Epaper 19 june 2013

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013 HYDERABAD

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 29°C

32 PAGES

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THE GROUP OF 8 In Lough Erne in Northern Ireland, the G8 summit is on and member countries are taking stock of the current global situation. Over the years its membership has grown and so has its scope. Here are the essential facts about the G8.

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HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

He sold false gods in the name of Congress A former City Congress president has gone to ground with a huge bounty of cash and gold illegally obtained from the faithful. He reportedly used the names of ministers Danam Nagender and Mukesh Goud to collect funds. The Begumpet police, however, are hot on his trail.

PG 3

ARE YOU READY FOR THE

VAT

ATTACK?

If the amendment Bill on VAT introduced yesterday is passed, it will push up the prices of small but necessary items and food will become dearer in the State. Once again the only person who will suffer is you.

So what’s the government up to?

REPORT ON P5

BRAND DIVORCED PERRY VIA TEXT British comic Russell Brand told Katy Perry he was divorcing her by text message, the US pop star said in a new magazine, adding that she hasn’t heard from him since.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

city events

JUST FOR LAUGHS

California Comedy Invasion with Raj Sharma and Vasu Primlan.

Where: Aros Lounge Bar, Hitex City When: June 22, 7.30 pm Contact: 80083-00550

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

30°C

24°C

28°C

35°C

A mix of cloudy and clear skies.

A mix of cloudy and clear skies.

A mix of cloud and sun.

A mix of cloud and sun.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 37 Max 28 Min 24 Min 25 Partly cloudy

Chennai Max 37 Min 27

Cloudy with chances of thunderstorms.

Partly cloudy

Bangalore Max 28 Min 20

Cloudy with chances of thunderstorms.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES DINING

World music day World music day 2013 will be held.

Where: Taj Deccan , Banjara Hills When: June 21, 6 pm Contact: 2335-0443

Food fest Pasta food festival is on.

Where: Prego, The Westin When: June 20 to June 30, 7 pm to 11 pm For Reservation call: 040 6767 6828 Kakatiya food Kakatiya Food Festival is on.

Where: Bidri, Marriott When: Till June 30, 6.30 pm to 11.30 pm For reservations: +91 40 2752 2577

SHOWS Art attack An ode to a Tree, semi abstract paintings by B Bhaskar Rao will be held.

Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills When: Till June 20 Contact: 98499-68797

Parental workshop Tips for pregnant women by Dr Rekha Sudarshan will be held.

Where: Fortune Select Manohar, Begumpet When: June 22, 2 pm to 6 pm

BSNL Complaints HMWS & SB Complaints

198 155313

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

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

Summer filmmaking workshop Summer filmmaking workshop for engineering students is on.

Where: International School for Film + Media, Banjara Hills When: Till June 21, 9.30 am to 1.30 pm Contact: 4914-1234

WORKSHOPS Interview workshop Workshop on success in interview will be held.

Where: Swamy Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence, Lower Tankbund When: June 22, 10 am to 1 pm Contact: 2762-7961

Commissioner & Spl Officer

GAS BOOKING IVRS NO HP 9666023456 Indane 9848824365

Freezing a moment Workshop on professional photography.

Where: Zing Academy, Banjara Hills When: June 22, 10 am Contact: 99598-88188

Play time Girish Karnad's Nagamandala: Play With A Cobra will be staged.

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

Mime workshop Auditions for Natvarya, a workshop

by Indian Mime Academy will be held.

Where: Sutradhar School of Acting, Himayathnagar When: June 22 and June 23, 11 am to 5 pm Contact: 82971-17515

Helpline

Masala workout Masala bhangra workout will be held.

Where: Ozone 3- Fitness N Spa, Banjara Hills When: June 22 and June 23, 10 am to 6 pm Contact: 001-212-213-8208

Reel abilities Between the Lines, English play by Nandita Das will be staged.

Where: The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, Hitech City When: June 22, 7.30 pm Contact: 6767-6767

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

FAMILY BUSINESS?: A mother accompanied by her children as she goes about doing her daily chores in the Old City on Tuesday.

Money matter A thrillionare workshop by Nik Halik will be held.

Where: Taj Deccan , Banjara Hills When: June 20, 5.30 pm to 9 pm Contact: 6666-3939

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

155313 23307328 23313163

27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666 39879999

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

Film appreciation Reflect and unwind about thrillers from world cinema.

Where: Yavanika Films, Begumpet When: July 22 and 23, July 29 and July 30, 11 am to 7 pm

27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445

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

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

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

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

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

news

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL INDUCTION OF STATE LEADERS HELP CONGRESS? 33% 67%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

DO YOU THINK ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION MEASURES REMAIN MERE PAPER TIGERS? A)

YES

B)

NO

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

POSTNOON EXCLUSIVE

3

He sold gods on Congress label!

Former City party president has now gone underground with a huge booty of cash and gold. He reportedly used the names of ministers Danam Nagender and Mukesh Goud to collect funds.

Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: GK Ramesh, according to the police report, is no ordinary fraud. He was formerly the City Congress president and used his position to the hilt.

The entire episode came out after Danam Nagender wrote to the police chief, disassociating himself from Ramesh. The minister said that he did not know the man.

When Ramesh collected big donations from rich and devout people for temple revamping, he invited them to come to the temple in Begumpet. When some of them visited, they were shocked to learn Ramesh was not con-

nected with the temple now though he was once chairman.

Dandoomar Mandir, Balamrahi, chairman Shivanand lodged a complaint with the police against Ramesh for collecting funds using temple letterAROUND THE

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heads. He had liberally used the Congress letterhead before, it is alleged.

But Ramesh was reportedly missing after collecting chanda from many temples in different places of Andhra Pradesh.

Posing as a Congress leader out to do charity and religious

FOR REPRESENTATION ONLY

works, he wrote on Congress letterheads, dropping names of ministers in between to impress the potential quarry. Many fell for his disguise and contributed funds, said investigating inspector Y Narasimha Reddy.

According to inspector Reddy, Ramesh, 45, is a resident of Balamrahi in Begumpet Basti. A decade or so ago, he was rubbing shoulders with big names in politics, which he used to the hilt to shave people off their money. Realising his wayward ways, the Congress City committee sacked him.

But this did not dissuade Ramesh from making a fortune from the good faith of religious minded people of the State.

Temple reconstruction, rejuvenation and charity works are the fields he promoted and got funds. The magnitude of the fraud is yet to be probed.

Police believe the political screen he hoisted about him had probably misled people who liberally donated for a religious cause. He is alleged to have made eye-catching images and appealing contents for temples portraying the deity as special for delivering favours. The gullible who abound everywhere, fell for it.

However, to his (dis) credit he has indeed made some small places of worship installing an idol here, another there, police found out.

News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013 LAST YEAR... HERE MBA? Not in AP

L

ast year we had reported how students who wished to study business management were leaving the State in droves. The top 30 MBA colleges are all located outside the State and students preferred moving out rather than settling for colleges here. The ones who did stay back claim that th poor faculty and bad placement ratio hurt their prospects.

JUNE 19, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

5%

Value Added Tax (VAT) will be levied on paper, fruit juices and fruit pulp.

The imposition of fresh tax on various commodities would bring in `493 crore revenue to the State’s exchequer in the ongoing fiscal.

Due to a political agenda, officials never come here to verify. So that when we go to vote, they'll say there's no matching information in their records and we are turned away.

N Narender, Shivaji Nagar resident, See page 7

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THINGS WE LEARNT TODAY

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

1

Former Cong man dupes devotees.

Using his former Congress credentials and his post on a temple board, GK Ramesh conned several devotees of cash and gold in the name of collecting donations for a temple.

2

Grameen Bank’s future uncertain.

Bangladesh's pioneering microlender faces an uncertain future after a commission proposed the government take over or break up the Nobel-award-winning bank, analysts said

3

Bringing back the Galapagos turtle.

Scientists will try to revive two species of giant Galapagos tortoises thought to have been extinct by breeding genetic relatives in captivity.

4

Three more months before Aadhaar-LPG link.

The State government said it got an extension from the Centre.

5

The difficulties in giving up plastic.

The plastic ban is all good, but we see no signs of implementation.

4

ENVIRONMENT

Plastic ban still paper tiger GHMC’s latest flop feat on World Environment Day (June 5) that it would impose a plastic ban from June 15 proved another rubber bullet — calculated to scare, not to kill.

Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The GHMC finds it difficult to muzzle the usage of plastics almost two years after it took the initiative.

A few days ago, commissioner MT Krishna Babu had explained that GHMC was committed to controlling the plastic usage by pursuing the matter with plastic manufacturers and retailers.

The deadline was set for June 15, but nothing on the ground has been achieved.

According to additional commissioner (health) L Vandana Kumar, retailers were asked to come up with a solu-

If there was encouragement, the City would have 1,000-2,000 small scale industries operating in the hands of 50,000 SHGs producing paper, cloth and jute bags.

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tion by June 15. But none has turned up over the issue or has expressed interest in finding a solution. “We are writing to them over the issue. As none has turned up, we shall be pursuing the matter,” he said.

According to officials, as the GHMC was engaged with the issue of workers, who were poised to go on strike until June 18, nothing groundbreaking could be achieved on the plastic ban.

LACK OF ALTERNATIVES Even though there is talk of using jute bags, people don’t have any idea where it is available. Accessibility is the biggest hurdle in using alternative bags.

There are thousands of self help groups (SHGs) which could have helped in achieving various alternatives like jute and paper bags, but the corporation does not have training programmes or schemes to provide them loans to establish a small scale industry.

Organisations like Forum for Sustainable Environment question the seriousness of the

GHMC on the issue. “There is lack of awareness in their own ranks, as 50 per cent of the plastic is burned by the corporation itself,” alleges Jeevananda Reddy, the convenor.

departments over environmental issues, points out that the GHMC, revenue, and the pollution control board are the three departments which are to be blamed for the mushrooming of illegal plastic bag making units.

“It is accepted that jute is a better alternative to plastic but its availability should be made

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE Reddy, who has pursued the matter with several government

Technology brings change

T

echnology is really cheap, what is lacking is environmental awareness and utter lack of will on the parts of politicians. Th plastic menace could be treated if those ruling the City are environmentally literate.

Here is a news item from The Hindu’s Kozhikode edition, where plastic is turned to produce cooking gas.

Kozhikode: A team of researchers from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C), has developed a technology that converts plastic waste into cooking gas

without causing pollution.

The team, led by Lisa Sreejith, associate professor, Department of Chemistry, NIT-C and N Sitaraman, retired chemistry professor of the institute, told The Hindu that the costeffective and eco-friendly breakthrough was achieved through a thermochemical decomposition of the shredded waste plastic at an elevated temperature in the absence of oxygen. “As much as 750 ml of gas can be produced from a mere four gm of plastic waste using the technology,” said Dr Lisa.

Singireddy Srinivas Reddy TDP floor leader more widespread and the GHMC should strictly implement (the ban) with stores, shops, malls and other retails outlets,” Reddy points out.

According to him, in cities like Bangalore and some north Indian cities, the awareness levels are higher and school-going children bring every bit of plastic to a collection centre, which in turn takes it to recycle.

Forum for a Better Hyderabad’s general secretary Omim Maneckshaw Debara points out lack of will power among the civic officials in bringing to book the plastic manufacturing units is the root cause. “If they ensure that all facilities like power and water are cut down, how can these plastic units continue to run?” says Debara.

CITY BRIEFS Agriculturist ends life after son’s death

Thieves arrested in Vijayanagram

One more chance for GAT admissions

Transfer proceedings in GHMC

A

H

G

T

n agriculturist,N Bheemanna, 45, residing at Shahbaad in Ranga Reddy district, committed suicide by consuming poison on the night of Monday. The victim’s son, N Venkanna, had died due to ill health a while ago and since his death Bheema was reportedly sad and dejected. Police have sent viscera for medical report.

ayathnagar police arrested two alleged thieves from Vijayanagram and recovered 19 tolas gold, four kg silver articles, two laptops and four mobile phones from their possession. The arrested, Vijay Kumar, 25, and Srinivas, 24, were produced in court and remanded in custody. Both are charged with scores of theft cases.

ITAM University is providing one more opportunity for admission into engineering, BPharm and architecture programmes, for those who were absent for the scheduled GAT2013 online counselling. The absentees are advised to contact in person for admission respective principals of Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam on June 19, 20 and 21.

ransfer proceedings were made inside GHMC on June 18. D Ronald Rose was transferred from Central Zone and posted as additional commissioner (project & planning, traffic &transport, heritage). Sivaparvathi will be zonal commissioner (Central Zone). CN Raghu Prasad will hold additional responsibility of elections & census.

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News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

MIDNIGHT BLOW

Aam admi clubbed with VAT bat If the amendment Bill on VAT introduced yesterday is passed, it will push up the prices of small but utility items and food will become dearer in AP, and the public will not know what hit them. Postnoon special report.

INKESHAF AHMED Ahmed.m@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: This is a classic example of how the State government stealthily extracts money from the people by imposing indirect taxes.

It did not even leave out widely consumed fruit juice and pulp and ordinary paper from imposition of value added tax (VAT).

According to the AP VAT Amendment Bill introduced by the government on Tuesday in the Assembly, fruit juices, ordinary paper and fruit pulp would henceforth attract five per cent VAT. This would mean that the existing prices of

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fruit juices would become dearer by five per cent. Also in line for VAT battering are portable generators and all kinds of minerals.

It has also brought widely used marble and granite stones under the ambit of the tax and imposed a whopping 14.5 per cent VAT on them.

The imposition of fresh tax on various commodities would bring in `493 crore revenue to the State’s exchequer in the ongoing fiscal.

