Postnoon E-Paper for 18 May 2013

A PERFECT 10

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tletico Madrid won their 10th Spanish Cup on Friday when they beat bitter city rivals Real Madrid 2-1 in extra-time in a match which saw both Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo sent off. Real had been unbeaten in the previous 25 meetings between the two sides dating back 14 years and Mourinho’s men got off to the perfect start when Ronaldo headed in Luka Modric’s corner.

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Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

MAY 18, 2013 HYDERABAD

CASH FOR ASH: City’s macabre scam Even as you come to terms with the death of a loved one, you will be fleeced by the GHMC. The City’s electric crematoriums are dysfunctional and the ‘smashan vatikas’ charge up to `8,000 for body disposal. Officials remain tight-lipped about the funds directed to the GHMC for this purpose.

REPORT ON PG 4 IS V SUNITHA LAXMA REDDY IN?

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s the minister for women development, child and disabled welfare V Sunitha Laxma Reddy going to replace home minister P Sabita Indira Reddy? This has become a heated debate in political circles following home minister P Sabita Indira Reddy’s name figuring in the chargesheet filed by the CBI in connection with Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s disproportionate assets case.

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ON SATURDAY RIVIERA

LIGHTS PG 16&17

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he Festival de Cannes being held on the shores of Southern France is now the centre of attention. We bring you a ringside seat.

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PAGE TWO SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

DOG DAYS ARE UPON US

Relations and Reflections Paintings of Shambu Prasad Reddy will be on display.

Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills When: May 18 to June 3

Medical camp A free blood pressure check-up and awareness camp on the occasion of World Hypertension Day. Where: City Center Mall - Banjara Hills, Hyderabad Central When: May 18 and May 19.

Book launch Dr Sandhya Amirichetty will be launching her book Petals from my Heart.

Where: Oxford Bookstore, The Park When: May 19, 5 pm

Time to talk Twelth edition of Pecha Kucha night will be organised.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: May 18, 7 pm

Meetup Interior designers meetup will be held.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: May 18, 3.30 pm

Cannes at Taj Cannes and French Riviera inspired menu.

Where: Celeste, Taj Falaknuma Palace When: May 21 to May 28.

A girl spotted carrying drinking water amidst searing heat at Maheshwaram Mandal on Friday. M ANIL KUMAR

Entrepreneurs galore An enterprise workshop for youngsters.

Where: Kaleidoscope, Gachibowli When: Till May 18, 9 am to 1 pm

A five-day craft camp for kids above the age of 8. Kids will get to learn punch craft, quilling and stocking flowers.

Where: PANACHE - The Finishing School, Banjara Hills.

When: May 27 to May 31, 2 pm to 4 pm

Sign Please, a humorous play by deaf actors will be staged.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: May 19, 7.30 pm

Carnival time Chota Bheem carnival that will feature solo dance, solo singing, fancy dress and drawing competitions will be held.

Where: Inorbit Mall, Hitech City When: May 27

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

Where: Di Bella Coffee, Jubilee Hills When: On May 18 Khaandikaa, works of artist Aditi Gemini are on display.

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

Traditional Beats Exhibition of paintings by Anuradha Thakur is on.

Where: PANACHE - The Finishing School, Banjara Hills.

When: May 18, 2 pm to 4 pm

Art and craft

It’s showtime

Art attack

CINEMAS

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

ADOPT ME! Rock Walk Society to Save Rocks is holding a rock walk.

Where: Naya Qila, Golconda When: May 19, 7 am to 11 am Contact: 98490-37240

Fit as a fiddle A zumba fitness workshop by Vijaya.

Where: Hard Rock Cafe, Banjara Hills When: May 17, 7.30 pm to 9 pm

Play pursuits Children’s theatre workshop by Samahaara.

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

Beautiful lights

“Hi there! I am Samson.

I am very loving and gets along with other dogs easily.”

Gender: Male Age: Six years Breed: Great Dane Vaccinated: Yes

Candle making workshop.

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

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CITY SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Respite from water woes?

Naidu meets senior citizens

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enizens with long pending complaints of waterworks can meet the managing director of HMWSSB, J Syamala Rao, between 5 and 6pm today. The programme ‘Meet Ur MD’ will be held at the Board office in Khairatabad. Those who cannot visit in person can contact the MD between 6 and 6.30 pm at 66752212 or 66752213 or 66752214.

Cong committee approved

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Chandrababu Naidu is meeting with senior citizens of the City at his residence today. He will interact with them and find out their problems. The meeting is being organised by the TDP in an attempt to reach out to all sections of the society.

Naidu will announce his plans for the welfare of the senior citizens if he returns to power.

head of the crucial local body elections, the Congress high command gave its approval to the reconstitution of AP Congress Committee after a gap of almost one and half years. As per direction of the high command, the new committee will have nine general secretaries and five vice presidents. There are plans to constitute mandals.

FAKE COPS LOOT PUBLIC

The terror caused by three criminal gangs in the City posing as policemen has alarmed police officials, who now call on the public to be alert and vigilant at all times.

The gangs are currently using this modus operandi to lure the public in different parts of the City.

City police commissioner Anurag Sharma has formed a special team to nab them. The subordinates of the police department have been issued strict orders to take stringent action against these gangs.

After a meeting with the

Mohd SUBHAN

mohd.s@postnoon.com

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ranian and Bidar gangs are on a theft spree in the City by posing as policemen. These gangs have become active in the City, indulging in the loot of gold ornaments, cash and other valuable possessions from people. Nearly 15 different cases were reported from different areas, revealing that older citizens are targeted more often as they are easy targets for these fake cops.

According to reports, the gang members have stolen gold and cash from a lot of people in different areas, including Patel Market, Rikab Gunj, Amberpet, Gunfoundry (near Suryalok complex), Lalaguda and Marredpally.

These areas have reported the highest number of cases of theft by the gangs in the past one week.

These fake cops lurking in the City had their way by acting as policemen with the older citi-

A cop from the police department never asks anyone from the public to remove their ornaments or surrender their possession to them.

PIC FOR REPRESENTATIVE PURPOSE ONLY

zens and luring them with their false stories.

They claimed to be from the City police department, on duty to alert the public and protect all their valuables.

They then asked them to surrender all their possessions so that they could wrap them in a

paper cover and give it back to them. Instead, they returned another wrapped paper cover which did not contain their valuables, but contained pieces of metal.

The victims were shocked when they realised what had happened after reaching home.

additional commissioner of crime and other officials of the department, attempts are being made to control this situation and catch these gangs at the earliest.

The police are taking steps to make the public aware of what is happening.

According to deputy commissioner of police (central zone)

VB Kamlesan Reddy, there are three such gangs that are currently active in the City.

One of the three belongs to the ‘Bidar’ group, also called ‘Bidri’. The other two gangs belong to the ‘Irani’ group from Andhra Pradesh, and ‘Choogikmiya’, hailing from Tamil Nadu and Nellore.

People have reported that the members of these gangs are well versed in Telugu and Hindi and were wearing safaris (police uniforms).

All the gang members fled the scene immediately after manipulating the public and committing the offence.

Reddy added that a cop from the police department never asks anyone to remove their ornaments and surrender their possessions and has appealed to the public to be on alert against these fake cops.

The department has become vigilant in many areas, especially during the mornings and afternoons, as public movement is maximum at that time.

“Earlier, the ‘Irani’ gang had been seized by the City police; yet they have become actively involved in criminal offences,” says Reddy.

Your tenant could be a thief If you have given your house on rent, make sure to register your tenant’s details with the police.

Aleena Alice

Attempts made to rob ATM centres since December

aleena.t@postnoon.com

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aking a leaf from the Delhi police, the City police have now said it is a must for owners to register the details of the tenants with them. This not only ensures safety of the residents, but can also help with police investigation if necessary.

Of late, attempts to loot ATMs are one of the hottest crimes in the City. The police are still groping in the dark to nab these offenders.

This year alone, nine such cases have been registered with the crime branch. The modus operandi of all these cases was found to be similar. Police say the gang members are not locals and are in the age group of 25-35.

“During our investigation we found that these offenders are not locals. Most of the offenders seem to be natives of northern part of India, while some are natives of other districts of the State. Going by the modus operandi, looks like it is one particular gang that has been oper-

n Four masked men attempted to loot an AXIS Bank ATM at Vanasthallipuram on December 1, 2012 n On January 21, SBH ATM at Murali Nagar was targeted by two masked men. n On January 24, a Canara bank ATM at Muralinagar was targeted by the same gang. n Two robbers tried to break open a State Bank of ating in the City. They have targeted ATM centres in areas that are less crowded or have no security guards. Once they fail, they immediately shift to anoth-

Hyderabad (SBH) ATM at Punjagutta on May 4. n HDFC ATM bank was targeted on May 15 at Shaikpet by two people. n The same duo attempted to loot the Karur Vysya ATM at Manikonda on the same day. n HDFC ATM was targeted on May 16 at a centre located opposite a football ground in Trimulgherry. er area and rent a house. These offenders have been shifting their base from one place to another. That is one reason we are finding it difficult to nab

them. One thing that can help speed up the process of any investigation is having a database of all the tenants,” says additional commissioner (crime) Sandeep Shandilya.

Since many centres now require customers to insert their debit/credit cards for the doors to open, most of the banks think it is not mandatory to have any security personnel deployed.

City police, however, have sent out circulars to all banks asking them to deploy security personnel at every ATM centre.

“Either there is no security or even if there is one, he sleeps inside the ATM centre since it is air conditioned. This is proving advantageous to the offenders to plot a robbery at an ATM,” says a senior police official.

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CITY SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

CASH FOR ASH:

CITY’S MACABRE SCAM

Even as you come to terms with the death of a loved one, you will be fleeced by the corporation. The City’s electric crematoriums are dysfunctional and the ‘smashan vatikas’ charge up to `8,000 for body disposal.

Officials remain tight lipped about the funds directed to the GHMC for this purpose.

N SHIVA KUMAR

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA

rahul.r@postnoon.com

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t seems nothing, not even death, can stop our municipal corporation from fleecing us. Do not be surprised if the last rites of your dear departed burns a hole in your pocket — our City may boast of four electric crematoriums, but none work. The dead are left to the mercy of privately run cemeteries engaged by the GHMC, who charge exorbitant amounts for body disposal.

All flaws point towards the sleeping health and sanitation department of the

GHMC. The ‘smashan vatikas’ currently charge anywhere between `6,500 and `8,000 for body disposal through the age-old pyre burning system. As Apurva Ayyagari, a victim of the “fleecing” says, “I did not realise how ridiculously expensive it is to cremate until a close family member passed away and we were forced to shell out a total of `15,000. The cemetery itself charged `6,500 for disposing the body by burning it on a pyre. And then we were asked for an additional `500 to collect the ashes! Put in the cost of ice box and ambulance services from morgue to the cemetery, it all totals up to `15,000. I believed that cremation was quick and simple, but I guess I was wrong.”

The point of the electric crematoriums was quick and clean disposal of a body in not more than 40 minutes. The pyre burning method usually lasts for five hours, and even there, general malpractices among cemeteries include throwing away half burnt bodies to make way for those waiting in line.

Sources say 173 unclaimed bodies from two City hospitals had to be buried in the outskirts in February.

STATE

OF ELECTRIC CREMATORIUMS IN THE

CITY

The City’s oldest incinerator at Amberpet is fully functional, but residents have forced it to shut down.

The reason, they say, is a foul smell emanating from the exhausts. Electric incinerators at Bansilalpet, SR Nagar and Punjagutta have developed technical snags and are out of service.

The crematorium at Bansilalpet has been out of service for eight years and was repaired for a brief period of two months in January. “The water filters required for filtering the smoke were assembled from a private unauthorised source and they did not work after the trial run. And the frequent power cuts threw the incinerators out of gear,” says a GHMC health and sanitation engineer.

An incinerator requires a constant temperature of 650-700 degrees Celsius which can be achieved through continuous 220 kV power supply.

Bansilalpet crematorium was the first to be sanctioned a transformer by the APCPDCL at a cost of `4 lakh in 2002. This too shortly went out of use despite the substation being present right next to the crematorium.

The poor

quality incinerators suffer from lack of technical expertise and maintenance.

“The point of an incinerator is that it burns quickly and efficiently without any particulate matter in the smoke emitted. What the GHMC installed here failed to function even for a month,” says Vijay Kumar, attendant at Bansilalpet Hindu Smashana Prabhandaka Committee.

As the electric incinerators went kaput, business at the conventional crematorium is roaring. An average cremation requires at least 200 kilos of wood, and the Bansilalpet crematorium receives 20 to 25 bodies for cremation every day.

However, L Vandan Kumar, additional commissioner for health and sanitation wing, insists that all crematoriums are in working condition and are being used daily. “The Bansilalpet (crematorium) suffered technical snags and required rectification.

As it was under trial run in March, we decided to rectify it and operate it fully.

We expect to put it back into service by this week,” he says confidently. He refused to state the amount of funds being directed for the maintenance of these crematoriums or revenue collected by the GHMC. Feeling the pinch are several hospitals and organisations that take care of disposal of unclaimed bodies collected from the City. According to Rajeshwar Rao of the Satya Harishchandra Foundation, “The state of crematoriums in the City is so bad and so ridiculously expensive that we were forced to bury 173 unclaimed bodies from Osmania and Gandhi hospitals in the City outskirts in February. We have made several representations to the State government and the GHMC, but to no avail.”

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CITY SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Medak, a good omen to Kiran?

Kiran seems to be following in the footsteps of his predecesor YS Rajasekhara Reddy by launching his pet programmes from Medak district in particular.

Md INKESHAF AHMED

ahmed.m@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Is the minister for women development, child and disabled welfare V Sunitha Laxma Reddy going to replace home minister P Sabita Indira Reddy? This has become a heated debate among political circles following home minister P Sabita Indira Reddy’s name figuring in the chargesheet filed by the CBI in connection with Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s disproportionate assets case.

The Opposition and ruling party leaders demand to sack the tainted minister Sabita Indra Reddy has led Congress leadership to pick a substitute for Sabita. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy seems to be grooming Sunitha Laxma Reddy to elevate her to a higher post if Sabita loses her ministry.

