Epaper 18 july 2013

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 HYDERABAD

WEATHER: CLOUDY WITH CHANCES OF DRIZZLE, 29°C

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South siren Shruti Haasan has been making headlines for her upcoming bold act in D-Day. While some believe that she is the sexiest on-screen hooker so far, Postnoon revisits the performances of been-there-done-that Bollywood divas. Here’s a list of actresses we’ve spent our precious `150 on (movie

PG 16&17

ticket price). And, no, we don’t regret it.

PARTIES

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

MED COLLEGES IN STATE DODGE MERIT, SELL SEATS

CLAIM VICTORY,

Distressed students and parents who have a rightful claim to the management quota allege colleges are selling seats to the highest bidders violating MCI rule.

PG 8

EVEN BEFORE THE POLLS! Yes, that’s what is happening in the AP panchayat polls that are yet to take place. In the raging media war, each major player — the TDP, the Congress and the YSRC — is claiming superiority in the sarpanch elections citing figures to lend their claims credibility.

REPORT ON P5 RUPEE FALL WILL SEE LUXURY CAR PRICES SKYROCKET

While most mainstream brands have hiked their prices, other premium carmakers are expected to follow suit.

PG 13

TIGER FAVOURITE FOR OPEN PG 30

GOING DOWNTOWN This summer, Amsterdam is the epicentre of fashion.

With 10 days of dazzling creations, Dutch fashion designers showed the latest and hottest items for the upcoming season at the Amsterdam Fashion Week.

PG 22&23

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

city events

HINDUSTANI ALAAP

A listening session for all classical music lovers in Hindustani classical music.

The session will be conducted by Aradhana Karhade.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: July 21, 5pm

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

26°C

22°C

25°C

30°C

Chances of showers and thundershowers.

Cloudy with clear periods. Windy.

A mix of cloud and sun. Windy.

Chance of showers. Windy.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 36 Max 30 Min 29 Min 25 Partly sunny with a t-storm.

Rain.

Chennai Max 35 Min 26 A thunderstorm in spots.

Bangalore Max 27 Min 20 An afternoon thunderstorm.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Puppetry STEPARC is holding a workshop for adults.

Where: :Lamakaan, Banjara hills When: July 21, 10.30 am to 1.30 pm Contact: 96427 31329 Mime Explore your expressions in Natvarya-a mime workshop by Indian Mime Academy Where: Sutradhar school of acting, Nampally When: Till July 20, 6 pm to 9 pm Contact: 8297117515 Relationships A workshop on art & science of relationships.

Where: Palm exotica resorts, Shankarpally When: July 19 to July 21, 11am-2pm Contact: 2329 9779

SHOWS Tribal art exhibition Kalakriti Art Gallery presents Dots and Dashes, a Gond tribal art exhibition, curated by Rati Khemka Malaiya.

Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills When: On till July 28 Timings: 11am to 7pm Contact: Kalakriti Art Gallery on Facebook

Art exhibition Mr Raj presents a painting exhibition.

The abstract paintings depict various forms of human emotions.

Where: The Bar, Novotel Hyderabad, near the airport.

When: Till July 21, 9am DANCING QUEENS: Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Hyderabad, celebrated its first anniversary on Wednesday night. A special dance performance which symbolised the perfect blend of Indian cultures was part of the celebrations.

Just for fun History of India Viritten will be performed by stand-up comedian Vir Das. Where: N-Convention, Madhapur When: July 27 Contact: 8790432354 State of the Art Voyage of exploration, a collection of paintings, drawing and sculptures by students of MFA programme 2013 from Sarojini Naidu School of Art & Communication, University of Hyderabad is on.

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

FOOD & DRINK Zumba moves Charity event for disaster-struck Uttarakhand. The event will start with a free-for-all Zumba Fitness Workshop conducted by fitness instructor Anika Sharma and

Commissioner & Spl Officer

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

198 155313

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

Hyderabad ZINs (Zumba Instructor Network), followed by donations for Uttarakhand flood victims.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: July 21, 10:30am Contact: 9642731329

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

23262266 24166666R ENC 23225267 Engineering 23220418 MCH Tankbund 23225397 Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842 MCH Circle III 24736912 MCH Circle IV 23326975 MCH Circle V 23326976 MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100 Head Office 23225397 IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRY PHONE NUMBERS (TRAIN & RESERVATION) RAILWAYS Rail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216 Railway Information 131 Reservations 135 Recorded Information 1345 Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333

Ramzan special Relish the season special iftar delicacies at these venues: Where: Viva, Taj Vivanta When: Till Aug 7, 5.30-11.30pm Where: Deccan Pavilion, ITC Kakatiya When: Till Aug 7, 7.30pm onwards

WATER SUPPLY Complaint Cell Sewerage Complaint Hyd. Water Supply HOSPITAL General Hospital, Sec-bad Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills NIMS, Director, Punjagutta Osmania General Hospital Railway Hospital, Lalaguda Apollo, Jubilee Hills Care Hospital, Banjara Hills Care Hospital, Nampally Care Hospital, Musheerabad Care Hospital, Sec-bad Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar

155313 23307328 23313163

27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666 39879999

BLOOD BANKS Blood Bank,Narayanguda Chiranjeevi Blood Bank Blood Bank Mediton Goal Red Cross, Vidyanagar ADRM Blood Bank Mythri Charitable Trust NTR Memorial Trust Care Banjara Hills

Where: Green Park hotel, Ameerpet When: Till Aug 8, 6.30-10.30pm

WORKSHOPS Music theory Theory on music by Hyderabad Western Music Foundation.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara hills When: Till Aug 3, 11am to 2pm Contact: 2329 9779 Aerobics Have fun while you burn calories at this aerobics workshop.

Where:Colorama printers, Begumpet When: Till July 26, 4.30-6.30pm Contact: 2373 0328

27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445

AMBULANCES Apollo 23548888, 23607777 Kamineni 24022222 Medwin 23202902, 23204616 Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979 Red Cross 27627973 Niloufer Hospital 23314095 Gandhi 23320332 AIRLINES

Theatre workshop Theatre workshop for children in the eight years and above age group. It offers a rich mix of outdoor theatre activities, readings, analysis, discussions and performances.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara hills When: Till Aug 3, 10am Contact: 2329 9779

Airport Director 27903785, 27906001 For Air India Flight Information Toll free (from any network) for IC Flights 18001801407 And for All Flights: 1800227722 Air India has revised its flight timings.

For more information call (Toll free) 18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from other lines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in TOURISM OFFICES AP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54 Sec-bad 27893100 Dept of Tourism 23453110 India Tourism 23261360 AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999 UK VISA OFFICE VFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A, Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7

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

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

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

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

news

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

AREN’T MOTORISTS AT FAULT FOR ORR ACCIDENTS? YES (A)

100%

TODAY’S QUESTION

IS GHMC ALONE TO BLAME FOR NON-INSTALLATON OF RAIN PITS? A)

YES

B)

NO

0 NO (B)

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

E-POLICING

Court orders probe into ‘suicide’ The Metropolitan Court was petitioned by the father of one Babu Rao, who died after falling from the Gandhi Hospital rooftop. The case was earlier written off as a suicide.

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China to launch anti-porn campaign BEIJING: Chinese authorities have decided to launch a drive to crack down on the spread of pornography and vulgar information on the Internet.

The campaign will target porn websites, online games, online advertisements, web pages, columns, forums, blogs, microblogs and social network websites.

The drive aims to create a “benign Internet environment” for the Chinese youth during the summer holiday, which lasts from July to the end of August, reported Xinhua citing the State Internet Information Office (SIIO) in a statement.

According to SIIO, websites and online games would be shut

down if they were found to contain pornographic information.

The office also said that the government agencies would carry out checks on shops selling AROUND THE

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electronic or audio-visual products and Internet bars to eradicate the spread of pornography.

Other government agencies participating in the campaign would include the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications, as well as the public security, industry and information technology, and culture ministries, the statement added.

IANS

SAFETY SCARE

Steam in Fukushima reactor building: Tepco Mohd SHUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: A City metropolitan court has ordered the Chilkalguda police to reinvestigate the death of a man by the name of Babu Rao who fell to his death from Gandhi Hospital roof under suspicious circumstances three months ago.

This diktat followed the victim’s father petitioning to the court that he suspects foul play of the parents of a girl with whom he had a love affair.

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CITY Babu Rao’s father Upplaiah said that his son was murdered by three persons engaged by the father of a girl namely, Swaroopa. The girl’s father had not approved of their relationship and therefore got him killed.

Chilkalguda Inspector B Anjaih is investigating.

According to details, Babu Rao, 32, a resident of Balamrahi in

Begumpet was in love with one Swaroopa, 27, daughter of Sanjeevaiah. Both desired to get married but her parents objected to Rao. She was a trainee nurse at the Gandhi Hospital.

Her relatives, Rajesh, Raju and Mohan had called Babu Rao on March 14, for a discussion of his affair. He was asked to come to the hospital. When he arrived in good faith, the trio took him to the roof top pleading for an open talk and pushed him from the heights.

The incident was written off as a case of suicide.

TOKYO: Steam has been spotted in a reactor building at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, its operator said Thursday, but stressed there is no sign yet of increased radiation.

The incident, which Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said was not “an emergency situation”, is the latest event serving to underline how precarious the plant remains more than two years after it was wrecked by a tsunami.

The roof of the building was blown off in a hydrogen explosion in the days after the March 2011 meltdowns, sparked when cooling systems were flooded with seawater after a huge undersea quake. “(The steam) was drifting thinly in the air and it’s not like a big column of steam is spurting up,” the

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spokesman said. “Neither the temperature of the reactor nor readings at radiation monitoring posts have gone up. We do not believe an emergency situation is breaking out although we are still investigating what caused this.”

AFP

CITY BRIEFS Kin of Jedcherla TDP MLA gunned down

Gangwar in Old City leaves one hurt

Two die due to consumption of hooch

Dowry case against Shankar Rao withdrawn

ACB nabs officer taking bribe from farmer

Jaganmohan, younger brother of the Jedcherla TDP MLA A Chandrasekhar, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Devara Kadra on Wednesday. According to information, the assailants came in a vehicle and opened fire at Jaganmohan who was sitting in a tea stall and taking tea near the bus stand. He died on the spot.

Gangwar left an alleged rowdy seriously hurt. Yousuf Bawazeer, 45, of Barkhas at the Old City was attacked on Wednesday by a rival gang led

by Baam, police said. Amaar Baam, Dawood Baam and their associates have waylaid Yousuf and attacked him with lethal weapons, it is alleged. Chandrayangutta police are investigating.

P Sriramulu, aged 65 years, a resident of Thirumala Nagar in Khushaiguda and his son P Surender, 35, died after consuming illicit liquor. It is said both came home drunk and shortly the two began vomiting. They were shifted to the hospital where they died.

Khushaiguda police are investigating.

Former Minister Dr P Shankar Rao’s daughter-in-law Vamsi Priya has withdrawn the dowry harassment case she had registered against him, his son, wife and daughter. Vamsi Priya had also filed a petition in the High Court on Wednesday withdrawing her cases filed against her in-laws. Dr Rao had fallen ill after the filing of the cases.

Sleuths of the Anti-Corruption Bureau have caught an officer while he was demanding and accepting bribe from a farmer in the district.

According to the information, the officer was caught red-handed while he was taking bribe from a farmer in Mallisetti village under D Hirehal mandal of the district. The farmer had applied for power connections.

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News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 LAST YEAR... HERE Dangerous living

L

ast year we had reported how the City was a dangerous place to live in, with electric wires hanging dangerously low, meshes of wires covering narrow-laned houses, du-up roads with no barricades and wires and poles protruding out of the ground. The scenario remains the same and the danger levels increased with the monsoon already hitting the City.

JULY 18, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

730

languages spoken in India, 250 died out in last 50 years. The survey also found that over 86 scripts are there in the country.

Last year in December the GHMC authorities dug a pit and fenced it.

However after that the pit was left unattended and garbage is piling up.

No one knows if the rainwater is even going inside.

P Sumitra, a resident of Kapra division

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

1

China organises a campaign to flush out porn on the Web The campaign will target porn websites, online games, online advertisements, web pages, columns, forums, blogs, microblogs and social network.

2

Precious rainwater going waste due to ignorance While the GHMC says the residents are not enthusiastic about rain harvesting systems, the people say they have no proper idea.

3

Acid restriction needs fast implementation A 24-year-old man attacked a woman and her daughter with acid injuring both of them, just a day after the government laid down stringent norms for acid sales.

4

Sarpanch polls yet to take place, but ‘results’ are out The TDP, Congress and the YSRC are claiming superiority in sarpanch polls with figures to back their claim.

5

Never criticise the Russian president Alexei Navalny, one of Putin's fiercest critics has been convicted of embezzlement.

CIVIC IGNORANCE

Rainwater harvesting in the City a failed project?

Millions of gallons of water disappeared into drains during the rains in the past three days and rainwater harvesting pits are becoming waste collection centres. The GHMC does not give two hoots — is it because there are no easy bucks involved?

M ANIL KUMAR

ALEENA ALICE aleena.@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Despite the heavy rains, many areas in the City still face severe water shortage problems. At the same time, gallons of water go into drains instead of replenishing the ground water. This is evident from the heavy water-logging on many of the City roads.

The Rain Water Harvesting Pit (RWHP) mooted by the government, still remains only on paper because of the failure of the GHMC to incorporate the project so far. On an average the City receives 830 mm rainfall every year accounting to 539.5 billion litres; of this, however, 90 per cent water goes down the drains.

Though the GHMC claims that they have dug up 2,350 RWHPs in all the five zones out of the 3,622 sanctioned in all the five zones, the number of them being functional still remains a secret. The GHMC authorities themselves, even after spending crores of rupees in constructing the pits, do not know the number of pits that are actually functional and how much of the rainwater is recharging the ground water.

