Epaper 25 september 2013

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 HYDERABAD

WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 27°C

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

32 PAGES

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MALAKPET PREDATOR’S WIFE AGREES: ‘JAVED’S A SEX MANIAC!’ The sexual predator, who is alleged to have held his maid in sexual slavery for 23 years, has had his coffin slammed shut by his estranged wife who told the police about his penchant for ‘sexual perversion’.

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HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

JAGAN, A KING AMONG PRINCES? Events leading to Jagan’s release from jail have prompted political circles to believe that he is well on the way to being chief minister if he beats other parties solo in Seemandhra during the general elections. The YSRC will most likely return to the mother party or at least keep the umbilical cord intact. Hence, punters see Jagan as a safe bet to claim the stewardship of the new Seemandhra state.

REPORT ON P5

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

city events

CYCLING LOOP

If you love cycling, come be a part of the Hyderabad Bicycling Club.

Every week, members of HBC meet up on a Wednesday to ride. All you need is a bicycle which is in a good condition, helmet, drinking water, spare tube/puncture repair kit. 150 bicycles are available on rent too.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

26°C Clear with cloudy periods.

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

20°C

25°C

32°C

Sunny with cloudy periods

Sunny with cloudy periods

Clear with cloudy periods

New Delhi Max 40 Min 29 Mostly sunny

Mumbai Chennai Max 29 Max 35 Min 28 Min 28 Mostly cloudy with showers

Bangalore Max 31 Min 18

Thundershowers

Thundershowers

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES musician, then this is a good opportunity.

Where: La Makaan, Lane next to CBAY, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills When: Sept 25, 3pm to 5pm Contact: 9849451794/ 9912201659

DANCE Let’s do some Zumba Probably the best way to burn out a ton of calories is by doing Zumba.Ditch the workout and join the party!

Where: 360 Degree Fitness, 2nd floor, Above Tata Croma, Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills, When: Sept 26, 7pm to 7:30pm Contact: 9000111360

Artistic Streak The Hyderabad Graphic Novel is a unique city-centric project bringing alive the legends and glory of Hyderabad through the medium of graphic storytelling. Alliance Francaise is organising an art exhibition of the same Where: Alliance Francaise, Road No. 3, Road adjacent to Q-Mart (Opposite TV9), Aurora Colony, Banjara Hills When: Sept 25, 11am to 6:30pm Contact: (040) 23554483/ 85

DINING Ballet Mark your calendars people! Don’t miss Gandhari: English Dance Ballet

by Rajeswari Sainath and Troupe.

Where: Ravindra Bharti, Opposite Legislative Assembly, Saifabad When: Sept 27, 6:30pm Contact: 23233672/ 9866704171 Dandia Nights Sashi Nahata is organising Dandia Dhhoom.The entry is by invitation only. Are you one of the lucky few?

Where: Taj Deccan, Road No.1, Banjara Hills When: Sept 25, 3pm to 6pm Contact: (040) 66663939

TIME-KEEPING: Prestigious watch brands Breguet and Blancpain launched their exclusive collection of high-end jewellery watches at Meena Jewellers showroom in Basheerbagh.

Contemporary Dance Gravity: A Contemporary Dance Show by Durgakoteshwar Rao is being organised.

Where: La Makaan, Lane adjacent to CBAY, Opposite GVK One, Road No.1, Banjara Hills When: Sept 26, 7pm onwards Contact: 9642731329

Commissioner & Spl Officer

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

198 155313

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

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

to start taking it seriously. A workshop on the basics of photography is going to be held.

Where: Hampshire Plaza Hotel, Shop No. 6-1-79, Lakdikapul, Red Hills When: Sept 25, 9:30am to 6pm Contact: (040) 23335555

WORKSHOPS Block Printing Have an artistic streak to you? Love colouring and painting? Then, have fun with block printing by attending this workshop.

Where: Colorama Printers, No 7-1-19, Near Railway Station Gate, Begumpet, Secunderabad When: Sept 23-25, 2pm to 4:30pm Contact: (040) 23730328

Helpline

Bonsai Training Bonsai training classes are being held by the Agri-Horticultural Society.

Where: Public Gardens, Assembly Road, Nampally When: Sept 25-27, 11am to 2pm Contact: (040) 23299779

Dining Delight If you are in the mood for some choicest street foods, then head over to Chai shop for dinner on Wednesdays.

Where: Chai Shop, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills When: Sept 25, 7am to 10:30am Contact: (040)- 66769999/

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

Photography If you are interested in taking pictures of everything around you as a hobby, then it’s a good time for you

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

Music Theory and Ear Training The Hyderabad Western Music Foundation is organising a music theory and ear training workshop.

The fee is Rs. 3200 and includes registration charges. If you want to be a

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

Alfresco Dining A charming escape from the pace of the city, The Grill serves up some delicious entrees. .

Where: The Grill, Mayuri Marg, Begumpet When: 7:30am to 11:30am Contact: (040) 67252626

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 # Plot no.550-A1, 3rd floor, Road no-92, Jubilee hills, Hyderabad-500033 a call on a call on 4067 2222

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

news

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL HIS RELEASE ON BAIL MAKE JAGAN THE KING-MAKER AFTER THE 2014 ELECTIONS? 78% 28%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE A POSITIVE OUTCOME FROM THE SINGH-SHAREEF MEETING? A)

YES

B)

NO

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

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Malakpet predator’s wife agrees: ‘Javed’s a sex maniac!’

The sexual predator, who is alleged to have held his maid in sexual slavery for 23 years, has had his coffinf slammed shut by his estranged wife who told the police about his penchant for ‘sexual perversion’.

MOHD SUBHAN m.subhan@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Businessman Javed Ahmed Siddique, accused of keeping his maid as a sex slave for 23 years, has more trouble in store. His ex-wife Ruhi Firdouse, whom he divorced allegedly after wresting her property, has told officials from the Central Crime Station that Javed divorced her after stealing all her gold and properties at gunpoint.

She corroborated the maid’s horrific story of 23 years of sexual servitude.

Ruhi stated that Javed and his close friend Ahmed Khan tortured her sexually and put a gun to her head asking her to sign divorce papers and give up 2.5 kgs of gold along with her property. It was the worst sort of crime and the humiliation was unparalleled, she said. The continuous physical torture also took a massive toll on her health.

Ruhi Firdouse says that she and her family refuse to let the criminal get away with his crimes. She says Javed became rich through criminal and cruel acts and he often brought girls home and sexually violated them in her presence. Her protestations were to no avail as he owned many firearms and pointed a gun at those who objected.

She narrated his rag-to-riches story, calling it a great tragedy that she was ever linked with this unscrupulous man. She said: “He was simply an auto driver at the time of our marriage and he

DNA test conducted

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eanwhile, the CCS police have conducted a DNA test on the boy whom Farzana claims to have been taken away from her by force. Inspector Sharath Kumar told Postnoon that they were awaiting the results. The police clamed both Javed and Ahmed are on the run. Their mobile phones are switched off and they have not returned to their homes.

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acted humble and simple to dupe me and my parents.”

The parents fell for his apparent nice behaviour, but he showed his true colours after Ruhi was bestowed with wealth by her parents.

She said they did not have children which he held against her. Slowly, the auto driver turned to shady real estate dealings and the money started coming via a series of cons and landgrabs. He was twice arrested for land-grabbing twice.

His ex-wife also revealed that after the money started coming

Javed became rich through criminal acts and he often brought girls home and violated them in her presence.

Ruhi Wife of Javed

in, Javed spiralled out of control and started bringing call girls to their flat in Akbar Tower and openly indulged in sexual perversions even as the maid was kept a sex slave and tortured.

Ruhi told of how she was tortured by her husband when she objected to his devious ways.

Due to the constant torture and his perverse acts she began to suffer a kidney ailment.

“Fifty per cent of one of my kidneys was damaged due to torture. I was a healthy woman when we got married,” she said in her petition. She vowed that

the boy he wrested from maid Farzana was her boy born of this man. “I know for sure Farzana delivered the boy.”

Farzana has sought police help to be reunited with her son after Javed had snatched him from her. The maid complained to the police commissioner Anurag Sharma that Javed and his friend Ahmed were acting as a law unto themselves as they feared nobody since they were protected by a local political faction.

“I want my son back, not his rotten money,” Farzana told the police. She narrated how the cruel man had tutored the child to call her ‘aayah’ (maid) as he told the child that she was his servant and that his mother was dead.

CITY BRIEFS Seemandhra MPs firm on quitting

JP demands special courts

Congress misusing CBI: BJP

APNGOs agitation hearing adjourned

CM to flag off the first of Haj pilgrims

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ijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajgopal has made it clear that the Seemandhra MPs will not go back on the decision on their resignations. Lagadapati said that they failed to get their resignations accepted as the Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar was in Patna. He said that he still believed that the State will remain united.

resident of Lok Satta party, Jaya Prakash Narayan, demanded of the Central Govt. to form special courts for dealing with the corruption cases of State and Central leaders. He said that stern punishment should be given to those found guilty in corruption cases. The release of Jagan could be due to ulterior motives of many.

lleging misuse of CBI in Jaganmohan Reddy disproportionate asset case, BJP today alleged Congress has maintained double standards in the way it has asked the probe agency to handle cases pertaining to Gujarat while asking it to go soft on Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and many other Congress allies.

he AP High Court yesterday adjourned the hearing on APNGOs agitation to September 27.

The court asked both the petitioner and the defense side to submit their arguments in not more than two pages each. Meanwhile, APNGOs president Ashok Babu said Hyderabad was not developed by one group and that it belongs to all.

hief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will flag off the first fleet of buses of Haj pilgrims at Haj House this evening. It is now being estimated that a total of 300 pilgrims are going to Holy place of Mecca from the state to perform annual Haj pilgrimage in the first flight. The CM will also address the gathering before flagging off the bus.

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News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 LAST YEAR... HERE Biggies Day Out

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ast year we had reported on how it was a big day out at the Nampally City Court where a dozen arraigned VIPs including YSRC chief Jaganmohan Reddy and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy and six terror accused were all produced at the court leading to suspension of business and traffic in a kilometer radius of the court.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

$75 bn

75 billion is what Shale oil production in the US lent to federal and state tax revenue and contributed $283 billion to the US gross domestic product..

Nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran’s security and defense doctrine, and contradict our fundamental religious and ethical convictions Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani See page 9

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

1

Can star power save rhinos in Africa?

Actresses Bai Ling and Christie Brinkley have been deployed to South African game reserves as part of an awareness campaign on illegal rhino killings.

2

Shale boom offers the United States hope.

Booming oil and gas production is creating jobs, reinvigorating energy-consuming industries and remaking the US trade balance.

3

Japan’s ageing ‘ama’ divers defy the tide of time Pollution and overfishing have affected abalone, the main source of livelihoods for women, with the creature’s population dropping 90 per cent.

4

The Jagan effect halts life in City.

The release of YSRCP chief might be happy news for his fans, but for the public it meant traffic jams and consequent delays.

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Spain’s king faces another hip operation.

Surgeons gave Spain's 75-year-old King Juan Carlos a temporary hip replacement Tuesday

FALL FROM GRACE

Those merry Berry days BlackBerry, which accounted for just 2.8 percent of worldwide smartphone sales in 2013, has just been sold. We ask Blackberry boys to take a trip down memory lane.

ARUN DANIEL feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: BlackBerry, preferred phone maker of the president of the United States of America, has been sold for 4.7 billion dollars. BlackBerry was worth over $100 billion dollars back in 2007.

The city stores and BlackBerry users feel bad about the deal and few even regret buying the phone. Santosh Kumar, a mobile shop owner, says, “I have few brand-new and many second-hand BlackBerry phones which I was hoping to sell, but now I don’t think anyone would want to buy a Blackberry, I have lost all the money that I put in by buying these phones.”

BlackBerry was a style statement for many people, people who owned a blackberry used to show off their phones. The BlackBerry boys was one of the very popular ads that was out few years ago. “Having a BlackBerry was a style statement, every two minutes people used to remove their phone and show them off in front of their friends. Blackberry was very popular for emails and blackberry messenger,”says Rahul.J, a student.

Another die-hard fan of the BlackBerry phones, Sam Rufus, employee of a private company, says, “I have been using BlackBerry for a long time, I have all the old models, feel sad that it has been sold. More disappointed that a private firm bought it, not sure whether they would improve the situation. Instead, if any phone related company bought

U.S. President Barack Obama was a poster boy for the BlackBerry brand. He is known to be a die-hard fan of the BlackBerry models.

Whether he will continue to use the phone is the question of the hour

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BlackBerry was once a statement of style.

People who owned a Blackberry would show off their phone with pride. it, then if would surely help as they would later make it better, but don’t think that will happen. Facebook should have bought BlackBerry.”

He adds,”BlackBerry should have come out with Z10, some five

years ago, it would have helped the company to compete with Apple and Samsung.”

“I recently shifted from BlackBerry to Samsung, many of my friends did the same, glad

I got to sell it before this happened, or else no one would buy my phone. I also feel sad that a company like Blackberry ,which once a popular favourite, has been sold for less money,” says Sirisha Reddy.

DISASTER

Over 200 killed in Pak quake

KHUZDAR: Pakistan's military Wednesday rushed to reach the scene of a huge earthquake that killed at least 208 people and toppled many mud-built homes when it hit the country's south with enough force to create a new island off the coast.

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday afternoon in Baluchistan province's Awaran district -- a dirt-poor expanse of land that is roughly

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the size of Wales.

"The number of dead from the earthquake has reached 208 now. The injured are over 382," Asad Gilani, one of the province's most senior administration officials, told AFP. "The rescue teams are working to recover dead bodies and injured, but our priority is to shift injured to hospitals as soon as possible," he said.