Accordingly, CM is on an inauguration spree of development programmes from Medak district, the native place of Sunitha Laxma Reddy. There is a

semblance of sorts when compared to the regime of late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

YSR used to give huge priority to the then minister for mines and geology Sabitha Indira Reddy. He launched several development programmes from Chevella Assembly constituency in Ranga Reddy district, which was represented by her.

Govt schools excel in SSC results Md. Inkeshaf Ahmed

ahmed.m@postnoon.com

HYDERABAD: The SSC (Class X) results that were announced on Friday have come as a boon for many state-owned schools.

Most of the residential schools owned by various welfare departments like social welfare, backward classes wel-

KASTURBA GANDHI RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS HAVE RECORDED PASS RESULT OF 91.9 PER CENT. OF THE TOTAL 4,858 STUDENTS OF THESE SCHOOLS WHO APPEARED FOR THE EXAMS, 4,463 STUDENTS CLEARED THE PUBLIC EXAM. fare and education department exceeded the expectations by securing over 90 per cent pass percentage.

Among the residential schools, the schools owned by education department have achieved 98.8 per cent pass

results. Out of a total of 2,573 students, 2,542 students cleared the exams.

A total of 69 residential schools registered 100 per cent pass result, which is a record this year. Over 2,000 students of these residential schools secured a grade point average (GPA) of above seven.

Kasturba Gandhi residential schools have recorded pass result of 91.9 per cent. Of the total 4,858 students of these schools who appeared for the exams, 4,463 students cleared the public exam.

Reacting to this, secondary education minister K Parthasarathy expressed his happiness over the results and asked the parents of the students to encourage their children to join in the residential schools. “Once again, we proved that the government residential schools are far better than the private corporate schools.

Our results should be an eye opener to all those parents who spend lakhs of rupees for education in private schools,” he said.

One the other hand, the residential schools owned by social welfare department achieved a pass percentage of 94.25.

YSR even stated that she was his adopted sister and called her “Chevella Chellamma”. He kicked off his historic Prajaprasthanam padayatra from Chevella, which secured victory for Congress in 2004 General Elections. The importance given to Sabitha by YSR led her to become the first woman minister to look after home affairs of State

after Congress retained power in 2009 General Elections. The present CM Kiran Reddy seems to be following in the footsteps of his predecessor.

Speaking to Postnoon, the minister Sunitha Laxma Reddy admitted that CM was launching new programmes from Medak district. According to the minister, Kiran strongly feels that

Medak is a lucky district for him.

“You are right. CM is touring in Medak as part of inauguration of new programmes. There is a strong reason to it. He always tells us that Medak is a lucky district for him and Congress for many reasons.

One such reason is late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s victory from Medak Lok Sabha constituency in the past and the other reason is that the district has given a large number of MLAs for the Congress in the Telangana region in the last election,” she said.

However, the minister made it clear that she was not in the race for the home ministerial post.

“Forget about the home ministerial post. I can’t even imagine that Sabitha Indira Reddy would lose her portfolio,” she said.

The minister further added that she had never run after minister’s post in her career and added that she always wanted to serve the people who elected her as their representative thrice.

Sunitha felt very happy that Medak was chosen by the CM to launch his pet programme Bangaru Talli.

NEW AVENUE FOR ALL

Union minister of state for road transport and highways S Satyanarayana (Right), minister for municipal administration M Maheedhar Reddy and mayor Majid Hussain arrive at Kukatpally to inaugurate Kukatpally-Madhapur road.

N SHIVA KUMAR

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NATION SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

2 CBI officers areested

28 new ministers in K’taka

NEW DELHI: Two officers of the

BANGALORE: Karnataka Chief

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), including one reportedly investigating the coal scam, were arrested here while taking a bribe of `7 lakh for settling down a land dispute, an officer said Friday. Superintendent of police Vivek Dutt and inspector Rajesh Karnatak were arrested by the internal vigilance unit of CBI from Lodhi.

Minister Siddaramaiah Saturday inducted 28 members into his five-dayold ministry, the first Congress ministry in the state after nine years.

Of the 28, Siddaramaiah gave cabinet rank to 20 and the remaining would be ministers of state. Governor HR Bhardwaj administered the oath of office and secrecy in batches.

Spot-fixing: Cops to track money trail Six bookies were held in Tamil Nadu in connection with the case.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has sent investigators to four cities in the country to trace the money trail in the IPL spot-fixing case.

According to sources, teams have been sent to Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumabi and Hyderabad in this connection.

Sreesanth and the other two cricketers — Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila — were arrested in Mumbai on Thursday for spot-fixing IPL matches for payments of upto `60 lakh for giving away pre-determined number of runs in an over.

According to police sources, Chandila allegedly got `20 lakh for spotfixing. Sreeshant also allegedly received money in this connection, the sources said, adding that Chavan did not receive the money as he was

DELHI POLICE CLAIMED THAT THE THREE RAJASTHAN ROYAL PLAYERS HAVE “CONFESSED” TO SPOT-FIXING IN IPL MATCHES. arrested as soon as the match ended.

Sources said all calls to and for Sreeshant were made by his close friend Jiju. “Jiju has been a constant companion of Sreesanth and had been travelling with him and staying in the same hotel,” a senior police official said.

Delhi Police yesterday claimed that the three Rajasthan Royal(RR) players have “confessed” to spot-fixing in IPL matches.

Six bookies were

held in Tamil Nadu in connection with another IPL betting racket and one each picked up in Mumbai and Delhi yesterday. A total of 11 bookies were arrested earlier along with the cricketers.

Lawyers of the three cricketers have denied their involvement and claimed that they were falsely implicated as part of a deep-rooted conspiracy. The role of more players whose names cropped up during interrogation of the arrested cricketers and bookies in the IPL spot-fixing scandal could be probed, police said.

Delhi Police is also likely to probe some more IPL matches this season, even as the three cricketers, along with 11 other arrested bookies, were subjected to interrogation by its special cell.

AGENCIES

9-yr-old raped in Odisha BHUBANESWAR: A man has been arrested for raping a nine-year-old girl in an Odisha village, police said Saturday. Santosh Rout, 45, was arrested after the girl’s father

Remark ‘very unfortunate’ NEW DELHI: The BJP Friday took

lodged a complaint Friday.

The victim, a Class five student, had suffered injury marks on her body, a police officer said. Rout allegedly dragged the girl to a secluded place and

raped her Thursday evening when she had gone to fetch water from a tube well in Balikana village of Kendrapada district, about 170 km from here.

PTI

exception to CBI director Ranjit Sinha’s remarks that former minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has a strong defence in the case of alleged bribery involving his nephew. BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the remarks were “very unfortunate”. He said the investigative agency is saying that there may not be concrete evidence.

Woman dies of swine flu LUCKNOW: A woman died here of swine flu late Friday, health officials said Saturday.

Neelam Singh had recently returned from Delhi and had complained of breathlessness and other complications. Her husband, a doctor at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) here, got her admitted to a medical facility in the city.

Tests conducted on her confirmed that she was infected with H1N1 swine flu virus and was shifted to an isolation ward at the city’s Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS).

Her condition deterio-

THIS IS THE FIRST SWINE FLU DEATH IN SUMMERS HERE EVEN AS THE VIRUS IS SAID TO BE LETHAL ONLY DURING WINTERS. rated Friday night and she died, a family member told IANS, adding that she was administered Tamiflu and other medicines but could not be saved. Her husband, Rakesh Deewan, is an assistant professor at the anatomy department of KGMU. Soon after the death of the patient due to swine

flu was determined, health officials ordered a thorough screening of people who had been in touch with her during treatment, and Tamiflu was administered to them as well.

“We are taking due precautions now that we know that the patient died of swine flu,” a doctor said. He added that certain areas in the SGPGIMS premises and the trauma centre had been sanitized.

Areas around the residence of the family have also been “taken care of ”, an official said. This is the first death of a swine flu patient in summers here as the virus is said to be lethal only during the PTI winter season.

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WORLD SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

‘It was not political’

Americas mull legalising pot

he outgoing head of the IRS told Congress Friday that the US tax agency made “foolish mistakes” in targeting conservative groups, but insisted the action was not politically motivated. Lawmakers hammered Steven Miller, who resigned this week at the request of President Barack Obama, over abuse of power at the agency.

n Organization of American States report published Friday called for taking a closer look at possibly legalizing marijuana in Latin America. The report examined an issue that until recently was a taboo topic in the region. Politicians, desperate for measures to control druglinked violence, are now open to legalization.

US to help Bangladesh

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ecretary of State John Kerry said Friday that the US wanted to work with Bangladesh on workers’ rights and safety in the wake of the deadly factory collapse, and offered help after a killer storm. Welcoming his Bangladeshi counterpart Dipu Moni to Washington for talks, the top US diplomat said “our hearts go out to the families” of the 1,127 people killed.

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CIA Moscow chief named President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov has accused the United States of ‘crude and clumsy’ spying in Russia.

MOSCOW: Russia’s security services openly named the alleged US intelligence agency’s Moscow station chief Friday in a rare breach of protocol after arresting a purported CIA agent working undercover.

Russia announced this week that it had caught alleged agent Ryan Fogle as he prepared to recruit a member of the Russian security forces. Footage was aired showing him wearing a blond wig and his array of spying equipment, including a compass and an old-fashioned mobile phone.

An unnamed representative of the FSB security services told the Interfax news agency that back in 2011, the agency had “officially warned” the CIA station chief in Moscow over what it called “provocative recruiting moves towards Russian security services officers,” and threatened “reciprocal measures towards CIA officers.”

The report gave the full name of the alleged CIA chief of station in Moscow, but it was unclear if the same person still held the post.

It also named another alleged CIA agent who had worked at the US embassy in Moscow, saying that he had also been declared persona non grata, like Fogle, and left in January after he carried out a “similar action.”

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she had not seen the reports on the outing of the CIA Moscow chief, and also refused to say whether Fogle had now left Russia.

Moscow warning

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n unnamed representative of the FSB security services told the Interfax news agency that back in 2011, the agency had “officially warned” the CIA station chief in Moscow over what it called “provocative recruiting moves towards Russian security services officers,” and threatened “reciprocal measures towards CIA officers.”

An ID card, of Ryan C Fogle, the third secretary of the political section of Washington’s embassy in Moscow.

But she insisted that Washington and Moscow had worked “closely together” on various issues over the years.

“We still feel that we have a very positive relationship, and one that we can continue to work together on areas where we agree,” Psaki told reporters.

“There are still areas, of course, where we disagree. But I’m not going to weigh in further on the impact here.”

The Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment.

Kremlin-funded television channel RT cited on its website an FSB operative as saying that “in the case with Fogle, the CIA

THE REPORT GAVE THE FULL NAME OF THE ALLEGED CIA CHIEF OF STATION IN MOSCOW, BUT IT WAS UNCLEAR IF THE SAME PERSON STILL HELD THE POST. crossed a red line and we had no choice but to react observing official procedures.”

The FSB agent told RT that the Russian security agency held a 2011 meeting with the CIA chief of station in Moscow.

AFP

RT also named the station chief, although it gave a slightly different surname than Interfax.

“We decided to warn our American colleagues and ask them to stop these activities,” the FSB agent told RT. “We hoped our American colleagues would hear us, given that we also presented to them precise information about CIA officers making recruitment attempts in Moscow and who exactly was doing that.”

President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov has accused the United States of “crude and clumsy” spying in Russia.

60 hurt in New York train mishap

NEW YORK: A rush-hour collision between two commuter trains in a suburb north of New York City Friday injured 60 passengers, five of them seriously.

A spokesman for the Metro North commuter train line said the incident involved a train headed into the city and one traveling in the opposite direction toward New Haven, Connecticut.

“Sixty people have been taken to the hospital,” Connecticut governor Dan Malloy said on Twitter.

“There are five people in critical condition, one in very critical condition.”

The accident happened at the Connecticut city of Bridgeport at around 6:00 pm (2200 GMT).

Alex Cohen, a passenger on the train headed to New York, said it pulled to a sudden halt and then suddenly jerked forward.

“There was smoke.

People were screaming, people were really nervous. We were pretty shaken up. They had to smash a window to get us out,” Cohen told NBC Connecticut.

Malloy told reporters the collision was a very serious incident but there was “no reason to believe that this was anything but accidental”.

France legalises gay marriage

China won’t pay for airlines’ CO2 emissions

Argentina ‘Dirty War’ dictator dies

PARIS: France became the 14th country to legalise same-sex marriage Saturday after President Francois Hollande signed it into law following months of bitter political debate. Hollande acted a day after the Constitutional Council threw out a legal challenge by the right-wing opposition, which had been the last obstacle to passing the bill into law. The legislation also legalises gay adoption. French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, who steered the legislation through parliament, has said the first gay marriages could be celebrated as early as June. But opponents of the measures have vowed to continue their campaign, with a major protest rally scheduled for May 26 in Paris.

BEIJING: China will not pay for CO2 emissions by its

BUENOS AIRES: General Jorge Videla, Argentina’s

airlines on flights within Europe, a top civil aviation official reportedly said after the European Commission warned eight Chinese firms face fines for nonpayment.

The world’s second largest economy “will not accept any unilateral and compulsory market measures”, Yan Mingchi, deputy director-general of the legal and regulation department at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told an aviation forum in Beijing Friday, the China Daily newspaper reported.

He said “airlines in developing countries should be provided with financial and technological support in their efforts at coping with the effects of climate change”.

dictator at the height of its “Dirty War” against leftist activists, died Friday in prison while serving time for crimes against humanity. He was 87. Videla launched a ferocious crackdown on leftists and suspected supporters when he took power in 1976. As many as 30,000 people were kidnapped and “disappeared” by the military, and suspected regime opponents were swept into secret prisons, tortured and murdered. In his last public appearance Tuesday, an unrepentant Videla, who left office in 1981, told a court that his subordinates acted under his orders and assumed “full military responsibility for the actions of the army in the war against terrorism.”

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COMMENT SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

EDITORIALS

Cooking and self-love

IT’S ALL ABOUT HOW you play the game If there is anything that robs the spirit of sports, it is fixing.

