world that mime is the essence of all art forms including acting and dancing. It was my arangetram that won me the award and I didn’t have any training in theatre before performing in the play. It was a wonderful feeling when I got a standing ovation the first time I performed at Ravindra Bharathi. But the point is that mime is the mother of all art forms; in fact it is the essence and the root of all expressions of art forms. Mime is an expression of the soul and its passion through the body. The body is so finely tuned with the soul that expression comes naturally. According to Natya Shastra, satvic abhinayam ( internal expressions) and hangika abhinayam (hand and leg movements) are very important factors in any dance form. And both these skills

Pick

are in abundance in mime.

Especially in theatre and dance, learning mime can help you perform better. I have professional dancers approach me to help them with body movements. While learning other art forms, one is subconsciously also learning different facets of mime.

even without knowing the language of the country. I take classes for children at MBA colleges to improve their personality. One of the major goals of this academy is to not only help children learn the craft, but also to develop self confidence and self awareness using mime as a conduit.

What is your advice to those taking up mime as a career?

Is the Indian Mime Academy involved with any voluntary work?

Unlike how it was when I had started out to learn mime, there are much more experienced mime artistes. So the journey will be much easier as you will not have to travel to different parts of the country to learn the craft. Mime can definitely help you improve your communication skills. If you are adept at mime, you can survive in a country

at the

Yes, we go around the City and teach street children mime. We have covered slums in Mehboobnagar and many other parts in Warangal district. More than mime I focus on personality development when I give classes since these classes will help them in the longer run.

airport,

-

12

ART AND CULTURE SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Hammersmith Apollo restored

Damien, Alexander teams up

Ed Ruscha joining SFMoMA

Hammersmith Apollo, one of the UK's most celebrated music venues, will open again in full Art Deco glory after a multi-million pound refurbishment. It was designed in the Art Deco style by renowned theatre architect Robert Cromie and the present building still has its original Compton pipe organ, which will stay in its original location.

The brand Alexander McQueen has enlisted Damien Hirst to create 30 limited-edition scarves to celebrate 10 years of the British brand's ubiquitous skull-print scarf. The designs will see aspects of Hirst's 'Entomology' series, which uses colourful insects to create kaleidoscopic artwork (pictured here), worked into the signature skull motif.

A year after Ed Ruscha joined three other prominent Los Angeles artists in resigning from the Museum of Contemporary Art's board of trustees, he has signed on to the board of another major California arts institution — the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Ruscha has been elected to a three-year term on the SFMoMA board of trustees.

ON A ROAD TO

TRANQUILITY

Ikebana artiste and management graduate Anisha Tandon explores painting by narrating the story of Buddha, even as she prepares to write a book on him ARUN YELLAMATY

arunyellamaty@postnoon.com

A

nisha Tandon, a wellknown Ikebana artiste, has now decided to showcase her passion for paintings and put together a story of Buddha’s paintings. Postnoon gets in touch with her and explores her passion for painting and much more.

The exhibition is titled SamaSam-Buddha, which means expedition from emptiness to enlightenment. “It is a series of twenty paintings that I have put together.

The whole series narrates a story, which is since the time he left his kingdom in search of enlightenment and till he achieved enlightenment. It is also put up in a very common way; the mood set is something that a common man can connect with,” she said. On how she connected painting with the art of Ikebana, she said, “The flower arrangements in the paintings are the art of Ikebana, which has also originated from Buddhism. Also, each painting has a short note with it. I can say the paintings are the coming together of three art forms — painting, ikebana and writing.”

On choosing Buddha for her paintings, she said, “The paintings came up from this book that I am writing on this series. I am not a

trained painter; I do it as a hobby and passion. I have done my MBA in marketing and a post-graduate diploma in Foreign Trade Management. I am also a trained ikebana artiste, and as ikebana is from Buddhism, I wanted to put it together. I visited Kamakura in May and saw the biggest statue of Buddha. I was inspired and when I wanted to paint, I wanted to do it in a form of a story that people can relate to, instead of just a painting. These twenty paintings narrate the whole story.”

Excited about her first-ever painting exhibition, she says, “I am excited by the response that I have been getting. People have

been saying that never have they seen an exhibition on Buddha like this. Even on the day of the opening, people had a very refreshing and never-seen-before experience.

We had done beautiful flower arrangements using exotic flowers and foliage with each painting.

The exhibition had live models walking attired as ‘Buddha and his disciples’.” She adds, “People also asked whether I painted any painting keeping in mind our Buddha statue, but no, I did not, even though there is one painting called ‘Effort’ which is very similar to the statue.”

Anisha is also a trained Kathak dancer and likes to spend time with the underprivileged.

She is also involved with two ikebana organisations in the City.

Talking about ikebana art, she says, “Thanks to the two organisations in the City, ikebana exhibitions are held in many places.

People are able to know about the art form and how nature is connected to this. Many people have various talents, and if people have a passion for flowers and decoration, they should know that there is this art form that people can choose and make it a career.

Ikebana is very interesting and people can do it full time.”

Anisha is planning on writing a book next and her art is put up at Muse Art Gallery till August 24.

She thanks the curator Kaali Sudheer in helping her and giving her an opportunity to put the show.

13

ENVIRONMENT SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Ostrich necks give clues

Bird charity up in arms

A study of modern-day ostriches suggests the ancient animals were probably quite stiff in their movement. Sauropod dinosaurs had a thick mass of muscle in their necks and the researchers say this would probably have restricted the range over which the beasts could move their heads. The study is published in Plos One.

The bird charity says regulations are inadequate to ensure water, landscapes and wildlife are protected.

But Cuadrilla, which is exploring the sites, says its activities will not harm birds or other wildlife. On Monday, Prime Minister David Cameron urged the UK to back fracking, which involves shattering shales to release trapped gas.

Naked bone-wating worms Bone-eating worms make a living off of the stripped skeletons of dead whales, secreting acids to dissolve their way to a good meal. There are only five formally described species in the world, and researchers have recently added two new members—Osedax antarcticus and O. deceptionensis. New Osedax species turn up on almost every whale fall investigated.

Rice plants seed of hope on Sudan’s damaged farms Newly planted rice shoots poking out of the Sudanese soil are as tiny as blades of grass, but they symbolise a big dream to turn around one of the world’s largest irrigated farming schemes.

Ian Timberlake Agence France-Presse

B

akri Elamin Awad AlKarim farms a small plot in the vast Gezira region between the Blue and White Niles south of Khartoum.

Japanese aid has helped turn it into a showcase for a crop supporters say offers farmers better yields and bigger incomes in what is still an overwhelmingly agricultural economy.

In its 1920s heyday, when Sudan was under British and Egyptian colonial rule, the Gezira Scheme was touted as model for African development, with sheer gravity being used to tap water from the Blue Nile to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres (hectares) of cotton.

But years of underinvestment and piecemeal privatisation have led to decay of the infrastructure, canals and dykes on which the region’s farms depend, bringing the country’s economy down with it, analysts say.

Unlike in other parts of Africa or in Asia, rice is still an uncommon crop in Sudan, where sorghum is the staple cereal, along with groundnut, millet and wheat. Cotton is also

still grown.

“More farmers need to grow rice because it gives them a good yield,” Karim says through a translator.

His fields are among several “demonstration farms” for rice, which Gezira state’s agriculture minister, Abdullah Mohammed Osman, describes as a potential wonder-crop. “The traditional cropping system in these big irrigation schemes is not economically feasible,” says the minister, who himself studied fruit production in Egypt.

“The productivity is not so high,” and neither are farm incomes, he says at his office in the state capital of Wad Medani.

Rice would boost crop yields and the earnings of farmers while providing Sudan a source of foreign currency and contributing to “national food security”, he says.

Sudan cannot feed all of its roughly 31 million people, more than 12 per cent of whom were expected to need food aid this year, according to the United Nations.

Osman says the yield from rice, an average of about 1.3 tonnes per acre (0.4 hectares), is about double that of wheat. It is also roughly 50 per cent more than that of sorghum.

Net revenue to each rice farmer reached about 3,600 Sudanese pounds ($817) per acre last year, against 1,400 pounds for other crops, the minister said.

Having a sustainable supply of seed, herbicides, and the technology to de-husk, clean and package the grain are keys to expanding production, Osman said. “Now we can produce rice.