More than 60,000 people live within 50 kilometres of the

epicentre, according to the UN disaster agency, mostly in easily collapsed mud homes.

"We have been busy in rescue efforts for the whole night and fear we will recover more dead bodies from under the rubble during the daylight," said a senior official in Awaran, Abdul Rasheed Baluch.

Tremors were felt on Tuesday as far away as New Delhi and even Dubai. AFP

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News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 ROYAL PAINS

Spain’s king faces another hip operation MADRID: Surgeons gave Spain's 75-year-old King Juan Carlos a temporary hip replacement Tuesday but said he requires more surgery for a longterm fix, likely giving fuel to speculation of a history-making abdication.

US hip specialist Miguel Cabanela led the surgery at a Madrid hospital to give the fraillooking monarch a new left hip after the previous artificial joint fitted last November became infected and painful, making it hard to walk.

"Fortunately it has all gone well for his majesty, for us, for the country," Cabanela told a news conference after the twoand-a-half-hour operation at the AROUND THE

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private Quiron Hospital in the western suburbs of Madrid.

But the temporary hip replacement was the king's eighth operation in three years and news that more surgery must follow in two months or so will no doubt keep alive speculation of a possible abdication, despite palace denials.

Cabanela said the king would require a new operation for a permanent prosthetic hip after a period of at least eight weeks fighting off an infection in surrounding tissue.

First, he would require intravenous antibiotics for about six weeks and then a two-week period without the drugs.

THE ROAD TO CM

Jagan, the king among princes?

MD INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

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HYDERABAD: The release of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on bail yesterday has sparked a debate of probable chief ministers of the soon-to-be-formed Seemandhra state. Postnoon scanned the state political landscape to find out

who was likely to lead the new state. Among the CM contenders, the young YS Jagan is leading the race owing to the strong sympathy his party enjoys, thanks to his father, the

Events leading to Jagan’s release from jail have prompted political circles to believe that he is well on the way to being chief minister if he beats other parties solo in Seemandhra during the general elections. The YSRC is apt to return to the mother party or at least keep the umbilical cord intact. Hence, punters see Jagan as a safe bet to claim the stewardship of the new Seemandhra state.

late CM YSR and his welfare schemes. He is followed by the TDP chief and former CM N Chandrababu Naidu. At number three is the incumbent chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Next in line comes the APCC president Satyanarayan Botsa and superstar-turned politician, Chiranjeevi comes in fifth.

N. CHANDRABABU NAIDU Weakness Strengths n n n n

Responsible for the development of Hyderabad.

A tried-and-tested prodevelopment ruler.

Strong party cadres at the grassroots level The only alternative to Congress

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Lost trust among the people due to his antifarmer and anti-student policies.

Lacks good counsel and depends too much on industrial friends who often mislead him.

Flip-flop strategy on Telangana has hit his goodwill in both regions.

Ambitious to make his son his heir, which is opposed by the Nandamuri family

JAGAN MOHAN REDDY Strengths Weakness

N KIRAN KUMAR REDDY Strengths Weakness

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uge Sympathy among all sections of people in Rayalaseema and Andhra on account of his father’s popularity and welfare schemes. His seemingly innocent face pulls crowds even though he is tainted by allegations of corruption.

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Faces multiple charges of corruption.

Untested, a greenhorn in politics and governance

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K CHIRANJEEVI Strengths n

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Weakness

Huge fan following thanks to his superhero of Telugu cinema status.

A reputation of being a gentleman and do-gooder

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He became CM in the backdrop of the intense separate Telangana agitation and various other problems.

A non-controversial man not given to hysterics Caste factor favours him He is considered politically savvy.

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Inarticulate and unable to bowl over crowds.

Highly suspicious of everybody and is a loner

BOTSA SATYANARAYANA Strengths

Inarticulate Lacks political acumen Failed to capitalise on his popularity Lack of killer instinct

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Weakness

A mass leader from the North Andhra region.

Played a crucial role in the victory of the party in most of the North Andhra assembly constituencies.

An effective orator Huge caste base of Kapus

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Lack of state-wide leader image His feud with Kiran has hamstrung him A dictatorial streak runs through his style of functioning.

Has a stain on him of presiding over a large liquor empire

NATION BRIEFS 62 acquitted in Honda plant violence case

Tewari gives social media tips to States

Ministers paid money to win hearts: VK Singh

F1 Grand Prix in Greater Noida from Oct 25

Trial to confirm death for Delhi rape case convicts

GURGAON: A Gurgaon court Tuesday acquitted all the 62 people of attempt to murder and other charges related to the 2005 violence at Honda Scooters and Motorcycles unit in Manesar. Additional Session Judge Falit Sharma acquitted all the accused as the Haryana government had withdrawn its charges against them in the court in 2008.

SHILLONG: Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has asked state governments to have an institutionalised presence in social media. "never before in the history of mankind has there been so much power in the hands of the people concurrently located in so many places," he said addressing a function.

NEW DELHI: Former army chief VK Singh’s claim that the army paid ministers in Jammu and Kashmir to “keep people together” has created a political storm, with the National Conference seeking a CBI probe into his statements and home minister Sushilkumar Shinde asking him to name the ministers who received payments.

GURGAON: The Formula One motor race would be held at the Buddha International Circuit in Greater Noida between Oct 25-27, officials said Wednesday. The state government cleared the proposal of the JP Sports International Limited late Tuesday. The state industrial development department held a meeting to discuss the preparations.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court will start hearing the trial court's reference for confirmation of the death penalty awarded by it to four men convicted in the December 16 gang-rape case from Wednesday. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ruled that it would hear the arguments on convicts' death penalty on a day-to-day basis.

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News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

WHAT’S COOKING?

THE MASTERS

The Park Hyatt celebrating their second Masters of Food and Wine event invited celebrity chefs to give their patrons a special treat.

Arun Daniel Yellamaty spoke to Italian chef Gianluca Tomasi and Vietnamese chef Trinh Dinh Vinh, who were there to make it happen.

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hef Gianluca Tomasi decided at a young age he wanted to be a chef watching his father at work. Back in his town in Italy, his father was known for his culinary skills and Tomasi has fond memories of his father whipping up lip-smacking food just for him. Then he concluded: “I shall be a chef.”

Chef Tomasi is the owner of ‘Cucina Tomasi’ restaurant in Italy, a popular haunt amongst locals and overseas customers. At Park Hyatt for the Masters of Food and Wine event, Chef Tomasi says he put up a special menu to ensure the guests experience the real taste of Italy.

Daddy cool

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hef Gianluca Tomasi decided at a young age he wanted to be a chef watching his father at work.

Back in his town in Italy, his father was known for his culinary skills and Tomasi has fond memories of his father whipping up lip-smacking food just for him.

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“I want people to experience the real Italian food,” Tomasi said enthusing excitement about the whole affair and that it was attended by the Italian ambassador.

Tomasi say the items on the menu comprise from dishes from all across Italy. “There are fish dishes in the menu as Italy is around a river. The main idea is to give them a taste of authentic Italian cuisine with my own innovation.

The focus was to bring Italy to Hyderabad,” he says.

"Teaching the local chefs is also my focus, I want to share things I learnt with people," he says. He spent time taking a special cooking class for the

guests who wanted to learn to cook Italian cuisine. Those who attended learned how to cook Pumkin Pie, Sea Bass roll, Risotto and many techniques to get it right with your means at home.

Chef Tomasi finds the Indian cuisine a bit on the spicy side, but says he enjoyed it. “I tried dal makani, fish, lamb and prawn tandoor — they were very tasty. And the mutton biryani… wow… it opened up new frontiers of taste for me. It was little spicy but nice.”

SRINIVAS SETTY

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ruih Dinh Vinh says he would have been a teacher if not a cook.

But that were not to be, becasue the man professes an eternal love for cooking.

“I love cooking, that is all I wanted to do. Always liked to try and do new things,”

Vinh says.

Vinh started as a commis in Square One Restaurant at Park Hyatt Saigon in 2006. For his skill and dedication he was promoted to Demi Chef de Partie in just four months and in 2009 he became Chef de Partie in charge of the restaurant.

Vinh has travelled to various countries to promote the Vietnamese cuisine, he won an award for his Vietnamese dishes at a special food promotion in Japan. Coming to Hyderabad for the first time, Vinh put a special Chicken and Sea food menu for the special dinners.

Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for its fresh ingredients, minimal use of oil, and reliance on herbs and vegetables. With the balance between fresh herbs and

I love cooking, that is all I wanted to do.

Always liked to try and do new things.

Truih Dinh Vinh

meats and a selective use of spices to reach a fine taste, Vietnamese food is considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.

Chef Vinh even conducted a special cooking class for the people interested learning Vietnamese Cuisine. Vinh said he was very excited to be here in Hyderabad and was working hard so that people can experience the real Vietnam food.

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News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

CITY BROUGHT TO A STANDSTILL

DRUG SMUGGLING

Jagan Effect on traffic leaves tired citizens fuming The release of YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy might be happy news for his fans, but for the general public it meant facing traffic jams and consequent delays. This may last for at least two more days, say police.

ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The City witnessed hours of traffic jams after the release of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on bail from jail on Tuesday. Traffic came to a standstill in most areas of the City with lakhs of Jagan followers and their vehicles pouring out onto the streets to celebrate their leader’s release.

Traffic in several areas slowed to a crawl. The traffic police warn that the situation may continue today and into tomorrow too. “Though it’s not going to be like what it was on Tuesday, there will still be heavy traffic on roads. Many supporters have come down from Seemandhra. Traffic congestion may depend on the areas that Jagan might visit over the next few days,” said a senior traffic official.

On Tuesday evening there were traffic jams right from Chanchalguda all along the route to his residence near Lotus Pond. The traffic police had a tough time managing the traffic.

Last minute traffic diversions brought misery to commuters.

The entire stretch from Begumpet to Panjagutta Flyover was blocked. Roads leading to Nalgonda crossroads were blocked and vehicles diverted from Saroornagar.

Heavy traffic may continue in areas like Begumpet, Panjagutta, Khairatabad, Raj Bhavan Road, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills Check post, Road No 45,Road No 36, Apollo Hospital Road, Lotus Pond and other surrounding areas say

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last evening. The traffic police should not have given permission for the rally. By doing that they inconvenienced the public,” said Srinivas Kumar a private firm employee.

Another motorist C Praful, says, “Many of the areas are blocked because of the traffic congestion and we are forced to take longer diversions. U-turns have been blocked in several places like Panjagutta and we have to travel further in order to make u-turns. The traffic police should relax all such rules and make it convenient for commuters at least till the traffic gets back to normalcy. It is the duty of the police to make sure that just because of one person the general public are not inconvenienced.”

traffic police. As of now there are no diversions in place.

Traffic police say that they will keep releasing traffic updates on their official Facebook page and keep the public informed.

TRAFFIC SIGNALS GO OFF The fancy solar signals may go off during peak traffic hours for the next few days. This is

because of the heavy traffic flow.

“It is difficult to monitor the traffic in peak hours using traffic signals. So at main junctions there are many traffic police deployed to manually monitor the traffic. This to some extent helps in traffic flow and prevent jams,” said the Traffic DCP. “It took me more than two hours to cross the stretch from Begumpet and reach Paradise

It took me more than two hours to cross from Begumpet and reach Paradise. The traffic police should not have given permission for the rally. By doing that they inconvenienced the public...

Srinivas Kumar Private firm employee.

Indian in ephedrine drug ring SYDNEY: Australian authorities Wednesday said they had uncovered a major 274 kilogramme haul of the stimulant ephedrine, used to make crystal methamphetamine, during a pest check on a rice shipment from India.

The seizure is one of the largest of ephedrine in Australia, with enough of the drug to manufacture 200 kilogrammes of crystal meth worth up to Aus$200 million ($188 million), Customs said.

The crystalline substance was scattered throughout bags labelled “basmati rice” which arrived in a 3,600-packet consignment in Melbourne in July, and were physically checked for pests by a biosecurity officer.

“The officer who did the inspection was really on the ball,” Agriculture Department first assistant secretary for border compliance Tim Chapman said.

“He realised that the powder AROUND THE

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that was in the bags of rice that were tested wasn’t just residue from the rice, there was something different about it.”

Three people — two Canadians and one Australian — were arrested and charged over the alleged importation and intended distribution of the ephedrine after the bags were delivered to their destinations in Sydney and Melbourne.

An Indian national, allegedly responsible for organising the ephedrine and sending the consignment to Australia, was also detained in India by local police.

Australian Federal Police national manager for crime operations Ian McCartney said the seizure had dismantled a multinational syndicate.

Customs and Border Protection compliance and enforcement director Karen Harfield said hiding the drugs in rice was an unusual method.

WORLD BRIEFS Briton, Irish women plead guilty in Peru

Bill backs Obama’s push to promote health law

Centrist coalition set to Lawyer puts price on cling to power in Austria MJ’s death at trial

Greek police raid neo-Nazi party’s offices

LIMA: Two young women from Britain and Ireland pleaded guilty in a Peruvian court to attempting to sneak 11 kilos of cocaine out of the country and into Spain. Michaella McCollum Connolly, 20, of Ireland and Melissa Reid, 19, of Britain, stated that they “regret having participated in such an act,” according to a court press release.

NEW YORK CITY: President Barack Obama got backing from Bill Clinton as he sought to promote his health care law to the US public amid a congressional battle and an approaching sign-up date. After a day dedicated to diplomacy at the UN, Obama took part in a one-hour conversation with his White House predecessor.

VIENNA: Austrians are expected to opt for stability in elections Sunday and return the current centrist coalition to power. This is despite a vigorous challenge to the status quo by the far right seeking a repeat of Joerg Haider’s 1999 triumph, as well as the Greens and Austro-Canadian billionaire eurosceptic Frank Stronach, 81.