When a player blows a fuse on the field or get into a verbal or physical fight, that can be understood. But what cannot be is the attitude of the cricketers arrested, one of them who had represented his country in all formats of cricket. This is not a deliberate attempt to target the only guy who figured on the national side, but his act in marring the code of the gentleman’s game assumes a deeper shade of shame for the sole reason that he had represented the nation, and he should have known better. Not that Sreesanth’s shame and life-ban must be rued because he was a great talent: apart from some flashes in the pan, his career could be called mediocre at best. Apart from swearing that cricket was his life and other clichés on the same line, his actions have been to the contrary. And the irony is that those that hit the scene with him and were friends with him have done so well for themselves and for the nation. The friend here mentioned in MS Dhoni himself, for once the media in Kerala had celebrated how the long-maned man had loved the chicken he was served at Sreesanth’s place.

How their career’s spanned out differently is there for all of us to see. One has arrested for spotfixing, the other is India’s world cup winning captain. These examples are more than enough to tell us how things can go wrong no matter with what amount of talent you hit the scene. And more than anything, only one thing is sacrosanct in sport: how you play the game.

WHY WE DON’T LOVE corrupt sleuths Two officers of the Central Bureau of investigation, the prime investigative agency of the country, have been arrested for taking bribes. Now this is like hiring robbers as sentinals. If the top investigating agency itself is under the shade of corruption, how can people repose their faith and trust in the system of the country. There must be a complete overhaul in the CBI system and the way it functions.

Or it would deteriorate into a body that is untrustworthy and laughable.

Soul Curry SUMAA TEKUR

E

xpecting a Sunday feast, I went to the dining table eagerly looking forward to the best of my mother’s cooking. I lifted the lid on the big casserole and found pulao with corn.

I didn’t know what to make of it. I believe my mother makes the best peas pulao. But to have corn replacing green peas? I approached the dish with a lot of trepidation. It didn’t sweep me off my feet. Nor was it exactly the best surprise combination dishes from my mom’s kitchen.

My reaction had a lot to do with the fact that I had already decided that I would dislike the dish. My mind had already rejected the dish and placed it in the “do not like” part of the brain.

So I didn’t help myself to a second serving and, instead, had more of the side dish and

finished the meal with a large bowl of mango slices.

Food is that part of our lives that has the ability to elicit rather strong reactions. The very thought of certain foods can inspire extreme desire to extreme dislike. Over the years, certain foods moved from the ‘dislike’ bracket to the ‘desire’ bracket (brinjal is one such vegetable). This was mainly due to my experiments with cooking.

Cooking is an art and science. It is also an essential ritual in which we engage all our senses. When all our senses are engaged and the act of cooking becomes the sole focus of our energies, it moves from being an act of necessity to a spiritual practice. It opens us up to various experiences that we do not otherwise pay attention to, in our rush to simply get a job done.

The smell of garlic as it’s being crushed; the hissingcrackling sound of chopped onions as they jump and dance in the hot oil; the beauty of turmeric powder as it blends in a pan of cooking vegetables; the feel of boiled potatoes between our fingers as we mash them in

SENDING OUT AND THINKING POSITIVE THOUGHTS WHILE COOKING IS IMPORTANT IN ORDER TO NOT ONLY ENJOY THE PROCESS OF COOKING BUT ALSO FOR THE FOOD TO HAVE HEALTHY BENEFITS. preparation for a dish; and above all, the satisfaction of sitting down to a simple yet lovely meal that we have prepared for ourselves – it competes with little else in the world.

Many cultures give a lot of importance to the ritual of cooking. It’s a Zen practice to clean the kitchen thoroughly before starting to cook. Many Hindus believe in cleansing oneself with a ritual bath before preparing meals. These physical rituals lead to the higher, spiritual aspects of cooking. Sending out and thinking positive thoughts while cooking is important in order to

not only enjoy the process of cooking but also for the food to have healthy benefits.

According to an Ayurveda master Bri Maya Tiwari, one should use one’s bare hands to massage food as much as possible while cooking. It’s also recommended to play soft soothing music while cooking or chant mantras for a positive effect.

The arms and the hands are horizontal extensions of the heart chakra. While using the hands and the arms in cooking, the vibrations from the heart get infused in the food.

Therefore, it becomes important to think happy thoughts and wish well for the world during the act of preparing food.

We know we love ourselves when we’re involved in the kitchen and take pleasure in the process of cooking — from chopping to frying to kneading to blending. This process has the ability to bring many dishes under the ‘desire’ list.

Cooking for oneself is important also because it teaches us to love ourselves and our bodies – a commitment to the self that’s one of the most important.

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COMMENT SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Role models to look up to My World

NO MATTER WHAT CARPING CRITICS OR DETRACTORS OF THE SPORTING STAR MAY SAY, HE IS AN ICON TO ALL WHO LOVE HIM AND FOLLOW HIS GAME WITH AVID INTEREST. ASK ANY OF THE PEOPLE – MEN OR WOMEN – WEARING THE T-SHIRTS AND I CAN LAY A BET THAT THEIR ANSWER WILL BE THE SAME.

SHRADDHA JAHAGIRDAR-SAXENA

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ust a few days ago, when Mumbai Indians played the Sunrisers in Mumbai, I found myself standing on Marine Drive, outside ‘D’ road, along with my brother, waiting for our sons to amble out after the match (which to the pride of this city’s dwellers, MI won). It took several moments for the boys to emerge, and during that time, I watched the fans who walked out.

The Mumbai Indian T-shirts were worn by several and as they walked past me, I turned around to see what was on their back.

Many sported the number 10, under which was printed ‘Tendulkar’. No matter what carping critics or detractors of the sporting star may say, he is an icon to all who love him and follow his game with avid interest. Ask any of the people – men or women – wearing the T-shirts and I can lay a bet that their answer will be the same.

While debates rage whether he is playing longer than he should continue almost ad infinitum, the man plays on with a passion that is uniquely his. No wonder then that a gold coin is created in his honour. And fans wave placards bearing his name with the same fervour that they

Urban sketches VISWAPRASAD RAJU

did when he got his test 100.

The second thought that went through my mind was the fact that despite fixing talk and other controversies and perhaps an OD of games, we still look forward to a great game or two – packed with high scores, a great run chase and a nail-biting finish! Cricket is our national obsession – and will continue to remain so, even though several of Gen Next boys are finding a ‘goal’ in football.

Another fast catching up national obsession is food. Of

course, we always loved what we ate. And reveled in the recipes our moms and grandmoms served us with so much affection. But today’s fascination with food is different – it concentrates more on exotic ingredients, impeccable preparations, perfect presentations and of course, the right plating.

It is not just the wife, mother or daughter who is interested in this kind of food and what goes into it. Boys, dads and husbands too are hooked on to new delicacies – and to fuel their interest

are the numerous MasterChef programmes that are on.

Dinner times are now spent before the idiot box watching either – if not both – Indian and foreign participants stake their claim to the title in desi and foreign shows.

If I were to credit one person for making this a popular pastime or a passion, I would – at home lay the credit to Sanjeev Kapoor – and also to the more recent entrant on the national scene, Vikas Khanna. The boy from Punjab who owes his culi-

nary success to the lessons he learnt from his grandmother is now not just a famed New York chef but an immensely popular personality across the globe. I was interacting with a chef of a suburban five-star who shared a first name with Vikas Khanna and had spent time with him.

The tales he told was of a downtoearth man. Who did not hesitate to share of his time and talent with the people around him.

A certain simplicity and down-to-earth quality that makes some successful icons so loveable. And I am sure across the board, several followers of different professions and sports will find suitable and similar role models to look up to. Role models who inspire people, fuel dreams and create new careers. I am sure all fans of these – who are separated by age, profession and continents – will agree!

Global edits

Meetings

The Independent (UK)

A tiny step towards humanity

E

very few months, there is another case before the courts of a family devastated after an individual who wanted death was denied it.

Tomorrow, for example, is the last day of the hearing for the cases of Paul Lamb (paralysed in a car accident) and Jane Nicklinson (wife of the late Tony Nicklinson, who suffered locked-in syndrome after a stroke), who are seeking a ruling that any doctor who helps someone in such a position to die would not face criminal charges.

Theirs are desperate stories of human suffering prolonged by the state’s refusal to sanction the help to end it.

And the new attempt to change the law launched by Lord Falconer yesterday deserves careful consideration.

As it stands, the law forbids assisted dying but turns a blind eye to compassionate amateur assistance.

It does not permit medical involvement and is no guarantee against prosecution. It is, as Lord Falconer has said, inadequate and incoherent, and

it has resulted in some premature and botched suicides by leaving some to take their lives secretly, without support.

What is needed, instead, is a clear legal position enabling terminally ill people to choose an assisted death which is medically supervised and safe. Such a law would provide greater protection for patients and family members and greater choice for individuals.

Critics fear that such provisions might be used by those who are depressed or that a dying person might be pressured into taking their life by fear of becoming a burden.

Lord Falconer has responded with a Bill that is the most restrictive of its kind – allowing an assisted death only to terminally ill patients with less than six months to live, only to those who can self-administer the drugs, and only with the agreement of two independent doctors.

The proposal will not satisfy all supporters of assisted dying, but its careful drafting gives it the best chance yet. Success in the Lords would represent an important step forward in this desperately difficult area.

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BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

22 million Yahoo IDs stolen

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ahoo Japan Corp has said it suspects up to 22 million user IDs may have been stolen during an unauthorised attempt to access the administrative system of its Yahoo!

Japan portal. The information did not include passwords and the kind of data necessary to verify a user's identity, it said, adding that the company had updated its security measures.

Pride of the zone award

A

K Sahoo, zonal manager, LIC of India, South Central Zone, Hyderabad honored V Venkateshwar Rao with ‘Pride of the Zone’ award for procuring a record premium of `13.01 crore of first premium for FY 2012-13 and occupying first rank at all-India level. He is the first agent from South India to occupy this prestigious position.

Russia GDP growth at 1.6%

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here was just 1.6 per cent growth witnessed in the Russian GDP in the first quarter this year, according to the country's federal statistics service. That is more optimistic than deputy economic development minister Andrei Klepach's estimate of growth slowing to 1.1 per cent. The ministry reduced its annual GDP forecast from 3.6 per cent to 2.4 per cent.

Reinventing the mobile

Businesses are increasingly using cellphones to get feedback, market their products and measure the popularity of their services.

PRUDHVI RAJU K

prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

T

he mobile is no longer just a device to talk, chat or send pictures. For enterprises, mobile capabilities are great avenues to build and grow their business through

effective use of various mechanisms such as marketing; customer service and feedback.

“Successful business marketers know that it’s critical to take the time to get customer feedback and if implemented in the right manner, it will help in enhancing the customer experience. Allowing customers to voice their opinions gives enterprises a chance to measure the popularity of their products and also understand what customers think about the products and services,” says

Vishwanath Alluri, founder and executive chairman of IMImobile.

Further explaining various ways this can be achieved, he said,“Social media sites on mobile phones also have tools to quickly create a survey or poll and the results are displayed in real time as people answer the questions. Customer feedback via mobile phone is generally obtained in three ways — via SMS text messages, WAP or mobile Internet — or by downloading a small application onto the phone that collects survey or passive data. Enterprises can also easily implement this technique by making use of platforms offered by companies like us.”

A missed call model is also turning out as an effective tool of communication, especially while providing information or services. “The model, which originated as a cost-minimising strategy, may in fact now have become a strategy of convenience. It’s a win-win situation for the enterprises and the users, as the former doesn’t have to develop complex infrastructure for the service while the latter is not paying anything for the engagement. It is convenient, with no cost to end consumers. They never have to hear busy tones, as there is no holdtime on IVR. This leads to an overall customer satisfaction and ease of use which, in turn, benefits the business,” he explains.

In rural India, the missed call model is being used innovatively. There have been instances of regional dailies asking their readers to give a missed call to a particular number to renew their subscriptions.

People seeking prompt response to their grievances are also using the missed call model. Rural citizens have been connecting to utilities assigned for a number of sectors ranging from governance to education, social to cultural issues as well as entertainment.

The idea is to choose which medium works best and optimise the usage of the particular medium. The appropriate channel mix needs to be employed during each stage.

Vishwanath Alluri Founder, IMImobile Talking about the costs involved in availing these services, Alluri said, “There is no upfront CAPEX (capital expenditure) involved. Customers can pay as they go. They are charged only for renting numbers and for each missed call received.

Customers simply need to create an account, login and configure the service with the capabilities and services provided by us. For instance, users who have a query can simply place a missed call. Backend systems verify whether the caller is an existing customer, prospect, etc. Once this is done, different workflows can be defined accordingly; whether it is connecting to a sales or service centre and so on.With the increased usage of smartphones, tablets and similar mobile devices, mobile marketing has become a must for many businesses.

“Today, companies need to adopt innovative ways to reach out to the customers and create an edge over others. A business can use different ways of mobile marketing such as SMSes , mobile banners, in-app ads and in-video ads. The idea is to choose which medium works best and accordingly, optimise the usage of the particular medium. They have a range of uses across the entire customer lifecycle — driving awareness, customer acquisition, transaction, service, engagement, retention and loyalty. The appropriate channel mix needs to be employed during each stage,” he explains.

However, businesses need to understand and be aware that a mobile is a personal device and bombarding the customer with irrelevant marketing messages can backfire. They should know their target customers and do relevant and permission-based marketing to attract them.

“Mobile technologies can be used by businesses through consent-driven or permissionbased marketing. They can build an opt-in database with subscriber preferences. They can even provide subscriber gratification (such as airtime recharges) as part of marketing and acquisition strategies,” Alluri adds.

Mobile data (analytics and insights) can be very useful in designing strategies or while taking business decisions.

“Basically, network intelligence is the data analytics and insights that can be drawn from data sitting within operator networks. This can all be done while keeping the subscriber’s privacy intact. Data can be aggregated, anonymised and made available to businesses; for example, store location planning using mobility patterns of subscribers. Thus, businesses are exposed to rich CRM (customer relationship management) data. Also, opening up these existing network assets will result in new revenue streams for mobile companies and thus will help them combat the decline in ARPU (average revenue per user) from traditional consumer services,” he concludes.

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FOCUS SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 Brigitte Dusseau

Agence France-Presse

NEW YORK: In a parking lot near the East River in Manhattan, Adriana Alltari gathers her courage, lifts her feet off the ground and wobbles away on New York’s latest mode of public transport: a bicycle.

