postnoon E-paper for 01 February,2012 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

THE RETURN OF ROBIN HOOD

Everyone has been going ballistic about the recently launched Robin Hood Tax. For us it reintroduces the most loved outlaw of all time. But who actually was he? Let’s find out.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 HYDERABAD

WHAT’S SHE’S WEARING COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE Silk is set to go from dressing Indian brides to potentially growing replacement tissue for damaged hearts. German scientists have succeeded in loading cardiac muscle cells onto a 3D scaffold (framework), created using the Tussar silk.

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TAXI DRIVERS TAKE CITY FOR A RIDE These cabbies are courteous and help you with your parcels, but in the bargain you may lose your valuables. Police records show nearly 35 to 40 of these con artists are in the driving seat.

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EMAAR SCAM NETS THREE MORE The CBI will be filing chargesheets in the Emaar Properties case against Koneru Prasad, Sunil Reddy and Vijaya Raghavan in the special court today. The CBI charged Koneru with embezzlement of `138 crore, Sunil with swindling `70 crore and Raghavan with facilitating the fraud.

BECKHAM NAMED SEXIEST MAN ON THE PLANET David Beckham has been crowned The Sexiest Man on the Planet 2012. The 36-year-old has been awarded the title in Heat‘s 101 Hottest Hunks.

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FATHER SHOOTS OWN GOAL

ESCAPE...IS NEVER AN OPTION!

A man who handcuffed himself to a goalpost during the Everton-Manchester City match, said he was protesting against Ryanair’s recruitment policy after his daughter was denied a job by it. His T-shirt read: ‘Europe’s greatest training robbers. Ryanair.’

Could Eve ever have imagined that her kind would pioneer the concept of trading sexual gratification in exchange for money? Postnoon looks into the lives of these women for whom every morning means a new battle!

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Page Two

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Spirit of Twin Cities

PICS: A SUDHEER REDDY

A neglected alcove of peace CIVIC Anubha K Singh anubha.k@postnoon.com

yderabad or the Pearl City offers a large variety of tourist attractions ranging from heritage monuments, lakes, parks, gardens, museums, and not to forget delectable cuisine. However, there are many beautiful parks in the city which are not well known and one of them is the Bamboo Park in Jubilee Hills. Bamboo Park is a small garden located in Jubilee Hills on road no 36. It nestles in a quiet corner of this upmarket area that is known for its swanky malls and highris-

es. This small park is where many residents enjoy their everyday morning and evening walks. Bamboo Park is open everyday from 6 am to 8 pm. It’s among the few parks in Hyderabad which has a free entry. The park has a lush garden, huge trees and colourful flowers. It also doubles as a nice picnic spot. It’s an ideal place for a person who wants to spend some time in the lap of nature; the other attractions in this garden/park include a bamboo hut and jogging tracks. However the park is not being maintained well by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. The water pipes have not worked for the past many days and the park has not been cleaned in a long time.

“We organise our monthly meetings in the park. The park is especially loved by kids. It’s a place where you can leisurely enjoy Mother Nature; spend some quality time with friends and family members. The park should be well maintained by GHMC

because it has the potential to be a tourist spot,” said Keku, founder LICH club. Overall Bamboo Park is a point of interest for locals who want to revisit nature and improve their their bond with her.

Around the city: Your guide to the Twin Cities

Fragile City

Ladies night It’s ladies night as DJ Kanna AKA Kaan-i belts out music to make your evening an evening to remember. Where: The Park, Raj Bhavan When: February 1, 8pm Contact: (040) 23456789 Childhood memory Kites are a childhood memory of carefree life, of cheery sunny days .They have become a metaphor of soaring freedom, of flights sky-high, towering above the humdrum of life. Artkites are such an expression of festivity and creative vision. Where: Iconart, Banjara Hills When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 32411554

One love One Love is an International exhibition by artists from around the world who aim at promoting humanity and love all over the world. Where: State Gallery Of Fine Arts , When: Ongoing, 11am Contact: (040) 32913922

Martini ‘n music Enjoy the winter evenings with grey goose martinis and crooner Kelly dishing out your favourite numbers. Where: Taj Krishna,

CINEMAS

Banjara Hills When: Every Evening Contact: (040) 66662323

held at Daira- Centre for Arts and Crafts. Where: Daira, Banjara Hills When: Ongoing, 11am Contact: (040) 66618628

MODEL INDIANS

Cognac and Cigar The Seasons Bar opens up again as a Cigar and Cognac lounge with a wide selection of cognac, rare whiskies, single malts and cigars. Where: Taj Krishna, Banjara Hills When: Ongoing, 7pm Contact: (040) 66662323

Visual art An exhibition cum sale of paintings by Hari Srinivas. The exhibition is on display till January 30 2012. Where: VSL Visual Art Gallery, Plot no 100, AP Text Book Colony, Gun Rock Enclave When: Ongoing Contact: 9247175135

Numaish A childhood favourite of every Hyderabadi, The All India Industrial Exhibition is on. Where: Exhibition Grounds, Nampally When: Ongoing

Eat in the dark Have you ever wondered how it feels to eat in the dark? Come and experience this. Pay `499 to enjoy a 4-course meal worth `1,000 at Dialogue in the Dark. Where: Dialogue in the Dark, Inorbit Mall, Hitech City When: Ongoing, 12.30pm Contact: (040) 64603341

Romancing art Romancing the Reminiscence an exhibition by Masuram is being

PIC: SRINIVAS SETTY

An art exhibition by Srinivas Reddy titled Fragile City is being held at Iconart Art Gallery. Where: Iconart, Banjara Hills When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: 9849968797

Cupcake delight Cupcake lovers head to Deli 9 for the cupcake festival. You can select from a variety of cupcakes such as chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, coffee, orange, lemon, carrot, chocolate-vanilla. Where: Deli9, Banjara Hills When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 65506662

Bapu in colours A painting exhibition titled, Bapu-Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi by Siva Kesara Rao. Where: Marriott hotel & Convention Centre, Tank Bund When: Ongoing, 11am Contact: (040) 27522999

Toddler art It’s toddler art time at Treasure house as toddlers get a chance to have some fun with arts and crafts. Where: Treasure House, Jubilee Hills When: January1, 5 pm Contact: (040) 23550118

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

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Drive in and spirit out ome of you may have seen this cabbie but missed his hobby. He drives you to your home and come out with your laptop or mobile and you would never suspect him till it is too late. Shaikh Saleem Baba is barely 28 and he drives a taxi for his living. He mostly operates in the Hi-Tec City area to serve the IT crowd because he is passionate about laptops and expensive

inspector NSV Venkateshwar Rao realised after interrogation of Saleem that he figures in nearly eight similar cases of thefts of electronic items in various police stations of Hyderabad and Cyberabad. He was also arrested earlier by Shah Inayat Ganj, Begumpet, SR Nagar, Banjara Hills, Kukatpally and Madhapur police. He has been indulging in this game since 2004 and has to his dis (credit) thefts of 40 laptops and a score or more high-end mobile phones, police said. Saleem is a bachelor and lives with his mother but he

mobile phones which the techies possess, so say the Habeeb Nagar police who have seized 10 laptops and some mobile phones from his possession the other day. Interrogation led to a novel story. He strikes a chord with the passengers, who are mostly techies, and takes extra care to see that his client is ‘safely’ dropped wherever they live and even help them with their parcels (Extra courteous, you know!) But his keen eye misses nothing and he makes a note of the home of his quarry and sees if there are more people inside the home or he is alone. At the first opportunity, he swipes the laptop or mobile phone if they are handy. Habeeb Nagar police

reportedly admitted to the police that he wanted to maintain a lifestyle for which his salary was not enough. He claims he is charitable and gifts some mobile phones that he stole to his friends who do not have a phone. Inspector Rao said he has arrested seven such people who are mostly drivers and take advantage while dropping passengers to their flats or homes. By a police estimate the City has some 35-40 such people who zero in on laptop, mobile and jewellery only. The big question begging an answer is how come these criminals who are repeatedly get caught let loose? What’s the gaping gap in the law and justice system?

CRIME Mohd subhan mohd.s@postnoon.com

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin Cities

CRIME BRIEF

Man stabbed at bus stand

62-year-old farmer from Kirshna district,was stabbed when he got down from a bus at the Lakdi-KaPul bus stand on Wednesday morning. Family feud is said to be the reason. Sambashiva Rao had come to attend a court case involving his

son Anil Rao and his estranged wife Sunitha. The attacker has been identified as Janardhan Rao, father of Sunitha. He has allegedly surrendered after the attack and said Anil had spoiled his daughter’s life and he did this out of fury.

Police arrest man for matricide

ahadurpura police arrested a youth, Mohd Aleem, who allegedly killed his mother Tahera Begum four days ago. Aleem is said to be addicted to liquor. On the night of January 29 he is said to have come home in a drunken condition and quarrelled with his mother. In a fit of rage he clubbed her to death.

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TROUBLED? PHONE A FRIEND SOCIETY Ranjani Rajendra ranjani.r@postnoon.com

typical day in the life of a tele-counsellor goes something like this — manning the phone all day long answering distress calls by people who are either depressed, are with suicidal tendencies or simply want somebody to pour their heart out to. Many a time, these tele-counsellors with their patience and understanding have also helped a person return from the brink of a breakdown or suicide. Imagine what it might be like for them to go on day after day patiently listening to people’s woes, offer them unbiased, non-judgemental solutions, keep strict confidentiality about all the cases they deal with and yet not let the stress or the pressure of it all get the better of them. Says Aparna Adhikari, operations manager at the suicide helpline provided by Makro Foundation, “It can get challenging to digest all the information we receive, handle the negative emotions and yet remain unaffected. But we’ve been trained to leave work-related thoughts behind at the end of the day. We discuss every case we receive with colleagues to get a fresh perspective and to share the burden since we cannot discuss details outside the office. At the end of each work day, we ensure we take a break practising some relaxation techniques before we head home.” Most suicide helplines also conduct weekly sessions for their counsellors to share their cases and dilemma with their colleagues. “Through these group sharing sessions we are able to address whatever is bothering us. Because, as counsellors we cannot discuss any case, no matter how troublesome, with even our spouses or mothers. Besides, an important pre-requisite for all counsellors is to strike an emotional balance within themselves in order to deal with other people’s problems,” says D

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

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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: Commissioner & Spl Officer 23262266

Suicide prevention helplines in the City Roshni – 66202000 Makro Foundation – 46004600 Teenage Temptations (specifically for depressed students) – 9160037457

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

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

Rani, a tele-counsellor. Most helplines in the City hire qualified psychologists to help their employees cope with the stress of their job. “These sessions, usually held once a week, help us demystify our emotions. Sometimes a call can last a couple of hours. In such a scenario, we share the call between colleagues to avoid getting overwhelmed. We use this break to destress ourselves before getting back on the job,” says Aparna. Mind games, relaxation techniques, exercises of deep breathing, following a balanced diet and yoga also help the counsellors. On an average, these counsellors handle around 10 to 15 calls in a day, some of which are by people who are on the brink of suicide. While each story is heartrending, the counsellor tries to stay as objective as possible. “As counsellors, it is important that we shouldn’t have strong opinions on what the caller reveals to us, are emotionally strong, have a stable personal life ourselves and are trained to handle situations like these,” explains Akheel A Siddiqui, director, Roshni, a suicide prevention helpline. “Besides, most of the calls we receive are by people who are highly stressed. So it is extremely important that we choose our responses and words with care as even the slightest of mistakes can trigger extreme emotions. One of the most important abilities we require for this job is to listen to the other person, and not just hear them.” But aren’t there times when even a counsellor is overwhelmed by the intensity of it all? “We are put through rigorous training before we take up the job. This equips us to remain objective and cope with the stress or keep away from getting personally involved. But yes, there are times when, at the end of a call, we feel helpless as we cannot help the caller any further or solve their problem completely. However, we are then trained to let go of it and move on,” says Akheel.

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

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

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

PICTURE ONLY FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES

For Sale!

Engineering colleges at half the price EDUCATION U Srinivas srinivas.u@postnoon.com

ith rows and rows of seats lying vacant, many private engineering college managements are ready to put up their colleges for sale. Chiranjeevi Reddy, the president of the Engineering Colleges Association said that the so called deemed universities are adding up thousands of seats that eat

into the regular colleges’ intake. These deemed universities have functional freedom, they add new courses, alter the present courses and syllabus and also say that they have 100 per cent pass, he alleged. More than one lakh seats were added in the State though the HRD Ministry had asked for a probe into the spurt of such colleges in the recent past. There are some 44 deemed universities today. The association leader said that out of 700 colleges in the State at least a 100 colleges are in

deep trouble. “They have virtually no fill so far,” he said. Reddy also blamed new education groups that are rapidly expanding with no proper infrastructure. “The CBI should be asked to go for a thorough probe into the doings of some deemed universities as the HRD ministry had asked for earlier,” he said. With the Telangana trouble

many students had migrated to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Adding to the problem is the deemed university trouble, the association complained. “The managements are ready to sell the colleges to parties which are willing to pay at least half of the amount they had invested,” Reddy said. A well equipped engineering college

requires anything between `5 crore and `7 crore of investment. Meanwhile, it is alleged that some political leaders are busy negotiating with the troubled colleges for purchasing them at a cheaper rate. Recently, three such engineering colleges in Telangana region were sold to relatives of a politician.

