TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013 HYDERABAD
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WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 32°C
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The march that shook the world
The ongoing protests in Istanbul have an eerie resemblance to what happened in the summer of 1989 when the Chinese government sent military troops to put an end to student-led protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The incident had huge repercussions on the Chinese political hegemony across the world. We take a look at the series of events that led to the crackdown on the protestors and its aftermath.
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HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER
‘NISHABD’ STAR
JIAH KHAN COMMITS SUICIDE
P8
Respect plastic ban or pay fines GHMC has decided to strictly implement the ban on plastic bags below 40 mic rons from tomorrow, World Environment Day. All retail outlets must display the ban and give a discount on cloth or jute bags.
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Lokayukta is poised to issue ban orders to police and exhibition grounds managers asking them to deny support to the fish therapy for asthma, held by the Bathini family. As lakhs are expected to converge in a couple of days, the ball seems to be in the government’s court.
REPORT ON P5
FISH THERAPY IN
CRISIS
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TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
city events
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Make-up workshop will be organised at Ushodaya Enterprises Private Limited, Moosapet. When: From June 5 to June 7, 10 am to 1 pm
Weather for Hyderabad
Evening
Overnight
32°C
26°C
Cloudy with showers likely.
A mix of cloudy and clear skies
Morning
Afternoon
30°C
36°C
Cloudy with thunderstorms
A mix of cloud and sun.
New Delhi Mumbai Max 40 Max 33 Min 32 Min 29 Clear
Chennai Max 35 Min 26
Partly cloudy
Bangalore Max 28 Min 19
Cloudy with chances of rain.
Cloudy with chances of thunderstorms.
AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Banjara Hills When: June 5, 6 pm
DINING
Movie mania It's A Jungle out There, a film by Hans-Christian Schmidt. Where: Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad, Banjara Hills When: June 6, 6 pm
Father's special A grand buffet, cocktail training session and head massage will be organised during the occasion of Father's day Where: The Square, Novotel Hotel When: June 16 Singaporean food festival Enjoy the finest of Asian flavours at Singaporean food festival. Where: Oriental Kitchen, Park Hyatt. When: 19:00 to 23:30 hours (weekdays), 12:00 to 15:30 hours and 19:00 to 23:30 hours (weekends) Southern spice Kuzhi Paniyaram, Meen Varuval, Muttai Appam, Adai Dosai,Kori Gassi, Gongura Mamsam are some of the dishes you can avail. Where: The Square, Novotel Hotel
WORKSHOPS WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE: The first rains of the season have already caused the City roads to flood. The M ANIL KUMAR situation at Lal Darwaza Mode bus stop was similar to several other places in the City. Cookery contest Freedom cookery contest 2013 will be organised. Where: Sana Garden Function Hall, Charminar. When: June 4, 1 pm
Where: Hard Rock Cafe Hyderabad, Banjara Hills When: June 6, 9 pm
Movie time Beyond, a film By Pernilla August will be screened. Where: Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad, Banjara Hills When: June 7, 4 pm
Food fest Afghani Pathani food festival will be held. Where: Hotel GreenPark, Begumpet When: Till 9th June.
Live performance Live performance by Grey Shack.
Commissioner & Spl Officer
Helpline GAS BOOKING IVRS NO HP 9666023456 Indane 9848824365 BSNL Complaints HMWS & SB Complaints
198 155313
POLICE CONTROL ROOM Hyderabad 27852435 Traffic Control Room 27852482 DCP Traffic 23234065, 23243499F Pollution Control Board 23887500 ELECTRICITY General Complaints Breakdown Section
155333 23431178 23431179
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
23262266 24166666R ENC 23225267 Engineering 23220418 MCH Tankbund 23225397 Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842 MCH Circle III 24736912 MCH Circle IV 23326975 MCH Circle V 23326976 MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100 Head Office 23225397 IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRY PHONE NUMBERS (TRAIN & RESERVATION) RAILWAYS Rail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216 Railway Information 131 Reservations 135 Recorded Information 1345 Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333
Summer camp Summer camp for kids is on. Where: Jawahar Bal Bhavan, Nampally When: Till June 5, 10.30 am to 5 pm
Heavy metal festival Heavy metal festival Deccan Rock Edition III will be held. Where: 10 Lounge & Night Club, Secunderabad When: June 8, 6 pm
Frozen beverages A whole new array of soothing and relaxing daiquiris. Where: Lacatina, Novotel
SHOWS
Banjara Hills. When: June 5, 4 pm
Robokid Robokid 2013, robotics competition for school students will be held. Where: Jay Robotix Private Limited, Patancheru When: June 5, 10 am
Movie mania Eccentricities Of A Blonde-Haired Girl, film by Manoel De Oliveira will be screened. Where: Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad,
WATER SUPPLY Complaint Cell Sewerage Complaint Hyd. Water Supply HOSPITAL General Hospital, Sec-bad Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills NIMS, Director, Punjagutta Osmania General Hospital Railway Hospital, Lalaguda Apollo, Jubilee Hills Care Hospital, Banjara Hills Care Hospital, Nampally Care Hospital, Musheerabad Care Hospital, Sec-bad Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar
155313 23307328 23313163
27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666 39879999
BLOOD BANKS Blood Bank,Narayanguda Chiranjeevi Blood Bank Blood Bank Mediton Goal Red Cross, Vidyanagar ADRM Blood Bank Mythri Charitable Trust NTR Memorial Trust Care Banjara Hills
Film fest As part of European Union Film Festival, Athanasia, film by Panos Karkanevatos will be screened. Where: Goethe Zentrum Hyderabad,
27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445
AMBULANCES Apollo 23548888, 23607777 Kamineni 24022222 Medwin 23202902, 23204616 Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979 Red Cross 27627973 Niloufer Hospital 23314095 Gandhi 23320332 AIRLINES
Airport Director 27903785, 27906001 For Air India Flight Information Toll free (from any network) for IC Flights 18001801407 And for All Flights: 1800227722 Air India has revised its flight timings. For more information call (Toll free) 18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from other lines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in TOURISM OFFICES AP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54 Sec-bad 27893100 Dept of Tourism 23453110 India Tourism 23261360 AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999 UK VISA OFFICE VFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A, Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7
Beside Meridian School, Banjara Hills34. Working hours are from 8 AM to 1 PM And 2 PM to 3PM. MUSEUMS Salar Jung Museum AP State Museum Nizams Museum
24523211 232431300/7641 24521029
Readers’ views
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TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
news
YESTERDAY’S QUESTION
IS THE CONGRESS SERIOUS ABOUT THE T-ISSUE? 12% 88%
YES (A) NO (B)
TODAY’S QUESTION
SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT THE FISH THERAPY? A)
YES
B)
NO
To vote visit www.postnoon.com
POLITICS
CRIME
Azad’s latest on T to tame more outflows If Azad expected any excitement over his statement that a decision on T will be taken by the end of June, he should be thoroughly disappointed. INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Is the latest announcement on Telangana by Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad another ploy to stall more flow from the Congress to TRS? If Azad expected any excitement over his statement that a decision on Telangana will be taken by the end of June, he should be thoroughly disappointed. Nobody is excited. Least of all the TRS and its leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, who laughed it off as another Azad joke at the party’s huge meeting at Nizam grounds on Sunday to admit three senior Congress leaders into the T-party. Rao jibbed at the Congress to the delight of thousands who had gathered to witness the welcoming of three Congress leaders into the party fold. “Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde had said in the past that Telangana issue would be settled in one month and then Azad qualified it with saying that one month did not mean 30 days. So how many days in your calendar, Azad? Later came Vayalar Ravi who said that delivering Telangana was not as easy as making a dosa. Then comes the mother of all statements — Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy says in the Assembly that he would not spare even a rupee for Telangana. Now Azad again says the Congress will take a decision on Telangana by June
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I too hope that my party high command would finally fulfil the desire of the Telangana people.
Speaking to Postnoon, a staunch supporter of United Andhra Pradesh and minister for primary education Dr S Sailajanath declined to comment on the issue, saying he was not aware of the remarks made by Ghulam Nabi Azad. H e w a s clearly ducking the issue as the Azad statement had been flashed by all media and he would
not have missed it. “Right now, I am touring in my Assembly constituency. I am not aware of the details of the statement made by Azad on the Telangana issue,” he said. Another State Cabinet minister, TG Venkatesh, was not available for his comments on the issue. But whether or not Azad’s statement holds water, the proTelangana Congress leaders are happy. Minister for women development and child and disabled welfare V Sunitha Lakshma Reddy hoped that the UPA government would take a favourable decision on the creation of separate Telangana state. “We are happy with the statement of AICC AP in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad,” she said. Staunch supporter of separate Telangana state and veteran Congress leader Dr P Shankar Rao also hoped something will come through this time. He was philosophical when asked about the Azad stance. “The entire world lives on hope. I too hope that my party high command would finally fulfil the desire of the Telangana people. The first prime minister of India Pandit Nehruji in 1956 had said that the people of Telangana can seek division if they feel that they are being neglected in united AP. We have been neglected for the last five decades,” he said.
P Shanker Rao Congress leader on Azad’s remarks
end. Does he mean June this year or next?” asked Rao. Political observers argue that the Azad announcement comes in the wake of tainted Congress leaders proposing to join TRS or YSRC. “The Congress party is clearly rattled,” said a party functionary of the TRS. But it has disturbed the United Andhra protagonists. Andhra and Rayalaseema leaders were on the defensive after the statement.
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Naked Asian leaves Oz police baffled He told police he was mugged, stripped, tied up and locked in a car boot before being dumped. SYDNEY: Police in Sydney were Tuesday trying to work out what happened to a mystery Asian man who hammered on the door of an elderly couple’s house naked and covered in blood, pleading for help. The man, who does not speak English, staggered to the home on Monday night with significant head injuries before collapsing on the doorstep. “I was shaking like a leaf,” an elderly woman who lives at the home and did not want to be identified, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “But we couldn’t just leave him there to die.” AROUND THE
WORLD
Reports said he told police through a Mandarin interpreter that he was mugged, stripped, tied up and locked in a car boot before being dumped. Detective Inspector Danny Doherty said the victim had no identification with him and his identity was as yet unknown. “All we know is it’s a man of Asian descent and that he is in his early 20s,” Doherty told reporters, adding that they were not ruling out an abduction. “There will be people in the community who know exactly what happened,” he added. The man is in a stable condition in hospital and police are waiting to formally interview him. AFP
CITY BRIEFS Seven arrested for gambling
Student’s bike burned in Chilkalguda
Satya Sai Baba stamp to be released
Rainwater harvesting pits programme
CM reconstitutes AP Women’s Commission
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C
he Begumpet police raided a house situated at Balamrahi and arrested seven persons — Ramkrishna, Munni Raju, Pradeep Kumar, Shiv Kumar, Ramesh Reddy, Malik Raju and Kumar Swamy — all aged between 25 and 35 years for gambling. Police have seized `15,600 from their possession and a case is booked against them.
n another bike-burning case, a two-wheeler owned by one Shiva Prasad was put to torch at Upper Basti slum area of Chilkalguda on Sunday night. He had purchased a new bike only a few days ago. Prasad is a student and he was inconsolable. Chilkalguda police have registered a case and started investigation.
nion government has decided to issue a commemorative stamp on Satya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi. “Satya Saibaba was an iconic figure for over five decades, who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice,” said Union minister Killi Kruprani.
he GHMC Central Zone conducted an awareness programme on rainwater harvesting pits today, where corporators from the zone and Colony Welfare Associations and Residential Welfare Associations took part. D Ronald Rose, who was keen to implement directions, hoped that all the colonies will push this idea.
M N Kiran Kumar Reddy reconstituted AP Women’s Commission by appointing Dr Tripurana Venkataratnam as chairperson with six other members. The other members are Paruchuri Jamuna, Dr Sunita Krishnan, Thoti Malleswari, Mukala Kasturi, L Feroz Begum. The ST category member would be nominated separately.
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News TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013 LAST YEAR... HERE Pilgrims stranded in Cairo
L
ast year we had reported how a group of 64 Christian pilgrims who embarked on a religious tour to places in Egypt, Israel and Jordan were duped by City-based Holy Land Tours and Travels in Secunderabad. The incident had come to light when the management forcefully took away their passports and valuables and asked them to leave the hotel after reaching Cairo.
JUNE 4, 2012
NUMEROLOGY
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cases of polio have been reported in Pakistan so far this year. The country’s polio programme is plagued by insurgency, violence and illiteracy, and it is now looking to India for lessons in polio eradication.
The general impression was it would be impossible to reverse the culture of free (online) content... that people will never pay for it. Gilles Demptos World Assn of Newspapers and News Publishers See page 11
THINGS WE 5LEARNT TODAY The column that teaches everyone something new about the way the world functions.
1
Go plastic-free this World Environment Day. At least, that’s what the GHMC is working towards. The civic body plans to implement a strict ban on plastic bags below 40 microns. A laudable move, but we need to see if the ban is followed through.
2
Azad’s T-statement fails to impress. Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s latest statements on Telangana might curb the flow of Congress leaders to the TRS, but few are convinced by his stance.
3
Germany’s baby hatch has its supporters and detractors. With a law ensuring every child’s right to know its mother being pushed for, Germany’s ‘baby hatches’, where infants can be abandoned, have come under focus.
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Counting turtles instead of helping quake victims. Japan spent a billion dollars meant for helping quake victims on a series of unrelated programmes.
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Small and medium enterprises get no help. SMEs in the State continue to suffer due to government apathy.
BUSINESS
SMEs struggle for survival Lukewarm response to expo shows SMEs are still on the road to recovery. N SHIVA KUMAR
PADMINI C padmini.c@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The three-day long Engineering Expo, conducted in Hyderabad for the first time, came to a close on Monday. But the event, which prides itself on being the country’s largest SME gathering on manufacturing and engineering, had few takers in the City. “The footfall was very low. Almost all the people we saw were our old customers, whom we’d invited. We expected at least 50 per cent business but it was less than 30 per cent,” rued Ravi Kumar, owner of MB Engineering Industries in Hyderabad. Participants blamed the poor response on the organisers for not generating more publicity and awareness for the event. This is the latest in the list of troubles for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which have been plagued with political uncertainty, power outages, manpower shortage, drying up of funds, lack of new projects and so on in the past year. Many who came looking forward to the expo for new business opportunities had evidently been disappointed. Industry experts estimate that more than 20 per cent of SMEs in the State have already shut shop, unable to do business in the face of unending woes and with no support from the
What’s plaguing SMEs?