Alltari, a 32-year-old engineer, was taking part in free bike riding classes as the Big Apple makes final preparations for a program that will revolutionize a city known more for traffic jams of yellow cabs and other vehicles of the four-wheeled variety.

On May 27, thousands of blue “Citi Bikes,” named after their sponsor

Volunteer Linda (R, no last name given) helps a participant in a “Learn to Ride— Adult Class” organized by Bike New York for adults learning to ride a bicycle May 3, 2013 in New York.

New Yorkers get pumped up for bike sharing CitiBank, will appear in high-tech stations around the city in a sharing program modeled on successful projects in Paris and other cities around the world.

For Alltari, who got turned off cycling by a series of crashes when she was young, the road to bicycle heaven is shaky.

Taking her lesson against a backdrop of the Brooklyn Bridge, she zigzagged, but found herself improving.

The class of about 20 adults, mostly women, was busy ahead of the roll-out for Mayor Michael

Bloomberg’s twice-postponed project. Alltari said classes were booked solid in March and April.

“It is scary, but fun,” she said. “I failed so many times before, I decided I will never ever get on a bike. But here I am.”

City officials said that the launch date will be the big Memorial Day holiday

Pick

on May 27. However, intially, only annual pass holders will get to ride, while everyone else joins in on June 2.

Nearly 300 stations have been installed and more than 8,000 people have paid the approximately $100 rider’s annual fee.

Initially, New York will get some 6,000 bicycles. The target is 10,000 spread across 600 stations, which will leave only China’s Hangzhou, with 60,000 bicycles, and Paris with 20,000 “velibs,” boasting more.

The New York program will give cyclists free-ofcharge rides lasting up to 45 minutes, but make them pay for any more, with daily and weekly tickets on offer, as well as the annual passes.

After trying a demon-

at the

stration model of one of the blue bikes, David Dartley, a 38-year-old artist, was sold on the idea.

“I expect to ride themto go to meetings in the middle of the day or go to other offices. It will be better than the subway or a taxi, or walking,” he said.

New York has gradually come to embrace the bicycle under health-conscious Bloomberg. But the crowded and sometimes trafficclogged streets are often considered a hazardous environment for the cyclist.

Dartley said he wasn’t worried. “Once these bikes are on the streets, drivers are going to calm down and I think everyone is going to be safer,” he said.

Elizabeth Haddad, a 26year old writer, said “biking in New York is scary and can be dangerous.”But with a helmet, “it is a really good option,” she said.

So far, the New York bikes have only one thing missing, Haddad said: “the AFP basket.”

airport,

-

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TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

APP OF THE WEEK

www.upworthy.com pworthy runs on a simple mantra: sharing is caring.

Barely a year old, it’s already a leader in a crowded community of social news sites, bringing attention to content that’s inspirational.

U

CamMe

MOBILEGAME REVIEW WIDE SKY

W

hether you a love a selfie or need to do a hands-free snap, the gesture based app lets you take pictures simply by waving your hand in front of the camera sensor so all that is left to do is clear the background.

W

ide Sky is a good looking game — monochromatic with muted teal and red, and a deliberate graininess, similar to the crackle of an old home film; however the game play is needlessly difficult to pick up, let alone master.

Forza Motorsports 5

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his game has improved with every instalment and is now considered to be better than Gran Turismo series (PlayStation exclusive) in many areas. We can expect better looking cars and environments but it needs to be seen what else the developers have pushed into the game. Forza 4 already had a great number of tracks and cars so don’t expect a lot many new features. The next xbox will have a vastly improved version of Kinect sensor that will ship with all the consoles so we can definitely expect a better experience even when you don’t have a controller in your hands.

COMING SOON...

NT BALANARAYAN

balanarayan.nt@postnoon.com

Microsoft is expected to take the wraps off the next Xbox console on Tuesday and gamers are hoping that they will showcase some of the launch games at the event. Here are some of the titles we believe you’ll get a glimpse off in the next few days.

Halo 5

3

43 Industries set the base for a new trilogy starring our favourite space marine — Master Chief — when they launched Halo 4 last year. The sequel is rumoured to have more multiplayer integration that borders on the lines of an MMO. However that is just rumours, but the game will be bigger and better than any in the series to date for sure.

Ryse Project Gotham Racing 5

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he previous game in the series had great set of cars, impressive control mechanism, good AI and it was fun overall, so why didn’t we have a sequel to this game yet?

Mainly because Microsoft decided to concentrate on Forza series alone, but according to latest rumours a sequel is finally in the works and will be available for upcoming new Xbox.

Since the new consoles will be more powerful we can expect the number of cars in a race to increase, hopefully double.

Fable 4

M

icrosoft’s open world game was pretty great till version two. With the third edition they kinectified it and took away too many features from the game making it not so popular among gamers. The upcoming version is expected to be a free to play MMO and might bring back many of the aspects people liked in the older version. Fable has always been the GTA of RPGs so we can expect to have freedom to do even more bizarre things in it. The game will support micro-transactions, but and hopefully explore more areas without hitting a load screen.

T

his first person game set in Roman-era was initially supposed to be a Kinect game for Xbox 360 meant for hardcore gamers. It has been in development for two years now and is expected to be a launch title for the new Xbox. Kinect will still be an important aspect in gameplay, but according to latest rumours it should be possible to play it with a traditional controller as well. In the game you’ll be playing as a gladiator at least that was the plan initially, so we’ll need to wait and see what the final game will be about.

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ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

PET NEWS Deadly fungus

C

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Swine Flu in Seals

hytrid fungus infections are wiping out amphibians around the world, including hundreds of frog and salamander species. Chytrid is also largely responsible for endangering California’s mountain yellow-legged frog.

Biological weapon

T

he swine flu virus that caused a 2009 pandemic has been found in elephant seals off the central California coast. The study is the first report of the virus H1N1 in any marine mammal.

S

cientists from Germany have found that Asian Lady beetle’s body fluid contains microsporidia. These tiny fungus-like protozoa parasitize body cells and can cause immense harm to their host.

CATS AND DOGS The Animal Care Clinic 040-2335 2474 Pet’s World Dog Clinic 98856 46259 Blue Cross of Hyderabad 040-3298 9858, 23544355/ 5523 Vet-N-Pet 040-6553 9535, 93463 05890 Bluplus Pet Clinic 040-2712 1739, 2716 2636 Sri Sai Pet Clinic

040-2779 7458, 9848645350 Claws & Paws 98662 82772 All Creatures Animals Clinic 040-2773 0885 BIRDS Govt Veterinary Hospital 040-2331 9656, 2753 5755 Bird Watcher’s Society 040-2355 6166 Friends of Birds9391048315 SNAKES Friends of Snakes 8374233366

A whole new level of pet blogging With Americans spending $53.33 billion on their pets last year, the pet care industry is taking the bloggers seriously.

Robert MacPherson

feedback@postnoon.com

W

hen Dexter the cocker spaniel tore a ligament in his hind leg a few weeks ago, he didn't suffer in silence. Instead, his owner blogged about.

“The vet told me my dog needed surgery, and I thought, ‘You know, there’s got to be something else’,” said Carol Bryant, who writes a caninecentric online magazine called A Fidose of Reality.

Responding to her blog entries, readers told Bryant that Dexter didn't have to go under the knife. He had options, like laser therapy and a leg brace he'll be wearing for the next six months.

So good is his progress that Dexter has come with Bryant from rural Pennsylvania to this Washington suburb for the biggest US gathering ever of pet bloggers — people who embrace social media to rave about pets.

The Fifth Annual BlogPaws Conference, with 500 participants and perhaps as many critters, is a chance to network, swap ideas and maybe win a coveted Nose-toNose Pet Blogging and Social Media award (for which The Intrepid Pup, about a peripatetic Vizsla called Tavish, is nominated in three categories).

Workshops include a primer on using Google Analytics to gauge online readership, building bridges between bloggers

and veterinarians, and Schmitty the Weather Dog demonstrating a just-released Sony canine video harness.

In its online community, BlogPaws has 2,200 members, said co-founder Yvonne DiVita, who writes about her cat and three dogs in Colorado on a blog titled Scratchings and Sniffings.

“I would guess we're going to hit close to 3,000 by the end of the year,” she told AFP as bloggers (predominantly female) and their pets (predominantly dogs) took over the lobby of the Sheraton hotel.

With Americans spending $53.33 billion on their pets last year, according to the American Pet Products Association, and 62 percent of households owning a pet, the pet care industry is taking the bloggers seriously.

In an exhibition hall, big hitters like pet food maker Nestle Purina rub shoulders with upstarts like the Spoiled Pup Boutique, a New York area canine couturier, wooing bloggers to test and endorse their products.

“The followers and

readers of pet blogs are so loyal, and they trust the word of bloggers,” said Bridget Evans, a San Diego publicist attending BlogPaws for VetIQ, a newcomer to the pet medication and health supplements business.

It’s come to the point, DiVita said, where some popular bloggers with solid track records and substantial followings can give up their day jobs and earn a good middle-class income — or better — through online advertising.

“I know bloggers that are making upwards of six figures,” she said, while others are content with just a few hundred dollars.

“We’re kind of the rock stars of the pet industry,” added Bryant, who cautions that the key to blogging success is finding a unique voice and then

keeping it real: “You need to be yourself when you blog.”

Longtime syndicated pet columnist Steve Dale said his blog, which he updates daily, is one of the most popular among 200 blogs hosted by the Chicago Tribune’s Chicago

Now website, attracting 100,000 visitors a month.

“It’s pretty incredible that a pet blog would be among the top 20... and here’s my secret: I have no idea what I’m doing,” Dale, the owner of two mutts, a cat and a northern bluetongued skink lizard, told AFP. Actually, he does have an idea: blogging enables Dale to cover breaking pet news (“In the pet world, there is news, believe it or not”) like a pet food recall that otherwise wouldn’t make his twice-weekly print column My Pet World.

“It can be anything, and bingo! bongo! I can cover it,” he said.

A keynote speaker at BlogPaws, Dale is keen to draw fellow bloggers’ attention to some worrying pet health trends: fewer pets getting check-ups at the vets, for instance, and upticks in flea infestations and heartworm.

From San Francisco, Julia Gleason hopes her year-old fashion-meets-Fido blog Canines and Couture, which often features her English bulldog, will grow to a stage where she bid farewell to her day job at a legal consultancy.

“I have lofty goals to turn it into an actual business at some point,” she told AFP as Chilly, a white poodle with a dyed purple head and tail, chilled out on the floor by the wine bar.

“Right now, I’m focusing on building my audience and building a following.”

AFP

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BOOKS SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

SHORT READS Title: My Beef with Meat Author: Rip Esselstyn Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Nutrition lecturer Rip Esselstyn is back with another book extolling the virtues of a plantbased diet. He busts myths about requiring meat and dairy for health, and provides 145 recipes for delicious, vegetarian options.

Title: The Guns at Last Light Author: Rick Atkinson Publisher: Henry Holt & Co Rick Atkinson’s magnum opus on World War II comes to an end with the third book in his Liberation series. The fight for Western Europe takes centrestage in The Guns at Last Light, and the author writes glowingly of courage under extreme conditions.

Title: Adulting Author: Kelly Williams Brown Publisher: Grand Central Publishing ‘How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps’ is the tagline of this hilarious book, which offers tips on everything from keeping a plant alive to how much to drink at office parties. Fun for anyone who can’t grow up.

Title: Star Wars: Vader’s Little Princess Author: Jeffrey Brown Publisher: Chronicle Books In his follow-up to Darth Vader and Son, Jeffery Brown brings us this little gem, casting one of cinema’s most epic villains as a hapless, confused dad. Bringing up Princess Leia is no walk in the park, but the Sith Lord takes his best shot.

A bittersweet homecoming Sonora Jha’s debut novel, a gripping narrative on farmer suicides in Maharashtra, weaves a fascinating tale of love, hope and redemption.

At the end of the book, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to dismiss Foreign as just another work of fiction and forget about the underlying grave issue of farmer suicides woven into this heart-rending tale, or as its protagonist urges, “Don’t be overwhelmed by how little you know; be empowered to find out more.”

SUNORY DUTT

feedback@postnoon.com

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hen Katya Misra’s teenaged son Kabir goes to India in search of the father he’s never met, she is forced to follow him and try to win him back to the cushy world he’s accustomed to in Seattle. But in the process she must find the courage to let him make his own choices.

While Kabir is inspired by his father’s selfless social work in Dhanpur, Katya grapples with her bipolar love-hate relationship for the man who had abandoned her, and the country and its people she had long left back for a better life in Seattle. She is inspired by Gayatribai, a farmer’s wife who saves Kabir’s life by damaging her own, and in return asks for Katya’s help in keeping her husband alive in the suicide epidemic that has gripped her village, where every eight hours, a farmer kills himself. Katya must learn whose life can be saved and whose she must let go.

The author’s ease of language and discerning words creates a world that’s so real and palpitating, that you naturally begin vicariously living out the lives of

Anu Kumar’s Chanakya: The Kingmaker and the Philosopher throws light on the life of Chanakya and the lessons he taught on various subjects Hemanth Kumar hemanth.k@postnoon.com

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hanakya, the royal adviser to Chandragupta Maurya, is one of the most enigmatic figures in Indian history. His works like Arthashastra and Nitishastra have stood the test of time and laid the foundation for

the characters in it. So even if you’re ensconced in an urban jungle, far removed from India’s brutal rural realities, it makes you experience a rollercoaster of emotions that doesn’t leave you drained, but rather enriched from their life experiences. Ironically, in the characters flaws lay their strengths. She builds them up to evoke our intuitive sympathy yet at the same time respect their self worth even if it doesn’t amount

to much in their own eyes.

The story is set in a remote village in Maharashtra, but there’s a universal appeal in every turn of the page. Be it a mother nurturing her son, a wife protecting her husband, jilted lovers forgiving and setting new boundaries, a young bride anticipating conjugal bliss, social parasites, or the human spirit being pushed over the edge.

A professor of journalism

Chanakya Says... economics and political science in India. How is it that the lessons which Chanakya had taught more than 2,000 years ago are still as valid as they were back in their time? One thing which really stands out in the lessons he had taught is his insight into basic human nature.

