Epaper 31 august 2013

PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE Fathers’ extremely long working hours can be detrimental to their sons’ well-being, says a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

VENETIAN LAUNCHPAD Venice has become, over the last 10 to 15 years, increasingly important for films and the film industry. An example of that is the annual Venice Film Festival, which is a great platform for the industry.

We take a look at the stars that graced the red carpet, on the first few days of the event.

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Hyderabad’s first compact afternoon newspaper

AUGUST 31, 2013 HYDERABAD

Chain-smoker Kripa Sagar kicked the butt when she got hooked to running. Through her Take a Breath of Fresh Air campaign, she’s running a full marathon in every state to spread the message.

PG 18

PG 16&17

PG 20

ON A HEALTHY HIGH

32 PAGES

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ON SATURDAY

UNIFORM

APATHY REPORT ON PG 4

It has been months since schools began, and despite assurances from the authorities, many government school students still don’t have uniforms.

Teachers feel that the blatant apathy shown by the government could lead to the dropout rate skyrocketing this year.

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PAGE TWO SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

BRIGHT AND VIVID

Dance performance 3 Dhara, an evening of 3 solo dance styles will be performed.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: September 1, 7 pm Contact: 96427-31329

Kuchipudi performance Kuchipudi rangapravesham of Sahiti Reddy (Disciple Of Dr. Raja Radha Reddy & Kaushalya) will be held.

Where: Ravindra Bharathi, Saifabad When: September 1, 6.30 pm Contact: Hari, at 96188-83774

Musical night An enjoyable evening with Sanjo a composer, arranger, music director, singer, songwriter and musician.

Where: Our Sacred Space, Secunderabad When: August 31, 7 pm

Models displayed the anniversary collection at Neeru's Elite, Banjara Hills on Friday.

Oriental food festival is on.

Where: Zodiac Hall, Golkonda Hotel When: 12 noon, Till August 31

Robotics In The 21st Century by Dr Ayanna Howard will be held.

Where: Vidyaranya High School, Saifabad.

When: August 31, 6.15 pm Contact: Manthan, at 6636-0000

India on a Platter

English play

A culinary journey across the country at The Square.

Where: The Square, Novotel When: Till August 31 Contact: 8686080577

The Thing that Happened, a 12minute play will be staged.

Where: Indira Priyadarshini, Nampally When: September 1, 7.30 pm to 9 pm Contact: 98857-30673

Contact: 96427-31329

Delectable fare

When: Till September 6 Contact: +91-40-23113709;

Art show

Contact: 9030013344

Comic Play

Play Love on the Brink will be staged.

Where: Taramati Baradari, Gandipet When: August 31, 7 pm Contact: 6464-6262

40207171

Fabulous fish To showcase a slice of Indian culinary heritage, Taj Krishna is hosting the Simply Fish Festival.

Where: Firdaus, Taj Krishna When: Lunch and dinner, Till August 31 Contact: +91 9246 21 5332

Yoga classes Prenatal yoga classes will be held.

Where: The Birthplace, Banjara Hills When: August 31, 11.30 am Contact: 98855-69459

Tea flavours

Play time Barbareekudu will be staged.

Where: NTR Auditorium, Nampally When: August 31, 7 pm Contact: 2323-0641 / 2323-0435

Live performance The Last Bridge will perform live.

Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: August 31, 7 pm

CINEMAS

A group show titled Krishnastuti is on.

Where: Aalankritha Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills

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

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

Robot talk

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

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CITY SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Female thief arrested

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Don’t drink and drive

he City cops arrested a notorious female thief, Govula Janaki, from Vijayawada on Friday. Janaki is accused in seven theft cases under Gopalapuram Police Station limits alone. The police also seized gold ornaments weighing 310 grams worth `10 lakh from her possession. Janaki used to target women travelling in RTC buses.

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he cops continued their weekend anti-drink and drive programme as usual and nabbed as many as 11 offenders. The offenders were slapped with cases following seizure of their vehicles. In Banjara Hills Traffic Police limits alone, a total of 11 fourwheelers were seized by the cops. The cops also held a traffic legal awareness programme for 175 offenders.

T-JAC meet in City today

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he crucial Telangana Political Joint Action Committee (T-JAC) meet will be held in the City today. It assumes importance as it is being held in the backdrop of continuing agitation

by Seemandhra people including State government employees. The meeting is likely to come out with an action plan to mount pressure on the Centre to speed up the T process.

TDP demands Kiran’s ouster CM’s stance that it was not the government but people who have the mandate to divide a state is being used by TDP to demand his resignation for ‘instigating hatred among people of different regions’.

INKESHAF AHMED

ahmed.m@postnoon.com

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he TDP wants Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to quit before talking against the party decision on Telangana. TDP organising secretary PL Srinivas (in pic) said Kiran’s recent statement for a united Andhra goes against the Centre’s decision on a Telangana state and his continuing in power was a mockery of democracy.

The chief minister is credited with the statement in which he vehemently asked for a Samaikhyandhra rather than cutting up the State. This had generated consternation in the party circles and in the Opposition ranks.

“How can he talk like that while continuing in the government? His comments are aimed at creating hatred and animosity among the people of different regions,” Srinivas said. The chief minister’s observation that people are the ultimate decision-makers was an attempt to endear himself to one region while creating anger in others, he added. “People indeed are the decision-makers, fine. But let me ask him whether the people are responsible for the unprecedented inflation and price rise?

Is it not the Congress that is ruling both at the Centre and at the State? The CM’s trying to mislead the State with his lies,” he said.

According to Srinivas, the Congress party high command had unleashed a strategy to wipe out the Telugu Desam Party from the political scene of the State in collusion with TRS and YSR Congress. “The Congress party’s decision to create Telangana state came as a

final decision after taking consensus of all political parties.

Despite this, it deliberately allowed its leaders like the chief minister to put up a facade of protest only to dupe the public.

In this game, both the Congress and its offshoot, the YSRC, are working in tandem, Srinivas said.

The party leader said the situation in AP today was unprecedented where the ruling party itself talks in different tongues to befool the populace of the State. “It’s all a dirty game and

Criminal locked up… but not for long

Mohd Subhan mohd.s@postnoon.com

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man who attempted to attack another with a knife was apprehended by locals and handed over to the Nacharam police.

The assailant, however, soon managed to escape from police custody and is on currently on the run.

The accused, Mahesh Goud, a resident of Mallapur, has a criminal record with complaints against him lodged in various

police stations across the City.

Sources claim that Goud had a long-standing land dispute with the 40-year-old victim, Venkat Rao. It is alleged that Rao was attacked by Goud as he was returning home from work. The incident took place at the Janapriya bus stand in Mallapur.

Eyewitnesses claim that Goud attacked Rao with a knife and inflicted severe injuries before, passersby came to Rao’s rescue and apprehended Goud. Goud was then taken to the police station, while Rao was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Goud was processed at the police station and left in lock-up.

It is claimed that there was only one constable on duty at the police station when Goud made his escape. The constable has been suspended and a case has been registered against Goud.

we should not allow this to continue,” Srinivas said.

Another party leader and former Cabinet minister KE Prabhakar has also expressed similar feelings.

“The people of the State have become smarter. They have already decided to put the Congress and the YSRC in the dump yard. The recent local body polls are indicative of this.

Despite the all-out efforts of the Congress and the YSRC, TDP achieved excellent results. The same will happen in the coming

days,” he noted.

Prabhakar further added that the proposed ‘Telugu Vaari Atma Gourava Yatra’ (Self pride of Telugu people) campaign in a big way across the State will be like the Mee Kosam Vastunna Padayatra of the party chief Chandrababu Naidu. “Padayatra proved to be a great success as it not only helped the people of the State to vent their anger against the ruling Congress but also boosted the morale of our cadres. The Atma Gourava Yatra will also bring results for the TDP,” he prophesied.

He demanded the Centre immediately complete the Telangana state creation process without any delay and advised the Centre to take steps to calm the emotions of the Seemandhra people.

A TDP politburo member also expressed similar feelings and said that the campaign would help the party in exposing the secret designs of Congress and YSRC in the State.

MATCHBOX MARVEL

Kandhi Kuppa Surya Prakash (R) puts final touches on an idol of Lord Ganesh made from some 1,00,000 matchboxes adorned with recycling logos at his workshop in Hyderabad.

AFP PHOTO/NOAH SEELAM

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CITY SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Failure to put on uniform This year, before the start of the academic year, the government and school education department made big plans of providing uniforms to the students on time, but they have failed yet again.

ALEENA ALICE

aleena.t@postnoon.com

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t’s almost five months since the start of the academic session and students from most of the government schools are still eagerly awaiting their school uniforms. This year, before the start of the academic year, the government and the school education department made big plans of providing uniforms to the students on time, but they have failed yet again.

Initially, the school education department promised to hand over two pairs of uniforms to the students by June. However due to delays the education

department then stated that the uniforms would be delivered in a phased manner. The first pair was supposed to be handed over

by July fourth week and the second pair in August. But, so far many school students have not even received their first pair.

RTE activist Satish Reddy says, “Going by the RTE rules, the students should have got the uniforms by April itself. But most of the schools still have not received even one pair of uniforms for the students. The government has failed miserably.”

In some schools, if the boys received their new uniforms, the girls have not and vice versa.

“There are 214 students in this school, So far we have received 50 per cent uniforms for the boys. Not even one uniform for the girls has been delivered,”

TEACHERS AND OTHER EDUCATIONALISTS FEEL THAT THIS YEAR TOO THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT KEEP UP ITS WORD AND EVENTUALLY STUDENTS WILL DROPOUT. says the principal of a government school in Laad Bazar.

Initially, the reason given for the delay was because of miscommunication and orders divided between the APCO and private agencies. But later, after directions from the minister for handloom and textiles G Prasad Kumar, the order for the uniforms was placed with APCO. Now, however, the reason for delay, apart from miscommunication, is because of orders being placed late. “As per the norms, APCO has to send the material to the school management committee. On receiving the cloth, the committee has to inform us, after which we will hand over the amount for stitching to them. Due to some communication gap, an amount of `16 lakh was held over. However that has been sorted and by next week all the uniforms will be

delivered,” assured Subba Rayudu from the Rajiv Vidya Mission.

Teachers and other educationalists feel that this year too, the government will not keep its word and eventually students will drop out from schools. “We have been hearing the same reasons cited by the government every year. Running government schools is not new. It’s not even that every year the number of students enrolling in government schools are increasing greatly that the officials do not

know as to what number they have to place orders for. It’s misappropriation of funds between the government and the private agencies that is leading to this situation. Many of these students are poor and hence getting a new pair of clothes is almost a matter of celebration for them.

When they are not motivated in any way, eventually there will be dropouts from schools,” says Achyutha Rao, president, AP Balala Hakkula Sangham, a child rights organisation.

Making every moment count The story of Dr Srini Babu is surely one of the many inspiring stories one comes across.

Making use of every opportunity is something we can learn from him.

Arun D Yellamaty arunyellamaty@postnoon.com

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r Srini Babu (second left in pic), studied medicine at Stanford University, owns a global business and only recently turned into a film producer for Priyamani's next film, Chandee.

“I come from a small village in Srikakulam. My father is a farmer and my mother is a housewife. I moved to Visakhapatnam for intermediate studies and later completed my graduation from Andhra University. After my graduation I was awarded the Young Scientist award in South Korea, following which I pursued my PhD at Stanford University, thanks to few scholarships that I was awarded,” he says about his growing up years.

Like how Facebook and Google began, Srini made use of the ample opportunities made available by the Stanford alumni and started his own business.

"While I was pursuing my PhD, I started the Omics Group international and through our company, we provide journals. It’s a new kind of venture where journals on various medicine-related topics can be accessed by scholars, scientists, students and the public for free. We also organise more than 100 international conferences ever year, and that’s how I made it big at Stanford,” says Srini. Now he is the CEO of Omics Group, which is a global

business headquartered in Henderson and has offices in Hyderabad, Palo Alto, Los Angeles and Romania.

In 2013, he forayed into film production with OMICS creations. Chandee is his first woman-oriented full-length feature film. It has a strong social message that he believes will garner appreciation for its content and storytelling. The movie is targeted to create social awareness.

“Films are a great way to reach masses and target a larger audience. Movies appeal to people more than books or anything. So I want to use this medium to create as much awareness as possible. It’s now Tollywood, but later I aim to produce Bollywood and Hollywood films too,” he says confidently.

As advice for the brilliant minds out there, he suggests that young people think differently. “I have come a long way from a small village to Stanford and now am into making films. I want my life to be an inspiration for people around and they should work hard to be the best.

I was never a great student but my content was good, whatever I did was different, this helped me. I just gave my best and thought in different and creative ways and choose to do things differently and when others do the same, it surely will help people to achieve their dreams.”

Chandee is set to release in September.

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CITY SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Left high and dry The Pulichintala project might bring in much-needed water to the region, but villagers whose homes lie in the dam’s path are suffering. The villagers have neither received monetary compensation nor been rehabilitated to safer ground.

MOHSIN ALI

ali@postnoon.com

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illagers of Mellacheruvu mandal, Nemalipuri village, are spending sleepless nights worrying about the future of their children as the Pulichintala Project is ready to start functioning soon .

Construction of this project, started under Jalayagnam scheme by YS Rajashekhar Reddy in 2004 during his chief ministerial tenure, has been forcing villagers to leave their own lands.

The actual capacity of the project is 45tmc and almost 13 villages of Nalgonda district are likely to sink if water reaches full tank level. More than 90 per cent of the project has been completed, giving nightmares to villagers.

Villagers had started agitating since the day the project was announced. At the time, the then chief minister YS Rajashekhar

Reddy assured them that the government would provide an alternative to them before the project was completed. However, no alternatives have been provided to them so far.

Villagers are now seeking help from the Lokayukta in this regard, after not getting any proper response from the district collector and the MLA who have been representing them from many years about the problem. The case has been taken up, but the hearing is yet to happen According to the villagers, there are nearly 500 families staying in these villages that will suffer if an alternative is not provided to them. They have been continually demanding since 2006 that the government provide them with 45 acres on which to settle.

“There is no question of our leaving this place. We have been here since three generations.

Where will we go if evacuated from here? What about our future generations?” asked a 72year-old villager, K Janaiah.

Another representative from the group, N Saidulu, 55, revealed, “Congress MLAs

opposed the same project and destroyed all the machinery during the Telugu Desam Party’s rule. That was just a political stunt to take credit. Now, they are doing the same after coming into power.”