S
mall and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been plagued with political uncertainty, power outages, manpower shortage, drying up of funds, lack of new projects and so on in the past year. Industry experts estimate that more than 20 per cent of SMEs in the State have already shut shop, unable to do business in the face of unending woes and with no support from the government.
AROUND THE
CITY
government. Those at the expo, with businesses reliant on construction and manufacturing industries, claim that they have received no respite. “The power crisis was so severe this year. Most of us couldn’t meet our deadlines, so our orders were delayed, margins were almost zero. The government did nothing to help us. There is simply no incentive for us,” said another participant. While there are signs of power-related problems abating in the coming months, paucity of new projects leading to
prospective business opportunities are still an insurmountable issue. “The political uncertainty in the State is such that everybody is sitting on projects that are allocated to them and not releasing funds. Nobody is starting anything new. All upcoming projects are going to states like Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. All of us down the production chain have no orders coming in, businesses are drying up,” says Krishna Reddy, founder of City-based machine manufacturer, Sampath Engineering Works. Inadequate credit and lack of investor interest is another pressing hiccup for these entrepreneurs. Thankfully, banks seem to jumping into the
fray with Andhra Bank even setting up a dedicated MSME vertical in the State offering various financing schemes, loans, and subsidies for them. “Never before have we have dedicated so much effort to building an infrastructure to support MSME. But now, we are going to great lengths to identify their needs and requirements and make adequate provisions,” said NP Sudhakar, a zonal officer from Andhra Bank who was present at the expo. Nearly 150 SMEs are estimated to have set up stalls at the expo. But while most SMEs are confident of recovering the expenses incurred here, a majority of local entrepreneurs say they won’t be returning next year.
CULTURE
Theatre, a ladder to fame
Theatre workshops help in getting that extra edge when one faces the camera. AROUND THE
NATION
NEW DELHI: Ten-year-old Bhavya Mehra wanted to become the next Katrina Kaif but her introverted nature deterred her from participating in extra-curricular activities, particularly acting. A theatre workshop during her summer vacation transformed her and today she is all set to participate in a popular reality TV show. According to experts, thanks to the internet and TV exposure, a growing number of children are harbouring a dream to be famous and are desperate for their 15 minutes of fame, supported by parents as well.
A slew of reality shows on TV where children display their skills of acting, dancing and singing or even stand-up comedy have provided them a golden opportunity to get national recognition and a chance to make a career out of activities that one loves. Many professionals as well as parents believe that theatre is perhaps the best beginning that a child could get, especially if he or she is not confident enough. Thus, a great number of acting and theatre workshops have sprung up across the national capital. Most of these workshops have renowned faculty members from around the world to teach and train children about the finer nuances of theatre.
“The rise in the number of parents wanting their kids to participate in acting workshops shows that people are aware that theatre offers an enriching and holistic experience for kids,” Shashwat Srivastav of ‘Actor Factor’ theatre society,
which has been organizing acting workshops for children since 2007, told IANS. Sukesh Arora of Yellow Cat Theater Society agrees that theatre is intrinsic to the development of kids, enabling them to think in a creative way. IANS
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News TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
PUBLIC HEALTH
HEALTH
Pak takes polio lessons from India What hinders Pakistan in containing the virus is insurgency, violence and illiteracy. ANJALI OJHA feedback@postnoon.com NEW DELHI: Pakistan is taking oral vaccination tips from India, which has been polio-free for over two years, and wants to replicate its success story, the head of Pakistan’s polio programme says. “But what hinders Pakistan in containing the dreaded virus
is insurgency, violence and illiteracy,” Pakistan National Polio Plus Committee chairman Aziz Memon told IANS in an interview during a visit here. Earlier this week, Pakistan’s polio campaign suffered a major setback when a volunteer in the vaccination campaign was killed and her colleague wounded in a militant attack near Peshawar. The attack came soon
AROUND THE
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after a nation-wide polio campaign started May 28. Memon said Pakistan is taking lessons from India for the way it reached out to its population. “We are taking lessons from India. Our teams visited Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to see the
way they vaccinated children,” Memon said. “We picked many tips. We learned how to involve hundreds of volunteers (involved in the campaign), how to handle the resource center and how to immunise children at the transit check posts,” he said. In 2013, eight cases have so far been reported in Pakistan. IANS
HANGING IN BALANCE
Crisis in fish therapy Lokayukta is poised to issue ban orders to police and exhibition grounds managers asking them to deny support to the 60-year-old fish therapy. ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The AP government has a huge unexpected problem on its hands. The most eagerly awaited annual medical ritual, Mrigasira Nakshatra or fish therapy, slated for June 8, is heading to a crisis with Lokayukta insisting that the police and the government should be disassociated with the event as it is private and unscientific. The petition objecting to the government helping the event was moved by Achyut Rao, president of the AP Balala Hakkula Sangham. Lokayukta judge B Subhashan Reddy held an incamera meeting with the police commissioner, secretary of Nampally exhibition grounds, and the petitioner. The final judgment will be given by evening, but it is likely that the Lokayukta will issue a ban. Police commissioner Anurag Sharma told Postnoon that the event was not a religious one and the police had only been following government orders. “If the Lokayukta asks us not to
Lokayukta’s questions
H
as the government issued orders to help the fish therapy? Why is the government spending `15 crore of public money to help organise a private event undertaken by a family? Why is the government making available five acres of land for this private event? The Lokayukta is to issue its orders this evening.
Patients receiving treatment at the event.
provide security, we will adhere to it,”he added. Every year, the fish medicine is distributed on Mrigasira Nakshatra by the Bathini family to hundreds of thousands of asthma or bronchitis patients who have tried modern drugs in vain. The fish and herbs that are administrated are specially chosen and they are strictly under the control of the Bathini family. Herbs are brought from
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Rishikesh. Fish coated with herbs and jaggery is given to the patient to swallow.
WHAT COLLECTOR PLEADED The collector said that it is on humanitarian grounds that the support is being given to the event.
WHAT POLICE COMMISSIONER SAYS Police commissioner Anurag Sharma said that wherever there is a gathering of people for which permission is given, the police are duty-bound to provide security. Meanwhile, the petitioner has also asked the government to take away the five acres of land in Shamshabad which has been granted by the government to the Bathini family.
Salvador docs perform high risk C-section SAN SALVADOR: Doctors performed a C-section on a chronically ill Salvadoran woman denied an abortion despite her high-risk pregnancy, in a case that garnered global attention. The 22-year-old was in a stable condition after undergoing a cesarean, Health Minister Maria Isabel Rodriguez said. The baby girl, did not survive. Abortion is illegal in El Salvador, even when the mother’s life is at risk. The woman, who has only been identified by a pseudonym, Beatriz, had requested an abortion to terminate the pregnancy because she suffers from lupus, weakening the immune system. The fetus she was carrying had anencephaly, a total or partial absence of the brain and the skull. AROUND THE
WORLD
El Salvador’s Supreme Court rejected her request, but with the approval of the health minister, doctors proceeded to deliver the baby prematurely by C-section after 26 weeks of gestation. The woman delivered at the capital’s main maternity hospital. Beatriz’s case garnered attention around the world, with women’s organizations and rights groups outraged at her plight. “Having put Beatriz through this long process affects a person whose life is in immediate danger, and it is something cruel, inhumane and degrading,” the rights watchdog said. AFP
NATION BRIEFS Bomb explodes at police station in Manipur
Woman sets herself, daughters on fire in UP
Odisha reopens white tiger safari for visitors
Separate incidents of lightning kill four
Two killed in road accident in UP
IMPHAL: A powerful bomb exploded near a police station in Ukhrul district of Manipur. The bomb exploded at about 8.30 pm last night, but no one was injured. The bomb might have been planted by militants, officials said. Ukhrul was once a stronghold of Naga militant before it entered into peace talks with central govt in 1997.
LUCKNOW: A woman in a village in UP set herself and her five daughters on fire after she was taunted and beaten up by her husband for not bearing a son, police said. Victim’s brother in a complaint alleged that her husband, Lodh, tortured his sister often and the neighbours, too, testified that he would beat up his wife frequently.
BHUBANESHWAR: The white tiger safari at the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Odisha, which was shut a month ago for safety reasons, was reopened for visitors on Tuesday. The safari was closed after a seven-year-old Royal Bengal tiger walked into it April 29. They decided to reopen it after the big cat returned to the wild on May 31.
BAHRAICH (UP): Four persons were killed after lightning struck them in separate incidents, sources said today. Vishwanath (32), Barati (35) and Sadanad (35) were killed when lightning hit them in Bukkapur village yesterday when they were working in their fields. In a similar incident in Ajitpur village, Sadhana (9) was killed.
BADAUN (UP): Two men were killed and five others were injured when their tempo lost control and overturned in Civil Lines area here, police said today. Chandrapal (40) and Narottam Singh (45) were killed on the spot in the incident, they said. The injured have been admitted to a hospital, where their condition was stated to be stable.
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News TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
CIVIC
GHMC gets its acts together
Commissioner claims the Corporation is well equipped to meet any emergency. All the weak spots in the City are identified and a new emergency squad is posted in south zone. Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The GHMC has identified 70 areas in the City, where inundation is likely if the rainfall is more than 20 mm. Efforts are afoot to keep a blueprint ready for action in case of emergency relocation of people is required. The commissioner, M T Krishna Babu who elaborated on the arrangements being made for the monsoons said that a meeting would be held with department officials to chalk out a plan. “During the four months of monsoon spread we shall be engaging extra staff of 620 to face the challenge”, said the commissioner. The GHMC officials will be getting training from the National Disaster Management Battalion of CISF stationed at Hyderabad. The commissioner hopes that the employees would be better equipped with knowledge of disaster management. Babu explained that for this season an additional emergency squad was being posted for the South Zone apart from the Central Emergency Squad. “Review meet-
The Commissioner has warned that a case of criminal negligence would be booked against the employees who would remove the manhole covers, which is the main cause of accidents during the rainy season. completed by June 10. “This year we are getting good feedback that quality of desilting is better. We made sure the entire waste is taken to dumping yard, where the contractors will be paid,” says the commissioner.
AROUND THE
CITY ings will be held at regular intervals, where we will be making sure that equipment is in good condition,” he said. The commissioner has warned that a
JAPAN’S RELIEF FUND
Disaster cash spent on counting turtles While there is no suggestion of corruption, the admissions are an embarrassment for the government. MIWA SUZUKI Agence France-Presse TOKYO: A billion dollars of public money earmarked to help people hit by Japan's 2011 quake and tsunami was spent in areas unaffected by the disaster, the government admitted Monday. Projects ranging from counting sea turtles on semi-tropical beaches to the promotion of cheese and wine events hundreds of kilometres from the disaster zone benefited from the largesse, a report said. AROUND THE
WORLD The Japanese government had previously acknowledged that the country's controversial whaling programme was being supported by disaster money. The Asahi Shimbun, a major daily newspaper, surveyed local authorities around the country to find out what happened to the 200 billion yen (around $2 billion) Tokyo set aside in 2011 for job creation after the disaster. It said 108.5 billion yen was spent in
38 prefectures that were outside the stricken northeast, where 97 per cent of people employed with the help of the money were not disaster zone evacuees. In a town in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima, around 1,300 kilometres from the devastated city of Ishinomaki, three million yen was spent on the protection and observation of sea turtles. Ten people were employed to count the creatures and remind sightseers not to interfere with them. "We only counted sea turtles and were not required to move eggs to safe places or do other things. It wasn't even for sea turtles, let alone those hit by the disaster," the daily quoted one them as saying. Chief Cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said staff were checking how the money had been used, but noted the reported spending took place under the previous administration. In the far west of Honshu, money was allocated for advertising the cartoon mascot that promotes Yamaguchi, while Tottori prefecture decided to spend money promoting a local song and dance troupe. In far northern Hokkaido a project to boost tourism based on the area's wine and cheese culture benefited from the money.
case of criminal negligence would be booked against the employees who would remove the manholes covers.
153 WATER SOFT SPOT
According to him, the GHMC has identified 153 points of water stagnation on roads for which it is spending 5 crore. He said de-silting works underway would be
REHABILITATION OF AFFECTED NALLAHS
M T Krishna Babu said that several structures need to be removed at the nallah of Chintal Basti, where rehabilitation would be given for the affected under JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) scheme. “As the CM is supporting this, the relocation will take 6-months. By retrieving major nallahs we can avert inundation of City.”
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News TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
MEDICAL HUB
Healthcare redefined
S BALAKRISHNA
Hyderabad in the coming years will be the centre of the medical industry in the country, says chairman of Continental Hospitals, Guru N Reddy, emphatically. The reason for his confidence stems from the fact that he is the brain behind what is touted to be the next big name in the healthcare sector in Andhra Pradesh. FLEME VARKEY fleme.v@postnoon.com
I
n the City, there is talk of a myriad number of hospitals, some worth going to, others standing just for the sake of it. Continental Hospitals in Gachibowli, though, stands apart. On questioning him on the choice of location, Dr Guru N Reddy answered, “One of the primary factors for setting up the hospital here is because this is a calm and unpolluted environ-
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ment, away from the packed and noisy streets or the main road. It is located strategically close to the Outer Ring Road and hence is easily accessible to many people. A hospital, I believe, should provide what is expected of it. Proper infrastructure facilities, methods to promote faster recovery of its patients, prevent the spread of infections and contribute to the healing of the patient, unlike being a place where the patient is likely to catch more infections. Proper ambience is significant as almost 40 per cent of a person’s illness can be cured by the healing power within nature and here we provide all that and much more.”
The hospital also seeks to break the myth that international and multi-specialty means exorbitant prices. Dr Reddy puts it into perspective for us. “Good quality medicine can also be pro-
THE MAN BEHIND THE HOSPITAL Chairman: Dr Guru N Reddy Specialisation: Gastroenterology and teaching and training A true son of the soil. He graduated from Osmania Medical College and then proceeded to the US for further studies. He gave up a successful practice in the US to give back to society. Continental Hospitals is a result of his 30 years of service in the industry. He used his experience for the space planning and designing of this venture.
vided at a low cost. It’s the patient’s privacy and dignity which comes first here. With our cost-effective treatments, the patients will surely get value for money.” A 700-bed super specialty hospital, it boasts care in 30 specialties, with focus on important areas such as neuro sciences, cardiovascular sciences, gastroenterology, orthopaedics, joint reconstruction and cancer and radiation treatment. However, what Dr Reddy is extra proud of is their Women’s Centre, one of the largest integrated women centres in the country and also the fact that their hospital is able to cater to the largest number of Arogyashree patients in the State. Not to mention their impressive emergency centre which has an acute chest pain centre, stroke and trauma centre and highly specialised ICU.