That’s precisely the subject of the book Chanakya : The Kingmaker and the Philosopher, edited by Anu Kumar.

The book is divided into 14 chapters and each one of them gives a glimpse of Chanakya’s mastery over politics. One of the chapters is dedicated to the qualities that a king should posses

and the Chair of the Department of Communication at Seattle University, Sonora Jha could very well have presented her extensive research on farmer suicides as a non-fiction book, given how au fait she is on the subject. But instead, she takes a huge leap of faith and combines her creative writing skills with hard hitting facts to tell a compelling tale in her debut novel that at once appeals to the head and heart.

Name Chanakya Author Anu Kumar Pages 200 Publisher Hachette India and he says, “A King is the strength of the weak, crying that of children taciturnity that of the ignorant and falsehood that of thieves.” And in another instance, Chanakya says, “The King shall ever be active and discharge his duties; the root of wealth is activity, and its reverse is the root of evil.” The book also lists out Chanakya’s wisdom and what he had said about choosing

Title Foreign Author Sonora Jha Pages 304 Publisher Vintage Books

ministers and officials, the strategy of war, economy, foreign policy, deception and succession, among several other issues.

The rules laid down by Chanakya are elementary, but in an age where conquering lands was deemed paramount, his insight into administration became the founding principle for future generations.

Chandragupta Maurya owes a lot of his success to the wisdom of Chanakya and so did plenty of future kings. Although the book throws light on the lessons taught by Chanakya and a bit about his life, it doesn’t offer a new perspective on what Chankaya said; however, it’s a good read for a beginner to learn a bit from a great philosopher.

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BOOKS SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Captains of the field

It is the transition from self-doubt to optimism that inspires The Captainship. The book is not one to preach. It’s a compilation of memories that formed part of the lives of nine very successful individuals.

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heir first memories; that’s what author/editor Anya Gupta of The Captainship gives the readers. For a while it almost made me think of the Pensieve in Harry Potter, where Dumbledore stores all his memories, to reflect upon in his leisure. But this memory project compiled and neatly illustrated in some 164-odd pages offers a different insight of sorts.

Anya Gupta’s book is a collection of first-person narratives from nine first generation Indian entrepreneurs who are among India’s most respected for their value-based approach to organisation building.

The title, The Captainship, as the editor mentions in her introduction, is inspired by the great line from William Ernest Henley’s poem Invictus: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

Thought-provoking words indeed. And before you disregard or sideline it as one of those numerous self-help books or books on organisational secrets, the likes which flood the mar-

kets, let me tell you, it’s not.

Nine memories, what role they play in the person’s life and what became of it — this is all you have got.

Why the editor has chosen these nine individuals to share her ideas is slightly debatable, but the interesting part is that all these stories are not of people born with the silver spoon in their mouths.

These are memories of want, rejection, inspiration, poverty, pain, happiness, dowries, familial values, sacrifices that had to be made and more.

The purpose of the book as mentioned is to share the journeys of the entrepreneurs as ordinary youth, with all the normal joys and insecurities of childhood and adolescence.

One such memory that begins on a positive note is that of Zia Mody, founder and partner, AZB & Partners. “I remember my first birthday party. Children were running around. My father was picking me up and throwing me in the air.

My mother was looking beautiful. Salu, my ayah who had been with me from the day I was born, was by my

side. They sang the happy birthday song and cut the cake. Mine was an exuberant childhood.” Zia’s first memory. She also talks of how being born into a Baha’i family helped her on her life’s course. In her family, it was her grandmother and mother whom she drew inspiration from.

Sanjeev Aggarwal, cofounder and senior managing director of Helion Venture Partners and former CEO and co-founder of Daksh (now with IBM) had a very normal childhood. A memory that was filled with Coco-Cola bottles, small pieces of cooked mutton, an encouraging, enterprising mum from whom he got his first lessons in leadership and table tennis.

The other seven too have different stories to share.

The illustration by Anitha Balachandran is a respite and adds a lot of colour to the not so colourful pages of the book. All these people are linked in some way or the other — through values, beliefs and their support systems. Not losing that essential memory is what led them to do greater work. A recommended light-read.

FLEME VARKEY

fleme.v@postnoon.com

Name The Captainship Author Anya Gupta Pages 163 Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing India Illustrator Anitha Balachandran

WHAT’S SELLING Walden’s best in fiction

Walden’s best in non-fiction

New York Times’ best in fiction

n Love Stories That Touched My Heart by Ravinder Singh

n Return of a King

by William Dalrymple

n 12th of Never by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

n Accidental Apprentice by Vikas Swarup n Salvation Of A Saint by Keigo Higashino n Arjuna by Anuja Chandramouli n Fifty Shades Of Grey by EL James

n Signal And The Noise by Nate Silver n Durbar by Tavleen Singh n Dongri To Dubai by S Hussain Zaidi n Leadership 2.0

by T Bradberry & J Greaves

n The Hit by David Baldacci n Whiskey Beach

by Nora Roberts n Best Kept Secret

by Jeffrey Archer n NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

New York Times’ best in non-fiction n Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell n Let’s explore diabetes with Owls

by David Sedaris n Waiting to be heard by Amanda Knox n Cooked by Michael Pollan n My Next step by Dave Liniger with Laura Morton

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WOMEN SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK The Daily Muse: The website hands out job tips to fresh graduates and working women, as well as being a great place to find workrelated articles. Job hunters will also find it useful.

SANYA QUADRI

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he void left behind after losing a loved one can never be filled. As time passes, one just learns to live with it, not get over it. For Lalitha Raghuram also, things weren’t any different. She lost a reason to smile after the untimely demise of her 19-yearold son nine years ago. Broken and depressed, her life had come to a standstill. However, unlike most, Raghuram translated her pain into determination and brought smiles to hundreds of people.

Today, she is the face of MOHAN Foundation (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) based in Hyderabad.

MOHAN is a non-profit, nongovernmental organisation dedicated to spreading awareness about organ donation.

Raghuram established MOHAN Foundation in 2002 along with Dr Ravindranath

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DONATING LIVES Ever determined to work towards the betterment of society, Lalitha Raghuram took it upon herself to spread awareness about organ donation and rid the misconceptions that our society attaches to it.

All About Eve

KUBRA FATIMA

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ORGAN DONATION IS AT 0.08 PER CENT PER MILLION IN OUR COUNTRY. RAGHURAM’S AIM IS MAKE IT 10 PER CENT PER MILLION IN HER LIFETIME. (chairman of Global Hospitals) and Prof Dr Kakarla Subba Rao (director of NIMS).

Raghuram, who did her schooling from St Francis, says, “I have been determined to work towards the betterment of society since I was 17 years old.

Working in this field is my true calling and I don’t see myself in the corporate sector.”

In India, getting consent from bereaved families for organ donation is not an easy task because of the stigma attached to it. “A lot of public awareness is needed in all sections of the society to promote organ donation. There are many misconceptions attached to it and we take the help of religious leaders to overcome that. Most people believe that organ donation leads to disfiguring of bodies — that’s not true. In fact, incisions are as neat as they are in an open heart surgery,” says Raghuram.

MOHAN Foundation’s aim is to set up offices in major cities and give a second chance to hundreds of people.

When the auto meter is false

Raghuram founded Swaminarayan Life Savers Programme in April this year in memory of her son Swaminarayan. The programme educates youth on timely help that can be rendered to accident victims.

Contrary to popular belief, Raghuram has full faith in the youth. She believes that there is a lot of positivity and potential in them. “Youth is the future of our society and has the power to change it collectively. Hence, they must do it with conscience,” she says.

When she finds time from her busy schedule that includes making presentations, training transplant co-ordinators, coun-

selling bereaved families and fund raising, she enjoys reading books and surfing the internet. She holds a great love for music and finds it to be a great soother. Raghuram, who used to work at LV Prasad Eye Institute in 1986, considers GN Rao, chairman of the institute, her role model. She says, “He is my mentor, my guide and my guru. He is a man of many values.”

Raghuram recalls that back in the ‘80s, there used to be barely two eye donors in a year as opposed to a whopping 2,000 eye donors per day today. “The practice of organ donation will also improve gradually,” she hopes.

Organ donation, in the current scenario, is at 0.08 per cent per million in our country. Raghuram’s aim is make it 10 per cent per million in her lifetime.

When asked about her journey, she replies, “I have time and again taken up challenging jobs that include a great deal of travelling and tenacity. Being a woman has never come in my way and I’ve always said that I’m a professional first and a woman later.”

For further details regarding organ donation please visit the website; http://www.mohanfoundation.org/ or, contact Balu Chandra at 9392456355.

sk any Hyderabadi what they love about the City and they will have many things to say — food, greenery and people being the usual suspects. On the contrary, if you ask them what they hate and ‘travelling in an auto’ will be the first response.

Even though going around the twin cities is most convenient in an auto, dealing with stubborn autorickshaw drivers spoils it all. Even with the increased metre rates from `14 to `16, they refuse to start the metre unless you agree to pay `10-20 extra. In fact, these are the nicer autowalas because the average guy shamelessly demands `100 without hearing clearly where you want to go.

One autowala demanded ‘only’ `140 to take me from Lifestyle, Begumpet, to Punjagutta. Ridiculous! I thought.

Apart from the money woes, god forbid you’re a young woman or girl; these lovely men will check you out from top to bottom in the most ‘subtle’ ways possible. In fact, most of them negotiate the price while staring at your chest.

Another mentionable quality of these autowalas is that they believe they can get their way by yelling their lungs out at you because they believe women will never fight back and are the weaker sex. I don’t think they know much about gender discrimination when they said ‘Tum ladki ho, awaz oonchi karke mat baat karo (you’re a girl, don’t raise your voice)’.

Apart from the sly glances through the rear-view mirrors, the cheesy music and the notso-casual interrogation, our autowalas make each ride memorable for their passengers.

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SPOTLIGHT

MUSICAL MELANGE

Singers Usha Uthup and Lucky Ali mesmerised the audience with their performance at a concert dedicated for children with HIV. Actress Dia Mirza was also present at the event that was held at HITEX on Friday night.

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1 Sri Lekha 2 Ankita 3 Himi, Nirupama

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4 Harita 5 Stuti

7 Lucky Ali 8 Usha Uthup

6 Shima

9 Dia Mirza

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10 Karthik 11 Ritu 12 Christina 13 Parthasarati

DANCING UP A STORM

Employees at ‘V’ IT Park performed a flash mob as part of Go S BALAKRISHNA Green Month celebrations on Friday.

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RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

I AM ALL EARS

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am a 28-year-old woman. I have been married for the past one year. Ours is a love marriage. My husband recently pawned off our engagement rings and in future also he plans to do the same in case we fall short. I find this behaviour a bit unsettling. How do I convey the message?

Dear sorry kid, Now what made you get married to him? Oh love is blind, I keep forgetting. But then what could be done without offending him is that you plan your finances a month in advance, as in when your salary comes. You in fact keep some aside citing some reason, so that can be your back up in time of need. Whatever your other needs, they can be fulfilled with one person’s salary. In short take over the purse.

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aking sacrifices for your partner after a stressful day may not be beneficial, new UA research in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships suggests.The study suggests that while making sacrifices in a romantic relationship is generally a positive thing, doing so on days when you are feeling especially stressed may not be beneficial.

Family time ends?

As more youngsters travel independently or with friends, the trend of family vacations seems to be on the decline.

KEERTHANA M

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usy at office, busy at home, busy with academics, and no time for family? A holiday is a great way to reconnect and take a break from the monotony. But as more youngsters travel independently or with friends, the trend of family trips seems to be on the decline.

With everyone busy with work and struggling with different time schedules, there is often an absence of family activities such as dining together or a weekend outing. As a result of the stress and tensions at the workplace or in college, relationships are affected and the bond

between the members of the family is weakened.

It is at times like these when a family holiday becomes important, sometimes even acting as a indicator of how important one regards one's family ties. It is a gesture that acknowledges that one's parents, siblings and children are important and are worth the effort involved in making the journey.

Earlier, parents decided on a place and the family travelled there, no questions asked. With the changing times, the entire meaning of a family holiday has been transformed, with children and parents going on separate holidays due different tastes. Avantika, a college student, says, “I would go holidaying with cousins of my age to places where there is a lot of adventure and partying

With the changing times, the entire meaning of a family holiday has been transformed, with children and parents going on separate holidays due to different tastes. rather than going with my parents on a holiday spot that is boring.” On the other end of the spectrum is Thanmayi, an engineering student, who prefers going on holiday with family, since they are very jovial and perfect companions.

Malini Muralidhar, a housewife, is all for family trips. “Going on a holiday with my family at least once

a year gives me a break from the household chores and tensions and gives me time to relax with my husband and two daughters.”

However, even if the children are physically present, their attention is elsewhere, complain parents. Meena Anil, an employee at BARC, says that she has observed that even when on a holiday with the family, her children do not show interest in spending some quality time with them. Instead they get busy with games on their mobile phones.

Family vacations are intended to bring people closer, but they might also bring out the underlying tensions.

Compromises will have to be made, boredom will have to be endured and minor fights will have to be resolved. But the benefits outweigh the negatives, and a fami-

ly vacation is often a great way to get to know each other, away from the worries of everyday life.

Busy schedules do not allow for much communication, but a family holiday provides the time to talk to each other about the different developments in each other’s life. Adult children who are working may not be able to take some time out for their aged parents, to sit and talk and ensure their support.

Even the aging parents would not want to disturb their children’s schedule. So, a family holiday acts as a platform for both children and parents to share their problems and find solutions.

Even a simple getaway, even if not very expensive or extravagant, can work wonders for a person as well as the family.

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CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Keeravani S to score music for Anamika

ekhar Kammula has made plenty of changes in his core team and now we hear that he has approached MM Keeravani to score music for his upcoming film titled Anamika.

Nayanthara is playing the lead role in this thriller film which is a remake of Vidya Balan starrer Kahaani. So far, Sekhar Kammula had worked with the likes of Mickey J Meyer and Radhakrishna for films like Leader, Life Is Beautiful, Happy Days, Anand and Godavari.

AMAT’s audio on May 25

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he audio of Sumanth Ashwin and Eesha starrer Anthaka Mundhu..Aa Tharuvatha is going to be launched on May 25 in Hyderabad.