ATHENS: Greek police raided the offices of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and arrested a police officer, authorities said, amid a major probe on the links between law enforcers and far-right politicians. A 45-yearold officer, who is working as the bodyguard of a Golden Dawn lawmaker, was detained during the raid at party offices in central Greece.

LOS ANGELES: The promoters of Michael Jackson’s last tour should pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to his family over his 2009 death, a lawyer said. In a final presentation, attorney Brian Panish urged jurors to award $85 million to each of the star’s three children and $35 million to his mother in socalled non-economic damages.

8

News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

DIPLOMACY

Singh leaves for US

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for the US Wednesday, saying he will be meeting his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York on Sep 29.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for the US Wednesday, saying he will be meeting his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York on Sep 29 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), setting at rest speculations about the meeting. Before that he meets President Barack Obama on Sep 27 in Washington.

In his departure statement before embarking on a five-day visit to the US, Prime Minister Singh said his summit meeting with Pesident Obama would be an opportunity to review bilateral cooperation and chart a course for future cooperation.

The Manmohan-Sharif meeting is expected to be held on Sep 29 on the sidelines of the UNGA. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also be meeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New York.

In his departure statement, the prime minister said India-US ties “which is one of our most important relationships, has transformed into a global strategic partnership”.

Referring to the “intensive high-level bilateral visits”, including to India by US Vice President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this year, he said they reflect “the strong momentum of our engagement”. India and the US have “registered impressive progress in our cooperation across the full spectrum of the relationship”, the prime minister

The purpose

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said.

India views the US as “a long-term partner in our development efforts, and in fostering a global environment that is conducive to our growth”.

“For India, the US remains a key source of technology, investment, innovation and resources, and one of the most important destinations for our goods and services. We have productive and deepening partnerships in trade and investment, defence, counter-terrorism, intelligence,

26/11

Pak panel to check kit

MUMBAI: An eight-member Pakistan judicial commission will Wednesday inspect a rubbery dinghy, its Yamaha engine, cellphones, GPS and other articles used by the 10 terrorists who carried out the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

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The commission — currently in Mumbai to cross-examine four Indian witnesses in connection with the ongoing trial of seven suspects in a Pakistani court for their involvement in the terror attack - made a request before the court to examine these articles.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate PY

In his departure statement before embarking on a fiveday visit to the US, Prime Minister Singh said his summit meeting with Pesident Obama would be an opportunity to review bilateral cooperation and chart a course for future cooperation. internal security, cyber security, civil nuclear energy, environment, health, higher education, space, science and technology and culture. People-to-people contacts are a strong feature of our engagement. We have also launched development partner-

ship in third countries.

He said he also looks forward “to discussing a broad range of global and regional developments, and how we can work together to advance our shared interests”.

In his address to the UNGA on Sep 28, the prime minister said he would “emphasize the importance of maintaining poverty eradication and inclusive development at the core of the post-2015 development agenda”.

“The Sustainable Development Goals that are expected to be drawn up as part of the follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference should ensure a holistic approach to sustainable development objectives, ensuring a balanced treatment of its economic, social and environmental dimensions as well as universal applicability”.

The prime minister said he would also convey India’s “strong conviction that global challenges are best addressed through multilateral approaches, with the United Nations at its centre”.

India would also press for early reform of institutions of global political and economic governance, particularly the United Nations Security Council, he said.

During my visit to New York, I also look forward to bilateral meetings with the leaders of some of our neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, he said.

PIRACY

Pavan-film leaker arrested HYDERABAD: Arun Kumar, an assistant in editing room, was arrestd Tuesday for leaking 90-minute footage of Pawan Kalyan-starrer Telugu action-drama Attarintiki Daaredhi recently.

“Through our investigation, we have found out that Arun Kumar, who works as an assistant in editing department was the one responsible for the leak of the film. In an effort to show his friends the rushes of the film, he uploaded the footage on YouTube,” Rama Mohan, superintendent of police, CB-CID, told IANS. AROUND THE

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“After he uploaded the video, some unknown person copied the video from YouTube on to discs and circulated in Pedana town in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, and other neighbouring districts as well,” he added.

On Monday, the leaked footage of the film was being sold at `50. Police conducted searches at shops selling CDs and making mobile repairs and confiscated several discs.

Following the leak, film’s producer BVSN Prasad filed a complaint with Director General of Police Dinesh Reddy and pressed for immediate action.

Attarintiki Daaredhi was scheduled for release Oct 9.

RUN FOR COVER

Kit for inspection A rubbery dinghy, its Yamaha engine, cellphones, GPS. Ladekar enquired of Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who said that the articles lying at the Arthur Road Central Jail would be produced for the benefit of the visiting commission.

The 10 Pakistani terrorists had hijacked an Indian fishing vessel Kuber and later used the rubber dinghy to reach the Mumbai coast late evening on Nov 26, 2008 before carrying out the brutal terror attacks in various locations in south Mumbai.

IANS

Palestinians run for cover from water being sprayed by Israeli security forces to disperse demonstrators in front of Damascus gate leading to the old city of Jerusalem on September 24, 2013 during a protest against the old city being fenced off due to the Jewish celebration of Sukkot. The Sukkot (Tabernacles) is a biblical Jewish holiday on which Hebrews make a pilgrimage to a temple in Jerusalem.

AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI

9

News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Mr ROWHANI GOES TO THE UN

We’re no threat: Rowhani Speaking at the UN General Assembly, the Iranian president said Iran poses ‘absolutely no threat to the world’, in remarks widely watched for signs of a thaw with the United States.

UNITED NATIONS: Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani called Tuesday on US counterpart Barack Obama to ignore “warmongering pressure groups” and seek better relations.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Rowhani said Iran poses “absolutely no threat to the world,” in remarks widely watched for signs of a thaw with the United States.

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Rowhani condemned international sanctions against Iran and also hit out at America’s use of drones.

But he said if Obama rejects “the short-sighted interest of warmongering pressure groups, we can arrive at a framework to manage our differences.”

Rowhani spoke a few hours after Obama told the assembly that he wanted a “meaningful agreement” with Iran if it acted to end international concerns over its nuclear program.

The Iranian leader reaffirmed his country’s position that its nuclear drive is “exclusively peaceful.”

“Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran’s security and defense doctrine, and contradict our fundamental religious and ethical convictions,” Rowhani said.

He added that the international community had to accept Iran’s nuclear activity, which Western nations say hides an attempt to reach a nuclear bomb capacity.

The UN Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions against Iran over its uranium enrichment.

But Rowhani said it is “an illusion, and extremely unrealistic, to presume that the peaceful nature of the nuclear program of Iran could be ensured through impeding the program via illegitimate pressures.”

Bibi slams Iranian ‘hypocrisy’ JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early Wednesday blasted Iranian President Hassan Rowhani for making what he described as a “cynical speech that was full of hypocrisy” at the UN General Assembly.

Rowhani, who swept to power in June on promises to ease tensions with the West and combat US-led sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy,

Iran ‘new tone’ welcome: Germany UNITED NATIONS: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Tuesday welcomed a “new tone” from Tehran ahead of a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rowhani but demanded “substantial action” on its controversial nuclear program.

“This is a good day for those who bet on a political and diplomatic solution,” Westerwelle said, calling Rowhani’s speech to the UN

NAIROBI MASSACRE: AFTERMATH

We will finish them: PM

Promising the killers would be brought to justice, teh Somali PM also insisted that he would not bow to their demands for Kenyan troops to be withdrawn from Somalia .

GENEVA: Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon vowed Tuesday that his government would “finish” the Shebab militants behind Nairobi’s deadly four-day mall siege .

Promising that the killers would be brought to justice, Farah Shirdon also insisted that his government would not bow to their demands for Kenyan troops to be withdrawn from Somalia and said the two countries would continue cooperating in the fight against terror groups.

Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab fighters stormed the upmarket Westgate mall on Saturday, spraying shoppers with automatic weapons fire and tossing grenades, before engaging in fierce gun battles with Kenyan security forces.

The attack, one of the worst

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in Kenya’s history, finally ended on Tuesday, leaving at least 61 civilians and six members of the security forces dead.

The Islamists said the attack was in retaliation for the presence of Kenyan troops in their country.

Kenya invaded southern Somalia to attack Shebab bases two years ago, joining forces with a Somali militia warlord and wresting the key port of Kismayo from the extremists.

The troops later joined the 17,700-strong African Union

said in his speech that his country posed no threat and was not pursuing nuclear weapons. But Netanyahu was not convinced.

“As expected, this was a cynical speech that was full of hypocrisy,” said the Israeli PM. “Rowhani spoke of human rights even as Iranian forces are participating in the large-scale slaughter of innocent civilians in Syria,” he said in a statement issued early Wednesday.

force (AMISOM) deployed in Somalia.

Shebab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage on Tuesday warned of further attacks if Kenyan troops did not pull out of Somalia immediately.

But Farah Shirdon insisted that Somalia had no problem with presence of the Kenyan troops on its soil, saying the two countries shared common security concerns.

“We have no problem with our Kenyan brothers,” the Somali premier told France 24 television.

“They are in Somalia at request of Somalia, they are part of AMISOM and we are cooperating in the fight against Al Shebab.”

General Assembly “encouraging.” He was later set to meet Iran’s new leader, who has made diplomatic overtures in his country’s nuclear standoff with the West.

Westerwelle emphasized the “stark contrast” between the wording of Rowhani’s speech and the fiery broadsides of his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against Israel and the US that prompted Western diplomats to walk out.

DELHI

Advocate stabbed over road rage NEW DELHI: In a road rage incident, a 40-year-old advocate was stabbed and injured by two college students here when his car touched their motorcycle, police said Tuesday. The two accused were arrested.

Keshav Kumar's car touched the motorcycle of Manish and Ashwani at Hauz Khas in south Delhi Monday night, triggering a heated argument, police said.

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The two undergraduate students shouted at Kumar and one of them took out a knife and stabbed him on the chest after which the two sped away, said a police officer. Police reached the spot and took Kumar to hospital.

Doctors said his condition was stable. The two accused were arrested.

10

News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

SAVE THE RHINO

Can star power save the Rhinos?

Chinese-American actress Bai Ling and American Christie Brinkley have been deployed to South African game reserves as part of an awareness campaign on illegal rhino killings, which look set to break last year’s record 668 poachings.

JOHANNES MYBURGH feedback@postnoon.com ENTABENI GAME RESERVE: Rhino conservationists are harnessing Chinese celebrity power in a bid to cut Asian demand for rhino horn, which has caused record slaughters in South Africa over the past six years.

Chinese-American actress Bai Ling (far right) has been deployed to South African game reserves as part of an awareness campaign on illegal rhino killings, which look set to break last year’s record 668 poachings.

The actress is known for roles in the US television series “Lost” and “Entourage” and films like “Wild Wild West” and “The Crow”.

The spate of rhino killings has been triggered by demand for horn in Asia where consumers, especially in China and Vietnam, believe they have medicinal value.

Wealthy businessmen, celebrities and public officials in Vietnam buy rhino horn as a status symbol, according to a study recently released by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Bai, who was born in Chengdu in southwest China, expressed shock at the brutality

of the rhino killings.

“I didn’t know how badly they were hurt and wounded and treated, and how lonely.

And how they’re going to die,” she told AFP after seeing a video of brutally maimed rhinos.

Poachers shoot bullets or a dart at the rhino, then hack off its horn with machetes, often cutting into the skull while the animal is still conscious.

‘They don’t know what’s going on’ Chinese consumers have to be educated about rhino poaching, Bai added, saying she had written about the issue on her blog in a bid to raise awareness.

“They don’t know what’s going on. They believe there are thousands and thousands of rhinos over there, and they don’t know how the rhino horn is produced.

Maybe they think this is just like cows or chickens,” she said.

In fact the number of rhinos has dwindled to about 25,000.

“Basically you have 85 percent of all the rhinos in South Africa,” she said during a visit to the Entabeni Game Reserve in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province.

“If we don’t stop this, they’re going to be finished.”

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Bai has already posted pictures of herself petting a young rhino at Entabeni’s orphanage for animals whose mothers have been slaughtered.

Campaign organiser Dex Kotze hopes Bai’s active social media profile will promote the message in Asia.

“This was the first group of celebrities invited to Africa to assist us in creating global awareness about rhino and elephant poaching,” Kotze told AFP. “This is a social media operation, social media marketing, that’s why we needed celebrities active on social media,” he said.

“We invited Bai Ling because she has more than two million fans and followers in Asia, especially in China, where the market for rhino horn and elephant ivory is.”

Bai has already posted pictures of herself petting a young rhino at Entabeni’s orphanage for animals whose mothers have been slaughtered on weibo, China’s version of Twitter or Facebook, as well as English and Mandarin blogs.

Sophisticated international syndicates run the rhino trade, while prosecutors have mostly targeted lower-level poachers.

New hunters are easily drawn from the impoverished

communities surrounding Africa’s nature reserves.

Even the South African army’s deployment in the worldfamous Kruger National Park, along with hi-tech surveillance equipment, have failed to curb the killings.

Over 600 rhinos have been poached in South Africa this year, up from 13 in 2007.

“If you don’t find the mother’s body, the baby will stay next to it for days on end and just die of starvation and dehydration,” said American model and actress Christie Brinkley (left), who has also been involved in the campaign.

Brinkley, 59, who has been involved in environmental activism in the past, said multiple strategies were needed to target the poaching.

They involve “mainly raising the consciousness of the people who are creating the demand, and also trying to replace the income that the poachers desperately need to feed their families,” she said.

Bai and Brinkley will next travel to Kenya to extend the campaign to elephant poaching for Asia’s ivory trade.