Hyper Local CLASSIFIEDS FABRICATION

A Saye Sekhar saye@postnoon.com

hy no politician is arrested in the slew of cases that are triggered by former minister P Shanker Rao’s public interest litigation (PIL) so far? This is the pertinent question lurking in the minds of all. When reporters directly asked VV Lakshminarayana, joint director of the CBI, on Tuesday as to why YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was not arrested yet, he said: “The role of the CBI would be always within the purview and framework of the investigation needs.” A former DGP told Postnoon that an arrest would become mandatory only if the accused person in a case might run away from the law, or when he/she could tamper with evidence or when his/her life was under threat. Being arrested and being jailed following conviction were two different things, he clarified. Former home minister and

Telugu Desam Party leader T Devender Goud has alleged that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and YS Jagan “colluded” with each other and hence the insulation around the latter. Former education minister and TDP legislator Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu sought to know why the prime accused in the disproportionate assets case was not being arrested. He went to the extent of asking the State government to takeover Sakshi media, which was established with investments wangled through coercion or ‘quid pro quo’. The CBI in its counter filed against Sakshi vice-chairman Vijaya Sai Reddy’s bail petition on Tuesday alleged that it was Sai Reddy who had coerced or lured investors to pump in money in return of favours done to them. The CBI argued that Sai Reddy would tamper with the evidence. Congress leaders DL Ravindra Reddy, G Veerashiva Reddy, V Hanumantha Rao, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, and Shanker Rao himself keep on talking about the imminent arrest of Jagan on-and-off. They even went to extent of asking why the CBI was

not arresting Jagan. Lakshminarayana called on Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi on Tuesday and explained to the latter about the arrest of BP Acharya and to “ensure better coordination” between the apex investigating agency and the State government. The Chief Secretary used this as an opportunity to give a piece of his mind to the CBI boss in the State. He also reportedly shared the ‘hurt feelings’ of his IAS colleagues and the

severe mental pressure they were reeling under. It is said another four IAS officers are likely to fall in the CBI dragnet in the Obulapuram, Emaar and Jagan’s disproportionate assets cases. Vasireddy Padma of the YSR Congress alleged that the CBI was pursuing a ‘political agenda’ by taking instructions from the powers that be. She also questioned the procedures of the CBI probe. Even media organisations raised doubts over the way the CBI was conducting the interrogation — pitting the accused persons against each other during the questioning. This method had no legal sanction and the whole exercise could be challenged after all the charge-sheets are filed, said an advocate defending a few of the accused in these cases. The arrest off BP Acharya and Yerra Srilakshmi wrenched the hearts of the IAS fraternity. Incidentally, spouses of both officers are also all-India services officers. But if the CBI arrests Jagan, will it not lead to the arrest of many more politicians, especially of the Congress?

Kiran-Chiru camaraderie goes a ‘long way’

BIRD IN PARADISE

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lleging that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy was in the saddle thanks to the Congress president and not by virtue of his mass support, Dadi Veerabhadra Rao, MLC and TDP leader said Kiran was an arrogant person and he would go on fast against such behaviour. What irked Rao was the incident yesterday at the camp office. His vehicle was not allowed in by the security. At the same time, film producer Rama Naidu's vehicle was allowed to go in. Angered, Rao has returned, without submitting the memorandum he wanted to give to the chief minister. Speaking to the media later, Dadi has announced that he would go on fast in the Legislative Council on the first day of the Budget Session against such behaviour.

Why politicians not arrested? POLITICS

TDP MLC threatens fast against ‘arrogant’ CM

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Campaigns, hard news and spirit of Twin Cities

A winged beauty spotted near Jubilee Hills.

PICS: SRINIVAS SETTY

Milad blood donation camps

ilad Blood donation camps will be held on February 5 to commemorate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, at State Central Library, Afzalgunj and Idgah Balamrai, Secunderabad from 7 am to 6 pm. Mohsin Bin Mohammed Al Hamooni, President of FOCUSS, said the camps will be held under the auspices of FOCUSS and Tanzeem Irshad-ul-Muslimeen, both NGOs working for the Muslim youth of the twin cities. Last year, about 900 youth had donated blood, which was later distributed among the needy patients through the Thalasemia and

Sickle Cell Society Blood Bank and Red Cross Society. Al Hamooni said that blood donation is considered an extremely meritorious and rewarding act of charity in Islam. Islam exhorts Muslims to be charitable to all of God’s creations. Muslims cannot think of any charity greater than gift of life. So scholars and jurists have agreed that Muslims should have no inhibitions whatsoever in donating blood in the communities they are living. They should consider such selfless activities as the most rewarding charity, Hamooni added.

hief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy scored a brownie point with his ‘saviour’ Chiranjeevi by inviting the latter to join him for a visit to Medaram Jatara, a village goddess festival in Warangal district on Wednesday. Chiranjeevi, who played into the hands of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Botsa Satyanarayana during the voting on the noconfidence motion against the State government, is now pally with Kiran Kumar Reddy. The CM kept Chiranjeevi in good humour by inducting two of the latter’s cronies into the Cabinet, brushing aside the irritants that rose due to caste equations. Kiran Kumar Reddy doled out largesse to Chiranjeevi even in choosing information commissioner under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He accommodated at least three of Chiru’s ‘nominees’, causing unrest within the ruling party.

A senior minister from a Rayalaseema district expressed his anguish over the ‘too much of pampering’ of Chiranjeevi by the CM. Another senior Congress leader points out that Reddy is doing that ‘much-needed’ balancing act by keeping Chiranjeevi happy. He explained that Reddy wants former Union minister of state Dasari Narayana Rao to be reelected to the Rajya Sabha. Chiranjeevi is nursing an ambition to replace Dasari in the Rajya Sabha so that he could aspire to become a Union minister. While APCC president is said to be preparing the ground for this, the CM is buttressing his relations with Chiranjeevi so as to avoid any conflict.

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Shining White Hat to the rescue Famed white-hat hacker Ankit Fadia talks to us about censorship, the proposed ban on social networks and more

EVENT Padmini C padmini.c@postnoon.com

nkit Fadia has come to be known as the face of the Indian ethical hacking community. That his own website was recently hacked and sensitive information exposed has not diminished his popularity too much. He trains top cops in cybercrime at the National Police Academy in the City. He runs various courses in different parts of the world on ethical hacking. Not to mention, that he is the author of 15

books, the latest being How to Unblock Everything on the Internet which he launched here on Tuesday. Ankit admits it’s not easy. “Being an ethical hacker in India is a tough job. Most hackers operate underground, their activities are not in the public eye. They don’t like the fact that I do everything out in the open and am known for it. So they criticise me. But that’s okay,” says the self-assured 26year-old. The hacker is also a brilliant strategist. Prompted by Kapil Sabil’s comments in the media last year on the need for screening content on social networking sites, Ankit decid-

ed to pen his latest book. “I started writing How to Unblock Everything on the Internet on December 15, 2011 and 15 days later, by December 31, I was done. The turnaround time was phenomenal. This book is topical and is sure to have a wide audience considering that educational institutions and offices keep blocking websites especially social networking sites. I intend to bring new editions out every quarter,” says Ankit. Surprisingly, the computer security expert who is an advocate for freedom of speech was a proponent for SOPA. “I am against piracy. So

yes, I supported SOPA,” admits Ankit who also believes that India must have a regulatory authority for the Internet. “In homogenous societies like Europe or Finland, you can be liberal. But with so many diverse groups of people in India, we can’t afford to offend anybody. So there needs to be a regulatory authority that consists of youth, experts, government officials who have an understanding of technology who will work towards censoring offensive information on the Internet.”

How to ask her out? Valentine’s Day is around the corner and the single hearts are worried how to ask the special one out. Read on... Taniya Talukdar taniya.t@postnoon.com

or those in a relationship, Valentine’s Day is a welcome occasion. But for others it is a terrifying prospect. Do you belong to the lonely hearts club who generally end up being alone on this day? Well don’t fret, for there is hope still left. With two weeks left for February 14, you still have time to ask that special person out for a date with you. Actor Ashish Chowdhry, who is married to long time girlfriend Samita Bangargi, only knows it too well. He says, “Asking somebody out for Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be a last minute 13 thing. It needs to be worked upon for some time which goes on to show the decency of a guy and it definitely has to be non-pushy. The proposal should have an ‘aww’ factor, in the sense when you propose, the girl should go ‘aww’.” He adds, “For women, Valentine’s Day dates signify something that will go on for the rest of the year unlike guys who aren’t that good a species. Make sure that you ask the woman out with good

intentions, if not always, a woman recognises a good guy from a bad.” Now it ain’t that hard is it? It really helps to have clear intentions from the beginning so that there is no confusion. But if you are amongst the ones who like to keep it a little spicy and out of the ordinary, then actor Vatsal Sheth has the perfect tip for you. “Okay so you have 14 days to go and you need to ask the special one out? I have a wacky way for the guys to go about with and trust me it’s not that hard. The first few days just ignore her and don’t give her much attention, instead talk about other girls in front of her and appreciate them. You can also go to the extent of calling her fat and asking her to go DAYS TO GO to the gym but do so politely. In the process she will get angry but then she will think only about you. In the last few days, you start appreciating her and start wooing her. Tell her that you want to make it up to her and then ask her out,” advises a witty Vatsal. You can choose either of the tips, which ever works best for you but make sure that this Valentine’s Day if you want to be with someone then you ask her out.

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Spotlight

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

PICS:SRINIVAS SETTY

IN THE MOOD FOR SOME CHINESE?

Sirisha

Nikita Reddy and Deepti

Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao inaugurates the Chinese wok and Pasha Court restaurant on Tuesday.

Tasting divine ambrosia

Keeping it green

Sula Vineyards and Goethe-Zentrum organised a wine-tasting evening with Sula Wines at Nampally on Tuesday. PICS:SRINIVAS SETTY

Owners of Pragati Resorts receive the award for the Best Gardens maintained by a resort and Best Villa Garden 2012 from the Department of Horticulture

STARS IN ATTENDANCE (Left) Actor Daniel Radcliffe attends a screening of The Woman In Black at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 theater in New York City. (Right) Actors Edward Norton and Kevin Spacey attend The Signature Center Opening gala in New York City.

Keira Knightley (C) with co-stars Viggo Mortensen (R) and Michael Fassbender pose during a photocall at the Gala Premiere of her film A Dangerous Method in London's Mayfair. MAX NASH/AFP

AFP

Amitabh Bachchan (C) arrives at The Gateway Hotel Ummed in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

Actors Missi Pyle (L), Jean Dujardin (C), and Penelope Ann Miller pose with Uggie the dog at a ceremony honouring the cast and crew of The Artist on Tuesday in Hollywood, California. ROBYN BECK/ AFP

MICHAEL LOCCISANO/ AFP

JASON KEMPIN/AFP

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

India unveiled

Sheila retracts Modi support statement AGRA/NEW DELHI: Linking poll wins in States to good governance and development, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit on Tuesday named BJP leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as an example but later clarified that she never meant to praise him. “All areas have developed. Yes Gujarat too has developed and that is the reason why he (Modi) has been elected twice. In Assam too, development has helped,” Dixit said in response to a question by a reporter at the release of the Congress manifesto in the Taj city. She also said that Uttar Pradesh had not developed and therefore it was necessary to bring Congress to power. Within an hour of her remark, her office issued a clarification.”It is clarified that while replying to a question about her returning to power twice in Delhi, Dixit stated that the governments which have been concentrating on fine tuning governanace and have provided stability have been returned to the power. This happened in Delhi, Assam and somewhat in Gujarat,” said the statement from Dixit’s office. “It is further clarified that she did not praise any chief minister. She said development was the chief issue these days,” the statement said. IANS

Florist jailed for raping 80-year-old NEW DELHI: Law-makers must consider re-defining the offence of rape to deal with different categories of accused, a Delhi court said on Tuesday while awarding 10 years’ jail to a 19-year-old florist guilty of digital rape of an 80-yearold woman. Prahlad used his fingers to sexually assault the victim, abandoned by her family, in north Delhi’s Tri Nagar area in 2011. The court has awarded a compensation of `50,000 to the victim. Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau while sentencing the convict said: “Indian legislators need to step in and think about having a re-look at the definition of rape so as to specifically include the instances of digital rape/male rape/anal rape.” The court suggested formulation of a separate exhaustive legislation covering all categories of sexual assault similar to the laws in Scotland, Ireland, Australia (Sexual Assault Act of Victoria) and the US (Violence Against Women Act, 1994). IANS

RAVAGED DREAMS

Kavita, 8, salvages her school text books as she sits near the remains of her smouldering hut that was destroyed after 500 huts were gutted in a fire in a New Delhi slum on Tuesday. AFP

Assam constable runs 165km barefoot GUWAHATI: A constable from Assam Police ran an incredible 156.2km barefoot in just 24 hours, and is set to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. Abhijit Baruah, 22, from Jorhat town in Upper Assam, began running at 3.56pm on Monday from Jorhat. His run within Jorhat ended at 3.56pm. Tuesday. This makes Baruah to have run the longest distance barefoot in the world, said Chandrasekhar Tiwari, the Indian representative of the Guinness World Records.”I am going to send all reports, of the whole run, to the office (for them to) take a final decision”, he said. IANS

2G Case: SC raps PMO for Swamy plea delay

Kudankulam protesters assaulted

NEW DELHI: The government

has been spearheading the protest against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) called off talks with the Central government-appointed experts panel after the former’s members were assaulted in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, an activist said. “We have no faith in the talks. None of the questions we had asked were answered and the documents we had asked were not presented to us. “Meanwhile, our members have been assaulted when they had gone to participate in the talks. We are calling off our talks,” SP Udayakumar, coordinator of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, said. IANS

has to decide within a maximum of four months whether or not to sanction the prosecution of a public servant for corruption, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, while pulling up the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for delaying Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy’s 2008 plea against then cabinet minister A Raja in the 2G case. In a far-reaching judgement that the government said it would honour, Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly said a decision on a request for prosecution must come within three months. This could be extended by a month if the government wanted the attorney general’s views. Swamy, who has been wag-

ing a dragging legal battle against the now jailed Raja, hailed the verdict, saying it would give teeth to the war on corruption. The Congress was defensive, while the BJP called it a slap on the government’s face. Even as the BJP underlined that the judgement was an indictment of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the judges said Singh could not be blamed for the lapses of his officials. The court was reacting to a petition by Swamy that the PMO sat for months on his request seeking sanction to prosecute Raja under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) for his alleged involvement in the 2G scam. IANS

Swamy mocks at Sibal, Khurshid NEW DELHI: Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday mocked at Cabinet ministers Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid, both lawyers, after the Supreme Court upheld his plea on prosecution of the corrupt. He targeted law minister Khurshid and communications minister Sibal over their comments on his decision to approach the PM directly to seek sanction to prosecute A Raja.”Sibal and Salman need to go back to law college and learn the law again, he said. IANS

CHENNAI: A civil group which

IAF seals jet deal with French kiss NEW DELHI: In a defence deal that is India’s — and amongst the world’s largest, France’s Dassault has won a $10.4 billion (`52,000 crore) order for 126 fighter jets after over four years of a fiercelyfought bidding process. Finally, it was a direct financial duel between Dassault and European consortium EADS Cassidian Eurofighter, with Rafale pipping Typhoon with the lowest bid to emerge the winner in the MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) deal. “Dassault has been informed that it has emerged L1 (Lowest one) in the bid for 126 multi-role fighter aircraft ten-

der,” a defence ministry official said, referring to the lowest price quoted for the Rafale. “But the contract will be signed only in the next financial year.” Dassault in an emailed statement from Paris said the firm was committed “to meet the operational requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and underline their pride in contributing to India’s defence for over half a century”. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the deal would include significant transfers of technology to India and committed that his government would back Dassault in final talks on the details of the agreement. IANS

Around the World

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Beyond Borders

Florida: It’s Romney yet again

GLOBE AT A GLANCE Search in submerged parts of Concordia ends ROME: Italian officials on Tuesday decided to end searching any further for the missing 15 people of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in its submerged part. The search for the missing people, however, will continue in parts of the ship that are not under water. So far, rescuers have found 17 bodies in the ship, Xinhua reported. According to officials, it is not safe to continue operations in those areas.