WATER SHORTAGE In most of the areas where the GHMC claims to have constructed the RWHPs, the pits have turned into garbage bins.

Residents complain of how these pits are turning out to be a health

hazards instead of recharging the ground water.

“Last year in December the GHMC authorities dug a pit and fenced it. However after that the pit was left unattended and garbage is piling up. No one knows if the rainwater is even going inside,” says P Sumitra, a resident of Kapra Division.

Recently the GHMC’s move to improve the ground water level by announcing 50 per cent reimbursement of the cost of the pits being built by residential associations still lacks the enthusiasm of the idea. So far except for the rain harvesting structures being built in some of the Residential Welfare Colonies in Serilingampally, West Zone no other zone has gone ahead with the project.

Though authorities state that

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it is the residents who are not showing enthusiasm in coming forward in constructing the rain harvest structures, various resident associations have to say that there is no proper clarity from the civic body regarding this project.

Meanwhile what the civic authorities and residents seem to be forgetting is that gallons of precious rainwater are running down the drain.

S Narsiaiah from the Malkajgiri resident’s welfare association says, “When it comes to government reimbursement, with the past experience many people are hesitant even with this project. Not only that the GHMC

wants the residents associations to sign the MoU that specifies the cost of these pits before signing, but without knowing the actual cost, we cannot sign up. This is one major reason for residents hesitating to come forward.”

The GHMC authorities seem to be contended with the kind of response they have been receiving. When contacted the Engineer in Chief R Dhansingh he said, “The project was proposed just a few months back. It will take a while for residents to come forward. We have been receiving approximately 20 proposals from every zone. The zonal commissioner, executive engineers have been instructed to involve the Resident Welfare Associations, NGOs and engineering colleges for creating awareness.”

BAD MEDICINE

Take your BP meds properly... ... If you don’t want to up your risk of strokes. Patients who did not adhere to their medication had a nearly four-fold increased risk of dying from stroke.

HELSINKI: Hypertension patients who do not take their blood pressure medications systematically have a greatly increased risk of suffering a stroke and dying from it compared to those who take their medication correctly.

A study of 73,527 patients with high blood pressure, published online Wednesday in the European Heart Journal, found that patients who did not adhere to

their medication had a nearly four-fold increased risk of dying from stroke in the second year after first being prescribed drugs to control their blood pressure, and a three-fold increased risk in the tenth year, compared with adherent patients.

“These results emphasise the importance of hypertensive patients taking their anti-hypertensive medications correctly in

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order to minimise their risk of serious complications such as fatal and non-fatal strokes,” Dr Kimmo Herttua said.

Dr Herttua is a senior fellow in the Population Research Unit at the University of Helsinki.

“Non-adherent patients have

a greater risk even 10 years before they suffer a stroke. We have also found that there is a dose-response relationship. The worse someone is at taking their anti-hypertensive therapy, the greater their risk,” Herttua wrote.

The researchers used nationwide registers in Finland that give details of prescriptions, admissions to hospital and deaths, reports Science Daily. IANS

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News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

MAGIC IN AP

HISTORY

Result before polls?

Yes, that’s what’s happening in the AP panchayat polls which are yet to take place. In the raging media war, the TDP, Congress and the YSRC are claiming superiority in sarpanch polls with figures to back their claim. secured only 63 seats. However the T-Party stood second to the ruling Congress as it won 200 seats in Telangana. The figures reeled out by the key political players pushed the people of the State into confusion as the entire election process is being held in an apolitical manner.

Reacting to this K Ramamohan Rao, TDP’s senior leader and a close aide of TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu said that the historic padayatra held by Naidu did the trick in TDP’s favour and helped it in emerging as the number one political force in the entire state.

“The people have once again reposed their faith in Chandrababu Naidu. Through his Padayatra he winning the trust of the public and the unanimous support of many party supporters in the State is an evidence of this. This is a sign that the TDP would come back to power after the next general elections.”

Similar was the reaction from the leaders of other parties like YSRCP and TRS. Interestingly, MLC Ranga Reddy, a Congress senior leader and staunch supporter of CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the ruling Congress would emerge as the winner of a majority of seats after the actual elections are held.

“You can’t judge the strength of our party through these unanimous elections. On July 30, this month, our party will emerge as the biggest winner by securing more than 60 per cent of the total village sarpanch posts,” he said.

Md INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The actual battle for political dominance among political parties seems to have started even before the first phase of the village sarpanch elections is yet to kick off in the State. The key political parties in the State have created confusion, on Wednesday, in the minds of people by claiming their dominance in the unanimous elections of village sarpanchs across the State.

According to the reports received at the State capital, the TDP claimed that it won 599 sarpanch posts elected unanimously and topped the list of political parties, leaving behind ruling Congress, the YSRCP and the TRS parties far behind. In an official press statement released by the TDP on Wednesday, it collected the details of 1,547 village sarpanch posts, which saw the unanimous elections. Of these panchayats, according to TDP, it won a total of 599 sarpanch posts, AROUND THE

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while the Congress won 334 and the YSRCP won 190 seats. The TDP said that the TRS party could only win 43 sarpanch posts in its strong bastion Telangana region.

On the other hand, the YSR Congress Party claimed that it has a total of 855 sarpanch posts out of 2,600 that saw unanimous elections of its village heads. While the rival Congress stood second by winning 715 seats and the Telugu Desam party stood third by securing 421 seats across the State.

According to the YSRCP the TRS could win only 92 village posts in the T-region. The TRS Party claimed that it won 123 sarpanch posts in the Telangana region leaving behind TDP which

BITTER TV DEBATES The scrambling for airtime among political parties is stunning. Bitter TV debates on Wednesday by each party claiming superiority gave some comic relief to viewers. Every debate is denouncing the rivals and ridiculing their claims.

Kingsley’s Gandhi glasses to go on display JAIPUR: Udaipur’s City Palace Museum has now added another legendary piece to its vast collection — the classic spectacles worn by actor Ben Kingsley in the film Gandhi.

Directed by Richard Attenborough, Gandhi is an epic biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Oscar Award-winning producer Lord David Puttnam presented the legendry glasses to Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, managing trustee of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, at an event hosted in the honour of Lord AROUND THE

NATION

Attenborough in London recently.

“I was in Udaipur during 1980s for shooting a sequence for my film Gandhi. My wife, my family and colleagues were given such a warm welcome by the royal highness, I don’t think I have seen anywhere on earth as beautiful as this. The time we spent in Udaipur was simply miraculous. In my heart, my second home is India and I don’t think it will ever change,” said Lord Richard Attenborough in a statement.

“I know the famed Gandhi glasses have found a good home where they are likely to be appreciated by many over the coming decades,” he added.

The iconic Gandhi glasses will be kept on public display in the City Palace Museum from July 20 onwards.

IANS

NATION BRIEFS 1 killed in Maharashtra plant blast

India asks world to protect journalists

Woman, daughter killed in acid attack

Two OTA drill instructors electrocuted

Hunt for Maoists who killed five in Bihar

THANE: One person was killed and one injured when an explosion ripped through the plant of a pharmaceutical company in Boisar town early Thursday, police said.

Investigators said that the blast took place around 1.30 am in a reactor of M/s. Pracha Pharmaceuticals in the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation complex.

UNITED NATIONS: Stressing that protection of journalists in all situations is the foremost responsibility of every state, India has urged the international community to further augment responsive mechanisms to deal with these issues.

Journalists play a crucial role in ensuring that citizens exercise the constitutionally guaranteed rights.

CHENNAI: A dispute over a property turned violent in Tamil Nadu Wednesday as a 24-year-old man attacked a woman neighbour and her daughter with acid injuring both of them, said police. The accused has been arrested. The acid attack comes a day after the central government laid down stringent norms for acid sales.

CHENNAI: Two drill instructors at the Officers Training Academy here were electrocuted in a mishap late last night. The two were electrocuted when a mobile aluminium ladder they were moving came into contact with a high tension wire, police said. Two persons injured in the incident have been admitted to a military hospital, they added.

PATNA: Security forces launched a massive combing operation against Maoists in Aurangabad district, a day after five people, including three policemen, were killed when rebels attacked the camp of a construction firm. Police said that the is connected with its refusal to pay levy as demanded by them.

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News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

POLITICS

YSRC to Cong: Spell out T stance The YSRC wants the Congress to come out in the open with its own opinion on a separate Telangana state. The ruling party is conveniently hiding behind the veil and asking others to state their opinion, it says.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

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HYDERABAD: As the Congress Working Committee is scheduled to decide on Telangana issue on July 26, the YSR Congress has asked the party first to clarify its stance on Telengana before it takes a decision.

Never in all these years did the Congress party which rules the State makes its mind clear.

But it keeps asking other parties to state their stance. This is ridiculous, say YSRC leaders.

The party wanted the Congress to first state its opinion on a separate Telangana state so that people of the region could respond.

Party MLAs Bhumana Karunakara Reddy and Shobha Nagi Reddy said they want the Congress party to do this before

the CWC meets to grapple with the issue this month-end.

“Telangana is not its fiefdom.

The Congress should come out with its stance,” said the party leaders.

The YSRC leaders said on Wednesday that the Congress was behaving in a boorish way treating Telangana as its personal issue.

They said they have written a letter to the Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde that they wish to know the stand of the Congress on the vital issue.

The YSRC is known to support a strong united Andhra Pradesh but it has been willynilly going with the current

CRIME

Wife goes missing, parents suspect kidnapping HYDERABAD: A married woman, Harsha Devi, has been missing under suspicious circumstances from her parents’ home situated at Balamrahi in Begumpet since July 15. Her father Hari Kishan has lodged a missing complaint with the police of Begumpet.

According to details Harsha Devi, aged 27 years, had got married with one Madhusudan, who is a resident of Tandur in Ranga Reddy district in November 2012. It is said that they were a happy couple.

On July 10 she came to her parents’ home for a visit. She went shopping on July 15 but did not return till night.

When contacted on her mobile she

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replied she would return soon.

Afterward her mobile phone was found switched off.

Parents and relatives made enquiries where she was likely to go for shopping but could not find her whereabouts. Next morning the parents lodged a complaint, it is said. Parents believe one Prashanth, who had been pursuing her despite being married, has arranged a kidnap of their daughter.

Taliban kill 8 Afghan workers PULI ALAM: Taliban gunmen on Thursday shot dead eight Afghan civilians on their way to jobs at a US military base south of Kabul, officials said. "Eight Afghan workers who were working in Camp Shank were killed this morning by Taliban," said the deputy police chief in Logar province.

"They were forced out of their car and taken about 200 metres off road to a nearby village, and shot in

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the head one by one," he told AFP. Their bodies were found with their eyes blindfolded, the police officer said, describing them as "ordinary civilian workers" on the base.

AFP

majority opinion that a separate state was not a bad idea if it was unanimously decided. However, the party finds it difficult to convince the other regions about the issue.

The YSRC leaders ridiculed the Congress claim of trying to assess the mood of the people when it was actually not impartially considering all pros and cons of bifurcating the State.

The party was only looking at it from the viewpoint of the number of parliament seats available to the party. This was unacceptable to all people as the ruling party has no right to treat the State as its property.

The Congress party has been going against the Telugu interests and the State has not benefited from supporting the Congress party all these years, leaders alleged.

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News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 BIRTHDAY WISH

POWER EQUATIONS

BENDING OVER FORWARDS

Mandela 'steadily improving' JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela's health is "steadily improving", South Africa's presidency said Thursday, as the antiapartheid legend began spending his 95th birthday in hospital.

US President Barack Obama led a stream of birthday wishes for the ailing peace icon as people from around the world prepared to honour his legacy with charitable acts.

"Madiba remains in hospital in Pretoria, but his doctors have confirmed that his health is steadily improving," the government said in a statement.

Global poll sees China rising Chinese honour guards prepare for the arrival of Vice President of Venezuela Jorge Arreaza Montserrat and Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing on July 18.

AFP

AFP / WANG ZHAO

MID-DAY MEAL TRAGEDY UP issues new food quality rules LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to scrutinise food being served to students in schools here Thursday, a day after 22 students died after eating contaminated meal in a Bihar school.

In the first phase, mid day meal coordinators will visit schools in all six districts of Lucknow on a monthly basis.

A detailed letter issued by Mahendra Singh Rana, divisional additional director (education), said all the basic education officers have been asked to step up checking and verification of mid day meals being provided at primary schools. Each coordinator has been asked to visit at least four schools every month and ensure that the food being given is hygienic, uncontaminated and fresh. Orders have also been given that students not be given the meal until a teacher or manager of the school tastes the food.

Rana said that while the Bihar tragedy had spurred them into reactivation of scrutiny.

IANS

Scared, children refuse free meals

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everyone that the tragedy will not be repeated," said Lakshmanan, director of the midday meal scheme in Bihar.

As fear about the scheme spread, police stepped up their investigation into the tragedy, conducting raids across the district of Saran, where the village school is located. Police raided the home of the school headmistress, Meena Kumari, who fled after the children started dying on Tuesday, a senior unnamed officer said.

"We found two containers filled with insecticide in the headmistress's house along with pulses, vegetables and rice allotted for the midday meals," said the officer, who is investigating the deaths.

countries where America is still seen as the top economic power, most believe China will someday become the leading overall superpower," the study said.

In Western Europe, the public in all countries polled except Italy — where the United States was especially popular — believed that China has topped or has already surpassed the United States "as the world's leading superpower."

But the study put the US favourability rating globally a 63 per cent, compared with 50 percent for China. Even nations with widespread anti-US feeling gave higher marks when asked about the American people and most acknowledged that Washington allowed personal freedoms for its own citizens.

Relative perceptions of the United States and China varied widely among countries.

IANS

AFP

Parents have warned their children to not even touch the meal served in the school.