Deputy sarpanch of

ACCORDING TO THE VILLAGERS, THERE ARE NEARLY 500 FAMILIES STAYING IN THESE VILLAGES THAT WILL SUFFER IF AN ALTERNATIVE IS NOT PROVIDED TO THEM.

Nemalipuri village R Krishna said: “We are in touch with the district collector, mandal and revenue officials in this regard.

We have been asking them to provide the land with the pattas but they are not even replying to us in a proper manner. Till now, no official has approached us for our lands. No compensation has been announced yet.

Farmers are very angry with the government.”

“We are going to be homeless soon. All the promises made by the late Chief Minister YS Rajashekhar Reddy have gone away with him. Now God is the only hope for us,” Balaji, a villager, lamented.

Pulichintala Project n

Also called KLRao Sagar multipurpose irrigation project

n

Crucial irrigation facility for farmers of four coastal districts of West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam

n

Capacity: 46 tmcft

n

Impounds: Krishna River

n

Construction cost: `1,281 crore wikipedia.org

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NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

SP MLA’s SIL shot at

Man who threatened Tulsi to stay in jail

Asaram aides attack two

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man who allegedly threatened to decapitate the first Hindu-American lawmaker, Tulsi Gabbard, was ordered to remain in jail for now after a court appearance in San Diego, California. The accused Aniruddha Sherbow allegedly made two threats to murder the Democratic House member from Hawaii earlier this month, CNN reported Friday citing newly unsealed court documents. On Aug 1 Sherbow allegedly left an expletive-laden voicemail on Gabbard’s cell phone, with the message including a threat to her life.

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he son-in-law of a SP legislator and close associate of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was shot at in the Uttar Pradesh capital Friday night.The man was unhurt. Sameer, the son-in-law of member of legislative council Buqqal Nawaab, was driving past a shopping mall in the posh Gomtinagar area, when unidentified assailants opened fire at his car.

65 vehicles torched

GUILTY OR NOT?

GURGAON: Mobs opposed to cow slaughter Friday went on the rampage in two places in Haryana torching 65 vehicles and attacking police after intercepting trucks carrying cattle and cow flesh.

Security forces rushed reinforcements after a large crowd took over a section of the Delhi-Jaipur highway and blocked traffic in the evening and went on a violence spree, police said.

“Lot of damage has been done by miscreants,” Haryana’s Additional Director General of Police K.K. Sharma told IANS, referring to the arson in Rewari district.

He said a police post at Dharuhera in Rewari and some 50 police and civilian vehicles were set upon by the mob besides state-owned buses. All of them were set on fire. Such was the intensity of the violence that policemen fled their posts to save their lives.

“We are trying to restore traffic on the

policemen escort the juvenile (bottom L, in pink hood), accused in the December 2012 gang-rape of a student, to a court in New Delhi on August 31, 2013. A New Delhi court is due to hand down its verdict August 31 in the case of a teenager accused of taking part in the fatal gang-rape of a student, which sparked outrage across the country.

AFP PHOTO/PRAKAS H SINGH

5 militants killed in J&K The identities of the slain terrorists were being established. ‘The intruders were challenged, upon which they fired at the troops triggering an encounter,’ the army said.

SRINAGAR: Five infiltrating guerrillas were Saturday killed by the army in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, an army spokesman said.

“Alert troops detected a group of six heavily-armed terrorists trying to sneak into our side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Tangdhar sector” in the morning, Col. Brijesh Pandey of the army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps told IANS. “The intruders were challenged, upon which they fired at the troops triggering an encounter.”

upporters of Asaram Bapu allegedly attacked a TV reporter and a cameraman at his ashram as Rajasthan Police headed to Bhopal to interrogate the self-styled godman and make an arrest if he does not provide “concrete” defence. Asaram’s supporters attacked the two mediapersons, leaving them injured. Police said action will taken against the attackers.

“We killed five intruding terrorists in this operation but we have recovered six weapons so far from the site. This indicates that the sixth terrorist is also probably down,” the spokesman said.

A search is on in the area, and the identities of the slain terrorists were being established.

On Friday, troops of counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles and the special operations group (SOG) of the state police killed five foreign guerrillas of the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit in Ganderbal district.

MOBS OPPOSED TO COW SLAUGHTER FRIDAY WENT ON THE RAMPAGE IN TWO PLACES IN HARYANA TORCHING 65 VEHICLES AND ATTACKING POLICE AFTER INTERCEPTING TRUCKS CARRYING CATTLE AND COW FLESH. highway and other routes,” Sharma added.

The violence took place some 45 km from the Gurgaon bus stand after a truck allegedly carrying cow flesh and pelt overturned on the main road of the town.

Two other trucks carrying similar consignment were intercepted by people.

The frightened drivers abandoned their

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WORLD SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

1 dead in China quake

Bundchen guards on trial

Hell’s Angels admit murder

BEIJING: An earthquake struck a

PUNTARENAS: Three bodyguards

MONTREAL: Twenty-seven Hell’s

remote part of southwest China on Saturday near the popular tourist area of Shangri-La, killing at least one person, state media said. The 5.8 magnitude quake, which struck at 0004 GMT, was centred on Benzilan town in Yunnan province on the border with Sichuan province, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

working for American football star Tom Brady and his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen are to stand trial in Costa Rica after firing shots at two photographers during an altercation at the couple’s 2009 wedding. A court in Puntarenas, on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, set a trial date for September 23 against two security guards.

Angels members have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder in part of a wide-ranging Canadian prosecution of the notorious motorcycle gang’s activities, officials said Friday. More than 150 Hell’s Angels were arrested in 2009 after a major crackdown on five branches of the gang in eastern Canada.

Is the ‘special relationship’ finally coming to an end?

In the most humiliating defeat of Cameron’s three years in power, lawmakers voted to reject his call for British involvement in military strikes aimed at punishing the Syrian regime.

Katy Lee

LONDON: Britain and the United States insisted Friday that their “special relationship” was not under threat after the British parliament blocked Prime Minister David Cameron from joining US-led military action against Syria.

In the most humiliating defeat of Cameron’s three years in power, lawmakers voted late Thursday to reject his call for British involvement in military strikes aimed at punishing the Syrian regime for alleged chemical weapons use.

Cameron pledged to respect parliament’s wishes — leaving US President Barack Obama to pursue military action without his closest European ally, the country

Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday the expected US military action against Syria would be a “tailored response” to punish Bashar al-Assad’s regime for its use of chemical weapons. that gave US forces their strongest backing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But in a phone call between the two leaders, Obama assured Cameron that their relationship remained strong and that he “fully respected” the prime minister’s need to seek parliament’s approval before taking Britain into the conflict, according to Downing Street.

“The president stressed his appreciation of his strong friendship with the prime minister and of the strength, durability and

depth of the special relationship between our two countries," Cameron’s office said in a statement.

“They agreed that their cooperation on international issues would continue in the future and both reiterated their determination to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict by bringing all sides together."

The White House said in a statement: “As always, the United States values the special relationship with the United Kingdom, a close ally and friend.

“The president and prime minister agreed to continue to consult closely on Syria and the broad range of security challenges that our two countries face together."

But the British press fretted that Cameron’s defeat spelled doom for the so-called special relationship, amid fears that France — which is backing military action — is rapidly replacing Britain as America’s new best friend in Europe.

The Sun tabloid ran a mournful front page for Saturday read-

ing, “Death notice: the special relationship. Died at home after a sudden illness on Thursday.

“Funeral to be held at the French embassy in London," it added.

The Daily Mail tabloid’s front page read: “US snubs Britain — and gets cosy with the French."

MPs in the House of Commons voted 285 to 272 to defy Cameron on Thursday, in what is believed to be the first time a British government has lost a vote on military action since 1782.

Cameron had recalled MPs from their summer holidays for the emergency debate. In a severe blow to his authority, 30 of his own Conservatives voted against him.

Veteran politician Paddy Ashdown, a former special forces soldier, said Britain’s standing in the world had been hugely diminished by the decision not to take military action.

“It has a profound implications for our country. I think it diminishes our country hugely," the former Liberal Democrat leader told the BBC. Earlier he wrote on Twitter: “In 50 years trying to serve my country I have never felt so depressed/ashamed."

Robin Niblett, director of the Chatham House think-tank, said the “no” vote had dealt a “serious blow” to Britain’s relationship with the US, but that it did not signal the end of the alliance.

AFP

US judge to make Major construction at gay history N Korea’s rocket site

Australia vote will be close: PM

WASHINGTON: US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg is to officiate at a gay wedding on Saturday after voting in favour of same-sex marriage during landmark rulings in June, a spokesman said Friday.

Ginsburg, who at the age of 80 is the oldest justice on the highest US court and one of four progressive judges on the nine-member panel.

A Supreme Court spokeswoman said Ginsburg was to preside over the wedding of Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser and economist John Roberts.

The Washington Post quoted Ginsburg as saying she was looking forward to helping the couple tie the knot.

SEOUL: Fresh satellite imagery shows North Korea has

SYDNEY: Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

embarked on a major new construction programme at the facility where it launched a long-range rocket in December, a US research institute said.

The construction includes what could be a possible new launch pad for testing mobile ballistic missiles, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University posted on its 38 North website. Work has been under way at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, commonly referred to as Tongchang-ri, since the middle of the year, it said.

The station near the northwestern coast was the base for the communist state’s successful Unha-3 rocket launch in December, which was widely condemned in the West as a disguised long-range ballistic missile test.

Saturday said he believed the upcoming election would be closer than polls suggest, after a survey showed the government faced a wipeout in crucial seats.

The Labor leader is trailing conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott ahead of September 7 national polls, and a Newspoll published in The Weekend Australian revealed he would likely lose key marginal seats in New South Wales and Victoria.

“I believe that the Australian people in the course of the last week and 10 days of this campaign, will begin to lock on to their choices," Rudd said on Saturday as he campaigned in Darwin.

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COMMENT SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

EDITORIALS BARACK OBAMA and the question of Syria The US has never been shy to flex its military muscle; they did it grimly in Korea, incompetently in Vietnam, and found they needed a new type of sinew in Afghanistan and Iraq. And now they’re in the gym beefing up to take on Syria, or so it would seem.

For US President Barack Obama, boots on Arab soil again would sound the death knell to what he hopes will be his, liberal, progressive, and relatively peaceful legacy. But does he have any choice in the matter?

America’s critics will say yes: He can wait for a UN nod before so much as firing a firecracker in the general direction of Damascus.

America’s hawks and their ‘feathered friends’ across the globe, however, believe that Obama must act, and he must do so with strength and decisiveness.

America often finds itself in the unenviable position of being damned if they act, and damned if they don’t. That’s the price of being the world’s only superpower. But Syria is not a cut-and-dry issue. Even though ‘red lines’ may have been crossed, a number of the so-called rebels fighting against the Assad regime have strong links to al-Qaeda, and if the US succeeds in wiping the ruling regime of the map it will leave the terrorists with a playing field devoid of any obstacles.

The next problem is Iran and Hezbollah; it is extremely likely that both will fight by Assad’s side to some extent (what extent depends on who’s calling the shots in Iran).

Toppling the Assad regime will not be difficult — it’s beleaguered, ill-equipped and fighting on a shrinking battlefield — it is what comes after it has fallen that poses the real problem.

If Obama leaves this crisis alone, the carnage will continue, but it may well remain — for the most part — within Syria’s borders, and a political solution will need to be found. If, however, he misreads the situation, his attacks could plunge the entire region into a bloody chaos.

The cat and his friend Soul Curry SUMAA TEKUR

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he last week was quite eventful with a cat from the neighbourhood demanding quite a lot of attention. I was deeply engrossed in work one sunny afternoon when I heard a 'meow' from my home office door. I was startled and had to chase the cat out of the house.

I closed the windows, shook the distraction out of my system and started to work again. I made the mistake of leaving the window ajar just a little for some fresh air. In less than 20 minutes the cat was back in the house. This time it refused to be chased out. It dodged me for a good 15 minutes. I gave up and called the building security guard to take the cat away. Since that day, I’ve had to keep the windows and doors closed all the time just because I don’t want to be startled like that again.

THE GROWNUPS IN THE BUILDING COULD ONLY

THINK ABOUT WHAT A MESS THE CAT WOULD MAKE. WHO’D CLEAN UP AFTER THE CAT, WHAT IF IT HIDES BEHIND THE SOFA AND WE’D NEVER KNOW; WHAT IF THE CAT EATS UP THE FOOD IN THE KITCHEN, ETC. ALL THAT THIS LITTLE GIRL COULD THINK ABOUT IS HOW HAPPY THE CAT MADE HER IN THAT MOMENT. One night, the cat sat outside my door all night. I was moved and although my heart was tempted to keep the cat and give it a home, my practical side wouldn’t accept it because I travel too much, and keeping a pet at home is just not feasible for my lifestyle.

Over the course of the week, I heard stories of the cat entering neighbours’ homes and startling them. It entered bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms and shocked people, who were not expecting this furry visitor in their homes.

The guard was summoned and told to ensure that the cat does not wander about in the building. Fed up with the

naughty cat that dodged him all the time, the guard took the cat and left it in the neighbouring building.

The cat then started to enter the homes of these next-door neighbours. The guard from that building left the cat back in our building. The two guards had a huge row and the cat watched, quite amused at all the attention it was receiving. The cat continues to enter homes here, and many people have put up barricades and netted windows to keep the cat out.

One evening, I was stepping out when I saw a neighbour’s two-year-old daughter laughing and playing near the guard’s room at the building entrance. I

stopped to watch what entertained her so much, and found (not to my surprise) that she was playing with the cat. The cat was running in and out of the guard’s room and running around the little girl.

She laughed loudly and played happily.

The grownups in the building could only think about what a mess the cat would make.

Who’d clean up after the cat, what if it hides behind the sofa and we’d never know; what if the cat eats up the food in the kitchen, etc.

All that this little girl could think about is how happy the cat made her in that moment.

It’s always wonderful to watch kids react to life around them the way adults would like to, but find it difficult.

To live in the moment, to not worry, to think only about the right-now, to feel more than you think, are all concepts that we’re taught in order to make life more meaningful. Here was this little girl, who lived these concepts so effortlessly. It’s time to pause and let things be, for once.