While we often raise questions as to the methodology of treatment followed by most hospitals, at Continental Hospitals, they seek to provide evidencebased medicine. This practice, Dr Reddy believes, is going to be the future and the need of the hour. Here, patients will be able to question their doctors regarding their problems and not limit themselves to fearing the authority. Since its inauguration in March, the hospital has already conducted a large number of surgeries. Already catering to a number of specialities, the question of expansion is nowhere on the chairman’s mind. He says, “Our mission is to engage every section of society; we are not a corporate hospital but an institution. The name itself suggests we are so large, expansion is out of the question.”
WORLD BRIEFS China poultry plant rep detained over fire
US sanctions go after Iran's currency, auto
Three activists found slain in Mexico
Xi visits Costa Rica, agrees on $2bn projects
Court convicts man for insulting Prez Morsi
BEIJING: A senior official at a poultry processing firm in China has been detained over a plant fire that killed 120 people — the country’s deadliest blaze in 12 years — a local official said Tuesday. The fire, which engulfed Baoyuanfeng poultry plant in minutes after a blast triggered by a suspected chemical leak, left another 70 injured, the agency said.
WASHINGTON: The US unveiled aggressive new sanctions against Iran Monday, directly targeting the rial currency for the first time and also the auto sector, a key source of jobs and revenue. The measures followed Tehran’s refusal to cede ground in stalled world power talks on its nuclear programme.
ACAPULCO: Three Mexican farming activists from among a group of eight people who went missing last week have been found murdered, authorities said. Authorities found the three in Guerrero state, apparently beaten to death along a highway. Another four of the eight men who apparently were abducted escaped early Monday.
SAN JOSE: Chinese President Xi Jinping led a major trade foray into Costa Rica with agreements on projects worth nearly $2 billion, including upgrades of an oil refinery, a key highway and public transport. Costa Rica, the only Central American country that has diplomatic relations with China, was Xi's second stop on a quick swing through the region.
CAIRO: A court in Cairo has found activist Ahmed Douma guilty of insulting Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi and handed him a six-month suspended sentence. The court said such acts "undermine state security and terrorise people", according to Al-Ahram Online. He is the first prominent critic of Morsi to be convicted on such charges.
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TRAGIC END
SYRIAN CONFLICT
‘Nishabd’ star Jiah Khan commits suicide at home
Missile kills 26 as key battle rages DAMASCUS: A missile strike near Syria's biggest city Aleppo killed 26 people and government warplanes pounded Qusayr, a watchdog said Monday, as a regime offensive to retake the town entered its third week. Regime opponents also suffered a blow when one of the main groups in the National Coalition withdrew from the bloc, denouncing its leadership. US officials said, meanwhile, that Washington would send a Patriot missile battery and F-16 fighters to Jordan for a drill and may keep them there to counter any threat posed by the Syrian war.
The Britain-born actress was found hanging in her flat in the posh Juhu area of northwest Mumbai around midnight. AROUND THE
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MUMBAI: Bollywood actress Nafisa alias Jiah Khan, who was seen opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd, committed suicide at her residence in Mumbai’s Juhu area, police said Tuesday. She was 25. The Britain-born actress was found hanging at her flat in Sagar Sangeet Building in the posh Juhu area of northwest Mumbai around midnight. The cause of the suicide is not yet clear, police said, adding that autopsy reports were awaited. The body of the actress was taken to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle Monday night and later shifted to JJ Hospital in Byculla. “The body was brought here last night. It has now been taken to JJ Hospital,” a source from Cooper Hospital told IANS. However, he didn’t reveal why the body was moved. Police are questioning her domestic help, security personnel and neighbours to ascertain what could have triggered the extreme step. News of her death was first reported by actress Dia Mirza through a social networking site around 1.45am.
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Jiah Khan and Amitabh Bachchan — a scene from Nishabd.
Jiah shot into the limelight in 2007 with Ram Gopal Varma’s Nishabd in which she plays a teenager besotted with a man old enough to be her father. She got a Filmfare Best Debutant nomination for the role. “Shocked and choked to hear about Jiah,” Varma tweeted after hearing the news. “Never seen a debutant
actress with more spunk and more spirit than Jiah when I was directing her in Nishabd,” the director said in another tweet. In 2008, she was seen along with Aamir Khan and Asin in the blockbuster Ghajini, a remake of AR Murugadoss’s Tamil film by the same title. She was last seen in Sajid Khan's Housefull with Akshay
Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta. She was born Nafisa and changed her name to Jiah before going back to her birth name. Her mother is Rabiya Amin, an actress in the 1980s who was seen in the Tahir Hussain movie Dulha Bikta Hai. IANS
The missile attack on Kfar Hamra came as Assad's forces mounted an assault on the rebel-held countryside surrounding Aleppo in the north. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the surface-to-surface missile struck around midnight, killing 26 people, including six women and eight children. The strike comes a few days into an army offensive aimed at advancing on Aazaz, a rebel stronghold north of Aleppo, the most populated city and commercial hub before the war. AFP
CRIME
Jail for prof in sex-for-grades case
The former NUS professor ‘chose to be corrupt’ and ‘exploited’ his student, a judge said Monday. SINGAPORE: A law professor was sentenced to five months in jail in Singapore on Monday for obtaining sexual favours and gifts from a female student in exchange for better grades. Former National University of Singapore (NUS) professor Tey Tsun Hang, 42, will also pay a penalty for the gifts he had received, Judge Tan Siong Thye ruled. Tey, who is married with a daughter, was found guilty last Tuesday of six charges of corruption over his relationship with his then-student Darinne Ko in 2010. Local media reported that she is now 23 and working in a law
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firm. After the verdict, the NUS announced that it had terminated Tey's employment. Dressed in a white shirt and black tie, Tey folded his arms and mumbled to himself as the judge read out the grounds for sentencing. He was handcuffed and led away by police officers after the court session ended. Judge Tan said Tey “chose to be corrupt” and “exploited” his student, obtaining sexual favours and receiving gifts that included tailored shirts and a
limited-edition pen. Ko got pregnant during their affair and paid for her own abortion, the judge said. “The corrupt actions of the accused were premeditated and carried out on several occasions. He clearly and systematically took advantage of his student,” the judge said. “As an educator, he was in a position of trust and responsibility. He belonged to a public body that provided tertiary education to the people of Singapore,” he added. Defence lawyer Peter Low filed an appeal immediately and Tey was granted bail at Sg$150,000 (US$120,000). AFP
The corrupt actions of the accused were premeditated and carried out on several occasions. He clearly and systematically took advantage of his student. Tan Siong Thye judge
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TURKEY UNREST
Top union backs protesters
The left-leaning confederation has some 2,40,000 members in 11 unions and the action will likely affect schools, universities and public offices across the country. ISTANBUL: One of Turkey’s main trade union confederations on Tuesday joined protests against the government, after another night of clashes between police and protesters in Istanbul and Ankara. Turkey’s Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK) has called a two-day strike from Tuesday to protest against the police crackdown on demonstrators. “The state terror implemented against entirely peaceful protests is continuing in a way that threatens civilians’ life safety,” the KESK said Monday in a statement on its website. The police crackdown showed the Islamist-rooted government’s “enmity to democracy”, it said. The left-leaning confederation has some 240,000 members in 11 unions and the action will likely affect schools, universities
Private television station NTV reported that a 22-year-old man had died after being shot in the head in Hatay province.
POLITICS
TDP returns TRS fire AROUND THE
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POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: The first salvo at the TRS after the three Congress leaders joined the party was fired by TDP senior leader Somireddy Chandrasekhara Reddy. He said KCR was inducting grand-dads who would achieve nothing. What is KCR going to achieve from the burntout figures, he asked. Somireddy said it would be better for KCR to concentrate on the Telangana movement rather than spitting venom on the Seemandhra people. He asked KCR to bring out facts and figures to substantiate his claims that Telangana produces the State’s chunk of revenue. Minus Hyderabad, Telangana’s revenue contribution would be negligible, he added.
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and public offices across the country. Turkish police and anti-government protesters clashed again in Istanbul early Tuesday, as the reported death toll from nationwide protests rose to two. Riot police fired tear gas at protestors who burned cars, hurled stones and bellowed angry slogans into the early hours. Similar scenes played out in the capital Ankara. Earlier, as white fumes hung in the air in surrounding streets, thousands of other protestors gathered on Taksim Square, the symbolic heart of the protests. “Tayyip, resign!” they yelled, waving red flags and banners and whistling. AFP reporters saw many demonstrators being carried away by medics. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had already left on a trip to Morocco, had insisted on Monday the situation was calming down. He rejected talk of a “Turkish
A policeman fires teargas canisters at protesters in Istanbul.
Spring” uprising by Turks who accuse him of trying to impose Islamic reforms on the secular state. The clashes, which have rocked scores of cities across Turkey, have now entered a fifth day. Erdogan has blamed the protests on “extremists” and “dissidents” among his opponents and on Monday insisted the situation was calming down. “The Republican People’s
Party and other dissidents have a hand in these events,” he said, referring to the main Turkish opposition. A medics’ union earlier Monday said a man had been killed when a car ploughed into protestors in Istanbul on Sunday. And early Tuesday, private television station NTV reported that a 22-year-old man had died after being shot in the head in
AFP
Hatay province, in the south of the country. The wave of protests began on Friday after police cracked down on a peaceful protest in Istanbul against plans to build over Gezi Park, a rare green spot adjoining Taksim Square. That generated wider antigovernment protests in Istanbul, Ankara and dozens of other cities. AFP
WILDLIFE
Ranthambore tigress missing When the forest department could not trace the tigress, T-31, during a waterhole census, it was obvious that she is missing, said an official. JAIPUR: Another tigress has been reported missing from Rajasthan’s Ranthambore National Park as she has not been spotted for the past few months, an official said Sunday. Tagged T-31, the tigress is the second big cat which has gone missing in the past two months. Earlier another tigress, T-17, was reported missing in April, a senior forest department official told IANS. “Tigress T-31 used the Indala forest area as her territory. However, she has not been spotted in the past five months at least. She was neither caught on any of the trap cameras set up in the park nor was she spotted by any park employee or nature guide,” said the official, who declined to be identified. Her disappearance was
noticed during a waterhole census. “The tigress had not been spotted for the past five months. But when the forest department could not trace her during a waterhole census, it was obvious that she is missing,” the official added. A team of wildlife experts will be constituted to trace the AROUND THE
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missing tigress, the forest department official said. “A team is already trying to locate another tigress, T-17, which is missing from the park since April,” the official added. Home to over 50 tigers, including cubs, Ranthambore is in Sawai Madhopur district, some 150 km from Jaipur. IANS
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CRIME
Skeleton of man missing for ten months found Police’s lack of interest in cracking a case in which they were given clues has meant that it took almost a year to bring the case to a close. Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: It is now found that a lorry driver, who went missing for 10 months, has been murdered. His skeleton and some identification were found in a nallah near pillar No 117 of Attapur on May 30. Rajendrannagar subinspector S Laxman said the mortal remains gave ample proof of one Mohd Abdul Raheem alias Iqbal, who went missing on August 31 last year. He had gone to
submit to education authorities the scholarship forms of his children. He was wearing a safari suit and had an identity card on him. As he did not return home and his mobile went untraceable, his wife had lodged a complaint. According to the victim’s brother Dr Mohd Abdul Hameed, he had notified the police of the suspected involvement of financiers Ramesh, Kondal Reddy and Panduranga in his brother’s missing case. But the police made no spe-
cial efforts to bring out the truth, alleged Dr Hameed. A few days ago, some passersby detected bones and a skeleton in the nallah and informed the police. As the body had enough identification, there was no doubt of the person. The remains of Iqbal have been handed over to his family, police said. The deceased has four children. Family members believe he was done to death by the private financiers whom he owed money. No arrest has so far been made.
His brother, Dr Hameed, had notified the police of the involvement of some financiers in the case. The victim’s family.
TIANANMEN ANNIVERSARY
HERCULEAN TASK
China blocks commemoration
A firefighting helicopter drops fire retardant on a flare-up near Lake Hughes, California on Tuesday. More than 2,100 firefighters are battling the 30,000 acre blaze. The wind-fuelled inferno is 40 per cent contained AFP/ ROBYN BECK but may not reach full containment for another week, officials said.
BEIJING: Chinese police blocked the gate of a cemetery housing victims of the Tiananmen crackdown on its 24th anniversary Tuesday, part of a sweeping annual effort to bar commemorations of the event. Authorities launch a major push every June 4 to prevent discussion of the violently crushed 1989 pro-democracy protests, China's darkest human rights stain in recent decades, in which at least hundreds died. More than a dozen security officials deployed outside the stone gate at the Wanan graveyard near the hills of western Beijing, which mothers of the victims visit each year, told AFP journalists to leave the area.
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And in a narrow street close to Beijing's Forbidden City, security personnel patrolled outside the former house of Zhao Ziyang, the former communist party secretary who was purged and held under house arrest following the protests. Authorities have detained or enhanced surveillance of 10 prominent dissidents, according to the Hong Kong-based advocacy group China Human Rights Defenders. Online searches for keywords on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, were blocked. AFP
PAK DIPLOMAT INCIDENT
Two arrested after strong Pak protest
NEW DELHI: A woman and her nephew were arrested today in connection with a "minor brawl" with a Pakistani diplomat and his driver following a "freak accident" in south Delhi, police said. Roshni and her nephew
Rohit were apprehended after a case of rash and negligent driving was registered against them in connection with the incident in Ber Sarai last evening. A case under sections 279 (rash and negligent driving), 323 (causing hurt), 336 (endangering
life or personal safety of others), 341 (wrongfully restraining another person), 143 (being member of unlawful assembly) and 149 (act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of Indian Penal code were registered against
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them, police said. Zirgham Raza, Pak First Secretary (Trade) suffered "minor bruises" in a
brawl when his car and a motorcycle were involved in a "freak accident" in Ber Serai at around 7.25pm yesterday. The Pakistan High Commission has lodged a strong protest with the Ministry of External Affairs over the issue. PTI
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ENVIRONMENT
Respect plastic ban or pay fines
GHMC has decided to strictly implement the ban on plastic bags below 40 microns from tomorrow, World Environment Day. All retail outlets must display the ban of plastic bags and give a discount to customers for buying cloth or jute bags. Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com
T
he GHMC has finally decided to take on the demon called plastic carry-bags. The City is choking with flimsy plastic bags that clog drains, pollute environment and damage soil. But the big question being asked is how to control the plastic carry-bag manufacturers who have a strong lobby and deep pockets. Officials avoid the question but say though it is banned, persuasion was the key and GHMC has sought and got assurance from these manufacturers not to produce plastic carry-bags below 40 microns because they cannot be recycled. Commissioner MT Krishna Babu, along with additional commissioners (health and sanitation) and assistant medical officers (health) of 18 circles, held a meeting with major plastic manufacturing industries, shop owners, wholesale and retail dealers, and shopping malls in regard to the ban and use of plastic carry-bags below 40 microns as per the notification of the ministry of environment and forests, government of India.