Mohankrishna Indraganti has directed the film and KL Damodhar Prasad has produced the film under Sri Ranjith Movies banner. The film is said to be a realistic take on relationships just after a couple falls in love and before they get married.

Yesteryear’s actress Madhubala is playing an important role in this drama. Kalyani Koduri, the music director of Ala Modalaindi, has composed tunes for this film as well. The film will hit the screens next month.

Sources say that the reason why Sekhar Kammula has approached MM Keeravani for this film is because the latter is adept at composing the background score, which is crucial for a film in this genre. The film’s principal shooting had started last month and Sekhar Kammula is planning to wrap up the entire film within 60 working days.

Anamika is being jointly produced by Endemol India, Logline Productions and Select Media Holdings.

Nara Rohit, Regina’s film titled

SHANKARA

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ara Rohit and Regina are teaming up for the first time for the Telugu remake of a critically acclaimed Tamil film titled Mouna Guru. Tatineni Satya is directing this remake and the film has been titled as Shankara. RV Chandramouli Prakash is producing the film under Sri Leela Movies banner and KS Rama Rao is presenting the film. The talkie part has been completed and three more songs are yet to be shot. Talking about the film, Tatineni Satya said, “The film’s title is apt for the story and you’ll see a new Nara Rohit in this film. Even Regina is playing a different role in Shankara. John Vijay is making his Telugu cinema debut as a villian in this film. It was a challenging project for me and I am confident that it’ll be a big hit in Nara Rohit’s career.”

Most part of the film has been shot in Hyderabad, Rajamundry and Rampachodavaram. The rest of the songs will be shot from May 22 onwards.

The audio might be launched in the first week of June and the film will hit the screens in the last week of June. Sai Karthik is scoring the music. Shankara narrates the story of a misunderstood college student who unknowingly becomes part of a crime which spirals his life out of control. Interestingly, this is the third remake in Tatineni Satya’s career. In the past, he had directed Siva Manasulo Shruti and Bheemli Kabaddi Jattu, which were also remakes of Tamil films.

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CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Aurangzeb fails to impress I n spite of all the needed ingredients to make an engaging movie, Atul Sabharwal falters and churns out a failure.

There are many moments one feels that it has all the makings of a superhit be it performances of the cast and storyline. However, somewhere along the way his lack of cinematic wisdom comes in the way and Aurangzeb fails miserably.

Ajay (Arjun Kapoor) is the son of the real estate

ing black money.

But in the interim, Vishal and Ajay are left stunned when they learn that they are twin brothers who were parted in their teenage days, knowing this that police is taking their undue advantage. So, will brothers unite or will they be dominated by the unwise tactics of the cops? That’s how the story deals further.

After a satisfactory performance by Arjun Kapoor returns in dual role and impresses the audience.

Rishi Kapoor loves to experiment and is ubiquitous in every second flick.

Here the cop’s role suits him. He is the person in command and his dialogue delivery looks dominant.

After a rather unimpressive start to his Bollywood inning in Aiyya, Prithviraj has been able to bounce back with élan.

The Malayalee actor has good Hindi and all that a hero ought to have in order to rank among the elite league.

With this film, Prithviraj has indeed announced his arrival loud and clear.

Arjun Kapoor in his dual roles as Vishal and Ajay has done a commendable job too.

Grey-shade characters look tailor-made for this young actor and this new kid has a long way to go.

Movie: Aurangzeb Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Prithviraj, Jackie Shroff Directed by: Atul Sabharwal developer Yashvardhan (Jackie Shroff) in Delhi who under the disguise of his property empire runs a crime world.

Well-versed with Yash’s unethical activities, senior inspector Ravikanth (Rishi Kapoor) along with his team including Arya (Prithviraj Sukamaran) and Dev (Sikender Kher) kidnaps Ajay and infiltrates his look-alike Vishal (Arjun Kapoor) to Yash’s empire to know all the secrets trigger-

VIDYA BALAN TO HOLIDAY

AGENCIES

Varun calls dad ‘task master’

IN FRANCE WITH HUSBAND

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ctress Vidya Balan, who was seen walking the red carpet at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival, will set out for a holiday with husband Siddharth Roy Kapur in France after the movie extravaganza.

“Vidya is currently at Cannes and Siddharth is expected to join her towards the end of the Cannes International Film festival. Both of them are expected to be in France post the fest for a small holiday,” said a source close to the actress.

Vidya is a jury member at the fest, where India is the guest country this year.

The actress tied the knot with Siddharth Roy Kapur, the managing director, Studios, Disney UTV, in December last IANS year.

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ctor Varun Dhawan says things are going to be very different for him when he starts shooting for Main Tera Hero, which will be directed by his father David Dhawan.

This will be Varun’s second movie in Bollywood after Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year (SOTY) and he feels things are going to be very professional between them.

“It is a different ball game (from SOTY)... my dad is a different task master. I don’t look at him as my father and he does not look at me as his son when we are on the set. I need to perform and there are no two ways about that,” says Varun.

Main Tera Hero is Bollywood remake of Telugu movie Kandireega and will go on the IANS floors on June 20.

CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

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CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

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CINEMA SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

More tacky than beautiful W hen we first meet Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), he’s a crestfallen alcoholic, clearly shaken by events he’s experienced. To recount his story, Carraway takes us back to his first encounters with enigmatic neighbor Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), who throws luxurious parties while mystique continues to grow surrounding both his identity and his sizable wealth.

Meanwhile, Carraway’s decision to re-introduce Gatsby to a former flame, Daisy (Carey Mulligan) foreshadows dangerous consequences for all involved.

It would be easy to call Luhrmann’s film gorgeously mounted, though on closer inspection this would appear to be a mistake. While the crafts services – namely cinematography, production and costume design – are indisputably top notch, there’s a cloying tackiness attached to the director’s excessive use of visual effects, bolstered by the most perfunctory of 3D presentations. Indeed, if there’s any word to best describe 2013′s The Great Gatsby, it has to be “excessive.”

Indeed, DiCaprio – who previously bumped his profile by starring in the director’s Romeo

and Juliet – is an inspired choice for the titular role, though sadly again misses out on an opportunity for industry recognition due to a clumsy director’s whims.

Mulligan, meanwhile, continues to demonstrate her mastery of a

Movie: The Great Gatsby Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isha Fisher, Amitabh Bachchan.

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann

EXAMINING OUR CHANGING TIMES

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know who to trust and who to dislike, but the answer is that there is no right or wrong. Nair achieves this by beginning her film with a conversation between an American journalist Bobby (Liev Schreiber) and a Pakistani professor Changez (Riz Ahmed) in a setting of high tension in a bar in Lahore and our initial belief is that the Bobby represents the core we trust and with whom we identify, that Changez is the unknown 'different culture' stranger who is suspect.

In the course of the film that position is deeply altered. And that is where the power of the message is so affecting. But we must go through flashbacks of 11 years to understand the real drama.

Characters in the film allow us to see there is no one way to view acts as right or wrong. It is all perception and hopefully this brilliant film will assist us in understanding the confusion that deeply affects us all everyday as we walk around the topic of terrorism.

Edgerton, who both acts and looks ridiculous throughout.

The Upside: Luhrmann’s film may very well score itself Academy Award nominations for Production Design and Costume Design. Performances – in spite of the material – are generally solid.

The Downside: Invasive visual effects and Luhrmann’s overblown aspirations stifle the core tenets of the novel.

On the Side: Gatsby was delayed from its original December 2012 release date, causing many to suspect that Warner had lost faith in the film’s awards potential.

Emily Blunt to reunite with 'Prada' co-star Meryl Streep

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Movie: The Reluctant Fundamentalist Cast: Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Riz Ahmed, Liev Schrelber Directed by: Mira Nair

or those who have read Mohsin Hamid's brilliant novel on which this film is based, the story will be easier to follow than the somewhat disconnected screenplay that was written

by Hamid with Ami Boghani and William Wheeler.

Mira Nair directs, and knowing her previous work suggests that it is this very disconnect that she wishes to emphasise in this profoundly moving film — in these times of global unrest and fear because of terrorist acts we don't

convincing American accent, and is probably the closest thing the film has – at least in terms of appearances – to a bonafide movie starlet, though she’s occasionally let down by some horrendously risible dialogue.

In many ways the stand-out, then, is Maguire, taking the more noble and unassuming role of the beguiled everyman who guides us through the story. The Spiderman star might not look like he’s aged a day since he first played Peter Parker, but he’s a pleasant counter-balance to the bombastic aesthetic of the film, and some of its more outrageous performers – namely Joel

mily Blunt is looking to show off another facet of her talents: singing.

The Looper actress is in final negotiations to join Disney's Into the Woods, an adaptation of the Tony-winning Stephen Sondheim musical that’s set to be directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine). Blunt will be playing the role of the Baker's Wife, the female lead, while Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp have already been cast as the Witch and the Wolf, respectively. In addition, Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Pine are reportedly in talks to play the two princes.

Into the Woods weaves together narratives from a number of Brothers Grimm fairytales including Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella.

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CHAI TIME SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

SUDOKU

THOUGHT OF THE DAY If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it.

– Julius Caesar

KAKURO

How to play kakuro

SCRIBBLING PAD

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.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 North Atlantic food fish 5 Cried like a cat 10 Luxury, say 14 "In ___-horse open sleigh" 15 "Stayin' ___" (Bee Gees hit) 16 Be in the game or in the band 17 Biggest human organ 18 Without fault or error 20 Cannabis plant 21 Director Spike 22 Prepares corn on the cob 23 Rock beater, sometimes 25 Blood sample container 27 Less fresh 29 Broken down 33 Chubby Checker's dance 34 Otis' pal, in film 35 Five of 50 36 You'll need to get it into your scull 37 Already-been-seen TV 38 "Messenger" compound 39 Bank holding 41 Line-___ veto 42 Surmise 44 Determined undertaking 46 They come to court 47 Butter replacement 48 Overpowering terror 49 Who to tell a secret to, presumably 52 Allow 53 Wild, desperate guess 56 Neat as a pin 59 Like a service station floor 60 Uncluttered 61 You get sick when you run one 62 Dust bunny particle 63 Henry VIII's second wife 64 Egg-producing organ 65 "Dukes of Hazzard" deputy sheriff

DOWN 1 Ambassador's ceremonial accessory 2 Pepsi competitor 3 Not damaged in any respect 4 Letter-writing friends 5 Container for shipping merchandise 6 Adversary of Bugs 7 Clean the windshield 8 Gift-wrapping time, for some 9 Busy mo. for retailers 10 Uniform adornment 11 Clerical clothing 12 Vaccine pioneer Jonas 13 Windows to the soul 19 Blacken, in a way 24 Teacher's favorite 25 Soft palate 26 Desktop item 27 Walked off with

28 Pen name for Clemens 50 Prophetic sign 29 Less rosy 51 Middle Eastern gulf 30 Flawlessness 52 Volcanic spew 31 Like some feelings or 54 Certain singing voice circles 55 Tournament passes 32 Pre-Revolution leaders 57 Seldom-spotted craft 34 "Same here!"

58 Potok's "My Name Is 37 Tear asunder Asher ___" 40 Newborn child PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER 42 Tiny charged particle 43 Foulsmelling 45 Obi-Wan portrayer Guinness 46 Diluted 48 Friend of Wendy, John and Michael 49 Pinta's sailing companion

27

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Two of Wands

The Wheel of Fortune

Temperance

Three of Pentacles

Three of Swords

Queen of Swords

W

W

W

W

W

W

ork –There are reforms needed in your attitude at work, and also your style of functioning. There are many ways you can deal with it.

Keep an open mind.

Romance – A romance refresh is in order. Doing the same old things in a new way will chart a new course for your romantic life. Health – Prepare for old age. Remember that you will be productive for more number of years than your parents.

Exercise and take care of your health. Money – There may be a need to drill the idea of savings into a spouse of close family member who uses your financial resources. Tarot message – Be aware of the environment and circumstances around you.

ork – Don’t take any rash decisions, like wanting to quit a job because someone said something. Take your time. Haste makes waste.

Romance – One person may be dominant in a relationship and it invariably feels like it is the person who speaks louder.

Need not be. Health – Get into the habit of eating healthy and build it into your lifestyle. You need to take better care of your overall health. Money – There may be some unforeseen expenses, like hospital bills or travel charges or extra taxes. Be prepared. Tarot message – Life will not be the same ever. Change is permanent. The only way to prepare for this by being open to it.

ork – Wearing formal clothes to work, despite what your office dress rules say, will put you in a professional frame of mind. Romance – There is something intriguing about a new relationship you have entered into. It leaves you with more questions when you try to get answers. Health – Take care of your teeth. Oral hygiene is very important to ensure good overall health. Brush twice daily.

Money – There may be a need to lift some curbs you have placed on yourself when it comes to spending. Live one day at a time. Tarot message – Patience is important especially while trying something new. The results may not be immediate.

ork – You may be feeling suffocated in a job and want out. But the money is good. So you’re feeling stuck. Stay on. Romance – You are jumping from one emotion to another without fully experiencing the beauty of it. Go slow in a relationship. Health – Stay hydrated at all times. Drink a lot of water and stay away from the harsh sun. You may get sunburns or stroke.

Money – Be careful while transacting with large sums of money using new technology like the internet or mobile banking. Use only safe connections and websites. Tarot message – Money is your focus right now and you need not worry one bit. All will go as per your plan.

ork – It may be a good idea to get out of your serious avatar at least for some time and crack jokes with colleagues and subordinates.

It will lighten the mood.

Romance – Wooing your lover in the traditional way with gifts, songs strummed on the guitar, and candlelight dinners, will never go out of fashion. Health – Use simple tactics to get health benefits in the long run. You could try chewing gum, for example, to lose face weight. Money – When one part of your financial goals are met, it is time to celebrate. But it also time to plan the next leg.

Tarot message – There is bound to be grief and unhappiness. For, without it you wouldn’t value happiness.

SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

Libra

Scorpio

Three of Cups

Two of Pentacles

W

ork – You may be spiking your own ideas because of lack of faith. Have complete trust in yourself and bounce off your ideas with someone before chucking them.

Romance – Singles are likely to meet someone interesting at the bar.