Over 25,000 elephants were poached last year, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

11

News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

GASEOUS WEALTH

Shale boom offers US hope Booming oil and gas production is creating jobs, reinvigorating energy-consuming industries and remaking the US trade balance.

VERONIQUE DUPONT feedback@postnoon.com NEW YORK CITY: The US shale boom is remaking the nation’s industrial landscape and raising the prospect of energy independence in the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Booming oil and gas production is creating jobs, reinvigorating energy-consuming industries and remaking the US trade balance.

“The shale revolution is real and is transforming our industry,” said Charles Ebinger, director of the energy security initiative at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

The shale boom, which began with a focus on natural gas, has shifted more recently to shale oil.

Shale oil production reached about 2 million barrels a day last year, pushing overall US output to 6.4 million barrels of oil per day, the most in 15 years and 32 percent above the level five years ago.

The boom has transformed the economic picture in parts of Pennsylvania, hit hard by the housing bust, while also catalyzing activity in suddenly jobs-rich North Dakota.

The boom in non-conventional petroleum in 2012 added nearly 500,000 direct jobs, according to a study by research firm IHS. The total impact from the sector was 2.1 million jobs added including workers in oil-related lodging, food, transportation

and construction.

IHS estimates that in 2012, the industry generated nearly $75 billion in federal and state tax revenue and contributed $283 billion to the US gross domestic product. These figures are expected to rise by 50 percent by 2020.

The sudden emergence of vast quantities of domestic ener-

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gy has provided a boon to several energy-dependent sectors, particularly steel, petrochemicals and cement.

“We can become a low-cost producer of many goods that

had moved offshore when prices of natural gas were higher,” Ebinger said.

At the same time, the surging domestic energy supply has raised hopes the US can avert some $400 billion in imported energy costs, said Ebinger.

The International Energy Agency, which develops energy policies for the major developed

economies in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, predicts the US will surpass Saudi Arabia to become the world’s biggest oil producer by 2020 and that North America will be a net exporter of oil around 2030.

But Raoul LeBlanc, an energy expert at PFC Energy, an energy consultancy, said shale production in the US is “probably decelerating,” in part due to reduced energy demand here.

High oil prices are helping cut demand, he said, and there is a trend toward less gasoline consumption.

“People are driving less and getting better mileage” in part due to tougher fuel-economy standards enacted by the Obama administration, LeBlanc said.

Regardless of the exact balance in US supply and demand, even an energy self-sufficient US will stay preoccupied by the Middle East because oil will remain a global market.

The surge in domestic output “doesn’t mean the US will be less concerned about market supply,” Ebinger said. “If prices rise, our prices will rise too.”

Moreover, the US remains hamstrung by gaps in its pipeline and oil infrastructure network that impede the ability to move crude from oilfields to refineries and other end users.

As the industry awaits more pipeline capacity, the US has seen an uptick in oil deliveries by rail and truck.

The lure of shale is global POLAND is one of the leaders in Europe on shale gas. Around 15 international groups are prospecting and have drilled several dozen test wells, although results are below industry expectations.

BRITISH government supports the exploration of shale gas and drilling of a test well in the countryside of Sussex, southeast England, has begun. But it has become the focus of a national campaign against the practice of hydraulic fracturing, a controversial extraction method.

DENMARK has handed out two exploration licences, but the drilling that should have begun this year will no doubt only take place in 2014 to make time for environmental studies.

UKRAINE signed a contract in January with Shell.

SPAIN AND ROMANIA have also handed out exploration licences.

ARGENTINA is seen as one of the countries with the greatest potential in the sector. It is seeking to tap shale gas and oil and the stateowned energy company has drilled extensively in the Vaca Muerta range.

RUSSIA may be sitting on one of the world’s largest reserves of shale oil and they are attracting interest from foreign oil companies. Shell signed a deal with a Gazprom subsidiary in April to drill for shale oil in the Khanty-Mansiysk area of central Siberia.

CHINA is encouraging exploratory drilling but results so far have not lived up to expectations.

AUSTRALIA has just started prospecting.

CANADA has already begun producing shale oil in Alberta. Quebec, which has imposed a moratorium on drilling for shale gas, has left the door open to the extraction of shale oil in the Gulf of St Lawrence, where exploratory drilling is due to start soon.

PICK YOUR

THOSE THINKING ABOUT IT LITHUANIA is on the point of signing an exploration accord with Chevron that has been months in the making.

In GERMANY the Merkel government proposed in February the authorisation of production of shale gas subject to strict controls.

A major producer of natural gas, ALGERIA is also thought have significant reserves of shale gas and oil. Recent legislation has authorised exploration for them.

@

Across Stores

ities Twin C

12

News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

FISHING IN DEEP WATERS

Japan’s ageing ‘ama’ divers defy the tide of time Pollution and overfishing have taken their toll on abalone, the main source of income for these women, with the creature’s population dropping by 90 per cent in the last 40 years.

ANTOINE BOUTHIER feedback@postnoon.com SHIMA: Mieko Kitai takes a huge gulp of air as she surfaces from the clear, blue waters of Japan’s Pacific coast with a large abalone in her hand.

Now in her 70s, the dive — with nothing more than a mask — does not get any easier and the pickings get slimmer with every passing year.

But she and her fellow divers or “ama” — which roughly translates to “sea woman” — reap the fruits of the sea in a way that has been practised in parts of Japan for thousands of years.

“Finally, I got one,” she says as she climbs aboard the boat and pulls the mask off her weatherbeaten face.

Kitai is one of a dozen free divers who gathered on a recent sunny day in Shima, Mie prefecture, in western Japan.

They chatter loudly from excitement and necessity — some have suffered hearing loss because of the high pressures experienced at depth — as they rub their masks with a kind of slimy algae to prevent fogging.

Some join hands and utter a Shinto prayer for those they have lost, including an 80-year-old who died last year on a dive.

“Her heart gave out,” said one of them.

Each has a weight belt around their waist to give them a little help when they jump overboard into water up to 20 metres deep.

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This kind of fishing was once the sole preserve of women, who were commonly believed to be better at coping with the sometimes-cold water because of a thicker layer of fat under their skin.

Hideko, a female skin-diver, called ‘ama’ in Japan, displays a sea urchin she caught at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Shima in Mie prefecture, central Japan.

AFP/ ANTOINE BOUTHIER

Some are gone as long as a minute before they surface again with a shellfish or an urchin.

“Today, the fishing was better than I thought it would be,” said

Kitai as she dropped an octopus and several turban shells, a prized shellfish delicacy, into her catch net.

“In the past you could get as

many as 40 abalone in a day, but now getting four counts as a good day,” said fellow free diver Sumiko Nakagawa, her face lined by her years in the salty water

under the beating sun.

Pollution and overfishing have taken their toll on abalone, the main source of income for these women, with the creature’s population dropping by 90 per cent in the last 40 years in Japan.

A kilogramme of wild abalone sells for around 8,000 yen ($80), although most consumed in Japan are now farmed.

In 2011 local authorities released young abalone into the ocean in a bid to prop up their numbers. They also ban the use of scuba tanks and limit catch to specimens over 10 centimetres (4 inches) long — a size they usually reach around the age of 10.

This kind of fishing was once the sole preserve of women, who were commonly believed to be better at coping with the sometimescold water because of a thicker layer of fat under their skin.

Abalone fishing’s brush with James Bond

A

balone fishing traditionally was done topless; although their most famous cinematic outing — in James Bond’s 1967 effort You Only Live Twice — saw sultry actresses cover their modesty with skimpy bikini tops as they cavorted with Sean Connery.

The advent of wetsuits opened the profession to men, says professor Yoshitaka Ishihara, director of the Toba Sea-Folk Museum.

“Now there are almost as many men as women,” said Ishihara, whose museum houses skin-diving artefacts dating back 10,000 years.

The scant rewards and the high risks have discouraged many young people from taking up the profes-

sion, and many fear the tradition could die out when those in their 60s, 70s and 80s pass away.

Younger divers who take up the profession find it is not easy.

“Initially I made virtually nothing,” said Satomi Yamamoto, 37, as she grilled sea urchins on the harbour in Shima. “But I got better and four years later, I was earning about 100,000 yen a month.”

Yamamoto is one of a handful of women of her generation to have embraced a way of life they were not born into.

“I was raised in Osaka and I had always lived in a big city, but I am much happier since coming here seven years ago to join my husband,”

she said. Yoshitaka Ishihara says as Japan mechanised its fishing and farming, the way of the ama changed a little to keep up.

“Until 1970, girls started fishing when they were about 16 or 17 and learned from just watching their mother,” he said.

“Now recruits have to undergo a tough initiation and for the first four years have to work with an experienced diver.”

But despite the shrinking number of creatures in the sea, there is a real camaraderie among the ama of Shiba.

“We never compete for fish,” said the now-retired 83-year-old Yuriko Matsui. “If we did, all the shells would have disappeared by now.”

AFP

13

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Business

SHARES MIXED WITH US BUDGET, DEBT ROW

Asian markets were mixed in edgy trade, with Wall Street broadly lower as focus returns to Washington and a brewing row over the US budget and debt ceiling. Investors are anxious that lawmakers on Capitol Hill reach an agreement that will avoid a shutdown.

TACKLING THE TAXMAN

SUNDAY SHOWDOWN A fractured US Congress is struggling to approve a stopgap spending bill that keeps government doors open after the current fiscal year ends.

MICHAEL MATHES feedback@postnoon.com WASHINGTON: The US Senate faces a Sunday showdown over whether to keep government running, but bickering over President Barack Obama’s signature health care law is bringing federal agencies dangerously close to shutdown.

A fractured Congress is struggling to approve a stopgap spending bill that keeps government doors open after the current fiscal year ends next Monday.

The Republican-led House of Representatives last week passed a contentious measure that funds government operations at current levels through December 15, but which also strips the threeyear-old health care law, known as “Obamacare,” of all its funding.

Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, vowed to thwart ongoing Republican efforts to do the same in his chamber, telling reporters on Tuesday that “the Senate will not pass any bill that defunds or delays Obamacare.”

He has set up an initial procedural vote on the matter for midday Wednesday, and both parties acknowledged that the measure will reach the 60 votes necessary in the 100member body.

Reid said he will then strip out the Obamacare language, and amend the budget bill to fund government only until November 15 instead of mid-December.

That would push Congress to quickly work out a long-term budget deal instead of extending the fiscal crisis right up to the endof-year holiday period.

Should Reid’s Senate schedule prevail, “we’d finish sometime on Sunday,” he said.

That would leave the House under 48 hours to either pass the amended bill or send a re-worked counteroffer back to the Senate.

Government agencies would begin shutting their doors early Tuesday if no spending agreement is reached, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers would likely be ordered to stay home with no pay.

The top Senate Republican, Mitch McConnell, said he hoped to compress the process, leaving the House more time to work its will.

“If the House doesn’t get what we send over there until Monday, they’re in a pretty tough spot,” he said.

APPLE GETS NAME BACK

BRASÍLIA: A court has ruled that Apple can use the trademark iPhone in Brazil, ending the exclusive rights Brazilian firm Gradiente had been given by INPI, the Latin American nation’s intellectual property office.

Judge Eduardo de Brito Fernandes ruled that the INPI must end the exclusive rights to that name that had been formally held by Brazil’s IGB Electronica, Gradiente’s owner.

Last December, the Brazilian company launched a “Gradiente iphone” which is actually an Android-run smartphone.

The judge ruled that both companies could legally use the name in Brazil.

NUMEROLOGY

$3 McConnell also stressed that “any one senator can object to any effort to shorten the process.”

That lawmaker on Tuesday was freshman Senator Ted Cruz, whose effort to block Reid’s strategy appeared doomed to failure as McConnell and other Republicans peeled away.

Cruz nevertheless took to the Senate floor to announce he would speak in opposition to funding Obamacare “until I am no longer able to stand.”

“We don’t need fake fights, we don’t need fake votes. We need real change,” the conservative Cruz said, blasting Washington’s “rigged process” that keeps Obamacare funded.

By 0241 GMT Wednesday, Cruz was beginning his ninth hour of speaking on the floor, as he called for Republican unity in opposing Obamacare in what he called the most important votes of the year.

Cruz’s speech had all the feel of a Senate filibuster, a blocking tactic aimed at preventing legislation from moving forward.

But Reid insisted procedures were in place that would require Cruz to stop his speech by mid-day Wednesday, before the vote.

“There’s no filibuster going on now,”

Reid said. “People can come and talk. But they can’t do anything to change when we vote.”

Cruz accused Reid of using “brute political force” to ram through his procedures.

With Cruz leading his conservative charge, a fellow Republican warned that threatening a government shutdown over Obamacare may come back to haunt the party next year.

“Defunding Obamacare is a goal all Republicans share, but the tactics we employ in achieving that goal can have a backlash,” Senator Lindsey Graham said.

US mid-term elections will be held November 2014, and the fight over Obamacare is set to figure prominently in Republican efforts to win back the Senate and extend its control of the House.

Should Congress pass a budget bill with no Obamacare provision, Republicans including Graham have suggested they will seek to use the next fiscal hurdle — the need to raise the debt ceiling — to negotiate a delay to the health law’s implementation.

The US Treasury may hit its legal borrowing limit of $16.7 trillion by midOctober, and failure to raise the debt limit could send the US into its first-ever credit default.

GOLD`29,400 10g SILVER `49,090 1kg

24C

for

for

DOLLAR `62.78 POUND `100.43

billion

is the settlement reported to have been offered by JP Morgan to end an an array of pending US Justice Department probes

TATA SHUTS BUS PLANT NEW DELHI: Tata Motors announced Tuesday that it is closing its Spanish bus and coach manufacturing factory next month due to “huge losses” in a shrinking European market.