No problem.

“To process this to meet the international market requirements is a challenge ahead for us.” Even being able to replace the 50,000 tonnes of rice Sudan imports annually at a cost of $15 million would be a good start, Osman added. But if rice is the crop of the future, and a source of potential export earnings, the future still seems far off.

The Japanese-backed Gezira rice programme began in 2010 and expanded to almost 480 feddans (about 500 acres, 190 hectares) last year.

Compared with the Gezira Scheme’s total size of about two million feddans, that is like a single grain of rice in a large field.

“Of course, we cannot at one time tackle everything,” says Osamu Nakagaki, chief adviser from the Japan International

HAVING A SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY OF SEED, HERBICIDES, AND THE TECHNOLOGY TO DE-HUSK, CLEAN AND PACKAGE THE GRAIN ARE KEYS TO EXPANDING PRODUCTION.

Cooperation Agency.

JICA has provided seeds, planting and milling equipment, and given overseas training to more than 70 Sudanese agricultural engineers.

The engineers have passed on their knowledge to more than 200 farmers — out of around 116,000 who Osman said are working in the Gezira Scheme and a nearby smaller irrigation area.

By the time it nears Karim’s farm the main Gezira canal has already flowed for 99 kilometres (61 miles). It resembles an unusually straight river, with bushy green banks broken intermittently by small dams.

A secondary canal drains through a pipe under an unpaved road and into a dirt trough of glistening brown water which irrigates the young rice in Karim’s fields.

Not all of the Gezira Scheme is working so well, experts say.

“It’s in total disrepair,” one agricultural expert told AFP, asking not to be identified. “You see channels filled in, banks are all eroded.”

Much of the scheme’s land is not producing, he said.

“Cotton, wheat and sorghum production dropped to very low levels, and many farmers migrated from Gezira to seek better work opportunities elsewhere,” a report issued last year by the UN Children’s Fund said, noting a lack of canal maintenance.

Veteran journalist Mahjoub Mohamed Salih wrote in a June column that privatisation led to “the complete collapse” of the scheme’s other infrastructure.

Assets from the project’s former railway, its cotton mills and other property have been “squandered”, he wrote.

Osman said the government was moving away from a “paternal approach”, in favour of privatisation and leaving the farmers free to choose what crops they wish to grow.

“The farmer should depend on himself,” he said, adding that rice gives them a new option.

“It is a very promising crop.”

AFP

FOOD SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Mamma Mia!

Cold in a salad, baked under a layer of cheese, tossed with some olive oil... pasta is comfort food in its every form. Postnoon tells you everything you need to know to become a pasta connoisseur.

HOW TO COOK PASTA PERFECTLY

P

asta is not tricky, but overcooking or undercooking it can make your dish less than perfect. It doesn't matter how much cheese you grate over it; if your pasta isn't cooked right, then nothing can save it.

Fortunately, cooking pasta is not rocket science. Follow these steps faithfully and you'll have perfect pasta every time. n Step 1: Buy durum wheat pasta. It has better flavour and is healthier, too.

n Step 2: Always use a large pan and use at least six cups of water for 250g of dry pasta. Always salt the water. n Step 3: Allow the water to come to a boil before adding the pasta, and give it a quick stir to stop the pasta from sticking together. n Step 4: You can cover the pan with a lid, but the preferred method is an open pan.

n Step 7: Drain out into a colander. Add a little olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Add to the sauce and give a quick stir. Your pasta is ready.

Ingredients: n 1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets n 500gm macaroni n 250g mature Cheddar cheese n Vegetable oil n 4 thick slices of bread n Large sprig of fresh rosemary n 2 large cloves of garlic n 250g crème fraÎche n Salt & pepper n Parmesan cheese, to serve

n

n

n

n

Method taste.

Cook the pasta and cauliflower together. Drain and keep aside. n Spread the mixture evenly out Reserve the water. and cover with breadcrumbs.

Grate the cheddar cheese and n Cook in the oven at 220 deg C add to the cream and crushed for 8-10 minutes till the mixture garlic. is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

Tip the pasta into a buttered baking dish. Add about 400ml of n Sprinkle with parmesan cheese cooking water. and serve.

Stir in the creamy sauce. Season Source: with salt and pepper as per Jamie's 30-minute meals

FUSILLI

SPAGHETTI

FETTUCCINE

LASAGNE

PAPPARDELLE

Long, thick corkscrew shape.

Long, thin cylindrical shape.

Ribbon-shaped pasta, approximately 6.5mm wide.

Vey wide, flat noodles that have fluted edges.

Thick, flat ribbon-shaped pasta.

PASTA

n Step 6: The only way to know if pasta is cooked right is to taste it. Let it cook for eight minutes, then check. If not done, let it cook for a minute more. Keep doing that till it is cooked. It should never take more than 12 minutes.

CAULIFLOWER MAC & CHEESE

Know your

n Step 5: Pasta is cooked when it is 'aldente' (to the tooth in Italian). It should be cooked through, but still firm.

14&15 TUNA AND LEMON PASTA Method

Ingredients: n

350g pasta

n

n

200g fine beans, cut into long pieces

Cook the pasta and beans in boiling water till just tender. Drain and keep aside.

n

n

200g canned tuna in oil

Put the tuna with its oil into a bowl. Chop the pieces roughly.

n

n

Grated zest of a lemon

Add the chilli flakes, lemon zest and season the tuna with salt and pepper.

n

n

Chilli flakes

Toss the pasta into a pan and add the tuna mixture. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot.

n

Olive oil for drizzling

SOURCE: bbcgoodfood.com

GARDEN PASTA SALAD Ingredients: n n n n n

4 bone-in chicken breast halves, with skin Salt and pepper Juice of half a lemon 2 tablespoons oil 4 cups fusilli

n n n n n

2 cups broccoli florets 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 cup matchstick carrots 1 cup baby spinach, chopped

Method Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Drizzle with lemon juice and oil and bake in a 350 degrees C oven for 1 hour. Reserve the cooking juices. n Cook the pasta, adding the broccoli in the last two minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving Âź cup of the water. n Toss the pasta with the pasta water and chicken juices. n Remove the skin of the chicken, and chop into chunks.

Add to pasta. n Stir together the mayo and the mustard in a separate bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. n Add to the pasta and stir well. Adjust the seasoning according to taste.

SOURCE: spoonful.com

THE DOS AND DON'TS OF SPAGHETTI EATING

n

MUSHROOM LASAGNE

paghetti is probably the most cumbersome of pasta to eat, especially in polite company. We give you some tips to make you a spaghetti expert, so that you can confidently order it... even in Italy!

Don't cut the spaghetti

Ingredients: n n n n

n n n n n n

Everybody knows the humble, elbowshaped macaroni, but if you really want to give your pasta some oomph, try some of these shapes.

S

Don't use a knife to cut the strands into manageable pieces.

Likewise, when you're cooking spaghetti, don't break the pasta.

It will initially stand out of the water, but will fully slide in once it starts cooking.

Method

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 medium onions, minced 2 pounds wild mushrooms, such as chanterelle, stemmed shiitake and oyster, caps thickly sliced Salt and freshly ground white pepper 1/2 cup dry white wine 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/4 cup finely chopped flatleaf parsley 12 ounces fresh lasagna sheets 1 pound cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Melt the butter with some oil in a deep pan and cook onions for a minute. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook till the mushrooms are browned. n Add the wine and boil till evaporated. n Add the cream and bring to a boil. Simmer for about five minutes. n Season with salt, pepper and add parsley. n Cook the lasagna sheets. Drain and dry. n In a buttered baking dish, place 1/4th of the pasta sheets. Layer with the mushroom mixture and cubes of cheese. Place another layer of lasagna, put the mixture and repeat. n End with a layer of pasta, brush it with cream and put some cubes of cheese. n Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 deg C for around 30 minutes, till the top is golden.

SOURCE: foodandwine.com n

No spoons, please!

Some people use a spoon to push the spaghetti correctly on to the fork. Italians consider this kind of behaviour appropriate only if you are a child. Only use your fork, unless the sauce is very watery, in which case you can use a spoon.

And the right way is...

Stick your fork into a few strands of pasta. Let the tines of the fork rest against the curve of the bowl or plate and twirl. Lift occasionally to prevent too much pasta from getting on the fork. Some strands might hang over, but that's all right.