PATNA: Thousands of school children were refusing free meals in poverty-stricken eastern India, fearful of being poisoned, after 22 children died from eating lunch apparently contaminated with insecticide, officials said Thursday.

Some 30 children remain ill in hospitals in the state capital Patna and the city of Chhapra after eating the food, which initial tests showed may have been tainted with insecticide.

Children elsewhere in the state were dumping their meals in bins or refusing to even touch them, despite pleas from school officials that the tragedy would not occur again, a senior state government official said.

"Parents have warned their

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Children elsewhere in the state were dumping their meals in bins or refusing to even touch them, despite pleas from school officials. children to not even touch the meal served in the school," Lakshmanan, who uses only one name, told AFP. "Some of the students dumped the lunch in dustbins and we are trying to convince

WASHINGTON: The world increasingly believes China will become the top superpower but the United States enjoys a better image in most regions, according to a poll released Thursday.

A 39-nation study by the Pew Research Center found that the United States is still enjoying the boost to its reputation that followed the election of President Barack Obama. The survey found growing criticism of China in most of East Asia and Europe.

"However, even in many

WORLD BRIEFS Gunmen kill Pakistani soliders: officials

Australian woman gets jail for killing child

Two Somali journalists wounded in shooting

Chinese ships sail near disputed island: Japan

Kerry 'closer' in Mideast talks push

KHAR: Gunmen ambushed a vehicle carrying government paramilitary forces in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border on Thursday, killing two soldiers, officials said. The attack took place in Kamar village, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal region.

SYDNEY: An Australian woman who killed her six-year-old daughter and dumped the body after years of abuse was jailed on Thursday.

Kiesha Weippeart's badly decomposed and partially burnt body was found in a bush grave eight months after she was reported missing by her mother Kristi Anne Abrahams in July 2010.

MOGADISHU: Gunmen have shot and injured two Somali reporters in the war-torn south in the latest attack on journalists in the country. Mascud Abdulahi Adan, a reporter for Dalsan radio, was seriously wounded by a bullet in the back, while Mohamed Farah Sahal, working for Goobjoog radio, was hit in the shoulder.

TOKYO: Three Chinese government ships sailed into waters around islands at the centre of a dispute on Thursday, the day after Japan's premier visited coastguards who patrol the area. The maritime surveillance vessels entered the 12nautical-mile zone regarded as the territorial waters of the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.

AMMAN: US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that his intense diplomacy in six visits to the Middle East was bearing fruit, narrowing gaps between Israel and the Palestinians. Kerry met in neighbouring Jordan with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas late Tuesday and again on Wednesday.

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News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

EDUCATION

State Med colleges dodge merit, sell seats Distressed students and parents who have a rightful claim to the management quota allege the medical colleges are selling seats to the highest bidders in clear violation of MCI’s directive.

PADMINI C feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Private MBBS seats under the management quota in the State still continue to remain elusive to students and parents as the new online application system to ensure a transparent system proves ineffective.

Despite the Medical Council of India’s repeated directives to ensure a democratic and meritbased allotment of seats, private colleges dodge eligible students and try to sell the seats to the

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highest bidders, allege distressed parents.

“Colleges are refusing to even take our applications, saying the seats are already filled, despite all the ones with good marks still being on the outside.

That’s because they have already sold the seats to whoever will pay the going rate. It’s an unfair system,” says Ravi Prasad

SC sets aside NEET notification NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Medical Council of India (MCI) notification mandating common National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET) both for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses in government and private institutions.

In a majority judgment, Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Vikramajit Sen held that it was beyond the powers of MCI to make such an arrangement of common

Reddy, a concerned parent.

The prescribed rate by the government for self-financed colleges is `5.5-6 lakh which is then

entrance test both for government and private institutions.

However, in a dissenting judgment, Justice Anil R Dave dismissed the petitions by private medical and dental colleges challenging the MCI notification providing for common NEET for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses.

IANS

marked up to a ‘goingrate’ as high as `80 lakh to `1 crore rupees per seat.

But such complaints, having been registered year after year, kept falling on deaf ears until

this year when the MCI insisted that the State government direct private colleges to set up an online admission system, where applications forms are available online on college websites and there’s a transparent method put in place for the allotment.

Even that has been ineffective and ridden with technical glitches. “We couldn’t even access the application forms. Some links were dead.

Some downloads took forever and even then there just was no clarity. Clearly, it was just a sham,” says Krishna Reddy, an MBBS aspirant from Vijayawada.

Private colleges however take a different stand saying that management quota is entirely their prerogative.

“The whole point of a management quota is that allotment of seats is up to the discretion of the board, not anyone else. All these allegations are baseless and the numbers exaggerated.

Also, if students are really that meritorious, why don’t they compete like everybody else and obtain a seat through Eamcet,” demands a senior staff member of a private medical college on the condition of anonymity. .

According to MCI, there are currently 26 private colleges and 3500 private seats in the State. And estimates suggest that as much as 40 percent of the total MMBS seats in private colleges of the State, i.e, 1400 seats fall under the management quota.

ANTI-DRUG WAR

Zetas heir apparent equally ruthless Captured cartel chief’s brother Omar Trevino boasts a blood-stained resume that includes claims of killing 1,000 people, according to US court documents.

MEXICO CITY: The captured leader of Mexico’s Zetas drug cartel is a tough act to follow, a man accused of having a penchant for beheading victims, boiling rivals and tormenting migrants. His arrest raised hopes that the cartel’s reign of terror has finally ended, but the man tipped to succeed Miguel Angel Trevino is his younger brother, who also boasts a blood-stained resume that includes claims of killing 1,000 people, according to US court documents.

Former US law enforcement officials say Omar Trevino, alias “Z-42,” is the likely heir apparent to “Z-40” since his brother was captured by Mexican marines on a dirt road near the northeastern city of Nuevo Laredo last

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he captured head of the Zetas drug cartel has filed for legal protection over claims that he is at risk of torture or isolation during his detention, court officials said Tuesday.

A court official who visited Miguel Angel Trevino, alias “Z-40,” determined that the drug kingpin has no grounds to complain and a judge will likely reject his bid in the coming days, one of the sources said.

Trevino has been held at a facility of the federal attor-

ney general’s office in Mexico City since he was nabbed by Mexican marines.

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Monday. And the 39-year-old sibling, who was Z-40’s righthand man, is expected to replicate his brother’s violent ways to assert his authority over the cartel and fend off rivals, according to two former US officials who worked in Mexico.

“Omar is equally ruthless as his brother, though he doesn’t have the organizational skills that his brother had,” said Mike Vigil, a former chief of the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s international operations.

“He was nurtured and

tutored by Miguel Angel Trevino in terms of using wholesale violence to intimidate other criminal organizations and security forces,” Vigil said. “He’s an individual who will probably use the same tactics as his brother in terms of consolidating power.”

Omar would likely face challenges to his rule on several fronts at the head of a cartel present in huge swaths of the northeast as well as Central America, experts say. The Zetas have been warring with the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who may see an opening to raid Nuevo Laredo, a city highly coveted by drug traffickers because it lies at a major Texas border crossing.

AFP

9

News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 INSIDER TRADING

SEC slaps $13.9m fine on Gupta NEW YORK CITY: A federal judge Wednesday ordered former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta to pay a $13.9 million penalty related to insider trading, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced.

Under the order, signed by US Judge Jed Rakoff, Gupta is also barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company and from associating with any broker, dealer or investment advisor, the SEC said.

The SEC’s case against Gupta concerns alleged civil violations stemming from his communications with former Galleon hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam.

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The communications allegedly discussed Berkshire Hathaway’s $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs and nonpublic details about Goldman’s financial results in 2008.

In a parallel criminal case, a New York jury in June 2012 convicted Gupta of spilling boardroom secrets to Rajaratnam.

Rakoff sentenced Gupta to two years in jail last October and ordered a $5 million criminal fine. Gupta is free on bail pending a decision to his appeal. A US Court of Appeals panel heard arguments in May. IANS

RUSSIA

Putin critic faces several years’ jail Judge Sergei Blinov said he found Navalny guilty of colluding to steal money in a timber deal while acting as an unpaid advisor to a local government.

ANNA MALPAS Agenc France Presse KIROV: A Russian court on Thursday convicted protest leader Alexei Navalny of embezzlement, in a verdict that will disqualify one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics from politics and could see him jailed for several years.

Judge Sergei Blinov said he found Navalny guilty of colluding to steal money in a timber deal while acting as an unpaid advisor to the local government in the northern Kirov region.

Sentencing is expected to be announced later in the day.

“The court has established that Navalny organised the criminal act and led the execution of this large-scale embezzlement,” said Blinov as he began reading the verdict in an almost inaudible mumble at high speed.

Navalny showed little emotion at the cramped courthouse in Kirov as the verdict was read out. But he immediately picked

up his mobile phone to tweet his reaction. “’Organised’... That means that there is going to be no beautiful scene with an acquittal,” Navalny wrote. His co-accused, Pyotr Ofitserov, was also found guilty.

Navalny, 37, who emerged as a powerful new political force

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in mass anti-Putin protests that broke out in December 2011, has dismissed the charges against him as absurd and a set-up to end his budding political career.

Snowden may leave airport MOSCOW: Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden could be allowed to leave the Moscow airport in a week to await a decision on his request for asylum in Russia, an attorney for the American said Wednesday.

The Federal Migration Service has “a period of seven days” from the time the asylum request is filed, a move that was made Tuesday, attorney Anatoly Kucherena told reporters.

The 30-year-old Snowden has been stuck in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport since June 23, when he arrived on a commercial flight from Hong Kong.

Immigration officials must provide Snowden with confirmation that his request for temporary asylum was received, allowing him to “leave the airport and move about freely”, Kucherena said.

The Federal Migration Service “has a period of up to three months” to approve or deny the asylum request, the attorney said, adding that a rejection could be appealed in the courts.

Temporary asylum would be “for one year, renewable annually”, Kucherena said.

Snowden has a strong chance of receiving asylum, the attorney said.

NOSTALGIA

City’s Sadiqa goes on a merry-go-round Marry Go Round revolves around the frantic efforts of an ageing beauty to get her son married off to a girl from a reputed family.

ARUN D YELLAMATY arunyellamaty@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: “You can take the girl away from Hyderabad, but can’t take Hyderabad out of her: I think that is true for me.” That’s what Sadiqa Peerbhoy, the author of Marry Go Round, started of saying, while talking about her book, her Hyderabad memories and much more.

Sadiqa sat down for at least seven hours a day working non-stop on the novel, stopping only for lunch. With 40 years of advertising experience behind her, she was determined to use all her time management skills and discipline to write the book ASAP. “I finished my first draft in seven days.”

Her fun-filled, hilarious work is her first full length novel. Talking about the book, she says, “I wanted this book to catch the attention of young people and wanted them to know about the great culture of Hyderabad, it is sad that not many

of the future generation will know how the city used to be, so I tried to put a lot of nostalgia into this, that is more important to me than the story of the book.”

When asked why didn’t she chose to write about the city she now is living in

and why she chose to write about Hyderabad, she said, “Hyderabad is more fun and this city has quite a lot of drama and fun, which not many cities gave. This city moves me I have an emotional connect with this city.” She adds, “I have memories of living in Himayatnagar and things have changed a lot here now.”

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When asked whether any real life character influenced her for any role in the book, she said, “The mother in the book, which is the strong character is a composite of close to five characteristics I known, and they are all Hyderabadis. They have so much drama and they live in such dramatic lives and it can only happen here.”

Marry Go Round revolves around the frantic efforts of an ageing beauty, Sartaj Begum, to get her beloved son married off

to a local Muslim from a khandaani family in order to procreate and carry the family lineage forward. The son, Riaz, has a live-in girlfriend in New York. Sartaj Begum fakes a heart attack, which forces her son to rush back to Hyderabad where he gets to meet Sana, the daughter of a Mussalman gentleman of high birth. What follows is a hilarious tale of how different characters plot to wreck or save this marriage. Few critics in Delhi, found it hard to understand due to the language used, but many appreciated and enjoyed the book’s humor.

Sadiqa said, “I want people to laugh and enjoy the book.” Talking about her next book, she said, “The next book is a serious one, the book talks about a family and their struggles after the Babri Masjid incident; again, it’s the story of a city.”

Sadiqa got to interact with few cities socialites on Wednesday night at ITC Kakatiya at a reading of her book.

Response was good with many who ahd attended the event buying copies.

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News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

EDUCATION

South African school with zero pass rate presages a crisis Like many rural schools across the country, Alapha magnifies the failings of the country’s public education system— ranked amid the world’s worst.

SIBONGILE KHUMALO Agence France-Presse BAYSWATER: Despite South Africa’s position as the continent’s largest economy, its public education system is in a dire state.

One secondary school in the country’s rural north shows just how dire.

Inside the yard of Alapha Secondary School in Limpopo province, stray donkeys roam between two classroom blocks.

Windows are broken and the stench emanating from the pit latrines hangs thick in the air.

There is little shade or airconditioning to offer respite from the brutal heat.

Academically, things don’t get much better. At the end of the 2012 school year not one of Alapha’s 20 pupils sitting their final high school exams passed.

Like many rural schools across the country, Alapha magnifies the failings of the country’s public education system, which has been ranked among the worst in the world.

Despite education receiving the largest share of the national budget — 232.5 billion rand (17.9 billion euros, $23.4 billion) for education, sport and culture this year — Alapha has no library and no lab equipment to teach subjects like physics, chemistry or biology.

Mismanagement also plays its role in the lack of teaching aids.

Limpopo was the province most severely hit by the government’s recent failure to supply textbooks for an entire academic year.

“We just listen and visualise,” said Desiree Mathekga, one of

the 30 learners tackling her final exams this year.

“It is hard, but this is all we have, we just have to study hard with what we have.”