When travelling, you also get interested in random conversations. Health – Don’t over-do consumption of non-vegetarian food, if you are a non-veg eater. Even vegetarians should stay away from very oily and unhealthy foods. Money – There is a rhythm to your financial cycles and you are used to it. It is helping plan your money better.

Tarot message – Balance is needed in work and life.

ork – You will come out of the shadows.

You have worked very hard and it is time to step into the limelight. Romance – Take a daytrip together.

Surprise each other and do unusual things. It will increase the passion and keep you interested in each other. Health – Stay away from very icy-cold food and drinks. Balance your diet well and plan it according to the changing weather. Money –There are ways to learn from big investors and their investing behavior. You cannot get that practical knowledge in a textbook. Tarot message – A celebration is round the corner. It may not be for a conventional cause but just that you are handling a tough situation well.

W

Sagittarius Five of Pentacles

W

ork –You’re being crabby and it’s unfair to show your emotions to your coworkers.

They deserve better. Don’t be selfish. Romance – Flirt a little. No harm in engaging in playful banter with the opposite sex.

It will keep you occupied and engaged in light conversations. Health – Be careful of downing too much beer or eating too much. Binge-eating will also put all your fitness efforts to waste. Money – Keep a diversified portfolio and manage your money based on your individual needs. Stick to your annual savings goals. Tarot message – There is likely to be conflict and contradiction.

Don’t worry. It will be resolved.

Capricorn

Date 19-5-2013

Aquarius

The Lovers

Queen of Pentacles

W

W

ork – It’s a good idea to de-clutter your work desk and get rid of all the junk. It will also help clear your mind and focus at work. Romance – Candles are a romantic way of saying ‘I love you’.

Do what your partner likes, but also make sure to communicate to your partner about what you like.

Health – There is trouble looming with the change in weather. But it can be easily tackled by exercising caution and care. Money – You may be feeling like a prison with your own EMIs and loan repayments.

Living day to day should not become hell while repaying loans. Change conditions, if needed.

Tarot message – Take some tough decision to make life simpler.

ork – Take a leaf out of the book of someone you admire very deeply in your profession. It will be a good idea to emulate his/her ideals. Romance – A love letter will come your way.

Expect some traditional romance and wooing. You should also play the part equally. Health – Protect your mind and body from extreme stress. Do what it takes to de-stress as much as possible. Relax and calm down. Money – Check the balance sheet for any discrepancies, especially if you have handed over the managing to someone else.

Tarot message – It is lonely at the top. Keep this in mind while striving to be successful and get to the top quickly.

ork – When you get wind of some gossip near the copier machine or the water cooler, try not to react. Gossip is good at the work place but is to be taken lightly.

Romance – Present yourself better to the opposite sex. A wardrobe refresh may be in order. You may want to pay a visit to the spa, too. Health – Working like a robot according to a time table is killing your creativity.

This is not good for your energy levels. Money – You may be over-doing the retail therapy by hoping it will compensate for how you feel. Not working. Tarot message – Your ego has to be kept in check. Do what makes you happy.

Pisces Page of Cups

W

ork – You have been tense about a presentation. It goes very well and you put across your point exactly how you wanted to. Romance – A holiday to a new location with your partner will bring you two closer together. You can discover the place as well as each other. Health – Laugh a lot. Listen to good jokes and hang around with cheerful people. This will automatically make you feel better. Money – A joint account may need attention. Keep a check on your finances and review your investments in a routine check. Tarot message – Go with the flow and use your intuition. Thinking or analyzing too much will not help get what you need.

Vol: 2, No 302 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 040-40672222, Fax: 040-40672211

28

THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

IN THE NEWS

9. Amaretto drink originated in which country?

10. How many million kilometres is the average distance between the earth and the sun?

11. Which country with the world's third-largest economy is pursuing a monetary and fiscal policy known as

"Abenomics"?

12. Russia has plans to build a launch site within its borders by 2018. From which country does Russia currently launch space missions?

13. What is the SI unit of temperature?

14. What is the chemical symbol for gold?

Answers

4.What is the basic structural and functional unit of a living organism?

5. How many rhymed quatrains does Nostradamus’ third edition of the Prophecies contain?

6. How many degree Celsius is water at its highest density?

7. What is Ireland’s nickname?

8. What is Iran's former name?

1John Major 2.John Maynard Keynes 3.Syria 4.Cell 5.941 6.4 7.The Emerald Isles 8.Persia 9.Italy 10. 150 11. Japan 12. Guyana 13. Kelvin 14.Au

1. Who was Britain's Prime Minister immediately after Margret Thatcher?

2. Which famous economist said, "In the long run we are all dead"?

3. In what country does al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat alNusra operate?

TEST YOURSELF

DO YOU KNOW THESE BIRDS?

CURRENT AFFAIRS

1

2

1

WHO SAID THESE WORDS?

1

Which legendary footballer announced his retirement from professional football. He will hang his boots after the end of the season.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

2

2 3 4

To promote India as a filming destination, a delegation from which part of the ministry was in attendance at the Cannes Film Festival?

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.

3

American Scientists by using Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Technique created something unique for the first time. What is the creation?

4

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

3

1David Beckham 2.I&B and Tourism Ministry 3.Cloned human embryo

Answers

5 6 7

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

KNOW YOUR COUNTRY

Reality continues to ruin my life.

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

with Santosh Ghule Find who all are there in the picture.

The object and the wearer.

WHO AM I? I am a hot-headed young Malayalee cricketer, who shot to fame because of my bowling skills. But controversy has been my favourite playing field. I was in news for the slapgate scandal and now for matchfixing. Who am I?

Answer: Shanthakumaran

Answer for 66:

6

Who is the new Chief Minister of Karnataka?

PICTURE PUZZLE 67

West

Name the Indian hornbill conservator who has been awarded the Whitley Award, also known as the Green Oscar?

Summer Tanager 2.Blackbird 3.Thrush 4.White-chested laughing thrush

4 5

India recently unveiled an indigenously developed Rotavirus Vaccine. Name it.

Answers: 1.

Which three countries approved the fifth IBSA Women’s Forum Resolution, in New Delhi on May 16, 2013?

Sreesanth

Which article of the Indian Constitution ensures Freedom of Press in India?

Answers : 1Antoine de SaintExupéry 2. Mahatma Gandhi 3. Marcel Proust 4.Dr Seuss 5.Oscar Wilde 6.Bill Waterson 7.Ernest Hemingway

1 2 3

How many spokes are there in our national emblem 'Ashoka Chakra'?

1. 24 2.Article 19 3. India, Brazil, South Africa 4. Rotavac 5. Aparajita Dutta 6. K Siddaramaiah

Answers

29

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Srinivasa, Grahesh in lead

M

Srinivasa Rao and Y Grahesh are in joint lead with 6 points from 6 rounds in the Sri Viswasanthi All India fide rating chess tournament. FMJ Ramakrishna and ML Abhilsh Reddy are in second spot with 5.5 points each. J Venkataramana , YVK Chakravarthy, M Chakravarthy Reddy and B Kranthikumar are in third spot with 5 points each.

Venturi dies, aged 82

Purdy’s title bid fails

K

E

en Venturi, the 1964 US Open champion who spent 35 years as a US television golf commentator, has died at the age of 82, US media reported on Friday. The San Francisco Chronicle said Venturi’s son, Matt, had informed the newspaper that his father died on Friday afternoon in Rancho Mirage, California, near Palm Springs.

ngland’s Lee Purdy failed to make weight for Saturday’s planned welterweight world title fight against champion Devon Alexander, squandering his chance for the title crown.

Purdy tipped the scales on Friday at 147.8 pounds, just over the 147pound limit, while US southpaw Alexander weighed in at 146.7 pounds.

Chinese quartet surge ahead Martyn WOOD

PARIS, FRANCE: Reigning champion Zhang Jike of China eased through to the last 16 of the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris on Friday after seeing off compatriot Fan Zhendong.

The fourth seed and Olympic title-holder cruised to an 11-9, 118, 11-9, 11-5 victory over world number 38 Fan to set up a fourthround meeting with Robert Gardos of Austria.

Meanwhile, top-ranked Xu Xin made short work of Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia, sweeping aside his opponent 11-8, 11-0, 11-8, 11-7 to earn another shot at Portuguese opposition in the form of Marcos Freitas in the next round.Second seed Ma Long beat Slovenia’s Bojan Tokic 11-6, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8, while 2009 champion Wang Hao moved comfortably through to round four after coasting past Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan 11-7, 11-5, 11-2, 10-12, 11-3. Top European Timo Boll of Germany fended off a gritty display from Sweden’s Jens Lundqvist, 61 places below him

in the rankings, to advance 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8.

“My opponent played quite well today. I had a feeling I was in good shape then suddenly it was two games all,” said Boll.

“I didn’t feel that I had played badly, but I think in the end I deservedly won. I played at a good level.

“It’s not easy for me to find my rhythm in the first rounds.

I’m in good form and I’m fit, so I hope I can go further,” added the world No.5.

London 2012 bronze medallist Dimitrij Ovtcharov joined compatriot Boll in the next round after defeating Hong Kong’s Tang Peng.

Japan’s Kenta Matsudaira followed up Thursday’s shock victory over veteran Chinese star Ma Lin by battling past Chiang Hung-Chieh, but there was better news for Chinese Taipei as sixthranked Chuang Chih-Yuan stayed in the hunt after knocking out AFP South Korean Cho Eonrae.

China’s Xin Xu competes during the Men’s Singles of the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris on Friday.

AFP/THOMAS SAMSON

Leader Van Garderen wins California time trial SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: American BMC rider Tejay van Garderen strengthened his grip on the overall lead in the Tour of California on Friday with a victory in the individual time trial sixth stage.

The 24-year-old was the only rider to break 49 minutes on the 31.6-kilometer (19.6-mile) course, winning in 48:52 to extend his lead in the overall standings over Australian Michael Rogers, winner of the 2010 edition, to 1:47.

Van Garderen’s time was 22 seconds faster than runner up Lieuwe Westra of the Netherlands.

Australian Garmin rider Rohan Dennis was third, 27 seconds back. Rogers finished fourth to remain in second place overall, while fellow Aussie Cameron Meyer’s sixth-place finish saw him move up to third in the standings with two stages remaining.

Van Garderen used his time trial bike throughout, opting

Kings sold to group led by Ranadive

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: A group led by software magnate Vivek Ranadive (in pic) of India has purchased the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and will keep the team in the California capital, the city’s mayor confirmed on Friday.

Mayor Kevin Johnson, himself a former NBA player, announced that a deal had been signed to keep the club in Sacramento -- a contract that includes a new 18,500-seat downtown arena as part of the lure to prevent a move to Seattle.

“It’s about jobs and it’s about revitalizing downtown,” Johnson said of the deal and the planned new $447 million venue. “It’s about civic pride. It’s about not letting somebody take something that isn’t theirs.”

The Maloof family had made a deal to sell the club to a group that would have moved it to Seattle, but league owners voted 22-8 to reject that deal on Wednesday, setting the stage for the AFP sale to Ranadive’s group for a record sum.

Increased venom as tyre war erupts again Tim Collings

LONDON: F1’s increasingly-

Tejay van Garderen of the USA riding for BMC Racing takes the podium with his daughter Rylan after winning the Individual Time Trial during Stage Six on Friday.

AFP/DOUG PENSINGER

against a change to a standard road bike for the final ascent to the finish.

“I’m really struggling for words right now,” said Van Garderen, buoyed by the arrival of his wife and infant daughter to the stage. “This feeling’s incredible. Now we just need to bring it home on Saturday.” AFP

bitter ‘tyre war’ erupted again, with increased venom, this week when Ferrari followed Lotus in hitting out at rivals Red Bull and accusing the champion team of having a selective memory and tyre suppliers Pirelli of bowing to pressure.

In an astonishing succession of statements, following Pirelli’s decision to change the structure of their under-fire tyres from next month’s Canadian GP, it became clear that both Ferrari and Lotus believe Red Bull has pressurised the Italian rubber company into complying with their own wishes.

Pirelli has denied that is the case, but in a row that has intensified significantly since last Sunday’s chaotic, pit-stop strewn Spanish Grand Prix, the paddock has divided and feelings are running wild in

the run-up to next weekend’s showpiece Monaco Grand Prix.

In the ‘Horse Whisperer’ column on their own website, Ferrari — who won that race with a four-stop strategy for Spaniard Fernando Alonso — on Friday declared: “It seems one must almost feel ashamed for choosing a strategy that, as always for that matter, is aimed

at getting the most out of the package one has available. “On top of that, if this choice emerges right from the Friday, because all the simulations are unanimous in selecting it, then why on earth should one feel embarrassed when compared to those who have gone for a different choice, only to regret it during the race itself ?” AFP

30

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

Novak crashes, Maria pulls out ROME: World number one Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Rome Masters at the hands of Tomas Berdych on Friday while Maria Sharapova withdrew from the women’s event through illness.

But Rafael Nadal stayed on course for a seventh title in the Italian capital with a three-set triumph over Spanish compatriot David Ferrer.

Second seed Roger Federer also made the semi-finals by overcoming big-hitting Pole Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) to set up a clash with French upstart Benoit Paire Berdych, who had beaten top-seeded Djokovic only once in their last 14 meetings, prevailed 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 to book himself an unlikely place in the semi-finals against Nadal and boost his chances ahead of the French Open which gets underway on May 26.

“I lost this match by myself,” admitted Djokovic, who had led by a set and 5-2 and had suffered a second round loss to Grigor Dimitrov at last week’s Madrid

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during his quarter-finals match against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych on Friday at the Rome Masters. Berdych ousts top AFP/FILIPPO MONTEFORTE seed Djokovic 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Masters.

“I just lost a bit of concentration. I started playing more defensively.

“The match turned around, he gained confidence and I had a few unforced errors.

Anderson bowls Eng back into Test Julian GUYER

LONDON: James Anderson took his 300th Test wicket and then ended a bold counter-attack

by New Zealand’s Ross Taylor as England fought back in the first Test at Lord’s.

The two players lit up a Lord’s bathed in artificial floodlight to counter the overhead gloom of Friday’s second day, which ended with New Zealand 153 for four in reply to England’s first innings 232. Anderson took the first three wickets to fall, reducing the Black Caps to seven for two before dismissing Taylor for a scintillating 66.