BEER SCOOTS TO SKY On the other hand, in order to cash in on the demand for local

beer, the State government imposed an unprecedented 175 per cent VAT by giving a clear scope for shooting up of rates of beers in local markets by equal percentage.

Interestingly, at the same time, the State imposed only 70 per cent VAT on foreign made liquor.

This did not go down well with the opposition party members. When they tried to corner the State government by raising the disparities between the locally made and foreign made liquors, finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy skipped the question by saying that excise minister would answer it.

If the bill is passed without discussion, it would push up price levels by several notches, sources said.

ASSEMBLY

Noisy scenes mar Assembly again

Opposition party members did their bit as usual by rushing to the podium, shouting slogans.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The eighth day of the AP Assembly sitting was again marred by sloganeering by opposition party members.

The only difference in today’s session was that the main opposition, the TDP, chose not to rush out to the podium.

Rather, the members remained in their seats and chanted anti-government slogans and sung limericks, denouncing the ruling party.

Others in the opposition — the TRS and the YSRC — did their bit as usual by rushing to the podium and encircling

half an hour and convened an all-party meeting in his chambers.

it with noisy slogans and shouting.

They wanted the Speaker to allow discussions on their adjournment motions.

But the Chair declined their requests and rejected the

WHAT THEY WANT While the TDP gave adjournment motion on failure of law and order situation in the State, the TRS pressed for a separate Telangana resolution.

The YSRP gave motion on allotment of lands to IMG Bharata during the TDP rule.

The left party, the CPM, moved a motion on the daily wage employees of education department.

The CPI gave a notice on national status for PranahitChevella project.

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adjournment motions.

When the pandemonium continued unabated, the Speaker adjourned the House for half an hour, initially.

As the same scene continued after reconvening the House, he adjourned the House for another

NATION BRIEFS Two killed in road accident

Sex racket busted, woman pimp arrested

Entire SBI ATM stolen with cash

Six train passengers killed

Furniture trader shot dead in crowded market

SALEM: Two persons, including a 54-year-old woman, were today killed when the two-wheeler on which they were travelling collided with a car near here. They were returning after attending a marriage. The driver of the car fled the spot. Police are investigating the case and a manhunt for the driver is on.

SALEM: A sex racket was busted here after two Uzbek women who were held hostage for five months in a house and repeatedly sexually abused by customers escaped, police said. A woman pimp has been arrested. The two women from Uzbekistan managed to flee from the clutches of the sex racket Sunday.

BANGALORE: A gang of six unidentified men stole an entire ATM, containing `10-15 lakh, from a branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) in the city’s northeast suburbs early Tuesday. “The incident came to light when our patrolling team detected the ATM missing from the bank outlet during its late night beat,” DCP TR Suresh said.

ETAWAH: Six passengers were killed when they jumped out of a moving train after its axle caught fire and were run over by the Rajdhani Express coming from the opposite direction here. The incident occurred last night when fire from the axle of the train triggered panic among passengers in the third coach of Jansadharan Express.

GORAKHPUR: A 40-year-old furniture trader was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in a crowded market here, police said today. Abhishek Ranjan Agrawal was closing down his furniture shop at Gandhi Gali in Cantt police station area last evening when the assailants shot at him, they said.

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News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

CYBER SECURITY

SC to hear plea on US snooping The petitioner alleged that spying by the US authorities is detrimental to national security and urged the apex court to intervene.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today agreed to give an urgent hearing to a PIL on the issue of US National Security Agency snooping on Internet data from India and seeking to initiate action against Internet companies for allowing the agency to access the information.

Agreeing to hear the PIL filed by a former faculty of Delhi University, professor SN Singh, a bench of justices AK Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi posted the case for next week.

In his plea, Singh has alleged that such largescale spying by the US authorities is detrimental to national security and urged the apex court to intervene in the matter. He has claimed that the Internet companies are sharing information with the foreign authority in “breach” of contract and violation of right to privacy.

“As per reports, nine US-based Internet companies, operating in India through agreements signed with Indian users, shared 6.3 billion information/data with National Security Agency of US

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without express consent of Indian users.

Such largescale spying by the USA authorities besides being against the privacy norms is also detrimental to national security,” the petition, has said.

Singh has submitted that it is a breach of national security as government’s official communications have come under US surveillance as services of private Internet firms are being used by them.

He has sought directions to the Centre to “take urgent steps to safeguard the government’s sensitive Internet communications” which are being kept outside India in US servers and are “unlawfully intruded upon by US Intelligence Agencies through US-based Internet companies under secret surveillance program called PRISM”.

PTI

STUDENT PIONEERS

The low cost manned microlight aircraft (MAQH 13), developed by Mohammed Muzakkir Sharieff and his project teammates of the mechanical engineering department, is pictured on the HKBK College of Engineering premises in Bangalore on Tuesday. The microlight aircraft, made to fly a payload of 200 kilograms, was designed and developed by a four-member team as part of their ongoing final year project. AFP

Court upholds loan for Air India WASHINGTON: A US court has rejected a plea by the Delta Airlines to vacate the US Export-Import Bank’s support for the sale of 30 Boeing wide-body jets to Air India.

The US Court of Appeals in Washington DC asked the Exim Bank to further explain its financing decision for the Air India transactions. However, it chose to leave

undisturbed the bank’s financing of the Air India transaction and did not question its flexibility in carrying out its statutory mandate.

The decision comes following the appeal by Delta Airlines, Inc and Airline Pilots Association of a lower court decision that determined that the Exim Bank improperly approved the financing.

PTI

HEALTH

OU docs say ‘rare’ surgery successful ARUN YELLAMATY arunyellamaty@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Osmania Hospital successfully conducted a rare surgery on Saturday and saved the life of a 64-year-old man from Anantapur.

Talking about the surgery, Dr Nagender, professor of surgery, said, “The patient, Obulesh, was suffering from hydatid cyst and when he came for a check-up, his right lung, liver and abdomen were completely affected. We at the government hospital could do the surgery, which would cost lakhs in a private hospital, for no cost.”

Obulesh was admitted and treatment began 15 days ago. Others in the team of professors of surgery included Ram Singh and Jevan.

Dr Raghu Ramulu,

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HOD of anastasia, along with his team, helped in the surgery.

Dr Nagender added, “We want people to know no matter how big and rare the cases are here at government hospitals, we can work on them. Obulesh is

fit and fine now. Earlier he had no hopes of getting treatment.”

Obulesh said,”I was not sure of the cure. I had no money to get treatment at any private hospital, due to which I came here from Anantapur. The doctor said I would be okay, after 15 days. I am told that I am okay; the treatment has been successful. I am very happy. “

7

News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

ELECTIONS

Daunting task for election commission But the claims of the State CEO that everything is in place for updating electoral rolls are not matched by ground reports.

PADMINI C padmini.c@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The election commission’s office has been running on all cylinders updating the electoral rolls in the State in view of the impending local body elections.

While the EC office claims that door-to-door verifications of voter IDs was going on in preparation for the 2014 elections, most households, on contacting, denied having received visits, though June 24, the deadline set by the chief electoral officer, is only a few days away.

With large numbers of shifting populations, deaths, new eligible and duplicate voter IDs, it’s an exercise of massive proportions for the commission. In a bid to start preparing for the next year, booth level officers have been canvassing for the past month, going door-to-door to verify information of existing voters in 22 districts of the State, claims the CEO. “I didn’t even know there was such a drive. Nobody came for verification. My son received a voter’s ID card but his name was spelt wrong. So we have

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Officials admit that while they have managed to screen 31,45,091 IDs for possible duplications, they have only eliminated 1,500 definite duplicate IDs in the City. been wanting to get that corrected since then. If anyone had come, I’d have got it done," says Mohan Gopalakrishna, a resident of Khairatabad.

Similar response was received from residents of Somajiguda, Begumpet, Secunderabad, AS Rao Nagar, Charminar, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills and Madhapur, among other places.

A retired photographer and resident of Shivaji Nagar, N Narender, has no faith in the exercise. “Due to a political agenda and a nexus between the parties and the corporators in the area, officials never come

here to verify. When we go to vote at the booth, they say there’s no matching information in their records and we are turned away. While those with two-three cards vote again and again. It happens every time, this is nothing new," he says.

Officials from the CEO’s office admit that while they have managed to screen 31,45,091 IDs for possible duplications, they have only eliminated 1,500 definite duplicate IDs in Hyderabad so far.

“The data entry hasn’t been finished yet. And we haven’t received the BLO registers. So we’ll know the final number

only then," defends an official, explaining the unbelievably low numbers, even though the office maintained that they’ve already covered 82.5 per cent of the City.

The official estimate of total electorate in Andhra Pradesh is currently at 5.9 crore, out of which Hyderabad’s voter population is 32.5 lakh. Even with only 66,964 booth level officers (BLOs) responsible for verifying details of the said population, the election commissioner’s officer is confident of finishing the task at hand.

“I’ve just returned from field visits to several districts and the work is progressing nicely.

Hyderabad and other urban areas, however, are likely to take longer, maybe till the end of the month for completion," admits the AP chief election officer, Bhanwar Lal. Speaking about the low- awareness levels on the ground, he added, “We are doing as much as we can to spread the word. But citizens must also take an initiative. If any households are missed, they should go to their nearest poling booths where BLO will be sitting (on Sundays), in order to verify and update information.”

DIABETES RISK

One more reason not to skip breakfast WASHINGTON: Overweight women who regularly skip breakfast may develop chronic insulin resistance which could increase their risk for type 2 diabetes, a new study has warned.

“Our study found that acute insulin resistance developed after only one day of skipping breakfast,” said the study’s lead author, Elizabeth Thomas, an endocrinology fellow at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.

In insulin resistance, a person requires more insulin to bring their glucose, or blood sugar, into a normal range, she explained.

Thomas and co-workers studied nine non-diabetic women, with an average age of 29, who were overweight or obese. The study took place on two days about a month apart.

Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either breakAROUND THE

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fast or no breakfast at the first visit and the opposite at the second visit.

Four hours later, all subjects ate the same standardised lunch at each visit. They had blood samples taken every 30 minutes after lunch for three hours to test their insulin and glucose levels.

It is normal for glucose levels to rise after eating a meal, which then triggers insulin production.

The researchers found, however, that the women’s insulin and glucose levels after lunch were significantly higher on the day they skipped breakfast than on the day when they ate breakfast.

The higher levels demonstrated acute insulin resistance because of skipping breakfast, according to Thomas.

It was not clear if this “heightened metabolic response” was temporary or lasting, but it may contribute to the development of chronic insulin resistance, she said.

PTI

WORLD BRIEFS 9 students killed in attack on Nigeria school

Australian killer of Irish woman jailed for life

House passes bill, bans abortion after 20 weeks

US actor charged with assaulting girlfriend

Brazil Congress panel gives nod to ‘cure’ gays

MAIDUGURI: Suspected Islamists shot dead nine students as they sat an exam in an attack on a private school in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, local people said Tuesday. The attack, in a region that is a stronghold of the Islamist rebel group Boko Haram, happened on Monday in the Jajeri suburb of the city, they said.

MELBOURNE: A serial sex offender was Wednesday sentenced to life for the “savage” rape and murder of an Irish woman in a Melbourne street, a random killing which shocked the nation and led to an outpouring of emotion. Adrian Ernest Bayley, who pleaded guilty, had a history of violence and was on parole at the time of the attack.

WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives approved a Republican measure Tuesday restricting abortion to the first 20 weeks after conception, one of the most stringent pro-life bills in the past decade. On Monday, the White House threatened a veto of the bill, dismissing it as “an assault on a woman’s right to choose."

LOS ANGELES: US actor Edward Furlong, 35, whose credits range from Terminator 2 to 2011 hit The Green Hornet was charged Tuesday with assaulting his girlfriend, prosecutors said. He is also accused of threatening her if she went to the police, and could face up to four years behind bars if convicted, officials said.

BRASILIA: The human rights committee of Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved a measure Tuesday allowing counselors to try to “cure” homosexuality, Agencia Camara reported. “There isn’t any cure for when you aren’t sick," lawmaker Simplicio Araujo said, as the measure passed on a panel controlled by Feliciano’s supporters.

8

News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

SYRIAN CRISIS

20-YEAR SAGA

G8 for peace plan ASAP The G8, including President Bashar al-Assad’s key ally Russia, said it was concerned by the ‘growing threat’ from terrorism and extremism in Syria.

GUY JACKSON Agence France-Presse ENNISKILLEN: G8 leaders on Tuesday strongly endorsed calls for a peace conference to be held in Geneva on the Syria conflict “as soon as possible”.

At the end of a summit in Northern Ireland, the leaders also called for an agreement on a Syrian transitional government “formed by mutual consent”, and said the military and security services “must be preserved and restored” in a future set-up.

The G8, including President Bashar al-Assad’s key ally Russia, said it was deeply concerned by the “growing threat” from terrorism and extremism in Syria.

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The world powers called on the Syrian regime and the opposition to “commit to destroying and expelling from Syria all organisations and individuals affiliated to Al-Qaeda, and any other non-state actors linked to terrorism”.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, the host of the meeting, said it was “unthinkable” that Assad could play a role in a transitional administration in Syria, but the G8 communique made no reference to him.

Woman, child held captive with snakes CHICAGO: A mentally disabled woman and her daughter were forced to live in an Ohio basement with snakes and pitbulls and were treated like slaves for more than two years, US prosecutors said Tuesday.

The case came to light after the woman was caught stealing a candy bar and told police she’d rather go to jail than go home because her roommates “were mean to her.”