9

COMMENT SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Where nature still rules Quirky-side-Up ARPITA BHAWAL

N

VISWAPRASAD RAJU

Urban sketches

School bus

ot ravaged entirely by commercialism and felling yet, Amboli rests peacefully in the Sahayadri Hills of Western India at an altitude of 690 meters above sea level. It is the last hill station before the coastal highlands of Goa, in the south of Maharashtra. The place has been deemed one of the world’s ‘eco hot-spots’ abounding in a large variety of flora and fauna, large and small, and many still getting discovered as we speak.

Now imagine my trepidation (as ridiculous as it sounds) as a first timer, whose sole fear was leeches. The idea of trekking through mulch forest floors crawling with blood suckers, wearing rain protection gear while handling a Canon 550D with a rented Marco lens in the rain, which under no circumstances could get damaged or wet, didn’t exactly sound appealing. Heck, I didn’t even care about photographing frogs.

Against my natural inclination, I set off with Darter Photography’s Wildlife photographer, MV Shreeram, whose zeal towards conservation perhaps comes second to his passion for photography. Our group of five

set off from Bangalore on an overnight bus to Belgaum, and drove 68 kilometres from there by car to Amboli. We checked into Whistling Woods, a homely resort in Sawantwadi, at the edge of the forest with top-notch hospitality and delicious food.

Of course, it was pouring.

Have you ever been to a rainforest? It is not for the fainthearted. For some, it is overpowering — the weather is wet, the layers of trees intimidating, the forest floor impenetrable with rotting leaves. For some others, like it was for me, it is a moment of truth.

Aside from battling physical hardship, a nasty fall and fear of leech bites, when you see a tiny creature no bigger than 4mm for the first time through a Macro lens, it is an indefinable feeling — something like first love. You

are likely to be stunned at the unbelievable beauty of creation, magnified and more powerful in its impact than the big game of the Serengeti. Or even your own existence.

Rainforests have such a strong identity in comparison to the deciduous forests that they force you to look at your environment with new eyes. Every beetle, toad, bug, snail, or snake acquires a character of its own in the wild, unlike in textbooks or the Internet. With every arduous step, the rainforest unearths a terrifyingly simple yet complex life-support system. How this matrix works?

Seeking and photographing tiny creatures in their natural habitat where Nature still rules over you is both thrilling and terrifying, morphing you into an all-thumbs and feet person. It

tests you. For example, you won’t understand why it is absolutely imperative to wait for a one-centimetre-sized mud crab to emerge from a hole in the rock just long enough for you to take a picture, unless you’ve plastered yourself on that rock and stood still for several minutes in the pouring rain. You can’t possibly fathom why grown men would lie on a bed of mud under a steady drizzle, and almost risk falling into the marshes to capture a close-up image of the Bull Frog (because it would be bad Wildlife photography not to capture its eyes)

until you’ve done that.

What you need to ask yourself: Am I likely to see a Malabar Pit Viper or a Malabar Gliding Frog or an Electric Blue Beetle in my living room ever so up close that I can almost smell its breath? (Well, obviously not).

Visiting a rainforest at least once in your life is a much better way to transform your perspective about human existence than reading self-help books.

Rainforests are gifts from Nature that can’t be wrapped and delivered in your home. You have to go to them and dive right in. Where else will Nature rule?

10

BUSINESS SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Mexican tequila for China GUADALAJARA: Mexico on Friday sent its first shipment of 100 per cent blue agave tequila to China, hoping to finally break into what sellers say could soon be their second biggest market.

The shipment consisted of more than 70,000 bottles of the highest quality tequila, with a total value of more than $400,000, according to the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT).

Delta, Virgin get initial nod

Trader fined $500,000

WASHINGTON: Delta Air Lines and

NEW YORK: A US court ordered a for-

Virgin Atlantic Airways won tentative US approval for antitrust immunity for their proposed transatlantic joint venture, officials said. The Department of Transportation said it had recommended approving a request by the two airlines for protection from prosecution over antitrust issues, saying the tie-up would likely increase competition.

Microsoft joins Google in suit Microsoft and Google filed suits in federal court in June, arguing a right to make public more information about user data requests made under the auspices of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft on Friday said that a battle to shed light on secret US government requests for Internet user data would play out in court after failed peace talks.

Microsoft and Google filed suits in federal court in June, arguing a right to make public more information about user data requests made under the auspices of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The technology titans agreed six times to extend the deadline for the government to respond to the lawsuits, allowing time for negotiations that “ended in failure," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said in a blog post.

“To followers of technology issues, there are many days when Microsoft and Google stand apart," Smith said. “But today our two companies stand together... We believe we have a clear right under the US Constitution to share more information with the public."

Silicon Valley Internet titans want to be able to provide users with better insight into what information the government gets its hands on.

The issue caught fire after Edward Snowden, a former IT contractor at the National Security Agency (NSA), revealed that US authorities were tapping into Internet user data, sometimes using national security letters that bar companies from telling anyone about the requests.

US officials on Thursday said they would begin publishing annual tallies of national security requests for Internet user data, but that step is not enough, according to Smith.

“For example, we believe it is vital to publish information that clearly shows the number of national security demands for user content, such as the text of an email," Smith said. He argued that, along with providing numbers of requests, disclosures should provide context regarding what is being sought.

“We believe it’s possible to publish these figures in a manner that avoids putting security at risk," Smith said. “With the failure of our recent negotiations, we will move forward with litigation in the hope that the courts will uphold our right to speak more freely."

While US authorities insist the surveillance programs are entirely lawful and have helped AFP thwart dozens of terror attacks.

mer Goldman Sachs trader to pay $500,000 for fraud for fabricating and concealing $8.3 million in trades from his former employer, officials said.

Matthew Marshall Taylor will also be permanently barred from trading and registering securities under the US court order, said the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Apple would not specify how much they are paying for old iPhones, but they can fetch $300 or so depending on the model at an array of websites or US consumer electronics shops that buy handsets.

Apple phone ‘trade-in’ begins

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple on Friday began letting US ipomoea owners trade in their smartphones for credit toward buying new models.

The California company’s trade-in program kicked off in the wake of unconfirmed reports of a September 10 event at which Apple will unveil new iPhones, with rumors ranging from a gold handset to a low-price version aimed at emerging markets. “iPhones hold great value," Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette said in an email to AFP. “So Apple Retail Stores are launching a new program to assist customers who wish to bring in their previous-generation iPhone for reuse or recycling."

She would not specify how much Apple is paying for old iPhones, but they can fetch $300 or so depending on the model at an array of websites or US consumer electronics shops that buy handsets.

The Wall Street Journal earlier this month reported that Apple had asked its Taiwan-based supplier, Hon Hai Precision, to begin shipping two new versions of the iPhone in September, including a lower-cost model.

Speculation has centered around whether Apple will shift its strategy of focusing on premium devices priced at the highend of the market to include a lower-cost handset appealing to people with tight bud-

gets. A survey by Gartner said Apple’s share of the smartphone market worldwide fell to 14.2 per cent in the second quarter, while Samsung’s rose to 31.7 percent. Samsung has found global success with smartphones powered by Google’s free Android software, which now dominates the market.

As the smartphone market in the United States and other Western countries matures, companies may have better luck encouraging upgrades rather than reaching out to first-time buyers, according to Gartner analyst Van Baker.

Motives for Apple’s trade-in program likely include keeping iPhone users loyal to the smart-

phones as well as the lucrative iTunes shop for digital music, films, and books.

“Keeping people in the fold is what it is all about," Baker said. “The question for me is whether it will be competitive with programs that already exist in the market." Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry saw the trade-in program as Apple delivering product management instead of product innovation.

Analysts and Apple fans have been watching whether chief Tim Cook will live up to the legacy of company co-founder Steve Jobs when it comes to wowing the world with culturechanging devices.

“Tim Cook’s Apple is very different from Steve Jobs’s Apple," Chowdhry said. “This is not the thing customers are looking for."

He said Apple lovers are more likely wondering “Where is my iWatch” and “Where is my Apple TV." Cook took over as chief of the Cupertino, California company in 2011 as Jobs stepped down to grapple with illness that took his life later that year. Cook was Apple’s chief operating officer until his elevation to AFP CEO.

Ford recalls 370,000 vehicles Company says possible corrosion of the steering shaft is the reason.

NEW YORK: Ford said Friday it was recalling about 370,000 vehicles in North America due to possible corrosion of the steering shaft that could cause a loss of steering.

The recall, affecting the 2005-2011 model years of the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car vehicles, will take place in high-corrosion US states and Canadian provinces, Ford said in a statement.

About 355,000 of the recalled cars are located in the US and some 15,000 in Canada.

The vehicles are affected by deicing chemicals used on roads during winter months.

Ford said it would replace the lower intermediate steering shaft and, if necessary, replace the upper intermediate steering shaft.

The corrosion problem “may potentially result in loss of steering," the US automaker said.

“We are not aware of any accidents or injuries attributed to this condition," it said.

Ford said that any customers who have concerns regarding their vehicles’ steering would also be able to have their vehicles inspected and AFP repaired if necessary.

11

FOCUS SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

The Japanese chill out in haunted houses Obon religious ceremonies are based on the popular belief that ancestral spirits spend a few days on Earth in the month of August.

Antoine Bouthier Agence France-Presse

TOKYO: A shiver down the spine is one way of keeping cool during summer in Japan — traditionally viewed as a time when the spirit world makes its presence felt.

August sees millions of Japanese return to their home towns for the Obon season, in which relatives gather to temporarily welcome back the spirits of their dead forebears.

Despite its association with the deceased, Obon is a cheerful period that frequently involves fireworks and dancing in “yukata", a light summer kimono.

But it’s also a time for ghost stories, with dozens of temporary haunted houses opening up across the country to mark the season.

“Goosebumps can be very refreshing," said Sayaka Makabe, a schoolgirl who came to witness

FAMILIES CRAFT SMALL ‘HORSES’ FROM CUCUMBERS AND TOOTHPICKS, SYMBOLISING A FORM OF TRANSPORT FOR SPIRITS TO COME FROM THE NETHERWORLD. “The Cursed Tooth” at Tokyo Dome, which tells the story of a woman driven to madness after sacrificing her once pearly white teeth for her child and has been condemned to pull them out one-by-one.

To allow her to rest in peace, visitors must pluck a black tooth from her mouth and take it to the exit. As her screams echo around the building, a loudspeaker relays the public’s fearful cries to those queuing up to get in.

Three small children cling to their father, Ryuta Sato, in terror as they stand in front of an old woman with a knife stuck in her throat, surrounded by pools of fake blood.

“I used to visit these kinds of things when I was a kid," said 42year-old Sato, who admitted he was more scared than he was letting on.

“The dead come back to the human world in August. This is a period in which all kinds of terrifying things are supposed to happen,"

said Hirofumi Gomi, the creator of “The Cursed Tooth", who is credited with setting up dozens of other haunted houses around the country.

The tradition goes back to the Edo period (1603-1868), when people packed Kabuki theatres in August to see ghost stories.

Obon religious ceremonies are based on the popular belief that ancestral spirits spend a few days on Earth in the month of August.

Families craft small “horses” from cucumbers and toothpicks, symbolising a form of transport for spirits to come from the netherworld.

As the festival ends, small boats with lanterns are set adrift, taking souls back to heaven.

“I have always practised this tradition because I think my parents really come back, I sometimes feel their presence with me," said Yumiko Tominaga, visiting a cemetery in Hitachiota, north of Tokyo, with her husband to sweep the graves of his ancestors.

“When I die, if I go back to Earth, I will certainly be happy if my children greet me the same AFP way."

PICK YOUR

@

Across Stores

ities Twin C

12

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK GetGoing etGoing is a new plane-ticket site with a difference: it caters to folks who are willing to consider multiple destinations if doing so might save them some money.

G

VIDEOGAME REVIEW

APP OF THE WEEK

PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES 2

Homestyler

A

utodesk's Homestyler app is aimed at anyone thinking of redecorating their house. It gets you to take a photo of a room, then fiddle about with 3D models of furniture to see how they might look,

The zombies once again storm the yard and ignite garden warfare in this sequel to the quirky, one-of-a-kind strategy game Plants vs.

Zombies. If you enjoyed Plants vs. Zombies and don’t hate the freemium model, then this is the game for you.

Google’s smartphone plan has Wimm Google-acquired WIMM Labs not only provides the talent and technology to build a smartwatch, but actually an Android-based app platform tailored for consumers’ wrists.

G

oogle has some smartwatch development projects of its own, and it quietly snapped up Los Altos, Calif.based WIMM Labs last year to kickstart these efforts. WIMM Labs not only gives Google the talent and technology to build a smartwatch, but actually an Android-based app platform tailored for consumers’ wrists.

WIMM Labs was incubated around five years ago by Pillar Ventures, the investment company of former Rambus President Dave Morring, who subsequently became WIMM’s CEO. The company first developed an Androidbased developer platform for wearable displays, and then followed up in late 2011 with its own, developer-centric smartwatch dubbed the WIMM One. But about a year ago, WIMM Labs suddenly went dark. The company deleted its Twitter accounts, stopped sales of the WIMM One, and published the

following message on its website: “During the summer of 2012, WIMM Labs entered into an exclusive, confidential relationship for our technology and ceased sales of the Developer Preview Kit (…) We’d like to thank all of our developers for their interest and willingness to experiment with our platform and look forward to exciting advances in the wearable market.”

At the time, some publications speculated that Apple may have snatched up WIMM Labs to bolster its iWatch efforts, but GigaOM has now learned that the buyer actually was Google.

The acquisition was facilitated

by Woodside Capital Partners, and a source told me that at least some of WIMM’s staff stayed on to join Google. Most of WIMM’s senior staff still list their original company on their Linkedin profile, but a few have updated it with a mention of their new employer. A Google spokesperson

confirmed the acquisition Friday afternoon.

At Google, WIMM’s employees are working with the Android team, which may seem natural since WIMM’s platform was based on Android, but it is actually a pretty good indicator of the role this acquisition is playing for Google. The company chose not to turn its smartwatch efforts into a Google X moonshot project that may take years to see the light of day, but instead brought it to the division that is making the world’s most popular smartphone operating system. In other words: In the nascent world of smartwatches, Google means business.