One last tip....Don't slurp.

ORECCHIETTE

CANNELLONI

PENNE

CONCHIGLIE

FARFALLE

Bowl- or ear-shaped pasta.

Means 'little ears'.

Large, stuffable, tubeshaped pasta.

Medium length tubes with ridged sides.

Seashell-shaped small pasta.

Bow-tie or butterflyshaped pasta.

18

HISTORY SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

August 20 August 19 August 19

1934: Adolf Hitler, already chancellor, is also elected president of Germany in an unprecedented consolidation of power in the short history of the republic.

1995: A collision between two trains in northern India kills 358 people on this day in 1995. The Pureshotham Express from Puri, with 1,300 mostly sleeping passengers onboard, came down the tracks at full speed with no warning that the Kalindi was fully stopped in front of it.

August 20 1920: Seven men, including legendary all-around athlete and football star Jim Thorpe, meet to organise a professional football league at the Jordan and Hupmobile Auto Showroom in Canton, Ohio. The meeting led to the creation of the American Profession Football League.

August 21 1993: NASA lost contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft. The fate of the spacecraft was unknown. The mission cost $980 million.

1960: Two dogs were launched in a satellite into Earth’s orbit by the Soviet Union.

August 25

1991: German race car driver Michael Schumacher makes his Formula One (Europe's top racing circuit) debut in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps.

August 22

August 23

August 24

August 24

August 24

1864: The Geneva Convention of 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armies in the Field is adopted by 12 nations meeting in Geneva.

1926: Death of silent-screen idol Rudolph Valentino at the age of 31 sends his fans into a hysterical state of mass mourning. In his brief film career, the Italian-born actor established a reputation as the archetypal screen lover.

79: After centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands. The cities, buried under a thick layer of volcanic material and mud, were never rebuilt .

1932: Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the US non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles, CA to Newark, NJ, took about 19 hours.

2005: The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Pluto's status was changed due to the IAU's new rules for an object qualifying as a planet.

19

SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Fashion’s finest Curtain raiser of Akritti Elite, a designer wear exhibition, was held at Taj Krishna on Saturday. Bollywood actor Delnaaz Irani was spotted at the do.

The exhibition will be held on 23rd and 24th this month at Taj Krishna.

1

2

3

4

DELECTABLE TREAT The Golkonda Hotel launched Oriental food festival at Mélange on Saturday. The food fest is on till August 31.

5

7

6

8

9

10

11

1 Sara 2 Mehar 3 Laila Kakade with a friend 4 Rummy Azad 5 Shashi, Neha 6 Delnaz 7 Esha 8 Kavita Reddy 9 Jyotsna 10 Manjula Narsa 11 Bina Mehta

SPARKLE AND SHINE Entice organised a diamond jewellery exhibition at Taj Krishna on Saturday. Pinky Reddy inaugurated the event.

20

CINEMA SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Team Thalaivaa to go on hunger strike

BIRIYANI’S AUDIO LEAKED ON THE NET

C

ast and crew of Biriyani were in a state of shock after knowing that the audio of the movie was released on the net prior to the official audio release of the movie. Director Venkat Prabhu tweeted: “It’s really sad and unfortunate that Biriyani tracks are leaked on net! We have been trying to stop it from morning, but people love pira-

cy.” Biriyani starring Karthi and Hansika is one of the most eagerly awaited movies of the year. Music director Yuvan Shankar Raja tweeted: “Upset about this, but good to see where the worlds heading, whatever’s meant to be will be.

But piracy is wrong. We were planning to release on August 31, thought it would be a good treat for my fans on my birthday.”

GOPICHAND

T

o ensure immediate release of Vijaystarrer Tamil action-drama Thalaivaa — already released worldwide — in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the film’s unit wants to go on hunger strike once they get permission from police. Two days before its scheduled release on August 9, Thalaivaa was stalled from being released in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry after a political outfit issued threats to theatre owners. “We have sought police permission to hold fast in the city against the stalling of the film’s release. Vijay sir will lead the fast and all other members of the film will join us in this movement. As soon as we receive police permission, we will start with our fast,” the film’s producer CP Jain said in a statement. On Thursday, Jain and director AL Vijay sought intervention of the state’s Chief Minister J Jayalalitha to facilitate the release of the film at the earliest. Thalaivaa, reportedly made on a budget of over `70 crore, has garnered good response since its release in other states and overseas. IANS

NAYANATHARA OFF TO SWITZERLAND

G

opichand and Nayanathara will be heading to Switzerland for the shooting of their new movie. The schedule is expected to start from September 1st and B Gopal will be directing this project. Balaji Real Media is expecting to be producing this venture.

The muhurtham ceremony of the film was held recently. Prakash Raj is expected to play a key role in this movie.

Director B Gopal had delivered few blockbusters years back. However, his movies in the recent past bombed at the boxoffice. Gopichand and Nayanathara teamed up for a Bhupathi Pandian film earlier, but that project was shelved. Let’s see if the sparks will start flying between the lead pair in this movie.

21

CINEMA

B

ollywood filmmaker Karan Johar and actress Dia Mirza will host the first edition of the South Africa India Film and Television Awards (SAIFTA), which will also have dancing diva Madhuri Dixit and the multi-faceted Priyanka Chopra scorch the stage with their performances.

The event, expected to draw an enthused crowd of 7,000 fans and celebrities, will be held September 6 in Durban.

Together, Karan and Dia will bring to the stage their brand of charisma, wit, humour and glamour adding to the glitz quotient of the extravaganza, read a statement issued Friday.

Joining Madhuri and Priyanka as the star performers for the event will

SAIFTA 2013

Karan Johar, Dia Mirza to host

SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

P

akistani actress Veena Mallik, who has teamed up with her ex-flame Ashmit Patel in Supermodel, shot some steamy scenes for the movie with him despite the fact that the duo are not on talking terms.

“When I narrated the lip-lock scene to Veena, she refused to do it. I had to convince her a lot for that scene. There are around three to four lip-lock scenes between Veena and Ashmit in the film," the film’s director Navin Batra told IANS. “Both the actors were not on talking terms when they shot for the intimate scene, but they shot for the scene. But after a point they were not comfortable, so I had to cut a few scenes," he added.

The director purposely cast the controversial couple. He said: “Veena suited the role and they are the most controversial and best selling couple. Yes, it was difficult to convince both of them, but despite not being on talking terms, they accepted the role and took it professionally."

While Veena plays a supermodel in the film, Ashmit will be seen as a photographer in the film slated for September 27 release.

be Ranveer Singh and Siddharth Malhotra, apart from TV stars Manish Paul, Mona Singh, Apurva Agnihotri and Shilpa Agnihotri.

Over 150 prominent film and TV personalities will grace SAIFTA 2013, where they will rub shoulders, interact with and familiarise themselves with 30 top film and TV personalities of South Africa.

Celebrity Locker, a Mumbai-based events company has joined hands with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism of Durban for the event, which will recognise and award talent across TV shows, films, actors and directors in the entertainment industries of both IANS countries.

IMRAN KHAN:

‘ACTION SEQUENCES WITH

AKSHAY KUMAR I

WERE AWESOME’

mran Khan has said that it was “awesome” to shoot action sequences with Akshay Kumar in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara!. The 30-year-old star, who plays Aslam in the gangster thriller, explained that it was a great experience to work with the action hero.

Speaking to Digital Spy, Khan said: “We had four or five big action sequences. It was awesome, man! I mean, you’re getting to do action sequences with Akshay Kumar.

“Nobody in the country knows action like this man, and we’ve done it all. I mean there’s train stunts, there’s bike stunts, there’s running, jumping, there’s high falls, there’s hand-tohand. Every kind of stunt that you could do.

“Akshay would always know a safer way to do it and a better-looking way to do it. I could not have

asked for a better experience than doing action with Akshay Kumar."

The actor also told DS that working in film allows a young man to live out his action-hero dreams through a character. “I’ve tended to stay away from larger-than-life characters but with a film like this you do get to play-act. You get guns, you get bikes, you get to jump off buildings, you get thrown through a plate glass window, all the things you wouldn’t get to do otherwise, so it is every young man’s dream. It’s a lot of fun."

The Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu star added that he expects his wife will be impressed on seeing the action sequences. “She hasn’t seen a lot of the stuff yet. I’ve got a feeling she’s gonna enjoy it." Khan recently said that he was happy with his performance and was honoured by the praise he received from his director.

IANS

Veena Mallik locks lips with Ashmit in Supermodel

22

CINEMA SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

RAVEENA adopts stray puppies

A

ctress and animal lover Raveena Tandon has adopted two stray puppies who join an existing team of three rescued dogs.

One is a male, now named Luv, and the other female, called Ganga.

When Raveena, who is married to film distributor Anil Thadani, heard from her friends at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India about the many puppies who had been found struggling in the monsoon rains, she decided to help by adopting two puppies.

"It's hard to describe the joy of taking dogs struggling to survive in the streets and giving them a loving home and a second chance at life", the 38-yearold said in a statement.

"I urge everyone who has the time, space and resources to adopt an Indian 'community dog'

and see for themselves the unconditional love they'll receive from a very grateful animal," she added.

This isn't the first time that Raveena has teamed up with PETA to help animals. She was recently dressed in a snake print (not snakeskin) gown for a PETA ad that read: "Wearing Exotic Skins Kills - Leave Wildlife out of Your Wardrobe."

IANS

BIPASHA BASU

bags Humshakal A fter the debacle that was Himmatwala earlier this year, it was announced that Sajid Khan was to make Humshakal starring Riteish Deshmukh, Saif Ali Khan and Ram Kapoor. BizAsia has learnt that Bipasha Basu has been signed for the female lead role.

Also starring Tamannah opposite Saif, the movie will supposedly have the three main male actors essaying a total of nine roles. A source told a newspaper about the how Basu landed the role, “The makers were confused on the actress to be paired opposite Riteish. They were thinking of Sonal Chauhan,

but later decided against it�.

It is being said that the makers chose Basu due to her healthy working relationship with both Saif and Deshmukh. Both Basu and Khan were unreachable for confirmation.

Ayushmann to star in period film

A

yushmann Khurrana is set to portray a historical character in a period film, but refuses to divulge any details. "I am soon going to play a historical character. I am going to do a period film and you will get to know about it soon," the 28-year-old told reporters Thursday at the Saath Hain Hum Uttarakhand show, organised on the occasion of Independence Day. "I am not allowed to speak about it right now, but yes, I am going to do a biopic," he added. Ayushmann is currently shooting for Yash Raj Films' untitled project with Sonam Kapoor. IANS

CINEMA SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

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CINEMA SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

24

25

CINEMA SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Jennifer Lopez back on American Idol, says Casper Smart

C

asper Smart might have accidentally prematurely spilled some big Jennifer Lopez news. Though there are reports that Lopez would return to American Idol in Season 13, Smart flat out confirmed it during a recent interview.

E! News asked Smart while promoting his new show A Step Away if Lopez would be returning to the hit reality series, and he simply said, “Yes.” According to the site, Smart thought FOX had already made the announcement of Lopez’s return.

JOANNA GARCIA SWIMMING ONTO ONCE UPON A TIME AS ARIEL

A

fter near two years of wishing she was a part of our Once Upon a Time world, the iconic role of Ariel belongs to JoAnna Garcia! The ravishing red-head will be appearing in the drama’s upcoming third season when our characters travel to the deceptively dark world of Neverland. Once creator Adam Horowitz revealed the enchanting news Friday afternoon via Twitter writing: “So thrilled to welcome @JoAnnaLGarcia to the #OnceUponATime family as our Ariel! Can’t wait to bring you under the sea!” No word yet on how many gadgets and gizmos she’ll be bringing. Garcia shared on Twitter that she’s thrilled to be joining the spell-binding cast next season writing, “Excited 2 share that I’ll be swimming to @OnceABC as ‘Ariel’!

So honored 2 play such a beloved character!”

STEVE CARRELL, CHANNING TATUM, AND MARK RUFFALO’S Foxcatcher gets release date

C

an one movie handle the combined star power of Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo? We’ll find out this December. Moneyball director Bennett Miller’s buzzy new movie — and sure-fire awards magnet — Foxcatcher, starring the three Hollywood heavyweights, will hit theaters on December 20, Sony announced Thursday (August 15). Foxcatcher is

about the true story of Dave Schultz (Ruffalo) and his younger brother Mark (Tatum), both Olympic athletes, and their fraught and dangerous relationship with John du Pont (Carell), a paranoid schizophrenic and heir to the du Pont fortunes.

This still isn’t an official confirmation, but it sounds like that should be coming soon.

Also returning to “Idol” is Season 12 judge Keith Urban.

Rumor has it Will.i.am could be in the mix for a judge’s chair as well. American Idol returns in January 2014.

26

CHAI TIME SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

SUNDAY CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Ali who said ‘Open sesame!’

5 Jazz fan 11 Sikh headwear 17 Wild guess 21 Panache 22 On solid ground 23 Pseudopod possessor 24 Comet — -Bopp 25 Speak highly of 26 Hot, perhaps 27 Crow’s nest cry (2 wds) 28 PC screen image 29 Stalactite, basically 31 Fiesta dip 33 Threatening 35 Purloin 36 Sarcastic remarks 37 Hunter constellation 38 Target 41 Hirt and Gore 42 Baking need 43 Jr naval officer 44 Give lessons 48 ‘Make it —!’

50 Stuck to 51 Compass pt 52 Golf course gofer 53 Dorm climbers 54 Music genre 55 Surpasses 57 TV brand 58 Actress — Powers 59 Like rich soil 60 Tropical fruits 61 Dutch colonist 62 Lyric poem 63 Pantyhose colour 64 Castle wall 65 Laissez- — 66 Jury decisions 68 Put down turf 69 Actor — Beatty 70 Contributing cause 71 Irritates 72 Free of 73 Mdse 74 Queen of Carthage 75 Delhi coins 78 Caress 79 Mo multiples 80 Tiaras 84 Throws off heat 85 Receipt 87 Boards up 88 Cornfield sound 89 Pfc’s superiors 90 Fresco bases 91 ‘Bounty’ captain 92 Banned act (hyph) 93 Fossil fuel 94 Important (hyph) 95 Applies caulk 96 Role for Phil Silvers 97 Applique type (hyph) 99 Auto need 100 Abu — 101 Plankton strainer 102 Clark’s fellow explorer 103 UK country 104 Hula-dance feasts 105 Wages 106 Almost grads 107 For — — (cheap) 109 Embers

110 Quiver filler 112 Straggler 115 ‘Twelfth Night’ heroine 116 Hibachi need 120 Gumbo ingredient 121 Ice-fishing tools 123 Surroundings 125 Distinct periods 126 Untruthful one 127 Daze 128 Relaxed (2 wds) 129 Unload gravel 130 Governess in Siam 131 More creepy 132 Wakens rudely 133 Recognised DOWN 1 Saved by the — 2 Jai — 3 Oz penner 4 Peru’s mountains 5 Rashly 6 Blocks, legally 7 Ring up 8 Merry old king 9 Still exist 10 They may mount 11 Harder to believe 12 Amherst sch 13 Gossipy Barrett

14 Sea floor 15 Can’t stomach 16 Wynonna’s mom 17 Climbed a rope 18 Burrito alternative 19 Baseball family name 20 Kingsley and Franklin 30 Barters 32 Snug as — — . . .

34 Minute amounts 36 Icky 37 Like the Cyclops (hyph) 38 ‘I Robot’ writer 39 Make war 40 Thick envelope 42 Water chute 43 Houdini feats 45 Deft 46 Roman orator 47 Eavesdropper 49 Green vegetable 50 Applauds 51 Spreads out 52 DJ’s supply 54 Matches 55 Hoop site 56 Absorb, as costs 59 Shortages 60 Water lily leaf 61 Part of BLT

63 Spares, maybe 64 Bean hull 65 Lisbon melodies 67 Loses some 68 Prime-time series 70 Inlet, to Angus 72 Getting more out of 73 Canine warning 74 McClure and Flutie 75 Kick back 76 Game official 77 Kind of talk or fight 78 Bulletin board item 79 Toady’s reply 80 Hot pepper 81 Where les enfants learn 82 Fuel carrier 83 Faints with pleasure 85 — out (relax) 86 Half a bray 87 Hunks of cheese 90 Martini ingredient 91 Admirers 92 Zero 94 — nova 95 ‘The Second Time Around’ trio 96 Cajun’s home 98 Horseshoe Falls locale

100 Two-way 101 Sailing vessels 103 Last 104 Less binding 105 Druid or shaman 108 Expound at length 109 ‘Odyssey’ siren 110 Tunes for divas 111 Garden intruders 112 ‘Whatever — Wants’

113 Comparable 114 Mom’s mom 115 ‘I came,’ to Caesar 116 Roquefort hue 117 Beyond question 118 Like a house cat 119 NFL broadcaster 122 Realty ad abbr 124 ‘Who am — — say?’