Ex-RBS chief loses his knighthood Florida Republican primary winner Mitt Romney and his wife Supporters cheer as polls close and Republican presidential Ann look at the crowd gathered in Tampa, Florida. AFP candidate Mitt Romney is called the winner. AFP been salivating over the increasingly caustic tone of the Republican campaign marked in Florida by the constant stream of personal attacks flying between Romney and Gingrich. “A competitive primary does not divide us, it prepares us and we will win,” Romney said. “When we gather back here in Tampa seven months from now for our convention, ours will be a united party with a winning ticket for America.” Gingrich acknowledged he had faced an uphill battle in Florida, but promised to wage a long-haul battle for the nomination, taking the fight all the way to the party convention in August when the nominee will ultimately be crowned.

“I think ultimately it’s going to come down to a conservative versus Massachusetts moderate primary fight across the whole country,” he said. Gingrich has urged fellow conservative Rick Santorum, who won the Iowa caucuses but has struggled since and trailed a distant third in Florida, to drop out of the race. The economy seemed to be on the minds of many voters in Florida, including businessman Paul Jackson, who said he voted for Romney. “I voted for him because I think he has the best chance of beating the president. I don’t agree with everything that he stands for, but I need to see a change that satisfied my selfish needs as a small business owner,” he said. AFP

TAMPA: Mitt Romney trounced main rival Newt Gingrich in Florida’s primary on Tuesday, putting himself in a commanding position to win the Republican nomination and take on President Barack Obama. The margin of victory — 47 per cent to 32 per cent with more than three-quarters of the votes counted dealt a bitter blow to former House speaker Gingrich, who faces a Herculean task to turn the race around. Gingrich, 68, shocked the party establishment when he thumped Romney, 64, in South Carolina earlier this month, but his support sank fast in the larger and more diverse state of Florida and Romney now has all

the momentum. Romney’s thumping win in the Sunshine State demonstrated his strength in a key general election battleground, and in his victory speech in a Tampa ballroom, he took firm aim at Obama. “Well Mr. President, you were elected to lead. You chose to follow, and now it’s time for you to get out of the way,” he said, to chants of “Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!” “President Obama wants to fundamentally transform America and make it something perhaps we wouldn’t recognize. I want to restore to America the values and principles that made us the hope of the Earth.” The victor fired a warning shot at Democrats who have

‘Shed light on Gilles killing’

Russia vs the West in UN Syria showdown

UNITED NATIONS: France on Tuesday pressed Syrian authorities to shed light on the death of French TV reporter Gilles Jacquier, who was killed as he covered the country’s uprising. Minister Alain Juppe, visiting the UN in a push for a resolution on Syria’s bloodshed, said that a report by League monitors was not definitive on the origin of the fire that killed the 43-yearold journalist. AFP

UNITED NATIONS: Western powers clashed with Russia at the United Nations on Tuesday as they pushed for a UN resolution demanding the resignation of Syrian President Bashar alAssad and an end to his “reign of terror.” The diplomatic wrangling at the United Nations UN came as fighting escalated between Syrian government forces and rebels, and a senior US official predicted that Assad would be toppled sooner or later. US Secretary of State Hillary

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin speaks at a UN Security Council meeting. AFP

Clinton, led the charge for a tough UN resolution. However, Russia, which has said it fears that the real agenda is regime change, declared that the UN body did not have the authority to impose such a resolution. Moscow’s ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, argued that Syria should “be able to decide for itself” and said the Council “cannot impose the parameters for an internal settlement. It does not have the mandate to do so.” AFP

Nato report reveals Pak-Afghan Taliban Nexus

he Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret Nato report seen by the BBC. The leaked report, derived from thousands of interrogations, claims the Taliban remain defiant and have wide support among the Afghan people. It alleges that Pakistan knows the locations of senior Taliban leaders. A BBC correspondent says the report is painful reading for international forces and the Afghan government.

A file image of Taliban fighters walking in Herat province. AFP

Pakistan has strenuously denied any links with the Taliban on previous occasions. “We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI and some extremist networks,” said US Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby, adding that the US Defence Department had not seen the report. The BBC’s Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says the report - on the state of the Taliban - fully exposes for the first time the relationship between the Pakistani intelligence service (ISI) and the Taliban. BBC

he former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Fred Goodwin, has been stripped of his knighthood for his role in the creation of the biggest recession since the second world war. He now joins a list of individuals stripped of their honours, including Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe and Anthony Blunt.

A protester holds a banner reading “Constitutional coup” during a demonstration in Dakar, Senegal. AFP

Israel PM claims victory in party primary JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed victory in Tuesday’s primary of his rightwing Likud party over his rival, the hardline settler Moshe Feiglin.“I thank you for the confidence and the renewed support that you have given me,” Netanyahu told a party gathering.

25 workers kidnapped in Egypt freed BEIJING: China said on Wednesday that 25 Chinese workers captured by Egyptian locals demanding the release of their Islamist relatives had been released, state media reported. The official Xinhua news agency quoted an official at the Chinese embassy in Egypt as saying the workers were freed by their abductors, and that they were in good condition.

Unionized healthcare workers from the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center take part in a 24-hour strike. AFP

17,134.70 58.85

5,180.55 18.70

10g= `28.400

1kg= `56.800

`49.53

BSE

NSE

GOLD

SILVER

DOLLAR

Business

Matters of saving and spending

POUND WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 11

Regency Ceramics locks out Yanam factory Prudhvi Raju K Prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

HYDERABAD: Regency Ceramics on Wednesday announced the lock-out of its embattled ceramic factory, jeopardising the fate of 6,000 employees in Yanam. The factory contributed to the growth of Pondicherry’s annexure, appended geographically to East Godavari district of Andhra

Pradesh, in the last 29 years of its existence. Educational institutions run by the company were also closed throwing the academic year of hundreds of students out of gear. “The conditions prevailing at the factory forced us to announce lockout. This will continue till peace is restored. The employees are leaving Yanam and the factory is looking like a grave yard,” said

GN Naidu, chairman and managing director, Regency Ceramics. “There are political motives behind the attack. As many as 80 to 100 workers with a large group of hooligans egged on outside elements who caused serious damage to Regency Ceramics,” he said. The company could not immediately put any figure to the damage, but several industrial functions were affected. “We want a CBI enquiry. The police do not want any one from the management team to stay at the factory as it can disturb the investigation process. However, the team is ready to go to the factory once they get police clearance. There was a lot of confusion either to renovate the plant for operations or to relocate or to sell the company but could only give information, once the damage costs were available, he said. The company had insured its factory assets for Rs450 crore with a group of insurance companies

PIC: N SHIVA KUMAR

HYDERABAD: Maxivision Eyecare hospital has introduced the VICTUS Femtosecond laser platform in the City. The Victus is a result of an extensive research conducted and improvisation proposed by Kasu Prasad Reddy. Maxivision brought to India the Victus by Technolas Perfect Vision, leading German laser company and Trivitron. Maxivison completed 450 eye operations without a complication. Femtosecond laser cataract surgery may cost `30,000 in addition to existing costs of cataract surgery. The 95 per cent handsfree equipment will enable ophthalmologists to perform com-

Former president APJ Abdul Kalam and Kasu Prasad Reddy (L) co-chairman, Medort Maxivison Group, inaugurated the facility. puter-controlled precise, accurate and reproducible incisions compared to the current manual procedures. The accuracy would be 100 per cent compared to 83

per cent accuracy in manual procedures and the duration of surgery also would come down to five minutes from 10 minutes, reducing several associated costs.

GN Naidu, chairman and managing director, Regency Ceramics.

PIC: N SHIVA KUMAR

including National Insurance company. The insurance companies were estimating the value of the damages, said Satyendra Prasad Narala, executive director, Regency ceramics. Regency Ceramics is the leading exporter producing 40,000 sq meters of tiles per day. It has 15 per cent market share in ceramic tiles and eight per cent in floor tiles. It has accumulated Rs35 crore losses in the last six years due to operating at 60 per cent manufacturing capacity, because of shortage of gas supply by ONGC, he said.

New technology for eye surgery Postnoon News

`78.01

The Victus suit costs around `10 crore and supports cataract, cornea and other surgeries. This Victus suit could replace multiple units that were operating now for different surgeries, said Kasu Prasad Reddy, Co-Chairman, Medort Maxivison Group. The equipment will be available in Chennai and New Delhi hospitals in next three to six months. Technolas perfect vision, German company, has invested $50 million in clinical research and expecting a breakeven in four years by exporting equipment to different countries. The event is attended by former president APJ Abdul Kalam, GVK Reddy, Chairman, GVK Group and D Ramanaidu, film producer.

The company is expected to wipe its losses in the last quarter of the current fiscal and move towards profits from next fiscal as there would be adequate gas supply. Promoters are controlling 60 per cent stake and infused more than `21 crore in last six years to keep operations going, said Prasad. Asked about the company’s order book size and its execution, Rajendra Prasad, president of international operations of the company, said the entire records were reduced to ashes in the arson.

Sensex down MUMBAI: The BSE benchmark index Sensex fell by 55 points in early trade today as investors booked profits after recent gains. The 30-share barometer, which rallied by 330.25 points in the previous session, moved down by 54.62, or 0.32 per cent, to 17,138.93 points in early trade today.

Rupee loses 18 paise The rupee weakened by 18 paise to `49.64 per dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange today amid weak equity markets. Dealers attributed the rupee’s fall to dollar gains against the euro overseas and a lower opening in the stock market. The rupee had closed 33 paise higher at `49.46/47 per US dollar yesterday in line with sharp rebound in equities amid fresh dollar selling by exporters and some banks.

Comment

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Fair, free and forthright

Editorials REMEMBER HADITHA before sermon

ew York-based Human Rights Watch has sought prosecution of the BSF personnel who were caught on video torturing Bangladeshi nationals. The accused troopers are facing disciplinary action. However, the Western guardians of human rights maintain deafening silence on transgressions of troops of Nato and its allies. The US squad that was responsible for the Haditha massacre has walked free with the main accused being released without spending even a day in prison. Till date, the US refuses to allow host nations to prosecute its troops for crimes committed on duty tours — no matter how heinous the offence. And most of them escape with punishments that rarely exceed warning and/or probation. Before HRW sets out to advice the world it should convince Uncle Sam that a platform of double standards can’t sell the ideas of human rights to the rest of the world.

WHY WE LOVE... pig-headedness

all it stubbornness or sheer obstinacy, either ways it’s going to end in disaster. The road to that eventual end, however, means that we in the media are going to get loads of crash-and-burn stories. The two Golden Mule awards for this year go to two footballers: Carlos Tevez and Michael Balack. Their sheer will to selfdestruct is commendable, and while both have fallen from football’s grace, they will forever be in our good ones.

French connection to serve multiple goals Fusillade Arun Koshy Philip

inalisation of French fighter jet Rafale as the choice for Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) will give the Indian Air Force the much needed boost and plug the gap that will be left by the fast approaching retirement of Soviet-era MiG-21s. The four-year tender process that began in August 2007 had six contenders — two from the US, one each from France, Russia, Sweden and a UK-Europe consortium. In April 2011, Dassault Rafale of France and Eurofighter Typhoon were shortlisted as the finalists and almost a year later the Frenchman walked away with the contract. The $10-billion deal for 126 jets, which defence analysts point out may go up to $15 billion with ancillary contracts, will also take bilateral ties between India and France a few notches up. The deal came through at a time when the French industry is battling the fallout of the Eurozone crisis. This is the second major Indo-French defence deal in the last six months after the $1.4-billion upgrade contract for IAF’s Mirage-2000 fleet. The contract will also boost India’s defence industry and science sectors with the mandatory clause that 50 per cent of the deal amount be invested in domestic partnerships. The biggest beneficiary will be the PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which will manufacture 108 of the jets under a transfer-of-technology agreement; the rest will be supplied by Dassault in fly-away condition before 2015. The HAL team can also use the expertise thus gained from the process to enhance the quality of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft and to develop technologies for future projects. The MMRCA deal was on the verge of being scrapped a year back when offset proposals of contenders went missing from the IAF headquarters and later resurfaced on a South Delhi roadside. The defence ministry decided to go ahead with the shortlisting pro-

Weekend edition

Wrong awards

I love the weekend edition of Postnoon; I think both Saturday and Sunday are interesting. Wars between different media houses seem to be doing good to the quality that the reader is ending up getting. However, I think you should also write about how the more educated class prefers private jobs to government jobs, and that leads to our skeletal infrastructure of low grade. I would also want you all to write more about issues of the youth today. Sharda Gangadhar Teachers’ Colony

Yesterday's centre-spread article highlighted what I have been thinking about for quite sometime now. In my personal opinion, I feel Stanley ka Dabba and Pyaar ka Punchnama should have won an award. While one was a heart wrenching story of a boy who under the most critical of circumstances tries to stay happy, the other was a hilarious take on a guy's perspective about his girlfriend. There should be an award function where deserving movies get awards and not just names that are attached to big movie banners. Krisha Gupta Madhapur

cess after an internal probe concluded that the documents were part of an appendix and their disclosure would not put any of the contenders at advantage or disadvantage. More than a defence purchase agreement, the MMRCA deal marks strategic shift in the defence policy. By refusing to heed the US pitch that bilateral ties will be hyphenated with business, India has sent out a clear message to the rest of the world that it doesn’t need a superpower to prop it up and that it will take unpopular decisions to protect its national interests. By choosing the French fighter, India has told Uncle Sam that the American policy of sanctions and supply disruptions based on its whims and fancies — like it did after the 1998 nuclear tests — will put it at a

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

disadvantage with the French and the Russians, who honour agreements regardless of calm or storm. India’s decision to diversify its shopping destinations will also ensure that it will no longer be dependent on a single vender or power block for crucial defence supplies. It is also a message to Russia that it can no longer take India’s evergreen friendship for granted, nor allow disruptions in supply chain or maintenance contracts with other international suppliers vying for the massive Indian market. The transparent and focused MMRCA deal has shown that with the right approach multiple targets can be achieved. With more potent additions to its arsenal, India has asserted that it is not going to bury its head in the sand in a troubled neighbourhood.