WIMM is an interesting acquisition for Google because the company didn’t just develop a smartwatch device with a limited number of apps. It actually launched its very own developer program to let third-party developers build what it called “micro apps” — applications that were

Mobile phones vs watches

W

IMM is an interesting acquisition for Google because the company didn’t just develop a smartwatch device with a limited number of apps. It actually launched its very own developer programme to let third-party developers build what is called “micro apps” — applications that were meant to provide more than just notifications for your smartphone, but actually work independently from the device in your pocket and provide additional functionality. (For more on the differences between mobile phones and smart watches, check out Mobilize Conference in October, where Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky will be speaking about the future of wearable computing.)

meant to provide more than just notifications for your smartphone, but actually work independently from the device in your pocket and provide additional functionality.

WIMM’s beta app store, which is still publicly accessible on the web, showcases a couple dozen of these apps. There’s an app that can be used to remotely control your Android phone, and, for example, make phone calls, launch music playlists or simply silence your phone.

Next week, Samsung is set to announce its own Gear smartwatch, which reportedly will come with a 2.5 inch OLED display and 10 hours of battery life.

Samsung’s Gear is expected to one day compete with Apple’s much-rumored iWatch. Throw in a Google-made competitor, and you can be sure that we are going to see a whole new marketing war that will make Samsung’s smartphone ads against Apple look like child’s play.

13

ANIMAL KINGDOM SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

PET NEWS In attack mode

D

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Terror bird fact

eception occurs even in the deepest parts of oceans, as scientists have just discovered that a deep-sea squid pretends to be a small animal, luring prey ever closer before making a deadly attack.

Labradors join

N

ew research presented at the Goldschmidt conference in Florence says that according to the fossilised remains of terror birds, the creature was most likely not a meat eater.

F

lorida officials trying to eradicate the giant African land snail, one of the world's most destructive invasive species, plan to deploy a new weapon in the battle — labrador retrievers.

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

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

TOO CUTE TO KILL? US split on suburban deer While beloved by many, Bambi is blamed not only for accidents — 1.2 million between July 2011 and June 2012 according to one estimate — but also a loss of vegetation and spread of disease.

S

econds after Mike Braun spotted the deer in his headlights, his six-day-old car had $8,000 worth of damage, including a punctured radiator.

“It could have been a lot worse,” said the consultant, who lives in the US capital, as he recalled his drive home from the airport late one night in June.

Luckily, Braun wasn’t hurt and the deer darted off.

Close calls such as this highlight the tension between humans and their hoofed neighbors.

While beloved by many, Bambi is blamed not only for accidents — 1.2 million between July 2011 and June 2012 according to one estimate — but also a loss of vegetation and even the spread of disease in America.

Amid safety qualms about shooting rifles in residential areas, communities are getting creative and turning to bow hunting and even birth control to keep down deer numbers in towns and suburbs.

Near Washington, some homeowners, irked by deer lunching on their landscaping or worried about Lyme disease — transmitted by the deer tick — call on archery experts to carry out culls.

Occasionally in camouflage, hunters use portable tree stands and modern equipment that is a far cry from the traditional Robin Hood-type bows and arrows, said Gregg Brown, spokesman for Suburban Whitetail Management of Northern Virginia.

Shots are taken from an elevated position and at close range, sometimes after a long wait.

“It is proven to be very safe,” Brown said.

But critics argue that deer can die a slow and painful death and that arrows might go astray, endangering people and pets.

BULLETS, A BETTER BET?

“I think the question that should be asked is do we have to kill?

Why can’t we find better solutions that keep those deer alive?” said Anja Heister of In Defense of Animals.

Her California-based group, together with others, took legal action against a decision to shoot deer in Rock Creek Park, Washington’s green lung. Twenty were culled in March, with follow-up planned for the fall.

“Over the last 20 years, the park’s white-tailed deer population has grown so large that the deer are eating nearly all tree seedlings, preventing forest sustainability,” the National Park Service said.

The activists, who recently turned in a legal petition with what they called a new expert analysis that casts “serious doubt” on justification for the killings, point to birth control as a humane way for handling such situations.

“My preference would be to let those animals be,” Heister

AMID SAFETY QUALMS ABOUT RIFLES, COMMUNITIES ARE TURNING TO BOW HUNTING AND EVEN BIRTH CONTROL TO KEEP DOWN DEER NUMBERS IN SUBURBS. said of culls in general. But “the next best thing in my mind is, yes, contraception.”

BAMBI

BIRTH CONTROL

Near New York City, a community is preparing to give it a try.

“If it works, it would be great for us because we will finally have a tool that will not prompt a reaction out of the public — a negative reaction,” said Hastings-on-Hudson Mayor Peter Swiderski.

“It will be humane and it will also be a terrific alternative

for literally the thousands other communities like ours that also face this. We are not alone.”

The village of two square miles has roughly 8,000 residents — and somewhere between 70 and 100 deer, he said.

These, he added, cause about a dozen car crashes a year and disappearance of underbrush.

“It used to be if a tree fell down, there were saplings to take its place,” he said. But now, “other than some raspberry bushes and weeds, nothing else much survives.”

The immunocontraceptive — consisting of porcine zona pellucida from pig ovaries — is administered as a vaccine, said Allen Rutberg, director of Tufts University’s Center for Animals and Public Policy, who is working with Swiderski.

Around since the 1970s, it was first developed for potential human use, he added. While it didn’t work out for that purpose, it has proven effective on deer in different locations, as well as on other animals. “What we are looking at is a technique that people in the suburbs can be comfortable with,” he said.

Braun, reflecting on his scare, suggested the best way to deal with the deer dilemma was to keep a cool head and consider all the facts.

“You have to sit down and figure out without the emotion what’s actually going to work, what’s going to not ... put the deer in any unnecessary pain,” he said. AFP

14

BOOKS SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

SHORT READS Title: Night Film Author: Marisha Pessl Publisher: Random House Publishing Group When a beautiful young woman is found dead, her death is ruled a suicide. But veteran detective Scott McGrath is not so sure, especially considering the deceased was the daughter of reclusive director Stanislas Cordova, maker of dark movies.

Title: Lawrence in Arabia Author: Scott Anderson Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group The Arab Revolt against the Turks in World War One was ignored to a large extent by Wester players. How the modern Middle East was formed is narrated brilliantly through the stories of four men whose actions changed the world.

Title: The Reason I Jump Author: Naoki Higashida (Author) Publisher: Random House Naoki Higashida is a highly intelligent 13-year-old who is very charming and very selfaware. He is also autistic. His book gives a rare insight into the world of autism, and is translated by author David Mitchell, whose son is also autistic.

Title: MaddAddam Author: Margaret Atwood Publisher: Nan A Talese Oryx and Crane, The Year of the Flood and now MaddAddam — Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction trilogy comes to a brilliant end. Her easy style, her comfort with dystopia and oodles of humour and romance make MaddAddam a winner.

An Oxford fantasy

Where JK Rowling weaves together a magical world of witchcraft and wizardry, Samantha Shannon has for us a dark, supernatural dystopian fantasy.

PADMINI C

padmini.cv@postnoon.com

L

et me start by answering the most obvious question — is Samantha Shannon the next JK Rowling? That would be an unequivocal no. Yes, The Bone Season is first of seven books published by Bloomsbury and Shannon is British and blonde, but that is as much of an resemblance you'll ever likely to see between the two.

Where JK Rowling weaves together a magical world of witchcraft and wizardry, Samantha Shannon has for us a dark, supernatural dystopian fantasy.

The year is 2059. Nineteen year old Paige Mahoney lives in a London that's being ruled by a totalitarian regime known as the Scion. By the nature of being a dream walker (among the rarest in the order of) clairvoyants, she's a criminal and an outlaw.

An expert at evading law, Paige has already made a name for herself in the criminal underworld working for the mime-lord Jaxon, who runs the renowned syndicate known as The Seven Seals.

Her carefully laid-out life is suddenly overturned one day when she's apprehended and

shipped to the lost city of Oxford now known as Sheol I — a penal colony which is now being ruled by a race of otherworldly beings known as The Rephaim.

Every 10 years, a harvest of the best "voyants" takes place and arrives in Sheol as part of the "Bone Season." (Hunger Games, anybody?) Paige is reaped as part of Bone Season XX. The recruits serve as slaves

to the inhumanly attractive Rephs and are used to fight another race of otherworldly monsters known as The Emim (think Night Watch fighting the Others/White Walkers in GoT).

Except, the Reph are not as selfless as the Scion seems to think.

But to the point, on the account of having the incredibly rare talent of dreamwalking,

Paige is selected by the "bloodconsort" Reph known as Arcturus, The Warden for "training". Needless to say, the Warden soon becomes Paige's overlord, mentor and more.

As with all dystopia involving teenage heroines, there's an improbable romance, an inevitable rebellion in the rising, a victory of sorts and then of course, an incomplete ending and a subsequent sequel in the works.

In this, Shannon doesn't diverge from the plot. She has all the prerequisites to become a publishing phenomenon as has already been shown, what with her seven-part young adult fantasy/dystopia series (in itself enough reason to be a hit now-adays) warranting a six-figure advance from Bloomsbury, a movie-deal with Andy Serkis' Imaginarium and an entry into The NYT Bestseller list last week.

Yet, if you were to forget for just a minute all the hype surrounding the work and the author (who's just turned 21) and judge the book solely on its own merit, it's a fairly decent read.

But just that, decent. Have I seen better? Yes. Have I seen worse, most certainly.

Rich, fast-paced, engrossing in bits and pieces, well-detailed, it's nicely put together. But where The Bone Season fails is in the ultimate fantasy-fiction

test — am I composing death threats to the writer, editor and publisher demanding that the next edition in the series be handed over to me even before I finish reading the last page of this one?

That I'm writing here and not shooting indignant emails to any of the said parties tells you enough, no?

Name The Bone Season Author Samantha Shannon Pages 466 Publisher Bloomsbury India

WHAT’S SELLING Landmark’s best in fiction

Walden’s best in non-fiction

New York Times’ best in fiction

New York Times’ best in non-fiction

n Like it happened yesterday by Ravinder Singh

n An Uncertain Glory by J Dreze & Amartya Sen

n The Cuckoo’s Calling

by Robert Galbraith

n The Liberty Amendments by Mark R Levin

n The Cuckoo’s calling by Robert Galbraith

n Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

n Rose Harbor in bloom by Debbie Macomber

n Zealot by Reza Aslan

n From Smart To Wise by P Kaipa & N Radjou

n Mistress by James Patterson and David Ellis

n Princess by Jean Sasson

n Faster by Ankit Fadia

n The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

n Secret of the Nagas by Amish n And the mountains echoed by Khaled Hosseini n Immortals of Meluha by Amish

n Dongri To Dubai

by S Hussain Zaidi

n High Heat by Lee Child

n Orange is the new Black by Piper Kerman n Proof of heaven

by Eben Alexander

15

BOOKS SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Civil Rights struggle brought black literature to fore

In the half century since Martin Luther King’s march on Washington came to symbolise the Civil Rights struggle, black literature has found its place at the heart of American culture.

Raphaëlle Picard Agence France-Presse

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efore the era of King’s march, which was marked on Wednesday when huge crowds returned to the scene of his speech on the National Mall, books by African Americans were little known and rarely studied or celebrated.

But, as America learned to accept black citizens into its political mainstream and social life, so its literary canon was enriched by previously ignored or newly inspired authors.

These voices in turn contributed to a national conversation in which writers and thinkers were grappling with the history of slavery and segregation and with the realities of modern-day racism and economic exclusion.

“When I was studying at Stanford in 1962, we didn’t study black writers in American literature,” said Carolyn Karcher, a professor at Temple University, Philadelphia.

“There were no black students or teachers, or very few,” she added, recalling her days as an undergraduate in California.

“Today it would be impossible to follow this syllabus without studying African American writing.

The Civil Rights movement inspired young blacks, who protested on campus for change.”

Since those days, some black Americans have won literature’s highest honors, including Toni Morrison, who

won a Pulitzer Prize for Beloved in 1988 and the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993.

Writers such as Alice Walker, Pulitzer-winning author of the 1982 novel The Color Purple, and Terry McMillan of Waiting to Exhale, have won huge sales as well as critical kudos.

And, in addition to enchanting casual readers, the works of African Americans have become subjects for academic study.

In 1968, inspired by poet Sonia Sanchez, San Francisco University opened the first school of Black Studies, a model soon copied on campuses

around the country.

But the Civil Rights struggle did not simply open some space for black writing to be seen, it also inspired a generation of authors.

King himself, and the “I have a dream” refrain of his most famous speech, appears in several essays and books, particularly after his 1968 assassination turned him into a martyr as well as a hero of the struggle.

These works range from John Williams 1970 essay The King God Didn't Save to Ho Che Anderson’s graphic novel King.

Walker addressed the Civil Rights struggle in her 1976 novel Meridian, its final chapter Free at Last named after a famous phrase from King's 1963 address.

“King’s status as the central figure in a narrative of uplift and martyrdom has been cemented for two full generations,” said Greg Carr, of Howard University in Washington.

“He is rarely engaged critically, serving often as a salvific figure, mentioned in passing as a symbol of authenticity, purity or even, in protest fiction, derision.”

Among the small body of works mocking King were those of the Black Arts Movement, which flourished between 1965 and 1974, which attacked King's pacifism and celebrated rival black leader Malcom X’s more aggressive stance.

“At least since 1940, when Richard Wright’s novel Native Son became a best-selling success, African American writers have played an increasingly critical role in the national conversation about race and American democracy,” said James Miller, professor of 20th African American literature at George Washington University.

“In the process, they have considerably extended and deepened the boundaries of American literature and culture.

Birmingham to open largest public library

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he Library of Birmingham, the largest public library in Europe and set to open to the public September 3, is likely to attract over three million visitors a year in addition to online visitors.

Located in Birmingham’s Centenary Square, the library has cost $293 million, Xinhua reported.

A programme called ‘Discovery Seasons’ has been planned to celebrate the opening of the library under which a number of exciting events and activities for all ages will run until the end of 2013.

Designed by a team led by Netherlands-based architectural practice Mecanoo, the library is a flagship project of Birmingham City Council’s 20-

THE LIBRARY INCLUDES ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE

SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION, WHICH COMPRISES 43,000 BOOKS.

year Big City Plan.

The library is set to transform the city’s library services and become a major cultural destination, housing Birmingham’s world-class collections of archives, photography and rare books as well as a million printed volumes, the largest number held by any public library in Britain.

At 31,000 sq m, the 10-level library is around 20 per cent larger than the old Central Library building, sharing a spacious entrance and foyer as well as a flexible studio theatre with the Birmingham Repertory theatre. It will form a new cultural heart of the city, along with Symphony Hall.