The shutdown of the Tata Hispano Motors Carrocera plant in Zaragoza, after it racked up accumulated losses of more than 60 million euros ($81 million) in the past five years, will mean the loss of 287 jobs.

Tata Motors, which owns Britainbased luxury marque Jaguar Land Rover, blamed the closure of the nearly 75-year-old firm on “economic and business factors”.

THUS SPAKE We know our guests are hungry for options that are better for them, but don’t want to compromise on taste ALEX MACEDO,

BSE NSE

PRESIDENT OF BURGER KING NORTH AMERICA, ON THE COMPANY’S NEW ‘SATISFRIES’

19,859.02 60.79

5,867.40 24.95

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Comment

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS The Central government is hell-bent on making sure convicts can stand for elections, and ‘civil society’ is wringing their hands like...giant wringing things. But why? We at HFT think, in fact, that ONLY convicts should be allowed to run for office. After all, they say there’s honor among thieves, which is more than we can say for the ‘squeaky clean’ muppets.

US-IRAN RELATIONS

14

IS THIS THE GREAT THAW?

form, faced a major backlash from hardliners who say him as moving too quickly.

Rowhani was elected in June on promises to ease tensions with the West and repair an economy crippled by US-led sanctions.

Rowhani, who had heavily promoted his UN debut through US media appearances, appealed for Obama to ignore “warmongering pressure groups” to make peace and vowed that Iran did not want nuclear weapons. But Rowhani also offered a firm defense of the clerical regime’s core principles as he denounced the domination of the West and its “strategic violence” in the Middle East.

Karim Sadjadpour, an expert on Iran at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that Rowhani needed to ensure the support of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“For the last few weeks Rowhani’s charm offense seemed intent on impressing Obama, but his UN performance seemed more intent on reassuring Khamenei that he would not deviate from revolutionary ideals,” Sadjadpour said.

Sadjadpour said that, so long as the 74year-old Khamenei remains in charge, Rowhani and his US-educated foreign minister — Mohammad Javad Zarif, who meets Thursday with John Kerry — were likely to be the Iranians most likely to strike a deal.

Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine, said that Iran and the US had a shared interest on the nuclear issue. Obama, facing debacles in Syria and Egypt, is eager for diplomatic solutions, while Iran obviously does not want to be attacked.

“I don’t think what we are looking at is a process which is going to lead to a rapprochement or long-term resolution of the nuclear weapons issue,” Ibish said.

“I think we are looking at a grand postponement. It is in the interest of both sides for the next three or four years not to have a confrontation on this issue,” he said.

SHAUN TANDON

GLOBAL FRENEMIES

A

fter decades of animosity and false starts, the US and Iran may be best advised to go slow in their effort to repair relations, experts say. The US and Iranian top diplomats will meet Thursday for one of the countries’ highest-level interactions since the 1979 Islamic revolution to discuss Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

But all sides have been quick to say that the encounter, which will also include European, Russian and Chinese foreign ministers, will be brief and not solve the long standoff over Iran’s nuclear work.

And after days of speculation that Iran’s new President Hassan Rowhani would meet or at least shake hands with President Barack Obama at the UN, a US official said that the White House reached out and concluded that the Iranians were not ready.

“My sense is the flirtation has begun and now everybody is waiting for the first big kiss but that’s probably not going to come anytime soon,” said John Tirman, executive director of the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Both Obama and Rowhani “are conscious that a better relationship is not going to be assured through speeches at the UN but rather through negotiations,” Tirman said.

Tirman said that arms control negotiations historically required several months and that the two sides were mindful of historical lessons.

Iran’s clerical regime sees hostility to the US as a core value of the 1979 revolution, which ousted the Western-oriented shah.

Mohammad Khatami, who rose to the presidency in 1997 on a reformist plat-

EDITORIAL

Our TV censors are promoting online piracy with their complete incompetence

T

he launch of the Star World Premiere channel yesterday was supposed to be a milestone in Indian TV. Viewers can now watch American shows a mere 24 hours after the US public. It’s a noble goal aimed (in no small part) at curbing online piracy, but one that will stumble at the very first hurdle. And it’s a hurdle of our own making. Over the past few years India has begun to censor everything on English TV, and not always for good reason. Plot lines are destroyed as scenes

READERS’ VIEWS

get hacked, key dialogues butchered, and entire films and episodes consigned to the bin of inadequacy, because our knee-jerking, uber-conservative censors do not seem to understand the English language, let alone story arcs, and basic cinematic narrative. The current state of TV censorship in this country is rapidly aspiring to be on par with the worst of the Middle East and China. That is a lofty aim indeed. Take for instance the TV series, Sons of Anarchy, so admirably tom-tommed on Star’s new channel. If

they start removing the profanity, sex, and violence from that TV series, you might as well stick on a Disney flick and watch Snow White’s blurry cleavage. It’s time TV networks demanded that the censors put away their scissors and the government allow a 10pm watershed after which consenting adults of sound minds can watch movies and TV series the way they were meant to be watched: uncut, untouched and unfettered by the grubby hands of censoring ignoramuses.

We invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to feedback@postnoon.com or # Plot No 550-A1,3rd Floor, Road No 92, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad-500033 Landmark – Volkswagen showroom or even by way of a call on 4067 2222. Editor: Dean Williams

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Cinema KICK-ASS PARENTS

Don’t mess with my family The new Hugh Jackman-starrer, Prisoners, tops the US Box Office. The film about a man on the hunt for his daughter’s kidnapper revisits a Hollywood theme that packs an emotional wallop. We look at six films where parents pack a punch.

Mystic River Year: 2003 Dir: Clint Eastwood Cast: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins Superior acting, writing, and direction are on impressive display in the critically acclaimed Mystic River. Sharply adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane, this chilling mystery revolves around three boyhood friends in working-class Boston drawn together by a crime from the past and a murder (of Penn character’s 19-year-old daughter) in the present.

Panic Room Year: 2002 Dir: David Fincher Cast: Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker Panic Room is a finely crafted thriller that ultimately transcends the thinness of its premise. A relocated New York divorcée (Jodie Foster) and her daughter (Kristen Stewart) fight for their lives against a trio of tenacious burglars in their new Manhattan townhouse. They’re safe in a customized, impenetrable ‘panic room’, but the burglars want what’s in the room’s safe, so mother and daughter must find clever ways to turn the tables and persevere.

Ransom Year: 1996 Dir: Ron Howard Cast: Mel Gibson, Gary Sinise When you think of Ransom, you automatically think of the scene in which Mel reaches his boiling point and yells, “Give me back my son!” to the kidnapper on the other end of several torturous phone calls. Trapped in the middle of any parent’s nightmare, Mel plays a selfmade airline mogul whose son is abducted by a close-knit group of uptight kidnappers. But when a king’s ransom is demanded for the child’s safe return, Mel turns the tables and offers the ransom as reward money for anyone who provides information leading to the kidnappers’ arrest.

CAPE FEAR Year: 1991 Dir: Martin Scorsese Cast: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake of J Lee Thompson’s 1962 thriller sees Robert De Niro play a serial rapist released from prison after 14 years. Angry because his appalled attorney (Nick Nolte) made it easy for him to be convicted, this monster is out to hurt Nolte’s character through his wife (Jessica Lange) and daughter (Juliette Lewis).

The themes of interlocking guilt and anger between these people suggests a smart film in the making. But the final act, set on a boat with De Niro’s vengeful pervert attacking Nolte and the two women, takes a more unfortunate direction. Stick with the original (which starred Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck, each of whom make a cameo appearance in this film).

TAKEN Year: 2008 Dir: Pierre Morel Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace Bryan Mills (Neeson) has given up his career as a spy to form a relationship with his estranged teenage daughter — but when, on a trip to Paris, she’s kidnapped by slavers, Mills uses all his connections and skills to turn the city of lights upside down and rescue her.

The Missing Year: 2003 Dir: Ron Howard Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett When Maggie Gilkeson’s (Cate Blanchett) daughter is kidnapped by renegade Indians, she is forced to turn to her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones), a man who abandoned her as a child to join an Indian tribe. Together, they pursue a malignant brujo (or witch), who sells young girls in Mexico. The Missing features solid supporting performances from Evan Rachel Wood, Eric Schweig, Aaron Eckhart, Val Kilmer, and feisty young Jenna Boyd as Maggie’s youngest daughter Dot, who refuses to be left behind.

Parental Warnings If I don’t get my son back, and I mean real soon, you better kill yourself, because when I catch up with you, I’m gonna take my goddamn time. By the time we are finished, you are gonna wish you weren’t born.

Ransom

Their daddy’s a king.

And a king knows what to do and does it. Even when it’s hard. And their daddy will do whatever he has to for those he loves. And that’s all that matters.

Mystic River

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career.

Taken

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

spotlight DRESSED TO KILL

GET ON THE DANCE FLOOR The pretty ladies in town looked their best and were seen having a good time at Kismet, Park Hotel. While some of them posed for pictures, others danced the night away.

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TEACHING WOMEN’S HEALTH

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A seminar on Health and Wellness’ was organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), Hyderabad Chapter in association with Apollo Health City, Jubilee Hills on Tuesday.

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4 Ana & Bilgrath

2 Ritu & Geet

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3 Pooja

6 Harini & Harshini

7 Roja 8 Megha, Ritika, Shilpa

& Ajitha

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& Monaya 10 Upasana

A TASTE OF THE COAST

Fusion 9 launched Coastal Spice Kitchen which features delicacies from the coastal regions of Andhra.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

health

$700MN FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN HEALTH

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced Monday that at least $700 million would be invested by 2015 to help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and children’s health.

The funding will come from the International Development Association..

CLEAR VISION

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Beware! Those flashes in eye could mean retinal detachment Sudden flashes of light in the eye, haziness and decrease in vision are some of the symptoms of retinal detachment and are not to be ignored

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aution eye care experts, creating awareness on the occasion of World Retina Week said that symptoms of retinal detachment should not be ignored.

Retinal detachment is a condition where the retina - the light sensitive area of the eye gets separated from its normal position, leading to deterioration in vision. The retinal tissues get detached from the layer of oxygen providing blood tissues and fail to form a clear picture.

Explaining the phenomenon of Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD), which leads to retinal detachment, Deependra V. Singh, director of Eye-Q Institute of Retina, told IANS that the centre of the eye is filled with a clear jelly, known as the vitreous, through which light passes to reach the retina.

“As you get older, the vitreous collapses and may shrink away from the retina. This may happen earlier if you are shortsighted or have an eye injury.

Sometimes, this shrinking process may happen rather suddenly. This process is called PVD. The PVD can occur in three ways, and less commonly will result in the formation of a retinal tear or hole that can lead to retinal detachment,” he said.

Though such detachment is more common in adults, experts say it can affect people in any age group.

According to data, up to 10 percent of myopic eyes have retinal thinning and holes in the periphery that can lead to retinal detachment. Such detachment in myopia can occur even at a young age.

Shashank Rai Gupta, head Vitreo-Retina at the Vasan Eye Care Hospital, said that retinal breaks, tears, trauma, and eye injuries are the most common causes that lead to retinal deterioration.

“People with myopia or high myopia need to be extra careful, including those who have a history of detachment in

their families. Sudden flashes of light, black spots and blurry vision should not be ignored, especially by such patients,” he said.

Agrees Sanjay Dhawan, director of ophthalmology at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon, who says that people with myopia should get regular eye check-up done.

People with myopia or high myopia need to be extra careful, including those who have a history of detachment in their families.

“Prevention is always better than cure. If not diagnosed and treated at the right time, it can lead to blindness. Getting early medical aid and surgery is the best way. In such surgeries, holes are created to reattach the retina, which are then sealed with laser,” Dhawan said.

Singh said that while the initial detachment could be

restricted, if left untreated for a long time it can even cause blindness in the affected eye.

“If the doctor checks your eye and all is well, the floaters and flashes subside. However, further examination is needed if you suddenly develop a lot more flashes or floaters - this could be a small tear, or a shutter or curtain of blurred vision drifting across your eye, sometimes from below. To check for this, cover one eye at a time for a few seconds every day. If the uncovered eye sees well in all directions, all is well,” said Singh.

Have cases of retinal detachment in India shown an increase?

“Not really,” said Gupta, and added that awareness has definitely increased. “Due to increased awareness, people are getting early treatment.” I ANS

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Technology iFLOP

HACKED!

WIPING THE SLATE CLEAN LOS ANGELES: Teenagers’

Germany’s Chaos Computer Club says it has cracked the protection around Apple’s fingerprint sensor on its new iPhone 5S, just two days after the device went on sale worldwide.

I

n a post on their site, the group says that their biometric hacking team took a fingerprint of the user, photographed from a glass surface, and then created a “fake fingerprint” which could be put onto a thin film and used with a real finger to unlock the phone, reported the Guardian.

The claim, which is backed up with a video, will create concerns for businesses which see users intending to use the phone to access corporate accounts. While it requires physical access to the phone, and a clean print of one finger which is one of those used to unlock the phone, it raises the risk of a security breach.

“This demonstrates – again – that fingerprint biometrics is unsuitable as access control method and should be avoided,” said the Chaos Club’s blogpost author, “Starbug”. “In reality, Apple’s sensor has just a higher resolution compared to the sensors so far. So we only needed to ramp up the resolution of our fake. As we have said now for more than years, fingerprints should not be used to secure anything.

You leave them everywhere, and it is far too easy to make fake fingers out of lifted prints.”

The group does not claim to have extracted the fingerprint representation from the

Glut of glitches

T

he revelation is the third security failing discovered since the phone and its iOS 7 software were released last week. First, a hacker found that they could use a flaw in iOS 7’s Control Centre feature on the iPhone 4S and 5 to access photos and send emails. Another found that the Emergency Call screen can be used to place a call to any number.

phone itself, where Apple says it is held on a secure chip. Instead it relies on capturing a highquality fingerprint elsewhere, and having access to the phone.