AROUND THE

Protesters from anti-hunger charity Oxfam wearing masks depicting the leaders of the G8 countries pose on a golf course in Enniskillen in Northern Ireland on June 18, 2013 near the venue of the G8 summit at the golfing resort of Lough Erne.

PAUL ELLIS

‘Won’t rule out sending arms’

No ransom payments

Take a dip before talks

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resident Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia would not rule out sending fresh arms to the Syrian regime and warned the West against arming “criminals” in the rebellion.

“If we conclude such contracts, then we will deliver on such contracts,” he told reporters after a G8 summit in Northern Ireland.

8 leaders agreed to eradicate the payment of ransoms for hostages kidnapped by “terrorists” in an attempt to remove one of the key incentives for extremists.

They also called on companies to follow their lead in refusing to pay for the release of employees. British PM David Cameron, the summit host, had been keen to push the deal because funds raised by ransom payments are a substantial source of funding for terror groups.

dip in the icy waters of a Northern Irish lake proved the ideal tonic before a day of tough talks with G8 leaders on tax evasion and the Syria crisis, British PM David Cameron said. He told a conference on the banks of Lough Erne that he had had a swim in the lake that same morning, before the second and final day of the summit.

WORLD

Three of her tormentors were arrested on human trafficking charges after a lengthy investigation.

“We are yet again reminded that modern-day slavery exists all around us,” said Steven Dettelbach, US Attorney for the northern district of Ohio.

“The victims in this case endured violence, threats, sub-human living conditions and other horrific acts.”

The charges come a month after three young women who had been held captive for a decade were discovered in a house in Cleveland, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of the small town where the disabled woman was allegedly enslaved.

AFP

QUIRKY WEDDINGS

Love trains? Get married on one in Tokyo Guests will have exclusive use of the 11-car train, which normally carries around 1,000 commuters.

TOKYO: A rail company is offering one lucky couple the chance to get married aboard one of Tokyo’s busiest commuter trains as it encircles the Japanese capital, it said Tuesday.

East Japan Railway (JR East) said it wanted to find a couple who would like to tie the knot AROUND THE

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aboard the usually heaving Yamanote Line, in the company of up to 120 friends and family.

“We expect applications from couples who are somewhat attached to the Yamanote line,

AFP PHOTO/TORU YAMANAKA

including those who live nearby,” said JR East spokesman Yoichi Suzuki. “But they need not necessarily be rail fans.”

Guests will have exclusive use of the 11-car train, which normally carries around 1,000 tightly-packed commuters.

The train will take an hour to travel the 35-kilometre Yamanote line, stopping at all 29 stations but not opening its doors.

The nature of the journey will pose one possible challenge — there is no toilet aboard.

“The guests will be warned well in advance. I think this is all the same for ordinary weddings,” said Suzuki.

The event has officially been

planned to mark the 50th year that Yamanote line trains have been painted yellow-green.

The ceremony has to be held on October 14, the 141st anniversary of Japan’s railways coming into operation. JR East is accepting applications for the next three weeks.

The winning couple can arrange the ceremony as they wish but must host and pay for the ensuing wedding reception at a hotel run by the firm.

The sight of train enthusiasts swarming platforms to take pictures of even the most regularlooking locomotives is not unusual in Japan, a country where hobbies are taken very seriously. AFP

9

News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

ENVIRONMENT

CIVIC

Dubai building tops world in sustainability

Aadhaar link to LPG extended by 3 months

TCI has 26 technologies, including solar panels and heat-reflective paint, on its roof that provides 40 per cent of the building’s energy requirements.

DUBAI: After constructing the world’s tallest tower, Dubai has now earned the distinction of having the “most sustainable” commercial building in the world – The Change Initiative (TCI).

TCI has secured the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating from the US Green Building Council (GBC), a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting sustainable buildings worldwide, a news report said.

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The 4,000-square-metre shop, that provides sustainable solutions in Dubai, achieved 107 points out of 110, making it the most sustainable commercial building in the world. The record was previously held by Pixel, a four-level building in Australia, with 105 points.

“Congratulations on setting a new record with your LEED for Commercial Interiors Platinum project. The store is a reat prototype for sustainable real estate applicable worldwide,” S Richard Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the US GBC and Chairman of the World GBC, said in his letter to

Nalanda varsity to get unique, green cooling system PATNA: Architects building the Nalanda International University at the ancient seat of learning in Bihar have decided to use the desiccant enhanced evaporative (Devap) air-cooling system. This is the first time such a system will be used in India.

The Devap system works by using “dessicant” material that removes moisture from the air using heat, as also evaporative technologies that bring about cooling by using up to 90 percent less energy than conventional means.

The buildings would be designed on the concept of “net zero” energy consumption. The university would generate its own energy using photo voltaics.

It would also collect the biomass of neighbouring villages to generate its own electricity and harvest rainwater.

IANS

HYDERABAD: The Central government has, under pressure from the AP government, extended the date of linking Aadhaar card with subsidy on LPG cylinders by three more months, said the State civil supplies minister D Sreedhar Babu in the Assembly on Tuesday.

Babu said the State government has also got the decision of the Central government amended for providing nine LPG cylinders instead of six. The minister further said that the State government pays `1,600 as compensation to gas companies for new connections.

The minister added that 46,42,244 domestic consumers in AROUND THE

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Gundeep Singh, TCI Founder and CEO. According to the Gulf News, TCI provides environmentally-friendly solutions and incorporates all aspects of green building on its 4,000-square-metre structure from its roofing to energy-efficient lighting to its water system. TCI has 26 technologies, including solar panels and heat-reflective paint, on its roof that provides 40 per cent of

the building’s energy requirements, the report said.

Its outer structure has insulation three times more than that of a normal building; all its windows have heat- reflective films; water in the building is re-used and recycled; and most of the materials used for the building’s interiors are recycled.

PTI

Rising seas threaten 14K sq km of land AROUND THE

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KOLKATA: The Indian subcontinent may lose close to 14000 sq km of land with rise of a one metre of sea level due to climate change, a study has warned.

“Total areal loss due to marine intrusion into coastal areas of the Indian subcontinent is estimated at approximately 13,973 sq km and 60,497 sq km of land area under 1m (metre) and 6m sealevel rise scenarios, respectively,” says a report published in the latest issue of Journal of Threatened Taxa.

Prepared by a group of

ecologists led by Dr M Zafar-ul Islam, the study presents an overview of potential consequences of 1m and 6m sea level rise for coastal conservation areas on the Indian sub-

Under the 1m sea level rise scenario, the Godavari-Krishna mangrove eco-region is predicted to lose more than a quarter of its area. continent.

Sea level is rising due to thermal expansion of the ocean, mountain glacier melting, and discharge from ice sheets as a

result of global warming.

Several coastal eco-regions and conservation areas are predicted to lose over half of their land areas to marine intrusion, particularly under the 6m sea level rise scenario.

The report warns that marine intrusion might affect 18 of the 48 eco-regions in India.

“Under the 1m sea level rise scenario, estimates of ecoregion inundation range from 19 per cent to 59 per cent.

While under the 6m sea level rise scenario, estimates of ecoregion inundation range from 27–58 per cent,” it says.

Under the 1m sea level rise scenario, the Godavari-Krishna mangrove eco-region is predicted to lose more than a quarter of its area.

PTI

the State are using more than six LPG cylinders in a year.

Replying to questions of the TDP MLAs D Anasuya and others in the Legislative Assembly during the question and answer hour on Tuesday, the civil supplies minister said that consequent on capping of six LPG refills per year by the government, it was decided initially to supply three LPG refills over and above six refills to the Deepam connection holders. The minister said all steps are being taken to ensure the price levels of food did not go beyond a reasonable level. Several safety steps are on the anvil to give relief to the common man.

The opposition parties have alleged that the government was portraying a rosy picture of the price situation while common man is being crushed under the inflationary pressure.

10

News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013 COMRADE FUHRER

Kim fan of Hitler?

BURNING OUTRAGE

A

vandalized press car from TV Record burns during a student demonstration in front of the City Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday, against a recent rise in public bus and subway fare. President Dilma Rousseff vowed Tuesday to listen to youths staging Brazil’s biggest protests in 20 years in an outpouring of anger over the huge cost of staging events like the World Cup.

SEOUL: North Korean ruler Kim Jong-Un has reportedly given copies of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” to his top officials, urging them to study it as a leadership skills manual.

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Kim handed out translations of the German dictator’s manifesto to select officials at the time of his birthday in January, reported New Focus International, an online news portal run by North Korean defectors.

The report was sourced to an unnamed North Korean official working in China.

AFP

AFP /MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL

MICRO FINANCE

Grameen faces uncertain future Experts fear the proposals, if approved by the government, could jeopardise the future of the bank which has lifted millions of Bangladeshi people out of poverty and empowered women.

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s pioneering microlender faces an uncertain future after a commission proposed the government take over or break up the Nobel-award-winning bank, analysts said Tuesday.

The government commission has released a working paper on restructuring Grameen Bank, founded by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus (pictured) and which has lent more than $11 billion to millions of people — mainly women — to help them gain financial independence.

The paper, to be sent to Bangladesh’s financial experts for discussion, says Grameen should

Yunus, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with the bank in 2006, slammed the recommendations as an “extreme abuse of government power".

Splintering plans

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be broken up into 19 separate organisations with a headquarters maintaining loose control.

It also suggested Grameen’s legal status be amended closer to that of a state-owned industrial bank, with the government owning at least 51 percent.

Yunus, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with the bank in 2006 for economic and social development, slammed the recommendations as an “extreme abuse of government power".

“The government takeover of a sound financial institution owned by 8.4 million poor women will be a case of extreme abuse of government power," he said.

“Options offered by the inquiry commission are totally irrelevant and unworkable."

Yunus, who fell out with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after talk-

A

government commission has released a working paper on restructuring Grameen Bank, which says Grameen should be broken up into 19 separate organisations with a headquarters maintaining loose control. It also suggested Grameen’s legal status be amended closer to that of a state-owned industrial bank, with the government owning at least 51 percent. ing publicly about going into politics, was officially fired as head of the bank in 2011 for exceeding the mandatory retirement age of 60.

He challenged the move in court but lost. The court ruled that the bank, established in 1983, was a government institution, not a private bank owned by its lenders, as

Yunus and his lawyers maintained.

The commission’s paper recommends that the “composition of the (bank’s) board of directors will be such that it makes sure that the government maintains majority stake."

A deputy director of the com-

mission said the proposals would be discussed by financial experts, including the finance minister, at a meeting in Dhaka on July 2.

“These proposals are not final. The commission will finalise its report after consulting with experts and other people," he told AFP, on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to media.

Experts fear the proposals, if approved by the government, could jeopardise the future of the bank which has lifted millions of Bangladeshi people out of poverty and empowered women in the deeply conservative country.

“The suggested structures of the bank will not lead to financial sustainability in future. It is likely to make the institution sick," said Baqui Khalily, a professor of finance and the executive director of the Institute of Microfinance.

“Splitting the bank does not help. For example the government broke up its agriculture bank into two and both are not financially viable," he said.

AFP

LOSS TO JOURNALISM

Micheal ‘General-killer’ Hastings dies in car crash PARIS: Michael Hastings, the Rolling Stone journalist who triggered the 2010 downfall of US Afghanistan commander General Stanley McChrystal, died in a car crash, his employer has announced. Hastings, whose profile of McChrystal quoted the

four-star general as criticising President Barack Obama and his senior advisers, died in Los Angeles yesterday. He was 33, according to his current employer, BuzzFeed.

McChrystal was summoned to Washington by Obama in June

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2010 and swiftly relieved of his command after comments attributed to him and his aides in

the magazine article, headlined “The Runaway General."

In the profile, McChrystal aides mocked Vice President Joe Biden, called the president’s national security adviser “a clown," and said the general was “disappointed” by his first meet-

ing with Obama. McChrystal himself was quoted deriding the US special envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke, and saying he felt “betrayed” by the ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, who had raised pointed objections to his war strategy.

AFP

11

News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

IT’S ALL IN THE FAMILY

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Following in the steps of his grandpa Mandla Mandela admitted it had “not at all” been easy trying to match up to the man who became South Africa’s first black president.

JUSTINE GERARDY Agence France-Presse MVEZO: Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla wanted to be a disc jockey but his illustrious grandfather had other ideas for him — passing down a lesson on the responsibility that South Africa’s most famous surname carries.

The anti-apartheid hero chose his 38-year-old grandson as the first Mandela in decades to be chief of his rural birthplace Mvezo in the Eastern Cape six years ago.

“My grandfather has always been my role model. He’s an inspiration to the work I do today,” Mandela, whose father was Makgatho from the hero’s first marriage, told AFP. As his 94-year-old grandfather battles a lung infection in hospital, he admitted it had “not at all” been easy trying to match up to the man who became South Africa’s first black president.

“He’s a global icon but I feel that as members of the family, the small things that we do as individuals, as a collective can one day amount to the dynamic person my grandfather became,” he said.

“South Africa, and even the Mandelas themselves, I believe will never produce another Nelson Mandela but we can always strive to embrace him, his principles and values.”

Lying on the winding Mbashe river where fiery aloes bloom and livestock wander, Mvezo is scenic but deeply impoverished.

There is no clean drinking water or sanitation in the village’s humble homes, many built of mud, or even a health clinic.

Born here in 1918, Mandela’s father was stripped of the Mvezo chieftancy by a colonial magistrate and he spent his early years in nearby Qunu village.

“We are very much as a family intrigued as to the place he comes from, how he emerged and the dynamic person that he became,” said Mandela.

“And I think for future generations of the Mandelas, we should always look to our place of our origin and draw strength from that.”

While Mandela was serving a 27-year jail term, his grandson was born in Soweto, a flashpoint of the anti-apartheid struggle far from the rural hinterland where his grandfather was born.