The library is unique for the range of its internationally important archives, heritage and photography collections.

The library includes one of the world’s most comprehensive Shakespeare collection, which comprises 43,000 books, including copies of the First, Second, Third and Fourth folio editions and many rare, early and valuable editions of indiIANS vidual plays.

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WOMEN SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Dames Bond: “When dames bond, dames thrive” is the motto of this networking site for women in business. It features an extensive business directory of female services.

Mom Invented: Tamara Monosoff launched this online community for entrepreneurial moms. It supports women inventors with business advice and product licensing opportunities.

Jezebel: Owned by Gawker Media, a must-visit blog about celebrity, sex and fashion that bites into the media’s representation of women and critiques gender in pop culture.

On a healthy high

Chain-smoker Kripa Sagar kicked the butt when she got hooked to running.

Through her ‘Take a Breath of Fresh Air’ campaign, she’s running a full marathon in every state to spread the message.

AMY ROSE THOMAS

amyrose.t@postnoon.com

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here are millions around the world struggling with the idea of kicking the butt and making heartfelt promises to do so, only to relapse within days and succumb to the lure of a cigarette.

Not so long ago, Kripa Sagar was also one among them. In spite of many attempts, Kripa couldn’t help but continue with this habit that gave her a momentary high. She lost one of her close friends and later, a family member, to lung cancer and she knew she was at a crossroads. That’s when she started running.

“The first day I decided to go for a run, I ran for 1.4km. I was very excited. And as I got hooked to running, my desire to smoke reduced drastically. And the day came when I could throw away the cigarettes and I could live without the cigarette

high. I started to get accustomed to a different high, a longer, much healthier one. The longer I ran, the longer it lasted. I spoke to my runner friends and they had the same story to tell. When I asked around to doctors and psychologists, I realized there is a scientific reason for this high. According to them, the chemicals that the body releases when you smoke and when you run are the same.

This is when I realised it is

As I got hooked to running, my desire to smoke reduced drastically. The day came when I could throw away the cigarettes and I could live without the cigarette high.

I started to get accustomed to a different high, a longer, much healthier one.

Kripa Sagar

essential to spread this message around the world so that more people will know a better way to quit smoking without the pain and suffering, all the while enjoying a similar, healthy high,” she says.

This is the story of how the campaign ‘Take a Breath of Fresh Air’ took root. As part of the campaign, Kripa will be running a marathon each month touching all the states and union territories. Her first was in Hyderabad when she took part in Airtel Hyderabad Marathon. Next is scheduled to be held in Karnataka.

“Since we do not have any sponsors for the campaign, I am handling one month at a time. After Andhra Pradesh, I got to know about the Celebration Mysore marathon to be held in September. As opposed to the 21 km, I run for 42 kms. I put in a request with the authorities and they have agreed to comply. In the month of October, I am planning to run in Shillong or Chennai,” she says.

She says that taking up running has helped her to become calmer and confident.

And when she is distressed, instead of going for a smoke, she feels like going for a run.

“There are many times I am surprised at the changes in my life. For the past two and half years since I gave up smoking, I have become a changed woman. Before, the only exercise I got was changing channels on my remote but now, I wake up early each day to go for a run. For the next four years, I plan to go around the country to spread the message of taking up running to kick the butt through ‘Take a Breath of Fresh Air’ campaign,” the Mumbai resident says.

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SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013 1

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CHEERY TIMES

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Members of Pink Ladies Club had a field day at The Blue Door where they took part in a treasure hunt event. Spotted were Manisha Kapoor, Manjari and others.

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9 1 Ruchi 2 Gurmeet 3 Bhavana 4 Shailaja 5 Shesham 6 Sheetal 7 Manisha Kapoor 8 Manjari, Reena 9 Nikita 10 Rachel

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State of the art

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IAS officer Chandana Khan inaugurated solo exhibition of Anisha Tandon at State Art Gallery on Friday.

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1 Anisha Tandon 2 Shirisha 3 Priyanka 4 Uma

Chigurupati 5 Jyotsna 6 Usha 7 Nirmala

Aggarwal 8 Dimple, Amit 9 Komal 10 Chandana Khan 11 Pooja

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RELATIONSHIPS SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

I AM ALL EARS

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posted an ad online looking for a sexual relationship. I have been in a relationship with a wonderful person for over two years and I love her very much. I got responses but never replied and never followed through but she discovered it when going through my phone after a fight.

Now our relationship is in serious trouble.

Dear troubled kid, What needs to be done now is rebuild the trust and fix your communication and lack of a healthy sex life! But yes, you will agree that what you did was stupid and makes you seem like one who lives for the thing that moves within your pants. So she is justified, but on the other hand it’s both your problem as somewhere there has been a breakdown. Rekindle your romance.

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eep down, men may not bask in the glory of their successful wives or girlfriends. While this is not true of women, men’s subconscious self-esteem may be bruised when their spouse or girlfriend excels, says a study published by the American Psychological Association. However, women’s self-esteem was not affected by their male partners’ successes or failures.

Source: All Science Daily

Papa was a rolling stone FLEME VARKEY

fleme.v@postnoon.com

Fathers’ extremely long working hours can be detrimental to their sons wellbeing, says a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. Some researchers on the other hand say, both parents’ relationships are important. We dig deeper.

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he longitudinal study is based on data of more than 1,400 children in Western Australia.

Around 19 percent of Western Australian fathers work 55 or more hours per week when their children are 5 years of age. Almost 20 percent of Australian fathers work so long when their children are 8 years old.

Boys whose fathers worked 55 or more hours per week later exhibited more delinquent and aggressive behaviour than boys whose fathers worked fewer hours. Their fathers’ long work hours did not appear to affect girls’ behaviours. Mothers’ work hours did not seem to matter, although few Australian mothers worked long hours and no firm conclusions can be drawn yet from this com-

parison. The study has been following children from pregnancy to adulthood.

Pallavi J*, mother to only child gives us some insight into the matter, “As a mum, there are only certain things I can do. My sixyear-old’s father is usually away on business and he gets to see his dad quite sparingly in a week itself. I try and keep him occupied and allow him extra playtime, but how can I make up for the time he is missing?

Often he asks where his dad is and insists on going to the park, I too work, so that does not happen most of the time and so now I have been noticing how his father’s absence is affecting him. He avoids going out to the park in the evening, sits and mopes around all day, it’s when he sees his dad that he lights up. As parents we are trying to give the best of our time but we have to

work as well. It’s only when his teacher at school told me about the drop in his academic performance and his changed behaviour that we got to know how badly he was affected.”

Pallavi’s case can be taken as an example for many nuclear families out there. With both parents working, children are left in crèches or day care centres to keep themselves busy while the formative years of their childhood go unwatched by their parents.

Keeping in mind the Australian study of family relationships, we asked a sociologist about the truth in this finding, PG Joseph, a professor in sociology, based in Canberra says, “This study does hold some truth to it. Though I would not say that mothers’ absence did not affect children. But if we were to focus on the bond between father and

sons then in case of India, we can find some truth. A boy looks up to his father in many ways for support — emotional, mental, psychological, physical etc... He looks up to his dad for constant approval, whether he is behaving correctly in certain situations, how well he has managed to imitate his dad at times. A boy needs to know all this and when this factor is missing, it affects the child’s psyche a lot. He begins to feel insecure and constantly feels he is out on his own, therefore he gets defensive and aggressive and when he sees this behaviour of his getting him some sort of comfort, he adopts this as an attitude.”

This could be just one of the many reasons, adds the professor. Many of the problems mentioned before are carried over into adulthood, reported a study published in the journal Personality

and Social Psychology Review.

Crucially, a father’s love was often just as important as a mother’s. In some cases, it was even more so.

One reason for this may be that rejection is more painful when it comes from the parent the child regards as more powerful or respected. Professor Rohner as quoted in article by Mail Online said that children who feel unloved tend to become anxious and insecure, and this can make them needy. Anger and resentment can lead to them closing themselves off emotionally in an attempt to protect themselves from further hurt. This may make it hard for them to form relationships. They can suffer from low self-esteem and find it difficult to handle stressful situations.

With inputs from All Science Daily

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CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Long, exhausting shoot for

BAAHUBALI

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ctor Rana Daggubati is relieved at having successfully completed a marathon schedule for upcoming Telugu period-drama Baahubali. He says on certain days, the team even shot nonstop for over 24 hours. "(I) finished my marathon second schedule of Baahubali. Day starting from 7 am (to) all the way to 10 pm and the training till midnight," posted Rana on his Twitter page.

“And the one special weekend where we shot from Sunday morning 7 (to) all the way to Monday morning 8. An epic shoot little over 24 hours," he added.

He says it’s because of this hectic schedule that he has not been active on Twitter.

Directed by SS Rajamouli, Baahubali also features Prabhas Varma, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj, Nassar, Adivi Sesh and Kiccha Sudeep.

The film, co-produced by Shobu Yarlagadda, K Raghavendra Rao and Prasad Devineni, is being IANS simultaneously made in Telugu and Tamil.

Characters real hero of films: SUNIL KUMAR

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nown for Telugu films such as Sontha Ooru and Oka Romantic Crime Katha, director Sunil Kumar Reddy always prefers working with new and not so popular faces because he believes in moving audiences with his characters.

“You don’t see an actor in a film but the character he or she is enacting.

I always believe that the real hero of a film is the character," Reddy said.

“I like to move audiences with my characters but not by using a popular face of a hero. The purpose of a character is killed when it’s merely traded for a popular face.

“Only when a film has strong characters, can audiences take back home the memories of living with that character for a few hours," he added.

Reddy, who is currently working on his new film Waiting for You about pre-marital pregnancy, has roped in a new face for the lead role.

IANS

‘When in dilemma, I run my scripts through dad’ A

kkineni Naga Chaitanya, son of Akkineni Nagarjuna, admits that he doesn’t mind consulting his father about film projects whenever he is in doubt.

However, he says he signs a film only once he is truly convinced about it.

“Dad has been my guiding force. Whenever I am confused about choosing a script, I discuss it with him. However, I have said ‘no’ to scripts he agreed to, while he has said ‘yes’ too for scripts I have turned down. We have this mutual understanding that works between us," Chaitanya said.

“The reason sometimes I have said ‘no’ to scripts that were cleared by him is because I need to be convinced before I take up a project. I just can’t do a film because my fans would love to see me in it," he added.

The 26-year old says the only advice he has received from his father is “do what you love".

“That’s the only advice he has ever given me. I have been following it religiously. My father and my grandfather always watch my films and share their feedback with me.

It helps me a lot in my own career," he added.

Chaitanya is currently working alongside his father and grandfather Akkineni Nageswara Rao in upcoming Telugu family comedy Manam.

Meanwhile, he is awaiting the release of Telugu actiondrama Auto Nagar Surya. He also has two Telugu films in the offing. IANS

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CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

KBC

seventh season launched with changes

SATYAGRAHA

timely wakeup call for a

WOUNDED NATION

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rakash Jha’s Satyagraha bears no thematic relation to any of his earlier political dramas. It is certainly not a sequel to his Raajneeti, as has been reported in some sections of the media. And yes, it is most certainly based on the movement that Anna Hazare started against corruption. To say that Bachchan’s character Dwarka Anand in Satyagraha, lovingly called Dadujee by one and all, and Dadujee’s turbulent relationship with the go-getting NRI-turned-Gandhiannationalist Maanav Raghvendra (Devgn) does not bear a resemblance to the Anna Hazare-Arvind Kejriwal equation, would be plain blindness.

What Jha and his very able astute and politically informed co-writer and long-time collaborator Anjum Rajabali have done, is to collect together the thematic threads of Anna Hazare’s mass anti-corrup-

tion movement and weave it into a gripping, thoughtful, hard-hitting and inspirational drama which contains all the resonances of a newspaper headline.

In Satyagraha, one feels the relationship between Bachchan’s character and his widowed daughter-inlaw (Amrita Rao) could have gone a little further.

Here, he has that one moment with Amrita Rao when hearing her sob in the dead of the night, he goes into her room to console her... And we know the kind of deep bonding this powerful patriarch shares with his cruelly widowed Bahu.

There is little time for emotions in Jha’s world of politics and national awakening.

Hold on to these infrequent episodes of emotional expression in this turbulent tale of awakening the nation’s conscience where there is no room for individual’s self-indulgence. In fact, Devgn’s growing fondness for the TV journalist

Film: Satyagraha Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Amrita Rao Director: Prakash Jha

Yasmin Ahmed (Kareena Kapoor) and the sudden burst of a acutely romantic song seems to belong to some other time-zone.

You see, there’s the business of the country’s future to be attended to. And who better at creating a cinema of socio-political reform than Prakash Jha? The director constantly wrenches away from his individuals’ personal feelings to focus on the broader picture.

Jha’s narration gets busy with the business of swooping down on huge crowds of anxious restless people looking for a way out of the country’s scamfrozen destiny.

There’s an abundance of

references to mobilisation of youth power through the Internet and mobile.

Satyagraha probes and questions the validity and motivation of any mass movement that is born out of an inividual’s genuine passion for reform. It is no coincidence that the film’s arch-villain is a politician portrayed as a kind of evil clown. Manoj Bajpayee plays the scummy ‘scammy’ brazely corrupt politician with lipsmacking relish. His smirky villainous neta act works as a perfect foil to Bachchan’s controlled never overdone messianic act.

Devgn could have been better. On the other hand,Arjun Rampal has limited scope as a goondaturned-self-appointed youthleader. He has great fun sinking his teeth into the rustic accent and boorish body language.

Satygraha conveys the uncontrollable anger and energy of a nation on the brink.

IANS

Grand Masti’: From reel to bookshelves

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arlequin India Thursday launched the book “Grand Masti: The Fun Never Ends” which is based on the upcoming Bollywood adult comedy Grand Masti.

Terming this “reverse spin”, Harlequin India Country Head and Publishing Director Amrita Chowdhury said the tie-up was an attempt

to tap new markets where the readers would want to know more about the movie.

“Usually, we have films based on books, but there are many things in a film that can’t be communicated to the audience. This tie-up is complementary to what you will watch in the film,” she pointed out. “The novel will talk

about characters: How they met and focus on areas that are not shown in the film. It will take off from where the film begins or ends. These are original episodes and not in the movie,” she added.

The trio of Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani and Riteish Deshmukh had acted in the IANS film.