Limpopo education department spokesman Pat Kgomo admits Alapha’s situation is “cause for concern, but not unique”.

Four other schools in the province also saw a zero-percent pass rate in 2012.

The government blames part of the problem on its inability to attract teachers, despite a 25-per-

Alapha issue

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t the end of the 2012 school year not one of Alapha’s 20 pupils sitting their final high school exams passed.

Despite education receiving the largest share of the national budget — 232.5 billion rand (17.9 billion euros, $23.4 billion) for education, sport and culture this year — Alapha has no library and no lab equipment to teach subjects like physics, chemistry or biology.

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cent unemployment rate.

“Schools in rural areas tend to perform badly because few teachers are willing to work in far-flung areas,” said Kgomo.

School principal Jonas Ramapuputla said teachers who are there are overworked.

“Even myself I have very little time to manage the school, I have to roll up my sleeves and teach,” he said.

All this takes its toll.

The World Economic Forum recently ranked South Africa second from last in the world for math and science education, just ahead of Yemen.

The central government has acknowledged that “the quality of school education for black people is poor” across the country. Turning that around has been listed as one of nine key challenges on the path to overhauling the economy.

Experts say the government will have to overcome years of

underinvestment in black education under apartheid.

But 20 years after the end of white rule, progress remains slow, and many say the ruling African National Congress’ unwillingness to take on allies in the teaching unions is part of the problem.

So too is the vicious circle of poor education leading to poorly qualified teachers.

But undeterred by her school’s dismal pass rate, Desiree Mathekga is determined to go to university next year and study for a commerce degree.

She wants to become an accountant.

“I want to make my school and village proud,” said the petite 17-year-old.

Her school principal wants to make sure she has all the opportunities to do so. He has decided to do away with the national norm of preventing failing pupils from repeating exams, giving them a second chance.

“These children had nowhere else to go, letting them go would only have served to perpetuate a cycle of poverty,” he said.

“Without education they are nothing.”

11

News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 ‘KILLJOY’

Kiwis ban drugs with ‘legal’ high WELLINGTON: New Zealand introduced a new law on Thursday which bans the use of drugs offering so-called "legal" highs unless manufacturers can provide clinical evidence that they are safe.

The law imposes strict controls on products such as synthetic cannabis and legal "party pills", which mimic the effects of drugs like ecstasy without using illicit substances. "These products have

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had a shocking effect on young people and their families," Associate Health Minister Todd McClay said.

"Up until now, frontline officers have had to deal with the consequences," he continued. "Now police can be proactive, and with the help of the public we can ensure that this new law is successfully enforced."

McClay said he had received accounts of children as young as 11 becoming addicted to the synthetic drugs.

APSRTC

The great AP armada The APSRTC has made a Guinness world record of being the largest bus operator in the world connecting cities, villages and towns in the state.

KANCHAN AGGARWAL Kanchan.a@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The APSRTC has made a Guinness world record of being the largest bus operator in the world connecting cities, villages and towns in the state. As recorded on April 31, 2013, AP has 22, 596 buses, 1,23,871 employees, 213 depots, 777 bus stations, across 23 regions and seven zones, connecting 23,388 villages, and transporting 15.46 million people every day.

Recently, more depots have been added, one each in Musheerabad, Miyapur and Kacheguda. Hyderabad has 2361 city ordinary of which 252 are CNG-fuelled, 106 mini ordinary buses, 1383 metro express buses of which 128 are CNG-fuelled, 812 city suburban and every year 200-300 more buses are added to the existing fleet.

Explaining the lesser number of CNG buses, APSRTC Public Relations Officer G Kiran Reddy said, “The CNG company we had signed a contract with backed out.” He added that ideally 50% of our population should use these buses. “However, right now 20% of us use them,” he said.

Mr Reddy said that bus fares in AP are the lowest in the country. Also, certain buses operate throughout the night. “We have given buses to software companies to transport employees. We even go to colleges to issue bus passes. Buses have been made available at railway stations (other than Secunderabad), so

The great fleet

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yderabad has 2361 city ordinary of which 252 are CNG-fuelled, 106 mini ordinary buses, 1383 metro express buses of which 128 are CNGfuelled, 812 city suburban and every year 200300 more buses are added to the existing.

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The rate of accidents involving buses in AP has come down to 0.09%. Not a single footboarding accident has been reported yet. that passengers may go to anywhere in the city on buses.”

It was reported earlier that 1,400 buses broke down last year, and that four buses break down on city roads every day with Musheerabad, Barkatpura and

Midani being the hotspots. On maintenance of buses, he informed, "Buses are regularly checked in four schedules. In the first schedule, basic maintenance is done including cleaning. The second schedule takes care of breaks, clutch, wiper and other minor repairs. The third is dedicated to FIP, and the fourth looks after engines and an overall condition. Old buses are phased out when they complete 11 lakh kms.

Depending on how old it is, and the routes, the condition may vary. If the condition permits, we give it 50,000 km more. Every 15 days, we check if the exhaust smoke is black.”

The rate of accidents involving buses in AP has come down to 0.09%. Not a single footboard-

ing accident was reported this year. On drivers who have been issued challans for traffic violations, he said, “We do all we can.

We conduct classes on importance of rules and how it is their duty to take care of passengers.

We have asked them to keep family photos by their seats which constantly reminds them to drive safely. In any company, in spite of all managerial efforts, there are slip-ups in discipline, which may amount to 5%. We function the same way.”

G Kiran Reddy said whatever queries, complaints and suggestions the public has, he may be contacted on pro@apsrtc.gov.in.

“I make it a point to reply to every mail. We are here to help you,” he said.

ANTI-STAR FISH BATTLE

Oz beefs up reef fund SYDNEY: Australia pledged another Aus$5 million (US$4.6 million) to the fight against a predatory starfish devastating the iconic Great Barrier Reef Thursday, revealing 100,000 of the creatures had been wiped out so far.

Environment minister Mark Butler said the new funding, on top of Aus$2.53 million already pledged, would support a programme of culling the coral-eating crown-ofthorns starfish, which is naturallyoccurring but has proliferated due to pollution and run-off. A major study of the reef's health published last year revealed coral cover had halved over the past 27 years and attributed 42 percent of the damage to the starfish.

Canberra formally downgraded the reef's health from moderate to poor last week, with cyclones and floods

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depleting water quality and reducing coral cover by 15 percent since 2009.

The government is under pressure to improve conditions on the reef, with UNESCO warning its World Heritage status will be declared at risk next year without action on rampant resources and coastal development in the region.

Butler said a special programme to reduce starfish numbers launched last year had seen 100,000 crown-ofthorns eradicated and the extra funding pledged Thursday would support a dedicated culling boat and divers.

AFP

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News THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING NT BALANARAYAN

BEST OF THE BEST

BEYOND THE MEGAPIXEL

What lies ahead

If Apple purchases Prime Sense it could change the concept of smartphone camera forever.

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ne of the biggest photo sharing sites went through a radial redesign radically and started offering 1TB of storage space to everyone interested. A lot of professional users had started moving on to other services such as 500px or Google Plus and these new features might be interesting enough to get them back on the service. The new layout encourages users to upload higher resolution photos and sports an interface that is touch screen friendly.

ccording to reports in Israeli media, Apple might be making a move to take over Prime Sense, the company that developed the technology used in Kinect sensor in a $280 million deal.

At first look it might look like a push towards the long rumoured Apple TV, but if you have been following latest products by the company it’ll become evident that this is a battle for tablet and smartphone market and not so much about the TV. To understand more you need to realise the capabilities of their latest sensor -- Capri. The new camera can capture images with depth perception which means you can edit them in ways that was never possible till now. For example you can take the picture of a room with the camera and then add furniture to the scene later on using compatible applications. The company has also developed a 3D scanner which can capture objects in 3D and when these two technologies are combined we have a photoshop killer at hands, actually it will be more of a threat for 3D imaging programmes such as 3Ds Max. Think of this scenario, you scan an object and create a digital 3D file of it,

then capture images using cameras with depth perception such as Capri and then you can add any of those scanned objects into the environment, at any point of it. Sounds revolutionary right?

Now imagine if they manage to shrink the same camera to fit in the next

As of now, most smartphone manufacturers are trying to push out cameras with higher mega pixels with Nokia in the lead iPhone and then of the sort of editing software we’ll be seeing. As of now, most smartphone manufacturers are trying to push out cameras with higher and higher mega pixels with Nokia in the lead. Now think what these companies will do when Apple manages to bring this technology in the next iPhone?

As of now there is no other company that has this kind of technology in their hand and Apple may very well be able to get a good advantage over the rest. All this is coming at a time when people are complaining about lack of

innovation in Apple products.

All this discussion is quite interesting if you look at the history of Prime Sense. When they initially developed the technology that finally became Kinect they approached Apple initially to make a product out of it. However Apple wanted them to sign too many Non-Disclosure Agreements which scared them of. The company eventually signed a deal with Microsoft and the rest is history. Now if Apple manages to take over Prime Sense they not only give themselves an advantage in the mobile and TV market, but also land a severe blow on Microsoft’s plans with Kinect. The Redmond-based company has a deal with Prime Sense on using the technology used in Kinect but they may not be able to gain access to any advances in this technology.

There are also talks of Sony gunning for the same deal, but that remains more of a long-shot than Apple’s deal. Apple already hold patents for use of similar technology to control images on TV so if it is indeed working on an Apple TV this might be a great addition. Whether the company uses this tech in TV or mobile devices such a deal would give Apple a big advantage in the market.

GTA V

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here are games and then there is GTA. The latest game in the series looks radically different and bigger than anything we have seen in the series to date. You’ll be able to play three characters and you can switch between them during any point of the game. It will also have a radically different multiplayer mode that will let you run amok in the massive in-game city with your friends. The game is up for pre-order and if you’re older than 18, this game is definitely worth buying.

GEEK SPEAK SSD

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lot of ultrabooks and high-end computers come with Solid-State Drive (SSD) built-in apart from a regular harddisk. What makes this storage mode different from the traditional disc-based storage solutions is the fact that SSDs use integrated circuits to store data persistently. SSDs are much faster than traditional disks and when couple with newer operating systems such as Windows 8 your computer will be able to boot up in seven seconds. Also, data stored on SSDs are not affected if the device is dropped on the floor while still running. However they are still very expensive, but if you want a device that runs really fast looks for one with SSD built-in.

DIGITAL NATIVES

INDIANS PLANNING TRIPS SMARTER 87 per cent Indians with smartphone use it to make their travel plans

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ore and more Indian travellers are using their multiple devices to plan and organise their travel plans according to a survey done by Google.Also 76 per cent of the respondents use multiple devices during their travel.

Among those who participated in the study, 87 per cent respondents have used mobile phones to research their trips and 66 per cent also booked a trip element on it. 60 per cent said that the information they find while

researching on their mobile phones influences their booking decision.

In terms of triggers for holiday planning, online sources were rated higher than offline mediums with Internet getting 5 touch points in comparison to offline which offered 2 touch points. The biggest triggers for holiday planning were online pictures. 88 per cent respondents said that online pictures triggered their holiday plans. Browsing pictures on social networks, blogs, travel sites get

users to start thinking of their next vacation destination.

Vikas Agnihotri, who is the Director of Travel & BFSI at Google India says that smartphone users on an average spend 76 minutes on the internet through their mobile. “Over one third of travel related search queries on Google India are now coming from mobile and tablet devices, with queries from smart phones growing at 397 per cent year on year,” he said.

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

Business

CHINA BARS GSK EXECUTIVE FROM LEAVING Chinese authorities have barred the British finance director of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in China from leaving the country, the company said Thursday as it faces a bribery probe. But the Shanghai-based executive, Steve Nechelput, has not been detained or arrested, GSK said.

AUTOMATICALLY EXPENSIVE

Rupee fall will see luxury car prices skyrocket While most mainstream brands have hiked their prices, other premium carmakers are expected to follow suit.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The Indian automobile market is among the largest in the world, second only to China. Thanks to an ever-growing middle class, the Indian automotive space has seen immense growth over the past few years, especially in the small car segment.

On the other end of the spectrum, the premium luxury car segment has seen brisk progress. Sales of premium cars have spiked over the years and in the ensuing battle between the German trio, Audi BMW and Mercedes-Benz. More premium products coming into India, which only points to one thing; the segment has huge potential for growth.

The government levies tax on completely built units”(CBUs) and recently had increased the duties of 100 per cent making these cars very pricey. Now the value of the Indian rupee against the US dol-

Sales of premium cars have spiked over the years and in the battle between the German trio, Audi BMW and Mercedes-Benz. lar dictates much of the trade that takes place and every time the rupee weakens, a double fold effect is felt for a CBU

import. As a result, import becomes expensive and this reflects even in the selling price.

On July 8, 2013, the value of the Indian Rupee fell further to `61.21 per US Dollar sparking more fears. During the first two quarters of the calendar year2013, premium carmakers like Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Jaguar-Land Rover could fend off the global downturn.

However, on the July 10 Audi India made an officialstatement on price hike across its models.

“Audi India is the first premium manufacturer to hike prices due to the weakening rupee. The Q5, A6 and R8 models for example see a hike of up to `1.52 lakh, `1.8 lakh and `4.42 lakh respectively.

Knocked down and Completely knocked down cars will surely follow this trend and in the end, a consumer will end up shelling anything from 2-5 per cent more” adds Bunny Punia, Associate Editor, Gaadi.com.

‘Fed will not raise rates in the near future’ WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated Wednesday that the Fed is nowhere close to raising interest rates, assuring markets that the US easy money tap would not soon dry up.

With the economy still facing risks, especially from government spending cuts, Bernanke told a Congressional panel that the Fed was still planning to trim

its quantitative easing stimulus, if growth continues at a steady pace. But expectations that the Fed was poised to start tightening monetary policy, which have sent interest rates jumping and sparked turmoil in global markets, were unwarranted, he stressed.