Brand divorced Perry via text LOS ANGELES: British comic Russell Brand told Katy Perry he was divorcing her by text message, the US pop star said in a new magazine interview, adding that she hasn’t heard from him since.

Brand issued a statement in December 2011 announcing that he had filed for divorce 14 months after the pair were wed in India, saying that “I’ll always adore her and I know we’ll remain friends.”

Perry, in an interview in the latest edition of Vogue magazine, which features her as its cover story, tells it differently.

“He’s a very smart AROUND THE

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While Mandela was serving a 27-year jail term, his grandson was born in Soweto, a flashpoint of the antiapartheid struggle far from the rural hinterland where his grandfather was born.

As a music loving high-schooler, he dreamed of becoming a DJ. Mandela’s response?

“Nonsense, no Mandela will ever become such. You need to go out and find a career,” he enacted, mimicking his grandfather’s waving finger.

“My grandfather has really been the driver behind the person that I needed to be and the anchor around that was education,” he said.

“He’s always believed that education is a weapon which one could utilise to change the world so he ensured that we got a good education so that we could be of service to the people.”

On his grandfather’s wishes, he stopped working to study further in his 20s in the Eastern Cape.

At the time, he had two businesses and diplomas in business management and marketing under his belt. But his grandfather had other plans for him.

He also spent time in Qunu — where his grandfather built a house on his prison release — which opened his eyes to the

poverty stalking rural South Africans.

“Upon my graduation my grandfather said ‘so are you still that eager businessman you wanted to be?’. With his sense of humour, he had seen that I had changed and I had become more community driven,” said Mandela.

“And that’s the lesson learned from my grandfather: that Mandelas are supposed to ensure that they are of service to our people and I’ve taken that role, starting here in Mvezo.”

But the village “has just been an opening of the doors”, he says, having followed his grandfather into politics.

He joined parliament in 2009 for the ruling African National Congress, which his grandfather led into power, a move he initially resisted.

“Again I sought my grandfather’s advice and he said to me how you’re not only working for your community which is our inheritance, that of Mvezo, but you are able to work with the broader society.”

Mandla Mandela’s time as chief has not been without controversy. His three marriages have fuelled headlines of bigamy, outstanding maintenance payments, and child paternity questions, amid a land dispute and the exhumation of Qunu family graves for reburial in Mvezo. Under him, signs of change include a new brick-paved road which has transformed the journey to the village.

A museum — currently comprising a tiny outdoor display — is being extended in an impressive complex with the offices of the traditional council and a conference centre.

man, and I was in love with him when I married him,” she told the magazine, adding: “Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me December 31, 2011.”

In court documents filed in Los Angeles, the British actor and comedian cited “irreconcilable differences” as a reason for divorce. The couple, married on October 23, 2010, after a whirlwind romance, had no children.

Perry said Brand’s inyour-face humor was “hysterical in some ways. Until he started making jokes

Brand issued a statement in December 2011 announcing that he had filed for divorce 14 months after the pair were wed in India. about me and he didn’t know I was in the audience, because I had come to surprise him at one of his shows.

She added: “At first when I met him, he wanted an equal, and I think a lot of times strong men do want an equal, but then they get that equal and they’re like, I can’t handle the equalness.

“I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can’t necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day.

AFP

PICK YOUR

@

Across Stores

ities Twin C

12

News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013 WINDS OF CHANGE

US allows women to join SEALS, Army Rangers WASHINGTON: Women in the US will be able to join the Navy SEALS, Army Rangers and other specialised combat outfits under plans approved by the Pentagon to open up thousands of frontline jobs which were out of their reach till now.

The Pentagon yesterday said it would allow women to join the elite Navy SEALS, Army Rangers and other specialised combat outfits from 2016.

“The days of Rambo are over," Major General Bennet Sacolick, head of force development for Special Operations Command, told Pentagon reporters at a news conference.

“This is just the next logical step," said Juliet Beyler, director of the Defence Department’s Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management.

“The department’s goal is to ensure that the mission is met AROUND THE

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BACK FROM EXTINCTION

Project Galapagos tortoise

Scientists will try to revive two species of giant Galapagos tortoises thought to have been extinct by breeding genetic relatives in captivity.

AP

SANTIAGO PIEDRA Agence France-Presse

PUERTO AYORA: Scientists will try to revive two species of giant Galapagos tortoises thought to have been extinct by breeding genetic relatives in captivity, experts leading the effort said.

The Galapagos Islands, located 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off Ecuador’s Pacific coast, are famed for the large number of species that have developed there in isolation.

New research techniques have revealed that at Wolf volcano on Isabela Island, 17 hybrid giant tortoises have been found with genes from the extinct Pinta

The gift of Long life

G

iant tortoises have life spans of up to 180 years, growing to 1.8 meters (five feet nine inches) long and nearly 400 kilograms (880 pounds) in weight. Last year the body of “Lonesome George," a giant Galapagos tortoise, was sent to New York after its death to be embalmed.

Island tortoise, and about 280 hybrids have been found with genes from the extinct Floreana Island tortoise.

Among those with Pinta genes, at least one pair has 80 percent of the original species’ genes, while among the Floreana hybrids, many have up to 90 percent of the original species genes.

“That gives us the possibility, literally, of bringing back these species which at the moment are considered extinct," Galapagos National Park applied sciences chief Washington Tapia told AFP. Giant tortoises have life spans of up to 180 years, growing to 1.8 meters (five feet nine inches) long and nearly 400 kilograms (880 pounds) in weight.

Last year the body of “Lonesome George," a giant Galapagos tortoise once believed to be the last of its kind, was sent to New York after its death to be embalmed and then returned home.

A rare Pinta Island giant tortoise discovered in 1971, George was estimated to be a century old when he died June 24, 2012.

At the time, he was believed to be the last of his kind.

Pinta Island tortoise.

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The Floreana Island tortoise was widely thought to have been extinct for more than 100 years. One of their last sightings was by British naturalist Charles Darwin when he visited the Galapagos in 1835.

Darwin studied the tortoises, which evolved in isolation, as he developed his theory of natural selection.

HERITAGE

ROAD TO PEACE

Mali, rebels sign ceasefire

Iran’s Bam citadel off Unesco danger list with the best, most fully qualified, and most capable people, regardless of gender," she said.

This year, Beyler said, the services and Socom have worked diligently to plan two lines of effort aimed at integrating women: currently open occupations that were restricted: for example, administrative clerk in a tank battalion or truck driver in an artillery battery; and currently closed occupations that require review and validation of occupational standards: for example, infantry, armour and combat engineer.

However, ‘Concerned Women for America’ argued that the task of the military is to protect the country and that the national security must not be jeopardised in order to meet an equal opportunity quota.

PTI

The remains of the desert citadel, which reached its apogee from the 7th to 11th centuries, had been stabilised.

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PHNOM PENH: Iran’s ancient citadel of Bam, almost completely destroyed by a major earthquake in 2003, has been removed from the UNESCO list of “World Heritage in Danger", a spokesman said Tuesday.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization committee, which began its annual session in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Sunday, said there had been improvements in the site’s management and conservation. The “remains of the desert citadel, which reached its apogee from the 7th to 11th centuries, had been sufficiently sta-

Now Tapia’s team is eyeing something of reverse natural selection: bringing back to life animals technically considered to have died out.

He said that experts will soon start trying to get pairs in captivity to produce offspring close to their genetic origin. But due to the lengthy lifespan of the animals, Tapia said that he will not live to see the results: true to the slow pace tortoises are famous for, it should take about 120 years to get all the data in.

OUAGADOUGOU: Mali’s government signed a ceasefire accord with Tuareg rebels Tuesday, paving the way for presidential elections in the troubled west African state next month. The agreement, reached after 10 days of tense negotiations, will enable Malian troops to enter the Tuareg-held city of Kidal in the northeast to secure polls scheduled to take place on July 28.

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bilised and its management was sound enough for the site to be declared safe," UNESCO said.

The citadel, once the largest adobe building in the world, was simultaneously inscribed on the World Heritage List and

marked “in danger” in 2004 in the wake of the earthquake.

Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes, some of which have been devastating.

AFP

The two sides agreed to halt hostilities and for Tuareg rebels, who took part in an uprising last year that brought the country to its knees, to be restricted to set areas. Long-term peace talks will start after the election.

Territorial Administration Minister Moussa Sinko Coulibaly signed the accord with representatives of two Tuareg movements in Burkina Faso. AFP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

Business CONTROL STRUGGLE

CHRYSLER AGREES TO RECALL 2.7 MN JEEPS

Chrysler announced Tuesday that it would bow to the US safety regulator’s pressure to recall 2.7 million Jeep Libertys and Jeep Grand Cherokees over a fire risk that caused dozens of deaths.

CLEAN-UP ACT

13

DR REDDY’S SUED

UK House panel calls for banking overhaul Icahn ups Dell offer NEW YORK: Corporate raider Carl Icahn revamped his proposal Tuesday for embattled computer company Dell, calling for a big share buyback in a plan which would keep the company public. Icahn, who has lambasted a go-private plan led by founder Michael Dell as undervaluing the company, said he and his investor allies would vote against that proposal and urged shareholders to consider his alternative.

Under his plan, Dell would make a tender offer for $14 per share for approximately 1.1 billion Dell shares. The offer is intended to account for approximately 72 per cent of shares outstanding, Icahn said. The price of such an offer would top the $13.65 per share offered by Michael Dell and investment fund Silver Lake Partners.

LONDON: Britain needs a “radical” overhaul of its scandal-hit banks, with reckless bankers facing jail and bonuses deferred for up to ten years, a government commission set up after the Libor scandal proposed in a final report on Wednesday.

The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, which is mostly composed of lawmakers, concluded that senior bankers must be made personally responsible for malpractice — with a new criminal offence of reckless misconduct that carries a prison sentence.

The Commission’s report, entitled ‘Changing banking for good’, outlined the “radical reform” which it argued was required to improve standards.

The reputation of Britain’s banking sector has been damaged in recent years by a string of scandals, including Libor rate-rigging, credit insurance mis-selling, and controversy over staff behaviour and bonuses in the run-up to the 2008 global financial crisis.

“Recent scandals, not least

The reputation of Britain’s banking sector has been damaged by a string of scandals, including Libor rate-rigging, credit insurance mis-selling, and controversy over staff behaviour and bonuses. the fixing of the Libor rate that prompted parliament to establish this Commission, have exposed shocking and widespread malpractice,” said Commission chairman and Conservative lawmaker Andrew Tyrie.

“Taxpayers and customers have lost out. The economy has suffered. The reputation of the financial sector has been gravely damaged. Trust in banking has fallen to a new low. Prudential and conduct failings have many shared causes but there is no single solution that can restore trust in the industry. The final report contains a package of recommendations that, together, change banking for good.”

The Commission called for bankers to be licensed and sign up to a new code of conduct.

Under the code, all key responsibilities within a bank would be assigned to specific senior officials who would be held accountable.

The Commission also proposed that more remuneration should be deferred for longer periods of up to ten years, in order to “reflect the longer run balance between business risks and rewards”. Regulators would be granted new powers to cancel all outstanding deferred remuneration — and would “rigorously” enforce the reforms.

AFP

PTI

AVIATION

Air Costa all set to fly in July

regional short-haul connectivity between Tier-II and III cities with the major metros. The aircraft have landed in Vijayawada, the maintenance base.

Air Costa is in the process of getting the final approvals from the DGCA and plans to operate flights to six stations. It will initially connect Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Vijayawada, as well as key cities in the north and northwest.

VIJAYAWADA: Air Costa, the first-ever regional domestic airline based out of AP, will be launched in July. Based in Vijayawada, Air Costa will be focusing on operations in South India. The LEPL Group, which has a very strong presence in urban infrastructure, power, hospitality, education and entertainment sectors, proposes to launch the airline with a fleet of 3 E Jets that are most suitable for the

GOLD `27,874 10g SILVER `43,712 1kg

24C

for

for

DOLLAR `58.69 POUND `91.84

HYDERABAD: US-based drug maker AbbVie Inc, the spun-off entity of Abbott, has dragged Dr Reddy’s Lab to court for allegedly infringing the former’s patented drug Zemplar on six counts concerning three patents.

“DRL committed an act of infringement by filing an ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application) with a Paragraph IV Certification that seeks FDA-marketing approval for DRL generic versions of AbbVie’s paricalcitol injection products prior to expiration of the patents-in-suit,” according to a petition filed by AbbVie along with Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation in the US District Court for the District of Delaware.

The US Drug maker requested the court to pass an order to restrain DRL from commercially manufacturing, using, offering for sale, selling, marketing, distributing, or importing DRL’s generic paricalcitol injectable products prior to the expiration of said patents.

Dr Reddy’s Lab refused to comment on the issue.

NUMEROLOGY

$10.4

bn

is Japan’s trade deficit for May, an increase of 9.5 percent from the same period last year earlier as import costs rose on a weak yen.

DELOITTE FINED $10 MN NEW YORK: Big accountancy Deloitte was fined $10 million by New York state on Tuesday for its actions in advising Standard Chartered Bank over money laundering. Deloitte’s unit Deloitte Financial Advisory Services was fined and also banned for one year from work in New York state after state authorities said it did not carry out its duties independently in advising the bank on how to avoid money laundering.

BSE NSE

19,175.37 47.91

5,802 11.60

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

Comment When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

Marcus Aurelius Roman emperor

Obama in Berlin STEPHEN COLLINSON Agence France-Presse

I

n 2008, Barack Obama wowed a euphoric 200,000-strong crowd in Berlin as the self-appointed embodiment of the power of politics to ignite change.