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

27

CHAI TIME SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

STAR POWER Date 19-8-2013

As per Hindu panchang

THIRUVAIKUMAR

thiruvaikumar@yahoo. co. in 040-27177230 / 9949870449

TAURUS

GEMINI

Politicians will be in the limelight. You need to act with patience to achieve your goals. Be cordial with colleagues.

Avoid extravagance. Govt officials are likely to be rewarded with vital posts.

Happy events are likely to take place and cheer you. Businessmen advised to sign new contracts with care. Selfconfidence level will be at a high. You will apply bold decisions successfully.

You need to act swift to resolve tough issues. Some may be forced to resign their job. Do not be panic as the new job will be better. Be careful while driving as getting hurt is possible.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

You will march ahead despite hurdles.

Rich experience helps you achieve success even in challenging tasks.

Financial assistance will come without fail from all expected sources.

Avoid using cell phone while driving as an accident is not ruled out. Employees are likely to be entrusted with new responsibilities, which they execute.

Newlyweds will soon have an offspring.

Construction work will resume and progress well. Tension at workplace will end and you will have a comfortable trend. Troubles created by indirect enemies will come to an end.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Expenses are likely to go beyond expectations. Those awaiting marriage will get good news. Some govt officials are likely get promotion. Good turning points are likely to cheer you.

Children will make you feel proud.

Financial position will be strong and you can complete all commitments.

Even enemies are likely to turn friends.

Some are likely to go abroad.

Employees will feel happy as their superior will support them.

Entrepreneurs will purchase new machinery planned for modernisation of their factory to improve business.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You need to be courageous in the wake of face tough times. Those who attended an exam will get favourable response. Search for a job will be fruitful. Travel, expenses upset you.

Politicians will be in the limelight. Professionals cheer up as they go through a good time that whatever they work on. Work will resume and now get completed faster than expected.

Employees need to work with a focus.

Be careful with colleagues as some of them will blame you for no fault.

Difficulties will be over with your calculated and well-planned efforts.

SUMAA TEKUR

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

Nine of Swords – Check the feasibility of a project before getting into it with both feet. It may be difficult for you to get out once in.

Knight of Pentacles – Do not spend too much on items that will not serve your purpose after some time. Learn to save and protect your money.

Three of Pentacles – You are used to writing on the computer with the blank cursor blinking away. Take up a study course to refresh your knowledge. It will be useful.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

The Star – You must refrain from making any rash decisions.

Do not enter into any contract with people you’re not sure you’ll get along with.

Three of Wands – You may be in the habit of putting things across rather subtly. This may work against you because the other person may not have understood you fully.

The Hanged Man – Watch out for people who talk ill about you.

You are worried about your reputation but remember you cannot do much to stop wagging tongues.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Three of Cups – This is celebration time!

But if there is someone in your group who is frowning, take up the responsibility of cheering up this person.

The Emperor – You will have to face some criticism for doing things your own way.

This is going to be upsetting because you did not expect this. Do not fret.

Five of Wands – There is scope for expansion. It could be in the project you’re working on, or in a thought that has been on your mind for a long time.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

NON SEQUITUR PEARLS BEFORE SWINE POOCH CAFE

STRIP TEASE

AGNES

ARIES

TAROT READ Date 19-8-2013

Ten of Wands – You may be seeming pale and out of sorts. If you want to be left alone, make sure that you are not inconveniencing anyone by doing this.

King of Cups – The engines are started and waiting for you.

Do not delay any projects as timing is crucial. You can win over competition by being on time.

Four of Cups – A job offer may come your way. You’re likely to be quite surprised by this since you were not actively looking out for this role.

Consider it anyway.

Since laughter is the best medicine Thoughts to ponder over ~ If you can still do at 60 what you did at 20, it means you weren't doing much at 20. ~ Life is like photography... we use the negatives to develop. ~ Live so the preacher won't have to tell lies at your funeral. ~ Nothing is worse than that moment during an argument when you realise you're wrong. ~ Q: What's brown and sticky?

A: A stick. ~ Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting

moment. ~ Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted. ~ Some drink from the fountain of knowledge. Other just rinse and spit. ~ Sometimes I get the feeling the whole world is against me, but deep down I know that's not true. Some smaller countries are neutral. ~ The late worm misses the early bird. ~ The second mouse gets the cheese. ~ There's nothing more optimistic than a dog under the dinner table.

Vol: 3, No 29 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

CINEMA SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Chris Brown sentenced to 1,000 hours of community labor as probation is reinstated

Y

ou win some, you lose some. Just a day after the hit-and-run charge facing Chris Brown was dropped, the singer found himself with a reinstated probation on Friday. As result, Brown was given a new sentence to perform 1,000 hours of community labor, the AP reports. The LA City Attorney seeking to revoke Brown’s probation after his involvement

in the alleged hit-and-run accident in May agreed to withdraw the request on Friday, after the judge dismissed the earlier case. Brown agreed to the deal that was arranged in the judge’s chambers while he waited in the courtroom. He’s been ordered to perform intensive labor such as highway work and graffiti removal. This isn’t Brown’s first run in with community labour.

Lindsay Lohan

O

n Thursday, the 27-year-old actress launched her new website, LindsayLohan.com. The Canyons star introduced fans to her site with a note that read: “Welcome to my new site… Your support has been everything. I’m so excited for what’s next. Xo” It features clips from what the actress has been up to since completing her 90-day stint in court ordered rehab, including her upcoming sit-down with Oprah Winfrey for Own’s Next Chapter and a guesthosting gig on Chelsea Lately.

W

arner Bros. has finally found some talent to attach to Red Blooded American, their biopic on Lance Armstrong.

Deadline reports that Bradley Cooper is in talks to board the film about the disgraced seven-time Tour de Force champ as a producer and is looking to play one of the film’s two major roles. One is Armstrong, while the other is Tyler Hamilton, Armstrong’s former teammate who came forward and spoke openly about the athlete’s doping in a 60 Minutes segment.

Warner Bros., along with Atlas Entertainment and director Jay Roach, intends to fast track the film into production, as it is one of three currently in the works. Working Title has an Armstrong biopic in the works with Ben Foster to star that could begin filming as quickly as the fall, while Paramount Pictures has teamed with JJ Abrams to develop a film based on Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong, a book by New York Times sportswriter Juliet Macur. The Paramount-Abrams project once sparked rumors of Cooper starring in that film, however, Cooper refuted them at the time.

BRADLEY COOPER

to produce Lance Armstrong biopic, possibly star

29

SPORTS SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Third win for Karthikeyan

I

Kiwis nab first point

ndia's Narain Karthikeyan secured his third victory at round six of the Auto GP World Series at the Nurburgring Circuit here Saturday. Having secured his third consecutive pole Friday, Narain managed to capitalise on his advantage at the start, but faced stiff opposition from Italian GP2 driver Kevin Giovesi and his Super Nova teammate Vittorio Ghirelli. But the Indian always seemed to have enough in hand to keep the Italian duo at bay.

Bindra welcomes directive

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eam New Zealand survived a scare to win the first race of the America's Cup challenger finals in a walkover Saturday as boat damage forced Luna Rossa to withdraw. The first race of the best-of-13 Louis Vuitton Cup finals, which will decide a challenger to take on defender Oracle Team USA in next month's America's Cup finals, provided another chaotic spectacle in the 34th edition of the venerable yachting event which has been beset by problems.

Top shooter Abhinav Bindra has welcomed International Olympic Committee's (IOC) directive which bars tainted personalities from being part of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). “I am extremely pleased that the IOC is willing to clean up Indian sports,” Bindra was quoted as saying by a TV channel Saturday.