“I don’t think the Fed can get interest rates up very much, because the economy is weak, inflation rates are low,”

Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee. “If we were to tighten policy, the economy would tank.”

Seeking to clarify Fed policy, after interest rates jumped more than a full percentage point in two months, Bernanke pledged to stick to the path that he laid out in June, after the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

AFP

GOLD`26,484 10g SILVER `40,242 1kg

24C

for

for

DOLLAR `59.75 POUND `90.71

CHINA ECONOMY SET

BEIJING: The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said China’s economy is on course to grow 7.75 per cent in 2013 — higher than the government’s 7.5 per cent target and actual growth of 7.6 per cent in the first half of the year. But the IMF also expressed concern about looming financial risks and warned that, longer term, annual economic growth rates could plummet if China fails to follow through with promises to rebalance its economy. For this year and next, however, the IMF sees no significant risk for a sharp slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, said Markus Rodlauer, the Fund’s mission chief for China. “The latest data confirm that growth is on track more or less towards the authorities’ growth target and probably even slightly higher than that,” Rodlauer told reporters.

NUMEROLOGY

$2

billion

is the amount to which Intel Corp’s profits in the past quarter slid down from $2.8 bn.

GREECE CLEARS REFORMS ATHENS: Greece’s parliament early on Thursday narrowly approved a sweeping bill of reforms tied to the country’s next tranche of EU-IMF loans. The coalition government’s majority carried most of the tougher articles that had caused days of street protests by a majority of 153 to 140, the parliament speaker said. Under the proposed reforms, thousands of civil servants including teachers and municipal police will have eight months to find new posts elsewhere or accept those offered to them.

Otherwise, they would lose their jobs.

It was a close call for the coalition government which has a five-seat majority in the chamber. Two government deputies did not attend the vote, and a third had to be brought out of hospital to cast his ballot, reports said. Hundreds of protesters had gathered outside parliament for the late-night vote, a day after thousands had demonstrated in a general strike called against the reform

BSE NSE

20,001.74 53.01

5,984.60 10.5

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

Comment Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.

Groucho Marx American comedian

Ramzan humour in Syria RIM HADDAD Agence France-Presse

A

s Syria’s Muslims observe the fasting month of Ramadan at a time of war for a third year running, many people are turning to black humour to help them cope.

Jokes are a way to weather the difficulties of food shortages, violence and death that mar the sense of community and celebration supposed to accompany the religious month.

One popular joke plays off the traditional cannon fire that marks the end of the fasting day and the beginning of the iftar evening meal.

“Watch out! Just because you hear the sound of cannon fire doesn’t mean it’s time to break your fast,” the joke goes, a sad testament to the frequent sound of warfare across the country.

In areas less affected by violence, residents might each night still be able to hear the msaharati, a man who walks the streets before dawn, waking people to eat before the fast begins.

But in areas ravaged by snipers and shelling, upholding such a tradition has become impossible.

A text message joke picture doing the rounds shows a tank topped with the traditional fez hat worn by the msaharati, rumbling through the streets to waken the faithful instead.

“Breaking news!” reads a text message forwarded among residents of the city in central Syria.

“The msaharati spent hours beating his drum, trying to get people to wake up. But when they didn’t listen, he decided to blow himself up!”

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS

Kudos to the Centre for informing the Supreme Court that acid will be treated as poison and sold only to a person above 18 years of age upon production of a photo ID and proof of address. Acid-attack victims, among others, hail the late guideline regulation.

LETTER FROM AN UNCLE

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SURVIVING HARVARD BUT... SERIOUSLY Ajay Hotchandani

F

rom a young age my one and only niece, Simran, has been a smart kid.

When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she would reply “a lawyer”. It was evident that should be a great lawyer by the age of 9 as she was already beating her mother in “arguments”.

At that time we all found it cute that she could disprove her mother’s statements with simple rational (raison d’être).

Now we all like to think our family members are smart, but this kid really is. She was one of a handful who got chosen to study at Harvard University for a summer program, and she is only a junior in high school. But being as smart as she is, she doesn’t get challenged in her current high school (until I made her take physics).

Now that she is at Harvard she started saying how it was really hard and there is so much work, etc. etc. etc. I’ve been through med school, don’t complain to me about school be hard and expect sympathy. So she sent me an email last night with a link to an assignment they had to do saying it was ‘sooo hard’.

My reply is as follows (keep in mind I have zero tolerance for laziness in education).

Writing me to saying that this is hard means either: n The medication has made you confused and delirious

leading you to think I would be sympathetic and cuddly and say, “Awww Simran its going to be OK” OR n This is your subtle way of looking for motivation, as you know I’m gonna be the one to give you a swift kick in the ass and tell you either stick it out or start looking for a one way ticket to Hong Kong :) and as we all know, I ain’t the cuddly type :D — at least not with education.

You have been afforded an opportunity that I still can’t see happening to me, and while I can’t speak for others, I know for myself, I would be disappointed if you didn’t try your best (I don’t care about the grades). No one said this was going to be easy and like I have said before and I’ll say it again, you have to want it more and work harder at

it than anyone else. How many times have you come crying “this physics is sooo hard” but in the end you worked and you passed. This is Harvard, not the friggin University of Nebraska (wait, I went there, never mind).

If you don’t want to become a lawyer because it’s not what you thought it would be, HEY JACK! I’ll be the first to defend your decision against anyone in the family BUT I will not accept it if you don’t want to become a lawyer because you think it will be too hard. I won’t accept laziness, not from you. I’m the toughest on you when it comes to this because you have more potential than I did at your age, and I didn’t turn out to be bad.

Form when you were a kid I always took pride in seeing you excel, from making ice cream on open day to topping the PSE exam. Months in advance we

would work on turning almost any project into a cake, cause that was our thing. Even from those days you would offer some resistance, but you put in a little effort (and some whining) and in the end you did great. It would be a tragic waste if you gave up before you even really tried.

All this work you find hard, is the essential ground work to something greater. Greatness has to be earned. Paid for with commitment and dedication.

You have finally been challenged in one of the world’s most prestigious academic arenas, fight and no matter what the outcome, you will not regret it. Give up, and you will never forget it.

From the one uncle you can count on to put you back in check!

Take care and work hard... see you in couple of weeks.

EDITORIALS Smart way to live via phone No safety on public transport

T

he TCS nationwide survey to understand the paradigm shift in the attitude of youngsters towards technology and the Internet, while making decisions is an eye opener. The data collected from 17,500 high school students across 14 cities reveals that if there is one thing common between two family members today, other than being related, it is the smartphone.

Teachers need to be cautious as three out of four students take the help of the Internet for school-related work, projects and assignments. As some amongst us still mourn the end of the telegram, this study shows that social networks like Facebook and Twitter are the coolest modes of communication, taking over voice calls and mail. Adults need to focus on the digital habits of youngsters impacting their academic and social life. With more than 92 per cent of students using social networking sites to stay connected with family and friends, Facebook remains the undisputed favourite. Tweeting as a medium of communication is catching up. The accessibility of Internet on phones makes the smartphone the best way to stay connected.

READERS’ VIEWS

T

he increase in incidents of crime against women in moving buses and trains is a cause for concern as there is no proper mechanism for voicing complaints. The police need to keep a vigil on drivers of private buses and cab operators who are safe as they are not permanent job-holders.

While the railway police have recorded only 20 complaints this year, the actual number of incidents of misbehaviour, molestation, obscenity and sexual harassment may be 100 each month.

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

Editor: Dean Williams

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

tELEVISION

SKY LIVING SORRY FOR TRANSMISSION ERROR

Sky Living has apologised for technical difficulties during Tuesday's (July 16) broadcast of Hannibal. A timing error meant that an advert for another show ran over the end of the episode's last scene, obscuring the audio.

REVIEW

A FITTING TRIBUTE

CROSSING LINES MEANDERS A LOT

Crossing Lines has an explosive premise but the seriousness gets lost in translation and poor acting.

DID YOU KNOW

James

HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com

Franco will appear as a guest star in The Mindy Project. The Spring Breakers actor will play a doctor in a two-episode guest arc on the Fox comedy this coming season.

Franco's character Dr Paul Leotard is billed in a press release as a former fashion model who decided to join the medical profession when he accidentally walked off a runway during fashion week, only to be saved by a pregnant woman.

S

ometimes, putting together the best of minds to win a competition or solve a puzzle is not enough. The trick here is to make all of them work as a team and not let their individual traits overshadow the mission on which the team has been put together in the first place. This is exactly where all the problems with Crossing Lines, a new English language French Tv series created by Ed Bernero and Rola Bauer, begin. The series is about a group of specialists and analysts who are brought together to investigate a series of high profile crimes.

In the first episode, we are told that a serial killer is at large and so far he has brutally murdered four beautiful women in different parts of Europe. He leaves no traces of his identity and the manner in which he kills the women is so bizarre that it's difficult to even identify who they were. After a woman is killed in a park in Paris, Detective Louis Daniel (Marc Lavoine) goes looking for an old friend and ex-NYPD detective Carl Hickman (William Fichtner), who now works as a ragpick-

Darren Criss paid tribute to his late Glee co-star Cory Monteith by wearing a black ribbon at a premiere in New York. Monteith tragically passed away over the weekend, with his body being discovered in his hotel room in Vancouver on Saturday (July 13) after he failed to check out on time.

TRENDING... er in Amsterdam. Hickman is addicted to morphine and he can't use a gun after suffering a serious injury which leaves his right hand in a bad shape.

Despite all his shortcomings, Louis trusts in Hickman's ability to solve the puzzle and he takes him to Hauge where the rest of the team is introduced. We have an anti-mafia covert specialist from Italy, a

tech specialist from Germany, a crime analyst from France, and a weapons specialist and tactical expert from Northern Ireland.

As a team, they begin to unravel the mystery behind the murders and trace the killer. So far so good and the episode would have been even more interesting had the writer Edward Allen Bernero and director Daniel Percival felt so compelled to give a backstory to each of the characters as an emotional anchor to the story.

While Louis is struggling to get back to his wife, we are told that the interrogation specialist Agent Pride (Genevieve O'Reilly) yearns

to talk to her parents. In the middle of all the crisis, there's an unnecessary subplot involving Agent Pride and Detective Tommy McConnel (Richard Flood) who seem to having feeling for each other.

Except for William Fichtner and to an extent Moon Dailly, who plays Agent San, and Gabriella Pession, none of the others make an impression.

The interesting side of Crossing Lines is its expanse which spans all over Europe.

The action sequences are very well shot and even the bits and pieces of story where the detectives actually solve the puzzles makes for an interesting watch; however, it's still a million dollar question if the creators can manage to stick to the actual story in each episode rather than inserting various subplots which divert our attention.

Damon Wayans Jr will return to New Girl for its third season.

The actor was first rumoured to be reprising his role as Coach in the hit comedy last week with a Fox representative now confirming that he is set to come back for a key arc on the upcoming season.

Lindsay Lohan will reportedly earn $2 million (£1.3 million) from her deal with Oprah Winfrey's cable channel.

The Liz & Dick actress recently signed with OWN to star in an eight-part docuseries about her efforts to rebuild her career in the aftermath of her current stay in rehab.

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

spotlight

DESI BEATS RULE

DJ Naveen will be belting out the latest Punjabi numbers at Kismet tonight. Gang up with friends and have a blast.

IN A FESTIVE MOOD

STYLE STATEMENTS

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Phulkari club members clad in chic attires assembled at The Park for a monsoon make-up session by Tamannah. Spotted at the do were Shruti, Neha, Preeti and others.

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CELEBRATION TIME

One year anniversary of Radisson Blu was a rollicking affair.

Guests were seen bonding over sumptuous snacks and having a blast.

BASKING IN THE GLORY

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Dr Nandakishore Dukkipati of Livlife Hospitals received the International Centre of Excellence award from the Surgical Review Corporation, USA on Wednesday.

1 Anita, Preeti

4 Shruti

7 Neetu

10 Tamannah

2 Gurleen

5 Surya Gandhi, Simi

8 Pooja

11 Tanuja

3 Neha

6 Reshmi

9 Rachana

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

health

CRANBERRIES FOR URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS

Researchers have found a new use for cranberries in combating bacterial infections, including preventing bacterial colonisation in urinary catheters.

Two studies published in the Canadian Journal of Microbiology and Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces revealed that cranberry powders powers.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR EYES-PART IV

19

With clear vision Dr GVS Prasad, senior consultant and HOD Opthalmology Care Hospitals speaks to us about how with age the eyes need special attention as well.

FLEME VARKEY fleme.v@postnoon.com

Advice for patients

When should people see an opthalmologist?

People need to see an eye doctor routinely. Children from their third birthday onwards up to 12 years should have eye check-ups. People who are diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension should get themselves tested once in a year, at least, for eye-related diseases.

College students should also make sure that before pursuing higher studies, they get a check-up done to prevent vision problems in the future.

People who complain of redness in the eye, irritation or even dryness should make a visit to the doctor.

What are the myths people believe in when it comes to eye care?

Among the urban crowd instances of people giving in to superstitions or following irrelevant practices is rare. It’s the rural population that believes and practices such myths. Most in order to remove a foreign body from the eye use gold rings or coins, some even resort to putting in cow’s urine, cow’s milk, hen’s blood or some even the tongue. These things are not sterilised and by their usage, one is only exposing the cornea to further infections and damage. Then there are some educated people who believe in following grandmother’s recipes etc.. These can only harm the eye further.

How does today’s lifestyle affect the eyes?

Pollution and the environment are the major causes for eye diseases. Pollution leads to dryness in the eyes for all ages.

Then you have people complaining of red eyes, watering, foreign body sensation, blurring of vision. All these complaints are due to the lifestyle that we lead. Children and even adults who are constantly

P

eople should make sure that they go to an authorised optometrist or an ophthalmologist for eyecheck-ups. Going to a roadside optician will definitely be cheaper and you save time, but in the process you end up harming your eyes.