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PERSUASION NOW, PENALISATION LATER The commissioner said that major chains of shops in the limits of GHMC should voluntarily announce some good initiatives that they are going to bring about in order to protect the environment and discourage people from the usage of plastic by June 15, 2013, in connection with World Environment celebrations starting from June 5. The commissioner said that to start with, major chain outlets and shops will provide jute or cloth bags at a subsidised cost to their customers. He said that every shop owner must display stickers/posters/ notices in and around the premises of their shops and at the cash counter the rates of jute carry-bags and other soilfriendly bags, which are being sold to customers at a subsidised rates.
TOUGH TIMES
Newspapers mull survival paywalls AIDAN JONES Agence France-Presse BANGKOK: Global newspaper chiefs have some rare good news to share after years of slumping print sales and advertising revenues — readers appear increasingly willing to pay for online news. Over 1,000 newspaper editors and other media figures are meeting in Bangkok this week as papers continue to shed readers — at least in the older markets — and the shift to the Internet draws more “eyeballs” but lower ad rates. Press freedom, journal-
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The shop owners must give a discount to customers who bring their own jute bags again for carrying the items as per the prescribed rate displayed at the cash counters. The GHMC is going to inspect all shops and business establishments and those found not displaying this information will be penalised `2,000. This inspection, they say, is going to be a continuous process. The commissioner added that in spite of the fines imposed, if things have not improved, heavy penalties will be imposed and also the DNO (dangerous and offensive) trade licence will be exercised on such shops. Even the seizure of shops for non-implementation of the orders specified therein is not ruled out, he warned. The commissioner said that an innovative scheme has been taken up by the Kukatpally Rythu Bazar management that whoever comes with a big jute bag, meaning those not using plastic carry-bags, will be given a gift coupon to participate in a lucky draw and can win up to `1 lakh worth of gold and the draw will be held at the bazaar after 40 days starting from June 5. Reliance Fresh Limited, Shopper’s Stoppe, City Malls, Big Bazaar, Food World, Ratnadeep Super Market, Rainbow Industries, Chintamani Plastic Industries, Balaji Grand Bazar, Durga Plastics, Popular Plastics and officials from FAPCCI participated in the meeting.
Plan of action According to GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu, the corporation is focusing on plastic manufacturers by strictly implementing the ban on the ones below 40 microns. “Officials from head office are focusing on the supply end (manufacturing) while zonal officials will make sure all retailers are encouraged to use jute and cotton bags,” he explained. There is a team for pursuing the manufacturers, who would be visiting the manufacturing units across the City. But at the zonal level, it will be health officials under respective zone commissioners who would discourage usage of plastic carry-bags. The commissioner could not explain if there was a particular squad at each zone completely engaged in this activity.
ist safety, the use of new technology and future trends in print and advertising will also be discussed at the four-day annual World Newspaper Congress. The issue of charging readers for web and mobile content looms largest, with editors casting an envious eye at media groups who have successfully implemented “paywalls” after years of giving away news for free. “The general impression was that it would be impossible to reverse the culture of free (online) content... that people will never pay for it,” said Gil-
les Demptos of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. “The great news is that is changing dramatically,” he added, citing the boom in paid-for online subscriptions for the “highquality” journalism of the New York Times and Financial Times. Last month, the NYT became the second mostread US daily newspaper, with a circulation of over 1 million, boosted by 3,25,000 new digital readers — who have joined since a paywall was introduced in 2011. For $35 a month subscribers gain unlimited access to the New York Times’ website and mobile apps, while casual visitors to its website can still read 10 articles without charge per month. The paywall trend — either full or “metered” — has tentatively taken off across the world, although publishers closely guard the numbers of paying subscribers signed up.
PICK YOUR
Tips to shops n Stock cloth, jute bags with subsidy announced by the government. n Display a notice stating the ban on plastic carry-bags and encourage customers to buy jute and cloth bags.
@
n Penalty awaits shop owners who fail to display this notice. n Minimum penalty `2,000. n Those coming with jute/cloth bags to shop get a lucky coupon.
Across Stores
ities Twin C
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SOCIETY
‘Baby hatch’ back in focus Germany’s legislation on ‘baby hatch’ system will take into account the mother’s desire for anonymity, as well as the child’s right to information.
YANNICK PASQUET Agence France-Presse BERLIN: Germany’s “baby hatches”, where women can safely leave their unwanted newborn, have come under fire as the government pushes a new law to guarantee a child the right to eventually know its mother’s identity. At a Berlin clinic, a discreet path winds through springtime flowerbeds to a sign that simply AROUND THE
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The chief aim of the baby hatches is to give the desperate mothers an alternative to kill or abandon their babies in places where they will die. directs visitors to the “Baby Crib” — a steel hatch that opens onto a heated cot where an infant can be left. “An alarm goes off for several seconds,” says Gabriele Stangl of the Protestant Church-run Waldfriede hospital in the capital’s leafy, residential Zehlendorf district. “It takes two to three minutes for the nurses to come and get the baby, enough time so the mother
can get away without being seen.” In the 13 years since the clinic set up the hatch — known in Germany as the “Babyklappe” — the alarm has sounded more than 20 times, especially lately. “For two years we didn’t have any, and during the last six months we had two in five days,” Stangl told AFP. The babies tend to be between 24 and 30 hours old and are cared for by the hospital. They are passed on to an adoptive family unless the birth mother changes her mind within the first eight weeks. Germany has around 100 baby hatches under a system thought to have been common in medieval Europe. It was reintroduced 14 years ago in Germany and has since been adopted by other countries ranging from Belgium to Japan. While the system is accepted by the churches in Germany, there is no legal framework governing their use. The United Nations condemned it last year for flouting a child’s right to know its origins. Opponents also argue that the baby hatches have done nothing to bring down the number of newborns being killed every year in Germany. According to the nongovernmental organisation Terre des Hommes, which is campaigning against the baby hatch, 313 newborns were found dead in Germany between 1999 and the end of last year.
A sign reading “Babyklappe” (baby hatch) at a Berlin hospital. The aim is to give desperate mothers an alternative to killing their babies or abandoning them in places where they will die. AFP
HISTORIC THREATS
WWII shell stops Japan bullet trains TOKYO: An unexploded World War II shell that was discovered just metres from a busy rail track halted high speed trains in Japan on Tuesday, as bomb disposal experts moved in to detonate it. The travel plans of around 90,000 people were disrupted when an exclusion zone was thrown up around the shell, which was discovered in the north of Tokyo earlier this year. A squad from the country’s Ground Self-Defense Force piled sandbags on top of the shell before detonating it around noon. AROUND THE
Terre des Hommes argues that women driven to killing their baby at birth generally suffer psychological conditions so severe that they are unlikely to try and find a baby hatch. In the face of the UN condemnation as well as criticism from Germany’s ethics committee, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has adopted draft legislation to find another solution. The idea is to allow women to give birth without publicly revealing their identity, something about 130 German hospitals already practise despite a law stipulating that midwives register the mother’s name. The mother’s personal data would be kept for 16 years, after
which the child would have the right to the information, which some psychologists see as crucial for their emotional wellbeing, according to the new law. Conservative lawmaker Ingrid Fischbach believes the new legislation takes into account both “the mother’s desire for anonymity and the right of the child to know its origins”. But supporters of the baby hatch see things differently. “I don’t think a child has to fall into a psychological hole simply because it doesn’t know where it comes from. When it grows up in an adoptive family that tells it the truth and gives it lots of love, it can become a very stable human being, despite everything, “ Stangl said. AFP
WORLD
A total of 150 train services, including 53 Shinkansen bullet-train services, were affected, a spokesman for East Japan Railway said, adding 90,000 people would be affected. The 40-centimetre shell, believed to have belonged to Japan’s imperial forces, was discovered during excavation work. Despite massive redevelopment in the nearly 70 years since WWII, finds of unexploded ordinance are not uncommon in and around Japan’s cities, which were heavily bombed by US forces. AFP
SPACE TRAVEL
ESA’s Einstein readies for space mission On Wednesday, an Ariane 5ES is set to take a whopping 20.2 tonnes into orbit — a record for Europe. MARIETTE LE ROUX Agence France-Presse PARIS: Nearly 40 years ago, European countries worried by US and Soviet dominance of space gave the green light to the first Ariane rocket, a wee launcher capable of hoisting a satellite payload of just 1.8 tonnes, the equivalent mass of two small cars. On Wednesday, the fifth and mightiest generation of Arianes is set to take a whopping 20.2 tonnes into orbit, a record for Europe, proud engineers say. The payload is the fourth cargo delivery by the European Space Agency to the International Space Station (ISS), bringing food,
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water, oxygen, scientific experiments and special treats to the orbiting crew. An Ariane 5 ES is scheduled to blast off from ESA’s base at Kourou in French Guiana at 6:52 pm (2152 GMT) Wednesday, taking aloft an Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), a robot space truck dubbed the Albert Einstein. The cargo craft will carry almost seven tonnes of dry and fluid cargo for its five-month mission. About an hour after liftoff, somewhere over New
Zealand, the ATV, some 10 metres (33 feet) long, will detach from the rocket’s upper stage and then deploy its four energy-generating solar panels and navigate autonomously, guided by starlight. It will dock with the ISS on July 15 at an altitude of 400 kilometres above the planet. The craft has enough fuel to make three docking attempts if something goes wrong, said JeanMichel Bois, ATV operations manager in Toulouse, France. In case of a failed attempt, the ATV would retreat from the ISS and go into a different orbit, returning days later to try again. The Albert Einstein will boast the largest assortment of goods yet
delivered to the ISS, a total of 1,400 individual items that include everything from pyjamas and toothbrushes to lasagne and tiramisu for its six astronauts. The craft carries 4.8 tonnes of fuel needed to dock with the ISS and give it a boost into higher orbit as tge ISS is in a low Earth orbit and encounters atmospheric
resistance. ATVs can also push the ISS out of the way of oncoming space debris. The Albert Einstein will also carry 800 kg (1,760 pounds) of propellant to be pumped into the ISS itself, as well as more than 500 kilos (1,100 pounds) of water and 100 kilos of oxygen, according to Astrium. AFP
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
Business
CAVINKARE BAGS `250 cr INVESTMENT
Fast moving consumer goods major CavinKare has bagged `250 crore of private equity investments from Mauritius-based firm ChrysCapital in a "structured deal" in order to strengthen its brand portfolio, a company official said
GADGETS
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ANA DOUBTFUL ON 787
City prefers value phones Value phones drove almost 49 per cent of the transactions during the first quarter of 2013 on eBay, followed by tablets and smartphones. City’s brands in various segments on eBay Phone: Smartphone: Dual-SIM Phone: Value Phone: Laptop: Tablet: TV Brand: LCD Brand: LED TV Brand: Digital Camera Brand: Compact Camera Brand: Long ZoomCamera Brand: Digital SLR Camera Brand: POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com HYDERABAD: Value phone is the most purchased electronic device online by Hyderabadis, according to the eBay’s Battle of the Gadgets report based on an analysis of all gadget transactions on eBay India from January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2013 (Q1). Value phones drove almost 49 per cent of the transactions during this period on eBay. This is segment is followed by tablets (14 per cent), smart phones (10 per cent) dual sim phones (9 per cent). On the whole, it is a clear sign that City’s e-shoppers are tend towards mobiles. The report reveals interesting insights on gadget consumption patterns of Hyderabad. Battle of the Gadgets dives deep
Hyderabadis Favourite Devices Smartphones: Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos i9082 Dual-Sim phones: Samsung Galaxy S Duos GT-S7562 Value Phone: Nokia Asha 302 Tablet: iBerry Auxus CoreX2 Laptop: Dell Inspiron 3420 Compact Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-WX50 Long Zoom Camera: DSC-W690 DSLR: Nikon D5100 LCD TV: Toshiba 24PA200ZE LED TV: Sony Bravia KLV 32 EX330
into the brands and their fastest moving gadget models in their range of mobile phones, laptops, tablets, digital cameras and televisions to illustrate consumer behaviour through multiple attributes such as brand adoption, pricing and geographical relevance. According to Deepa Thomas, e-commerce evangelist, eBay India, “Gadgets have always been very popular with Hyderabad shoppers on eBay India with as much as 48 per cent of the shopping basket being from the electronics category. We have been observing an increasing trend of value phone consumption in the city with Samsung being the most popular mobile brand with a 29 per cent market share, followed by Sony and HTC at 22 per cent
Samsung Sony Samsung Nokia Dell iberry Samsung Toshiba Samsung
$5
Sony
for
DOLLAR `56.60 POUND `86.72
mn
Nikon
is what Wipro has invested in USbased Axeda Corporation for software service support to deliver machine-to-machine applications.
Nikon
BASF EYES ASIA-PACIFIC
GOLD `27,500 10g SILVER `44,500 1kg for
NUMEROLOGY
Sony
and 16 per cent each.” As per the report, consumers across the country are upgrading to personal and portable devices as smart phone and tablet sales are gaining immense momentum. Nationally, smart phone purchases have gone up by more than three times and tablets have more than doubled as compared to purchases in the same quarter last year. Televisions, another popular category on eBay India, have also observed a dynamic change with LCD TVs losing sheen to LED TVs. On the brands front, Samsung has surfaced as the most popular gadget brand in the country with a 27 per cent market share across the five gadget categories on eBay India.
24C
TOKYO: Japan's All Nippon Airways, a top customer for Boeing's troubled Dreamliner, said it was considering Airbus's A350 as it looks to replace its Boeing 777 fleet. "We don't have any rule that we have to stick to Boeing. We don't have any preference," CEO Osamu Shinobe told AFP. "So if the aircraft that we want is manufactured by any of the manufacturers, we will look into those aircraft and make a decision." Speaking on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Transport Association, Shinobe said the carrier had yet to start internal discussions on the replacement of the 777 fleet.