On Wednesday, after more than four tough years in power, he will stand up in Berlin again, as a testament to the difficulty of remoulding domestic and global political forces that combine to frustrate change.

In Berlin five years ago, candidate Obama defined eight foreign policy goals that would motivate his subsequent administration, arguing that the world faced a unique moment of “possibility.”

Here is a mid-presidency report card on how well he has done.

“This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it...”

Obama killed Osama bin Laden and with a ruthless drone campaign wiped out much of AlQaeda’s core leadership.

There have been no major September 11-style attacks on the US mainland in his tenure.

But Al-Qaeda has morphed into a brand adopted by smaller, but fast diversifying terror groups, bedding in where political insecurity festers.

The Boston bombings in April revealed a threat from homebrewed radicalism. Obama failed to honour his plan to close Guantanamo Bay, and civil liberties groups worry about his expansion of US drone and surveillance programmes.

“This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan...”

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS

David Cameron says the cold dip he had in the Lough Erne early morning prepared him for the talks that followed about the peace plan in Syria. He has got photographic evidence to prove his claim, but he says he won’t share any. Well, he drank a lot of cold water while taking his dip, too.

IRAN

14

Rowhani offers softer tone, same policies

THE INSIDE STORY Farhad Pouladi

N

ewly elected president Hassan Rowhani struck a diplomatic chord in his first news conference but offered little real change in key policy areas, especially on the long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Concretely, he ruled out any halt to the nuclear activity that has drawn UN, EU and US sanctions, repeating a long-standing Iranian position and dashing hopes he might reimpose a moratorium on uranium enrichment adopted when he was chief nuclear negotiator.

Yet he did outline conditions for first-time direct nuclear talks with archfoe the United States in the hope of easing tensions that have led to Washington and Israel refusing to rule out military action over the programme.

And he refrained from any fiery or potentially confrontational rhetoric, maintaining his trademark composure and soft tone during the Monday’s nearly twohour press conference.

University professor and political analyst, Pirouz Mojtahedzadeh wrote in an op-ed piece in the conservative Tehran

Emrooz daily that Iran’s tone has softened with Rowhani, but that the policy remains the same.

“Styles change, and the discourse and the diplomacy will change, but this does not mean abandoning (fundamental) stances.”

“Iran has shown good will by electing a moderate... Now the West should react positively,” Mojtahedzadeh added.

The 64-year-old Rowhani said EU and US sanctions against Iran’s oil and banking sectors, which have sent the economy into free fall, are unjust but promised transparent talks to try to resolve the underlying issues.

Iran will be “more transparent to show that its activities fall within the framework of international rules,” he said, without elaborating.

“The idea is to engage in more active negotiations.”

Iran has long been accused of dragging its feet in its talks with the so-called P5+1 — the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany.

Ten rounds of talks in 18 months between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have produced no breakthrough.

The latest round, in Kazakhstan in April, ended with lead negotiator, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, saying the two sides remained “far apart” despite the P5+1 having

sweetened an earlier offer.

Rowhani’s press conference was widely covered in the Iranian media on Tuesday.

Vatan Emrooz, the hardline conservative daily, brandishing Rowhani’s picture headlined: “The era of an enrichment halt is over.”

Like-minded Jamejam headlined: “We will not abandon the Iranian people’s legitimate rights.”

They were referring to Rowhani’s tenure as chief nuclear negotiator in 2003-2005, during the second term of reformist former president Mohammad Khatami, when Iran adopted a moratorium on enrichment.

Iran insists on international recognition of what it says is its “right” to enrich uranium, a key

component of the nuclear fuel cycle that can also be used to make the explosive core of an atomic bomb.

And it has massively expanded its uranium enrichment facilities, extending the process to 20 percent and raising fears that the 90 percent required for a warhead is but a step away.

World powers say Tehran must end enrichment to high levels and verifiably suspend operations at the Fordo mountain bunker where such activity takes place before recognising Iran’s rights to pursue less threatening activities.

Iran denies it is developing the atomic bomb and argues that it requires a nuclear programme solely for peaceful medical and energy needs.

EDITORIALS One step forward, two steps back

T

here are positive signals from the G8 summit regarding the plan of action that must be pursed in Syria. Russian leader Vladmir Putin, the man who is the main hurdle to the creation of some means formidable to bringing down Assad, has hinted that he may allow removing Assad provided there is a plan for a balanced government. He has warned that the West should not contribute to a situation of power vacuum like the one that existed in Iraq. That is something considering that Russia had been dead against any action against their ally Basher al-Assad.

However, for the one step in the right direction he has taken, Putin has gone two steps back saying he won’t rule out supplying arms to Assad. He says it was a legitimate deal inked with a

READERS’ VIEWS

legitimate government and he sees no reason why his nation should not go on honouring that. There are several doubts about the right course of action in Syria. Earlier attempts of the Western intervention mostly ended in disaster. We need not look beyond Iraq and Afghanistan. But Syria is different, for the people who are up in arms and bear arms to depose their tyrant have been begging in earnest for support of every kind towards their cause from the world. The death toll since the civil war erupted is 93,000. If Assad were a legitimate leader as he claims to be, he would abide by his people’s wishes and leave, instead of which he has been slaughtering by the hundreds so that he may hang onto power.

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

Editor: Dean Williams

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

Cinema GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

SCREEN POOPERS Despicable Me: Minion Rush

D

Man of Steel

A

lmost every superhero movie these days has a mobile launching with it.

The Superman game lets you relive the moments of the movie by fighting some of the main villains you encounter in it.

Your fighting abilities are however restricted to dodging and punching and you don’t get to use all the superpowers he has in his arsenal. There is another app that was released ahead of the movie

by Kellogg’s that let you use Superman’s powers on your environment around. For example, you could select laser vision and point your phone’s camera at any object around to blow it up, digitaly of course! While Man of Steel the game is a paid app, the one by Kellogg’s can be downloaded for free.

espicable Me was a hit and the capsule shaped minions really captured the audience’s imagination.

Universal Pictures is now working on a sequel to the series and this game brings us a lot more of the minions than the movies can offer. The gameplay might remind you of Temple Run, but it is very interesting nevertheless.

This game is also developed by Gameloft which seems to have conquered the games-based-on-movies market. The movie itself will release later this year and we need to wait and see if any aspect from the game makes it to the final release or not.

Haunting Melissa

H

aunting Melissa is a movie made by the producer of Mulholland Drive and The Ring and they have come up with an app that tells you everything about the film and also lets you buy and watch the whole movie. Viewers can purchase the movie in a variety of ways. They can pay 99 cents for the first episode and each subsequent episode, or they can pay $6.99 for the entire film. HD versions are also available for a higher cost. By pushing the movie directly to the users, the producers are trying to escape the constant box-office fights with big budget movies. They are also hoping that it will become a hit virally. It’s definitely one of the most unique apps for a movie we have seen till now.

From silverscreen to Every major Hollywood movie release these days is accompanied by a smartphone app, that tells us a bit more about the movie or satiates our desire to watch it. Here are some of the best we have seen this year.

NT BALANARAYAN nt.balanarayan@postnoon.com

Iron Man 3

M

arvel has released a game with every Iron Man and this one was no exception. The game was developed by Marvel and what differentiates this game is how different the game is from the movie. It is set in the world after the end of the movie and it lets you fight super-villains such as Crimson Dynamo while developing better suits. The game itself is very interesting and fans of the franchise are buying it without hesitation. It is one of the top-paid apps in an iOS store for the same reason and the developers have been pushing updates to suit very regularly since its launch.

Marvel also launched interactive wallpaper for the movie on the Android platform, something that’s not possible on iOS devices. The concept received a lot of praise though the wallpaper lagged really badly on most mid-range devices.

Be on time!

Bollywood is known for overdoing things that stick with the audience, whether it’s an item number or topless Khans showing off their six-packs. However, there’s one thing that the industry needs to put a cap on, now. It is doing the whole SRK-Kajol DDLJ moment of catching the train. Not only is the routine overdone in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express, it’s become some sort of a selling point for Bollywood. Well, actresses need to start boarding the train on time!

Oh my God! Susi Ganesan wants to do only Bollywood films for the next five years! For all those who don’t know who he is, he is the man behind the upcoming disaster Shortcut Romeo. The Tamil big shot who has some award-winning Tamil films to his credit has decided to take his career on a downward spiral. He may have been attracted by all the glitz and glam of Bollywood, but dear Susi, we don’t want to watch movies like Shortcut Romeo for the next five years, so please, have mercy.

TRENDING...

According to the latest buzz in Bollywood, Salman Khan has decided to release his upcoming movie Mental in 3D. The movie is directed by his brother Sohail Khan and the Khans are in talks with Prime Focus Studios to convert the movie into 3D.

Disney recently signed Bollywood’s current superstar Ranbir Kapoor for the Jagga Jasoos franchise. Rumour has it that the movie, for which the shooting begins September next year, will be co-produced by Ranbir and Anurag Basu’s new production company.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

spotlight

MIDWEEK MADNESS

With DJ Rahul and DJ Preet behind the console, party peeps are sure to have a great time at 10 Downing Street.

FUN & FROLIC

1

2

3

4

5

S BALAKRISHNA

6

Fun gathering Members of Rifle Association of Andhra Pradesh (RAAP) converged at Radisson Blu for a get-together. Spotted were Kishan, Sarita, Shagun, Vishal and others.

7

8

9

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When Parikrama rocked Hyderabad Parikrama whipped fans into a frenzy with their performance at Hard Rock Cafe on Tuesday night.

Hyderabadis let their hair down and had a blast at the pub. Seen were Priya, Smriti and others.

1 Pestonji, Gul 2 Avinash, Jayanti 3 Ragini, Sanjay 4 Praful, Bela 5 Neha 6 Asmita Marva 7 Kishan, Sarita 8 Ashwin, Trisha 9 Sagun, Kaizad 10 Vishal, Manisha 11 Tanvi

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

health

WORLD’S FIRST PAEDIATRIC HAND TRANSPLANT PROGRAM A US hospital has announced that it is looking for kids for the world’s first paediatric hand transplant program. Boston Children’s Hospital said in a statement on its website that the research-based program will offer bi-lateral hand transplants for children living without two functioning hands, reported Xinhua.

IANS

UNDERSTANDING YOUR LUNGS: PART III

A

ny form of regular physical exercise, like jogging, running, aerobics, is good for the lungs and the heart. The body needs more oxygen when you exercise; hence the breathing rate increases. This in turn increases your heart rate, as the heart has to pump more oxygenated blood to other parts of the body.

According to the European Lung Foundation, the benefit of exercise is that it will strengthen your muscles over time, and over time, they will require less oxygen for movement, thereby decreasing the number of breaths you need to take per minute.

repair itself. According to the Canadian Lung Association, it damages the alveoli or air sacs, giving rise to breathing difficulties. Quitting smoking improves the condition of your overall health.

SMOKING AND LUNGS Smoking increases the risk of lung cancer. It damages the lung’s ability to cleanse and

19

Breathing exercises There are various types of pranayama (breathing exercises) that help regulate breathing. Some of the benefits of breathing exercises are:

Food for lungs

n

Sufficient intake of water n Apples, apple juice n Apricots (may lower risk of lung infections) n Broccoli (antioxidant properties) n Walnuts n Beans n Berries Source: livestrong.com n

n n n n n n n

Improves rate of breathing Reduces blood pressure Improves circulation Removes toxins from the body Relaxes the body Strengthens nervous and respiratory systems Improves concentration Purges the lungs of residual carbon dioxide

Source: Yogawiz.com, curewithyoga.com

What are the ways to keep your lungs healthy?

We take a look at the benefits of physical exercise, breathing exercise, right diet and the harmful effects of smoking, which not only have an impact on your lungs, but overall health as well.

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

HOUSECALL

Footsteps

Agoraphobia

Footsteps — Pedometer Free can count up to 3000 steps a day. You can track your steps and calories burned, share your workout with others on Facebook and Twitter, check your progress using history and graph modules, and listen to your iPod Music (create your own playlist inside Footsteps). itunes.apple.com

Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult, or help wouldn’t be available if things go wrong. Many people assume that agoraphobia is simply a fear of open spaces but it is more complex than that. If people with agoraphobia find themselves in a stressful situation they usually experience symptoms of a panic attack. Initial treatments can include a self-help programme guided by your GP. nhs.uk

DID YOU KNOW? Peanut butter can be high in pesticide When buying peanut butter, only buy organic varieties. Non-organic peanut butters are high in pesticides and fungus and contain aflatoxin, a potent carcinogenic mold. To increase the protein, (peanuts have about the same amount of protein as soy), Brewer’s yeast can be mixed in. mercola.com

PIONEERS William Harvey William Harvey was an English physician. He was the first to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart, though earlier writers had provided precursors of the theory. After his death the William Harvey Hospital was constructed in the town of Ashford, several miles from his birthplace of Folkestone. en.wikipedia.org

20

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

Technology GADGETS

NO NOKIA ACQUISITION

Student using a tablet carrying a picture of king Bhumibol Adulyadej on its screen during a lesson.

Keeping a tab on education AMELIE BOTTOLLIERDEPOIS feedback@postnoon.com

I

n a rural classroom in the Thai highlands, hill tribe children energetically slide their fingertips over tablet computer screens practicing everything from English to mathematics and music.

The disadvantaged students are part of an ambitious scheme by the kingdom to distribute millions of the handheld devices in its schools in a move supporters hope will boost national education standards.

For opponents of the plan, however, it is an expensive gimmick designed to boost the popularity of the ruling party among parents — and the next generation of voters.