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he popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by megastar Amitabh Bachchan, is back and this time it’s bigger and better. The jackpot prize in the Kaun Banega Crorepati 2013 will be `7 crore and participants will have to answer 15 questions to win the whopping prize money.

There will be four questions in the new feature “Sapta koti sandook” that will let contestants win from `1 crore to `3 crore, ` 5 crore and finally `7 crore.

Entering the hot seat has become more challenging as ‘Fastest finger first’ round has been modified. It will now be called ‘Best out of three’.

That’s not all. Five, instead of four, lifelines will help contestants to reach closer to prize money. While “audience poll” and “phone a friend” will continue as lifelines, “flip the question” will return in place of “ask the expert”. “50:50” will replace “double dip”. The latest addition is “power paplu”. It will help to revive any used lifeline.

The show, which has seekhna bandh toh jeetna bandh as central theme, will go on air on Sony Entertainment Television September 6. Along with modifications in the game, the show’s set has also been changed.

“It has been shifted from Filmcity in Goregaon to Yash Raj Films studio in Andheri West. The infrastructure is better. In Filmcity, if it rains hard you have to stop shooting. If generator can’t take load, then also you have to stop,” Siddhartha Basu, chairman and managing director of Big Synergy Media IANS Ltd. said.

CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

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CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

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CINEMA SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

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The Mortal Instruments... simple, overdramatic tale

he Mortal Instruments - City Of Bones is an overdramatic take on the age-old battle between good and evil forces. It is a youth adventure fiction film based on Cassandra Clare’s eponymous novel.

Jampacked with vampires, werewolves, warlocks, fairies, and a teenage love triangle, this is a saga of a ‘shadow hunter’ - a member of a secret society of demon hunters.

Clarissa Fray (Lily Collins), a seemingly conventional young lady leads a routine life attending poetry sessions and clubhopping with her best friend Simon (Robert Sheehan) while she stays with her artist mother (Lena Headey) in Brooklyn.

Suddenly one day, strange and inexplicable things start happening to her. On a date with Simon at a pub, she witnesses a murder that apparently only she can see. Distraught, she rushes home and soon enough, she inexplicably doodles a symbol that gets her mother worried. That symbol has something to do with the other world. There is a past that her mother is holding back from her.

Meanwhile, she is being followed by Jace Wayland (Jamie Campbell Bower), one of the murderers from the club. On questioning him, as to how is it that only she can see him, he tells her - “Because you are not a mundane.”

“What is a mundane?”

“Someone from the human world,” he answers. Confused and taken aback, she does not know how to react.

Around the same time, she gets a frantic call from her mother. When she returns home, she

Movie : The Mortal Instruments - City Of Bones Cast : Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, C.C.H. Pounder, Jared Harris, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers Director : Harald Zwart finds her apartment ransacked, her mother missing and she is attacked by an unusual creepy creature.

Muddled and distraught, she

learns that her mother was a shadow hunter, implying that she herself may have the shadow hunter blood in her. And soon after, Clary is inducted into

LISA KUDROW to star in Scandal

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ctress Lisa Kudrow has reportedly joined the cast of political drama TV series Scandal.

Kudrow shot to fame after playing the role of Phoebe Buffay in popular sitcom Friends. In Scandal, she steps into the role of a politician, reports contactmusic.com.

She will share screen space with actress Kerry Washington.

Scandal is said to be Kudrow’s biggest television commitment ever since Friends, a 10-year-long franchise, came to an end in 2004.

The third series of Scandal will go on air October 3.

In the forthcoming season, the show focusses on Pope’s crisis management firm and its involvement in White House government affairs.

IANS

the world of these half-angel and half-humans along with Simon.

From there begins her adventure of finding the power secret, “The mortal cup”, which her mother had apparently hid to protect it from the villains.

In this world of half-angels, the narration is laced with romantic tangles brewing between; Clary-Jace-Simon, another shadow-hunter Alec (Kevin Zegers) has mood swings for Jace, Alec’s sister Isabelle (Jemina West) has feelings for Simon and Magnus Bane (Godfrey Gao), the High Warlock of Brooklyn, seems to have a thing for Alec. The legs of the love triangles are pleasantly edgy and endearing.

The idea of a mysterious

JESSICA SIMPSON

sold baby pictures for $100,000?

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inger Jessica Simpson and her husband Eric Johnson were reportedly paid $100,000 by a magazine to acquire the first photographs of their newborn son Ace Knute.

Simpson gave birth to Knute June 30.

This is her second child with musician Eric Johnson, after she gave birth to daughter Maxwell in 2012. The couple has reportedly pocketed the six figure amount for a special photoshoot with Us Weekly magazine, reports New York Post newspaper.

Simpson will feature on the cover picture of the magazine with both the children August 30.

Meanwhile, it the kids who are keeping the couple occupied all the time.

“With two kids, we have our hands full, but every day is a new adventure.

It’s fun! I feel very at peace with being a mom,” Simpson said.

IANS

mystical netherworld just beyond our own is an enticing concept, and having the audience charmed with the fragile and beautiful Collins is awesome.

Jamie Campbell Bower as the icy sarcastic Jace and Robert Sheehan as the sincere “always there for you” type of lover are jittery and adorable, respectively.

All the rest of the supporting-cast are great: Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the power-hungry shadow hunter Valentine is sexy and evil; Lena Headey is daring and angelic; Jemima West is bold but understated; and pants-less Godfrey Gao is the alluring newcomer with oriental looks. CCH Pounder manages to make the most of her eye-rolling turn as tarot cardreading Madame Dorothea.

The production design by Francois Seguin is beautifully captured with some imaginative visual effects, in luscious anamorphic widescreen by the director of photography, Geir Hartly Andreassen. The computer generated images seamlessly merge with the film, especially during a sequence set in the vampire-filled room in the climax.

Director Harald Zwart, who earlier presented Karate Kid, struggles to deliver this rather overtly complicated story effectively. There’s so much bouncing around in tone and story that the film flounders with its cheesiness. There are features worth reveling in the film, and thankfully, it is less self-serious than the Twilight films.

Nevertheless, the young and the exuberant will find The Mortal Instruments - City Of Bones worth a watch.

IANS

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CHAI TIME SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

SUDOKU

THOUGHT OF THE DAY The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.

– Bertrand Russell

KAKURO

How to play kakuro

SCRIBBLING PAD

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

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

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

Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly: In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14.

This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on...

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

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

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Simpletons 6 Part of an email address 9 Tropical aquarium fish 14 Unable to react chemically 15 Kauai music maker 16 Cookies often used as crossword clues 17 ___-climber (exercise machine) 18 Be sociable 19 Bursts of laughter 20 Colombian crop 23 Quilting get-together 24 On the ___ (fleeing) 25 Coastal fog 27 Don't forget 32 Menswear selections 33 ‘Gimme ___! …’ (Iowa State cheer) 34 Number of Disney miners 36 Done up, as shoes or skates 39 Informed 41 Pastrami peddlers 43 Waikiki wingding 44 ‘No questions ___’ 46 Time to retire 48 Annoy 49 ‘Buona ___’ (Italian greeting) 51 Beat badly 53 Residences for gurus 56 4x4 vehicle, for short 57 Sheep bleat 58 Rain collector 64 Fibula's terminus 66 Versatile blackjack card 67 Depart 68 Turn this way or that 69 Intense anger 70 Decorative sewing cases 71 Reduces, as pressure 72 Fizzled firecracker 73 Some computers DOWN 1 Frisbee, eg 2 Step ___ the scale 3 It can float during the

fall 4 It hardly matters 5 Mountain waterways 6 Type of bell or waiter 7 ‘Grapes of Wrath’ migrant 8 It joined the Union in 1845 9 Ship rig feature 10 Before of yore 11 Cookie at a social 12 Billing information 13 Coveted quality 21 Fix firmly in place 22 Shuttlecock's hurdle 26 One of three squares?

27 ___-tat-tat 28 Son of Seth, in the Bible 29 Drinks made with blenders 30 Flush 31 Activated a burner

again hue 35 Close by, in poetry 60 Bit of thatching 37 British nobleman 61 Actor Julia of ‘The 38 Another British Addams Family’ nobleman 62 What lurks in the 40 Does as well as others? hearts of men, it's said 42 Woody perennial plant 63 Minus 45 Places for socks 65 Jeans brand 47 Wrecked beyond PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER repair 50 ‘I ___ Rock’ (Simon & Garfunkel song) 52 Almost cylindrical 53 Cut down to size 54 Annual sleigh driver 55 Opposite of wild 59 Beige-like

27

CHAI TIME SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Aries

Gemini

Taurus

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Eight of Pentacles

Four of Pentacles

The High Priestess

Death

The Magician

King of Wands

W

W

W

W

W

W

ork- Your boss trusts you with a new job and although you have little experience in it, you do extremely well.

Romance – It’s the small things that matter in a relationship. Bring your partner flowers, cook for them or woo them again if it improves your chemistry. Health – You’re feeling slightly off balance given the demands of every other area of life. You haven’t been paying attention to your health. Money – Your loan is approved or you are able to arrange the finances you needed to start a dream project.

Now, there’s no looking back. Tarot message – Live in the moment and enjoy what you do. Your choices will not feel like a burden.

ork – You’ve gotten into a comfortable routine and have garnered the confidence to know that you can handle any crisis in your office.

Romance – You may need to make extra effort to convince your partner that you feel the love. Maybe you’re coming across as cold and insensitive.

Health – The stability and comfort of routine is making you happy. The familiarity of situations around you is important. Money – Finances are stable. Just keep an eye on your bank account and ensure that money transactions from one account to the other are smooth and timely.

Tarot message – This is an important phase when you understand the importance of tradition and old world charm.

ork – You are very competent in your work and your bosses have noticed this and want to make use of your talent. Keep an open outlook to new options.

Romance – Your partner and you may not agree on many issues but it’s not necessary that you do.

Are the disagreements so bad that it has become difficult to be with each other at all? Health – Mental tension and stress can be tackled if you make up your mind. The first step is to strictly ensure work-life balance.

Money – Finances are in good shape. The extra cash you make out of freelance assignments will do you a world of good. Tarot message – Use intuition to guide you into sensible decisions.

ork – You may be considering changing your career path or trying something that’s totally unfamiliar to you.

You may actually not have a choice. Romance – You see an existing relationship differently or decide to call it quits. Either way, major changes are headed your way. Health – Your body is crying for a system overhaul. Review your diet and lifestyle, and make necessary changes to ward off diseases. Money – Take care of finances and don’t blow away money that’s just about come into your bank balance. Steer clear of risky investments.

Tarot message – Change is inevitable and this is the time when you cannot help but face major change. Keep an open mind.

ork – Team work cannot be avoided no matter where you go or what you try. Learn to get along with people.

Humour them and be nice. Romance – Clear the air immediately, if you are finding that there are some misunderstandings that haven’t been sorted out.

Health – By being happy from within, you can ensure that you tackle any physical health problems, too. Money – If you are in the habit of eating out too many times in the week, it may be causing a huge dent in your savings. Check this. Tarot message – If you are in a dilemma about something, seek the advice of an expert or someone elderly with experience.

ork – You’re in a position of control and nothing gives you a bigger high than the fact that you get to make the rules. Be considerate of your colleagues.

Romance – You haven’t had much time for romancing in the last few months. Now may be the time to pay more attention to your partner.

Health – Those who are overweight need to watch out. Tough as it may seem, manage your weight for health reasons.

Money – Money’s looking fantastic. You’re a good planner and this reflects on the way you have organised your money.

Tarot message – You like to be in control of things around you. How about spending some hours each week letting go for unstructured time?

SUMAA TEKUR tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

Libra Nine of Cups

Nine of Swords

W

W

ork – A dream project that had been delayed moves ahead in a steady, although unexpected, manner. Your dream is fulfilled and you get more out of it than expected. Romance – A chance encounter brings to your life the person of your dreams. There is sexual passion. You also experience strange synchronicity.

Health – You’re experiencing great health. Your inner contentment infuses energy to your physical body and you feel positive about everything. Money – Some kind of financial gain is indicated in the most unexpected and strange ways.

Don’t look out for it. It will come when it has to. Tarot message – The power of your will is at work now.

You make a wish and trust that you will get it.

Sagittarius

Scorpio ork – The worry and anxiety of too much to do is making you more nervous than the work itself. Be practical. Romance – Your suspicions are your biggest enemy. You tend to make up negative situations about your partner that probably don’t even exist. Health –Meditation and any mental relaxation exercises are an absolute must. You must think clearly and make pragmatic decisions. Money – You’re worried sick about the money in the bank, about whether the money that’s to come will indeed come in or not, etc. Stop worrying, start working. Tarot message – Calm down, distance yourself from a difficult situation and see clearly. You don’t want lose sight of the big picture.

Nine of Wands

W

ork –A stroke of good luck gets you a prestigious project in the office. Now, all eyes are on you. Coworkers want to see how you will manage this. Romance – Singles are in too much of a comfort zone and unwilling to go out and meet new people. Unless you meet people, how will you know what you want?

Health – Your mind is on over-drive and your body may be needing some exercise to keep up. Go for a run every day.

Money – You’ve locked up money in all the sensible and right places. Don’t expect big growth. That comes when you take risks. Tarot message – Tweak your current state of mind to include a more holistic viewpoint.

Capricorn

Date 1-9-2013

Aquarius

Six of Pentacles

The Devil

W

W

ork – An elderly person comes to your rescue at work and helps you find shortcuts to your daily routine. Romance – Singles look for financial stability in a partner. A date may not turn out to your expectation. There are many fish in the sea.

Health – Health is doing great. There’s no need to worry about it. If you worry, it can make you feel more restless and edgy.

Money – Learning a new skill will be directly related to earning more money.

You’ll have options to earn extra and feel more confident about your finances.

Tarot message – There is a sharp learning curve to navigate in the immediate future. Be prepared for hard work and some tough decisions.

ork – You’re after the money and the position. You’ve reached a point where you’re no longer looking to derive deep job satisfaction. Romance – The committed may be tempted to look elsewhere and have a quick fling.

Singles may get experimental and try out new relationship styles. Health – Don’t self-prescribe medication even if it’s only for a seemingly harmless headache.

De-stress, detoxify. Avoid alcohol. Money – Avoid taking risks by investing in properties that you haven’t fully checked out. Take your own time deciding. Don’t let others pressurise you.