FRANKFURT: German chemicals giant BASF said Tuesday it plans to invest 10 billion euros in the fastgrowing Asia-Pacific region between now and 2020, creating up to 9,000 new jobs there. BASF said it aims to generate annual sales of 25 billion euros in the region by 2020, up from 11.7 billion euros — or 16 percent of overall group sales — in 2012. The group said that the cumulative annual growth rate for real chemical production for Asia Pacific is estimated at 6.2 per cent through 2020, well above the world average of 4 per cent. It aims to produce around 75 per cent of the total products it sells in Asia in the region by 2020. BASF said it currently operates more than 100 production sites in the Asia Pacific region, including two highly-integrated sites n Kuantan, Malaysia and in Nanjing, China. BASF said it aims to conduct 25 per cent of its global research and development in Asia-Pacific by 2020, with a total of around 3,500 R&D personnel in the region.
BSE NSE
19,737.71 130.48
5,981.10 41.80
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TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
Comment Censorship is an unacceptable method of obstruction, not only in literature but in all arts, and politics.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
SOYABEAN, GMO CORN DOMINATE US MARKET VERONIQUE DUPONT
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkey PM
Egypt ruling a blow to Morsi C DE ROQUEFEUIL Agence France-Presse
A
court ruling that Egypt’s Islamist-dominated legislature is invalid deals a political blow to President Mohamed Morsi but on the ground little will change, analysts say. The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) on Sunday ruled that the law governing the elections of the Shura Council was unconstitutional, as were the rules for the selection of the members of a committee that drafted the constitution. Despite the ruling, the presidency said the Shura Council, which took a legislative role when parliament was dissolved, would maintain its powers until a new lower house is elected later this year. The SCC decision could however embolden the opposition ahead of mass anti-Morsi protests planned on June 30, when the president marks one year in power. A crippling economic crisis and widespread insecurity since the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011 have already weighed on the Islamists in power. A petition seeking to withdraw confidence from Morsi, which the organisers claim has garnered several million signatures, has been circulating for several weeks. While the decision does undermine the Islamists’ legitimacy in state institutions, on the ground the status quo remains. “All sides will find what they want in this ruling,” said political analyst Hassan Nafea, a professor at Cairo University. The opposition will be encouraged by the ruling to continue attacking the Islamists’ grip on power, “but concretely it doesn’t change anything,” Nafea said.
HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS Attendees at this year’s Computex tech show have been able to use NFC (near field communication)-enabled smartphones as their ID badges.
Agence France-Presse
The discovery of unauthorised genetically engineered wheat growing on a farm in the US state of Oregon has cast a spotlight on agricultural biotechnology and the debate about its safety. While genetically engineered or genetically modified (GM) wheat has not been approved for commercial planting, GM corn and GM soybeans already reign supreme on American farms. By 2012, 88 percent of corn (maize) and 94 percent of soy grown in the United States were genetically modified, according to the US Department of Agriculture. And with the US market now well saturated, seed firms are eying China and South America to spur growth and profits. The main players are US firms Monsanto, DuPont and Dow Chemical, as well as Germany’s Bayer and Syngenta of Switzerland. Since their introduction in the 1990s, GM products have conquered agriculture in the US and hold a large share of the food on Americans’ plates. Though most genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) are not directly involved in human consumption, “60-70 percent of processed foods have ingredients derived from GMOs,” said Bill Freese of the Center for Food Safety, an anti-GMO organisation. Besides corn and soybeans, GM crops grown in the US include cotton, sugar beets and rapeseed. In addition, a genetically engineered growth hormone, recombinant bovine growth hormone, is widely injected in cows to boost milk production. The US government vouches for the safety of GM products. The industry is regulated by the Department of Agriculture, for farm biotechnology, and the Food and Drug Administration, which governs food and food ingredients. But the developers of the GM products are deeply involved in certifying their safety. The FDA, for instance, depends on a consultative process with developers who voluntarily present their plans to the agency before marketing the products. Doubts are strong in Europe, where a number of countries, including France, have banned GM crops. US farmers, though paying more to buy GM seeds, find them worthwhile. Corn and soybeans have been modified to
improve resistance to weeds and insects, for example, to help farmers boost productivity. “If by planting a GMO variety your yield increases faster than it would if you didn’t, your future rewards are going to increase,” said Bill Nelson, a soybean analyst at Doane Advisory Services. And the structure of some government crop insurance programmes favour that productivity, giving farmers even more incentive to plant GM seeds rather than traditional seeds. For Freese, a science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety, GM seeds’ very dominance is promoting their use. “It’s become harder and harder for farmers to even find conventional seeds,” Freese said.
“The big players bought up conventional seed companies,” he said, “and the university public sector breeders which used to produce most of the seeds that farmers used have seen their funding reduced.” Freese noted that cross-pollination of conventional fields by GMO strains has become so widespread it is difficult to produce “pure” seeds that are not contaminated. Some organic seed developers grow their seeds in South America because they cannot find sources to buy pure seeds in the US, he said. Yet the seed giants are facing a growing opposition to GM products in the US, with some consumers calling for GM product labeling.
EDITORIALS No compromise when it comes to safety of our children
O
ur children, who we go to any end to protect when with us, become vulnerable when their safety is entrusted to someone else outside of the home. Whether it is for want of a choice or to share the responsibility, their school is expected to take over once our wards step out for education. It does, by and large, ie, to goings on within its premises. What does not get addressed clearly here is the in-between time, when the child is en route to and from the school. This tricky phase becomes the responsibility of the state. In another first, the country’s most educated state has toughened the rules for vehicles that transport schoolchildren. The Motor Vehicles Department of Kerala has made it mandatory for vehicles ferrying children to educational institutions to carry a list of those aboard every day. This is being done to ensure that in their enthusiasm to make an extra buck, the operators do not overcrowd vehicles. Since corruption undoes even the most wellthought-out plan, and when this needless evil strikes, it does not see what is at stake.
READERS’ VIEWS
Stop wastage of food
F
ood wastage still remains a major area of concern even as millions of people are struggling across the globe to put two meals on the table and thousands are starving due to continuous wastage of tonnes of food every day. Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. Let us have a look; 10 countries that waste food the most are the developed countries of the West!
We invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to feedback@postnoon.com or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500 033 or even by way of a call on 4067 2222. Editor: Dean Williams
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
workplace
STARBUCKS BANS SMOKING
Leading global coffee chain Starbucks is planning to ban smoking within 25 feet of its stores. The ban will be imposed from June 1 at stores as permitted by its leases.
TRUTH HURTS
EXIT STRATEGY
NIDHI BHUSHAN nidhi.b@postnoon.com
Y
ou’re leaving an organisation for something bigger and better. You’ve served your notice, met your replacement, shared what you could to help smooth the transition and now it’s time for the last leg of your quitting process — the exit interview. “Finally,” you think. “I can unload grievances and help the company improve through my constructive criticism or feedback.” Perhaps you’re under the delusion that an exit interview is your opportunity to provide constructive feedback, point out management issues, expose ineffective organisation at the company as you embark on something else. Hold on, take a deep breath and think again. “There is no need for honesty in an exit interview, especially if your relationship with the company has not been very strong. However, in case you think you can be honest and not get into any trouble or jeopardise your future prospects or not burn bridges, you can go ahead and provide feedback,” says Priya ChettyRajagopal, vice-president and partner, Stanton Chase International. Take the case of Nitin Sethi (name changed on request), who recently quit his job at a Gurgaon-based MNC. Like all MNCs these days, even this company demanded an exit interview with Sethi, who took the ‘golden opportunity’ to finally be heard. And so began the venting. “He (Sethi) was leaving the company because of his manager and he said so explicitly during the interview. He may have thought that word wouldn’t get around or the HR department would take the manager to task without saying who complained but that rarely happens,” says Nitika Dayal, Sethi’s ex-colleague. “An exit interview is more like a formality though it is supposed to be more than that on paper. Many people just vent through the interview, which
A little goodbye chat with the human resources department before leaving a company, on your own terms or theirs, has become a norm. While you might feel that the exit interview is your golden chance to unload grievances and provide ‘constructive criticism’, pause if you will. Postnoon debates on whether honesty is the right way to exit.
ends up burning bridges. His (Sethi) case is actually a great example of things going terribly wrong because of being brutally honest in an exit interview. He wasn’t allowed to come back to work for the same company when he wanted to. His former boss didn’t even consider it as an option.” Result: Bridge burnt. “In my company, they just ask a question in a form on the portal and are done with it. Only people like him (Sethi) take it to the next level and spoil it for themselves,” adds Dayal. Apart from the likelihood of burning bridges and narrowing future prospects, feedback during an exit interview hardly even serves any purpose. If a department in a big company hadn’t changed for the past 20 years, why would they change now? They probably wouldn’t listen to the exiting employee anyway, so why bother with the risk? Robbie Abed, founder and CEO of RawDesigner, a mobile app development company, blogged about a few things one should stick to during an exit interview. Convinced that exit interviews don’t serve the purpose most think they do and honesty as a tool for giving feedback to one’s former employer would only burn bridges, he blogged: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then lie. Anything you say in an exit interview will find its way back to the affected individuals. Complain about an ineffective manager, and HR will brief that manager’s manager — who will probably tell the manager. Consider your bridges burned. And, most importantly, assume that HR already knows about all the potential issues you have in mind and that nothing you say will help the company or the people still there.” However, HR managers don’t expect anything less than 100 per cent honesty in exit interviews. “I wouldn’t want people lying to my face. Moreover, if the employees even complain about their bosses, we don’t go around telling people the same unless absolutely necessary,” says an HR manager on the condition of anonymity.
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HERE’S THE DOPE
Meter down please FLEME VARKEY fleme.v@postnoon.com
W
hen you say the word autorickshaw driver in Andhra Pradesh, you will hear a flurry of complaints. But ask the autodrivers themselves what they have to say in their defence and here’s what we heard. It is because of some drivers that the profession is getting a bad name. What people say sometimes is true partly but no one understands the background. We have families to feed, rents to pay, policemen to bribe and normal expenses of owning a vehicle if it is ours. The public thinks we are their servants. They are just paying us for the services they want and that should be it. Some women, especially, they ask us to carry parcels, shift stuff, etc and that too free of charge. And then they blame us for being rude.
They will make us wait for 20 minutes and yet refuse to pay the waiting charge. But there are hooligans also among us, who work the dishonest way. They tease women by looking at them in the mirror, charge exorbitantly, use foul language, drive rashly and all that. But the cops are also rude to us, we work in the sun, rain and winter all because this is a means of our livelihood and just like you even we drivers have our good and bad days and have a right to refuse a passenger. Drunken passengers especially give us a bad time. There are few perks to this job, things you can list on your fingers itself. But whatever it is, the public will always blame us for being the bad ones and never see what we have to deal with.
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TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
spotlight THE OOMPH FACTOR 1
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Party time! If looks could kill, Kismet at The Park would have become a crime scene last night where women and men put on their glamour shoes and rocked an otherwise dull Monday. 1 Anu
8 Siona
2 Bindu
9 Pinky, Sid
3 Hena, Zareen
10 Priyanka, Vishal
4 Anjali, Sheetal, Anitha
11 Rajini, Vivek
5 Sanjana
12 Awapna, Kulkarni
6 Neha
13 Sunitha
7 Neha
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FASHION FOR A CAUSE
Shilpa Reddy at the charity event.
Passionate Foundation, an NGO working with government schools, yesterday hosted a fashion show to raise funds. The event was organised in association with The Park to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the NGO.
Ramesh Patel
Moni Agarwal
Sridevi
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
health
DOUGLAS DENIES BLAMING ORAL SEX FOR HIS CANCER A spokesman for Michael Douglas denied that the Hollywood actor had blamed his throat cancer on oral sex, in a British newspaper interview. But the paper involved, The Guardian, stuck to its guns and posted an audio clip of the interview, insisting Douglas had been referring to his own cancer being caused by cunnilingus.
UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN: PART II
19
Encephalitis
Arachnoid Cysts
Huntington’s disease
Alzheimer’s
What is it: Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain.
What is it: Arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid covered by arachnoidal cells and collagen that may develop between the surface of the brain and the cranial base or on the arachnoid membrane, one of the three membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. Causes: Congenital Symptoms: Patients with arachnoid cysts may never show symptoms, even in some cases where the cyst is large. Diagnostic test: Diagnosis is principally by MRI. Treatment: Most arachnoid cysts are asymptomatic and do not require treatment Prognosis: Where complications are present, leaving arachnoid cysts untreated, may cause permanent severe neurological damage due to the progressive expansion of the cyst(s) or bleeding.
What is it: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and psychiatric problems.
What is it: Alzheimer's disease (AD), also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease, is the most common form of dementia.
Causes: Viruses and bacteria Symptoms: Headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue. More advanced and serious symptoms include seizures or convulsions, tremors, hallucinations, and memory problems. Diagnostic test: Examination of the cerebrospinal fluid obtained by a lumbar puncture. Treatment: Treatment is usually symptomatic. Vaccines: Vaccination is available against tick-borne and Japanese encephalitis and should be considered for at-risk individuals.
Causes: Genetic Symptoms: Symptoms of Huntington's disease commonly become noticeable between the ages of 35 and 44 years, but they can begin at any age from infancy to old age. In the early stages, there are subtle changes in personality, cognition, and physical skills. Diagnostic test: Genetic testing can be used to confirm a physical diagnosis if there is no family history of HD. Treatment: There is no cure for HD, but there are treatments available to reduce the severity of some of its symptoms. Prognosis: Life expectancy in HD is generally around 20 years following the onset of visible symptoms.
Causes: The cause for most Alzheimer's cases is still essentially unknown (except for 1% to 5% of cases where genetic differences have been identified) Diagnostic test: Familial history of the disease. Advanced medical imaging with CT or MRI, and with PET can be used to help exclude other cerebral pathology or subtypes of dementia. Treatment: There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease; available treatments offer relatively small symptomatic benefit but remain palliative in nature. Prognosis: The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than 3% of people live more than fourteen years.
THE BRAIN UNDER ATTACK Meningitis What is it: Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. Causes: Viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites Symptoms: The most common symptoms of meningitis are headache and neck stiffness associated with fever, confusion or altered consciousness, vomiting, and an inability to tolerate light or loud noises. Diagnostic test: The most important test in identifying or ruling out meningitis is analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid through lumbar puncture. Treatment: Treatment with wide-spectrum antibiotics should not be delayed while confirmatory tests are being conducted. Prognosis: Untreated, bacterial meningitis is almost always fatal. Viral meningitis, in contrast, tends to resolve spontaneously and is rarely fatal. Vaccines: Since the 1980s, many countries have included immunisation against Haemophilus influenzae type B in their routine childhood vaccination schemes. This has practically eliminated this pathogen as a cause of meningitis in young children in those countries.
There are a number of viruses and bacteria that can infect your brain and cause serious damage. Here are few of the more common, but no less dangerous, ones.