“All of us would like to have officials who care about Indian sports and put athletes foremost in their minds,” he said.

Bolt sets eyes on Rio Games

Luke PHILLIPS

MOSCOW: Usain Bolt revealed a track master plan that includes defending his Olympic sprint titles in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 after powering to a third successive world 200m title on Saturday.

It was the Jamaican's seventh world gold medal after winning the 100 and 200m at the Berlin worlds in 2009, the 200m in Daegu in 2011, the 100m in Moscow on Sunday and golds as part of the winning Jamaican 4x100m relay squads in both 2009 and 2011.

Bolt now has the opportunity to draw level with the present mark of eight world gold medals won by retired American duo Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson when he races the 4x100m relay on Sunday.

But the 26-year-old, who also has six Olympic golds to his name, insisted that that record counted for nothing.

“My main goal was to make

myself a legend," he said after comfortably winning at the Luzhniki Stadium in a worldlead best of 19.66sec despite easing off fully 15 metres from the finish line.

Jamaican teammate Warren Weir won silver in 19.79sec, with unheralded American Curtis Mitchell, a training partner of the banned Tyson Gay, taking bronze in 20.04.

“My goal is to defend my titles at the next Olympics as it hasn't been done before by anyone, and this world championships is a stepping stone towards that goal," said Bolt.

“I'm working hard to pile on gold medals and remain undefeated in championships, then go to the Olympics and win the 100 and 200m again.

“I'm not worried about winning medals and counting them."

Bolt, who won three golds (100, 200, 4x100m relay) in both the Beijing Games in 2008 and in London last year, said: “I want to go to the Olympics in Rio and

RUSSIAN FEDERATION, Moscow : Jamaica's Usain Bolt (C) wins the men's 200 metres final at the 2013 IAAF World Championships at the Luzhniki staAFP/OLIVIER MORIN dium in Moscow on Saturday. dominate.

“The key thing now, getting older and I missed a couple of weeks (this season through injury), is that it's getting harder

to run as fast," he said, stressing that any idea of him participating in the long jump had been shelved.

“I have to be focused (in the

Skholina wins gold Luke PHILLIPS

MOSCOW: Russia's Svetlana Shkolina won a shock gold in the women's high jump at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday. The Russian jumped a personal best of 2.03 metres, with American Brigetta Barrett, the London Olympics silver medallist, again claiming silver (2.00m).

Defending world and Olympic champion Anna Chicherova of Russia and Spain's Ruth Beitia took bronze after both cleared 1.97m.

“I experienced some difficulties with my concentration, being too emotional at the start," said Shkolina.

“But after a fail in my first attempt at 1.93m, my coach ordered me to calm down and it paid off as I got my concentration back."

Chicherova failed three times at 2.00m, along with Beitia and Sweden's Emma Green-Tregaro.

Unfancied Shkolina kept the local interest going, however, by clearing the height

with Barrett.

Shkolina, the bronze medallist at the London Games and fifth in the Daegu worlds two years ago, kept the pressure up by going over at 2.03 while Barrett failed at her first and second attempts.

The American also fluffed her third attempt, mistiming her run-up to

hand Shkolina an unexpected gold in a field missing injured Croat Blanka Vlasic, world champion in 2007 and 2009.

“It was the crowd's support that forced me into that successful jump at 2.03m," beamed Shkolina in reference to a packed and raucous Luzhniki Stadium.

Green-Tregaro finished

Russia's Svetlana Shkolina competes in the women's high jump final at the 2013 IAAF World Championships at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on Saturday.

AFP/ADRIAN DENNIS

fifth, but there was no repeat drama over her painted nails at a time when gay rights are a contentious issue in the country after the passing of a new law punishing the dissemination of information about homosexuality to minors, which activists argue can be used for a broad crackdown against gays.

Green-Tregaro had been warned by the IAAF that the rainbow colours she sported in qualification in support of gay rights were a breach of regulations.

Russian pole vault gold medallist Yelena Isinbayeva had called Green-Tregaro “unrespectful” to Russia after painting her nails in the colours of the rainbow flag, that symbolises support for gay rights, while competing in Moscow, a move that garnered acclaim elsewhere in the world.

Anders Albertsson, general secretary of the Swedish athletics federation, said before the final that they had talked with the IAAF over the issue and Green-Tregaro had AFP revarnished her nails.

run-up to Rio). I can't mess around and get injured during the long jump. It's been decided I'm not going to do the long jump."

Bolt is the world record holder in both the 100 and 200m (9.58 and 19.19sec respectively set in the Berlin worlds in 2009), but he said trying to go one better was not important.

“For me it's all about winning championships," he said. “I never stress about times. If I can run 20sec flat and win the 200m, I'd be happy.

“It's all about winning gold medals," the Jamaican sprinter said.

Turning to the race itself, in his self-proclaimed favoured event, Bolt said he knew had the beating of the field with 50 metres to go.

“After 150 metres, you can tell if you're going to win or not," he said. “I looked across and saw Warren, who looked tired, checked my left and saw AFP no one.

Vesely clinches javelin title MOSCOW: Czech Republic's Vitezslav Vesely coached by three-time champion Jan Zelezny won the men's javelin world title at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow on Saturday.

The 30-year-old posted a winning mark of 87.17 metres with Finland's 2007 world champion Tero Pitkamaki taking the silver (87.07m) and Russian Dmitri Tarabin the bronze (86.23mm).

Tarabin regained third spot on his final throw to deny a fairytale first ever world medal in a field event for Kenya after Julius Yego had set a new AFP national record with 85.40m.

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SPORTS SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Serena, Victoria in Cincinnati final CINCINNATI: Serena Williams staged comebacks in both sets to defeat China’s Li Na 7-5, 7-5 and reach the final at the Cincinnati WTA tournament for the first time. She will face off for the title against world number two Victoria Azarenka, who won a match plagued by breaks of serve to defeat 2011 finalist Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 62, 6-3.

Azarenka and Williams will both be playing for their first title at the tournament. Azarenka finally earned her victory with a concluding break of former number one Jankovic.

Williams, who has won 15 titles in the last 16 months and is bidding for her ninth this season, needed just over 90 minutes to advance against the error-prone 2012 winner here.

Li ended in unfortunate fashion, double-faulting on a set point in the first and again on match point in the second.

Williams claimed her eighth win in nine matches against Li, who had not played in the previous round when opponent Agnieszka Radwanska withdrew to attend AFP a funeral in her native Poland.

Pistons defeat Masters

LUCKNOW: The first day of the Lucknow Leg in the path-breaking Vodafone IBL saw intense competition between both the teams.

Pune Pistons secured a well deserved 3-2 lead over Mumbai Masters on Saturday.

In the Women’s singles Schenk lost the first set but came back fiercely in the 2 beating Tine Baun. Both the matches of Men’s singles saw each team winning one game.

Vladimir Ivanov won both the Men’s Singles and Men’s doubles hence continuing with the winning form”.

Post their win Ashwini Ponnapa said “It’s a happy feeling to sit on the top on the points tally table. In the Mixed Doubles initially we both were not very strong but then we fought hard and

Pune Piston players seen in action against Mumbai Masters. won. Pune Pistons hopes to continue this winning streak in the League”.

Vladmir Ivanov who won Vodafone Player of the Tie at Delhi earlier and Lucknow today said “I am

Nadal books Isner date CINCINNATI: Rafael Nadal (right) rolled over sixth seed Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) on Saturday to set up a Cincinnati Masters final with John Isner.

Isner benefitted as Juan Martin del Potro double-faulted on match point to open the door to the unseeded American, who took full advantage by rallying for a 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 victory. Nadal, seeded fourth, gave himself a chance at an ATP-leading ninth title of the season and his second in a row at the Masters 1000 level after his triumph in Montreal last week.

Nadal has defeated Isner three times without a loss.

Apart from six double faults in the second set, world number three Nadal had little to complain about in victory, his 52nd match win of the season.

He is unbeaten on hardcourts, having won the title at Indian Wells in March before his Montreal win.

Nadal came back 18 hours after beating Roger Federer in their marquee quarter-final.