At Ban San Kong school in Mae Chan in the northern province of Chiang Rai, 90 children received a tablet computer last year as part of the “One Tablet Per Child” policy that was part of the government’s election campaign in 2011.

Previously the school had only a few desktop computers with limited Internet access.

Now, with headphones over

their ears for one hour a day during class, the students use the devices for activities including singing English songs, watching cartoons about the life of Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol and playing math games.

With the school year just beginning, and the new tablet content yet to arrive, they are left to revise their lessons of the previous year as their teacher Siriporn Wichaipanid sits and watches.

She has received no specific training for using the tablets and seems at a bit of a loss. “I have some knowledge. At home, I use an iPad," she said.

But “if I don’t understand, I don’t know how to teach the children".

For the students — mostly from ethnic minority Akha hill tribe communities for whom Thai is not their mother tongue — using the tablets has been a positive experience, according to the school.

“The students cannot speak Thai very well but they can hear sounds more clearly from the tablets and repeat them," said their teacher from the previous year, Wannawadee Somdang.

Chinese network equipment and cellphone maker Huawei Technologies Co said it "has no plans to acquire Nokia", responding to a Financial Times report that it would consider buying the Finish phone maker. The denial came from Huawei's vice president for external affairs, Bill Plummer.

The story on the FT website on Tuesday had quoted the head of Huawei's consumer business, Richard Yu, as saying: "We are considering these sorts of acquisitions; maybe the combination has some synergies but depends on the willingness of Nokia. We are open-minded."

LINKEDIN HEADED TO IOS Tablets thrust Thai classrooms into digital era

“Some of them dare not ask questions. It’s easier when they listen to the tablets."

For now only two of the 90 students are allowed to take the computers with them after class to use in their homes, which often lack electricity.

“They don’t have Wi-Fi and it’s not convenient for them to charge the batteries. And most

By the end of 2014, the government plans to distribute tabs to 13 million school children at a cost of about $100 each — a total of $1.3 billion importantly their parents have no knowledge about the tablets," said school principal Uthai Moonmueangkham.

But using devices that would normally be out of reach for the kingdom’s poorest children is progress, even if it is only just one hour a day, he said.

“They have the same opportunities as those in the city," Uthai said.

Reducing the “education

gap” between the urban rich and rural poor is one aim of the project, said Surapol Navamavadhand, an advisor to the minister of information and communication technology.

By the end of 2014, the government plans to distribute handheld computers to 13 million school children at a cost of about $100 each — a total of $1.3 billion — and then replace them every two years. About 850,000 Chinese-made devices have already been given out, and the government says it will soon launch a tender offer for another batch of about 1.7 million tablets, in what it has described as the world’s largest handout of the devices for education.

Experts warn that the computers offer no guarantee of an increase in education standards.

The tablets are “just another tool” like a pencil, according to Jonghwi Park, an education technology specialist at UNESCO in Bangkok. “It’s not about what to use, it’s about how to use it," she said, urging governments considering introducing new technology for learning to think hard about whether it will really help them achieve their goals.

AFP

Further bolstering the presence of third-party social networks in iOS, Apple is testing deep LinkedIn integration for the upcoming release of iOS 7, according to code-based references found inside of the first beta of iOS 7.

The code points to a single-signon system, similar to how iOS integrates Facebook and Twitter, for LinkedIn accounts. The references also indicate that users will be able to easily post content, such as Web links, to LinkedIn via a sharesheet or through iOS applications.

IPO TIME! Midasplayer International Holding Co., the publisher of online and mobile games including the popular "Candy Crush Saga"—which involves matching up columns and rows of candy items—has hired banks to pursue a U.S. initial public offering, according to people familiar with the move.

Midasplayer, better known as King, has tapped banks including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group AG, and Bank of America Corp., BAC +0.45% to handle a potential offering, these people said. They cautioned that the pricing and timing of any deal hadn't yet been completed.

21

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

Entertainment CINE BYTES

Bhansali buys remake rights of Kanchana

K

anchana, which is a Telugu comedy-horron film directed

by Raghava Lawrence, will soon be remade in Hindi. Bollywood biggie Sanjay Leela Bhansali has bought the rights of the film.

According to sources, Raghava Lawrence, who also wrote and acted in the Telugu flick, will be directing the Hindi version too.

DANCING TO THRILL

CHARAN

TO SHAKE A LEG

Action 3D’s hot stills generate curiosity

A

llari Naresh starrer Action 3D is all set for its June 21st release. The movie, which will be released next week in both 2D and 3D, has spurred curiosity among people with its stills. The stills show Allari Naresh and Neelam is steamy poses from a Raghavendra Rao themed song. Anil Sunkara is the producer and director and Bappi Lahiri has given the music.

Ravi Teja banking heavily on Balupu

R

avi Teja, who is currently facing a rough career patch, has all his hopes pinned on Balupu.

The actor, who used to be the darling of producers, is heavily banking on this project for a turnaround. The movie also stars Shruti Haasan who will be seen in a glamourous avatar. The movie will hit the screens on June 28.

Thaman has scored the music.

P

ower star Ram Charan is all set to shake a leg for his upcoming thriller Yevadu. The superstar is gearing up for the song's shoot, which is slated to begin on June 27. A source close to Ram Charan's team confirmed the news.

Shooting of the Yevadu song is expected to take place in the RFCKeesara area. Yevadu is slated for release in the last week of July, while the audio will release in the fourth week of June.

Devi Sri Prasad has composed the music for the movie, which is directed

by Vamsi Paidipally.Shruti Haasan and Amy Jackson will be seen in lead roles in the big budget thriller that is produced by Dil Raju.Allu Arjun and Kajal Aggarwal will be making cameo appearances in the film.

22

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

SIMPLICITY OF A KING

CINE BYTES

e c a r b m e o Learnt t : K R S m o r f y t simplici

PUVISHA

'More intimacy' in Dedh Ishqiya

D

edh Ishqiya, will go "much further" in intimacy than Ishqiya. Actor Arshad Warsi is said to have some steamy lovemaking scenes with co-star Huma Qureshi, while even Madhuri Dixit has uninhibitedly shot for some cosy scenes with Naseeruddin Shah. According to sources, Huma and Arshad "have pulled out all stops" making the lovemaking scenes in Ishqiya look like "a teaser trailer, and foreplay before the actual act".

IANS

Rishi stuns Hollywood stunt directors

A

t 60, Rishi Kapoor left Hollywood action directors Tom Struthers and John Street of Inception and The Dark Knight Rises fame, stunned. The veteran Bollywood actor is said to have performed a brilliantly executed action sequence on the sets of DDay without any training or rehearsals.

IANS CHENNAI: Tamil actress Puvisha M, who has worked with Shah Rukh Khan in the forthcoming Hindi film Chennai Express, says she learnt the art of being humble and simple from King Khan, who despite being a superstar never behaves like one.

“He may be a superstar but you never see him behaving like one because he is unbelievably friendly and down-to-earth. After working with him, I realised that despite being a superstar one can still choose to be simple.

This is something I learnt from him and I will remember forever,” Puvisha said.

“I was told before I entered films that people change after they achieve fame, and I almost believed it until I met him Shah Rukh-ji, who proved that theory

wrong. I also learnt from him that regardless of stardom, we can decide how we want to be,” she added.

Puvisha, who made her cinematic debut in Bala Pazhanisaamy's critically acclaimed Tamil perioddrama Paradesi, was chosen for Chennai Express amongst 400 aspiring actors.

“I was least confident when I auditioned for Chennai Express because there were nearly 400 like me who had come to bag the role of a typical south Indian girl,” she said.

“I auditioned in typical south Indian attire, wearing a half sari and jasmine flowers on my head. (Director) Rohit Shetty was impressed with me. However, I only got a call after six months, by when, I had almost forgotten about

the audition,” said Puvisha, who plays a family member to actress Deepika Padukone's character in the film.

“Deepika and I are from the same family in the film. I play her uncle's daughter and I'm the one who is very close to her. It was so much fun shooting because almost 50 to 60 per cent of the dialogues in the film are in Tamil and there are so many south Indian actors,” she added.

Puvisha says SRK personally helped her overcome nervousness.

“In one of the scenes I'm supposed to hold his hand and almost hug him. I just couldn't do it because I was so nervous! But eventually when we shot, he held my hand and gave me the confidence to do the scene,” she said.

A trained Bharatanatyam dancer for 20 years, Puvisha says she missed dancing in the film, but has no regrets whatsoever.

“I'm a trained dancer and I would've loved to shake a leg with Shah Rukh-ji, but unfortunately that didn't happen. But, I really didn't mind because I can always feel proud to have worked with a superstar,” said Puvisha, who was born and raised in Malaysia.

Southern actress Priyamani was roped in for a special item number in the film, which is produced by Shah Rukh's Red Chillies Entertainment.

Also starring are Sathyaraj, Manorama, and Mohan Raman in important roles. Chennai Express releases Aug 8.

‘Playing bad guy never lost me fans’

A

ctor Chetan Hansraj is back to playing a bad boy on the small screen with Jodha Akbar. He says his fans love watching him in negative roles. Moreover, "women love bad boys"! "Playing the bad guy has never lost me any fans. In fact, my fans have always appreciated the different negative characters I have played. It is also said that women love bad boys, so isn't that a win-win situation," he said.

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

THE FITNESS DANCE

CINE BYTES

Avril Lavigne balancing work, wedding plans

S

inger Avril Lavigne, who is engaged to Chad Kroeger, says she is trying to divide her time between work and wedding plans.

Lavigne, 27, will soon release her yet-to-be-titled fifth studio collection, and is enjoying every moment with her singer beau.

“I’ve been planning the wedding.

It’s just more meetings than usual, more emails, more phone calls.

But it’s been good,” she said. IANS

Beyonce, JLo my style icons:

KIMBERLEY WALSH LOS ANGELES: Singer-songwriter Kimberley Walsh says she gets inspiration from Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez’s sexy yet classic personal styles.

“Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez are both naturally stunning. I look to women who have a similar body shape to mine, like Beyonce, to see what styles suit them,” contactmusic.com quoted the 31-year-old as saying. “(My style is) quite classic and I go for things that suit my shape,” she added. Walsh also believes that dance is the best way to stay in shape. “I do a lot of dancing, which helps.

I also work out about three times a week. I'll do 25 minutes of cardio, then move on to resistance training to keep things toned,” she said.

JLo signs up for film on Chilean miners

J

ennifer Lopez is the latest addition to the cast of The 33, a film based on the story of survival of the miners trapped for more than two months below ground after a mine collapse in northern Chile. J Lo joins a cast led by Spanish actor Antonio Banderas. Filming will begin this fall in Chile under the direction of Patricia Riggen.

IANS

Being single doesn't suit me: Katie Price

M

odel Katie Price admits she can't be single. The 35-yearold model married her third husband Kieran Hayler earlier this year, and insists that being single doesn't suit her because she parties too much when she's alone.

Price said: “I'm not a big drinker, but when I'm single, I end up going out to clubs and getting drunk, when really I just like being with someone.”

IANS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

Bernard M Baruch

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

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

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

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

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

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

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

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 Bryn ___ College 5 Cigar box wood 10 ‘Fly Like an Eagle’ org 14 Lumbago, eg 15 Big fight site 16 In ___ of (replacing) 17 Use shears 18 Brains 20 Paving stone 21 ‘Attract’ end 22 Strong cotton thread 23 Down by the pond?

25 ‘Can I say something?’

27 ‘Epitaph for a Spy’ author Eric 29 Friendly 33 Oscar-winner Sophia 34 Floating cooler?

35 Blighted urban area 36 Spleen 37 Terra firma 38 ‘My lips ___ sealed’ 39 Swine with tusks 41 Come apart at the seams 42 Walking worrier 44 Automotive, steel or tourism, eg 46 Quaint, in a rural kind of way 47 Come in behind the others 48 Plays a few rounds 49 Slow garden critter 52 Abbr on business cards 53 Greeting from Popeye 56 Feature at some salons 59 Sultry singer Horne 60 Yin’s counterpart 61 Clear, as a blackboard 62 Experience with the heart 63 A grandson of Adam 64 Botched a catch 65 Vaulted altar area

DOWN

1 Word with ‘media’ or ‘hysteria’ 2 Adolescent outbreak 3 Rye alternative 4 Snake or alligator, eg 5 Comparatively shrewd 6 Trial partner 7 University bigwig 8 Whichever 9 Zodiac butter 10 Final syllables 11 Gains a lap?

12 Banana covering 13 ‘By all means!’

19 Eldest Baldwin brother 24 Where Daniel was placed 25 Feeling between friends 26 Companion of ‘mighty’ 27 It eliminates suspects 28 Definitely no Einstein 29 An orderly grouping 30 Outcast of the family 31 Anglers’ purchases 32 Type of board 34 Ballet dancer’s handrail 37 Immature salamanders 40 Court pronouncements 42 Infamous dictator Pot 43 Spanky’s pal 45 Divas’ deliveries 46 Threw in one’s cards 48 Birds flying in a vee formation 49 Affliction of the eyelid 50 Indian flatbread 51 The ‘A’ in AD 52 Lake Tahoe lift 54 Singles 55 Harvard rival 57 Maiden name intro 58 ‘You, I never liked,’ dog-style

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 20-6-2013

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You act swiftly and complete all the difficult tasks undertaken as soon as possible. Women to maintain calm to avoid misunderstanding within the family.

Chances of confusion at home; deal with the situation effectively without hurting anyone.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Marriage of a family member likely to be performed. Businessmen succeed in plans to attract new customers, which results in increase of business volume. You meet with old friends after a long gap and enjoy their company.

You save for future by monitoring expenses carefully. Take care of health of spouse as a health problem is likely. Friends and relatives extend support wholeheartedly. Happy events to take place in the family, which brings cheer to all.