The opticians only check the eye for refractive error, nothing else can be diagnosed. At an ophthalmologist, you will know what caused it, treatment for it, and then the doctor can guide you accordingly.

attached to computer screens, books, phone screens or television — their eyesight is at risk.

They have reduced blink rate.

A blink is a necessary aspect of corneal and conjunctival defence against allergens, pollutants and environmental poisons. The act of blinking distributes tears to the surface of the eye to ensure that it remains moist. A reduced blink rate means less lubrication and results in dry eye symptoms.

So for such problems we check the symptoms and then suggest lubricant drops.

What are the most common cases that you deal with?

The most common cases are of refractive error. People above the age of 40 come for near vision problems. General

physicians send people with diabetes and hypertension cases. Damage to the retina at the back of the eye (retinopathy) is a common complication of diabetes.

If left untreated, it can get worse and cause some loss of vision, or blindness in severe cases. Parents bring their children complaining that they have got dry eyes, which is basically due to long hours spent watching the computer or television. But now most of the cases are

Dr GVS Prasad, HOD Opthalmology Care Hospitals

of youngsters and adults complaining of computer vision syndrome.

Can a person who wears glasses ever get rid of them?

Refractive surgery is possibility for people with myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and presbyopia. People with myopis, where the power is in the negative, will have to wear glasses for the rest of their lives, unless corrective surgery like Lasik is done. Reading glasses are an inevitable part of ageing.

People above the age of 40 usually have reading problems.

After 60 most people develop cataract. There are people who do not require glasses after 60, while for some even after a cataract operation they will require spectacles.

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

Technology REVIVAL STRUGGLE

Ctrl + Alt + Dell?

Dell faces key shareholder vote on go-private plan.

ROBERT LEVER feedback@postnoon.com

W

ith a critical vote looming on a private equity buyout for Dell, it has become clear the struggling computer giant faces a tough road as it tries to revive its fortunes.

Dell shareholders are set to vote Thursday on the $24.4 billion buyout plan, which would take Dell private and allow founder Michael Dell to restructure the company without the pressures of a publicly traded firm.

The plan has been endorsed by the prominent proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, but several stakeholders are opposing the buyout and corporate raider Carl Icahn has been waging a campaign to derail it.

Some reports say the vote is likely to be close, and that Dell may delay the vote if it lacks a majority. But in any case, Dell faces a rocky future. “I expect the deal to go through, and if it does I would expect Michael Dell to make changes rapidly,” said Roger Kay, analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates.

“Those changes are likely to involve slimming down some of the existing business and investment in some areas of promise.”

As a private company, Dell would be less profitable for a time but could reorganize with a longer view in mind, said Boston University professor of management N. Venkatraman.

“There is a part of me that feels Dell might have missed the boat,” said Venkatraman.

“They missed the whole mobile device shift. Then they went after the enterprise market but that is fickle too.” Still Venkatraman said Dell still has a strong brand name and can get back on track. “I think the postPC market shift will take a decade to play out, but Dell needs to play its cards right,” he said.

He added that Dell, which has lost its advantage of using the supply chain to make PCs to

TECH FIRMS FIGHT BACK Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft are part of a broad alliance of technology companies and civil liberties groups that will tomorrow demand dramatically increased transparency around U.S. government surveillance efforts. In a letter to be published Thursday, the alliance — whose members include 63 companies, investors, non-profits and trade organizations — will call upon President Obama and congressional leaders to allow Internet, telephone, and Web-based service providers to report national security-related requests for information with greater specificity. Specifically, they ask that they are allowed to regularly report.

ONEOCEAN SETS BASE HERE OneOcean Corporation, a leading Seattle-based company that helps people and companies visualise big data they have on the cloud using their ClipCard platform inaugurated its ClipCard Technology (R&D) center in India. This is company’s first center in India and is located on the campus of the IIIT in Hyderabad.

The center will be a strategic hub for enterprise innovation, adapting ClipCard to help large organizations summarize and manage their data assets across a range of private and hybrid cloud environments.

order, “needs to figure out what its role is in the post-PC world, or it will become another BlackBerry.”

Jack Gold, analyst at J. Gold Associates, agreed that Dell needs some dramatic moves.

“If the vote goes against the buyout, I think Dell would have a much tougher time making the changes it needs to make in order to get back in the game in a big way,” Gold said.

“Dell needs to re-invent itself as the market around it has dramatically shifted. The best way for it to do so would be for it to forgo the short term and often irrational oversight of being a public company.”

Dell, once the world’s biggest PC seller, has fallen behind rivals Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard and faces pressure because of slumping computer sales. A recent survey showed worldwide sales of personal computers dropped for a fifth consecutive quarter in the April-June period.

Dell has failed in smartphones and tablets, but has seen some success in software and business services through its acquisitions.

Some shareholders have said the buyout which sets a price of $13.65 dollars a share undervalues Dell and have rallied around Icahn’s effort to find an alternate plan.

Icahn said in an open letter to shareholders Monday that Dell’s board “has shamelessly attempted to frighten stockholders throughout this process” by highlighting the problems of the PC sector and reduced profitability. “But the scary facts they bring up are often the result of Dell’s own actions,” Icahn said.

Icahn has proposed a price of $14 per share for up to 71 percent of Dell stock, and recently sweetened the deal by adding one warrant for every four Dell shares, entitling the holder to one share of Dell at $20.

Icahn is backed by the

investment firm Southeastern Asset Management. And another financial firm, T. Rowe Price, has also indicated it would oppose the buyout. “We continue to believe the proposed buyout does not reflect the value of Dell and we do not intend to support the offer as put forward,” T. Rowe Price chairman and chief investment officer Brian Rogers said.

Yet some analysts say there is little alternative to the buyout and that Icahn has neither the finances nor the vision to turn Dell around. “He doesn’t know how to run a tech company, he doesn’t have the first clue,” Kay said, adding that an Icahn-run Dell would be “bad for customers, partners, and employees.”

“I think he would pay off his partners, paying fees to investment banks to get back some of what they invest. You would see a chopping up of the company and the destruction of Dell.”

AFP

NOW IN INDIA Auxus Nuclea N1, the first smartphone by iberry, is available exclusively on eBay India at a special price of Rs.15,990. The company will start delivering the products from August 1. The Auxus Nuclea N1, equipped with Active Matrix Display, comes with MT6589T Quad Core Turbo 1.5GHz processor with 1080p resolution display and PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU clocked at 357MHz. This 5-inch smartphone uses OGS (One Glass Solution) for slimmer and sleeker look along with other features such as Gesture control, Voice Unlock, Magnetic sensors etc.

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

Entertainment RELEASE DATE LUCK

YEVADU HAS A MAGADHEERA CONNECT

T

elugu film industry's obsession with sentiments needs no introduction. Right from releasing films on a star's birthday to finding a date to coincide with the release of an earlier blockbuster film, there is no dearth of permutations and combinations when it comes to getting the ball rolling for a big budget film. Now, Ram Charan's upcoming film Yevadu has found itself one such connection which has raised quite a few eyebrows. Earlier, Dil Raju, the producer of the film, was toying with the idea of releasing the film on July 24 since Pawan Kalyan's Tholiprema and Chiranjeevi's Indra had released on the same date back in 1998 and 2002 respectively. However, the film's release has now been postponed to July 31. Interestingly, that coincides with the release date of SS Rajamouli's Magadheera, back in 2009. It shattered all box office records and made Ram Charan one of the biggest stars in Telugu cinema today. Going by the buzz about the film, it looks like the makers are keen on cashing in on the sentiment. Moreover, speaking at the audio launch, Chiranjeevi claimed, "I feel Yevadu will be the film which might come close to the records set by Magadheera. I am extremely happy with the way the film has turned out and Ram Charan is lucky to have found such an interesting subject at this point of his career." Shruti Haasan is playing the lead role opposite Ram Charan and Amy Jackson is the lead actress in the film. Allu Arjun has played a crucial role and Kajal will also be seen in a cameo. Vamshi Paidipally has directed the film and currently, the post-production is going on in full swing. Devi Sri Prasad has scored the music.

CINE BYTES No change in RV's release date

H

arish Shankar has confirmed that there'll be no change in the release date of Ramayya Vastavayya contrary to the rumours floating on the internet. NTR, Samantha and Shruti Haasan are playing the lead roles in this action entertainer and currently, the film is being shot in Hyderabad.

Alias Janaki gets an U/A certificate

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ahul Venkat, Anisha Ambrose starrer Alias Janaki has completed its censor formalities and it has been given an U/A certificate. Dayaa has directed the film and Neelima Thirumalsetty has produced the film.

Alias Janaki is expected to hit the screens on July 26.

Shankar goes gaga over WETA

A

recent visit to WETA's studio in New Zealand was more than enough for Shankar to go gaga over their work. For his upcoming film Manoharudu starring Vikram and Amy Jackson, Shankar is working closely with make-up artists from WETA to get the right look for Vikram.

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

fashion

KANYE WEST’S APC COLLECTION IS AN INSTANT SELL OUT

KANYE WEST's menswear collaboration with APC sold out within a matter of hours. The capsule collection went on sale yesterday via the brand's website - which crashed under the heavy stream of traffic.

U

nder the canopy of t h e Stedelijk Museum, high-end fashion and Holland go hand in hand, just think of names such as Viktor & Rolf, Iris van Herpen, Mattijs van Bergen and Jan Taminiau.

With their open and curious mindset, the Dutch are known for their innovative and trend-setting design and interdisciplinary collaborations. Amsterdam Fashion Week began in 2004 as an initiative to put the city on the map as an international destination for all things ‘en vogue.’ Twice a year, this event brings together the core of the Dutch fashion world for a full slate of shows, trade fairs, presentations, lectures, and soirees.

However, AFW isn't devoted entirely to fashionistas eager to network and schmooze.

This bi-annual gala throws open the doors of the Dutch fashion industry in order to celebrate the hard work of its designers while bringing the glamour of the catwalk to Amsterdam’s boulevards, bars, theatres, and boutiques for all to enjoy.

DOWNTOWN’s programme included public fashion shows, pop-up stores, markets, art exhibitions and parties galore. The aim of the event is to make each edition both increasingly accessible to the public and shine a light on the best the Dutch fashion world has to offer.

CARLA BRUNI DOES HER BEST DIVA IMPRESSION

CARLA BRUNI's first shoot for Bulgari has been unveiled. The former French First Lady stars in the jeweller's Diva collection campaign, shot by Terry Richardson.

GOING DOWNTOWN

This summer, Amsterdam is the epicentre of fashion.

With 10 days of dazzling and daring creations, Dutch fashion designers showed the latest and hottest items for the upcoming season at the Amsterdam Fashion Week.

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PICS: AFP

Entertainment THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

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Entertainment THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.

Marcus Aurelius

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

26

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

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

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

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

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

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

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 Get-ready work 5 Save it for your mama 10 Common pipe material, briefly 13 Foreign currency 14 Romantic bouquet 15 Melange 16 Start the music 19 Companion of ahs 20 Horse chow 21 1998 has two 22 Like a mover’s muscles, say 23 Agendas 25 “Horror”-ible doll 28 They play at home and away 29 Invisible quality 30 Beatles song “Sexy ___” 31 Settled on the sofa 34 Do a ringmaster’s job?

38 Product movers 39 “Key to the City” presenter 40 Pro ___ (in proportion) 41 Bobber’s quest 42 Miniature-golf club 44 Decide 46 Energy bits 47 Credit union offerings 48 Crossjack, e.g.

49 That cruise ship 52 Tent event 56 Fawns’ moms 57 Seed-to-be 58 Complain unreasonably 59 Sound of air escaping 60 Big name in outdoor grills 61 Like some Chelsea galleries

DOWN

1 Mexican currency 2 Baseball’s Babe 3 Makes a blunder

4 Maui mouthful 5 Bleak 6 Way to get there 7 Egyptian cobras 8 Bumped into 9 Residue for a tray 10 Woodworker’s tool 11 Swings for Tarzan 12 North Atlantic food fishes 15 Passing notes?

17 An eccentric 18 Canine covering 22 Edible, long-bodied fish 23 Spring feast 24 Not of the clergy 25 Hombre’s house 26 Many-___ (colorful) 27 Capacious coffeepots 28 Sierra Nevada resort lake 30 Dash 31 Whack sharply 32 You’re out unless you put this in 33 Pre-Soviet royalty 35 Barge in (on) 36 Siestas 37 Disposal fodder 41 Draftable people 42 Person comparing costs 43 Type of tangelo 44 Certain salmon 45 Rabbit relatives 46 Beat a birdie 47 Popular Ford models, once 48 Give the brush-off 49 Permanent mark 50 Cause to suffer 51 Annual cable sports award 53 Have a stroke?

54 “If ___ told you once ...”

55 Electronics brand

Chai Time THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 19-7-2013

27

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

With your focused efforts you will achieve your goals. You will fulfill the wishes of your children and also encourage them.

Though financial inflow is good you will have to spend a part of your savings too for some important issue.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Avoid extending financial helps to anyone. As unexpected financial fortune opportunity is likely, you will be able to clear your debts and feel relaxed.

Good news from blood relatives will bring you happy.

Businessmen will reap profits.

Some might plan construction of their house. You will feel very much happy and proud because of your children’s achievements. Close friends and relatives will extend their wholehearted support. Your hidden skills will be revealed.

Friendship circle is likely to expand. Money will come by from all the expected sources which will solve your deficit financial situation. You will work sincerely with a determination and good speed. You look happy and will cheer up others.

You will be able to judge your friends and relatives perfectly and act accordingly. You will command good respect from all while attending functions or any get together. You will progress remarkably towards your goals, though faced with minor hurdles.