Fun headlines

Wise decision

Postnoon doesn't cease to surprise. Yesterday's edition with the headlines in Telugu was a fun read. There was no better way to show what the story was all about. Having said that, I don't agree with the hue and cry people make out of issues — petty to the serious. If the mayor cannot read Telugu, and it is really an issue, why was there no check done on his 'capabilities' earlier? We just need excuses and more excuses to show why somebody is not eligible to be where they are. To the point of sounding rude — how typically Indian! Padmaja Koppiganti Banjara Hills

The announcement of the fighter plane deal couldn’t come at a better time with another IAF plane crashing near Chennai. Though British trainer aircraft are being procured to fill the gap, the continuing crashes are a clear message that the damage control action has begun too late. This time the pilots have escaped but in most cases there are fatalities. These are bright young men who have been picked up for their distinguished capabilities. We can’t afford to lose them to obsolete flying coffins. I am happy that the defence ministry did not wait for more tragedies to make up its mind. Sadishiv Goud Safilguda

H‑Factor

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Holistic view of mind, body and soul

Vaccination Freedom from cervical cancer? Anishaa Kumar feedback@postnoon.com

ervical cancer or cancer of the cervix is one of the most common causes of cancer in India along with breast cancer. According to Dr Y Nalini, consultant radiation oncologist, Yashoda Hospital, Somajiguda, “cervical cancer cases which are found mostly in rural areas and also in urban areas may occur due to having many children, early marriage, deliveries at home and also due to lack of personal hygiene.”

Detect it The common symptoms include white discharge, vaginal bleeding and bleeding between menstrual cycles. For the detection of cervical cancer Pap tests also known as Pap smear tests are suggested. Explains Dr Nalini, “These are screening tests. Many women may or may not have the symptoms of cervical cancer. These tests need to be conducted to find out if there is an infection that may cause the cancer. If after the first three years of regularly conducting the tests the results are still normal it can then be done less frequently. After the age of 40, women must undergo the test frequently.”

Vaccination Cervical cancer is caused due to an infection in the cervix. The infection is due to the Human Papillomaviruses. According to Dr Nalini, the

Jade Goody succumbed to cervical cancer

HPV Virus vaccinations provide protection against an infection causes by both HPV-18 and HPV16 strains of the virus that can cause cervical cancer.

Popularity in India Talking about the popularity of the vaccination in India, Dr Nalini mentions that only educated people are enquiring about and taking the vaccination. Explaining further she says that the vaccination should preferably be taken before marriage ie should be taken before the women engages in sexual contact and the ideal age for taking the vaccine is in the age-group of 13-22.” Women who are already

C NO EVIL

Wine’s role ambiguous in protecting the heart TORONTO: Do white and red wine, the latter touted for its many health benefits, really stave off heart disease? The jury is still out on that one. “It’s complicated,” says Juergen Rehm, director of social and epidemiological research at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), who conducted the meta-analysis into the link between alcohol consumption and heart disease. “While a cardioprotective association between alcohol use and ischaemic heart disease exists, it cannot be assumed for all drinkers, even at low levels of intake,” says Rehm, the journal Addiction reports. Ischaemic heart disease (reduced blood supply to heart) is a common cause of illness and death in the Western world, according to a CAMH statement. Symptoms include angina, heart pain, and heart failure. Based on 44 studies, the analyses

married can also take the vaccination mentions Dr Nalini, “Even if a woman is married, if she has not been infected she can take the vaccine.” says Dr Nalini. According to Dr Rupa Reddy, asst professor, department of OBG at Shadan Medical College, “There has not been much enquiry about the vaccination in the City. Gynaecologists are advising these vaccinations during regular counselling.”

Cost “The vaccination can be given by both a gynaecologist as well as an oncologist”, Dr Nalini mentions. Many times we stay away from treatment due to their cost. Many of us fail to understand the importance of these procedures. Talking about the pricing and administration of the

THE FIGHT

ervical cancer can be prevented with the help of vaccinations or treated if detected in early stages. Explains Dr Nalini, “The survival rate when it comes to cervical cancer is up to 95-98 per cent if detected early. As late as the cancer is detected, the chances of recovery come down.” The most important thing according to Dr Nalini is awareness among women, early detection and good treatment.

vaccine, she mentions, “The vaccination costs roughly `2,000 per dose. In order to be protected, a woman needs to take three doses of the vaccination. Only then will the vaccine be effective. After the first dose, the next dose is given after a month and the third dose is given three months after the second dose,” she mentions. Dr Rupa maintains that though the

vaccination is effective on most strains of the HPV, like many vaccinations there has been no proof that it is 100 per cent effective.

Are they safe? There have been many controversies regarding these vaccinations. But according to Dr Nalini these vaccinations are safe. She mentions, “All vaccinations are safe, there may be side effects but there has no proven major side effects”. Dr Rupa also says that the vaccination is advised and is safe.

Treatment “If cervical cancer is detected in its early stages, surgery is suggested. In case it is detected in the later stages, radiotherapy is given. Nowadays chemotherapy is given along with radiotherapy, it is known as concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy,” explains Dr Nalini.

used 38,627 ischaemic heart disease events (including deaths) among 957,684 people. “We see substantial variation across studies, in particular for an average consumption of one to two drinks a day,” says Rehm. The protective association may vary by gender, drinking patterns, and the specific health effects of interest. Even at low levels, alcohol intake can have a detrimental effect on many other disease outcomes. “Even one drink a day increases risk of breast cancer, for example,” says Rehm. “However, with as little as one drink a day, the net effect on mortality is still beneficial. After this, the net risk increases with every drink.” “If someone binge drinks even once a month, any health benefits from light to moderate drinking disappear.” “Findings from this study support current low-risk drinking guidelines, if these recognize lower drinking limits for women.” IANS

H‑Factor

Holistic view of mind, body and soul

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

BREATHE EASY

Dr Aleemuddin Naveed Consultant chest physician Princess Esra Hospital

Inhalers are the first line of treatment

Postnoon News

“O

Tussar silk could help heal damaged hearts LONDON: Silk is set to make a leap from dressing Indian brides to potentially growing replacement tissue for damaged hearts, keeping them healthy and evergreen. Max Planck scientists in Germany have succeeded in loading cardiac muscle cells

onto a 3D scaffold (framework), created using the Tussar silk produced by a tropical silkworm. Of all the body’s organs, the human heart is probably the one most primed for performance and efficiency. Damaged

heart muscle cannot be regenerated. Scar tissue grows in place of the damaged muscle cells. In their attempt to develop a treatment for the repair of cardiac tissue, scientists are pursuing the aim of growing replacement tissue in the lab, according to a Max Planck statement. “Whether natural or artificial in origin, all of the tested fibres had serious disadvantages,” says Felix Engel, who led the research at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Germany. “They were either too brittle, were attacked by the immune system or did not enable the heart muscle cells to adhere correctly to the fibres.” Chinmoy Patra, who works in Engel’s lab, said the fibre produced by the tasar silkworm displays several advantages over the other substances tested. “The surface (of the fibre) has protein structures that facilitate the adhesion of heart muscle cells. It’s also coarser than other silk fibres.” This is the reason why the muscle cells grow well on it and can form a 3D tissue structure. “The communication between the cells was intact and they beat synchronously over a period of 20 days, just like real heart muscle,” says Engel. However, clinical application of the fibre is yet far away as the findings have to be extrapolated on human cardiac cells, said Engel. IANS

ver the years asthma has gone up. This increase can be attributed to changes in lifestyle, sedentary lifestyles, increase in pollution levels, occupational hazards, increasing use of food colours, fast foods, pets, construction activity everwhere, exposure to tobacco and stress,” says Dr Aleemuddin Naveed, consultant chest physician at Princess Esra Hospital. He goes on to add that allergy is one of the causes of asthma but it’s not the only cause. “While asthma cannot be cured, it can be controlled. As they say, prevention is better than cure. So ensuring that you prevent an asthma attack can help. This can be done by avoiding trigger factors and cutting down exposure to allergens. It is important to identify what it is that is worsening your symptoms and then avoid those. Also following proper treatment helps,” says Dr Naveed. “Inhalers are the best form of treatment and prevention as well. There are two types of medications available for asthma and they are classified as relievers and controllers. Relievers, as the name suggests, can help relieve the symptoms of asthma. Controllers on the other hand can be steroid-based and antiinflammators that help control the symptoms of asthma,” says Dr Naveed, adding, “Inhalers are the first resort of treatment. They are better than oral medication as they go directly into the lungs and is target-based therapy.” Despite widespread belief that steroid-based medication is not good, doctors say that in the case inhalers this is not true. “Steroidbased inhalers are perfectly safe as the dosage is low. When there is an inflammation, steroids are required to reduce them,” he says. He goes on to explain that once a patient is better they can stop taking the controllers and with their doctor’s advice chalk out a control-plan for their asthma treatment. “Once a patient is feeling better they can visit their doctor once in three months as long as they follow the plan of control issued by the expert,” he says.

Cinema Paradiso

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The Oscar season is here again and so it's time to look at the men behind some of the best movies this year Padmini C padmini.c@postnoon.com

The Creators Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Michel Hazanavicus, The Artist

itty, original, bold and creative, the New York-based screenwriter, director, actor and comedian Woody Allen is known for combining cerebral wit, psychological exposition and satire. Considered the most significant comedy auteur in Hollywood's history, Allen has been acting and directing brilliant comedies for over 30 years starting with his debut movie in 1965, What's New, Pussycat? Allen's visual humour, and literary references, in particular, have earned him numerous nominations and awards at film festivals and award ceremonies but despite friendly recognition from the Academy, Allen has consistently refused to attend the ceremony or acknowledge his Oscar wins. Midnight in Paris starring Rachel McAdams and Owen Wilson, his entry into the Academy awards this year is a valuable addition to his portfolio. Must-watch movies: Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanor, Manhattan.

he black-and-white silent nostalgic romance has enthralled audiences, critics and judges alike. In fact, at the recent director guild awards, Michel Hazanavicus packed off the competition from veterans like David Fincher and Martin Scorsese to take home the top honour. As hard it might be to believe, Hazanavicus made television programmes and commercials before transitioning into film. Hazanavicus, who was known for his spy spoofs OSS 117 was a virtual unknown but is now poised to take home the Oscar for Best Director this February. He has announced that his next feature film will be a remake of the 1948 Fred Zinneman film The Search. Must Watch movies: Mes amis, 0SS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, OSS 117: Lost in Rio.

Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

n the past 30 years, Terrence Malick has made only four movies, each of which is today considered a fine example of filmmaking; also earning the reputation of being the JD Salinger of movies. It only goes to show that it's not the quantity but the quality that counts. Renowned for being a ghostly recluse, this director explores themes ranging from loss of innocence to America's propensity for violence. His 1973 debut Badlands is still considered his best by many, while others argue that the 1999 war epic The Thin Red Line is better. Those who have watched The Tree of Life say it’s a close second. Must-watch movies: The Thin Red Line, The New World, Badlands.

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

ayne specialises in making films that deal with themes surrounding relationships and life. His debut in 1999 with his stunning high-school satire Election catapulted him into the lime light. Then Payne went on to direct About Schmidt, a movie that's credited with having given Jack Nicholson the best role of his late career. Payne, with these two movies, made a mark for himself as a distinctive director who can clearly depict the psyche and morale of America. Descendants, in his own words “is a sort of a coming-of-age film; unfortunately the person coming of age is a 50year-old man.” Clearly, the movie has made a mark as a forerunner for the Academy award this year. Must-watch movies: Election, Sideways, About Schmidt.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

tarring Daniel Radcliffe, The Woman in Black is an adaptation of Susan Hill's novel by the same name. Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is a young lawyer from London who comes to his client's (Alice Drablow) village after she dies to settle her account. When he arrives he realises that all the parents in this village keep their children locked indoors, in fear of something dark and dan-

gerous. He soon discovers that there is ghost of a lady who haunts the village and its children. Arthur takes it upon himself to save the village.

The Woman in Black Director: James Watkins Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer and Ciarán Hinds

Martin Scorsese, Hugo

eoff Andrew of Director's Vision described him best when he said,“ Scorsese, arguably the most cinematically eloquent American director of modern times, is best characterised as an expressionist and cinephile... His exhilaratingly long, complex camera movements, his often staccato editing, and his carefully controlled use of colour, props, decor and music are all designed not only to take us inside the minds of his often paranoid, volatile or disturbed protagonists, but to pay tribute, in passing, to movies he loves.” Scorsese's influence is impossible to overstate. This time though Scorsese, the maker of cult movies like Gangs of New York, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull is here with Hugo, which is another favourite for the Oscars. Those who worry that he is not punching his weight can rest in peace. Must-watch movies: Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Departed.

F‑Folio

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Because you are what you wear

Where you can bag ‘em n n n n n

Mango Steve Madden Baggit Paprika Burberry

ow this actor is definitely a good-looker and a great dancer too, which he proved in Step Up 2 but above all, the actor also has a great sense of style. Apart from always being well-turnedout, Channing also knows the importance of the satchel fashion and knows when to wear it. In this picture he is seen departing from an airport with his satchel by his side.