Health looks fine. Increased expenses might upset your financial position. But you manage the issues well as self-confidence is high and because of boldness. Changes in planetary position creates tensions and it is necessary to act with caution.

Businessmen advised to defer fresh investment decision for some time. You get help from women friends to your surprise.

Debt-related issues might haunt you and it is necessary to deal extra cautiously while dealing with such issues.

Debt problems might surface but financial support from friends and relatives help you tide over. Problems in ancestral property end. Children’s adamancy upsets you but they will make you feel proud and happy with their achievements.

Co-operation from spouse keeps you in good spirits. You need to guide children with patience and ensure that they come out of their bad habits.

Employees likely to be entrusted with new responsibilities; transfer on the cards for some.

Friendship with a nice person blossoms benefiting you in the future. Businessmen do well and achieve profits proportionate to efforts put in. Employees likely to face increased work burden but need to act with patience and focus.

Share concerns with family members and take a combined decision so that they extend their support. You change your attitude and get co-operation of others to get delayed work successfully completed. Expenses might go up unexpectedly.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

The High Priest – You may think that others don’t take you too seriously. You’ll discover that you’re wrong. They may not want to show that they respect you.

LEO:

The Lovers – You’re in the mode of being a family person.

You want to set aside all your career and other responsibilities and be there for your immediate family.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

The Hanged Man – You see things that others may not.

It is not the best feeling, though, because you have to explain situations based on your instinct.

SAGITTARIUS:

Ace of Pentacles – Interesting and exciting ideas come to mind. You want to execute them all. But take one day at a time and one idea at a time.

TAURUS:

The Emperor – You may have become too intimidating to a person – so intimidating that it affects your work and life in some way. You have to tone down.

CANCER:

Two of Swords – Physical fitness needs attention. If you are a smoker or have any habit that adversely impacts your lifestyle, you need to stop right now.

VIRGO:

Page of Cups – You may be put in an uncomfortable situation where you have to deal with something unfamiliar to you. Don’t worry, you’ll work it out fine.

SCORPIO:

Justice – A family member may be travelling or away from you for sometime and you miss this person. Use all forms of communication to stay in touch.

CAPRICORN:

Four of Wands – You have enormous faith in a person or thing. It may be wise to have a back-up plan, just in case. Or, you might be deeply disappointed.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

King of Wands – You’re feeling lazy and want to spend the week doing a whole lot of nothing. The weekend is almost here. Relax and take it easy.

NUMBER GAME

acles – Some events are happening that are not completely to advantage.

You’re nervous about the outcome.

Don’t be. See the silver lining.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Three of Pent-

POOCH CAFE

Some have a bright chance to change residence. Your suggestions to family members and close relatives brings desired results and earns you appreciation. Influx of visitors keeps at home atmosphere charged and cheerful.

for 20-6-2013

Ten of Swords – You’re all worked up because you’re not sure what kind of journey is up ahead. You’re tense about something and it will show up in different ways.

NON SEQUITUR

Blood relatives extend support as per expectations. Employees with sincere and hard work earn recognition of management. Avoid buying luxurious items and being extravagant as increased expenses will force you into a deficit situation.

SUDUKO

Family members, friends and relatives are more affectionate towards you. A peaceful atmosphere will prevail at workplace. Ensure you do not hurt others by expressing opinions in a wrong manner. Never allow emotional matters dominate.

Boggle MAJOR PRIVATE COLONEL CORPORAL Vol: 2, No 334 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved.

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

28

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

BRIAN MAY MEETS PSY

CINE BYTES

Jennifer Aniston stays naked all day?

A

ctress Jennifer Aniston, who recently moved in with her fiance Justin Theroux to their new mansion here, reportedly stays naked in house. The former Friends star spends days by walking around her house naked and cooking in nude too, reports mirror.co.uk. The 44-year-old was reportedly shy at first, but has now become confident. “Both of them have incredible bodies, so they’re more relaxed,” the sources said.

If it wasn’t for Queen at Wembley, I wouldn’t be a pop star. Growing up, I would watch Freddie Mercury with all those fans in the palm of his hand.

Psy Korean rapper

PSY to record with Brian May

LOS ANGELES: Korean singer-rapper Psy of Gangnam Style fame, is set to record a track with singer-musician Brian May. They are working on a remix of a song, reports contactmusic.com.

May, 65, said: “It turns out he’s a massive Queen fan and he says he’s in the music business because of us, which is always nice to hear.”

The rock legend added he was anxious to meet the 35-year-old Korean rapper because of his success with Gangnam Style, the video of which became the most watched in YouTube’s history.

“I was quite nervous to meet him. The guy’s had 1.6 billion views on YouTube. It turns out that he was pretty nervous too. So we just sat there and looked at each other for a while. Then we had

a good conversation and it was nice. It was a friendly lunch,” he added.

During his teenage days, Psy used to listen to music from iconic band Queen, which saw May team up with iconic vocalist Freddie Mercury, bass player John Deacon and drummer Roger

Taylor. He credits them as one of the main reasons he chose to get into the music business.

“If it wasn’t for Queen at Wembley, I wouldn’t be a pop star.

Growing up, I would watch Freddie Mercury with all those fans in the palm of his hand. He is the best,” said Psy. IANS

Loki not in The Avengers sequel?

A

ctor Tom Hiddleston will reportedly not reprise his role as Loki in sequel of The Avengers.

The 32-year-old, who played villainous Asgardian god Loki, is unlikely to return for the action film, according to director Joss Whedon.

“Imitating what I did before is the surest way to do it not as well,” he said.

Miley Cyrus wants to start afresh

S

inger Miley Cyrus admits she isn’t fond of her old records, and says she would love to work as a “new artist”. “Right now, when people go to iTunes and listen to my old music, it’s so irritating because I can’t just erase that stuff and start over. My last record (2009’s EDM-inflected Can’t be tamed), I feel so disconnected from (it)! I was 16 or 17 when I made it,” the 20-year-old Tweeted.

sports

29

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

NBA

Miami’s Heat sweeps Spurs

MIAMI: LeBron James made the go-ahead jump shot and Ray Allen drained a two clutch overtime free throws as the Miami Heat rallied to beat San Antonio 103-100 on Tuesday to force a game seven in the NBA Finals.

James hit a seven-foot jumper with 1:43 left in overtime to give Miami a 101-100 lead and the Heat evened the best-of-seven series at 3-3 after being down by five points with 28 seconds remaining in regulation.

Game seven will be played Thursday in Miami.

James scored 18 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter as he sparked the late comeback for the Heat, who trailed by 13 points late in the third quarter.

Mario Chalmers scored 20 points and Chris Bosh added 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots late for the Heat, who are a perfect 7-0 following a

loss in the post-season. Miami dropped game five at San Antonio on Sunday.

Tim Duncan finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who last won the NBA title in 2007 when they knocked off a Cleveland Cavaliers team led by a young James.

San Antonio appeared to be heading for the fifth NBA title in franchise history when the wheels fell off late in the fourth quarter as they blew a lead of 10 points entering the fourth quarter.

Heat veteran Allen drained a clutch 25-foot 3-pointer with five seconds to play in regulation time to tie the game at 9595. Tony Parker had a chance to clinch the win for the Spurs in regulation but his shot at the buzzer from 12-feet never got near the rim.

AFP

WIMBLEDON PREVIEW

Injury forces Venus out

take time to let my back heal.

“I look forward to returning to the courts as soon as possible, with my goal being to return to Mylan World Team Tennis on July 8th in Washington DC.

ATHLETICS BRIEF Felix eyes 200m crown DES MOINES: Allyson Felix isn’t worried too much about the 200m world record, but she would love to regain the 200m world title. Felix will try to take another step toward regaining the world crown she won three times at the US athletics championships, selection meeting for the World Championships in Moscow . She surrendered the world title to Veronica CampbellBrown in 2011, when Felix attempted an ambitious 200m-400m double and came away with bronze in the 200m and silver in the 400m. AFP

US, Jamican sprinters look to Moscow

DES MOINES: Sprint hierarchy could be established this week as the United States and Jamaica hold their trials for the athletics World Championships scheduled for Moscow August 10-18.

Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin spearhead the US challenge to Usain Bolt and his fellow Jamaican speedsters, including reigning 100m world champion Yohan Blake.

Walter Dix, second to Blake in the 100m and to Bolt in the 200m at the 2011 worlds in Daegu, South Korea, is also in the mix at the US championships that start on Thursday at Drake University, longtime home of the Drake Relays athletics meeting.

The men’s 100m finals will be held on the same day — Friday — at both the US and Jamaican trials, which run Thursday through Sunday in Kingston.

The Jamaican meeting has been clouded by a potential doping scandal Veronica CampbellBrown, who has accepted a provisional suspension while her case is being investigated.

AFP

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat attempts a shot while being contested by Kawhi Leonard #2 and Danny Green #4 of the San Antonio Spurs during Game Six of the 2013 NBA Finals on Tuesday.

AFP

LONDON: Five-time Wimbledon champ Venus Williams (right) has pulled out of this year’s tournament because of an ongoing lower back injury. Williams suffered her earliest French Open exit in 12 years when she crashed to a first-round defeat to Poland’s Urszula Radwanska at Roland Garros last month.

Venus — who has won seven Grand Slam titles in all — also pulled out of the doubles there with her sister Serena because of her back problem. “Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in Wimbledon this year," Williams said on her Facebook page.

“I am extremely disappointed as I have always loved The Championships, but I need to

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

“Many thanks to my fans for the love and support and I will be seeing you very soon back on the courts," said Williams, who won the last of her Wimbledon singles titles back in 2008.

AFP

DOPING TROUBLE

Campbell-Brown apologises for mess

KINGSTON: Sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown, embroiled in a doping scandal that rocked her homeland, issued an apology Tuesday but also said she was shocked to have tested positive.

Three days after it was disclosed that she had tested positive for banned diuretic lasix, Jamaican track officials confirmed she accepted a ban while a probe is conducted.

Shortly after, a statement from her management team declared, “Veronica is not a cheat," and “her faith, which rests not in device or creed,

will see her through this dark period."

“Due to her determination to vigorously pursue the clearing of her name, she will desist from being vocal suffice it to say, while not accepting guilt of wilfully taking a banned substance, she wholeheartedly apologises to her family, Jamaica, sponsors, the governing body, the world athletics, her supporters as well as those she worked with in various non-athletic causes for any embarrassment and or hurt this news has caused," it said. AFP

JAMAICAN NATIONAL ATHLETICS

Injured Blake pulls out KINGSTON: Reigning world 100-meter champion Yohan Blake (left) has withdrawn from this week’s Jamaican national athletics championships with a right thigh injury, the runner’s manager said on Tuesday.

Blake would still be eli-

gible to run in the World Championships at Moscow in August because he won the 2011 world 100 title at Daegu, South Korea, in 2011.

Just over nine weeks ago, Blake walked off the track after grabbing his right thigh later tweeting: “am

good my twitter family just a cramp", only to have coach Glen Mills say the injury was much worse. Blake returned to the track on June 8 and won a 200m race at a low-key all comers meet at the Jamaican national stadium in Kingston.

AFP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

look to ride their luck KULDIP LAL Agence France-Presse LONDON: England and South Africa will hope lady luck does not desert them when they clash in the Champions Trophy semifinal at the Oval in London on Wednesday.

Both sides, aiming to end a frustrating wait for a major oneday title, are fortunate to make the last four in the eight-nation tournament, saved either by the weather or their rivals’ bad luck.

South Africa sneaked a tie — and gain a valuable point — at Cardiff last week when rain

Hosts seem to reverse ball a bit quicker: AB LONDON: South Africa skipper AB de Villiers on Tuesday waded into controversy over alleged ball-tampering saying he was a bit amazed at the England bowlers’ ability to reverse swing the ball “a bit quicker than the rest of the teams” in the ongoing Champions Trophy.

The hosts have been hit by allegations of ball-tampering ahead of their high-voltage semifinal, slated to be held here tomorrow [Wednesday] against South Africa. If they are doing something funny with the ball, then it’s definitely a concern, yes, but we’ve got no proof of that. Look, they seem to get it to reverse a bit quicker than the rest of the teams so maybe they’ve just got really good skill in their bowlers,” de Villiers said.

“We’ve tried, as well — I think all teams try to do that, and we haven’t really managed to succeed in that, but we’ll try that again tomorrow [Wednesday] and see if our bowlers can find that skill to reverse the ball.” AFP

forced the game to end with the West Indies on the exact Duckworth-Lewis par score of 190-6 in 26.1 overs.

If Keiron Pollard had not been dismissed off what turned out to be the last ball of the match, the West Indies would have won the game and qualified for the semifinals after being ahead of the D/L target at that stage.

England were lucky the weather favoured them in Cardiff on Sunday as the hosts squeezed out a 10-run win over New Zealand in a game reduced to 24overs-a-side due to rain.

A washed-out match or a defeat would almost certainly have knocked England out of the race and lifted the Black Caps into the semi-finals along with either Sri Lanka or Australia.

Eventually, England topped group A by virtue of a superior net run-rate over Sri Lanka, who drew level on four points following a 20-run win over defending champions Australia at the Oval on Monday.

Last year, England and South

Africa drew a one-day series 2-2 after the Proteas came back from a 2-1 deficit to win the final game at Nottingham by seven wickets.

South African captain AB de Villiers said he expected another close contest between two “world-class” sides.

“England will be the favourites because they are playing at home and know the conditions well,” de Villers said on Tuesday. “But I think it is pretty much 50-50.