“Relying on your fingerprints to secure a device may be okay for casual security – but you shouldn’t depend upon it if you have sensitive data you wish to protect,” commented security specialist Graham Cluley.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the hack. The revelation is the third security failing discovered since the phone and its iOS 7 software were released last week. First, a hacker found that they could use a flaw in iOS 7’s Control Centre feature on the iPhone 4S and 5 to access photos and send emails.

Another found that the Emergency Call screen can be used to place a call to any number. The Chaos Club details its methods for the fingerprint hack, which begins with a high-quality fingerprint lifted from a glass, doorknob or glossy surface. The print, which essentially consists of fat and sweat, is made visible using graphite powder or a component of superglue, and then photographed at high resolution to create a 2400 pixelper-inch scan. That is then printed onto an overhead projector plastic slide using a laser print, forming a relief. That is then covered with wood glue, cut and attached to a real finger. Apple introduced Touch ID, as it calls the fingerprint system, on its top-end iPhone 5S, unveiled earlier in the month. The technology uses a scanner built into the home button of the phone to take a

highresolution image from small sections of the fingerprint from the sub-epidermal layers of the skin. Apple says “Touch ID then intelligently analyses this information with a remarkable degree of detail and precision.”

Users can choose to use up to five fingerprints - which can be changed - to unlock the phone and optionally pay for iTunes Store purchases. They have first to create a passcode of at least four digits, and then

It notes that after five unsuccessful attempts to match the fingerprint, the user has to enter their passcode, and the fingerprint unlock will not work. “enrol” fingerprints separately.

Apple says that the process creates a mathematical representation of the fingerprint representation, and that it is only stored on the phone.

Apple’s own notes about its Touch ID system on its site say that Touch ID will incrementally add new sections of your fingerprint to your enrolled fingerprint data to improve matching accuracy over time.

Touch ID uses all of this to provide an accurate match and a

very high level of security.”

The company says that “Every fingerprint is unique, so it is rare that even a small section of two separate fingerprints are alike enough to register as a match for Touch ID. The probability of this happening is 1 in 50,000 for one enrolled finger. This is much better than the 1 in 10,000 odds of guessing a typical 4-digit passcode. Although some passcodes, like “1234”, may be more easily guessed, there is no such thing as an easily guessable fingerprint pattern.”

It notes that after five unsuccessful attempts to match the fingerprint, the user has to enter their passcode, and the fingerprint unlock will not work.

Speaking to BusinessWeek just after the iPhone 5S was unveiled, Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software, emphasised that the fingerprints would not leave the phone. He said that making a finger unlocking and purchasing system “sounds like a simple idea, but how many places could that become a bad idea because you failed to execute on it? We thought, ‘Well, one place where that could be a bad idea is somebody who writes a malicious app, somebody who breaks into your phone, starts capturing your fingerprint. What are they doing with that? Can they reuse that in some other location? Can they use it to spoof their way into other people’s phones?’”

He said that Apple’s focus had been to make sure that “no matter if you took ownership of the whole device and ran whatever code you wanted on the main processor [you]could not get that fingerprint out of there. Literally, the physical lines of communication in and out of the chip would not permit that ever to escape.”

nightmarish propensity to post underage flesh-flashing and nasty commentary online have found a dream come true in California, which will soon let them erase their tracks.

The first-of-its-kind “eraser button” law will force social media titans to let minors scrub their personal online history in the hopes that it might help them avoid personal and work-related problems. The law will take effect on January 1, 2015. Social media sites will be required to inform their users about the new rights.

Twitter and Facebook already make deleting pictures and comments an option.

BRAZIL SLAMS US

UNITED NATIONS: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff launched a blistering attack on the US at the UN over America’s widespread spying on her country. “The argument that illegal interception of information is allegedly intended to protect nations against terrorism is untenable,” Rousseff told the opening of the UN General Assembly.

“Brazil knows how to protect itself,” she insisted, amid a damaging row over revelations of widespread spying by the US National Security Agency.

ONLINE GAMBLING BOOM WASHINGTON: Americans spent $2.6 billion on gambling websites in 2012, according to a study released Tuesday by the casino industry as it renewed a push for Congress to regulate online betting. The American Gaming Association, which released the study, said it highlights the need for federal legislation to end the state of “ambiguity” on Internet wagering.

The study by the Britishbased research firm H2 Gambling Capital found Americans accounted for a significant share of the $33 billion worldwide online gambling market, despite the legal limbo of most Internet betting.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Entertainment MAKING IT BIG IN HOLLYWOOD

CINE BYTES

S

inger-composer R.P. Patnaik, also known for directing Telugu films such as Andamaina Manasulo and Broker, is set to release his first English film Amy, which will release on October 1.

"I finished 'Amy' long back, but a lot of time was spent on the post-production. It's finally releasing and I'm extremely happy about it. It has always been my dream to make a Hollywood film.

This film will be my ticket to Hollywood," Patnaik told IANS. Amy, is based on the Amish community in the US, and is a supernatural thriller.

"The idea for the film was conceived during my frequent trips to the US. I came to learn about the Amish community, who despite being rich, live a very common life with no special amenities.

I met and spent some time with them and then I was inspired to script a story around them," he added. The film is based on a little girl by the name Amy, who sees possessed souls.

“We spent over $2 million in the making of the film, especially on the visual effects and graphics," he added.

As a composer, Patnaik has composed music for over 50 films across Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. Some of his best albums include Jeyam, Nee Kosam and Santosham.

Quizzed if he has shifted base to Hollywood, he said: "I would never bid adieu to the Telugu film industry. I have just taken a break and concentrating on Hollywood because it caters to large audiences on a global platform.

I'm also in talks for another English project." – IANS

Nani gives voice-over for D for Dopidi

A

ctor Nani happily obliged to lend his voice for upcoming Telugu crime-comedy D for Dopidi because he wanted to be associated with its makers, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. "I had spoken to him for the voice-over and since he had high regards for Raj and DK, he instantly agreed to do it because he wanted to be associated with them.

IANS

Bhai audio to release on Oct 1

T

he audio of Akkineni Nagarjuna’s next, Bhai will be released on October 1. Devi Sri Prasad has composed the music for this film. Veerabhadram has directed this mass comedy entertainer and the buzz around the film is quite good. The film stars Nagarjuna and Richa Gangopadhyay.

AD team tracks down pirates

T

PATNAIK'S FIRST ENGLISH FILM READY FOR RELEASE

he production team of Atharintiki Dharedhi has swung into action against the pirates who have leaked high quality footage of the film onto the internet. Buoyed by overwhelming support from the industry and fans of all heroes, AD team members have already identified a few culprits and arrests have been made.

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

A PEOPLE’S PERSON

CINE BYTES

When Akshay Kumar made

KHICHDI

Harshvardhan has intensity of a lover: Mehra

D

irector Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who is launching Anil Kapoor's son Harshvardhan with Mirza Sahiba, says he chose the youngster as he fits the bill of an intensive lover and added that he is undergoing training right now.

"Harshvardhan is training for the film. There's one year of preparation before he comes in front of the camera," Mehra said.

IANS.

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kshay Kumar was at his best when he was shooting outside a temple for Boss in the capital. He ended up cooking a meal for a stall owner during a break.

"Akshay sir took rest in one of the stalls within the temple.

When he was sitting there, he saw two young boys from the stall beginning to make lunch. He asked them what they were making and they said 'dal khichdi'. During the 40-minute break, Akshay made a delicious khichdi for the stall owner," a source from the production team said.

Directed by Anthony D'Souza, Boss also stars Mithun Chakraborty, Shiv Pandit, Aditi Rao Hydari, Danny Denzongpa, Ronit Roy and Johnny Lever. It is set to release Oct 16.

- IANS

Formal training important for actors: Vipin Sharma

A

n alumnus of the National School of Drama, Vipin Sharma feels that formal training in the craft is vital for every actor.

"Training is hugely important for an actor. One can easily distinguish between a trained and an untrained actor. Training gives a depth,” he said – IANS

Sharman Joshi clueless about Life In A...Metro 2'

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ctor Sharman Joshi, who featured in Anurag Basu's 2007 film Life in a... Metro, says he was approached for its sequel but is clueless about the current status of the film. "For '...Metro 2', Anurag had threatened me one day that he is going to cast me in it, but then he disappeared after that. If the film is happening, then I am in. But I'm not really in touch with them, so I don’t know,” he said.

IANS

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

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Entertainment WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

VINTAGE STUFF

At 62, Jane Seymour poses in bikini A

ctress Jane Seymour has stripped down to a bikini for a photoshoot at the age of 62.

She posed in a skimpy turquoise two-piece swimsuit on the beach outside her home in Malibu, California, for a series of shots taken by her photographer son Sean Flynn, reports contactmusic.com.

Seymour was given the bikini by her designer friend Cheri Ingle on her 62nd birthday.

“When Cheri gave me her gift I said, ‘You must be joking! The last time I wore a bikini I was 20, so I thought this was a big joke...In the spirit of that joke, we just said, ‘Okay, let’s go down to the beach’. It was no hair, no make-up, no retouching. Just a gift from a son to a mother and a girlfriend to her friend,” Britain’s Hello! magazine quoted Seymour as saying.

Seymour says she was amazed to see her toned physique in the photographs.

“Oh, my gosh, the pilates and gyrotonics have paid off! I’m not crazy about working out. I do eat, drink and be merry. But I pay some attention to my health too,” she said.

– IANS

CINE BYTES

Katy Perry keen to work with Bruno Mars

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inger Katy Perry has shown interest in collaborating with singer Bruno Mars. “I’ve always said I’d wanna collaborate with Rihanna, but I’d love to collaborate with Bruno Mars,” Perry said.

“I always say, ‘When I grow up, I wanna be the female version of Bruno Mars’, cause he’s so wildly talented in showing everybody that he has so much diversity in him,” she added.

Jennifer Hudson sympathises with look-alike

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ennifer Hudson has offered her sympathy to a woman who was chased by paparazzi after they mistook her for the actress. The female was caught amid paparazzi who were convinced that she was the real one, reports contactmusic.com.

I just broke up with someone: Cher

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inger Cher seems to have ended her relationship with boyfriend Tim Medvetz. The couple has been dating since 2008, and the Believe singer said in a recent interview that she has parted ways with someone. “I just broke up with someone but I need a little bit of a break. I don’t believe in going from one relationship to another,” British Notebook magazine quoted Cher as saying.

– IANS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Nothing can do what a book can do. Lifts you out of your life... to a whole new world, whole new perspective. A book is like a dream you're borrowing from a friend.

Dave Kellett

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

26

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

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

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

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

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

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

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 Not likely to bite 5 Bahrain big shot 9 Playing marble 14 Early Biblical victim 15 Minute amount 16 Super conclusion?

17 Cause of a big splash 19 On the ocean blue 20 Where research is done 21 New newt 22 Awe 24 Accumulates 26 Check information 27 Abbr on a business card 28 Toward the stern 29 Inquires 33 Amateurs 36 Looney Tunes animator Freleng 37 Dishware flaw 38 Copier paper order 39 PC shortcut 40 Ballet outfit 41 Elbow bone 42 Sheltered, nautically 43 Felt nostalgic 44 Sweeping story 45 ‘60s counterculture hallucinogen 46 Voice derision toward 47 Loathe 49 Part of a deli 53 Political power structure 56 Colonial insect 57 Org for doctors 58 Hurricane-___ winds 59 Abdominoplasty, familiarly 62 Greeting in Honolulu 63 Black and white dunker 64 Fencer’s blade 65 Boxing ring boundaries

66 Bank deposit?

67 Require

DOWN

1 Small Indian hand drum 2 Perpendicular to the keel 3 ‘Purlie’ star Moore 4 Pipe bend 5 1889 tower designer 6 Casts off skin 7 ‘Who am ___ judge?’

8 Machine gun setting 9 Modify appropriately 10 Instinctive response 11 Semicircular church area 12 Titleist perches 13 Timeline divisions 18 Some survey responses 23 Passover ball 25 Antacid target 28 Moved like a pitched softball 30 Dodge socially 31 Windy day toy 32 Eyed tuber 33 Quiz choice, perhaps 34 Cry out sharply, as a dog 35 Certain Asian royal 36 They’re high-toned 39 Famous film falcon’s home 43 Inclined to sulk 46 Bit of repartee 48 ___ of expertise 49 Desert dweller 50 Brown shade 51 Host 52 Did a fall chore 53 Off in the distance 54 Sport played in a pool 55 Stage accessory 60 Canton bordering Lake Lucerne 61 Caesar’s X

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 26-9-2013

27

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

A dilemmatic financial position is likely. Money will come from the expected sources but at the same there might be a gap for the plans you want to implement. This situation might anger you, but stay cool and avoid venting anger on others.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

A strong financial position is likely. Debt issues will get cleared letting you relax. Avoid getting into arguments as you might get upset. Some are likely to fall in love and be happy.

Employees will have a favourable time at workplace.

Difficulties due to finances will come to an end. You will work with self-confidence. You will win over enemies and march ahead. With the transfer of a troublesome superior, employees will relax. Misunderstanding between couples will end.

Businessmen will get promising opportunities. Avoid executing important work as you face resistance. Employees will be comfortable but not financially.

Avoid making new debts.

Financial planning is a must or consequences will be bad.

You will frequently travel to other states or abroad on work.

Separated couples are likely to get together due to the efforts of elders. Some have a bright chance to receive a part of ancestral property, which will make them financially comfortable.