CELEB PICK

CHANNING TATUM

e all know that our now Nawab is a good looking guy and has a great sense of fashion. This suave actor can give any of his contemporaries a run for their money and there is no denying the fact that Saif can pretty much carry off any look. From sherwanis to jeans and from shorts to trousers, this man knows how to wear it all, so when it came to carrying a satchel we couldn't leave him out. He definitely looks cool carrying a satchel around.

The satchel bag is one fashion accessory, which is getting popular by the day with both men and women. Are you keeping up?

nd while we are at listing, how could we possibly not mention Zach Galifianakis? The man who made news with his satchel in Hangover. When he was asked if what he was carrying was a man bag, Zach replied, “It’s a satchel!” Now that is definitely a resounding nod for all the men out there; for the satchel is one accessory, which is not dependent on your look. Doesn't matter your shape or size, anyone can carry a satchel.

statement

hile the satchel is overtly popular with females in the West, our Indian heroines are not too far behind. Desi girl Sonakshi Sinha seems to be contributing prominently to the cause as she has been often spotted sporting a satchel at parties and airports. We would want more of the female brigade to join the cause.

ne woman in Hollywood who is making waves undoubtedly is Olivia Wilde. The actress has definitely emerged as one fashionista who knows her fashion and wears it well too. And when it comes to satchels, this diva is not left behind. She knows the right kind of satchel to pair with her outfit and carries it gracefully.

SONAKSHI SINHA

hat was at one point of time used to carry books around has now become a fashion accessory and has been embraced by both men and women alike. And leading each list is of course our

celebrity brigade; whether it is heading to the airport to take a flight out of the city or just for a night out, the satchel is fast becoming a must-have in everyone's wardrobe. It is a comfortable way to carry your stuff around and also makes a great style statement. With the variety of satchels available in the market, you can pretty much pair it up with your formal, casual and party wear. They not only come in various shapes, sizes and colours but designs as well. Today, we list a few celebrities who have bagged it right.

OLIVIA WILDE

taniya.t@postnoon.com

ZACH GALIFIANAKIS

SLING YOUR

Taniya Talukdar

SAIF ALI KHAN

Focus

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The story behind the news

PICTURE USED ONLY FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE

Escape ...IS NEVER AN OPTION! Could Eve ever have imagined that her kind would pioneer the concept of trading sexual gratification in exchange for money? Postnoon looks into the lives of these women for whom every morning means a new battle! Shiba Minai shiba.m@postnoon.com

rench poet and novelist, Victor Hugo once said, “We say that slavery has vanished from civilisation, but this is not true. Slavery still exists, but now it only applies to women and its name is prostitution.” This seems to be the truth of the world’s oldest profession. The only change this change has ever seen is probably the variety of garbs. Right from street prostitution to massage parlours, brothels, strip clubs, phone, cyber sex and more! We have all heard stories of how women have been smuggled, how they have been forced or tricked into rendering sexual favours in exchange of money. But the scary truth is, a lot of women, voluntarily become a part of this ill-fated profession. You might ask, if these women volunteer to this, the question of ill-fate does not arise — well, the answer is, these women resort to sex work in the hope of getting to live better lives or being able to afford a decent meal a day! However, little do they realise, that their lives will never get better, but will change for the worse. Sex worker K Vijaya says, “When my husband died, the only thing I thought I could do was to cook or clean, but there were no takers in my village. “Taking to this profession

seemed to be the only option left, as it required no skill or qualification. When I started, I used to make `50 a day, but today I make `200 to `300 a day because of my experience.” She then tells us how it all started, “My induction into this profession was painful. I was beaten up by my customers, I was made to have sex on hard rocky surfaces. One of the most shocking experiences was when a man insisted on urinating on me after the sex was over, and told me that he was pleasured by doing so. He gave me an extra `50 after that!” Humiliation is a loyal companion of the sex worker. Is this really how they should be treated? While the society labels these women loose and treats them like filth, the question that continues to loom large is who makes them so? Are they not the result of a demand by the very same society? Another sex worker Adi Lakshmi from Ongole said, “My husband told me he would get me a job and sold me to a brothel. My life has been horrible ever since. I now have a four-year-old daughter, and I am not sure who her father is. This was a result of customers refusing to wear condoms. Today my daughter and I are suffering for no fault of ours. My daughter was initially refused admission in four schools. Finally one school admitted her, but she is already a victim of ludicrous remarks

My husband told me he would get me a job and sold me to a brothel. My life has been horrible ever since. I now have a four-year-old daughter, and I am not sure who her father is.

Adi Lakshmi sex worker from Ongole

made by her classmates and some members of the staff. Can you imagine, a four-year-old telling another that her mother is a bad woman?” With tears rolling down her cheeks, she tries hard to continue and says, “Nobody seems to want to understand the difficulties we face.” This is not just being insensitive — it's inhuman! It’s easy to read this article or hear a news byte and sympathise, but what these people need is to be treated like humans and not like sex trash! Venkaiah Amma, who was once a sex worker and is now the president of Sex Workers’ Association of Hyderabad says, “We have ‘police protection’ all the time. They ensure that we are never rescued or are able to

find alternate means of earning. Some of the women are forced to smoke and drink by the customers, so that they can take advantage of these women when they are not conscious. The sad part is, if a woman is getting `500 from the customer, she pays for the lodge, she pays the broker, bribes the lodge so they allow this activity and all she makes is `100. Which means she has to be able to solicit more than four customers a day to be able to make decent money.” She continues, “That’s not all, there are a lot of customers who refuse to pay after getting their kicks. Some men, get three or four men and rape sex workers, and obviously don’t even pay for it. There are also times when these men drag women to the outskirts of the city, into train toilets, etc.” While prostitution and other forms of sexual trade is carried out in a clandestine manner, it continues to be the truth and stares at us in the face. For every woman who takes to this profession, there are nine customers waiting to be serviced! But the questions that need to be answered are; do these women deserve the kind of treatment meted out to them? Do these women only deserve to be ostracised or humiliated? The society can answer these questions for themselves.

Magic Screen

The glamour behind the glitz

Gautham BRAHMANANDAM Menon teams up TURNS 56 with A Ilayaraja ce comedian, Brahmanandam turned 56 today (Wednesday). One of the most popular actors in Telugu cinema today, Brahmanandam has more than 900 films to his credit in Telugu, which has earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. For more than 25 years, Brahmi, as he is popularly known, has continued to enthrall the audience from the very beginning. Right from his breakthrough performance as a character named Aragundu in Jandhyala’s Aha Naa Pellanta to his recent performances in films like Adhurs and Dookudu, he is perhaps the only actor, apart from the big league actors, who commands a fan frenzy like no other. The ace comedian is even directing a film titled Jaffa, which will hit the screens later this year.

autham Menon is going to team up with music maestro Ilayaraja for the first time in his career. Ilayaraja is going to compose music for Gautham Menon’s upcoming trilingual film. The Tamil version has been titled as Neethaane En Ponvasantham and it stars Jiiva and Samantha, while the Telugu version has Nani and Samantha in lead roles. So far, Gautham Menon had worked with only Harris Jayaraj and AR Rahman and as soon as Ilayaraja agreed to compose music for this film, Gautham Menon excitedly tweeted, “I’m going to live a dream. Make a dream come alive. Ilayaraja sir,” referring to the development. The film, which is an urban love story, is going to hit the screens later this year.

Rana opts out of Vada Chennai

ana Daggubati’s debut in Tamil films seems to be quite jinxed. A few months ago, he was supposed to star in Selvaraghavan’s bilingual film; however, the film got shelved. Recently, he had announced that he’s going to star in National Award winning director Vetri Maaran’s upcoming Tamil film titled Vada Chennai. Rana was supposed to share the screen with Simbu and Andrea Jeremiah. However, the actor has decided to opt out of the project. While the details about why he walked out of the project remain unclear, Rana did confirm the news as he tweeted: “Unfortunately wouldn’t be working with Vetri Maaran on his film Vada Chennai. Looking at another film together real soon. So my Tamil debut still remains a dream.” Two of his films Naa Ishtam and Department are going to hit the screens early this summer and another film Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum to be directed by Krish is currently on the floors.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

T-TOWN TWEETIES

@sundeepkishan Landed in Chennai last night..now off to Delhi & then to Rishikesh from there for #RoutineLoveStory...going to Delhi after 16yrs...Excited :)

@actressanjjanaa Never worry abt d delay of your success compared to othrs bcz constructn of a palace takes more time than an ordinary building....AAMIR KHAN.

@LakshmiManchu Just saw #snehithudu in rajamundry. I liked it. Hats off to director Shankar for such a brave attempt. Amir khan is my fav though.

@taapsee Shooting till late to finish d song for daruvu. N playing ludo in between shots wid my staff. Lol. Life has really changed in past 2 years.

@shraddhadas43 I am shocked to c so many gals doing botox at such a young age, n doctors foolin them about great changes in face...sad nobody to guide them..

@shrutihaasan Busy day writing music! Brain is a mumble jumble of music and lyrics..but I love myself twisted in these knots :)

@devakatta Challenging yourself to face the bottom of fear is the way to become fearless

@Isumanth Kicked that the Telugu Warriors are importing a certain @AkhilAkkineni8 for the semi finals ;)

Magic Screen

The glamour behind the glitz

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

With competition and talent increasing in the Hindi film industry, actors have taken to performing their own stunts. Postnoon explores this trend

Heroes turn

masters of stunt Isha Mukoo isha.m@postnoon.com

ou have seen the hero playing the role of a chocolate lover boy, then the gentleman, followed by the macho man — now he has taken to playing the stuntman. It’s good for the women we say, for they will be more of the handsome hunks. Bollywood actors have now become men of action, literally. We have the recent example of the Ajay Devgn-starrer Tezz, which is slated to release in April and has the action boy doing stunts himself. Like him there are other actors performing stunts in their movies themselves rather than use the stunt doubles. But easier said than done, the actors have had to tolerate bruised backs and broken bones in return for a good shot. For instance it was rumoured that Devgn suffered some injuries while performing a stunt in his upcoming movie Tezz but that does not stop any of them from getting on to the real side of action. Dhoom director, Sanjay Gadhvi says when compared, it is Bollywood, which is way ahead of Hollywood in terms of actors performing their own stunts. “It is a mixed package of advanced equipment that allows them the security to freely do so. Unlike Hollywood where there is more of chroma effects used and then the sequence is set into the scene, our Bollywood actors are doing the stunts right on the scene,” he says and goes onto add, “ There is also a little bit of competition that prevails in the industry with others doing stunts. The action sequences on the train in Dhoom pictured on Hrithik and Abhishek were done by the actors themselves. We made sure the actors had all the safety equipment and harness in place. There are so many actors who have the guts to do actions sequences like Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, John

Abraham or the new face Vidyut in Force. Dhoom also played a part in paving the way and triggering the trend of action stunts and movies.” All this daredevilry by the actors has not gone unnoticed by the fans as they seem to be loving it. But the adulation comes at a cost. To list out a few, Hrithik Roshan suffered injury on his hands and his back while doing some stunts. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh feels it is the real factor that has triggered the trend. “Security measures have increased and the equipment used is very advanced and can take care of the deadliest of stunts by the actors. When they look at movies like MI 4, they know that stunts like that are not beyond their reach and they are all ready to perform them. Also, one cannot forget the competitiveness that is there in the industry, and, people also want to see the real stuff,” he explains. Another example is Abhishek Bachchan, who was hurt while shooting for the movie Bol Bachchan. He fractured his finger and had to take it easy for a while. The list does not end here. There is Akshay Kumar, the stunt-master in Bollywood who makes sure that he does his stunts himself, and often ends up hurting himself in the process as well. His activities did take a toll on him and his back problems aggravated, which then required him to go to Germany for the Hydro treatment but that has not slowed him down in one bit. While some feel it is the security measures and also the competitive level that has triggered this trend, actor Sonu Sood feels it’s the high that one gets when performing the stunts. “It is a adrenaline boost that you get when you perform such stunts. Also, one does not need to cheat with the camera angles, now that we have professional action directors who keep our safety in mind,” he says. While the list of actors fixated with stunts seems to be only getting bigger, we hope and pray that these daredevils take good care of themselves.

Magic Screen

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The glamour behind the glitz

The Dirty Picture is most pirated film T

he team of The Dirty Picture launched the DVD of the film on Monday, within two months of the release of the film. Producer Ekta Kapoor said the film is the ‘most pirated film in the history of Indian movies’. “The Dirty Picture is the highest pirated film in the history of Indian movies and if we had not come out with the DVD now then the piracy would have made much more money than it had already done,” she said. The movie opened for the single screens yet again managed to make it the biggest box-office success. IANS

I AM KALAM wins Filmfare Award

ome stories are simply to be told. And the story that has enlightened the nation on the right to education in an entertaining format, I AM KALAM, directed by Nila Madhab Panda, has won the prestigious Filmfare Award for best story. And for writer Sanjay Chouhan it is a dream come true as is for the protagonist of the film Chottu Kalam, director Nila Madhab Panda and the Smile foundation, the development organisation who produced the film.

May take up singing in future: Juhi Chawla

B-TOWN TWEETIES

@RGVzoomin Thank God that chicken and fish don’t become ghosts after dying otherwise all the kitchens nd restaurants of the world would have been haunted.

@bipsluvurself Wise wrds: Difficult people in ur life r like sandpaper,they may rub & scratch you painfully but you’ll end up smooth & polished:)

@NeilNMukesh By the way have played a few pranks on my darling costar puja gupta the devil inside me that had the fun has just begun :D he ha ha!

@SrBachchan T 640 -Preity Zinta...!! Wherever you are, since you have refused to reply to my sms ... Ha ha ..A very happy birthday ... love and happiness.