“It’s up to the team which rocks up with the right attitude that can take that momentum early on and run with it. We’ll be looking to do exactly that and adapt to conditions as quickly as possible.

“England are a world class team and so are we. It’s going to be a great game.”

The South African captain said the only way his team can get rid of the label of ‘chokers’ was to win the tournament.

“I believe all teams choke in certain situations,” he said. “It’s just that somehow we managed

to get that tag behind our names.

Unless we win this tournament, people will continue to say we are chokers. But it is not something that bothers us.”

De Villers said premier fast bowler Dale Steyn, who missed two of the three games due to a side strain, was “close to 100 percent” fit, but insisted his team can win even without him..

England skipper Alastair Cook said his team was excited about playing in a major semifinal.

“It’s such an exciting place for a player to be,” he said. “We have come here to try and win the tournament. We have got an amazing opportunity to try and do that and both sides will be excited about that.

“It’s another day tomorrow.

It’s another game. What’s gone on in the past has no relevance.”

Group B winners India and Sri Lanka meet in the second semi-final in Cardiff on Thursday in a repeat of the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai which the Indians won.

‘SA’s chokers tag will have no relevance today’ LONDON: England captain Alastair Cook feels that South African team’s habit of choking in major ICC competitions will have no relevance when the two teams square up for their Champions Trophy semifinal at the Oval today.

“It’s another day tomorrow [Wednesday], it’s another game, and what’s gone on in the past has no relevance to tomorrow [Wednesday]. It’s whichever side handles the pressure well tomorrow [Wednesday], and people in that side — in your own side, put your hand up and deliver, and that’s what you have to do in these big games,” Cook said at the pre-match media conference.

For the talented England captain, it’s a massive game as they now get a chance to qualify for the final of an ICC event.

“It’s a massive game for both sides. We’ve got the opportunity to go into the final of an ICC competition, and it’s such an exciting place for a player to be. It’s an amazing opportunity we’ve got tomorrow [Wednesday], and I think both sides will be excited.”

Cook did admit that the target will be to dismiss opposition’s main batsman Hashim Amla quickly in order to get an upperhand.

“We know he’s (Amla) a fantastic player, but as all players are vulnerable early, we have to try and strike early, and if he gets in it’s a danger for us.

Certainly a key man, but if we can get him out, that does put pressure on other players in their set-up.”

Negotiating world’s No 1 fats bowler Dale Steyn will be critical to how England can build around a total, feels the skipper.

AFP

30&31

Resurgent India impress Jayawardene JULIAN GUYER Agence France-Presse CARDIFF: Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (right) is under no illusions about the scale of the task confronting his side when they face India in a Champions Trophy semi-final in Cardiff on Thursday.

The latest high-profile oneday international contest between the teams is a repeat of the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai.

That clash saw the 36-yearold Jayawardene make unwanted history by becoming the first man to score a century in a World Cup final yet finish on the losing side, with India victorious by six wickets.

On Monday, Jayawardene was in the runs again, but on the winning side, with his unbeaten 84 helping secure a 20-run victory over defending champions Australia at The Oval that booked Sri Lanka’s place in the last four.

Jayawardene saw India beat Sri Lanka in a warm-up match at Edgbaston earlier this month

and has been impressed by their form in the tournament proper.

“I think they’re playing some really good cricket,” he said.

“Their batting looks really strong, so that’s a key area we need to focus a bit on.”

The India team set to take the field in Cardiff has been transformed so dramatically in the past two years it will likely feature just three players — captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni plus batsmen Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli — who appeared in the World Cup final.

India were the only side in the group stage of this Champions Trophy with a perfect record following wins over South Africa, the West Indies and arch-rivals Pakistan.

Hard-hitting opener Shikhar Dhawan, the mainstay of the India batting praised by Jayawardene, is the tournament’s leading scorer so far with 264 runs including two hundreds.

The influx of youth has also seen a marked improvement in India’s fielding and this has backed up a well-balanced

attack featuring left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and seamers Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav.

However, with yorker specialist Lasith Malinga leading the way, Sri Lanka can tame any top order.

Jayawardene, who in the course of his innings against Australia became the eighth player to score 11,000 ODI runs, added: “Warm-up games, or whatever, don’t count right now.

“We are playing hard and passionate cricket. That has been the mantra of our success in the past and I hope it continues in the future also.”

India’s recent results have been a tonic for fans at home reeling from a spot-fixing scandal in the IPL that led to the arrest of three players, including Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. But, regardless of India’s off-field problems, the national side’s prospects look bright.

“This is the team of the future,” Kapil Dev, India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain, told AFP. “They are playing fearless cricket.”

Wicketkeeperbatsman Dhoni, demonstrated the calm approach admired by Kumar, among others, when he said: “There are, hopefully, still two more matches to go and we must play with the same intensity that we have shown so far.”

The one thing that could spoil an intriguing match is rain.

Bad weather in Cardiff saw South Africa knock out the West Indies on a Duckworth/ Lewis tie and cut England’s eventual 10-run win over New Zealand to a 24 overs per side contest.

There is provision for a ‘super over’ in the event of a tie on Thursday but if rain causes a noresult, India will go through to face either England or South Africa, who meet on Wednesday, in Sunday’s final at Edgbaston on account of having won Group B, with Sri Lanka runners-up in Group A.

Whatmore eyes World Cup after Pakistan flop KARACHI: Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore (in pic) said Tuesday the team would be reviewed with an eye on building for the 2015 World Cup after their dismal showing at the Champions Trophy. Abysmal batting led to Pakistan’s defeat in all three matches as they failed to post a single total above 170 runs.

Pakistan’s failure in the Champions Trophy has prompted calls from former players, media and fans to overhaul the system and ditch Whatmore and under-performing players.

Asked about the need to overhaul the team, Whatmore said he will give a report on the team’s performance.

“The question of selection should be directed to the selectors but I will give my review, both verbal and written, perhaps (with) 2015 in mind,” Whatmore, 59, told reporters as he arrived back in Pakistan.

Whatmore accompanied Mohammad Irfan, Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Nasir Jamshed and Ehsan Adil

while captain Misbah-ul Haq and vice captain Mohammad Hafeez will return next week.

The former Australian batsman turned coach rejected the suggestion his players lacked in effort.

“The performance didn’t meet the expectations which we, as a team, wanted to put. Obviously a lot of people in Pakistan wanted us to do well and that’s why it is very disappoint-

ing,” said Whatmore, who took over as coach in March last year.

“But it wasn’t a case of lack of trying, it was a case of we were unable to score enough runs in all three matches.”

Pakistan were bowled out for 170 against the West Indies, 167 against South Africa and 165 in a rain-shortened match against arch-rivals India in the Group B matches.

Only captain Misbah-ul Haq managed to hit two half-centuries while top order batsmen Hafeez, Farhat, Shoaib Malik and Kamran flopped badly.

Pakistan’s batting was also found wanting on their tour of South Africa earlier this year, where they lost all three Tests and the five-match one-day series 3-2.

Pakistan had hired Australian expert Trent Woodhill as batting consultant for the Trophy but he failed to lift the batsmen.

Pakistan’s next assignment is a five one-day and two Twenty20 matches in the West Indies next month.

AFP

ICC confirm umpires for semis LONDON: The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Tuesday the umpires amd match officials for the Champions Trophy semi-finals.

For hosts England’s match against South Africa at The Oval in London on Wednesday, the on-field umpires will be Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena and Australia’s Rod Tucker, with Tucker’s compatriot Bruce Oxenford the television umpire.

Former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath will be the match referee.

India and Sri Lanka meet in the second semi-final in Cardiff on Thursday where the umpires in the middle will be England’s Richard Kettleborough and Pakistan’s Aleem Dar. England will provide both the television umpire in Nigel Llong and match referee in former Test batsman Chris Broad, father of current England seamer Stuart, for this last four clash in a tournament that featured the world’s top eight one-day international sides.

The ICC added the officials for Sunday’s final at Edgbaston, Birmingham, central England, would be announced in due course.

AFP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013

sports

ROUSSEFF VOWS TO LISTEN TO PROTESTING YOUTHS Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff tried to get ahead of a wave of popular protest on Tuesday, vowing to listen to the complaints of youths angered by the cost of staging the World Cup, a day after more than 250,000 people took to the streets of major cities in mostly peaceful rallies.

CONFEDERATIONS CUP

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‘Use brains not brawn’ Asian champions Japan must play to their strenghts if they are to reignite their Confederations Cup dreams, the Blue Samurais’ coach Alberto Zaccheroni said.

RECIFE: Asian champions Japan must use brains not brawn if they are to reignite their Confederations Cup dreams, the Blue Samurais’ Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni said Tuesday.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli had previously insisted he saw the Japanese — having enjoyed an extra day’s rest — as favourites for only the third encounter in history between the two sides.

Zaccheroni was having none of that but said even so his team had to show it is is made of much sterner stuff than shown in Saturday’s opening 3-0 loss to hosts Brazil, when they caved in once Neymar had scored a stunning third-minute opener.

“We should adopt not a physical approach but a technical one,” said Zaccheroni, 60, who said he might have to refrain from singing the Italian national anthem in what will be

Japan’s coach Italian Alberto Zaccheroni walks under the rain during a training session at the Pernambuco Arena in Recife, on Tuesday during the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil.

AFP/YASUYOSHI CHIBA

a highly unusual experience for him.

“When I stared off coaching I never imagined I would be

coaching a team playing against Italy and not in a friendly but a very important competition,” said Zaccheroni, who took over

as Japan coach in 2010.

Having guided the side to the Asian Cup in Qatar two years ago and then ensured the team became the first country to qualify for Brazil 2014, Zaccheroni now sees his prime task as making an impression in next year’s competition, especially given his charges arrived here just days after ending their gruelling qualifying programme. Yet he insists the Confederations tournament is a useful exercise.

“We are here to get experience for the World Cup next year and to use the opportunity to grow and develop. Japan has improved a lot in the past few years since before I even came along,” replacing Takeshi Okada, he insisted. But against the likes of Italy and Brazil, he reflects there is still a long way to go before the Japanese can see off the creme de la creme.

AFP

ROAD TO WORLD CUP 2014

Tension as Asian giants reach WC

SINGAPORE: Asian giants Iran, South Korea and Australia scrambled into next year’s World Cup on Tuesday after scenes of crowd anger and high tension on the final night of group qualifying.

Irate South Korean fans hurled water bottles and other debris after Iran booked their ticket with a 1-0 smashand-grab win in Ulsan, following a tetchy build-up between the two teams.

South Korea also accused

Iran’s coach Carlos Queiroz (top), holding a mock trophy, celebrates with his players after their World Cup Asian qualifier match against South Korea in Ulsan on Tuesday.

AFP/JUNG YEON-JE

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz of making an obscene hand gesture at his rival Choi KangHee, and said they expected a FIFA investigation. No comment was immediately available from Queiroz.

A South Korean newspaper condemned Iran’s players and officials, but made little mention of their own fans’ poor behaviour.

“When their victory was confirmed, all the Iranian players ran towards the South

Korean bench, pumping their fists and making insulting gestures,” the Sport Chosun daily wrote in an editorial.

“There was no respect for the opposing team. They were not merely celebrating their victory. They stuck their tongues out at the crowd and jeered at them. They insulted and mocked South Korean soccer. The spirit of fair play and sportsmanship were completely forgotten,” the paper added.

AFP

Torres vows to give Spain selection dilemma RECIFE: Spain forward Fernando Torres was on the outside looking in as his compatriots made a winning start in the Confederations Cup against Uruguay, but the Chelsea forward says he intends to give coach Vicente Del Bosque a selection dilemma if he can get some game time for the world champions against minnows Tahiti on Thursday.

Torres has found himself relegated to the status of a squad player since Euro 2012, when Del Bosque decided he wanted to try to dispense with a designated centre forward, but has accepted his fate knowing that he still scored three goals from the bench in Poland and Ukraine as the Furia Roja became the first country to land three consecutive major senior tournaments.

“I just hope I do get the chance to impress coach Del Bosque so that I can give him a bit of a selection dilemma,” Torres told Onda Cero radio.

SPORT BRIEFS Players voice support for Confed Cup protesters

Coach claims credit as Oz book berth to Brazil

FORTALEZA : Chelsea defender David Luiz on Tuesday led his Brazil teammates in speaking out in support of mass protests in the country that have overshadowed the start of the Confederations Cup.Some 250,000 people took to the streets of major cities on Monday to protest against public transport price hikes and the billions of dollars invested in major sporting events at the alleged expense of health and education.

SYDNEY: Coach Holger Osieck claimed vindication for his methods after Australia qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a last-gasp header. “I know what I’m doing,” he told reporters after the Socceroos squeezed past Iraq 1-0 before a sellout 80,00 crowd at Stadium Australia on Tuesday night.

“It gave me a beautiful feeling and I must admit that I am very proud that I am part of this.”

Thiago hat-trick sees Spain retain title

Pearce pays price for England under-21 flop

JERUSALEM: A hat-trick by captain Thiago Alcantara saw Spain easily retain their European Under-21 title in Jerusalem on Tuesday with a 4-2 win over Italy. Barcelona star Thiago, who was born in Italy where his Brazilian father Mazinho was playing for Lecce, doubled his total haul for the side with all his goals coming in the first-half. Isco added a fourth in the second-half while Italy’s goals came from Ciro Immobile and Fabio Borini.

LONDON: Stuart Pearce’s reign as England U-21 coach came to an end on Tuesday as it was announced he would not be offered a new contract following the side’s humiliating first round exit at the European championships.

The 51-year-old former England defender has been in charge for six years guiding them to the 2007 semis and the 2009 final where they lost heavily to a German side that contained the likes of Mesut Oezil and Sami Khedira.