Tarot message – Refresh your life and take away all the negatives. Your determination to make life better can do wonders.

Pisces Seven of Swords

W

ork – You will encounter avenues to promote yourself as the frontrunner for an important project. Nothing wrong in showcasing your talent. Romance – Celebrate important days like anniversaries and birthdays. These are important to keep the passion alive. Health – Be kind to your body and do not push it more than it can handle with excessive eating or drinking. Money – Expenses increase and you may have to cut down on your regular entertainment needs. Be creative and look for alternates. Tarot message – It’s an uphill task with this time testing your limits and making you do things you’re not used to.

But you will come out on top without a doubt.

Vol: 3, No 41 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 Landmark - Volkswagen showroom 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

THE SATURDAY QUIZ SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

IN THE NEWS

Christopher Colombus' ship?

11. Which soccer team did David Beckham belong to when he started out?

12. Which is the highest ranking standard poker hand?

13. What is the meaning of Spanish world 'Amigo'?

14. How many earth years does it take for Pluto to orbit around

the sun?

15. When was the movie The Great Train Robbery released?

16. What is the French acronym for World Chess Federation?

17. What is the colour of Friesian horse?

18. How do you write 2012 in roman numerals?

Answers

mouse ran up the .....?

5. Where does Tour de France finish?

6. Kurt Cobain was the member of which music band?

7. What is the capital of Norwary?

8. Which wonder of the ancient world is still in existence?

9. What do pandas normally eat?

10. What is the name of

1. 8 2. 3 3. 1951 4. Clock 5. Champs-ÉlysÊes 6. Nirvana 7. Oslo 8. Great Pyramid of Giza 9. Bamboo 10. Black Pearl 11. Manchester United 12. Royal Flush 13. Friend 14. 248 15. 1908 16. FIDE 17. Black 18. MMXII

TEST YOURSELF

IDENTIFY THESE ENGANGERED ANIMALS

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1

2

1

With which country is The United Arab Emirates (UAE) planning to strengthen existing relations and is planning a series of meetings with the diplomats?

Find the missing words in these nursery rhymes

1

Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a .........?

2

The European Commission has promised a total of 110 million euros (over $145 million) for economic and social development of which country?

2

The itsy-bitsy ........, Climbed up the water spout

Russia has dismantled and disposed which defence missile system that was originally intended to be delivered to Iran?

3

Which is the most livable city in the world according to an annual survey by an independent business associated with the Economist magazine?

4

3 4

3

4

5

How many billionaires does Singapore have, according to the latest Forbes rich list?

Down by the bay, Where the watermelons grow, Back to my home .......................

1. Portugal 2. Morocco 3. S-300 air defence missile systems 4. Melbourne 5. 21

6

Three blind mice.

Three blind mice. See how they run. They all ran after .............

Camouflaged in the rocks are a caveman and what?

It chokes out its life!

Answer for 81:

Which university in the US has launched CarolIndia, a year-long celebration of India?

WHO AM I? I am a politician from Hyderabad. I am currently in news for continuing my indefinite fast in hospital where I was shifted by Chanchalguda jail authorities. Who am I?

Answer : YS Jaganmohan

3

with Santosh Ghule

Answers:

India will be holding joint antiterrorism training with which country?

Answers: 1. Angel Shark 2. Slender Billed Vulture 3. Hainan Gibbon 4. Pere David Deer

2

PICTURE PUZZLE 82

1. Dream 2. Spider 3. Mockingbird 4. Face 5. I dare not go 6. farmer's wife

Answers What is the name of India's first dedicated satellite for defence applications that is ready for launch this week at European space consortium, Arianespace, from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana?

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you're happy and you know it, then your ....... will surely show it

5

KNOW YOUR COUNTRY

1

Hush, little baby, don't say a word.

Papa's gonna buy you a ..........

Reddy

1. How any states of USA begins with the letter M? 2. How many attempts can a jumper make at one height in the high jump?

3. In what year was the first version of the cartoon Alice In Wonderland released?

4. What is the missing word?

Hickory, dickory, dock; The

1. GSAT-7 2. China 3. University of South Carolina

Answers

29

SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

India in Asia Cup final

I

Lamar Odom arrested

ndia booked a berth in next year’s World Cup hockey as they marched into the Asia Cup final with a 2-0 win over hosts Malaysia in the semi-final at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium here Friday.

India took an early lead in the eighth minute through drag-flicker V.R. Raghunath and forward Mandeep Singh doubled it at the hour-mark.

F

ormer Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom was arrested Friday for allegedly driving under the influence of drink or drugs near Los Angeles, traffic police said.

Odom, the subject of a rash of news stories about alleged drug use and troubles in his marriage to Khloe Kardashian, was taken into custody after being detained in the early hours.

80-yr-old banned for doping

D

on Ramos, an 80-year-old who was bidding for a world record at the Pan American Masters Weightlifting Championships, has been busted for steroid use. The US Anti-Doping Agency, known for taking on high-profile cheats as Lance Armstrong, said Friday that Ramos had been banned for two years after testing positive during the competition on June 14.

F1 transfer window set to close

LONDON: Formula One’s silly

season has become more like European football’s transfer window with every passing year.

Just as the top clubs and top players jostle work for the best deals for their futures, so do the top teams and drivers.

The only difference is that football has a deadline.

F1, however, has Monza - the traditional unofficial race meeting at which most of the main ‘transfers’ are completed or confirmed.

Down the years, the Italian Grand Prix has been the scene of many major announcements including Ayrton Senna’s move from Lotus to McLaren as Alain Prost’s partner, Nigel Mansell’s angry confirmation that he was to leave Williams on learning that Prost was on his way and Michael Schumacher’s infamous overnight switch from Jordan, after just one race, to join Benetton.

And that is just a brief example picked from the early 1990's.

This year is no different.

The drivers’ market, as so often, appears to be in a state of suspended animation as Kimi Raikkonen waits to make a decision - choosing, it seems,

between staying with Lotus or moving on.

Red Bull, despite contradictions all round, McLaren and Ferrari all await his next move with great interest and so too do Daniel Ricciardo, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa.

Lotus believe they have the package to offer that will make him stay.

But the fact that Red Bull have been reluctant to confirm Australian Ricciardo as Mark Webber’s successor suggests they have not yet abandoned

hopes of luring the Finn.

Indeed, this week Lotus made clear they feel they have no problems in offering a financial deal to secure Raikkonen’s continued services into 2014, but have to work harder to convince him that they can build a winning car.

Team owner Gerard Lopez this week revealed that Raikkonen cares more about his car’s performance than the money on offer and has pushed Lotus to work more closely with Renault as F1 enters a new era

Stybar wins stage, Nibali retains lead MAIRENA DE ALJARAFE: The Czech Republic’s Zdenek Stybar, riding for Omega, edged the seventh stage of the Tour of Spain on Friday as Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali held on to the overall lead.

Stybar narrowly claimed the day’s honours after a 205.9km ride from Almendralejo to Mairena de Aljarafe from Belgian world road race champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC). In third came Germany’s Robert Wagner (Belkin).

Nibali came in 22th, one second behind the winner, and retained possession of the leader’s red jersey.

Stybar, a double former world cycle-cross champion, and Gilbert slipped clear of the peloton with seven kilometres to go, this pair holding off the

Omega-Pharma-Quick Step Chec rider Zdenek Stybar celebrates after winning on Friday at the end of the seventh stage of the 68th edition of “La Vuelta” Tour of Spain, a 205.9 km route between Almendralejo and Mairena del Aljarafe.

AFP/JOSE JORDAN

sprinters led by Wagner by a matter of centimetres.

Nibali succeeded in escaping any mishaps during the tricky winding end of the stage to go into Saturday’s eighth stage with a three-second cushion over American Chris

Horner and Republic of Ireland’s Nicolas Roche.

Saturday’s ride takes the peloton on a 166km run from Jerez de la Frontera to Estepona with the finish on the first category col de Penas AFP Blancas.

with an overhaul of the technical regulations.

Lopez said: “Things are moving... I said two months ago that as long as he gets what he wants from us - which is technical guarantees from us next year in terms of how close we are with Renault - then there is a high chance he will stay."

In an interview with Autosport.com, he admitted that there were some issues with late payment of performance-related bonuses, but Lopez said that matter is not a deal breaker.

“That’s not the issue," he said. “I think he has some outstanding matters on points (related payments(, and that is it.

“His main thing right now is to be sure that next year we are a top team, because there is a major change in terms of technical specifications. He does not want us to be just a customer team.

“We are discussing how to be closer with Renault, in whatever shape it is. That is why the [engine] contract hasn’t been signed yet."

That news, alongside assurances from McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh that, despite being a fan of Raikkonen, he intends to keep an unchanged line-up, suggests that the Finn will stay at Lotus unless the team fails to deliver his demands.

And that is why, like Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho who grew tired of waiting for Wayne Rooney, Red Bull’s Christian Horner will not wait forever to see what the Finn chooses to do.

As in past years, Monza next weekend is almost certain to see several major announcements and plenty of controversy.

AFP

League Cricket A division two days Day 2 n Gujrathi 106 lost to Continental 107/5 (DGJ Chaitanya 47no, Dharas Reddy 4/38) n HBCC 219/7 lost to Venus Cybertech 222/9 (M Vamshi Reddy 84, Karthik Goud 50no,Pushkar V 6/66) n SA Amberpet 156 lost to Khalsa 159/6 (Saeb Ali Khan 50, Pragat Singh 64no, Chand Pasha 3/79, Mirza Ayub Baig 3/48) n Zinda CC 243 bt Charminar 247/5 (Mir Obaid Ali 46, Mujeeb 35no, Chai Prasad 128no, Avinash Singh 3/75) n Galaxy 224/7 (Shanthan Reddy 50, Rajendra 39, Md Khalid 3/52) lost to Saleemnagar 226/5 (Md Zameerudding 70, S Ramesh 97, Vamshi Varma 4/49) n New Blues 231 lost to Cambridge XI 235/9 (Syed Ali Hyder 30, MA Razzak 118 no, Datta Prakash 4/89) n Oxford Blues 382 (Rohit Bharadwaj 107, Bharath Raj 43, Deepankar 40, N Mohit Kumar 83no) bt National CC 200 (Prasad 44, Jaypal 38,

Prashuram 58) n Nizam College 162 (P Sai

Kumar 41, Sharath 32, G Srinivas Rao 6/45, Dayanand Patel 3/37) vs Syndicate Bank 152/8 (Santosh 63) n Pasha Beedi 201/8 (Saif Ur Rahim 56, Fizan 49, Preetam 5/40) drew with Raju CC 19 for no loss A division one day n Vijay Bharat 152 (Narsimha 41, Raju 33, Shajeel 6/56) lost to Hyderabad Panthers XI 155 for no loss (Zeeshan Ali Khan 102no, Akram 32) n Team Kun 298/5 (MSR Charan 34, A Varun Goud 109, Ruthvik Adki 100no) bt Future Stars 119 (Ashok 34, Ankith Singh 5/25) Inter District two days Day 2 n Warangal 112 and 157 (Sainadh 37, Farooq 43, Majiduddin 6/29) lost to Nizamabad 253 and 17 for no loss Day 1 n Karimnagar 208 (Krishna Reddy 34, Kishore 35, Shashi 42) vs Adilabad 138 (Md Saif Ali 39, Rajashekar Reddy 52, Krishna Reddy 3/29, Shanawaz 4/40)

30

SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Delighted Finch glad of Oz ‘boost’

SOUTHAMPTON: Recordbreaking batsman Aaron Finch was delighted his stunning innings helped Australia end a 200-day spell without an international win.

Finch’s remarkable 156, the highest score in a Twenty20 international, was the cornerstone of Australia’s 39-run win in the first T20 against England at Southampton on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Victoria opener, who didn’t feature in the preceding 3-0 Ashes Test series loss to England, struck a record 14 sixes in his 63ball innings as Australia made 248 for six — the second-highest T20 international team score — on a superb pitch for batting at the Ageas Bowl. England responded with their own second-best T20 score, 209 for six, but even Joe Root’s unbeaten 90 failed to give them any real hope of victory.

Australia hadn’t won a major international match since a 17-run one-day international victory over the West Indies at Melbourne on February 10, a sequence that encompassed a winless tour of India, an early exit from the Champions Trophy and

Australia’s Aaron Finch celebrates making 156 runs off 63 balls during the T20 match against England at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Thursday.

AFP/GLYN KIRK the Ashes reverse.

“It’s a huge boost,” Finch said. “There have been a lot of new players come in so there is a lot guys ready to go so there hasn’t been a lot

of baggage carried over from the Ashes.

“Everyone is really confident,” he added ahead of the second and final match of this series in Durham on

Mickelson, Davis ahead at Norton

NORTON: British Open champion Phil Mickelson (above) flirted with a 59, but settled for an eight-underpar 63 and a share of the first-round lead on Friday alongside England’s Brian Davis.

Mickelson had eight birdies and an eagle along with two bogeys to set the early pace, and Davis joined

him atop the leaderboard with a blemish-free round that featured eight birdies.

They were one stroke in front of American Kevin Stadler, with Spain’s Sergio Garcia, and Americans Hunter Mahan and Roberto Castro a further shot back on 65.

A group of 16 players on five-under 66 included Jason Dufner, England’s Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, South African Ernie Els, Sweden’s Jonas Blixt and 2009 British Open champion Stewart Cink of the United States.

Mickelson was the class of the morning, teeing off on the 10th hole at TPC Boston alongside world number one Tiger Woods and Masters champion Adam Scott.

Woods, who battled back pain in a runner-up finish to Scott at The Barclays last week, carded a three-underpar 68 that included four AFP birdies and a bogey.

Saturday.

As for his own innings, Finch said, “It was just one of those days where things hit the middle of the bat and things went my way. I’m still feeling pretty good to be honest. It was a beautiful wicket and the outfield was lightning so all you had to do was hit the gap early and you got maximum value. It was a beautiful place to bat. I’m not sure the bowlers will be too happy about it though.”

England T20 captain Stuart Broad, himself a fastmedium bowler, agreed.

“I think here the batsmen want to pitch a tent up and the bowlers have their passport in their pocket ready for Durham,” he said.

It looked as if England were set for a humiliating defeat as they lost early wickets in pursuit of a daunting total but Root’s innings ensured the eventual margin was a lot narrower than had seemed likely in a match where the teams’ combined 457 runs was also a T20 international record.