@iamsrk

uhi Chawla, who off and on appears on the small and big screen, says she plans to take singing seriously in the near future. “I have been thinking of getting into singing for more than seven years now. Singing is something that I am getting a hang of. I may take up singing in future for sure,” said the actress who is

focusing on off-beat films these days. In the last few years she has been seen in films like My Brother Nikhil, Jhankaar Beats and 3 Deewarein. Her last release was the critically acclaimed film I AM. Though the film has been appreciated a lot, Juhi didn’t get any awards for her performance. IANS

Look who’s caught in SRK-Shirish brawl! J

ewellery designer Farah Khan Ali wouldn’t have thought that having a similar name as of choreographer-turned-filmmaker Farah Khan would some day prove to be a problem for her. Ever since the news of a brawl between superstar Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Shirish Kunder has come out, the jewellery designer is inundated with calls asking her about the incident. “Wish the press would do their homework. Got calls in the middle of work asking me if @iamsrk slapped my hubby. Had to clarify I am the jewellery designer,” she wrote on her Twitter page. IANS

Long satisfying day...dancing at film fare...shoot with Prabhuda ...dinner with Ritesh & Genelia at 5am. Best was to meet friends at home again.

@AnupamPkher

Madhuri to launch her official site

ctress Madhuri Dixit, who has moved here from the US to play a new innings in Bollywood, is working on her official website and plans to launch it soon. “Here is first reward... Official Madhuri Dixit website teaser! you can connect now. Looking forward to hearing from you,” the 44-year-old posted on her micro-blogging site Twitter. “Official teaser site is madhuridixit-nene.com! Planning a media rich experience with exclusive content for you! Thank you for your support,” she further tweeted. IANS

Two-year-old Falak is a victim of brutal insensitivity towards children, especially the girl child. It is imp to protect other Falaks.

@deespeak Had fun at Ritiesh n Genelia’s sangeet, now on to an intense day of panel discussion at EAG summit in Jaipur. Have a super day you all :)

@konkonas Finished reading We need to Talk About Kevin. I Highly recommend it. Film and book both totally worth the hype.

Magic Screen

rib c s b u

! y a Tod

6 Months

` 199/-

1 Year

` 349/-

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Magic Screen

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The glamour behind the glitz

Courteney Cox tweets about dog C

ourteney Cox is now talking in 140 characters or less. The Cougar Town star hopped on the Twitter wagon last week, and she has already taken to posting the intimate details of her life. "Somebody loves me," she tweeted on her first day, posting a photo of herself being looked at adoringly by Harley, her Cavalier King Charles spaniel. Cox took on her role as celebrity tweeter with enthusiasm, at — replying fans and going back-andforth with ex David Arquette. "Finally getting the hang of twittering," she wrote after three days on the site. "Thanks Coco," she added, calling out her 7-year-old daughter with Arquette.

Beckham named Sexiest Man On The Planet S

occer ace David Beckham has been crowned The Sexiest Man on the Planet 2012. The 36-year-old has been awarded the title in Heat magazine's inaugural 101 Hottest Hunks in the World list 2012. Beckham beats a host of actors to the top spot including, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds and Bradley Cooper, who came second, third and fourth respectively. "Heat is known for showcasing the hottest celebrity men each week, but this is the first time we've compiled a definitive list of the sexiest men in the world. Our readers and panel of experts clearly have impeccable taste as there is genuinely no one more deserving of the title Sexiest Man on the Planet 2012 than David Beckham...." a website quoted Heat editor Lucie Cave as saying. Other stars who made it to the top 10 list includes Robert Pattinson, Tom Hardy, Johnny Depp and Zac Efron.

Reese finds Pattinson cool A

ctress Reese Witherspoon says that actor Robert Pattinson is the most hard-working and cool guy she ever worked with. The 35-year-old, who has made two movies — Vanity Fair and Water For Elephants — with Pattinson, is impressed with how the 25-year-old handles his fame. "I've never experienced what he has — going to premieres and there's just millions of people waiting for him to touch him. I think it must be strange, but I don't even know how to process what he deals with... (He's) a really cool guy," showbizspy.com quoted Witherspoon as saying. "I would say (he is) the hardest-working person I've ever worked with, honestly. (He's) professional, hard-working, so appreciative, more grateful than I've ever seen anyone for where he is in life," she added. IANS

Magic Screen

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The glamour behind the glitz

Nicole Scherzinger leaving X Factor N

icole Scherzinger is joining Steve Jones on his way out the door of Fox’s The X Factor. Fox confirms the Pussycat Dolls singer will not return as a judge for season two. The news comes on the heels of the announcement that host Jones is departing the show.

There’s also a report that Paula Abdul is leaving the show, though the channel has not yet confirmed her exit. The dramatic exodus caps weeks of speculation about whether the two would continue on the show. Fox and executive producer Simon Cowell are determined to make

adjustments to the series after a first season that performed solidly, but fell short of what many felt was the show’s high potential given its ratings dominance in the UK. The performances of Scherzinger and Jones were panned by critics and they were both considered the likely candidates to get the boot.

Cynthia Nixon: Bisexuality is not a choice C

Elton John keeps feud alive W

ho needs Saturday night? For Elton John, Super Bowl Sunday’s just as all right (if not better) for his fighting ways. Because just when it seemed like his partner David Furnish had wrapped up his feud with frenemy extraordinaire Madonna, along comes Elton to spark it back up — this time under the guise of offering up some not-so-friendly advice to this year’s half-time show entertainment… While speaking to Good

Morning America from the set of his own Super Bowl Pepsi commercial (along with The Voice winner Melanie Amaro), John was asked for his ever-cutting opinion on the traditionally all-out half-time shows. “I’ve never seen a decent one,” he said. “Never ever.” So does Elton have any advice for Madonna? “Make sure you lip-sync good,” he said. Ouch again. Luckily, John quickly softened up his stance.

Eastwood, Adams sports film out on September 28 E astwood stars as an ailing scout that takes his daughter on one last recruiting trip in this father-daughter tale, titled Trouble With the

Curve. Warner Bros will release the Clint EastwoodAmy Adams starrer, Trouble with the Curve , on September 28.

ynthia Nixon is backtracking on her controversial ‘being gay is a choice’ interview, which landed her in hot water with the gay community last week. The Sex and the City star issued a new statement to a newspaper after recently telling the New York Times Magazine that, for her, homosexuality ‘is a choice.’ “My recent comments in The New York Times were about me and my personal story of being gay,” Nixon said. “I believe we all have different stories as to how we came to the gay community and we can’t and shouldn’t be pigeon-holed into one cultural narrative, which can be un-inclusive and dis-empowering. However, to the extent that anyone wishes to interpret my words in a strictly legal context I would like to clarify: While I don’t often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have ‘chosen’ is to be in a gay relationship.”

Chai Time

KAKURO

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.

SCRIBBLING PAD

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Take a shot at the brain game while sipping your cuppa

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Crowning points 6 Slight advantages 11 Boozing or babbling binge 14 "If I do ___ myself" 15 Like lips that sink ships 16 Word in a tied score 17 Overwrought writing 19 One in a zillion? 20 Vanquish, as a dragon 21 Alpha, beta and gamma 22 Thirteen, to a baker 24 Faux ___ (social misstep) 25 Heavenly garden on earth 27 A sheriff carries one 31 Estimates too highly 36 Loves to pieces 38 Type of maniac 39 Entertainer Martha 40 Shy person 43 Stir up, as muddy water 44 Bird in the bush? 45 "Mama" Cass 46 Enthusiastically praised 49 South American plain 50 Ferber or O'Brien 51 "Ands" or "buts" alternatives 53 Mexican artist Kahlo 56 Cousin of a canvasback 58 Result of cogitating, sometimes 62 It's not free of charge 63 Boiled holiday treat 66 Kitchen invader 67 Singer Mel ("The Velvet Fog") 68 Stan's partner 69 The "way" of the East 70 Asparagus unit 71 Joins metallic parts DOWN 1 Slithering killers 2 Embryonic membrane 3 "___ Breckenridge" 4 Annual cable sports award 5 "Do re mi fa ___ ..." 6 City on the Rio Grande 7 "Finding Nemo" fish

8 Zero on the scoreboard 9 Letter with a double curve 10 Planter's device 11 Basie's music 12 Opposite of windward 13 Sheltered valley 18 "Good Feelings" time period 23 Doing really well 24 Ball-shaped hammer part 26 Chauffeured 27 Iraq seaport 28 Like some committees 29 Type of Greek column 30 Like some cheese sandwiches 32 Event location 33 Sylvester's co-star, more than once 34 "Keep your ___ the ball!"

35 Bench-clearing altercation 37 Yarn purchase 41 Childish 42 Societal woes 47 Adjusts to one's situation 48 Something needed for a change 52 Winter health woe 53 Italian auto maker 54 Gossip columnist Barrett 55 Avid about 57 She plays Harry's friend Hermione 58 Type of curiosity or

SUDOKU

speculation 59 Type of pickle 60 "Idylls of the King" lady 61 Ripens 64 Take a bough? 65 Average name? PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

THOUGHT OF THE DAY Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so. – Bertrand Russell

Chai Time STAR POWER

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Your tomorrow today̶Star Power and Tarot

Date 2-2-2012

THIRUVAIKUMAR

As per Hindu panchang

thiruvaikumar@yahoo.co.in 040-27177230 / 9177596118

TAURUS

GEMINI

Happy events to take place at home. By attending get‑togethers, your friends ci‑ rcle will expand. A strong ﬁnancial posi‑ tion is seen. Old debts will clear. Emplo‑ yees will complete work as per plan.

Children will make you proud by their wise activities. Parents' health problem will be over. Employees need to be alert while working. Complete work in time with perfection; promotion on cards.

Indirect opposition and criticism likely. Avoid frank talk with strangers. Employees will complete their work in time. Colleagues may not extend wholehearted support. Businessmen will meet customersʼ needs.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Employees need to work hard; however, co‑ lleagues will be of great help. Monetary gai‑ ns possible through travels. To avoid tensi‑ on and confusions, yoga and pranayamam will help. Businessmen will struggle hard.

You will spend good time with children and relatives. Children will get a chance to go abroad or to other states for higher studies. Employees need to plan work well and execute in time or before schedule.

Avoid unwanted journey. Parents will extend support to you. Though finan‑ cial inflow is good, avoid doing financial help to anyone. Superiors‑employees relationship will be cordial.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Avoid magnifying small mistakes of blood relatives and self‑boast. Employees will fe‑ el cheerful as they complete their work in time. Income will be satisfactory. Avoid sh‑ aring conﬁdential matters with colleagues.

As debts are cleared, you will plan saving for future. Income possible from ances‑ tral property. Be careful in food habits. Work load will increase for employees and also face pressure from superiors.

Family members will give you impor‑ tance and follow your advises. You will fulﬁll needs of children. Employees can be successful by understanding work well and doing it with involvement.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Your approach is such that even com‑ petitors blaming you, will now appre‑ ciate. Sops expected from govt will come. Your stock is set to pile up in the society. Be alert during travel.

Your values are set to rise in the midst of friends and relatives. Family will remain peaceful. Blood relatives will benefit from your advises. Avoid giving them financial commitments.

Be cordial with parents. Some have bright chances to buy a new vehicle. Income will be more than expected. Employees need to be active in completing work in time. Avo‑ id entrusting responsibilities to colleagues.

SUMAA TEKUR

tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

Nine of Swords – An‑ xiety and worry are gnawing at your ins‑ ides and youʼre feel‑ ing restless. Meditate or take up some relaxation exercise to ease the tensions.

Queen of Swords – Youʼre alone but not necessarily lonely. Youʼve worked hard to get to this position and you realise what you will give up in order to keep this.

Ten of Swords – Change is on the car‑ ds. You will have to mentally prepare yourself for big chan‑ ges. These will most‑ ly be unexpected. Be open to surprises.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Judgement – Today is a good day to make important decisions – especially those that you have been putting off for a long time. Donʼt mull over things too much.

Queen of Pentacles – Youʼre happiest sur‑ rounded by people you trust and by fri‑ ends who mean much to you. This attitude may make you seem like a snob to others.

Three of Pentacles – In a relationship, a third person may have a role to play in upsetting the dynam‑ ics of an otherwise well balanced part‑ nership. Watch out!

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

For Better or for Worse Stone soup

The Tower – Be pre‑ pared for change. It will come suddenly, and without warning. The only way to deal with it is to keep an open mind.

The World – Youʼve reached the end of your goals and are extremely happy, no doubt. But the last mile may need you to do something, wh‑ ich you fear or detest.

King of Pentacles – Your focus is com‑ pletely on money and on stabilising your ﬁnances. This is who you are, and will pro‑ ject that image of power and attitude.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

The Hanged Man – Spiritual awareness is very important to you right now. Intuition is heightened and you get all kinds of mess‑ ages from objects and people around you.

The Hermit – Youʼre alone but you donʼt feel lonely. Thatʼs because youʼre busy on a quest for some‑ thing and are occupied with doing what it takes to reach there.

King of Wands – You marry the creative and the intellectual – a very rare combina‑ tion. This quality of yours may make it difﬁcult for others to understand you.