“I’m quite happy I’ve got it

out of way the early and can move on now and think about something else,” Anderson said.

The 30-year-old, in his 81st match at this level, did not have long to wait for his 299th Test wicket after taking the new ball.

Anderson squared Hamish Rutherford up with an outswinger and England captain Alastair Cook, diving to his right, held an excellent low catch at first slip.

Anderson struck again when Peter Fulton nicked a good length ball low to second slip Graeme Swann as the Lancashire seamer became only the fourth England bowler after Fred Trueman, Bob Willis and Ian Botham to take 300 Test wickets.

“At this level you have to take the opportunities when they come to you.”

Defending champion Nadal came through a tough quarterfinal against Ferrer prevailing 64, 4-6, 6-2 in a 2hr 46min slug-fest.

It was Nadal’s second win over Ferrer inside a fortnight after his quarter-final victory on his way to the Madrid Masters title last week.

“I played a great match against a difficult opponent... so this victory for me is very special,” said Nadal.

After his feat, Berdych said he put his past record against Djokovic to the back of his mind.

“I had the same motivation as in any other match so there was no question about looking for motivation,” said Berdych.

“Even if the record with him wasn’t good, one day you have to break it.

“Every streak has to finish some time, and I’m happy that it was today.”

Nadal came into this year’s tournament seeded only fifth having missed seven months of action because of a knee injury.

However, he has been in great form since his return in February, winning five titles and also having reached seven finals.

AFP

Federer overcomes Janowicz ROME: World number three Roger Federer overcame big-hitting Pole Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) on Friday to set up a Rome Masters semi-final with French upstart Benoit Paire.

Federer wrapped up the first set comfortably but in a tighter second set the Swiss was forced into a series of unforced errors by the service game of the giant 23-year-old from Lodz.

Janowicz built a 5-4 lead in the second set after hitting two aces.

But the Pole, standing at 2.03 metres tall, squandered a chance to level the match when he made two double faults in the 10th game.

AFP

Korda seizes lead at Mobile Bay LPGA MOBILE, ALABAMA: Jessica Korda had seven birdies in her seven-under par 65 on Friday to seize a one-shot second-round lead over surging Hall of Famer Karrie Webb in the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic.

Korda built a 36-hole total of 13-under 131, while Australia’s Webb climbed up the leaderboard with a bogey-free nine-under 63 for 132.

Chella Choi of South Korea led much of the day, but her six-under 66 finally

left her in third place on 133.

Webb did all she could, grabbing four of her nine birdies in her last five holes as she closed her round

with three straight birdies.

“I’m not sure the last time I had a bogey-free round, so I’m really happy about that,” Webb said.

“That’s sort of been my problem is I have bogeys at the wrong time and it really kills momentum.”

Webb predicted she’d need to maintain that kind of pace.

“I think I’ll need to do that for the weekend playing with Jess. She played really solidly for two days,” AFP Webb said.

Bradley in top spot in Texas

England’s James Anderson (C) celebrates the dismissal of New Zealand’s Hamish Rutherford for four runs during the second day of the first Test cricket match between England and New Zealand at Lord’s cricket ground in London on Friday.

AFP/GLYN KIRK

IRVING, TEXAS: Keegan Bradley (in pic) followed up his stellar 10-under par first round with a one-under 69 on Friday to maintain a three-stroke lead in the US PGA Tour Byron Nelson Championship.

Former PGA Championship winner Bradley couldn’t match his opening-round exploits, but he had four birdies against three bogeys on a windy afternoon on the par-70 TPC Four Seasons Resort course to stay atop the leaderboard with an 11-under par total of 129.

Despite the more difficult conditions, Bradley emerged with the lowest 36-hole total at the tournament since 2001.

“I’m almost more proud of

this round than yesterday because I didn’t feel comfortable all day,” said Bradley, who bookended his round with

bogeys at the first and 18th.

“I don’t know what it was, I can’t put my finger on it but, you know, I bogeyed the first hole. I was a little uncomfortable and then I settled in and hit some really good shots.”

Bradley, whose 2011 victory in this event was his first on the US PGA Tour, got off to a rocky start when he missed the fairway at the first en route to a bogey. At the 18th he drove into the right rough under the trees and eventually missed a putt to save par. Tom Gillis took advantage of the more benign morning conditions to shoot a sevenunder 63 that gave him a share of second place on 132 alongAFP side Bae Sang-Moon.

IPL 6

31

BATTLE OF THE TITANS

METRE

6 S 594

Chris Gayle (RCB)

47 4S 1842

70

Michael Hussey (CRK)

HIGHEST SCORE

175*

SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 Chris Gayle (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

5-16

James Faulkner (RR)

Despair over spread of fixing This [the spot fixing scandal] feels like a kick in the teeth for them, the Royals fans, the Royals players and the game of cricket.

Shane Warne former RR player

Chris Gayle (RCB) 680 runs

James Faulkner (RR) 26 wickets

Scandal has caused us distress: CEO

R

ajasthan Royals’ CEO Raghu Iyer said the arrest of three of its cricketers for alleged role in spot-fixing in the ongoing IPL has caused “immense distress” to everyone associated with the franchise.

“All of the Rajasthan Royal owners, management, captain, coach and players and staff are shocked and disappointed at the entire situation which has caused immense distress to us all,” Iyer said in a statement.

Pacer Sreesanth and two other bowlers from Rajasthan Royals were arrested in a post-midnight operation in Mumbai by Delhi Police for spot-fixing IPL matches for payments of up to Rs 60 lakhs just for giving away pre-determined number of runs in an over.

P MI

W

15 11

L 4

T PT 0

NR

22 +0.640

CSK

15 11

4

0

22 +0.625

RR

16 10

6

0

20 +0.322

SRH

15

9

6

0

18 -0.031

RCB

15

8

7

0

16 +0.387

KXIP 15

7

8

0

14 +0.068

KKR

15

6

9

0

12 -0.065

DD

15

3

12 0

6 -0.775

PWI

15

3

12 0

6 -1.203

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

NEW DELHI: The arrest of three Indian cricketers for spotfixing has prompted new fears over the growing influence of betting mafias on the game in the subcontinent and despair about the “cancer” of corruption.

Police behind the arrests say the trio were acting under orders from crime syndicates whose bosses are based in the Gulf but are well aware of the rewards if they can manipulate events on the field throughout the cricket-mad region.

Commentators meanwhile say administrators from across South Asia have to share some of the blame for the growing list of scandals after failing to ostracise players who have previously been fingered by investigators.

“The spot-fixing cancer has spread far and wide and there is no cure unless authorities take strict action against players,” leading cricket historian Boria Majumdar told AFP. “Cricketers who are found guilty should have nothing to do with the game for the rest of

A combo file photo shows Rajasthan Royals paceman S Sreesanth and spinners Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, the three players who have been reportedly been arrested for spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League.

PTI

their lives.”

The three arrested Thursday, including Test bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, are said to have deliberately bowled badly in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars while playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

It is the second such scandal to have rocked the tournament in as many years and comes

only months after leading umpires from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were caught in a TV sting being apparently willing to give favourable decisions in exchange for cash during other Twenty20 competitions in the region.

Last year’s inaugural edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, another Twenty20 tournament, was also marred

by corruption allegations and saw former Bangladeshi international Shariful Haque being indefinitely banned.

And the biggest cricket corruption scandal of recent years ended up with the jailing of three Pakistani players, including former skipper Salman Butt, for spot-fixing during a Test match against England at Lord’s in August 2010.

PTI

SRH inch closer to playoffs

SCORECARD SUNRISERS HYDERABAD V RAJASTHAN ROYALS Sunrisers Hyderabad innings (20 overs maximum)

Rajasthan Royals innings (target: 137 runs from 20 overs)

PA Patel† b Faulkner

2

R Dravid* run out (White)

S Dhawan c Rahane b Faulkner

1

AM Rahanec Dhawan b KV Sharma

12

SR Watsonc Sammy b Perera

11

GH Vihari c Sachin Baby b Trivedi 19 CL White* c Trivedi b Watson

0

25

SV Samson†c Steyn b Mishra

5

Samantray c Cooper b Faulkner

55

STR Binny

b Perera

8

DJG Sammy c Hodge b Faulkner

23

BJ Hodge

b Steyn

8

NLTC Perera not out

17

Sachin Baby lbw b Mishra

3

DW Steyn b Faulkner

0

JP Faulknerc Perera b KV Sharma

6

KV Sharma run out

4

K Cooper c Samantray b Steyn

A Mishra run out (Cooper)

0

PV Tambe

not out

3

15

SK Trivedi

not out

0

(lb 4, w 2)

6

Extras

(b 1, lb 9, w 5)

Total (9 wickets; 20 overs)

136

Extras

26

Bowling

O

M R

W Econ

Total (9 wickets; 20 overs)

BJ Hodge

1

0

3

0

3.00

Bowling

O

M R

W Econ

JP Faulkner

4

1 16

5

4.00

DW Steyn

4

0 17

2

4.25

SR Watson

3

0 19

1

6.33

I Sharma

4

0 22

0

5.50

PV Tambe

3

0 20

0

6.66

KV Sharma

4

0 33

2

8.25

STR Binny

1

0

9

0

9.00

DJG Sammy

1

0

4

0

4.00

SK Trivedi

4

0 20

1

5.00

A Mishra

4

0

8

2

2.00

K Cooper

4

0 39

0

9.75

NLTC Perera

3

0 25

2

8.33

Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 23 runs

113

G APARNA SAI aparna.s@postnoon.com

direct throw from Cameron White, Rajasthan lost wickets at regular intervals and wrapped up their innings at 113 for nine.

HYDERABAD: In a must win Earlier, Sunrisers, having encounter, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss, elected to bat. defeated Rajasthan Royals here They began on a sloppy note on Friday. Chasing 137 for victohaving lost three wickets with ry, the Rajasthan side fell short only five runs on the board. of the target by 23 runs.

But Biplab Samantray, who Amit Mishra who bowled escaped being dissuperbly, claiming two wickets for eight KXIP VS MI AT 4PM missed on a run out runs, was awarded RCB VS CSK AT 8PM as the visitors did not appeal when he the Man of the ON SET MAX was on six, steadied Match. Dale Steyn, the Hyderabad Karan Sharma and innings scoring a well paced 55 Thisara Perera also took two from 46 deliveries. wickets, apiece.

Darren Sammy chipped in The Royals began their with a useful 23 while Hanuma innings on a good note with Vihari contributed 19 and Rahul Dravid scoring well Perera 17. With this win, Kings while Ajinkya Rahane supportXI Punjab’s hopes of making it ed him at the other end. the playoffs, came to an end.

But once the skipper fell to a

32

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

THE KICK THAT LOST THE CUP: RONALDO’S RED CARD

A PERFECT 10 Jose Mourinho and Ronaldo were sent off in a bad-tempered game that saw Atletico Madrid lift their 10th Spanish Cup.

MADRID: Atletico Madrid

Agence France-Presse

MADRID: Real Madrid manager Jose

We have four or five clear chances and when you don’t take them, then you regret it. It is clear that this is the reality and we have to accept it.

Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid manager

Boggle

But Gabim who was also sent-off, insisted his side were worthy winners.

“This team has worked hard, to be here with the fans,” Gabi told TVE. “We deserve it, this victory is for them, for those people that have waited 14 years to see Atletico beat Madrid.” Real captain Sergio Ramos was left to rue their missed chances throughout the 120 minutes.

“After the first goal we maybe relaxed and they

HAWK DOVE CROW DUCK WREN LOON

Suduko

Scrabble

SOLUTIONS

Mourinho, who is widely expected to be back in charge at Chelsea next season, refused to speculate on whether or not he would be in the Real hot-seat for a fourth year.

Kieran CANNING

Number game

won their 10th Spanish Cup on Friday when they beat bitter city rivals Real Madrid 2-1 in extra-time in a match which saw both Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo sent-off.

Real had been unbeaten in the previous 25 meetings between the two sides dating back 14 years and Mourinho’s men got off to the perfect start when Ronaldo headed in Luka Modric’s corner.

However, Diego Costa levelled for Atletico 10 minutes before half-time and Los Rojiblancos rode their luck as Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema and Ronaldo all hit the post for Real.

Mourinho, expected to be back in charge at Chelsea next season, was then sent from the touchline 13 minutes from the end of normal time before Miranda headed Atletico in front eight minutes into extra time. There was even more drama to come as Ronaldo was shown a straight red card for reacting angrily to a late challenge from Gabi with six minutes remaining.

“We had two clear chances on goal, we hit the post three times — this is why I think it is unfair,” said Mourinho.

‘Worst season of my career’

pushed us back,” he said.

“We have four or five clear chances and when you don’t take them, then you regret it. It is clear that this is the reality and we have to accept it.”

Mourinho, who could well have sat on the Real bench for the last time as he is now likely to receive a four-game touchline ban, continued to controversially freeze out Pepe after his outspoken comments against the coach.

Mourinho described his side’s season as the worst of his trophy-laden, colourful career after Atletico Madrid edged a 2-1 extra-time Spanish Cup triumph.

Real have already surrendered their La Liga title to Barcelona and were eliminated

by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals, leaving the former Chelsea boss to lament a return of just the Spanish Supercup in terms of silverware.

“A career is made up of many years, not just one. I don’t know anyone who always has fantastic seasons, winning important titles,” said Mourinho, whose desperation was illustrated when he was sent to the stands on Friday. “This is the worst season of my career with a title not sufficient to satisfy Real and therefore it is a bad season.

“With a final, a semi-final, second place in the league and the Supercup, what for many would be a good season, for me is the worst.” Mourinho, who is expected to be back in Chelsea, refused to speculate on whether or not he would be in the Real hotseat for a fourth year.

Arsenal control their destiny

NEWCASTLE: Arsene Wenger insists he would have been happy to see Arsenal’s Champions League hopes go to the final day when his side appeared out of the race for a top four finish earlier this season.

Wenger’s side trailed Tottenham by seven points in March, but now play their final fixture at Newcastle on Sunday knowing victory will guarantee they finish at least fourth and secure a spot in the Champions

League qualification rounds.

Should Chelsea fail to beat Everton, they could yet finish third, possibly via a play-off if the two clubs finish level on points, goal difference and goals scored.