All your long pending expectations will be fulfilled to your satisfaction. Some are likely to go abroad on a new and promising assignment. Misunderstanding at home and with friends will be over. Employees will work hard and earn recognition.

You will be stubborn in any decision taken. Sudden and surprise inflow of money likely which will keep your financial position strong. Businessmen will add new and prosperous customers with their innovative schemes.

Your thoughts will be innovative and you will implement them as per your plans.

Delayed marriage talks will resume and progress towards finalization. Avoid taking hurried decisions in Govt. related issues.

Sudden trips which are inevitable might upset you.

Never feel let down by failures and disappointments and march ahead with confidence and renewed vigor. You are well aware that failures are stepping stones to success.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Page of Swords You’re feeling adventurous and are in the mood to try out something new.

Share this time with loved ones.

You’ll enjoy the time even more.

LEO:

The Devil - You’re tempted to go all the way when it comes to the money. Hold back, especially when it comes to big ticket investments, like real estate.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Six of Cups - You’re missing home (the things that remind you of your childhood or the best years of your life). You get nostalgic and want to get out of this situation.

SAGITTARIUS:

The Hermit - You may be hurting yourself by being too stubborn about the kind of people you hang out with. Keep an open mind.

TAURUS:

Nine of Wands Learn to balance the various aspects of life and avoid tilting towards only one school of thought/one way of living.

CANCER:

Queen of Swords - You may be feeling lonely and yearn for some good company. Being the brainy type, you’re too choosy about who you want to spend time with.

VIRGO:

Ten of Wands - If you’re a manager at work or home, learn to delegate responsibilities.

Even that is a lot of work. You cannot do it all by yourself.

SCORPIO:

Queen of Wands - Your siblings or close relatives may need your help with something. Don’t ignore them. It will determine the future of your relationship.

CAPRICORN:

Four of Cups - A job offer makes it difficult for you to decide between the familiar and jumping into the unknown.

Weigh pros and cons carefully.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Two of Swords You have to do the juggling act and it might seem overwhelming at the moment. Take a deep breath and work to a plan.

NUMBER GAME

Swords - There is increased interaction with members of the opposite sex. You begin to understand them better.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Knight of

POOCH CAFE

Businessmen will see a boom time. Though a few works might get delayed, major portion of the works undertaken by you will end successfully.

Children will co-operate with you very well. You will feel cheerful.

for 19-7-2013

The High Priest Use your intuition to guide you into making decisions. It may be a difficult decision time. But listen to your heart and it sorts out many troubles.

NON SEQUITUR

You will solve the important issues wisely and diplomatically. House renovation work will be taken up and completed successfully. Spouse will be more affectionate towards you.

Expenses and tension are likely due to children.

SUDUKO

Misunderstanding with anyone should be avoided and be cordial with all. Accept your mistakes when your spouse tells you and oblige by correcting yourself, will lead to a happy situation. Financial position is looking more favorable.

Boggle KAYAK BARGE FERRY CANOE Vol: 2, No 363 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved.

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

28

Entertainment THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

WHAT MADE THE CLAWS COME OUT?

Emma Roberts arrested for domestic violence after incident with boyfriend Evan Peters W hat would Nancy Drew think? Emma Roberts (who brought the character to life in the 2007 film) was arrested on July 7 in Montreal for a domestic violence incident involving her boyfriend Evan Peters (American Horror Story), TMZ reports. Roberts, whose dad Eric Roberts was arrested in 1995 for shoving his wife into a wall, was taken into custody after someone called police to report a fight in the room she was sharing with Peters, wherein they found the actor with a bloody nose. Law enforcement sources tell the website that Peters also had a bite mark. The actress was released hours after her arrest after Peters chose not to press charges. Sources close to Roberts tell TMZ that the two were, in fact, hitting one another and she was arrested only because he had the obvious physical injuries.

This set of sources deny that she ever bit Peters.

CINE BYTES

Sean Penn’s look in The Gunman

S

ean Penn appears ready to take on just about anything in the first photo from The Gunman, which began shooting Tuesday in Barcelona, Spain, with Pierre Morel directing. Penn stars as an international operative who’s on the run across Europe after being betrayed by the organisation he worked for. The cast includes Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone, Mark Rylance and Jasmine Trinca.

Split from Clooney amiable, says Keibler

A

ctress Stacy Keibler says that splitting from actor George Clooney was not melodramatic, and that they are still on good terms. The duo parted ways recently after being together for over 2 years.

"Of course. There's nothing really dramatic that happened, so it's all good," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Keibler as saying.

IANS

Josh & Fergie Duhamel expecting a boy

T

he Duhamels are having a boy!

Josh Duhamel and wife Fergie (who recently announced she was legally changing her name to Fergie Duhamel - her birth name is Stacy Ann Ferguson) will be welcoming a little guy into their family. The 40-year-old Transformers star revealed the sex of their baby during a taping of Live! with Kelly and Michael (airing on Wednesday) during a segment called “Du or Don’t, Part II: Baby Edition.”

sports

29

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

TOUR DE FRANCE

WORLD ATHLETICS

It’s all downhill for Froome

The weather and a series of technical descents stand in the way of Chris Froome and the Tour de France title.

JUSTIN DAVIS Agence France-Presse CHORGES: Chris Froome may have tightened his grip on the yellow jersey but his capacity to deflect everything the Tour de France throws at him in the coming days, including treacherous weather and technical descents, could be key to overall victory in Paris.

Team Sky leader Froome, who has held the race lead since winning atop Ax-TroisDomaines on stage eight, claimed his third stage win of the 100th edition with victory in the stage 17 time trial on Wednesday. Having also won on stage 15 to Mont Ventoux, he has a virtually unassailable lead on Spanish rival Alberto Contador, who finished second at 9secs adrift to move up to second but is now 4min 34sec off the pace.

With Dutchman Bauke Mollema dropping to fourth place at 6:23, it is now essentially a duel from here to the race finish in Paris on Sunday.

Contador says he will continue to fight, but on Wednesday he admitted: “Froome is impressive, he is the best both on the climbs and in the time-trials. I did what I could.”

But while there is no doubt about Froome’s superiority, Saxo have promised to test his ability to weather the storm — quite literally — during three tough days in the Alps.

“Tomorrow and the next days we will continue our plan and follow our objective, which is to win Tour de France,” said Saxo sporting director Fabrizio Guidi.

Thursday’s 18th stage features six climbs, including two ascensions of the Alpe d’Huez.

Normally it would hold no fear for Froome, but the heavy rain predicted could play into his rivals’ favour.

The descent from the Col de Sarenne, the fifth on Thursday’s menu, is technical and would be made even more treacherous in wet conditions.

Froome, who almost crashed into Contador on Tuesday when the Spaniard came off his bike during a fast and technical descent into Gap, said organisers should consider making changes.

“It would be sad not to do the planned parcours (course), it being the 100th Tour de France and with two climbs up to Alpe d’Huez,” he said.

“But safety comes first and if it’s raining like that I would

hope that the organisers would make a decision... just in terms of the safety of the riders.”

Organisers are fully aware of the threat but despite reports claiming the race could be shortened, no official statement had been made by Wednesday evening.

After the events of Tuesday, Contador and Saxo would arguably be hoping for no changes.

Froome was visibly shaken up by nearly crashing into Contador as the Spaniard raced aggressively on the descent into Gap and later complained his rival had deliberately tried to make him crash.

On Wednesday Saxo team owner Bjarne Riis, the disgraced 1996 winner of the race, said the Briton had a simple solution if he wanted to avoid crashing into his team leader.

“He should use his brakes more if he’s afraid on the descents,” said Riis.

When confronted with the Dane’s statement, Froome replied: “Fair enough, I can completely understand that but all the riders are going to be in the same conditions.

“It is a really dangerous descent and the surface is not in great condition.”

HAMBURG OPEN

Fedex struggles to victory The 31-year-old, top-seeded Federer won 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 against the world number 58, who was celebrating his 26th birthday, to reach the third round of a tournament he last played in 2008.

HAMBURG: Roger Federer struggled in his first match since his Wimbledon humiliation when he had to come back from a set down to defeat Germany’s Daniel Brands in his Hamburg opener on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old, top-seeded Federer won 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 against the world number 58, who was celebrating his 26th birthday, to reach the third round of a tournament he last played in 2008.

It was his 30th career win at the tournament.

“I think it was good for me to have a tough match like this and come through at the end,” said Federer.

“Clearly these kind

of matches are always important, especially losing the first set makes things difficult.

You’re not allowed to make many more unforced errors in crucial moments and I was able to come through and play better as the match went on. That’s always encouraging for the next round.”

Federer, now ranked five in the world, his lowest point for a decade, goes on to face Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic for a quarter-final spot.

The Swiss great is using this event and the Gstaad tournament, which starts on July 22, to bounce

back from his shock Wimbledon exit ahead of next month’s US Open.

Federer crashed out of Wimbledon, where he was the seven-time champion, at the hands of Ukraine’s 116-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky in his worst Grand Slam defeat for a decade.

The second round loss ended his run of 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final appearances, having not gone out of a major before the last eight since the 2004 French Open. Hajek reached the third round with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win over Latvian 15th seed, Ernests Gulbis. Tommy Haas, who first competed at Hamburg in 1997, will play in-form Carlos Berlocq in the third round.

Athletics hopes to refocus global spotlight LUKE PHILLIPS Agence France-Presse MONTE CARLO: The world of athletics will hope the spotlight turns back to action on the track and field at the Diamond League meet in Monaco on Friday after a disastrous week during which two of the best sprinters to have ever donned spikes tested positive for drugs.

The failed tests of American Tyson Gay and Jamaican Asafa Powell, second and fourth fastest men of all time, and Powell’s compatriot, three-time Olympic medallist Sherone Simpson, have plunged the sport into one of its darkest periods just three weeks away from the start of the world championships in Moscow.

Gay was expected to run in Monaco, where he set the stadium record of 19.72sec over 200m in 2010, and maintain an impressive streak of early-season unbeaten form in his bid to dethrone Jamaican duo Yohan Blake, now injured, and Usain Bolt of their world sprint titles.

“Herculis Diamond League in Monaco... one of the best track stadiums in the world. Cool poster too. Almost looks like I am racing [and losing to] Sally and Mo. LOL,” Gay ill-fatedly posted on the official Facebook page of the meet in reference to Australian hurdler Sally Pearson and Briton Mo Farah.

Ironically, Gay’s absence has made teammate Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion and London Games bronze medallist who served a four-year ban for doping, favourite in the blue riband 100m event.

The race will also feature Frenchmen Christophe Lemaitre and Jimmy Vicaut, Jamaican duo Nickel Ashmeade and Kemar Bailey-Cole, St Kitts and Nevis veteran Kim Collins and American Mike Rodgers, who also picked up a nine-month ban for testing positive for a banned stimulant.

Elsewhere on the track, Farah will compete in the 1500m, stepping down from the 5,000 and 10,000m in both of which he is defending Olympic champion.

A tough field including Kenyan world gold and silver medallists Asbel Kiprop and Silas Kiplagat will ensure a fast pace, exactly what Farah will be seeking as a warm-up to his bid to repeat his Olympic double gold on the world stage in Moscow. Farah’s teammate Jessica Ennis-Hall, was a late withdrawal from the 100m hurdles, in which she would have been up against Pearson.

Thursday’s pairings Lloyd Saltman (SCO), Peter Senior (AUS), Oliver Fisher (ENG) Robert Karlsson (SWE), Todd Hamilton (USA), Ben Stow (ENG) Thomas Aiken (RSA), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA), Bud Cauley (USA) Brooks Koepka (USA), Mikko Ilonen (FIN), Ashun Wu (CHN) David Duval (USA), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Chris Wood (ENG) Stewart Cink (USA), Scott Stallings (USA), Richard McEvoy (ENG) Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP), KJ Choi (KOR), Jimmy Walker (USA) Ben Curtis (USA), Shane Lowry (IRL), Rafael Cabrera Bello (ESP) Brian Davis (ENG), Jonas Blixt (SWE), Graham Delaet (CAN) Robert Garrigus (USA), John Senden (AUS), Marc Warren (SCO) Martin Kaymer (GER), Garrick Porteous (ENG), Jason Day (AUS) Carl Pettersson (SWE), Jason Dufner (USA), David Lynn (ENG) Bubba Watson (USA), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL), Dustin Johnson (USA) Tom Watson (USA), Nick Faldo (ENG), Fred Couples (USA) Justin Rose (ENG), Ernie Els (RSA), Brandt Snedeker (USA) Ian Poulter (ENG), Keegan Bradley (USA), Billy Horschel (USA) Richard Sterne (RSA), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP), Nick Watney (USA) Rory McIlroy (NIR), Hideki Matsuyama (JPN), Phil Mickelson (USA) Tim Clark (RSA), Scott Piercy (USA), Kevin Streelman (USA) Shingo Katayama (JPN), Zach Johnson (USA), Thomas Bjorn (DEN) Angel Cabrera (ARG), Camilo Villegas (COL), Tano Goya (ARG) Ken Duke (USA), George Coetzee (RSA), Mark Calcavecchia (USA) John Huh (USA), Brendan Jones (AUS), Hyung-sung Kim (KOR) Josh Teater (USA), Steven Tiley (ENG), Jimmy Mullen (ENG) K.T. Kim (KOR), Steven Jeffress (AUS), Luke Guthrie (USA) Gareth Wright (WAL), John Wade (AUS), Makoto Inoue (JPN) Y.E. Yang (KOR), Danny Willett (ENG), Johnson Wagner (USA) Thaworn Wiratchant (THA), Lucas Glover (USA), Oscar Floren (SWE) Boo Weekley (USA), Sandy Lyle (SCO), Niclas Fasth (SWE) Grant Forrest (SCO), Marcus Fraser (AUS), Mark O’Meara (USA) Tom Lehman (USA), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) Rhys Pugh (WAL), Justin Leonard (USA), Marc Leishman (AUS) Kyle Stanley (USA), Alvaro Quiros (ESP), Alexander Noren (SWE) Russell Henley (USA), Jordan Spieth (USA), Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) Michael Thompson (USA), Padraig Harrington (IRL), Richie Ramsay (SCO) Vijay Singh (Fij), Darren Clarke (NIR), Martin Laird (SCO) Ryan Moore (USA), Henrik Stenson (SWE), Steven Fox (USA) Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN), Jim Furyk (USA), Paul Lawrie (SCO) Harris English (USA), Geoff Ogilvy (AUS), Stephen Gallacher (SCO) Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Lee Westwood (ENG), Sergio Garcia (ESP) Adam Scott (AUS), Matt Kuchar (USA), Luke Donald (ENG) Matteo Manassero (ITA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Hunter Mahan (USA) Peter Hanson (SWE), Hiroyuki Fujita (JPN), Bill Haas (USA) Tiger Woods (USA), Graeme McDowell (NIR), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) Webb Simpson (USA), Branden Grace (RSA), Jamie Donaldson (WAL) Francesco Molinari (ITA), Toru Taniguchi (JPN), Bo Van Pelt (USA) Brett Rumford (AUS), D.A. Points (USA), Marcel Siem (GER) George Murray (SCO), Mark Brown (NZL), Justin Harding (RSA) Scott Jamieson (SCO), Gregory Bourdy (FRA), Shiv Kapur (IND) Scott Brown (USA), Satoshi Kodaira (JPN), Gareth Maybin (NIR) Tyrrell Hatton (ENG), Eduardo De La Riva (ESP), Kenichi Kuboya (JPN) Stephen Dartnall (AUS), Darryn Lloyd (RSA), Daisuke Maruyama (JPN)

30

MUIRFIELD, JULY 18 – 21

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

Tiger favourite for Open The 37-year-old American was installed as bookies’ choice on the back of his superb start to the season.