Parkinson’s What is it: Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Causes: Most people with Parkinson's disease have idiopathic disease (having no specific known cause). A small proportion of cases, however, can be attributed to known genetic factors. Diagnostic test: A physician will diagnose Parkinson's disease from the medical history and a neurological examination. Treatment: There is no cure for Parkinson's disease, but medications, surgery and multidisciplinary management can provide relief from the symptoms. Prognosis: The life expectancy of people with PD is reduced. Mortality ratios are around twice those of unaffected people.
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
Technology COMPUTEX TAIPEI: Wearable computing, the next great frontier in consumer electronics, is expected to draw crowds to Taipei’s Computex trade fair this week as interest in the nascent technology surges. With rumours of an Apple smart watch around the corner and ongoing hype around Google’s pioneering Glass, all eyes will be set on the five-day tech extravaganza’s “trend zone” where some lesser known brands could also shine. Sonostar Inc, a Taipei-based company that currently sells handheld GPS devices that aid golfers, is among the manufacturers soon to dabble in the field of wearable computers. “We saw the huge potential market in 2009 and decided to do research on the smart watch and related apps," said spokeswoman Marie Liu. Not only will its new watch provide golfers with range-finding services and access to the layouts of 30,000 golf courses, it can also be used by people when they jog or ride bikes to record distance travelled and calories consumed. By coupling the watch with a smartphone for Internet connectivity, the device will be able to access social media, instant messaging and allow users to read ebooks via its e-ink paper display that enables its 1.73-inch long screen to be viewed clearly under sunshine. Sonostar said the watch is scheduled to hit the
At least 1,700 exhibitors will display their products, drawing an estimated 1,30,000 visitors.
market in the third quarter with a price tag of $179. The frenzy over wearable technologies was sparked after Google surprised tech watchers by announcing it was developing a wearable computer with a head-mounted display, known as the Glass. Glass links to the Internet using Wi-Fi hot spots or, more typically, by being wirelessly tethered to mobile phones. Pictures or video are shared through the Google Plus social network. While rejecting the wearable idea of “glass", Apple chief Tim Cook said last month that he preferred watches or other accessories during an interview in California. He forecast that there will be “tons of companies playing” in the wearable computing sector. Another example of wearable technology to be demonstrated at the Taipei show is the MindWave Mobile, a brain-computer interface which allows headset-wearing users to control computers and devices, as well as display brainwaves on screen. But despite the buzz about wearables, their future will be decided by whether their applications really meet the needs of consumers, analysts say. “If I had to make a prediction I’d say Google Glass is a Segway for the face," Edward Tenner, author of “Our Own Devices: How Technology Remakes Humanity," told AFP, referring to the personal transport device which failed to meet initial hype. “There’s at least one Segway on the Princeton campus. I still see them occasionally in New York City and Washington DC. They’re the public face of a certain subculture." “It’s really impossible to speculate on the future of technological genres in the long run," he said. AFP
Spotlight on wearable tech at IT fair With rumours of an Apple smart watch around the corner and ongoing hype around Google’s pioneering Glass, all eyes will be set on the five-day tech extravaganza’s “trend zone” where some lesser known brands could also shine.
20 ZYNGA CLOSES STUDIOS Struggling social games star Zynga said Monday it is cutting nearly a fifth of its staff as it refocuses on games for mobile devices. “Today is a hard day for Zynga and an emotional one for every employee of our company,” founder Mark Pincus said in a blog post as the company cut 520 jobs and closed several of the San Francisco-based company’s studios. The company has been pulling the plug on unpopular games and investing in titles for play on smartphones or tablets, as well as its own online arena at zynga.com. Zynga rose to stardom by tailoring games for play by friends on Facebook.
APPLE FACES EBOOK HEAT
A US government lawyer accused Apple Monday of concocting a deliberate scheme to fix prices of electronic books as the antitrust trial against the tech giant got underway. “Apple knowingly and intentionally committed to a common scheme of publishers to raise prices,” Justice Department attorney Lawrence Buterman told the court in an opening statement that laid out the government’s case. There was a “deliberate scheme by Apple” to “fix prices” in concert with major book publishers, Buterman said at the New York federal trial.
MTS LAUNCHES DUET Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL) that provides telecom services under the MTS has launched its Duet in India. The phone supports CDMA as well as GSM networks. The phone works on Gingerbread v2.3 and features a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. Duet has a 3.5-inch display and a 3MP primary camera on the rear. The device is available in India for `4,799. The company is offering it with a tempting deal for unlimited data and local calls over 2 months. Interested buyers can choose to sign up for this bundle that costs `599. The company, however, has not released information on the internal memory of the device.
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TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
Entertainment CINE BYTES
Doosukeltha’s new schedule begins
V
ishnu Manchu is back on the sets of his upcoming film Doosukeltha, after a brief holiday in New York. The film was earlier shot in Tirupathi and Slovenia. Veeru Potla is directing the film and Lavanya Tripathi is the lead actress. “Meeting up with all the actors from today. Kicked abt Veeru's dialogues. Loving it.(sic),” Vishnu posted on Twitter.
Dalam is soon in offing
N
aveen Chandra, Piaa Bajpai starrer Dalam is expected to hit the screens later this month. Jeevan Reddy has directed the film and it’s based on the lives of naxalites who want to lead a peaceful life. James Vasanthan has scored the music.
SMALL IDEAS MAKE BIG DIFFERENCE
There’s no success mantra to cinema : PURI JAGANNADH Puri Jagannadh talks about the making of Iddarammayilatho and why criticism doesn’t bother him and his future. HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com
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uri Jagannadh is extremely candid when it comes to his views on cinema. Afterall, it’s not everyday you come across a successful director who claims to know nothing about cinema. “I have made 26 films in my career so far, but I still have no idea what works and what doesn’t and anyone who claims to do so is lying. We make films with a gut feeling that it’ll work, but other than that, there’s no success mantra to cinema,” he replies. His latest film Iddarammayilatho, which released last weekend, is doing extremely well at the box office and he avers that all that matters in showbiz today is whether your film is profitable or not. “Quite frankly, with all due respect to critics, I don’t think I can ever make a film which will be universally acclaimed. Someone somewhere will always have a problem and we can’t blame them either. It’s how the industry works and that’s one of the reasons why criticism doesn’t bother me. I am happy that the film is doing well,” he confesses. He teamed up with Allu Arjun for the second time in his career.
Their previous film, Desamudhuru, which released in 2007, was a huge hit. “Allu Arjun has changed a lot both as an actor and a person right from the days of Gangotri. He is brilliant in Iddarammayilatho and I understood how much he has changed right on the first day of shooting. We had to shoot the action sequence which comes in the preinterval episode in the film. Usually, we shoot such action sequences after completing some part of the talkie, but Allu Arjun got into his character in a jiffy. I just couldn’t believe it,” he gushes while praising the actor. Interestingly, after Itlu Sravani Subramanyam, this is the first time where he decided to shoot the climax scene first before proceeding further. Ask him what difference does it make, he reveals, “It’s a difficult decision to make because all the actors have to be thorough with what’s expected from them. Normally, when you shoot a bulk of the talkie, it gives them ample time to understand their characterisation and how the film is going to end, but when you film the climax first, you are putting them in an uncomfortable situation.” The film’s shooting began two months late due to poor weather conditions in Barcelona; however,
like most of his other films, he wrapped up the talkie part within 30 days. Most of his films so far have been character driven, which explains how he’s able to wrap up writing the script within 20 days. So what exactly does he do? “I just sit on the beach and somehow I end up writing, quite effortlessly. I believe in entertaining the audience. The moment you try to narrate a story, people get bored. That’s one reason why the second half of most films isn’t as interesting as the first,” he laughs. Ask him why he keeps writing dialogues which have overtones of male domination, he recalls, “After I wrote a similar dialogue in Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu, a lot of people wanted me to write something similar in this film. I have nothing against anyone. For that matter, even the dialogue on Pawan Kalyan in the film is a compliment.” What’s next? “I am going to direct films with Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun and Prabhas,” he signs off.
Vedhika pairs up with Siddharth
V
edhika Kumar, who was last seen in Bala’s Paradesi, has bagged the lead role in Vasanthabalan’s upcoming bilingual film Kaaviya Thalaivan. Siddharth is playing the lead role and Anaika is the other lead actress. AR Rahman will score the music and Nirav Shah is the cinematographer.
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Entertainment TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
BACK WITH A BANG
CINE BYTES
Freida Pinto in Ethiopia for girl empowerment
S
lumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto, the global ambassador of the Because I am A Girl Campaign (BIAAG), visited Ethiopia for the first time as part of her role to support Plan International’s projects. She says educating and empowering girls is the way forward worldwide. “If we educate girls, they will reach their fullest potential, pulling their families out of every problem they face,” said Freida. IANS
S back on Twitter after 20 weeks
SHAHRUKH KHAN
Big B recalls a ‘lifetime’ with Jaya hahrukh Khan is back on Twitter after an absence of 20 weeks. The Bollywood celebrity shared an update with fans following surgery on his shoulder earlier this week. “Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls your life,” Khan wrote to his fans. The actor crossed the 4 million follower mark in early May, adding 1,50,000 to that figure over the past month. Khan also retweeted a post from co-star Deepika Padukone linking to a comic video made to celebrate the last day of shooting on Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express. The video pays homage to Shetty’s style of action films, with Khan and Padukone taking part in over-the-top fight scenes and injuring each other in the process. Chennai Express is scheduled to release at Eid alongside Once Upon A Time In Mumbai 2.
It’s been 40 years since Amitabh Bachchan married his Zanjeer co-star Jaya. The megastar looks back at the “lifetime” and says god has been kind to give him the family that he has. “40 years! 40 years of marriage on the 3rd of June 2013! Jaya and I in marriage for 40 years! A lifetime almost,” the 70year-old posted on his blog. IANS
YJHD crosses `60 crore in opening weekend
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eh Jawaani Hai Deewani is zooming towards joining the `100 crore club. The Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer has managed business of `62.11 crore at the Indian box office in the opening weekend itself. Officials at UTV are happy that the `50 crore film, which released in over 3,000 screens in the country, has “taken the box office by storm”.
Entertainment TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
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Entertainment TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
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Entertainment TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
CYNOSURE OF ALL EYES
CINE BYTES
ANGELINA JOLIE, BRAD PITT at World War Z premiere
B
rad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stepped out together Sunday at the premiere of zombie thriller World War Z — Jolie’s first public appearance since announcing last month that she had undergone a double mastectomy. The couple said they had been moved by the outpouring of public support that followed Jolie’s disclosure. Jolie told reporters she felt great, and had “been very happy to see the discussion about women’s health expanded” by her announcement. “And after losing my mom to these issues, I’m very grateful for it, and I’ve been very moved by the kind of support from people,” she said.
Jolie revealed last month in an op-ed piece for The New York Times that she had had her breasts removed after discovering she has an inherited genetic mutation that puts her at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Jolie’s mother Marcheline Bertrand died from ovarian cancer at 56, and the actress’ aunt died of breast cancer last month. The 37-year-old actress revealed that, beginning in February, she underwent three surgeries — which she succeeded in keeping secret from the public — in which her breasts were removed, and later replaced by implants. She said the procedure had reduced her chance of developing breast cancer from 87 percent to under 5 percent.
Sofia Vergara in Madame Tussauds wax museum
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ifelike wax figures of Colombian actress and model Sofia Vergara will be exhibited at the popular Madame Tussauds wax museums in New York and Las Vegas beginning June 4, the institution said. “We are very excited about Sofia Vergara’s arrival at Madame Tussauds. She has become one of the most recognized and popular talents,” said museum representative Janine DiGioacchino. IANS
Gemma Arterton calls Justin perfect
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ctress Gemma Arterton praised actor-singer Justin Timberlake and said he is good at whatever he does. “He’s incredible at golf, he plays with Tigers Woods and people like that. He’s incredible at dancing, obviously an incredible singer and musician and really really good as an actor and a lovely guy,” she said. IANS
Jim Carrey in trouble for being bad boss
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ctor Jim Carrey is reportedly facing the ire of workers for not taking care of the people who work at his famous NYC art studio. Carrey, who launched his Church of FFC art studio back in 2011, was fined by the Workers’ Compensation Board of the State of NY for failing to carry workers’ comp insurance for all of 2012, reports tmz.com. IANS
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
Chai Time
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven't changed in 70 or 80 years. Your body changes, but you don't change at all. Doris Lessing
KAKURO
QUICK CROSSWORD
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SUDOKU How to play kakuro Kakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku in some ways. But is also suitably different. The key question: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well here are the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers. However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number. Within each collection of cells — called a run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once. Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly: In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on... So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this is done through elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as you work out the answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limit the valid combinations, and hence the answer for this particular run. Note the second cell in row two — it contains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30 and the 11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of the number 11.
ACROSS
PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER
SCRIBBLING PAD
1 Aussie gems 6 Boot bottom 10 Sheep noises 14 Diamond measure 15 Avian singer 16 Marine eagle 17 Flatteners of 58-Across 19 King of beasts 20 Word with ‘bitter’ or ‘winter’ 21 Russian spacecraft series 22 Not on the waterfront 24 Sleeping accommodations 26 Devious maneuver 27 Land of the Grand Old Flag 28 Spawning 32 Where to find everyone 35 Emotion of the miffed 36 ‘Li’l Abner’ character Hawkins 37 ___ gum (food thickening agent) 38 Word before a maiden name 39 Dudley Do-Right’s damsel 40 Projecting window 42 Singer Fogelberg 43 Ultimate heights 44 Made an obeisant bow 46 Arrival-board word 47 The most important point 48 Write again from scratch, as a proposal 52 Tropical fly 55 It’ll slice bologna and cut the mustard 56 Org once helmed by Helms 57 Planning to vote no 58 Autos’ emergency replacements 61 ‘The kissing disease,’ for short 62 ‘Peyton Place’ actress Wood 63 For all to see 64 Majestic swimmer 65 Tehran is its capital 66 Use different Clairol
DOWN
1 Base eight system 2 Sao ___ , Brazil 3 Packing, say 4 On the ___ (fleeing) 5 Fashionable 6 Went around, in baseball 7 Dangerous marine creature 8 Albanian coin 9 Put away, as fodder 10 Finger-cymbal clanger 11 Opera solo 12 Any minute 13 Drop in the mailbox 18 Salad type 23 Negative words 25 Intuitive feeling 26 Get gussied up 28 Communion offering 29 Bibliography word 30 Yellowish-green 31 Congeals 32 Some may be gigantic 33 Distinctive atmosphere 34 Racetrack fence 35 Back-of-the-book section 41 TV hubby of Phyllis 43 One who keeps work in balance? 45 Granola’s cousin 46 Proofreader’s mark 48 Aired again, as an old episode 49 Having land 50 Raging-hot 51 There’s no accounting for it 52 Highland hats 53 ‘___ Falling on Cedars’ (Guterson novel) 54 Sicilian volcano 55 ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ actress Plato 59 Standard score on a golf course 60 ‘If ___ told you once ...’