Pay hike and promotion are likely for employees soon. Businessmen plan expansion by adding machines. Expenses overtaking income may upset you, but this will not continue and soon you will be in a comfortable position. Health looks fine.

Your self-confidence and boldness will peak. Prestige and respect are important to you rather than improving your financial position. Employees will be entrusted with new responsibilities but they will succeed and earn recognition.

Irrespective of trouble, you will take clear-cut and bold decisions, which will yield desired results. Those worried of postponement of marriage will get favourable news soon. Family will be in a cheerful mood. Old dues will get collected.

Avoid a third person’s interference in family issues.

Businessmen need to put in hard work to retain profit margins. Confusion in the family might depress you; stay cool and solve problems wisely as you are capable to.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Seven of Cups – This is a time of transition. There will be many changes. These changes will bring about financial success. You are on the road to material wealth.

LEO:

Nine of Wands – Focus on the sounds and smells around you. Improve your observation skills and do not give advice unless asked for, specifically.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Two of Cups – Avoid going with the mob mentality.

Just because most people are thinking one way doesn’t mean it is right.

Make your conclusions on an issue.

SAGITTARIUS:

Six of Wands – Make use of your network of peers and social contacts to get a job done. There’s no point in going by the book to make something work.

TAURUS:

Page of Wands – You will understand the importance of keeping your head down and working without expecting anything in return. Don’t get carried away.

CANCER:

Queen of Swords – You meet an unlikely saint, who will advice you on all things philosophical. Don’t dismiss what this person says. It’s what you need to hear.

VIRGO:

Ace of Wands – Aim to complete bulk of your tasks today. Do not keep anything pending till the last minute. Plan your schedule by leaving a buffer for delays.

SCORPIO:

Three of Swords – Do not postpone until tomorrow what you can do today, a famous saint said. These words apply to you today. Tackle important tasks first.

CAPRICORN:

Temperance – Have faith in your abilities. You are more than able to successfully finish a project assigned to you. There should be no doubt in your mind.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Four of Wands – Not everything is likely to go very smoothly today. You tend to stumble and stagger a bit. Get through the day without losing your temper.

NUMBER GAME

Pentacles – You may be placing emphasis on the wrong aspects of a problem. If it’s a relationship problem, look at the big picture.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Page of

POOCH CAFE

Those in search of a job will get an opportunity soon. Courage and self-confidence levels will peak. Your determination to win undertaken tasks will make you successful. You will be happy as you have found a way to solve debt issues.

for 26-9-2013

Four of Swords – Those into consumption of tobacco or alcohol must stop immediately.

Take care of your health. You will feel prosperous in other areas of life, too.

NON SEQUITUR

Delay in getting financial help is inevitable. Talks regarding marriage might not yield favourable result but situation will change soon. Better postpone efforts in this regard. You might face criticism due to inept handling of family issues.

SUDUKO

Marriage talks will progress well and end favourably. Happy atmosphere will prevail at home. Those with a job will get a promising opportunity soon.

Business will expand. Good events to take place in your life.

Success is certain in all work.

Boggle ELMO BERT ERNIE GROVER KERMIT Vol: 3, No 64 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at # Plot no.550-A1,3rd floor, Road no-92, 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 040-23541412,

28

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

TOP MODEL

CINE BYTES

S

upermodel Naomi Campbell is not pleased with people who are trying to label Cara Delevingne as the new Kate Moss, who is her friend.

Campbell believes that Moss is in a league of her own, and that she must not be compared with anyone else.

“Cara is Cara Delevingne, Kate is Kate Moss. People are just saying that because she is the same height as Kate. But there is only going to be one Kate Moss. Kate is an icon,” dailymail.co.uk quoted Campbell as saying.

The 43-year-old also said that though she has met Delevinge only a few times, their meeting has been very pleasant.

“Cara may become an icon: who knows how long she wants to do it for? It has just begun for her and she is doing amazingly well...I was actually asked to speak to Cara, but I don’t know her very well,” she said.

“I’ve met her a few times and she’s been very pleasant. I haven’t spoken to her properly yet. For me the timing has to be right,” Campbell added. – IANS

Khloe misses dad

K

hloe Kardashian posted a photograph of her late father just days before his 10th death anniversary and says that she misses him. The 29-year-old took to Instagram to post the photo.

The photograph shows her father carrying her younger brother Robert Jr on his shoulders. “I love this pic! Missing you will be forever but forever thankful you blessed us with this amazing kid.

Robert Jr you are his twin,” read the caption. – IANS

Michael Douglas hopeful about marriage ctor Michael Douglas A is hopeful that things between him and wife Catherine ZetaJones will improve. The couple are on a break from each other due to personal differences, reports contactmusic.com.- IANS

Emmys draw record number of audience

A

total of 17.6 million viewers tuned in to the award ceremony for the ‘65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards’, making it the most watched Emmys in eight years, the Nielsen Co. said.

The number was the best for the Emmys since 2005 when the ceremony was viewed by 18.6 million people, Xinhua reported. Neil Patrick Harris hosted the event which drew 13.3 million people to ABC. IANS

THERE’S ONLY ONE KATE MOSS, SAYS

NAOMI CAMPBELL

sports

29

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

AMERICA’S CUP

Amazing US rally levels event In what can be called an epic comeback, Oracle Team USA sailed to an unprecedented seventh consecutive victory against Emirates Team New Zealand, to level scores in the America’s Cup. GLENN CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO: Oracle Team USA sailed to an unprecedented seventh consecutive America’s Cup victory on Tuesday, extending an epic comeback to pull level with Emirates Team New Zealand at eight triumphs each.

Adding to a regatta rich with dazzling moments, the Americans went from being last across the start to hitting the finish 54 seconds ahead of the Kiwis in the second race after earlier winning by 27 seconds.

The Americans, who were docked two points for pre-regatta violations before their series against the Kiwis even began, fell behind 8-1 last Wednesday and appeared destined for a lopsided defeat.

But that set the stage for potentially one of the most historic comebacks in sport as the US squad launched the longest win streak in the event’s 162-year history.

“You can get wobbly in the knees or look straight down the barrel and smile; and that is what this team has done,” Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill said of how his crew has responded to being under the gun.

“We have come back from a very deep hole and we want this.

We will come out ready to fight tomorrow.”

While the score is even, Spithill said he still considers his team the underdog in the regatta -- having to notch 11 race wins on the water to be victorious in a

The Americans, who were docked two points for pre-regatta violations before their series against the Kiwis even began, fell behind 8-1 last Wednesday. best-of-17 points series while the Kiwis can triumph with just nine.

The Cup is set to be decided in a Wednesday showdown.

“Both teams are equally hungry to win this thing,” said New Zealand skipper Dean Barker.

“We got beaten today and that is tough to handle, but sometimes you just have to accept those. It is frustrating, but we know we can still win this.”

Having won eight races, New Zealand has been on match point for almost a week.

Only three times before in Cup history have boats won five races in a row, but those were in best-ofnine regattas where none had a chance to stretch the streak as long as Oracle Team USA has this month.

In Tuesday’s second race, the Kiwis grabbed the inside lane at the first gate, forcing the Americans into a slow, wide turn and grabbing the advantage.

New Zealand fended off efforts by the Americans to close the gap in the second leg and held onto a lead of slightly more than 100 meters into the critical upwind third leg.

Oracle turned to match New Zealand’s line and seemed to rock-

et ahead of the Kiwis. The Americans turned ahead of New Zealand and snatched a lead that only grew.

“It was amazing, not so much to be on the other side of them though,” Barker said of the Americans turning the tide in the second race of the day. “These guys have sailed really well to get back in the event.”

The Kiwis drew a pair of penalties at the start of the day’s first race, crowding the Americans as they fiercely vied for positions.

“New Zealand was supposed to do everything it could to stay clear and it didn’t,” the Cup’s chief umpire explained. “Two penalties were assessed.”

The USA got a head start and rounded the first mark well ahead of the Kiwis.

The Americans blazed along the second leg, with speeds topping 80 kph (50 mph), and rounded the second gate 29 seconds ahead of the Kiwis.

New Zealand pressed hard on the tail of the American team, which manoeuvred to block opportunities to pass.

The Kiwis narrowed the gap through the critical upwind leg, as both catamarans also sailed against the tide, but the Americans held on to cross the finish 27 seconds ahead of New Zealand.

“We absolutely do believe we can win,” Barker said of the do-ordie showdown Wednesday on San Francisco Bay. “It is one thing talking about it; we have to get everything together to make it happen,” he went on to add.

Oracle Team USA passes the San Francisco waterfront while sailing against Emirates Team New Zealand in America’s Cup race 17 on Tuesday, in San Francisco. Following seven consecutive wins, Oracle Team USA is now tied with New Zealand heading into Wednesday’s final race.

AFP/NOAH BERGER

LOCAL SPORTS A division two days

Brothers XI 130 (Akendar 37, Azeem 34, Karthik 4/37) bt Hyd Titans 86 (Azeem Warsi 4/42) News Blues 303/7 bt Team Speed 148 (Santosh 78, Datta Prakash 5/59, Ramesh 4/41) Vijay Hanuman 201 lost to Visaka 204/8 (Revanth Sai 106, E Jaya Ram Reddy

LEAGUE CRICKET 6/76) Budding Star 160 lost to Mega City 162/8 (Amrith Yadav 50, Bharath 5/62) Zinda 321 bt Sai Satya 274 (Mickhil Jaiswal 68, Akarsh Kulkarni 94, Avinash Singh 3/53, Shahbaaz Uddin 3/48) Cambridge XI 204 bt CCOB 192 (Md Siddiq Afsar 31, Mirza Maqbool Baig 48,

Karmran Khan 4/47, Sunny Patsa 3/35) Nizam College 66 (Navjoth Singh 5/26, Shashianand 5/26) lost to Balaji Colst 67/3 (Navdeep 42) Venus Cyber Tech 211 (K Srikanth 85, G Bhanu 44, SS Bharath 6/51, D Sujay Devratan 3/58) lost to Jai Bhagwathi 215/7 (Vikas

Babu 45, SS Bharath 63, Avinash Goud 54) MCC 126 (Amay 3/13, Ankit 3/29) lost to HBCC 130/5 (Yudish 56, Manuel 35, Mohit Soni 5/35) Gouds XI 192 (G Tarun Kumar 56, K Nagaraju Yadav 44, Pravith 5/44, Mohammed Adil Qureshi 3/34) vs SA Amberpet 97/2 (Pramjeeth Singh 56)

AP Challengers Chess Tourney

Results Round 7: C R G Krishna (6) bt V Varun (5); S Ravi Teja (5) bt NLV Anusha (5); N Krishna Teja (5.5) drew with Sai Agni Jeevitesh (5.5); Ashraf Subhani (6) bt Harsha B (4.5); P Kranthikumar (5) lost to J Ramakrishna (5.5); Balachandra Prasad (5.5) bt Lakshmi Sandeep Naidu(4.5); Ch Sahajasri (5) drew with Deepthams Reddy(5); Chakravarthy Reddy (5.5) bt K Asleesh(4.5); YVK Chakravarthy (5) bt E Arjun (4); MY Aditya (5) bt K Jaswanth (4).

sports

30

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

RYDER CUP

FORMULA ONE

Watson defends ‘oldest-ever’ captaincy GLENEAGLES: Tom Watson has defended his “oldest-ever” USA Ryder Cup captaincy controversy at celebrations at Gleneagles to mark a ‘Year to Go’ to the 2014 Ryder Cup on Tuesday.

Watson at 64 is the oldest to be appointed a Ryder Cup captain on either the USA or European teams since Sam Snead who at 57 captained the United States to a draw at Royal Birkdale in 1969 to retain the trophy.

Watson, who first captained a USA Team in 1993, has brushed off claims that he is too old.

The Kansas-born eight-time Major winner said: “The way I’ve answered that question is that age is not an issue, at all, because the players that will be on my ... my team; our team, they know that I’ve been a player on The Ryder Cup. “They know I’ve been a captain of The Ryder Cup. And they know that I know that they know, and that’s all that matters.” At Gleneagles Watson called on the tournament organisers to do away with the practice of ‘wildcard’ picks for future Ryder Cups.

INJURY WOES

Murray thanks hospital

LONDON: Wimbledon champion Andy Murray thanked medical staff on Tuesday after undergoing surgery on his troublesome back.

The 26-year-old world number three underwent the minor procedure to address a disc problem in his lower back on Monday and is likely to be out of action until the end of the year.

Writing on Twitter on Tuesday, he thanked the hospital staff who had taken care of him during his treatment.

“After spending 2 days in hospital you realise and appreciate how amazing a job carers, nurses, doctors etc do in hospitals all over the world looking after people who are in need,” he said.

AFP

US team captain Tom Watson talks during a press conference marking one year to go until the 2014 Ryder Cup golf competition at Gleneagles Golf AFP/IAN MACNICOL Course in Perthshire, Scotland on Tuesday.

While Watson has taken the step to reduce from four to three his ‘wildcard’ picks he surprised PGA of America President, Ted Bishop, who travelled to Scotland with Watson, in calling for abandoning the notion of ‘wildcard’ picks altogether.

“If you really look at it, the purist form of Ryder Cup would

be no picks, no captain’s picks, 12 players who qualify,” said Watson.

“That’s the way I qualified my first two Ryder Cups, I think it was, or maybe three. All three of them, you had 12 players and no picks. Maybe that’s the way it should go back to.

“I reduced my picks this year

from four to three, and was thinking actually two, because I wanted the players who are playing, to get on The Ryder Cup Team, to have that as a goal. If they got there, then they have earned something very, very special. And maybe we should go back to no picks.”

McGinley, who also will have three ‘wildcard’ picks, reacted to Watson’s call saying: “There is a different dynamic on the European side when we have so many players playing on the PGA Tour. So let’s defer that one, thank you.”