“I have adapted well here,” said the Spaniard. “I played a great match with Roger and today I felt I also played well, even if I was a bit streaky with

Reed, Huh share lead GREENSBORO:Rookie Patrick Reed fired a one-over 71 to maintain a share of the lead with fellow American John Huh after the third round of the PGA Tour Wyndham Championship Saturday.

Reed, 23, used three late birdies as he overcame a three-hour delay to join Huh atop the leaderboard of the rain-hit tournament. Reed and Huh are both sitting at 10under 200.

“I am not happy with the round but I can’t be disappointed with the position I am in,” said overnight leader Reed, whose wife Justine is caddying for him this week.

With weather forecasters predicting more rain Sunday, organizers decided to send players off two tees in threesomes for the fourth round, as

PATRICK REED FIRED A ONE-OVER 71 TO MAINTAIN A SHARE OF THE LEAD WITH FELLOW AMERICAN JOHN HUH AFTER THE THIRD ROUND. was the case Saturday.

Reed began the rainy day at 11-under and leading Huh, who is also 23, by one stroke.

He dropped three strokes by the 12th hole but reeled off three straight birdies starting at the 14th.

Reed then dropped back into a tie with Huh when he couldn’t get up and down at the 18th, where he missed an AFP 11-foot putt to save par.

the serve.

“It was a challenge for me today. I never dreamed of this kind of a comeback,” said the player who is now in a position to move back to second in the world behind Novak Djokovic if he wins the trophy.

“It’s just unbelievable the way I have come back to be number one in the season points race. I missed the Australian Open, Miami and lost in the Wimbledon first round and still did it,” Nadal said.

Nadal fired 38 winners against Berdych, who ousted Wimbledon champion and current world number two Andy Murray in the quarter-finals.

Del Potro never found a way to get back into contention after his double-fault on match point while leading a set and 5-3. AFP

UNDER-19

PROBABLES LIST RELEASED

HYDERABAD: The HCA relesed a list of under-19 probable players for the upcoming seson, here, on Saturday. All the selected players are to report to the coach for practice, on Monday at 6.10am at the Gymkhana Grounds.

Players list: Tanmay Agarwal, PS Chaitanya Reddy, B Anirudh, G Rahul Singh, Arun Deva, KSK Chaitanya, CV Milind, P Maneesh, Roshan Raghuram, Pratyush Reddy, Sai Charan Teja, Tanay Thyagarajan, Shravan Kumar, Akash Kulkarni, Jayasuryia, Krishna Chaitanya, Tarun Yadav, Vidarath, Yashwanth Reddy, P Nikhildeep, Nitish Reddy, Rakesh CH, Praneeth Reddy, Ravi Teja,Lohit, Shashidhar Reddy, Syed Maazuddin, Yash Puri, Chandrashekar, Christy Victor, Shahdaab Tumbi, Rohith Reddy, VL Shashank Chand Pasha, Krishna Reddy, Wajid, Rahul B, Sandeep Goud, Yudish S, Hyder Ali, Afzal Biyabani, Akshay Raj, Sreedarhas Reddy, DJG Chaitanya, Arvind, E Sree Charan, Farhan Farqooui, Sujoy D.

very happy that I won the Men’s Singles as well as the Men’s Doubles today in front of the cheering Lucknow crowd. Lee Chong Wei is joining us from the Mumbai leg which will take

some pressure off my shoulders.”

Post her win Schenk said “it was a tough win and I am happy that I maintained my speed and mental balance. She was amazing in the second round but I am happy with the outcome.” Post their win Pranav J Copra said “Me and Vladmir have played against each in the past but this was the first time that we played together. It was a very exciting experience to be on the same side of the net. I have a 2nd match to go today and hoping to go to Mumbai with another win”.

Post his win Nyugen Tien Minh said “In my last match in Delhi I lost to Sai as I was very tired, now that I won the match here today I feel more confident and am all geared up for the next match”.

IN THE FAST LANE

Ameya leads Vishnu, Chittesh and Dhruv in Senior Max Heat 2 of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013 Round 3 in Coimbatore on Saturday.JPG. Ameya, Kush and Pradyumna claimed the pole position for the pre-Finals.

LEAGUE CRICKET A divison one day St Andrews 329/1(Mohul Bhowmick 95, Sohail Shaik 205 n.o.) bt Satya CC 50 HCA Coca Cola cup under16 inter school All Saints High School 163/6 (Ibrahim Siddiqui 45, Srikanth 4/51) bt Hindu P S 55(Hitesh Yadav 3/18, Vamshi 4/12) Mahboob College 124 (Mirza Ibrahim 38, K Nandhi Vardhan 4/26) lost to Gurukul Vidyapeeth 127/6 (K Nandhi Vardhan 48 n.o., Md Asif 3/23) Chirec Public School 272 (YK Vamshi 66, Kunal Srinivasan 50, Aadit Kumar 3/60) bt Genious Citizen High School 74 (Rehman 34, Sai Harish Vardhan 3/8) Bhavans Sri Ramakrishna

Vidyalaya 126/8 (Junaid Ali 66 n.o.) lost to Loyola Academy 127/4 (Md Nayeemuddim 37, CH Srinath Reddy 59 n.o.)

St. Mary’s Junior College Basheerbagh 133/5 ( Shanthan Reddy 50) bt Karimnagar 105 (Divjit 4/26) Little Flower Junior College 145/5 (Abdullah 3/35) bt Progress High School 37 Under-19 Andhra U-19 155 all out (G Jayawardene 34, C Sri Krishna 31, Ananth Raju 5/38, Fabid Farooq 3/34) vs Kerela U-19 37/2.

Inter district two days Nizamabad 148 (Sajid 40, Krishna Reddy 3/20, Madhu 3/28) drew with Karimnagar 110/9 (Kishore 32, Sajid 4/32)

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SPORTS SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Cook brushes aside jibes

England captain Alastair Cook has dismissed criticism of his leadership style by Australia great Shane Warne when the latter used his column to take a dig at the Englisman.

LONDON: England captain Alastair Cook has dismissed criticism of his leadership style by Australia great Shane Warne.

Leg-spin legend Warne, now working as a broadcast and newspaper cricket pundit, said in his column for Wednesday’s edition of Britain’s Daily Telegraph that England had taken an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the Ashes in spite, rather than because, of Cook’s “way too cautious” captaincy.

But Cook, knowing Warne is a friend of Australia captain Michael Clarke, told Saturday’s Telegraph: “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but everyone knows Shane Warne is

COOK SAID “EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINION, BUT EVERYONE KNOWS SHANE WARNE IS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN AUSTRALIA’S CAMP. heavily involved in Australia’s camp.

“Like most of the criticism thrown at us, we try not to let it affect either the individual or the team.

“The media is what it is. It is how we keep that noise from our world that is important.”

England beat Australia by 74 runs on Monday to win the

Ponting pleads for Australia patience LONDON: Australia great Ricky Ponting has urged his compatriots to be patient with the current side as they try to turn around their poor run of results.

Now retired from Test cricket, former Australia captain Ponting was watching as the side slumped to an Ashes series defeat by England, falling 3-0 behind to their arch-rivals heading into next week’s fifth and final Test at The Oval.

Ponting, who earlier this season played for Oval-based Surrey, is now representing the Antigua Hawksbills in the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 tournament and the star batsman has only been able to watch as a succession of toporder collapses have cost his country dear in the Ashes.

But Ponting said Australia needed to follow the example of England and, with a return Ashes starting Down Under in November, give their batsmen time to develop.

“There’s some challenges there for Australian cricket but with Darren Lehmann’s appointment as coach and some of the younger guys they’ve got around there, I think there’s enough talent,” Ponting said in a CPL statement issued Saturday.

“They’re just going to have to learn and unfortunately at the moment they’re learning the hard way,” the 38-year-old Ponting, said. “You can find some excuses for a few of the guys. A few of the guys are young players trying to find their way in the most pressurised series that there is in world cricket: (Phil) Hughes, (Usman) Khawaja, even Steve Smith — although he’s played AFP reasonably well at different times.”

fourth Test at Chester-le-Street with more than a day to spare heading into next week’s fifth and final Test at The Oval in south London.

Australia needing 299 to win, were well-placed at 120 for one at tea.

While commentating on television, Warne criticised Cook’s decision to bring on Tim Bresnan in the final session, only for the Yorkshire seamer to claim the key wicket of well-set Australia opener David Warner, who made 71.