Chai Time TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013 Thiruvaikumar
STAR POWER for 5-6-2013
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As per Hindu panchang thiruvaikumar@yahoo. co. in, 040-27177230 / 9177596118
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
CANCER
LEO
VIRGO
LIBRA
SCORPIO
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
PISCES
Confusion disappears and you get a clearcut vision. Held-up work resumes now and ends successfully. The misunderstanding and cold war with a neighbour will soon end. Your bold and wise decisions will yield desired results.
STRIP TEASE AGNES
VIPs become friends. Politicians come in limelight and get support from the high command. Success is certain as you work hard and sincerely. Court verdict will go in your favour. Money will be come from all the expected sources.
You look happy and cheerful. Your influence is set to improve and you attract members of the opposite sex with charisma. Clever talk and creativity earns you appreciation. You maintain cool and work with patience. Expected money will come.
Be careful while driving as a minor accident is not ruled out. Your cool attitude ensures that all work gets completed successfully. Some undertake pilgrimage. Speculation yields decent gains. You hesitate to enter others’ personal matters.
Avoid impossible commitments to anyone as well as harsh talk. You will be upset as income and expenses compete with each other, making saving difficult. Heat-related ailments are likely to affect you hence take good care by way of treatment.
Marriage talks progress fruitfully. Children make you happy and proud. You feel responsible and complete all work with focus. Govt sops likely for businessmen. Financial position will be very strong, hence you will feel relaxed.
Your stubbornness is in getting work done successfully. Some have a bright chance to go abroad for the first time. Real estate transactions will bring favourable gains. Blood relatives extend help, which encourages you to do well.
Everyone appreciates you for your different and innovative approach. Those deprived of a child for long might hear good news soon. With surprise and swift actions you keep enemies in check. Maturity and knowledge come through in your talk.
Sudden travel likely, which will yield desired results. Money will come from the expected sources, which lets you relax. You will be very generous but at the same time stubborn in your own decisions. You might be worried about the future.
TAROT READ
Sumaa Tekur
tarotreadhyd@gmail. com
ARIES:
GEMINI:
Six of Swords – Your strength is your ability to be dynamic and change thoughts according to the circumstances around you. Bosses love you for that.
LEO:
The Hanged Man – you think differently from others in your peer group and team in the office and this is your strength. Use this talent to better your prospects.
LIBRA:
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
Six of Pentacles – You feel emotional, and not always for a reason. Accept you’re feeling out of sorts and stay with the emotions rather than forcing yourself.
SAGITTARIUS:
Seven of Cups – You seem obsessed with money. You are caught in the trappings of the material world and all it has to offer. Let not obsessions overtake you.
TAURUS:
The Wheel of Fortune – It has been a long journey and it bothers you that you do not yet have a clear roadmap for the future. Keep working at it. Don’t give up.
CANCER:
Page of Cups – You’re at your creative best and must work at putting your ideas to the test. Talk about these to your bosses and do something different.
VIRGO:
The Fool – Research your thoughts and ideas well and make sure you are not wasting your time by working on something that has no real value. Do groundwork.
SCORPIO:
Seven of Swords – You are a believer in working towards gaining better social status. It may not necessarily be a bad thing because it motivates you for more.
CAPRICORN:
Nine of Wands – Your strength is the number of options before you. You can plan and execute ideas better than ever before without pressures.
PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS
PISCES:
Eight of Pentacles – If you are determined to get something, you can. You will do whatever it takes, going the extra mile to find what will make you happy.
NUMBER GAME
– It’s alright to be average and not to be pressured by the thought of being the best all the time, every time. You cannot excel each time. So relax.
SCRABBLE
AQUARIUS: Ten of Wands
POOCH CAFE
Those who benefit through you might not respect you but they will change soon. Spouse’s health may be a cause for concern. You might be deprived of sleep due to tension. Your wise action will drive away the tension enabling you to relax.
for 5-6-2013
Temperance – Keep it simple, stupid. No other advice is better suited to you at this point. You have complicated your life by your thoughts that serve no real purpose.
NON SEQUITUR
Those trying for a job will get favourable news. Apprehensions you had disappear. Delayed marriage talk resume and end in finalisation. You cheerfully involve in new efforts and become successful. Purchase or selling of property likely.
SUDUKO
Self-confidence level is at its peak. Employees feel cheerful as management accepts their demands unconditionally. Real estate deals end in gains. Businessmen have sudden unexpected fortune opportunity. Exporters get gainful opportunities.
Boggle IOWA OHIA MAINE KANSAS MONTANA Vol: 2, No 319 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon. com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211
WORLD TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
EVERYONE LOVES ANDY LAU
Andy Lau, one of the biggest movie stars to have emerged from Hong Kong, is back as a special agent in Jay Sun’s Switch, which will release later this week. We take a look at one of his best film Infernal Affairs, the original version of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. HEMANTH KUMAR Hemanth.k@postnoon.com
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ackie Chan might be the most popular actor to have emerged from the Hong Kong film industry, but when it comes to being the most successful actor, in terms of how much his films have grossed from 1985-2005, he was ranked at third place. Stephew Chow, actor and director, who became popular with films like Kung fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer came second and the crown for the No 1 Box office actor went to Andy Lau. Except for a handful of films like House of Flying Daggers and Infernal Affairs which found an audience outside Mainland China and Hong Kong, Andy Lau has hardly reached the dazzling heights of fame in world cinema unlike Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jet Li. Back in Hong Kong, it's a whole different story. Apart from being a hugely successful actor, Andy Lau is a famous Hong Kong Cantopop singer and he even has a Guinness World Record for ‘Most Awards Won By A Cantopop Male Artist’, to his name. By April 2000, he had already won a total unprecedented 292 awards. In his career spanning more than three decades, Andy Lau has acted in nearly 160 films and later this week, his new film Switch is expected to hit the theatres in China. The film has Andy playing a special agent
and in a mysterious way, it conjures memories of one of his most successful films Infernal Affairs, which released back in 2002. Directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, the film is the original version of Martin Scorsese's The Departed and dare we say, it was much more sophisticated and intriguing. Andy Lau played the role of a senior inspector Lau Kin-ming and the other major character in the film Chan Wing-yan was played by Tony Leung. In the English version, Matt Damon
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WATCHING
and Leonardo Di Caprio reprised their roles respectively. One of the several interesting things about Infernal Affairs, apart from the background score and impeccable performances, was the use of morse code as a mode of communication. It seemed like an ingenious way of interacting and more intelligent than using cellphones, like that in Martin Scorsese's reconstruction of the crime thriller. Andy Lau portrays his role, as a mole in the police depart-
ment, with so much panache that he makes Matt Damon seem quite prude. The remake, although it retains the twists, gets a Hollywood makeover and in turn sacrifices several things that made the original so special. There's a lot of mystery in the way the story is narrated and it's never clear what's going on in the minds of both Andy and Tony's characters, even when they meet face-to-face. It's only towards the climax that they reveal their true identities. The dilemma which Andy Lau’s Lau Kin-ming goes through, as he oscillates from his bad to good side, gives a greater complexity to his characterisation and in a way, more conflicted than Tony Leung's Chan Wing-yan. How long can one betray those who look up to him? That's a question which the film leaves us with at the end of the second act before winding up to a convincing ending where justice is served, albeit in a surprising manner. Infernal Affairs, at the time of its release, was like a shot in the arm for the Hong Kong film industry and its stunning performance at the box-office spawned a prequel and a sequel. It grossed a phenomenal HKD 55 million and won plenty of awards at the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards, apart from being ranked no 30 in Empire Magazine's 'The 100 Best Films of World Cinema' in 2010. A well deserved recognition for a film and its cast.
PICK OF THE WEEK
The Double Hour (2009) Directed by Giuseppe Capotondi, La doppia ora (The Double Hour), is an Italian romantic thriller film which revolves around a maid and an ex-cop who fall in love after meeting at a speed dating event. Filippo Timi and Kseniya Rappoport played the lead roles in the film and Kseniya won the Best Actress award at Venice Film Festival for her performance. The film is being remade in English and it’s slated for release in 2014.
One thing I hate in movies is when the camera starts circling around the characters. I find that totally fake.
Takeshi Kitano Director
DID YOU KNOW? In 2011, Park ChanWook, the director of Oldboy, Joint Security Area and Thirst, made a fantasy-horror short film titled Night Fishing. The short film was shot entirely using an iPhone 4 and the film was funded by KT, which distributed iPhones in South Korea at that time. It won the Golden Bear award at Berlin Film Festival for Best Short film.
Acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, prior to his film career, wanted to join a film school. Since he didn’t have any money, he did a number of odd jobs including a stint selling used items in the famous Madrid flea market. Eventually, he joined Spain's national phone company, Telefónica, where he worked for 12 years as an administrative assistant.
sports
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TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
NBA
ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Heat rip Pacers to reach title showdown
Lap Record for Mahindra
Miami Heat advanced to the final with a 99-76 rout of the Indiana Pacers. MIAMI: LeBron James scored 32 points and the defending champion Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row on Monday with a 99-76 rout of the Indiana Pacers. The Heat captured the bestof-seven Eastern Conference final four games to three and booked a championship series showdown against the San Antonio Spurs that will open on Thursday at Miami. “They were just aggressive. They had that killer instinct, that look in their eye,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of the Heat. “They weren’t going to be denied. Their ball movement was spectacular.” Dwyane Wade had 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds for Miami while James, who hit 8-of-17 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds and Chris Bosh contributed nine points and eight rebounds for the Heat. “It was about finding a way to win at home,” Wade said. “It’s game seven. You have to give everything you have got. My teammates did some things to loosen me up and that got me going.” The Heat lost to Dallas in the 2011 championship series but defeated Oklahoma City for last year’s crown.
CHESS City team selected for nationals HYDERABAD: Top ten players from the city have been selected to represent Hyderabad in the National chess championship scheduled to be held in Kerala. Teams: Hyderabad City ‘A’ Team: N Krishna Teja (5.5), B Harsha (5.5), B Anand Naik (5.5), Kranthi Kumar P (5), Kandhi Ravi (5) Hyderabad City ‘B’ Team: D Suresh (5), Prateek Srivastava (4.5), G Srinivas (4.5), I Nihar (4.5), Prathush Srivatava (4.5).
MUGELLO: Mahindra rider Miguel Oliveira claimed the only Indian motorcycle grand prix team’s best yet finish at Mugello on Monday with a hard-fought fourth place, and added a new lap record to the books. But the Portuguese star was “a little disappointed”: after leading at the mid-point of the race he missed the top-three podium by less than half a second. The podium is the next target, but the team had more than enough to celebrate in Italy. The exclusive and all-new Mahindra MGP3O is in only its fifth race after being designed and built in just six months. Already the aim to join
Miguel Oliveira claimed the only Indian motorcycle grand prix team’s best finish at Mugello with a hard-fought fourth place. LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat shoots against Ian Mahinmi #28 of the Indiana Pacers in Game Seven of the NBAE/AFP/JESSE D. GARRABRANT Eastern Conference Finals during the 2013 NBA Playoffs on Monday.