ALLAN KELLY Agence France-Presse GULLANE: The stage was set Wednesday for the start of the 142nd British Open just after the crack of dawn Thursday with Tiger Woods the favourite despite not having played competitively for a month.

The 37-year-old American was installed as bookies’ choice on the back of his superb start to the season, which saw him win four times and regain the world number one spot from Rory McIlroy.

“I feel very good about my game.

I’ve had a pretty good year this year so far - won four times. Even though I haven’t won a major championship in five years,” he said.

“I’ve been there in a bunch of them where I’ve had chances. I just need to keep putting myself there and eventually I’ll get some.”

The chances of him winning a a 15th major and drawing to within three of the all-time best of 18 set by Jack Nicklaus in 1986, looked odds-on before last month’s US Open at Merion outside of Philadelphia.

There, he exacerbated an earlier injury to his left elbow when hacking

out of deep rough and ended up with his worst ever four-round finish at a major championship.

Woods insists he is rested and fully healed and he will have to be as Muirfield, despite being bone-dry after two weeks of near non-stop sunshine, has weapons in the form of waist-high rough and deep pot bunkers all of which will test the most robust of elbow joints.

McIlroy, meanwhile, has a new “pear-shaped” Nike driver in his bag as he strives to finally get to grips with the new clubs and balls he signed up for during the winter break.

Rory hits back at critics

The world number two has failed to win a tournament all year after changing his management company and deciding to switch equipment providers, from Titleist to Nike.

JAMES SIMPSON Agence France-Presse GULLANE: Rory McIlroy struck back at critics on Wednesday, insisting his game was “heading in the right direction” on the eve of the British Open and asking “what’s the big deal?” about his recent slump.

The world number two from Northern Ireland has failed to win a tournament

all year after changing his management company and deciding to switch equipment providers, from Titleist

There are murmurs that the golfer’s relationship with Wozniacki may be contributing to his decline.

to Nike.

Some pundits have suggested his high-profile relationship with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki may also be contributing to his decline.

Fans are desperate for the Ulsterman, a golfing prodigy who in 2012 became the youngest player to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros in 1980, to rediscover his form.

“You’re going to go through highs and you’re going to go through lows.

It’s just about trying to work your way out of the lows,” McIlroy told a press conference at Muirfield.

“It’s been difficult to try, I guess, explain why I’m not playing well or why I haven’t had the results that I’ve wanted over the past six months. But I know that I’m working on the right things.”

URN

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

IT ASHES 2013

31

Selectors have tough task: Cook LONDON: England captain Alastair Cook admitted Wednesday the selectors faced some awkward decisions about the final composition of their bowling attack for the second Test against Australia at Lord’s starting on Thursday.

Steven Finn took two wickets in two balls and narrowly missed a hat-trick during Australia’s first innings of the first Test at Trent Bridge last week in a match Ashes-holders England won by 14 runs.

However, on a slow pitch not suited to his style, fast bowler Finn was not called upon by Cook until 30 overs of Australia’s second innings chase had passed and was then promptly targeted

by Brad Haddin before being quickly removed from the attack.

England’s 13-man squad contains two rivals for Finn’s third seamer place in Tim Bresnan, a better batsman, and Graham Onions, renowned for his

Steve Finn was the weakest link in England’s bowling attack, but Lord’s is his home ground.

Clarke’s back to the future Clarke believes there are lessons for his side from the sides that spanned from the mid-1990s to the early-2000s.

JULIAN GUYER Agence France-Presse LONDON: Australia captain Michael Clarke insisted his focus was on the future after calling upon players from before the controversial Mickey Arthur era to help the present side thrive.

Last week saw Australia lose a thrilling first Test at Trent Bridge to Ashes-holders England by just 14 runs.

That left Australia, bidding to avoid a third straight series loss to their archrivals, 1-0 down in the five-match campaign and with much to do if they were to regain the urn.

But Arthur’s controversial exit was thrust into the public arena once more when the South African, Australia’s first overseas coach, confirmed he was suing Cricket Australia for racial discrimination.

According to leaked legal documents seen by Australian broadcaster Channel Seven, Arthur also confirmed a major feud in the team between Clarke and former vice-captain Shane Watson.

Clarke allegedly described the role of Watson and his faction as a “cancer” with Arthur, who was sacked just 16 days before the start of the Ashes and replaced by former Test batsman Darren Lehmann, calling himself the “meat in the sandwich”

between the conflicting camps.

Arthur also reportedly claimed it was Watson who informed him of a nightclub incident in Birmingham, when David Warner punched England’s Joe Root during the Champions Trophy last month, something Watson has previously denied.

Watson was one of four players banned from the Mohali Test in March, during a 4-0 series loss in India, over their

failure to submit written feedback requested by Arthur in the so-called ‘homework’ incident.

But that very recent history was of no concern to Clarke on Wednesday, the eve of the second Test which starts at Lord’s on Thursday.

“I’ve spoken a lot in the past about my relationship with Shane and so has Shane, so I’m not going to go into that,” he said. “I’m not going to go backwards, it’s about looking forward.

“It’s important for me to keep my eyes on the field. We as a team know we have a really important job to do in this Test match and for the rest of this series. So none of this will be a distraction to me personally and it certainly won’t be to the team.”

However, Clarke believes there are lessons for his side from an older if still vivid period of Australian cricket history that spanned from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s when the men in baggy green caps were undoubtedly the best team in world cricket.

Former captain Steve Waugh as well as bowling greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, both of whom Clarke played alongside in the early stages of his international career, are all being brought in to pep up the current side.

accuracy.

However, the second Test is at Lord’s, Finn’s Middlesex home ground, where the tall paceman has taken 29 wickets at a miserly average of 20.65 in five Tests, compared to a more expensive career average of 29.40.

“Obviously you try and be as loyal as you can to your players when you’ve won a Test match,” Cook told a Lord’s news conference on Wednesday. “You want players confident they’re going to get a good run.

But on the other hand you always pick a side you think can win the Test and you do have to make tough decisions.

“I’d love to say the guys who play under me feel they’ve got my backing but you do have to take tough decisions for the good of the side.

“You need to look at the best balanced attack in the conditions available. We all know you need 20 wickets to win a Test match.”

Take control of DRS: Chappell LONDON: The world cricket committee of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Wednesday backed a call from former Australia captain Ian Chappell for the sport’s authorities to take complete control of the controversial Decision Review System (DRS).

DRS came under fire during England’s dramatic 14-run win against Australia in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge last week.

England were incensed when third umpire Marais Erasmus, on the field at Lord’s for this week’s second Test, overturned Aleem Dar’s not out lbw verdict against Jonathan Trott, despite not having the full range of DRS replays available to him.

It later emerged that as the host broadcaster was using the side-on Hot Spot replay to look at the dismissal of Joe Root the ball before, it was not available to Erasmus when the Trott decision was referred to him.

Australians were not alone in thinking it wrong a system brought in to overturn the umpiring “howler” or major error was unavailable to the tourists when England’s Stuart Broad was given not out, despite edging the ball to slip, because by then they had used up both their innings reviews.

The MCC panel, made up mainly of eminent former players, insisted DRS was fundamentally sound, with problems in Nottingham down mainly to basic human error, and called for its use across all international matches.

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

sports

‘MAN U FACE TOUGHEST EVER START TO SEASON’

Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United are facing their toughest ever start to a Premier League season, with the fixtures computer pitting them against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City among their first five games.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIERS

Celtic get off to a flyer

The Hoops looked too strong for the part-timers in the first half before Swedish international Mikel Lustig headed Celtic ahead.

BELFAST: Celtic will take a commanding lead back to Scotland after a 3-0 win against Northern Irish minnows Cliftonville in the first leg of their Champions League second round qualifier.

The Scottish champions looked too strong for the part-timers in the first half and Kris Commons had already hit the bar before Swedish international Mikel Lustig headed the Hoops ahead in the 24th minute.

Greek striker Georgios Samaras then doubled Celtic’s lead with a powerful strike from the edge of the box in the 31st minute.

The Belfast side improved after the break but failed to really test Celtic keep-

er Fraser Forster and it was the Hoops who added a third in the 84th minute when James Forrest drilled a low shot past Conor Devlin.

It means Neil Lennon’s side, who reached the last 16 of the competition last season, have a large lead to take to Celtic Park next Tuesday as they attempt to

COSAFA CUP

Zimbabwe to face Zambia in Cosafa final

reach the third qualifying round and move closer to the lucrative group stages.

“I’m delighted as we played well, scored three goals and created a lot of chances,” said Lennon.

“It was a sticky game for us but I thought we did well. All round I’m delighted.”

EPL PREVIEW

Cisse turns back on Magpies The Senegal striker, a Muslim, said he was not prepared to promote sponsor Wonga.

LONDON: Papiss Cisse has withdrawn from Newcastle’s pre-season tour of Portugal after refusing to wear club sponsor Wonga’s logo on religious grounds, the BBC reported Wednesday.

The Senegal striker, a Muslim, told club officials he was not prepared to promote Wonga, a firm which offers short-term, high-interest loans. Islamic law forbids borrowing or paying money with interest.

However, the 28-year-old did offer to wear an unbranded shirt or one bearing a charity logo instead.

Other sports teams have made concessions to the faith of their Muslim players, with South Africa cricketer Hashim Amla allowed to wear shirts without the logo of team sponsor Castle Lager because of the Islamic prohibition on drinking alcohol.

The BBC quoted sources saying Cisse’s refusal to wear the sponsored shirt had left him in a “strained” relationship with the Premier League side.

WORLD CUP 2022

Sepp for Winter WC ’22 There has been widespread concern over the dangers posed by staging the tournament in the Gulf in June and July.

The Zambians beats South Africa on penalties, while Zimbabwe beat Lesotho 2-1.

DAVID LEGGE Agence France-Presse NDOLA: Hosts Zambia pipped South Africa 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw Wednesday to reach the Cosafa Cup final.

And the decider in mining city Ndola this weekend will be a repeat of the last one in 2009 after title-holders Zimbabwe edged Lesotho 2-1 earlier.

Zambia converted all five mandatory shootout kicks with the decisive penalty netted by captain and centre-back Bronson Chama.

Alex Ngonga, Bornwell Mwape, teenager Moses Phiri and Kabaso Chongo were the other scorers for the Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets).

Thulani Hlatshwayo, Lebogang Manyama and Mzikayise Mashaba scored for

Bafana Bafana (The Boys) and Lerato Chabangu had his effort parried by Danny Munyau.

It was a gripping end to a match that did not live up to expectations as the southern Africa national team championship reached the penultimate stage.

Neither Munyau nor opposite number and South Africa skipper Wayne Sandilands were severely tested in regular or extra time at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.

South Africa will feel hard done by because they rattled the woodwork twice during the second half of regular time and Zambia only once.

With both teams fielding experimental teams, there was a lack of rhythm as Zambia attacked more and South Africa defended confidently.

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BERLIN: FIFA president Sepp Blatter will push for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be moved to the winter after getting a personal taste of the Middle East’s blast furnace climate.

There has been widespread concern over the health dangers posed by staging the tournament in the Gulf in June and July where temperatures rocket

to 50 degrees celsius.

Blatter insisted on Wednesday that he will push to have the World Cup moved despite the effects it could have on domestic leagues when the FIFA Executive Committee meets in October.

“The Executive Committee will certainly follow me,” Blatter was quoted by AFP subsidiary, SID, as telling a two-day

sports conference in Austria.

Blatter said that a recent visit to Jordan and the Palestinian Territories had brought home the dangers of the intense heat.

He expressed his fears despite the Qataris’ ambitious plans to build air-conditioned arenas.

“It is clear that you cannot play in this heat in the summer and we have to consider the players,” he said.

“It is certainly possible to cool a stadium, but not an entire country. That’s why we need to have courage in the Executive Committee and to create awareness among the leagues that we need to change something.”