“I’m very proud of the guys who showed up in our side and fell just short of our highest international score,” AFP Broad said.

Zim set to face Pak despite wages row HARARE: The final one-day international between Zimbabwe and Pakistan on Saturday looks set to go ahead after Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) fended off another proposed player strike over unpaid wages on Friday.

ZC had promised that all money owing to the players, who have not been paid since the end of June, would be settled by Wednesday after the players refused to train ahead of Pakistan’s tour.

However the board failed to meet that deadline, sparking further conversations among the players when they arrived for training on Friday morning.

The players took part in some planning sessions for Saturday’s third ODI, but threatened to boycott the match if the money owed to them was not in their accounts by 5pm (1500 GMT).

Although that has not happened, it is believed that transfers were made by ZC in front of a group of senior players on Friday afternoon.

One player told AFP that he expected Saturday’s match to go ahead, but that a collective decision would only be made when Zimbabwe’s cricketers arrived at Harare Sports Club in the morning.

However should ZC, who are swaddled with debt, continue to stall then the players may issue a new ultimatum for next week’s Test match.

The first Test of a two-match series is due to get underway in Harare on AFP Tuesday.

Pornanong in lead PORTLAND: Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum fired a sixunder par 66 on Friday to maintain a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the US LPGA Safeway Classic.

Pornanong’s two day total of 14-under 130 broke the previous 36-hole tournament record at Columbia Edgewater Country Club and left her one stroke in front of Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, who carded a nine-under 63 for 131.

Pettersen jumped from a tie for 20th to second place, one shot in front of Germany’s Sandra Gal who notched her second straight 66. German rookie Caroline Masson was alone in fourth on 133 after a second-round 64.

Pornanong, who won the unofficial HSBC Brasil Cup last year, holds the 36-hole lead for the first time as she seeks her first official win in five years on the LPGA Tour.

The 23-year-old had six birdies without a bogey.

“I played this good before, but this is the first tournament that I felt really good and really confident, so I’ve played really good, better than I have done

Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand hits her second shot on the 17th hole during the second round of the Safeway Classic on Friday at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Oregon.

AFP/JONATHAN FERREY before,” she said. “I’m more confident and everything is better than I have before.”

Although she has yet to win on the LPGA Tour, Pornanong has seven professional victories on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and Ladies European Tour. She’s keen to add an LPGA title to her resume.

“I really do want it, just at least one tournament,” she said. “I just want to win it. I’m going to have a lot more confidence. I’m going to feel a lot better about my game. I can play easier golf, just going smooth, not to have a lot of pressure on myself, just to keep AFP it going.”

MEADOW

MAGIC

31

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

Hewitt steals show at Open NEW YORK: Australian warhorse Lleyton Hewitt battled to a five-set US Open win over Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro Friday, relegating Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams to supporting roles.

The 2001 champion defeated the 2009 winner, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 in the tournament’s biggest shock to date.

Hewitt, 32 years old and down at 66 in the rankings after a lengthy battle with injuries, served up a trademark warriorlike performance that recalled his golden days when he was world number one and Wimbledon champion.

It was his 32nd career five-set victory and gave him a thirdround match-up with Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy, the world number 102.

“I was really pumped up after I won my first match because I knew I would have a chance to play on Arthur Ashe Stadium,” said Hewitt after his four-hour, three-minute win.

“I don’t know how many years I have left to play and I

was hankering to get out on this court again and put on a show.”

Del Potro, still bothered by a wrist injury, was beaten in his second successive four-hour match.

“He’s a great champion and a great fighter,” said the big Argentine.

Hewitt, playing in his 13th US Open after having made his debut in 1999, hit 42 winners,

‘I

HEWITT SERVED UP A TRADEMARK WARRIORLIKE PERFORMANCE THAT RECALLED HIS GOLDEN DAYS WHEN HE HAPPENED TO BE WORLD NUMBER ONE.

Lleyton Hewitt of Australia celebrates match point against Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during their match at the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday.

AFP/AL BELLO

one more than del Potro, who committed 70 unforced errors, a bleak statistic which eased the impact of the Australian only converting eight of 18 break point chances.

Hewitt’s pyrotechnics overshadowed the progress into the third round of defending cham-

pion Murray and world number one Djokovic, as well as women’s champion Williams, who made the last 16.

In the women’s event, fourtime champion Williams eased past Russian-born Kazkhastan player Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3, 6-1.

Murray struggles, Djokovic cruises NEW YORK: Defending champion Andy Murray survived his first scare of the US Open on Friday, dropping a set against Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer as top seed Novak Djokovic also reached the last 32.

Third seed and Wimbledon winner Murray battled past world number 81 Mayer, who has never defeated a top-10 opponent, 7-5, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and goes on to tackle Germany’s Florian Mayer for a last-16 spot.

Murray fired 28 winners while the Argentine hit 49 unforced errors. “It was a very tough match,” Murray said of an opponent who like him was born on May 15, 1987.

“Both of us ran a lot and it was very humid. I’m just glad I was able to put it together and pull it out in the fourth set.”

Florian Mayer booked his spot in the last 32 by seeing off US qualifier Donald Young, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

World number one Djokovic survived a first-set wobble before racing away with 12 of the last 14 games to defeat Germany’s Benjamin Becker 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 62 after saving two set points in the 10th game of the opener.

HAD TO PINCH MYSELF ’

NEW YORK: Eighteen

Williams, who has dropped just eight games in three rounds, is chasing a 17th Grand Slam title and next plays compatriot Sloane Stephens, who beat her in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January.

Meanwhile, Li Na beat Laura Robson in a 6-2, 7-5 victory. AFP

months after undergoing radical foot surgery, Lleyton Hewitt admitted that he had surprised even himself with his five-set US Open win Friday over 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro.

The 32-year-old’s 6-4, 57, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 secondround victory against the Argentine recalled his golden days, when the Australian was number one in the world and collected the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon titles. “It’s an amazing feeling. For me, just going back in the locker room afterwards, I sort of had to pinch myself,” said Hewitt, now down at 66th in the world. “Yeah, I keep going back to it, but a year and a half ago I got told I probably wouldn’t play again with the surgery I had.” AFP

Double defeat ends Hingis comeback NEW YORK: Former world number one Martina Hingis, who had her Grand Slam comeback after six years of retirement cut short on Friday with two doubles defeats, is still not planning a return to the singles ranks.

“Give me a break,” Hingis said. “No, I haven’t given any more thought to it.

I have a hard enough time covering half of the court.”

The winner of five Grand Slam singles titles suffered first-round losses in women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Hingis and Daniela Hantuchova lost to Italian defen-

ding champions Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci 6-3, 7-5 in women’s doubles, with Hingis double faulting away the final points. “The draw didn’t help to play the champion number one seeds,” Hingis said. “They had to play well against us but definitely not an easy challenge the first Grand Slam back in it.

Definitely we had our chances. We have to take them, too.” In a later match, Robert Lindstedt and Chan Yung-Jan beat wildcard entrants Hingis and India’s Mahesh Bhupathi 7-6 (7/5), 76 (7/5) in mixed doubles. AFP

Isner hits out as US crowd for Monfils support

Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a backhand during his men’s singles second round match against Benjamin Becker of Germany at the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday. AFP/MATTHEW STOCKMAN Djokovic, the 2011 champion who is bidding to reach the final for a fourth successive year, sent down 13 aces and 40 winners against the 32-year-old Becker, who ended Andre Agassi’s career in the American’s last match in New York in 2006.

“Becker is a quality player and he should have won the first set. I was fortunate to come out of it, but after that I felt more comfortable on the court,” said

Djokovic, who next plays Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

Dangerous Czech fifth seed Tomas Berdych, who defeated Roger Federer on his way to the semi-finals last year, made the third round by seeing off America’s Denis Kudla 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

He next meets French 31st seed Julien Benneteau, who eased past compatriot Jeremy AFP Chardy 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

NEW YORK: Top US player John Isner blasted New York fans for their support of French showman Gael Monfils at the US Open, admitting it felt like he was playing in Paris and not on home ground.

Isner, the highest seeded American in the draw, defeated Monfils 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) to reach the third round in a match which finished just before midnight on Thursday on a packed Louis Armstrong Court.

But the majority of the spectators got behind the Frenchman, who served up his trademark repertoire of leaps, bounces, flashy razor-sharp groundstrokes and smiling one-liners with the crowd.

By contrast, Isner was all business, never managing more than a discreet fist-pump to accompany a winner as the crowd preferred chants of “Monfils, Monfils” rather than “Isner, Isner.” “He’s a fun-loving guy and an exciting guy to watch no matter where he is playing, but honestly it was a bit surprising,” said Isner, the 13th seed.

AFP

32

SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2013

SUPER BAYERN LIFT CUP

PRAGUE: Bayern Munich avenged their 2012 Champions League final defeat with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win over tenman Chelsea after Friday’s UEFA Super Cup final finished 22 after extra-time. Bayern’s Javi Martinez produced a dramatic 121st-minute equaliser to take the game to penalties and when Chelsea replacement Romelu Lukaku missed the 10th spotkick after the previous successful nine, the Bavarians lifted the cup at the fourth attempt.

“One second changed everything, I am so happy for the players,” said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, refering to Martinez’s equaliser.

Spain’s Fernando Torres’ early strike had been cancelled out by Franck Ribery’s secondhalf thunderbolt while Chelsea’s Ramires was dismissed in the 85th minute as it finished 1-1 after 90 minutes at Prague’s Eden Arena.

Chelsea Belgian left winger Eden Hazard looked to have hit an extra-time winner for Jose Mourinho’s Europa League winners, but Guardiola-coached Bayern bombarded the Blues’ goal in the dying stages before Martinez struck before the final whistle.

“Of course I am very happy, especially after getting the award in Monaco, I am so happy for the entire team, it was a very special occasion,” said man-ofthe-match Ribery, who was voted European player of the year on Thursday.

The Frenchman was one of the survivors from the Bayern side who lost the 2012 Champions League final to Chelsea on penalties at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Victory was especially sweet

‘Unlucky’ Mourinho unhappy with defeat

Bayern Munich’s players celebrate with the trophy after the UEFA Super Cup after defeating Chelsea in the final of the tournament on Friday at the Eden Stadium, in Prague.

AFP/ODD ANDERSEN for Guardiola, who took charge of Bayern in June, following 14 titles in four years at Barcelona, against his former La Liga rival, Mourinho, back in his second stint at Chelsea having left Real Madrid the same month.

“The best team lost, but that is football,” said Mourinho.

The Portuguese said he was annoyed about Ramires’s dismissal for a second yellow card.

“There is a passion for football and if you are in love with the game, you don’t kill a final by giving a red card like that,” he said.

“For me, yes, (the player should not have been punished)

because there were many other yellow cards during the match which the referee didn’t give.”

Bayern’s Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger was missing with sprained ankle ligaments.

Guardiola moved Germany captain Philipp Lahm from right-back to fill Schweinsteiger’s defensive midfield role for the first-half, before Martinez took over in the second half with Lahm dropping back onto the flank.

Mourinho started Brazil centre-back David Luiz, despite the Brazilian’s recent hamstring injury with Spain’s Juan Mata

Wenger taunts Spurs LONDON: Arsene Wenger (right) lit

bitter experience of losing key players late in the window after being forced to sell Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie in recent years.

He believes those star exits proved seriously destabilising to his squad and he expects Tottenham to suffer in similar fashion even though manager Andre Villas-Boas has already spent big in a bid to ensure his team can thrive AFP without Bale.

Number game

Scrabble

Boggle

INDIGO VIOLET SILVER ORANGE

Suduko

the fuse on Sunday’s explosive north London derby as the Arsenal manager warned Tottenham they will struggle to cope when Gareth Bale joins Real Madrid. Bale is set to move to Madrid before the close of the transfer window on Monday evening despite last-minute hitches taking the deal down to the wire and Wenger is convinced the Wales winger’s departure will prove a major blow to Spurs. Wenger, whose side pipped Tottenham in the race for the Champions League last season, has

SOLUTIONS

PRAGUE: Jose Mourinho has insisted he is ‘unlucky’ after ten-man Chelsea lost 5-4 on penalties to Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in Friday’s UEFA Super Cup final in Prague.

When Chelsea replacement Romelu Lukaku missed the 10th spot-kick after the previous nine successful attempts, it meant Bayern finally lifted the Super Cup at the fourth attempt to leave Chelsea boss Mourinho disgruntled.

“When Martinez scored the goal, I felt it was undeserved. The best team lost, but that is football, no problem,” said the 50-yearold. Mourinho slammed Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson for the 85th-minute dismissal of Chelsea midfielder Ramires for a secAFP ond yellow card.

amongst the substitutes.

Despite Bayern dominating possession, Chelsea went ahead after eight minutes when Germany winger Andre Schuerrle’s cross was volleyed into the top right corner by Torres. In the build-up, Guardiola dubbed Mourinho “the master of quick counterattacks” and Chelsea proved his point as Branislav Ivanovic’s throw-on was swept downfield by Hazard to Schuerrle, then Torres as the Blues covered 80 metres in 13 seconds.

Both sides had first-half chances as Torres fired wide, while at the other end Ribery

forced Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech into a diving save with 22 minutes gone, then Thomas Mueller hit the side netting as it finished 1-1 at the break.

Bayern drew level on 47 minutes when Ribery’s right-footed shot rifled past the diving Cech, leading to the Frenchman sprinting into Guardiola’s arms and planting a kiss on the Spaniard’s forehead.

Dante gifted Chelsea a golden chance to take the lead on 64 minutes when the Bayern centre-back’s slip allowed Oscar’s shot, which was saved by Manuel Neuer, before Frank AFP Lampard fired over.

Moyes relishes Anfield showdown LIVERPOOL: David Moyes (in pic) has been quick to express his anger at Manchester United’s tough start to the season, but a daunting trip to bitter rivals Liverpool on Sunday offers an opportunity to lay down a marker in the title race.

Moyes was frustrated at having to face Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the space of his first five matches as United manager.

The Scot has picked up four points from his first two matches in charge, a comprehensive 4-1 win at Swansea and a goalless draw with

Chelsea on Monday.

United’s fans, who were implored by outgoing manager Sir Alex Ferguson to give Moyes their backing, have certainly got behind the former Everton boss.

But Moyes knows a

victory over their old rivals on Merseyside would certainly go a long way to ingratiating himself in Manchester, particularly as he was never able to record a victory at Anfield during his reign AFP at Everton.