SOLUTIONS

Boggle KOALA DINGO WOMBAT KANGAROO

Number game

Suduko

Scrabble

Ink pen

COMICS

Fred Basset

ARIES

TAROT READ

Vol: 1, No. 199 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No. 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad–500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad–500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-40672222, Fax: 040-40672211

Chai Time 1400 Naadi Aadajanme 1430 Pavitra 1500 Movie 1800 Sri Shanidevuni Mahimalu 1830 Vasantha Kokila 1900 Chinnari Pelli Kuturu 1930 Anna Chellelu 2000 Missamma 2030 Edureetha 2100 Challenge 2200 CID 2300 Challenge 0700 Silver Screen 0730 Just For Fun 0800 Ayurvedam 0830 Chaganti Arunachala Mahatyam 0900 Bhale Chancele

1400 Kannavaari Kalalu 1430 Maavichiguru 1500 Sumangali 1530 Movie 1800 Jai Shri Krishna 1830 Shraavani Subramaniam 1900 Mandhara 1930 Auto Bharthi 2000 No. 23, Mahalakshmi Nivasam 2030 Mogali Rekulu 2100 Aparanji 2130 Devatha 2200 Mamathala Kovela 2230 Anveshana 2300 Gemini Vaarthalu 0800 Gemini Talkies 0830 Movie 1130 Aha Emi Ruchi 1200 Jeevitha Chakram 1230 Maa Inti Aada Paduchu 1300 Chittemmaa 1330 Gorintaku

1400 [V] Vignettes 1430 [V] D3 Dil Dosti Dance 1500 [V] Humse Hai Life 1530 [V] Trailers 1555 [V] Fresh Songs 1600 [V] Zabardast Hits 1800 [V] Fresh Songs 1830 [V] Humse Hai Life 1900 [V] D3 Dil Dosti Dance 1930 [V] Humse Hai Life 2000 [V] My Big Decision 2130 [V] Trailers 2200 [V] Steal Ur Girlfriend 2300 [V] Humse Hai Life 2330 [V] D3 Dil Dosti Dance 0700 [V] Trailers 0730 [V] Zabardast Hits 0800 [V] Mind Blasting Mornings 1100 [V] Fresh Songs 1200 [V] D3 Dil Dosti Dance 1230 [V] Humse Hai Life

‘[V] D3 Dil Dosti Dance’ at 1900 Hrs on CHANNEL [V]

1300 News Now At1 1330 News Now 1800 6 Pm 1830 Live Report 1900 Primetime 1930 The Game 2000 News Now At 8 2030 Live Report 2100 The Newshour 2200 The Newshour - Plus 2230 E Now 2300 News Now At 11 0800 The Morning News 0900 News Now 1200 Live Report 1230 News Now

‘The Game’ at 1930 Hrs only on TIMES NOW

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Telly sitcoms, news and movie listings

1400 Abhishekam 1430 Aadade Aadharam 1500 Antahpuram 1530 Aakasa Ganga 1600 Prema Mandiram 1630 Jagadeeswari 1700 Wow 1800 Devimahathyam 1830 Puttadi Bomma 1900 Kumkuma Rekha 1930 Manasu Mamata 2000 Chandra Mukhi 2030 Bharyamani 2100 Etv News 2130 Adurs 2245 Movie 0800 Subhamastu 0830 Jeevana Jyothi 0900 Movie 1130 Abhiruchi 1230 Star Mahila

1400 Ardhangi 1430 Movie 1800 Veera Naari Jhansi Laxmi Bhai 1830 Kalavari Kodallu 1900 Chinna Kodalu 1930 Pasupukunkuma 2000 Muddu Bidda 2030 Radha Kalyanam 2100 Kanyadanam 2130 Luckku Kickku 2230 Shree 2300 Bindas 2330 Latest Songs 0800 Gopuram 0830 Bhakti Samacharam 0900 Sri Raghavendra Vybhavam 0930 Ayurveda Jeevana Vignanam 1000 Bindass 1200 Mee Inti Vanta

‘Business Tonight’ at 2100 Hrs only on ET NOW 1400 The F And O Show 1430 Closing Trades 1530 Tomorrow's Trades 1600 Business Day 1730 Markets Tomorrow 1800 Rush Hour 1830 Brand Equity Special 1900 Global Business Report 1930 Business Express 2000 Business First 2030 Markets Tomorrow 2100 Business Tonight 2200 Top 10 At10 2230 Leaders Of Tomorrow 2300 Starting Up 0900 First Trades 1000 Hot Stocks 1100 Buy Now Sell Now - The Stock Game 1130 Buy Now Sell Now 1200 Market Sense 1300 Business Day 1330 Markets Now

‘Man Woman Wild’ at 1900 Hrs on DISCOVERY 1400 Man Vs Wild 1500 Time Warp 1600 Swords 1700 Man Woman Wild 1800 Wild Discovery 1900 Man Woman Wild 2000 Belly Of The Beast 2100 Equator 2200 Swords 2300 Desire & Pleasure Decoded 1000 Belly Of The Beast 1100 Speed Of Life 1200 I Should'nt Be Alive

1415 CSI 1510 Wipeout 1605 The Real Housewives Of New York City 1700 Got To Dance 1800 Criss Angel Mindfreak 1900 Breaking The Magician's Code - Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed 2000 The Challenger Muaythai 2100 Minute To Win It 2200 Wipeout 2300 Criss Angel Mindfreak 0900 Sky Teleshopping 0930 Criss Angel Mindfreak 1000 Criss Angel Mindfreak 1030 The Challenger Muaythai 1130 Breaking The Magician's Code - Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed 1225 Got To Dance

‘Criss Angel Mindfreak’ at 2300 Hrs on AXN

‘Dharampatni’ at 2130 Hrs on IMAGINE 1400 Haar Jeet 1500 Baba Aisa Varr Dhoondo 1600 Haar Jeet 1630 Dwarkadheesh - Bhagwan Shri Krishn 1700 Haar Jeet 1800 Beendh Banuga Ghodi Chadhunga 1830 Baba Aisa Varr Dhoondo 1900 Haar Jeet 1930 Gyaan Guru 2000 Dwarkadheesh - Bhagwan Shri Krishn 2030 Sawaare Sabke Sapne – Preeto 2100 Beendh Banuga Ghodi Chadhunga 2130 Dharampatni 2200 Baba Aisa Varr Dhoondo 2230 Haar Jeet 2300 Gyaan Guru

1400 Parichay 1430 Balika Vadhu 1500 Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha 1530 Uttaran 1600 Phulwa 1630 Parichay 1700 Sasural Simar Ka 1730 Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha 1800 Uttaran 1830 Balika Vadhu 1900 Hawan 1930 Sasural Simar Ka 2000 Balika Vadhu 2030 Veer Shivaji 2100 Phulwa 2130 Parichay 2200 Uttaran 2230 Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha 2300 Na Aana Is Des Laado 2330 Balika Vadhu

‘Sasural Simar Ka’ at 1930 Hrs on COLORS

‘Bhagonwali’ at 2230 Hrs on ZEE TV 1400 Hitler Didi 1430 Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein 1500 Afsar Bitiya 1530 Yahaaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli 1600 Pavitra Rishta 1630 Dance India Dance 1800 Hitler Didi 1830 Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein 1900 Afsar Bitiya 1930 Choti Bahu 2 2000 Hitler Didi 2030 Yahaaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli 2100 Pavitra Rishta 2130 Ram Milayi Jodi 2200 Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein 2230 Bhagonwali 2300 Afsar Bitiya

1400 Saas Bina Sasuraal 1430 Bade Achhe Lagte Hai 1500 Kuch Toh Log Kahenge 1530 Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada 1600 CID 1800 Saas Bina Sasuraal 1830 Bade Achhe Lagte Hai 1900 Crime Patrol - Dastak 2000 Kuch Toh Log Kahenge 2030 Dekha Ek Khwaab 2100 Saas Bina Sasural 2130 Parvarrish - Kuchh Khatti Kuchh Meethi 2200 Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada 2230 Bade Achhe Lagte Hai 2300 Kuch Toh Log Kahenge 2330 Crime Patrol - Dastak 0900 Adaalat 1000 CID 1200 Kuch Toh Log Kahenge 1230 Dekha Ek Khwaab

‘Kuch Toh Log Kahenge’ at 2000 Hrs on SONY

‘Sasuraal Genda Phool’ at 1930 Hrs on STAR PLUS 1400 Sapnon Se Bharey Naina 1500 Navya 1530 Diya Aur Bati Hum 1600 Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behnaa Hai 1630 Sasuraal Genda Phool 1700 Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 1730 Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 1800 Mann Ki Awaaz… Pratigya 1830 Ruk Jana Nahin 1900 Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 1930 Sasuraal Genda Phool 2000 Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 2030 Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behnaa Hai 2100 Diya Aur Bati Hum 2130 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 2200 Navya 2230 Mann Ki Awaaz… Pratigya 2300 Maryaada ... Lekin Kab Tak?

MOVIES OF THE DAY AND OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

0842 Take The Lead 1052 Dumb And Dumber 1253 Cradle 2 The Grave 1444 Poseidon 1635 Sex And The City - The Movie 1905 Blade 2100 Troy

1445 Bangkok Dangerous 1650 The King Of Fighters 1845 Bridget Jones - The Edge Of Reason 2100 Dinocroc Vs Supergator 2250 Tekken 0815 Shiloh 1020 Dinocroc Vs Supergator 1210 Bridget Jones - The Edge Of Reason

1400 Outsourced 1430 Scrubs 1500 In Plain Sight 1600 Parenthood 1700 Outsourced 1730 Scrubs 1800 E News 1900 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 2000 Outsourced 2030 America's Funniest Home Videos 2100 In Plain Sight 2200 Parenthood 2300 Outsourced 2330 Scrubs 0700 Slot 0800 In Plain Sight 0900 Parenthood 1000 Outsourced 1030 America's Funniest Home Videos 1100 In Plain Sight 1200 Parenthood 1330 America's Funniest Home Videos

‘In Plain Sight’ at 2100 Hrs on ZEE CAFE

Mann Ki Awaaz… Pratigya

Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha

Storyline - Dadai suggests they will have to do certain rituals – will Pratigya agree to perform the rituals??

Storyline - Vyas family is having their breakfast just when Renu taunts Megha on something.

‘Mann Ki Awaaz… Pratigya’ at 2230 Hrs on STAR PLUS

‘Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha’ at 2230 Hrs on COLORS

‘The Shield’ at 2200 Hrs on STAR WORLD 1400 Supernatural 1500 Combat Hospital 1600 The Big Bang Theory 1630 The Simpsons 1700 The Shield 1800 Supernatural 1900 Desperate Housewives 2000 Two And A Half Men 2030 The Simpsons 2100 Supernatural 2200 The Shield 2300 The Big Bang Theory 2330 Two And A Half Men 0700 The Shield 0800 Las Vegas 0900 Charlie’s Angels 1000 The Shield 1100 Desperate Housewives 1200 Two And A Half Men 1230 The Simpsons 1300 The Big Bang Theory 1330 Friends

‘Troy’ at 2100 Hrs on WB

1400 Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah 1430 R. K. Laxman Ki Duniya 1500 Lapataganj 1530 F.I.R. 1600 Chidiya Ghar 1630 Gutur Gu 1700 Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah 1830 R. K. Laxman Ki Duniya 1900 Chidiya Ghar 1930 Lapataganj 2000 Chintu Chinky Aur Ek Badi Si Love Story 2030 Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah 2100 Chidiya Ghar 2130 R. K. Laxman Ki Duniya 2200 Lapataganj 2230 F.I.R. 2300 Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah 2330 Chidiya Ghar 0800 Teleshopping 0830 Religious Programmes 0900 Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah

‘Lapataganj’ at 2200 Hrs on SAB

‘Planet Bollywood News’ at 1900 Hrs on ZOOM 1400 Movie 1730 Star Bonanza 1800 Letz Go! 1900 Planet Bollywood News 1930 Link'd 2000 Zabar 10 2030 My Playlist 2130 Link'd 2200 B - Tonite 2230 Style Strip 2300 Bollywood Bonanza 0700 Fresh Mornings 0800 Red Carpet 0805 Fresh Mornings 1100 Zoom Box 1200 Garma Garam 1300 Planet Bollywood News 1330 Zabar 10

1400 Oddities 1430 Mythbusters 1530 Discovery Science Classics 1630 Sci Fi Science 1700 One Step Beyond 1730 Future Weapons 1830 Best Of Discovery Science 1930 How Do They Do It? 2030 Sports Science 2130 Food Detectives 2200 Deconstructed 2230 Showdown - Aircombat 2330 Industrial Revelations 1030 Sci Fi Science 1100 One Step Beyond 1130 Mythbusters 1230 Best Of Discovery Science 1330 How Do They Do It?

‘Food Detectives’ at 2130 Hrs on DISCOVERY SCIENCE

‘Frasier’ at 1930 Hrs on BIG CBS PRIME 1430 Jerry Springer 1530 Aspire 1600 Bellator 1700 Survivor 1800 Entertainment Tonight 1830 Galileo Extreme 1930 Frasier 2000 Entertainment Tonight 2030 Galileo Extreme 2100 Survivor 2200 Jerry Springer 2300 Dead Zone 0700 Big Wheels 0730 Aspire 0800 Galileo Extreme 0900 Survivor 1000 Bellator 1100 Jerry Springer 1200 Aspire 1230 Entertainment Tonight 1300 Galileo Extreme 1330 Dead Zone

Playing Field

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The games people play

Super Bowl becomes a truly global affair

Stellar Knicks see off Detroit

NEW YORK: Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game injury absence to score 25 points as the New York Knicks secured a convincing 113-86 NBA victory over Detroit on Tuesday. Anthony, who had been sidelined by a sprained right ankle as well as injuries to his left wrist and right thumb, appeared energized after five days of rest. He enjoyed his best shooting night of the lockout-shortened season, making nine-of-14 shots from the field to score the most points on the court.

The win saw the Knicks halt a three-game losing streak and notch their highest shooting percentage from the field this season with a 60 percent success rate. Anthony admitted that the Knicks’ recent struggles had prompted him to come back as quickly as he could, despite the painful ankle injury. “If we were winning, I would try to take my time, but right now, I want to try to push it and see what we can do,” Anthony said. “I think these four, five days I had off helped me out a lot. My

BAGSHOT: New England captain Chris Robshaw will be winning just his second Test cap when he leads the side against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday having never before played at the Edinburgh ground. Yet the 25-year-old Harlequins skipper insisted he was relishing trying to begin the defence of England’s Six Nations title with a Calcutta Cup victory at the home of their oldest rivals. “It’s one of those places I’ve never actually been to. As a rugby player, you want to play on the big stage,” he said at England’s training base here on Monday. “It is a daunting place and it is going to be very tough — but it’s one everybody’s looking forward to.” Robshaw, who won his solitary cap in a defeat by Argentina more than two-and-a-half years

ago, was picked as captain by acting coach Stuart Lancaster with England looking to put a poor World Cup compounded by several embarrassing off-field inci-

INDIANAPOLIS: From a Romanian-born punter to a Jamaican-born defensive back and a German lineman plus players of Nigerian and Puerto Rican heritage, Sunday’s Super Bowl 46 has a global array of talent. Millions around the world will see American football’s championship spectacle between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, some of them cheering on family members. Patriots safety Patrick Chung expects relatives in Jamaica, where he was born, and China, thanks to his father being halfJamaican and half-Chinese, to be cheering for him on Sunday. “We’ve got full support,” Chung said. “They are probably watching all of this and thinking the same thing I am, that it’s all so crazy.” Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko, born in a small Romanian town

near the Hungarian border, was forced to hide from army gunfire battles and lived in poverty until his father won a lottery for a US work permit in 1997 when Mesko was 11. Mesko, a youth soccer player, kicked a ball so high in a US gymnasium that he broke a light and was recruited as a gridiron punter. This season, he set a Patriots record by averaging 46.5 yards a punt. Now he hopes for some support from Romanian friends watching on television. “It’s going to be a midnight kickoff there,” Mesko said. “Hopefully people will get their afternoon naps in and support me because I’ll be supporting them.” Asked if he was the only NFL player known in Romania, Mesko deferred to star teammate Tom Brady, saying, “There’s no way people don’t know Tom Brady more than me.”