And while Watson will be seeking to end European dominance with Europe having won seven of the last nine encounters he also intends to use as a motivator Europe’s ‘come-frombehind’ miracle at Medinah in a goal to return the Ryder Cup to the States for a first time since 2008.

“The European Team has been absolutely sensational and I have to say, even though it left a pit in my stomach, just a hole in my stomach after our defeat this last September at Medinah,” said Watson AFP

Vettel era coming to an end: Ecclestone BERLIN: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has predicted that triple world champion Sebastian Vettel’s dominance of the sport will soon be over.

Speaking to Bild newspaper, Ecclestone said this season’s runaway championship leader could even be knocked off his perch as early as next year.

“His domination will end, maybe in 2014. We’re going to have completely new cars, new engines, new rules,” said Ecclestone. “That will be the chance for Ferrari and Mercedes to catch up with Vettel. Next year it might not be the best driver but the best car that wins the title.”

Ecclestone said he believed the recent jeers that have met Vettel’s last two race wins in Italy and Singapore were not due to him as a person, but due to his dominance. Vettel has won the last three Grand Prix and seven in total this season, more than half the races, and leads Fernando Alonso by 60 points in the standings, with another 36 points clear of third-placed Lewis Hamilton.

ARMSTRONG DOPING

US hits back in lawsuit filings WASHINGTON: The US government fired back at Lance Armstrong in a federal court filing after the doping-disgraced American cyclist had asked for the dismissal of a civil fraud lawsuit against him.

Armstrong, who admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs to win the seven Tour de France titles that were stripped from him, had argued that the government, including his former team sponsor the US Postal Service, should have known he was doping all along despite his lies denying it.

Armstrong also argued in a July request to dismiss that the US Postal Service received the benefits attached to his victories for its $40 million (29.7 million euros) sponsorship from 19982004, but the filings Monday in response to Armstrong’s claims challenged those assertions.

“The government did not get

a winner,” the government filing declared. “On the contrary, it got a fraud and all of the publicity and exposure that goes along with having sponsored a fraud.

That is decidedly not what the

government bargained for.

“The United States should have an opportunity to recover damages for the money that it paid in reliance on Armstrong’s many lies.”

Armstrong, who confessed his doping in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, pulled off “arguably the greatest fraud in the history of professional sports,” according to the government filing. “Now that he is being called to account for the damage he caused, Armstrong contends that his deceit should have been clear to everyone all along... But the Postal Service, like millions of others, cannot be faulted for having been deceived

by Armstrong.”

The original case against Armstrong was brought in 2010 by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, himself a disgraced US rider who was stripped of a Tour de France title and later admitted doping.

Under whistleblower laws, Landis would receive a portion of the damages if the government, which joined his case in February, is successful.

AFP

sports

31

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

BCCI ELECTIONS

Srinivasan eyes BCCI return The combative president of the BCCI should be a shoo-in at Sunday’s annual meeting in Chennai after nobody came forward to contest his re-election for a third year in office.

KULDIP LAL Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI: Narayanaswami Srinivasan, the most powerful man in cricket, faces a last-ditch challenge to his reinstatement this weekend as head of India’s board, days after his son-in-law was charged in a corruption scandal.

The combative president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should be a shooin at Sunday’s annual meeting in Chennai after nobody came forward to contest his re-election for a third year in office.

But he now faces a new hurdle on Friday after the Supreme Court agreed to consider a request for an injunction against Srinivasan to prevent him from standing for election, brought by a cricket association in eastern Bihar state.

India, cricket’s superpower, generates 70 percent of international the game’s revenue due to its vast television audiences, allowing the BCCI to have its way in all significant decisions

on the game’s future.

Other international boards dread falling out with the BCCI, aware that the sale of television rights when India is in town is vital to their survival.

But the hearing is yet another headache for the 68-year-old, who had to nominally step aside from the helm of the BCCI in June — curtailing his powers — when his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was named as a suspect in a corruption inquiry.

Meiyappan was on Saturday charged with cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy as part of a police investigation into claims of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), a Twenty20 tournament run by the BCCI. Meiyappan had been the team principal of the Chennai Super Kings when the scandal broke, one of the top IPL teams and which is owned by Srinivasan.

But while the charging of Meiyappan has emboldened Srinivasan’s critics, it has not stopped the man himself from

seeking to resume his innings at the helm of the wealthiest and most powerful cricketing body in the world.

“I am not disqualified and neither can you push me out,” Srinivasan told reporters after charges were laid against Meiyappan. “If Gurunath is wrong, the law will take its own course.

“It is up to him to defend his position. It has got nothing to do

with me.”

However, many of the game’s leading figures, including former BCCI president Inderjit Singh Bindra, argue that such a stance is untenable and Srinivasan has no moral or ethical right to seek another term.

“The IPL scandal involving Gurunath and Srinivasan is much bigger in scope and dimension than the 2000 saga,”

DRS WORRIES

CLT20

‘Hot Spot had a stinker’

LONDON: England batsman Kevin Pietersen declared on Tuesday that Hot Spot “had an absolute stinker” during the Ashes series, but said that players remain supportive of the technology.

The decision review system (DRS) came in for criticism during the series, which England won 3-0, with Hot Spot’s infra-red imaging falling under particular scrutiny after a number of inaccurate decisions.

Pietersen became embroiled in the debate when Australia’s Channel 9 television station claimed he used silicone tape in a bid to prevent Hot Spot from detecting when the ball had hit his bat. The South Africaborn batsman laughed off the claims at the time but says he was bewildered by the accusation that he was a cheat.

“Hot Spot had an absolute stinker this summer for whatever reason but no-one was taping their bats with

Bindra tweeted, referring to the Hansie Cronje scandal that gripped cricket at the turn of the century.

The former South African captain, who was killed in a mystery plane crash two years later, was nailed by Delhi police at the turn of the century for hobnobbing with illegal bookmakers.

BCCI a “laughing stock” Ajay Shirke, who resigned as board treasurer in May as the scandal unfurled, told the Mumbai-based DNA newspaper that the BCCI had become a “a laughing stock” with the allegations against Meiyappan.

Local media, quoting the 11,500-page charge-sheet submitted in court by Mumbai police, reported that in one instance, Meiyappan told a bookmaker ahead of a match in Jaipur on May 12 that the Super Kings would score between 130-140 runs and lose the game.

The team, led by Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, scored 141-5 in 20 overs and lost to Rajasthan Royals by five wickets with 17 balls to spare.

any artificial strapping or silicone,” Pietersen told talkSPORT radio station.

“I’ve had the same strapping on my bat since 1995, when I became a professional. All the pros put fibreglass tape on their bat and I copied everyone else. Every cricketer in the world does it. “I woke up one morning in the team hotel and my Twitter had just blown up. People were calling me a cheat and some horrible expletives, and I didn’t know what was going on.

“I had a look at it and saw they had broken the news at 6:00 am on Channel 9 and my image was used and referenced.

“I clearly denied it straight away on Twitter and it was done and dusted from my mind. It didn’t really bother me. I had a lot more things to worry about than the strapping on my bat.

“It was ridiculous. It

was just somebody being naughty and had no bearing on anything I did, and it won’t in the future.”

Despite the Hot Spot controversies, Pietersen says that the technology retains the support of most players.

“We just don’t understand how Hot Spot didn’t work as well as it had done before,” he said. never had these issues and I know the players are happy with Hot Spot and with DRS. There are no issues.”

Pietersen was named in England’s squad for the return Ashes series on Tuesday and says he will approach the tour in positive fashion after putting niggling knee problems behind him.

“It was tough but I’ve done some incredible rehab in the last three weeks and it feels like I have a different knee. I’m feeling so good on it,” said the 33year-old, whose next Test appearance will be his 100th.

“For the first time since February, I am totally pain-free and I am continuing to do the right things.”

AFP

SRH defeat T&T by four wickets

MOHALI: Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Trinidad and Tobago by four wickets in a Champions League Twenty20 Group B match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here Tuesday.

Chasing a target of 161, the Hyderabad squad finished at 164/6 with three balls to spare to kitty four points from their first match of the tournament.

Put in to bat, the Caribbean side put on 160/8 in their quota of 20 overs. Experienced batsman Darren Bravo anchored the innings with his knock of 66, which included five boundaries and four sixes. Bravo got decent support from opener Evin Lewis (22) and skipper-wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin (21).

Pacer Ishant Sharma, Thisara Perera and Darren Sammy notched up two wickets each for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In response, the Indian outfit struggled at the start but all-rounder Perera held the innings together with an unbeaten 57 off 32 balls which included four boundaries and sixes each.

Offie Sunil Narine tweaked his way through the middle order of the Hyderabad squad, finishing with figures of 4/9 in his four overs.

But that wasn’t enough to stop the Indian side from winning and bagging four points.

IANS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

sports SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP

Morton stun Celtic

LONDON: Celtic’s dreams of a domestic treble were dashed on Tuesday when they were stunned 1-0 by second-tier strugglers Morton in the third round of the Scottish League Cup. With the scores level after 90 minutes at Celtic Park, visitors Morton were awarded a penalty early in extra time for a handball

by Celtic’s Efe Ambrose.

Dougie Imrie duly converted from the spot and Morton survived a late scare when Charlie Mulgrew hit the post to dump the hosts out of the competition and book a place in the quarter-finals.

Celtic won 27 corners to Morton’s two and beaten manager Neil Lennon said he could not fault his side for effort.

“I have got to be philosophical about it,” he said.

“It wasn’t for the attitude or want of trying in the game. It just wasn’t our night, for whatever reason.

“The only disappointment for me is we had 26 corners and we didn’t convert one of them with the height we had in the team.

“We have to take our chances. We ended up putting Virgil van Dijk up to give us something different and certainly we created a lot more.”

He added: “If you don’t take your chances, you don’t expect to win the game.

“I thought we would at least get one tonight and that is a surprise and disappointment to me.

“But I am not going to hammer the players. It has been a very demanding start to the season for them and I think they are looking forward to the game on Saturday (at Kilmarnock).

“It is a frustration, but I will get over it very quickly. I have too much to look forward to, to dwell on it.”

Morton manager Allan Moore said the result was “incredible”, but admitted: “We rode our luck.”

He added: “The fact they put their centre-half up front was testament to how well we played. AFP

MASCHERANO SUFFERS HAMSTRING INJURY

Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano is a doubt for the Catalans’ Champions League clash with Celtic next week after picking up a hamstring problem against Real Sociedad on Tuesday. The former Liverpool man was replaced by Marc Bartra 10 minutes before half-time.

LA LIGA

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Perfect start for Barça

KIERAN CANNING Agence France-Presse

MADRID: Barcelona extended their 100 percent league record to six games with a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday as Atletico Madrid also maintained their perfect start to the season.

Neymar scored his first league goal in Spanish football as Barca turned in arguably their best performance so far under new boss Gerardo Martino.

The Brazilian bundled home Alexis Sanchez’s cross after just five minutes and then expertly teed up Lionel Messi to plant a diving header past Claudio Bravo three minutes later.

Sergio Busquets added a third before half-time with a sweet strike from 20 yards to register his first goal of the season and Marc Bartra rounded off the scoring for the hosts after Alberto de la Bella had pulled a goal back for Sociedad.

“I am very happy to score my first goal in the league but the most important thing is the victory,” Neymar told Canal Plus television. “We are playing very well. Every game we seem to get better and I am enjoying it more and more.”

Amazingly, the visitors had made the brighter start with

Real Sociedad’s midfielder Daniel Estrada Agirrezabalaga (L) vies with Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi during their Spanish league at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Tuesday.

AFP/JOSEP LAGO

Haris Seferovic striking the bar from 20 yards inside two minutes. However, the game was virtually lost for them just six minutes later.

Firstly, a horrible defensive mix-up between Liassine Cadamuro and Bravo allowed

Neymar to bundle home his first and possibly the easiest goal he will ever score for Barca at the Camp Nou. And three minutes later the Brazilian delivered a perfect leftfooted cross from which Messi headed home at the far post.

It didn’t take the hosts long to register their third of the evening as Messi’s back heel was well saved by Bravo, the Argentine’s follow-up effort somehow hit the bar and post on its way out and Busquets finally fired home the rebound from outside the area.

LEAGUE CUP

Chelsea, City, Spurs in fourth round TOM WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse LONDON: Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur breezed into the League Cup fourth round, while Sunderland began life without Paolo Di Canio by beating Peterborough United.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho handed Juan Mata a rare start at third-tier Swindon Town and he created the opening goal in the 29th minute with a shot that was parried by Wes Foderingham for Fernando Torres to tap home.

Ramires doubled the visitors’ lead six minutes later, poking the ball over the advancing Foderingham from Torres’s astute pass to complete the scoring in a 2-0 victory. Ramires had only come on as a substitute for the injured Marco van Ginkel in the 10th minute but

Swindon Town’s English midfielder Alex Pritchard (L) shoots a free kick against Chelsea wall during their League Cup match at the County Ground in Swindon, western England, on Tuesday. Chelsea won the match 2-0.

AFP/OLLY GREENWOOD

he had to cede his place at halftime, with John Terry coming on.

“We all know the cups are important and to win away against teams in the lower divisions is difficult,” Torres told Sky Sports.

“For the players who have not played in the last few matches, it was good to play. Everyone is happy. It is one step forward.”

Fresh from their 4-1 drubbing of Manchester United on Sunday, City enjoyed a similarly straightforward evening with a 5-0 win at home to Wigan Athletic, the side who beat them in last season’s FA Cup final.

Meanwhile, Jermain Defoe scored twice as Tottenham comfortably won 4-0 at Premier League rivals Aston Villa, with closeseason signings Paulinho and Nacer Chadli also hitting the target.