Dwyane Wade had 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds for Miami “Going back to the final three straight years is an amazing feat,” said Wade, who had his best scoring night since April 23. “I’m glad we were able to do it.” Miami won both regular-
season meetings with the Spurs, but each team benched top talent on the other’s home court, leaving neither game a true test of what they could offer with the title on the line. “We just got finished with a two-fisted series and now we have got to get ready for what that great team is going to throw at us,” Wade said. James, the NBA Most Valuable Player, plans on the Heat giving the Spurs the same
treatment they have their previous playoff rivals. “Our game plan will not change,” James vowed. “We disrupt. We fly around. We help one another. We share the ball offensively. The only thing that changes is the personnel we’re going against.” Miami swiped much of the drama Monday with a dominating second quarter, outscoring Indiana 33-16 to seize a 52-37 half-time edge. AFP
the front runners has been achieved. The race was a thriller from the start, with the Moto3™ pack jostling for position on the fast and sweeping 5.245-km Mugello circuit. Oliveira started from the second row and was ninth into the first corner, but seventh and climbing by the end of the lap. He set a new lap record on the fourth lap, and next time round was third. From then on played a major role in a sixstrong group that broke away for an enthralling battle to the end. They swapped positions constantly, with Miguel taking his turn up front on lap 15. AFP
MURDER ON VALENTINE’S DAY
Pistorius back in the dock over killing South Africa’s Pa ra lympic hero Oscar Pistorius is due back in court for the first time since being freed on bail in February over the killing of his model girlfriend. PRETORIA: South Africa’s Paralympic hero Oscar Pistorius (right) is due back in court on Tuesday for the first time since being freed on bail in February over the killing of his model girlfriend. The Pretoria magistrate’s court could set a date for the trial of the star sprinter who is accused of murdering Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day at his upmarket home in the South African capital. Tuesday’s hearing comes just days after a British television channel broadcast leaked crime scene pictures showing the bloodspattered bathroom where Steen-
kamp was fatally shot by Pistorius multiple times through a locked door. The court session is expected to be brief, with both the defence and prosecution seeking a postponement as the police try to wrap up their investigation by August. “The court will be told about the progress of the investigation and the matter is most likely to be postponed for trial,” said lawyer Kenny Oldwage, one of the leading lights in Pistorius’s defence team. The prosecution has accused him of premeditated murder, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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sports TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
US OPEN
CONFED CUP
McIlroy gets coaching help ahead of warmup be able to come out on top in
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK: World number two Rory McIlroy is off to Merion for two US Open practice rounds this week after a talk with coach Dave Stockton to try and help his golf game before next week’s major showdown. McIlory, who won his first major title at the 2011 US Open, spoke Monday at Oak Hill, where he will defend his most recent major triumph at the 95th PGA Championship in August. “It is the strongest field in golf and it’s great to
Global talent among qualifying leaders ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA: Irish amateur Kevin Phelan, Scotland’s Russell Knox and South Korean Kim Bi-o each advanced to next week’s US Open golf championship by setting the pace in qualifying events on Monday. Eleven sites conducted 36-hole sectional events to book berths in the second major tournament of the year, to be staged June 13-16 at Merion Golf Club. AFP
a field like that," said McIlroy, who won last year’s PGA crown at Kiawah Island. McIlroy will play Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds at Merion as he tries to fine tune a game that has seen him produce four top-10 showings in US PGA events, including a second at the Texas Open, but only a share of 25th at the Masters and 57th last week at the Memorial. “I’m playing pretty well. I need it all to click into place and once I do that, I’ll be off and running," McIlroy said Monday. “All parts of my game are there. I just need to sort of put them all together for one week. “I’m feeling
good. I’m looking forward to seeing Merion. So it’s just about getting to know the course there and being as comfortable with it as you can. “I’m hoping that my sort of trend in the US Open continues, because I went miss cut, win, missed the cut, so hopefully I can win again." McIlroy spent time with coach Dave Stockton at Memorial last week. “Dave Stockton was at Memorial for a couple of days, trying to get me to hole some more putts," McIlroy said. “The ball striking has not really been an issue this year. I’ve actually hit the ball pretty well from tee to green, and I’ve given myself a lot of opportunities, but didn’t take as many as I should have. “If I keep hitting the ball the way I know I can and hole putts, I’ll hopefully be in the winner’s circle." McIlroy fired a three-under par 67 at Oak Hill on Monday in his first tour of the layout designed by Donald Ross in 1925. AFP
Barzagli in as Prandelli names squad MILAN: Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli was a notable inclusion as Italy coach Cesare Prandelli named a 23-man squad for the Confederations Cup and a World Cup qualifier away to the Czech Republic. Barzagli was called into the squad following injury to Luca Antonelli, who limped out of a 40 friendly win against San Marino in Bologna on Friday. Despite nursing an Achilles tendon injury, Barzagli came through a training session unscathed on Monday, prompting Prandelli to include the experienced Juve campaigner in his 23-man travelling party. Antonelli is the only player from Prandelli’s initial 30-man squad, named last week, to miss Friday’s trip to Prague, as well as the Confederations Cup in Brazil during the second half of the month, due to injury. Also cut from the initial squad is Cagliari goalkeeper Michael Agazzi, defenders Angelo Ogbonna (Torino) and Andrea Ranocchia (Inter), midfielders Giacomo Bonaventura (Atalanta), Andrea Poli (Sampdoria) and Cagliari striker Marco Sau. AFP
AUSTRALIAN MASTERS
Scott to defend Australian Masters title SYDNEY: Major winner Adam Scott will defend his Australian Masters title this year, attempting to join boyhood idol Greg Norman as the only player to win it back-to-back, organisers said Tuesday. Scott, the US Masters champion and world number three, held off a strong challenge last year from England’s Ian Poulter and said he was keen to hit the Royal Melbourne Golf Club fairways in November. “I’m excited to be returning to Melbourne to defend my Australian Masters title at Royal Melbourne, one of my favourite courses," he said. Norman is the only player in the tournament’s 35-year history to successfully defend the title. After winning the US Masters in April, Scott paid special tribute to his fellow Australian for giving him “so much time and inspiration and belief". AFP
CAMP SHIFT
Sevilla accept City bid for Navas MADRID: Spanish side Sevilla announced that they have accepted a bid from Manchester City for Spanish international Jesus Navas late on Monday night. “Jesus Navas will leave Sevilla to go to Manchester City," said a statement on the club’s website. “On Monday, Sevilla accepted the offer of the English club, bearing in mind the wishes of the player who will have to pass a medical." “Navas, after 10 seasons in the first team and a performance level that places him as the best winger in Nervion’s history, wants to continue his successful sporting career in English football, more specifically at a club where he can continue growing as a player, as he has publicly declared on various occasions in recent months." The 27-year-old, who has represented his country on 23 occasions, made 393 appearances in his 10 years with Los Nervioneses. Navas enjoyed great success
Spanish side Sevilla announced that they have accepted a bid from Manchester City for Spanish international Jesus Navas. early in his career with Sevilla as part of the side that won back-to-back UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007, as well as the Copa del Rey in 2007 and 2010. However, the opportunity to move on from the Spanish side earlier in his career was impeded by severe homesickness and anxiety whenever he was away from his home province for extended periods. That anxiety also delayed his international career until he accepted a call-up from Spain boss Vicente del Bosque in November 2009. Such was his impact on the international side that Del Bosque took him to South Africa for the World Cup in 2010. AFP
Sevilla’s midfielder Jesus Navas is tossed by teammates after the Spanish league football match Sevilla FC Valencia at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Sevilla, on Saturday. AFP
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sports TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
FIXING SAGA Media flay board over Srinivasan stand
Dhoni under fire over ‘conflict of interest’
NEW DELHI: The agent of Indian cricket captain M.S. Dhoni (right) admitted on Monday that the World Cup winner had briefly held a stake in a management company that represents several other players in the national side. Rhiti Sports, a group run by Dhoni’s agent Arun Pandey, issued a statement following a newspaper report alleging a conflict of interest between Dhoni’s cricketing and business activities. Rhiti says on its website that it manages Dhoni as well as all-rounders Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, whose international careers depend in part on the captain who has a large influence on team selection. Rhiti said it was “greatly aggrieved at the widespread media reports regarding an alleged conflict of interest”. It said Dhoni had ceased to own shares in April after holding an unspecified stake for just over a month. “As on date, MSD (Dhoni) holds no shareholding in Rhiti Sports Management,” said the statement by Pandey. The shares had been allotted to Dhoni in March to “secure certain old outstandings which
Srinivasan did right thing: Ex-ICC chief
CARDIFF: Former ICC president David Morgan said Srinivasan did the right thing by stepping aside as BCCI president till a probe into his sonin-law Gurunath Meiyappan’s involvement in betting is completed. Speaking to small group of reporters on the sidelines of the ICC ODI Shield presentation ceremony here, Morgan said: “I watched NDTV last night for half an hour and it does seem to be quite a confused situation (at BCCI). were due for more than one year”, said the statement without elaborating. The shareholdings, alleged to be a 15 percent stake in a front-page story by The Economic Times on Monday, come as Indian cricket is engulfed in a betting and spot-fixing scandal amid serious concerns about the management of the game. Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of the national cricket board president N.
ship of an IPL team while acting as cricket board chief has also been criticised, has defied pressure from the sports ministry and colleagues to step down following the scandal. The Times of India newspaper said the Board of Control for Cricket in India had “shamed the nation” and lamented that “Indian cricket is run by a cosy clique of administrators who have little regard for the game or its image.” AFP
Srinivasan, was arrested on May 24 for allegedly taking part in illegal betting on the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is the subject of multiple police investigations. Three other players including Test paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth have also been arrested over allegations they fixed part of the games for bookies in exchange for thousands of dollars. Srinivasan, whose owner-
INJURY WORRY
England sweat on bowlers’ fitness
SOUTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM: England may have to re-think their Champions Trophy plans if they find themselves without injured pace bowlers Stuart Broad and Steven Finn. The duo have yet to be ruled out of Wednesday’s third and final oneday international against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, having missed the defeats at Lord’s and
Southampton. After Sunday’s 86-run humbling loss at Southampton, England captain Alastair Cook was unsure whether the two seamers would be fit for Saturday’s Champions Trophy opener against Australia at Edgbaston. England could also lose Tim Bresnan, due to leave the squad for the imminent birth of his first child
and the likes of Chris Woakes and Jade Dernbach, whose 10 overs on Sunday cost 87 runs, struggling to contain New Zealand’s batsmen, the team appear to be dangerously over-reliant on James Anderson and off-spinner Graeme Swann. However, Cook dismissed talk of England being a limited ODI side in Broad and Finn’s absence. AFP
NEW DELHI: India’s media on Monday lashed out at the country’s cricket board for “shaming the nation” after it allowed president N. Srinivasan to avoid resigning over a spot-fixing and betting scandal that has engulfed the national sport. The 68-year-old, considered the most powerful man in world cricket because of India’s financial clout, resisted calls to quit on Sunday at an emergency meeting in Chennai, but agreed to “step aside” until a probe into the alleged betting is completed. Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested on May 24 for allegedly taking part in illegal betting on the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is the subject of multiple police investigations. “In one of the lowest points in Indian cricket history, an emergency board meeting of the BCCI dealt a huge blow to the game,” the Times of India wrote in its editorial “Nation Dismayed”. “Indian cricket is run by a cosy clique of administrators who have little regard for the game or its image, but treat their posts as personal fiefs.” The paper also said the government “must not sit idle” while the cricket fan is “sold a lemon”. “BCCI bosses must know that they are accountable to the Indian cricket fan, who has made the game what it is. The BCCI has shamed the nation. In its present form, it has lost the moral right to run Indian cricket.” The Indian Express said the meeting confirmed that the board “thinks for itself, not the game”. “Srinivasan may have given way for the moment, but the extent of his sway over the board was clear in that his resignation was not asked for, nor was it forthcoming,” the paper wrote in its editorial “Of the BCCI, for the BCCI”. AFP
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
Pakistan rout South Africa in warm-up
LONDON: Pakistan fine-tuned their preparations for the Champions Trophy with an emphatic six-wicket victory over South Africa at The Oval on Monday. Misbah-ul-Haq’s team put South Africa into bat and restricted the Proteas to 202-9 before chasing down the target with 4.3
overs remaining thanks to halfcenturies from Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez. To make matters worse for South Africa, there was concern over pace bowler Dale Steyn, who was given only five overs and appeared to struggle with an injury. South Africa will feature in
Pakistan’s Imran Farhat (L) congratulates teammate Mohammad Hafeez on his half century. AFP
the tournament curtain-raiser against India in Cardiff on Thursday, while Pakistan get underway a day later against the West Indies at The Oval. Both sides utilised their squads during the 15-a-side clash, which allowed different batting and bowling XIs. And Pakistan were quickly
among the wickets as Junaid Khan dismissed Hashim Amla for a duck with the third ball of the day. The Proteas’ top order continued to struggle against the new ball and when Faf du Plessis was sixth out they had just 61 on the board. AFP
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
sports
SANIA-BETHANIE ENTER THIRD ROUND
India’s Sania Mirza and her partner Bethanie MattekSands progressed to the third round of the women's doubles event with a three-set win over American pair of Lauren Davis and Megan Moulton-Levy in Paris on Monday.
FRENCH OPEN
Record-chasing Federer looks to break hearts Federer will attempt to claim another record and also shatter French hopes of ending a 30-year wait for a men's singles champion. PARIS: Roger Federer (right) will on Tuesday attempt to claim another record and at the same time shatter French hopes of ending a 30-year wait for a men's singles champion at Roland Garros. Federer, the champion in 2009, will be playing in a 36th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final and victory will give him a 59th career win at the French Open. That would take him past the previous best mark of 58 shared by Guillermo Vilas and Nicola Pietrangeli. A win for the 17-time Grand Slam title winner against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga would mean the wait for a home men's champion, 30 years after Yannick Noah triumphed in Paris, goes on. Tsonga lost the pair's only meeting on clay, in Rome in 2011 in straight sets although he did famously beat Federer in the Wimbledon quarter-finals later that year. "I'm looking forward to the match
against Jo Willy. It's a big challenge playing him here in Paris. He's a great friend of mine. I think we're both looking forward to this match," said Federer. Tsonga has a point to prove to the crowd as well as to himself. Twelve months ago at the same stage, he squandered four match points against Novak Djokovic. "Until the end of my days I will have it in my mind," he said. The winner of the match will take on either fourth seed David Ferrer or
Tommy Robredo who face-off in an allSpanish battle. Ferrer was a semi-finalist in 2012 while Robredo, who was down at 471 in the rankings this time last year, has already been creating records in Paris. He is the first man since Henri Cochet at Wimbledon in 1927 to win three successive matches by coming back from two sets to love. In the women's quarter-finals, top seed Serena Williams, the 2002 champion, faces 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova. AFP
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Rafa predicts top 10 spot for Kei
PARIS: Rafael Nadal predictably proved a clay court bridge too far for Kei Nishikori (above) on Monday at the French Open but predicted the Japanese will be a top 10 player soon. The Spaniard, looking to become the first man to win the same Grand Slam singles crown for an eighth time, was celebrating his 27th birthday. And Nishikori was unable to spoil the Mallorcan's centre court party as the 23year-old from Shimane could manage only eight games in going down to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 defeat. Yet Nadal still had praise for his efforts and offered some crumbs of comfort. "He's a player with a lot of talent," said the Mallorcan. "Now he's in the top of the ranking and he's improving; playing round of 16 here in Roland Garros is great. He had a good tournament in Madrid, too, quarterfinals. "I think he's a candidate to be top 10 without any doubt." Nishikori failed in his quest to become just the second Japanese man to reach the last eight after Jiro Satoh, who made the quarter-finals in 1931 and 1933. He said afterwards he wished he had been more aggressive. AFP
Maria, Azarenka ease into last-eight PARIS: Defending champion Maria Sharapova joined third seed Victoria Azarenka in the French Open quarter-finals Monday as both posted routine fourth-round wins. Sharapova was all business in seeing off American 17th seed Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Serbian 18th seed Jelena Jankovic, who thrashed US hope Jamie Hampton 6-0, 6-2, while double Australian Open champion Azarenka swamped 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-0. Sharapova, who in beating Sara Errani in last year's final became the sixth player in the Open era to complete a full collection of Grand Slams, was rarely troubled by Stephens,
Russia's Maria Sharapova returns to USA's Sloane Stephens during their French Tennis Open round of sixteen match at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, on Monday. AFP/MARTIN BUREAU
Australian Open semi-finalist last January, the Floridian 20year, gifting her a final break by hitting long on match point. "I knew this was going to be a really hard match so I'm delighted to be in the quarter-final," said Sharapova, who found the wind made her task a little more challenging than she had hoped. "We had a few freaky points, a few shanks. But, overall, I was happy with the way I focused most of the match," said the Russian, who joked her father "thinks I can beat Rafael Nadal on clay." Self-critically she added: "This tournament I don't think I have played, you know, my best level, especially in the first few rounds. I thought I needed to
step it up today. Yet it only gets tougher from here." Jankovic, who coasted past an outclassed Hampton in 62min, has a 1-7 career record against Sharapova, whom she beat on grass six years ago, and conceded the odds are stacked against her. "It will be a tough one - I will just try to play my best tennis," said the 28-year-old. Next up for Azarenka, meanwhile, is a meeting with Russian 12th seed and erstwhile doubles partner Maria Kirilenko after her win over Schiavone moved her into the last eight for the third time in Paris. The protagonists notably paired up at the 2011 Australian Open, where they finished runners-up. AFP