Lewis Moody the side needed a new leader. The honour might have gone to Robshaw’s fellow back-row Tom Wood but he is out with a foot injury. As it is Lancaster, who had Robshaw as his skipper when in charge of England’s reserve Saxons side, has told his new captain he’s only set to be in charge for the Six Nations matches against Scotland and Italy before he reviews the situation. Robshaw may be England’s most inexperienced captain since scrum-half Nigel Melville led them in a 19-3 defeat by Australia at Twickenham on his Test debut in 1984 but he knows about helping restore a side’s reputation. Quins appointed Robshaw as captain in 2010 when the London club were still struggling with the fall-out from the ‘Bloodgate’ scandal that saw former boss Dean Richards, the ex-England No 8, banned from rugby. Richards was bang to rights when it emerged he’d ordered a

player to deliberately cut himself in a bid to get a replacement on in a European Cup tie. But now Harlequins, under former Ireland full-back Conor O’Shea, are top of the Premiership. England would dearly love a similar outcome now Robshaw is their skipper. However, Robshaw warned a quick turnaround in England’s fortunes was by no means assured. “Dealing with stuff like that, from my experience at Harlequins, it just doesn’t happen overnight. “But I’m pretty sure we’re going in the right direction.” And he insisted his experience of captaining Quins would help him in his new England role. “When I first got it, I was trying to do too much,” he said. “You forget what got you there in the first place — playing well, leading by example. “Once I got back to that, everything fitted.”

Jim Slater

thumb, my wrist calmed down. My ankle is worse than I thought it was and playing for that week on it didn’t help at all.” Anthony’s return, and the win over the struggling Pistons took some of the heat off New York coach Mike D’Antoni, who admitted that his team’s troubles this season were disappointing. “We had higher expectations this year, so obviously, the letdown is greater this year,” D’Antoni said. “It’s tough. Things we got to get through, we’ll work through it.”

Robshaw set for the big test Julian Guyer

dents well and truly behind them. England’s new skipper didn’t make the 30-man squad for New Zealand, but following the Test retirement of former captain

Playing Field

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The games people play

India look to salvage pride

heir reputation bruised and battered after the humiliating loss in the Test series, India will be desperate to turn their fortunes around and restore some pride in the limited overs matches, starting with the first T20 against Australia here on Sunday. The Indians slumped to their lowest ebb in the longer version of the last week when Australia mauled the visitors by a 4-0 margin in the Test series. The drubbing at the hands of Australia was also the current ODI world champion team’s eight straight overseas Test defeat following the series loss by identical margin in England last year. But with some fresh legs - Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel, Ravidra Jadeja and Rahul Sharma - joining the team for the limited overs matches, MS Dhoni would be hoping for lady luck to smile on him in the first of the two T20 matches tomorrow ahead of the triseries, featuring hosts Australia and Sri Lanka. With India’s famed batting lineup failing miserably in the Test series, there is a scramble for early berths in opening T20 match at the ANZ Stadium. There is competition for each spot in the team, especially after the debacle in the Test series. The opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have time and again failed to give India a good start in the Test series. To add to it, skipper Dhoni himself has looked a pale shadow of his former self with the bat as well as his leadership qualities. The trio knows it better that it is high time for them to perform or make way for youngsters like Manoj Tiwary and Parthiv Patel, who are waiting in the wings for their opportunity.

Tomic in court for traffic offences SYDNEY: Teenage Australian tennis star Bernard Tomic will face court later this month after being charged with two traffic offences following a recent standoff with police outside his home. The 19-year-old was fined twice in the space of an hour driving his high-powered bright orange BMW M3 on the Gold Coast just days after being knocked out of the Australian Open by Roger Federer last month. But in a statement late Tuesday police allege he refused to stop when asked to pull over a third time. A police car followed him home with siren blaring and officers had to wait outside his house, barred by security gates, for several hours for Tomic to come out in an incident that attracted wide media attention. Tomic, who has been granted a special exemption from his provisional licence to drive his topof-the-range BMW M3 to and from tennis training, has been charged with failing to stop his car. He is also accused of not keeping to the left of double dividing lines on the road. Tomic, who has repeatedly alleged he is being persecuted by police, has hired the Gold Coast’s foremost civil lawyer Chris Nyst, who says the young tennis star has not broken the law. “We’re talking about a teenager who’s been alleged to have done the most minor of traffic infringements, there’s not even any suggestion that there’s been any inappropriate driving or any kind of delinquent driving,” he said. He is due to face court on February 14. Last year, Tomic became the youngest man in 25 years to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and began his 2012 season by claiming his first senior title at the Kooyong Classic.

Bailey nervous Only the second Australian cricketer to be named captain on debut in any format, Twenty20 skipper George Bailey is nervous about the challenge of proving his credentials both as a batsman and captain. Bailey is the first Australian since Dave Gregory (in the first Test match in 1877) to be named captain in his first game in any format. “I’m nervous about

both. The playing aspect, you’re always anxious to get out there and perform well. Once I get my head around knowing the players as well as I can, that (captaincy) will fall into place.

Getting to know “Being captain it’s about getting around the bowlers who I haven’t met as

much and know about their games and just working out exactly what they need as well.” It’s a surprise that the Australian selectors have chosen an unknown quantity to lead the national team. “It wasn’t me who picked the team. I’m just excited to be leading and continuing on the great start of the summer Australia have had,” he said.

Afridi sees a whitewash

akistan’s former captain and flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi feels the team is capable of handing out a 3-0 whitewash to world number one England given the way it dominated the first two Tests. Pakistan enjoy an unassailable 2-0 lead over the English. “I think Pakistan will complete a clean sweep in the third Test. They can whitewash England,” Afridi told reporters at a function to launch the autobiography of former chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed. Afridi said Pakistan enjoyed a psychological hold over the English batsmen. “I see this series as the best opportunity for Pakistan to win

the series 3-0. As they keep on winning they are getting hungrier for success and that is always the first sign of a team turning into a top class side,” he said. “Another good thing is that all the players realise their responsibility and are contributing and supporting each other on the field.” The all-rounder, who will join the team for the one-day and Twenty20 matches against England from next week, said Pakistani players have made winning a habit. “After winning the first two Tests, the morale and confidence in the team is very high,” he added.

Playing Field

Blues remain upbeat SWANSEA: Andre Villas-Boas believes Chelsea are capable of closing the gap on the top three despite slipping seven points behind third-placed Spurs on Tuesday. An own goal from Neil Taylor in stoppage time spared Chelsea’s blushes after their former winger Scott Sinclair had given Swansea City the lead six minutes before half-time. Chelsea, who had Ashley Cole sent off four minutes from time, for a second yellow card, have now taken only two points from their last two games, against Norwich and Swansea. “It is a gap that has grown tonight, but two weekends ago it was reduced,” said Villas-Boas. “So, we go back to where we were before. A seven point gap is nothing in the Premiership. “It is never satisfying only to get a point, but Tottenham are still within our reach and let us see what we can do from here. “At the moment it makes no sense for me to speak about the league. We are competing for the Champions League and that is our main objective. “We will face what will probably be the new league leaders, next weekend, and after that game, we can see if the first spot is within our reach or not.” Villas-Boas meanwhile was happy with Chelsea’s transfer window dealings. “We strengthened in the most important position and we have made a deal for Gary Cahill which we pursued for some time,” he said. “That was what we needed for the squad.” Cahill started on the bench at the Liberty Stadium with Branislav Ivanovic preferred at the heart of the back four in the absence of John Terry. “There has been solidarity in our defensive displays of late and the team has been playing well. Because of that, we decided not to change the dynamic of the team for this game. “I spoke to Gary regarding the decision and it was well taken.” Villas-Boas was happy with his side’s overall performance and felt that his side could have gone on to win the game had they have scored a little earlier in a onesided second half. “I think if the first goal had have come a little bit earlier, a second might have come because of the motivation and momentum we would have had.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The games people play

STAR SHIFTS As the January window drew to a close, lastminute transfers were brokered across English football on Tuesday. These are the key ones.

Queens Park Rangers Djibril Cisse , Bobby Zamora

Manchester City David Pizarro (on loan)

Everton Nikica Jelavic

Tottenham Hotspur Louis Saha, Ryan Nelsen (In process)

“But Swansea defended well and although we scored, we had no time to get the winning goal. “I thought Swansea were excellent. Their style collides a bit with what is cultural in English football, but we have to praise it. “I think first half we conceded the space to them and they are magnificent in finding those gaps. They play in between you, but when you press them it is more difficult for them.” Villas-Boas was not too despondent about another goalless night for Fernando Torres who has gone 1,000 minutes without scoring. “I think the confidence is there. We have to persist with him and he helped the team today with his movement, his lay-offs and his passing. “So again, it is the same situation, we have to continue creating enough opportunities, maybe more.”

“Fernando and Didier Drogba are fighting for the striker’s position so when Didier arrives back from the African Cup of Nations it will be further competition for Fernando.” Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers praised his side’s attitude. “I am very proud of the players and for them to feel so disappointed about not beating Chelsea, says it all. “We will deal with the disappointment well. That’s the third big club we have had here in a row and we have drawn twice and beaten Arsenal. “You must remember also, that we have not lost two league games in a row all season. I think it is only us and Manchester City can say that. So, no, we won’t have a hangover from the disappointment of this. “That’s an incredible record and although we will reflect on tonight, it tells you about the mentality of this side.” AFP

Chelsea

West Brom

Kevin de Bruyne

Liam Ridgewell

Sunderland Wayne Bridge, Sotirios Kyrgiakos (on loan)

Overall spending of Premier League clubs: Between £40m and £50m

King Kenny hails ‘professionals’ W O LV E R H A M P T O N : Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish hailed the professionalism of his side after they recorded their first Premier League victory of 2012 at the expense of Wolves. Goals from Andy Carroll, Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt earned the Reds a straightforward 3-0 win at Molineux which moved them above Arsenal into fifth and within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea. It made it a perfect seven days

for Dalglish and his team following last week’s League Cup semifinal triumph over Manchester City and weekend FA Cup success over Manchester United. Until Tuesday night, their cup form had been in contrast with their league form, however, with the Reds having picked up just one point from their previous three top-flight matches — and the recent defeat to Bolton prompting the Scot to take the unusual step of criticising his

players. There were no such complaints from Dalglish on this occasion, though. “I thought it was a very professional, high quality performance from the players. A fantastic reaction to the previous two games,” he said. “This game became the most important one because it was the next one. They applied themselves well and got what they deserved. I think the boys deserve great credit.”

Playing Field

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012

The games people play

Mia culpa: Mancini M

ATTABOY: Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand gives a high-five to striker Javier Hernandez (R) after the latter scored against Stoke City at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Win Stokes UTD’s hopes MANCHESTER: , January 31, 2012 (AFP) - Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov each claimed a penalty as Manchester United’s 2-0 victory over Stoke drew them level with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. With injury and illness to Anders Lindegaard and David de Gea, respectively, forcing United to hand a league debut to 21year-old deputy Ben Amos, the penalty decisions ensured the defending Premier League champions enjoyed a comfortable evening. United took the lead after 38 minutes when Jermaine Pennant was judged to have tripped United’s South Korean international midfielder Park JiSung in the area. In the absence of regular penalty taker Wayne Rooney, who has failed on four of his last eight attempts, Hernandez strode up and calmly beat Thomas Sorensen with a shot into the bot-

IN THE ABSENCE OF REGULAR PENALTY TAKER WAYNE ROONEY, WHO HAS FAILED ON FOUR OF HIS LAST EIGHT ATTEMPTS, HERNANDEZ STRODE UP AND CALMLY BEAT THOMAS SORENSEN WITH A SHOT INTO THE BOTTOM LEFT-HAND CORNER tom left-hand corner. Seven minutes into the second half, Antonio Valencia surged into the area with Jon Walters tugging at him from behind, a move which referee Mike Jones instantly deemed worthy of a penalty. This time, surprisingly given Hernandez’s earlier success, Berbatov strode up to the mark and scored just as convincingly as his team mate had, low into the bottom right. The opening goal was

inevitable in a game in which Stoke’s primary aim appeared to be to test United’s rookie goalkeeper with long-range shots. Walters chanced his arm from 25 yards and Kenwyne Jones volleyed wide from outside the box inside the opening 10 minutes. But the bulk of the first period was spent with United patiently trying to break down Stoke’s dogged resistance. Paul Scholes teed up Michael Carrick for a promising early shot which was charged down by Ryan Shawcross and another Carrick strike won a 21st minute corner. That resulted in Scholes shooting from outside the area sending a fierce strike just wide of the post and into the advertising hoardings. Patrice Evra appealed in vain for a penalty after his run into the area was halted by slight contact from Dean Whitehead and Berbatov’s telling pass then freed Valencia down the right but his cross was too close.

anchester City manager Roberto Mancini admitted he was to blame for the costly defeat that provided Manchester United with renewed hope in the title race. Mancini insisted he got it all wrong as Darron Gibson’s first Premier League goal since March 2010 enabled United to move level on points with City as they crashed to a 1-0 loss at Everton. Gibson’s telling contribution for his new club ensures City have won just once in their last 21 visits to Goodison Park and completed an excellent evening for David Moyes, the Everton manager, who celebrated his 150th game at helm with the team.