England coach Andy Flower said Tuesday that Cook deserved credit for that move. “He made some decisions that turned the game... bringing on Bresnan, who got Warner straight away.”

Khawaja fails again as Oz draw with Lions LONDON: Under-pressure batsman Usman Khawaja (in pic) suffered another low score as the tourists warmed-up for next week’s final Ashes Test with a draw against the second-string England Lions on Saturday.

Australia’s lack of top-order runs has been a key reason in their falling 3-0 behind against England in the five-match Ashes contest ahead of the series finale at The Oval in south London. After Australia’s 74-run defeat in the fourth Test at Chester-leStreet on Monday, which featured their latest collapse, coach Darren Lehmann warned the batsmen they were playing for their places.

Khawaja, who has managed just 114 runs in six innings at an average of a mere 19 against England this Ashes, was clearly one of the players in former Australia batsman Lehmann’s sights.

Unfortunately for the 26-year-old Pakistan-born left-hander, he could only manage four at Northamptonshi-

re’s Wantage Road ground on Saturday before he was caught behind off all-rounder Ben Stokes.

Meanwhile Ed Cowan, looking to revive his international career, was caught behind off Liam Plunkett for 17 made in 47 balls while Phil Hughes, also trying to break back into the Test fold, was out for 30 when he played on to Keith Barker.

This match was originally due to involve Northamptonshire but the Lions were drafted in after the county club qualified for English domestic cricket’s Twenty20 finals day.

But given the tour fixture remained a two-day contest, it was always going to be tough for Australia to achieve the morale-boosting victory they would have wanted following a winless run of seven defeats in their last eight Tests.

No Australia batsman made a fifty on Saturday after the Lions declared on their overnight 269 for seven, feaAFP turing Gary Ballance’s 104.

Pak’s Umar Akmal ruled out KARACHI: Pakistan on Saturday suffered a blow ahead of their tour of Zimbabwe starting next week with dashing batsman Umar Akmal ruled out due to a back complaint.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury while playing in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League, an annual Twenty20 tournament.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Akmal will be replaced by wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

“PCB received the confirmation from the West Indies today about Umar not being medically fit. He has immediately been called back and will undergo complete medical examination to reassess the level of his fit-

ness,” a statement said.

“Meanwhile national selection committee has proposed Sarfraz as his replacement for Pakistan one-day and T20 squads for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.”

Pakistan play two Twenty20, three one-day and two Tests matches on the tour, with the first T20 on August 23.

Umar’s loss comes after opener Imran Farhat pulled out of the Test team citing family reasons.

Umar returned to the limited over squad on the tour of the West Indies where he kept wicket besides batting in the middle-order. Sarfraz, 26, was dropped after a disappointing tour of AFP South Africa earlier this year.

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SPORTS SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013

Win for Moyes, Villa stun Arsenal Manchester United’s manager David Moyes picked up where Alex Ferguson left off as his side defeated Swansea City 4-1 while Arsenal lost their tie to Aston Villa 3-1.

LONDON: Manchester United manager David Moyes picked up where Alex Ferguson left off on Saturday as the Premier League champions began their title defence by winning 4-1 at Swansea City.

It was United’s first league game with a new manager in the dug-out since Ferguson took his side to Oxford United on November 8, 1986, but a brace apiece from Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck banished any first-day nerves.

On a damp, drizzly day in south Wales, Moyes recalled Wayne Rooney to his squad after the unsettled striker proved his fitness with a 66-minute turn in England’s 3-2 win over Scotland in mid-week.

It was last season’s hero who provided the breakthrough, however, with Van Persie chesting down a high pass from Ryan Giggs and then hooking a superb acrobatic volley past goalkeeper Michel Vorm in the 34th minute.

Swansea, the League Cup holders, had poked and probed intelligently until then, but they were hit with a sucker-punch two minutes later when Welbeck tapped in United’s second from Antonio Valencia’s low cross.

Rooney came on with half an hour remaining to make his first club appearance since May 5, but it was Van Persie’s day and he made it 3-0 by lashing a glorious shot into Vorm’s top-right corner from 20 yards.

Sloppy play by Welbeck allowed home debutant Wilfried Bony to pull a goal back for Swansea, but the England man atoned in injury time by racing onto Rooney’s pass and beating

Points Table P W D L GF GA PT

Manchester United’s Dutch striker Robin van Persie scores the opening goal as Swansea City’s English-born Welsh defender Ashley Williams (L) tries to defend during their English Premier League match at Liberty Stadium in Swansea, AFP/IAN KINGTON south Wales, on Saturday.

Vorm with an exquisite chip.

“It very much was a Manchester United display. We were clinical in attack and I am very pleased. This is a tough place to come and we won well in the end,” Moyes told BBC Sport.

“Today was my first game at Manchester United. I was excited, but it’s just work to me. It’s the same as I’ve done at Everton over the last 10 years or so.”

Earlier, Arsenal were booed

off by their own fans at the Emirates Stadium after conceding two penalties and seeing Laurent Koscielny sent off in a calamitous 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa.

Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal a sixth-minute lead, but Christian Benteke equalised in the 22nd minute by following up with a header after his penalty was parried by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Koscielny conceded the

penalty from which Benteke put the visitors ahead and after the France centre-back was sent off for a second booking, Villa new boy Antonio Luna completed victory by running clear and coolly wrong-footing Szczesny.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is still to make a significant pre-season signing, apologised to the club’s supporters for his side’s performance.

“What hurts me is to disappoint people who love the club,”

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Man Utd

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Everton

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Norwich

1010 2 2 1

said the Frenchman, who also saw full-backs Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna go off due to injury.

“All the rest I have to live with, but I’m here to make people happy and when I do not I can only say sorry and come back and make them happy in the next game.”

Earlier, new recruit Simon Mignolet saved an 89th-minute penalty to earn Liverpool a 1-0 win over Stoke City in the opening game of the new season at Anfield.

With Liverpool leading from Daniel Sturridge’s crisp 37thminute drive, the former Sunderland goalkeeper repelled Jon Walters’ spot-kick and then brilliantly blocked Kenwyne Jones’ follow-up after Daniel Agger was penalised for handball. “We bought him because he is a top, top goalkeeper and he had three saves to make in total,” said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers. “I thought overall our performance was AFP outstanding.”

Pellegrini faces striking dilemma MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini (right) admits he will need all his forward options to deliver trophies as he prepares for his first taste of the Premier League against Newcastle on Monday.

Pellegrini, who replaced Roberto Mancini following the Italian’s dismissal at the end of last season’s trophyless campaign, lost Carlos Tevez to Juventus in this transfer window, but has added Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic to his attacking options alongside Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko.

Now the Chilean faces his first striking dilemma on Monday as he debates who will start up front in his opening competitive match in charge at Eastlands.

Champions Manchester United threw down the

gauntlet to City with a 4-1 win over Swansea in David Moyes’ first match on Saturday and Pellegrini can ill-afford a slow start to life in England. City, who surrendered the title to United in

tame fashion last season, have not lost an opening-day Premier League game since a defeat by Aston Villa in 2008 and Pellegrini’s frontmen will be expected to continue that run against

Newcastle on Monday.

“I do not know my team yet because on Thursday all the players that played for their national squad arrived back. I am not 100 percent sure,” Pellegrini said.

“We have four important strikers, that is why they are here in this squad as we want them for the whole season. I do not worry who plays on Monday or next Sunday. We have four strikers because I think we need four strikers. We will see who is the best for each match.”

Matija Nastasic is City’s only injury problem ahead of the visit of Newcastle.

The defender picked up an ankle injury in July’s Asia Trophy in Hong Kong and was expected to be out for six weeks but while the 20-year-old Serb will miss

the opening Premier League game, he could be in contention for next week’s trip to Cardiff.

Newcastle, who narrowly avoided relegation last season, are looking to halt an unwanted run of seven successive defeats against City, a sequence that stretches back to October 2008.

But they head to Manchester with several injury worries. French forward Loic Remy, the new arrival on a season-long loan from QPR, is likely to miss the first month of the campaign with a calf injury.

Italian full-back Davide Santon is struggling with a hip problem, defender Steven Taylor required an injection in a toe injury, and Argentinian midfielder Jonas Gutierrez has a hamAFP string strain.